#homes for sale in garner

[ukiyowi]

𝐏𝐄𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐎 (𝟏𝟏𝟖)

𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑢𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑆𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

Peitho is the Greek goddess of persuasion, seduction and charming speech. In my opinion, wherever Peitho is in your chart, it shows in what way are you persuasive and seductive, what areas can you persuade people. 

Masterlist

⟲ Houses: 

Ⱄ 1st - So determined and have very high self-esteem, may feel empowered through sexual liberation, you use your confidence and authoritive aura to seduce and get people to do what you want, honestly low-key can make anyone listen to you, you may notice a lot of people getting easily swayed by you, may embody traits of Peitho to a certain extent. 

Ⱄ 2nd - Can easily get money from people around them, may get a lot of material gifts without having to ask for them, can influence people's choices about financial decisions, good at talking business and getting people to spend, sensual and sweet, extremely feminine and may have slow elegant movement. People may not agree, but femme fatale energy as well. 

Ⱄ 3rd - Charming speech really charming, they can get people to do whatever they want using a few sweet words. Silver tongue, great sales people, can sell and pitch ideas really well. May be the type to be an academic, use their intellect and knowledge to seduce people, also good at spreading rumours. 

Ⱄ 4th - Welcoming and warm, persuade people through making them think it was their idea on the first place, manipulative, make people feel at home and get your way through creating a comfortable space, nurturing instincts that can make people imagine having a family with you may garner a lot of suitors who want to start a family.

Ⱄ 5th - They're really creative and their originality is what gets people to listen and makes them curious, great teachers, kids always listen to them, big movements, their way of doing things is grandiose, could be a bit of a tease, I've seen these people dance and they look very attractive and in their element. 

Ⱄ 6th - People always listen to them when it comes to health or routine, for example people with this placement could advice someone to change their diet and the person would instantly agree or try to do as advised, straightforward when trying to persuade someone, mind over matter in terms of seduction, seduces through promises of giving more than receiving.

Ⱄ 7th - My friend has this placement and she's a matchmaker, can persuade people to either get into relationships or out of them, have a great eye for red flags, polite can be a bit condescending, they may use their demure demeanour to seduce people, may have the whole "good girl/boy" "girl/boy next door" thing going. 

Ⱄ 8th - Just powerful in general, convincing in regards to matters related to family property and finances, may be good at persuading people to learn more about the occult and make them interested in it, intense and mysterious seduction, pull people in who like the chase like a cat and mouse game, could pull anyone they want to be honest.

Ⱄ 9th - Make for great academics and can be the type to be able to easily recruit people into a religious organisation/making people believe in multiple religions/gods, good at convincing people to travel with them or accompany them (even if it's to the grocery store) fast paced, see seduction as a weapon to wield, direct and honest, a little clumsy.

Ⱄ 10th - The ability to make or break someone's reputation honestly, whatever they say in a work setting is taken seriously, motivate co-workers to work hard, if they spread a rumour about someone at the workplace people will take it as truth, can persuade people to change career paths, seduce through smizes, bold yet reserved body language and wit. 

Ⱄ 11th - Have such a huge influence on their friend group and community, easily persuade people to be more giving to the community, carry out humanitarian acts, donate, persuade people to alter or change political beliefs and friends, seduce by being different, their eccentricity pulls people in because its unique, fluid in terms of they can make themselves be anyone's ideal type. 

Ⱄ 12th - My friend has this placement part 2, helps and persuades people to move on from past trauma and heal themselves, are able to convince people to get rid of their limiting beliefs and this placement has a healer role almost. Seduction caused by looking/seeming dreamy and making themselves seem unattainable, use fashion to go for the kill. 

xoxoxo

All Rights Reserved Ukiyowi. Do not steal or plagiarise or reword and claim as your own!

[morbidology]

Few images capture the desperation and heartbreak of the Great Depression as starkly as the photograph known as "4 Children for Sale." Taken in 1948 by photographer Bettmann, the black-and-white image depicts four young children sitting on the steps of their home in Chicago, with a crude sign beside them that reads, "4 Children for Sale – Inquire Within."

The photograph portrays the four siblings – Lana, Rae, Milton, and Sue Chalifoux – whose mother, Lucille Chalifoux, was reportedly driven to the decision to sell her children due to severe financial distress. The children's father, Ray Chalifoux, was a coal truck driver struggling to find steady work, and the family faced eviction from their home. With few options left, Lucille and Ray made the heart-wrenching choice to put their children up for sale, hoping that they would find better lives with families who could afford to care for them.

The image quickly garnered widespread attention and became emblematic of the widespread suffering experienced by many during the Great Depression. Public reaction ranged from outrage to sympathy, as people grappled with the harsh realities that could lead parents to such a desperate act.

While there has been speculation that the photo might have been staged, the story behind it is true. All the children in the photograph, including the baby Lucille Chalifoux was pregnant with at the time, were indeed sold. One of the girls in the photo later revealed that she was sold for $2, which was used for bingo money. Others recounted being sold and then chained to a barn, forced to work as slave laborers on a farm.

[hotwaterandmilk]

I'm seeing "Wedding Peach was unsuccessful" trotted out on Twitter again and it's honestly kind of funny to me. You can dislike the series, but you're rewriting history if you suggest it was a massive commercial flop/astronomical failure — it simply wasn't.

The Wedding Peach TV series maintained viewership throughout its run which is why it aired an entire year's worth of episodes (the full length it was intended to run) and didn't get cancelled like Nurse Angel Ririka SOS, for example.

I'm not going to pretend it did Sailor Moon numbers, dear god, it absolutely didn't get close hence why it wrapped as it did. I would suggest looking back now, that it was the definition of a mid-performing title for the time period. It sold toys decently but not outrageously, it got viewers but not an outstanding number, and it garnered a small but dedicated fanbase of male otaku. All of which is par for the course when it comes to a mid title in 1995.

Wedding Peach DX was produced because the TV series LD sales were decent enough to warrant it. Children were not buying LD box sets at this time, adult fans were and it was this interest that justified the creation of the four DX episodes as direct-to-video releases. If a series doesn't sell well they don't make more episodes, let alone higher quality deluxe episodes specifically for the home video market (and thus for older audiences with spending power).

It is very important to point out that Wedding Peach DX had NO INVOLVEMENT from the original creative team. Tomita Sukehiro and Yazawa Nao did not contribute to its creation, Tadano Kazuko didn't provide designs. Yuyama Kunihiko was the driving force behind the production of the DX episodes and he served as both director and writer for all four episodes (bringing on Wedding Peach animator and soon-to-be frequent Pokémon collaborator, Ichiishi Sayuri to serve as character designer).

What inspired these to be fanservice dreck to the level they ended up being is honestly beyond me. I mean the otaku market definitely wanted more episodes featuring the characters (and more songs featuring the seiyuu, if you want to see how keen otaku were for FURIL please see this post) but part of what they liked about the characters at the time was their (barfbarfbarf) perceived purity and innocence. The DX including panty shots and swimsuits kind of threw them for a loop. Even now, if you look at discussions about the DX among otaku there's a bit of a divide in opinion.

The DX episode sales were (as far as I can tell based on magazines from the time) also mid, but enough to cover four episodes. Three and four don't seem to have sold as well as one and two, but again the stats from the time aren't comprehensive. I think the fact that there weren't any after episode four says it all, honestly. OVA episodes are expensive to produce and it was extremely common for them to stop immediately if the sales weren't there. DX didn't justify its existence beyond those four episodes and Yuyama moved onto a far more successful project in Pokémon.

On that topic, I think it's important to note that Wedding Peach was OLM's first television series (albeit a coproduction with KSS). If it and the studio's adaptation of Mojacko hadn't made some level of profit it would have been quite difficult for them to adapt Pokémon. Neither Mojacko nor Wedding Peach set records with their viewership or sales numbers, but they both did "OK". It was in Pokémon however, that that OLM truly found a successful property with the series still running today. Sometimes you've got to have a few runs at producing things before you find success. Wedding Peach was one of these early runs, a project where a lot of people cut their teeth but one that didn't justify its own continuation beyond a certain point. Just a very standard media mix from the mid-90s, in other words.

Wedding Peach is a problematic title with indifference through to outright objection to representing love outside of heterosexual romance. Looking back now it feels like an absolute dinosaur on so many levels. Between the anime's fatphobic episode and Momoko dropping some gender essentialism, I'm not surprised people want to relegate it to the dustbin of history.

However, I think it is very telling that Tomita Sukehiro, when presented with the opportunity to tell a similar story in the modern day, chose to represent not just queer love, but platonic and familial love in Wedding Apple. While he can't undo the regressive and cringy elements of the original series, as a creator he has progressed and I'd like to think we can all continue to improve our outlooks and output as we grow.

Disliking Wedding Peach in the modern day is completely understandable. I'm not going to pretend anyone should watch it in 2024 without knowing that it is a camp, cheaply made relic of a time when heterosexuality was considered magic. However, just because it pandered to all the worst things trending at the time doesn't mean it didn't sell enough products or hold enough viewers to justify its production. It did, it just wasn't a strong enough property to go beyond that and that's representative of mediocrity rather than mind blowing commercial failure imho.

[whitlovealways8]

Astro Observation #9

Lunar Return Edition

Moon in the 6h and Venus in the 12h, with ruler of the 6h transiting the 12h, spent an extra $200 on an unexpected health ailment. 6h health, 12h unexpected expenses.

Venus in the 12h, unexpected expenses once more, my tire blew out on the road. Condition of my 3h since 3h is relates to cars? Ruler of the 3H in the 6h. Coincidentally, Gemini was my 6h that month.

Capricorn rising, so much work that month. Also had two planets in the 6h..so yeah. Expect a lot of work with planets in the 6h, esp if ur moon is one if them.

Natal 3h, lunar return asc, I definitely spent time with extended family a lot. Even tutored my nephew

Mars in 7h, people were a pain in the butt to deal with.

Venus in the 12h I fell asleep easier

Sun in 3h really put a spotlight on my communicatiom but also my bond with mt siblings.

Moon in 11h, chronically online lol but I was busy talking to a lot of people via my phone. Sun was also in my 3h that month.

Mercury transiting my lunar return 12h and the dreams I got were super vivide and insightful. I dreamt I had a several cyst. 3 days later went to the doc and he found one. But also in that dream it told me I need to look at the root of my mother wound to prevent more cyst. I heavily decoded that dream. I can share my twitter link to it if u like.

Ruler of the 11h in the 2h, I gained some sales online.

4h stellium had me at home more often and focused on family.

Chiron in 4h, clichè to say but I was focusing on family wounds.

Mars transit 8h of LR, shared resources took a bit of a blow. More was needed to be done to garner resources

Ruler of 2h in 3h, spent more on travelling and on my car.

I know its been a while I've posted but I have been studying astro more.

[brittle-doughie]

Star of the Industry (Popping Candy, DJ, Rockstar, Parfait, and Shining Glitter Cookie)

Requested by: 🧁 anon. Sorry for the wait, but here it is at last! Quite a lot of musical cookies!

