#'Quarter time!' ( Answered )

[canisalbus]

You mentioned before that the people who would have access to Machete's bedchamber would likely already know about Vasco. How did that come up in your mind? Did they get caught in the act or was the subject broached with enough trust? How did those people handle it? Sorry if this is a bit vague but I thought about it today and I'm very interested. :)

I think it just has to be the case, I can't imagine how they could manage to hide the fact Vasco is bunking with him from everyone, for years and years. Machete doesn't live alone, he has staff and servants who do his housekeeping and run his errands. Even if Vasco didn't stay there for any extended periods of time and snuck out the back door to avoid attention, I'm assuming at least the people who do his laundry and change his sheets would eventually detect that some sort of funny business had happened. But the number of people who are in on it is still very very small and tightly controlled. His assistant Vittorio definitely knows and helps to manage this situation, so does his personal doctor, and on top of that maybe a handful of most trusted high-ranking emplyees, which he has vetted extremely carefully and pays handsomely for their discreetness and prudence.

[starcurtain]

What do you think Aventurine would be like as a boss?

Aventurine's first character story tells us that people both outside the IPC and internal to the Strategic Investment Department are explicitly racist toward him, so I would say first that I suspect Aventurine's team is much, much smaller than other Stonehearts like Topaz. For example, we constantly see Topaz's dumb "support squad" following her around in most of the events she shows up in, while we've never been introduced to a single "Aventurine support squad" member.

My suspicion is that, between the rampant racism and the undoubtedly common rumors about Aventurine's dangerous behavior, very few people are even willing to be put on his team in the first place. I suspect he's much more likely to be paired up with one or two "strategic partners" (like Ratio) and sent to handle things that way, rather than actually having a large group of underlings he directly supervises.

But just logistically speaking I'm sure he does have a few underlings, and I think... He's probably a very difficult person to work for, for a couple reasons:

He will almost certainly beat assholes to the punch. If a majority of the people who have been assigned to work with him don't want to be there, you can bet he's not going to wait around for new people to prove they are racist garbage. I imagine that, for the most part, he's off-putting and offensive to new people from the get-go. You ask which desk is yours and he just goes "Oh, feel free to set your things anywhere!" then turns around like: "Wowwww. Jim, this rookie is trying to steal the desk you've had for ten years! How inconsiderate our new friend is proving to be~!" New people on his team probably have the worst few weeks of their lives. (Because... If people are going to hate him on principle alone, he might as well give them a reason, right?) However, this has the effect of weeding out most of the people who are incapable of dealing with Aventurine's antics, so I imagine that the few who persevere through the hazing are probably genuinely decent folks. Those that make it past the initial "Let's see how much you hate Sigonians and disrespect me personally" vibe check probably end up on Aventurine's good side, and I think he eventually eases off his newbies after a while. (Not before they've proven their exceedingly high tolerance for shenanigans and even higher ceiling for shock factor, though. If a new employee makes it past the first month of working for Aventurine, literally nothing else will ever phase them. An elephant-sized Warp Trotter could warp them all six galaxies over and they'd just be like "Anyone got a working cell? I need to tell my babysitter I won't be back by 9.")

I think he's just never there. Absentee boss in the extreme. It's not that he ever slacks or doesn't do the work--it's just that he's constantly going off and doing the missions all on his own. It doesn't matter how many times the higher-ups assign him to do a team task, tell him he has to take the full squad... He just scampers off and does the deal entirely on his own, comes back covered in blood, and is like "Hey guys, I took care of the problem; enjoy some comp time on me!" I don't think he drags his average-level underlings into his dangerous gambles; I think he just does all the work with their clients by himself or with a high-caliber partner. You would think this would make him a great boss to work for, but I implore to put yourself in such an employee's shoes: You go into the office every morning only to see your to-do list is empty. Your boss isn't there to give you any new direction. After twiddling your thumbs for four hours, you find out the reason he isn't in the office this morning is that he's recovering from betting he could take an entire pack of Borisin in a fist fight. He's not in the hospital because of the fight (which he won). He's in the hospital because he was then promptly shot in the back by the guy he was betting with. Why is your life like this? Why must you be subjected to the soap opera of your boss's own self-destructive spiral?

