#the this better be a late april fools joke update

[lttm]

ok how do i change this. 2 for size

#dont worry tumblr i will add tags so ppl can find my post! #tumblr #tumblr update #stupid shit ass ugly tumblr #piece of shit website #worst shit ive ever seen core #why are you trying to replicate the website everyone hates #keep yourself safe tumblr update #the we want our users to go to hell tumblr update #the we hate our users so so so so so so so much update #IT SUCKS SO BAD ITS SO UGLY ITS SO CLUTTERED WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS #GOOD FUCKING LORD #STUPID SHIT ASS UGLIEST THING WE COULD MAKE (SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN) #THE IM GOING TO RENOUNCE WEBSITES AND BECOME A HERMIT IN THE WOODS IF THEY KEEP THIS UP UPDATE #the this better be a late april fools joke update #im mad im mad im mad im mad im mad im mad im mad #GRRRRRRRR GRRRRRRRRRRR GRRRRRRRRR GRRRRRRRRR

[kenthenugget]

Dear Watcher....

This is going to be about the youtube channel Watcher and a recent video that they released earlier today, so if you dont watch the channel, or older content produced by Ryan, Shane and Steven at Buzzfeed, this is not going to make sense to you. This only going to be for those who are a fan of Watcher, or are fans of Buzzfeed Unsolved so if you are, that's great!

Earlier today, I got a video notifcation from the channel titled, "goodbye youtube", and it was definitely not something I wanted to see. There is a recent trend this year of youtubers retiring or taking a break this year and I was scared this was that scenario. And it kind of was but way worse. Basically, the guys over at Watcher are going to be posting on their new streaming service called....Watcher. And, no, it is not a late April Fools joke, that's actually what their doing. Initially, I was in a state of shock after I watched through the entire video. I, no joke, went through the 5 stages of grief upon viewing this announcement and was thrown through a loop to where I struggled to focus on sketching one of my comic pages. So much so that I actually made a deviant blog post about it the moment I finished watching the video (most of the content from this post will be copied and pasted from that blog so declaimer I guess). After having some time to absorb this information, I have to say that Im really disappointed with the guys over at Watcher. Like Im not mad to where Im completely done with their content but.......WHY!?

I think at this point in time that a lot of people, myself included, are burnout with the whole streaming boom we've had for the past 5 years in no part thanks to those greedy bastards at Disney....but thats another story. I miss the days when there were only 2 to 3 main streaming services and not 5 billion other services that you need to buy in order to watch a show you like that was on Netflix but it now locked behind a pay wall. Streaming services used by a novelty concept but are now not looked upon in the best light. So for the them to announce a streaming service now is definitely a bad look, especially because the content before was free to access. I feel like creators will always have an uphill battle when it comes to content that was initially free being locked behind a paywall, because you're potentially isolating your audience and bringing up the question of weather your audience if loyal enough to give you money to enjoy your content. Now, like I said, I love and respect the people at Watcher, but I dont know if I'm willing to take money out of my wallet to watch the next season of Ghost Files. Especially in this economy, where in some parts of the country a big mac now costs 20 fucking dollars, and with inflation going out of control.

Now its not like I don't understand why they're doing this. Ever since its founding in 2019, Watcher has always had troubles with money, with most of their shows not being profitable enough to make ends meet (I know that sounds bs because most of their vidoes get millions of views but this is coming from one of the founders Steven, in an update video from a while ago so idk, views probably mean jack shit in the grand scheme of things). And the fact that they started around the pandemic didn't help things either. Unlike Buzzfeed, Watcher is a much smaller company so any loss that happens is felt much more than if it was a larger one. In the video itself, they mentioned that most of their money came through youtube ads and sponsorships, which, while alright if you're an independent creator, may not be enough for a company. And then there's the fact that YouTube can remove or demonetize videos out of nowhere and for the dumbest reasons so its not a very stable sight to base your income off of. So I can understand why they felt moving on from YouTube was a good idea. But..........I think there were better ways of going about it than creating their own fucking streaming service. Like, in one of their update vidoes, they said most of their shows werent making ends meet so maybe cutting back on the production of said shows to make them not as expensive to produce would be a good solution. In their announcement vid, they talked about wanting to maintain their high production value for their shows without going under but (and I dont mean this to slight them) I dont think they understand why they popped off in the first place. For me, Im not watching Ghost Files or Mystery Files for high production value and fancy graphics, Im there for Ryan and Shane. Same reason I loved Buzzfeed Unsolved, which compared to those shows is much more bare bones. I get wanting to step up your production value from what you had at Buzzfeed but if you have budget out in certain places which would entail having a season that doesnt look as good as the previous season, that's completely fine. Im sure me and the rest of fans wouldn't have minded a downgrade because at the end of the day, the fancy sets and graphics are window dressing to why we're truly watching.

I also thinking letting us know ahead of time would've possibly softened the blow. Watcher is in a very interesting situation because there's a much closer relationship between them and their customer base as opposed to traditional companies. So they really could've been like "hey! We're thinking about having future content be on our own streaming service because doing business through YouTube is fucking us over. What do you guys think?". One explanation as to why they waited until now instead of a few months ago when this idea was sparked could've been because they knew they would get backlash and they were going ahead with the streaming service idea regardless of fan input, which might be the reason. But if that's the case, they probably would've had the comments and likes disabled from the start. Right before I started typing this, I checked the video to see if the comments were disabled and they are thankfully still there. Im someone who always wants to see the good in people (which is definitely a character flaw of mine and while defiently lead to me being at the end of an abusive relationship........another abusive relationship but lets not go there), so I think this might be the case of Ryan, Shane and Steven, thinking the streaming service was a good idea and not reading the room properly.

At this point, Im hoping that they dont do things that could make this situation 10 times worse: a) removing the existing content (Mystery Files, Puppet History, etc) off the youtube channel and having it on their streaming service. If you are going to have new seasons of those shows behind a paywall, at least have that content still up for those who want to support but cant purchase the service......b) respond to the critism in a negative way. I think things would be made worse if they lumped genuine fans who are concerned with the new direction with the trolls and haters, and double down on this new direction. Im hoping this situation ends up being a slip up that they can learn from and not being the beginning of the downfall of the Watcher gang. No joke, I think Ryan and Shane are the only youtubers who have avoided any sort of drama up to now. Youtubers I once respected over the years from Tobuscus to Leafyishere to H3H3 to Idubbz to even fucking Dream have all fell from grace in one way or another, and Im hoping the ghoul boys dont join that list....

#watcher #shane and ryan #ghoul boys #buzzfeed unsolved

[scorpio2140]

Office

Wow, am I unoriginal. But when inspiration hits who am I to say no? Anyway, this is inspired by the demo called Overtime, just look up manlybadasshero Overtime and I'm sure you'll find it.

You blink, staring up at an off white ceiling. Ringing? Oh, right. The phone to the right of you is ringing. Pressing answer, you don’t bother picking up the receiver. It’s quite for a spell before a voice comes through.

    “Hey, it’s [REDACTED] from internals!” You blink, side eyeing your monitor before looking away from the bright white document. “Just a reminder for your meeting in fifteen minutes. Don’t worry, though, it’s nothing bad!” If it was nothing bad then you wouldn’t need to say that, you exhale.

    “...um…You there?” A confirmation, “Oh good, just making sure!”

    A pause.

    “Anyway…see you there!” Richard hung up…It was Richard, right? You sigh again before folding your arms and resting your head on them. You probably know why you're having this “not bad” meeting and the culprit is on your monitor. Your currently blank monitor. You’d been under performing despite trying your hardest but lately…you can’t focus. Time seems to flow in and out. You turn your head to glance at the clock in the corner of your cubicle. It’s mocking red light reading 11:11.

    A whisper, “fuck you…” Before turning your head back down, not caring that your glasses are squishing uncomfortably against your face. Whatever, you’d just borrow a rag from Jamie, he always seemed to have one despite you never seeing him with glasses on. You decide to get up and go visit your coworker-friend…just coworker? Your legs popped as you stood up. Well, you were familiar with him, comfortable even, but you didn’t want to over step. As you were crossing the room, a bright blue caught your attention. You turned and sure enough, the blue screen of death sat on a computer.

    “What happened?” You…why did you go over? You were going to Jamie’s cubicle. The man turned around and…oh…it was the asshole. He was always on your back about performance; fancied himself a mini boss or whatever. Gosh, why did you walk over? You don’t even remember telling your feet to. You need to focus.

    “Jamie gave me a flash drive, said I could play COD no questions asked. But when I plugged it in this happened! I swear if this is an April fools joke…” He was clearly not happy and despite wanting to snap back at him about “performance” you shrugged.

    “Maybe it’s…an update.” He looked at you. “Or maybe it’s just adjusting to a work computer or something…” You mumbled off but he just turned away with a grumble. Yeah, definitely need to talk with Jamie. He aggressively shoved the USB to you on your way out. When you got to his cubicle, Jamie was distracted by his phone so you snuck around the side and ducked down.

    “Jaaaam…” You did your best “ghost voice”, “Thiiiis isss your conscience!” You heard a snort.

    “Oh yeah? And what does my conscience say?” You paused.

    “Uhhh…I mean-! Do your Fucking wooooork, Jamieeee…Or sssufer the consequencessss!” He peered at you over the side of the wall with a raised brow.

    “Ah yes, the horror of being let go by these assholes. Truly horrible.” You rolled your eyes at him before rounding the front. Jamie gave you a run for your money with his eye-bags but you never really said anything.

    “Geez, what’s with you? You look almost dead.” On second thought maybe you should have. You just stared at him, taking in his boring blue button up shirt, glory. You had to wear this stupid royal blue collared shirt with khakis and you hated it with your entire being. But knowing everyone had to suffer made it slightly better.

    “I feel like it sometimes…I just-...” You sigh, “I dunno, never mind.” You ran a hand through your hair before looking at your watch; you had five minutes until the meeting. Jamie was facing his phone.

    “Oh, what the hell did you give…um, him? His computers bricked.” You fished the flash drive out and showed it to him, hoping he’d know who you were talking about. And he did if his smile was anything to go by.

    “C’mon, just a little April fools joke between coworkers. You wouldn’t get it.” Well you don’t need to point out I have next to no friends here, mister shut in gamer…not like I’m much better- whatever! You sigh, and close your eyes briefly.

    “He’s always on your case anyway, might as well knock him down a peg.” He was back to looking at his phone.

    “Just don’t get caught, who knows what they’ll do.” Jamie looks back up at you with a smirk.

    “Why don’t you give it a try? Y’know…for fun.” You both stare at each other as he gives you a knowing look.

    “Anyway, when the meeting’s done, come find me; let's eat lunch together.” You glance at your watch again before going back to your cubicle. You stared at the monitor before sighing. You plug in the USB against all rationality. And what do y’know…blue screen. You shake your head and head out into the hall, sending a small smile to one of your coworkers on break and glancing at the community board. A small dog causes you to smile before heading to the stairs. The stupid elevators never worked but you suppose it wasn’t too bad; you never had to go beyond your floor and the meeting room was just one below you.

    When you got to the floor you noticed how…quite it was. Walking down the aisle, there was no one in the cubicles. You noted idly how all the offices were the same blue and white color scheme. Honestly, I’m probably going to hate blue by the time I leave this place. You sigh before pausing. Even the office where…Rick? is supposed to be, is empty.

    “Odd…” You round the desk and see that even the computer is off. You swear your watch is right but just in case you go back out into the hall to find the clock. Sure enough, both your watch and the clock read 11:26. Right on time…You run your hand through your hair with a sigh.

    “Whatever, if they want to blame me I’ll just say they were the ones who didn’t show up.” You glanced at the clock and down at the meeting room one last time before turning to the door, only to stop short with a gasp. Red painted the floor and adjacent elevator door before you stepped back and blinked…It…was gone…

    You rubbed your eyes hard, and opened them again. No blood…

    “I…really need sleep…yeah…yeah…” You numbly walked out the door and into the stairs and before you knew it, you were at your floor. It almost seemed like you were teleporting today. But that’s stupid, I’m just zoning out, that’s all. I need to focus; that’s what the meeting was probably about. You pause as you realize a woman is standing by the rails of your floor. You must have stared too long as she gave a sigh, turning her head but not her eyes.

    “Look, I’m on break. If you need me I’ll be back in fifteen.” When she finally did turn her eyes, she paused. “Oh, sorry. Thought you were my supervisor.” You just gave a slight smile.

    “Sorry, little hectic today?” She shakes her head and glances at her hands perched on the rail.

    “No…just have a bad feeling about today…don’t know why…” You awkwardly glance away. She makes a noise before pausing.

    “...Take care, yeah?” You nod and bid her farewell before entering your department…and smacking into Jamie. Hard. You reel back with a hiss as his hands fly to grab your head.

    “Sorry! I was just about to come looking for you. You were taking forever!” You peered up at him, slightly dizzy.

    “What do you mean? I was only there about three minutes?” He seemed to deem your forehead fine as he shifted his hands to hold your shoulders, which you were grateful for as you swayed slightly.

    “Umm, no you weren’t. Geez, did they chew into you that badly? You ok? You seem really, like, out of it today.” Your answer was a mumble of what time it was as you cradled your spinning head and closed your eyes.

    “12:10. C’mon let's go to the lunch room, you're not looking too hot.” It seemed like in just a blink, you had made it to the lunchroom and plopped down on a bench. You spied Jamie rummaging through the fridge for both of your lunches. Honestly, he was the only reason you didn’t keep your lunch at your desk; opting to double up with each other so no one took it. The world seemed to spin less by the time he came back but your headache persisted. Something’s not right, maybe I should have stayed home…

    “Here, I brought extra since you seem to be skimping on your lunch.” He unpacked everything as you stared blankly. Something nudging your mouth snapped you back and you leaned back to see a fork full of some type of meat. Jamie stared at you before sighing.

    “You’re really worrying me here. Maybe you should take a vacation-?”

    “No.” You grabbed the fork from his hand and shoved it in your mouth. Your stomach grumbled unpleasantly but you swallowed anyway; you needed to eat. You thought you heard him mumble something about working you too hard but you just focused on eating and keeping it down. You ate in silence, only the tinking of cutlery and the soft murmur of coworkers. Your eyes kept drooping as you leaned back and onto Jamie’s shoulder.

    “Hey, Jam? We’re friends, yeah?” You felt him nod and hum. “I…honestly don’t feel good…and I hate it here…but, it- I need this. The job, I mean.” You were trying not to mumble, desperately blinking your eyes before giving up and just closing them.