“Ladies and gentlemen, Star Jelly Records would like you to put your hands together for the one and only, Y/N Cookie!”

The crowd roared and cheered as you came up onto the stage, outfit and mic at the ready. You tipped your head in confidence as you began to sing.

Running out the oven, we are never turning back. We will not be the witch’s crispy, crunchy snacks!

You danced as good as you sang, making finger guns towards the audience, with the cookie at the receiving end fainting in their fanboyism/fangirlism.

Security cookies had to deal with fans trying to leap over the railings to get closer to you, some had to work hard to get hired this job and it showed with how much they pushed back against the crowd, they were determined to keep you safe.

Be the way you want to be, for all of those to see…

The crowd erupted into cheering as you dropped the mic…into your other hand because microphone were delicate things, why drop it on the ground, hehe.

————————————————————————

You were making your way to your vehicle, security covering you as you walked, your personal agent, Dumpling Cookie, walking right beside you as she too cleared your way of the boisterous crowd.

“Clear the way, cookies. Y/N Cookie has a lot of places to be! HEY! You keep your hands off their hair!”

She smacked the offending cookie on the head with her notebook.

Like with your security detail, Dumpling Cookie had to work real hard to get the role as your agent and vowed to be the best there was. Really only soft spoken and considerate to you, she was cold and professional with others.

She will not tolerate anyone taking advantage of you and will put her foot down towards devious contracts these big shot studios were giving you, with Star Jelly Records being one of few that she was willing to settle with.

You two made to your vehicle as security escorted you both in, with them following after as you drove off.

“You were unbelievable today, Y/N Cookie. Ah, I already preordered myself a copy.”

You very much appreciated her support as you smiled warmly at her, Dumpling having to cover a blush with her notebook.

“O-of course, Y/N Cookie. Okay, next on the schedule is a interview with Reporter Cookie, and then a meeting with our manager, he said it was important.”

The manager? Wonder what that will be about. Sales have been doing pretty wonderfully, and you don’t recall particular problems with today’s performance..what was on his mind…?

————————————————————————

“Tell us, Y/N Cookie, how does it feel to be the next big and upcoming pop star? Your tracks never fail to reach around the top of the chart! I struggle to even get a physical copy with how many cookies crowd the stores!”

Cue a video showing a large crowd of cookies entering the store, huddling around your section inside as copies were literally flying off the shelves.

You chuckled at the recorded scene before answering her question that you were rather humbled that cookies actually listened to, god forbid, even like your music! You uploaded your first track for fun, not really expecting the SURGE of popularity it garnered!

You remember just making a small song in your home and posting it online, not really thinking much of it. To go from being a regular cookie to being a popular figure was surreal to say the least!

“Haha! That’s Y/N Cookie for you, viewers! Humble to the end! Your songs are always so sweet and amazing, it’s even garnered the attention of other cookies in the industry! Even the superstar, Shining Glitter Cookie, plays your songs in her car, humming along to it!”

Shining Glitter…actually likes your songs too? That…was a lot to take in actually, hehe.

“In fact, you’re the talk of the town amongst other well known cookies in the music biz! DJ Cookie mentions you a lot on their posts, Popping Candy showed off his collection of your merchandise, even rising star Parfait Cookie says she gets inspiration from you and your singing!”

Parfait Cookie, you remember going to one of her shows, before you became popular. It was a little funny now that she was looking to you for her inspiration to rise as a pop star!

Funny indeed…

————————————————————————

Your manager praised you for another outstanding performance today, tickets sold like crazy and merchandise sales continue to impress! Dumpling Cookie got a little bit of a scowl going on, she didn’t like all this talk about the money the manager was spouting.

“But…I believe you can get an even bigger popularity boost then what you have right now! After all, a cookie of your talent deserved it! Hence why I called you here!”

Oh? You asked him what that would be? You’re pretty comfy where you are right now.

“It’s no secret that other popular figures in this industry are fans of your music, so I reached out and a multitude of them wished to have a collaboration with you! A great opportunity in my opinion!”

“Now just hold on a second.”

Dumpling Cookie objected, surprising both you and the manager.

“I know you’re the boss and all, but is this really a decision only you yourself can make? A collaboration requires agreement from both sides and I’m not hearing any say from Y/N Cookie about this. I will not let Y/N Cookie be forced into anything.”

You accept!

“W-what?!”

“See, this cookie wants to do this as well! Let’s get this project underway!”

The manager starts to type away at his computer as Dumping turned to you in concern.

“You really want to do this, Y/N Cookie? I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable with this whole thing. Watching out for you is not just me doing my job, but because I care about you. Know that.”

You chuckled as you placed a hand on her shoulder, you looked her in the eye and reassured her that you were okay with it. It sounded like a neat idea and hey, you could make some new friends with this collaboration project. You thanked her for caring about you, it what makes her an awesome secretary to you.

Again, she used her notebook to hide her blushing face, a small smile forming on her face.

————————————————————————

You waited in your studio for the first cookie the manager scheduled for you, the door opening to reveal them.

Rock and roll, baby! Rockstar Cookie had made it onto the scene! He was enthusiastic to meet you, playing a guitar riff as he entered the room!

He’s seen your stuff and wanted to collaborate with you as your musician! With your cool singing and his spectacle guitar playing, you two would make a good team!

His admiration didn’t stop at just your jams, he will compliment you personally, though this will get an eyebrow raise from Dumpling Cookie.

You agreed that his guitar playing was pretty great, those were some sick riffs he played. This is enough for Rockstar to start playing his guitar from the hype.

Your audiences will just adore the two of you together, baby. His fans will simply love you after a concert together! He knows he does-

Alright that was enough as Dumpling Cookie nudged him out the door, Rockstar calling out to you that he hopes you pick him! Other cookies have no soul with their music, rock and roll was the way to go!

“Okay, that’s one of them. Not bad with a guitar, but should really learn personal space. Who’s next?”

Parfait Cookie would be the next to walk through the door, at first a little nervous, but after a warm welcome from you, her confidence grew and she was eager to proclaim her inspiration from you!

She heard one of your songs in the cafe and was immediately got stuck in her head. She was, like, a pretty big fan of you afterwards. She watched your shows and would try to replicate your singing and dancing herself!

You were flattered! It was pretty clear Parfait looked up to you a lot, like, a lot a lot.

She’s got a bunch of your albums in her room, she couldn’t pick favorites, they were all amazing! It would be perfect if you could sign them!

You were amazing….~

She would be a incredibly happy cookie if you collaborated with her, not only would she be one step closer to her dream, it would make her year to sing alongside her idol!

“Happy to possibly work with you, Y/N Cookie! I’ll totally cherish the time spent together, paru paru parfait~!”

Parfait happily waved at you as she made her exit, Dumpling closing the door behind her.

“She seemed fine, an inspiring cookie with a dream. Though she seemed too sugary with her admiration, if you want my opinion on it I mean. Let’s see…”

DJ Cookie made through the door with sick beats, nodded their head as they made their way to you. The winner of 8 Jammy Awards and had earned the label of having the best album of the year!

You’ve heard of DJ Cookie’s music career and thanked them for believing you were worth it to collaborate with.

Of course, you were a cookie with a sick talent for singing and dancing, DJ themself have a few videos of your performance in the background while they record!

They saw Rockstar Cookie leaving your office with a smug grin, you weren’t actually considering collaborating with him, were you? His music would put people to sleep, not DJ!

DJ believed that you are worth so much more to let a cookie like Rockstar be your musician for a concert! You deserved only the best and they will do their hardest to be the best for you!

8 JAMMY AWARDS. Did you know they won 8 of them?! Their album was at the top for the year! There was no cookie capable of such feats as them! The choice to collaborate with is obvious!

Just say you’ll pick them please.

And that was Dumpling’s cue to escort DJ out of the studio. DJ tried to say that it was only a heat of the moment thing, but Dumpling wasn’t having it as she closed door.

“For a cookie of their caliber, that went down fast. Please advise caution if you go with DJ Cookie, Y/N Cookie. They don’t seem to be of sound mind when it comes to…rivals. Next one in line!”

Popping Candy, similar to Parfait, was nervous when coming through the door. Along with Shining Glitter, you were an idol to him and his group the more they climbed up the chain.

Shows you his collection of your merch he has on his phone. He even had the head shaped pillow that quickly ran out of stock! To see his collection yourself, you chuckled as you scratched the back of your head in flattery.

When your manager put out the offer of a collaboration in his feed, he jumped at the opportunity. To have a joint concert with you would be a dream come true for a fan of his level.

He and his group, the Cake POPs, would do their best to follow your every step, they wanted to make sure this concert was perfect! Popping Candy already watches your performances on repeat, so he’s got an idea of how you perform!

His other group members would be greatly appreciative if you chose them to collaborate with!

Let him take a breather, wow, it’s just, he was actually talking to you, THE Y/N Cookie, an idol he’s been following for a long while now!

Could you perhaps…sign his forehead?

Dumpling sighed, that was her cue. She politely requested Popping Candy to make his leave, but to avoid making him upset, she tried a roundabout approach.

“Uhh, right. Thank you for your time, Popping Candy Cookie. We’ll keep in touch if you get picked, so give Y/N Cookie some time to think about it.”

Ah! Of course, Popping Candy understood! He got up and headed on out, he needed to practice on his choreography and singing some more! Dumpling wiped her forehead as she shook her head, what was going on today..

The most popular for last, Shining Glitter made her entrance by shaking hands with you, saying how she became a quick fan of you after listening to your songs on the radio. The way you sang just enraptured her!

She was a super star, but in her eyes, you were the star that shined as brightly as ever with how you were on stage! She found herself wanting to dance to your rhythm!

She scooted closer to you as she took your hand into hers, saying how this was probably your first collaboration and so it would be an honor if she was the first cookie you partnered with, it would mean lot. This sent alarm bells for Dumpling Cookie.

Both of you were popular stars, so it only makes sense that you two were paired together. Fans from both sides would just LOVE to see you two perform on the same stage.

They were naming a street after her, she’s considering including your name in it too as a token of your beautiful partnership with her!

Like with Popping Candy, she has a bunch of your merchandise she shows off on her social media, nabbing the higher end ones like Y/N Cookie-branded pillows, plushies, party sets, etc. Even a copy of your very first track release, it was incredibly rare!

Sorry if this seemed out of nowhere, but it would be a funny to see the possible ship names the fans would make for you two. Shining Y/N Cookie? Y/N Glitter Cookie? The possibilities were infinite!

Line was drawn, Dumpling requested that Glitter make her way home. Shining Glitter was genuinely confused with this, was it something she said? Shining Glitter would not budge as she refuted what Dumpling was trying to tell her.

“Ms. Glitter, you need to make way for the next cookie in line-“

“What? What do ya mean “next cookie”? Was my proposal not good enough to get selected right away? Who else was there to choose besides me?”

“Plenty of other cookies, you’re not the only one making it in this line of work. Simply, I don’t care if you’re popular, Y/N Cookie will not be working with any cookie who’s this forceful and arrogant.”

