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give-grian-rights · 3 months

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Hermitcraft - Basic History of Teams!

Alright. Buckle in.

Only a few days from now, and Hermitcraft 10 will begin! If you're new, I hope this helps!

Hermitcraft has existed for over ELEVEN YEARS now! While very few have been here for every single season, with the exception of our lovely Tumblr Resident, and official Tumblr Sexy Man Joe Hills, and our derp Xisumavoid.

You are under NO obligation to watch every season. There are probably few, if any, active users in this community who have. It's just not possible to watch it all. You don't need to watch the previous seasons to enjoy our community space! While there are a lot of back-references, for MOST people, it doesn't extend to lore and actions any older than season 6.

Most of the Hermits are associated with specific other members, despite ALL OF THEM taking turns collaborating, interacting, and sometimes building whole new dynamics and factions in the process. Some of the team-ups that you'll see referred to in fandom-spaces and the occasional one-off mention from our creators, include:

(Season 5) NHO, New Hermit Order - Docm77, Ethoslab, Bdoubleo100, and VintageBeef. Living in a jungle while having "fights" with others. Attempts to tax those who enter their jungle, had traps around it, and criticized the then-popular AFK Fishing Farms. Bdoubleo100, or Bdubs, especially enjoyed stealing from these. (Season 5-6) Convex, or ConCorp - GoodTimesWithScar and Cubfan135. One group I am the least familiar with unfortunately. They built a brand around the Vexes, with their business having pretty extreme low-morals that includes pollution and war profiteering.

(Season 6) ArciTects - Very close to be naming "BuildStone", it was proposed by and founded by Grian to Mumbo, later giving an invite to Iskall85. The purpose of this alliance was for builders to help redstoners, and redstoner to help builders. It accumulated in the ATTEMPT of founding the "greatest shop in the history of Hermitcraft", Sahara. It was, hilariously, a very large failure. Grian miraculously managed to entirely ruin the system with a single baked potato. No, I don't know how.

(Season 6) G-Team & Team STAR (Superior Tactical Alliance for Retaliation) - The Hermitcraft Civil War, consisted of a long list of minor conflicts in which various members of Hermitcraft blamed other people for pranks they committed, eventually spiraling into the confusion that was The Civil War! G-Team: Grian, TangoTek, Iskall85, Joe Hills, ZombieCleo, StressMonster101, and iJevin. Team STAR: Docm77, WelsKnight, FalseSymmetry, ImpulseSV Xisuma, RenDog

Mumbo Jumbo acted as a mole in Team Star, for the G-Team. He created this commercial for Team STAR. Team STAR made a very iconic diss track, which was soon remixed. It is a...Very iconic piece of Hermitcraft fandom. The result was Joe Hill's Response, in his short video also remixed by the same creator. Albeit missing the additions of the totally real voices of the other G-Team members

(Season 6) Area 77 & The Hippies - (I didn't finish Hippies POV and i didn't watch anything of Doc or Scar's POV of this unfortunately) Area 77 was founded by (unsurprisingly) Docm77, and GoodTimesWithScar, where they were doing experiments and studying abonomalies. SOmehow, this lead into Grian, once again, turning against them and forming The Hippies with the help of Ren, with Impulse soon joining. The conflict primarily consisted of them griefing Area 77 with flowers.

(Season 7) Boomers Demolition - Early game business formed by TangoTek, Bdoubleo100, and ImpulseSV which consistedo f almost exclusively non-duped TnT demolition, and was very fun!!

(Season 7) The Mycellium Resistance/HEP (Hermitcraft Environmental Protection) Hermicraft 7 saw Grian introduce the Hermitcraft Mayoral Election, created with the idea of putting Mumbo in as a puppet-government. If I had a nickel for every time Grian tried to start a puppet government (at this point) I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird it happened twice. Grian and Mumbo lost. In it's place was GoodTimesWIthScar. As Mayor, they had further control over the shopping district. Scar's promise was to replace the shopping district's Mycellium with grass. Despite very happily admitting that grass looked better, Grian, in a moment of nostalgia, decided to replace some Mycellium. Scar proceeded by putting caution tape around the area. This spiraled into The Turf War

Mycellium Resistance: Grian (Mother Spore), ImpulseSV, RenDog, XBCrafted, iJevin, Ethoslab, StressMonster101, Docm77, and Mumbo Jumbo HEP/Mayor Scar: Scar, Bdoubleo100, Keralis, Xisumavoid, TangoTek, Cubfan135, FalseSymmetry, Mumbo Jumbo, who joined due to them having the better vault. Etho had intended on being a double-agent, selling information to Scar. His information, however, was useless on purpose and decided to pledge full loyalty to The Resistance.

(Season 8) Boatem Hole - Grian, Mumbo Jumbo, GoodTimesWithScar, ImpulseSV and PearlescentMoon more or less stumbled and tripped into forming a group after innocently stacking boats and crafting tables and crystals on a pole, dubbed Boatem Poll. They then proceeded to create a hole down to bedrock, and eventually into the void, called the Boatem Hole. It was a large plains biome which was turned into varying mountain terraforming and the like from all of them and was connected in some small ways.

(Season 8) The Big Eyed Crew - Bdoubleo100, Keralis, and TangoTek. Tango did not, in fact, have big eyes and instead wore sunglasses to compensate. They had a town and shopping area and was occasionally dragged into pranks by the Boatem Crew.

(Season 8) Octogon/Goatem - Docm77 and RenDog! Main rivals with Boatem (thus the Goatem - pole of goats) had a mega business, game-breaking creations, and jaw-dropping spidery teal-and-deepslate creations. Weird Science!

(Season 9) Soup Crew - ImpulseSV, PearlescentMoon, GeminiTay. Made the CRAZIEST combo-base where all their different themes blended into a cohesive build

(Season 9) Buttercups - Grian, MumboJumbo, and GoodTimesWithScar. What's up, Buttercup? They formed after an incient where Scar and Grian blew up a massive, complex tunnel bomber in Doc's base. They could not understand how to repair it, and left a few diamond blocks before conflict started. They dragged Mumbo in, and had a robot fight with...

(Season 9) The Perimeter - Docm77 and RenDog. Doc's base, known as The Perimeter, teamed with Ren to attack the Buttercups using walking redstone creations to do a robot fight. Due to an issue with one of the server's plugins, they all re-logged, breaking one of the bots and ending with Buttercup's bot to do more harm to itself than the Perimeter's, but ultimately the destruction did prevent Doc and Ren from getting any further. Ren and Doc then launched flying TnT dupers, which looked like butterflies, towards all of the Buttercups' bases and camp. They stopped them both, with one butterfly destroying The Perimeter's own bot even further.

I am so sure that I'm missing some, but I am losing my mind with all this trying to remember them all!! I hope this could give people an idea of who they might enjoy watching!

#hermitcraft #hc #hermitblr #hermitcraft 5 #hermitcraft 6 #hermitcraft 7 #hermitcraft 8 #hermitcraft 9 #hermitcraft 10 #mika-posts

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jomgiiu · 1 year

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HEAT OF THE MOMENT

The king of Hawkins high, Steve Harrington asks you out on a date but not for the reason you think. After that night, you learn who the real Steve Harrington is.. or so you thought.

paring: Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

CW: ANGST ANGST ANGST, i guess bully!steve?, steve being a douchebag, king steve taking effect, swearing obviously, mentions of wounds/blood not to major.

A/N: i wrote this one a whim, got carried away it’s not the best but i need feedback to see what i should do next with it lol. i liked writing season 1 steve, i made him meaner than in the actual show but ofc i hope you all dont mind! enjoy and reblog! (not proof read and poor writing oops)

Last night was the worst nights of your life, you got stood up by Steve Harrington. He'd asked you on a date during lunch and you obviously said yes. You and your friends were giggling and whispering about it all day, they gave you advice about what to do and say, what to wear, how to do your makeup, they seemed more excited than you. The moment you got home you got ready. He said he’d be there at 6 and it was already 3, so you had enough time to plan everything out. You put on your favorite record, pulled out your lucky socks, and got ready. The outfit you picked look like it came out of a magazine, so elegant and beautiful; Steve was definitely going to fall for you. At least that’s what you thought.

Sitting on the couch, you waited and waited and waited. 6 o’clock rolled around and the butterflies in your stomach would not stop.

6:13. He's just running a bit late.

6:28. Maybe he had car trouble?

6:41. Maybe he actually meant 7!

7:15. Or maybe he didn’t mean anything at all.

7:35. You were nothing to him.

Your parents didn’t get home from work until 8, so you decided to go up and change to save yourself the embarrassment of them asking about anything. Feeling like you came out of magazine just to feel like you were a thrown-out magazine because it’s the wrong issue. You went to sleep that night, crying over a stupid boy and a stupid date. It was stupid.

What felt like forever, you finally got to your locker. Fumbling with the lock, you got it to open and put your things away, grabbing stuff for your classes. Laughter was heard a few lockers down, glancing over it was Steve and his idiot friends. You sighed and shut your locker. You didn’t want to confront Steve but you had the right too. Confidently, you walked over to them but that instantly left when Carol whispered something to Steve, making him snicker. Your stomach felt like it was twisting and winding, you felt sick.

“Hey, you!” Carol greeted; her words were sweet but was sour coming out of her mouth. You gave her a small wave and went to focus on Steve. He had on a blue polo, Calvin Klein jeans and a dark windbreaker complementing his outfit. His hair was perfect as always, he spent more time looking at himself than he did anyone else.

“Can I help you?” He asked.

“Um,” the words were stuck in your throat. His stare was burning you. Either you chicken out or you confront him.

“Where were you last night?” the words came out in almost a whisper.

“Huh? What was that?” he put his hand behind his ear, leaning down a bit to you. “What did you say?” Steve’s teasing was cruel, he has a smirk planted on his face waiting for you respond.

“I think our friend here asked about your date last night.” Tommy commented.

“Ah.” Steve moved his hand away from his ear and resting it in his jean pocket. “Listen, I was planning on going but I got wrapped up in somethings. I was going to call. Promise.” The sympathy in his voice was forced.

“Yeah, Steve was too busy studying anatomy with Nancy.” Tommy teased, making Carol slap him on the chest playfully. Steve smirked and looked at you.

“Tom, pay up man.”

What?

You tried to process what was going on. You watched Tommy give Steve a $20, shoving it in his pocket looking so proud of himself.

“Why did-”

“Oh gosh, for being a straight ‘A’ student, you really are stupid.” Carol said.

“W-what?”

“Tommy over here told me if I asked you out, I'd get the 20. I did and I got the 20.” Steves words felt like a knife to the heart.

“You put a bet on me?”

“Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!” Tommy exclaimed, making everyone laugh.

“You really believed that Steve would go out with you!” Carol snorted.

“I-”

“Listen, you seem like a great girl, I just don’t think you're up to the Steve Harrington standard. Nancy on the other hand, well she is. Don’t get me wrong, she just like you but more put together you get what I mean?” Steve’s words were harsh but said with ease.

