#SPARC Bets

[silverlineswap]

Visa Hints at an Ethereum Collaboration and Promises to “Actively Contribute” to Crypto Development

SilverLineSwap — Crypto News

Bulletins for you:

The payment business published a report examining the possibilities for cryptocurrency auto-payments on Monday.

This capacity is not yet feasible on the Ethereum main net, but it would be made possible by a well-liked Ethereum proposal dubbed “Account Abstraction,” which would let Ethereum user accounts perform pre-scheduled execution activities and operate like smart contracts.

Visa wishes to act as a dependable link between the cryptocurrency ecosystem and our extensive worldwide network.

The payment business published a report examining the possibilities for cryptocurrency auto-payments on Monday. Global payments behemoth Visa released a statement on Monday explaining how the company can eventually interact with the Ethereum network on automated payments, signaling its increased interest in cryptocurrencies.

“The paper describes how Ethereum users might plan auto-payments made from self-custodial cryptocurrency wallets with support from Visa”

The document was inspired by an internal corporate hackathon that was held earlier this year. This capacity is not yet feasible on the Ethereum main net, but it would be made possible by a well-liked Ethereum proposal dubbed “Account Abstraction,” which would let Ethereum user accounts perform pre-scheduled execution activities and operate like smart contracts. According to Catherine Gu, Head of CBDC and Protocols at Visa, “we want to have the chance to actively contribute to technological improvements happening in the crypto ecosystem.”

The best way to do that, in my opinion, is to learn by doing, namely by diving deeper into Web3 infrastructures and blockchain protocols. Gu’s group is currently aggressively researching what additional blockchain technologies are set to revolutionize the world of payments — and how fast their adoption may be implemented. The group was originally established to look into the possibility of digital currencies supported by global governments.

Gu remarked, “This technology is relatively new right now, but there could be something there later on.” There are still a lot of studies to be done on core payment-related issues like security and scalability. Scalability, or the capacity to maintain network security while allowing for inexpensive and quick transactions on a large scale, has long been a coveted but unattainable aim for blockchain networks like Ethereum. This issue will be addressed in many of the Ethereum network’s upcoming releases. For instance, proto-danksharding is a prototype of a system that, in the future, may drastically minimize the quantity of data that must be safely evaluated in order to handle massive amounts of Ethereum transactions. It is anticipated to debut later in the year.

“From a payments standpoint, most [blockchain networks] are not yet scalable enough to process transactions at a really high speed in a secure and trusted way,” Gu said

It’s doubtful that significant networks like Ethereum will be substantially integrated by big companies like Visa until they can widely grow. But the payments business is certain that such technological vistas are within reach since it has been in constant contact with Ethereum’s core developers.

Website | SPARC BETS | Twitter | Telegram | Instagram | Discord

[hot-gremlin-pissboy]

PLACE YOUR BETS WHAT YOU THINK WENT DOWN AT THE MEETING 🤯🤯🤯😱😱

ik the bef/bip posting has been sparce lately but dont worry me and some friends have big things coming and that’ll make up for it

First artfight making me focus on ocs and now bill with his new writing career 😭😭😭😭 LIKE LET ME CHILL GODDAMN

[kayakoto-enterprises]

I'LL BET I'M THE BEST HOUSE GUEST YOU'VE EVER HAD!

| Yume Playlist | Silly 1 | Silly 2 | A song that isn't on Spotify but is so them ^_^ |

House Guest is my main selfship/yumeship! It is a romantic relationship between Samantha Strong and Julianne Lucky (that's not her real surnaaaame!). Their relationship, dynamic, and fate are heavily built around the Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees universe as well as Nothing Painted Blue's song Houseguest. This ship is comforting, absurd, morbid, and adorable! Everything you might wanna know about them is in this masterpost from character details, links to important rambles, and links to all the fanfiction I've written about them.

Before you proceed, I highly encourage you all to please please read Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees. This ship is quite canon compliant and takes place a year after the events of the story. Please also read Präludium (the prequel story) because the events are also referenced sparcely. I will be discussing spoilers in this post from this point forward.

On August 23rd, 1987, a foreigner bought an apartment in a residential building at the edge of Woodbrook, Vermont. Then on September 1st, 1987, the same foreigner came to the Burly Brown Bear Hardware shop to inquire about home renovations and buy rudimentary materials and tools for a shelf. While wrapping up the bought goods, the shop owner shuffled around the counter for a cutter to slice off some cling wrap. Luckily, the foreigner always kept a pair of special scissors close to her at all times. She whipped it out of her purse, startling the poor bear.

This wouldn't be the last time the two would interact.

JULIANNE [MIDDLE NAME] [LAST NAME] "LUCKY" is a Filipino 24-27 year old illustrator and part-time art teacher. She moved to Woodbrook in 1987, a year after the infamous murders after seeing the mostly positive reputation of the little town and the fairly cheap apartment rates. She is a positive, introverted, and sensitive young adult still pinning her life down after wandering for so long in many thankless jobs/relationships/cities/families. She is a lesbian! Her favorite things include poetry, animation, cooking and baking, strawberries, and stars. She has reoccurring nightmares about a jackal in her closet.

Julianne develops an innocent crush on SAMANTHA STRONG, the hardware lady who seems to be tolerant enough to her nonsense. Woodbrook, of course, is a place of miracles and magic so think of Julianne's surprise when romance is suddenly around the corner! She's only heard pleasant, pitiful things about the woman from neighbors and locals, but nothing too damning to steer her away. Well, unless you count the butcher who's oddly upset with her on any given day. Nobody knows and nobody is gonna tell her that she's walking into a forest fire coming closer and closer to the eye of a spiral.

The events of House Guest take place in between the time-skip of Book 1 and Book 2 (Rite Of Spring). Julianne and Sam begin dating in 1988 and their story ends in late 1990.

FIC MASTERLIST!

(Easter egg: the incriminating post. the insanity began here.)

HOUSE GUEST LORE: Read this one first! The general outline of the relationship! This was written very early into me developing it but this is meant to paint the broader ideas and how they weave into BTTWNS' main story.

