#had it for years and I don’t see the point of upgrading unless I have to

[bliss-wily]

Ganged up on by big brother and daddy dearest. Frieza has a lot of learning to do~

Just got back into Dokkan, only stopped because of my phone storage but I didn’t want to miss 9th year, although having no luck pulling any of the new LRs. I’m not overly bothered anyway, hehe.

[plasticbag3207]

Vox: Flatscreen vs. Box (CRT)

One thing has been mildly bothering me when it comes to people’s interpretation of Vox, specifically when showing him off in older settings: his portrayal (or lack thereof) as a box TV.

Obviously we all know he was a CRT (cathode ray tube; this is the more technical name for “Box TV” or “old-style tv”). We see him with this style of TV head in the picture of him and Val on the desk in Val’s room. (S1 E2 at about 7:27)

Not the highest quality photo, my bad, but it still gets the point across. We can also assume that this picture was probably taken in the 70s, since that’s when Valentino died. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say late 70s, maybe early 80s.

CRT tvs have really only gone out of fashion recently, and flatscreens have only been common for the last 15-20 years. Although unlikely, it’s not impossible for Velvette to have been in Hell before Vox transferred to a flatscreen TV. Despite this, I still see a lot of people drawing Vox with a flatscreen way before they existed—or in general acting like he’s been a flatscreen way longer than he has.

I want to be clear and say that this doesn’t bother me a ton, and I still love all the art regardless. It’s just the little history nerd in me trying to point these things out and being mildly bothered by it.

I have a feeling it’s probably caused by a lot of younger people in the fandom that maybe weren’t old enough to remember their families having a CRT tv, or maybe they were born after their family had upgraded to a flatscreen? I don’t know. Maybe I’m all wrong with that idea, and the artists are purposely drawing him with a flatscreen because they prefer it?

Another headcanon of mine that I haven’t seen a ton of people talking about, that would support Vox not having a flatscreen until quite recently: new tech probably takes longer to get to hell.

When explaining this to my friend I used the analogy of how trends (fashion, architecture, lifestyle, internet, etc.) in the US tend to start on the coasts and work their way towards the center. By the time they even reach the Midwest, some of the shorter fads are already out of style on the coasts.

I sort of assumed this is how things work with hell and earth. Tech is invented/innovated on earth first, and generally takes a little longer for it to become common in Hell. Also, as far as we know (unless I’m mistaken) the main way hell finds out about the goings on on Earth is via sinners dying and relaying their expanded knowledge on to the rest of hell.

If this headcanon proves to be true, then that would push back the date when Vox upgraded to a flatscreen even more.

Idk, this is all just me rambling and just some food for thought. No hate to any artists or writers that have been portraying Vox as a flatscreen before it would make sense for him to have one.

Also rest in peace to all of the hazbin fans who were too young to have the life experience of almost being crushed by one of those old CRT TVs. Really missed out on that character building moment.

[annisassintchaska]

Jealousy: Toto Wolff x Black! Reader ft. Christian Horner

TW: Violence, Cursing

In the Formula 1 paddock, Toto had been known for working mostly alone, not asking for help unless it was a last option. So imagine the look on the media and other faces when he was spotted walking in next to a beautifully short, black haired woman as he appeared to be listening to her rant from notes on her IPad. At this point the whole paddock of drivers and a few Team Principals went into chaos trying to get to know her in a personal way yet they remained unsuccessful as Toto kept her locked away in his office.

For weeks on end, the paddock watched them arrive and disappear behind the walls of the garage only to be seen when it was time to leave. The men were going out of their minds trying to find some way to get the woman alone but it was very unfortunate that she could never even be found.

Today was scheduled to be Media day where all the drivers were packed into one room to be ‘interrogated’. “So Lewis and George. I’m sure you both already know the question I have in mind. Toto has been spotted recently with a beautiful girl who we supposed works with you all. Do you by any chance have any tea to spill with us? Even a little would be fine?” A female reporter asked eagerly causing the two Mercedes drivers to laugh. “Yeah, Y/n, she’s Toto’s personal assistant. She’s been working with him for about one and a half years now; However Toto keeps her hidden from everyone. We think he’s in love with her but he denies it and for that we gave her the nickname ‘Lady Wolff’” Lewis explained causing excitement among the other drivers.

A couple days later, Toto had Y/n enter through the back while he came through the front, only to be met by Christian himself. “Forger Wolff, nice to see you. Haven’t you seen my emails asking for your assistance number or even her email?” He asked suggestively. “And I responded saying that you should let it go because she’s uninterested in seeing or hearing from you?” Toto responded perplexed. “Can’t you just please give it a rest?” Toto asked irritated at the shorter man. “Oh c’mon Toto, that’s not fair! It’s not nice to gatekeeper and not share! And besides, maybe she would prefer a guy with a wining team and man who knows how to build and upgrade a perfect car” Christian whined and taunted which led to the furious reaction from the taller man.

Toto became infuriated as he grabbed Christian by his throat, pulling him up into the air with one arm as he held him up against the wall choking him out, while his other hand held his file bag.

“Now you listen to me Horner, I know what you’re intentions are and frankly I don’t care, but if I ever hear of or see you anywhere near my assistant, I will tear you apart piece by piece down to your very last fucking atom. Do you understand me?!” Tot asked angrily making the British native nod rapidly begging silently for release.

The cameras had caught everything with audio and Y/n had to be called out to the scene where she screamed in panic. “Toto, you can’t do that. You’re going to kill him!” She yelled out at her boss, seeing he victim turning purple in the face. “Let him go and come inside m, are you insane?! You’re twice his size, you can’t be doing this you giant!” Y/n yelled while prying her boss’ hand away from his opponent who started coughing wildly as soon as he was freed. Everyone watched on in amazement as the 5’2 woman dragged her giant of a boss away from the scene and pushed him into the office before entering and closing the door. Continuing forward everyone went back to work.

In the office, Y/n messaged her boss’ shoulders in an attempt to calm him down as he grumbled on about the fight until she decided to advise him. “Mr. Wolff you don’t have to be this upset. You should just try to ignore him” The brown-eyed woman stated as she his mood.

“That’s the thing schatz, I can’t ignore him when he’s inquiring to make advances towards anything that I already claimed!” Toto yelled as he got up, pacing the room. “What?” Y/n asked, confused as to how she was mixed in with something he ‘claimed’. “Y/n…I know this might come as a shock to you, but I’ve been in love with you for a while now. I just didn’t know how to say it and then he came along and made suggestions towards you so I got angry. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you”. Toto explained shyly while blushing from being under the young woman’s gaze.

Y/n smiled as she got up from her chair and walked towards her boss, pulling him down into an earth-shattering kiss that turned into a make out session. She pulled away from the kiss giggling cutely while Toto blushed, feeling like a school boy when Y/n said “I’m in love with you too”.

[cap-sweet-and-salty-sadness]

— “c’mon, i can tell you’re freezing. i won’t tell anyone that you like to be the little spoon, honest:” - For whoever you want to write. <3

I chose to write some fluff for Astarion/Karlach. There's some mild spoilers of Karlach's personal quest, Astarion's backstory and act 2, nothing main plot though. Hope you like it!

Read on Ao3

There were many disadvantages to having a tadpole living freely behind one's eye, namely the unavoidable doom of becoming a mind flayer and having Faerûn destroyed and overrun by an army of said mind flayers.

Astarion understood the fears that struck his companions, he really did, but they were overthrown by the unique benefits that his state of possession had given him. His whole anatomy had been transformed, the rules that he'd followed for two centuries completely turned upside down.

He wasn't under Cazador's beck and call anymore. No more living through the shadows, he could walk under the sun and embrace its warmth once again. He could walk inside any building he wanted without needed to be invited, he could swim in any body of water. He was still bloodthirsty, figuratively and literally, and along the bite scars on his neck and his pallid skintone, those were the only remaining signs of his vampirism.

Hence his lukewarm willfulness at getting rid of the tadpole. If only he had more time to seek someone knowledgeable in ithillids, perhaps they could find to cut contact of the tadpole to the hive and keep it in permanent stasis. Unfortunately time wasn't a luxury they could afford, especially not now that they were in the Shadow-Cursed Lands. If a shadow wasn't trying to get at them, it was some vile creatures ambushing them.

At least the curse wasn't an issue anymore for them, with the blessing of Selûne, but the real problem for Astarion was the overwhelming, bloody cold. He'd forgotten how his body used to be severely influenced by temperatures, and it’d been fine on the Coast with its warm sunny days and temperate nights. But here in these lands, it felt like the chill seeped down to his bones.

It’d been days of this, to the point he couldn’t remember when he hadn’t been cold. It wasn’t so bad when they were walking around and getting into everyone’s business, but it was hard to dismiss when they were at camp and resting. The campfire helped somewhat, but he feared that if he sat any closer he’d been sitting in it, and he didn’t want the others to know his predicament.

He trusted them somewhat, but not enough to disclose his discomfort. He wasn’t the only one afflicted by the weather, seeing as Gale was using a spell to keep himself warm and cosy. He hadn’t even offered it to anyone, the prick. Not that Astarion would’ve accepted, mind you, but it appeared wizard schools taught no manners.

He tightened his hold on his thin blanket and sighed. At least everyone were getting ready for sleep. Perhaps he’d find some comfort in his bedroll, if not in meditation. The cold was reminded him of when he’d been trapped in a tomb for a year as punishment. That was why he was reacting so badly to it, he was realising.

“Hey soldier,” Karlach said, joining him by the fire. She probably was immune to the cold, with her engine heart running so hot. They’d visited Dammon to upgrade it a second time, where Astarion had been in earshot when he told her it was only a temporary solution.

“Evening, darling.” Astarion was massaging his stiff hands, not managing to improve their state much.

“I know you’re normally pale, but not this blue pale. Are you feeling alright?”

Astarion hesitated. Beside Wyll, she was the most trustworthy of the companions. She was loyal to a fault, despite being betrayed in the past. He wasn’t sure whether to call it naivete or resilience. “I’m just cold. The curse on these lands, its chill seeps through our blessing it seems.”

Karlach made a sound and approached him. “You should’ve told me, I run almost too hot for this plane after all. Unless you don’t trust that I wouldn’t hurt you, which I understand.”

Astarion shook his head at that. “Would it be too much to say it’s not you, it’s me?” They were only in close proximity and already he could her warmth, the glow of her heart pulsing steadily through her ribcage. It was a beautiful sight, if ignoring the fact it was killing her.

She crouched in front of him and extended her large hands. She wasn’t forcing herself on him, instead letting him choose. He appreciated that.

He slid his hands into hers. They were almost too hot to bear and his body instinctively flinched at the change in temperature, but he held on and soon it felt like his hands were dipped in a hot bath. So good and relieving.

