#also it's the only place here i can get art supplies for school so

[twistedwonderlandshenanigans]

Random HC's About The Cast's Parents

As it sounds. Other Family Headcanons can be found here. Warning, some of these are angsty, including reference substance abuse. Also no Diasomnia bc. like I need to WAIT, no spoilers please

Heartslaybul Parents

Carlotta Rosehearts owns dozens and dozens of health and medical textbooks, but before she let Riddle read them, she went over passages that she didn't agree with in Sharpie.

The Clovers were high-school sweethearts, Trey having been conceived when his mom was 16. Her side of the family is from Harveston. After his father was disowned by his family, her mom let them move in. As a community they raised enough money to help them open a small bakery in the Queendom of Roses, supplying them with free apples for the first few years until they were well established.

Regina Diamond and her (name undecided) husband got into a relationship early on in college, and got married only four weeks later as his family was well off and happy for him to have found someone, and she had made up a sob story about her family disowning her when she had really been the one to cut off her very concerned, very caring family. Their relationship became sour very quickly, but he didn't feel like he could leave once she revealed she was pregnant with their eldest daughter.

Delia Spade's late husband was also her high school sweetheart, but they waited a few years before deciding they wanted their family to grow. She hated that he was in the military, so when he was called to serve a month into her pregnancy, she had a sinking feeling that she wouldn't be seeing him again...and she was right. At least with the military, when Deuce was born deaf/hoh she had a little bit of extra support financially, but ultimately decided she would rather not have ties with the organization that cost her child's father's life. She moved in with her late husband's mother for the first four years of Deuce's life, until she found a small house she could afford on her own for her and Deuce.

Clark Trappola is a severe alcoholic with a gambling problem. Jack (Ace's big brother) spent most of his at home life acting as a buffer between his dad and Ace. Their father blames the loss of their mother on Ace's birth, so they do not get along. For the years that Jack was at NRC, Ace spent crashing at other friends houses, or when he absolutely had to, in the attic of his house because he knew their dad wouldn't find him up there. (Jack helped him renovate it before he left). As soon as Jack graduated, he was able to find a place to rent with a few other graduates, and let Ace move in. Savanaclaw Parents

We already know that the Kingscholars were not the most attentive or fair of parents, but Leona had a maid named Lesedi who absolutely adored him, and treated him like it. He adores her, and sees her as more of a maternal figure than his biological mother. She's very old and retired now, but she is the first person he sees willingly when he gets home, and has made sure she is given the highest quality of care the royal family has to offer. She's also very blunt and to the point, and was never afraid of disciplining the young prince.

Ruggie was raised by his grandma, but that was because his lesbian mothers were....one of them cheated and he was living proof. Ultimately, his mother decided she couldn't care for him the way he deserved to be cared for and gave him to her own mother.

Jack's parents couldn't be more polar opposite of each other. His mother is tiny, she has really thick, curly hair, very expressive, and pretty eccentric. His father is rather stoic and hard to read, always having a rather unimpressed look on his face. and built like a tank. His dad used to be a pro wrestler, but now he's part of a motorcycle "gang" that rides to raise money for amputee/accessibility inclusivity and rights, and his mom hosts art shows for the same reason. This is because Jack's aunt- (his Dad's brother's sister) was in an accident that resulted in her prosthetic arm. Octavinelle Parents

Azul was raised by his mother and his grandma (insert dark joke about his mom and grandma having eaten their mates) who absolutely ADORE him, he can do no wrong. His grandma's UM is called Siren's Song, which allows her to pick up on the true desires of an individual...which in turn allows her to offer the most appealing services to them, or how to make someone so driven just by indulging in the desires they have. His mom is magicless, but has the most gorgeous voice under the sea. The restaurant under the sea is also connected to a casino, which has a lot of the Leech's uh...Help to run.

The Leech parents are adorable, childhood friends to lovers, and yes they have a vial of each others blood on a string around their necks because that's what you do if you really love each other right? They're unhinged in everything, including the way they love. Jade takes after his father, Floyd takes after his mother. Scarabia Parents

Kalim's parents....well his mother, Adrika, was and is very doting but gets easily distracted. She is heavily involved in the textiles industry of the Scalding Sands. While she could leave tailoring and whatnot to her servants, for Kalim, she chooses to create all of his formal (?) outfits for him from scratch. She always manages to hide an tiger face in the stitching somewhere so as to give him a little extra surprise to look forward to.

Jamil doesn't consider his parents to be his parents. They've treated him like a tool since he was young, and he practically raised Najma on his own while they worked. He understands the sacrifices they had to make, but can't excuse the way he was treated. He treats them like acquaintances, and because of this, the little Jamil in my brain does not want to tell me anything about his parents. Pomefiore Parents

Vil's father is not only famous for directing (or whatever it is in canon), but he's a famous classical music compose (yes bc for some reason I immediately associated him with Eric Whitacre shhhhhh)

Rook's parents are both extreme hoarders. He hates talking about himself or home as a result. The siblings he has, he's never met because of the age gap between him and them being over 16 years. He used to pretend he would go on trips around the world with them as a means of escaping his reality.

Tanya and Adam Felmeir have an annual tradition to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They've always wanted to include Epel as a part of it, so at the beginning of the year he assigns them an animal, and by the time their anniversary rolls around they've both made tiny hand-carved figurines of said animal. The past few years have been difficult for his mother as she has been battling an undiagnosed illness, so he's been her hands and sits and carves with her until she's happy with the product so she still has something nice to give to her husband, Ignihyde Parents

Mama Shroud used to be part of a different research lab for blot, investigating the effects of blot on the human body more than the progression of blot and how to contain it. Her parents and Idia's paternal grandparents lowkey pushed their kids to Chat. As they did, they realized that they found each other's research fascinating and resulted in years of pining between the two of them until Mama Shroud finally just kissed her now husband. Also, Idia is not their first born child, he's just the one that survived. Diasomnia Parents I ain't getting into this sorry. I'm sorry. I can't. No spoilers of my queen in the tags ok?? or of anything chapter 7 related. Thank You

[home-fire]

Mini Statue Resources

I've spent a lot of time looking for miniature statues of the gods to use in my travel altars, and in my search learned that mini statues-- especially anything under 3"-- are very hard to find. A lot of people have also seemed interested in the Hestia mini I have, and asked where I got her. So I thought I would share some resources I've found for very small statues and advice for finding them yourself. I hope they'll be helpful!

Sellers I've Found

3DvoPrinting (etsy)

They have a nice selection of 3D of prints of classical sculptures, including a lot of less "popular" statues. They come between 3-5" tall, priced around $12-18. I just put in an order for a custom size (1.5-2") of the Hermes and Asclepius figures, and they offer custom larger sizes as well.

3DorisArt (etsy)

They have a large collection of prints, but my interest was in the 4" line, which range from $17 to $28. I contacted them about getting smaller prints of these and they said that was doable. I haven't ordered from them yet but hope to get a custom size Dionysus soon.

MurphicIndustries (etsy)

This is where I got my mini Hestia! They have this whole set available, and also sell figures individually. They come in 32mm, 48mm, 54mm and individual figures start at $4-5.

twogreenthumbs.com

They sell mini garden supplies, and have a section with mini garden decor, including a lot of classical statues (I think these would probably have a spike under the base that you'd need to remove). Most of them are between 2.5 and 3.5" tall and $7-8 each. They also have a lot of mini pedestals and urns as well.

Edensart (etsy)

They sell dollhouse minis, including 1:12 scale prints of marble statues, including some classical ones. They're extremely small and so lower detail, and run around $6.60

BigManSmallWorld (etsy)

They specialize in very fancy and detailed art pieces for dollhouses, and their minis are already painted and decorated. Most of their mini statues are $30+

Advice for finding stuff on your own:

Although there are a lot of resources out there for finding smaller statues, I've found getting anything under 5" very difficult and under 3" almost impossible. For 3D prints if you can't find something in the size you want, I'd suggest finding one you like in a similar size and asking about getting it printed smaller for you.

I've had the most luck looking for mini-garden, dollhouse, and gaming miniatures. Searching by height is generally useless, but including scale can be helpful.

A lot of places have the statues misnamed (the Hermes statue I ordered, for example, is listed as Apollo) or aren't identified at all, so looking for generic terms like "marble statue" "god" "goddess" "classical" etc can be helpful if the right name isn't bringing anything up.

There are also a lot of Etsy sellers that specialize in dollhouse minis that have one or 2 little statues (esp. the more popular ones like Apollo Belvidere, Venus de Milo etc.) I've only included ones here that have a decent selection of them, but there are certainly options for little statues on Etsy beyond what I've shared.

The only statue of Aphrodite/Venus anyone wants to make replicas of is the Venus de Milo, so good luck to you if you're looking for literally any other representation they are on in a million. (I've included 3 here so...)