These are arranged in chronological order. The journal fics are told in Sam's perspective and are meant to be read like a regular issue.

PRE-DEER INCIDENT

Someone has a crush!

Magician crush

She! Loves! You!

Well, this is embarrassing.

It spreads like the kudzu

Sleepover!

It's raining....

There's a first for everything

Keep me close to your heart.. (2 in 1!)

Peeking into the apartment

Tell me what's wrong

Beach episode

POST-DEER INCIDENT

What to do when your girlfriend finds out you're a serial killer.

Fill in the blanks.

Sam's old friend pays a visit.

BONUS: IMPORTANT INFODUMPS/RAMBLEPOSTS ABOUT HOUSE GUEST!

🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 goes together with 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 |🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓 | 🍓

[kevindayslover]

★ jean moreau appearance hcs because i love him ★

he looks like a high-fashion model

you know how people talk about that "ugly model look"?? that's literally jean

his nose looks really big on his face, and he has one of those classic very French bumps on the bridge of it???? call me crazy but im in love

his nose is just so long and beautiful and i feel like it's probably the highlight of his face

sparce beauty marks on his face and i will die on this hill oml

he has one under his lip, maybe one on the side of his nose, some on his neck??? like one or two on his cheeks UGH

lemme pop off abt his eyes real quick

he has "bedroom eyes", very hooded, very tired-looking

they're a little downturned and it's so stunning

i feel like in general just the drooping quality of his eyes makes them look a little sultry????? correct me if im wrong 😳

the grey looks SO good with his super pale skin tone too and it just all goes together well

and the bags under his eyes are deep and dark from years of a fucked up sleep schedule and he looks so good with it

those eye bags are designer istg

(this is a side note, but imagine jean with his pretty eyes and smudged eyeliner??? that would destroy the masses (jeremy))

his eyelashes are longggggg!!!!!

and his eyebrows are very nice and thick please just give me this

AND and the space between the end of his nose and his mouth (philtrum??) is small, there just isn't much space there

BUT despite that he has a very defined cupid's bow UGGHHH

his bottom lip is a lot bigger than his top lip though and it makes his mouth look so kissable???????

dont even get me started on this man's bone structure (just kidding)

you can bet he has some of the most beautiful cheekbones you've ever seen and his whole face has this hollow look to it

not to be political, but this man has some BEAUTIFUL natural curls, but he couldn't take care of his hair super well in the nest so suddenly he's in cali and his hair curls and he's just like "oh"

just imagine jean-yves moreau always looking like a tired, off-duty, high-fashion model

but also i imagine him really boney, like those collarbones jeremy was obsessing over are prominent and so gorgeous

i feel like he has a really long, slim neck (idk why that feels so random, but i know it's the truth in my core)

he probably has some acne scarring on his cheeks, and speaking of scars, he probably has a lot of little ones here and there ((and then some big ones, too. but i don't really want to make myself sad, so just assume))

he's totally the type to have natural blush on his cheeks and i feel like that happens on his knuckles and knees, just all of those really pretty joints

i think i could talk about him forever but this post is getting long so i'm going to stop there, give me more jean appearance hcs because they're getting me through these last weeks of school

[blasphemous-lies-and-deceit]

8. "You should eat something" GerryMichael? Your writing is incredibly nice to read through, thank you for taking time out of your day to write and post so many cool fics! Take care of yourself <3

"You should eat something."

"Can't," Michael answered bruskly, turning on his heel to pace the other direction. "My stomach's in knots. I'll probably just get sick on him."

"Bet that won't be the worst thing Bouchard's gotten on him," Gerry tried to joke, but Michael just whined and kept pacing. It was one thing to virulantly hate his boss and fantasize about killing him from a distance, but he was terribly anxious about being face to face and alone with him. Usually it was Gertrude's job to give the Head of the Institute a report about the Archive's activities, but she was off in America and sending very sparce updates, and left him behind to deal with Elias. He'd been dreading their scheduled meeting for days, and would continue to dread for the next twenty-five minutes until it was finally time to face him. He didn't know if he wanted the time to pass faster or slower, so he could get it over already, or keep from ever having to see him. It was awful.

Gerry caught his hand as Michael swung by again, pulling him gently down into the seat opposite him. "Eat," he ordered, holding a fruity granola bar to Michael's lips. "Please." Michael obliged him, leaning forward to take a bite and giving him a sassy eyebrow raise.

"Happy?"

"Not in the slightest," Gerry sighed, his free hand came to rest on Michael's jittering knee, squeezing and rubbing it soothingly. "I'd be much happier if I went with you, or you didn't have to do this at all."

"Same." Michael took another bite, forcing his dry throat to swallow the mouthful of grains and fake fruit. He did want Gerry with him, but there was no way they could get away with it, since Gerry wasn't an employee, and could barely considered a freelancer for the Institute. "He's probably up in his office getting off on how anxious and worried we are."

Gerry's face screwed up in exaggerated disgusted agony. "Please don't ever mention Elias and getting off in the same sentence again," he groaned theatrically.

Despite his worries, Michael managed to smile at his reaction. "If Gertrude is right, and he is connected to the Eye like we are, he'll probably notice if I try to imagine him in his underwear too," he giggled.

"That's horrific," Gerry snapped mildly, peeling away the remaining wrapper of the bar. "That's the worst image you've ever put in my head. How dare you."

"If I have to suffer then so do you." Michael took the last bite and leaned forward in his seat, inclining towards Gerry. Gerry leaned in as well, and they met in the middle, foreheads pressed together. Michael closed his eyes, soaking in the familiar smell of Gerry, the comfort of his presence. It was everything to him, the love he felt for Gerry, and felt in return. Enough to distract him from his dread.

"You've got this," Gerry assured him, taking his hands and entwining their fingers together. "You'll do just fine up there. It's not like you can be fired from this place."

"But he could do a lot worse than that," Michael pointed out grimly, and watched Gerry hold back a wince.