“By the hells, Astarion, you’re freezing,” Karlach said, gripping him before letting go. Astarion almost whined in displeasure. He watched her retrieve her bedroll and spread it beside Astarion’s.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m not letting you freeze another night. Help me with this.”

Together they spread the two bedrolls like a makeshift bed so they could both fit underneath. Karlach was the first to slip into it.

“Come on. I won’t tell anyone that you like to be the little spoon, honest.”

Astarion laughed and joined her. It was a tight fit, but Karlach didn’t seem to want space between them. She pulled him against her with a strong arm, hugging him. It felt like his limbs were melting from ice blocks and he could finally have control of his body again.

He liked that she smelled of ashes and fresh air, that her skin was scarred and tough when he rested his hand against her bare back. He’d been fond of her pretty eyes and easy smile for a while but hadn’t acted on it with her whole ‘my skin will burn you’ thing before, but tucked against Karlach, the warmth he felt wasn’t just physical. He felt comfortable and safe.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime, soldier.”

[carnelianwings]

Something I find really funny is how for all the rumors that Seed’s staff/writers don’t like Cagalli, Orb under her leadership just keeps ending up in a better (political) position with each addition - Seed Destiny ends with Logos wiped out, Blue Cosmos severely hampered, and the entire Seiran family wiped out, including Yuna. This leaves Cagalli with almost no political opposition in Orb (since the second Battle of Orb would’ve flushed out a majority of the Blue Cosmos/Logos sympathizers within the government/military), along with giving her a boost in popular and military support thanks to her actions and field leadership during the battle.

(Cutting for me just rambling on a bit about the in-universe politics after Seed Freedom)

You can tell with how much she’s managed to get done in the years between Seed Destiny and Seed Freedom - in that short year and a half to two years, she was able to propose and found COMPASS, secret away and upgrade the Impulse, Destiny, Strike Freedom, and Infinite Justice, arrange for ties between Orb and Terminal to investigate/exchange intel (Athrun and Meyrin), and put into place all the evacuation/defensive protocols in case of another attack on Orb (as seen vs Foundation and Requiem, even if she needed Kira to pull an “I lived, bitch” to Aura 😅).

And it doesn’t end there - thanks to Foundation, Cagalli arguably has an easier time internationally now, because the Eurasian Federation leadership also got hit and the Eurasian Federation, while not necessarily Blue Cosmos sympathizers like the Atlantic Federation, was very staunchly anti-PLANT, which I think would’ve caused some problems for Cagalli, especially post Seed Destiny with Lacus joining her for that broadcast.

I actually think Orb probably has fairly decent diplomatic relations with PLANT (I think Chairman Lament mostly cut off that call after everything went south in Eldore because of the whole nuke situation), especially since Lacus is COMPASS’s inaugural president, plus the time both Dearka and Waltfeld (I’m not sure if he’s in Orb or PLANT as of Seed Freedom since his silent cameo has him helping to stop the coup in PLANT in Seed Freedom) spent there. And we have a very prominent all-Coordinator team with the Yamato Team - truth be told I actually wonder how much the Earth Alliance invested into COMPASS because everything we see on screen is either contributed by Orb (Archangel, Murrue and crew, Kira, Mu, and the Murasame Kais), PLANT/ZAFT (Millenium, Konoe and crew, Heinlein, Shinn, Lunamaria, Agnes, Gelgoog, and Gyan), or arguably both (namely, Rising Freedom and Immortal Justice). Unless I missed a minor crew member along the way. Which is possible.

Also pure speculation on my part on this - but the fact Seed Freedom has Athrun going into intelligence with Terminal (which we first see as having a presence in the PLANTS) from the Orb side and Yzak and Dearka going into intelligence from the PLANT side can’t be a coincidence. I want to think the three of them decided on it together because being in intelligence/covert ops gives them the chance to work together without having to force anyone to change their current loyalties - I don’t think Athrun can be truly loyal to anyone except Cagalli after Seed Destiny, and Yzak was always loyal to PLANT, and if Dearka hadn’t been captured and made to realize how extreme PLANT had become under Patrick Zala he wouldn’t have switched sides to Orb/Three Ships Alliance during Seed either. Which also indirectly feeds into Orb and PLANT having better political relations than Orb and Earth Alliance.

Which brings me to my final point - I would be very surprised if Orb isn’t the primary target for the antagonists in a Seed Freedom sequel. At this point Orb’s capable of doing too much with the limited resources it has as a small nation with too much military strength at its command. And there is room for a sequel (setting-wise) because while Earth Alliance took another major hit with during the Foundation Conflict, the ideologies that led to the First and Second Earth Alliance-PLANT wars still exist - even if Blue Cosmos lost another leader, even if the believers of Coordinator Supremacy lost another leader (in Jagannath) those ideologies still fundamentally exist. All the Foundation Conflict did was serve to take down the military leadership of those ideologies - even if the public on both sides see those views negatively it doesn’t make them go away.

[umbran6]

What if... Leo got a Cult?

For those of you who have seen some of my previous posts, this one is based on the What if… Leo Became a God? For those of you who know liked, reblogged, or both, thank you very much. For those of you who may not know, please click on the underline. But for those who just want a quick TLDR about that: Leo burns away his mortality while fighting Gaea, which led to him becoming a god. 

Now, I know I’m jumping into possibly ridiculous territory. Leo just became a god. How the hell does he get a cult so quickly? However, I argue that this is one of the most vital components when considering any headcanon that involves one character becoming a god. Gods need domains, belief, memories to maintain their form in the real world. We see an active example of what happens when gods don’t have this through Pan — his domain had been defiled and belief in him had dwindled to the point he ceased to exist. You can't just have demigods like Percy reach godhood without explaining what's going to keep them around afterwards, so this is my attempt to explain as such.

Hera teaches this to Leo when she informs him of his newfound godhood. To truly become a god beyond the few years after his ascension, he needs to give people reason to believe in him. Hercules had his Twelve Labors which are still told to this day. Dionysus had his cult which actively praised him as the God of Wine, and his memory is associated with the twelve Olympians. More minor gods such as Triptolemus lean on a divine patron for their domains, becoming their lieutenants to help make up for a lack of belief. 

Leo needs something to latch him into the real world, because once his friends die and people start forgetting about him if he doesn’t do anything about it, he will cease to exist unless he decides to piggyback off Hephaestus or Hera. Yeah, that course of action is not going to fly - Leo still has a grudge against Hephaestus for ‘going out to get milk’ for nearly all his life, and while Hera is starting to make up for the Nanny-From-Hell Incidents, he still doesn’t trust her. 

Leo understands that but does not know how to achieve it. Nor does he know if he wants to achieve it. Aside from his own feat of destroying Gaea, he doesn’t see why someone would want to worship him. He hasn’t given anyone reason to. So, he decides to avoid doing so - if he was to be glorified, it would only be through ways he thought were right. Little did he forget a good portion of genre-savviness - A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.

Instead, he focuses on the benefits of becoming a minor god. Not the supreme power, but more on the practical benefits. Practical, as in, Leo has everything he needs to live. He easily erases records of his past from the public eye, allowing him to be among mortals without any issue, though he does slightly gaslight his mortal family by popping up in front of them when they least expect it, slowly driving them to insanity. He doesn’t have to worry about money because he can easily conjure it. Our boy got himself the upgrade and glow-up in ways that he could never imagine and doesn’t have to experience the hardship he went through in the streets anymore.

To put it bluntly, Leo knows the negatives of immortality, that everyone he loves will die eventually. But now he can, ironically enough, live. Being able to pop into a country with a snap of his fingers, be free of searching for food every day, having the time to study whatever he pleases and indulge when he never could. All of those are miracles he never takes for granted. Leo loves being a god because there are just so many benefits and so little loss to him on a personal level in the short term.

So, he travels the world, enjoying what he could never appreciate in his voyage in the Argo II, bringing his mom with him for the ride while Calypso adjusts to the modern world. They backpack or rest in luxury, but Leo is not blind as he travels the world — regardless of his newfound godhood, he still sees the poor, the hungry, the sick. The people they used to be before he was aware of his status as a demigod, and before he gave his mom a second chance at life. 

So, Leo helps. Out of empathy, he conjures food and builds shelters for those in need. He teaches what he can and offers resources that help people learn when he can’t teach while he quickly studies the subjects necessary to make their lives better. When violence breaks out, he is the first one to intervene, bringing order to bloody chaos. and crushing threats with the snap of his fingers. Normally the Mist hides the divine, but the world has become more open-minded as fantasy and the supernatural become more entrenched in popular culture. Mortals don’t recognize what he is, but they can understand that there was something more powerful hiding behind the face of a young boy. Children who are more open to the concept of the supernatural know his true nature.

The mortal world formally recognizes him when the media sees Leo put down a war between gangs with steel, fire, and blood, sparing the civilians caught in the crossfire and clutching the leaders by their neck in front of the press. Articles spring up and the rumors and videos lurking in the internet are given legitimacy by the public. They don’t know how to name Leo at first - and they initially draw on pop culture as a reference. Some call him The Boy on Fire, others more familiar with his philanthropy dub him The Architect. In the end, they settle for one title: The Ashborn, for his arrival was heralded by the ashes of those burnt by his flames.  Debates regarding what exactly Leo is are furious - some claim he’s a spirit, others claim he is the reincarnation of whichever spiritual figure they pray to. Some think he’s a devil, but even they can’t deny the good he does. The people he saved praise the god hidden among humans, and the Cult of Ash is formed, though Leo keeps a strict eye so that it does not cause harm, physical or mental, to anyone.

Inspired by his travels when he comes back home while keeping a laser focus on his growing cult, Leo builds. A lot. He makes the first demigod cellphones and starts distributing them around the world to demigods in need, allowing them to communicate with both their mortal and supernatural loved ones, though he partners with Iris so that it has more support among the gods. When he comes across the Waystation, he is inspired to create similar locations around the world so demigods can have temporary shelter. He builds smaller versions of the Argo II so that demigods can travel between camps with ease. He becomes practically a one-man industrial revolution for the demigods, and that resonates through most of the world. 

The demigods don’t know how to react to this. They’ve never had a god actively be interested in improving their lives before, much less so directly. To them, the gods have always been distant - important, of course, but not omnipresent and certainly never aiding them unless it was quid pro quo. But Leo is there. He’s talking to them, handing his inventions without charge. He’s helping, and they don’t know what to do because some of them feel they can do more than just say thank you. 

The demigods, in their confusion, go back to the ancient ways of their predecessors when treating the gods to show respect and praise. Sometimes it’s a simple ‘Thanks Leo’ when a demigod uses their phone to call their mortal friends and family. Sometimes it is food burnt in his honor. Some decide to take a more modern approach and make things in his image. Yes, that means the demigods make Leo merch, including a Mythomagic card and figurine that makes Nico choke on air.

