#not sponsored or affiliated btw

[kollector-of-stims]

Cats vs Pickles series brings Kittens vs Gherkins:

EDIT MADE: THEM COMING TOGETHER AS THEY ARE ON THE CHECKLIST CAN BE FALSE!

Each pack comes with two small plushies, either 2 kittens, 2 gherkins, or one of each. They're this much smaller than an average Cats vs Pickles plush:

And a phrase (nice one, Felicia. They knew. I don't usually get pickles but you're an exception.)

And the "baby blanket" they come with is actually crunchy and plastic on the inside! Similar to a baby or dog toy! Very stimmy!

While I was looking through the packs, I also realized a trick/cheat really early on: you can partially see what's inside by pressing the plastic wrapping (the white parts work best) against the plushies inside:

(These are, from left to right, Cleo the Egyptian kitten, and Cheshire the grinning kitten. You can see the almost tire track-like pattern around Cleo's waist, and Cheshire's grin and freckles. Both were in the same bag and had to be moved/shaken around to change positions. Real life and better lighting may help.)

With that said, each pack contains 2, and it seems like the order on the collectors guide stays in order: groups of 2 show which kittens/gherkins are packaged with one another.

Cleo and Cheshire came together and Felicia and Waffles did too, ya see.

EDIT: TURNS OUT THAT THEY DONT ALWAYS COME IN THE SHOWN PAIRS. I GOT LIL RAINBOW MEOW AND LIL SKELEKITTY IN THE SAME PACK! Love them both but still. Be wary and check both plushies if need be.

All of this info together should hopefully help whoever wants to get a pack to get a pack with their prefered plushies inside! Let's hope that at least one person gets the kittens or gherkins they want with this guide and cheat!🤘

[codgod]

if squarespace was worth it gay people online would be using it to make their kin lists

[fiberintake]

Pattern Review: Augustins No. 18

Augustins No. 18 was the first garment pattern I completed as a new knitter. It’s a simple and basic design, perfect for layering on cooler days or wearing as a sleeveless top in warmer weather.

I ended up using Sultan Pastello from Hobbii. The colors are called Gooseberry and Grape. I needed dk weight yarn for this pattern which meant I had to combine two strands of this yarn and only had one of each color. Plus, both are amazing colors on their own, but put them together and you have the most refreshing shade of summer! This yarn is 100% cotton, so again, perfect for the warmer days coming up.

The pattern itself is straightforward and easy to follow. It’s knitted bottom up with folded hem and yoke. There are no fancy stitches that’s bound to get beginners like me confused or frustrated. Great for mindless knetflix and knit for advanced knitters as well!

Now, I made the mistake of jumping straight into it without gauging, so this particular finished piece is too small for me 😂 That’s why knitting a gauge sample is a must before every project! It’s ok because I still enjoyed the process and I’m going to give it to my sister probably.

I have fallen so in love with this design that I have casted on for a bigger size that I am currently working on!

[sinnohlunarfestival]

Racing Teams and their Sponsors

Introducing each team and their corresponding sponsors! Without the help of these sponsors our races wouldn't be such a big hit! Of course, we can't forget our energetic Garchomp friends who have volunteered to be the ride Pokemon for the races. Prospective racers, please consider your team and sponsors carefully! We will begin racer applications soon!

Team Bidoof and Jubilife TV

They've been training all year! Our own home raised Juno the Garchomp! Ready and willing to meet up with any willing racer. He's got a cheerful and can do attitude. This team is sponsored by Jubilife TV, who kept a record of this fella's growth via the famous program, Sinnoh Now!

Team Bastiodon and Pewter Crunchies Inc

Rough, tough and steady! That's the motto of this team as well as of the sponsors who back them. PEWTER CRUNCHIES INC. For when you have the munchies for something as rock solid as your lifestyle! Toki the Garchomp is looking for an equally sturdy and reliable partner for the race!