You began to shake, you tried to hold the tears back forming in your eyes letting one fall down your cheek.

“Aw are you crying?” Carol pouted.

“I just thought you wanted to actually get to know me.” You choked out.

“Get to know you? I’d rather talk to a freak than talk to you. But I guess that’s what I’m doing now huh?” Laughter erupted around you. People stopped and stared at you, all eyes were on you, people where whispering and giggling.

You quickly walked away from them, tears clouding your vision you didn’t want to go anywhere else but out. Your friends tried to stop you but you ignored them, you were just trying to get to your car where you could be alone. Getting in your car, you finally let it all out. They humiliated you in front of everyone, Steve placed a bet on you, everyone knew why. You were a loser. You’d never be Nancy Wheeler and you’d never be with Steve Harrington. Going home that day felt awful, you told your parents that you got sick and just needed to be home for the day, or the week. Thankfully, they took the bait and let you come home early and stay home for the week. Your mom went to the school to pick up your work you missed and that kept you occupied for the time being but didn’t distract you from your feelings.

It didn’t help either that one of your friends called you, basically screaming at you that Steve asked her out on a date and she was calling you from the diner payphone that they were at right now. Your heart almost about blew up when you heard that. The day he does that to you, he asks one of your friends out? You told her congrats and when she briefly asked about your date, you just told her that you canceled because you didn’t feel well, hence why you left school today. She instantly bought it and told you that she’ll update you later and hung up. Of course, everyone had a crush on Steve and everyone wanted to be Steve. You wanted Steve but you didn’t know his personality, you didn’t know who he was as a person until now. Every girl he’s been with was ranting and raving about him and the dates he brings them on, you just wanted to experience one. You knew you were pretty, smart and you had a pretty decent reputation, why would he do that to you. Steve made you feel like nothing. He made you feel ugly, stupid and a loser. Steve Harrington was an asshole and no one knew that expect for you.

Tuesday finally came. You begged your mom to stay home again, since you did Monday. You tired the fake puke trick but she saw right through it. Your mom convinced you if you went to school, you could buy something out of a catalog. You couldn’t pass that opportunity. If you were coming back, you were coming back looking like you haven’t been crying for the past week. You threw on the cutest outfit you could find, made sure the tear stains were off your face, kissed your mom goodbye and headed to school. The moment you walked in, the counselor grabbed you by the throat and dragged you into her office. Ms. Kelly was a nice lady; it was clear she cared about the students but it annoyed you because you didn’t want to talk. She asked how you were doing and what you plan on doing to keep your grades up. You explained that you have all your work, you just need to turn it in.

“Wonderful!” she said.

Ms. Kelly looked down at her paper, dragging her finger along until she stopped.

“Ms. Click has actually requested to see you, I told her I'd send you down to talk to her. She couldn’t wait until your period. You can also take your work for her class and turn it in then.” She said, writing a hall pass. “Just come back here when you’re done okay?” You nodded gripping your history work, taking the hall pass and walking to Clicks. You liked Click, she was nice to you and you had her 5th period which was such a calm class, you liked everyone in there. As soon as you opened the door to Clicks, everyone's eyes were on you and even pair you didn’t want. Steve Harringtons.

“Oh, perfect timing! Class, turn and talk about the question on the board I'll be a moment.”

You walked into the classroom more to Clicks desk. She smiled at you and offered you a little candy. How could you say no. You handed her your stack of papers as she sat down at her desk.

“How have you been. 5th hour hasn’t been the same!”

You glanced around the class to see the people. Steve was still looking at you. You began to fiddle with the hem of your shirt.

“Oh, I've been sick. Flu season I guess.”

“Ah, I see. Thank you for doing your work while you were sick. Not a lot of kids even do their work in class.” you nodded. “I called you here to obviously see if you were alright but also to see if a student can borrow your notes. You did them perfectly and I think it would help them. Don’t worry, he’ll give it back to me so you can have it back.” Click began to look through another pile of papers.

“Sure, who’s using it?”

“Steve.”

The color drained from your face. God was not on your side today. You didn’t want the cause of you missing school to look at your notes, it’s his fault he’s stupid.

“Ah, here we are,” She pulled out your notes and handed them to you. “Give those to Steve please and you can be on your way. We can talk more in 5th hour!” She smiled. You grabbed your notes and have her a tight-lipped smile. Turning away from her desk, you walked to Steve’s. He clearly wasn’t doing the assignment, just goofing around and flirting with the girls around him. Making it to his desk, he stopped talking to the girls and instantly looked at you.

“What-”

“Ms. Click wanted me to give you my notes to help you out.” you interrupted, holding out the notes to him.

“Pfft, I don’t need your notes. I don’t want to read mistakes.”

Hold it together.

“It wasn’t my choice. It was Ms. Cli-”

“Does it look like I care about what she has to say? No. Do I care what you have to say? No. I'm surprised you even came to school today looking like this.”

The girls around him started giggling and whispering to each other.

“I think I look fine.”

“Well, I'm glad you had the confidence to wear clothes from the salvation army.”

Don’t cry.

“For your information, I got an ‘A’ on these notes and Ms. Click said I was the only one who got an ‘A.’ And I got these from a catalog and I'm sorry my daddy doesn’t buy me every new thing like your ugly BMW you drive and at least I'm not a wannabe dickhead.”

Steve put his hands over his chest, having a shocked expression on his face which quickly switched to a smug look.

“Wow! You got me there! You showed me!” Steve scooted up closer in his seat, resting his arms in front of him looking right at you.

“I'm not the wannabe sweetheart, you are. You want to have my money and BMW so bad but here you are driving your run-down Ford Escort and thinking that catalog clothing is going to save you. It’s not. Sure, you think you're all smart but looks will do you better in the future. Remember that.” Steve snatched the notes from your hands and started to talk to his friends again.

You left the classroom so fast, before you could say goodbye to Ms. Click. The whole day you were worried about what Steve said. About how you looked and how looks will get you places. You knew it was bullshit, you had colleges already begging for you to go to school but it’s the way Steve said it. Worse of it all, you went to 5th hour, hoping for a good period. Until you got your notes back to notice he scribbled all over them, writing things, drawing crude things on all your work. You frantically began to look through the notes until one comment stood out to you.

‘When you walk out of school, make sure to wear the bag on your head I left you at your locker. You need it.’

Tears filled your eyes. You shot up from your seat and ran out of your class. Ms. Click was yelling for you as you ran down the halls until you got to your locker. There you saw a paper bag with eye holes cut out of it, tapped to your locker. You ripped the bag off your locker and fell to your knees, sobbing into the paper bag. Why was Steve being so mean to you? You should be ruining his life; he shouldn’t be ruining yours. This all started with a date that turned out to be a joke and then ever since your life went downhill. Classmates from your period found you and tried to comfort you of what happened. You broke and told Ms. Click what happened and what Steve did which led to Principal Higgins getting involved and calling your parents and Steve's. He got a suspended for the rest of the week which was a relief to you but didn’t help the situation. Now since this situation, you were known as the ‘Cry baby.’ Your friends tried to help you feel better and stood up for you when the time was right. You were grateful to have a support system but not grateful for Steve Harrington.

It’s been a few months since the whole Steve situation and some forgot about it and moved on to other things like the Byers youngest boy going missing and Barb Holland also going missing, making the whole town worried. Steve was still a dick but he didn’t pay any mind to you though, he was too busy dealing with his goons and his dream girl, Nancy Wheeler. A part of you still had a crush on him, just the smallest he was still cute but he was still a dick. You had to go see Ms. Kelly every Friday since what happened which you didn’t mind but it was still annoying. It was the same bland conversation about your week. If there's any people giving you a hard time, grades, college, just boring, stupid conversations that waste your time during 6th period but you got to leave earlier which was a plus. Before you left, Ms. Kelly told you that your mom called and wanted you to stop by Melvald’s to grab some more dish soap so that’s where you are now, looking for dish soap and Melvald’s. Why are there so many soaps? You never paid attention to what one you used it was just soap. You notice someone move at the conner of your eye, you paid no mind to it until you noticed who the someone was. The navy-blue jacket, the blue jeans, the green shirt, the hair. Yeah, it was him.

Oh god not here.

Focus on the soaps.

Glancing over at him he was looking at the band aids and ointments he looked dazed, squinting at labels trying to make it clear. Then a pair of hazel eyes fell on you, making you quickly look at the soaps. You swore your heart was going to explode it was pounding so fast, it felt like someone was squeezing your whole body you couldn’t breathe. Was this really happening? Why was he here? How could you not see his BMW in the parking lot? Anxiety riddled your body as you heard someone shuffle up to you. God don’t let it be you.

“Hey,”

Frozen in place, you moved your head slightly to look at him. You were taken back by the way he looked. The right side of his face was bloody and bruised with the wound already scabbing over, his right eye swollen, a small cut settled on his lip following one on the bridge of his nose., going slightly down to the right of his cheek. He looked awful. You tried not to stare at him too much, you didn’t want to be rude but it was impossible to look away. Who did this to the king of Hawkins high?

“Sorry to bother you. I just--I can't really read this. Is this the right ointment?”

Your eyes trailed down to the box he was holding making you huff out a laugh.

“Well, if you have hemorrhoids then yes, but otherwise no.”

“Uh, no. Not necessarily.” His face turned a light shade of red. “I need something for um,” he pointed to his face rising his eyebrows. “This.”

“I’ll help you. Hemorrhoid cream definitely isn't gonna help that.” you kicked yourself for that and made your way to where he was before. Steve stood watching you look through the hundreds of creams and ointments on the shelf. You eventually found one and replaced it the original ointment in Steve's hand for the new one.

“Zemo will help a lot it does wonders; it makes it less itchy and heals quicker. You'll thank me later.”

Steve looked at the medicine and looked back at you. There was no hatred in his eyes, no cruelness. Just hurt. He was hurt inside and out; he was guilty for what he’s done to you and so many others. He’s guilty for hurting the only girl he loves. He’s hurting.

“Thanks.” that’s all he could say to you in this moment. A simple thank you, not anything else.

“Have you cleaned them?”

“Uh no, just had an aspirin and a cold coke to put it on.” Steve shrugged.

You sighed.

“Okay, just get that, I'll finish what I need and meet me outside okay?”

The stinging sensation of the alcohol covered cotton pad on the open wound made Steve wince, making him pull his head away from you. You muttered a sorry and he just huffed and let you clean him up. Never in a million years you would be sitting here in the Milvad’s parking lot taking care of Steve Harrington. He watched you carefully as you take your time with him, carefully moving so he wouldn’t be in as much pain as he already was. It took someone to beat the absolute shit out of him for him to realize how much of a dick he was. How miserable he made people feel. How miserable he made you feel.

“Sorry, this happened to you, I can't imagine how much it hurts.”

Steve scoffed at your sincerity.

“I deserved it, you out of all people should be happy this happened to me.”

“A little part of me is,” you admitted. “Who did this to you?”

You put the cotton pad down and grabbed the Zemo putting a glob on your finger and gently rubbing it in over his wound. Steve hissed at the contact.