But what stands out are the prayers. Demigods start praying to him for safety, for his intelligence and strength when facing the challenges they face in life. When an attempt to transport three demigods to Camp Half-Blood goes horribly wrong, the satyr prays to Leo for protection. Leo appears and slays the horde in a single motion while he guides the demigods to Camp. The demigods he saves sing his praises while getting a more positive outlook of the gods, for now they know there is someone among the divine that advocates for them. 

Much like the mortals, the demigods give him his own epithets, but they recognize the truth about his ascension. Those who focus on his work in improving the lives of the demigods call him Léon o Efevrétis - Leo the Inventor. For those who focus on the true power he wields, they call him as thus: Apocalypsis Leo. Leo of the Apocalypse, for he was the one that struck down the world when it dared to rise against the gods. 

Leo can sense these prayers. He doesn’t know how to react to them because he’s never had people… believe in him. He’s used to hiding his powers, hiding who he is. Now people are idolizing him (literally - someone’s already made an idol figurine of him, and it makes him look too hot than he really should be) for who he really is. It feels good, but he doesn’t know how to react towards them. He doesn’t know if he is doing the right thing by allowing them to worship him, or that he should encourage them to focus elsewhere. 

So, with a bit of advice from Hera, Leo turns towards the closest god to experience what he went through, Mr. D. Only he would be the one to understand the dilemma that Leo is going through, at least in passing for he himself was also idolized. Leo, with a bit of time, confides in him - mainly because he knows he can’t exactly go about spilling everything to the Olympian. But with time, he does bring up the problem - by allowing people to venerate him, was he doing the right thing? 

Mr. D. can’t answer that. Because Leo’s cult is still growing in numbers, and the results of their actions were yet to be seen. But he does give a nugget of wisdom. That how he treats his followers defines him as a god, but if he cares about the independence of his followers, or how they act, then he should lead by example. Do not encourage them to glorify him but guide them. Whether he was worth being treated as a deity, and if that was the right thing, was a decision the mortals would make among themselves. Thus, outside of Hera and Apollo, Leo makes his first friend among the gods. With this, Dionysus also begins his path as the Camp’s official psychiatric counselor. 

The Olympians' (and the other Pantheons) reactions are mixed. Zeus of course thinks that it should be put down, seeing it as possible threat against the gods. Those more reluctant to accept Leo think that if his cult keeps growing, Leo may gun for a throne among the council. His friends among the divine (his demigod friends are a mixed bag, but I'll get back to that later) see it as Leo getting the reverence he deserves as a god, the same reverence they went through during the times of Ancient Greece, Macedon, and Rome. Some just think the cult will devolve over time. The other Pantheons keep a close eye on both him and his cult, seeing him as a new and powerful player on the international stage of the gods.

However, Leo’s mortal friends are a mixed bag of responses. Reasonable, of course - they’re witnesses, and in some cases, unwitting conspirators to Leo’s ascension. They see their friend unknowingly shaping the world around him through his travels, the news articles and shrines being created in his name, and the legend that grows. And of course, each one has a different take on the cult that grows.

Annabeth is not worried about it. She is somewhat wary of the pace Leo is bringing innovation, for demigods never had to deal with modernization in the ways most mortals dream of. Oh, she loves all the new phones and the fact that she doesn’t have to constantly rely on more impractical methods for communicating with her friends. But she wants Leo to allow other inventors to grow, and for the cult not to persecute those who want to create and stand on their own two feet. 

 Percy sees Leo as his ‘what if’ — what could’ve happened if he chose godhood. He sees all the inventions that Leo makes and how he is making life so much easier for everyone, and he can’t help but compare himself to him, wondering if he could do more. Whenever some of Leo’s worshipers see their subject of worship, they radiate gratitude. He doesn’t know what to make of the cult, but he feels a bit envious when he sees the smiles on everyone’s faces whenever Leo shows up. 

Frank, Hazel, and Reyna, while trying to be friends with him, don’t know how to handle the cult. The cult is gaining influence in New Rome, and its slowly starting to show as more statuettes of Leo appear and more prayers are sung. It speaks volumes of the cult’s growth when New Rome's Senate officially pardons Leo about the Eidolon incident without any prompting. The best they can do is that Leo keeps his cult in check, which he is more than happy to do so. 

Unfortunately, and ironically enough, its Jason and Piper that cannot accept, or at least overcome the cult, but for two separate reasons. Regardless, it has a very devastating effect on their relationship because these two reasons are heavily linked to them as characters. 

For Jason, Leo has unknowingly made his job as Pontifex Maximus extremely more difficult. Leo has indirectly set a higher standard for the minor gods - minor gods aren’t just allowed to exist anymore. They should have influence on their lives, or they should somehow benefit the demigods. Gods such as Tyche/Fortuna and Nemesis still have their own domains that are seen day-to-day, but the more minor gods are heavily criticized for their inaction, with Jason bearing the brunt of said criticism. It’s a slap on the face for Jason when he has spent weeks trying to get a single minor god’s temple approved by the Senate and now must beg and grovel for funding, while the only reason Leo’s worshippers haven’t built him a temple is because they want the guy’s approval of it. 

Leo, although doing his best to maintain neutrality, knows the truth behind Jason’s oath — that he had done it to save his and Percy’s skin when they were at Kymopoleia’s mercy. When the minor gods try to blame Leo for the lack of the oath’s success, he argues in his own defense - the people chose to worship him out of their own free will and Jason was still doing his best to uphold the bargain. But when they ask Kymopoleia about the deal, they get a lot more context and see Jason as unwilling and selfish, seeing his lack of success as more him trying to find a loophole in the oath he swore. 

Jason doesn’t see the bigger picture. All he sees is that everyone is more than happy to sing Leo’s praises for being the hottest god on the block, while everyone is hating him for making sure that the minor gods get their moment in the sun. This slowly starts to build more resentment as the monopoly-board with all the minor gods' shrines seems to be just a dream. In an ironic twist, Jason is now resentful about Leo being the golden boy in the eyes of everyone while he’s the one being overlooked, which was the exact opposite situation when Leo was a demigod. 

Piper, in the meantime, is more resentful of Leo as a whole. Mainly because she sees Leo growing more famous, and more people are asking her about trying to speak with Leo rather than her. She’s reminded of a similar situation with her and her father - that she was seen more as a link to him rather than as a person overall. 

Furthermore, much like Jason, she is also feeling overshadowed. When people speak of their quests, they don't give her the respect that she deserves. They don't discuss Piper giving Festus sentience to fight Khione, because nobody else on the Argo II can’t really accept it —Piper’s charmspeak never showed such a degree of power before. Her role in defeating Gaea? She claims that she ‘put Gaea to sleep’ with her charmspeak, but the thing about an auditory power is that… you can’t exactly hear it from several stories high up, and Jason’s supporting claim is looked upon with suspicion because he is her boyfriend, of course he’ll speak on her behalf. Only Leo can testify otherwise, but outside of that she is given the ‘Princess Peach treatment’ (and no, not like the new Mario Movie), with most of her role being downplayed. 

It doesn’t help that her cognition of Leo is very much against the view his followers have of him. She and Jason always viewed Leo as… more of a jester than the inventor he always was. Good for jokes and getting along with, not exactly one she could see as engineering a plot to kill a goddess. She treats the cult’s viewpoint of Leo as a joke. In the meantime, the cult views him as the leader of innovation, the one who killed Gaea and brought an age of information to the demigods. This ends up in her getting involved in several arguments which leads to a nearly borderline fight with Leo’s followers. Either way, she’s convinced the cult needs to be shut down and Leo is ridiculous for allowing it to flourish. 

 It’s tragic, because they were the ones that cared the most about Leo, and they cannot accept the ways everything close to him changed. They, who should’ve accepted him unconditionally, are the least tolerant of him changing. They cannot accept the new status quo and want a return to normality that can never come back. 

When they confront Leo, it's not pretty. They never really argued, for Leo always held his tongue whenever he was frustrated, always willing to talk less and smile more when he wanted to lash out. It always was like that, him shutting up when he wanted to make a comment that would sting. Not anymore. 

Leo doesn’t have a good reason to shut down the cult, and neither does he want to. They haven't hurt anybody in his name, nor has he encouraged them to do so (and he’s been keeping a tight grip on that). He would advocate for Jason and Piper, but shutting down his entire group of worshipers just because his friends didn’t like them? Especially from Jason, who was supposed to honor all the gods, Leo himself now in that category? No.  

What occurs is an between friends that have completely different views of the future. Leo recognizes that there’s no returning back to ‘the good old days’ — in his point of view, there weren’t any. Jason and Piper believe they’ve lost their friend to his newfound godhood… but they never had him in the first place. They had the façade, the mask of jokes he put in front of the world, so they didn’t have to see his true reaction. Now that people seem to be appreciating him for his abilities, for what he has done and how he treats everybody, he finally decides to take it off and verbally starts swinging. It’s the first and last time they fight before we get into the Trials of Apollo. 

This cult doesn’t initially have any impact… until Trials of Apollo. And Leo’s presence, though subtle, is practically everywhere throughout most of the book. Rather than Apollo landing in a dumpster, Leo tweaks things slightly so that he ends up landing at a close mattress. When Apollo gets to the Jackson residence, there’s a small shrine Sally put up - not out of worship for Leo, but out of respect for what work he has done to protect demigods. Apollo stumbles upon a newspaper rambling about the Ash Cult.

Here’s the thing where things get ridiculously funny for those in the know. Apollo doesn’t remember that past six months, and therefore thinks Leo is dead. He unknowingly mutters a prayer to Leo, thinking Sally’s shrine is to honor his memory and not the god. When he gets to Camp Half-Blood, he’s shocked to see demigods using phones and thanking Leo. He sees the smaller versions of the Argo II, which just transported a bunch of demigods from Camp Jupiter.  He sees a temple with a statue of Leo which Apollo mistakes for a monument. The Triumvirate’s attempt to silence demigod communications through Harpocrates is shattered because Leo is several times stronger than the fading god with his vibrant worship in a world where the gods’ power remains in the memories they laid upon the human consciousness. 

Most interactions whenever Leo is name-dropped can be summarized as such: 

Apollo: I’m sorry for your loss. He was the greatest hero I’ve ever known.

The Campers: Eh, its ok. We’re sure he’s going to show up soon. 

It comes to a head when we get to the part of where Apollo is being forced to open the gates to the Grove of Dodona. During his attempts at stopping himself, he does his best to resist the command. He starts praying for somebody to stop him, because there was no way in Tartarus he would willingly cooperate with Nero. He prays to his sister, to his father no matter how much Apollo may hate him. He hopes that anybody will appear - Will and Nico, preferably with backup of a hundred demigods and Percy Jackson. He latches into a small hope the prayers the campers utter. He hopes that Leo shows up soon. 