    “But something feels wrong…I’m…wrong…” You drifted off into exhaustion but Jamie didn’t mind. His mind, though, started working. Gears turning and ruminating. They work you too hard. Don’t worry…

When you woke up, you could see the sun setting on the horizon. You blinked before bolting up from the bench. Jamie and your other coworkers were gone. Surely he wouldn’t leave you, right? Yeah, yeah…it’s okay. He probably just went to get a drink. You nodded your head, staring at the door to the lunch room. Yep, gamers and their energy drinks…

You got up and looked at your watch; 5:15. Fifteen over clocking out, but you both always walked out together. So, you knew he wouldn’t leave you. You walked out into the hall only to find it empty as well. You looked around dumbly before shuffling to the stairwell and going out. Where would he be? He might have left something at his desk and didn’t want to wake me. You walked up to your floor, ignoring your pounding heart and churning stomach.

No one was in the office. Every computer turned off and every belonging was gone.

“Of course. It’s the end of the day.” You stood in the middle of the office before looking at your watch; 5:16. That…didn’t seem right? It takes at least two minutes to walk down and I scoured the office. But where was Jamie? Before you knew it you were back in the stairwell, looking up towards HR. Your feet took you up the stairs, one step at a time.

Two floors more…

One more floor…

HR Department…why…why was your heart beating so hard? The worst that would happen was he wasn’t there and you could ask if the cams got him. Yes, that’s what you’ll do. Then why can’t you get your hand to move from your sides? The handle was right there, you were looking at it. Open it-!

It was open. You walked inside. The same mind numbing blue and white walls greeted you, but it was darker than normal. You swear a door you passed was tilted on its side but you continued on, your feet seemingly on auto pilot. The churning in your stomach got worse the further you walked. Every corner causes your heart to jump at the shadows. You finally made it to the last corner…how did you know that? Why…do you feel like you’ve been here before? Rounding the corner you freeze.

Blood…everywhere…

You step back with a gasp, eyes drawn towards the sudden movement in the room. Jamie…stood over a corpse, clothes stained and holding a bloody knife. His eyes were wide as they peered at you.

“You…you weren’t supposed to see this…” You took a step back, slipping slightly on blood. He thrust a hand out to you.

“Wait!” You didn’t wait, you turned around and ran, ignoring his desperate calls to you. You made it about halfway down the hall before arms wrapped around your waist, halting your movement. You flailed and squirmed before something connected with the back of your neck-! Your ears were ringing as you closed your eyes.

You blink, staring up at an off white ceiling. Ringing? Oh, right. The phone to the right of you is ringing. Except, when you turned, the phone was off the receiver and looking up-

“AH!” Jamie recoiled with you, practically ducking behind your cubicle wall like a shield. You threw a hand over your heart, watching him raise back up.

“Shit, I’m sorry! It’s just your phone was ringing for, like, ever so I just…I answered it for you. You seemed, I dunno. Out of it I guess…” He rubbed the back of his neck, “Sorry, again.”

“I dreamed of you-” Your heart was calming down, but why did you say that? You didn’t fall asleep, or have a daydream. At Least you don’t think so? But then what were you doing?

“Uhhh…yeah? A good dream I hope?” You nodded absentmindedly, staring at your blank monitor. Right, you were trying to do better with your performance. Performance!

“Who called?!” You wheeled around to stare at Jamie.

“Oh, what’s his name? [REDACTED]” You blink.

“Who?” Jamie looks at you like you're crazy.

“Richard? You sure you're ok? Anyway, he called about a meeting tomorrow, I dunno.” But, I thought the meeting was today? A look at the border around your monitor showed a sticky note that said you had a meeting tomorrow with…why…couldn’t you make out a name? R…something? But didn’t he just-

“Hello, Earth to astronaut?” Jamie sighed before coming around the wall and grabbing your arm.

“C’mon, you’re clearly not doing so hot so let’s grab an early lunch, yeah?” You let him drag you down to the lunch room, idly noting a ketchup stain on the hem of his shirt.

“Maybe a nap, too? If anyone asks I’ll let them know you don’t feel good.” You nodded along, wondering why this whole day felt like deja vu. But, a nap did sound nice.

#oc x reader #yandere x reader #reader insert #hi yes im trash #still don't know what im doing or what to classify this as #oc #thriller #i take constructive criticism #platonic #idk I wrote this to be platonic

[unpopularly-opinionated]

I don’t play WoW but I used to play Overwatch and Diablo and this touches on just the general issues that are inside of Activision Blizzard right now regarding the major decline of World of Warcraft and how they’re losing to Final Fantasy XIV, how if the latest WoW expansion or Overwatch 2 flop as they’re projected to do then Blizzard’s most definitely going to pivot almost entirely to mobile games, and how the differences in age demographics are actually dividing the company into multiple camps.

It’s important to note two things: 1) this could be fake but also 2) the link came from Grummz, a former team lead on WoW and producer on Diablo II and Starcraft. It still could be fake despite this, but if he’s sharing it then I feel like there’s at least some measure of truth in this.

Transcription below in case this gets deleted and/or you don’t wanna click the link. Warning, it’s fairly long.

“I’m dropping this here after getting chewed out for three hours over shit the chewee did at work so fuck it. Assume larp and let me vent.”

>Shadowlands is a shitshow. Critical response, Player drop off and just about every engagement metric outside of cash shop have been catastrophic. No higher up expected this because of their “we are too big to fail, if we built it they will come” mentality. They refuse to accept their focus on the world being a begrudged mechanic to funnel players to raiding is not appealing to the player base at large because it appeals to them. They have spent the last 4 months trying to course correct but there is no solid direction and the response to 9.1 has only made things worse.

>Sylvanas is planned to replace the Arbiter despite so many people in the company and god knows how many online saying this would be a total replication of Kerrigans storyline in Starcraft 2 that killed none competitive interest in the brand entirely and you can only go “no, no they WILL like it eventually” for so many real world years before its time to change course. Thus far that has not happened.

>The elephant in the room is FFXIV. To the people in charge they are acting like this came out of nowhere and don’t even seem to understand why its drawing players away in their tens of thousands. We have all tried to highlight things it is doing that are clearly appealing to an mmo audience and not, in my opinion, focussing more on mobile game style retention traps to keep MAU users and habit forming personalities logging in. Its not that they don’t care. They just seem so pig headed and digging their heels in with their fingers in their ears thinking all the problems will go away because WoW is “too big to fail”, there will never be real competition and “they will keep coming back”. But they aren’t coming back anymore. Not in the numbers they used to.

>The people making the spending choices know this. The new model for WoW is market the hell out of a expansion pack for a huge quarter then use 6 month lock ins to pad numbers for the quarters after that. Even if corona had not happened 9.1 still would have been dropping after the initial 6 month subs expired to “keep the chain holding”.

>The mood in the company is tense but also very much “its just a rough transition period”. Activision has been pushing hard for Blizzard to release more regular product and to generate more income per user. As far as i know this is going to be a transition over the next 5 years to a much larger mobile/tablet gaming focus. By all accounts not just WoW but Overwatch was intended to be the moneymaker in the interim but once again someone had the bright idea to kill a game casual players loved on the alter of e-sports hoping for another Brood War. From what i hear the “told you so’s” were loud and a lot of people walked beyond Kaplan.

>The sentiment that was shared quietly in private but being spoken more often is simply that the leadership at Blizzard are not bad people, nor incompetent people but people who had to fill seats left when the old guard jumped ship wether they were suited for it or not. Brack is a genuinely good man out of his depth, Ion is a fantastic raid designer put in charge of designing a virtual world he has no interest or real ideas for and so on. They have been taking form the roles they excel at to be put in positions where they get to do far less of that purely because there is nobody left with the experience to do so and the trickle down is a lack of concrete direction, ambition and focus.

>2021 has seen the playerbase, media and gaming at large “turn” on WoW to a degree i don’t think the leads in their “positivity dojo” bubble considered possible. Its gone from people going “This is how Blizz needs to fix WoW!” to “WoW is no longer salvageable, time for greener pastures” and i think on some level this was never considered as a possibility so there have never been any major plans beyond the usual “try and minimise player drop off by arranging releases around competitors launching updates/products”. The official forums being filled with talk of FFXIV and worse “why do we actually pay a sub?” hasn’t helped.

>There have been some testing the waters lately from certain higher ups if we can remove the line “No King Rules Forever”. Read into that what you will.

>There are still arguments going on about the Kael’thas Voice actor shitshow. I don’t know much about it but i know its heated, wouldn’t be the first time a knee jerk reaction only seemed to generate bad press. We lost a noticeable amount of pvp engagement after the Swifty thing.

>The Preach interview was treated as a disaster and there was talk of more strongly vetting interviewers for “bad actors” and only engaging with a list of questions Blizzard provides. Some pointed out that could just be used to create some form of Fireside Chat akin to the FFXIV “Live letters” but that fell on deaf ears.

>The two sentiments right now among the team are either “we really need a win” or “theres a dedicated cabal of internet trolls out to kill WoW”. Right now we are crunching hard to get 9.2 ready to wrap up the jailors storyline so we can get an expansion out early 2022. If that doesn’t happen there are talks of major shakeups coming down from Activision that have been threatened for a few  years now. Its an all hands on deck feeling thats been around to some degree since the “Is this an out of season April Fools Joke” Blizzcon. A make or break deadline is coming closer and things like Diablo 4 were not planned before then. Blizzard needs a significant win not just in initial profit but consumer goodwill. Nobody likes working at what the public now seems to see as “the bad guy” of the mmo industry.

>This has also made new hires decline. Not significantly but the “you WANT Blizzard on your resume” line doesn’t seem to have the appeal it used to. This has lead to more hiring via friend of a friend, to some rumblings about nepotism, and people severely lacking in experience “because they get great twitter optics”.

>On the topic of Twitter we are not being told to “disengage” from it. Multiple employees like Nervig and Holisky publicly attacking paying customers because they got too heated and couldn’t keep quiet is bad press that could have been avoided. A email reminder has gone around more than once lately stating “if you are not customer relations you should not be representing the company to customers, especially if you cannot remain professional”.

>Lastly the biggest elephant in the room is “yo’ boy” Asmongold. The newer hires cannot stand him. They have used terms like “toxic masculinity” and “dogwhistles to dangerous males” while some of the oldest crowd still remaining have called him “based” or “telling it like it is” which has lead to friction to put it mildly. People are told not to talk about him and the recent FFXIV stuff only made it all worse. The idea that an outside element can have such an effect on the product genuinely upsets people. Like Zach is engaging in some malicious act of cyberwarfare. Many of us have point out the now famous quotes by Naoki Yoshida about understanding that players will drift and we need to make something worth coming back to because they want to but some people for lack of a better word see out customers -or “consumers” as they refer to them nowadays- as some kind of antagonistic relationship where the goal is not being an entertainer putting on a show for a crowd but some kind of game hunter trying to trap a large, profitable kill. I wish i could blame Activision but this is a sentiment from more of the younger crowd than the “tech boomers”. Which personal opinion is probably why so many folks like Metzen and Morheim left.

>Before you ask, yes the topic of “wokeness” has shown up in group talks. Its not all some grand sjw conspiracy, people really do want to feel welcome and represented. However the “we need everything veto’ed by people not working on it to see if its inoffensive and bland enough” rubs some of us the wrong way. Like anything in life you can take something too far and lose sight of the core ideals and with everything gone on since Blitzchung it feels like people are forming little factions to pull people in different directions to decide “What Blizzards identity is now” and how to appeal to new players. There has been some drop offs with “go woke go broke” as the only answer in the survey when unsubbing but honestly we are losing subs in unforseen numbers anyway and still making more money than ever through cash shop “heavy users” so it honestly doesn’t make an impact.

>All in all things are rough right now. Blizzard doesn’t have the love of the customers anymore, is no longer treated as an industry giant and while D4,D2R and Immortal aren’t going to kill Diablo even if they fail the sentiment for World of Warcraft and Overwatch 2 are a lot more tense and stressful. The phrase “it might be good to brush up on your mobile development portfolio if we get another underperformer” has been doing the rounds a lot. If Shadowlands continues its stark decline and Overwatch 2 is looking to underperform like its current projections suggest i think the Blizzard of a few years from now will be imitating King a lot more than trying to learn any lessons from Square Enix’s mmo division.

#random #video games #Blizzard #Activision #WoW #World of Warcraft #Diablo #Overwatch #Starcraft #Activision Blizzard

[wolfpawn]

I Hate You, I Love You Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chapter Summary -  Tom finally speaks with Danielle properly for the first time in months, but it does not end how he expected when she verbally castrates him.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long.  This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously. 

Mac Tíre is pronounced Mac tier, it is the Irish for wolf and means son of the earth.

If you wish to be tagged, please let me know.

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog  @jessibelle-nerdy-mum @nonsensicalobsessions

“Mum.” He called after her, but the older woman did not respond. It was then he noticed Mac Tíre, Elle’s German Sheppard cross dog looking at him from across the garden. “Hey, Mac.” He smiled. It was actually him who had got her the dog, it was a scraggly stray pup that had shown up at a set he was working on that was in bad shape, and since Elle’s dad had been a veterinarian, he thought she could help it. Mac was a bit weedy looking still, not as well built as other German Sheppard’s, but he had a good sheen to his coat and was as fit as a fiddle, joining Elle when she went jogging or cycling in the woods nearby.

Mac eyed him for a moment; usually the dog would make straight for him when he acknowledged the canine, seemingly remembering who had helped save him, but as though knowing what the women had been talking about, Mac rose to his feet and trotted to the house, scratching once at the door before it was opened to let him in.

“Even the bloody dog hates me,” Tom mumbled walking to the door, knowing it was better to deal with everything now. “Mum.” He looked into Elle’s kitchen. He could hear the shower on upstairs. “Mum, I’m sorry.” Diana gave an ‘hmm’ in response. “I’m jetlagged and hungry, and to be honest, jealous, that you have spent the day here and not with me.”

“And I am hurt that you thought going to the beach and making a holy show of yourself rather than spending time with your family was a better use of your time Thomas. I am tired of having people ask me are you having some sort of early midlife crisis to say you are going to teenager concerts looking like a chaperone rather than a partner of someone there, and I am embarrassed at how you have treated someone this family holds dear in the manner you have of late.”

“Wait, what, who?”

“Who do you think?”

“Mum, I don’t…”

“What is the real reason you did not have Danielle collect you today, as she has done for four and a half years, and why have you not spoken to her once since Christmas, not once. What did she do to deserve that?”