There are also some old school gaming minis that are Greek myth-themed, such as Foundry's series, but old school minis tend to be overall much more expensive, less detailed, and generally less aesthetically pleasing.

[rhysintherain]

Top 5 archaeological sites in your province

Well, I hope everybody's settled in for an illustrated archaeology infodump, because this one got long...

But thanks for asking, this was fun to put together.

1. Tse'k'wa (Charlie Lake Cave)

Partly because I worked there as a field school TA. Also because it's one of The Coolest sites. Look up the raven burials, they're incredible. Basically it's a rock shelter overlooking a filled in ravine used by Clovis-ish peoples moving north through the ice-free corridor 12,000 years ago. Our work there was looking at the top of the hill above, where the activity might be more recent. This is the home of the northernmost Clovis point in existence, among many other cool artefacts.

It's a very cool place, and you can usually visit if you call ahead and use the driveway instead of the unauthorised path up the bank.

2. Keatley Creek

This site might be the closest thing to a precontact interior plateau city we'll ever find. The house pits are so close together they almost overlap in places. A community this size was possible because of Keatley Creek's prime location on the Fraser salmon run and the nephrite jade celt industry across BC (think like axe blades and chisels, etc.) that they supplied with top quality material. A disaster that impacted the salmon run is probably why the site was abandoned, but they left behind lots of evidence of the good times for us to find.

Here's the site in modern times courtesy of Simon Fraser University:

And this is the inside of a modern reconstruction Lillooet pithouse like the ones those depressions used to be:

3. Hagwilget Canyon

There hasn't been a ton of work done on this site, but oral histories document it as a key trade hub in precontact BC. People from all over the northwest would come to the canyon to trade and socialise annually. And, with all those people moving through, you needed proper infrastructure, such as:

The first (and best, if you ask me) Hagwilget Canyon Bridge.

And here's the new one, in case you need context for how massive a crossing this really was:

This thing was built before white people arrived, from natural materials, and stuck around for generations. It was an incredible feat of engineering, and I'm so glad somebody thought to get pictures.

4. Kilgii Gwaay (Haida Gwaii)

This is a cool site for a bunch of reasons. It's about 10,000 years old. It was occupied before cedar was well established on BC's coast. It was only occupied for about 50 years. It's a wet site with amazing preservation. It's been under the ocean for most of its history.

Once upon a time there were people who lived on a nice little patch of shore between a pond and the sea. They fished in the ocean and hunted bears and drove wooden posts into the ground to make their homes and drying racks. They made stone tools. And then the water came up, slow but unrelenting, and made them leave. The grandparents who held little kids hands as they walked away were probably the people who had first picked this place as a home. Everything we know about them came from the short time they lived there and the things they left behind.

And then the water covered it, and kept bones and tools and wood stakes safe for ten millennia. Only luck and climate and geology working together made it possible for us to find it again. It's like a tiny, perfect Atlantis. I wonder how many generations after heard stories about the village the sea took back.

5. Vancouver Island Petroglyphs

Had to have at least one hometown hit on this list, right? There's rock art all over the place in BC, but some of the ones on the Island are phenomenal. They're pictures carved into rock faces, sometimes flat, sometimes vertical. They tend to heavily feature mythical creatures.

Here's some from Petroglyph Park near Nanaimo:

I like the chalk additions. You can't really damage carvings ground into bedrock and exposed to the elements for hundreds of years with sidewalk chalk, so why not let kids be kids?

This is the petroglyph wall at Sproat Lake Park:

There's a dock set up in front of the wall to view the pictures. They must have been very cool to see from a canoe before the dock went in. Here's a close-up of some of the creatures:

And here's a really big seal near Sooke, BC. Haven't seen this one personally, but it looks amazing:

[detectivereads]

Delicious in Dungeon vol 4 by Ryoko Kui

5/5

This post is for fan entertainment, I’m not being paid.

To see the Vol 3 post of Delicious in Dungeon Click here

Major Spoilers, if you haven’t watched the anime or read this volume, I would stop reading and go check them out, you have been warned.

The volume starts with Mr. Tansu and his group returning top side, via a magic painting. When I first met Mr. Tansu I didn’t think too much of him. But reading this volume I can tell that he is someone of importance because not only he is a very powerful magic user (he can bring people back from the dead. Freshly dead.) He also goes and see the lord of the island that the dungeon is on. He, at the moment, is one of my least favorite characters, but I respect him for how much he cares for Kiki & Kaka and his wife.

Namari and the twins go to a body recovering place and see if Falin turns up, with no such luck, and they have a meal together.

Back to Laios’s team

Our heroes make it the town castle area of the dungeon. They observe that the dragon has been by the area recently and they have found supplies that the Orcs that have been chased out left behind. Senshi wants to make bread and Laios and the group decide to come up with a plan of attack.

With the group they have, they are underprepared, Laios tells Senshi how they would tackle dragons (smaller versions) with the other ex-party members and Falin.

Last volume and this volume show how great Falin was with the defensive stuff while Marcille did offensive stuff.

The fight with the dragon was epic, everyone is fighting tooth and nail to slay the beast and get Falin, and there are some dicey moments in the fight and Senshi is awesome in the fight.

Chilchuck finds out that Laios had a monster sword and was not happy with the Laios hiding this from the group.

Spoilers

But, after a long grueling fight they fell the dragon, but it was too late for Falin, she was digested by the dragon. However, Marcille offers a way to bring Falin back.

Marcille has been studying ancient forbidden magic, which unnerves Chilchuck and Senshi who tell her not to do it. Marcille looks at Laios and asks what she should do. Laios wants his sister back and tells her to do it.

Using the dragon flesh and finding Falin bones Marcille makes a rune circle and starts chanting.

The how ritual is very draining on Marcille, and she passes out from the drain on her mana, but Falin is back.

After the group spends some time relaxing and recovering and almost getting blown up the group is treated to a delicious meal cooked by Senshi, they all turn in for the night.

But at the sight of the dragon we see a lone elf figure, the elf from the chapter with the magic paintings.

Now my final thoughts on this volume.

I loved it honestly the fight with the dragon was epic and I was so happy that Laios and Marcille got Falin back.

Now before this volume I just thought that Marcille and Falin were like best friends from magic school. But after reading this volume there is something there between Falin and Marcille, I am not sure if I am reading into wrong or the billions of pieces of fan art of the two of them together has anything to do with it.

I look forward to the next volume.

[9-punk]

Pls tell us more about the 9 horror au you made

So it’s based on baldi’s basic and all those horror games under the guise of sweetness.

I got this idea from the old Russian 9 game!

Simply put the player finds an old game by a man who was found dead.

The man was making a vr game to help children with school subjects. And seemly died while test playing it.

So the player plays it and meets 1. He’s more focused on helping with math. He gives you simple problems that slowly scale into harder questions (including calculating the distance of the sun from earth) after a while of playing the game shuts down and restarts.

The player can’t take off the head sets and now they being hunted down by 1.

(Who tbh is just math themed I don’t have a design in mind for him. If anyone wants to do anything go d for it)

Through out the school the player meets more punks and not all of them are trying to kill them.

The player is trying to gather tools to fix the glitch before they die.

So here are the punks

1- the main bad guy. An instant killer when he catches you. Luckily he has a bell on his staff so you can hear when he is near.

2- he runs the security cameras and is a fucking narc. If you stay in one location to long he will just drop you location to the entire place. Announcing it on the PA system. There are places he can not see and with the spray paint item you can create safe spots. (Tho upon doing so he makes an announcement about how disappointed he is in the player).

I do have a design idea for him. He has a cool microphone and a tape player attached to his waist. He also wears headphones.

The twins- the only characters that can’t hurt you. the twins are reading/spelling themed. Sometimes they’ll chase you down and make you do a spelling mini game which freezes you in your tracks. Or occasionally they will be split up. If you find one of them they will follow you around flashing their lights (which can alert the others) until you find the other twin! You can use the spray paint on them. (I don’t have a design idea for them)

5- he is a nonhostile character. Unless he gets caught on one of 2’s cameras (aka he runs into you in the hall since he physically can not make himself go past you without stopping you). After being caught 2 makes an announcement about how 5 needs to actually make himself useful and 5 glitches out before becoming hostile. He will slowly drive your Hp down.

When he’s not hostile he will either be in a safe zone. Or walking down the halls to a safe zone. When you meet him in a safe zone he’ll give you a map to the whole school and asks you to fix what’s happened to his friends

(I don’t have a design for him but he is map and geographical shit)

6 is art themed ofc. He has this cute little apron He is not typically a hostile character. He’ll come up to you and ask you to get him some random art supplies. If you don’t find it in the time limit or give him the wrong thing he will let out a loud and painful scream and go after you.