It seems nothing happens. The gates still open. In the distance, Apollo sees the Colossus Neronis lumber towards Camp, showing up several minutes ahead of schedule. Nero still tosses that lighter and ignites the Greek fire, which spreads towards the hostages at the stake. And for the sake of drama, I’m going to switch it to Apollo’s first-person point of view.

For a second, everything’s falling apart. Nero starts to lug his guard like an oversized potato sack. The fire is starting to roar in its toxic green, burning through everything that it can touch with its bare hands. There’s no stopping it - unless magic’s used, Greek Fire will burn through everything it can consume. If I already felt enraged when Nero tossed the cigarette lighter to the ground, my heart is now sinking as I look into the distance, feeling the ground tremble at my feet. 

The Colossus Neronis. How did forget about it? The statue’s already marching forward, the hundred-foot-tall masterpiece hitting the magic barriers of Camp Half-Blood with a blade the size of a ship rudder. Though my legs are getting me to Austin, I don't know how the heck we were going to beat this thing and put out the fire in time. 

Then… I see something. For a second I think I'm going mad due to the smoke, but then my eyes focus, getting a picture that was crystal clear for just a few precious seconds. A figure soars across the sky, glowing gold that is tinged with red as it carves through the blue sky. It collides with the Colossus, and the statue staggers back at the sheer amount of force for a few seconds. 

I heard of Deus Ex Machina. I appreciated it, derided it, criticized it, and loved the trope when it occurred on mortal media. I loved being one when I really wanted a chance to shine. But I was never on the other side, witnessing it in action until now. I can’t help but freeze in awe as the figure stopped the enemy with a single motion. 

The Colossus stares at the figure for a few seconds, but that was all the figure needed. They unsheathe a sword which glows with the same aura that enshrouds its wielder and slices towards the machine. The blast it unleashed was thin, yet shined with the intensity of a laser, and the figure sheathes the blade.

Then the Colossus is split straight down the middle as soon as I blink, one half superheated to the point it was a mirror of the horizon before both sides fell towards the distant hill. A threat that would’ve stomped Camp Half-Blood is defeated in just a few seconds. Numbly I could hear someone shouting in frustration, but who it was, I didn’t pay attention. 

The figure turns, and it takes me a second to realize - somehow, they were facing me. Then in a second they fly where I’m at with the speed of a fighter jet, landing next to the flames. The figure’s still covered by that blinding light, but the shadow of their palm is visible, and it sucked in the Greek fire like a vacuum until there was nothing left. 

Loud clapping resonated across the grove, and it takes me a moment to register who its coming from - Nero. Nero’s clapping at the figure with a rare expression on his face - one of respect. 

“So, the rumors are true. A new Ascendant has reached the ranks of Olympus.” 

“And I heard rumors that the supposed dead are walking. Guess it’s time to confirm that they’re going to stay rumors.”

I don’t have a chance to react at the implications, and neither does Nero. The figure grasps the emperor by the collar and tosses him to the air in one smooth swing of their arm, too fast for Nero to defend himself. The figure unsheathes their sword once again and this time the motion is too fast for me to keep track of. When its done, only the blessing of immortality prevents a pink and red puree of organs and blood from spilling out out when the figure kicks Nero in the chest as a final coup de grace. Instead, Nero is shattered into a pile of golden blood and dust.

Meg screams. The hostages start to wake at the sound, shaking off their varying degrees of unconsciousness at the peal of the alarm. Austin’s the first to register his surroundings, and there’s a smile on my son’s face. “I knew you’d come. You’re always looking out for us.” 

Part of me wants to take the win. But I know Austin’s eyes aren’t focused on me. No, they’re focused on the figure, whose aura is slowly dimming with each passing second. Reverence. Respect. Worship. Emotions seen so rarely in demigods these days are plain to see in my son’s gaze. 

“Thank your father. His prayer wouldn’t have allowed me to pinpoint your location.” The figure’s aura vanishes completely, and suddenly everything makes sense in the most horribly right way. 

Austin did something that was akin to a chuckle. "But you are. Your temple wouldn't have been raised at Camp if you weren't."

My mind was still looking at him. Curly hair that was black like ashes. Light brown skin that sometimes reminded me of copper. A smile that radiated mischief in a way that would rival Hermes. All of those are staring right back at me, and now part of me wants to slap myself for being an utter idiot.

My mind flashes to Sally Jackson’s shrine, the picture and statuette surrounded by food. Then it moves towards the monument at Camp Half-Blood. The gratitude people showed whenever they made a call with the cellphone they used. Nico giving a weird look at the deck of Mythomagic cards that featured Leo. Harley’s confidence when I expressed my condolences at losing his half sibling. “It’s okay. He’ll be here soon.”

Leo never died. Or at least, he didn't die in the traditional sense of the word. Because the person in front of me isn't the same nervous boy who traded an impromptu masterpiece of an instrument for the Curse of Delos. He also very much isn't the demigod who slayed Gaea.

Leo Valdez is a god. The third Ascendant of Olympus. The thought passes through my brain like one of my father’s lightning bolts. My legs turn to jelly, and I barely see Leo catching me with a look of worry on his face before everything turns black. 

[andydrysdalerogers]

Undercover ~ Eight ~ One Hell of a Coincidence

Pairings: Jake Jensen and OFC Samantha Matthews

The Losers have made it back to their families and are out. Well, almost. A threat against the British crown needs to be handled and the CIA has tapped the Losers for one final mission. And they are sending in Jensen.

Jake Jensen hasn't been a civilian in years but now he's undercover to find out why his target is where he is and who he's after.

Enter Sam, someone who Jake doesn't expect and well, he didn't know he was looking for.

Can Jake handle his mission and falling in love? Especially when the truth leads to a bigger mission than expected?

*~* A Jake Jensen Story *~*

Author's note: this story continues after the events of the Losers. I may weave other characters into it but they are all minor. THE TAGLIST IS OPEN.

The playlist is available on Spotify.

cover photo by me! Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Warnings: angst, death, smut, and a bunch of stuff a can’t say because it gives away the plot!

Previous: Seven - Upgraded Status

Story Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Lights... 

People... 

Smoke... 

That’s all Jake could see as he pulled onto his street, his yellow Camero screeching to a halt. He jumped out. “Sam! Samantha!”  He was running up to his house when an officer stopped him.  

“Sir, you need to wait on the other side of the tape.” 

“Like hell I am, that’s my house. My girlfriend...” 

“We cleared the house, sir, and we didn’t find anyone.”  

Jake swallowed back his tears.  “The panic room?” 

“There’s a panic room?” 

“Yes, I saw someone on the camera and told her to get in there.  It won’t open unless you have the code.  Please, I need to see if she made it inside.”  

“Ok, hang on.” The officer jumped on his radio.  “Sargent, I have one of the owners of the home outside.  He has informed me of a panic room in the home.”  

“Let me come out.”  

The officer turned to Jake. “Sorry, I’m Officer Levinson. You are?” 

“Jake Jenson.” He shook the man’s hand as he began to bounce like a coiled spring.  Another man came out of the house. “Levinson!” 

“Sir, this is Mr. Jensen, he owns the house with... Samantha?” 

“Yes, my girlfriend, Samantha Matthews.  We moved in a few weeks ago and I saw something in the cameras, and she called me, and I told her to go into the panic room, but the line went dead before she told me she made it in. Please, I just need to know...” 

“Alright son, relax.” He put his hands on Jake’s shoulders.  “Take a breath. I’m Sargent Barnes.  Now, tell me where the room is.”  

“It's off the kitchen. Behind the pantry.”  Jake’s eyes were now swimming. “Please, let me just check.”  

Barnes looked at Jake’s broken face and sighed. “Follow me and don’t touch anything.” He guided Jake inside.  The living room was a mess of smoking furniture and bullet holes. Their home was destroyed. The men walked through to the kitchen which looked fine, but it gave Jake chills. He made it to the pantry and saw the door ajar.  

“Uh, the room is through there,” he pointed.  

“What’s the code?” 

“0-6-1-3-8-1" 

Barnes punched in the code and the door hissed open. 

Jake pulled it open to find Samantha in a ball in the corner.  She had passed out in the room, but Jake could see she had been crying by the pink skin around her eyes. Jake let out a sob in relief.  He dropped to his knees to take her in his arms.  “Sammy?” 

Sam stirred and blinked a few times. “JJ?” 

“Oh Sam, thank god.”  Jake leaned his forehead onto hers.  “Baby, are you OK?” 

She nodded before wincing as she unfolded herself. “I made it to the room at the last second.  Someone was pounding on the door, screaming for me to open it. I was so scared Jake.” She began to cry in his arms, hyperventilating slightly and eventually passing out.  

Jake stood up as best he could with Sam in his arms.  Sargent Barnes and Officer Levinson helped him get her out the door. The Losers were all waiting to see what happened.  Clay sighed as he saw Jake with Sam in his arms.  “Is she ok?” 

Jake couldn’t speak.  He kept his eyes on his girl as she slept in his arms.  Sargent Barnes cleared his throat, “we need to get her checked out, but she looks ok.  You are?” 

“Colonel Clay, US Special Forces and I’m Jake’s CO. Jake,” Clay turns to him, “we need to get her checked out.” 

“I know,” he whispered.  He kissed Sam’s forehead.  He walked towards the ambulance and put her on a gurney.  The meds got an IV started for fluid and let Jake climb in before they took off, sirens wailing.  

Sam was in pain.  All she could feel was her head pounding.  She moved her hand to feel her head and it smarted.  She groaned and tried to turn her head to the side, but her head felt heavy. She slowly blinked.  

“Princess? Baby, can you hear me?” 

“JJ?” 

“Hi Princess.” Her eyes focused on Jake as he smiled. “How are you feeling?” 

“Confused and sore.”  She blinked a few times and Jake turned down the lights. “Jake? What happened?” 

“We’re still working on it, sweetheart but I need to tell you something.”  Jake swallowed hard as Sam’s big eyes looked up at him.  He sat down next to her. “Sam, the man who attacked the house, who tried to take you, it was John Fitzgerald.”  

“John?” she whispered. She began to tremble.  

“Hey baby, you made it into the room, and he couldn’t get to you.  You’re safe.” Jake held his girl as she processed the news that someone she knew had tried to kill her.   

“Why? Why did he attack the house?” 

Jake cleared his throat.  “Ok, well, yeah I’m just gonna come out and say it.” He took a breath. “I’ve been investigating Fitzgerald on behalf of the US government and British intelligence.”  

Sam blinked. “What? I mean, why... what does that mean?” 

“I’m not retired from the military, princess. This is supposed to be my last mission before I retire.” The look of shock crosses Sam’s face. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t tell you.” 

“So, you’re here in my town for a mission?” 

“Well yes and no. My parents are my parents and they do live on the outskirts of town and yes, I am planning to retire here but you are not part of the mission.”  