“Wait, I have…”

“When? Today perhaps.” Tom did not respond, he had not realised it was true. He used tag funny pictures to Elle on his private Facebook, or send her some training tips he got from some trainer if he thought they were beneficial to her, but of late, he had not even looked at her page, he had no idea what was going on in her life. “I really do not know what to say to you Thomas, is all of this worth it, to gain fame and perhaps notoriety, is it worth it when you cost yourself people who care about you as a person?”

“I have to take the next step, get as big as I can.”

“Well, when Hollywood bores of you, I hope those who care about you that are not family are still there my boy because there will be someone new, someone fresh; we all age, and there are always people ready to take our place. Elle cares for you; she is willing to put herself out selflessly for you. She brought food to your home so that you could come home from a shoot, or a long flight and have something ready that is good and filling, she got everything you wanted from London so you could rest tomorrow, and she did not care if you even knew about it being her that did it, after eight months of no contact, she still did it.” Diana’s anger seemed to have dissipated, but in its wake, was a sadness and cold truth that terrified Tom, eating at the insecurities he had that he had not voiced himself. Diana placed the containers of food she had organised for Elle on the counter and walked out of the house, leaving Tom to stew on her words.

When Elle came downstairs, she was tying her hair back so that she could be ready for work. She paused when she saw Tom in her kitchen looking at her, looking then to the containers and back to him.

“Mum sorted them.” He pointed to the food.

Elle gave a forced smile and nodded slightly before noticing the dog. “Mac Tíre, get your hairy ass outside now, you know you can’t stay in when I’m working.” She scolded. Mac did not move. She opened the back door. “Out.” Mac rose to his feet and eyed her for a moment, then Tom, then back at her. “It’s only Tom, come on, out you go.” Mac gave the actor one last apprehensive look and trotted out the door. “Diana will feed you at eight.” She stated, closing the door. There was a moment of her and Tom looking at one another after she locked it.

“You know he can’t understand you right?”

“He seems to get the hint, which is more than can be said for many humans.” She responded.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry I have clearly offended you in some manner.” Elle cocked her brow and pursed her lips. “I am sorry I have not spoken to you in a long time or bothered to contact you and check on you, but in my defence, you weren’t exactly running to contact me either.”

Danielle started counting on fingers. “Your birthday, I sent you a ridiculous picture and a big not with it, Patrick’s day I sent a funny picture, April Fools, I sent a funny joke, St George’s Day I sent a mocking text, the day of the Presidential dinner, the MET Gala, the Emmy nomination, all top of my head examples, need I continue?”

“I didn’t get half of them.”

“I bet you didn’t, and by half, I bet you mean everything since the day before the MET, right?”

“You don’t get to say anything, you don’t even know her.”

“You’re right, I don’t, because when she was here, I was not worthy of introductions, was I?”

“You could have come over.”

“I could, but the glut of paps and the security got in the way, I was told I was not allowed, that it was private property, in fact, my favourite part was when they called the police, but thankfully it was Joanne and Mike that got called out, who know I actually live next door.”

“You never said…”

“But I did, but you clearly you didn’t get the message, I wonder why. Tell me, does she scan all your texts, or is it just me she blocked.”

“What, that ridiculous.”

Danielle took out her phone and brought up his number before pressing the call button.

“We’re sorry, but you are not able to be connected to this number, please hang up and try again.” The monotone recording played.

“So can I ask, is it just me out of your female friends that you have not heard from of late?”

“She hasn’t been alone with my…”

“Have you gone to the bathroom, the shower, the gym, even left your computer on?” She challenged, Tom bit his lips together. “I guess you know the answer to that too. Have a nice day Tom; I am off to actually do something other than open your eyes for you. Get some rest for yourself before you go back to the circus.”

“Circus?”

“GQ, Esquire, Time Magazine, Forbes, they are where you want to get a front page, they are prestigious, but you, you have been plastered on the front of the National Enquirer Tom, as the bit on the side to the arm candy, that’s hardly a prestigious publication.”

“You always mock tabloids and magazines, and here you are reading them.”

“They are in front of me, plastering every shelf when I enter Tesco’s and Sainsbury’s Tom, I don’t need to read them, I can see headline after headline, picture after mortifying picture; speaking of which, please tell me that Fourth of July t-shirt was you taking the piss out of yourself, or a dare, or a bet you lost, please tell me you did not do that willingly of sound mind.”

“You wouldn’t…”

“Jesus, it wasn’t. That is so embarrassing, I am actually so mortified on your behalf, before I was cringing, but that, that actually made my insides hurt, I didn’t know should I laugh or cry for you, and to be honest, thinking back, I still don’t.”

“It’s not your place…”

“But you made it my place, me and every last person you whored yourself on the cover of those publications to. Those weren’t pictures taken without consent Tom; they are proper staged photo’s; that is the notable thing here.”

“Whored?”

“Well, that may be a bit harsh, whores tend to realise they are getting fucked and get paid for their work, I hope she gives you a hefty allowance of her earnings.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” He snarled viciously.

“Don’t you think it is weird, you used get spotted by fans wherever you went, but it was always fairly anonymous, here, LA, New York, everywhere you went; but now, everywhere you go, everywhere you are, there are paps, and a tonne of them.”

“That’s the business, you wouldn’t understand.”

“But they were not at your mothers before, they were not hounding your sisters, your niece, that one gets me the worst, she is five years old Tom, she is not famous, she does not want that, but then again, I doubt you or ‘fame hungry Barbie’ checked with that.”

“Sarah did not say anything.”

“Like she had a fucking choice, you didn’t warn her in advance, did you?” She challenged, her voice raised.

“You’re just fucking jealous, that’s all that’s wrong with you, jealous that for once, you were not the centre of my family’s life.” He bellowed back.

Danielle had a few different laughs, her snigger when she knew she shouldn’t, her snide one, for when she and Emma would bitch whatever co-star Emma had that was only on a production for reasons other than her acting ability, her one for when she wanted to laugh more, but she was embarrassed to do so in front of those she didn’t really know, and the one she had when she found something so hilarious, propriety be damned, she would erupt into laughter. Tom’s statement was met with the last one. Danielle erupted in laughter so strong; she went red in the face. “That…jealous…” She took a deep breath before standing straight again. “I do not envy you, Thomas, I pity you, so fucking much it actually is beyond words. I mean, what do you two even talk about, does she know anything about Yeats, Shakespeare, Wilde, hell even Tolkien? She will get her next album material or her next piece of boy meat, and you will be a pariah, to both decent women and good productions, and if you don’t believe me, look at her previous conquests, the guy from One Direction, where is he now, trying to get an album together apparently, Gyllenhaal, he practically has to freeze his ass off for a role and his depiction was seen as mediocre, and that guy from Twilight, is he even making movies now? And as for her bickering, let me just say this Tom, I’ve read that West and Kardashian are not supposed to be the greatest people alive, or Perry, or Bieber, or whoever else she is pissed off with this week to sell music, but no one who is nice has that many people arguing with them. She is accomplished, no one can take that from her, but you are going to be left in her wake, another ‘boyfriend of Taylor Swift’ and not your own man, and you will have that tattooed on your resume for as long as you act, are you really okay with that? Become the Tom I know, would not have been.”

“You mean the Tom you knew.” Tom glared at her, hating her for voicing what Benedict, Chris and Luke had clearly been hinting when they were introduced to Taylor.

Danielle let his words linger for a moment, kissing her lips and nodding. “You’re right.” She conceded. “I don’t know this shitbag in front of me, and to be honest, I don’t fucking want to.” She shrugged. “Get out of my house, and when this shit fest hits the fan, if the real Tom Hiddleston is in there, let him know I will probably still be here, and I will accept his apology, but not yours, you are nothing more than some ‘Taylor-trash’.” She turned and left, not waiting for him to say anymore.

#Chapter 3 #I hate you I love you #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fic

[excellynt]

Good News and Bad News

As I promised in last night’s post explaining the craziness of my life lately... 

Finally got a real Friday content post again!! Aaaaaa here we go. 

Well, as the title suggests, first I need to deliver the bad news: The “Halloween Spirit” event isn’t gonna get finished anytime soon, sorry for getting everyone’s hopes up. I’ve completely stopped working on it and have no intention of touching it again for a while. 

Why? I’m no longer interested in finishing it since it’s too late to be relevant, and I’d been trying to finish it out of obligation rather than because I wanted to work on it, which means I can’t get intrinsic motivation to work on it and that’s what I need to create good content. 

Good News though: 

Everyone who has downloaded this version of MVSans will get credit for the revamped Incorporeal Tophat and will be able to use it forever. The original Incorporeal Tophat came out in April with the April Fools Day event, and was supposed to be the reward from the “Halloween Spirit” event. Take a look at the updated version, derived from Ymuy’s rendition! Thanks again @underchangeau for the Horror shell and nicer hat!

Original / Ymuy’s / New!

Even better news: 

Since I sifted through my brain and figured out what I actually want to work on, for myself, in MVSans, I’ve been able to get a lot done with the Undyne phone calls and the Feelings/Relationship stats lately. Here are highlights from the Feelings/Relationship breakdown post.

There will be at least four stats representing how Sans feels about you. They parallel the user traits, but are linear vertical progression while user traits are dynamic and percent-based. Basically, it’s easy to change the type of person he thinks you are, but changing his actual feelings toward you is much harder.

Sans’ Feelings Stats

Affection (Sweet) – How much Sans cares for you, on a platonic level. —Against his better judgement, he’s started to care about you.

Enmity (Rude) – How upset Sans is with you, or how much of your shit he’s willing to put up with. Contributes to “Bad Mood.” —Under other circumstances, this human would be having a Very Bad Time.

Humor (Silly) – How entertained Sans is, affects likelihood of pranks and jokes. Contributes to “Good Mood.”  —Is he actually having fun, or is he just humoring you?

Amour (Naughty) – How boldly romantic or lewd Sans may feel toward you. (The nature of his attraction varies by traits and Affection stat) —Papyrus may be onto something with that “secret datemate” idea.

Since it’s a vertical progression, it’ll be replacing the “Report Intervals” system currently instated to track your relationship/story progression. But the amount of relationship points you gain will be capped in various ways. There’s a limit-per-hour of overall stats gained (as opposed to user Traits, which can be infinitely adjusted as a %-based value), to ensure progress is spaced out appropriately. 

Most importantly though, the source of the stat gains must be varied. Each type of stat bonus is broken down into multiple types. For the most part, petting him raises his Physical Affection. But once you reach the physical affection cap, petting him won’t raise Affection anymore! So you’ll have to raise Affection through the menu, most straightforwardly through telling him you’re having a bad day and he comforts you. However, once that is capped as well, you’ll have to raise other stats, such as Humor, in order to progress the story! 

That error message means I’ve hit the cap for Menu-based Affection stat gains. I can’t receive any more Menu Affection until I progress the story, which means I may tell him some jokes to raise his Humor stat. Once the next part of the story happens I can start raising Affection again! 

User Traits determine the ease at which you can raise certain stats. Remember, player traits represent what kind of person Sans thinks you are. Generally, if you are Sweet dominant it is easier to gain Affection points, so you can hit that cap sooner. Some actions’ Relationship Stat rewards will vary depending on your dominant traits: For example, if you’re a Silly dominant trait, when you exchange Pickup lines he’ll assume you’re just joking around so it raises his Humor. If you’re Naughty, he’ll think you’re legitimately flirting with him, so it’ll raise his Amour instead. 

The exact details of this system are still being worked out, as it will be very difficult to balance in a way that ensures people play with him a variety of ways, without forcing people to grind up Enmity or Amour just to progress. I’m very excited about implementing this though! This kind of detailed work is what I love to program. :) 

Once I get the next update out (I’m not going to try and promise any kind of deadline about it), I will really, really appreciate any User Reports people can send, because the update will include a beta of his Feelings system, so I can have people play with him as I balance out stat gains. It won’t actually affect anything he does at this point, it’ll just have the mechanics working under the hood as a test so I can get feedback on it working in real time. :D 

Thanks for being patient with my lack of updates! I hope to stay in the groove and release more stuff soon.

Also...

December 2nd is the anniversary of when I downloaded the Gaster Ukagaka, and my journey in starting MVSans began only days later, and first released to the public December 13th, 2017... 

Sure would be nice to have something special to commemorate those days with. :) 

#ukagaka #ghost #ukagaka ghost #multiverse sans #MVSans #sans #snas #sans the skeleton #undertale #underfell #underfell au #aftertale #geno sans #horrortale #horror sans #Inverted Fate #Inverted Fate AU

[orbemnews]