“I want to hear it from Y/N Cookie themselves, Y/N, would you like to have this partnership with me?”

Dumpling was doing her best to push back, but Glitter got uncomfortably close when asking that it made look to the side awkwardly.

Well…

“You’re, like, already popular enough, I should be the cookie they collaborate with!”

Parfait Cookie at the door?! DJ too?! Wait, they’re all here?!

“They’re good in the singing business, they just need the right cookie with the sickest beats, that’s where I come in and whisk them off their feet!”

“Your tunes are soulless, rock and roll is the way to go, baby!

“So many cookies here..will Y/N Cookie still choose me after all this?”

“A cookie of their standing only deserves an equal to that, don’t ya see that it’s me who can fulfill that?”

Dumpling Cookie grew increasingly agitated the more the group of cookies bickered, this was no way to act in front of you.

She had to angrily call for security to escore all the cookies out of the premises.

————————————————————————

The cookies waited in the lobby, sat down and lamenting on the events from earlier.

“We messed up, didn’t we? I hope Y/N Cookie isn’t too mad at us…”

“Parfait: I do admit to losing my cool there, it’s just…I look up to them so much, that sharing the stage would be a dream come true. I should’ve assumed it was the same for everyone else, regardless of fame.”

“Hear hear, the fire in my heart was so passionate that it clouded my mind…”

“Shining Glitter: I do admit that I was actin’ unprofessional back there, a part of me…wanted Y/N Cookie to like me as more then just being a superstar, but as me…”

The door leading into the lobby opened, revealing you and Dumpling Cookie as you made your way to them. Dumpling’s cold state boring into the eyes of the cookies made them want to avert their eyes from the intensity.

“Y/N Cookie has taken it into consideration…and they’re just not interested in any of you. Thank you for your time and actually make your leave from here.”

The cookies gasped in horror before you poked Dumpling in the shoulder with a pout.

Heyyy, you didn’t say that. Come on now, Dumpling.

“What? Am I not allowed to have a little fun?”

Broooo. Anyway, you corrected Dumpling’s little joke by stating that to avoid any discourse and bitterness from the other cookies, you’ve decided…that you accept everyone’s offer to collaborate. Let’s shoot for the moon with so much talent onboard!

Everyone was taken aback! They were so sure that they’ve messed up their chances by the little squabble from earlier, they didn’t expect you to have the opposite reaction in any capacity!

Well, the stage was for anyone, and considering how each and every one of them said they were a fan of you, you figured why not and decide to make this one grand collaboration of all different types of talent! The manager was certainly happy and excited with this idea, so if they’re willing, you were down with it.

They saw the opportunity and JUMPED for it

“Yeah, Y/N! Let’s make some killer music, baby!”

“I won’t let ya down, Y/N Cookie. I promise ya my beats will pump up the crowd!”

“Y-yes, I’d love to! I really need to practice now to match you!”

“Shining Glitter: Let’s be glorious stars together, Y/N Cookie!”

“Parfait: Wow, just wow! I’m, like, totally excited for this! I feel like my toppings wil melt!”

Dumpling Cookie rolled her eyes at the other cookies with a smile, you always did have a kind sway over cookies to have them get along. Sure, you weren’t as hard on them as she would’ve been, but it just showed how much of a giving cookie you were. And that’s what she loved about you.

————————————————————————

“Welcome back, cookies! We have a special performance today! Y/N Cookie is not making an appearance alone tonight! We at Star Jelly Records would like to announce our special guests! Rockstar Cookie!”

“Are you cookies ready to rock?! WHOO!”

“Parfait Cookie!”

“Paru-paru-PARFAIT! Are you cookies ready for sweet melodies!”

“DJ Cookie!”

“DJ Cookie here and I’m gonna drop the beat!”

“The Cake POPS!”

“We’re honored to be singing alongside Y/N Cookie! Here’s to a great concert with you all!”

And gracing the stage alongside them, Shining Glitter Cookie!

“Can you make some noise, cookies?! We can’t hear you!”

The crowd roars as you handled the mic, singing alongside Glitter, Parfait, and the Cake Pops while you played your tunes with Rockstar and DJ, all of them very much liking you giving them attention.

The manager behind the curtain was crying happy tears while Dumpling Cookie was waving a mini-flag of you as support.

Your mailbox will be crammed with fan letters, but hey, that’s the price to pay when you’re a superstar in this industry!

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

heya, i have to wake up in three hours but! here's another lil human au snippet! ft. lightly implied Laughingstock! disclaimer i am so so tired so don't come at me for typos or strangely worded sentences or missing info <3

~

Before heading home, Eddie swings by a charming little store he’s been to once or twice before. He usually goes to the chain store by his house, but he doesn’t feel like dealing with the hustle and bustle and the endless aisles. This little store is quiet, nice, and strangely has everything anyone could need. 

The lot is mostly empty at this hour, so Eddie claims a spot right at the front. As with the other times, the windows are littered with displays and stickers - half off on this, sale on that. Eddie enters Howdy’s Place with the chime of the door’s shopkeeper’s bell. He’ll get what he needs and get out, quick and easy and peacefu-

Boisterous laughter slams into Eddie like a hammer, so sudden that he jumps in place. An employee stocking cans nearby glances weirdly at him. Eddie clears his throat and hurries into the nearest aisle as the laughter tapers off. The silence barely lasts a second before loud chatter starts up. It’s too fast and muffled for Eddie to understand, but he can pick out two distinct voices - one deep, one less so but still decidedly masculine. 

Eddie tries to tune it out as he gathers what he needs. Toothpaste, some paper towels, shampoo. For the hell of it, he nabs a box of classic bran muffins from the spacious food section. He lingers for a moment, enjoying how far-away the conversation seems at the other corner of the store. Unfortunately, theft is illegal, so Eddie is forced to move towards the noise.

A strange thing about the store - it’s a combination general store, antique shop, and diner, complete with a miniature gift shop separating the two. One long checkout counter stretches from the open store area, behind the gift shop, and into the diner, where the conversation is coming from. An interesting setup, but an understandable one. It allows anyone behind the counter to move fluidly between customers and sections.

As Eddie approaches, the conversation becomes slightly clearer. 

“-said, no wonder you didn’t get her number!” the deeper voice barks, and the two dissolve into that almost-too-loud laughter again. 

As it tapers off, the other voice says, “Sounds like a real charmer! But really, you oughta be careful, Barn. One of these days someone’s gonna throw a right hook at ya.”

Eddie’s eyebrows shoot up. A transatlantic accent? He hasn’t heard that anywhere outside of real old movies and a queen he once knew. It sounds natural too, like the man was born to sound like he belongs on a 1920s radio show. It nudges something in the back of Eddie’s mind. He’s started to get really sick of that nudge.

“Oh, this guy did.”

“No kidding? I don’t see a shiner.”

“Well, yeah. I went left.”

Both of them laugh again, and Eddie feels a tiny tug at the corner of his mouth. That wasn’t funny enough to garner an actual laugh in his opinion, but it wasn’t unfunny. 

Eddie steps up to the counter and quietly puts his acquired items on it, not wanting to interrupt. He chances a glance to the side - walking space in front of the counter’s length lets him see right down into the diner.

A large man with dyed-blue hair and an interesting fashion sense is at the bar, talking to an employee leaning against the other side. The employee doesn’t really catch Eddie’s gaze, but the other man… Eddie swears he’s seen him before. He studies him from the corner of his eye, not wanting to be rude but unable to mind his business. 

“Our bouncer didn’t even get a chance at the action - the idiot knocked himself out tryin’ a second swing!” The customer says. His deep voice, wavering with humor, only adds to the sense of familiarity. Metal glints in his right ear. Eddie knows this man from somewhere.

The employee shakes his head, tutting. His busy hands polish a vintage pitcher. “I swear, you get all the crazies.”

“Makes for a good story, though.” The customer takes a sip from his tall milkshake and scoffs. “Though if it wasn’t all well-ending, amusing bull, I doubt I’d be so tolerant.”

Minutes drag by as the two keep talking. Eddie goes from patiently waiting to awkwardly trying to get the employees attention. If only there was someone else behind the counter, but the only other staff member is elsewhere, likely still stocking shelves. 

The two men are too absorbed in their little world, even though both are facing Eddie’s way. The customer has both elbows on the counter, one of them bent to prop up his chin. The employee has his hip leaned against the edge as they chat. They’re obviously very familiar with each other, and clearly deeply enjoy each other's company. 

Still - and Eddie is sorry to say, but it’s bad customer service. He’s not in a rush, but he’d still like to be on his way home. He could be fishing out the complex keys right now. He checks his phone - he’s been here for nearly fifteen minutes. Picking out the items took less than five.��

Eddie sighs, staring at the various cigarette packs displayed behind the counter. He’s never seen the appeal in smoking, but as the laughter starts up again, he almost wishes he did. He’s going to treat himself to a very long shower once he gets home. 

The store’s other employee walks behind the counter, carrying a box. Eddie lights up. Finally - she pointedly clears her throat and heads into the back. 

The constant conversation stalls for the barest moment, and he looks over. The customer grins at him for a second - lord he’s handsome - before turning that grin towards his friend.

“You’re losin’ your touch, Howds,” he teases, bringing his shake straw to his lips.

“I resent that statement. You’re just distracting.”

“Lil’ me? Distracting? C’mon, you can just tell me I’m pretty to my face. I’ll take it like a champ, I swear!”

“Ha, good try.” The employee sets the pitcher down and starts to mosey in Eddie’s direction. “Your ego is big enough for the both of us as is. One more compliment and your head’ll pop like a balloon.”

“Well, given that most balloons don’t really pop, they just kinda deflate slowly-”

“Sorry for the wait!” the employee says loudly in a glaringly obvious customer service tone. He stops in front of Eddie with a cardboard smile. At the other end of the counter, the familiar man snickers and hides his grin behind his drink. “I trust you found everything you did - and didn’t! - need.”

Eddie just stares up at him for a moment. At six-one, Eddie hasn’t felt small in a very long time. He usually stands at least a full inch above other people. This employee - Howdy, his name tag states - has several more on him.

“Uh, y-yes, I uh, I did,” Eddie stammers, glancing at his items. 

“Wonderful! And again, my sincerest apologies for the delay. My friend makes a game out of keeping me from my job.” Howdy shoots his ‘friend’ a glare with enough heat in it to make an ice cube sweat. 

“No worries.”

Howdy scans the items at an almost frightening speed. Beep, into a paper bag. Beep, in. Beep, beep - “Oh, no.”

“What?” Eddie says, dread plucking at his ribs as Howdy holds the bran muffins and shakes his head. “Is there somethin’ wrong?”

“Indeed there is! You’re making a mistake with these. They’re absolutely horrible, I tell ya - and bad for you, too!” Howdy tuts and puts the box to the side. “No, no, you don’t want those.”

“I… don’t?”

“Not if you knew better! Lucky for you, I’m here to set you straight. What you need is-” he snaps his fingers, “Barnaby, be a pal and-”

“Already on it,” ‘Barnaby’ says, appearing next to Eddie.