“So, am I just someone who gave you a cover?” 

“No, well yes but no. Princess,” he took her hands in his, kissing her knuckles, “I love you for real.  You are not a cover to me.  You are the love of my life. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it was for your protection.” Jake willed her to look at him and she slowly raised her head.  “Samantha, I will follow you anywhere because you’re my princess.” He bowed his head and kept his lips on her hands, kissing them gently. 

Sam was conflicted.  She felt betrayed, lied to and yet, Jake had never made her feel anything less than safe and loved. She sighed as she pulled her hands away, forcing Jake to look up at her. She cupped his cheek. “Tell me everything.”  

Jake closed his eyes with relief. “British Intelligence got a threat assessment on Fitzgerald. They said there was a creditable threat against the new King. Umm, King Anthony, I think the name is.  Anyway,” shaking his head, “originally Clay was supposed to go in, but he had history with Fitzgerald and the CIA and MI6 decided to send me in instead.”  

“And then we met.”  

“And then we met.  And I have never been more thankful for the CIA at this point, because I found you.” 

Sam smiled and blushed.  “So, what changed?” 

“Well, we have been doing surveillance to see who he’s working for or what his endgame was.  We’ve been hitting dead end after dead end. The only lead we had was that he was looking for something to do with a Duchy. I’ve been monitoring everything. I’m not sure how he knew it was me.”  Jake shook his head. “I’m so sorry Princess, I should have seen it coming.”  

Sam blanched. “He was looking at a Duchy?” 

“Yeah.  It's called the, umm, the Duchy of Manchester.  But when we researched it, there is no one listed as that, so we still have no clue what he is looking for. But Princess, I promise I will protect you with everything I have. Clay has a safe house for us to move to and my parents have already moved to Savannah’s house. As soon as the doctors clear you, we’re leaving. Clay has Bowie, he’s fine. A little spooked but our kitty is missing you.” 

“Ok,” Sam swallows.  

A few hours later, Sam and Jake are in the safe house with the rest of the Losers. Clay sat down with the couple. “Jensen, we used that tracking device like you said. Pooch has seen that there was a piggyback on your computer at work and it's been there for a couple of weeks.”  

“Shit, how?” 

“We don’t know. Maybe he asked one of your teammates, its currently unclear.”  

“For now,” Aisha stated, “you both need to stay here. Fowler and Hart are going to debrief in a few minutes. We have made them aware that Sam knows about the operation now and has been read in.” 

“I’m sorry, who?” Sam asked.  

“Our handlers for this mission,” Pooch explained.  The computer next to them signaled an incoming call and Sam trembled, her lip being chewed on her teeth.  

Jake notices as Clay answers the call.  He tugged her lip free and kissed her temple. “It's gonna be ok baby. Promise.”  

After Sam is introduced to the handlers, they walk through everything they know.  Sam tunes them out for the most part but notices that Inspector Hart keeps glancing at her. Jake notices and frowns but decides to address it later.  As the call is finishing up, Sam raises her hand timidly, much to Director Fowler’s amusement.  “Miss Matthews?” 

“Will I be able to contact my mum? I mean, I won’t tell her anything...” 

“Yes, we will set up a secure line for you to call your family.”  

“Ok, yes, I should probably call my father as well. Thank you.”  With that, Sam shrunk back onto herself. Jake took her hand and hung up.  

“Ok,” Pooch clapped his hands, “we’ve set you guys up into the guest suite,” pointing down the hallway. “Cougar is going to stay with you guys.” 

“Thanks guys, I appreciate everything,” Jake says as he shakes hands with everyone except Aisha, whom he gives a hug too.  Clay gives a one arm hug to Sam. Aisha hugs her tightly and tells her to call her if she needs to talk.  Jake nods to Cougar and then leads Sam to their room.  Aisha had gotten clothes and toiletries for them.  After Sam cleans up, Jake heads in and Sam starts to pace the room. She was in turmoil, knowing that it was time.  

As Jake came out of the bathroom, he noticed the slight distress in Sam’s face.  “Princess?” 

Sam turned to him. “JJ, I need to tell you something.”  

“Ok, is everything ok?” 

“Yes, well, no, gosh now I sound like you.” Sam smiled weakly.  She sat on the edge of the bed as Jake pulled on clean clothes.  He sat down next to her and took her hand. “Jake, I’m special.”  

Jake chuckled. “I know that, Princess.”  

“No, I mean I am very special and unique. Like, there is one only one of me in the world.”  

Jake looked at her confused.  “Of course, there is only one of you. I don’t understand...” 

She cuts him off.  “Jake, my name is not Samantha Matthews.”  

“What? What does that mean?” 

“Well, it's not just Samantha Matthews.” She took a deep breath. “My family is special. When my mother met my fathers, my father had just lost his first wife and was left with a son.  My brother is five years older than I am and just took over the family business. After my parents split, I became important when my father realized that he couldn’t have any more children.” 

“Why would that be important?” 

“Yeah,” she sighed, “my name is Samantha Marie Elizabeth Matthews – Davenport.”  

Jake recognized the name. “Davenport?” 

“Yeah, I would also be known as Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Manchester.” She couldn’t look at Jake yet. “Or as the heir to the throne of my brother, King Anthony of England.” 

NEXT

Taglist:

@patzammit

@texmexdarling

@slutforchrisjamalevans

@firephotogrl74

@tinkerbelle67

@before-we-get-started

@bunnyforhim

@alexakeyloveloki

@sunnyhummingbee

@whiskeytangofoxtrot555

@peaceinourtime82

@saucy-sassy-sparkly

@kmc1989

@kandis-mom

@lokislady82

[drsteggy]

So idk this has all been on my brain of late and I just want to dump it out and Facebook sure isn’t the place to do it.

I’ll start by saying I’m AFAB cis straighty mcstraighterson. Like I’ve thought long and hard about these things for a long time and yeah, maybe I hit the Demi romantic spectrum because I classically do not recognize flirting unless the person finally says hello yes I am interested. Like the guy I married had to actually kiss me because I was very well he is just cuddly I guess and he got tired of waiting for me to move. And I feel that’s possibly a very large maybe.

But anyway. I got obsessed with a Zelda game to the point I went I would like to become the Zelda game, even if it’s just on a temporary basis. Early on in the process someone asked me if I was crossplaying or genderbending my Link and I decided that I was a guy when I wore my champion's tunic. And I really didn’t have an answer for that So I started to spend more and more time trying to come off more dude like.

And like, I get I’m playing at this. I understand that. This isn’t a struggle over my identity. I’m playing in a sandbox and I am trying to be respectful of the people I see out here who do struggle with this thing that seems on the surface it should just be a Fact to the point that total strangers feel they should just know that about you. Like, I see my privilege here, I get that, but it’s also been interesting to explore? I hope I’m not sounding like a jerk here.

But like there’s this thing where it’s are you wearing a costume or are you trying to be a character and the more times I put the things on and the more comfortable I got with being blonde and changing my contours the more I thought about what does this mean for me…and idk maybe I still don’t know.

I hit a point where every once in a while I’d fool someone in a photo, but I never fooled anyone in person.

Until this year. And I have no idea what changed other than I probably got better with practice.

I was off at some con and got into a conversation with a young person who told me he was trans pretty quickly and when we traded names, he gave me a confused look and came back with the masculine version of what I gave him. When I corrected him, he tilted his head and asked for pronouns and I told him she/her and he still looked skeptical and I was like….what’s this.

One day I did my make up and looked in the mirror and went wow I really really look like my dad, I never saw it before.

Then I went to NYCC and the days I wore the blue tunic (Gerudo Link fools nobody, unless you’re considering the point of that gear I guess) I had a few people kind of stop and then refer to me as they because they were not sure. And I was very well this is pretty interesting.

And I’m working on an upgrade for the new game. I haven’t put the entire thing together because I’m off to a con in like 48 hours and doing the whole deal can be Something so I am saving that energy for when it’s needed. But I did take some test images and while I’m really pleased with the costume (it’s going to be so bad ass when it’s entirely done, totally wearing that to GameStop to pick up my copy of the game) I also realize that if I take my face out of the equation, I’m not sure what the gender presentation is either.

So I’m super looking forward to going all out in drag here and see how I get addressed this weekend. I’m not sure I’ll offer up corrections.

And like, this has just been roaming the front of my brain and it’s better dumped out and I dunno.

[changeling-fae]

Some Hoachman poly headcanons.

Luna was only jealous once when Roach was getting flirty with Velour but it had less to do with possessiveness and more that she had never felt feelings for someone before and so she was uncertain with what they were or what was normal or anything like that.

After this when they finally do hook up, she calmed down. Her attraction to Horizon took her by extra surprise, even moreso than her attraction to Roach. Later she realizes her attraction meter falls under if the person knows what she is. She’s incredibly charismatic but she always had a wall with people because they don’t know what she is and it affected her behavior more than she realized, especially since for a long while she didn’t want to examine how humanity was affecting her evolution.

So if Roach or Horizon want to hook up with other people it doesn’t bother her but she personally can’t bring herself to do it, not unless they were to know what she really is.

Luna is a reserved person overall with a pretty palpable barrier but with Roach she’s very physical (not just sexually). Something about them being the “same”, at least not of Earth, is the big factor for that. Also Roach’s physical nature rubbed off on her and it just feels natural for the two of them.

She’s close with Horizon too of course but Horizon can sense her personal barriers and is more mindful and vice versa, so they tend to silently make sure the other is open to touch first, just out of respect and care.

While both Roach and Horizon are male in my game, I still imagine them all only being loosely connected to that identity. Roach especially (I mean I still consider them genderfluid, just at this particular point in time they’re appearing as male). If he were to change into a girl the next day, Luna wouldn’t care. Her identity as afab isn’t that strong herself. She doesn’t know what “girl or boy” is supposed to feel like but since in her early years she was trying to lay low and blend in, she never cared about changing what others saw her as. I actually like that the game has this line after picking a gender.

Because it’s pretty accurate.

They’re going the road trip ending and I’m having fun imagining all what they see and do.

Roach 100% has her join one of those “if you eat this ridiculous sized meal you get a tshirt and don’t have to pay” restaurants. In one part because free meal and shirt but really he’s getting too much enjoyment at everyone being like 😱 at this tiny petite girl consuming her body weight in food.

Horizon spoils the fun after the third restaurant because he’s concerned for Luna’s health (still a human body she’s inhabiting). 😔

It’s fine though, she got enough tshirts for the three of them, which is what Roach wanted so he can make up a dumb story about them being traveled food contest people.

