#and he keeps trying to set up outside of work events and im just like. i dont know how to tell you that i would rather kms.

[autopsytableromance]

hey why did my manager unprompted tell me and like 3 other coworkers a story about how he had his dog terrorize her girlfriend for three hours while he took a nap and she hid in the car afraid like it was a funny story to tell.

[kcrossvine-art]

Hi fellow adventurers!! A few weeks ago i caught wind of "Delicious in Dungeon". I'm not really an anime person, but I am a TTRPG, CRPG, and cooking person- . And holy shit. It is so good i  convinced my partner to binge read the whole thing. I'm caught up on dungeon meshi, the anime, and just yesterday i also finished dungeon meshi, the manga.

Its rare to come across a serialized story that is so thematically cohesive and knows its characters so well. All of the bonus content like the artbooks and monster tidbits are just the icing on top.

So, inspired by Ryōko Kui's writing and illustration I'm going to attempt to create a recipe for every single Delicious in Dungeon recipe!-

Today that means Huge Scorpion and Walking Mushroom hotpot is on the menu!

(As always you can find the cooking instructions and full ingredient list under the break-)

MY NAMES CROSS NOW LETS COOK LIKE ANIMALS

SO, “what goes in to a Huge Scorpion and Walking Mushroom hotpot?” YOU MIGHT ASKThis is one of the pricier dishes until we get to the kelpies and dragons of the menu-

Rock lobster tail

Porcini mushrooms

Shiitake mushrooms

Snow fungus

Small potatos

Fensi (glass noodles)

Water

OPTIONAL: your choice of dipping sauces

There was a crossover/promotional event in Shibuya which featured various realworld dishes from the series. They had one for Huge Scorpion and Walking Mushroom, but they used prawns.  while those cook better in a hotpot, they also didn't look enough like the scorpion for me, they also used udon noodles for the slime and a seaweed/kale(?) mixture for the algae. If you're looking for substitutes due to price or availability i would start with those ingredients.

AND, “what does a Huge Scorpion and Walking Mushroom hotpot taste like?” YOU MIGHT ASKI hope Senshi would forgive me for technically cooking the lobster outside the pot, once he tastes it.

Okay im always partial to veggies but wowowowowowowoowowowow the snow fungus and the mushrooms tasted soooooooooooo good in the lobster stock

A nice delicate layering of different flavors

Try to get a bite with the lobster meat and shiitake together, dip in butter then chili- trust me

Its up to you what texture you prefer if you want to put the noodles in at the end or put them in halfway through the meal. Either way dont go for eating those first as theyre very filling

I think this would pair well with a citrus drink, something light and clarifying

This would also pair well with being extremely high and hungry (if you feel safe cooking while inebriated lol) very calorically dense

For the trial run I did one lobster tail in the pot with everything else, and one lobster tail off to the side to be picked apart. The former is more in spirit with a hotpot, but it got rubbery as the meal went on and lost its nice taste. The latter may be a bit more work but all you have to do still is boil it and set it aside. I found it held up much better. It was also easier to get inside the shell.

. If you have hardshell maine lobster available, i think it would be superior to rock lobster (keep in mind crustaceans will get rubbery if cooked too long in the pot) . Green onions and/or lotus root would make excellent additions

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From getting the ingredients out to sitting down and eating, id say it took maybe 30 minutes max? It'd vary on how fast you can prep vegetables and get the various implements heated.

Hotpots are not something i do very often as i'm usually just feeding myself. I think thats why a hotpot makes perfect sense to start the series off. If you want to set the tone of "take care of yourself, eat food with others, and use what you have" (generally speaking) there is nothing more simplistic, flexible, and defeats-the-purpose-if-you-eat-it-alone than a hotpot. Gather around and let your friends bring ingredients to the pot if you want to fill your heart up extra full <3

I'm doing something different here because unlike previous recipes where i used a bunch of different sources and made my own recipe out of hodge-podging it, or just used another persons recipe entirely if they did it really well, i made this more whole-cloth based off of what i had available, what I could discover through research, and my existing knowledge. Instead of the recipe being 50/50 original, this one is more 20/80. So. I'll pass the final verdict off to you guys :D 

What would you rate this recipe out of 10? (with 1 being food that makes one physically sick and 10 being food that gives one a lust for life again.) Did you love it, did you hate it? What're your thoughts on what I could do different, and what would you have done instead?

🐁 ORIGINAL RESIPPY TEXT BELOW 🐁

Ingredients:

2 Rock lobster tails

3 Porcini mushrooms

2 Shiitake mushrooms

Snow fungus (a good handful, should rehydrate in the hotpot)

2 Small waxy potatos

Fensi (glass noodles)

Water/lobster stock

Method:

Lightly rinse all of your vegetables beforehand and let them dry.

Vertically slice the porcini mushrooms. Cut off and dice the stems of the shiitake mushrooms. You can slice the tops if youd like.

Peel and cube the potatoes, roughly an inch each.

For the lobster tails; Boil a pot of salted water. Keep the shell on. Weigh the largest tail and add 1 minute of cooking time for every ounce of weight.

When done, strain the lobster from the water. Pour the water into your hotpot as the base. Serve the lobster on the side so people can pick the meat out to dip into the hotpot.

Bring the hotpot to a simmer. Add the potato cubes, snow fungus, mushrooms, and noodles.

OPTIONAL: this wasnt in the show, but its fun having sauces on the side :) i had oyster sauce, dry seasoned chili dip, melted butter, and soy sauce available

[brineoffire]

Wings and Wires- Chapter 2

I've done it! This time im trying out a switch of pov :> Also! Trying to come up with a posting schedule that works for me, so ill pin that post if i actually figure one out!

Part 1-

Price marches over to the meeting room, a steady plume of smoke rising from the cigar between his lips. Barging into the room he lifts his chin, his tail swaying

gently behind him as he counts all his boys present. Ghost cross armed against the back wall. Gaz sits near the front of the

table, legs crossed on his seat. Soap sits across him, arms crossed behind his head. Lastly, Roach sits just in front of where Ghost stands, picking at his knuckles.

“Right then boys, it's an infalteration.”He says as he moves to the head of the table. The projector clicks on as he wakes up a laptop while he sits. 

"As you all know Los Panteros have been working off the coast for several months now. We've traced them back from Las Vegas and have finally been able to track their leader, Alphonse Velez. He's hosting a party at the end of this month and we're going in.” Price looks around as the others all nod or grunt in agreement. Soap is the first one to sit up and say something.

“A’right then cap’. When we doin’ this?” 

“We’re movin’ to set up recon in two weeks. Roach’ll be on overwatch with you as an escort. There known to have infernal sigils up so Ghost’ll have ta be backup while Gaz and I go undercover.”

“Cap!”  “Wai’ a sec-” “You?”

Price’s hand raises as all of them speak up at once. “Aye’ easy now you lot.”

“But sir, they’re known dragon dealers! You would be at too much of a risk!” Gaz has his palms down on the table, his wings flaring up as he speaks up.

“Right. Which is why Laswell’s got a spellcaster to cook up a disguise spell. The two dragons ‘es got are always patrolling outside, so Gaz’s scent will cover us enough to get in jus’ fine.” The rest of the room settles slowly as he presses on with his explanation.

“No more fuss now lads. We stick to the plan, get our intel, ‘n everything ‘ll be right as rain.” Soap's pointed ears pin back to his head and Gaz's feathers stay roused. Theres a low humming growl in the back of Roach’s throat as Ghost steps up behind him squeezing his shoulder in reassurance. 

“If things do go south we all move in. We aint leavin’ without makin’ sure yer outta there cap.” Price gives Ghost a nod as his gaze softens, looking from him to Roach.

“We move together. This is just recon fer now. Should be no noise so long as we stick to the plans.” The tension in the room slowly simmers back down, Price stepping over to Gaz.

“Come now birdie.” He rests a hand on the back of the harpy’s neck. “You'll be right there with me.” Gaz relaxes into the touch, his feathers smoothing out as he looks Price in the eye. His feathers ruffle up softly this time as he nods along with Price's reassurances.

"Aye cap. Up ta me ta keep ya’ safe then, yeah?” Various laughs and chuckles sound out around the room. Price crouches down to get eye to eye with him. One hand settles on Gaz's knee, the other cupping his cheek, clawed finger tips tickling his neck.

"Ata’ boy. We run this tight, get in an’

out, ‘n flush out the rats.” Gaz's wings settle on his back as he leans into Price's hand. He nods again and Price steps up to his feet again.

“Alright then. Rehearsal time lads.” Headed back to the head of the table he flips the laptop to the next slide. “The compound we've linked ‘im to is just off the North coast. Looks like a warehouse but the inside is modified into what looks like a dining hall. With what we've uncovered we know the dragons under his command are used as guards. They patrol outside during events, starting an hour before and staying out two hours after each one.” He looks over at them, catching each of their glances to make sure there are no questions. 

“Gaz ‘n I'll have false identities that Lazwell an’ ‘er team have been cultivating. Weapons dealers from overseas, setting up in the U.S. much like Alphonso has done ‘imself. I want you you all ta keep yer wits about you.We’ve got two weeks between then and now so lets get prepped for the usual.”