"That won't happen," Gerry swore. "You'll tell him what he wants to hear and then you'll come back here and we'll call it a day. We'll go get some sushi and eat it in our pants on your sofa and we'll forget about how stressed we've been for the past few weeks." Still holding Michael's hands, he framed his face and ducked in for a kiss, lingering and sweet. "So get up there and give that old bastard hell."

"Thanks, love," Michael sighed, taking another kiss for courage before standing up. He wrapped up Gerry in a hug for good measure, wishing he could stay there for as long as possible. Anything to avoid Elias.

"Is this drama necessary?"

Michael and Gerry sprang apart in shock. Gertrude was standing in the doorway, looking frazzled and exhausted, but she was there, and Michael could honestly say for once he was happy to see her.

"Not anymore!" he said cheerfully, smiling brilliantly. "Now you can report to Elias instead of me."

Gertrude gave him the most exhausted and unimpressed look he'd ever seen from her, and that was saying something. "I'd truly rather not," she sighed, dropping her luggage by the door. "But I do have information to impart on him, so I will accompany you."

"Wait," Gerry snapped, pulling open a drawer in the desk that he'd more or less claimed as his. He pulled out a Polaroid and considered it, silently comparing the Gertrude before them to the Gertrude on the picture. He held it to Michael to take a look, and he nodded. "You do seem to be the real Gertrude Robinson," he conceeded. "You had me worried for a moment, being so kind and considering to us."

"I'm simply overjoyed to be back," Gertrude deadpanned, the faintest hint of a smile on her lips. "You should come along as well, Gerard, I'd rather not explain this twice.

Gerry exchanged a look with Michael as they followed her out of the Archives, and Michael took his hand to squeeze it. Her return didn't solve all of their problems, and came with its own anxieties, but at least he wouldn't have to face Elias alone now.

[mikaikaika]

Hello I've seen you around the QSMP spaces a lot, but I'm curious!! Do you have any cool headcanons you wanna share?

Hey anon! Thanks for the question and sorry if it took me a while I was recollecting my thoughts. I don't have any set hcs but a few thought sparced around here and there so here they are. They are mostly about the eggs but some people found their way in

Tallulah has all of Wilbur's letters memorised and she repeats them when she finds herself in danger. However sometimes Chayanne hears her muttering in her sleep and if he pays attention he can hear the repeat of Wilbur's words.

Richarlyson does not like to take baths due to his parenthood side that comes from Catboy Cellbit

Flippa and Tilin were very clumsy and often got injured so they had a bet going on with each other about who can convincingly tell their parent the most batshit crazy getting injured story without worrying them too much. Their record was never broken despite their exaggerated shenanigans

Missa was the better chef of the house who used to make diverse meals. Seeing him Chayanne took up cooking because he wanted to help after he saw how exhausted Phil was while taking care of two kids. It now helps him make proper use of all the potatoes and now he has one more skill he can use to provide for his loved ones incase they are stuck in danger

Not mine but someone had a hc that Antoine is an alien due to his moon and the tomska sketch he was a part of. I just wanna add to it that that is the reason his mc skin is layered with an outer layer. So it is him trying to imitate huamans and trying to fit in. That's the reason he has like three faces cause he wanted to fit in by doing his best attempts possible

Since Phil said they shop at hot topic cause they're a emo family, I think Tallulah hates it, so as a little sign of rebellion she keeps choosing tshirts with the most ridiculous captions to take home like one that says "crazy plant lady" with weed on it but Tallulah insists it represents her venues or anything over the top pink that she can find there like I'm talking mable pines level fluffy

Dapper is really good at doing rubix cubes and loves them but Ramon absolutely hates due to how engrossed Dapper got when he was learning it

As Chayanne grows up he end up outgrowing his duck floatie. So he ,with the help of Ramon and dapper, devises a belt with a duck belt buckle on it that can turn into a floatie anytime it is required. It comes in handy more often than you think.

Baghera is deathly afraid of snakes cause she's a duck

Cellbit's family are his anchor anytime his past comes haunting him back. He often gets nightmares that wake him up but all it takes is him seeing the picture of Richarlyson with he Favela Five or turning to his side and seeing the face of his sleeping husband and with one squeeze of his hand - Cellbit comes grounded back to reality and peacefulness.

When he's outside and people are accusing him of being a traitor or when things get too rough, you would often find Cellbit toying with his ring. It serves him as a reminder that his past is behind him and now he's in a better place and no matter what he would always have someone looking out and waiting for him - something he has never had before

The dragon colours that the eggs would be turned into coincides with the signs they use. Flippa's would be green similar to what gegg uses, Bobby's was brownish since he used normal signs, Tilin's would be slight orange as hers was red but she passed hers down to Pomme and Trump is light blue since his was blue but he passed it down to Richarlyson as Richas is more socially "loud" than he is

If Tilin and Juanaflippa were still here, their name together with Tallulah would have been TFT trio

Pac paints his nail but it's always chipped due to him working with Mike but you would never see it completely gone and no one knows how/when Pac reapplies and redamages it

Also I love this hc that all the partners of the people on the server are some kind of godly entity with specific powers that tie into the story

[gamergirlbonestaskforce141riot]

It's the little things (5)

Previous / Next

Queuing with the food tray in their hands, Gaz was talking Ghost's ear off, telling him all about the ... he didn't even fucking know, but from time to time he grunted or nodded. The fucking queue was slow as hell that day.

Gaz knew Ghost was barely listening, but he still kept talking. Long ago he had adopted as one of his goals making the Lieutenant feel more human, by being around him and interacting with him, even if it had been one-sided at first.

When Sgt. Garrick was recruited by Captain Price, he could barely exchange greetings with Ghost. Most days he didn't even hear his voice. Of course he didn't know the details, but for the tiny, sparce clues mentioned while chatting with Price, and seeing Simon's face in Las Almas, Kyle knew something bad had to have happened to make Ghost... Ghost.

Given Ghost's gear choice, one would think he'd be a cold-hearted bastard. And he was, but also... kinda not. Gaz had seen him carry another wounded soldier on his back without a single grunt for hours until they got to exfil. If Ghost noticed the sentry was tired, he'd send them to bed and take over the watch. He was always there, silent, stoic, reliable.