Even when he's around, he's probably weirdly awkward. Don't get me wrong, I bet when he's in a good mood he throws all kinds of extravagant parties in the office, and his employees would never lack for bonuses and perks. But I think he has never really bothered to learn--or perhaps simply does not care--about normal managerial behaviors and boundaries. Like, you slip up and tell him your mother-in-law is in the hospital. He comes back five minutes later to tell you he's just bought six bouquets (sent from your address), commissioned a personally embossed card for her with your monogram, and contracted the services of the best-reviewed individualized medical team in Pier Point under your name. He's patting himself on the back for being an incredibly thoughtful boss. You don't know how to tell him that you haven't spoken to your mother-in-law in years, not since her last attempt to poison you. Every six months he buys the whole team new cars. You have no idea what to do with all these cars. It's too many cars. Put some cars back. He calls everyone his "friend," but even after working for him for years, you still have absolutely no idea about his likes, dislikes, or hobbies outside of the IPC. You could not name his favorite food if someone put a gun to your head. Does he exist outside of the workplace? You literally can't imagine him anywhere but on a mission or at a poker table. He's constantly bringing an "I am the party!" vibe to the room, but everyone else is a bored 8-5 worker who doesn't have a drop of enthusiasm left in their veins. It's like when a singer asks the audience to cheer along with a song, but nobody in the audience makes a peep. Absolutely no one in the IPC cubicles can match his particular freak. Aventurine's a smooth-talker and a street-smart cookie for sure, but something about the way his smile looks like it's made out of plastic when anyone tries to engage him in chitchat at the water cooler gives you the vague impression that he's probably never had an actual friend in his life. If "uncanny valley" was a vibe a workplace could have, Aventurine's office would have it.

Long story longer, I think Aventurine has very few people willing to tolerate him as a boss, whether because they are racist or simply because his quirks are just too quirky. However, I like to imagine the few who have hung in there are ride or die. You know they have an "Aventurine Protection Squad" group chat. They probably all wear peacock-teal and gold accessories in solidarity. They have definitely disappeared people for talking shit on their boss before. Aventurine has no idea how much they actually like him.

[luceafarul-de-dimineata]

I have a lot of thoughts about whb. On one hand, the pacing is awful, some of the story decisions are just dump (like the poison making us psycho-project into Leviathan's memories) and a lot of problems being presented and never acknowledged (like Minhyeok's relationship with MC). On the other hand, I adore the way they present the demons.

A lot of media that includes demons as protagonists/love interests get stuck between a rock and a hard place, not wanting to present morally bad actions yet at the same time not wanting to make them saints with no wrong doing. But whb does something interesting with the concept and makes the demons more human in a sense. They are capable of doing great acts of kindness and evil, but the thing that makes them devils is that they are true to their desires. It's one of my favorite parts of the story.

[eclipseshotel]

Me busting into Elder Predator’s chambers to chew his ass out after he ignored my gauntlet call six times in a row (he was taking a much needed old man nap)

[whitherwanderer]

Galena, a Rusty Reforger & Pyrite, a Deliberate Deadeye feat. @shroudandsands

In one of worlds fourteenfold, a hyune reforger scales the crags of Alexandria's cliffs and ruins in search of precious electrope, artifacts, and other reusable materials. A scope is trained on him, a voice in his ear, coolly reminding him to watch his footing (as if it needed to be said).

The spotter is an ex-hunter who keeps the levin-cursed monsters and defective sentries off his back with a careful eye and a dead aim. She's also his wife, which makes it that much harder for her to watch him test his scavenging prowess over the deep canyons and crumbling spires that scar the land. Trust him as she does, she has her reasons to be wary.

Galena's methods are unusual. Instead of combing the ground, he climbs. The old kingdom's ruins hide valuable artifacts and electrope caches that would be out of reach for most, but more worrying is his choice not to wear a regulator despite the many obvious dangers. Among the reforgers, it's not wholly unusual for someone to refuse a regulator, but those who know the two hyune know well: it's not a choice made lightly.

———

Deep in the heart of Everkeep, Pyrite stalks the alleys of Solution Nine with a portion of the materials her husband gleaned from the old kingdom. It's how he can offer his support for the organization Pyrite now dedicates her time and talents to.

And an ex-hunter always finds ways to keep herself sharp; sentries vanish, dismantled and sold for parts in True Vue's less reputable markets. Weapons from the manufactories on the lower floors go missing and wind up in rebel hands. Credits grease the palms of the right people for the right intelligence and the doors of high clearance warehouses are left unlocked—by accident, of course.

As an agent for the rebel group Oblivion, the regulator Pyrite wears is a compromise allowing her to take advantage of Everkeep's systems while avoiding suspicion. But for all its conveniences, the regulator is also a grave reminder. Should Galena's hands ever slip, all she'll have of him is the recordings and images hidden away on encrypted data shards—assurance that they'd keep their promise never to forget again*.

———

No mourning, and yet no relief from the aching holes in their memories. All they have is the hints of a loss whose shape they can identify by feeling around its dark edges: an empty room, a closet full of clothes too small for either of them. A name that Pyrite herself chose, always lingering in the back of her mind but slipping through it like a sieve. An image of shade—a face that Galena chases through dreams and wakes up with no recollection of.