Team Luxray and Silph Co

Mysterious and off beat, here are our sponsor and Garchomp from Saffron City in Kanto....Sosu the Garchomp and Silph Co. Yes, that Silph Co, the world renown company everybody knows! They're one of our top contenders for this year!

Team Lopunny and Pokestar Studios

Lights, camera, action! Daisy the Garchomp takes center stage alongside our glamorous and glitzy sponsor known for their fabulously odd and infamous movies! She can't wait to meet her racer and take the spotlight!

Team Garchomp and the Sinnoh League

Raised by the members of the elite and staff, Chelsea the Garchomp is full of strength and speed! Boasting a champion pedigree, these two giants in the Pokemon world are raring to go for the win!

Team Steelix and Macro Cosmos

Tough as steel and sharp as a sword, we have Tyrant the Garchomp coming in alongside Galarian conglomerate, Macro Cosmos! With such a big corporation backing racers and Pokemon alike, how could you lose?

Team Rapidash and the Battle Company

Hailing from Unova, we have our generous sponsors the Battle Company from Castelia City! All fired up and ready to go! Torque the Garchomp is chomping at the bit to race for first place with her chosen rider!

Team Girafarig and the Safari Conservation Association

Here we have steady and true Indigo the Garchomp raised lovingly by the caretakers of the Safari Zone in Kanto! Not only are they sponsoring efforts for the festival, they are also going to match every donation made towards Pokemon habitat conservation charities during the festival days! Who wouldn't want to be supported/support such good natured people?

Team Ambipom and Goldenrod Radio

Coming to you live through the airwaves, it's the speedy Kumiko the Garchomp and Goldenrod Radio Station! Lovingly holding onto the tradition of radio, we are happy to announce you can tune in to the festival race on 104.35 FM no matter where you are for expert Pokemon race commentary! Thanks Goldenrod Radio!

Team Staraptor and Devon Corporation

Shoot for the stars with Devon Corporation and their sponsored Garchomp, Freesia! The Devon Corporation is known for its innovation in space tech and travel, thanks to their satellites we are able to keep you all updated love right down to the second!

Team Houndoom and Lysander Labs

Hailing from fair Kalos, Lysander Labs is one of a small handful of companies leading us all into a bright future through better communication! Maryse the Garchomp is a sweet tempered Pokemon who is fast on the race track! Count her in for an amazing race!

Team Mamoswine and Naranja-Uva Academy

Brought to you by the incredible staff at the Naranja-Uva Academy and raised professionally by Elite Four member, Hassel, for this event. Rosso the Garchomp is a shiny Pokemon who holds the pride of Paldea with him. He's a big hit amongst the students at the academy!

[juniper-clan]

Grammarly so desperate they trynna get the funny cat writers on board 😭

Next moon is sponsored by Grammarly btw I got my ad affiliation bitches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dreamieparadise]

Can I know more about the mafia highschool au? Like is it a normal school with just a bunch of mafia kids or is there an actual mafia curriculum? What was Momo's reaction when she found out she was pregnant? Is Mimi still the Rat King? Curious minds would like to know 🥺💜✨

Djkdkd it piqued your interest, huh? x'D

It's an actual mafia hs! 90% of the people there are mafia affiliated, and in order for outsiders to be brought into the school, they have to be sponsored by a current student! The current student has to vouch for the outsider's capabilities and also take responsibility for them. For example, Reborn sponsored Miruku! He is now a mentor figure to him and is guiding him to be what he feels is a splendid mafia member. [The thing is, everyone here are teens, so while the arcobaleno are still powerful, they aren't as experienced or cool headed as their adult counterparts! Reborn, in this au, isn't as gentlemanly towards femme presenting people! It's something he works more towards later. He still treats them better than male presenters but thats because he is a misandrist. Another example: Fon has a temper!!!]

The one who sponsored Momina is actually Luce! Luce is a great help to Momina due to both of them being spiritually inclined. However, with how Colonello [and Lal] are... they, of course, decided to snatch Momina away and also force teachings onto her. Luce is still Momina's actual mentor, though!