Luna brought her motorbike and Horizon rents his own. Roach piggybacks off both of them. Their vibes draw many peoples heads while they travel but I can’t imagine anyone would be stupid enough to mess with them. Or maybe someone would, since Roach seems unassuming, Horizon looks like a hippie, and Luna is an afab person traveling on the road. Wouldn’t be smart of the person though; Luna may be more human like now but she’s still dangerous (especially since she’s got an upgrade), Roach can be sadistic (especially since he is protective of her now), and Horizon isn’t a pushover either. Although Horizon would be the only reason an altercation would end peacefully (especially since he is aware of what his cosmic horror partners can do).

She does call Livvy and her mom in every new town she ends up in, something she promised she’d do.

Actually I headcanon that mom wouldn’t let Luna just up and leave for road travel without meeting these “friends” of hers that she’d be going with first. Luna wouldn’t want her mom to be forever worried so she agreed for them to meet. Mom has her suspicions on what kind of relationship the three of them have but she doesn’t press. I imagine Horizon in particular would be good at reassuring Mrs. Newman that Luna will be safe and he’ll make sure she always makes sure to call. Livvy also supported Luna. Roach pulls on the charm too.

I’m not sure what’ll happen when Horizon eventually has to go back to being a cult leader but I like to think Luna and Roach would come back often to see him. Or maybe even a split time thing, with Luna staying with Horizon for a bit while Roach travels and then Luna travels with Roach for a time and so forth. Not sure though. 🤔

I have more ideas and thoughts but that’s for a different post. 😂

[rustyvanburace]

On top of playing Harvest Moon SNES, I’ve also revisited a little of the original GBA Friends of Mineral Town. Tbh though, I’m already kind of bored of that.

When I was very young, I used to hate the concept of HM games just ending after a set period. After all that hard work, why would I want to suddenly lose it all? But I’ve come to realize now that, at least for the earliest games, the point of that was to grade you for all the work you’ve done and the accomplishments you’ve made. You couldn’t simply waste your time doing nothing in the three or so years you were given; you had limited time to build your ranch and your life from the ground up. It was this urgency that incentivized the games’ core strategizing and, at the end of it, what made the villagers’ high praise and (at least in HM SNES) your final ranch score all the more worth it. And it emboldened you to do even better the next time.

There’s games that allow you to keep playing indefinitely after getting your evaluation. But at that point, what is there to even do anymore? You’d probably have done everything there is to do by then and, aside from some things that were missed, there wouldn’t be anymore goals to strive for in a post-end game. Or at least none that keeps you engaged for long.

Returning to FoMT, I already feel that. The game doesn’t really have an end goal. You’re given the ranch and left with all the time in the world to do anything. You can set little goals for yourself--like amassing full barns, getting all the upgraded tools, completing the recipe book, and see every social event--but there isn’t really anything of an end to look back on all you’ve done. There is no ending in that game, unless you consider getting married to be that ending. And that may as well, since the game’s credits roll after marriage.

I’ve seen people comment that FoMT turns boring once you get married. And I agree, cause there just isn’t anything else to motivate you towards much less acknowledge all you’ve done. Closest there is is marrying the Harvest Goddess given her extreme requirements.

I don’t know if SoS:FoMT did anything about that and I kind of dropped out of newer BokuMono games after Magical Melody, but that was always kind of my issue with the games for some time after that. Having no timed ending is good for casual play, but I also like feeling accomplished lol. And it’s why I actually enjoy the older games more, even the hugely underrated GBC games in some ways.

[geminiamethyst]

Running. Chapter 35: Moving On

Chapter 1: click HERE

Chapter 34: click HERE

Chapter 36: click HERE

A week had flown by and everything remained as quiet as ever. No attacks or sightings from the Council or anyone that was from the Underground. It was odd, and no one could put their guard fully down just yet, but it felt peaceful in a way. It let everyone get ready and finally move on to what they needed to do. The wooden dolls will remain in the Den where they can’t be accessed by anyone that could wrongfully use them. Keebo hadn’t found anything in their belongings, so their confident that they were safe in that area. With the amount of scans and even physical searches that he had done, the robot was sure that they were clean. While they weren’t sure about the potential use of trackers, they had decided not to take the motorcycles, just in case. So they’ve decided to alternate between transport to try to throw off anyone that could be following them. They can’t let the Underground find this camp. They’ll take a train out to another city, and then get on a bus that will get them to the closet town to this “camp”. After that, it’ll be a few days trek to get to their destination. Probably wasn’t the most ideal or comfortable of journeys but it was better than nothing, especially if they don’t have their own transport.

“Really gonna miss my hog.” Mondo said wistfully. The day had finally come to leave and everyone was making small final preparations. Miu and Keebo had arranged for the group to be picked up at a location and taken to the train station. With how big the city is, it was better and safer to drop the group off at the station than have them walking.

“I know. I don’t want to leave my bike either, but we don’t have much of a choice.” Kaito sighed, equally sad about it. It was mostly sentimental value more than anything. His grandparents gave him his motorcycle the day that he left. It helped him and Maki journey across the country for a year. Leaving it behind almost felt like he was leaving behind a pierce of his family. At least it’ll be in safe hands unless Miu upgrades it without his knowledge.

“Tell you what though: good job I didn’t get Ishimaru a helmet after all. Woulda been a fucking waste of money.” Mondo commented, trying to make light of the small situation.

“While I don’t condone the language, I fully agree with you.” Taka interjected, coming out of corridor that led into the Den. He was carrying a small backpack that was filled with most of the things he prepared, even a fresh set of clothes that he was able to get.

“You heard that, right?” Mondo grinned, nudging Kaito a little.

“Careful, your ego will go to your head so much, that you’ll reach space.” Kaito grinned back, also nudging the biker. The two would’ve continued, but Maki had emerged into the garage. Miu and Keebo weren’t far behind her.

It was time to leave at last.

Walking out carefully and quietly was easy enough. It was early enough that not that many people could see them. Just the odd homeless person and early morning commuter. Probably not enough to be cautious, but given the circumstances, the group can’t be too careful. That’s why Miu and Keebo were escorting the travellers to a the pick up point. They were serving as back up in case it was going to be an uneven match should they be confronted. Not that the group can’t handle themselves, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

“It’s right around the corner.” Keebo informed, his eyes fading back from being neon blue. He had made sure that his eyes were hidden under the hat that he wore. He was wearing the same disguise that he did last year. Hat to help hide his hair and face and long coat to hide most of his body. Since getting to the pick up point, he had been tracking the vehicle picking them up. Making sure that nothing happened to the driver, he was even able to tap into the dash cam that was recording the inside of the vehicle.

“Look, I know I’m not the most gracious of hosts, but be careful out there. Don’t want anything happen to you guys. Especially you Maki.” Miu genuinely smiled. No crass, no jokes. Just genuine concern for those that were under her roof for that amount of time.

“Thank you Miu.” Maki bowed gratefully as the taxi started to pull into view.

“Stay safe everyone. Let us know when you get to safety.” Keebo smiled, shaking Kaito’s hand.

“Sure thing.” Kaito smiled.

“You two stay safe as well.” Taka added as the taxi pulled over next to them. After a quick confirmation to the travel information and who was being picked up, the group was dropped off at the train station. Once dropped off, they kept an eye out constantly as the tickets were picked up. So far so good. Boarding the train was a little daunting. Given how the last time Kaito and Maki last went on a train, they were overly cautious. Kaito even waved a hand over the seats in front of him just to make sure that the passengers were holograms (which, when they noticed him, he quickly made up the excuse of swatting at a fly). Mondo and Taka weren’t sure as to why the teens were more nervous than they were, but they didn’t question it. After all, they were nervous about moving on again. Even if they were safe on the train, and were sure that there were no more trackers on them, there was no way of knowing for sure if they were truly safe.

———————————————————————————

“They’re on the move again.”

“Finally! I was getting impatient!”

“As was I. Now don’t fail me!”

“Relax. I’m not like the other two idiots. Where are they anyway?”

“Never mind that! Remember, I need the girl alive.”

“Yeah yeah…just get me to where they stop or where I can intercept them easily. Still don’t know how you’re doing that by the way. Didn’t another Limitless use to do that before he was-”

“I don’t order you to think! Get the girl!”

“Fine!”

[blahandwhatever]

Fucked my brain up with a nap, here’s some surveys.

Have you stayed up past 3 in the morning this week? Yes, that is my normal.

What was on the last sandwich you had? Don’t know man, it’s been forever since I had a sandwich. I remember getting a pretty good panini from Panera at, uhhh… one point.

What does the soap you use smell like? I use unscented soap, so, basically just soap.

Do you prefer to wrap gifts or use gift bags? Either one; depends on the gift and what makes sense.

Does anyone you know have their hair bleached? Sure.

When you’re on the phone, do you doodle? No. My mother used to doodle during phone calls, which is interesting because it’s not something she did otherwise. I never did it during phone calls, though I did plenty of it in other contexts. Phone calls are kind of a difficult and draining thing that tends to demand all my energy and focus.

Is there anyone you know by the name of Frank? No.

Name the hardiest piece of technology you own? Don’t know?

Have you ever written with a pen that had pink ink? I’m sure I tried it at some point in my life, but pink was never a favorite color.

Do you remember the last thing you took a picture of? Some remaining fall colors.

From where you’re sitting, can you turn the lights off? Yes. 

When was the last time you accidentally slept in? I slept unexpectedly long yesterday. But it’s not that unusual or generally that big a deal for me. I let my body do its thing, unless I have high-priority plans that require getting up by a certain time.

Do you wear a ring on your left hand middle finger? I don’t wear rings often.

Are you currently listening to music through earphones? No. 

What color shirt are you wearing? Is it your favorite color? A warm lavender. One of my favorites.

Do you own a pair of rubber boots? No. 

Have you ever owned a tire swing? No. 

Does anyone you know own a bird that can talk? No. 

What make-up are you wearing currently, if any? Whatever’s left of my concealer and brow pencil.

Name one thing you are glad you accomplished today? Getting rid of all the dead plants on my balcony. 

Name one thing you wished you accomplished today but didn’t? Getting more work done.

Have you ever known a guy who caused a lot of drama? Sure have.

Does the idea of snowpeaked mountains and a large lake sound appealing? Yes.

Have you ever lost your luggage at an airport? No. 

How many windows are open on your computer right now? I have uhh, several windows and hundreds of tabs open.

Do you have a fairly fast or slow internet connection? Fast, aside from that one Extended Period.

Have you ever gone in a sauna? No.

Out of these colors, which appeals most to you: orange, blue, or green? Blue.

Have you celebrated your birthday yet this year? Yes. 

What is the longest time you have gone without sleep? Like two days, in college… Not worth it.

Have you ever been someplace tropical? Kind of. Not generally my thing.

If given the opportunity, would you act in a commercial? No.

You see an ant on the ground, do you squish it? Outside? No.

Has anyone in your family fought in any of the wars? No.