Loss enough to take immortality and toss it into a canyon. Pain enough to use that immortality as a weapon against the system that stole from them something so precious it becomes their reason and their resolve. Something that would be worth dismantling a miracle. *OOC Note: This was drafted before the Arcadion raids came out, which answers a critical question I had about the regulator mechanics. A person wearing a regulator will, in fact, remember someone who does not wear one after their death. So that final bit in Pyrite's section is wrong! Oh well.

[pseudophan]

Nora I need to know what time dnp are posting so I can cook my pizza accordingly, could you release your psychic powers for me

i'd say at some point within the next hour but i also feel like the second i try to predict them they become very unpredictable

[everlastiingiimmortals]

might need to clear my inbox again and focus on drafts instead. i've been consistently struggling to focus on anything with my ever-looming schoolwork and absolute garbage sleep schedule, so the prompts sitting in there are pretty daunting right now, aside from the unprompted asks i've received.

[sergle]

When I was on that antidepressant antiNUT type beat, I COULD nut. however it was the most unsatisfying cum of my life. Barely a trickle. Heart pounding after my furious seizure jerkimg, and it's like, wait. was that it?? Go to try again. No bitch no nut juice left, you used up all ur pussy points for today. Go home. Tf

EXACTLY EXACTLY DJHUYAWHYURHDUYG

[nobodybetterlookatme]

The love/hate relationship with my coworkers is so real lmao like why are they like this

[cuteniaarts]

Digitalised + coloured + redesigned version of my Suiren and Vaatu sketch from two days ago, as promised!!

Coming up with Suiren’s design was a very long process of trying and failing because after you’ve drawn 9+ different versions of one character, the creativity starts to run a little dry, but I’m actually really proud of this one, she looks absolutely adorable <3

(Also yeah I did mostly just scribble Vaatu’s pattern because who has the energy to draw the all out accurately. Not me, that’s who, I’m chronically tired. People who draw him on the regular have my utmost respect. He’s still a funky little guy though :D)

Bonus, Raava incessantly screaming inside Suiren (and being completely ignored because Suiren is tired of her) while all this is happening:

[amrv-5]

85 FILMS IN 98 DAYS???

i.need assistance

[piplupod]

yall i emailed the old lady who runs the craft/yarn group and she decided to PHONE me to thank me for emailing her the photos she asked me for of my crocheted isopod 😭 she's so kind im gonna sob oh my god but also why did she decided to phone me fjdskl i didnt answer bc i didnt know who it was but i listened to the voicemail and im just hdsgjkl ,,, i am confused by that decision but i figure she probably knows how phones work better than email or smth

[deus-ex-mona]

me when the bacteria c o l o n i s e s

[girlwarlock]

i wish i could manage to make progress with diy voice feminization stuff. or afford to see a pro about it

[stormikins]

when the inability to get the assignment done bc your brain hates you gets to the point where youre looking at the syllabus for the late work policy...

[ircnwrought]

(piece of me): sender ties a piece of cloth on receiver’s hand to wrap around a wound. // @madefate (finnick) to annie !!

__________≋     SEAGREEN EYES TAKE IN THE ARENA AS THE RAGTAG COLLECTION OF VICTORS REGROUP ON THE BEACH. there should be some comfort in the fact that the landscape is somewhat familiar; salt water laps at her feet, tropical heat sticks unruly curls against her neck && forehead. only the familiarity breeds a pit in her stomach. the water, the easily accessible trident in the cornucopia, the skills required to survive in an environment so like home ... she cannot help but wonder if it had been designed with a tribute from four in mind ( a grand victory not for her, for she had nearly drowned in her panic at the initial canon, but for the one who now sits beside her, gently taking her hand in his )

≋__________ SHE ALMOST FORCES HERSELF TO PULL AWAY, old habits of hiding what they are still ingrained in her bones despite the desire for comfort && to offer her own. only his actions give her pause. so lost in her thoughts about the potentially rigged game && in her fear for what is to come if they cannot protect the duo from twelve, she did not even notice the deep cut she sustained from their latest run in with another group. the cloth wrapped around the wound is tight, but comfortable. the simple act causes her eyes to go watery. ❛    thank you.    ❜ it is hell to have found herself back in the games, but she'll fight for him. she'll fight for the promise of a better world it is her tragedy that she doesn't think she'll live to see it her voice drops to a whisper too low to be picked up by the microphones ❛    are you alright ??    ❜ physically && emotionally. there are wounds that run deeper than skin.