“Understood cap.” “Yssir.” “Right.” They all sound off their agreements, Roach even letting off several clicks of approval. They discuss ammo stocks before breaking off separately. Roach heads off with Ghost leaving Soap and Gaz to set up their restock. Price watches them go with a smile on his lips, his tail swaying contently as he lets off another puff of his cigar.. 

The weeks pass quickly, all of them keeping busy and triple checking their equipment until they finally pooled their vehicles. It only takes

about eight hours to drive to their temporary base, and setup only took another half hour. Soap and Roach focus on their electronics. Tapping into city cameras and setting up their comms. They take extra care to keep them all connected, making sure each line has a strong connection tied to communication spells as a backup.

Once it's all set up they spend the rest of the day in each other's company. Price does his best to keep the nerves down, but even with his constant reassurance and firm touches Ghost and Roach are on edge. He finds them scanning over the surveillance cameras for what could probably be the fifth or sixth time in the hour. He sets his hands on both of Ghost’s shoulders, squeezing gently and he rests his chin on the other's head.

“Easy there boys, nothins guna’ change enough for either of you to be stressin’ this much. Take a breather Si, I need both a you to save it for tomorrow night.” Roach lets off a few low chirping sounds as Ghost leans back into Price’s touch. He reaches over to Roach, his hand gently squeezing the back of his neck. 

“You’ve done more than enough for now. Take a breather fer now.” Ghost sighs but relents, turning his chair from the monitors and facing Price. 

“It’d be much easier ta relax if they didn’t have sigils up. Can’t see a damn thing through those fuckin’ walls. These are strong enough to block scents too so once Gaz and you are in there I’m cut off.” Roach trills softly, setting a hand on Ghost’s arm.

“I know, I know, but we don’t have any way of countering these sigils without our cover bein’ blown. Our comms are reinforced with sending spells so we got ears at all times. Like I said, we stick to the plan an’ theyll be nuthin ta worry about.” Ghost gives a nod and takes a deep breath. “Now cmon, the both of ya’.” Price pulls the two of them up from their seats, a hand on both of their backs leading them to the sofa that Gaz and Soap have already sprawled out on. They all shift around, Ghost ending up with Soap over his lap, Price leaning on an arm rest, legs over the length of the sofa with Gaz and Roach sitting on them as they lean on each other.

Their closeness slowly eases the rest of the tension as they wait for their window to open, a large television playing some cheesy rerun of a show they’d seen together beforehand. The time passes slowly as they all mellow out, Soap’s chatter eventually drowning out the television. Laughter fills the room as Ghost's attempts to silence him with a sofa cushion only leads to a face full of wolf drool and a high speed chase through the base. Price chuckles and pulls Roach and Gaz further onto his lap, choosing more relaxation over chasing after his rabid dogs. They all end up spending the night together in the same bedroom, Ghost dragging in a smirking Soap by the scruff as they spend the rest of the night in soft silence.

[shawtyfromdirtydocks]

Thin Palace Walls

Pilot

Tags; könig x black!reader, monarch!reader, stress induced paranoia, first ppov, use of she/her and other feminine terms for reader (subject to change)

First fic series i’ve ever written so dont expect much. Also, don’t expect any part of this story to be realistic when it comes to government, im not a government official and pray I never will be. Take it as it is or don’t idgaf 😚🫶🏽 enjoy!!

I woke up that morning more drained than usual. Unfortunately for me, this was only the start of a miserable season.

The smell and sound of the light rain outside soothed me only a little. After returning home, anxiety started stirring in my stomach and doubt plagued my thoughts.

I was even more paranoid than usual. Everywhere I went I remained hyper-aware of my surroundings, not willing to be caught off guard even once.

Footsteps approach my bedroom door before it opened. In walked my footman, he bowed his head in respect before walking with me to my vanity.

“Rough night?”

“I couldn’t even sleep!” I complained, feeling my frustration pour out of me.

Sinking into my seat, I huffed and let my head fall onto the back of the chair. Yesterday was the last day of my continental tour. I’d been away from home for just over two months, visiting each country’s capital after the threats we’d received from the United States to boost morale.

My traveling party only got back to the palace just before the end of twilight. Alltogether I probably only got a half hour of sleep.

“I know you probably don’t wanna hear this right now, but everything will be fine. You’ve done everything right.”

“You’re right lamar, I really don’t wanna hear that shit right now.”

Then he had the nerve to laugh like something was funny. It felt like I was the only one who saw the danger I’d put everyone in. That one emotional decision I made could've just set a war against a power much greater than mine in motion, and everyone else is looking the other way.

“You be in your own head too much. Look around. You’ve built an empire of steel.”

Through the mirror I watched him walk to my bedside table. He picked up what looked like a newspaper and brought it back with the dumbest smile on his face.

“Do you see how great we’re doing? We have the entirety of the west scrambling and shaking in their boots.”

He gave me a knowing look and handed me the paper for me to read myself. The front cover alone was enough to make my head big.

“Atland Sends The West Into It’s Death Throws.”

I folded the newspaper in half and started reading the article as Lamar unwrapped and styled my dreads. The president of the States was trying to paint me as an aggressive and naive little black girl. He said I was a traitor and a danger to the U.S., which is rich coming from him.

“Did you hear Austria wants to form an alliance with us?”

I whipped my head around to look at Lamar. Then he laughed again because the excitement on my face was funny I guess. Austria has a strong military that I’d been eyeing for a while. With their help, we could do a lot. It wouldn't be smart to ask them for something with nothing to give in return though.

“You know ima always be nosy for you.”

He turned my head back around and picked up some bobby pins. Reading the article made me more anxious. Bouncing my leg, my eyes darted across the thin pages.

“Girl I was in my office organizing your mail and shit right?”

I hummed absently and continued to read. The newspaper even had an entire column dedicated to foreign news and how it could affect us. Some of these events were completely new to me. Are the pillars keeping stuff from me?

“Well the interns were in the kitchen on the otherside of the wall behind me. And you know the young ones always know whats going on.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. Schools across Atland have a Palace Internship program that allows adolescents in their late teens to get work experience in the Palace. Ever since the first batch came in, I noticed that they kept the palace young with their gossip. Which I appreciated because I was too busy to do it myself.

Some of the official palace staff had filed complaints. One even quit because one of the interns found out that he was an anti-royalist and was telling everybody all the shit he was talking about me. They bullied that man out of the palace.

“They was in there loud as hell just yapping. Apparently, Serenity’s wife had a meeting in Austria and she gonna request an audience with you today.”

My eyes lit up and the gears in my head started turning immediately. The timing is suspicious, but I could use it to my advantage. They need something from us so we can force their hand if need be.

The whole reason I’ve been freaking the fuck out is because I did something petty. The United States wanted to build an embassy in Atland’s capital and I refused…then publicly supported the ICC. Indirectly declaring the U.S. an enemy of Atland.

“Gods that could mean anything. I’m far from impartiality and they don't do conflict. What do you think they want?”

“Do you know how big your sphere of influence is? They don’t wanna be on our bad side. And they’re tryna keep it on the low, so you know what that means.”

——————————————————————-

For the remainder of my morning, I roamed around the palace. Staff and Interns greeted me as I made my way around. Some stopped to inform me of changes around the place, others walked with me and shared their concerns or gratitude.

My spirits had been raised significantly. Settling back into palace life wouldn't be easy, but it wouldn't be unbearable either. Everywhere you go there are smiling faces. It was impossible to not like it here. Sweet scents of warm vanilla and pomegranate flowed through the halls and there was always an excitable buzz lingering nearby.

Eventually, I remembered to eat and made my way to the kitchen. The tall swing doors loudly indicated my presence. Kitchen staff greeted me with warm smiles and head bows before returning to whatever they were previously occupied with.

My eyes examined the inside of our walk-in refrigerator. Eating was beginning to feel like a chore. How could I focus on anything when I was trying to ameliorate a potentially catastrophic fuck up?

A shiver ran down my spine, an unpleasant reminder that I had stood in the refrigerator for way too long. Settling for an apple and giving a small wave goodbye to staff, I started towards my study.

As I walked down the hallway, biting into my apple occasionally, I kept glancing over my shoulder. There was an unsettling feeling in my gut. I couldn't shake the feeling I was being watched.

“Already thinking about work I see.”

My heart raced. Turning to the direction the voice had come from, I let go of a shaky breath and held my hand over my heart. Korynn, my best friend’s wife had snuck up on me.

“I’ll be damned! How’ve you been Korynn?”

I laughed off my paranoia and hugged the tall woman. Korynn is Atland’s Core Pillar. She acted as a royal advisor and messenger to the public. Without her, I’d be under far more stress.

“Busy as all hell. Serenity said she’d stop by soon.”

I nodded and took a mental note. Serenity is Lamar and I’s long-time best friend. She doesn't live in Atland’s capital anymore. Said it was too grey and serene for her. Ironic right?

“I was just walking to my study, you can come with me if you’d like”

“No it’s alright, this should be pretty quick actually.”

Korynn gave me a brief overview of major events I missed while on tour. My dramatics sent the pillars into initial panic but things turned out surprisingly well for us.

“You just made the power move of the century! Nato is upping their military. They’re afraid of you.”