“Jonathan Byers.” Steve mumbled.

“Oh wow.” You were quite shocked that a quiet boy like him could rock Steve’s shit. Steve was fit, he had to be for basketball and baseball so you assume he could win a fight. You finished applying the Zemo and giving it to Steve.

“Make sure you put this on twice a day, and only once if you shower. It should help the itch and the scaring a bit. You'll be healed in no time.”

Steve held the Zemo in his hands and watched you clean everything up. You were really pretty up close. Yeah, he looked at you close up a lot of times but this time he noticed every detail of your face, every curve, every wrinkle, every texture, he was scared of looking away because he didn’t want to forget it. Steve thought back to the paper bag he taped to your locker, Tommy and Carol thought it would be a funny idea and so did he at the time. When he was in the principal's office with his dad with you and your parents, he glanced at you and his chest was tight. Your head was hanging low, tears falling down your cheeks and landing on your hands, silent sobs coming from you. Steve recoiled when heard let out sobs after him and his dad left the principal's office. Mr. Harrington made it clear if he pulled that shit again, he would be kicked off the basketball and baseball teams, he wouldn’t get into an ivy league school and end up as a drug dealer on the streets. Mrs. Harrington told him that’s no way to treat girls, there’s no reason to bully girls anyway. She was disappointed in her Stevie and Stevie was disappointed in himself. Of course, that didn’t stop him from being an asshole, if he didn’t get caught then he wouldn’t have to go through that whole fiasco again so he moved on from you and started being an arrogant prick either way to everyone around him. That ended up getting beat up, ditching his “friends” and getting taken care of by the girl he bullied.

“Thanks for doing this, you didn’t have to you know?”

“I know.” you responded.

“Why did you?”

You sighed and looked at him. He looked so vulnerable, his hazel eyes soft and looking at you. Steve looked like a lost puppy; in some cases, he was. Now he was. He had no friends anymore, he was hurt and lost, no guidance, nothing. You seemed like the only thing keeping him afloat at this moment.

“Unlike some people Steve, I care. No matter what you did to me, how you treated me, you deserve some type of -- I don’t know but I was always taught to help people that needed it. I know you know what's right. I know what you have to do, so do it. You're better than this Steve Harrington.”

You walked towards your car, quickly getting in throwing the stuff in the front and driving off before Steve could say anything to you. Deep down, you knew Steve was a good person he was just around bad people. As much as you hated it, you knew he had to apologize to Nancy, he had to make everything up to her and even Jonathan but it was selfish to think he’d do the same to you.

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x fem #steve harrington x fem reader #stranger things x reader #stranger things angst #enimies to friends to lovers #steve harrington angst #king steve harrington #stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #steve harrington fanfic #angst #season one steve harrington #stranger things season 1 #mean!steve harrington #steve harrington x y/n smut

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 10 months

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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

July 6, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUL 7, 2023

The payroll processing firm ADP said today that private sector jobs jumped by 497,000 in June, far higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate predicted. The big gains were in leisure and hospitality, which added 232,000 new hires; construction with 97,000; and trade, transportation and utilities with 90,000. Annual pay rose at a rate of 6.4%. Most of the jobs came from companies with fewer than 50 employees.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is a way to measure the stock market by aggregating certain stocks, dropped 372 points as the strong labor market made traders afraid that the Fed would raise interest rates again to cool the economy. Higher interest rates make borrowing more expensive, slowing investment.

Today, as the Washington Post’s climate reporter Scott Dance warned that the sudden surge of broken heat records around the globe is raising alarm among scientists, Bloomberg’s Cailley LaPara reported that the incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act for emerging technologies to address climate change have long-term as well as short-term benefits.

Dance noted that temperatures in the North Atlantic are already close to their typical annual peak although we are early in the season, sea ice levels around Antarctica are terribly low, and Monday was the Earth’s hottest day in at least 125,000 years and Tuesday was hotter. LaPara noted that while much attention has been paid to the short-term solar, EV, and wind industries in the U.S., emerging technologies for industries that can’t be electrified—technologies like sustainable aviation fuel, clean hydrogen, and direct air capture, which pulls carbon dioxide out of the air—offer huge potential to reduce emissions by 2030.

This news was the backdrop today as President Biden was in South Carolina to talk about Bidenomics. After touting the huge investments of both public and private capital that are bringing new businesses and repaired infrastructure to that state, Biden noted that analysts have said that the new laws Democrats have passed will do more for Republican-dominated states than for Democratic ones. “Well, that’s okay with me,” Biden said, “because we’re all Americans. Because my view is: Wherever the need is most, that’s the place we should be helping. And that’s what we’re doing. Because the way I look at it, the progress we’re making is good for all Americans, all of America.”

On Air Force One on the way to the event, deputy press secretary Andrew Bates began his remarks to the press: “President Biden promised that he would be a president for all Americans, regardless of where they live and regardless of whether they voted for him or not. He also promised to rebuild the middle class. The fact that Bidenomics has now galvanized over $500 billion in job-creating private sector investment is the newest testament to how seriously he takes fulfilling those promises.”

Bates listed all the economic accomplishments of the administration and then added: “the most powerful endorsement of Bidenomics is this: Every signature economic law this President has signed, congressional Republicans who voted “no” and attacked it on Fox News then went home to their district and hailed its benefits.” He noted that “Senator Lindsey Graham called the Inflation Reduction Act ‘a nightmare for South Carolina,’” then, “[j]ust two months later, he called BMW’s electric vehicles announcement ‘one of the most consequential announcements in the history of the state of South Carolina.’” “Representative Joe Wilson blasted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law but later announced, ‘I welcome Scout Motors’ plans to invest $2 billion and create up to 4,000 jobs in South Carolina.’ Nancy Mace called Bidenomics legislation a…‘disaster,’ then welcomed a RAISE grant to Charleston.”

“[W]hat could speak to the effectiveness of Bidenomics more than these conversions?” Bates asked.

While Biden is trying to sell Americans on an economic vision for the future, the Republican leadership is doubling down on dislike of President Biden and the Democrats. Early on the morning of July 2, Trump, who remains the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, shared a meme of President Biden that included a flag reading: “F*CK BIDEN AND F*CK YOU FOR VOTING FOR HIM!” The next morning, in all caps, he railed against what he called “massive prosecutorial conduct” and “the weaponization of law enforcement,” asking: “Do the people of this once great nation even have a choice but to protest the potential doom of the United States of America??? 2024!!!”

Prosecutors have told U.S. district judge Aileen Cannon that they want to begin Trump’s trial on 37 federal charges for keeping and hiding classified national security documents, and as his legal trouble heats up, Trump appears to be calling for violence against Democrats. On June 29 he posted what he claimed was the address of former president Barack Obama, inspiring a man who had been at the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol to repost the address and to warn, “We got these losers surrounded! See you in hell,…Obama’s [sic].” Taylor Tarranto then headed there with firearms and ammunition, as well as a machete, in his van. Secret Service agents arrested him.

Indeed, those crossing the law for the former president are not faring well. More than 1,000 people have been arrested for their participation in the events of January 6, and those higher up the ladder are starting to feel the heat as well. Trump lawyer Lin Wood, who pushed Trump’s 2020 election lies, was permitted to “retire” his law license on Tuesday rather than be disbarred. Trump lawyer John Eastman is facing disbarment in California for trying to overturn the 2020 election with his “fake elector” scheme, a ploy whose legitimacy the Supreme Court rejected last week. And today, Trump aide Walt Nauta pleaded not guilty to federal charges of withholding documents and conspiring to obstruct justice for allegedly helping Trump hide the classified documents he had at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump Republicans—MAGA Republicans—are cementing their identity by fanning fears based on cultural issues, but it is becoming clear those are no longer as powerful as they used to be as the reality of Republican extremism becomes clear.

Yesterday the man who raped and impregnated a then-9-year-old Ohio girl was sentenced to at least 25 years in prison. Last year, after the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision recognizing the constitutional right to abortion, President Biden used her case to argue for the need for abortion access. Republican lawmakers, who had criminalized all abortions after 6 weeks, before most people know they’re pregnant, publicly doubted that the case was real (Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told the Fox News Channel there was “not a damn scintilla of evidence” to support the story). Unable to receive an abortion in Ohio, the girl, who had since turned 10, had to travel to Indiana, where Dr. Caitlin Bernard performed the procedure.

Republican Indiana attorney general Todd Rokita complained—inaccurately—that Bernard had not reported child abuse and that she had violated privacy laws by talking to a reporter, although she did not identify the patient and her employer said she acted properly. Bernard was nonetheless reprimanded for her handling of privacy issues and fined by the Indiana licensing board. Her employer disagreed.

As Republican-dominated states have dramatically restricted abortion, they have fueled such a backlash that party members are either trying to avoid talking about it or are now replacing the phrase “national ban” with “national consensus” or “national standard,” although as feminist writer Jessica Valenti, who studies this language, notes, they still mean strict antiabortion measures. In the House, some newly-elected and swing-district Republicans have blocked abortion measures from coming to a vote out of concern they will lose their seats in 2024.

But it is not at all clear the issue will go away. Yesterday, those committed to protecting abortion rights in Ohio turned in 70% more signatures than they needed to get a measure amending the constitution to protect that access on the ballot this November. In August, though, antiabortion forces will use a special election to try to change the threshold for constitutional amendments, requiring 60% of voters rather than a majority.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Bidenomics #Joe Biden #economy #jobs #middle class #justice #Letters From an American #Heather Cox Richardson #infrastructure #climate change

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hanafubukki · 18 days

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Hana, imagine Lilia fucking dies at the end of book 7.

And stay’s dead…..

Imagine the Twst team says “Yeah, not even the power of true love can safe everything in this twisted tale”

God that would brutal……..

[In connection to this post maybe?]

Hello Camrastuff🌺🌷💞

I think I talked about this before but of course I can’t find the post 😔😔, I want to say that I don’t think they’ll kill Lilia off. Mostly because he makes them too much money (not saying other gacha games haven’t killed off money makers before), while the process of grief is needed I don’t think they’ll do it without Lilia having a talk with the boys, and well Yana and Disney relationship lol

If Yana had full control? I would not be surprised given the recent character she killed off in black butler.

But can she kill him as a plot device only for him to return? Yeah, I see a high chance of that happening. (Or maybe even off screen implication after the game ends)

But if they do, do that? Kill him off for good?

Well…a couple moots and I and others are raiding the twst devs headquarters with pitchforks.😁☺️🔥

(I swear mumble and I are funding this guy’s business 😂)

If such a scenario was to happen, I don’t think Malleus nor Silver would ever be able to recover. One, because of Silver’s guilt of not being able to save him and because they never had the talk they were supposed to have. And second, Malleus guilt at being the cause of the very event he wanted to stop. I can see him locking himself away and never making connections again. Literally, maleficia in a sense. Him feeling useless despite the powers he has. 😔

Anyways!! Speaking of Yana!! Happy Black Butler season 4 release day to everyone who watches it 🥳🥳

#answered #🌺Camrastuff🌺#lilia vanrouge #malleus draconia #twst silver

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saturnbellfromhell · 8 months

Text

SKINCARE TIPS part II.