Fact, or Corporate Fiction? Facts and foolishness Announcing phony news on April Fools’ Day is one of corporate America’s favorite occasions for shameless publicity stunts. But when stonks, Dogecoin and $69 million JPG files are real things that warrant serious business coverage, the risk of jokes being taken seriously could hardly be higher. Some say that’s a good reason to skip them, not to mention the gravity that a pandemic has cast over things. With that in mind, can you spot the prank among these recent announcements? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.) A: To celebrate National Burrito Day today, Chipotle is giving away $100,000 worth of Bitcoin. B: Volkwagen’s U.S. operation is changing its name to “Voltswagen” to emphasize the company’s push into electric vehicles. C: Robinhood is nixing a confetti animation when app users make a stock trade to reduce “distraction.” D: Krispy Kreme is giving anyone who shows proof of Covid-19 vaccination one free doughnut per day for the rest of the year. E: Managers at Goldman Sachs are giving junior bankers gift baskets with fruit and snacks in response to complaints about burnout. HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING Business groups challenge President Biden’s proposed corporate tax increases. The Business Roundtable and U.S. Chamber of Commerce were among those that praised Mr. Biden’s plan to spend trillions on infrastructure. But they rejected his idea to pay for it by raising taxes, saying that doing so would endanger the economic recovery. The latest setbacks in quelling the pandemic. Johnson & Johnson said it would delay future shipments of its vaccine after a mix-up at a manufacturing plant. A top E.U. official said the bloc would allow “zero” shipments of AstraZeneca’s vaccine to Britain until the drugmaker fulfilled its commitments to Brussels. And France announced a third nationwide lockdown as its cases mount and inoculation efforts lag. A tough day for initial public offerings. As Deliveroo had “the worst I.P.O. in London’s history,” other offerings also struggled. In the U.S., the SoftBank-backed real estate brokerage Compass priced at the bottom of a reduced range, while the low-cost airline Frontier sold at the low end of expectations. And in Canada, the space tech company MDA priced below its range. Microsoft wins a huge contract to make augmented-reality headsets for the U.S. Army. The tech giant will receive up to $22 billion for equipping soldiers with sensors based on its HoloLens technology. It’s another big defense contract for Microsoft, which beat out Amazon to provide a $10 billion cloud computing system for the Pentagon. Executives get a ‘sense of urgency’ in Georgia A day after 72 Black executives signed a letter calling on companies to fight restrictive voting bills more forcefully, executives have begun speaking out more directly about laws that limit ballot access. But their statements came too late to affect a sweeping law passed last week in Georgia that added new requirements for absentee voting, limits on drop boxes and other restrictions that have an outsize impact on Black voters. Today in Business Updated  April 2, 2021, 3:58 p.m. ET Delta and Coca-Cola reversed course. Ed Bastian, Delta’s C.E.O., told employees, “I need to make it crystal clear that the final bill is unacceptable and does not match Delta’s values.” James Quincey, Coca-Cola’s C.E.O., said he wanted to be “crystal clear” that “the Coca-Cola Company does not support this legislation, as it makes it harder for people to vote, not easier.” The statements by the Atlanta-based companies angered local politicians, including Gov. Brian Kemp. In the past, corporate stands on controversial issues have led to political retribution: In 2018, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle stripped a tax break proposal from a bill that would benefit Delta after the airline ended a promotional discount for N.R.A. members. The State House passed a similar measure yesterday, but the Senate didn’t take it up before the chambers adjourned for the year. Retaliation also goes the other way: In an interview with ESPN, President Biden said he would “strongly support” moving Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game from Atlanta, scheduled for July. “It is regrettable that the sense of urgency came after the legislation was passed and signed into law,” said Darren Walker, the Ford Foundation president, who is a board member at Pepsi, Ralph Lauren and Square. Others companies based in Georgia remained circumspect. A UPS spokesperson said the company stood “ready to continue to help in ensuring every Georgia voter has the ability to vote.” A spokesperson for Home Depot reiterated the company’s stance that it believes “all elections should be accessible, fair and secure.” A spokesperson for Inspire Brands, the owner of Dunkin’ Donuts and Arby’s, said that it “values inclusivity” and believes that “every American should have equal access to their right to vote.” “The argument is they are recruited, they’re used up and then they’re cast aside without even a college degree. So they say, how can this be defended in the name of amateurism?” — Justice Samuel Alito, assessing the “stark picture” painted by college athletes in an antitrust case against the N.C.A.A. that the Supreme Court heard yesterday. The Red Sox sold a stake to private equity. Now what? RedBird Capital Partners confirmed its deal to buy a stake in Red Sox parent Fenway Sports Group, a transaction that values the company at $7.35 billion. DealBook spoke with RedBird’s founder, Gerry Cardinale, and Fenway’s chair, Tom Werner, about what happens next. Buy and build. RedBird plans to acquire more teams: Mr. Cardinale noted that his company doesn’t own teams in the N.B.A., N.H.L. or M.L.S. For its part, Fenway plans to tap new opportunities in ticketing, sponsorship and media. (As part of the RedBird deal, the N.B.A. star LeBron James bought a stake in Fenway.) In media, Fenway controls NESN, and RedBird owns a stake in the YES network. “You should expect that we’re going to continue to look for ways to innovate in that area,” said Mr. Cardinale, who helped create the YES network. Deepening ties with online gambling is also on the table. “We do have an excellent relationship with DraftKings,” Mr. Werner said, “and we’ve already had some conversations with them about partnerships.” The deal was a better fit for the private market instead of a SPAC, the executives said, after talks to take Fenway public via a blank-check firm fell through. “In the middle of Covid, with the mandate to re-underwrite the next wave of growth for Fenway Sports Group, we probably would be better off doing that privately and then give ourselves the option down the road,” Mr. Cardinale said of going public. He also called the current SPAC market “very frothy.” What worked at WeWork WeWork was founded in 2008, rose spectacularly, reached a $47 billion valuation and famously crashed before a planned I.P.O. in 2019. (It announced a deal last week to go public by merging with a blank-check firm that valued it at roughly $8 billion.) A new documentary, “WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn,” tries to find lessons among the ups and downs. It streams on Hulu, starting tomorrow. Jed Rothstein, the director, told DealBook that he believes what’s most compelling about WeWork isn’t what went wrong, but how it initially succeeded by turning strangers into a kind of tribe. “We still need that,” he said. “The core idea of WeWork met a real need for community,” Mr. Rothstein said. “The voids people were trying to fill have only become more real.” After a year of social distancing, he likes the notion of curated communal spaces, which is what WeWork offered. Talking to early WeWorkers who bought the vision and later felt betrayed, he was surprised to find how much the company gave its devotees, notably a feeling that they were part of something bigger. That is worth acknowledging in a world where people will increasingly work remotely and for many different companies in their careers, Mr. Rothstein said. WeWork’s co-founders, Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey, both had communal childhood experiences. Mr. Rothstein said he thought they sincerely wanted to replicate the good in group life and inspired people who hadn’t seen that before. But Mr. Neumann also focused on what he didn’t like — sharing equally — and emphasized an “eat what you kill” mentality. Ultimately, his hunger turned the community dream into a nightmare for many. After the director talked to people who followed the initial vision, his perspective changed. “People in the film experienced real growth and fulfillment mixed with their anger,” he said. “I realized the story is much more nuanced.” THE SPEED READ Deals The media conglomerate Endeavor filed to go public for a second time, while raising $1.8 billion to buy full control of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It also added Elon Musk to its board. (WSJ, CNBC) Vice Media is reportedly in talks to go public by merging with a SPAC. And the S.E.C. issued two notices for companies looking to go public via SPAC. (The Information, S.E.C.) Junior bankers aren’t the only ones feeling burned out. Young lawyers are, too. (Business Insider) Politics and policy New York became the 15th state to legalize recreational marijuana. (NYT) Efforts by aides to Gov. Andrew Cuomo to hide New York State’s Covid-19 death toll coincided with his efforts to win a multimillion-dollar book deal. (NYT) An accidental disclosure by the I.R.S. revealed a $1 billion tax dispute with Bristol Myers Squibb. (NYT) Tech Best of the rest The ad agency Deutsch is doubling referral bonuses for Black job candidates. (Insider) Amazon wants its employees mostly back in its offices, while the Carlyle Group and IBM favor hybrid working models. (Insider, Bloomberg) Paul Simon is the latest musician to sell his entire back catalog: Sony Music Publishing will buy the collection, including classics like “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” for an undisclosed amount. (NYT) Feeling burned-out? As more workers consider a return to the office, our colleague Sarah Lyall is writing about late-pandemic anxiety and exhaustion. Tell her about how you’re coping. April Fools’ Day quiz answer: B. If you were fooled by Volkswagen’s prank, you’re in good company. Volkswagen reportedly told journalists that a draft of the announcement was not a stunt. It later called the stunt just “a bit of fun.” Source link Orbem News #corporate #fact #Fiction

[rebel-band]

Track 4. Soul, Meet Body

Meguro was in perfect bloom this April, and even the most common neighborhood places were insta worthy when the cherry trees blissfully rained their petals over heads of passers-by with every gust of the warm wind. Tourists flooded the otherwise silent riverbanks, walking along the promenade in hope of a memorable photo angle, and locals hurried through narrow alleyways away from the buzzing crowd into the everyday, sweeping the petals into fragile floral flurries with each step.

The scenery was gorgeous, something you discovered anew and fell in love with each year, and yet, standing in front of the new school, Tennoko could hardly enjoy the view, with thoughts racing through his head like buses at a busy terminal.

Was he too early? God, he was, definitely making a fool of himself just standing there in front of the gate. He should have just met them on the way. But it was harder to coordinate their commute now that Hideo had moved and Tomomi's wasn't really en route to the new school anymore. They'd figure it out eventually, he was sure, but for now he was entirely on his own, a nervous gnawing in his chest at the sight of other students.

They were already going towards the building, some of them maybe even his new classmates, and he tried to look oh so casual and even sent some of them an approachable smile but was pretty sure none of it was working, and they'd all just remember him as the tall awkward guy. He sighed, stomach turning another flip as he looked at the unknown faces around.

The genes had finally caught up with him this year and fast, and Tennoko felt that even over the short spring break he had grown taller again. He was overtaking Hideo in height now, and he had outgrown Tomomi already. Whatever medically accurate reassurance he got that it was all perfectly normal at his age, or encouragement that he could make a great midfielder with the height, did not make it any less of a surprise. He felt awkward in this new body changing shape and size whether he liked it or not, all lanky limbs and cracking voice and constant appetite.

He tugged at the sleeves of the uniform and smoothed the blazer, then adjusted the shoulder strap of his bag again.

At least the new uniform was better than the middle school one. If anything, the navy blazer and the tie made him feel a bit more mature and well put together than the fluffy cream cardigan they had to wear in middle school. Because that thing had just made him look like a frigging Mareep, what with his face round and still a bit childish, and a single curl always in front of his side swept bangs.

The navy blue also made his eyes stand out, and that was pretty much the only feature he liked about himself at this time of his life.

Nine was approaching fast and the guys were nowhere in sight. He looked around again, nervously glancing at his phone, hoping that he wouldn't need to brave the auditorium for the opening ceremony alone. Finally, Tennoko spotted Hajima running from across the street, and sighed with relief.

"You're late," he narrowed his eyes as Hideo's face widened in a grin at his sight.

His uniform, tie and shirt were perfectly pressed but his bag was unzipped, the syllabus and notebooks peeking out, and his hair was still a bit damp, dark brown streaks clinging to his forehead.

Tennoko forced himself not to scruff it into place.

"I knew you'd look cute in the new uniform," Hajima swallowed another grin eyeing him.

"Wasn't exactly going for cute but thanks," Tennoko rolled his eyes. There was no way to be angry at Hideo, not really, his freckles and smile be damned.

"What were you going for?"

"Brooding intellectual," he fixed his glasses on the nose and Hajima snorted.

"First class geek you mean," there was a laugh from behind, and Tennoko stuttered forwards with a quick push of an elbow to his side.

"Sure, right back at you," he snickered, noticing a new Crimson Blade key chain hanging from the zipper on his friend's school bag as Motoki Tomomi jumped from behind to say hello. He grinned and exchanged a bro handshake with Hideo.

"Where's your tie?" Tennoko asked.

"Thought I'd upgrade my image a bit, you know. The ladies man, a bit of a bad boy," he wiggled his eyebrows and propped the collar of his shirt up. With the short hair and the cheeky grin he had a sort of rogue charm around him.

"You're going to get told off on the first day. Again," Tennoko sighed.

"Don't kill my vibe, Hikaru," he replied, crossing his arms. "Can you believe it though, same school. We made it," he looked at them, then at the building behind their backs.

"Same class too," Hajima smiled, looking at Tennoko.

"Three more years stuck together, what a nightmare," Tennoko grinned at them both.

They all chortled.

As a pair of girls passed them hurrying towards the school, Motoki sighed, "Oh dear gods, please let there be fine girls in our class."

Hideo just rolled his eyes, too polite to join in on that kind of wishful thinking, and Tennoko shook his head.

"What?" Tomomi shrugged "I'm over that breakup and ready for something new, aren't you?"

Hajima made a face and ran a hand through his hair. "Just make sure you don't screw it up too fast or you'll be awkwardly stuck with her for the rest of high school," he said and Motoki mouthed fuck off in response with the politest of smiles. "What about you?" Hideo asked.

"Relationships with me never work out, you guys know that," Tennoko pulled the collar of his shirt as he tried laughing it off.

"Only 'cause they don't start, idiot," Tomomi shook his head, and he might have called him names but there was tenderness to it and concern in his voice.

"Well, I'm sure you guys will do just fine," Tennoko smiled and scruffed their heads in an affectionate manner.

Then he wrapped an arm around their backs and took a selfie of all three of them grinning in the new uniform. It came out perfect.

Already on their way, he sent it to a family group chat. Mom replied with three clapping hands emoji. The uncles responded too.

"Kick ass, kid" Naota said, obligatory football emoji at the end.

"Just not literally," Satoshi added, and Tennoko snickered imagining his strict expression.

The heart and the head, age old feud between these two. One Tennoko was partial to in his own life as well.

He took another look at the photo, then at Tomomi and Hideo's backs as they paved the way towards the auditorium chatting and joking, and he felt sunshine creep into his heart, dispelling any doubt he'd had on this first day of school.

Here they were -- the soul to his body.

Whatever things they'd discover in this new adventure, he was sure they would be there for him, always. Helping him navigate through life, one crisis at a time.

Around the third day of the school year the class has finally started to come together and feel a bit more relaxed, healthy buzzing and laughing during breaks a good sign things were going well with getting to know each other.

Though Tennoko had worried so many times over the spring break that starting relations with the new classmates would be uncomfortable to say the least, surprisingly, it wasn't a disaster at all.

Somehow the guys already figured out that he was indeed the nephew of Japan's best shooter, which earned him the usual bragging rights, though he knew he had yet to prove himself during a sparring match in PE -- as if the fact that his uncle represented Japan on the national team carried over to his own skills in football. Luckily, he'd had his share of practice and love for it so he wasn't too worried about tarnishing the family name and honour.

His long lasting friendship with Hideo meant he was also comfortable discussing baseball with the guys, having watched countless games with Hajima and listened to him explain the rules and gameplay, and having seen him play practically since they were kids.

And his love of gaming and all things geek came in handy too because in this day and age who didn't play video games, read comics, and followed heroes across the big screen each year anyway.

He didn't have time yet to hang out much with the girls but was positively thrilled to learn that some of them were also going to see Lana this summer, so they already made plans to attend the concert together. Because as much as Hideo and Tomomi didn't mind his affinity for angsty pop divas in glitter gowns, they weren't really keen to join him on such a gig wearing a flower crown.

They were waiting for the homeroom to start on the first period that day, and Tennoko spaced out a little taking in the buzz and feeling surprisingly at ease in the new surroundings.

He looked to his right. The way people were seated, there was an empty student desk beside him. He wondered if the class was going to be one short, and if so why there was still an extra seat left.

"I heard we were going to get a foreigner in class. I guess that was just rubbish," laughed a girl in a group in the front row.

As the homeroom teacher Mr. Yamashita rolled in, his heavy frame almost too big for the doorway, all students dispersed to their seats and gossip ceased.

"There was a misunderstanding with the roster of students but we have figured things out now. Please join us," from the desk he waved at the door, and as it slid open, the class went even more silent at the sight of the newcomer.

