#appliance trade shows

[cewexpo]

Discover Innovation at Consumer Electronics Expo 2024

Explore cutting-edge technology and gadgets at the premier Consumer Electronics Expo. Join us for a glimpse into the future of consumer electronics!

[personalcareexpo]

🌟 Explore the future of personal care trends! The Shanghai International Personal Care Expo is set to open from August 7th to 9th, 2024! 💫 Discover cutting-edge innovations and technologies in personal care from leading Chinese brands.

Don't miss out on skincare products, haircare products, oral care products, washing&cleaning products, beauty&health appliances, and more at this exhibition! 💆 Come visit, network with industry leaders, and embark on a new chapter in personal care! 🚀

[flamingpudding]

DPxDC Family Week June 18 (Day 1)

Prompt: Parents | Discovery

A/N: I hope i did not miss the prompts but here is my Day 1 contribution! Enjoy!

AO3 Link: DPxDC Family Week Contributions

Danny sighed as he watched his parents lay out the display for their research as well as set up a showcasing of all their weapons. Why couldn't he skip this business thing like Jazz had. Oh right, Jazz was going to college next year and skipt out of this with the excuse of taking a college tour for Gotham Acadamy and their student programs. While he had missed his chance and was now stuck accompanying his parents to their meeting with a new potential business partner. In other words he was on parents babysitting duty.

Apparently Wayne Enterprise had shown some interest in regards to their research as well as ecto-powered utensils and weaponry. Danny was pretty sure that they only showed an interest because he had an accidentally meeting as ghost king with that Constantine guy who's soul became a trading game in the ghost zone. Apparently there was a Justice League Dark which needed some help with a couple rebellious ghosts. Instead of a Demon they had accidentally summoned Danny in his Ghost King form and Danny had used that chance to ramble on about the GIW and how half his council was close to demanding a war with the humans. They were pretty quickly interested in avoiding an interdimensional war, even promising to get the Justice League involved too and not only the Dark variant.

The moment Sam and Tucker heard about Wayne Enterprises being interested in a deal, they once again started up their discussion about whether or not Bruce Wayne was Batman's sugar daddy. Since the bat was a member of the Justice League. In a way he probably should be happy that his parents forced him to come with them, it gave him an out from his friends bickering. Don't get him wrong, he loves his friends, but if he has to listen to them argue one more time where or not Batman fucks a rich billionaire, Superman or Wonder Woman, he would be throwing them into the portal for an hour or have them deal with Technus alone.

Either way he was now helping his parents while they were discussing if they should or should not demonstrate the Fanton-Bazooka. His mom had already the Wraith Wrangler tested earlier while his dad had untangled the Fenton Ghost Fisher. The Fenton Finder was already on the table deactivated for now. Ancients, he was not looking forward to being its target, again. His parents were also already wearing the Fenton Specter Deflector which meant Danny was especially careful not to get to close to them since that thing still sapped him and the only one he had had the time to adjust and make his own ecto signature a exception in, was at home because he just forget taking it with him when his parents dragged him into the GAV.

Aside from the weaponry his parents had also brought out a bunch of their modified home appliances, like the Fenton toaster. Hopefully they wouldn't end up bringing the bread back to life during the presentation. Danny didn't think Wayne enterprise would be too thrilled about that. And the Ancients, did he hope that Bruce Wayne was not a fruitloop like Vlad.

---------

Tim sighed as he readjusted the necktie. What was Bruce thinking? Just because Constantine had contacted the Justice League about some negotiations that were going to happen with someone from another dimension known as the Ghost King, he was now stuck with trying to strike a deal with one of the only inventors that was actively publishing as well as selling research and weaponry that would work against ghosts.

Seriously that man and his contingency plans.

Just because he liked to have safety measures should negotiation with the Ghost King, who apparently can destroy entire dimensions, go wrong, didn't mean that the man could skip out on that meeting with the scientist couple and put that all instead on him. Really Tim had better things to do, like plotting a revenge plan on Jason for ratting out his coffee hiding space to Alfred. So what if he only slept like six hours in four days? He was still functioning very well.

He watched through the cams how the Fantons set up their display in the room WE had provided them. They were going to show off to a selected board and him. He eyed some of their weaponry as well as home appliances, they all had a pretty in theme green and silver design. Though he took special notice of the green glow or liquid some of them visibly contained that suspiciously looked very much like Lazarus Water. He would need to make sure to collect some samples if they didn't leave some willingly behind.

He also wondered how their son, who looked very much like an unwilling assistance, kept a certain distance from his parents after they put on some clunky looking belts. He got his answer as to why when he watched them longer. The poor kid got zapped apparently every time he got too close. Worse was that his parents apparently didn't notice or entirely dismissed it a second later if they noticed it.

The co-ceo of Wayne Enterprise narrowed his eyes at that, the detective in him screaming that something was amiss here. Sometimes the parents even carelessly reached out to touch their son, in what was probably supposed to be an affectionate gesture. The boy would flinch back slightly but they would still keep going only drawing back when the kid ended up flinching in actual pain and letting that show on his face. His parents then seemed instantly apologetic but only minutes later ended up repeating the same mistake distracted apparently by something else.

Tim took notes of this and decided that he would either look into their home life himself or ask Barbara to do it. He had a gut feeling that the kid needed some help and even if it were just a false alarm and these were actually good parents, it would be better safe than sorry. Taking a sip from his death wish coffee he readjusted the tie once more before closing his laptop.

It was time for the business meeting and he would make sure to watch their interaction and treatment of their child closely.

----------

Tim swore he was paying attention. The suspicious looks his board as well as the Fantons son were giving him just because he was typing away on his laptop while parallel listening to them as well as taking regular sips from his coffee was not him being distracted. Didn't these people ever hear about multitasking? Just because he sat in the back so no one could look into his laptop didn't mean he wasn't paying attention. For all they knew he was actively taking notes.

At these the Drs. Fenton didn't seem to mind it, they were easily distracted with just one well placed question from him. They would then go on and on about Ecto-Energy and all its uses and potential. By now the young CEO was pretty sure that this Ectoplasm had something to do with Lazarus water. Which only validated the research he was doing on the side even more.

It wasn't like he was hacking into Amity Park's network system, okay he was but it was surprisingly hard for such an in-the-middle-of-nowhere place. He only found an in into their network when he found a rather passionate online post about their local Vigilante being the Fantons son but got countered by several other users stating that they had seen the two of them at the same time several times.

That users net security wasn't the best so it was easy for Tim to find an in that way. He sent it to Barbara too, just in case she also had troubles. Really that town had an interesting firewall system that appeared to make no sense. It was also strange to see how little information was known about this place if you weren't tuned into their networks.

Like was that place a literal Bermuda triangle when it came to Information?

He looked up from his laptop just in time to see the Fantons go on about the uses of Ecto-Energy and how it can replace electricity if used correctly. Apparently their entire home didn't have to pay electricity bills in years now since they became self sufficient. They then went on showing off how to find the source of Ecto-Energy holding up something they named the Fenton-Finder. That thing beeped and then proceeded to insult them and point in the direction of their son.

Flustered they explained how because of an accident their son had their inventions tend to malfunction when he was close by. Their son very clearly grimaced when his parents shared that piece of information and Tim made sure to note that down too another point on the possible bad parenting list for the Fentons.

His attention turned back to his information gathering. That town's news looked like they got run over by 'ghosts' every two days. Additionally the entire town was not the least bit thankful to their vigilante Phantom, considering he found the same amount off news praising as well as bad mouthing their local hero.

So what if there was some property damage? At least they were somewhat saved form whatever these 'ghosts' were doing. He saved all the news clips he found regarding all the attacks this town appeared to have suffered into a separated folder. There had to be a reason why the Justice League hadn't taken any form of action yet. It couldn't be that one summoning going wrong in the JL Dark and making contact with a Ghost King was what it needed for them to step in, let alone notice the shit that went on in Amity.

Hell if nothing changed he would attempt to get Phantom to join Young Justice or his group specifically. The vigilante looked like a kid maybe a little younger than him, wait hold on. Tim pulled up the least blurry picture of the vigilante he could find and looked up from his screen just in time to see the Fanton's son back away from his mom hiding his arm behind him.

Did he get zapped again? Dear God, aren't his parents paying attention to the kid at all? He added another point to the bad parents tally.

Okay wait, save that for later, focus on the task at hand, Tim scowled himself mentally. Taking a good look at the teenager before looking back at his laptop screen, the young Co-CEO nodded to himself. Yup, maybe that post that got him into their towns network wasn't that far off. If you change the colors then the Fanton kid looked very much like Phantom minus the pointy ears and sharp teeth. Additionally now that he put them next to each other in his mind. The name Phantom sounded awfully a lot like Fanton.