We’d received support from several different nations across the globe. Partners in Asia have also publicly defended my statement, and made it clear they would step in if the States decided to become aggressive. Allies of our partners also expressed their support for us.

“The only thing we need from you right now, are signatures. Citizens will vote on it and nothing will be publicized until you say it’s okay to do so.”

I glanced back at the newspaper header. A big part of me liked the idea of my face being the first thing people think of when the Death of the West comes up in history books. Another part, however, knew just how ugly things could get and how fast.

Sure everyone was standing behind us now, but what if I slipped up? What if they’re just trying to butter us up so they can screw us over? The competitive game that these world leaders set up is something I don’t want to fall victim to. Something I can't fall victim to.

“History can’t repeat itself Korynn. This nation will not be looked at as weak and pliable.”

She only shook her head, not in disappointment but in acceptance. My youth lead people to underestimate me, which I was fine with, but it also made me overly cautious when making big decisions like this.

I chewed the skin on my bottom lip as I watched her turn to leave the palace. Before she got too far, I called to her.

“Have the papers sent to my office by the end of the week.”

With a smile and a small bow of her head she left me with my thoughts.

I dragged a tired hand down my face. Things are about to get serious a hell of a lot faster than I’m ready for. On the bright side, the sun hasn't reached its half-point. I have time to plan.

————

I moved through my study frantic as ever. Shuffling around and rummaging through random drawers. Cool air that blew in from my window kept me grounded but did little to soothe my nerves.

There was a notebook that was given to me by the Pillars lost in my study somewhere. Retracing my steps didn't help me either. I rushed to the window and looked to the sky. The sun was a quarter past the half-point now.

“Shit!”

Defeat pummeled me to the floor. That journal is probably the most important thing I’ll ever own and now it's missing. Pages of plans and expansion ideas could be in the hands of an anti-royalist right now. Or worse!

“Girl I been looking-.”

Tears burned my eyes when I saw Lamar in the doorway. He made haste to shut the door and join me where I sat. The comfort of his hug made me break down. I sobbed into his suit jacket. All the pressure from the stress I kept bottled up was starting to release.

“What happened?” The concern in his voice didn’t make me feel any better. What if they force me to abdicate? They’ll use this as proof of my being unfit to rule.

“It's gone! The journal- the PLANNER is gone!”

He held my face in his palms and wiped away my tears with the cold silk thumbs of his gloves. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. What was I missing?

As if he could hear my thoughts, he answered my question before I could even begin to search for an answer myself.

“You’re overthinking still. Why won’t you just ask for help?” his question sent a pang of hurt through my chest. How could he not see the position I’ve been forced into? Asking for help isn’t an option.

“They already think I'm incompetent.”

“Do you think being a good leader means doing everything yourself?”

He sounded like he was asking a genuine question. Why would he ask me that?

“Of course not.”

Lamar has been my best friend since 1st grade. He was like a brother to me. Throughout our lives, he’d been beside me during every trial and tribulation. Whenever my head drifted too far above the clouds, he reminded me to look to the stars for guidance and never to reach for them.

“Okay then. If you want to prove to them you’re fit for the position gifted to you by an entire nation, show them you know when to ask for help.”

The expression on his face was a clear picture of true heartbreak, and it was at that moment that I realized just how foolish I must seem. With the support and constant praise of hundreds of thousands, which I witness daily, I still let my fear of letting down the ones I'm devoted to cloud my judgment of self.

“Well, now I feel stupid.” I wiped my tears with nervous laughter. The stress has taken a bigger toll on me than I thought. Feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders is one thing. But forgetting that there are people who would voluntarily help me carry that weight is another.

“You know what, we’ll host the first ball of the season this year. I’ll tell Serenity to cancel hers.”

I looked at him like he was crazy. Since Atland’s founding back in the States, Serenity always hosted the first ball of the social season. It felt almost like a federal crime to tell her not to.

“I'm sure she won’t mind when I tell her why.”

He didn’t give me the chance to give a counter argument before standing to his feet and stretching out a hand for me to take. “It’ll also be a great way to welcome our Austrian Allies. Yes?”

With a smile, I took his hand and stood to my feet. “Yes.”

[mer-acle]

yayay (ok damn looking back im sorry this is quite the ramble/info dump)

ok so basically

after god games, apollo (the good brother he is) immediately tries to help athena, but zeus stops him. he says that if anyone attempts to help athena in any way they will end up worse than her AND that he will make sure to re-injure her to undo any healing she recieved (apollo did manage to heal her a little so and zeus Doesnt care that he hadnt told anyone that rule yet so he does in fact end up striking her again)

also, he makes it very clear that if anyone outside of the arena finds out what happened to her he will kill them

obviously athena is. very paranoid. and zeus is not one to find loophole exploitation amusing so everyone is very on edge and it's not exactly unreasonable to assume that helping her process anything or feel better emotionally (aka literally j talking to her at all WITHOUT insulting her) counts as against zeus' rules so she wont talk to anyone and they dont want to talk to her (bc of the rules, they dont want her to get reinjured and they dont want themselves to get injured, they do actually care altho they cant express that) (also idk if im going to add this, maybe zeus literally just meant no healing her, but he can't back down now that everyone's agreed that 'no talking' is part of the punishment without LoOkInG wEaK. i can make EVERYONE suffer if i want to)

and athena (who is definitely so very good at processing her emotions) is so paranoid about someone ELSE she cares about being hurt by zeus (thunder bringer flashbacks lol) """because of her""" that she literally will scream-beg anyone who comes within talking distance of her to leave before they get themselves hurt. and everyone is so shocked by seeing her in such visible distress that they don't even question it.

mEANWHILE back on ithaca ody has returned home and is very happy to see his family. telemachus excitedly goes 'and you will never guess who i met!!! i met athena!!! she helped me in a fight :D' and long story short ody finds out about the events of the wisdom saga tel was there for and puts that together with hermes' line at the end of dangerous and realizes that athena somehow got him off ogygia and that there was violence involved. and since ody is back on ithaca, that means what she left to go do is done right??? so they both start praying to try to figure out what's going on. athena knows ody and knows that he would definitely figure out that Something happened to her and that would lead to him dying so she is dead set on ignoring them. ody is half convinced that she actually hates him while tel knows for a fact that's not true and is more concerned that she's straight-up dead.

THEN penelope, smart woman she is, hypothesizes that maybe whatever athena did to free ody was dangerous and that immortals can't die so she's likely very wounded and will talk to them as soon as possible.

athena is watching them to make sure that something like this doesnt happen, at this point she's not exactly thinking straight and doesn't realize that penelope figuring things out herself =/= athena telling her, but also is so paranoid and mistrustful of zeus that she thinks he would kill her if she figured it out herself just to prove a point. (and also its penelope, so ody would actually hate her forever if she killed penelope, which yeah but she wouldn't be the one to kill penelope in this scenario but she has convinced herself she is responsible for making sure zeus doesn't kill anyone bc she has kinda always had to be the one keeping his anger in check so yay parental trauma)

athena is in a lot of pain esp after flying to ithaca and so worked up at this point so shes basically shouting at penelope to 'stop trying to understand bc everyone will die' and penelope is obviously very frightened bc a goddess showed up and started yelling at her without explaining what the problem even is (it is obvious to athena what the problem is. it is Not obvious to penelope, at least not in the moment). ody overhears this and sees her and at first goes 'why is she yelling at penelope WHAT' (wifeguy rage activated lol) but then quickly realizes that athena is basically crying and fully spiraling in a full-on mental breakdown, realizes something is Very Very Wrong, and tries to talk to her but athena panics that ODY is there now, yells something along the lines of 'STOP JUST STOP PLEASE' and then just leaves immediately.

i have more ideas but this is long enough already + also i have to go eat dinner

if u read this whole thing, ty for listening to me ramble :D

in summary, zeus successfully wages psychological warfare against athena

Gxizdtxuxdkdjfzjfxjfxjttitditzjfzjfxux

WHY

Just WHY

Biting my pillow

Oh poor baby

Crying

We must kill Zeus

The ithacan fam makes me so soft they care so much

I'm interested how (if whhhhjkmhij) this gets resolved cos I don't see any way out and that's so sad 😭😭😭

But yeah great job I'm gonna go sit in the corner to cry now, don't mind me

[hils79]

Hils Watches Lovely Runner - Ep 5

I love that he can't outright lie to her about renting a video from her store but he can pretend to be tired and fall asleep

Aww she made a rainbow for him. That is so damn cute!

I knew there would end up being a love triangle

You can see the exact moment his brain goes offline because the girl he likes has asked him to go and see a movie with her

She's trying so hard to shield him from any news about the olympic swimming events so he won't be sad and honestly I think he's so deep into I'm On A Date mode I don't think he'd have noticed anyway

Aww she tried so hard! And then the fire alarm went off before the movie even started and of course there's a giant TV screen outside the cinema that's showing the olympics

Wait, was that sus taxi from the previous episode a serial killer??? How many genres are they cramming into this drama?

I was half thinking Im Sol's mum was going to end up dating Sunjae's dad with all the shenanigans they keep having. Can step-siblings marry each other? They're not biologically related.