The blood, sex and violence are ramped up in this school. It's normal for students to be killed by other students [Squalo just murdering Dino's bullies because they were in the way, for example...] so this kind of pushes people into confessing, having sex, etc. They feel they can die any time so YOLO!!!

I like to think there is actually a mafia curriculum on top of the normal curriculum. "All the ways you can poison someone", "espionage", etc. They get sent on missions...

Momina has major brainrot!!! She was so happy to be a mother while married to Hayato. [Yeah... they got married while underage. Yeah, Hayato forced religious leaders to allow the marriage to happen... Momina thought it was so sweet! She just said don't threaten them in the house of God!! Him complying was endearing! :) ]

It's so funny because Jojo was like "Luce does not approve of them moving so fast while so young" LIKE SHE WASN'T ALSO PREGNANT DJDJDJD difference is Luce claimed her husband Roberto as her husband when they were 5 so it's Totally Different. [Luce's reasoning, probably!]

LET THE RAT KING MIMI GO

Mimi is kind of one?? He was wandering the sewers for Cavallone lost treasure, and Dino went with him...he complained every step of the way until Mimi actually found it. Dino is now convinced Mimi is a lucky charm and brings him places, btw.

I could keep going, but let me stop here!!! 😭✋🏾

[bitchesgetriches]

Hi I'm in need of some advice please! I've had a retirement savings account at my job for two years now but ill be leaving in a few months because I was accepted into grad sschool. Should I leave the account as is or should I open a new one and transfer the funds a new retirement account at my bank? Thank you!

(/2) I forgot to mention it's a 403(b) btw. Idk if that makes a difference

This is the second question we've gotten recently where I can happily answer with "hey, use our sponsor!" I swear I'm not just shilling. We just choose our sponsors really carefully for how useful we think they are to our audience.

Anyway, you can do what's called a 401(k) rollover. Despite the name, it works for all employer-sponsored retirement plans including the 403(b). It's a lot of annoying steps and paperwork, so we recommend you use our sponsor Capitalize, who will do the hard part for you FOR FREE.

We write all about how to roll over your retirement account here:

How to Painlessly Run the Gauntlet of a 401k Rollover 

Now, the important thing is you don't HAVE to roll it over. You could just leave it be. But if you do that, you'll be paying fees on the account for as long as it remains open. So rolling it over into a new personal IRA is a good way to make sure you save on fees while still maintaining the tax advantages of a retirement account.

I personally used Capitalize to roll over my old 403(b), and if you work with them they'll kick a little money our way so we can keep paying our assistant. Here's our affiliate link: https://hicapitalize.com/bgr

[pommunist]

(Twitchtracker anon back again)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Follow up on this post :

[thebananniediariesbyannie]

a mindful fitness routine

#BeekeepersNaturalsPartner | today’s fitness journey is all about being mindful and just getting moving! come with me and beekeeper’s naturals! @beekeepers_naturals #beekeepersnaturals #propolis #guthealth

🐝 shop this throat spray, this acupuncture mat, and more products featured in this video on my LTK @ banannie or on my Amazon Storefront - links below

🐝 want to know which guided meditations are my favorites?! click the links below to watch some of my favorite playlists (btw, these are actually my favorites, they are not sponsored)

Click the button below to find other social media outlets where The Banannie Diaries posts content! Follow, subscribe, and stay tuned for more beauty, fashion, and positive vibes!

*FTC Disclosure: This website, page, post, and/or video contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through my links

Thank you so much for joining me today! I truly hope you enjoy my content as much as I enjoy creating it. In order to make your experience on my site more enjoyable, I’ve included links throughout my site applicable the items I am writing and posting about. Please refer to my Terms & Conditions and the Disclaimer of this site before using these links.