So the first time Ghost sat down with him at the mess hall, unprompted, after seeking him out, Gaz felt fucking good. And when it kept happening, he felt even better.

The queue advanced slowly, and Gaz laughed when he heard the grunt coming from behind the balaclava. They could see from there that Price and Soap were already at their usual table, and Riot was standing near them, chatting with a couple of privates.

"Man, I wish my girlfriend had those tits" A Corporal queuing in front of them commented to his fellow officer.

"Whose tits?"

"Vega's. Saw her the other morning in the swimming pool"

Oh man.

Gaz tried as hard as he could to not burst into laughter, seeing Ghost silently glaring at the back of the Corporals' heads.

"It's a shame about her face though"

"Yeah, but you really don't have to look at her face"

Oh boy. Gaz kept looking at Ghost, whose eyes were narrowed to barely two slits. He could almost imagine the following day's news. Murder at the mess hall. At least that would get the queue moving.

"She trains every morning with a group of the privates. Today they were doing squats"

"Bet that's why her ass is that big"

Yep, there was about to be murder. Gaz giggled when Ghost leaned in, his head looming over the Corporals.

"We could find out"

The two Corporals yelped and looked up, turning pale at seeing the towering Lieutenant behind them, clearly pissed.

"Sir... sorry, sir..."

"We were just..."

"Meet me in the gym in one hour and we'll see if it's true. You're going to do squats until your arse grows bigger or you pass out" Ghost growled, his accent thicker than ever. "Don't make me hunt you down"

The rest of the time in the queue was awkward, with the Corporals shuffling their feet and the Lieutenant right at their backs, murdering them with his eyes alone. Gaz enjoyed it greatly.

And to top it off, by the time they got to the food, they had run out of custard. Fucking hell.

Gaz and Ghost made their way to the table where the rest of the team was waiting, Price and Soap engrossed in something about explosives, and sat down, the Sergeant was beaming, the Lieutenant moody.

Sitting next to him, Riot moved her custard to Ghost's tray, and he looked at her, confused. She shrugged.

"Saw there were just a few left and saved you mine"

Gaz smiled knowingly when Ghost's whole demeanor softened. He wondered how much longer would it take. Maybe he should make a bet with Soap, given how invested he was.

[grand-theft-carbohydrates]

Ode to grief #4

A long time ago, a man lay quietly in his room, dying slowly. The room was sparce but expensively furnished. One could tell he was a gentleman and quite learned, for there were books in the shelf, inkstones on the desk and heirloom swords hanging from the wall. He was a stranger to this land, and had not been there for long. The house and all its servants were a gift from his wealthy patron. 

His mysterious illness had all the doctors in the land plucking their beards in frustration. He was young, hale, had not suffered wound nor chill, yet his strength waned day by day. One evening, he found that he could not walk. The next morning he could not rise. Now he was one foot in the grave. Neither food nor drink had passed his lips in ten days and he lacked the strength to even speak. 

“Fear not, my good man! The days of sickness are behind you! Salvation is at hand!” 

The dying man roused a little from his stupor and cast a bleary eye about the room. Standing in the gloomy doorway was a strange apparition. On its back it carried a large, rectangular box wrapped in broad-cloth, it was dressed in woman’s clothes, but no woman was ever so gaudily painted—or had such a ridiculous, drooping moustache. 

“You are in the presence of the illustrious Musician of Yan—Gao Jianli!” cried the man in drag. His voice was bright, loud and extremely grating on the ears. “I suppose you’ve heard of me. Oh, who am I kidding, of course you have! My music can heal the sick, make the lame dance and allow the blind to see—or so I’ve heard.” 

The man who claimed to be Gao Jianli threw open the windows, causing the dying man to wince. He was small and his movements were quick and vigorous, like that of a chicken pecking at feed. He had evidently been consuming all the garlic and chives Yan had to offer, because his breath was fit to rouse the dead. The dying man was not unconvinced that this was just some charlatan who had wondered in off the streets. Either way, he could not care enough to chase him out. 

“Gao Jianli” was not in a hurry help the dying man, or even play music. Instead, he pulled over a low table and helped himself to the dying man’s lunch, gobbling down the food like a hog at the trough.

“This stuff’s alright,” he remarked, in between slurps of wine, “but it’s not as good as the dinners the king serves me when I play at the palace. Oh well, it’s probably the best you can manage, for a man of your station.” 

With great effort, the dying man turned his back to him and closed his eyes. He detested the sun. He detested noise. He was sick to his heart of hearts and wished nothing more than to snuff himself out, like a candle that had burned to its end. 

There was a loud crash behind him, followed by a bitten off oath. The man did not bother turning around. Gao Jianli had pulled one of the decorative swords off the wall—the big, long ceremonial one, by the sound of it. 

“Wow, this is a cool sword!” Gao Jianli giggled, “I bet you three silvers I can cut your desk in half with one swing.” 

The dying man did not dignify that with a response. He was fairly certain that ridiculous little man would not even be able to unsheathe the sword, since the entire length of it exceeded his arm span. 

“Eh, what the…?” 

Told you. 

“Hey, you’re barely taller than me. I bet you can’t pull this sword out either!”

Wrong. 

“How come your arms are so short? I thought swordsmen were supposed to tall, with long arms and big muscles.”

It’s not about size. It’s about skill. 

“How disappointing! I was expecting the famous Swordsman of Wei to be a fine figure of man, worthy of his great name, but all I get is this sad little lump.” He put on an exaggerated feminine voice, just to make it clear which aspect of the swordsman’s physique he was insulting; “I must say, Sir, I’m very disappointed. I was expecting a lot more to play with.”  The dying man was getting tired of this inane jabbering, “you…are… Gao Jianli?” he croaked. 

“So my mother tells me!” 

“Prove…it…” the man said through gritted teeth, “play…something.”

