#swiss is a big supporter of this event

[bubbleboybev]

every year dew challenges mountain to grow a pepper too hot for him to eat. the pepper tasting has become a whole event at this point. everyone gathers around to see if dew can eat it. aether begs them not to do it so he doesn't have to see dew in the infirmary later. last year dew blew smoke out of his hears cartoon style but he insists that doesn't count

#swiss is a big supporter of this event #mountain can be silly too guys #of COURSE hes gonna try to grow some kind of insane pepper #thats his dewdrop #and hes not gonna take a challenge to his gardening skills lying down #mountain ghoul #dewdrop ghoul #shitghosting

[revnah1406]

🌕Amara X Sparrow☀️Wedding headcanons💍

Hannah "Sparrow" Clayton

Amara Thompson

(the green brush means how it actually went 🥰)

I know there's still a long journey in their love story but I talked about this with a few mutuals on the discord server and I can't stop thinking about it hahahaha! My babies getting married 😭😭

So here are a few cute Headcanons about her Wedding!🥰🧡✨

They started to talk about getting married a Year later after Amara moved to Zermatt (Switzerland) with Sparrow. They also mentioned it on their first anniversary. First it was casual, talking about the advantages of getting married and fantasizing about how amazing it could be.

After a couple months Sparrow started to think about it more seriously. Talked with her siblings and her mother looking for advice. Of course their family was more than supportive and excited.

She wanted to keep things small, simple, but make it personal. She knew Amara liked small jewellery, nothing too showy. Sparrow wanted to make the ring all by herself, to give more personal value, so she asked for advice from her closest friends, Aly (@alypink ) helped with the design, Damien (@kaitaiga ) helped to forge and weld it, Anna (@applbottmjeens ) helped with the proposal, how to prepare the perfect moment.

Sparrow would lie if she said she wasn't nervous. She decided to propose during a hike. She woke Amara really early and prepared breakfast... Being more romantic than usual. Amara complained about going for a hike and offered staying at home, she wasn't the most enthusiastic person about hiking. So the possibility of cancelling the plan made Hannah really nervous but she managed to convince Amara, promising she will massage her feet and back for hours once they return home.

When they got to the top of the mountain, with the beautiful swiss mountain landscape, Sparrow knelt in front of Amara and showed a beautiful handmade ring made with pyrite (gold was more expensive and harder to work on).

"Amara, my love. Hey look at me. I know I know sweetheart." Sparrow got even more nervous when Amara started crying, she had to hold her hand to steady her. "You already know this. And you know I'm awful with words. This is just a little reminder that you are everything to me. With you I forget all the bad things. You showed me how it feels to be truly loved, and showed me how to truly love you. I just... wanted to climb one more step with you, together..."

Amara's knees were clearly shaking. "I can't fucking believe you made me do this in sweatpants and fucking hiking boots Han..." She shook her head, trying to assimilate what was happening.

Sparrow chucked. "So is that a yes?"

"Of course it's a yes you dumb idiot!!" Amara wasn't angry, far beyond that, she was too happy, too anxious, too excited she didn't know how to process all those emotions. Sparrow got up and put the ring on Amara's finger, now her fiancée.

The Wedding was six months later, during spring. Amara planned everything with her mother in Law's and Aly's help. She knew Sparrow wasn't very good at planning big events, and Hannah would always like what Amara proposed.

In the end the Wedding was on the mountains, that was Sparrow's only wish. A small one, with friends and family. It wasn't very traditional, they got married civilly two days before the wedding, so Hubber (Sparrow's captain in the Swiss Armed Forces) could make oficial the union of both women in the ceremony.

Hannah's father took Amara to the altar. The stoic man cried and had no fear of showing it. He kissed Amara's forehead before handing her to his daughter. "Your parents would be so proud of you"

Tora (Sparrow's dog) proudly brought the rings to the altar. And after an emotional speech from Hubber Sparrow could kiss Amara and name Amara her wife.

The ceremony was amazing. The after party was even better.

The Wedding night was so sweet, full of kisses, necking and love.