I just went down a rabbit hole. So obv I don't know what South Korean marriage laws are like but here in the UK it is legal to marry your step-sibling providing you are not biologically related but you cannot marry your step-child which makes sense.

Love Im Geum and Sunjae holding hands while they watch a Korean woman set a weightlifting world record on the TV

Haha! Well, that bromance was very shortlived

How have they managed as a band this far when their singer can't sing. Oh, if only there was someone handsome and with nothing to do now that he can no longer swim

I don't know if it's the right way to do it or not but when me and my sister both learned how to ride a bike we did it on grass so it wouldn't hurt as much when we fell off

Aww of course he's going to teach her

Oh no Sunjae wants to start dressing like Taesung because he thinks that's what Im Sol likes

Oh no! Taesung is wearing the exact same outfit. This is about to get incredibly awkward

Yep, there it is

Oh no they're due to perform any moment and they have no singer. Who can they get to full in? Wait I'm trying to remember now. Was Taesung part of Sunjae's idol group in 2022? I don't remember seeing him but then I didn't know to look for him either. I know Hyunjoo said he dropped out of school after Im Sol's accident. Maybe he dropped out of the band too.

I'm getting all emotional because he looks so happy on stage but we know how unhappy he's going to wind up

Still suspicious of him btw

It's funny that in the last episode he got mad at her because he couldn't deal with his own feelings, and this time he did something nice for her and she got mad because she's worried about him.

I was at the Ateez fanmeet livestream this morning and Jongho sang a bit of this song. Even for me as a fan I get all excited when someone I 'know' is singing on the OST of a drama I'm watching. I wonder what it's like for Seonghwa, who watches a lot of dramas, to have someone he works with every day on the OST of something he watches. Jongho has done a lot of OST work this year.

Oh no last time she listened to this she ended up back in 2023. Is it going to happen again?

[beesmygod]

hmmm. was olga more "respectable" than maxine, for lack of a better word? we know she was the head of the coven, but would that mean respect from people outside of magic practitioners? or because of the way the world is set, there is not really a sharp divide between people that meddle with magic and spirits and people who dont? im asking bc i find the theme of legacy super interesting when it comes up (do people think that maxine is dragging the gottwin name through the mud? or do they shrug their shoulders bc who gives a damn about what an exterminator does and doesnt do?)

this is a good question and warranted a good answer, sorry for the delay.

there are a couple things at play here:

the position of "town witch"/coven leader was once significantly more prestigious than it is today. what used to be a position as essential as the fire or police chief has been worn away by technological advancements; her position was essentially replaced with extermination as a global business model after the rise of the cheap, electronic anti-ghost devices. maxine inherited a defunct position and failing business.

the divide between those who practice magic and those who don't is, funnily enough, the same as my view on why people make art and others don't: they don't enjoy doing the process. its messy, its complicated, it takes a long time, doesn't have guaranteed results, and it involves dead things in one way or another. sometimes it's just easier to call someone to do the process for you when you can't be bothered to work on your pronunciation of magic words. in this way, a witch is sort of like a plumber or a mural artist. explicitly for hire to do something you don't want to deal with yourself because it might be out of your skill range/take too long to learn the skills. so olga's reputation did suffer a little bit from the irrational public assessment of extermination as a "messy" business.

there's also an unfortunate stain on the gottwin name that maxine inherited long before her grandmother died: her father ran away from home in his teens because he and olga fought viciously and publicly. no one heard anything else about him until he died, and it was a surprise to everyone (including olga) that maxine even existed at all. so the rumor mill started churning: what did olga do that upset her son so badly? by the time olga died, people seemed to understand that the family was cracked beyond repair; behaviors that were more acceptable in the decades before the events of the comic were looked at in hindsight as painful and cruel. and since maxine, public nuisance, was the end result of olga's work it's hard for the public not to lay the blame at her feet.

so, maxine is caught in a sort of weird nostalgic hell where people can simultaneously tut-tut her for not being enough like her grandmother or for being too much like her. lol. this was a ramble but i hope it was interesting. im folding most of this into the comic but a lot of it i just try to keep in my brain when writing and thinking about them both.

ive been thinking more and more about olga as we approach parts where we're be flashing back to maxine's childhood and approach the next (final?) book. "books" are the huge overarching storylines as opposed to individual chapters, so there's still a lot of AGS to go. i want to explore character motivations so much i just need the power and energy to do so again.

[ballcrusher74]

hello. are you. perhaps 👉👈 willing to talk about the inspector/faux. ive only seen cool arts and no context so im rather curious.

OK!!! I actually love rambling about my ocs so small questions like this make me day. I just get nervous LOL But! I will say, there's gonna probably be a bit I'm leaving out because it does involve my friends' characters and it's still an on-going thing atm (we tend to roleplay on lethal company as our guys. btw the oc group is called Cleanup Crew ! it explains the recent reblogs and new tags I've added on posts with this guy) AND this does also involve my own little interpretations of in-game mechanics and other things, but otherwise, I'll get the rest of him down!

Inspector, also originally known by the name of Terrance Conroy (or Terry), was a typical scavenger working under 'The Company' after a couple rough times on his home planet. (This information isn't necessarily set in stone, but the idea of him being a washed-up rock star before quitting his passion to get a job that pays his rent has been bouncing around in my brain.) He used to be a normal guy, trying to find a little hope in his desperate situation, and was a social butterfly. He tend to bounce from crew to crew, sometimes staying in some for only a couple days, and some for months. He was a very careful man, and looked out for his fellow crew members.

And then, one day, his first death on the job happens.

But instead of being greeted by a bright white light at the end of a tunnel, or complete pitch darkness, he appears on the ship again- completely physically fine.

This.. confuses him at first, yet he continues on.

And then he dies again. And again, and again. Over and over, the more deaths he's endured, the more he comes to a morbid realization that he can't truly die, nor can those around him. He tries to keep this truth hidden away from the others, as they seem to not have mentioned it at all before. He remembers everything. Every time he was ripped to shreds by an eyeless dog, every time he blew up into pieces from a landmine, every time he was shot multiple times, every time he was left behind or ejected as part of the disciplinary process- He felt it all and remembered it all. This goes on for the course of years (around 8-10 roughly) and over that course of time, he begins to grow very careless. What's the point of saving someone if they'll just come back? What's the use of tears when you're only a couple dollars off quota with a shovel in hand?

What's the point of it all? And with that carelessness comes selfishness into the picture. With how long he's been stuck in the cycle, he has become a very manipulative person, putting up a playful and nice persona on the outside- almost sickeningly sweet- in order to help other's do his bidding. He believes that if he were to cause so much chaos, disorder, and disruption within a crew, to where it's like animals mauling each other apart, he'd be able to break free from it himself. He doesn't care anymore about leaving others behind. He's desperate at this point to find a way out. Faux, who is an alter ego / disguise for Inspector, ties more into the on-going events right now, but I can give a basic rundown on his personality. He's a klutzy and quiet man, typically only talking to others when it's just him and them, and nobody else around, playing himself off as a selective mute. Since this is just Inspector in a jazzy little jester outfit, he still possesses all the traits of that man, just hidden away as to not blow his cover. He's still tugging on the strings in some way, people just don't realize. Sure, he's off putting and just a tad bit strange, but how can a goofy man like that be terrifying?

WOOOW ok that's a lot more typing than expected, but here's also a couple fun facts about the guy !

He stands at 6 feet and 1 inch, and is a very lanky guy compared to others, but this wasn't always the case. He used to just stand at 5 feet and 6 inches, and had more normal human proportions. With how many times he has died and how long it's been of the cycle, it has fucked up his appearance a LOT. Other things include : his 'skin' being grey, his voice constantly sounding like it's coming from a walkie talkie, no visible neck, his face becoming the helmet itself (it still bleeds, but there's nothing in there), and inhumanly flexible.

The only thing left of him that represents his last strand of humanity, is a singular, dim eye behind the tape on his visor.

He is very much not a rational man anymore. He is quick to jump to things, and won't hesitant with his actions.

When waiting to return from death, he is able to manifest in someone's head as a disembodied voice, and will typically mock them, or try and manipulate them further. In this state, he can see everything through the eyes of the person he's haunting. ^ Fun fact about this! This was originally based off a stupid bit where my friend was streaming LC to me with other buddies on the game and I kept telling them to step on landmines and then kill someone for a promotion, and then Inspector was born!

and UH I think that's about it I have for the guy atm! If the rest of the cleanup crew gets dropped than I'll update this accordingly perhaps. As of right now, enjoy my oc slop 👍

[blamemma]

OMG OMG IM SO EXCITED YOU’RE DOING THE MICRO FIC MEME! Your circus au has a chokehold on me so obviously I need to prompt SEAWEED! But take this in any direction you want.

very very sorry this is not mermaid au themed at all (although i am working on a v small thing for that actually) but this is where my mind went for this one

Martin had texted him, off-handedly, asking if he was free one night this week. Daniel groaned when the text lit up his screen, another Miami night out, or a Vegas pool party, wasn't what his aching bones needed right now, especially the week before Coachella. His diary was blocked off, tanning in the LA heat, sun beaming down on his skin, dirt bikes if he could be bothered to leave the house at all. He replies with a maybe and watches as the bubbles at the bottom of the screen appear, whilst he chucks frozen fruit into his blender.