[hawnks]

also also if you r a book reader check out thriftbooks!! i just got 4 books for under five dollars and free shipping hehehe, AND they are not owned by Amazon

[yumiayumu]

i have all episodes of season 1-3, most eps from season 4 and the 2 movies (all eng dub, watermarkless) on a cloud drive. the eps are only 576/480p (140-170MB) since i don’t have that much free space. but if you prefer a higher resolution (720p/850-900MB), you can always download/watch directly from miraculous(.)to. if anyone wants a copy i’ll just put a link or give it to @howmanyepsofmlseason4areleft. i downloaded it for my little cousins who can’t watch the episodes live and can’t read the eng subs. might as well share it to others.

[UPDATE]

here’s the link for the drive. i’ll try and update it once a watermarkless eng dub episode releases or when i have time.

ps. the episode order for season 1-3 may not be accurate.

pps. please don’t overshare the link or post it anywhere. the contents might receive a dmca request and could be deleted.

[ganbreedings]

HOW TO IDENTIFY AN IMAGE FROM MIDJOURNEY, DALLE-2, OR STABLEDIFFUSION & WHY YOU SHOULDN’T CLAIM IT AS YOUR OWN

people are pieces of shit and pretend that their “art” is actually theirs and not from AI. i like AI and find it fascinating and as someone with any inkling of a following, i want to let people know of this.

i am not affiliated with any of the AIs i talk/post about and i am not being sponsored by any of these to put down one and prop up another. i am trying to spread information on how this works and why it’s not okay to claim AI “art” as one’s own.

all images used in this post were either generated by me or were publicly available.

---

WHY SHOULD PEOPLE NOT USE AI TO CREATE THEIR “ART”?

the way AI pictures such as the ones from these websites and apps is by taking images from around the web to combine into one image based on prompts. this is accomplished by finding images attached to descriptions and putting them in a GAN; i have more information on that here. 

so essentially, by generating new images, you are ultimately taking someone else’s work and smashing it all together to create something new, most likely without permission.

this is also how artbreeder works, which was more evident in its old name of “ganbreeder” (which contains “GAN”).

since this is technically at the end of the day someone else’s work, this is also why they shouldn’t be sold as NFTs (not to mention the complete lack of effort put into them; you just come up with a prompt and type it in and the ai does the work. at least with stuff like bored apes someone had to draw all of the initial variables individually so an AI could mash them all into a single image with no rhyme or reason).

---

HOW TO IDENTIFY AI-GENERATED IMAGES FROM MIDJOURNEY

midjourney images have a very specific look; they tend to look very painted with sort of... muted colors a lot of the time. youtube channel SolarProphet has many videos that feature midjourney. they all tend to look like paintings and i’ve found that the AI very much likes to make portraits with a character front-and-center.

---

HOW TO IDENTIFY IMAGES FROM DALLE-2

dalle-2 images can be harder to identify because the AI is very advanced with many data points.

it is able to generate images with multiple art styles, but also may generate things that look like photographs.

the best way i can describe dalle-2 images is just looking... off. if you look carefully, something will look wrong. in the picture below the top eyes are mismatched, etc. something would be subtly off. you have to look carefully.

in this one: one of the eyes looks smudged and the spoon handle doesn’t seem to be leading to anything.

dalle-2 can also generate rather convincing clipart at times, but they also may have something off about them. this picture of a frog looks normal at first glance, but if you look carefully, you can see that it’s missing a toe, coloring on the far arm is wonky, the lineart on 2 of its fingers is bulging out, there is an extra line on the top shirt pocket that cuts off a yellow band, the legs are oddly shaped, etc.

yes, some artists may draw like this, but most likely they would keep proportions consistent, no? (saying this as an artist myself btw)

---

HOW TO IDENTIFY IMAGES FROM STABLEDIFFUSION

stablediffusion is a lot like dalle-2. due to lack of resources i can’t really give the best answers on it. it is much more customizable than either midjourney or dalle-2. the web apps can go up to 150 steps on dreamstudio and 50 on the huggingface website, which affects quality (unlike midjourney and dalle-2 where the number of steps is fixed (to my knowledge, anyway)). 

my computer struggles to run stablediffusion locally due to my graphics card (i CAN run it but it basically eats all my memory). i also don’t know how many steps midjourney and dalle-2 use to make their images, so i can’t make pictures with exactly the same amount of steps to compare it all to.

i got these using both web apps and as you can tell, they are off and not quite right, though i expect with more steps, they would be better. i expect the way of telling that they are AI generated is similar to dalle-2?