Hello my lovlies, welcome back to a new post! I wanted to come back with something easy and fresh for the beginning of the colder season, since I'm guilty for not taking care of my skin in the fall as much as I am in the summer time. So I want to make a quick post about skincare once again. If you have any questions leave then bellow, I always anwser! With that being said let's get into the post shall we?

〰️ DISCLAIMER

I'm am not a certified dermatologist/cosmetologist, I highly advise to go to one if your having a hard time with your skin! With that being said, let's get into the post. 🕊

TIPS AND TRICKS

I. INTUITIVE SKINCARE

Now I know in the first post I talked about skincare cycling and how that can help to stay on track and it's also very beginner friendly to understand the process and the products that go together. But as time goes and you get into skincare you'll soon realize how good it is to monitor and understand your skin. Some days it will be very dry and patchy and some days it will be immensely oily and clogged. That's why I always recommend having two sets of skincare for different occasions. I work in an environment where my face gets dry patches after a few days, so on those nights I reach for my soothing cleanser and heavier moisturizer. If you're forgetful like me, you can also put an alarm in your calender for monitoring, this also helps me out on those busy weeks.

II. HYGIENE AROUND YOUR SKINCARE

I know many people who don't change their towels, wash cloths after a few days and I'm not saying you're dirty for that, I'm just suggesting you should try changing them everyday. I have 7 wash clothes, which I use once a day (morning and night) and I clean all of them together only with my sheets on the highest temperature. I also stopped washing them with softener, since this can lead to build up over time. If you're worried they will seem stiff, add some white vinegar, they fluff up towels real nice! I advise all my closest friends with acne prone skin to try this out or just use boxed tissues, even though this can be a little pricey and not eco friendly. Not a fan of makeup remover wipes anyway... to add on to this make sure to buy products with pumps so you don't scoop your hands into the product, even if they've been cleaned. Old skin, dust particles and such can get into the product.

III. OVER EXFOLIATING

I know you've heard people say this a million times, but is really is the case, especially if you have reactive/sensitive skin. Stop using exfoliating products more than twice a week. What this can do is a plethora of bad things. From stripping all the natural oils from your skin to dehydrating it, to making it more sensitive than it was before. Patience is the key here.

IV. RETINOL USE

When talking about patience, the first thing that pops up in my head is retinol, because o boy do you need a lot of patience for this. It can seem very intimidating at first but if you stick with simple steps the purging will not be so bad. Retinol makes skin cells turn over faster, by doing so when you start using it, it will push out more dirt than usual. This is the reason people stop using it. They payed so much for this product and now they have to look at a million blemishes popping out of nowhere. Our skin doesn't like big changes and retinol is a big shock to our skin from the start. So I advise in the beginning doing it once a week. I used to have retinol Sundays and yes I did purge, but not so much I had to stop. A pimple or two a week I would say, and with that I would just put pimple patches on them and it would resolve the issue.

Rules for retinol:

1. Never use retinol in the morning, it degrades in the sun. So you're throwing your money down the drain.

2. Don't mix it with vitamin C, salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide. Yes you can have a skin day where you exfoliate with salicylic acid, but than have a recovery day after. In the same day, I wouldn't recommend it for the majority of people.

3. Never use more than a pea sized amount for a long period of time. Your skin needs to get used to the dosage.

4. I know the "sandwich" method is really popular right now with retinols, but I advise the old fashioned route. Sandwithing is putting a moisturizer before and after a retinol. I like to use a heavy moisturizer after the retinol and that's it. Even if you have acne prone skin, a heavier cream is necessary beacuse retinols dry out skin.

5. Don't apply to damp skin. Even though it may seem like a logical step, it does more damage than good. When applying a retinol to damp skin it penetrates deeper. So this can be quite irritating for your skin.

6. Don't forget the neck area and also your hands!

7. In the beginning do it only once a week and than after a month/two crank it up to twice a week. Really monitor your skin when cranking up the volume of retinol to see if you need to still hold back. Please please please dont rush this step. It's better to hold back a week or two than rushing.

8. Invest in a good sunscreen after getting into retinol and apply it every morning, reapplying every 2-3 hours when doing outdoor activities. If you work only indoor apply in the morning and the moment you exit your work place...that'll do it.

V. SUNSCREEN

For the longest time I didn't invest in some sort of good sunscreen, I have no idea why to be honest with. I guess I was just lazy to be honest. Sunscreen is the most important item to have in your skincare bag. All this money can be spent on creams, toners, moisturizers, retinols and so on...but it means nothing when you don't have UV protection for your skin.

VI. MORE IS MORE

Many think if they have an oily face that they can moisterize less or even not at all. The trick is to find a cream/moisturizer that is not heavy or that clogs your pores. Most of the time you will damage and cause even more blackheads/whiteheads if you don't moisturize because your skin will increase your sebum production. More is more, try out toners as well for amazing hydration!

Also be sure to know that there are 2 types of sunscreen: chemical and mineral.

🖤 Chemical Suncscreens absorb UV rays, acting like a sponge. It's better for oily/acne prone skin because they are lighter than mineral one's. With this being said if you break out easily, you can also try chemical sunscreens. Chemical sunscreens have ingredients like OXYBENZONE, AVOBENZONE and OCTOCRYLENE.

🖤 Minereal Sunscreens reflect UV rays of the skin, they are more suited for babies, sensitive skin and also pregnant women! The ingredients that are in minereal sunscreens are ZINC OXIDE AND TITANIUM DIOXIDE.

IV. BEGINNER ROUTINES

I struggled with this a lot, not even going to lie. When the whole world is just throwing so many products at your face and you just don't know where to begin. What chemicals go together, what is better in the day time, what products should you spurge on etc... I had many problems in the beginning because I was introducing so much to my skin. So I'm going to give a few examples for a beginner skincare routine with some of my favorite products so you don't need to struggle. Also I go by the this too when I'm feeling lazy and don't want to put 10 products on my face.

🖤MORNING

For daytime I recommend just the simple cleanse, moisturize and spf. On to this later you can add hydrating toners, vitamin C, an essence like snail mucin, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide. All of these products can go together!

🖤 NIGHT

Double cleansing in my opinion is a must, even if you have sensitive skin. Start of with an oil based cleanser on DRY skin, message for a minute, rise and than apply a normal cleanser, massage for a minute and rinse again. The oil pulls out gunk from the pores. After that make sure your face is dry and than apply your started retinol followed up with a heavier moisturiser. To this routine later you can also add eyes creams, again essence/and or toners and spot treatments for acne/dark spots.

🖤EXFOLIATION

Even sensitive skin needs exfoliation at less once a week, but be careful to really keep this routine simple. Again double cleanse, only this time the first cleanser is an oil based and the second is a salicylic based cleanser. Follow that up with a very soothing cream. For deeper exfoliation later you can look into exfoliation masks (the ordinary has one with salicylic acid) or a clay mask. Or my personal fave on exfoliation night is aloe vera gel and snail mucin. Glycolic acid and lactic acid are also an exfoliating product.

Hope you enjoyed the post!

xoxo NK

#skincare #dry skin #skincare tips #exfoliation #cleansers #essence #hydration #skincare products #aloe vera #salicylic acid #morning routine #night routine #tips #help #ask

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vernalseason · 2 years

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Here's why I'm so goddamn feral about The Bear.

I ran an ice cream store for about five years. No, it wasn’t fine dining, it wasn’t even a restaurant, but it was still food service. We were in a vacation town, and our place was the only ice cream store in the area, and the ice cream was GOOD. Customers used to ask me all the time if I got sick of eating it and I’d say no, and I meant it. It was reasonably fancy as ice cream goes, with some pretty out-there flavors, but mostly it was just GOOD. Super flavorful, dense but not chewy the way that some ice creams get where it feels like it’s stretching unnaturally when you pull your spoon away…

Point is, it was an ice cream shop in a tourist town, and in the summer we got killed during service every single night. Nonstop lines from 7 til 12 or 1 in the morning, no breaks. We got after-dinner crowds, after-show crowds, hordes of camp kids a busload at a time, and it might not have been fine dining but we worked HARD. We had 8, 9, 10 people on peak days all scooping, cleaning, making milkshakes (which is The Worst, in case you were curious), restocking by running down rickety definitely-not-to-code stairs to our tiny walk-in and hauling ice cream up 4 boxes at a time—because goddamn it, time was valuable and running up and down the stairs sucked and no one was going to go down multiple times when you could just grab 4 at a time and grit your teeth and shove them onto the counter upstairs feeling like you’d just benched your own body weight.

At the start of the summer, Memorial Day weekend, we were at our absolute peak. Following a truly herculean hiring effort aided by the promise of unlimited free ice cream, we had a crew of 20-odd overcaffeinated teenagers and twentysomethings who were working a truly awe-inspiring pace to kill the line. My favorite moments were, variously:

Being so busy I had to run two registers simultaneously, waiting for Square to process a transaction on one (chip card readers were murderously slow in the early days) while taking cash on the other;

Absolutely shattering every store record on a Saturday night with a skeleton crew and getting approval to order 12AM pizza on the company card, and taking a long, long hour to eat before we finally had to get around to scrubbing the calcified ice cream off the floors;

Gearing up to call for a restock on spoons, napkins, and other such necessities only to find that my assistant manager was behind me with a milk crate of those very things;

And so on.

There was about a month and a half of beautiful, well-staffed, smooth-running time before things frayed at the edges. Suddenly the factory couldn't get enough ingredients, since the company was chronically broke (turns out wholesale ice cream is a bad idea, folks; retail is where it's at), or the store walk-in broke down and we had to resort to chest freezers for storage for a month, or, most commonly, we started losing staff. I was always after the owner of the company to hire more year-round full-time staff, but there was always something more urgent for him to spend money on, like rent. So inevitably our staff would start leaving for college, and we'd be left with about half to a third of the staff we really needed to run. Which is when things started getting bad.

There are only so many doubles you can work before you start losing your grip on reality. I recall one day in August when I was somehow, improbably, the only person available to fill an entire day of shifts, and worked from 9AM pre-open to 11PM at night. The only thing that I remember is that the tips were phenomenal. But by Labor Day weekend we were down to our last seasonal staff and the entire core crew had worked at least two doubles that week and we limped into the off season with about two remaining brain cells between us.

Anyway. This post was supposed to be about The Bear.

I've never seen a show—or at least, never seen a FICTIONAL show—that so deeply understands what it means to be in food service. I watched the first episode in absolute awe of how they captured the intensity—just GOING until you get a moment to yourself in the bathroom, in the walk-in, in the office. And when you slow down, you think about how tired you are. How burnt out. How much all you really want is just to sit, maybe eat a slice of pizza, and stare into space for an hour. But then you go back out, and you get back to work.