If Eddie weren’t already paralyzed, he’d jump right out of his skin from how Barnaby towers over him. He has to be a scant inch or so shorter than Howdy, but he still makes Eddie feel tiny. Unfortunately, Barnaby is even more handsome up close. 

“Here ya go.” Barnaby hands a plastic container to Howdy and taps it, smiling lazily down at Eddie. “I’d take his advice on this one. Those bran-named muffins may sound fancy, but they’re pretty crumby! You want muffins of quality. Real breadwinners!

Eddie can’t help a soft laugh. “Breadwinners, heh, that’s a good one.”

“Are you selling these or am I?” Howdy says, raising a bushy eyebrow. 

“Hey, I’m just doin’ what you asked! I’m bein’ a pal.”

“And I - I’m sorry," Eddie interjects, "but you’re awfully familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?”

“Eh, I’ve been around, but uh… you ever been to [INSERT GAY BAR NAME HERE]?”

Howdy clears his throat. “I’m trying to make a sale here, Barn. You can flirt on your own dime when you’re not costing me mine.”

“Didja know your nose gets redder when you’re jealous?”

Howdy rolls his eyes and shoves Barnaby in the diner’s direction. Barnaby goes with a hearty snicker. Despite the joke, Eddie thinks it has some merit as Howdy scans the final item and rings him up, considerably frostier than before.

Belatedly, Eddie realizes that he didn’t actually agree to the different muffins. Too late now. “Say, what kind of muffins are those?”

“Poppyseed-lemon.”

Eddie relaxes - that is a lot better than boring bran. “Y’know, my mother loved poppyseed-lemon muffins.”

“Did she now,” Howdy drawls.

“Like you wouldn’t believe! If baking was so much as mentioned, she’d jump right on houndin’ us to whip some up for her, or send us to go buy some. We’d never even get a taste! They’d be gone the moment they hit the air, I tell ya.” Eddie chuckles. “Took me a while to understand what all the fuss is about, but man was she right. They are good!”

“Uh-huh. Well, we have a fresh batch delivered every morning. They’re not the same type every time, mind you, but I can promise that they’re all of the highest quality.”

“Breadwinners, right?” Eddie jokes. Howdy doesn’t blink, but Barnaby snorts. He’ll take it. “I might have to come by more often, if that’s the case! Thank you kindly, sir.”

“Mhm, have a good day.” Howdy hands him the bag and strides away without a glance. The dismissal is clear as day. “Say, Barn, did you hear about the racket one of those cult crackpots stirred up at our dear friend’s tearoom?”

Eddie doesn’t catch the tail-end of the sentence as he hurries away, but he frowns. Cult? What cult? There’s a cult? He certainly didn’t hear of one before moving here, and none of his background checks had turned up anything of the sort. He hopes it was just a figure of speech. 

The door chimes again as Eddie leaves. It isn’t until he’s in his car that the embarrassment of that whole exchange catches up with him. If he had a nickel for every time he’d made a fool of himself in front of a gorgeous, strangely familiar man, he’d have three nickels. At the rate he’s going, he’ll either be rich, or he’ll have to move. 

Eddie subtly tries to peek around the store’s window displays from the safety of his car. He catches a scant glimpse of blue hair - come to think of it, it’s a similar shade to Wally’s. But where Wally’s had, to Eddie’s memory, been uniformly dyed right down to his eyebrows, Barnaby’s rich brown roots were obvious. His beard and eyebrows weren’t dyed, either. 

As Eddie relaxes back into his seat, he re-reads at the store’s name. The color drains from his face and he barely restrains himself from slamming his forehead against the steering wheel.

Oh, of course. Of course he made a fool of himself in front of the owner. Eddie can never come back here again. And it was such a nice store…

[haggishlyhagging]

While in the past the legal wrongs of woman in the marriage relation, in which she is robbed of name, personality, earnings [and] children, had a tendency to drive her to live with man outside of the authority of church or state. The occupations recently opened to her, whereby she can gain a reputable livelihood by her own exertions, [have] greatly increased the ranks of single women. No longer compelled to marry for a home or position, the number of young girls who voluntarily refrain from marriage, by choice living single, increases each year. No longer driven to immorality for bread, a great diminution has taken place in the ranks of "public women." No longer forced by want into this life, the lessening number of such women not meeting the requirements of patrons of vice, resulted in the organization of a regular system for the abduction, imprisonment, sale and exportation of young girls. England and Germany most largely [control] this business, although Belgium, Holland and France, Switzerland, several counties of South America, Canada and the United States are, to some extent, also engaged in this most infamous traffic.

Foreign traffic in young English girls was known to exist long before the revelation of the Pall Mall Gazette made English people aware of the extent of the same system under the home government. It was this widely extended and thoroughly organized commerce in girl-children which roused a few people to earnest effort against it, and secured the formation of a society called "Prevention of Traffic in English Girls." To the chairman of this society, Mr. Benjamin Scott, was the first official suggestion due that terminated in that investigation by Editor Stead, which for a moment shook the civilized world and held Christian England to light as a center of the vilest, most odious, most criminal slave traffic the world ever knew.

London, the great metropolis of Christian England (the largest city of ancient or modern times) is acknowledged by statisticians and sociologists to be the point where crime, vice, despair and misery are found in their deepest depth and greatest diversity. Not Babylon of old, whose name is the synonym of all that is vile; not Rome, "mother of harlots"; not Corinth, in whose temple a thousand women were kept for prostitution in service of the god; not the most savage lands in all their barbarity have ever shown a thousandth part of the human woe to be found in the city of London, that culmination of modern Christian civilization. The nameless crimes of Sodom and Gomorrah—the vileness of ancient Greece which garnered its most heroic men, its most profound philosophers—are but amusements among young men of the highest rank in England—West End, the home of rank and wealth, of university education, being the central hell of this extended radius of vice.

-Matilda Joslyn Gage, Woman, Church and State

[dumbmusclehypnojockboy]

Odds & Ends: The Muscle Shirt, a Sk8ter Dreams story

9,900 Subscribers SPECIAL

Thank you everyone! In the lead up to the big 10,000 subs, I'm going to be posting some of my oldest original stuff. I used to be a tf writer known as LanceFan2001 or Ikaika. I frequented cyoc.net and the narcississ archive (i think it's the predecessor to the current GSS.com) and the original gay muscle story archives.

These were the days that we had to put warning lables before we posting gay stuff. It was a time before network admins or parental controls, It was a different world. But maybe not so different.

I was lucky to find a community, and someone important to me, whom I have lost contact with was O'Melissokomos: The Bee Keeper. He had his own site, that was part transformation stories part political news blog. It just worked. Anyway, he illustrated this story. I am so thankful that CYOC still has those images. So, I present,for the first time with illustrations , Odds & Ends: The Muscle Shirt.

Odds and Ends: the Muscle Shirt

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction depicting gay sex. If reading such material is offensive to you, or if you are under the legal age to read such material, please read something else.

Author's Note: This is a tale in the Sk8ter Dreams universe spin- off, "Odds and Ends". Special Thanks goes out to Reaver who started this universe.

Second Author's Note: This story is not meant to offend ANYONE. It is FANTASY, and should be taken as so. Thank you! >>>Ikaika<;<<

Trent Stephens dried his hair with a towel he had taken to storing in his school locker-yet again. This time, some freshman jocks had the pleasure of "flushing" him. You would think that as a high school senior, Trent would be the one administering that particular rite of passage, or at the very least would garner a little respect from the incoming freshmen. Sadly, he did neither.

Perhaps it was because of his appearance that he faired so poorly with his peers. Trent stood at 5'6", and weighed 235 pounds, most of it fat. He never wore any trendy clothing, instead, sticking to a wardrobe consisting of thrift store finds. Perhaps, adding to Trent's position on the bottom of the social ladder, was the combined fact that he was the new kid, who had no backbone.

Trent was also a nerd. Growing up, while the other boys were outside, playing tag or participating in sports, he preferred to sit in the library and read books, or sit in front of his custom-built computer, and play games. He really had no friends either. He obviously didn't fit in with the jocks or trend setters, and even the computer nerds felt that he was too geeky for their clique.

Trent slammed his locker shut, and with a clumsy, jerking movement, swung his book bag over his shoulder. Just as he was leaving the school, his backpack, filled to the brim with books for school, and "a little light reading", ripped at the seams, causing one of the straps to tear, and littering the deserted hallway with his books and folder paper. "Shit," he silently cursed, "What else can go wrong today?"

It took Trent about 15 minutes to pick up his things, and find a plastic bag to put his stuff in. He exited the school, and made his way to the bust stoop. As he approached the stop, he heard the bus approaching. He ran for it, only to be left behind in a cloud of dust, as the bus zoomed past.

"Great," he thought to himself, "looks like I'm walking home again."

Luckily for Trent, he only lived a mile from the school. He began his trek home, huffing and puffing in the hot and humid August sun.

He passed the many banks, stores and strip malls that were a common sight in suburbia, not paying too much attention to what he was seeing. He walked by a bakery, enjoying the smells waffing in the air. He pressed his face against the glass to see what treats were available for sale inside. As he glanced back towards the sidewalk, he noticed something unusual. The lot next to the bakery, that had been empty ever since Trent had moved to town, was now filled. In it, a store had appeared, almost overnight. Green awning lined the front and the sides of the store, and a sign reading "Odds & Ends", displayed the name of the establishment.

His curiosity piqued, Trent entered the store, and he heard the jingle of a bell ring overhead. Trent took a moment to look over the shop. It looked like a thrift store, with shelves piled high displaying miscellaneous artifacts. There were also a few racks, tables and bins of clothing, and a shoe rack in the corner. His eyes fell upon one item in particular... a sleeveless, Navy Blue, Abercrombie & Fitch shirt. Trent walked towards the rack, his palms sweating in anticipation. The shirt looked oversized... Really oversized! Just as eh was about to reach for the shirt, a voice called out to him, "Can I help you, sir?"

Trent jumped in surprise. "Where did he come from?" he wondered as he got a look at the person the voice belonged to. He was a teenager, looking both innocent and mature. The shopkeeper was dressed in a baggy green shirt, and had a backwards, sized, baseball cap on with a logo that was unfamiliar to Trent.

"Hi," Trent said, a little shakily.

"Hello," The shopkeeper said, "looking for anything in particular today?"

"Well, this shirt intrigued me," Trent answered. "I've never seen such a large A & F shirt before. Is it genuine?"

"Indeed it is, sir," the shopkeeper said, as he calmly walked to the rack, picked up the shirt, and showed Trent the sewed-in labels.

Trent looked at the labels, the shopkeeper presented. Stitched into the material of the shirt was an original label. It showed the size of the shirt as being a XXL. It also had a second tag sewed in above the main tag that read "muscle."

"I never knew A & F made shirts in a XXL size," Trent quasi-asked, quasi-stated.

"If I'm not mistaken," the merchant replied, "They tried it once, but found that it didn't fit in with their marketing campaign."