Sick

Teams in LA for most of the week prepping for Coachella. You should take my new sound engineer on a date.

Daniel scoffs, turns the blender on and grimaces at the loud noise. He hasn't put any greens in, just sweet tangy berries and bananas with a splash of oat milk, refreshing. He pours the liquid into his glass, sticks a glass straw into it, and then texts one handed as he heads outside.

Who do you take me for? Dial-a-date

Send me a photo of him at least!

No. Martin replies.

Wednesday 9pm work for you?

You'll like him. You'll have fun. Promise. If not I'll comp all ur drinks at Coachella this weekend.

Daniel lays back on his lounger, brings the smoothie to his lips and takes a big gulp. It's been a long time since he-- Martin means well, knows what Daniel likes for the most part. It could be fun. Something different.

Okay. He responds

If it's a shit time though you're covering the bill as well. Daniel adds.

It won't be :) Martin texts back instantly.

-🍣😳🍷-

The waitress leads Daniel to the table he'd reserved, a quiet corner near the back, a wide table, space for plenty of food for them to share. It's one of his favourite Japanese restaurants, one he's been dying to come back to since he arrived back in LA. He'd asked Martin for the guys details, so that he could text him the address himself, but he'd refused to hand them over, told Daniel that Max would be there on time, and not to worry, reassured him again they'd have fun.

Daniel wipes his hands down the front of his colourful shirt, an unreleased one from his own Enchanté collection, a conversation piece he can fall back on if the guy is into fashion as well.

"Daniel?" He hears closely behind him, a thicker accent than Martin's, more European. Daniel turns in his chair, simultaneously standing up at the same time.

"That's me." He quips, holding his hand out to be shaken. It feels overly formal to do, considering they're on a date, but it's second nature to Daniel, at corporate events or in the paddock, to hold his hand out and deliver a firm handshake. Max takes his hand, shaking it firmly.

"I am sorry that Martin put you up to this. We have been friends for a while now, but now that I am working for him, he keeps on trying to set me up with his friends. I tell him I am too busy, organising all his crap and making sure it is all smooth, but he knows my schedule this week too well." Daniel's taken aback a little, by how standoffish Max is being. "Oh, I am Max by the way, did Martin tell you that at least?"

Max moves towards his chair as he's talking, pulling it out and sitting down, leaving Daniel there, standing, taking him in. Daniel fumbles, sits back down, gets his own leg caught on the table leg and tries to play it off cool.

"Yeah he did." Daniel replies, picking up his glass of red wine and taking a sip.

Daniel gets why Martin didn't send him a picture of Max. He's attractive. Muscular and shaped, long hair at the top of his head, all ruffled like he'd barely bothered trying to style it. He's got a loose white shirt on, top button undone where Daniel can see pale skin. A freckle atop his lip that Daniel can't seem to look away from. He's not conventionally attractive by any means, but Martin's done well. Martin knew.

"So, how did you end up working for Martin then?" It seems like common ground they can talk about for now, whilst they wait to order.

"Well, I have known him since we were very young, but he went off and started doing his music stuff, and I went to university and I started studying civil engineering but then moved into audio engineering. Whenever Martin was home, or I visited him, the music was fun, it seemed good fun. So I of course change my degree for him but he had someone very experienced on his team, so I worked for some smaller DJs who were not as good and I helped make them sound better. Anyway, Harry has now quit and Martin asked if I was interested still."

"Wow, so you changed your whole life plan for your best friend?"

"No, it was not really like that at all. I do not think I would have found the job I am now doing if it was not for Martin cause he introduced me to that whole world, but I am not just doing it because of him. I have two cats at home, I would not travel this much and be away from them all the time just for Martin, I enjoy the job."

Max emphasises two cats as if he's left a wife and two children at home, fending for themselves whilst he's off basking in the Ibiza sun or jetting off to another remote festival.

"You travel a lot as well Martin was saying?" Daniel smiles gently, finally being asked a proper question. Polite date etiquette.

"Well, I used to. First year of retirement for me. Was an F1 driver. Won a couple of championships, 'ya know. So yeah, not travelling as much now. Went home for a while, back here now for a bit, go see some friends, find out what life is really all about. Home is Australia by the way."

"Yes, I used to watch you. You were a very good driver actually." Daniel notes how Max says that as if he's an expert, as if he's been commentating on Sky Sports for 25 years and can spot a generational talent from miles off. He feels like he should be offended, but he finds it endearing, complimentary. He has this innate feeling that if Max thought he was a crap driver, he'd say.

"Well, thank you very much, I guess." Daniel says, taking another sip from his red wine.

The waitress comes back over towards them and asks for their order. Daniel takes over, ordering for them both. He's tried so much of it before, he knows what's good. Tuna sashimi, California Rolls, Chicken potstickers, Vegetable tempura, Salmon maki. All different types of things they can split and share between them. The waitress smiles softly at Daniel, closing her notepad and bending to get the menus from them.

"Can I please get a Gin & Tonic, and the Beef noodles please?" Max asks.

Daniel shifts in his seat a little, taken aback, but also slightly worried he's been rude. The waitress jots down Max's order and promises to bring his drink over soon.

"Sorry, thought we could share." Daniel remarks.

"I guessed you thought that, but I am not a very big fan of seafood. I guess Martin did not tell you that." Max's eyes glint as he smiles, and Daniel relaxes again.

"Did you know, the seaweed salad you ordered, most places that is in fact just shredded cabbage. It is much cheaper for them to make and of course most people never know the difference." Max tells Daniel.

"Well I hope it's proper seaweed if I'm paying $40!" Daniel says aghast, and Max laughs, clapping his hands together.

--🍜😄🍸--

They order plenty more drinks, and enjoy all the food before them, with Daniel having a few take-out boxes stacked in front of him to carry home, due to his presumptuous over-ordering.

Daniel adores how delighted Max gets, small jokes enticing the biggest laughs out of him, and how direct he's being. When Daniel says something wrong, he corrects him straight away. Daniel's also taken aback by how complementary Max is. He tells Daniel within 15 minutes of their date beginning that he likes his smile, and when Daniel moves on to the easy topic of his clothing line, Max praises the new designs Daniel shows him, and gently offers pointers as to what he thinks would work better.

When the waitress brings the bill over, Daniel almost feels saddened that it's over, unsure when he'll see Max again, maybe during the Coachella weekend, but he'll be busy, he knows Martin has a few warm up shows in Las Vegas and at Brooklyn Mirage before he plays on Sunday, so Max won't be at the festival the whole weekend. But he hasn't felt like this in a long time. Not since Scotty. And he doesn't want to let go just yet.

"I've got a cool vinyl collection back at my place if you're into that? Do you like cheesecake? We could get some on the way back." He tries.

"That would be very lovely." Max replies, a beaming smile lighting up his face that cause the skin around his eyes to crinkle.

"Great!" Daniel retorts.

--🍰😏🎶--

He wakes up to a dead arm in the morning, Max laying atop of it. Daniel pushes some of his hair out of his face, kissing his head gently, and then his lips, right over the freckle, before pulling his arm out slowly. He shakes it above him, trying to get some feeling back into it, before leaning over Max and grasping his phone.

A new text from Martin sits above the rest of his notifications.

Guess I'm not paying the bill then 😉 It reads.

[echonk3]

999 Week 2023 - Ace

WITH LESS THAN AN HOUR ITS DONE. this year im doing outsider looks on the characters and ace's is social media in the aftermath

Cradle Pharmaceutical CEO in Police Custody! | JNS

Gentarou Hongou, CEO of the famous Cradle Pharmaceutical most known for the drug Soporil commonly used in hospitals, is in police custody after being handed in by a group of people with evidence of his crimes, including kidnapping, bribery and multiple counts of murder. And according to some sources, his murders are of the other three executives of his company!

_____________________________________

coffee @kianuovals

@passingbyinthetrees i am so sorry about what just happened

Stuck on her report @passingbyinthetrees

????

Stuck on her report @passingbyinthetrees

Oh fuck me i choose to do a report on him and his contributions to the community but noooooooo the universe just decides to do this to me lets see if i can get an extension

coffee @kianuovals

hey at least you can add something pretty interesting to it

fml @passingbyinthetrees

You mean: the murder accusations that are likely true, the death game he was accused of setting up that are likely true no matter how fucking fake it may sound, the kidnappings of multiple children, bribery, and the fact that he was handed in by a random group found in the desert in NEVADA. NEVADA. FUCKING NEVADA.