---

it’s hard to explain how i personally tell when an image is generated by ai, and of course my method is not foolproof and it will never be. humans are imperfect creatures, after all. these are just patterns i’ve noticed personally.

[notkrispy]

Cowgirls vs Pterodactyls (2021)

alternatively titled: How Many Times Can I Say “anyway” in a Trailer Review

--

yes, the movie came out this year. on january 22. two weeks ago. what even-

anyway, i’m reviewing the trailer because i have nothing else to do. (that’s a lie, i just don’t want to do the stuff i have to do lmao) 

comes complete with gifs and images bc really, i can’t stress enough how funny and stupid (but still entertaining, to a degree) this movie looks. enjoy.

***there’s also a trigger for epileptics near the end, too. it’s two pictures after the gunslinger shot. i will have it denoted.***

trailer link if you want to watch it ig

alright, the trailer starts out with this:

looks promising.

alright i’m 10 seconds in and this text looks like something you’d find on a powerpoint presentation that some 7-year-olds got excited with. i mean- come on, just look at it-

IT TOOK 3.5 YEARS TO MAKE THIS?

(also: these text transitions happen for the rest of the trailer, btw. it’s a mix of this text and that classic cowboy text. you know the one.)

15 seconds in, the pterodactyl graphics are looking top notch, everyone.

pterodactyl dave here. ngl he looks like he flew into a window in this shot.

they’re using...graphics....from those old movies...with terrible graphics...it’s like that gremlin movie time traveled to 2020 and those little gremlins took over the studio.

you’re supposed to be promoting the movie, not making it look like you’re a traveling circus passing through a dusty 1800s town.

(also, don’t let pterodactyl dave let you hear the eggs are hideous. it won’t end well.)

look, you gotta stop dissing dave here. i’m beginning to think you want pterodactyl dave and his friends to come after you like they did for the main character and her friends here.

okay while i don’t appreciate a crappy movie, i do appreciate the expressions the actors make in the crappy movie. ten points to whoever comes up with a good caption for the above pic.

oh look, more graphics. you gotta admit tho, that guy being carried off by a pterodactyl was a good shot.

ok why did they film it like one of those videos you had to film for a school project-

these are also the only few spoken lines (between this old guy and the main character) in the entire trailer.

anyway, the terrible graphics are just so funny to me and idk why-

come on bro, look at it

JUST LOOK-

AT IT-

WHY-

oooo scary gunslinger shoot-out shot! *cue The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly theme song*

*epilepsy trigger warning in two pics, it’s a gif*

okay, was this shot really necessary? are they implying that the pterodactyls go for the nuts when they’re attacking? are they implying that pterodactyls are low fliers? i need anSWERS-

(okay that was a terrible joke, i’m sorry)

alright, one more terrible graphics shot. THIS IS THE LAST ONE, I SWEAR-

*epilepsy trigger warning*

anyway. this has been a review of a trailer for:

already in an amazon prime account near you! see it for a limited time today!**

i give this trailer a solid -10/10 because i don’t like movies like this, and a -100/10 for graphics, BUT-

the trailer gets a 8/10 for making me laugh, a 4/10 for a decent premise, and a 7/10 for having dinosaurs and being set in the wild west, because i remember those two things were my biggest obsessions when i was younger.

anyway, thank you for coming along with me. idk if i’m gonna do more of these crappy movie trailer reviews, but if you want, send those trailers in anyway.