I've also never seen a show that so accurately captures what it looks like and feels like to be a manager. Carmy losing his temper, giving in to that righteous anger in 'Review'—how DARE you not cover your station, how DARE you leave me with this mess that you created—I've been there. I'm not proud of it. I didn't punch a ticket printer, or scream in anyone's face, but I lost my cool, and that sticks with me. You don't get to take it back. You apologize (even if you were right), you patch things up, but no one ever really forgets.

But the show also does justice to one of the great joys of the service industry: getting to see people improve. One of my favorite subplots is Tina going from sabotaging Sydney to respecting her, trusting her, defending her. But mostly, it's my favorite because we see her get BETTER. She goes from just holding down her station to being a pro, from throwing things together to being careful, and thoughtful, and focused. And that moment when Tina says 'thank you, chef', and means it, really MEANS it, that's the kind of thing that gets me all teary. Because it's so much more than just 'thank you', but you'd have spend a hell of a lot longer to get it all out.

I guess if I was going to trace my rabid and, so far undiminished love of the show to a single thing, it would be the fact that it makes me feel seen. I haven't done that much reading on the people who made the show, but enough of them clearly lived this life or got close enough to it that they understand what it does to people, and what it requires of them. I loved working in food service, and sometimes I even miss it. I loved getting to make people's days, to give kids their first-ever ice cream, to feel like people were leaving in a better mood than they came in. And I met my partners through this life, all three of them, which is as exactly as wild and improbable as it sounds. But every time I look back on it fondly, I make myself remember that it was miserable too. The late nights, the early mornings, the days off cut short by delivering emergency stock or jumping in to cover a shift or just ending back up at the shop out of habit. The crushed toes and ragged wrist tendons and hoarse throats, the constant phone calls or checking sales to try and anticipate if we needed more staff. The sensation that after service, the rest of the world was dim in comparison.

I sank so much time and energy into that life, and I think the last thing I love about The Bear, the other thing that makes me tear up a little bit, is that for them it turns out alright in the end. They work through the problems, they make things run smooth, and they get the chance to build the place they dreamed about. That was always what I wanted, what I was working toward—the chance to make things better. And even in fiction, it makes me happy to see that come true.

#the bear #the bear fx #the bear hulu #carmen berzatto #sydney adamu #jeremy allen white #ayo edebiri #retail #service #service industry #in service #my work #writing #I should talk more about this part of my life actually #and if you want to know more #just ask

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lol-jackles · 18 days

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I enjoyed the first episode of Season 4 of Walker, it's no peak SPN but it's grown into itself. I'm not an avid watcher but it's easy TV and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

So my question is, what number of viewers need to be on live and +7 for it to stay on air and with what demographic?

The live figures and demographic seemed to be falling, but that is the same for all CW shows.

Are you still expecting an announcement of an extended series announcement?

FYI, there is a picture of Jensen in Vancouver having dinner with some of the cast of Watcher, so the rumour is yet another guest star gig is on the cards...

With over 50% of total (legal) TV viewers in U.S are now online and catch-up services, Live TV viewers are only a small chunk of what advertisers use. Live TV viewings do matter, but the networks also look at how a show does in DVR (up to 35 days post-airing usually) and on streaming. Part of the reason why CW created the CW app was so they could get better user data, and optimize their content based on that (similar to the OG Netflix model), so it would make sense if they put less weight on Live TV viewership, as the OG CW had already done. If one person watches twice on CW app then they would be counted as two content starts. And if one person watched the full 40 min duration twice then they would have contributed 80 minutes of viewing to the show. But if you want to a reach of unique non-duplicated viewers for a certain show, they’d be counted once. There are a lot of different metrics but multiple viewings factor into plenty of them. Same for actual true for linear tv - if you watch something on a dvr more than once they are all counted. It’d be cool if these streaming numbers were released, but unfortunately that’s a much less transparent process than Live TV, so non-industry people still base their ratings knowledge off of that.

The Nielsen ratings are still used and still matters and it helps that there’s industry transparency. Linear tv still sells mostly on C3 (commercial viewing live + 3 days). But networks will track digital viewing within the US. There's a lot of metrics to measure “success” on digital platforms beyond viewership - how many new subscribers it brought in, if they stayed to watch other things, how long they spend on the platform, etc

Of course CW app doesn't have subscribers but downloads. On Valentines Day CW app officially crossed 100 million downloads across all platforms and was #1 in the Apple App Store for 3 consecutive years during fall premieres.

The rule of thumb is if an app has 10 million downloads, on average 30% of downloads are active. So CW app has 100 million downloads, 30% are active, and a total of 30 million active users. With ads, it's easy money for the network.

For context.

Peacock = 31 million subscribers

Paramount = 37 million subscribers

Max = 98 million subscribers

Disney = 111 million subscribers

Netflix = 260 million subscribers

Of the Big 5's subscribers, we don't know the percentage of active watchers. But streaming services actually prefer that you don't watch because that costs bandwidth. Just like gyms make their money from memberships where most members don't go to the gym regularly.

At this point no, I don't expect series extension announcement. The whole industry is going, as they say in business downsizing, restructuring.

I said in another post, never say never to the idea of Jensen scoring a guest star gig on Tracker.

#cw

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gotchi-blog · 4 months

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Punitapi Chan Review!

Not exactly a virtual pet, more of a collecting game, but still featuring little guys to play with. Punitapi Chan is a cute device with simple, but quite fun gameplay. And very adorable aesthetics.

General score: 7/10

1. Design

The device is much larger than a Tamagotchi and way thicker. It's shaped like a boba tea half-cup - the back is flat. At first I thought that it would be cooler if it was a full, round cup, but then I realised that not only would it take up too much space, but it would also be impossible to play with it while it's lying flat on the desk. With the current design, you can both rest it on its back and make it stand like a real cup.

On top there is a slightly translucent straw made of rubbery plastic. It's used for many interactions and games, which I'll describe later. You can see it behind the screen - everything is displayed as an overlay for it. For now I didn't have any problems with it, but you need to be very mindful of it while putting Punitapi Chan in a backpack or generally travelling with it - it's definitely a part that could get easily damaged.

The device has 3 buttons - the ones on the side are shaped like hearts, while the centre one is shaped like a boba. They might seem a bit loose if you're used to Tamagotchi, but they are actually very reactive and there is no problem with them. They are just a bit soft while pressing.

The screen is quite tall. It's lit up by four lights located on the inner sides of the device. They are quite visible as their placement is shallow - it's a bit of a problem while taking photos of the screen and might be annoying to some users. The very quality of the screen is good, the animations are smooth and the colours are vibrant. Generally, it looks way better in real life than on photos - for some reason, on photos it may seem less sharp than it actually is.

Finally, the weakest point of the design - the colour. For now, there are two designs available: Peach Milk (the one I have) and Aqua Milk.

Peach Milk is pastel-pink, with purple buttons, top and blue/purple faceplate around the screen. Then there is Aqua Milk, which is... kinda ugly. It looks unfinished - the device body is almost the same colour as the top and buttons (light blue), only slightly more greenish. It seems as if the whole thing was made of the same plastic, making it all visually melt and looks like a prototype before the graphic design phase rather than a finished product. The faceplate is blue/yellow/purple, which in my opinion doesn't really match the colour of the shell.

Generally, I'm a bit disappointed in the design. Punitapi Chan is big, so there is enough space for patterns similar to Tamagotchi. Instead, there is just an empty plain of the same colour. In case of Peach Milk version, it still looks cute as the very colour scheme is pleasant to look at. Aqua Milk looks, as I've mentioned, quite unfinished.

2. General idea

The whole idea behind Punitapi Chan is catching little boba to make new drinks. The protagonist has a boba tea stall and wants to develop the business. To do that, she needs to make new drinks and attract more clients.

There are 5 stages of the game. You start with a simple, small stall. Once you catch all boba from the 1st chapter of the boba book and make all drinks that use them, you automatically evolve into a boba truck. The process repeats every time you make all drinks from a certain stage.

That's basically it. The gameplay is very simple - there is no taking care of a pet, no more challenges etc. I can see how some users can quickly get tired of Punitapi Chan - it doesn't surprise you with anything. The most original and changing thing are some boba that you can catch only at special hours/days/months/seasons. It's not a device that keeps you entertained for hours - rather something to play with from time to time. If you're looking for an investing gameplay, you're going to be disappointed. But if you want something pretty to look at and play only from time to time, Punitapi Chan is perfect.

3. Catching the boba

The main mechanic of Punitapi Chan is catching boba. The first icon on the main menu lets you do that. Choose the tea type, the level of ice and the level of sugar. With next stages, you unlock more tea types.

At first, the different combinations will give you different boba. Once you try all combinations, from my experience, you just have to randomly mix to find the rest.

Catching is a simple minigame - a screen with many boba will appear. Use the straw to mix them. After a moment, one different boba will be revealed - it might be small and round or large and more chunky, wearing dark glasses and/or face mask. To catch it, pin it with the straw once it enters a heart-shaped field in the middle bottom of the screen. Then, the second stage starts. Press the straw down, but don't leave the bar on the bottom. Depending on the size of the boba, you will face a different problem. The small boba will get surrounded by others and you need to wave the straw to chase them away. The big boba will get stuck, so you need to wave the straw to free it. Once the boba reaches the top of the straw, you caught it!

If it's a new one, you will get informed about that and it will be added to your catalogue.

4. Custom clock screen

The second icon allows you to customise the clock screen. If you are in the main menu and click the exit button, you will see the clock screen with the date and some boba floating around. Over time, the level of tea will drop and the boba will get upset, being squished at the bottom of the screen. Swirl them around with the straw to raise the level of tea.

Under the second icon, you can choose the tea and boba that you want to have displayed. You will unlock more types of tea and more boba with the next stages of the game, so you will be able to customise the lock screen further. There is a certain number of boba you can have at the same time, so at some point you'll have to start choosing.

5. Mini-games

The third icon allows you to enter the mini-game menu. There are 6 games to unlock in total. You start with 2 of them, and unlock more with the next stages of gameplay.

The mini-games earn you Puni Coins that you need to buy ingredients to make new drinks. They are also pretty fun - catch falling boba, compose drinks for clients as fast as possible, dance and much more. The mini-games are one of my favourite features of the device.

6. Tapi Market

Here you can buy ingredients for new drinks. You find out what you need to make new drinks from in the Kitchen. The items are pretty cheap and with every next stage you unlock more.

7. Kitchen

Under this icon you can make new drinks. Choose the boba and the ingredient it wants (it will appear over the boba once you click it.) The boba and the ingredient will be thrown into a blender. Move the straw to mix it. There is no mini-game this time - I feel like it's a lost opportunity, but not a big issue.

If a new drink can't be made with this particular boba, or you chose a wrong side-ingredient, it will turn into a nasty failure-drink. If you're successful, you will see the new drink and it will be added to your catalogue.

8. Catalogue

Here you can see all the boba, drinks and ingredients you've collected so far and the ones that are still locked.