_____________________________________

Trying to keep my cat from getting to my gecko @petparent8398389

Ngl that hongou dude always gave me the creeps

New art piece up! @artcoslianna

Same here. Everybody I’ve met who’s talked about him saw him as this good dude but his smile always unnerved me for some reason. 

bend and snap! @sexymansplits

Opposite for me actually. I really looked up to him as somebody who helped the medicinal field, especially in a family full of doctors and nurses and anesthesiologists and just people who work with these types of medicines. Now I’m likely gonna be seeing this case analyzed for being something almost out of ace attorney :/

_____________________________________

:-) @elephantsandtrunks

Fffuck gentariiiiiiiiiiiii hongou iilllll probabbly not longer have a job after thisdd

:-) @elephantsandtrunks

Ii have cholod suporrttt to payyyyyy and because off this fuckkup ill wontt have a job

_____________________________________

Gentarou Hongou and Cradle Pharmaceutical - A History Up to Now

Posted by: Locomoco

997k likes

1:12:58: “In early November of the year of our Lord 2027, a group of people that while not identified currently, they have been overheard calling each other “Clover”, “Seven”, “Junpei”, “Lotus”, “Alice” and “Snake” a blurry photo of an oddly dressed group of people in front of a car and a gas station is shown with many references to an “Ace”, presumed to be Hongou though he wasn’t seen. The man had been put into custody soon after with some reports of the events that led to it, including multiple leaks. Cradle has recently come out with a statement defending Hongou, saying that they didn’t believe in these accusations. However, that was quickly recanted by them once the backlash started. Due to the fact that all the executives have been murdered, there’s been quick reports of people being promoted to these roles and calls for new applicants. Honestly, I’m getting reminded of Oceangate right now from a few years back.”

_____________________________________

Gentarou Hongou Trial Date to be Happening within the Next Few Months!

New Evidence Brought in Regards to the Cradle Pharmaceutical Death Game of 2018!

Potential Motives by Gentarou Hongou! Read Here!!!

_____________________________________

slumberingsage

THE MUGSHOT HAS BEEN RELEASED. I REPEAT. THE MUGSHOT HAS BEEN RELEASED.

#showed it to my grandma who doesnt know wtf is happening and she felt so much pity #her reaction to his crimes were priceless #cradle pharmaceutical #gentarou hongou

Whitehairedemo

The mugshot is pinned on my wall it’s amazing that bastard is gonna get all he deserves and more

_____________________________________

Gentarou Hongou Mugshot Shirt 

*a photo of the man’s mugshot on a black shirt is being modeled with a man and a woman, heads cutoff from the photo, though the woman’s dark brown hair is in frame*

Cost: $20

Sold by: Crashkeys

_____________________________________

sincerely me! @keyboardsmasher69

Okay but is he actually guilty? Like so much of this shit sounds so weird. Like a death game? Is this a video game?

Tech support @EightPetals

www.archives.com/18102018-missing-children

www.abcnew.com/gentarou-hongou

www.youtube.com/expo14/video/cradle-pharmaceuticals

Check the many sources cited in the video also. This man is guilty.

_____________________________________

Gentarou Hongou Trial - June 6th, 2028

www.youtube.com/cradlepharmaceutical/livestream/gentarou-hongou-trial

_____________________________________

changeyourmindchangeyourfate

#FUCK YEAH #it’s insane #like it starts out slightly normal but then more and more of the case got revealed and it just got weirder and weirder #destiel #supernatural

[pommunist]

(Twitchtracker anon back again)

Im not really super interested in finances or statistics as a job lol, im just a nerd who likes to dig through analytics sometimes. Pretty much my whole essay length ask was made by taking twitchtracker numbers and putting them into a spreadsheet (So i didnt have to do averages manually), with some manual counting by hand for things like the number of streams.

(Also something i realized i missed when i reread my ask, the count of minecraft streams actually starts on the first day of qsmp, not the first day of march 2023 like everything else. Not super important but i wanted to make that one thing clear.)

Yeah i definitely agree that quackity's money doesnt necessarily equal qstudios money. However i also don't think a lot of the people who try and use the idea that "Quackity couldnt afford to pay that many employees" think about things like that, they most likely see quackity as the face and sole person behind his company (it is named after him after all), because you don't ever see them saying "Quackity studios cant afford to pay that many employees".

I do think that it's possible that for quite a while quackity's streams and videos were seemingly the only income stream for the company, with qsmp merch sales only really starting to be available and pushed more recently, and as far as i remember i don't think any qsmp events had sponsors or advertisers involved (I could be wrong here though, im not sure as I don't keep up with all the streams). Again im not personally a quackity viewer myself, so im not sure if he had any personal (quackity branded) merch sales outside qsmp before the start (early 2023, i know he had some back during dsmp but that's a while ago now) or during the qsmp. But from what i understand, he seemingly was doing a lot of the funding of the qsmp on his own.

Of course i don't think all his money was being directly funnelled to qstudios/qsmp, he still needs to pay for housing and utilities and food like the rest of us, as well as his travel to conventions/to meet friends (not saying he shouldn't travel, networking is an important part of any job). But i personally do believe he was basically the sole entity funding qstudios otherwise, unless there's some other income source we aren't aware of.

In regards to twitch monetization, the majority of streamers have a 50/50 split with twitch. Some bigger streamers having a 70/30 split, following the changes in late 2022 this split only applied to the first $100k earned, with everything after that going to 50/50, with that cap then being removed january 24th 2024. There's some stuff with the partner plus program that I honestly don't really understand because again, im not a streamer myself. I have no idea what split quackity has, though he is a partner. (Streamer/twitch for all split numbers btw.)

For how the payouts work, Via Twitch Affiliate Program FAQ: "As explained in the Monetized Streamer Agreement, there are certain costs, taxes, and fees that must be accounted for before you receive subscription revenue. Before the 50/50 split between you and Twitch takes place, deductions are made from the full price of a subscription, including taxes, payment processing fees, bank fees, currency conversion fees, etc. After the split takes place, we still account for required tax withholding, which is reflected in the payout you ultimately see on your dashboard. Twitch does not set or control the rates or fees, and they vary from region to region and by each subscriber’s payment method." Presumably this also applies to the partner program and the other splits.

Subs themselves are $5.99 USD, with other (usually lower when converted to USD) prices depending on the region of the subscriber. There's also ad revenue but I have no idea if quackity runs that many ads (or even runs them at all) seeing as his streams are usually 1.5-3 hours long (with the ads incentive program theres a 55/45 split of ad rev for a minimum of 3 minutes of ads per hour of stream, 30/70 otherwise), and again, not a viewer myself (I barely even watch streams live for streamers i do watch). And there's also bits, but those are a whole mess themselves so im not going to get into it.

I don't really know much about business running at all so of course everything is speculation based on the little i do know, and most of my twitch revenue info is directly from their help site, with some of the stuff about changes being from news articles about them.

Yeah that's pretty much it from me for now, glad you enjoyed my nerdy trawl through twitchtracker :)!

Follow up on this post :

[mothiidae]

my MDA:Rain Code thoughts - spoiler free version

I've been meaning to thought dump my overall thoughts and opinions about rain code for a while and well,, here we are!

my overall opinions: Despite some issues, Rain Code acts as a great foundation that can be built upon in the future - along with plot threads that can be used in future games. If your a danganronpa fan I would totally recommend it, but its a bit of a harder sell to those outside the bubble.

I have already done another form of this kinda post with everything i deemed to be somewhat spoilery - whether that be full on plot twists and story events in specific chapters or simple side content. For anyone who wants to read the spoiler version i'll link it here!

onto the list!:

to try to keep to some order, i've orginised the points into gameplay/mechanics, story and characters

Masafumi Takada was let out of the basement and has made yet another banging ost, is there no stop to this man? The title theme RAINCODE?? HELLO?? what i liked was that there are moments in which you can hear dangan elements; such as during the investigation theme you can hear trumpets which personally reminded me of sdr2's investigation theme and bella fresco grand finale - shinigami's execution theme - there are parts that sound like the execution theme. Despite all these dangan references (which im sure there are more) Raincode has been able to carve out its own vibe musically and im all here for this more low-key, lo-fi kinda feel!

Rui Komatsuzaki is back and the characters have that distinct design flair and eccentricity i expect from him. I have to say his designs are partly what drew me into Raincode because, well,,, his style is so recognisable!! it also is somewhat nostalgic for me so my neurons activate when i see it. I am but a simple man that enjoys this rui style.

Personally, Kodaka defiantly did not utilise this being a 3D adventure game enough because at points it just felt like visual novel taking place within a 3D space. And the adventure part i believe is quite the misnomer - it can be super restrictive in its exploration, theres not much to do/see within the city itself other than the requests - which are more of a story than gameplay thing. Though the adventure/action descriptors for the game are for the mystery labyrinth, it can make kanai ward itself feel more like a vehicle (gameplay wise) to get you from one case to the next. Kanai ward is stunning though, with kamasaki district being my favourite part!!

I also found that the mystery labyrinths got boring at inbetween all the minigames - consisting of running to the next part whilst the characters discus the case. In danganronpa, these moments of discussion were unnoticeable due to being a visual novel but within a 3D action/adventure-esque game like Rain Code they don't work.

Being outside of the killing game formula with supernatural abilities, Kodaka has been able to do some really interesting things with cases. If there are future games i'm curious if he'll set up a pattern of cases like in danganronpa.

I DID NOT EXPECT ALOT OF THE PLOT TWISTS, one of which only works well if you've played danganronpa in my opinion. Another one didn't have build up, but i can't tell if its a im just dense thing or a it was just a shit twist thing

Quirky ahh characters my beloved - most major characters stood out and had their moments. They join the Kodaka pile of eccenticity

I am a HUGE Yomi stannie, he is delightfully evil and his VA was going absolutely ham. shout out to Howard Wang! He is evil and there is no changing him and i love him for it!

other than him and martina i found the peacekeepers to be a little disappointing. They did what they were needed to but most are susceptible to leaving little impression on people. Which is not good as they are your major obstacle in a chapter. the majority of them have under 30~ mins of screen time [that is a rough estimate, most likely im wildly wrong] though they didn't need to have backstories or anything, them being a constant presence through investigation might've helped.