What did the Fantons say their son's name was? D- d- Danny, Daniel? Good the kid needed a teaching in how to better hide secret identity connections. Wearing a pretty but telling logo on your outfit was a dead giveaway. The kid was probably some sort of Meta and if he had to guess he was the accident that his parents had offhandedly mentioned. Even more reason to have Barbara look into them more.

For now he was somewhat satisfied with his findings as he closed his laptop and gave the Fentons his full attention. He did not miss Danny (was it?) looking down at his phone for a second and then narrowing his eyes at him. He did his best to suppress the forming grin. Really the kid was very intriguing, if his suspicions were right, they rarely weren't unless Barbara had found something else, and the kid was somewhat impulsive then he would probably get a little visit from Phantom later. After all he had made sure to leave some traces behind to arrange this.

------------

When Tucker contacted him that there were two people outside of Amity looking into Phantom, he was not amused especially when Tucker also stated that only one of them could be traced back to Wayne Enterprise.

Really what he was doing was probably dumb and he could hear his sisters scowling in his head. But when they were back at the hotel and he excused himself for the night and asking Jazz to cover for him should anything go wrong he changed forms and flew invisible all the way back to the Wayne tower.

It took some searching but soon enough he found the room of the young Co-CEO that had to be the one that looked into Amity and his family. Finding the office empty, Danny frowned before looking around. He couldn't find anything suspicious, it was just a normal office. Crossing his arms while floating to the middle of the room Danny tried to think about it more.

"Not finding what you are looking for Phantom?"

His head snapped to the side as he turned around ready for a fight. Instead Danny came face to face with Red Robin. Great he definitely did not want the attention of their local Bat-Clan. Wasn't it enough that his home town couldn't decide if he was a menace or not? He didn't need Gotham trying to decide too. Considering how Batman apparently disliking Metas it already wasn't looking good for him. It was already bad enough that the Justice League had finally gotten wind of Amity.

"Look I am not here to cause trouble, I just…"

"You're just looking into why someone in Wayne Enterprises would look into you or your identity and you suspected the young CEO Tim Drake-Wayne because he spent the majority of the business meeting with your parents on his laptop?"

"How do you…?"

"I have my sources."

Danny eyed the vigilante; this was not what he expected. Wait, did he say his parents? His eyes widened and he heard the other chuckle. "Yea you make it pretty easy on how to discover your identity, kid. Might wanna take that post down discussing your identity. That's dangerous even if seemingly no one believes it. If people pay close attention it's easy to figure out."

Danny narrowed his eyes. Okay fuck, so some outsider had figured out his identity and that one happened to be connected to Batman who hated Metas… Dear Acients he was fucked.

"If you are planning to arrest me and give me over to the GIW, I will not hesitate…"

"Arresting you? No, why would I do that? This is more interesting. Though I admit the Fentons research is pretty biased, you're a good guy no matter how torn your hometown is on that matter. Besides, the JL is already looking into these 'Guys in White' the Ghost King has informed us about." Red Robin shrugged but Danny did not let his guard down. "I was honestly thinking about black mailing you to join the Young Justice League and then work with you together or train you to find out more about this Ectoplasm. I have my suspicions that it has something to do with Lazarus Water and who better to get to help than the kid that lived with scientists researching and had a lap accident that gave him powers that he is also actively hiding from his parents. I saw the video footage of you getting zapped by their inventions."

Danny flinched at the last part, phantom pains running through his arm that had touched the button but he forced himself to stay calm. "You are blackmailing me?"

"I would call it forceful recruitment for help with a case." The vigilante shrugged. "But essentially yes."

"What if I refuse?"

"I will relate the information to batman including your home situation and depending on what we find I will have a new brother in about one to two."

"Months?"

"Weeks. It all depends on your parents though. Are you even safe with them? I heard them talking about tearing you apart molecule by molecule."

"I am fine! They are good parents, really!"

Acients his panic was slowly setting in. What was happening? First Red Robin revealed that he had discovered his identity, then he was getting blackmailed, then told to help in a case about something called Lazarus Water and now his parents are under suspicion, of what?

Red Robin only hummed. "Hey Oracle, you heard the kid right? Only Static? No matter, please look into Daniel Fentons home life and potential therapy. Yeah I will be mailing B the rest of the entire report."

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"Getting a new brother." After a short moment of Danny staring at the other vigilante they added "...and sister."

What in the name of Ancients was happening?!

[midwesternvibes]

This one is currently winning on my little motivation poll so here we go

SEPERATED LEO AU!!! (because we don't have enough of those already lol)

Link to original post

So, I wanna talk more about how they all refound each other (link to how they met here)

Just to recap, Big Mama has Mikey, Draxum has Raph, and Splinter has Donnie. Big Mama's in her Nexus Hotel, Draxum is in NYC with a cloaking broach, and Splinter's in the ever iconic sewers.

Big Mama is actually a very kind mother to Mikey! She loves her little baby, and especially loves how he has her beloved Lou's smile. She spoils him to death and lets them express himself however she'd like. (If you haven't picked up on it yet, Mikey is genderfluid in this au and generally presents as a feminine man) Mikey absolutely adores skirts and zip-up hoodies, and usually wears a very bright suit top with a big orange ball gown skirt to formal events that Big Mama matches at Mikey's whims (I cannot draw for the life of me so if anyone is willing to draw this for me I will work out some kind of trade with you if you'd like 🙏)

But yeah, Big Mama does not let her fight in the Nexus, and has even toned down the brutality of the Nexus due to Mikey's pleading. There aren't any more lethal fights and she rarely makes binding, lifelong contracts because it made her baby upset to see all the sad and scared people.

They are a very cute duo and both genuinely love each other very much

Then there's Draxum amd Raph! Draxum luckily snagged two cloaking broaches before his lab exploded and slapped them on both him and his 2 year old son before heading up to the surface. The two of them then got a apartment in the.....*shuddder*........human world. Draxum tries to hide them in mostly secret, only leaving the house for groceries and necessities, but eventually realizes that poor Raphie is very lonely.

This is made so much worse when he meets the little girl downstairs and wants so desperately to follow her to school after their playdates.........Draxum finally caves.

With the help of Mr. and Mrs. O'Neil, he enrolls Raphie in the same Kindergarden as April and lets him finally go to school after years of homeschooling. Raphie struggles with the transition a bit, but eventually he gets the hang of it and thrives! Draxum encourages him to join as many clubs as he can (without getting overwhelmed of course) and is his biggest fan.

Once Draxum is able to settle down, he's actually a huge soccer mom and goes to all of Raphie's events, he gets totally embarrassed sometimes. Draxum and the O'Neils are really good friends and try to have dinner at least once a week

But once again, a very happy family! They struggle to show it sometimes, but they truly love each other and only want what's best for each other

Then we have Donnie and Splinter! Splinter was mutated with the DNA from his pet rat that he picked up on his travels with Big Mama and Draxum to get the turtles, and he was only able to grab Donnie and retreat to the sewers before Draxum's while lab collapsed. He, along with the other two, belive his partners and other children to be dead, so he never goes searching for them. Instead, he raises his son in the sewers on his own, foraging for all that they need just like in canon.

However, their sewer home is PREEEEEEEETY nice, since Donnie doesn't really doesn't have anything better to do other than make their home as nice as possible. He's has all major appliances working since he was 6 and only makes improvements from there. He also has his little pet project, but Splinter doesn't know about that yet!!!!

Speaking of Splinter, he varies pretty dramatically from canon. He's a lot less depressed because he had a much better experience with the yokai world and doesn't feel nearly as ashamed to BE a yokai (or yokai-adjacent) and keeps himself in much better shape, helping him with the dysmorphia that he does have. Overall, Splinter's doing pretty well, and he's a pretty attentive parent overall!

He was able to access some of his funds from his Lou Jitsu days and pays for Donnie to go to online school, and by the time Donnie meets up with the rest of his family at 11, he's halfway through high school work and has plans to go on to college so that he can start building up his tech empire by the time he's 18

But yeah, yet again, a overall happy parent/child relationship!

(Then there's Leo. All the angst had to go somewhere, right???)