In the boba screen, you can also add/remove them from the clock screen. Interesting thing - there is a page with special boba that you can unlock either at particular times, or through special codes. I recommend checking out Fuzzy N Chic's guides for the codes and how to enter them.

In the drink screen, you can see your drinks and try to guess what you need to make the locked ones - if you click on the locked recipe, you will see the outlines of the boba and ingredient you need. The shapes are quite characteristic, so you can guess when you unlocked the needed stuff. It really takes away the time spent in the Kitchen, making fail-drinks.

The ingredient screen shows, well, the ingredients you've unlocked. Not much more to it.

9. Settings

Change the sound, brightness, date, time, your birthday or remove all data from the device to return it to factory state.

Some observations: the device is quite loud even on the lowest setting. I'd use a slightly lower one instead of full sound, which is basically unusable. Fortunately, you can also turn the sound off completely.

The brightness settings are alright, though just as with sound, I'd like one level less than the lowest. But this is a small thing.

Now something more surprising - the day date sometimes randomly jumps one day forward. I've found some people complaining about the same thing, meaning that it's probably an issue in the code generally, rather than an individual error. I'm planning on looking into the code to see what could be causing that, but I'm probably too inexperienced to figure it out lol

10. Conclusion

Do I recommend Punitapi Chan? You can probably guess by the rating score that I like it. But the real answer depends on what you're expecting from your device.

If you're a classic Tamagotchi player, with your enjoyment dependent on things like evolving your pet and taking care of it, Punitapi Chan will probably seem boring and underwhelming. As a huge Tamagotchi fan myself, at first I wasn't sure if I liked the collecting-oriented gameplay, but I grew fond of it.

If you're ready to accept a bit less action, compensated by very cute aesthetics, Punitapi Chan is a cool gadget. Not as cool as e.g. Tamagotchi Pix, still a nice thing to have. I'd recommend searching for some sales, though - they can get quite expensive

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dijanadraws · 4 months

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2023 review

Hi beans! I bring you an art dump of all my art made in 2023 because I keep forgetting this website exists. (It's c/pd from my Patreon, that's how bad I am.)

First up is a book cover I made for my sister (Daina Rustin - Demon Hunter, not published), that I actually started a year or two ago, but had the last push/rework in January and called it finished. I’m also adding the sword concepts I made for it, even though they were technically done in 2022, as I haven’t shared them before.

In February, I did some figure and hand studies with some friends on the NFC discord, and thumbnailed a bunch of locations and ideas for Sky Across illustrations. March was the beginning of my character concept art project for the main character of Sky Across - Aurelia.

Started with figure drawings, then outfit variations and explorations for different uses and settings. After that it was colour variations, and the last one is a finished character illustration. I also spent some time doing general research and working on worldbuilding, writing and designing certain elements that will be important for the story later on :>

At the beginning of June, I started working on a “props” section for my portfolio. I made it so far that I made a whole 3D/blender scene with them, and then…. I wasn’t excited about painting them. I kept pushing it around, sort of like pushing food around your plate when you have no appetite. After some time staring at that task in my calendar, I decided I would be better off doing something that ✨ sparked joy ✨ instead. So, I painted a new Witcher fanart piece. It was done in anticipation of the third season of the show on Netflix…. That I still haven’t finished. Oops.

July and August were a big dud for me, art-wise. I was going through a rough period and I was busy with real-life issues.

September was a big month for me as that was when my ADHD diagnosis was approved and I finally got medicated. I think I did more things (in general) in that first week than I did in the entire July+August. I finally saw the bottom of my dirty laundry basket after 7 years.

Art wise, I did another bunch of thumbs for my Sky Across illustration, I set up the references I needed in Daz3D and Blender, and I got an offer to work on an exciting freelance project so I jumped on the research and thumbnails for that as well. The project is still in progress, and I'm looking forward to sharing it next year!

September was also when I drew Hopper, Nickie’s cat, in pencils. I used to do a lot of traditional art in the past so I didn’t think it would be complicated, despite not having drawn a realistic cat in over a decade…. I always forget how humbling traditional work is. Nickie visited my hometown and I travelled back home to meet her and see my family <3

I got a cold as soon as I returned and that slowed down my zoomies for a few weeks, some family/personal issues happened, and I had to start branching out before I was ready to - which is how Patreon and Twitch came to be. The rest of September and October were spent on YouTube researching and developing “passive” income ideas.

I won’t be talking about Oct/Nov pieces as I’ve already done that in the previous few posts. In short, art zoomies picked back up in October, I managed to knock out some presents for friends and some fanart pieces, only to be absent for the majority of November again because I had/was recovering from Covid. (I’m still coughing 💀)

Over the course of the year, I did some animal drawings as presents for friends - Joe’s wonderful sassy corgi Dennis that I'm plotting to kidnap (at least for a day, if I ever make it to the UK), Joel’s cat Kissa that looks like someone spilled ink all over, Isla’s cat Skye that has seen all of the horrors of the universe, and I’m cooking something up with my own cat - Azriel.

I started working on another illustration for Sky Across featuring the same character I concepted at the beginning of the year, I'm streaming the process on Twitch when I can, and I started a little banner illustration for socials that I noodle on from time to time.

There were a few bits and bobs that I don’t feel are worth mentioning, and some Blender practice things that aren’t really worth sharing but were great practice.

All in all, this year was mostly marked by a million doctors’ exams, a big focus on exercise/physical therapy, dealing with ~feelings~ about medical issues, and general financial uncertainty. But also more art than I made in a long while, so swings and roundabouts!

I'm really proud that I've managed to handle and organise so many health-related things, and I'm getting better at judging how much I can do and schedule for myself, recognizing when I need to take time off and when I can afford to push things. I hope to do more original illustrations and concepts next year, and I’m adding traditional art to my calendar for next year as I’ve been itching to experiment more. I’m very grateful to my family and friends that held me up, I wouldn’t have been able to manage without them <3

Hope you have a successful 2024 and may all your dreams come true!

Until next time,

PS: INPRNT is running an end of year sale, and you can get my art for an extra 20% off with the code: OQKQS6DJ

#dijanadraws #dijana #art #digitalart #digital art #painting #illustration #drawing #fanart #seventeen #s.coups #yoon jeonghan #the witcher #henry cavill #digital #2023 #year in review

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panicinthefittingroomagain · 4 months

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30 tips and tricks for thin body So here are some of my favorite tips that I find really helpful (and true) for being thin… #1 Drink a cup of water right after you wake up, it gets your stomach working #2 Don’t drink diet coke, it still has sugars in it #3 Take contrast showers (hot water, cold water, hot water…) it gets your blood flowing and fat burning #4 Spinach has a very little amount of calories #5 If you don’t like sports or exercise take up walking. IT BURNS CALIRIES AND DOES SO MUCH GOOD #6 For fat burning the best exercise is intensive fitness (or any kind of cardio) or power yoga. #7 Don’t eat 4 hours before sleep #8 Always eat breakfast. If not, your body turns on suvivior mode and saves calories #9 Get a good night sleep #10 Drink green tea #11 Eat nuts and avacados but remember, they have fat. Healthy fat but still fat. #12 Avoid salt #13 Avoid sweetened yoghurt, they might say that it’s healthy or something but buying non-fat or sugar yoghurt and adding jam or berries is so much better #14 This is a hard one… Don’t weight yourself every day, you’ll go crazy. Weight doesn’t change that fast #15 Don’t stress if you’re not losing weight, sometimes you build muscle mass and burn weight but fat and muscle looks completly diffrent #16 Taking a fast day once in a while is not bad but once you don’t eat for 6 hours your metabolism slows down and you loose less calories #17 Eat as little processed foods as possible (pasta, rice, meat, sauces…) #18 Don’t eat sugary foods also don’t drink sugary drinks. Even juices, they have lots of sugar. Drink water, tea or fresh squeezed juices. #19 Pineapple burns calories #20 Half a grapefruit beforebreakfast helps you burn fat #21 When picking out food seasoning choose something without salt #22 Buy jeans that are a little bit too tight, it’ll keep you motivated #23 Sit with your back straight and abs flexed. That way you’ll strengthen your abs #24 Don’t just do 300 crunches and hope for a flat belly. No muscle needs that many repetitions, take up different ab workouts. #25 Don’t eat when you’re not hungry #26 Drink a big glass of water before every meal #27 Eat as slow as possible. Chew everything till it’s almost liquid, then swallow. #28 Stop eating before you’re full. #29 Don’t drink while eating or right after the meal. When you eat, you’re lighting a fire in your sromach, as you’re drinking you’re flushing it. #30 Keep yourself busy. Go wor a walk or a bike ride. Go shopping. Meet a friend. If you’ll sit at home watching tv shows, you will be more likely to stary binging BONUS TIP!! #31 Do things that make you happy.

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antiloreolympus · 1 year

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10 Anti LO Asks

(Note: All of these asks are before episode 206 (Season 2 finale) so some may be dated.) 1. The wild part to me about the "Persephone got approved Underworld citizenship" is it took what, a week at most? Even if you want to use IRL Royal examples, someone like Megan Markle would (if she had kept up the process) still need two YEARS to get approved of it at minimum which includes a lot of paperwork and staying in the country for prolonged time, but Persephone gets it in a few days with no process? Is there really nothing Persephone doesn't get handed to her on a silver platter?

2. "How to be a woke misogynistic :Add white before woman" I think this anon was tryna call antis misogynistic?? Which like. Some of the "criticism" ive seen is just people using lo as an excuse to be misogynistic against rs but most of it is genuine idk what they're going on abt 😭

3. ya know for claiming to be a "loving and supportive fandom with no drama" lo fans are by far the most cruel set of bullies i've ever seen, and I've been in a LOT of intense fandoms. and I can't even handwave these fans as just dumb kids, many of them are adult women who made a mid webcomic their entire world and would rather get a power high off the harassment and bullying of others who dare no obsess over what they do while still thinking they're "feminists". it's so weird 💀

4. Lol I love that the person typed that 'regular' people just drop it and move on when they dislike something. Apparently you're no longer a regular person for disliking and discussing a piece of media 😔

Anyway, LO can bite it. It's misogynistic and an insult to Greek culture among many other glaring flaws. The giant red flag of an age gap and power dynamic between them is one hell of a thing to defend y'all, and it's also a hell of a thing to praise 1 character for cheating but cheer on another character for doing the exact same thing 🙃🙃🙃

Also it's incredibly funny to me how LO stans are so so aggressive and condescending to us about disliking it when we're just minding our own business?? We ain't talking to you nor do we go out of our way to mess with your tags (tumblr is tumblr, y'know) unlike a few of y'all that I've seen specifically use the anti tag to start shit like a bunch of brats. We'll continue minding our own business talking about LO with both non-fans and fans who actually want to have a discussion instead of mindlessly praising it, and y'all should mind your own business.

5. This comic loves to claim it’s pro sexuality, pro kink, and pro female empowerment AND anti purity culture yet loves nothing more than framing sex outsides of Hades as bad, loves to push Purity culture to make Persephone look like the best woman ever, loves tearing other women down for not being the “right” type of woman, and consistently shames others’ consenting sex lives as gross and weird despite the whole comic being an obvious stretched out mess of Rachel’s office setting DDLG kink. Like??