“Fine, fine. I don’t usually do requests like this, but I’ll make an exception since you’re clearly not long for this world. I do hope the King invites me to your funeral, Mister Wei Swordsman, I charge extra for eulogies…” 

He picked up his long box and unwrapped it. The instrument he pulled out did not fill the dying man with any confidence. It was an old, shabby zhu, the body was without lettering or ornaments and only the silk strings were new. 

Gao Jianli placed the instrument upon his knees, rolled up his sleeves with slow, dignified grace…and proceeded to hammer violently at the zhu with both hands, assaulting the dying man’s ears with the most god-awful racket he had ever heard in his life. 

“Stop that!” the dying man snarled, and burst into a fit of coughing at the exertion. 

“How’s that for some music!” Gao Jianli howled with laughter, “you get what you pay for!” 

“Get… out…you filthy swindler!” 

“What shocking language! I don’t know how things are done in Wei, but here in the Kingdom of Yan, we are inclined to treat our guests with a little more civility.” 

The dying man collapsed back down onto the bed and squeezed his eyes shut. If he could not make the man leave, he resolved to deny him the pleasure of giving him any reaction. 

Gao Jianli let out another horrible, juvenile giggle, and edged himself closer to the bed. He had stuffed two, large, round somethings down the front of his shirt to give the appearance of being buxom. He pulled one out—revealing it to be a mantou wrapped in bamboo leaves—and took a large bite. How he was still hungry was anyone’s guess. 

“Mmgh mufff phughdg muhmfff,” Gao Jianli swallowed noisily “--wow, this mantou is so soft, white and delicious. A man would be content to nibble on them all day!” He took several more bites, and said slyly, “what a shame, this pair is not as nice as the ones that belong to your mother…” 

The man’s eyes snapped open, “what did you say?” 

“Didn’t you hear me?” the little fiend cackled, “I said your mother’s got a nice, fat, pair of—” 

This was the last straw. The dying man, who had previously lacked the energy to even speak, suddenly leapt out of bed with a roar. Gao Jianli, who had been expecting this, threw the chalice of wine at his face. While the dying man was spluttering and wiping his eyes, the musician took off at a dead sprint with his zhu tucked under one arm. The sound of his maniacal laughter could be heard echoing down the hall.  The dying man kicked the discarded sword into his hand, unsheathed it by swinging the scabbard behind his back, and took off after the scoundrel, weapon in hand and murder in his eyes. 

Gao Jianli glanced behind him, did a double-take, and turned as white as a sheet, “n-now wait a second!” 

“Die!” 

“Look, I can explain—oh, fuck—guards! Guards!”

“Stop running, you bastard!”  

“Help! This maniac is trying to kill me!” 

The two men dashed out into the garden, and began to run circles around a large cherry tree. It was hardly an exciting, high-speed chase; one was an out-of-shape zhu player, the other was a weak, half-starved swordsman with a weapon he could barely lift, but both made up for it with sheer enthusiasm. 

An on-looker might have been surprised to see that the musician was still holding onto his zhu. A normal man would have tossed it aside, or perhaps used it to block his assailant. Gao Jianli clutched the zhu to his bosom like it was his own child. It did not even occur to him to ditch the dead weight, he would have sooner parted with his own arm. 

The swordsman swung, missed, and swung again. On the third swing, the blade struck the tree trunk and became lodged inside the wood. The swordsman let out a a howl of frustration and leaped on top of the musician, pummelling him with his fists. Gao Jianli shrieked in agony—mainly because he had dropped his zhu—and retaliated with a swift, hard kick below the belt. 

They were so busy duking it out, neither man realised they had acquired an audience until a high-pitched, stringent voiced shouted rather pointedly, “all hail the King of Yan!” 

The men froze mid-blow and slowly looked up into the disapproving face of a court eunuch. Behind him stood the king and his royal entourage, staring at them in polite disbelief. There was a mad scramble as the men climbed off each other and hastily pressed their foreheads into the dirt. 

 “Good afternoon, Your Highness!”

“O, mighty King of Yan! Please forgive me for my gross impropriety! I—I don’t know what came over me. I will accept any punishment you see fit—”  

“It’s good to see you’re up and about, Jing Ke, we had begun to despair of you ever recovering,” said the king. “Gao Jianli, your methods are, ah, unorthodox but no one can deny that they are effective.” 

“Thank you, Your Highness!” Gao Jianli said, “I had long suspected that the Gentleman of Wei’s illness was not caused by a physical disease, but stemmed from deep, emotional anguish. He had fallen into despair after losing his own king and countrymen to the tyrant of Qin. Pretty songs and empty platitudes would have done little to ease his spirit. I thought the best way to help him would be to deliver a sudden, dramatic shock to his system. I can only pray I have not overstepped…I hold Minister Jing to the highest regard and I have long admired his skill and courage.” 

“I…” Jing Ke, the swordsman of Wei was absolutely speechless. He sat up and clasped the musician’s arms tightly.  “Gao Jianli, I…” Jing Ke said in a choked-up voice, “I…I am going to faint,” and immediately made good on that promise.

“Oh my god! Someone get a doctor! Oh no, oh no, oh no—You better not die on me! I’m serious! I’m going to get in so much trouble…”  

In the ensuring commotion, the last mantou bounced out of Gao Jianli’s shirt and rolled off into a bush somewhere, never to be seen again. Thus began a passionate friendship, although one would quite understand if the history books never made any mention of it.

---------------------- Notes:

haha so this is a gender flipped version of the feeding scene from the Emperor's Shadow + foreshadowing of Jing Ke's failed assassination. I've been giving you guys a lot of angst so here's a little monty python skit...that is really sad and bittersweet in hindsight!

i wanted to flesh out gao jianli's character a little bit more. I've always intended for him to be very insightful and a little bit of a troll. I like to think there's two versions of him, the happy, carefree prankster who died with Jing Ke, and this brittle, sorrowful man who is unmoored, indecisive and struggling to honor the memory of the man he loved.