--

**not sponsored or affiliated with Gooey Films

[mvtteo]

YES, i know i’m so late to the game - pls fight me :/ - but i’m here now & i cannot wait to write w/ all of u & love on all of u, etc !! i’m stef btw !! ok now on to the stuff yall came here for.

☆★ [ tommy martinez + he/him + cismale ] ☆★ did you know that [ matteo de la cruz ] has lived in erie for [ two months ] now? the [ 26 ] year old [ dealer / uber driver ] is known to be [ loyal ], yet [ calamitous ]. which is fitting considering they are a/an [ scorpio ]. whenever they pass by on the street, i can hear [ save me from myself by louis the child ] blasting through their headphones. they remind me of [ a flickering street light in an alley, dirt stuck under your fingernails & a meme that isn’t funny anymore ], and it really wouldn’t be erie without them! [ stef, 21, est, she / her ].

( TW : drug use, abuse, violence )

FORMING

from toronto originally ! he’s only been in erie for about two months ( and who KNOWS how long that’ll last ... more info on that below )

he grew up in a single parent home ( his biological father SLAMMED the door in his face at 4 years old & never returned ), of course a part from the revolving door of ‘ new daddy’s ’ his mother would introduce to him as he grew. money was tight but they made due, a working/lower class family living in an area of the city that was known as a spot tourists shouldn’t visit. 

a lil bit about his mother : emillia vargas ! she took odd jobs when she could & that’s how she put food on the table. that, or her boyfriend of the month dishing out from his wallet. sometimes it was shocking - to have food in the fridge - when at least half of her paycheck was sent to a dealer on the corner. she was from a long line of addicts & didn’t make it to the other side. matteo’s earliest memories are of needles — and the worst was the silence afterwards. their relationship is COMPLICATED to say the least. for some reason, despite everything, he still cares & checks up on her. probably because she’s the only family he knows. or the guilt trip & manipulation she’s thrown his way — that, too! anyway. they don’t talk often & she’s still at the same house up in toronto.

father : the man left when matteo was just four. fighting was constant ( so perhaps it was due to trouble in paradise ), but matteo was too young to really comprehend why he left & he hates pondering on it - even though the lasting effects are REAL. 

anyway. his mother did have her fair share of boyfriends, trying to fill in that void - but to no avail. some of these men were dangerous, some using emilia, some married already, others abusive & controlling, addicts themselves ... needless to say, no one really stuck. and matteo definitely had a part in that too, being spiteful, causing fights or fighting back. things got pretty bad @ his place & the neighborhood knew whose house those red & blue lights always visited.

SPEAKING of his neighborhood, one great thing did come out of it & that was not too far around the corner lived @luzzamaya​ , matteo’s BEST FRIEND / ride or die / partner in crime. he practically lived @ her house, looked up to her father as the male figure in his life & they’re still two peas in a pod today :~)) ... but more on that later too ...

matteo grew up QUICKLY - not really in the way of caring for himself ( bc his actions would in fact prove the opposite ) but he often hung out with people way older than him ( not really wanting to be home after school, etc ) & he began diving into the world of drugs early on. def the kid your parents would’ve been 👀👀 about. YALL CATCH THE DRIFT OK ... moving on.

IMPORTANT BLURB TO HIS STORY (TW : mention of gang violence )