"Heh," Trent thought, "their marketing campaign. All those hot models in, but mostly out of their tightly fitted clothing. Those hot bodies... how I wished I had a body like that.

"How much?" Trent asked.

"Only $5.00," the storekeeper responded, "but, I think that it's a little too big for you. Why don't you try it on? The fitting room's right there," he added as he ushered Trent into what looked like a closet with a shower curtain in front of it.

Trent shrugged his shoulders, took the shirt the teen held out, and slid the curtain shut. Feeling a little strange, he shucked off his sweaty polo shirt, and put on the Abercrombie & Fitch tee. Trent looked into the mirror. He felt that the shirt fit him just fine. It wasn't baggy at all. In fact, the vertical white stripes down the sides of the shirt, actually helped Trent look a bit simmer. It was his slight paunch, however, which stretched the shirt out a little, that kind of ruined the effect.

"How does it look sir?" The storekeeper asked, breaking Trent from his train of thought.

"It's a little tight," Trent said.

"Nonsense!" The teen replied, opening the curtain and ushering Trent out of the room, and in front of a mirror mounted on a wall. "Let me take a look."

"It's a muscle shirt," the shopkeeper said, "so, it's supposed to be a little tight." He tugged the shirt in a few places, adjusting a few folds, and smoothing out the shirt. "Looks like a perfect fit to me," he said, admiring his work.

"How can you say that?" Trent asked, a little irritated.

"Look in the mirror."

Trent did as the shopkeeper asked, and was taken aback by what he saw. His stomach wasn't protruding as much as it was just a few moments ago... In fact, his belly seemed to be diminishing, the accumilated fat, just melting away.

"How did that happen?" Trent asked.

"What do you mean sir?"

"That," Trent said, as he pointed to his stomach in the mirror. Trent let out an audible gasp as he was in for another surprise. His once flabby stomach was now gone. He stood transfixed as ridges formed on the shirt, holding tight to his body, and revealing slight definition. The crevices deepened as a four-pack developed into a six-pack which then morphed into a highly defined, ripped eight-pack.

"Whoa... What was THAT?" Trent asked dumbfounded.

"I still don't know what you're talking about sir," the shop keeper said, ignorant to the fact that Trent was changing before his own eyes.

Trent realized that he was now looking down on his companion. He could have sworn that he was eye to eye with the shopkeeper when he had walked into the store.

"This is so fucking cool," Trent said.

"Sir," the shopkeeper responded, "I still don't know what you're talking about..."

But the shopkeeper's remarks were cut short, as Trent doubled over, and reached for his legs. They were cramping... BIG TIME! As he put his hands around his calves, he thought to himself, "They're growing!"

And he was correct in his analysis. Trent's claves were growing. In fact, his whole leg was expanding in both directions. Rock hard muscle developed on his calves and thighs, as they both lengthened. They were engulfed in pain, until finally, the growth stopped. The results were diamond shaped calves, the definition impeccable, and the size of a football. His thighs were so thick, they resembled the trunk of a coconut tree.

Trent then began to feel a pressure around his feet. They felt squeezed into his shoe all of a sudden... suffocating in the tight quarters in which they were contained. Quickly, Trent bent down to take off the shoes. When he did so, he found that his feet were also growing. Creeping past a size 11... slowly stretching, elongating past a 12 �... the bones crunching, crackling and reconstructing themselves, finally stopping at a size 15. His socks then reshaped, and readjusted themselves from knee high tube socks, a pair of Nike no-show socks.

"Are you okay sir," the shopkeeper asked, not really understanding what his customer was going on about.

"I don't kn..." Trent cried out, "But.. but... ARRGGGHHHHHH..."

Trent's comment was cut short by a new pain, this time centered in his chest. On the one hand, he felt like he was being massaged, yet on the other hand, he felt like his chest muscles were being pulled apart. He started sweating profusely, as he gawked in the mirror. His man-tits were disappearing! They were restructuring themselves, turning the once jiggly fat reserves, into solid plates of steel. His pectoral muscles (that's what they were now, not fat, but pure muscles) stretched his shirt to the limit. Trent realized that the shirt he was wearing began to shrink. The bottom hem creeping up, revealing the cobblestone bricks he now had for abs. Trent watched as his nipples shifted, now facing outwards, instead of the downward direction they once faced.

His pecs now pumped, the pain moved to his sides, back and shoulders. Trent's traps, lats and back muscles grew out, forcing his arms to hang at an angle, instead of straight down. His shoulders widened and broadened. The changes finally stopped when Trent's frame looked like a doorway: intimidatingly looming.

Trent didn't have time to comment on this, however, as the pain moved to his arms. Bones crackled and muscles elongated to keep up with his lengthening arms, which grew in proportion to his new physiology. Then, as they stopped their downward journey, his arms began to swell. Like a balloon inflates, Trent's arms blew up, but unlike a balloon, Trent's biceps and triceps were filling up with strong, hard, potent muscle tissue.

Trent's arms continued bulking up, finally reaching a point when his upper arms resembled basketballs. His skin was stretched tight, that it appeared his skin was no more than a sheet of paper. The feeling shot from the arms, down to the forearms. They pumped up, increasing in size, finally looking like miniature legs of lamb, but without any of the fat.

Next, Trent's hands expanded. Growing to mach the size of the rest of his body... HUGE! Joints popped, bones broke apart and reformed, and ligaments and tendons realigned themselves until Trent could more than easily palm a bowling ball... yes, a bowling ball!

At this point, Trent looked into the mirror, and realized what was happening. He saw his solid body, rippling with newly formed mass and muscle. He was turning into a jock. He was becoming one of those jocks he had always fantasized about being. One of those jocks that had always picked on him. The very jocks he detested, yet, subconsciously longed to be.

With that thought, an erotic rush came over Trent's body, centered in his groin. He accepted these changes... No... not accepted, he embraced them... welcomed them. Then, he felt movement on his thighs, and realized that his briefs were turning into boxer briefs... The underwear inched down his thighs, and fit tightly over the densely packed muscles of Trent's thighs and bubble butt. Then, he felt more movement, and an electric shock in his penis. "No, not my penis," Trent corrected himself, "My cock... my fuck stick."

He felt his cock snake down his thighs, and was surprised when the growth seemed to complete itself when it reached about three-quarters of the way down his thigh. Another erotic rush shook his body, as his balls swelled in size from the size of grapes to the size of golf balls, and even then, a little bit bigger. Trent's nutsack dropped, and met expanded to match the growth of its contents.

"UUUGGGH!" Trent grunted, his now deep voice, echoing with a bassy resonance. "Oh, fuck!" he exclaimed, a new sensation spreading across his face and neck.

"Sir," the shopkeeper said, "If you're going to be a while in front of that mirror, I'll just be doing a few things that need to get done. Just call me if I can help you with anything." And with that, he disappeared from Trent's view.

Trent watched in the mirror as his face rearranged itself. First, his eyes lightened, going from a dark brown, to hazel, passing pale green, and finally stopping at a bright, mesmerizing blue. His cheekbones and facial structure transfigured, giving Trent more angular features, raising his cheekbones higher, and squaring off his jaw. Then, his nose collapsed, and reconstructed itself, giving Trent a nose that appeared to have been broken a few times, yet still having a shape that perfectly matched his other facial features. The pieces of the puzzle coming together, Trent looked into the mirror, and marveled at the fact that the face looking back at him was a face that could be on billboards, magazine covers, and even in the Abercrombie and Fitch Quarterly!

Trent's hair lightened in color. Changing in a few seconds from black, to a sun-highlighted, bleached blond look. It filled in fuller, and thicker than ever before, and all of a sudden, his scalp started itching, as it all started receding back into his skull. All that was lift was a short crew cut, with the sides and back faded down, and his bangs up-turned and spiked out. Then, he watched as his sideburns filled out.

The itching exploded all over his body, as all the hair on his chest, legs, arms, abdomen, back, underarms and crotch, retracted back into his skin. The itching continued as fine blond hairs, started filling in creating just a very slight treasure trail that lead to a very well trimmed and maintained patch of hair. His balls still remained hairless, as did the rest of his body, which would forever remain so. Trent's skin then started darkening. It changed from the pasty white that he once was, and darkened into a rich, golden tan. His complexion was simply perfect, and his whole body just radiated a glowing aura.

All of a sudden, Trent clutched his chest. It felt like something was moving in his heart. He felt something crawling under his skin, and in a moment, he realized that the sensation was veins. Veins snaking their way across his body, down and across his chest and abdomen. Veins popped along his legs, and arms, forming obvious webs and patterns here and there. And then veins started popping along his newly muscled neck.

Trent was feeling pumped! He felt the strength that he now possessed welling inside of him. As he made a double bicep pose in the mirror, he froze. He wanted to stop posing, to go into a most muscular pose (something that he never knew about before), but was frozen in place. Something was wrong... something was tickling him? Trent looked into the mirror at his stomach, and saw that his clothing was now changing. The shirt he tried on remained the blue and white sleeveless Abercrombie and Fitch shirt that it was, however, bottom hem crept up, and took on the appearance of a cut-off tee-shirt.

His former jeans, which now looked like ridiculous high-waters, tied on with a cloth belt (which seemed to have tightened itself throughout the transformation) altered themselves. They grew longer to match Trent's new height. Then, they changed colors. In some places it got darker, turning into a dark brown or black. In other areas, the jeans lightened, turning olive or light green. Then, as a whole, the jeans began to fade, looking as if they had been washed many, many times. Rips and tears appeared randomly, and Trent's belt's excess length hung in front, perhaps hinting at the massive organ that Trent now possessed. The pants had become a pair of waist 28, vintage wash cammos from Abercrombie and Fitch.

The shoes that Trent had cast off earlier now faded out of reality. They disappeared from sight! A brand new pair of black and white Nike cross-trainers formed on his feet.

Trent's book bag then began to flicker. It elongated and widened, darkening to black. A logo appeared on it, finally revealing itself to be the Adidas logo. Trent's backpack had become a gym bag. The books that were in a plastic bag next to the backpack disappeared, gone from Trent's memory, and the memory of the world. The new gym bag filled itself with workout clothing, a pair of shoes, and a jock strap. Not to mention a few other items... condoms and lube!

Suddenly, a sharp, throbbing pain erupted in his head. Trent quickly reached for his temples. It was like a vise was pressing his head, squeezing tighter and tighter. "ARRRRGH," Trent screamed in anguish, "My fucking head! What the fuck is happening to m... ARRRGH!" The pain was incredible!

A new feeling was added to the torture he was enduring. From somewhere within his cranial cavity, it felt like his brains were being forced through a small sieve. Trent's natural ability to learn, and hold knowledge of the world decreased. His very IQ lowered, nearing 90. Things Trent learned from school and books seeped from his head, leaving an empty brain. "Fucking A man, make this stop," Trent cried out, still in pain.

As the torture continued, Trent's brain rewrote itself with information. It filled with knowledge about working out, nutrition, and sports. Trent could no longer tell you the state capitols, but he could tell you that he worked out everyday for two hours, doing bench presses, cable flies, and bicep curls. He could ramble of rosters from sports teams. He didn't know anything about foreign trade policies, but he now knew that the Camero was a bitchin' ride.