Moving on! Now, the adults all lived separately with each of their respective kid, but when Raphie was about 8, he got really sick. Like, really really sick. Draxum went to as many human doctors that he could trust, but none of them were able to figure out what was wrong with his baby. He finally musters up the courage to go down to the Hidden City, and finds out that Raphie has Mystic Overload Syndrome. While he's running around trying to find stuff to help his little boy (he's so affectionate guys), Raphie sneaks out! He starts running around the Hidden City unbroached, and he feels truly seen for the first time in his life.

While running around, he literally runs into another turtle yokai, one who's dressed in expensive orange clothes...........

This post got REALLY long, so stay tuned for more! Next post will probably be how Draxum and Big Mama finally met, and then how Splinter and Donnie come into play!

(Don't worry about Leo this isn't about him he's fine)

First // Previous // Next

(Also stay tuned for the name reveal of the AU!

[inconspicious-random-thoughts]

Alastor my favorite, but Vox is not close behind. (Story of Vox afterlife amrite?) I just find this guy intriguing. Mostly his dynamics with the other overlords.

I would like to share some ideas I have on this guy. I only know Vox from the one episode he appeared in. Some of these ideas might have been said by someone else. I haven't been following anything, so as far as I know, these are been unsaid and I figured to share my ideas. I already mention my thoughts about his and Alastor dynamic last week so I won't go on with that in this post.

Vox seems to be the most level headed, patient, mild one (Alastor trigger aside) out of the three Vs that we seen so far. Val is volatile and violent. Velvette is rather level headed but she also a bit hot headed as well. Granted we haven't seen too much about the V's, but Vox seems to be the "nice" one out of the three. We seen the other two yell and berate their employees. Vox, we haven't seen lash out at anyone but Alastor. I'm sure Vox is guilty of cruelty. He did climb up to become an overlord in Hell after all, so he screw over A LOT of people to do so, if not straight out disposed of.But I think he went about it more strategically and intelligently over brute strength or force.

I find his relationship with Val interesting. They are definitely friends with benefits. But Val being...well..Val-volatile and violent. I have no doubt Vox had been a victim during those moods. I'm really curious on the dynamic of that. Val is use to taking his aggressions on weaker demons. So I wonder how it goes with someone own power level. Why Vox just let it keep happening? I do think Val does get Vox hooked up on the same "poison" as Angel Dust but Vox has a greater immunity by being an overlord so the affects are dampen or its just used sparsely on him.

I think Val alive is very similar to how he is in Hell. A abusive pimp and a slew of criminal activity. He just a lot more successful in his after life. It's easy to see why he's in Hell.

Vox on the other hand, I don't think he really committed any crimes. If he did, it was white collared stuff. But he did sin, Either by pride or greed or both. I think Vox lied heavily while alive which may lead in why his motto is "Trust us with..." with whatever service he selling. Sadly, when someone ask you to trust them, its usually someone you shouldn't outside of someone you know well.

I have a few ideas what he may be doing while alive.

We know he died during the 1950s and its life was more likely involved with tv. With his charisma, Vox screams showman or salesman, since he seems most concern about the Vs brand.

My first idea is he a Tv salesman. Think sketchy car salesman but with Tvs. He lies, he bait and switch. He knowingly sells knock offs for brand name prices...etc. The deceiving and the greed can easily land him in Hell.

My 2nd idea is he's a appliance repairman, mainly tvs. His business model is similar to example one but a bit more honest work. But having knowledge to repair items might explain his interested keeping up and ahead on the technology field. I like the idea having a more tech savvy trade job while he alive but in the 1950's I think tech support knowledge was rather limited for common folk.

His death was accidental electrocution fixing a faulty tv.

Now my last idea and one I lean heavily one over the other two is, he was a tv host. Which would add another level to his and Alastor rivery. Both being host of a program on their preferred media.

I'm not entirely sure what played during the 1950s. But from the top of my head, his hosting choices would be news anchor, Talk show or game show (possibly game show announcer). I'm going with, he was a very popular game show host, going by the game winning noise he emitted when Val guessed correctly.

It would fit his showmanship. It would also explain his salesman side as well. Back in that era, game shows was basically huge advertisement.

"Bobby, tell him what he won!"

-"He won a brand new kitchen! Complete with 'brand name here' wood cabinets and mint green appliances! Above is 20 feet of smart modern cabinets of maple covering the full length of the kitchen. Which includes a new 'brand name here' 13 cubic foot refrigerator freezer....etc"

I'm guessing his sins would be lying and stepping on anyone to get to the top to where he is. Maybe he committed some low fraud or embezzlement etc... for his show or his personal life.

He seem youngish/prime of his life 30s to have a natural death. Not that he exempt from that but lowers the possibility. I'm guessing he had a quick random accidental death. I'm still going with electrocution to help explain his powers. I have no idea what the 50's electric grid on stage is like but I'm sure they're not always OSHA approved. Or maybe a stage light fell on him, who knows?

That's all my thoughts and ideas on the Tv man. Hopefully it seems logical and interesting.

[honourablejester]

Numenera Oddities

So. Numenera does the thing I love from D&D 5e, and that is trinket tables. Or, in this case, oddity tables.

Oddities are ancient salvaged techno-magical items that aren’t necessarily directly useful, like the more powerful one-shot cyphers or reusable artefacts, but are more there for the flavour of the world. Characters often start with them, GM assigned, and I assume you can find more of them out and about. And … I do love them. These are from the Oddity Table on pgs 305-307 of the Discovery corebook, and they’re just … so illustrative of this future fantasy, scavenger world, 'remants of past civilisations' setting.

I think one of the things that I most love is that, from the characters’ POV, in their medieval fantasy setting, these are inscrutable artefacts of a bygone civilisation, but from our POV, with our technology, you can so clearly see what some of them are intended to be:

26 – Series of thin plastic cards that show all kinds of unknown creatures. (Somebody had trading cards or card games during the past billion years)

20 – Plastic bottle that contains a spray that cleans any stain and never runs out. (Somebody finally invented a universal household cleaner, an infinite universal household cleaner, I bet they made an absolute mint)

30 – Metallic jar that maintains the temperature of liquid inside indefinitely. (Somebody made an improved thermos)

60 – Cup that instantly boils any liquid poured into it. (As well as an instant tea/instant pot noodle/instead meal cup)

33 – Small wand-like device that keeps away normal insects in a 5ft radius. (As well as mobile personalised insect zappers)

55 – Shirt that displays your muscles, bones and internal organs when you wear it. (And, for whatever reason, a portable x-ray shirt? Was this a practical invention first, for field x-rays, or was it for funsies, or both?)

58 – Bracelet with a tiny bell charm that rings like a massive bell when intentionally rung. (Personal protective device?)

80 – A bracelet that rends you unable to reproduce while worn. (An easy, non-invasive contraceptive device, interesting)

76 – Ceramic ring that makes you feel as though gentle hands are caressing your body. (As well as a possible sex toy? Or aide for touch-hunger? Not going to lie, if I touched this with no context and no idea what it was going to be, I’d freak the hell out)

79 – A pair of small, floating cubes that keep a small, enclosed room at the temperature at which water freezes. (Portable refrigeration)

Like, a lot of these are clearly futuristic novelty items or household appliances, as well as some more in-depth and casual medical technology. And I love that? I love that. You’re in a medieval fantasy scavenger world where the detritus of past super-futuristic civilisations litter your world, and you’re there picking up random bits of ancestor junk and trying from your own frame of reference to figure out what the fuck they had going on.

Some of the oddities are a bit more inscrutable even from our POV.

7 – Box with a tiny group of musicians in it who play when it is opened and look horrified when it is closed. (Now, this could be a novelty item again, but this is also a setting where ancient crystal obelisks eat people and trans-dimensional portals and pocket dimensions are also a thing, so … not beyond the bounds of possibility that those are live and enslaved musicians getting shunted into a pocket stasis dimension every time you close the lid)

And some have a language barrier in effect:

16 – Small rod that emits a voice saying the same thing in an unknown language every time a button is pushed. (Could be anything from a personal memo to an ancient distress call)

47 – Five metallic plates that orbit around your head and display ever-changing, unknown symbols. (I fucking love this one, if I was a scholar in this world I would dedicate my life to figuring out this language from the presumption that those symbols are some form of reading from me and if I can just figure out what they’re reading from what symbols show when, maybe I can Rosetta stone this language out? I mean, that’s a lot of assumptions, but you’d have to at least try, right?)

There’s also a series of oddities that are clearly communication/monitoring devices:

17 – Glass plate that shows what seems to be a live image of the moon, but from a closer vantage.

43 – Glass cube that shows what seems to be a live aerial view of an unknown, ruined city.

89 – Plate of glass that, when you view the night sky through it, reveals ten times as many stars.