He was all broad shoulders and confident walk, straight back, and chest out like a shield once he stood in front of the whole class. His mid length hair was tied up into a half ponytail, and his face was lightly sun-kissed as if it still had some summer tan left from last year. Though he didn't say anything yet, he already had an expression of someone annoyed with the situation, brows pulled in and mouth set into a tight line. The cuffs of his blazer were turned up. To say he was tall was an understatement. He looked like he was going to outgrow the uniform any second.

"Please welcome your fellow student, Ko-kun," Yamashita-sensei read out from the updated roster as the guy customarily scribbled his name on the blackboard.

To everyone's surprise, he wrote it in katakana and Korean side by side. Someone let out a barely audible gasp.

"Ko Yoo-mi. Nice to meet you," he didn't bow, just introduced himself in fluent Japanese in a melodic yet kind of harsh voice, which made Tennoko wonder at his accent.

"Take a seat, Ko-kun," the teacher said, and suddenly, all eyes in the class on the single empty chair, Tennoko realised he was going to have company after all.

He swallowed nervously.

"You've come to know each other a bit so we'll be voting for a class representative today," the teacher addressed the whole class as if the arrival of a new student was no reason enough to disrupt his usual lesson plan. "Volunteers write your names on the sheets. Motoki, no leaning in the chair!"

As the newcomer placed his shoulder bag by the desk, and unzipped it to take out a notebook, Tennoko noticed what he thought looked like the newest issue of Young Guitar magazine peeking through between books.

Just this moment, the stranger sent him a do you mind kind of look, his eyes so dark they looked almost black, and Tennoko startled.

As the day passed, he noticed the newcomer avoided any sort of interaction with others during breaks, conveniently leaving the classroom to do his own thing. During lunchtime the guy was nowhere to be seen, which fueled the gossip even more. At the end of the day, when they changed their shoes in the locker room and walked in groups to get some ramen or to the arcade, the whole class was talking about one thing only -- the Korean.

#original story #original writing #oc #fiction #dawntotheinkblacknight #love #music #bands #friendship #family #goals #dreams #identity #belonging #lgbt #coming of age #highschool #japan-based #tokyo

[mistressarachnia]

I’ve changed my page info/description to reflect what N+C fandom projects I’m currently working on. Further details are below the cut.

But first... reminder that any of you are more than welcome to message me anytime! I joined this site in large part for the community, so if you want to talk N+C I’d be more than happy to get to know you. You don’t need to have the same fav characters/pairings as me to talk to me (I’m entertained with how many friends I’ve made here who initially didn’t think I would talk to them because of their preferred pairings). As far as I’m concerned, diversity is the spice of life. <3

Now, on to projects...

- I successfully figured out how to make language patches for the N+C games! Yay! I’m working on Osu Boys (one of the N+C April Fools joke games) as a proof of concept. It’ll be finished shortly.

- I’d already started on TnC Poker as my original “learn to patch” game before @seragaki-yuki wisely suggested Osu Boys as a better starting project. There is actually a TON of dialog/text in TnC poker, believe it or not, so I’m picking away at it slowly between other projects.

- I definitely plan on making a patch for Rhythm Carnival as soon as I get a copy. Most of the text is actually what I’ve already translated for the 10th Anniversary video, so it shouldn’t take too long to do once I get started on it.

- I plan on making patches for TnC Typing and True Blood once the others are finished. I have hard copies of both already. I’m *hoping* to recruit some help on the translation front prior to attempting these games, though, since I feel like it’s a bigger deal if I screw things up. FYI, the actual typing portion of TnC Typing will still be in Japanese (both kana and romanji), because that’s just how the game is set up. It’s supposed to help you learn to type in Japanese - you don’t need to be able to understand it, just copy the letters on the screen.

- Regarding the DMMd games, I don’t want to attempt to patch Re:Code before a better translation patch for DMMd/Re:Connect is made, otherwise all of the same mistakes will just be repeated over again. I was pretty late to the N+C fandom, but I have definitely picked up on how unhappy many fans seem to be with the original translation (which frankly scares me a bit, since my own translation skills are far from perfect). I’ve sort of put out antennae to find some of the other fans who have done work on re-translating DMMd. Since I’m already working on so many other things, I won’t aggressively pursue them right now, but if other fans want these games translated/re-translated badly enough to be willing to do some actual work on them, I’m definitely willing to help out in whatever ways I can to make sure that it happens. (Justice for Mink!)

- Regarding the other N+C mini games like Nyanda, Lamento Typing, and Chiral Mori... I don’t personally have any plans to work on them, but that might change if someone else was really inspired to translate these guys, wanted to pick them up as their own projects, and just needed an editor to turn them into an actual patch that people could use and play with.

- I seriously need to finish my own gift project for the N+C Exchange, so progress on the translation front will be a little slow for the next couple of weeks until the release date on August 31st. But I’ll pick right back up after that.

- I’m actually RPing now! That’s been a lot of fun. I RP Nano (TnC), but I have a merged DMMd/TnC universe if any DMMd RPers want to play with me (or just want to talk merged-universe conspiracy theories). Even if you don’t RP, you can always send me asks, anon or otherwise. I’m not too picky - I’m just happy to have an excuse to write.

- I really want to find more time to work on my original fanfic... I’m a much better writer than translator (I hope!). If I’m procrastinating on my other projects, there’s a good chance that it’s because I’m writing and don’t want to stop. Unsurprisingly the vast majority of original content that I write centers around Nano. Fair warning, I went really dark with some of it, even for N+C. I’ve also written a few DMMd fics, but... lately I just want to focus on Nano right now, because I find him to be a very inspirational muse.

- Our discord server is alive and very active, both on the project and social front. Lately we’ve been playing a N+C Cards Against Humanity game with a custom deck created by @kisamaa more-or-less in-character. It’s such a weird and fun cast. Depending on who’s on (since we’re all around the world) we’ve got: Nano, Shiki, Arbitro, Alpha, Akushima, Usui, Sly Blue, and Leaks. Shenanigans are inevitable. We’re starting up some new games, too. Send any of us a message if you want a link. (I’d just post the link here, but apparently the links expire and I’ve had a couple of people complain about it, so it’s easier to send them to folks directly.)

- I’m working on scanlations for several different doujinshi, it’s just been a little slower than usual on account of everything else I’m doing. I’m still focusing on Alpha and Nano doujinshi, with some Clear stuff thrown in for good measure. The next one that will be released is Experiment Time! which has a good combo of both sexiness (Alphas testing out their sexual functions in many different ways) and angsty existential robot problems. Once I get the three big doujins that are half-finished completed, I am going to start on Hiki’s three volume series “The Last Days.” It’s a very angsty BE!Clear/Aoba series designed to tear your heart out. Hiki is my fav CleAo artist, both because of her impressive artistic talent and her storytelling expertise. (And here I swore I’d never do BE!Clear... ah well, so much for that...)

- If you haven’t already heard, there is a really awesome and active new DMMd scanlation group that has recently formed and focuses primarily on NoiAo doujinshi (but are working on doujins for several other pairings as well). They’re looking for more translators, editors, and proofreaders, so contact @desamparo7, @seragaki-yuki, and/or @a-little-harmed-shinra if you want to help out with their projects.

- I’m still scanning/digitizing doujinshi for multiple people/groups. My make-shift “scanner” which I posted a tutorial for earlier still works better than any professional scanner I’ve tried. I should probably update my tutorial on post-processing, though - I’ve since gotten it down much faster with noticeably better results since I originally posted. (Speaking of which, if I’ve promised you something and haven’t given it to you yet, please remind me. It isn’t an intentional slight - there’s just a lot to keep track of sometimes and I get scatterbrained.)

- I’ve scanned all three of the 10 Years Archive books. I’ll get back to posting artwork from them shortly as I get them edited... I’ve been spending so much time on my Nano blog lately that I forgot my queue ran out on this one. XD I will post the full-spread 2-page images later in their entirety, because it takes some creative photoshop skills to get them to match up exactly and I just don’t have the time to do that right now. (But I will do it!)

- Random, but I’m so ridiculously excited to get a hold of that TnC benefits poster that came with the C92 Comiket Rhythm Carnival. Nano in a sparkly rainbow butterfly costume... seriously WTF? (It’s especially funny to me because I used to cosplay/RP Caterpillar many years ago when I still went to Nocturnal Wonderland... and I was just talking about how he reminds me of Nano. Apparently N+C thought so, too! Now I have this weird mental image of Nano sitting on a mushroom smoking hookah... and I’m not sure it’s any sillier than Nano in a sparkly butterfly costume holding a magic wand.)

#projects

[crookedspoonfic]

The Raven Cycle Fic Masterlist

I thought I might compile a masterlist of TRC fic before it becomes too long for me to bother with. More of a quick browsing overview. Tags and everything on AO3.

Fics are grouped into Series, Standalones and Snippets. Series are sorted by date of creation and the fics by internal chronology. Standalones are divided into main pairing, sorted alphabetically, and then listed chronologically. Numbering reflects when a fic was written, so it’s easier to find the latest ones.

Last updated: 2017-10-22 (39 fics; 1 podfic; 1 new Series)

Series

nothing more than any artist dreams - Artist AU.

4. blue as a gunshot wound: Kavinsky/Prokopenko (M; 3,635 words; 01 February 2017) Proko knows he’s a doormat when it comes to Kavinsky. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out.

17. Les liaisons dangereuses: Kavinsky/Prokopenko (M; 1,500 words; 27 May 2017) You shouldn’t be surprised when he drags you into the men’s room, although somehow you are.

19. something burning on my chest: Kavinsky/Prokopenko (M; 3,785 words; 05 July 2017) In which Proko is hungover and having a full-on angstfest before K wakes up and defuses it by being a dick.

34. A work of art and a weapon, a delight and a defense: Kavinsky/Prokopenko (M; 2,135 words; 07 October 2017) Kavinsky is a lot more taken with what Proko wants to show him than Proko would have expected.

30. maybe this is danger and you just don’t: Proko/Swan (E; 2,815 words; 01 October 2017) The fact that Swan of all people wants you is really fucking flattering.

2. Hidden here below the fracture: Kavinsky/Ronan, Kavinsky/Prokopenko (M; 3,278 words; 28 December 2016) Irritation lurks at the other end of his high, not inspiration. Or, the one in which K tries to banish Lynch from his head. Through art. And fails. Just give me what I came for 5. I’ve tasted hell and it tastes just like you: Kavinsky/Ronan (E; 2,565 words; 07 March 2017) Everyone knows that when you need someone to hurt you, Kavinsky is it. 7. Stay with me, I’ll show you paradise: Kavinsky/Ronan (E; 3,010 words; 14 March 2017) Kavinsky would never admit it but he can’t say no to Ronan. No matter how late it is, he’s there. Though he’s usually not this destroyed. 9. my tongue still misbehaves: Kavinsky/Ronan (M; 500 words; 18 March 2017) “Answer me this: how much would it piss you off if I got into Gansey’s pants before you did?” 26. So maybe I wanted to give you something more (E; 3,104 words; 30 August 2017) "Here's the deal, sweetheart, since I'm in a generous mood: Whatever you want me to do to you, I'll do it. All you have to do is say it out loud."

12. No sins as long as there’s permission: Kavinsky/Ronan (E; 4,555 words; 15 April 2017) WIP? “If we’re gonna do this, I want you to leave Gansey out of it. Completely.”

Two maniacs, indulging in the pleasures of their world - Childhood Friends AU.

22. Dreams are made for fools and sages: Kavinsky/Ronan  (T; 500 words; 2017-07-13) The act of falling asleep: childhood vs. teenage years.

Be quiet and drive (far away) - Roadtrip AU.

1. Something’s got me and I just can’t seem to choose: Ronan/Kavinsky (T; 1,250 words; 13 November 2016) “You know where you can keep an even better eye on me, Lynch?” he asks. Ronan ignores the tickle of warm breath against the shell of his ear and empties his shot glass. “On the dancefloor. Come on, dance with me.” Or, the one in which Ronan doesn’t dance with K. Because obviously.

24. Don’t let me go; take me to the edge: Kavinsky/Ronan (M; 500 words; 24 July 2017) The hour-long drives and restless nights turn your days into a haze of dream-like images, impressions, impulses, stuttering like a flicker book – the open road before you, the car thrumming beneath you, Kavinsky twisting out of the window beside you and whooping with the thrill of it, white tanktop fluttering around his stomach.

I never liked that ending either - Rehab AU.

25. I wear these scars, I own my mistakes: Kavinsky & Ronan/Adam (T; 2,500 words; 28 August 2017) A year after the fateful Fourth of July party, Kavinsky suddenly comes out of the woodwork to apologize for what he's done.

27. And I still believe that I cannot be saved: Prokopenko & Kavinsky (T; 500 words; 02 September 2017) Prokopenko pays Kavinsky a visit in the hospital after the Fourth.

Grant me the freedom from objects - trans!Kavinsky/Ronan.

28. not really soothing but soothing nonetheless (E; 2,525 words; 08 September 2017) Working through some issues.

31. When you have nothing to say, set something on fire (M; 2,342 words; 02 October 2017) More musings on sleep and rehab than anyone asked for, and a hand job in the rain.

Married Alive - Kavinsky/Piper

33. You’re never too good for me (M; 1,611 words; 05 October 2017) When Greenmantle ordered the Greywaren to be delivered to him, he didn't expect to lose his wife (partner? lover?) over it.

Standalones

Adam/Kavinsky/Ronan

10. a new kind of love your life has never allowed + polytangle (M; 2,835 words; 31 March 2017) Youtube AU, sorta. Or: Adam is trying to edit a video, Kavinsky has other plans, and Gansey interrupts them both by video-calling long-distance. Gansey/Noah

29. ille me osculat (the scenic byway remix) + OT5 (G; 2,272 words; 11 September 2017) "gansey stands apart from the connection the other four share, because he doesn't know how to ask the others for that and the others don't think he wants like they do."noah is the one who sees."—weesaw, (i want you to know that i want to)

Gansey/Kavinsky

35. You know you like it but you’re scared of the shame (E; 2,560 words; 08 October 2017) Ronan said there was no negotiating with Kavinsky, but you had to see for yourself if that was true before deciding anything rash.