6. I mean I get why LO Hera doesnt murder babies and all but it is an issue RS rides off "I'm not trying to be accurate!" when she makes Hades the "perfect" guy and Hera and Persephone the most desirable/amazing with zero flaws but then turns around and goes "oh well I'm being accurate!" to make Zeus be super mega awful and just make up stuff to pin on Apollo, Leto, and Thetis like?? you can't have it both ways?? Like she obvs picks and chooses who gets to be whitewashed and who doesnt.

7. Go figure LO fans to make Netflix all but closing down their entire animation department and laying off hundreds of people to STILL make it all about LO. I have countless friends who lost their jobs all en-masse with no warning and a neutered severance plan (NF purposely made it be four WEEKS instead of four MONTHS), the majority of them and their productions by BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+ creators and they're only worried over well-off and employed Rachel? Fuck off. I'm so upset over this.

8. Completely and utterly disappointed at LO being nominated for an Eisner again. I think Webtoon has the power to just nominate it every year and ignore all of their other series.

9. Listen we all know every award is just marketing and we know damn well Webtoons just pumps the with money to nominate LO but we know damn well they're giving way more money to pump up their brand now because the Batman comic is so lazily made yet was ALSO nominated for best webcomic and they're like "one of our BIGGEST HITS big ethel energy is being printed!" despite it being one of their most hated series that is lampooned for bad art and writing. anyway they need to be taxed more.

10. HXP is such boring, basic mythology shipping. Get back to me when they give Isis x Osiris and Dionysus x Ariadne the respect they deserve.

#anti lo #anti lore olympus #lo critical #lore olympus critical

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sun-in-retrograde · 5 months

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Outer Planets Energy Week of 20 November

Eris

The Eris-North Node conjunction hits 0 degrees 5 minutes by the end of the week and just keeps going. It’s a season for entrenching views, digging in your heels and keeping going. On Friday the Moon passed over them so this may be a bad day to get into a fight over something important. Or a good day for it, depending on how you feel.

Sedna

Continues to be a really busy planet. On Thursday 7:50 pm UK time, Sedna leaves Gemini and returns to Taurus. Sedna has been in Taurus since 1966 but this is the very last of it. Sedna will remain in Taurus until 26 April 2024 - a really brief amount of time for a planet that takes over 11,000 years to make it through the zodiac.

This week’s Sun-Mars conjunction has a big impact on Sedna - the Sun reaches its exact opposition to Sedna on Thursday, then the Mars opposition is on Friday. While the Sun Mars conjunction might be good for energy and personal goals, there’s a danger the energy may not be going quite on what’s needed long term.

Orcus

There’s a square with Mercury on Tuesday and it’s active most of the week. With Orcus transits I often think, consider Pluto and reversals of Pluto - Given Orcus in Virgo and and Mercury in Sagittarius, this may be a time when our philosophy and beliefs can shine a light on our actions and help us better live up to them - which is a painful process.

Quaoar

The trine with Jupiter doesn’t go exact next week - but it gets within less than a minute on Sunday. This could be a positive energy for expanding your awareness and scope of vision, especially if you have anything positive around 7 degrees of Capricorn or Taurus.

What’s fun, to me, is this happening during a Quaoar - Salacia Square. At the end of this week that will be damn near exact at under half a degree. Quaoar and Salacia have been sharing a square within 3 degrees on and off since 1956, and they’ve been permanently within 3 degrees since 1975. In many ways this makes it a signature aspect for Generation X, Millennials, and Zoomers. Quaoar brings awareness to the usually hidden mechanisms of the media (Salacia) which could go a way to explain how our generations have been more aware of the way media manipulates and sells to us.

The first time the square got beyond 3 degrees was 2007 and it’s happened a few times since then, but it’s still very rare and the square will continue to the 2050s. Cynicism of media isn’t going anywhere and this isn’t a rare aspect to be so close, but with Jupiter involved now may be a time to consider geopolitics - is the broad view the media presents us an accurate description of how the world works? What vested interests might impact the story we get told?

#astrology #asteroid astrology #dwarf planet astrology #eris astrology #sedna #orcus #quaoar

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psalmonesermons · 6 months

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Lessons from Galatians Part 5b

Chapter 5:16-26 The fruit of the Spirit is love

Galatians 5;22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

As we study the fruit of the Spirit you will begin to see that we are really studying is the character of God. We must become Christ-like and therefore it is essential that we know what he is like, so we know what we are aiming at in our lives.

Jesus says ‘by their fruit shall ye know them’ referring to the character of the false prophets. We need to know what good fruit is like to be able to spot the false prophet. This is important in these last days of increasing deception. Or how about a marriage, business, or ministry partner or even a leader in the church. It is all about character.

The fruit of the Spirit in your life will draw those who are open to salvation to you and will cause those who hate God to hate you. Fruit in the natural sense contains seeds for reproduction. When an unbeliever tastes or sees the fruit in your life, a seed of love is sown in their hearts which God can bring to life; love reproducing love.

Galatians 5:16-18 the battle between the spirit and the flesh is dealt with in a separate teaching at https://www.psalmonesermons.com/post/the-fruit-of-the-spirit-part-2

Galatians 5:19-21 These verses describe the life that we lived as unbelievers. Paul reminds the Church that those who habitually practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22-23 The Greek word for fruit is karpos (also see John 15 1-8) is singular and therefore it is incorrect to refer to the fruits of the spirit. The idea conveyed by the expression ‘fruit’ is that of a blended whole and not nine separate items.

The blended whole is love… which expresses itself in numerous ways:

Love is Joy

Love is Peace

Love is Longsuffering

Love is Gentleness

Love is Goodness

Love is Faith and Faithfulness

Love is Meekness

Love is Temperance (self-control).

When white light shines through a raindrop (which acts as a prism) it is separated into red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The colours in the rainbow merge so that it has hard to tell where one ends and another begins, so with the fruit of the spirit.

The love (akin to the white light) is shed abroad in our hearts (prism) by the Holy Spirit, and as it passes through us the love is split into its component parts such as joy, peace etc. The fruit produced over time is appropriate to the upcoming circumstances e.g. temperance or self-control under a season of temptation etc.

The fruit of the spirit is produced as the Holy spirit sheds the Love of Christ into our hearts (Romans 5:5). The Holy Spirit is reproducing the life of Christ in us. This process involves obedience both to the written word and to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

The Word and the Spirit work together.

God is love……and if this is true then God is joy, peace etc. these must must be part of his being.

John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned.

7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Jesus is the vine; the Father is the gardener, and we are the branches. The Holy Spirit is the sap (liquid love that is pumped into hearts and through us) that causes leaves, flowers, and fruit to appear in our lives.

We can hinder this process by disobeying the word of God i.e. sins such as, selfishness, unforgiveness etc. which sins are like ligatures that stop the flow of love out to ourselves and others. Abiding in the vine (walking close to the Lord in obedience) allows a steady flow of the liquid love that produces the fruit of the spirit. Spiritual fruit as with natural fruit takes time to develop.

Some other thoughts about Love

We are born with the need to love and to be loved. That is why love is such a big seller of songs, books, and movies etc. There are distinct types of love as can be illustrated by the four Greek words for love [1].

1. phileo; the love of a friend or a brother.

2. storge; mother love (for her child).

3. eros; sexual love.

4. agape; the love of God.

The first three are types of human love and at best, are only pale reflections of agape love, the selfless love of God. When the believer is filled and moved by the love of God, then they can surpass the human loves [2].

[1] C S Lewis The four loves

[2] An example might be, if a young man or woman with Christian parents, is called to the mission field, the storge love of the parents might tempt them to dissuade their child. However, the agape love would overcome this and send them out with a blessing.

There is a lovely revealing use of the two different words used in scripture for love i.e. agapeo and phileo in John 21:15-17. Jesus asks Peter if he loves (using agapeo-selfless love) him twice, but Peter answers with phileo (friendly or brotherly love). Jesus then uses Peter’s phileo when he asks a third time. The message is that agape is willing to lay down its very life for God.

Agape (love) became the characteristic word of Christianity. The Holy Spirit brought new meaning to this word. Agape love is selfless and seeks to do good to all me but especially to our fellow believers. This agape love flows from God to us and through us, to our fellow man.

Amen

Your Prayer

#christianity #bible study #bibletruth #blog post #blessings #psalmonesermons #faith #victory #devotional #galations 5:22-23 #the fruit of the spirit #love

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sparrowsfall · 2 years

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A List of John’s Mandatory Duties & Voluntary Services to both Crockett’s Parish Community & the Greater Diocese : or as i like to call it, “ the priest is busy as shit: a summary ”

it’s easy to think that a parish priest’s weekly duties just about begin and end with mass services and taking confessions. but that’s hardly the case ! an appointed diocesan priest is more often than not the primary leader of the day to day parish operations, church outreach programs, and deeply involved in various community services. on a small island like crockett, where there was essentially no additional church staff for the better part of 50 years ( beyond the sunday altar boys ), not only was john organizing these services, but carrying out a majority of them often by his lonesome. to be fully clear --- a number of these community programs and services were hardly mandatory for him to perform. but he certainly provided them anyway.

GENERAL PARISH RESPONSIBILITIES ( MANDATORY ) :

mass services --- his most obvious responsibility, including sunday morning mass, as well as daily morning mass on the other days of the week. due to how small Crockett’s community is, only morning services take place, as there’s little to no demand for the afternoon / evening services that larger churches and congregations offer.

seasonal celebrations & services --- these include Feast Day celebrations, Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, Easter Vigil, etc. during the Lenten season, John also leads an additional guided meditation and prayer through the Stations of the Cross on friday afternoons.

reconciliation --- John is present in the confession booth on tuesday and thursday afternoons, 1:00-3:00 pm. confessions are held on a drop-in, first-come first-serve basis during designated hours.

sacraments of initiation & associated celebrations --- Catholic Sacraments of Initiation include baptisms, first communion, and confirmation. accomplished together over the course of years ( a notably long process for children and teens ), these three sacraments together accomplish complete “initiation” into the Catholic parish. John acts as the primary religious educator and guide for the youth in his parish, and leads the associated celebrations of each sacrament’s completion, typically during a Sunday mass service during Lent. he’s also in charge of all the certificates and paperwork which go along with them. while the families of the kids are generally the ones to host receptions and parties following these milestones, John’s presence is mandatory. he does take it a step further though, often volunteering to lend a hand with planning and food if need be, and is always sure to bring a gift for his young parishioners who just completed the next steps of their initiation.