Trent's attitudes changed. He now had an aversion for geeks and nerds. His life revolved around, hot guys, hot cars, hot sex, and flexing his muscles on and off the sports field. His world now focused on keggers, and his vocabulary now only encompassed simple words and phrases. Trent no longer would be the sniveling coward who just took everything that came his way. He would now be a cocky jock, who had an air of arrogance and confidence in everything that he did. And his voice, no longer would Trent be confused for a woman on the phone. Instead, his testosterone charged voice boomed with a bassy resonance.

And, as suddenly as the pain started, it stopped in an instant.

"Whoa," Trent said, "That was one nasty trip. I wonder if that's the ephidra in Xenadrine or somethin'."

The sales person came back to the dressing area. Not having heard or seen Trent in a while, he was a little concerned about his customer. "You still doing okay, sir?" he asked.

"Yeah, dude," Trent replied, "I'm okay. That was one hell of a rush!"

"Sorry sir."

"Not your fault guy," Trent said, "what do I owe you for the shirt?"

"Let's see now," the shop keeper said, "Five dollars for the shirt."

Trent reached into his pocket, and retrieved his money, having a little difficulty counting out five ones.

"Thanks man, that's fucking cheap! Let me know if you get anymore in." Trent said after handing the kid his money. "I gotta go to the gym... There's a stud waiting for me, and he's gonna be in for the pounding of his life," he added, thinking about how the star quarterback was his own personal boy toy. Man, this shirt is gonna look awesome on me tomorrow when I start going to my new school `Trent Hall's School for Young Adults'."

"I'm sure it will sir," the shop keeper replied.

And with that, Trent Stephens picked up his gym bag, and walked out the door, the bell overhead jingling one last time, and headed out to his new life.

"Another satisfied customer," the mysterious shopkeeper said to no one in particular. •

`

Please let me know if you liked this retro post. I have some others that are in reserve, so if you would like to see me post more, like and comment!

[ginnyw-potter-archive]

The Dating Life of Ginny Weasley

Written for Several Sunlit Daylights, the Taylor Swift x Hinny Collab we all need, organised by @ginwiz

Prompt: Be inspired by a song from Midnights or a lyric about nighttime. This one is based on Lavender Haze

When they came home from the Order party after midnight, no one was really sleepy enough to go to bed. They settled around the kitchen table, chatting lightly. Mr Weasley sat down and pulled the Daily Prophet to him. 

He cleared his throat. “Ginny, you may want to read this before you go to Diagon Alley tomorrow.” 

Ginny groaned and reached out, her dad handed it to her. She looked down and Harry bent over too. The article was titled ‘The Dating Life of Ginny Weasley’. 

Ginny’s expression fell as she read through the article. “This is ridiculous! As if I was dating every guy who was interested in me.” 

“I mean, you did know how to garner their attention,” Ron commented. 

Ginny’s head snapped up. “What do you mean by that, Ron?” 

“He just means you are very pretty and every guy at school figured it out at the same time,” Harry attempted to pacify her. 

Ginny ignored him and turned her attention back to the article. “I hate this! Suddenly I am a questionable choice because I looked at another guy before Harry. What kind of 1950s bullshit is this?! I don’t see them mentioning Cho, because men can do what they want. No, they can slander me for dating someone else before him.” She stood up from her chair and shoved the newspaper into Harry’s chest. “It’s a bit ironic, isn’t it? I should be glad they didn’t find out I ditched both of them. Imagine how it would terrorise the nation if they could fear I may get in into my crazy head to break up with the Chosen One!” 

She stormed off before anyone could say anything else. 

Harry threw the paper onto the table and ran after her into the garden. She was briskly walking to the furthest point of the garden. He had to jog to catch up. He caught her hand and pulled. She halted and turned around with a big sigh. 

“You know I don’t care. Not about the article, not about you dating other guys. It could have been ten more, it doesn’t matter,” Harry said, though he suspected she knew that. 

“It’s going to be like this every time, isn’t it? They get bored, they pull a rumour out of their ass. You make one misstep and they’ll drag up your past!” she said. 

“Yes.” He hated that he couldn’t protect Ginny from it. 

“They just enjoy writing whatever they please for sales, don’t give a damn how it impacts someone's life!” she ranted. 

“I know.” 

Ginny’s posture deflated a bit. “Of course you know, this isn’t fair to you. You’ve had much worse things written about you.” 

Harry smiled. “Undesirable No. 1, in the flesh.” 

Ginny snorted. “Right. At least to me, you’re desirable No. 1.” 

“Ah, I should get that printed on a shirt.” 

“Absolutely. I can get one that says ‘Chosen One’s slutty girlfriend’,” she replied. 

Harry shook his head and put an arm around her waist. “No, no, you can’t have that.” 

“Why not? It’s what they write,” Ginny argued. 

“Oh no, you can be slutty all you want.” He locked eyes with her. “It’s just if you put ‘girlfriend’ you will have to update it eventually.”

There was a pause before Ginny realised the implication and she turned so red that even the dim moonlight couldn’t hide it. 

“No?” he asked now. 

Ginny’s hand came to his waist. “I didn’t think…” 

“I’d want to marry you?” he finished her sentence and looked at her fondly. It amused him greatly that she seemed to be at a loss for words right now. It took a lot to reduce Ginny to silence. He leaned to her ear. “You can be my slutty wife.” 

Ginny’s head dropped onto his shoulder as she took a deep breath. “You can’t. Do that to me.” 

“Right, I momentarily forgot it was your lifelong ambition to marry me.” 

Her head shot back up, her face glowing. “Please,” she scoffed. “I wasn’t that ambitious.” 

Harry chuckled. “Really? I thought you liked a challenge.”

She tilted her head. “Well, turns out you didn’t need much convincing at all.” She glanced back at the house. “We should get back inside.” 

Harry nodded and walked back. They both sat back down. 

Half the Weasley men looked confused. 

“How did you change her mood in that short amount of time?” George asked. 

Harry shrugged. “I just know which buttons to push.” 

Ginny looked at him. “I’d be careful, Harry, to push that particular one or I may hold you to it, sooner rather than later.” She smirked. 

“I dare you,” he responded cheekily. 

She squinted her eyes at him and nodded solemnly. “See, I would but, uh, this article clearly dictates I should be a bit more conservative so… it’s going to have to be you I believe.” Her eyes were twinkling. 

“Right, in that case, I need your dad’s approval first,” he responded. 

“What?” Mr Weasley squeaked. 

Ginny crossed her arms and leaned back on her chair. “Well, it’s no fun if you drag my family into it.” 

“Can’t drag mine into it, can I? No clue if they’d approve.” 

“Sirius did.” 

Harry’s head whipped around to Hermione when she said it. “What.”

“Sirius figured out you fancied Ginny long before you did. It’s safe to say he was in favour.” 

Harry closed his mouth abruptly, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. Ginny immediately took his hand, squeezing it lightly. 

“It’s true, it’s one of the only things we could agree on when it came to Harry,” Mrs Weasley said. 

“But I didn’t know…” He looked at Ginny. “Was I that oblivious?” 

“Yes!” half the table went in unison. 

Ginny grinned. “You figured it out eventually.” She stood up. “I am going to shower and then I am off to bed.” She walked out of the room but then she turned back. “Don’t plan my wedding without me! I mean you, mum.” 

Mrs Weasley looked a little insulted. “I wouldn’t.”

[2treez]

Jack Daniels Whiskey...$480 million dollar High School dropout....Fawn Weaver and Uncle Nearest Whiskey

A high school dropout who left home at just 15, Fawn faced numerous challenges early in life, including a harrowing moment at 20 when she tried to take her own life.

In 2016, a photograph in the New York Times caught her eye—a black man sitting next to Jack Daniel. This was George Green, the son of Nearest Green, a former slave who was erased from many historical accounts. The story online at the time was that Jack Daniels had stole the recipe from a slave. But Fawn had another theory.

For her 40th birthday, she took a trip to Lynchburg, Tennessee, thinking she would write a book about Green. They left after making an unexpected purchase: spending $900,000 for the 300-acre farm she hadn’t realized was on the market, the same location where Green first taught Daniel how to make whiskey.

Fate had one more twist: Weaver eventually found primary documents proving that the farm is the original home of Daniel’s first distillery. As Weaver researched Green’s history—she learned that a 20-year-old Daniel had hired him to be his first master distiller after founding his eponymous distillery in 1866—she also traced his genealogy, reconnecting unknown relatives.

She knew that the three descendants who still worked at Brown-Forman wanted to know why Green had been erased from tours. (The two brands now collaborate on a summit promoting Black-owned businesses.) She had already begun gobbling up trademarks, shocked that Jack Daniel’s had not secured them. And when one descendant shared the opinion that Green deserved his own whiskey, Weaver’s mission became clear.

Fawn started Uncle Nearest Whiskey in 2017.

Today, Uncle Nearest has not only tripled its sales since 2021, projecting $100 million in revenue this year, but it has also become the fastest-growing American whiskey brand in history.

Forbes estimates the company’s worth at $1.1 billion, with Fawn's personal stake valued at approximately $480 million. The brand has garnered over 1,000 awards, emphasizing its excellence and impact on the industry.

Fawn is no 68 on Forbes self-made women's list.

🌳🫶🏼🌳

#UncleNearest

[staytinys]

Serendipity | 25 | make it up

Masterlist | Previous / Next

Choi San x Reader

When the theater department is down on it’s luck and has to bring in record breaking sales at the end of the school year in order to garner sponsors or else they’ll be defunded, the lead invites a few dance majors to practice one Saturday morning. One volunteers his class to fill in for the ensemble just to see a smile. It all leads to two semesters of chaos in putting together a student written and composed musical, drama amongst friend groups, and a dance major falling in love with a set designer.

| warnings: sorry it’s not much, unedited, a slap

Word count: 911

San and Yunho were sitting in the front row of the theater. They’d been waiting there for nearly twenty minutes now, San making the excuse to you that he had an early exam and didn’t want to risk waking you in the morning when he had to leave.

The doors swing open and San tenses up, not turning to look as Yunho stands up. He hears Mingi’s foot steps slow, eyes flickering between both men.

“What’s this?” He narrows his eyes at Yunho, clenching his jaw.

Yunho let’s put a breath, taking a few steps towards him. “San is my best friend. And I’d be an idiot to let you do anything to sabotage his relationship or this show which could make or break this entire department, and more importantly the future career of the woman you say you love.”

Mingi rolls his eyes and steps back, crossing his arms over his chest as he laughs bitterly. “You think you know anything about this? He took her from me.”

San stands up, turning to face the two men as they stand off, “I didn’t take anyone. I didn’t end a relationship when there wasn’t one there to end anyway. You didn’t appreciate her when you had her. You didn’t make her feel loved. Do you understand how many times I’ve had to reassure her because of stuff you did? When I asked her to be my girlfriend, she told me I didn't have to do that, because of you.”