so he was always in the wrong crowd / hanging with kids older than him / he got involved with drugs etc really young. he started selling drugs lowkey around high school + the town and was a lowball dealer until he continuously proved himself + being more closely tied to this GANG ( the suppliers ), we can call it La Línea bc i looked up active gangs and this one was made from corrupt / retired police officers so i was like .. YUP ! so he’s currently affiliated, not initiated bc that prob means killing someone nd he’s like miss me w that, fool. but as he’s grown his relationship with them + has continued selling (drugs, weapons .. contraband etc), they want him in bc they trust him. giving him more & more duties. and it’s not like he can say NO bc they’re all strapped + can literally ruin/end his life ?? or ruin/end the lives of the ppl around him? SO as another gang (aka a MAFIA) that is trying to step on la linea’s territory … ( maybe it had bad consequences, someone from la linea being thrown in prison or dead ). SO they trust their outside dude matteo (since he’s not super recognizable to the mafia since he’s not u know . FULLY in la linea) to work a plan to take DOWN this mafia. how ? buy ratting them out to the police. a literal snitch smh. the only bad thing is now … someone from the mafia traced the words back to him. their leader is now in prison & has sent “”soliders”” to come after matteo nO MATTER WHAT. he’s gotten threatening calls // he’s been forced into fights // held at gunpoint which was his FINAL straw of being like ..  I GOTTTA GO

soooooo now they’re ( him & luz ) are in erie :~). 

also i’m thinking he got involved w the gang bc originally he owed other low-level dealers money + was like trust me on this. i’ll do whatever u ask. nd is a loyal ass hoe. plus all of a sudden he was making DOUGH selling product + had a following / a lil bit of a “”community”” that he’d never rly had before

PERSONALITY / HEADCANONS ( idk how to label - just some more info )

he’s not a horrible dude but a LOT of people would argue that he is. and his actions might seem like he is. but ... he’s learning :,)

sarcastic as hell

has an infamous smirk ok ... super careless so yall are gonna see that a lot

has a rooted issue with authority figures & hates when anyone tells him / offers him / suggests to him what to do

despite seemingly coming across as a meanie, he could also be considered the life of the party. not in the sense of being gregarious, but more so having FUN. drowning out 

immature as hell 

has definitely dealt to his mother before :/. a low, even for him, but. that’s a complicated relationship

his hair is constantly a mess

STREET FIGHTS FOR MONEY $$$ or when la linea previously made him. he tries not to do it TOO often but sometimes he’s just gotta ya know ?

has some shitty tattoos - minus the ones done beautifully by luz of course !! a few to cover some scars :|

assume scruff on his face at all times

has been struggling with sleeping through the night, nervous abt getting caught & will often just walk around @ 3pm for a smoke

loves reggaeton 

bilingual but hardly speaks spanish :/

WANTED CONNECTIONS 

a SPONSOR from AA/NA

a COP / law enforcement that takes him in for dealing

or even a bystander that calls in authorities for him dealing / stealing / anything illegal ...

someone he DEALS to

someone who OWES him money

a FLIRTATIONSHIP 

a ROOMMATE

a BARTENDER/CONFIDANT @ his go-to watering hole

a GOOD INFLUENCE who is aware of his addiction 

a PASSENGER in one of his uber rides

someone he got into a CAR ACCIDENT with

they hit him in the middle of the night // or hit his car ? or vice versa ?

someone he had a BAR FIGHT with

next door NEIGHBOR

ENEMIES

always wanted to do a homewrecker plot tbh

a revenge plot ?

someone he’s met from a DATING APP

a COUSIN

another CLUB RAT

ok i’m literally open to ANY connection u think of. it might be easy to come up w/ those in-depth ones while brainstorming tg but above are just a few ideas :,)))

[persistentskeleton]

Hey, guys

If you have executive functioning issues (or even if you don’t) and you cook for yourself... get Paprika.

(Btw, I’m not sponsored or in any way affiliated with Paprika. I’m just an excited fan)

It’s $5.99 one-time on the app store for the mobile app (and $30something on the desktop so we won’t look at that) but it is. So worth it.

FIRST! It has an online browser. You can google recipes, download them and add them straight to the app.

It literally just searches google. You can put in direct links to recipes you like or just search a particular website or food. Then you hit download, and,

(And notice how it credits and links back to the the source of the recipe!)

It tracks down the ingredients and step-by-step directions and reformat them in a really ADHD-friendly way. You can tab back and forth easily from the ingredients list and the directions. You can also cross ingredients off as you use them.