parish religious education & pre-confirmation group --- these go hand in hand with the sacraments of initiation. before children born into the church community are given their first communion or confirmation, they must be prepared for the sacrament in question. Parish Religious Education, or PRE, seasonally caters to any children around the age of 7-8 years old. for the school year preceding their First Communion and First Reconciliation, they are taught a more in-depth ( and age-appropriate ) understanding of church practices and beliefs, symbolism of the celebrations of mass and liturgical seasons, bible stories, etc. your baseline How To Be A Catholic 101. Pre-Confirmation Youth Classes run through both the school year and the summer for adolescents, the youngest of which are generally 13. parish teens are required to attend pre-confirmation group weekly for about two years before they complete the final sacrament of initiation, Confirmation. during which, their religious educator guides them through deeper understanding of their faith, helps them explore their own relationships with prayer and God, and has them engage in group religious philosophical discussion. many programs require the teens to complete mandatory hours of community service. for the better part of his priesthood, John was the sole Catholic religious educator on Crockett, therefore organizing and executing all lesson plans. he taught PRE on Wednesday afternoons during the school year, and Pre-Confirmation Classes every Sunday after mass. each weekly meeting was about an hour long, not including mainland day trips sometimes taken with the teen group. such trips would include cathedral and religious history-related field trips, and opportunities for the teens to complete their community service hours at outreach events or social service operations held within the regional diocese ( food banks, soup kitchens, canned food and clothing drives, beach and park clean ups, etc. ). they were, of course, more than welcome to seek community service opportunities outside the church / diocese as well, if they felt a calling elsewhere. a few years in, John also began a tradition of an annual weekend camping trip for the Pre-Confirmation Second Years as a bonding excursion. it should be noted that Catholics can be baptized, confirmed, and given first communion as adults, if they decide to convert later in life. classes for this are offered through a standard program called RCIA ( Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults ). because Crockett is such a small community and most of the parish community was born into the faith, there are no specific group meetings for them, but John will happily create a schedule and work one-on-one with any adult who comes to him looking to convert and work towards their sacraments of initiation.

weddings & pre-cana --- wedding services and celebrations themselves are likely self-explanatory, and yes, after Catholic weddings it is traditional for the priest to join in on the reception festivities. however, Catholics also go through a process called “pre-cana”, which are essentially pre-marriage counseling sessions with the priest, deacon or bishop who the couple has chosen to marry them. during these sessions, the priest ( John, in this case ) will guide the couple through discussions of their personal spirituality, conflict resolution skills, family planning expectations, finances, marriage commitments, ceremony and vow planning, etc., as well as any unique challenges or concerns that the couple might have about their union. it should be noted that Catholics are not required to be married by / undergo Pre-Cana with their local parish priest. John is allowed to travel and lead pre-cana discussions / wedding ceremonies at mainland parishes for couples outside of Crockett who might know and request him. he’s officiated weddings for many family and childhood / college friends this way!

parishioner meetings & home visitations --- these are more so made by request, either with designated appointment times or, honestly, whenever a parishioner might come knocking or catch him for counsel. some might even call him for spiritual guidance or general advice over tea, coffee, dinner, etc. meetings with his parishioners can even be as casual as taking walks around the island and chatting about whatever might be on their minds, if the matter need not be confined to the privacy of either the rectory or their home. on a less serious note, John also makes a point to make home visits with gifts and baked goods on special occasions ( birthdays, graduations, personal accomplishments, new additions to the family, etc. ).

visiting the sick & viaticum --- visitation of the sick services are offered to those parish members who are ill and homebound. during which, John will share Gospel readings, give them the Eucharist, and simply talk with and counsel them through the struggles of their sickness. he makes the point to visit any who become homebound on Crockett daily. much like many other priests, he will also make weekly visits to the closest port city hospitals and rest homes for those who might request him, or for those with cases of severe illness and no available caretakers, who had to be transported for care off-island. the viaticum, or The Last Rites, are essentially the culmination of these visitations. these Sacraments are offered at bedside to a parishioner who is close to death, in effort to cleanse their soul and prepare them for the afterlife. this involves a final offering of Eucharist, a final Reconciliation session, and the final of the seven Sacraments (Anointing of the Sick).

funerals, wakes, & rosary services --- as per tradition, John would have lead guided rosary prayer and meditation during wakes or vigils for the deceased, as well as helped to guide, plan, and lead prayer over any ceremonies and burial services for the body. much like weddings, Catholics are not required to have their local parish priest lead funeral services. if a family on the mainland wanted John to lead the service for their deceased loved one, instead of their immediate neighborhood priest, then he’d absolutely make the trip, his schedule permitting.

general church upkeep --- keeping st. patrick’s clean, tidy, repaired, appropriately decorated for the liturgical season, and adequately stocked? entirely his responsibility until he was well into his 70s. there were, of course, parishioners who offered to very kindly help, but for the most part he would have assumed responsibility for these things independently.

CROCKETT COMMUNITY SERVICES ( VOLUNTARY ) :

catholic youth organization --- more readily referred to as its abbreviation, C.Y.O.s are individual parish outreach programs, sponsored and paid for in major part by the regional diocese, to provide low-cost ( and often free ) after-school programs and extracurriculars to children and teens when their families might, otherwise, not be in the financial position to afford these activities if offered by other institutions. despite the name, ANY CHILD age 8-17 can join a C.Y.O. program, Catholic or not, as long as they are within the geographical boundaries of the parish offering the program. while the services are connected to and operate under an individual parish, the focus of the programs are primarily to promote teamwork, character-building, and peer-bonding between the children of the community. on a community as small as Crockett, “low-cost” registration fees were annual and covered a full calendar year of participation in any community activities offered --- “low cost” because, due to Crockett’s economical climate, registration was more often than not free after John helped families fill out registration forms in such a way that any fees might be waived and paid for by the diocese. he thankfully has a lot of experience with the ins and outs, seeing as he was active in C.Y.O.s himself in his youth. in other words, the diocese has plenty of money to spare and John knows how to pull the purse strings for all of the fee waivers and supplies they could want. this is probably the most notable community service that John offered the island in both its heyday and his. John readily got to establishing and organizing a C.Y.O. program through St. Patrick’s starting in about ‘71 ( a year or so after he arrived ), due to just how little there was to do on Crockett for the kids, and he figured it would be a means of keeping the especially bored teens out of trouble. through the decades, the programs snowballed. the most notable were the competitive youth athletics teams he coached, being co-ed baseball, softball, and boxing. he would travel with said teams seasonally, where the kids would compete with mainland parish teams along the eastern seaboard. an additional program later added was competitive band and choir ( organized and led in conjunction by John and one of the schoolhouse teachers at the time, for which John held a massive fundraiser in effort to build a budget for second-hand instruments ). C.Y.O.s also often gather with many of the other regional diocese youth organizations for large-scale summer camps once a year --- things like competitive sports, gardening and environmental stewardship, cooking, dance, hiking, swimming, chess, and various arts and crafts are all taught over the course of 2 to 6 weeks. in his older age, John was not able to as easily attend. but in his youth, he’d often find a vicar to fill in for him on the island, so that he could attend camp with his small parish group as a chaperone and counselor. just so they’d have an adult that they knew with them. unfortunately, as his age caught up with him and his health declined, John had to take more and more steps back from the programs on Crockett until they ultimately fell without his leadership.

community potlucks, fairs, & fundraisers --- many of these were founded by the priest for very simple reasons: they were events meant to bring the community closer together as a whole. the annual Crock Pot Luck quickly became tradition, of course. as did the small island fair, in which John and other members of the city council would taste-test and judge baked goods, jams, bbq, etc. fundraiser chowder fests, luncheons, and dinners were also often organized with help from the priest, seeing as it became clear he had a knack for gathering the community together. fundraisers were an effort to raise money not just for the church, but also for the C.Y.O. teams, or individuals families who could otherwise not afford repairs on their fishing boats or homes after storms, medical bills, etc. really, if someone was short on cash, it was a good enough excuse for John to suggest throwing an event and getting the community ( himself included ) to pitch in. this was the primary reason he wanted to get the recreation center built, with a place that would provide the community to host more dynamic and creative gatherings, that would draw an even larger crowd for his community’s sake.

SNAP assistance, food stamp programs & fresh produce solutions --- again, due to the economic struggles of the tiny fishing community, many families had trouble making ends meet and putting food on the table. worse yet, the village had one grocery store option, and little means of accessing the cheaper chains on the mainland. John set up food stamp application workshops through the church to help his community get the financial assistance they needed. additionally, his own sprawling backyard garden was a great source of seasonal produce in its heyday, readily welcoming his neighbors to gather whatever they might need from it. no judgment, no permission needed, and completely free of charge . families who were struggling but too proud to outright say it often got an “anonymous” produce box delivered to them under the cover of night.

city council --- a small but vital part of his role on a community like Crockett. John attended regular monthly council meetings to discuss community needs, budget allocations, and emergency preparation gatherings. for severe storms, St. Patrick’s was volunteered as the designated community refuge due to the size of the building. as part of the local emergency response team, John also lent a hand with offshore search and rescue if there were vessel crashes or loss of communication.

boat blessings --- .... listen. Catholic fishing community? you bet your ass he was sprinkling holy water / saying prayers over those boats at the start of every season for a bountiful catch and safe sailing. at the very least, it made the fishermen feel a little better.

alcoholics anonymous --- a program he did not begin on Crockett until his return from Damascus, of course. never much of a demand for it on the tiny island, but certainly a need! too bad it didn’t end all that well.

REGIONAL DIOCESE RESPONSIBILITIES ( VOLUNTARY / ELECTIVE ) :

seminary faculty --- from his late 40s and into his 60s, John taught both religious history and theological philosophy courses on the mainland at the New England Bible College and Seminary in South Portland, ME, one of the port cities closest to Crockett. John also worked closely with local hospitals and churches to pair his students into chaplain, catholic ministry, or deaconship programs in preparation for their seminary graduation. and of course, some of his students did spend their vocational deaconship with John on Crockett for a year. being a seminary educator also meant chaperoning and leading annual pilgrimage trips with that year’s graduating classes.

diocese of maine state standing committee --- John was one of four elected clergy officials to represent the regional diocese of portland from the late 80s and into the early 2010s. committee meetings occurred on a bi-monthly ( every two months ) basis. the committee primarily exists to manage state diocese budgets, allocate money to social services and C.Y.O.s run by the state’s catholic parishes, and above all, assist the bishop in presiding over the diocese with matters of finances, outreach, and community concerns.

exorcism --- John has indeed taken the Exorcism and Prayers of Liberation class offered by the Vatican. each diocese generally has one designated exorcist. though he has permission to perform such, it should be noted that major exorcisms are extremely rare as they require bishop, and sometimes even papal, approval. thorough investigation into all other possible explanations for “demonic activity or possession” must be pursued first. minor exorcisms, however, are performed quite routinely during baptisms if requested, and also as gestures of individual absolution.

#long post /#study.#hc.#me just putting this man's long ass resume out here to justify his monsignor title honestly #75% of this is me headcanon-ing but if he got that title!!!!! WELL!!!!!! i like to think my boy put in the work i dunno #anyway i figured tossing this out for plotting purposes might be helpful. might be fun. might be cool.#could help both me n others think about how their muses know john or meet him. busy dude!

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