YAKOU MY LOVE <3<3<3<3<3<3 he is a soggy, wet cat of a character and sooooo pathetic!!! my kinda guy

Now i like fubuki as much as the next guy but i found that she would go one of the funniest characters of the cast to

[izzy-b-hands]

my brain is buzzing with random au ideas and shit while im sitting here awake entirely too early

and i just. Fucking Niche AUs I'll probably never finish part two:

-Call Center AU: Ed and Stede are middle managers learning to work together (and falling in love of course) after their companies and staff merged in a new big ass building (for fun: many rumors it's haunted. It isn't, Buttons just hates getting up early for work so during the week he hides out and lives in the basement.) Badminton & Co are trying to buy out their newly merged company with plans to fire everyone. Is this one just so I can shove in Murray Hewitt references with Stede? Partially! It's also bc i can throw in The Office references for my mum, who thus far will only read fic if I have a few in there & it's mainly comedy, and she hasn't read like any of my stuff fic or original in ages so. Yeah skdnfng

-NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) AU aka did u know aviation is another special interest of mine? u do now!!:

Ed and Stede lead separate teams as part of Aotearoa's TAIC (their version of the NTSB), and are called in to assist with an NTSB investigation re: a crashed plane & a dead Badminton bro as a result ( Either of the two we've seen thus far, w/subplot abt him being a dick who was super rich bc of a shit ton of rental properties in Aotearoa that he didn't keep up well and hiked rent on constantly bc he seems like the landlord type.)

However, as it progresses it becomes clear there's more at stake than just a plane accident investigation (tho obvi also v important still) bc it appears there might be sabotage involving ppl in both the states and Aotearoa (aka hi jack!! and any other random pirates or historical ppl i might add in lol.)

This is difficult tho, bc like. they didn't like this Badminton of course so him being dead is like well this will be positive for his renters at least maybe, but also holy fuck other ppl died as a result jfc what the fuck. so then it's a matter of do we or do we not reveal the whole truth & open up what would be a can of worms re: Badminton, but would be an utter disservice to the rest of the victims' families if NOT revealed.

Substitute Teacher AU:

A school has had just. horrible luck and a few scandals and now the entire staff has been fired and the district really doesn't wanna spend that much money on new ppl yet so

enter Stede and Ed as separate teams of substitutes, attempting to cover all the topics at a decently large school where tbh they could use even more teachers (enter Doug, Mary, Spanish Jackie who actually teaches French & likes how her nickname fucks w/the kids a bit lmaoo, & Jack as additional help)

Nigel & Chauncey both have kids at the school, and expect special treatment as a reward for donating generously to the school (not really that generously tho), which means they are Nightmare Parents. Like yes it's sad they're both divorced but like if u talked to them for five mins u would Understand.

Big events in it would be Parent/Teacher Conferences (Izzy and Jim end up having to manhandle a screaming Nigel outside after Roach asks him to tell his kid to stop trying to set things on fire in Home Ec), at least one school dance ("Ed, they're vaping in the bathroom, what do I do?" "Idk join them?" "Ed!" "What? They'll do it regardless!!") and the graduation of the oldest grade (I think middle schoolers would be both the cruelest and funniest option for this au) and how they'll actually miss these goddamn kids, & don't know if they'll be contracted for the same school next year as permanent or called in to sub more or what

Topics for everyone thus far:

Jackie-French as noted above. She also enjoys that the kids always think Frenchie should teach her class purely based on his name. Doesn't tolerate any bs during class & will send u to the principals, but if everyone behaves they get an extra point added to their grade just for showing up and being polite. For some kids, for various reasons, it's a life saver.

Frenchie-joint band and choir director with The Swede. Treated like a local rock star by the kids bc he tells them how back home he plays in a few bands, and plays gigs in between teaching contracts/assignments. A couple make fan shirts after they google and manage to find out the name of the band he usually performs with. They give him one too and he can't help but well up bc. kids man. one minute little assholes the next moment doing something so kind and unexpected!

The Swede- mainly choir director but helps with the band bc they have a huge class size but of course the district doesn't care abt that.

Ed & Stede-joint principals, also Theater. Ed jokes that he's the Fun Principal bc he occasionally lets the kids get away with like. smoking near the school or playing hooky. If he catches them they get a 'guys cmon if u keep this up i gotta stop u forever so like. be mindful' talk. Stede thinks he's truly the Fun One tho bc he keeps making up ideas for those funny dress up weeks schools do in the states and Ed we are teaching here so we should do as the Romans do, so to speak! (how does that work, it doesn't really as far as i know with a lot of teaching jobs but shhhhh fiction time.)

Buttons-shop related classes, any and all, including woodworking and a v basic automotive class (obvi they won't pay for a garage set up, so he has to rely on drawing and otherwise illustrating & using texts to teach.) Also serves as the lunch room monitor bc the kids are p sure the rumor that he once ate a guy is true, and no one wants to Test Him.

Jim-Gym. Took it on purely bc they think it's funny to hear the kids go 'its time for gym/Jim!' Another beloved teacher for being supportive when kids struggle with the class, and also bc if everyone has good attendance each quarter then they'll take a day to show them knife throwing (after permission slips are signed of course.)

Olu-Spanish, but defers to Jim a lot bc then he gets to talk to Jim and no he doesn't have a crush on Jim! Also occasionally bemoans to Jim for them teaching the kids to swear in Spanish. Jim finally kisses him during one such lovingly made complaint.

Wee John-Home Ec, sewing & other textile based art. One of the fave teachers bc he always has snacks in his classroom, and will let any exhausted kids nap during class so long as they turn in finished projects (first is a lil plushie, then a bigger one, finally they have to design & attempt an article of clothing. Doesn't have to be anywhere near perfect or even complete, he just wants them to try.) Once freed Stede after he accidentally sewed his finger to some fabric while mucking abt after school in the classroom.

Fang-any and all math classes. No one knows how he handles the work load, but he's always chill af abt it. Another student fave for being kind and taking extra time with kids that suck at math, or flat out have dyscalculia & require the extra tutoring as part of their IEP.

Ivan-Social Studies. He knows the kids find it boring, so he does his best to give it some extra shine by making up projects for the kids to do that are graded a little bit kinder than regular hw bc he's more concerned that they have fun (and might retain the info better as a result.) One of the kids' faves ends up being a journal assignment abt the Oregon Trail, aka write an Oregon Trail story that can be as dramatic and/or like the video game as they want.

Izzy-Head Librarian. Cannot believe they fired the library staff as well as everyone else at the school. cannot get over how little the district does to help keep up said library (books are heavily damaged & still on the shelf, new books rarely ordered, and literally the shelves are not in Dewey order. That makes a vein in his forehead twitch every day until he takes an evening to correctly label and reshelve everything.) Winds up staying late a lot to repair books, order new books (when he runs out of what little funding there is, he puts them on his own cc and just doesn't tell anyone, claiming them as charitable donations from 'an anon donor'), and otherwise do any additional upkeep to get the place up to par. Realizes halfway thru the year no one got assigned to teach the Health class, and begrudgingly takes it on as well. He teaches in a section of the library, with Mary taking over main library duties for that time. Has to deal with all the horribleness that is teaching middle schoolers that topic ("You can't all keep laughing every time I say penis or we'll never get through this chapter. And that's hell for you as much as it is for me!")

Roach-Home Ec, cooking class. also helps in the lunch room bc literally they did not actually hire any kitchen staff, the subs are told to do that too. He winds up telling the kids they can help by prepping the ingredients for their lunch in his classroom, then he'll take it all to be finished for lunchtime in the industrial kitchen. They end up loving it after the first week, bc he brings in recipes that are decently healthy but that most the kids are up to trying or already like.

Mary-painting substitute if Doug is out for a day, but mainly works alongside Izzy in the library as the assistant librarian. Yes they gossip abt Ed and Stede. Yes they have a running bet on when they'll finally announce a relationship and fill out that paperwork with HR (this immediately starts a side convo for them abt the shoddy quality of the paperwork & how slowly it gets filed. They admit to being sticklers at times, but also they're right.)

Doug-art, painting and sculpture. Always up for weird art ideas, and has the graduating grade (even if they don't take his elective course) make a mural before the end of the year. They each get a framed pic of it, and he plans to have each graduating class redo the wall each year, should he be contracted for another full year.

Jack-biology/gen science. Encourages the kids to 'really get into' the dissections. Does his best to try and get the district to agree to a field trip to the local morgue to see a full on embalming, but is told uhhhh no bud. Accidentally reveals a parentage issue for a few kids while using eye & hair color to teach Punett squares.

Lucius-Creative Writing. Has a loving feud with Pete bc most of the kids are in both their classes. Said kids have bets on if Pete or Lucius will propose to each other or not by the end of the year. Makes a point to be a safe place for any kids with writing that may point to some other issues going on in life (based off my hs lit mag teacher Dr. Brenda Werner. No joke, she saved my life as a kid, I think Lucius would be the same for his class.)