7 is a character you typically see depending on your play style. She has a 1/4 chance to appear when using the spray paint on the twins. Her arrival will be announced by 2. She is a weeping angel type enemy. She won’t move when being looked at. She sports/health themed (I don’t have an Idea of design)

8 he’s like 5 in a way. He has this thing where you have to guide him to a safe zone/keep him away from 1. Upon being helped he gives you a random item or activates one speaker in the school to play a loud noise to distract any hostiles. He’s music themed with music note patches on his arm.

9 is hostile and an instant kill like 1. However he only appears if you stay in a safe zone to long. He silent and faster than 1. An odd thing however is that all of the other stitchpunks stay away from him when he is spawned. Occasionally he will wrap the player in wires and pull them to him (this is a quick time/spam event) also he has a cute little wire tail with a light bulb at the end and he’s wearing a letter man jacket. He’s science themed

Items you can find (so far)

Spray paint. Can be used on twins and the cameras can either be laying around or as a reward from 6.

Map. A gift from 5. Gives you the lay out.

Strobe light. Thanks to some inventiveness 5 turned his old ripped out optic into a strobe light to save the player from death once

[thistransient]

For the past two years there's been a zodiac themed display of fun postcards designed by a variety of artists in the gift shop of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Looking forward to the Year of the Dragon, I'd been planning to go for a while and finally headed over. To my dismay it was not there! However, I was prepared to undertake one of my favourite activities, pestering an unsuspecting employee about it in Mandarin. Props to that man, who actually made a phone call to somebody about it, who called him back after investigating, whereupon he wrote down an address and phone number for me, because it turned out the whole thing was not organised by the museum but by a print shop. He suggested I call them first, but he was unaware that my least favourite activity is calling strangers on the phone in Mandarin, plus the location was only a ten minute walk away. The museum itself seemed plagued by an unusual amount of tourists and school children today, so I decided to skip the whole thing and go on this quest.

I was rewarded en route by a street full of seasonal decoration shops preparing all the shiny things for Chinese New Year (is this not also a kind of modern art??), and a wander down some alleys I would never have otherwise wandered down. Finally I found the place, Retro Jam 印刷, which to my good fortune had the sought-after postcards on obvious display. They seem to do all manner of screen and risograph printing, and also sell supplies and prints. I can't speak to the quality of services but I had a great time poking around in the latter. Across the street was a place called Risograph Museum, which as far as I can tell was unrelated to Retro Jam, and was not a museum but a small shop of prints and cute items where I also flipped through cards to my heart's content (apparently the main Risograph Museum with printing services is in Taichung).

Afterwards I had ambitions to go to IKEA and get a duvet cover for an IKEA duvet I'd come into the possession of recently (via a friend distributing loot household items before moving back overseas), so I walked to Beimen Station when hunger struck. I am not the kind of person who can simply walk into a strange restaurant. Usually it requires extensive investigation and two to three back-up schemes, which is not really something I care to do while sitting outside the metro by a noisy intersection. The primary way to streamline this procedure is to focus solely on curry. There was a place called Curry Lab. Tokyo (with the punctuation, yes) conveniently near IKEA, and it had a solid 5 stars, which induces suspicion because that generally means the place gives some discount or bribe for good reviews, but I chanced my luck.

It was dishearteningly dark within when I got there despite being 16:31 (with 16:30 opening hours listed) but the employees were present and the door was open, so I asked exactly when business commenced and they turned on the light and told me to sit down.

Lo and behold, I really would rate it as one of the top 5 Japanese style curries I've had. Something about the spices and the onions. I was impressed. I even indulged in a pudding afterwards, which was equally delightful.

Google Maps' estimation of the crowd level at IKEA had me a bit wary but it was pretty empty and I had a grand time feeling the fabrics, sniffing the scented candles, and restraining myself from purchasing an orb to ponder (I already have a lantern at home, one spherical glowing light fixture is enough unless I move into a bigger place). I even got the duvet cover I went there for and nothing else!

(imagine how immense my willpower must be in the face of these, for 499元 🙀)

When I finally got out it was rush hour and thus time to squish into the MRT like sardines. I have lived here long enough to have no qualms about moving people who will not move themselves. No more timid 不好意思 from this 外國人, it is time to 讓開! (Perhaps I give myself more credit than I'm due in terms of audacity, as more often than not the wave of humanity entering the train car behind me would propel me forward one way or another, I've simply learned to proactively embrace that inevitability.)

I've been feeling unexpectedly resilient regarding going out and doing things lately, although it may be because in going out I'm procrastinating on what I should be doing at home (although I am still thinking about it and making notes while walking around). In this way being outside feels more like a break instead of a torment 🤔 We'll see how long it lasts, but I might as well enjoy it.

[vikenticomeshome]

Flying Minds - The Defunct Cyberchase Merch Empire (part 1)

So, I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole recently. I started looking into a long-defunct company called Flying Minds that had an association with Cyberchase. It all started when I was looking at my DVD of Ecohaven CSE and found this.

Calling all Cyberchase fans... For your exclusive Cyberchase download, check out www.flyingminds.com

Limited Time offer!

Promo Code VID05

There were some free downloadable items available on the actual pbskids.org website back in the day. There were a few downloadable flash-based screensavers and a calculator voiced by Bianca. These have been preserved on the Flashpoint Archive. However, I have no idea what this exclusive download from flyingminds.com would have been. I would be very curious if it was still circulating today. Unfortunately, it seems very unlikely that it would have been preserved by WayBack Machine archives, since you needed to put in a promotional code to get it.

Regardless, I started looking into the archives of the flyingminds website to see what they had to do with Cyberchase. It turned out that they sold a bunch of Cyberchase-branded products back in the day. Before I get to that though, I figure I should set the scene for what Cyberchase merch looks like today. Here is the official PBS kids store.

It's mostly clothing. We can see shirts, hoodies, baseball caps, and a tote bag. We can see some stuff themed after the 20th anniversary of the show, while other stuff is more generic. I've seen the exact same catalogue on a site called merchmake, so perhaps this is who the current show-runners contracted the merch out to.

I also found some more baggage on a site called personalized planet. While this isn't the official PBS Kids store, I'm pretty sure this is legitimate.

I'm only including stuff that I believe is official. I'm not talking about Etsy here, since that tends to be unofficial fan-works. I'm also not talking about Redbubble, since its so infamous for art theft.

So, that's about it for official Cyberchase merch in the present day. There's not very much of it. However, if wind the clock back to 2005 when Flying Minds was active, things were very different. They had a partnership with Thirteen/WNET New York to bring out a much wider variety of Cyberchase merchandise. Let me show you through Wayback Machine archives. Unfortunately, much of their catalog photos were not archived, but I'll see what I can do to supplement. I think the best place to start here is with Flying Minds's own explanation as to what they were doing with Cyberchase.

Begin

What is Flying Minds? Established in October 2004, Flying Minds is a partnership between C&T Ventures and Thirteen/WNET New York working together to bring you cool, innovative products that will engage your children in a world of fun learning. Flying Minds has teamed up with Thirteen/WNET's acclaimed children's program, Cyberchase, to be your online store for Cyberchase gear, including school supplies, apparel, games and toys. As co-producer of this award-winning show, we are very proud to be a part of the Cyberchase family and will continue to work closely with the creators of the program to bring you exclusive products for many years to come.

In keeping with our mission to provide "Cool Stuff for Clever Kids" (and adults too), Flying Minds is committed to making your visit to our site an enjoyable experience. To this end, we will continue to develop and seek out quality products, activities and services (both fun and educational) that meet our demanding standards. Whether through information to help kids learn about financial literacy or a loyalty program where kids and adults can spend or save points, our goal is to grow Flying Minds into a company that provides an interactive and entertaining experience for our customers.

Most importantly, your purchases at www.flyingminds.com help to support Cyberchase and Public Television. For cool activities and to learn more about Cyberchase, visit www.pbskidsgo.org/Cyberchase/.

End

Most archives I have found of the site are from 2005. Unfortunately, it seems that Flying Minds didn't last very long after all. I know that some of their Cyberchase products are considered collector's items now, and they can get expensive.

Their most famous product is the sole official Cyberchase plush toy, Digit. He's my co-producer for this Tumblr blog.

Let's see what we can gather from the remnants of their site.

The first section on the list is "School Supplies" This was originally two pages, but it seems like only the first page of this section was archived at all. Even then, the pictures from the first page have not been saved.

Just to be clear, the Digit plush that I have is not a backpack. I have only ever seen one size of this plush, so the listing for a "Digit Le Boid Plush Backpack with Accessories" is a bit confusing to me. I haven't seen any vintage Cyberchase backpacks or water bottles floating around either.