Would you make any changes to your current bedroom? Yeah, there’s some upgrades I’ve wanted to make and additional decor I’ve wanted to get for quite a while, but they’ve been on the back burner due to budget constraints and higher priorities.

Has a stray dog ever tried to bite you? No.

When riding a bus, do you prefer to sit up front, down back or the middle? Depends how things are laid out and how people are distributed. I remember going for all of those, for various reasons, when I used to ride the bus.

Have you ever been on a cross-country train ride? No, but I want to do the Chicago-San Francisco Amtrak trip sometime.

Are you normally a person to tell people off? Not in most contexts.

Do you currently have any bugbites? No.

Is where you live on a boulevard, road, street, or avenue? Drive.

Is there currently any caffeine in your system? No.

Look around, are things organized? Partially.

What was the last upsetting thing that happened to you? Went to finally drop off my unneeded equipment at the Xfinity store thinking this would be quicker and easier than shipping it back, and Boy Was I Wrong. They checked me in and then made me wait about 35 minutes to do a 30-second transaction while a bunch of people ahead of me had lengthy sessions setting up services, getting phones, or whatever. I really shouldn’t have gone on the weekend, but it was the first time I had a good opportunity and also happened to remember I needed to do this. Also, my phone battery died right when I got there. Horrid misalignment of the stars. Usually I’m pretty patient and understanding with this type of stuff, but in this case I truly thought it was ridiculous and easily preventable by any of the multitude of employees. Literally could’ve just taken my equipment and printed my receipt right away when ‘checking me in’; I was upfront about the fact that this was all I was there for. fghjhdkjhk

What was the last thing you ordered from Starbucks? I think I tried the iced version of the white mocha a while back. And it was fucking. 50% ice. 30% whipped cream. 20% coffee. Overpriced as shit. Never again.

Do you trust your doctor? Haven’t seen doctors with any regularity in years, but I’ve trusted the last couple I’ve seen. Granted, I researched them ahead of time.

Do you ever question if your mother loves you? I have certainly questioned both of my parents’ ideas of love and the incompatibility of some of their attitudes and behaviors with true love. But I wouldn’t flat-out deny that my mother loves me. She does in a sense, to an extent.

Do you ever feel scared or unsafe around your dad? Emotionally, yeah.

What is your favorite type of Lunchables? I liked the turkey and cheese ones as a kid.

What gives you migraines? Nothing, fortunately.

What is the worst medication side effect you’ve ever had? Not sure. Don’t think there’s been anything too bad.

When was the last time you remember your life being good? It’s generally good nowadays.

What is your favorite thing to order at Taco Bell? I usually get the crunchy Tacos Supreme.

What was the first color you dyed your hair? Never dyed my hair. Used to highlight it slightly.

Do you trust your parents completely? lol, no.

Have you made a lot of mistakes? Sure.

Do you take risks often? Kind of. But not really dramatic or thrill-seeking types of risks.

When was the last time you spent over $100 in one transaction? What did you buy? Last week; ordered two black purses to try and compare.

Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? Would you judge a grown adult for doing so? No and no.

Would you describe yourself as fashion-conscious, or do you just wear whatever feels comfortable? I wear what I like, which is partly comfort-based and partly aesthetic. I am somewhat fashion-conscious.

The last time you got up from where you’re sitting, where did you go and what did you do? Went to get some food from the kitchen.

What’s your favourite way to make your home smell good? Do you spend a lot of money on making this happen? That’s not something I really do. I don’t really use fragrances. If I need to, I might open the window or door or run the air purifier in an area that needs it. That said, I did love the smell of Target’s Up & Up off-brand Swiffer wipes in lavender, which was a very warm and mild scent for a floral fragrance. They seem to be discontinuing that brand, though. :/ I tried the actual lavender Swiffer wipes to see how they compared and they’re just a horrid run-of-the-mill artificial floral scent.

How long have you had the computer/tablet you’re currently using? Does it need replacing or upgrading? I got this iPad for Christmas 2022. Hardly used it until my recent computer troubles, but it’s great to have now!

When you’re home alone, do you make sure all your doors are kept locked? Yes.

How often do you light candles? Do you just like regular ones or do you prefer scented ones or ones that make pretty patterns when they melt? Never really do it anymore. Used to love candles. I’m happy with the lighting & vibe I have at home and just don’t ever feel the need.

Are you any good at taking care of plants? Not the greatest, but I manage okay… mostly. I actually ruined my beloved windowsill ivy by overwatering it for a while earlier this year - overcompensating for a period of forgetful underwatering - and I think it developed some kind of fungus, and it pretty much fully died. Will need to find a new one and start over.

What are the main two colours in the room you’re currently in? Did you pick these colours out yourself? Gray and like, soft/muted teal-ish colors. Yeah. I had a few things along those lines from previous bedrooms, and though I’d originally envisioned doing a warm color scheme in my bedroom along the lines of what I had back in high school, and a cooler color scheme in the living area, the place I ended up getting was better-suited for the reverse. There’s a gray carpet in this bedroom, and I had existing stuff that worked here, so I built off of that.

What was the last hot drink you consumed? What about cold drink? Coffee, water.

Do you have piercings anywhere except your ears? How many and what are they? No.

Do you prefer taking baths or showers? How come? Showers. More practical. The bathtub in this place is also kind of gross; maybe I’ll do the occasional bath in a future place.

What time do you need to wake up tomorrow morning? What is it that you have to be up for? No particular time.

If you work, how often do you get paid? Would you prefer to get paid more or less often? Between my two main jobs, I get reliable paychecks three times a month, though two of them are quite small since they’re for a low-paying job I’m not doing a lot of hours at anymore. Sporadically I might get a bit of additional pay if I get projects from other jobs. I’m reasonably satisfied with the frequency, though having the once-a-month bigger paycheck split up into two could be better.

What does your favourite pair of pyjamas look like? Do you wear them to sleep or just to be comfy around the house? I have pretty nice light gray ones with white lace for the summer. For winter, I have a purple set I’ve been wearing since way back in college and really need to replace because it is not in a good state anymore. Usually just wear them to sleep.

How often do you wake up in the night needing a pee? Rarely.

Do you prefer cats or dogs? Do you own any of either? Cats. Not currently.

Do you have one of those fridges that has an ice-maker in the front? If not, would you find one useful? No. Not particularly; I rarely use ice.

Do you like wearing hats? What’s your favourite style? Nah, I only wear winter hats for warmth when needed. In theory, I like the idea of a nice hat with more bohemian-style clothing, but a) they always feel a little wrong on me and b) it feels like a level of fashion-forwardness/statement-making that transcends my own.

Have you ever driven in bare feet or do you think that’s too dangerous? I have never done it because uhh… there is just nothing appealing about the idea.

Do you have anything hanging from your ceiling apart from lights? Just a fan.

[lousycapy]

your post about mclaren's dilemma pretty much sums up what's going on in the team right now. I think they've already decided that oscar has a higher ceiling than lando, stella mentioned it in an interview, people took it directly with the drivers' ages and started joking about it but stella was referring to this when he mentioned that oscar was the future. I don't think anything will change in the next races tbh, if what you say happens and oscar will be below lando, then everything will fall into place naturally, but if not, i don't know what will happen, do you think they will collide at some point? how long do you think lando can hold out for this? a crash would surely limit their chances for the wcc. Oh, and regarding ferrari, the improvement in the team was already noticeable in spa and zandvoort, it's not just in monza, and the following tracks are good for them. Personally, i don't see the wcc closed at all.

Hmmm I don’t think they’ve decided anything, that’s the issue. Their statements are so vague and back and forth when they discuss their drivers’ situation, there doesn’t seem to be any clear choice to have been made.

As for a potential crash between Lando and Oscar, I don’t think it will happen. They’ve never crashed, and only touched once ironically in Monza last year when Oscar was coming out of the pits on cold tires. Otherwise it’s always been clean. Oscar’s pulled off some great clean racing recently, and Lando as we’ve seen at t4 last week is very careful when it comes to racing his teammates. I don’t see it happening, unless they get shafted by strategy or something and end up letting their frustration out on each other.

Ferrari is weird, sometimes their updates work, sometimes they don’t. After Imola and Monaco we thought they had popped off with their upgrades and were gonna fight Redbull for the wcc in the next races, but then Canada and Barcelona happened and turns out the updates were shit. The only car to have been consistently good over the course of the season is McLaren’s, so as much as some great tracks are coming up for Ferrari, some bad ones are coming up as well, and as long as McLaren don’t fumble their car’s development then they shouldn’t have to worry to much.

[moxiebrown]

The Business of Smosh

I’ve been interested in the business strategy and long term viability of Smosh since the 2023 buyback announcement. As Jon Youshaei pointed out during the VidCon 2024 Industry panel, Mythical and Smosh are the longest tenured entertainment companies on YouTube. This is an accomplishment that deserves accolades and study, as they have been able to not only sustain but thrive in the continuously changing world of Digital media. As a tech professional around Ian and Anthony’s age, I wanted to share my perspective on their business strategy from what they’ve publicly disclosed over the past year.

Read on to find out how much profit I think they made from Smosh the Sitcom and whether Anthony is truly dedicated to Smosh.

Finances

Ian mentioned on the panel that Smosh previously experimented with a mini tour to gauge the feasibility of it as a revenue stream but the ROI was not what they wanted. As a fan, I would not expect them to invest in any live tours any time soon

Jon stated that merchandise makes up 10% of Smosh’s revenue. Ale stated that having young creatives lead these parts of the business keeps Smosh relevant

The panel discussed the positive audience response to Smosh The Sitcom. Shayne Topp said they had 66,000 viewers at one point (I am looking for the source of this number as I believe it might have been said during a livestream that has since been unlisted). The minimum ticket was 19.99 USD with optional upgrades; I estimate they grossed around 1.5 million dollars. Given they had to pay their steaming partner, studio rental, and a ton of other overhead outside their usual operating expenses, a conservative estimate is that they made at least a 750,000 USD profit

This type of additional revenue has been instrumental in allowing Smosh to take more risks in format and take on bigger projects in the future, as Courtney Miller mentioned in their recent Dexerto article

On a “Who Memed It?” video, a meme hinted that outside investors were touring the office, which Alé denied. I don’t believe they will look for additional investors (Ian and Anthony funding their purchase through a financing company; Mythical may or may not still own a small share as well)

I expect them to make yearly if not multiple livestreamed events to be a major component of their strategy going forward. They will continue to court younger viewers and expand their marketing through social media and merchandising. Now that Pit and Games are sustainable, they will probably experiment more with Main and SmoshCast. Ultimately they want to turn as many casual viewers into dedicated fans as they can, and they’ve utilized a three prong content strategy (social, YT, and exclusives) to increase that conversion.