I couldn't manage to squeeze it in bc it messed with the flow, but Gao Jianli is in drag because he was out performing some musical theatre in the streets! I like the idea of him being this maverick performer who just doesn't shy away from "lowbrow" art. this is based on a play in the Six Dynasties period, called The Dancing Singing Woman (踏謡娘), one of the first-recorded plays where the female role is played by a man, and it is a precursor to later chinese opera.

omg this is the first time jing ke actually gets a pov! mr not-appearing-in-the-story finally appears!

[drakkonyan]

Do you know any cool fact about turtles you want to share with the class? /genuine

WHEN I SAY THIS I MEAN IT BUT LITERALLY RUNNING IN CIRCLES RN YES FINALLY!!!!!!!!

Ejem.

I'll start with the basics then expanding but also winging it because yes. Under read more because I infodumped hard here

So sliders. Sliders (trachemys) is a genus that lives all of america, and which it's main and most known subspecies, red eared sliders (RES, or scripta elegants) is best know by two things: the fact that it's the most popular type of pet turtle globaly, and that they are STUPIDLY resilient. These two facts, naturally, create the perfect storm for an extremely invasive species due to neglectful or ignorant owners who get tired of the eety beety lil bean once it starts to show it grows to a max size of 12 inches/30cms and lives to even 30 years old.

However, I still think that, in the correct hands, they are a wonderful pet for experimente or mindful owners (what I cathegoryze as mindful is whoever knows ot is open to provide the correct space a goldfish should live in, since it's the same for turtles and plottwist; none of them both is fishbowl or less that 10 gallons option) so some info on them:

When they are tiny, their yolksack cord and egg teeth is visible, and it's so cute because it's this tiny thingy the size of a coin omg 🥺. At this age they are known as hatchlings, and they have certain qualities that only stay on this age;

-color: they are a shiny, beautiful emerald color, with orang-y ears and Grey-blue-ish eyes. As they age, they turn brown while they are juveniles and finally end up black/deep forest green/dark yellowing brown (depends on the specimen)

-diet: when babies, they are mainly carnivores, eating fish, bugs and whatever they can scavange, with plants here and there, but as they age they eat more and more greens, until their diet is around 80% these. In captivity the recommended in protein is crickets, roaches, mealworm, blood worms and feeding fishes, like goopies. On the greener side the recommended is red and green leaf lettuce (avoid iceberg at all coast and only sometimes Roman and buttercup), dandelion leaves and turnip greens, with sometimes endives, kale and escarole. They also like aquatic plants like Amazonian sword, duck weed, moss balls, water lettuces and frogbit, to name some. Some veggies like carrot, bell pepper, sparce fruits like bananas, apples, mango, melon, strawberries, blueberries, papaya and raspberries are also good for em. On store brand pellets zoomed and mazuri are the standard.

But enough about that. One common asked question; how to know their sex? As most reptiles, turtle sex is determined based on the temp the eggs are incubated. There is this myth about how the markings show the sex, but this is a lie, as the markings change depending on the species and subspecies. There is also said that males have a concave plastron and females have a flat one, since it facilitates reproduction. And while it is true, the best way to tell is waiting for em to hit puberty. Once they are 4 inches/10cms long OR one-two years old OR have a black shell, the males start to develop longer claws, which can get to an inch/3cms long. This, plus the cloaca placement/tail size is your best bet, as it is really distinctive and easy to tell male claws from females. Females are also easier to diferenciate due the fact that, once they grow to their whole size, females are the biggest, while males stay at around 25cms or something like that. Tiny guys.

However, I personally knew in mine's case due the fact he showed me his turtle penis while he threw a temper tantrum over me picking him up.

In the reproduction topic. As I've mentioned in another post, they have an apareament dance, known as jazz hands. It's pretty self descriting, as they put their hands next to their face and vibrate them at super speed. This behavior also occurs between territorial fights. Once they got their things settled, the male chases the female and they do the thing. In this, those longer claws we talked about help them stay in place while copulating.

And in that territoriallity note, they are extremely territorial and solitary animals. They need AT LEAST 10 gallos per inch of shell, and can't cohabitate unless they are in like, a pond. However, even then they could become hostile. The hostility signs are mainly stacking (they get one in top the other while basking, they do this to compete for space and UVB/heat from the sun) fighting over food (in captivity, if kept together, sometimes one baby grows faster than the other, this is due that) chasing eachother and actual fighting (biting, scratching, it can go from easily-infectable lacerations to fights-to-death). Due to this and more reasons, unless for breeding and when knowing exactly what you are doing, it is extremely important to NOT cohabitate under any circunstance.

I think I'm leaving it at there for today, might add more in a rb tomorrow, but it's literally midnight and I should sleep lol. Thank you so much for asking! I love so much to talk about these goobers and you made my day (night?) I also wanna mention that I'm constantly learning and that, if any of this info is wrong or outdated, please let me know! With that said, goodnight!

[flowerberry-dump]

Im writting a Crimson peak dreamnoblade au, wich goes a bit like this:

•Phil and Kirsten have 3 children, and after her death Philza stars neglecting them, reason why the oldest, Wilbur, stars taking care of his siblings every need

•that protectiveness becomes a bordeline unhealthy need to be near them, and when they try to separate them, Wilbur takes drastic meassures and they end up separated anyways

•years later they reunite, and life seems bright until a series of unfortunate (and quite murderous) deaths shakes everything again

•Wilbur clinges to the only thing he has left from his life, his brother Technoblade, desperate to not be left alone also by him

It got long so the rest is under read more

•When their family house starts badly falling appart and their inherited money becomes sparce, they start looking for ways to get more money. Techno tries to sell the idea of one of their associates, working with the clay mines on their terrain. It does not work out very well

•At a party, Wilbur meets Quackity, a young and promising american aristocrat, and he comes up with the idea to marry him for money. So, when Q has to go back, Wilbur and Techno travel too so Wil can try and woo Quackity.

•At arrival, they encounter that Quackity is actually engaged to Sapnap and Karl, but Wilbur is in desperate need so he keeps trying.