Mingi bites back a look of surprise, though the brief flash of confusion on his face is enough for San to take a few steps toward him, “You don’t realize just how much damage you did to her do you? And now you think ruining this show is supposed to save you in her eyes? When she finds out what you’ve done, she’s going to hate you.”

“Hates a pretty strong word.”

All three men look to the stage as you step out from behind one of the curtains. Your hands are clasped together in front of you.

Yeosang isn’t too far behind you. He smiles apologetically, “I tried to keep her at home… She, uh, threatened to call Jongho.”

You glance over at him, shaking your head and carefully heading down the darkened stairs, your gaze going from San to Mingi. San walks over to you, cupping your face carefully between both of his hands, “What’re you doing here?”

“I saw your phone when you were getting ready to leave,” you mumble, looking up at him. It was getting harder to hold your tears back but you had to face Mingi first before you allowed yourself to cry. You bring your hands to San’s smiling reassuringly before pulling his hands away.

Stepping around him, you get a good look at Mingi, your heart rate picking up. He stares quietly, his expression unchanging as you yourself struggle to come up with some kind of response to his betrayal.

“Why…?”

You’re quiet. So quiet and he’s never heard you quite like this before. He lets out a little breath and looks away, unable to face you now that you know what he’s done. “I just… I couldn't lose you.”

“So you wanted to somehow frame San… Or just thought I’d come running to you when the show failed? Do you realize this could damage my future? Or do you just not care at all?” You’re standing directly in front of him now.

“Don’t say I don’t care. Of course I care.”

Smack.

Mingi’s hand comes up to his face where your hand had made contact. His mouth falls open in surprise, unsure of how to respond, but he knows his cheek stings from your harsh slap.

“You care? You have a funny way of showing it. I was willing to be friends with you. You never reached out unless it was to make jabs at San or showing up unannounced. If you don’t want to lose me completely, you better start begging.” You weren’t even mad. Just disappointed. “At one point in time, you were one of the only people I trusted. Now, I dont even fucking know you anymore, Mingi. Who are you?”

You take a step back and Mingi reaches out, expecting you to disappear.

“Please don’t leave. Let me explain…”

“Explain what?” San steps forward, pushing Mingi’s hand down so he couldn’t touch you. “How you wanted to destroy her?”

“That’s… Yeah. Okay… You’re right. I wanted to pick up the pieces and I’m sorry. Okay. And I definitely deserved that slap and more… There’s no way for me to truly express… And I realize that I’m fucking losing you all over again. I just… I wanted the chance to change and show you I could be what you wanted and needed… And he beat me to it.”

“He didn’t beat you to anything. He just showed me what I really deserved.” You hold a hand out, “Give me the keys. And please leave. If you want anything to do with me, then you’ll drop this sabotage act, okay? Please Mingi.”

Mingi stares down at you before fishing the auditorium keys out of his pocket. He drops them in your hand gently, taking a few steps back before turning to leave. He pauses halfway up the aisle and sighs, “I promise I’ll make this up to you.”

Yunho rolls his eyes and shakes his head, “Doubtful but good luck, dude.”

Tag List: @naiify @baguette-atiny @xciiiomwliah @atinybitobsessed @elk-1998 @noonaishere @layzfeelit @kodzukein @rge-nini @atinytinaa @atinysthings @sanccharine @bbymatz @leeknowsnothing @youngestdelacour @starry-eyed-atiny @sunflowerbebe07 @dear-dreamie @hwaightme

Send an ask to be added…

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Inside Climate News:

A new lawsuit asks Colombia to recognize that jaguars, military macaws and the nation’s tropical dry forest have legal rights to “life, health and integrity.” 

The case is the latest in the “rights of nature” movement, which aims to garner recognition from courts and legislatures that ecosystems and individual species have legal rights, similar to humans and nonhuman entities like corporations. 

According to the complaint, filed earlier this month by the nonprofit Amar Madre Tierra Foundation, mining operations have violated the rights of the tropical dry forest—Colombia’s most threatened ecosystem—as well as jaguars and macaws living in the vicinity of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a mountain range in Northern Colombia. 

The lawsuit, filed with a Colombian court in the Magdalena region, also asks the court to recognize the rights of sacred Indigenous spaces located throughout the tropical dry forest of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. 

Explore the latest news about what’s at stake for the climate during this election season.

Read

Colombia’s tropical dry forest was once the size of Maine. Only about eight percent is left. Known as the “forest of a thousand colors” for its dense greenery and flowering trees in the rainy season, the region is home to hundreds of rivers and streams that supply drinking water to more than a million people. Local communities also rely on it for cultural wealth and livelihoods. 

The complaint alleges that, since 2007, mining operations for construction materials’ have negatively impacted the forest and sacred spaces by contaminating rivers and streams, generating noise pollution, and releasing excessive amounts of dust into the atmosphere. Those mining impacts, combined with other development, have put the ecosystem into “a critical state of fragmentation and degradation,” the complaint says.

Habitat loss and degradation is the main driver of population decline among Colombian jaguars, critically endangered in the country, and military macaws, which are considered threatened. In addition to extractive activities like mining, the species face threats from agricultural and cattle ranching expansion, urbanization, fire, unsustainable tourism, hunting and poaching.

For jaguars, the loss of habitat shrinks the availability of food sources, driving the cats to feed off livestock populations and, in turn, making them a target of illegal killings by ranchers defending their herds. The complaint cites reports of at least three attempted killings of jaguar adults, one of which was a mother with two cubs that appeared to be looking for food near farms.

Military macaw populations have also dropped in Colombia due to the demand within and outside the country for their sale as pets. Macaws are one of the most trafficked birds in the illegal wildlife trade, which is estimated to be worth at least $7 billion annually. Jaguars are also highly sought out by traffickers, with high demand for their body parts coming from China for use in Eastern medicine practices. 

[shefanispeculator]

What Is Blake Shelton's Net Worth?

Blake Shelton is an American country music singer and television personality who has a net worth of $130 million. Blake Shelton's career took off in 2001 with his debut single "Austin," which held the #1 spot on the "Billboard" Hot Country Singles chart for five weeks. This early success set the stage for a series of hit albums and singles, showcasing his deep baritone voice and traditional country style mixed with elements of contemporary country rock.

Over the years, Shelton has accumulated numerous awards, including several Country Music Association Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, and American Music Awards. His discography spans multiple platinum-selling albums and hits like "God Gave Me You," "Boys 'Round Here," and "Honey Bee," cementing his status as a country music superstar.

Beyond his music career, Shelton has gained widespread fame as a coach on NBC's "The Voice," on which his charismatic personality, wit, and mentorship skills have won him a broad fan base. His role on the show has not only contributed to its popularity but has also allowed him to influence the careers of emerging artists, further solidifying his impact on the music industry.

Earnings

Blake Shelton is consistently one of the highest-paid entertainment personalities in the world, earning north of $20 – $40 million in a given year. For example, Blake earned $31.5 million in 2017, $28 million in 2018, and $45 million between June 2019 and June 2020. He grosses $1 million per concert.

According to our tracking, Blake has grossed at least $180 million from ticket sales, television salaries, and merchandise since we began tracking his net worth in 2011.

In 2022, Shelton sold his master recordings from 2001 to 2019 to Influence Media Partners in a joint venture that allows Blake to continue earning money from his music post-sale.

To date, he has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide and 35 million singles. As of this writing, his songs have generated billions of digital streams.

Awards & Achievements

Shelton, throughout his career, has garnered many positive reviews from musicians, critics, and fans. "Rolling Stone" referred to him as "one of country music's biggest stars over the past decade." Shelton was made a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2010 and was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2014. Blake has received ten Country Music Association Awards, six Academy of Country Music Awards, and 10 CMT Music Awards. He has also won eight American Country Awards, seven People's Choice Awards, three American Music Awards, and a "Billboard" Music Award. For his outstanding achievement in country music and television, Shelton won the prestigious Gene Weed Special Achievement Award from the Academy of Country Music. He has been nominated for nine Grammy awards and also received the NATPE Reality Breakthrough Award for his work on "The Voice." In November 2017, Shelton was on the cover of "People" magazine as the Sexiest Man Alive, becoming the first country artist to be featured on the infamous cover.

Shelton is a philanthropist who donated $20,000 to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation in October 2013. In 2016, he donated $600,000 to the Jimmy Everest Center at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine for children with blood cancer and blood disorders. Shelton has also donated to and raised funds for his home town of Tishomingo, Oklahoma. Blake donated a portion of his merchandise sales to the MusiCares COVID-19 relief fund in March 2020. Blake donated $150,000 to the "Give from Home Day" fundraiser in April 2020, which raised funds to help feed hungry families during the pandemic.

Shelton, along with Ryman Hospitality Properties, owns and operates a chain of restaurants and entertainment complexes called Ole Red with locations in Oklahoma, Florida, Tennessee, and soon, the Las Vegas Strip.

[eurovision-revisited]

Eurovision 2005 - Number 12 - Velvet - "Dovevo dirti molte cose"

Velvet is the name of a Swedish singer who had a song in Melfest 2006 with a song that had an Italian title. This is not that Velvet. This is the genuinely Italian Velvet, Rome born and producing anthemic pop-friendly rock since 1998. They are a band who came together via a shared love of Britpop, and stuck to that groove.

They've taken part in Sanremo once before, in the Giovani section of the 2001 competition. They didn't do very well, but the exposure launched them nationally. That first song got lots of radio airplay and the Italian record industry took notice. A string of moderately successful singles and two album followed. Their third album, 10 Motivi garnered more good reviews, but sales were dropping off. Furthermore the organisers of Sanremo had rejected their entry for the 2004 festival from this album.

Things were looking grim. Maybe it was time to move on...

...or just maybe it was time to write a one-off single about it being the time to move on!

Dovevo dirti molte cose (I Had to Tell You Many Things) fits the summer festival post-Britpop anthem mode perfectly. It's simple thing with chiming guitars, that builds to a euphoric chorus that's nevertheless tainted with the pain of loss. It's about a boy and what I imagine is his motorcycle, swanning around the streets of his partner's home town and wondering whether to go see them or just ride off into the sunset.

It appears that the sunset is winning. Despite the love being harder to give up than cigarettes, it's only barely so. Singer Pierluigi Ferrantini just wants to get out of a town that holds very little that appeals to him any more, and the smokes were a trifle to ditch. He dallies on the threshold, but no - he's off. Toodles.

This was Velvet's first appearance in the main competition and it went very much like their earlier, junior experience. They were in the groups section, finished bottom of the five songs, didn't make it to the Saturday final and departed not with accolades but with lots of airplay and much improved sales, both for this song and their previous album. Festivalbar feels much more their thing, and indeed they released another single from the album and took to the town squares of Italy in the summer to more success.

They did come back for a final go at Sanremo in 2007 and maybe they'll crop up again here, but for now, let's leave them riding off into the sunset with their 2005 summer sound, Il mondo è fuori (The World is Outside)

[brittle-doughie]

Hello! It's me 🐀-anon again!