Gansey/Ronan 6. your heart frayed and empty (M; 2,705 words; 12 March 2017) Gansey wants to help Ronan, but has been drawing blanks as to how. Ronan has an idea, but never dared give it voice or thought. Until now. 8. stealing like the tide across a map (M; 2,150 words; 16 March 2017) The collar is heavy in your hands, heavy with the weight of what’s being asked. You’re aware that this could very well cost you your friendship, no matter what decision you make. Kavinsky/Ronan 11. It’s lovely. I hate it.: Kavinsky/Ronan (G; 200 words; 03 April 2017) Of weakness, disbelief, and growing families. 13. He wonders what to say and whether to say it (T; 500 words; 07 May 2017) For the first time in over a year and a half, you consider going to confession, to cleanse your soul of the sins you’ve committed this past week. 14. I’m variously sweat or shudder + Kavinsky/Prokopenko (M; 500 words; 10 May 2017) You’re about ready to dissolve when his phone rings. Kavinsky, of course, has to answer. 15. No warning from either of us (M; 2,205 words; 13 May 2017) Business AU. Niall Lynch has expanded his business of procuring rare items. In his absence, Ronan takes over the helm, although he has no real interest in it. That is, unless it means one-upping Kavinsky. 18. I just made you up to hurt myself (E!; 2,745 words; 30 June 2017) cw: non-con/rape, violence You parted as enemies on opposing lines, finger-gun to forehead, rage and rejection and a promise to end the other. Unless he’s begged you on his knees to take him back, there’s not one scenario in which you’d wind up back in your basement together with the real Lynch. Conclusion: You must have dreamed this one.

23. Everything that used to matter, don’t matter no more: Kavinsky+Prokopenko (T; 500 words; 17 July 2017) “I’m dying, man. What is that?” He scrubs his fingers over his breastbone, just below his gold chain. “I tried everything. I can’t make it go away.” 

36. I could almost swear I felt us float (M; 1,310 words; 09 October 2017) "Truth, then: you ever kill someone?"

Kavinsky/Prokopenko 3. Reality bites hard (T; 2,050 words; 08 January 2017) WIP? Congratulations on coming out,“ Gansey says. "No fucking way. Kavinsky’s not gay.” A joke, that’s all this is, but not everyone seems to get it and suddenly has opinions about your life and who you are as a person. Trouble is, you soon find you’re not so sure yourself anymore. 20. You taste so bitter and so sweet (T; 500 words; 06 July 2017) “I don’t want you to go.” To him hangs in the air.

21. with a cloud at your feet (T; 500 words; 08 July 2017) Kavinsky has a lot of strange moods, depending on what he’s tripping on, yet arguably there are none stranger than when it’s just the five of you and he’s trying out new pills.

37. Cheap thrills and a breakfast full of white lines (M; 3,000 words; 10 October 2017) "Do you remember the first time we did this?" he asks, because memory fascinates him, knowing for a fact that most of it is fabricated because he is. How could you forget? It was the day that made you who you are today. And him, too.

Noah/Whelk 16. And it’s a long way back from seventeen (T; 1,210 words; 25 May 2017) It wasn’t only your skull that cracked that day. 

38. You kissed me like a storm at sea (T; 1,424 words; 12 October 2017) It started out with you losing a wager and having to pose as Barry's maid for a day.

39. Don’t leave me behind (T; 500 words; 15 October 2017) Even after you lost everything, he picked you up as if it were a normal Tuesday.

Ronan/Greenmantle

32. A bullet in your head is how I want it (E; 2,135 words; 04 October 2017) cw: graphic violence, blood, gore, imagined character death, guro Ronan has a recurring fantasy: he dreams of killing someone. But not just anyone, no. He dreams of killing his father's murderer.

Podfic

1. gonna rip it off (go back home) by ilgaksu: Kavinsky/Ronan, Ronan/Adam (T; 6:04 min; 13 September 2017) Joseph Kavinsky can't read Latin. He can't read Latin and Ronan can't read his own body and they've both got enough blood on their hands they could mark each other up and you'd never see the red. That's beautiful, that is.

Bonus: Snippets, Excerpts, and WIPs

i.  You tell yourself you haven’t always been this pathetic: Kavinsky (T; ~1.8k words; 29 August 2017)

ii. Childhood friends AU, scene 1: Kavinsky/Ronan, Declan (T; 2,255 words; 01 September 2017)

Previous updates:

2017-06-22 (17 fics)  2017-07-01 (18 fics, re-did the numbering to reflect when a fic was written, hoping to make it easier to find the latest ones) 2017-07-08 (20 fics, added explanation on fic sorting) 2017-07-13 (22 fics, created a new untitled series) 2017-07-24 (24 fics; named the previously unnamed series, created a new one and sorted my first TRC fic under it) 2017-09-03 (27 fics; added another Series and a Snippets category for tumblr-exclusive previews) 2017-09-15 (28 fics; 1 podfic; added the section Podfic) 2017-10-08 (32 fics; 1 podfic; 1 new Series)

#the raven cycle #fanfiction #list: fics #rovinsky #prokopinsky #ronsey #ronan lynch #joseph kavinsky #richard gansey iii #all the lists #long post #czelk #noah czerny #prokopenko

[brookeap3]

Post-its and Paperclips April Fool’s

A/N: Fun little update for this silly holiday. Happy April Fool's!

{ ffn } { ao3 }

She’s going to kill him.

Robin’s sense of humor, the joy that he gets out of the simple everyday pleasures of life is one of the things that Regina has come to love most about him. Embraces the way that he’s able to draw those light, breathy laughs from her or make her grin until her cheeks ache. But today, she’s going to kill him.

There are post-it notes spread over every available surface of her office. They cover every inch of her desk, her monitor, the back of her desk chair. A glance toward her tackboard reveals that he’s decorated the entire thing with them as well, a cheesy bright pink post-it smiley face interlaced between the bland, pale yellow colored ones.

He’s a child. Clearly. It takes Regina a minute to even comprehend what she’s looking at before she realizes the date. April 1st. Of course. She should have expected it of him. Hadn’t she listened to him and Roland plot and scheme at how they were going to prank Uncle John only a few nights ago? At the time, Regina hadn’t thought anything of it. Had actually found the image of the burly man gagging on toothpaste filled oreo cookies and his soda exploding in his face quite entertaining in fact. The man��s positively addicted to coke.

She’s not feeling as amused now that she’s faced with an office covered with paper, hardly any surface visible.

Irritation sizzles through her has she stalks into the room and drops her purse to the floor, hastily grabbing at the tiny paper squares while muttering curses under her breath. Stupid April Fool’s. Stupid charmer and his damn adorable dimples. Her stupid heart for falling for the irritating man. He never would have dared pull such a stunt before they were dating. As she rips the paper from her monitor, she notices that he’s written little notes to her on several of the squares.

Happy April Fool’s, my dear.

Rolling her eyes, Regina continues to grab and toss the post-its into her recycle bin beside her desk, steadily amounting quite the collection of wasted paper. Beneath another row she finds a second scribbled message.

Before you get angry…

Well, it’s too late for that now, isn’t it? Though glancing around her office, as annoyed at she is at having to turn it back into any sort of workable condition, Regina does have to admit it’s a rather silly joke. And fitting for Robin to think she’d find amusing. Their little post-it exchanges have yet to subside in the last four months they’ve been together. The next note she finds has a different tone, though still playful.

Know this is no joke, but true…

The insults that had been running rampant through Regina’s mind come to a halt when she notices the last message scrawled on one of the post-its in the center of her computer screen. Hidden beneath several others. And for a moment, her heart completely stops.

I love you.

Her mind goes blank beyond reading those three little words over again. One more time. Then two and three, four… as she struggles to comprehend them. They haven’t said that to each other yet. Have been dancing around it for the last few weeks, in fact. Ever since that fight they’d had on St. Patrick’s Day and their inevitable making up. Something had changed for them that night, had cemented their relationship and their feelings for each other in a way neither of them could have expected or anticipated. Weathering that first storm, she supposes, and coming out stronger. For the first time, she’d believed they could handle anything as long as they did it together.

Things have been back to smooth sailing since then. Happier than ever in fact. She’s been spending more nights with Robin and Roland, falling asleep in the comforting and safe embrace of Robin’s arms. More late night discussions and whispered secrets. Learning more and more about each other every day. They’ve been having sleep overs at her house as well, much to the little boy’s delight. Everything has been going swimmingly.

And more times than she would care to admit the words I love you have been on the tip of her tongue. But it’s only been four months. It seems like it’s too soon. That she shouldn’t be feeling everything for this incredible man and his son that she is. Not without knowing him better. But, then, she knows the important parts. The ones that truly matter. Perhaps that’s enough. Apparently Robin has determined as much.

Forgetting her task, Regina pivots on her heel and skirts around her desk out of her office, heading by Leroy and Ruby’s desks toward Robin’s office. His door is open and as she peeks her head in Regina discovers it to be empty, a disheartened expression forming on her face as she frowns and turns to glance around.

Light blonde hair and that navy blue suit she loves on him capture her attention. He’s headed into the supply closet when she catches sight of him (Lord only knows what other sort of pranks he’s planning to pull with the arsenal in there), and Regina quickly strides after him.

. . .

The door clicking open and shut behind him immediately after he’s stepped into the dim closet, has Robin turning curiously. Though his expression shifts from one of confusion to delight as his gaze falls on Regina. “Good morning, darling.” He’d expected her to storm into his office a good half hour ago, when she’d come in to find his little display in her office.

He hadn’t meant any harm by it, thought it would be a good bit of amusement, and when he’d been planning it, he’d hoped that his calling card might soften her up a bit to his antics. One look at her standing there holding up the post-it with his words of affection between her index and middle finger, saying nothing, confirms her reason for following him in here.

A slow smile spreads over Robin’s face, the dimples that make her weak peeking out as his gorgeous blue eyes twinkle at her. “Ah, I see you found my surprise.”

“Robin,” Regina says, exasperatedly. Because this is not the time for him to joke with her. It feels like her heart is going to beat right out of her chest, pounding painfully against her ribcage. And she wants to hear the words from his mouth (spoken in that lovely accent that does delicious things to her), not merely written down. “What is this?”

He tilts his head, smirking at her, clearly enjoying himself. He’s been looking for the proper time to tell her for weeks. Has felt the sentiment for quite some time now. Bidding his time until he’d felt that she was ready to handle it. But they’re in a good place. Happy and content. And Robin hadn’t been able to resist expressing the depth of feelings he holds for this woman any longer. The way in which he’d gone about it might confuse some people, but it had seemed fitting for them.  

“It would appear it is a love note.”

Regina whines his name again, and Robin can’t contain the chuckle anymore, letting it rumble and echo through the tiny space they’re in. Grinning, love shining in his eyes, his hand comes up to cup her cheek in the palm of his hand, letting his thumb stroke over the apple of it. Sweeping the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip, Robin mirrors the position of his hand with other one, holding her face between his palms as he tells her sincerely, “I love you, Regina Mills. I want you to know how much you mean to me, how important you’ve become to me and my son. How much I want you in our lives.”

He says it as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. As if he’s telling her what he had for breakfast this morning or the latest quip Roland has come up with instead of a declaration of his devotion to her. Despite herself, tears well up in Regina’s eyes, shimmering in the corners of her vision for a moment. Her hands lift to grip his wrists, holding his palms to her face as she laughs softly, face lighting up as she answers, “I love you too.”

The smile that erupts over Robin’s face has her heart lifting and swelling, fluttering madly in her chest again as his mouth swoops down on hers. Her own opens to him, allowing his tongue to slide along hers, tasting the bitter flavor of his morning coffee. Stumbling backwards, Regina’s back hits the door and she moans into Robin’s mouth as her arms wrap around his neck to pull him closer to her.

“You’re incredible. Do you know that?” Robin murmurs against her lips, peppering kisses over her cheek and down her chin, sucking at that spot just below her ear that always has desire stabbing low in her belly. His torso is pressed against her, the beginnings of his own arousal bumping against her as his mouth returns to hers and plunders.

Regina moans, hooking her calf around Robin’s as she indulges in their semi-privacy for a few minutes to rub against him as they make out. Her fingers stroke through his hair, scratching at his scalp and holding him close to her as they continue to lick and nip at each other. Biting at his lower lip, tugging it between her teeth, Regina groans and arches her hips against his. “Say it again.”

Now that it’s not hanging in the air between them, she wants to hear it over and over again, to repeat the words back to him as often as she can. It should scare her. The depth of feeling she has for him. But Regina has never felt anything but safe with this man and their admission only strengthens that emotion.

“God, I love you so much.” Unable to keep from kissing her, Robin’s mouth latches onto her throat again, sucking gently. He knows better than to leave a mark. Especially here, while they are at work. Oh, lord, they should not be doing this here. They are bound to get caught or have someone hear them as they walk by. She hadn’t exactly been subtle about following him in here. I mean really, how long can it possibly take to find something in this tiny little closet?

But he’s whispering how much he loves her against her skin, how long he’s wanted to tell her, and Regina is helpless to resist him. Maybe they can be quick.

Directing his gaze back to hers with two fingers beneath his chin, his rough stubble scratchy under her touch, Regina breathes heavily, mirroring Robin’s heaving chest as she stares into his eyes. “I love you, Robin. You and Roland. Getting snowed in with you was the best damn thing that ever happened to me.”  

Hearing those words from her lips, the reflection of them in her eyes, is more than Robin ever could have asked for. He has no idea what he did to deserve this woman, but he’s so grateful she’d stumbled her way into his life. Can’t imagine not having her in it.

That elusive, yet satisfying smile, plays over her lips, lighting up her whole face. It makes his chest ache with love an affection for her, and all Robin wants is to show her how much he loves her. Leaning in to capture her mouth with his again, Robin groans at the gentle press of their lips together. He can taste the mint of her toothpaste and something entirely Regina and it makes him hungry for more. Despite their location.

He’s fully aroused now, the hard length of him grinding against her as Regina lets her head fall back and circles her hips along with his. They’re working each other up. And it’s entirely inappropriate. They can’t do this here. Now. But Robin’s never been very good at resisting her.

She’s so turned on and happy. She wants him. To feel close with him when they’ve just taken their relationship to the next level and she doesn’t think she can wait to have him.

What’s a little quickie in the supply closet?

She presses closer to him, letting her hands roam over his back, down his spine, and over his ass, squeezing pointedly.

“Regina…” Robin moans warningly, though it doesn’t stop him from bucking his hips into hers, nor does the desire darkening his eyes dissipate. The hand gripping her hip tightens, his fingers digging into her skin through the layers of clothing. Something they are wearing far too much of.