And we, the players, know that the setting does have ancient satellites still in orbit around the planet, full of nanomachines and other ancestors-know-what. So these are clearly receivers for satellite feeds, or possibly in the last case a light-pollution filter. Though I’d be interested to know if that last one is a live image, or if it’s an image of the stars of this world several million years ago.

And then, in the midst of all that, there are several oddities that are clearly just art, or novelties, or just for fun:

57 – Amulet that, when worn, projects holographic images of fish swimming around you.

Is this a nightlight? A holographic art piece? A fun fashion accessory? I don’t know, but I desperately want one, and no matter how useless it is, I would not sacrifice this one oddity for any number of more useful cyphers or artefacts. It’s pretty, and I love it.

I love the design philosophy of these, the illustration of the world and its history that they provide. And, I mean, some of them, like D&D trinkets, can also function as plot hooks. Where is that unknown city on the live feed? Are those musicians real people trapped in a horrifying pocket dimension? Could you Rosetta-stone one of the ancient languages from that metallic plate device, and if you could, what other, potentially more powerful secrets would it unlock?

They’re just … I love trinkets. I love environmental worldbuilding, I love archaeology, I love the illustration of setting inherent in physical objects. These are fantastic.  

Trinket tables are the best. Honestly, if you are designing a game, do put in a class of objects that don’t exist for any mechanical, game purpose, but are just there to show your world. To show the ethos of your world via the tiny details and physical objects that populate it.

Also, this game appears to be, to a large extent, ‘fantastic archaeology: the setting’, and I’m here for it. Absolutely!

[survivingcapitalism]

One-third of American kitchens have gas stoves—and evidence is piling up that they’re polluting homes with toxic chemicals. A study this summer found that using a single gas stove burner on high can raise levels of cancer-causing benzene above what’s been observed from secondhand smoke. 

It turns out gas stoves have much more in common with cigarettes. A new investigation by NPR and the Climate Investigations Center found that the gas industry tried to downplay the health risks of gas stoves for decades, turning to many of the same public-relations tactics the tobacco industry used to cover up the risks of smoking. Gas utilities even hired some of the same PR firms and scientists that Big Tobacco did. Utilities were advised to “mount the massive, consistent, long-range public relations programs.”

Earlier this year, an investigation from DeSmog showed that the industry understood the hazards of gas appliances as far back as the 1970s and concealed what they knew from the public. The new documents fill in the details of how gas utilities and trade groups obscured the science around those health risks in an attempt to sell more gas stoves and avoid regulations—tactics still in use today. 

The investigation comes amid a culture war over gas stoves. Towns across the country have passed bans on natural gas hookups in new buildings, and the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission is looking into their health hazards. The commission has said it doesn’t plan on banning gas stoves entirely after the mention of the idea sparked a backlash last December. That same month, a peer-reviewed study found that nearly 13 percent of childhood asthma cases in the United States were linked to using gas stoves. But the American Gas Association, the industry’s main lobbying group, argued that those findings were “not substantiated by sound science” and that even discussing a link to asthma was “reckless.”

It’s a strategy that goes back as far back as 1972, according to the most recent investigation. That year, the gas industry got advice from Richard Darrow, who helped manufacture controversy around the health effects of smoking as the lead for tobacco accounts at the public relations firm Hill + Knowlton. At an American Gas Association conference, Darrow told utilities they needed to respond to claims that gas appliances were polluting homes and shape the narrative around the issue before critics got the chance. Scientists were starting to discover that exposure to nitrogen dioxide—a pollutant emitted by gas stoves—was linked to respiratory illnesses. So Darrow advised utilities to “mount the massive, consistent, long-range public relations programs necessary to cope with the problems.”

The American Gas Association also hired researchers to conduct studies that appeared to be independent. They included Ralph Mitchell of Battelle Laboratories, who had also been funded by Philip Morris and the Cigar Research Council. In 1974, Mitchell’s team, using a controversial analysis technique, examined the literature on gas stoves and said they found no significant evidence that the stoves caused respiratory illness. In 1981, a paper funded by the Gas Research Institute and conducted by the consulting firm Arthur D. Little—also affiliated with Big Tobacco—surveyed the research and concluded that the evidence was “incomplete and conflicting.”

[cumsockwoundpack]

LAST SEMESTER: Ch. 1. (t4t boydyke yaoi)

You've known eachother for a while, since freshman year. You were both at the same dive bar for the same local punk show since you saw the same flyer. They were the only other one to get up off their stool and at least halfassedly go through the pantomime of the mosh, the collective ritual. Wiry little fucker throwing their bodyweight at you. Pack bonding.

You both went out for smokes, looked at eachothers' hands, the sharpie'd-on X marks, the veins, the knuckles. Your sight lingered. So did theirs. You promptly lit your smokes and started shooting the shit about how "Ohhh, Man, Remember When Ceremony Stopped Doing Hardcore?" and "man I wish skinheads didn't ruin being a skinhead," and "new HKFY's fucking sick, right? Can I kill the rest of your ciggie? by the way what's your-"

His name's Ted. Ted and Jack. Rolled off the tongue a little.

You were fast friends after that - genuinely! Really good friends. Like two shounen protags.

Really. Just good friends.

You were at the local community college for trade school, they were there for music. You played bass because you were a caveman, they played guitar because they were smart.

You'd jam together, hanging out, watching movies, smoking weed. Tripped together in the dorms a couple times. Did molly together without fucking, somehow. Lord knows that's an achievement.

Somewhere in the four years between then and now, you both crystallized the realizations people have after listening to Tracy Chapman and being inexorably, inexplicably drawn to other likeminded freaks their whole lives. Dykes are like Stand users.

You got on your meds, started going by Jackie, made sure to lift here and there to keep your muscles from atrophy, he got on his meds and suddenly started spending a lot of time locked in his room. You both had your flings and conquests, sharing enough locker-room chirps with eachother to brag but not enough to break the aura of mutual chivalry. He also got a lot better at guitar - you'd know, you always paid (a completely normal amount of!) attention to his left-hand fretwork, his handling of the pick, his tendons underneath the skin as they flexed so deftly-

You blink.

You're in the drivers seat of your car, clutching the wheel a little too tight in the driveway of his new apartment - he finally moved out of the dorms for these last few weeks of your shared school career. You cut the engine and poke him to wake him up (he's kinda cute when he knocks out in the car like that. you're supposed to call the homies cute, right?)

"Aw, cute li'l thing, got tired? It's a fucken half hour car ride, dude, get up."

You hit the cabin lights to drive the point home.

"Mmnh... huh? Whuh?" -- he blinks, looks a little flustered. Not just disgruntled from an abrupt wake-up. Flushed cheeks, bashful little pout. (Why did you say that?) -- "We're here? Fuckin, help me get furniture in, then grab your amp. Gotta christen the home by pissing off the neighbors."

The apartment is a 1 bedroom, bare, all cold hardwood save for necessary kitchen appliances. He brought his desk, his bike, a new mattress, his stereo system coupled with all his physical media, a toolbag (put together from your recommendations), his laptop, his guitar and gear, and not much else. Clothes arranged on the floor in various states of disarray.

After bringing most of it in, working up a sweat, you cap it off by making some ramen to shovel down your gullets before getting down to business.

You both plug in, sit cross-legged facing eachother. You tune up and play for what seems like a few minutes but what the clock says to be hours, letting your attention wander since the less you think about what you're doing, the easier it is to stay in the groove, to keep the beat, to stay in-pocket. You keep time by looking at his left hand, as always. Thinking about when the next show's gonna be, whether that one DIY venue's finally gonna get their shit together and learn to not stiff local bands, when you'll find your next drummer (If you think male drummers are drama-magnets, lesbian drummers are worse, hands-down.), what the pit's gonna look like, the way he bounces off you to get momentum going.

His huffs of frustration when he fudges a chord, when the strings rattle and buzz, his bit lip, his furrowed brow, the sway of his head, his shoulders, the tap of his foot as it swivels on the heel, the way the heel-taps make the keys on his belt rattle, the DYKE PRIDE tattoo on his upper arm all sinew and tension and sweat despite the midwinter room temp, his black-brown-stress-grey stubble tracing a line from the temples to the jaw, his bit lip again -

"Jackie, baby, you've been playing that same open E string for the past, like, 15 bars... Why's your face so red? You good, girlie? Need a breather? I know I'm hard to keep up with."

"Fuck UP, dude. Talk shit when you aren't abusing those weezer powerchords like they owe you money."