A little thing about me is that I love souls game (newer ones especially but I'm still trying to learn more about the old ones) especially elden ring, and one of the many characters that I like are the merchant's.

So could I get a yogurt cream cookie x merchant reader? As I didn't see any of him in your current fic's.

Where reader was just traveling through the desert, and decided to rest in yogurca. That's when they meet yogurt cream, and since reader is a merchant they start a conversation with yogurt cream,when they were talking about reader's wear's (items) yogurt sees reader's very beautiful flame like eye's, yogurt got curious and amazed then started to talk about them.

I made a basic premise as to what I want. I hope this doesn't sound demanding, that's not my intentions.

I hope you have a great day/night/afternoon!

Sands of the Sale (Yogurt Cream Cookie)

Can he not bet his wares to pirates next time? Next time on Cookie Run Z.

You step down from the boat and onto the warm sand beneath you as you took a breath of the fresh air. You were here, the city of Yogurca.

You figured this is where you’d make a home after leaving the bustling and busy streets of your old city. You heaved the luggage you brought with you to your designated spot in the city, you had to negotiate with quite the stubborn cookie to take that space, but after a little convincing with a jewel you found in a cave, that house is where you call home!

Another reason you left your old town was simply that the apartment you had didn’t have enough room to store all your treasures and wares you’ve collected over the years! You were the adventuring type and you always came home with something valuable in the end, taking great displeasure when your exploring ended up a bust.

Now that you’re in here in a bustling market, you felt this was the great opportunity to sell some of what you got to any interested buyers!

You were a hard cookie to barter with, you were passionate with how much worth the items you had for sale were. The merchants next to your stand were taken aback by how determined you were to get the amount of coins you felt like the item fetched for.

You didn’t tolerate any lowballers and you’d get offended when these cookies tried to buy something off you with ridiculously low offers. You didn’t have time for these deals as you had a line, so either they pay the price or please move along.

You were more friendly with your fellow shopkeepers since they understood where you come from with your decisions on prices. Some were willing to trade items they had of equal value with what you’ve got, of which you’d gladly accept and swap over your item. After a while, you became known as the more reliable stand to go to if a cookie needed something eye catching or not here in Yogurca. This notoriety would garner the attention of a particular treasure collecter…

You had just waved your most recent customer farewell as you went into the back of your stand and read a newspaper.

Hmm..oh! Sandwich Cookie’s shop made it to the front cover.

That’s quite the achievement, good on her. Case of the Cheesecake Mansion?

Let’s see what Walnut had to say about that…, oh it was just Rougefort Cookie. Typical, that one never misses the opportunity for something shiny-

“Excuse me!”

You jolted and looked upwards to the voice calling for you..and if you had a drink in your mouth, you would’ve done a grand spit take.

Y-Yogurt Cream Cookie, member of a rich family! Your fellow shopkeepers have told you about him, more specifically to them, just how rich he was! If he was here at your stand, that must mean you have something he wants obviously! In a way, you felt honored that he did find something he liked, but think of the coin you can make with this sale. With those thoughts, you played it cool and placed down the newspaper and go to greet him.

It's only cookies like yourself who keep things from drying up entirely. Let's say you're a very welcome customer here, sir.

“Thank you, I can’t help but notice that dazzling array of golden necklaces! How much will you sell it for?”

You turn to the display box at the back where you kept the necklaces as they shined from the sunlight beaming inside your stand. You quickly went to grab the box and bring it to the front where he can get a closer look at them.

Yogurt Cream had made an excellent choice in your eyes. These necklaces were collected from a hidden temple deep within the forests, in good condition surprisingly. You’ll happily let them go for about…200 coins. (I have no idea how much is expensive in this world-)

“Why would I want to underpay a merchant with such lovely eyes as yours!”

Your…eyes? What? You looked to him and did notice that he was staring intently into you. 200…was underpaying?

“For you, I’m willing to pay 500 coins for the necklaces! Your eyes dance and flare like beautiful flames with nothing obscuring their grace! And the more I look at you, the more I seem to want to pay for your wares…”

U-uh…sure.

You packaged up the necklaces, ready for the purchase. All the while, he wouldn’t stop talking to you. At first, it was about his wealth and just how much he’s willing to pay for all the things you had for sale, then it started delving into more..personal questions like how you came here, what did you do after bazaar hours…., and if you had a partner.

That last one was quite much for you as you hastily received the coins and handed over your necklaces.

“How wonderful these look. But you far surpass their wonder! I might just come back here in the future. Bye for now, I look forward to our next meeting~”

And with that, he walked away from your stand. Doing your best to hold your breath until he was out of your sight, you closed your eyes and let out a sigh of relief.

Only to get spooked when you opened them to see another cookie staring intently at you. You didn’t even hear them coming!

It became a quiet staring contest for a minute.

“….”

….

“Not bad…”

Before the cookie hurried away and out of sight. Your fellow shopkeepers hurried over to you to see how you were and how much Yogurt paid for your items. You were…at a loss of words of what just happened.

Since that day, Yogurt Cream had been showing up at your stand much more often, while he did have business with what you had, it seemed he was more interested in talking to you then buying the item.

He’d definitely show off just how wealthy he can be when he either makes large purchases or just casually waved around his coins. He was buying out more then you were collecting!

You nearly tired yourself out one time just to collect more treasures for you to sell and wouldn’t you know it? There was Yogurt Cream waiting for you at the front again.

You managed to catch the name of that cookie that seems to appear after him, Lilac Cookie. You…asked about his appearances here and there. Yogurt Cream let out a small laugh and said with a smile that Lilac appears to like you too. However, he won’t lose to him~

It would be one day where he would lay a coin down on the counter and slide it to you. No, it wasn’t any treasures he was after today. It was you~

He simply must take you out to eat, he promises to pay for everything and just make it the best experience you’ve ever had! So much that you’ll consider the offer to have another with him. And another. And another. And another

Don’t think that you can turn him away. He’s stubborn. He’ll swoop you up in the end. No matter what~

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Projections have THE GARFIELD MOVIE opening somewhere in the $20-30m range for the three-day, and somewhere over $30m for the 4-day.

In other words, it's opening like a typical post-COVID breakout animated movie. Unless you were the Mario movie, MINIONS 2, or few other films, you stayed below $30-35m for the three-day opening. For context:

$146m - THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE

$120m - SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

$107m - MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU

$57m - KUNG FU PANDA 4

$50m - LIGHTYEAR

The five half-hundred openers. And then... Other big studio Western animated movie (and in some cases, hybrid)... Squarely below $35m:

$33m - IF

$31m - SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY

$30m - TROLLS BAND TOGETHER

$29m - ELEMENTAL

$28m - MUTANT MAYHEM

$27m - ENCANTO

$23m - THE BAD GUYS

$23m - DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS

$22m - PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE

$22m - SING 2

$19m - WISH

$17m - THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2

$16m - THE BOSS BABY: FAMILY BUSINESS

$14m - TOM & JERRY

$13m - PAW PATROL: THE MOVIE

$12m - MIGRATION

$12m - PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH

$12m - STRANGE WORLD

So, yeah, THE GARFIELD MOVIE is performing as usual. It curiously has a B+ CinemaScore, when usually, an animated picture - no matter the reviews - gets an A- minimum. I still expect it to leg up until INSIDE OUT 2 is released, and make back its fair $60m budget.

Director Mark Dindal deserves a big hit after three movies that didn't quite cut it at the box office. CATS DON'T DANCE was dumped by Warner Bros. and made soooo little in 1997, THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE was similarly dumped by Disney but had the fortune of garnering excellent legs that might not have covered its budget, but it showed that Disney had a sleeper hit on their hands... and then there were the subsequent great video sales that probably un-flopped it a year later. CHICKEN LITTLE barely made the grade. Dindal hadn't directed since, the closest he got was with DreamWorks' unmade ME AND MY SHADOW. Dindal would be replaced by Alessandro Carloni on that film, and then DreamWorks nerfed it altogether. (Though they did briefly revive it as SHADOWS, courting Edgar Wright to direct at one point!)

So, yeah, I'm rooting for Garfield! For Dindal! I'll be seeing the movie in about a week or so.

As for the other side of this weekend's box office coin... FURIOSA:

I want to point out... A lot of people are seemingly confused as to why FURIOSA isn't breaking out... Thus making for a pretty small Memorial Day box office long-weekend...

When were the MAD MAX movies ever these massive blockbusters here in America?

The first film was barely released theatrically in North America, lost in the midst of its domestic distributor - American International Pictures - being acquired. The film's breakout success in its home country, Australia, was really what lead to sequels. MAD MAX 2, released as THE ROAD WARRIOR stateside, did fairly well but wasn't among 1982's biggest movies. MAD MAX: BEYOND THUNDERDOME, thought to be the most Hollywoodized of the movies, also did okay enough. Again, nowhere near the edge of the Top 10. I reckon for most people my age, FURY ROAD was their first MAD MAX movie. It certainly was mine, and then I went and blind-bought the other three movies thereafter.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD opened with a fair $45m back in 2015, and went on to gross $380m worldwide against a $150-180m budget. Barely 2 1/2x that price tag if it was $150m, so I guess it just made it. Enough for more movies to be made at least, as Tom Hardy was signed on to reprise his role as Max Rockatansky for at least a few more films. A fifth movie proper is in development, apparently... But, yeah... $380m. Good gross, but not... Let's see, STAR WARS or MCU-sized. Not DUNE: PART TWO nor RISE/DAWN/WAR OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, for fellow sci-fi comparisons...

And nor did it need to be... There's more a gnarly, punk-like edge to these movies anyways.

Which is why I did not expect FURIOSA to make that much more than FURY ROAD, especially since it's about a younger Furiosa and it's a prequel. Having not seen the movie due to circumstances (I'm gonna aim for it this coming Friday), I've also heard that it's way different from FURY ROAD, which was more or less a two-hour car chase that barely lets up. This apparently, at 2 1/2 hours long, is more in line with the classic MAD MAX movies. There's some vehicular action that really delivers, but the bulk of it is a lot of atmosphere and long stretches that really souses us into the wasteland world of the series.

One of my pals actually compared it to director George Miller's previous film, THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING... And... Uh, if it's really anything like that film, it's going to be interesting to see how it holds up in the coming weeks. THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING is a curious film that I didn't particularly enjoy much, but it's very cool that a $60m movie that appears to be Miller - in his 70s - pondering and reflecting on the art of storytelling and the big mosaic of it all even exists. Now to see that applied to a massive budget action movie in an iconic sci-fi franchise? Even cooler. That's what you call taking a BIG SWING. If MAD MAX 5 happening hinges on this movie's success, I really hope it defies the odds.

So THE GARFIELD MOVIE doesn't have a massive bar to clear, and it's already over $50m worldwide thanks to opening in a few territories beforehand. Should make back the budget easily. Only needs to clear $150m to do that. Legs would really have to be bad in order for it to not do so. FURIOSA is the one I'm concerned about, as that cost $168m to make. If that closes the door on future Wasteland movies, then that will suck big time. Fingers crossed for both.