I did see a Worthpoint listing for a prior eBay sale of a pencil case, mechanical pencil, and stickers. The pencil case had Flying Minds branding on the back, so it looks like we can fill in that blank. It may have been part of the prizes for either the 2004 or 2005 Cyberchase Online Contests as well.

The next section to look at is the "Toys & Games" section. Once again, only the first page has been archived at all, and all of the images are missing.

So, they talk about a clock with a stop watch, which they also refer to as a keychain. I haven't seen this exact item, but I have seen a Worthpoint listing for another vintage Cyberchase keychain.

I also found a Worthpoint listing for that collector tin with 2 packs of playing cards, so we can document that.

We've already talked about the famous Digit plush. I haven't seen any pictures of the "Super Cyber 100-Piece Floor Puzzle".

Next, we can look at the "Party Supplies" section. There are only two items in here.

I was able to source a picture from pintrest showing an eBay listing for some Cyberchase party supplies. I assume these are the same ones that were sold through Flying Minds, as it was listed as a party set for 8.

I can see napkins, stickers, plates, cups, and hats. I think I also see placemats (middle right), cards (bottom middle), wrapping paper (top right), and some sort of cardboard hanging decorations (bottom right).

Next, we can move on to the "Apparel" section. This is yet another section where only the first page was captured and the images were lost.

Once again, we have those backpacks that I wasn't able to source. photos for. However, I was able to source photos from an eBay listing for the "Cyberchase Bad Guys Baseball Cap"

Next, we get to look at the "DVDs, CDs, and VHS" section. Unfortunately, this section's original proud 4 pages have been cut down to a single page of entries with their pictures missing.

Thankfully, these four DVDs are pretty well-circulated these days, so they aren't mysterious.

The other half of site is marked as "Math and Money". However, it is a mixture of items that are branded Cyberchase and items that are not branded as Cyberchase, so I will go through them.

First, we have "Math and Money - Games".

I actually figured out what "Moneywise Kid$" is, as the website for the developer, Strom Mfg., showcases the box.

PayDay was a money-management board game that was originally released in 1974. With that in mind, I believe that Flying Minds would have been selling the 30th anniversary edition in 2004-2005.

"Buy It RIght" was probably this board game version from 2002.

This was probably what they were talking about with "Flip 4".

We can move on to "Toys & Banks". Unfrotunately, I don't think contains the amazing bank that Slider assembled for "The Snelfu Snafu"

I was able to find the Moonjar Classic Moneybox on Moonjar's website.

The other items have such generic names that I won't be able to provide a definite answer.

Continued in part 2, as I hit the image limit.

[khalixascorner]

In The Depths Pt 3

Summary: Meroctopus Tony just wants to have his own fry one day, but wants to ensure he has the proper mate to have them with. One day, merguppy Peter catches his attention and Tony decides that the merguppy is going to be his mate. Whether he wants to or not.

Tags: MerOctopusTony, Merguppy Peter, underwater au, Stalking Octopus Tony, Non-con/dub-conned into love, monster fucking,Tentacle Rape, Tentacle Sex, naive peter, Oviposition, The author spent way too much time researching sea creature reproduction and it shows, the author has also never written said stuff before and it shows, hermaphrodite Peter, Mpreg, Pregnant Peter,Squid Beck in Ch. 2, The Author Regrets Nothing, happy ending guaranteed, Dark Tony, sorry if i forget a tag

Read on AO3 Here Pt 1 here Pt 2 Here

Art by the absolutely fantastic @sausageg

Time seemed to fly after that, and Peter grew heavier and heavier until finally Tony deemed the eggs ready to come out. He settled Peter in their nest then stretched him slowly before reaching in and removing the plug. Then he used his tentacles to press against the outside of the pouch while gently guiding them out.

The eggs were beautiful in a way, reminding Peter of a bouquet of sea flowers, only white.

Tony held him tight as they watched their young emerge, like fireworks exploding from flowers, their young pushed free of the soft eggs and immediately darker in color. Many matched Peter’s bright scales, though a few instead took on Tony’s more moderate coloring.

They all swarmed over Peter, latching on to him even as he trilled happily. Tony brought over food he had caught that day, and they all detached and rushed to eat.

“I see how it is,” Peter said with a huff. “Didn’t actually want mama, just wanted food and I’m the only non predator in the den.”

“Don’t get too upset, love,” Tony said with a chuckle. “Once they’re a bit bigger, they’ll appreciate you properly. Until then though, they’ll be bottomless pits for food. I’ll probably have to hunt a bit more and you’ll want to show them the good places to scavenge near the den.”

“Alright, if you say so,” Peter said doubtfully.

Tony ended up being right though. It didn’t take long before their personalities started to emerge, and then Peter was constantly followed around by their brood. They loved to latch on to his fins and tail as Peter swam, taking them to the best places to graze when Tony was hunting. He hadn’t been kidding about them eating anything they could get their tentacles on.

“Alright, let’s go,” Peter called, smiling as Dum-E and U fell in beside him while their shoal gathered around. Octopi didn’t school, but it was close enough for Peter to keep his fry close, to have a family again outside of him and Tony.

The fry were mostly nonverbal, still learning to use their bodies, let alone their vocal cords, but Peter could see how excited they were from the wiggling of their tentacles and the bright flashes of color they would wear.

Once everyone was firmly latched on to one of the nanny fish or Peter, he swam to the little garden he had fostered during his pregnancy. They couldn’t go there often, or the fry would eat it completely bare, but it made for a special treat.

The fry were happily munching away under his watchful eye when their picnic was interrupted.

“Well well well, look what we have here.”

Peter turned, his fins flaring aggressively as he saw the squid from before floating at the edge of his garden.

“Leave,” he hissed, placing himself between the squid and his fry. 

Tony had told him all about the squid mer after his last appearance. Including how the mer, Beck, loved to steal anything he could get his hands on, whether food or nest supplies. 

“Oh, I don’t think so. Your eight armed guardian is long gone, and there’s no way you can protect all of those fry by yourself,” Beck said with a smirk. “I’ll just be taking a few, but don’t worry. I won’t take them all.”

Peter trilled, a sharp high note, and Beck flinched even as Dum-E and U swam to the guppy, lamp lights brilliant red as Peter activated their predator mode.

“You really think two toy fish Stark made you will stop me?” Beck taunted, pulling out a long sharpened metal pole. 

“Attack,” Peter hissed.

The twin protectors shot forward, a cloud of bubbles flooding their wake. Peter made sure to keep himself between the fry and Beck as he watched Dum-E and U try to corner the squid while dodging stabs and nets thrown in their direction. Ink burst in small clouds here and there but the metal fish weren’t deterred in the least. Peter forced himself to watch as U grabbed a tentacle and ripped it clean off. When Dum-E got another, Peter turned away, swimming back to his shoal and gathering them up shakily.

His children clung tightly to him, reading the fear and anxiety clearly. They reacted instinctively, matching their colors to the garden in camouflage, hiding their carrier along with themselves. Peter was still half hidden under their children when Tony appeared.

“Good work, little ones, but shoo for now. Go play with Dum-E and U,” Tony said, gently nudging a few stragglers away from Peter. Then he gathered his guppy into his tentacles. “You’re ok, little guppy. The bots did their job and you’re safe.”

“They ripped him to pieces,” Peter whispered, his face pale as he remembered the sound of flesh literally tearing.

“And he deserved nothing less for coming into our territory after having already been warned away,” Tony said firmly. “I’m sure he didn’t just want to borrow some seaweed for dinner.”

“He was going to take our fry,” Peter cried angrily. “How could he even suggest such a thing?”

“It’s alright, love,” Tony murmured soothingly. He trailed his tentacles up and down Peter’s arms and tail, even as his arms held the guppy tight. “Everything is fine, you’re safe, the fry are safe, and he won’t be bothering you ever again.”

“But what if more come?” Peter asked, pulling away from Tony enough to look him in the eyes. “What if there are more like him? You wanted more fry but how will we keep them all safe? Dum-E and U can’t do it all themselves.”

“I’ll make more then,” Tony promised, his mind already drawing up plans for a whole legion of the monster nanny fishes. “It’ll take me a little time, but I can make enough to guard our whole territory from any threat.”

Peter sunk back into Tony’s arms, satisfied with the answer. They stayed that way for some time, Tony gently rocking Peter in their garden as the guppy’s anxiousness lessened and then went away completely.

“I suppose we’re going to have to clean up the mess now?” Peter asked grumpily. Tony just snorted.

“Yeah, no, I doubt that sweetheart,” Tony said as he placed a gentle kiss on Peter’s head. “The fry were pretty hungry and Dum-E and U left them such nice sashimi.”

“You let them feed on him!” Peter said, scandalized.

“Now darling-” Tony started but Peter cut him off.