"Ahh, I'm just messing with ya. It's, uh,".-he scratches the fade on the back of his neck - "getting late. It's like 11. You should probably head back. I don't wanna make you sleep on the floor."

What a great friend! You shake off the impression of wherever your mind was wandering and gather your things, you hop in the car, wave goodbye, turn the key - Nothing.

Must have left the cabin light on.

He's still looking at you.

Fuck.

You turn the key again. Fuck. Fuck. He doesn't have a car on hand. Fuck. It's late.

Ugh. He's knocking on the window.

"My battery's dead."

He deliberates internally for a moment.

You think about reclining the carseat and saying fuck it. You don't want to intrude.

"Ah, hell, it's Friday. Neither of us have shit better to do tomorrow. Come back inside."

You grab the hoodie from your backseat and put it on. Listen, it might be hardwood flooring, it might be like 50 degrees, but it beats sleeping in the car. Once you're curled up in the middle of the living room using a couple of his t-shirts as pillows and getting ready to sleep, he comes out of the bathroom brushing his teeth. In his boxers. Fuzzy legs. Treasure trail. Sweat on the inked barbed wire covering his chest scars. Looking at you almost like you're roadkill on his tire, utterly baffled at what you're doing.

"You nnmmoww you djon't, ope," - he zips back to the sink, spits, rinses, comes back out - "you know I said I didn't wanna make you sleep on the floor, dude. You're a friend. We're good. It's camaraderie. C'mon, get in bed. S'fuckin cozy."

You lay on opposite sides of the queen bed but, y'know, not overly spaced-out since you're not trying to, y'know, employ any no-homo buffer distance, but just, cuz, y'know, you're really good friends and you're comfortable with eachother. Right. Yeah. Gosh, these are nice sheets. Good at keeping the heat in. Li'l too good.

"Ted."

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind if I strip? i'll keep underwear on or whatever but this fucking hoodie is a bit too m-"

"Woman, I have held you over the toilet by the fucking scalp when you couldn't handle a couple vodka sodas."

"Sorry, I-"

"We have both asked eachother terribly embarrassing medical questions and given equally mortifying aid in the pits of uninsured existence."

"Jeez-"

"Besides, you already know my taste in women. You're fine. No stress."

"You sure?"

"Fucking strip, idiot."

You blush. Thankfully the lights are off.

He starts snoring surprisingly quickly. How cute!

Hey. Wait. Let's examine that. What the fuck has been with you today? It's not your first rodeo when it comes to your brain insisting that you shit where you eat, but him?? Him?? Fucking "Aww, cute li'l thing"? Christ. You half-consider propositioning him at some point tomorrow just for a quickie, like getting a song out of your head by singing it. Hell, you know he'd prolly agree to it out of sheer jackass bravado. He said it himself, you've both done worse.

But you don't need that. It's a line in the sand. He wouldn't look at you the same, despite both your best efforts. There'd be tension. You don't want to fuck this up. You drift off thinking about talking to your doctor to lower your progesterone dose, maybe that's what's got you so hot and bothered. The blankets are warm.

Waking up a few hours later, the first thing you notice is that you have to piss. The second thing you notice is his snored breath flitting across your ear. The third, fourth, and fifth things in quick succession are his arm around you, the fuzz on his chest pressed against your back, and the warm, granite-carved hand placed on your breast.

It's there gently, fingers splayed across it, a pleasant weight, and he's still 100% knocked out, so you quietly peel it off, set his arm by his side, and get up to piss. You explain it away as "Oh, he's a boydyke Casanova running on autopilot, that tender scamp," etc.

Though, it felt nice.

Felt too nice.

You shake it off and go back to bed.

You settle in under the covers. He's on his back and he looks agitated. Still sweating. God, the sweat. Neither of you showered, the day lays thick on your skin and almost fogs up thicker under the blanket. It overwhelms your sense of smell, it coats your sinuses.

He's shaking a bit. Little grunts n murmurs of fear and discomfort. You wonder if he's having a nightmare. Oh, poor thing.

Before you can think about it, you have your arms around him, your warmth pressed against his. It doesn't seem to do much, though; he's still tossing and fidgeting.

"Mmnh....Hey...."

You freeze. Oh god.

He snores again and his face screws up even harder in his sleep. Oh, oh thank God, he's still knocked out. That would have been embarrassing. You think about what you're doing. You think about the inevitable scene beef, the "Oh, Jackie? That fucking creep?-" coming out of his mouth and you try not to think about how much that'd hurt.

You think about how he smells nice.

He rustles again. You pull him in closer.

"..........mff, fuuuUuuuuhhgck," he whines, eyes still closed, still lightly snoring on the inhale, face still contorted in agony, wait, no, it's, oh, you realize it's not just sweat you're smelling as you feel the damp spot on his boxers rubbing on your thigh.

"Fuck, Jackie....," He's still asleep. It's not a nightmare. And it's about you.

And now you're hard.

And he's grinding on your leg,

"Jackieeeeeeeee........"

And his face is buried in your tits, his face so taut, pressing into your sternum hard enough he's suffocating himself and you're frozen still and

His eyes snap open as something deep within the limbic system reminds him he needs oxygen, he pulls his face away, scrambles back, takes a deep, DEEP fucking breath, and now you're BOTH looking at eachothers' eyes, horrified, breaths stuck in throats. He's cute when he's scared.

And then he looks you down. Then back up. Then back down, where it's definitely too late for modesty. Then back up.

You notice you were drooling. He does too. You see him set his jaw. You see his brown eyes crystallize, noticeable even in the low light. He's hungry.

"You're cute when you're scared," he says.

And then your lips are locked.

[ch2 link] [ch3 link]

[justsomeclintasha]

“I just thought maybe we could remake it, ya know? Into something better. Something for us.”

“I know,” Natasha agrees patiently. He’s explained it a thousand times, mostly to convince himself, and his fingers tighten on the steering wheel as the farmhouse comes into view. “We’re here because Sarah suggested it. If you want to leave, we leave. No judgement.”

As they pull up the drive, he wonders if their therapist had any idea what she was talking about. But they’re here, and it’s too late to back out now.

Clint gets out of the truck and walks up onto the porch. The rocking chairs have seen better days. The swing appears sturdy. She makes a mental note to try it out later. The sound of the door creaking open pulls her attention back and she follows him inside.

“The cleaning crew did a good job,” he mumbles, eyes sweeping around the kitchen. She nods. The decor is old and the appliances need to be replaced, but least they function. He clears his throat and walks toward the staircase, avoiding the living room. “Come on, I’ll show you my old bedroom.”

They pass a hole in the drywall that’s about level with her cheek. She brushes her fingers over the plaster. If they’re staying, she’ll fix it.

His name is carved in the wood of the door, the letter T crossed with an arrow. He pushes it open and laughs.

“Wow.”

“Okay, okay, every kid was obsessed with him,” he defends, motioning towards the Captain America posters on the wall. She carefully picks up one of the few action figures from the dresser. “Where do you think Coulson got those trading cards? Only thing I took with me when I left this place.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep. Really cool to meet your super hero in real life, too. Although I didn’t expect he would be so annoying about using coasters on the coffee table.”

“You antagonize him.”

“You’re right.”

They make quick work of the upstairs before heading back down. His shoulders tense slightly as they walk in the living room.

“What is it?”

“The recliner.”

“It is ugly.”

“I can just picture my dad sitting in there drinking whiskey and smoking. It’s like some kind of fucked up ghost haunting this place.” She frowns, glancing towards the kitchen.

“You got any matches?”

“You want to burn it?”

“Don’t you?”

“God, yes.” It doesn’t take much effort to drag it into the backyard, and after a quick trip to the barn, he returns with a can of gas. “It’s not much but it will work.”

“Ready when you are.” He douses the plaid fabric and holds out a hand for the matchbox. It ignites quickly, and she steps back with him, watching the flames curl around the wooden frame. “You alright?”

“Yeah. Hungry, though. And tired. It was a long drive. What do you think about ordering some pizza?”

“We staying?” He looks at the house for a long moment before turning back to her.

“Yeah. This is a new start. With a little bit of paint and some new furniture, I think.. well, if you want.. I think this could be our home. Something special, just for us.”

“I’m not letting you paint all the walls purple.” He grins mischievously, pulling her into his arms.

“Alright, just some of them then.”

“None of them!”

“One?”

She laughs, ducking away as he drops kisses on her cheeks, but he’s laughing too, and it’s already starting to feel like home.

[spgothkidsheadcanons]

Not a request!