•Meanwhile, Techno tries to sell the work idea he had and for that he meets with important bussiness people, and in one of those reunions he meets the son of Captain puffy, Dream, a bright aspiring writter

•They realize they have a lot of things in common, and more often than not, when Wilbur is trying to spend time with Quackity, Techno goes to reunite with Dream. They go out and they just enjoy each other's company, and Techno even reads the novel Dream is working on

•After seeing them interact, Wilbur questions Techno on the nature of their relationship, and makes his brother promise he will never fall in love and leave him alone, telling him its only the two of them, and no one will truly understand them less love them with all the secrets they keep together. Techno, unconvinced, promised Wilbur that he will not leave him alone, more than anything to keep his brother's thinning sanity.

•After his attempts are unsucessful, Wilbur realized their best bet to get the money is actually Dream's relationship with his brother, so he convinces Techno they both should get married and move back to their family house.

•Dream says yes, but Puffy doesnt trust the brothers, so she seeks out to someone that can investigate their past, and after doing so, threatens to reveal the whole true of the deaths in their family if they dont go away and never come back.

•Shortly after, the threat never gets completed because Captain Puffy is murdered.

•After some time, Dream and Techno decide to get married, and they travel to the Minecraft's family house to start fixing it so they can love there. With Wilbur, of course.

•Dream starts noticing weird things happening around the house, and on top of that he starts suddently getting sick. He starts looking for answers, and finds about how many deaths actually happened there, and under what conditions those people died

[silverlineswap]

Apple will let third-party app stores, providing a boon for NFTs and Cryptocurrency

SilverLineSwap-Crypto News

New EU regulations will compel Apple to allow alternative app stores and programs without requiring users to go via its App Store, which is a gain for creators of cryptocurrency-related apps. In order to comply with new anti-monopolistic regulations from the European Union (EU), tech giant Apple is preparing to allow third-party app stores on its devices.

This may be considered a significant gain for crypto and NFT app developers, at least in Europe. According to a Dec.13 Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter, under the new regulations, European customers would be able to download alternative app marketplaces outside of Apple’s exclusive App Store, enabling them to download apps that avoid Apple’s 30% commissions and app restrictions. Apple now has strict guidelines for NFT apps that essentially require users to make in-app purchases subject to a 30% fee from Apple, while apps are not allowed to facilitate cryptocurrency payments.

The self-custody wallet app update from Coinbase was blocked on December 1st as a result of Apple’s enforcement of its regulation because Apple planned to “capture 30% of the gas price” through in-app sales, which is “obviously not possible,” according to Coinbase. The next accusation was that if NFT transactions couldn’t be completed through Apple’s in-app purchase mechanism, Apple wanted the wallet to deactivate them. In reaction to the report that a “crypto app store” may be created and would be a “wonderful candidate” for a venture capital-backed firm, Alex Salnikov, co-founder of NFT marketplace Raible, tweeted on December 13.

In response to the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which seeks to control so-called “gatekeepers” and guarantee that platforms behave fairly, Apple has decided to open its ecosystem. One of the measures allows “third parties to inter-operate with the gatekeeper’s own services.” Businesses must completely comply by May 2024 and it will take effect in May 2023. Apple hasn’t made up its mind on whether or not it would abide by a provision of the Act that permits developers to integrate alternate payment methods within programs that don’t involve Apple.

If it complies, it may allow cryptocurrencies to be used in payment systems. In an effort to shield customers from dangerous apps, the tech giant is considering imposing security standards for software not found in its store, such as Apple certification. Only the EU would be affected by the modifications to Apple’s closed environment; other nations would need to enact legislation with comparable provisions, such as the Open App Markets Act that Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal have suggested for the US Congress.

Website | SPARC BETS | Twitter | Telegram | Instagram | Discord

[kmp78]

Update: Ridgefield, WA so the lawn people got upgraded to pit or section 200 but some did get 100 level.

So standard Mars scheming again... 🤦🏼‍♀️🙄💯

The annoying part in all that is that what if the lawn people actually WANTED to be on the lawn and now they were forcefully moved elsewhere. 🤨

If I had bought a lawn ticket, I assume that would mean it's possible to A) sit if needed and B) move around looking for the best spot even mid-show, yes?

None of that is possible in the pit, so I def would be screwed if I was forced to move there and saw absolutely nothing cos some 190 cm NFL linebacker was stood in front. 🙄

Like at my gig in Paris: I had specifically bought a ticket from the nosebleeds waaaaaaaaaay up and back cos I wanted a whole view (and I hate having people behind me 🙄) and there were loads of free seats which would mean space and freedom to move! 🙌

And then those fuckers went and forced us to move cos they didn't want that sparcely-seated area to look so pathetic. 🙄

Lucky for me tho that they moved us to a VIP box with plenty of available seats and freedom to move around and find a cosy spot for someone as tiny as me, but it could have ended a lot worse too! They could have just told us to go down to the floor and then I might as well just have left cos you can bet your ass I'm not gonna stand for 2h seeing nothing and hearing only eches screeching. 🙄

These "upgrades" are not always UPgrades or even wanted. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Anyway, have a good time at the show! 🎶

[cxffeeshxp]

{{ L }} " I know. " But didn't mean he didn't want to help get at least one poor soul out of this God forsaken place. It hadn't donned on him just how sparce staff had been.

Pierre was doing a report with CatNap.

Things had been pretty tense since Sawyer was... killed, information only a few knew.

" Then the vents might be you best bet. " She was more than small enough, the vents of this place were pretty spacious. Easier to clean if most average height people, or small toys, could fit.

[lorelei-4]

A question on Northern Independence

What I don't understand is why so many Stark stans root for so called northern independence. What profit it would bring to the North and House Stark?

North is a very large region sparcely populated. Its territory consists mostly of vast wilderness, mountains and forests. Its climate is harsh and unfriendly with very cold winters and snow in summer. As a person living in the north, I can tell for sure, that even now the region with milder climate is called "risk farming area" and the northern weather is not suitable for sustainable agriculture.

That is easily proven by mentions of severe famine during long winters due to inability to raise crops. There's simply not enough land suitable for farming, not enough people to plant and to reap a harvest, and the weather can easily ruin it all with hail or summer snow.