“Who knows what kind of diseases he had,” Peter said, smacking Tony’s shoulder and swimming off, likely to corral their wayward fry.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Tony called after him, casually swimming over to catch up.

“If they start trying to eat me or you, I’m blaming you,” Peter retorted. Tony just waved him off though.

“It will be fine, little guppy,” Tony promised. “I never tried to eat anyone that had a pulse.”

“That’s so reassuring,” Peter replied flatly, and Tony just laughed. Peter shook his head then trilled loudly, calling the fry and nanny bots over. “Time to go home!”

Later that night, after the fry were settled into their nests with Dum-E keeping watch, Peter let himself finally relax in Tony’s arms. One tentacle made its way to his mouth for him to suckle even as another rubbed gently against his slit.

“You did such a good job today,” Tony murmured as he nuzzled Peter’s neck. “Didn’t panic and remembered to activate the bots properly.”

Peter whimpered as the tentacle playing with his slit pushed in.

“Going to give you a nice reward,” Tony said, and Peter shuddered as he felt the tentacle latching on tightly. Control slipped away as Tony paralyzed him, not that Peter even tried to fight it this time. “Such a good mate. I knew you’d be perfect.”

Peter moaned around the tentacle in his mouth as his dorsal slit was stretched wide by multiple tentacles. Each new tentacle left him shaking from pleasure, his body too well trained to do anything but let the long thick limbs in. Each time the rush of orgasm consumed him, Tony would place something over his fin, gathering his seed.

Finally though, he felt the familiar pressure of the eggs being pushed into his pouch. It had been months since Tony had impregnated him the first time, but Peter would never forget the near painful fullness it caused.

Peter couldn’t stop the reflexive desire to pull away, yet in this, Tony’s toxin and tentacles did their job perfectly fine, keeping Peter pinned as more and more eggs were pumped into his sack. He let out a garbled scream when Tony forced the pouch into him, his stomach bulging as his own cum was pumped inside.

Finally though, Tony’s tentacles placed the plug and withdrew until only the tip of one remained.

“That’s it, such a good guppy,” Tony practically purred. “Look at you, bulging so much already. I made sure to give you more eggs since you took the last ones so well.”

Tony grabbed his breeding arm and started squeezing it with one hand as he ran the over Peter’s swollen belly, occasionally rising to pinch as a nipple before sliding back down again.

“Fuck, look at you. Gonna keep breeding my sweet little guppy until I can fit so many eggs in there that you can’t move,” Tony said, the hand on his tentacle speeding up.

Peter moaned as Tony came, smearing his cum all over Peter’s stomach.

“Mine, aren’t you little guppy? Tony asked he pulled Peter back into his arms. “Mine and I’m never letting you go.”

Peter knew he should be scared or worried being trapped as he was, but the tight tentacles around him just felt like a hug, and the ones in his mouth and slit were familiar and reassuring. So instead of fighting or crying as feeling came back, he just sank further into Tony’s embrace.

[menalez]

hi miss mena :) you totally don’t have to respond to this if you don’t want to, it’s a lot to dump on a person, but i just had kind of a weird experience and i’m struggling to figure out whether or not i’m crazy lol. & i trust your opinion, so i’d be interested to hear your thoughts/maybe advice. content warning for discussions around sexual trauma.

so i’m an art university student and also a lesbian—i’ve been drawing from nude models in classes since my freshman year (now a junior), and it’s something i more or less have gotten used to. the thing is i’ve never liked drawing men/male bodies, much less having to be eye level with an old guy’s dick for a five hour studio class. i’m always more uncomfortable when i find out there’s gonna be a male model, and my drawings occasionally suffer for it. i’ve never really talked to any of my friends about this because i feel silly for having had these feelings in the first place—especially when everybody else regardless of sexuality seem to have no problem with drawing the opposite sex. i’m capable of drawing men NOT from life just fine, but life drawing is different, and in order to perform in my classes i’ve had to learn to tune out the feelings of discomfort (sometimes repulsion) that can bubble up when there’s a naked man in front of me.

i didn’t even consciously realize i was doing this until today honestly. the model walked in and i was like ugh old man ok whatever lets go. and we got started and he took off his clothes…and he had a catheter inserted in his penis with a bag of pee tied to his thigh.

i was really shocked and extremely uncomfortable, but i wanted to be professional, so i worked through the first round of gesture drawings. i’m not typically that squeamish. i also felt bad because i have nothing against this man personally and it’s obviously not his fault he has to wear a catheter. my prof came around like he normally does to review at the end of the first round and commented that it “seemed like i was running out of time” because some of them weren’t finished (i.e. i only drew most of the frontal ones from the waist up), and that i should go to the extra sessions if i’m having trouble and i need to do xyz. at that point i just nodded at everything he said and excused myself to go to the bathroom. i texted a couple of my friends who agreed something was off about the situation, but i also ran into an acquaintance in the hall who when i told her she was just like “oh i’m glad they’re hiring more models with disabilities.” so then i just felt even worse about it lol again i have nothing against this man i just couldn’t stare at the tube in his penis for another four hours. eventually i decided to just head back to my dorm and pick up my backpack and supplies after class is over, because i didn’t know how to explain this to my prof and i didn’t want to be rude. so i get back to my dorm and as soon as i’m alone….instant bad panic attack. lol.

and here i am now. i feel like an idiot at best and an asshole at worst, like why am i having a panic attack over having to see this guy’s stupid catheter? i feel absurdly violated but i don’t feel like i have any right to—i know what i’m getting into when i go to this class, and this shouldn’t be any different than having to draw any other man. so now i’m feeling everything i was trying to ignore, but i just don’t understand why i feel this way in the first place. i don’t really have any sexual-related trauma that would reasonably cause these feelings of violation and repulsion. my mom and sister are SA survivors/have dealt with post-traumatic stress, so that admittedly weighs on me, but it’s not my trauma to claim. i also dealt with a teacher in high school who used a religious retreat to groom some of my friends (and other girls from previous years), and i was a member of his small group. that’s a long ass story, but basically i think he kind of started to try grooming me but didn’t get that far—not to the point of being overtly sexual, just like oversharing abt his life/sex life, behaving more like a peer than an authority figure, making me feel bad for being uncomfortable around him, and asking me to hug him. but ultimately i was not the main target bc he could tell i got a weird vibe from him, and so i didn’t even know the full extent of what happened to other girls until years later when he got quietly fired from the school. writing it out it sounds maybe kinda worse than it was, but idk. i don’t feel like it makes sense for me to have such a strong negative reaction to the male body like that. do you or ur followers have any idea if it’s normal for some lesbians to feel that way, even if they don’t have trauma? am i overreacting about the catheter thing being weird?? what do i tell my professor now?? what if the model comes back (we sometimes have ppl who model for us repeatedly)???this day has been so awful i can’t wait to sleep lol. thanks if you read all that and double triple quadruple thanks if you have any thoughts, sorry again for such a long ask. much love ❤️

jeez for one i dont blame you bc personally i would not able to draw naked men either itd be very hard for me to get myself to look there long enough to draw it decently so. youve just given me a big reason why i cannot ever do such classes & saved me the trouble in a way.

it sounds to me that ur quite squeamish? which i dont think is somehow ableist. sure, its cool that they gave an opportunity to draw men in such a stage of their life but a lot of people would be squeamish over drawing some naked man to begin with & then a man with a catheter in there? even tougher.

you do not have to have trauma to be strongly repulsed by men's bodies, nor is it overreacting to be shocked by such a thing (honestly i probably wouldve had to go to the bathroom to throw up bc i would find such a thing deeply uncomfortable as well). perhaps you could tell your professor "sorry, i couldn't deal with seeing an object inserted into that man's penis for so long, despite trying my best, i have a phobia relating to it and it caused a panic attack which is why i couldn't do this drawing. im really sorry about that, would it be possible for me to redo a drawing with a different model perhaps?"

beyond that i think perhaps finding a way to get out of ur head when ur drawing such things (cause i doubt this is just gonna happen once and never again in ur class) so that u can just focus on putting the moment on paper instead of thinking about what it is ur seeing? i dunno if that is even good advice honestly, im not an artist the way u are nor have i been in such a situation so take all my advice here w a grain of salt. but pls dont beat urself up about it regardless, i think such a thing wouldve also made me anxious and uncomfortable-- its not that old man's fault, but perhaps your teacher should've given you guys some sort of heads up so people could mentally prepare for such things.