Sustainable Growth

Alé said over the past year Smosh has grown from 35 to 50 employees. I assume she meant full-time, salaried employees as that’s usually how companies define the size of their org. As contractors/freelancers, most of the cast would not be included in that total

Almost doubling their employees plus expanding their cast is a major endeavor, and I wouldn’t expect their company to grow much more barring open critical positions over the next 1-2yrs (unless they achieve huge success that forces them to expand more quickly)

They’ve presented Alé Catanese and Kiana Parker as their leadership team alongside Ian and Anthony; I don’t think they will bring in any external execs but will prioritize promotions as part of cultivating talent internally

YouTube

A recent Reddit comment posted YT had promoted Smosh on socials more than usual lately

Smosh also hosted a YT industry event earlier this year

Anthony has reaffirmed their commitment and confidence in YT as a platform

(I’ll add sources to the above if I find them)

I have no fear that they will become a streaming service anytime soon. All signs indicate they are happy with YT and are investing in cultivating a stronger partnership. I could see the possibility of converting Smosh.com into a membership portal like the Mythical Society as right now it’s their only stream that is underutilized.

Ian and Anthony’s roles

Ian and Anthony are co-owners of Smosh; they are the ones who will lose all the money if the company ever folds

Ian is President while Anthony is Chief Creative Officer (as listed in Smosh The Sitcom end credits)

On the panel, Ian and Anthony said they’ve given the team control and ownership for most decisions; I don’t think we will see them step in to address unpopular decisions with the fans (such as who gets cast in what shows)

As CCO, Anthony almost certainly weighs in on what shows get retired and is involved in the pitch approval process

The cast has mentioned I&A don’t know specific references from Pit and Games, so it seems their creative interest is dedicated to Main

Ian and Anthony trust their people to make the right decisions for Smosh. Their energy lies in ensuring the long term financial success of Smosh as a business while they are currently creatively focused on Main, very much like GMM vs the Rhett and Link channel for Mythical. It’s clear to me they do not want to be engaged in running the company day to day.

A special observation on Anthony’s “commitment” to Smosh

Ian shared that he jokingly proposed to Anthony in a company meeting during their Assumptions episode. Timing wise, it would have been around Shayne and Courtney’s wedding announcement. I was suspicious of this comment because I don’t think he would have taken the spotlight from them by using it as joke fodder

Shayne previously mentioned the Pressalike team attended the first combined all-hands in early 2024 on a “Who Memed It?” episode

Alé shared that they are in the process of merging Pressalike (Anthony’s independent company) with Smosh at Vidcon

Anthony has stated his desire to be in control and to be an independent creator as one of the main reasons he left Smosh. Ian is extremely loyal and will “go down with the ship.” Merging in Pressalike is the clearest symbol of their commitment to Smosh and each other (and makes darn good business sense for Anthony as his programming can now get full access to Smosh’s resources).

This is as close to a marriage as two platonic best friends and creative partners can get. Rhett and Link have described their relationship similarly, and I have no doubt they’ve mentored Ian and Anthony over this past year. While fans may desire the big, bold gestures onscreen, it’s these kind of boring yet life changing actions that indicate their friendship is thriving.

Sources

Smosh The Sitcom Live

VidCon 2024 industry track Smosh panel

Smosh Pit episodes

Anthony Padilla’s channel

Dexerto article

2023 Variety article

Jon Youshaei

That’s about it! This is my first Tumblr post after 10 years of lurking. It may be my only one, but if not, I’ll write up a post about my fandom journey one day. Remember fanzines, y’all?

[discord-thoughts]

My phone was stolen this weekend, and I have so many feelings about them and there’s nothing I can do, so you have the pleasure of listening.

I was working the bar, and when it was slow, I would read. The author likes the thesaurus’s so I kept my phone handy to make notes of the words I didn’t know. When I would help a customer, I would leave my phone beside the book. That was a mistake.

We have her in camera. At 3:23, she slipped my phone into her coat pocket and left. She had been gambling, and didn’t get anything to eat or drink except for three cups of ice, the entire time she was there. She said it was an Irish thing, that they ate toilet paper, and something else too. It had a name; I think it began with a K.

I realized at 3:45 that I shouldn’t have left it on the counter, but it wasn’t there when I went to grab it, so I checked my pockets. Empty.

If I had worn my apron that day, maybe I wouldn’t have left it in the counter, carelessly. I told myself I wouldn’t need my apron, anyways.

I checked my Apple Watch. It was disconnected from my phone. So I called my phone from the lounge. Voice mail. I called again. And again. And again.

Voicemail.

Voicemail.

Voicemail.

I called my husband, and asked to check the location.

“It says you’re at work, as of 20 minutes ago”

I asked him to call.

Voicemail.

Voicemail.

Voicemail.

The panic set, and I had to leave the bar before my customers saw the tears in my eyes. I don’t handle panic well.

I begged my coworker to tell me it was a prank. A cruel joke. I was crying by this point, but she had no idea what I was talking about.

I signed into find my iPhone. It’s in lost mode now. Maybe they’ll try and sell it, and the buyer will call me. I called my data provider. The IMEI is blacklisted. I filed a report with the police. I cried.

I had run out of cloud storage, and ignored the notification warning me for months, maybe even years now. Everything on that phone was not coming off unless I did it manually, with the phone present. Now I pay for iCloud storage.

Photos of my niece, my siblings, my dogs. Photos of the country, and memories I’ll never get to see or send again.

16 half written songs, and a note of bits and pieces. Prompts. Lyrics. Ideas. A TBR book list. Sims 3 achievements checklists. How much I need to transfer each month for bills. Thoughts that I had been hoarding, waiting until there was enough to reread. Random, ridiculous things that I can’t even remember now. Words from the book, that I never got to define.

I had an assignment due that night. I tried to distract myself with it, but I couldn’t access my account without verification via text message. It’s been three days. I still haven’t messaged my instructor. I really should.

I had stickers on the back. Some meaningless. Some from friends a whole continent away. Some from old teachers, on assignments i did well on. Some were inside jokes, or just the context of when I put them on were sentimental.

Text messages. Christmas gift ideas. Birthdays. Heartfelt conversations. Reminders.

Gone.

The address on my phone location updated on Monday, the day after it was stolen. I called the non emergency line, and they sent someone to check. They denied. I sat outside their house in my car the whole time. I waited two hours for the officer, and I watched as he drove away. I cried.

He gave me his work number. I sent him the video of her walking out with my phone. The photo of her face. He said they’ll try to ID her, that he’d call me back in 24 hours. It’s been 36. I haven’t heard from him.

I sent him a screenshot of the find my iPhone. The address updated to 48 streetname Cresent, from its original 44. I haven’t heard from him. I think I’m going to call again tomorrow. It’s 2am. So, today.

I had to buy a new phone yesterday. I called about insurance. I thought I was protected for theft; “Insurance for lost or stolen phones is expensive and tedious, so we don’t outright offer it to customers”. On upgrade fees, financing payouts, activation fees and down payment, I spent $1200. I now spend $13 a month on damage, theft and loss insurance. My phone bill is now $2 less than with my old provider, and they gave me a $10 discount and $5 insurance.

I get tips from the bar, so I had cash on hand, but I don’t know how I’m going to pay for my next semester of school.

It’s a newer model.

It feels wrong.

It’s empty.

All flash, no substance.

I woke up this morning, feeling like a stranger, all because of a strange phone.

I want my phone back. I want my memories back. I want someone to care. I want to stop crying. It’s a stupid thing to cry about, really. I want to curl up in a hole and not exist. I haven’t felt this way in a long time.

It’s just a phone.

I shouldn’t be so upset.

Maybe it’s the mistake.

I hate making mistakes.

I feel dumb.

Useless.

Worthless.

Incompetent.

Careless.

Tired.

Angry.

Sad.

Stupid.

It’s my own fault.

I wish they would do something.

It’s a stupid phone. I shouldn’t be so upset.

[atlanticcanada]

Moncton business owner puts up wall of shame to expose alleged thieves

How bad do things have to be in order to put up a ‘Wall of Shame’ sign on your property?

For small business owner Damien Beaman, pretty bad.

Beaman put up his wall of shame sign a few weeks ago to raise awareness about crime he and others are experiencing on Millennium Boulevard in Moncton.

He's had propane tanks, extension cords, torches, gas jugs and even an excavator stolen from his property.

Thieves didn't get far with the excavator, but it was damaged.

All the losses and the increased security measures have cost him around $10,000.

“These are items that I've already bought and paid for and I have to pay for them again and that's, I think, the biggest frustration for me. It's an expense that I should have had already paid for and I have to do it over and over every year,” said Beaman.

His wall of shame has been a hit on social media and it has received a lot of positive attention.

“I've had fellow neighbours down the street, businesses, local small business owners, come to me, pull in and say, 'Hey, congratulations, good for you because we're experiencing the same,’” said Beaman.

Those neighbours who have also dealt with vehicle thefts and other crimes say they love the idea.

Controls and Equipment CFO Jean LeBlanc thinks it’s awesome.

“I saw that last week. It's kind of nice to see. I don't know if it's taking the initiative, but it's at least making people aware of what's going on,” said LeBlanc.

His business has had a flat-bed trailer stolen and catalytic converters cut off brand-new trucks.

“For local businesses, it’s just an extra cost. We don’t need to go through this,” said LeBlanc.

They have added more security cameras, guards and LED lights to the outside of the building.

"You come in here at night and it's almost like a ball field, it's all lit up," said Leblanc.

Daca Graphics owner Dave Cabel is also a big fan of the wall of shame.

“I love the sign. I think it should be bigger so that it would drive the point home a little bit better maybe,” said Cabel.

Cabel is so fed up with break-ins and vandalism that he doesn’t even lock the doors to his vehicles anymore because he doesn’t want to have the handles damaged.

“We drag all of our tools in every night,” said Cabel.

Beaman has upgraded his security cameras but that hasn't helped catch thieves.

“Anytime the RCMP shows up, basically we get the same question asked to us, 'Do you have a picture of these guys' faces?' and the answer is always no,” said Beaman. “The guys are smart enough to basically either have bandannas and hoodies on so we can't identify them.”

LeBlanc says there’s not much the RCMP can do.

“They can't do anything unless they're caught red-handed,” said LeBlanc. “We give them as much information. We've given them videos off of our camera feeds. If they identify them, they'll catch them. If they don't, they don't.”

Sgt. Thierry Malenfant of the Codiac Regional RCMP said they have members specially trained to help businesses curb crime and he urges business owners and residents to report all break-ins and thefts.

"I hope they do. I know sometimes they might feel, 'There's not much we can do,' but if we don't have this information for sure, we won't be able to do anything. Sometimes it could be the missing link with other thefts in town, so it is really important to report any crime in the city,” said Malenfant.

Beaman has a message for the police and the city.

"If I had a word to say to the RCMP and the city of Moncton, it would be this: Together, let's do better Moncton.”

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/r2ihEw3