Pete-Newspaper/Yearbook. Very big on making sure stories are accurate, bc 'ppl doubt my stories a lot, so you need your details and shit in order.' The kids: ooooh he swore!!!! and promptly do not absorb this knowledge fully. But they enjoy his class bc he's chill and is happy to let them explore what options journalism can offer, and to research odder stories for internal class articles vs school paper ones (Missing: David, Where's Shelly? vs Cilantro: Should Roach Use It In Our Lunch Or Does It Taste Like Soap.)

[dredgen-dumbass]

Alright, considering this a test round bc testingcheats wouldn't work to give them a house that fits them all. Im going to restart with the same sims later and give y'all a full timeline then bc it was 2am and my typing is too incoherent to tolerate editing. cutoff for yall's sakes since I'm putting this in the main tag. I'm going to tag this destinythesims so y'all who are trying to keep up can.

When it started they all talked to each other immediately, except Drifter. He stood alone by the side of the road, thinking about food. Eris and Crow went in first, to read and watch sports respectively. Drifter got the first skill unlock by talking to Osiris, charisma, and Osiris immediately ran inside.

Everyone was reading. Zavala read a series of unfortunate events, until Eris hugged him, causing him to set it down so she could steal it. Before that she was reading LOTR, but I guess that didn't suit her tastes. When Zavala went to get a new book, everyone got the dislike notification over their heads.

Drifter tried to talk to Saladin about food and Saladin immediately walked off. He coped by doing pushups in the driveway before trying to restart the convo with Ikora. She leaves, Drifter follows, and as soon as Sloane is alone in the driveway, she starts doing situps.

Saladin thinks about Drifter while he takes a shit. ofc he does.

Crow seeks to improve the world. I tell you know, he will not. Remember that for later.

Sloane and Zavala hug. That actually makes sense.

"Genius lesson. Osiris is a genius." "Snob lesson. Osiris is a snob."

They all freeze behind a bus bench while Zavala and Drifter hug. Why the hell are they hugging. What kind of breakdown (or fake breakdown) would have to happen to make Zavala hug Drifter.

Crow makes scrambled eggs and bacon w/ the current goal of "have friends." He finishes making the food, doesn't eat it, and starts complaining about being hungry.

Drifter walks into the bathroom while Sloane is looking in the mirror, and starts talking about crabs. Ikora kicks them out, so Drifter goes to the kitchen and eats the half-eaten sandwich Eris left out. Once Ikora is out, Saladin washes a plate in the bathroom sink, supposedly to avoid Drifter.

Everything is fairly calm for a while. Drifter goes outside and takes a nap on a bus bench. Crow is still hungry from not eating the food he made, so he goes to make new food next to the made food.

He starts a fire.

Everyone freaks the fuck out, except Drifter, who is oblivious to it all, still asleep on his hobo bus bench. Crow doesn't put himself out. Osiris, Saladin, and Ikora just watch him. Eris, Zavala, and Sloane are outside, so they don't notice. When Sloane finally goes in, she walks right past Crow and rummages the fridge, gets food, and calmly walks back outside.

I finally intervened to make Crow put himself out. Once he does, they all go outside. Everyone screams in the driveway while Drifter sleeps peacefully ~20-30 ft away. Zavala notices the fire and suddenly everyone rushes in to extinguish it, like they didn't have the sense to without him mad about it. Ikora and Saladin put it out. But only outside.

Drifter finally wakes up, passes all of them on the street, goes in, sees the fire, goes out, and just stands in the back yard thinking about food until the fire gets to him. Saladin comes over to watch him burn and does not help. Eventually Zavala walked over, Saladin left, and I realized how late it had gotten and finally intervened again to put the whole fire out bc you can't save in a fire.

So that's where we've left off. I'm going to give them a proper house this time and see what happens. Also going to see if they'll get themselves jobs, or if I have to do that too. I'll reblogs this w/ a photo dump later, so stay tuned :)

I just had the hilarious thought of making a bunch of D2 characters with roughly their personalities in the Sims, forcing them to be roommates, and leaving the game idle to see what happens. any takers?

[astrologista]

i hate to say it but all bruce does these days is whineeeee. which i feel like is antithetical to how i understand him as a character. like yes, he broods and he does obsess, but he doesn’t really whine unless some of the time if only alfred is there to witness it lol.

like, fr. i haven’t really been keeping up with comics, so maybe i’m off base with some of this, but here’s what it looks like from the outside

bruce’s relationship with dick is under-served or just basically ignored, when they do bring it out, it’s only for very quick angst fuel then right back to business like they don’t know each other at all

bruce accepting jason back into the family was rushed and handled by sub-par writing which didn’t support the emotional gravitas that said reunification should have involved. i’ve seen a lot of fics that did it way better than what they did. it feels shoe-horned. also, why is bruce tacitly rubber-stamping jason as batman-affiliated when he’s still using GUNS? like WHAT. how does that make any sense. do bruce’s emotional boundaries matter at all? does everything have to be jason’s way or the highway? bruce is notoriously stubborn. much as he loves jason, i can’t see him letting that slide IF this were to work. DON’T SKIP OVER THE IMPORTANT CHARACTER WORK. like, set up the foundations and then build on top of that. don’t just jump to the payoff and try to walk things back as you go! it’s lazy and shows where editorial mandate stymied good storytelling. and there are way more issues with it that i have than just that. of course i love to see bruce and jason caring about each other and getting along as much as the next fan but the way they chose to go about it raises SO many questions

tim who?

no tim has been flanderized so fucking bad. actually he’s been transformed more into the fandom-lite version of himself, which i do kind of hate. oh yeah, he’s with bernard now. WHOOP TEE DOO! the fans have been clamoring for that pairing for years i’m sure.

there have been an assortment of good-to-middling damian comics since the 2010s as at least some writers seem vaguely interested in that dynamic with bruce but for every 2 mildly tolerable issues they drop one that’s got fucking jack shit bonkers writing in it and relies on only the most tired of “U LIED TO ME” tropes. nothing will compare to the tomasi 2011 batman and robin run and that was like the single decent output of the new 52 and the best thing dc has released in years. i’m right

among the newer characters they’ve released, it’s sad that they never really seem to... stick? PLEASE INVEST IN SOMEONE. more duke! more harper! more LITERALLY ANYONE!

bring the fun back to comics. where’s the storytelling. decide whether you want to create a new shitty joker and/or riddler iteration, or a new army of jokers and/or riddlers and/or scarecrows. or just create a new poo poo shitty villain of the week who will age like milk. why not have one based on social media. that’s a new one that i’m sure no one will ever see coming.

STOP SOFT REBOOTING EVERY ISSUE. we know, you’re going to start the next new groundbreaking run, take everything back to basics so nobody is confused, bring on the new readers with this cool new jumping on point, simple just batman alfred and the joker with juuuust enough of a new “modern” twist to it to differentiate it from the thousands of other times you did this. great job dc. doing great. when you’re done with that let’s do another mass cataclysm event across 20 books. im sure people will want to collect all those variant covers.

and i love how there are SO many fics that do it so, so, so much better. jesus fuck. and fic writers aren’t even being PAID! we’re not even being PAID!!

so, yeah, i’m kind of done with comics for time being. i’ve been dabbling in anime and games again, getting back to roots, but so far, it’s mainly been independent web content free of advertisers, executives, editorial and other bullshit that’s caught my fancy lately. the artistic freedom is really needed to tell a good story now. the multiverse / soft reboot / re-configure the universe every year bullshit that marvel popularized has infiltrated, like, everything, as well as the netflix model of “let’s cancel immediately after season 1”. there is no buildup. there is no excitement. there is no story. mba’s and boardrooms do not understand “story”. they don’t know what creativity is. they know what numbers, profits, engagement look like, and they are optimizing for that curve. i do not know why they are shocked when that curve sinks lower and lower every year. i just simply do not understand.

im so mad. kevin conroy’s dead and we’ll never get something like b:tas ever again. media has been my life since i was a baby. so i have to find some kind of stories to try to enjoy even if i have to eke it out in the margins of society lol

[corvidshipping]

also on my way to work i drove past the food trucks that r always outside the park across the street from my job and it made me think if i met c.es like as Myself not a s/i i think it would literally happen that . the z.omburger truck would start showing up there one day (they did Not pay for a spot its definitely a stolen spot) and i, having been to practically every truck that frequents there, would end up going out of sheer curiosity and omg a goth horror themed truck?? my brand. and hes there at the window and of course im fascinated by the idea of a man who runs a food truck where he, for some reason, wears costume makeup every single day. the food is horribly inedible but i pretend to like it anyway and keep going back every time theyre there jus bc i think it is a fascinating concept and i always try to talk to him on the rare occasion that hes at the window and he thinks its weird. they have NO schedule for when they show up its like a random event. i end up becoming a regular (considering their niche as a themed truck people go to for like one set of photos, probably the Only regular they actually have) and all the crew ends up knowing my name . one day conrad asks me why im always there when the food is literally garbage and im just like "idk its freaky and im into it". anyway at some point me and ces kiss.