Her husky whisper of, “I want you, Robin,” in his ear is enough to abolish every thought of propriety from his mind. It doesn’t matter that they’re at work. That anyone could wander by and hear them. Who is he to deny the woman he loves what she wants?

Nodding once, Robin’s mouth drops down to her neck again, mouthing open kisses along her skin as he makes quick work of the first few buttons of her blouse, opening it enough so the swells of her breasts are revealed to him. He groans as her lacy, wine colored bra comes into view. She’s gorgeous. Stunning. Incredible. And most importantly, his.

Robin’s mouth journeys lower, kissing over her chest until he is sucking a hardened nipple through the sheer material, palming her other breast with his hand. Pulling away for a brief second, Robin tugs the cups down so he can admire her naked breasts. Moving a hand to twist and tease her nipples while sucking on them some more. Regina’s breathy moans of encouragement only spurring Robin on.

It’s another minute of him lavishing attention to her tits before he’s suddenly gripping beneath her ass and lifting her up, turning to set her down on the tiny table just beside the shelving unit. The move dislodges a few boxes of paperclips stacked there, falling to the floor with a quiet clatter. There’s not a ton of space, and what there is of it is mostly crowded with supplies. But there’s enough that they can make do.

Robin drops to his knees in front of her, smirking up at her from between her thighs as his hands brush along the outsides of her legs. Grabbing the hem of her skirt, he pushes the material up. Higher and higher. Revealing each new tantalizing inch of her lightly bronzed skin. When her skirt is banded around her waist Robin takes a moment to appreciate the sheer lace of the matching panties she wears today. What a picture she makes. All disheveled and rumpled from his touch, half-naked and panting in anticipation. He runs his nose lightly up her thigh, over her sex and down the other leg.

Where he would normally draw this out, peppering kisses over her skin and teasing her until she’s begging for him to give her attention where she needs it, a quiet whine from Regina reminds him that they don’t have time for that.

Chuckling, Robin hooks his fingers around the waistband, urging Regina to lift her hips as he pulls the flimsy material down her legs, tossing it aside and focusing on the vision before him. He tugs her to the edge of the table, draping her thighs over his shoulders and kisses along her the soft flesh of her inner thigh.

When he lets his tongue lick a slow line up her sex, Regina and Robin’s moans mingle through the room. “Mmmmm, you’re so wet, babe,” he mutters before returning to his task. Flicking his tongue against her, in and out of her. Lapping up the evidence of her arousal as he torments her.

She tastes exquisite. Soft and warm and wet, mewling as he sucks at her clit, circling his tongue around the tiny sensitive nub. After months of doing this to her, he knows what she likes, what movements will have her keening for him most quickly, and time is of the essence. So Robin uses his knowledge to both his and Regina’s advantage. Eating her with a fervor.

Sparks of pleasure erupt over her skin, tingling as Robin continues to suck at her clit. He’s driving her crazy. Her mind a hazy, jumbled mess of sensations and babbled words of pleasure Regina’s not sure if she’s speaking aloud or merely shouting within the depths of her mind. She hopes to god she’s keeping her moans to a reasonable level. The sheer mortification of someone overhearing them going at it in the middle of the work day has a blush rising to her cheeks. It’s not enough to make her tell him to stop though.

But they don’t have much time and as delicious as his mouth on her sex feels, she wants him inside her, wants to feel him joined with her. Regina’s thighs tighten around his head, squeezing on a particularly hard suck that has her gasping and crying out, her fingers gripping his hair tightly.

“Oh, god, Robin—“ He licks at her harder, switching down to flick his tongue inside her again. It takes all of Regina’s willpower to pull his mouth away from her, looking down at him through heavy-lidded eyes as she tells him, “Inside. I want to come around you.”

The groan he lets out at her words sends a shiver through her, the vibrations rippling against her sex. He nods, knows they don’t have the sort of time he would like to be able to make her come twice, and he wants to feel her squeezing around him just as badly. Robin dips his head down to press one more kiss to her clit, one more final suck before he’s standing again, quickly shrugging out of his suit jacket and letting it drop to the floor.

Regina’s hands reach hurriedly for his tie, tugging him closer to her with it, positioning him between her thighs as they wrap around him, her ankles resting just below his ass. She brings her mouth up to meet his in a frantic kiss as they work together to rid him of his clothing. Robin releasing the knot of his tie as her fingers slip the buttons of his dress shirt free, her hands raking over his toned abdomen once she’s undone the last one. Scratching her nails over his skin, the light smattering of hair covering him, she groans into the kiss.

Letting her fingers drift lower, Regina snakes a hand between their hips, releasing the button and zipper of his slacks as she reaches a hand into them to grab him. Robin grunts as her fingers wrap around him, lightly stroking up and down a few times. He’s hard as a rock and aching to be inside her. Rocking his hips into her touch, Robin breaks their kiss in favor of sucking kisses down her neck, scraping his teeth over ther soft flesh.

“God, I want you so much, Regina. Do you have any idea what you do to me?” She smiles at that, tightening her grip as she pushes his pants over his hips, letting them pool to the floor while Robin murmurs words of endearment into her skin. Her thumb circles around his head, spreading the tiny drop of liquid there as she angles him toward her entrance. “Mmmmm, I love you.” Robin says a moment before he’s driving into her, sheathing himself into her warm center.

Regina lets the words settle over her like balm, heating just beneath her skin and shimmering through her veins like an elixir. She wraps her arms tightly around his neck, bringing their torsos flush against one another, her breasts flattened against his chest and the coarse hair tickling her pebbled nipples. Turning her head slightly, she licks along his earlobe, whispering huskily into it, “I love you.”  

Then the two of them are moving together, Robin driving his hips harder into hers with every inward stroke, only to pull out more slowly, tauntingly. So she can feel every inch of him as he fills and stretches her. Every damp slide of friction igniting sparks throughout her body.

One of her hands slides up the back of his neck, tangling in his hair as she breathes in the scent of his cologne and sweat while sucking at the skin where shoulder and neck meet. She dots kisses along the side of his neck, up along his jaw, enjoying the scratchy feel of his stubble against her skin, as her mouth finds its way back to his.

A good thing too, as they are able to swallow each other’s moans while he thrusts inside her, hips pistoning back and forth as they settle into a steady rhythm that works for them both. It won’t take long. Not like this. Not with the way he’s filling her. Desire is a tight coil that builds deep in her womb, threatening to burst as Robin hits that one spot inside her over and over again.

“You’re bloody gorgeous.” Robin tells her, tugs her lip between his teeth as he growls out the words, pounding into her. When he caresses a hand over her thigh, hiking it high around his waist and pressing forward, forcing Regina to lean back against the wall, pleasure blooms within her.

It changes the angle just enough to have him sliding against her clit on every inward and outward stroke, just right, to have Regina ripping her mouth from his and letting out a wail. Much louder than she should allow considering where they are, but she can’t help it. One hand darts out to the shelf beside her for purchase, shoving an entire stack of staples boxes to the floor, while the other grips at Robin’s shoulder to ground her.

She’s so close. A mere few inches from the edge of absolute delight. “Uhh— yes, please. Mmmm… Robin, I’m—“ Her words are a incoherent mess as heat and fire consume her where they are joined.

Thankfully, he knows her body well, can tell how close she is. “Mmmm, yes. Come for me, darling. That’s it.” Robin slips his other hand between their bodies until his thumb finds her clit and circles it a few times. It’s exactly what she needs. That extra sensation to have her body tipping over that fine edge.

Regina shudders and pulses around him, her inner walls fluttering around his cock as she climaxes. “Yes, yes, yes—“ She cries, Robin’s mouth swooping down to capture her moans of intense pleasure as he continues moving inside her, drawing out her orgasm for another minute before he increases the tempo of their hips.

A few deep, hard thrusts later and Robin is spilling inside her as well, shuddering and burying her face into the crook of her neck as he comes. Regina tightens her legs around his waist, cradling him to her as they both gradually come down from their highs.

Both of them are panting, struggling to catch their breath, but every inch of her feels golden and loved and Regina can’t help the grin that spreads over her face as Robin pulls away from her neck to smile down at her. He leans in to kiss her lightly, a gesture of affection, and nothing more as he pulls away and says once again that he loves her. It seems now that they’ve said it, neither of them can contain the words anymore as Regina answers in kind.

Then she’s letting her legs drop from around his waist as Robin pulls out of her, looking around them and assessing the damage they’d caused. There are boxes scattered all over the floor. A heap of paper clips that had fallen out of their box piled on the tile. Somehow a box of pens had been caught in the cross hairs of their lovemaking as well and have rolled all over the floor.

Regina chuckles, staring at the office supplies around them before her amused gaze returns to Robin’s matching one. “We made quite the mess.”

“Indeed we did, milady.” He grins, biting his lower lip in that way that drives her crazy, before leaning in and kissing the tip of her nose lightly. “Worth every minute of it too.”

She laughs, full bellied, as she moves to stand, shimmying her skirt back down over her hips, wincing slightly at the stickiness between her thighs. She’ll have to take a trip to the ladies room once they leave here. Buttoning her blouse once more, Regina then runs her fingers through her hair, doing her best to comb it out into something that doesn’t make it look like she’s just been fucked against the staplers and labels. Without the benefit of a mirror though it’s a pretty hopeless task. So she straightens her blouse and now slightly wrinkled skirt, trying to smooth them out as best as she can while Robin tucks himself back into his slacks and begins buttoning his shirt once more.

“Presentable?” She questions of her appearance as her eyes rake over him.

A smirk slides across his lips, tipping up the corners of his mouth as his gaze travels over her from head to toe. She certainly looks disheveled. Her lips swollen from his kisses, a light flush to her cheeks that is unmistakably the look of someone who’s been well tended to. Robin can’t resist leaning in to press his mouth to hers again, tangling his tongue with hers for a deep kiss and threading his fingers back into her dark locks, effectively undoing all her efforts to tame the strands.

When they part, Regina whines, “Robin…”

He rests his forehead against hers, chuckling, his warm breath exhaling over her lips. “You look fine. A little rumpled is all.” He answers her, finishing up with the rest of his buttons and leaning down to grab his tie and blazer from the ground. Regina watches him, leaning back against the door as he finishes dressing. He’s a bit worse for the wear too, his suit jacket wrinkled from where it had been crumpled on the floor, but not too terrible.

Though she supposes they aren’t going to fool anybody as to what they’ve been up to in here.

With a sigh, she moves to right the supplies scattered over the ground. “We better clean up.” As she’s dumping those paper clips back into their box Regina spies her underwear crumpled beneath the shelving unit and blushes, quickling snagging them and standing up, placing the box back on its proper shelf.

Rather than put them back on, however, Regina grins and brushes against Robin as he places the last of the supplies back on the shelf. She slips her panties into his pocket, giggling at his raised eyebrow as he realizes what she’s done. “Something to make you think of me through the day.” She tells him cheekily.

Robin lifts a hand to brush a lock of hair away from her face, replying truthfully, “I never have any trouble with that, I assure you.”

It pleases her greatly and Regina smiles and rises onto her toes to plant a kiss to his lips before turning away. She bends to pick up the tiny yellow post-it remaining on the floor, the one with the words I love you written in Robin’s familiar handwriting. He’s grinning at her when she straightens once more, but says nothing.

As discreetly and quietly as possible, the two of them slip out of the closet and head back down the hallway as if they hadn’t just been getting up to naughty activities during working hours.

“I’ll see you for lunch, Ms. Mills.” Robin tells her as they part ways at his office you.

“You shall, Mr. Locksley.” She answers him, can’t help the grin on her face as she turns and heads back to her office, dutifully ignoring the raised eyebrow and knowing look that Ruby tosses her way as she passes her desk.

. . .

Regina arrives home later that evening only to be greeted with a heap of boxes gathered on her front porch. Frowning, she searches around until she finds a label on one of them, the clear Staples logo evident. She hadn’t ordered anything. And certainly not this much of anything. Sighing, she unlocks the door and starts lugging boxes into her foyer. Dropping her purse to the table, she begins opening the boxes.

A hundred pounds of printer paper. Ten boxes of paperclips. Packages and packages of every color of post-its imaginable. And who on earth would ever need a hundred highlighters? Regina stares bewildered as she opens each new box. What the hell is she supposed to do with all of this? Where did it even come from?

Though, even as the thought crosses her mind the answer comes to her. Robin. Her adolescent boyfriend and his silly April Fool’s jokes. Abandoning the rest of of the boxes, Regina rolls her eyes and heads upstairs.

Man she loves or not, she’s going to kill him.

#outlaw queen #oq ff #brookeap3 writing #post-it's and paperclips #post-it verse #oq fan fiction #oq fan fics #Regina Mills #robin hood #regina and robin #regina and robin hood

[scriptfeature]

ScriptX Family Weekly Update

Heyo fine folks of the internet. What’s that? It’s update time. Well crap. @me you really should have been working on this earlier instead of typing it up in the last few minutes before it’s supposed to be up. Anyways, on to the announcements for this week. 

You know what’s fun? Deadly plants! What’s even better? Deadly plants that look pretty. This way your character can smite their enemies while having their weapon go with their cute outfit. Or with their punk outfit, whatever works for them. Should you decide this concept works well for your character, then @scriptflorist has a post right about here that would be a handy reference for your character. 

Hey another post! Yeah, i know it’s down from my usual, but it’s up from last week. So you’ve got a witch in a wheelchair. Great idea! Now we just have the minor issue of how this is going to affect her practice. The folks over at @scriptwitchcraft have written up this post right about here

Everybody looking forward to Saturday? Hmm? I know I am. Let’s just say for now, some of the family have an April Fool’s Day joke planned. This will not involve screamers or jumpscares. Keep an eye on @scriptshrink for more information.

Apologies for getting this up late. Ideally ill do a better job next time. For now this is your host sighing off.

-Splat

#text post #29th #March #2017 #March 29th 2017

[project-canada]

Procan Updates

Now that April Fools is officially over I feel obligated to reveal that the trailer was indeed partially A Joke! But apparently not everyone got the reference, so please watch this

The trailer did indeed feature a clip from the episode, so I did try to spoil you a little bit :p featured were the lovely voices of (forum names) Kirkles as Canada (English), Orangepencils as Canada (French), and Ethanosaurus as Quebec (or Monsieur Ananas anyway). Art in this scene was done by me since I’ve gotta keep you on tenterhooks a little longer for the work of the other fabulous artists on this ep ;)

Since I’m here, some general updates: i’ve just had surgery and my medication makes me super drowsy and I’m not allowed to be moving around much, and I’ve got a test tomorrow I should be studying for... I’m still waiting on some files, but I’ll try to use this downtime to transfer what I’ve got onto my new computer which theoretically has better graphics and memory. My old computer was having a lot of trouble with a couple of the Dominion Day scenes and would even refuse to edit some parts without crashing completely which was really a hassle when I just wanted to put on a simple pan effect. Let’s hope this works out now.