Warnings: None

SFW/NSFW

Taking Care Of Goths When They’re Sick

Henrietta:

- Henrietta doesn’t like to admit when she’s sick

- She could have a fever of 102 and she’s still up, making sure that you’re okay

- She also doesn’t show when she’s sick because she hates when you fuss over her

- A major sign that she’s sick is she’s suddenly so much more cuddly and under your ass every waking moment of the day

- She also loses her temper easily, and you’ve been a victim of her outburts quite a few times trying to get her to lay down and take a break

- She never means it

- She just feels really sick and she hates being told what to do

- You pretty much have to give her some kind of medicine to make her drowsy and then lead her into the bedroom so she will sleep away her sick

It was just turning noon when you walked into the door of your home. The moment you stepped in, you heard loud coughing and sniffles sounding from your girlfriend’s home office. Taking a deep breath, you set your things down, trading your work shoes out for your house slippers, and trudged into the kitchen. You effortlessly floated around the kitchen, pulling out a kettle, some green tea packets and some honey for your love.

You had just set the kettle on the burner of the stove, humming a soft tune to yourself, before you felt a pair of arms wrapping around you from behind and someone resting their head on your back. You looked over your shoulder, noting the fact that Henrietta didn’t even bother to do her hair today. Smiling softly, you shimmied in her hold until you both were face to face. Well, face to top of her head. She kept her face planted against your chest, sniffling into your clothes. Wrapping your arms around her, you pecked the top of her head, softly swaying back and forth as you waited for the water to start boiling.

Henrietta had begun shivering, no doubt her fever creeping up on her slowly. You pouted, not that she could see. You hated when she felt bad, but you weren’t gonna force her to do anything if she didn’t feel like she needed to. She turned into quite the demon when she was sick, and hell hath no fury like a sick Henrietta. “Do you feel like you need to take something, Henri?” you asked her softly. She didn’t respond at first. You stood in silence, scared to ask her again, waiting for a answer.

She nodded against your chest, not bothering to look up at you. You smiled at her childish behavior. “Okay, well you gotta let me go so I can find you some cold medicine, love.” you murmured quietly, pressing soft kisses to the top of her head again. As much as you hated to admit it, you did take pleasure in the fact that she was more clingy when she was sick. Henrietta nodded again, an acknowledgement at you previous sentence. Her arms fell to her side not so gracefully, and she stepped away from you. Not quite far enough for you to move to the medicine cabinet, and still close enough for her to touch you.

Scooching to the side, you checked the kettle before turning your back to the stove, stepping quickly to the cabinet that held all of your pharmaceuticals. Digging through, you got some fever reducer, cold medicine, cough syrup and cough drops, basically grabbing everything to ease her symptoms. “Henri, go sit on the couch and I’ll bring you all of this. You shouldn’t be standing if you’re not well.” you said, looking to her over your shoulder. The ravenette didn’t argue, instead making a slow walking, kinda stumbly bee line to your front room.

As soon as you stood up, your kettle started to whistle. “Perfect timing.” you hummed to yourself, hurrying back to the stove to move the appliance. It wasn’t pleasant to either of you, but you’ve had it since you first moved in together. You fixed her a cup of tea with some honey, divvying out the medicine and stepping quickly into the room she was occupying. Henrietta had taken to slouching against the arm rest of the couch, having pulled a blanket tightly around herself in an attempt to keep her warm. Setting her cup down on the side table, you crouched down, keeping yourself steady by placing your arms on her knees. You pressed a kiss to her covered leg, holding your hand out to transfer the meds over to her.

Henrietta took the medicine, grabbing her cup and almost immediately downing the still hot liquid. You winced at the thought of the liquid burning, but truth be told, it probably really did help her throat. She set her cup down, closing her eyes and taking a moment to compose herself. The goth woman flipped part of the blanket off of her, a silent invitation for you to get up and sit beside her. Standing up from your crouched position, you wasted no time in scootching under the cover with her, pulling her against you so she could rest her head on your chest. It wasn’t long before you heard gentle snores emanating from her, and after you made sure she was comfortably asleep, you followed suit not too long after.

Michael:

- MAN FLU MAN FLU MAN FLU MAN FLU

- Michael almost never gets sick

- He has an amazing immune system, and even if he is sick, he doesn’t show it most of the time

- MOST of the time

- But when this poor guy gets a cold? It’s the end of the damn world

- He won’t even leave his bed to go downstairs and get medicine for himself

- Poor you. You’re like his lil maid for the next few days, lmao

- Good Luck my friend

Michael had all but forced you to call out of work today. Not necessarily forced, but from the moment you both woke up, and the moment you realized he was ill, he kept an iron grip around your waist, not letting you get up with enough time to get ready for the day. Instead, you opted to call out, and spend all day taking care of your boyfriend. He had his face buried into your chest, his skin feeling extremely warm against yours. You carded your fingers through his thick, curly hair, massaging his scalp, and rubbing soothing circles into his back with your other hand as he laid there all but pathetically.

“I’m gonna kill Robert next time I see him.” he mumbled against your skin, his breath sending shivers down your spine. You smiled, chuckling softly at his words. As much as you hated him getting sick, you did love the fact that all he wanted to do was lay here with you and waste the day away cuddling. He was always gone from home at this point, his band starting to gain fame more steadily, causing him to be away on a tour or in the studio to release a new album. Here, you got to keep him all for yourself, silently thanking his bandmate for catching a cold on the end of his most recent tour.

“If you kill him, you’re gonna have to replace him. And we both know you hate meeting new people.” you responded. He stayed silent for a moment, as if he was thinking about what you had just said. “You’re right…” he sighed, unburying his face and turning his head up to look at you. You met his gaze, flashing him a smile before leaning down to press kisses on his forehead. Pulling back, you frowned, moving your hand up to his forehead. “God Michael, you’re burning up. Let me go get some medicine for you.” you fussed pulling away from his hold and standing from the bed. He didn’t protest, instead looking weakly to you, acting offended that you had left him alone.

You smirked at his face, sticking your tongue out at him as you slipped into your shared bathroom. Opening the medicine cabinet, you grabbed some Tylenol and cold medicine, returning to your tall boyfriend quickly. He kept his eyes on you, an absentminded smirk sitting on his lips. “You look so cute in my clothes.” he mused, voice sounding stuffy from his cold. “Even cuter without them on.” You looked down, taking note of the fact you were indeed wearing one of his shirts. You sighed andd rolled your eyes. “I know what you want, and I’m gonna tell you this one more time. Not. While. You’re. Sick. Ya damn horndog.” you muttered, a blush crawling onto your cheeks. He groaned playfully, pulling the blankets over his face in a fake hissyfit.

Moving to your side of the bed, you sat down, pulling the blanket off of his face. You leaned over, peppering kisses all over his cheeks and forehead, giggling at him trying to turn away from you. “Take your medicine.” you demanded, holding your hand out with the various pills sitting in your palm. Michael pulled himself up on his elbows, taking the medicine from you and downing them quickly and laying back down. You smiled at him in content, slipping yourself back under the covers and snuggling against his side. Both of you laid in silence, until you could hear Michael’s breath start to even out, a sign that he had drifted off to sleep. Throwing an arm around him, you laid there, appreciating the fact that you were going to be spending the next few days with him all to yourself.

Pete:

- Pete can handle himself when he’s sick

- He doesn’t need you to baby him like Henrietta and Michael do

- While he does love when you fuss over him, he doesn’t want you getting sick

- He would feel so awful if you managed to catch some sort of illness from him

- Instead, he practically bans you from coming to his house, opting to facetime you in place of you coming over

- If he ever does need anything though, you’re always the first to make him a basket of his favorite things so he has something to keep him occupied

- He always appreciates it and pays you back by gifting you 100 fold, spoiling you 10 times more than you spoil him

You walked down the road to your boyfriend’s house, whistling a tune from one of your favorite songs. In one hand, you held a basket full of medicine and a various assortment of Pete’s favorite snacks and in the other hand, a large picnic blanket. He had texted you earlier that day complaining of an extremely sore throat and headache, basically whining to you about how bad he felt. You had offered to come over, like you always tried to do whenever he felt bad, but he immediately shot the idea down in fear of getting you sick once again.

Seeing his familiar home, you picked up your pace, being careful not to drop anything out of the over packed basket in your hand. You turned down his driveway, hurrying up to his stairs so you could drop off his package. Instead of turning around and going all the way back home, you spread your blanket out on the ground infront of his steps, plopping yourself down on the grass. Pulling out your phone, you sent him a text to come outside for his basket. Setting your phone down, you leaned back, staring intently at his door and waiting for him to step out.