[viragosoul]

HUH YUNJIN  22  FEMALE  SHE / HER — ; where do you get your inspiration, SONG SIYEON ? you’re so OUTSPOKEN, i can’t help but think of BLASTING MUSIC AT 3AM, THE LINGERING SMELL OF SUNSCREEN, BROKEN CLAY SPREAD ACROSS THE FLOOR when i hear your name. your friends tell me you can be DELUSIONAL sometimes . i guess it’s understandable given the circumstances . besides , i can’t even imagine how stressful SCULPTOR classes must be — not to mention you’re also in THE RED AND GREEN CLUB & SODALITES ! you’re a NEWCOMER , right ? yeah , i thought so . either way , welcome to mugunghwa !  ( rouge , 21+ , cst )

hello friends ♡ i’m rouge and i’m v excited to be here to bring you this bullheaded woman named song siyeon! she’s still relatively new and doesn’t rly know what’s going on, but that’s okay b/c she’s just here to prove herself 💪 anywho i have her profile and personality page set up, but under the cut i’ll have more info on her background and maybe even some half-baked plots if we’re lucky! please like this post to plot or add me on discord at saturnian charm#3118 which is highly preferred over tumblr ims! i’m super stoked to write with you all!

there’s nothing much to note of her background: she was born in seoul to a well off family as the miracle child after many fertility issues. mother was a professor turned stay at home mom, and her father is a politician, although a highly controversial / disliked one. her grandparents on her mother’s side are known art aficionados within the seoul scene. due to being the only child, she was pretty much your typical spoiled golden spoon baby.

deemed gifted with art at a very young age, and because her skills brought esteem to the song name, her parents decided to cultivate it and throw the best of whatever money could buy: tutors/mentors, supplies, schooling, experiences, whatever was recommended and whatever she asked for was gotten. in return, she was constantly put into art competitions “for her benefit” in her parents terms, but in hindsight it was obviously just for the attention ⏤ and didn’t start off too hot. anything that wasn’t top three was a failure

high school was ... alright. that’s when her father started becoming more controversial, and every time she started to win a competition her name was always attached to his, which caused her to be less socially accepted with her non-artistic peers ⏤ and even some of the artistic ones as well, thinking that she only won due to her family name. and in her eyes, there were only two ways of dealing with this: fall into despair and feel sorry for herself, or fight it. don’t give a damn and prove them wrong by working hard at her craft. and so, she does. and tbh ... this is probably whenever she reaches full menace status too LOL.

reaches out a sculptor that she admires via social media, and after meeting up at her exhibits siyeon becomes her mentee during her third year in high school. during breaks she travels abroad to where she lives in paris and hones her craft under her knowledge. does a lot of growing up during this time too.

after high school, she flies to paris after an argument with her parents regarding her future and decides to wing it. but actually living in a place abroad is much different from visiting, and culture shock hits her hard; she’s about to give up probably 4 weeks in until her mentor finds her, and instead siyeon spends that time under her tutelage while in art school. doesn’t reconnect with her parents ( especially since her father’s views get much worse while she’s away ) and instead contacts her grandparents more instead.

her grandparents talk about coming home and going to mugunghwa, as her grandpa has invested within the school, but she says no. however, when she meets minjun and finds out that he goes to to the same school, siyeon takes that as a sign and uproots her life to transfer there instead.

and yeah, that brings us to here and now! except now she’s single LMAO

okay so i actually lied and i don’t have plots here because the above took a lot out of me but i promise i love brainstorming so please don’t be afraid to hit me up! ♡ 

[screwtoddstevesherdaddynow]

*DISCLAIMER: if you haven’t read it yet, please read Chapter 1: Unexpected

Chapter 2: “Object of Desire”

Morning classes seemed as if they were on a speedy timetable. First had been World History. Talked about the current events and how Reagan’s presidency was going. Once the bell rang I had walked to chemistry. Nothing too exciting. Did mix some chemicals with my lab partner, Chrissy. She was sweet. You would have never thought she was head cheerleader at first. Meaning she was nice and not snobby like the girls that would normally make fun of myself or any other girl that wasn’t the “norm”. After Chemistry, was Math. Oh how I hated Math. Was never the best at it. Good enough to pass, but never made the honors program. Which was fine with me. The honors program would take those students that would excel in Math or Science at Hawkins and put them on teams for decathlons specifically inclined for those subjects. The thought alone of being in the program would make me shake my head in confusion. That had been the class I was hoping to go by even faster. Once that class was over, I would be in my favorite class. A place where expressing myself had never been an issue. Art Class with Miss Haven. Where I could do, be or say anything I wanted… to an extent. This is still High School of course.

Art class was considered an elective and therefore counted only for a small part of school credit. Both my parents thought art wasn’t as productive or practical. They said I should be more involved with sports or the school paper, something I could put my name on and be proud. I countered that argument by showing the sketches and paintings I had done, where I signed the bottom. If it wasn’t for Steve, I’d be on the tennis team or cheer squad. He was the one who convinced them to let me stay in art. My only condition was to not let it distract me from my other studies. Which it hadn’t, not that much that is. I took my seat where I normally sat and prepared myself for class with all the mediums and supplies. Miss Haven walked in whistling the tune to Green Acres. She had on her mustard colored smock. When she wore that, we knew painting was on the agenda.

“Good morning, almost afternoon class!” She hurried to her desk. She was always so chipper and happy to be there. Miss Haven was very big into the peace and love, say no to war concept. Mom would refer to her as a hippie. I didn’t care, either way she had been accepting of all her students. Including those who’d like to argue her beliefs. She kept a level head.

“Good morning Miss Haven.” The class said in unison.

“As you can see, I’m wearing my smock. Which means this next project we will be working on is a painting.” She said while writing on the board what our theme would be. “The theme, object of desire.”

“Like women?” Asked one of the boys in the back.

“Yes, it can be a woman. It could be a man. It could even be the car that some of you have been saving money for.” Miss Haven shrugged. The boy in the back nodded in approval.

“Miss Haven, what if we don’t know what we desire?” I asked raising my hand. It’s true, I’m only 18 and I have nothing I desire most. Except graduating and getting the hell out of here. She walked over to me and gave me a sympathetic smile.

“That’s okay. It’s not just subjected to a specific person or thing.” She continued to the whole class so they could hear. “It can be a dream, like a goal. You can paint yourself at the end of that goal.”

“Like for instance the basketball final championship.” Jason piped up. Jason Carver was THAT guy. Team captain of the basketball team and the student body President of our senior class. A lot of people referred to him as Mr. Cool and the guy to be. He was also dating Chrissy, my lab partner. She talked about him a lot but it never annoyed me, not like his actual presence.

“Yes, Mr. Carver. You can paint yourself shooting that winning shot. While Miss Cunningham is cheering you on.” She politely said, while rolling her eyes. Jason smiled with pride.

“How long do we have to complete said assignment?” Asked the girl sitting in front my table.

“I will give you until not this Tuesday but next Tuesday.” Miss Haven continued. “Which means, eleven days and that’s including the weekend. So I’ll give you today to finish up on some projects and to start brainstorming!”

Once the assignment had been given, I sat in my seat thinking of what my main subject of this project would be. Normally if there was something I had wanted or shall we say desired, I’d just do the work it took to get to it and that’s it. Steve and I grew up with a pretty blessed life and never once went without, but that wasn’t because we were spoiled. Our parents did teach us the value of our first dollar and how hard work pays off. You know, when they were home with us. The same lesson was taught to us as well, by our grandparents. Steve did however get a big head when people praised his sportsmanship and accomplishments on the court when he was basketball captain. His perspective however changed when him and his ex girlfriend Nancy broke up. He never said why, but I assumed it had just been a normal high school breakup. Once they weren’t together again, he was more level headed and began to be the Steve I had grown up with. That’s when he and Robin became friends and when Dustin and the boys were hanging out with him. It was nice because it felt like old times but with new people.

The bell had rang to let class out. We all made our way out the door and waved to Miss Haven. I stopped at my locker and switched out some books for my afternoon classes. It had been time for lunch for some students, myself included. As I closed my locker, I found a familiar face waiting.

“Ready to stuff our faces?!” It was Robin. Her and I would meet at my locker since it was closer to the cafeteria.

“More than ready.” I left out a dramatic sigh. She noticed but must’ve interpreted it incorrectly. We started walking towards the cafeteria.

“Are you okay?” She sounded concerned. I looked at her while walking and chuckled.

“I’m fine. Really.” I reassured her.

“Then care to tell me why the sigh?” Robin questioned.

“We were assigned to do a painting for Art.” I started to explain. “The theme being ‘Object of Desire’.

“Oooh, so what is it my dear friend that you desire?” Robin tried to be silly. Moving her hands around like she had a crystal ball.

“Oh you know the usual. A tall, dark and handsome man to come take me away on his noble steed.” I pretended to be a damsel in distress. Robin and I started cracking up and laughing. I was laughing so hard, my eyes were tearing up. I couldn’t see where I was going and felt myself walk into something cold and wet. “What the hell?!”

“Wow Harrington.” I heard a voice say. It was Eddie Munson, again. I looked down at my shirt and noticed it was a mess.