AND you can scale the ingredients needed up and down, with like so many options. For example, you can scale it to 3/4s of a serving size, and the ingredient amounts will be adjusted by Paprika automatically.

(This recipe’s ingredients have prices next to then because of where I got it, BudgetBytes, which I also HIGHLY recommend, but more on that in another post maybe.)

And the recipes can be categorized how you want! And they’re super easy to pull up. If i’m craving some honey mustard, even my executively dysfunctional ass will pull up the recipe rather than just rry to remember the ingredients. And i’ll follow it. Because it’s THAT EASY.

So. You’ve made a rough meal plan for the week. Or you’re craving something. You need to go to the grocery story and get the ingredients, though, since your fridge is completely empty. Well, it’s a shame the app doesn’t really offer much for that...

JK!! Of course it does! That grocery basket icon at the top of the recipe? With the plus sign? It means “add to cart.”

Before you add the ingredients to your cart, they’ll all pop up and you can deselect all the ingredients you already have.

Then?? It adds them to your grocery list. WHICH IS SORTED AUTOMATICALLY BY AISLE.

There are other features, such as a meal planner calendar and a menu option(?) that I haven’t played with much, but these abilities alone make the app like, my savory food saviour. It automates a lot of the boring parts of cooking and it just makes my life a bit easier. So I thought I would share!

[stephrawlingwrites]

So, I was just asked, in my internet marketing class, what I think about influencers and sponsored posts. Here's my super long response. Links and everything down below:

Classmate, this has been on my mind since before I signed up for this class! I'm so glad you asked. My position on influencer marketing is that I'm torn on influencer marketing. (This got really long and I'm sorry, but there's a TL/DR at the bottom.)

As I've already said, I actively use adblockers so that I don't see ads when I'm browsing Instagram or YouTube (and I'm even considering setting up a Pi-Hole in the future), but that doesn't mean that I don't want the creators I watch/follow/support to have to go back to working a day job and give up their (often) self-made careers. I think that sponsored posts and videos are an awesome way to support creators/influencers; AND it seems like at least 80% of the time, the sponsor is even related to what they do/cover, or products or services they (claim to) use/have used. And that's more than I can say for video ads (I'm looking directly at you hate speech targeted ads on LGBTQ+ coming out stories).

If you've regularly watched any YouTubers over the past 3-4 years, I'm sure you've heard them complain about demonetization. Videos are being demonetized for having specific tags or titles, that are deemed "too controversial" for advertisers. This could be someone like Glam&Gore doing a gore FX tutorial, or Philip DeFranco covering a political story. Sponsorships and affiliate links are the new YouTube Partnership.

However, if I'm so pro-sponsored content, what about content that I don't actively consume. Right now, there's a lot of buzz going around about channels specifically geared towards kids, in particular Ryan's Toy Review (https://www.theverge.com/…/youtube-ryan-toy-reviews-adverti…), where sponsorships either weren't disclosed, or weren't disclosed in such a way that the targeted audience (young children) could understand. What do we do in situations like these, where the target audience doesn't have any purchasing power of their own, or the ability to differentiate an ad from the content itself?

This also brings up another point. What do we do about content creators who aren't following FTC/EU regulations when it comes to clearly disclosing the sponsorship? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJXB9VhK1eM)

Conclusion/TL/DR: I absolutely think that influencer marketing is a great way to market products and services, in fact, it's how I found my web hosting (BTW, don't use Host Gator). I think that when you're choosing to market a product via influencers, there's a few things that we as the marketer need to be wary of (ie., creators who are willing to negatively review a competitor, or for a larger fee, not disclose the sponsorship). Also, we need to be responsible with how we choose to market our products and services in such a way that we are not exploiting a vulnerable group such as children. Also, we as consumers of this content need to be aware of sponsored marketing tactics so as not to fall victim to Kim Kardashian's Detox Tea (https://www.nbcnews.com/…/kim-kardashian-jameela-jamil-feud…).