A moment later, you watched as the door knob turned, and his familiar red and black hair pop out. You smiled at him as he set his gaze on you, a smile crossing his own features. He looked paler than usual, his bags having deepened, casting massive black shadows under his eyes. He was still in his pajamas, and you took notice he still had his hairband on that kept his hair out of his face. “Hey.” he croaked, wincing at the sharp pain in his throat and stepping out onto the porch, closing the door behind him. “Hi.” you responded sweetly, watching as he sat down on the steps infront of you.

“How ya feeling?” you inquired, looking to your boyfriend. He frowned, clearing his throat before speaking. “Like Satan himself came up and punch me right in the throat.” he responded, leaning against the stair railing. You pouted at him, causing him to smile at you in amusement. “I’m okay, though. I was about to head to the store to get something for my throat.” he explained further. “Check your basket first, love.” you responded, nodding down to the package that sat by his side. He turned to look at him, picking it up and setting it in his lap.

“Damn, you set me up for life with this.” he mused, a chuckle on his words. You smiled proudly, watching as he picked up and looked at the various soups, snacks, teas and medicines you got him. “Well, you won’t let me come inside and baby you, so I did the next best thing and just got you everything that I thought would help.” you explained, picking at him for not letting you help. He rolled his eyes playfully, setting the basket back down. “If you got sick, I would be mad at myself.” he retorted. “I will happily get sick if that means I can take care of the love of my life.” you stated, blowing a kiss his way. He blushed, turning to look away from you.

You sat with him for as long as it took the sun to start setting. Standing up from your spot on the grass, you stretched your arms over your head, your muscles sore from your visit. “Well, keep me updated on how you’re feeing, dear.” you chirped, picking your blanket up off of the ground and folding him. “I will. Thank you, again. When I’m not sick anymore, I’ll take you out to wherever you wanna go.” he answered. You smiled at him, tucking your blanket back under your arm. “I love you! I’ll talk to you later!” you chirped, turning to walk away. “You, too.” he called after you, smiling as he watched you walk away.

[personalcareexpo]

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🐼China is a world factory of personal protective appliances, and by 2028, the global market size of personal protective appliances will reach 218.612 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.73%, and the cross-border market share will continue to grow. 👀According to SensorTower and TechReport data, as of October 23, TEMU has downloaded 235 million times, making it the world's number one and most downloaded e-commerce platform. It has covered 48 countries including North America, Europe, South America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea, with the highest growth rate of new users. TEMU exports over 400000 packages per day, with an average daily weight of 600 tons, driving the rapid export of personal protective equipment industry belts such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

[tommyxxtemmy]

More info abt my au bc my ask blog is open.

The red army still technically exists in this au, yet it’s main purpose is to eradicate any mixed species (I.e humans + animal, or just demons or otherly beings in general) tord often found them annoying, and a waste of space. No matter how much contribution and positive effects they had in their existing world.

The rebellion was started by Tom in order to keep his people safe (in this au he is half demon ,his mother passed that down, and half human.) the masks that the main three wear resemble their abilities and weaknesses,

Tom wears the mask of a hare which resembles his vigilantes and fast pace and quick thinking. He is able to outrun most dangerous situations, but the downside to this is that he is often tricked and viewed as a easy target or so to say prey.

Matt wears the mask of a snake, showing his quick pacing when it comes to attack and how he is able to camouflage/hose himslef in the best of situations, he is also able to deal with trading efficiently. The downside is that he is not as strong as he seems and relys on weapons as his only defence

Edd wears the mask of a cat, this was mainly chosen because of ringo. This shows his intelligence when it comes to solving puzzles and being able to make weaponry out of simple appliances. Edd doesn’t need to rely on weapons but he has them on him at all times. The downside is that he’s quite stubborn at times and likes to work alone stressful or serious situations. Making him an easy target due to how easily startled he can get.

There are ships in this au, mattxtom being the main one. A lot will be said abt their relationship due to it being fresh, so that is expected. Sadly tord does not get paired with anyone, due to him being aromantic, he originally had feelings for edd but those faded quickly and he was put off about the whole thing leaving him to not necessarily like anyone within the recent times, edd however is dating the waitress from the restaurant! (I think her name was piper Or honey.) they are quite close despite her not enjoying the fact of edd being within the rebellion, she understands why and supports the idea but is just overall worried edds health

[stevebattle]

Florbot robotic vacuum cleaner (1989) by Branch & Associates (Australia) for GE Plastics, Pittsfield, MA. Before Roomba there was the Florbot. Made using advanced GE thermoplastics, Florbot was developed by Carnegie Mellon Roboticist Allan Branch and Tory Orzeck from the GE Plastics Advanced Design and Development Group. Once activated, Florbot circumscribes the perimeter of a room, then sweeps the interior area before returning to its charging station. Florbot’s cap is made from translucent amber Ultem with copper tracks directly imaged onto it, which being heat resistant, allows surface mount components to be directly attached. Florbot was released at Domotechnica, an appliance industry trade show, in Cologne, Germany in 1990.

[virewolf]

VIOLA "VI" WOLF

Name: Viola “Vi” Wolf

Age: 45

Gender: Cis Woman

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Bisexual

Relationship Status: Single

Community Job: Mechanic/Handywoman

Reside in: Apartment in an apartment complex near the junkyard

How long have they been in Redwood?: 1 1/2 years

Faceclaim: Hilarie Burton

Headcanons & Biography

She has several tattoos which she got during her early twenties, mostly on her upper body and arms. 

Her family’s repair shop and home were repossessed due to family debt. She considered trying to repurchase them but her life had different plans.

Her leg troubles her quite a lot. She still does her exercises, but it seems to be getting worse with the years. She refuses most help for it though. 

She still wears the ring Judah gifted her and only takes it off when she’s working on fixing something. 

She’s surprisingly good at shooting. While her family was never big on guns, she quickly took to them once she depended on them for survival. She came into Redwood with a pump-action shotgun and two sidearms, all of which she carefully maintained during her time after the outbreak.

While her big passion is cars, she has a general affinity for appliances or anything else electronic or mechanic, and she’s learned to fix a lot of things.

Born in a small town called Ithaca in New York State, it always seemed clear that Vi would become a part of the family business. Born as the only child to Christian and Margaret Wolf, Vi showed her interest in mechanics from a young age. Her father, owner of the multi-generational business “Wolf & Sons Auto Repairs”, encouraged his daughter's interest in the topic. When Vi wasn’t in school, she was often in her father’s shop, watching him work and learning the trade even from a young age. Her interest didn’t just stop at cars, however. Vi seemed to have a natural interest in anything technological or mechanical, taking apart devices, figuring out how they worked, and trying to put them back together. It seemed that her future career had been set for her. 

Except that life had different plans. When Vi was 15, her parents passed away suddenly. A car accident with a drunk driver left the teenager an orphan. With no immediate family to take care of her, Vi was quickly shuffled into the foster system. Struggling with adjusting to her new environment, she quickly became “troubled” - drinking, partying, lashing out at others in the pain of her grief, with the people in her group foster home hardly having to capacity to properly care for the grieving teenager. Leaving the foster home at the age of 18 (or rather being kicked out), it seemed that Vi’s life was about to head down a rather troubled and disorganized past, with her hardly having any permanent home and often resulting to crash on people’s couches, holding herself above water with the occasional odd job. 

There was no one specific thing that caused her to get her life back in order. It was a mix of realizing that her life was heading nowhere and the fact that she had started working as a handyman, fixing appliances for quick cash, that finally pushed her into getting her life back on track. Despite her lack of official education, she managed to secure a job at an auto repair shop as a mechanic in training. It seemed that her work provided solace for her. 

Her life was largely uneventful for the following years - she worked, advancing in her career, saving up money, and doing volunteer work. However, a wedge was thrown into her life one day when she received a leg injury at work. It seemed that her life had been put to a sudden halt - her needing reconstructive surgery and extensive physical therapy in order to even have a chance to keep it and not have it amputated. It was during her time in the hospital that she met Judah. Initially, Judah was just one of the doctors working the floor she often stayed in, but soon enough the two got talking, and often ended up spending his lunch break together. Her stays in the hospital were rough on her, but her talks to Judah helped her through it. Soon enough, the two were spending time outside of the hospitals too, and sometime after, became a couple and eventually ended up married.

Her and Judah’s marriage had some hardships - including failed attempts to conceive children as well as her struggles with her physical limitations due to her leg, which always troubled her after the accident, but it was overall a very happy marriage. That was until the virus spread. Vi remembers her husband seeming rather troubled, remembers hearing the increasingly more concerning news - and the sound of her phone ringing when she was called to tell her that her husband had been bitten by one of the infected. She at least got to say goodbye to him, through one of the windows of the isolation room. Many others were not as lucky. 