Oh, and I do have a new artist for scene 2a, don’t worry! :) I also finally managed to type up all the provincial/territorial personality bios, but since the layout of the forum has changed, the text is a bit all over the place ToT I’ve been messing with it but I lose patience quite easily when it comes to coding lately, that’s not my department xD

While I’m waiting on files, I finally got my university to order the quebec history book I required, and I’m about 5-6 chapters in out of ten. I’m aiming to finish it before classes end, and if not then at least by the end of April. I don’t know how long it will take me to draw, but I’ll be taking another semester here to finish up my thesis so it’ll be nice to have something a bit more creative to work on in the meantime. Everything Project Canada related I have to work on will be done by July, if all goes well.

My meds are definitely kicking in now so I’ll end this here before I end this post with my head hitting the keyboard. Take care, everyone!

Admin Hapo

#projectcanada #pcannouncement #iamp #iammatthewian #iammatthewian project #projoconodoko #pcdominiondayep

[wineanddinosaur]

‘Camp Cocktails’ Offers Approachable Yet Sophisticated Sips for Outdoor Enthusiasts

Whether enjoying a cabin getaway, pitching a tent in the woods, or just looking to feel inspired by the wilderness, Emily Vikre’s “Camp Cocktails” is the perfect book for the cocktail and camping aficionado.

For Vikre, writing a book that combined her love of nature and affinity for craft cocktails made perfect sense. Vikre’s homebase in the Northwoods of Minnesota is a region of the country that offers an abundance of outdoor activities. At Vikre Distillery, which she co-owns with her husband Joel, Vikre found that she was fielding a lot of questions from customers about how to make flask cocktails and drinks to make while camping.

“[With] our distillery and whole lifestyle … it’s just a lot of who we are, and what we think about, and what we do, and the culture we’re embedded in, so it was a fun and easy fit,” Vikre tells VinePair.

In “Camp Cocktails,” Vikre places an emphasis on making sure that the recipes are approachable without skimping on quality ingredients, flavor, and balance, adding, “It totally makes sense that you might not want to compromise that when you’re out in the woods.”

When developing the Strawberry Fields and Grilled Orange Cobbler recipes, Vikre says, she wanted to create “cocktails that would celebrate the flavors of the woods or that feeling of being at your cabin and getting away.”

In Vikre’s Strawberry Fields, roasted strawberries are muddled with tequila, lime juice, and elderflower liqueur in a Margarita upgrade. Grilled oranges, sugar, and wine are combined into a slushy sangria-like tipple in the Grilled Orange Cobbler.

For the Marshmallow Mule, the time-honored tradition of roasting marshmallows around a campfire is taken to a new level. After creating a syrup using toasted marshmallows and ginger, Vikre adds vodka and soda water for an outdoorsy twist to the Moscow Mule. In another update to a classic cocktail, Vikre adds maple syrup to whiskey or bourbon to give the Maple Syrup Old Fashioned a “woodsy” note.

“There is something about having a cocktail with somebody that just elevates the moment and brings you together and makes you present. I think it’s all the better when you are in a beautiful outdoor place,” Vikre adds.

The Strawberry Fields Recipe

“Some cabins are set up for solitude, some for hosting happy hour for all the cabins nearby. If you have one of the latter, allow me to let you in on a secret: grilled strawberries. Grilling concentrates the berry flavor and makes them plump and juicy. Lightly grill skewers of strawberries and set some out with whipped chèvre, honey, and grilled bread. Then use some to make this floral, berry twist on a margarita. Your cabin neighbors will thank you.”

The Grilled Orange Cobbler Recipe

“A cobbler is kind of like a streamlined, single-serve sangria made with any type of wine or fortified wine you like. In the late 1800s it was the most popular cocktail in the United States, and I think it’s time for a comeback. To paraphrase cocktail historian (and my favorite cocktail writer) David Wondrich, on a warm afternoon, I’d much rather have a cobbler in hand than not. Grilling the orange is not traditional, but it brings out a fire-kissed marmalade flavor and adds an extra layer of depth. A proper cobbler is built with crushed ice—the name Cobbler is a reference to the ice, which was thought to look like cobblestones. To make crushed ice, take some of your ice, put it in a bag, and give it a little pounding with a mallet or another heavy object. Small ice cubes will also work just fine. For the wine, you can use red, pink, or white! They all work as long as you use a dry or an off-dry style. With any wine, feel free to adjust the amount of sugar to your taste.”

The Marshmallow Mule Recipe

“If I’m perfectly honest, this wasn’t originally a cabin cocktail. It was a joke cocktail. After years of saying we weren’t going to make a vodka at our distillery, we finally buckled under the sheer weight of all the requests we got from eager vodka enthusiasts, and we started to distill one. We hosted a vodka release party, which we called “Not a Vodka Party,” on April Fools’ Day with artisanal takes on a handful of well-known vodka drinks. The Marshmallow Mule was one of the party drinks, and people loved it so much that they still request it, years later. Making the marshmallow and ginger syrup does take a little doing, but it doesn’t require any fancy equipment or even fancy ingredients. And it’s a nice thing to do as an activity during the evening anyway. The toasted marshmallows melted into the syrup give it a dark richness while loads of fresh ginger give it a kick.”

Get these recipes and more in VinePair’s searchable cocktail database.

The article ‘Camp Cocktails’ Offers Approachable Yet Sophisticated Sips for Outdoor Enthusiasts appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/camp-cocktails-emily-vikre-recipes/

[isaiahrippinus]

‘Camp Cocktails’ Offers Approachable Yet Sophisticated Sips for Outdoor Enthusiasts

Whether enjoying a cabin getaway, pitching a tent in the woods, or just looking to feel inspired by the wilderness, Emily Vikre’s “Camp Cocktails” is the perfect book for the cocktail and camping aficionado.

For Vikre, writing a book that combined her love of nature and affinity for craft cocktails made perfect sense. Vikre’s homebase in the Northwoods of Minnesota is a region of the country that offers an abundance of outdoor activities. At Vikre Distillery, which she co-owns with her husband Joel, Vikre found that she was fielding a lot of questions from customers about how to make flask cocktails and drinks to make while camping.

“[With] our distillery and whole lifestyle … it’s just a lot of who we are, and what we think about, and what we do, and the culture we’re embedded in, so it was a fun and easy fit,” Vikre tells VinePair.

In “Camp Cocktails,” Vikre places an emphasis on making sure that the recipes are approachable without skimping on quality ingredients, flavor, and balance, adding, “It totally makes sense that you might not want to compromise that when you’re out in the woods.”

When developing the Strawberry Fields and Grilled Orange Cobbler recipes, Vikre says, she wanted to create “cocktails that would celebrate the flavors of the woods or that feeling of being at your cabin and getting away.”

In Vikre’s Strawberry Fields, roasted strawberries are muddled with tequila, lime juice, and elderflower liqueur in a Margarita upgrade. Grilled oranges, sugar, and wine are combined into a slushy sangria-like tipple in the Grilled Orange Cobbler.

For the Marshmallow Mule, the time-honored tradition of roasting marshmallows around a campfire is taken to a new level. After creating a syrup using toasted marshmallows and ginger, Vikre adds vodka and soda water for an outdoorsy twist to the Moscow Mule. In another update to a classic cocktail, Vikre adds maple syrup to whiskey or bourbon to give the Maple Syrup Old Fashioned a “woodsy” note.

“There is something about having a cocktail with somebody that just elevates the moment and brings you together and makes you present. I think it’s all the better when you are in a beautiful outdoor place,” Vikre adds.

The Strawberry Fields Recipe

“Some cabins are set up for solitude, some for hosting happy hour for all the cabins nearby. If you have one of the latter, allow me to let you in on a secret: grilled strawberries. Grilling concentrates the berry flavor and makes them plump and juicy. Lightly grill skewers of strawberries and set some out with whipped chèvre, honey, and grilled bread. Then use some to make this floral, berry twist on a margarita. Your cabin neighbors will thank you.”

The Grilled Orange Cobbler Recipe

“A cobbler is kind of like a streamlined, single-serve sangria made with any type of wine or fortified wine you like. In the late 1800s it was the most popular cocktail in the United States, and I think it’s time for a comeback. To paraphrase cocktail historian (and my favorite cocktail writer) David Wondrich, on a warm afternoon, I’d much rather have a cobbler in hand than not. Grilling the orange is not traditional, but it brings out a fire-kissed marmalade flavor and adds an extra layer of depth. A proper cobbler is built with crushed ice—the name Cobbler is a reference to the ice, which was thought to look like cobblestones. To make crushed ice, take some of your ice, put it in a bag, and give it a little pounding with a mallet or another heavy object. Small ice cubes will also work just fine. For the wine, you can use red, pink, or white! They all work as long as you use a dry or an off-dry style. With any wine, feel free to adjust the amount of sugar to your taste.”

The Marshmallow Mule Recipe

“If I’m perfectly honest, this wasn’t originally a cabin cocktail. It was a joke cocktail. After years of saying we weren’t going to make a vodka at our distillery, we finally buckled under the sheer weight of all the requests we got from eager vodka enthusiasts, and we started to distill one. We hosted a vodka release party, which we called “Not a Vodka Party,” on April Fools’ Day with artisanal takes on a handful of well-known vodka drinks. The Marshmallow Mule was one of the party drinks, and people loved it so much that they still request it, years later. Making the marshmallow and ginger syrup does take a little doing, but it doesn’t require any fancy equipment or even fancy ingredients. And it’s a nice thing to do as an activity during the evening anyway. The toasted marshmallows melted into the syrup give it a dark richness while loads of fresh ginger give it a kick.”

Get these recipes and more in VinePair’s searchable cocktail database.

The article ‘Camp Cocktails’ Offers Approachable Yet Sophisticated Sips for Outdoor Enthusiasts appeared first on VinePair.

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Camp Cocktails Offers Approachable Yet Sophisticated Sips for Outdoor Enthusiasts

Whether enjoying a cabin getaway, pitching a tent in the woods, or just looking to feel inspired by the wilderness, Emily Vikre’s “Camp Cocktails” is the perfect book for the cocktail and camping aficionado.

For Vikre, writing a book that combined her love of nature and affinity for craft cocktails made perfect sense. Vikre’s homebase in the Northwoods of Minnesota is a region of the country that offers an abundance of outdoor activities. At Vikre Distillery, which she co-owns with her husband Joel, Vikre found that she was fielding a lot of questions from customers about how to make flask cocktails and drinks to make while camping.

“[With] our distillery and whole lifestyle … it’s just a lot of who we are, and what we think about, and what we do, and the culture we’re embedded in, so it was a fun and easy fit,” Vikre tells VinePair.

In “Camp Cocktails,” Vikre places an emphasis on making sure that the recipes are approachable without skimping on quality ingredients, flavor, and balance, adding, “It totally makes sense that you might not want to compromise that when you’re out in the woods.”

When developing the Strawberry Fields and Grilled Orange Cobbler recipes, Vikre says, she wanted to create “cocktails that would celebrate the flavors of the woods or that feeling of being at your cabin and getting away.”

In Vikre’s Strawberry Fields, roasted strawberries are muddled with tequila, lime juice, and elderflower liqueur in a Margarita upgrade. Grilled oranges, sugar, and wine are combined into a slushy sangria-like tipple in the Grilled Orange Cobbler.

For the Marshmallow Mule, the time-honored tradition of roasting marshmallows around a campfire is taken to a new level. After creating a syrup using toasted marshmallows and ginger, Vikre adds vodka and soda water for an outdoorsy twist to the Moscow Mule. In another update to a classic cocktail, Vikre adds maple syrup to whiskey or bourbon to give the Maple Syrup Old Fashioned a “woodsy” note.

“There is something about having a cocktail with somebody that just elevates the moment and brings you together and makes you present. I think it’s all the better when you are in a beautiful outdoor place,” Vikre adds.

The Strawberry Fields Recipe

“Some cabins are set up for solitude, some for hosting happy hour for all the cabins nearby. If you have one of the latter, allow me to let you in on a secret: grilled strawberries. Grilling concentrates the berry flavor and makes them plump and juicy. Lightly grill skewers of strawberries and set some out with whipped chèvre, honey, and grilled bread. Then use some to make this floral, berry twist on a margarita. Your cabin neighbors will thank you.”

The Grilled Orange Cobbler Recipe

“A cobbler is kind of like a streamlined, single-serve sangria made with any type of wine or fortified wine you like. In the late 1800s it was the most popular cocktail in the United States, and I think it’s time for a comeback. To paraphrase cocktail historian (and my favorite cocktail writer) David Wondrich, on a warm afternoon, I’d much rather have a cobbler in hand than not. Grilling the orange is not traditional, but it brings out a fire-kissed marmalade flavor and adds an extra layer of depth. A proper cobbler is built with crushed ice—the name Cobbler is a reference to the ice, which was thought to look like cobblestones. To make crushed ice, take some of your ice, put it in a bag, and give it a little pounding with a mallet or another heavy object. Small ice cubes will also work just fine. For the wine, you can use red, pink, or white! They all work as long as you use a dry or an off-dry style. With any wine, feel free to adjust the amount of sugar to your taste.”

The Marshmallow Mule Recipe

“If I’m perfectly honest, this wasn’t originally a cabin cocktail. It was a joke cocktail. After years of saying we weren’t going to make a vodka at our distillery, we finally buckled under the sheer weight of all the requests we got from eager vodka enthusiasts, and we started to distill one. We hosted a vodka release party, which we called “Not a Vodka Party,” on April Fools’ Day with artisanal takes on a handful of well-known vodka drinks. The Marshmallow Mule was one of the party drinks, and people loved it so much that they still request it, years later. Making the marshmallow and ginger syrup does take a little doing, but it doesn’t require any fancy equipment or even fancy ingredients. And it’s a nice thing to do as an activity during the evening anyway. The toasted marshmallows melted into the syrup give it a dark richness while loads of fresh ginger give it a kick.”

Get these recipes and more in VinePair’s searchable cocktail database.

The article ‘Camp Cocktails’ Offers Approachable Yet Sophisticated Sips for Outdoor Enthusiasts appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/camp-cocktails-emily-vikre-recipes/

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