“Munson, what the hell is all over my shirt?” I was starting to feel heat rise to my cheeks. Robin started to try and clean me up with tissues she grabbed from her backpack.

“My lunch. I was walking to the lunch tables outside with Jeff here and you ran into me.” He chuckled.

“Eddie, make yourself useful and help us clean the mess up?” Robin quipped. He smirked and we cleaned the mess up as best as we could. Robin then looked at me with a questioning look. “Do you have an extra shirt?”

“My flannel.” I shrugged. Although I didn’t want to wear it. It was almost 70 some degrees and the middle of Spring. So weather was starting to heat up and be a little more uncomfortable.

“I may have something for you.” Eddie suggested. I looked at him with a glare.

“Oh I see you’re still here.” I said with a smug tone.

“Look Harrington, I’m just trying to help. You know because it’s my lunch that you were just wearing.” Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose. Was he actually being nice and helpful?

“Robin?” I looked at her for some guidance.

“I mean he’s being nice.” She gave a half smile.

“Okay, Eddie I will take the offer. Robin, can you save me a seat in there?” I pointed with my thumb to the cafeteria.

“You sure you don’t want me to come with you?” She asked concerned.

“No it’s okay. It won’t be long.” I smiled reassuring her. She nodded and walked into the cafeteria. I turned towards Eddie and looked at him. “Shall we?”

We walked to Eddie’s locker which wasn’t too far from mine. How I hadn’t noticed before is kinda weird. He did the combination and opened the metal door. Inside his locker was like looking into another world. There were magazine cutouts of bands such as Metallica, Motörhead and even Black Sabbath. I noticed he had some photos taped up in the way back. Some were of him and I’m assuming a band he knew. There was a more recent photo with him and some other boys in it. Three memorable faces; Dustin, Mike and Lucas. They all were wearing the same shirt that Eddie had been wearing today. Eddie pulled an article of clothing from the lock and small folded up piece of paper fell out. I picked it up and unfolded it. It was a photograph of a woman. She was holding a small baby in her arms. Very beautiful long curly hair. Was looking at the baby in her arms. When he noticed that I was looking at it, he snatched it from my hands and threw back in the locker, shutting it quickly.

“Who was that?” I was actually intrigued.

“No one.” He quickly retorted and unfolded the clothing. He held up a shirt with black short sleeves and was white. On the front was a picture of a red demon with a knife on one side and a mace on the other. There was die included too. At the top of the image it read ‘Hellfire Club’. He held it up. “What do you think?”

“What is Hellfire Club?” I was puzzled by the image.

“My D&D Club. You know, Dungeons and Dragons.” He was gleeful.

“Hmm okay then. It’ll do.” I grabbed the shirt and quickly rushed into the girls room. Switched out of my shirt and pulled his over my head. It was a little bit big on me. I tied up the bottom and made it a little tighter to fit. Looking in the mirror, pleased with my look. Walked out to see Eddie still standing there. As soon I walked out, I noticed his eyes had widened. He had a half smile. I looked at him confused. “Can I help you?”

“Sorry, um it, it looks nice on you.” He scratched the back of his neck.

“Thanks.” I tucked one of the loose pieces of my hair behind my ear. I looked up at him and into his eyes. They were like this deep brown that sorta reminded me of a Hershey kiss. They had sort of a twinkle in them. I felt myself step closer to him. He followed. As he had gotten closer, I smelled the faint cigarette smoke from earlier this morning. This time it was mixed with a woodsy smell, like a musk. At that moment something clicked, or not. As soon as he stepped forward, he quickly took a step back.

“So I’ll see you around?” He quickly spoke up.

“Um yeah. Thank you again for the shirt.” I smiled.

“Maybe you come by our table at lunch sometime and I can explain D&D, too.” Eddie suggested. I kinda wanted to agree to it, but something inside stopped me.

“I’ll rain check.” I said as I waved goodbye. I turned around and headed towards the cafeteria to meet back up with Robin.

“Typical Harrington. Too good for us common folk!” He bellowed down the hall with a laugh. I turned around and gave him a quick smile before going through the doors.

I shook my head and sorta grinned to myself. Wondering if maybe Eddie was being nice to be nice or if he meant it. Either way him and I were two for two, kinda. Him running into me outside almost, then running into him before lunch. It sure is a wonder.

(Hope you guys like this chapter. Please let me know thoughts. Be sure to read Chapter 1: Unexpected before reading this one. Thank you to those who have read or are reading!)

[oldsalempost-blog]

The Old Salem Post

Our  Local Tamassee-Salem SC Area News each Monday except holidays                                          Contact: theoldsalempost@gmail.com                              Distributed to local businesses, town hall, library.                                             Volume 7 Issue 7                                                                                                  Week of January 30,2023                https://www.tumblr.com/settings/blog/oldsalempost-blog                                                         Lynne Martin Publishing

EDITOR: There is so much good news to share I will forgo my remarks for later.   LRMartin                                                                                                        TOWN OF SALEM: *Downtown Market every Sat. 8am-12pm.                            SALEM LIBRARY:  Hours: Mon 10-6pm.  Tues-Fri   9am-5pm.  Closed 12-1 for lunch.   944-0912                                                                                                    

 ASHTON RECALLS______________________     By Ashton Hester                  LITTLE RIVER CONCERNED WITH SCHOOL, STOCK LAW IN 1888 - (Following are some excerpts from a column titled "Some Dots from Little River" that was in the August 2, 1888 issue of the Keowee Courier. The writer was identified only by his initials, C.K.H.). . .Our greatest need at present is a good school. . .The school for this neighborhood was once taught at the Smeltzer school house, on this side of the river; but some of the patrons, thinking to have it more in the center of the neighborhood, moved it to Little River church. . .But the school after this never proved a success, and it is now the wish of a majority of the patrons to have the school return to Smeltzer school house, where it was once a flourishing school. A little selfishness on the part of two or three of the patrons seems to be the only obstacle in the way. . .There are between thirty and forty children within one mile of the Smeltzer school house that ought to be getting to school, and with a little energy on the part of the patrons the school could be run ten months. . .There is a writing school now at Little River church, taught by Mr. Redmond, and from what we can learn we think the writer understands his business in the line of penmanship. . .The people here are hard-working, kind and hospitable, and in a great measure make their supplies for the year round at home. They raise their corn and bacon and some flour, and would live independently enough if it were not for the much despised stock law. We do think that this part of the country would get along better without it, notwithstanding that a great many sheep, cattle and hogs roam at large, doing no harm to the unfenced crops, preferring the shady nooks and hollows abundant with grass.                                                                                               ( Some things never change since 1888...LRM)                                                    JOCASSEE VALLEY BREWING COMPANY,(JVBC)& COFFEE SHOP 13412 N Hwy 11 Open Wed-Sat 8am-9pm.  Sunday 2pm-7pm.  Events this week:  Wed: Blue Grass Jam 6:30pm.  Fri– FOOD: TBD  4pm  Music: Freddie Vanderford and Brandon Turner  at 6:30pm.  Sat–  Music:  Jennifer Gregory 6:30pm Food: IRON PIG   Call 864-873-0048                                                                                          Landscape Art Class, Thurs, Feb 2, 6pm-8pm $25 Preregister.  864-280-1258  

The History of 'APRONS'   I don't think most kids today know what an apron is. The principle use of Mom's or Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.  It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.  From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.  When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.  And when the weather was cold, she wrapped it around her arms.  Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.  Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.  When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.  When dinner was ready, she walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner. It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.  REMEMBER: Mom's and Grandma's used to set hot baked apple pies on the windowsill to cool, covered by an apron. [I can smell them now…] Her granddaughters set theirs on the windowsill to thaw.  They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron. I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron - but resourcefulness and love.  Author - Unknown        I love this……..sweet memories!        Submitted by   A.Martin

THE PHARMACIST'S DAUGHTER  Greetings, You Queens of Issaqueena!  Here is another suggestion for getting us out of the Mid-Winter's Ucks. The Pharmacist's Daughter, 912 E. Main St in Walhalla is a one stop-shop for luscious homemade lotions, lip balms, wax melts, fragrances, candles and so much more. These products are delightfully packaged to resemble irresistible candies and cakes. What perfect Valentines Treats for your sisters and your sisters of the heart. The shop is open 10 until 5, Thursday thru Saturday.  Contact: hello@thepharmacistsdaughter.com   Gals: For February- Give yourself a gift of FIVE extra minutes to moisturize and meditate!! I love you! God loves you!   Miz Jeannie

FROM A READER, on a previous article on a community well:   I liked your analogy of the Bennett brothers refusing to allow an electric pump on their well to the big developers taking control of a disproportionate amount of natural resources.                                                                                          

                         EAGLES NEST ART CENTER , 501c3, 4 Eagle Lane, Salem                                                                                                                                      ENAC REGULAR meeting Monday, February 6, 2023  at 5pm.                            ENAC TREASURE STORE: Open Sat. Feb 3 9am-12pm.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                .                                                          PERFORMANCES IN FEB 2023:                                                                          FOLK MOUNTAIN GOSPEL: FEB 11 Doors open at  5:30pm.  Event starts at 6pm.Don and Donna Mohl play mountain and hammered dulcimer, bowed psaltry, zither and more.   Website: folkmountaingospel.com  * Love offering event.  WOMEN ECOURAGING WOMEN: FEB 18, 1PM-4PM  *Love Offering event.  * This is a wonderful event for our local churches to help sponsor. * Invite your girlfriends, sisters, mom, or strangers to this local 3 hour retreat. Speaker: Martha Watson.