She stayed out in their shared apartment for as long as she could - but when the military began to forcibly evacuate people to quarantine camps, Vi knew that she needed to leave. Leaving in the middle of the night, Vi made her way out of the city, hoping to find someplace safe even as the world descended into chaos around her. Vi joined up with several groups as she went along, but often something happened - they disbanded, attacks by walkers or enemy raiders as the world descended into chaos. As a result, Vi often made her way through the world alone, even though it was hard. By the time she reached Redwood, she was utterly exhausted. Even though she was initially reluctant, she quickly realized that Redwood might be one of the few chances at safety she could get. So, eventually, she decided to stay, offering her services as a mechanic to the residents of the post-apocalyptic settlement.

[simonalkenmayer]

I decided to have an edible so I can get some sleep without coughing and now I’m thinking about the nuances of casserole, and where one would draw the line between whether something is a dip, a casserole etc

and it reminds me of something my grandmother said to me about why the dish as a concept is so prevalent in America, specifically white people. her theory is that due to poc often having to do the cooking for white people, many didn’t have a clue about how to do seasoning and whatnot because their families had slaves, and when they didn’t have slaves they had the hired help. which meant by the time white people were primarily without hired housekeepers, no one had any real knowledge of how it, so throwing things together in layers as a casserole was the next best thing. which also seems like it might’ve partially influenced the era of cooking where there was stuff like bananas hollandaise and everything being in jello (alongside the availability of new ingredients and stuff after the war). what’s your take, as a very very old person who’s seen American cooking and culture develop

That’s somewhat true��� but there are other components. I am sorry to say most of casserole history stems from the emergence of canned food, the War, and post war Cold War space age glamour. Cookbooks became a thing and recipes were often put out by the brands making things. A commercial for soup in a can used to be someone—often the actors or hosts—interrupting a show by demonstrating for you how to turn the soup into anything but soup, then the program would pop back on. The brands sculpted food culture. Then you get the emergence of fortified pastas and foreign produce ingredients due to trade agreements and farming subsidies and so on, and all of a sudden they have to figure out what the hell is an artichoke and how the hell do you eat one. Gelatin could be bought. Appliances were electric. The 1950’s kitchen was a ubiquitous dream.

So it was brand driven. It was an emerging market for new technology. It was the new middle class of whites on an economic high, incorporating new things in new ways that they had access to. Black people were cut off from that until later, and so missed the absurd parts of the craze. And the truth is, many of those whites were not even related to slave owning families. The GIs were regular poor, post depression folk. Many of them only second or third Gen immigrants.

Meanwhile poorer groups and therefor POC, kept cooking the way they had been, and began incorporating styles of cooking and ingredients from places that meshes—usually Asia, and soul food became the enduring archetype.

But yes, there is obviously overlap between the Black/descended from slaves food culture, and the “some amount of Irish and Italian, but I call myself white because I am against racial equality with a Blender” food culture group. Most definitely.

[standspro1]

Experience Hospitality at its finest in the Internorga Hamburg 2025

Internorga Hamburg 2025 is one of the most prestigious events in Europe for the hospitality industry. It is scheduled to take place between 14 and 18 March 2025 in Hamburg, Germany. It is a venue for catering companies, hotels, restaurants, caterers, bakery shops, pastry shops, bakeries and more. Internorga 2025, which is the name of an annual event that brings together people from the food, hospitality and beverage industries can examine the most recent products and trends, as well as innovations and more.

The exhibition is open to trade visitors and exhibitors from the catering and food service sector to meet, share knowledge and build relationships. Internorga Hamburg 2025 Germany will be split into five main segments of the exhibition:

Patisserie and Bakery

Food and Beverages

Digital Applications

Coffee Machines

Kitchen Technology & Equipment

Each industry at Internorga Hamburg 2025 will showcase the latest innovations technology, products and other innovations that are pertinent to the industry it’s in.

Internorga 2025 will provide a comprehensive review of the industry as well as what’s happening in bakery and dessert equipment and digital technologies for kitchens, and much more.

What Can You Expect at Internorga 2025?

Internorga 2025 is a fantastic event for professionals in the industry which allows them to discover the most current technologies and trends. It provides the opportunity to network with industry experts, exhibitors and other trade attendees. Internorga Hamburg 2025 has something for all, whether you’re searching for new suppliers, ingenuous strategies, or staying up to date with trends in the industry. Attendees at Internorga 2025 can expect to find a wide range of new technologies and products related to the hospitality and food service industries. Ice cream machines, to fittings for shops, as well as cooking appliances, it covers all aspects that is part of HoReCa (Hotel, Restaurant, and Catering) sector.

Internorga 2025 aims to give industry professionals insightful details in addition to demonstrations of the products. Experts on the show will answer questions and offer details on trends in the industry and strategies, sustainability and many other subjects. It doesn’t matter if you’re an experienced professional or just a newbie, Internorga Hamburg 2025 Germany offers a wealth of information and networking opportunities.

Some Benefits of Participating in Internorga Hamburg 2025

There are many advantages of participating in Internorga 2025.

You’ll be the first to learn about the most recent advancements and the latest trends in the industry.

Internorga Hamburg 2025 lets you get the latest food and beverage trends as well as the most advanced kitchen equipment.

Connect with decision-makers and operational managers from the business.

It allows you to meet with top restaurant owners and hoteliers to discuss fitting concepts for the future as well as tabletop fashions.

Participate in exciting contests like those of the Internorga 2025 Award for Future Achievement, German Gastro Start-up Award, Next Chef Award, etc.

There are many opportunities to showcase your latest products and technologies using a distinctive and exciting exhibition booth design Hamburg.

More than an exhibition, Internorga 2025 offers an opportunity to meet people, acquire knowledge and grow in the food and hotel service industries. You can go to Internorga Hamburg 2025 with the assistance of an exhibition stand design company located in Hamburg. Stands Pro is one of the builders of exhibition stands located in Hamburg that provides the highest quality exhibit stands as well as other services related to exhibits. Join the Internorga Hamburg 2025 and hire Stands Pro for uniquely designed exhibit stands that will help you grow your business.

Organiser: INTERNORGA is organized by Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH, a leading event organizer with a focus on trade fairs and exhibitions in the hospitality, catering, and foodservice industries.

Exhibitor Profile: INTERNORGA attracts exhibitors from various sectors of the hospitality, catering, and foodservice industries, including:

Hospitality Equipment and Supplies: Manufacturers and suppliers of commercial kitchen equipment, catering supplies, tableware, furniture, and interior design solutions for hotels, restaurants, and catering businesses.

Food and Beverage Suppliers: Producers, distributors, and wholesalers of food and beverage products, including fresh produce, meat, seafood, dairy, bakery, beverages, and specialty foods for the hospitality sector.

Hospitality Technology Providers: Companies offering hospitality management software, POS systems, reservation and booking platforms, digital signage solutions, and other technology solutions for hotels, restaurants, and cafes.

Hotel and Restaurant Services: Providers of hospitality services such as hotel management, catering services, event planning, cleaning, security, and facility management for the hospitality industry.

Hospitality Training and Education: Educational institutions, training providers, and certification organizations offering hospitality training programs, courses, and certifications for professionals in the hospitality sector.

Why Attend the Show:

Product Showcase: Explore a wide range of hospitality products, equipment, supplies, and services from leading industry suppliers, gaining insights into the latest trends and innovations in the hospitality sector.

Networking Opportunities: Connect with industry professionals, decision-makers, and suppliers from the hospitality, catering, and foodservice industries, fostering collaborations, partnerships, and business opportunities.

Business Development: Discover new products, suppliers, and business opportunities, expanding your network and exploring potential partnerships and collaborations to enhance your hospitality business.

Educational Seminars and Workshops: Attend informative seminars, workshops, and panel discussions covering topics such as hospitality management, food and beverage trends, sustainable practices, and customer service excellence.

Market Insights: Gain valuable market insights into consumer preferences, industry trends, and regulatory developments affecting the hospitality, catering, and foodservice industries, helping businesses stay competitive and informed.

Organiser Website Link for More Info: For more information about INTERNORGA 2025, including registration details, exhibitor information, and the event program, please visit the official website: INTERNORGA

In summary, INTERNORGA 2025 is a must-attend event for professionals and businesses in the hospitality, catering, and foodservice industries, offering valuable networking opportunities, product showcases, educational resources, and market insights for attendees.