Even now, grain is considered one of the major and most important resources and the North does not have enough of it. They eigther buy it somewhere or they die. Being a part of Seven Kingdoms they can get help like Aegon V offered them or they can buy grain from other parts of the kigdoms without customs fees, which could be and I'm sure would be implemented towards them if the North was an independent state.

In general, the North does not have much resources they can export to earn money. According to ASOIAF wiki these are wool, hides and timber, and that is quite logical (I bet they're rich in oil, but nobody knows of oil yet). There's also fish and game for own use, which cannot be enough for the whole region. At the same time they have to import much from the other kigdoms, that brings us back to the customs fees.

Apart from that, the North has to maintain the Night's Watch, which requires financial and human resources and this is a hard task for a region like the North. In that regard the support of the Iron Throne and other kigdoms will be required and helpful.

From the military point of view, the North has a good geographical position, protected by the wall and Moat Cailin, but because of small population its manpower equals the Vale or Dorne. At the same time North faces the threat of the Iron Islands and from beyond the Wall and here it's also better not to stand alone.

[ravenadottir]

How do you think the S2 characters would celebrate their birthdays? Also, what are your reasons for choosing the specific star signs for them? I’ve always seen Marisol as a Virgo, so I’m definitely interested as to why you think she’s a Libra in particular. Astrology fascinates me and I don’t have much of a clue for the rest of them, apart from canon ones and Pisces stuff, but that’s only because I’m a Pisces and have put so much research into it.

how would the li's celebrate their birthdays?

let me divide this per type of party, if there's any:

house party:

bobby, gary, kassam and noah. friends and close family, food everywhere, drinks' table, someone taking care of the music (usually a phone), games, etc. bobby: makes up new drinks with lottie. gary: prefers barbecue. kassam: loves seeing everyone dancing. noah: guessing games are his favorite part.

fancy party:

fancy clothes, hour'derves, champagne, special cake, music, probably in a hotel salon, people taking care of the bar, food platters, drinks, dj/band, etc. elisa: loves chocolate and salted caramel cake. hope: mostly enjoys the catching up and dancing with the girls. priya: definitely counting on bobby or henrik to bring the weed.

intimate dinner/dinner party:

few friends, very sparce people hanging out, music, drinks then dinner. carl: doesn't like celebrating unless it's few people. lucas: loves playing poker and betting snacks, drink is scotch, food is absent during the match. marisol: organizes everything to a T, no loud music.

miscellaneous:

hannah. tea party, close friends and girlfriend dress up and enjoy finger foods and tea. the tea could be spiked, after all it's a birthday. lottie is in charge of the spiking.

henrik. group trip to a farm somewhere isolated, preferably close to a hiking spot. the party is in the woods and the clean up is in the morning.

lottie. party in a club, preferably with neon paints and cool drinks. close friends and her girlfriend and that's it. hates gifts.

why did i choose most signs for the islanders?

i based everything off people i know in real life, like my brothers, cousins, friends, partner, i matched their personalities and signs accordingly. i'm definitely wrong about them since i don't know squat about astrology but it's always fun.

[where-dreamers-go]

"Sit With It" The Child And You

(A/N: I wrote this for dear @the-and-sign-anon . I hope you're feeling better. ☺ Also props to my sister @ivorydragoness44 for the idea.

I have not watched The Mandalorian. I don't have Disney+. *cries to the internet gods* So I winged it.

Warnings: None. Tiny amount of angst? Maybe.

Word Count: ? I'm typing this on my phone.)

~~~

A light breeze came and went every few minutes. The scent of native trees mingled in the air with you didn't know what. It was late morning. Sunlight not too hot and the air was pleasant.

You weren't sure how long you had been sitting outside. On the ground and alone with your thoughts, you sat. Were you trying not to think of the mission you had early in the morning? Yes. Were you still feeling miserable from the day before? Unfortunately, yes. Yet you could bet your bottom that you'd sit through those feelings and sort them out. You couldn't let them live with you for free.

So there you sat.

Breathing in deeply, you rested your chin on your arms as you held your legs to your chest.

A day off or any time off was well deserved. You could focus on your emotions and figure them out without any--

"Coo."

Distractions.

A cooing like a little bird came from your left. The Child.

"Hi." You said, lacking any enthusiasm.

The little one's long green ears were drooping. He shuffled a few steps closer before placing a hand on your leg.

You smiled softly for a moment feeling a tug in your chest.

As soon as you were about to speak again, the child was waddling off towards some sparce foliage. It was hardly a dull moment with that one around.

Sure he would be fine, you returned to meandering and reasoning with your feelings. Your thoughts were loud in comparison to the quiet landscape surrounding you. Some feelings seemed to gnaw at your gut while others poked at your tear ducts. But you knew the sour and full of yuck emotions would leave you. It would be alright.

More shuffling reached your ears and you looked over your shoulder.

The Child was making his way back to you with something between his hands. You dearly hoped it wasn't something dangerous.

As he approached you, he extended one of his tiny hands to you.

Taking in a breath, you accepted the small gift of--.

"A rock." You weren't sure if you were more surprised or relieved.

Tilting his head, the child watched you.

"Thank you."

His ears perked up and he displayed an open-mouth smile. Obviously happy, the child sat down beside you to play with a pebble of his own.

Looking back to the small rock, you wondered why he'd pick up a shiny rock, but you figured heb liked it and hoped that you would like it too. It was cute how he cared.

The Child played with the rock as you rotated yours in your hand, emotions turning with it.

In retrospect, it was an odd day.

You sat with the child in your company even as your stomach started to growl. Time to eat. The little one looked up at you and cooed.

"Yeah, we should probably go eat. Are you hungry?"

He smiled, pushed himself up to his feet, and tossed his rock away.

The barked out a laugh.

"Alright then."

He looked to you expectantly and it wasn't until he pointed at your closed hand that you understood. Taking in a breath you pulled back your arm and on the release the rock soared away in an arc.

The Child let out a small sound of joy.

Smiling, you stood with less weight on your shoulders. "Come on, let's get you something to eat and you can have a nap."

He happily walked beside you as negative feelings were released.