Tamassee DAR:  Whether you are planning a romantic garden wedding for a small group of close friends, or a chapel ceremony with all the traditions, Tamassee DAR School can make your wedding dreams come true.  From engagement tea, rehearsal, ceremony, to reception – Weddings at Tamassee is a one-stop-venue experience for all your wedding needs. Make reservations for the next Bride-to-Be Tea Party on Sat, Feb. 18 at 10 a.m. in historical South Carolina Cottage on the campus of Tamassee DAR School.  Tour our beautiful indoor and outdoor venue options, visit with preferred vendors, enjoy refreshments, and learn more about our affordable wedding packages.   Cost for the Tea Party is $10 for the bride and one guest.  To register call us at 864.944.1390 or email us at events@tdarschool.org.

SCRIPTURE& PRAYER: Philippians 4:8   "Whatsoever is true, whatsoever is honorable, ..just, ..pure, ...pleasing, ….commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, ( help us) think about these things. "   Amen                                                                                                          FLOWER TIP:  Rake up fallen camellia blooms once a week during blooming season to prevent petal blight a fungal disease.                                                      Valentine Project:  Last year Talley Luce delivered over 400 Valentine’s Day cards to 4 rest homes.  She needs your help again.  Make a handmade card and drop it off at the Salem Town Hall before Feb 10.  Donations are accepted  also, such as socks, body lotions, pens/colored pencils, lip balm, word search books, or a singe artificial red  rose.                                                                                    Happy Birthday Luke!      Aunt Lynne

[boesenkim]

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[voidwaren]

good lord guys, I’m sorry I’ve been so AWOL on Tumblr lately (like I have been GONE. just ask my neglected main blog). I’ll get back into the swing of things eventually, I promise.

for today’s WIP Wednesday I’ll be tossing a short bit from that rich school AU thing anon kindly reminded me I had. I’m probably going to integrate it with a Fall thing I also want to do, so you’ll probably be getting chapters of this around October? maybe earlier if I can kick my butt into gear? cross your fingers, y’all.

Trevor looked at Warren in surprise. “That’s Nathan Prescott and Victoria Chase,” he said in awe, like that meant anything to Warren. “Victoria’s family owns the entirety of the art department here,” Trevor continued when Warren only blinked at him.

“What?” Warren replied, bewildered. How could someone own a department like that? “You mean they donated to it?”

“No,” Trevor corrected, leaning in close. “I mean they own it. They paid for everything to be built and supplied, and none of the buildings are technically in the academy’s name. They’re Chase property built on Prescott land. They pay all the tax shit and funding and everything, or whatever you do when you own half of an entire school.”

“How flipping rich could you possibly be to own—” Warren stopped short, the second half of Trevor’s statement clicking into place. “Wait a minute,” Warren verbally scrambled back, his hands lifting and waving through the air between them like he could physically rewind the conversation. “Did you say Prescott land? As in the same Nathan we’re talking about just now? He owns this land?”

Trevor stared at him like he had a few screws loose. “Dude,” he said slowly, reaching out and grabbing Warren’s shoulders. “The Prescotts own the entire town. Literally.”

And that was when Warren wondered what the actual fuck he had just gotten himself into.

[hannahcan]

hannytime replied to your photo “I love how this went from cute circle to multicolored pucker lol. I...”

love the colour scheme!

Thanks! It’s Alpine Authentic (Teal Multi) by Yarn Bee. It was in the sale pile at hooby looby which is pretty much the only time I buy from there anymore.

[ultrastarbee]

Colourful

Title: Colourful Request: no Couple: Draken x Reader Word Count: 1.034 Summary: you live by yourself and will do what it takes to survive, but Draken starts to mess up your plans A/N: as promised, Draken's serie is here! It's just a small part though

MASTERLIST ....... RULES ....... SERIES LIST

You live pretty much on your own. Your mother is a junkie who only shows up to pay rent and sometimes not even it. You don't give a shit about her anymore.

Everyday you need to worry if you can afford the next meal, the next rent and the next school payment. You also beg the gods to not let you get sick because you know there will be no one to take care of you. You even thought about doing some minor crime just to end up in juvie and don't have to worry about your next meal anymore.

Next meal, yeah. Think about that right now. You can't eat with your classmates at school or you will have to explain why the hell you only brought rice today. They would pretend to care and make fun of you behind your back. You have no friends there. You have no time for friends.

"It's time to go home, little artist" your art teacher asks you when he sees you are the only one still aroun "Can you clean the class?".

"Sure, but I saw two of the spray cans are missing. The black and the green one" you were already starting. The art class is your hideout, you need to keep it clean.

"Must have been one of those delinquents" the teacher sighs "I will bring some more. Hope it wasn't Mikey, though".

He leaves the classroom. You know where the spray cans are, but you also know the school delinquents will always be the ones blammed for things like that. You can't worry about them, you have to look out for yourself. That's why you always get things from school: first aid products from nursery, cleaning products from the janitor's closet and expensive art supplies to resell.

But the spray cans are not for money. As your teacher says you really are an artist. A furious one going berserk every night. You are also a thief, even though you don't like to think about it as theft. You only take what you know no one will care much about and just what you need to live your life. Food, clothes, school suplies and sometimes even books or some money.

"Are you in charge of the art room?" you know the boy talking with you. People call him Draken and he's one of the most feared delinquents at school.

"Just cleaning today".

"Do you mind if we look around?" he asks while another boy was already entering the room. That was Mikey.

"Go on, already finished" you start taking your thing to leave, but curiosity speaks louder "are you guys looking for something?".

"Someone lost two spray cans and the teacher said it was us" Mikey was sitting down with a sleepy face "I don't give a fuck, but we're no thieves".

"I can will help. I know this place better than you guys" you sigh.

You may be a thief, but you are not a bad person. You will not let them get in trouble for something you did. You pretended to be looking around the class with Draken while Mikey was asleep. Without him knowing it you guided him to the spray cans still hiden in the class.

"Can you come with me?" Draken has both the black and the green cans on his hand.

"Where? Why?"

"To the teachers' room. I need you so they don't think I'm lying when I tell them we found the cans"

"You have the cans, they will believe you"

"They won't. They will say we got scared they found out we stole them".

"But you didn't, did you?" you are tired. You have no time for this game. You need to go home.

"No! We don't do this kind of things" Draken is offended by the mere suggestion.

"Fine, I go with you. What about Mikey?"

"I'll wake him up after we solve this".

"I have to lock the room".

"It won't take long".

You end up accepting. Maybe this way things go faster. You were the one explaining about the spray cans you and Draken found at class. The art teacher buys your story as well as Draken did. Heading back to the art room you see Draken waking Mikey up and the two leave without even thanking you. You regret doind what you did, but not to much. Even you have some honor inside. Buried down, yes, but you do have it.

Leaving the school and getting home you look around your house. You live in a small apartment over a shop in Shibuya. It's noisy, there's mold on most walls and there are some days you don't even have electricity. It sucks, but you do your best for yourself. Shaking the last spray paint you see it's already half empty. It's more than enough for tonight, but you wanted that green and black paints so much.

You are wearing a mask over your face and loose clothes all in black. Walking around Shibuya you find a perfect wall. There are some shop's catalog, some brothels flyers and old cursing words. You shake your spray paint and start. In the end you are way more calm and less angry about the world. You read your own words on the wall "rebel and destroy".

"That's kinda cool, but you shouldn't- HEY, I'M TALKING" it was Draken, but you didn't stay to hear the rest of what he was saying.

As you run Draken chases you to an alley. You climbed into a car and jumped to the other side of the wall. Draken could have followed you, but he didn't. Neither of you knew why he was chasing you. Maybe it's the same as the dogs. When you run, they chase. You didn't go home yet, you have a fun plan to mess with Draken. First he makes you stay at school more than planned and now he chases you? You were angry while drawing on a wall on the way to school.

A well made ugly caricature of Draken. You paid special attention on his tatoo so everyone could see it was him. Now just wait for the next day at school.