When it was time to organise the honeymoon, Amara had to fight with Sparrow. Hannah wanted to go to Nepal, to show Amara the big 8000s. But Amara refused to climb one single rock during her honeymoon. NUH UH. So she offered to go to Japan, and visit Kyoto, Amara's mother's native city.

They spend a few lovely days there and Sparrow learnt more about Amara's family.

A couple months after the honeymoon Hannah decided to retire from the military.

#hannah sparrow clayton #amara thompson #sparrow x amara #amara x sparrow #call of duty #call of duty oc #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty modern warfare 2 #my ocs #oc x oc #wedding headcanons #oc headcanons

[neuroprincess]

Law & Order: SVU - You meet again (Preferences)

Classification: Fluff

Pairing: Alex Cabot, Casey Novak, Liz Donnelly, Olivia Benson and Rita Calhoun

Warnings: None

Word count: +900

Alex Cabot

- It's been 18 years since you saw each other in person, during your teenage years you kept sporadic contact through letters and phone calls. You felt proud of her every step, supporting her in all the courses, internships, sleepless nights studying, but two months before high school graduation the blonde cut ties abruptly, there were many unanswered phone calls and letters that returned or were never answered. This didn't stop you, years later, from sending one last letter to congratulate her when you heard that Alex had graduated in Harvard, her dream since you were kids. In the meantime you went on with your life, graduated, bought a house in Texas and got married at 30, divorced at 32, the dream house was sold and you started your own business in NY, a coffee shop in a good spot. Weeks after opening a group of detectives walked in and you immediately recognized a blonde head accompanying them. Much taller than you remember, wearing a feminine suit that fit her body well, eyebrows coming together in a thoughtful expression that you know well. She took a moment to choose something in the display case, and when she looked up, she was in shock. Your name escaped through her lips in a whisper.

Casey Novak

- A simple softball game got you three days off work, a mild concussion and a pretty purple eye. The ADA visited you every day since the event, on the day you returned to work the veteran detectives made a few unfunny jokes about you being able to handle big men but getting knocked down by a ball, giving you slaps on the back in consolation for the attempt. At lunchtime you received a bouquet of yellow roses, a box of Swiss chocolate and a handwritten apology card inviting you to dinner to make up for the hospital trip. You had exchanged phone numbers at the hospital, so making the appointment was easy, finding a space in your professional calendar was not, and after two weeks you met at a restaurant a few blocks from your apartment.

Liz Donnelly

- As you work together you frequently bump into each other in the hallways, there are always cordial greetings and brief conversations about the case you are working on, but nothing beyond that. Two months go by quickly, you seem to have fallen in everyone's favor and perform your tasks with competence, making Alex proud and excited to celebrate your work, especially for being your first formal job in the law area, you meet after work in a chic Manhattan bar, not far from the office. About 15 minutes later another blonde joins you, dressed more casually than usual, a smile painting her lips as she walks toward you after meeting you by happenstance. "Well well well, Cabot and her ward, so what are we celebrating? I'll pay for the drinks."

Olivia Benson

- The same night of the misunderstanding the Captain sends you a message apologizing for the situation in front of your house. You talked for a few more minutes and she thanks you for always being the one with Noah on the occasions she can't, in the end you agree to let the kids meet on a weekend after their punishment. For your children it was long, but just two weeks forbidden to go out play after school and video games. Evelyn was anxious, running around the house to make sure everything is ready for Noah's arrival, initially you had arranged with the Bensons to meet at the park but the rainy weather made you change your plans, finally deciding on a day of board games. Catan, El Dorado, Detective, Monopoly, even Jenga and Twister, there is a table full of snacks and treats, a wine is kept in the back of the cupboard in case Olivia enjoys it, you don't know what they like so you buy everything. At the appointed hour the doorbell rings and you find mother and son as excited as you are. It would be a fun day.

Rita Calhoun

- She didn't show up for weeks, every Tuesday you drove customers to other tables to reserve that special one in the hope that Rita would show up, which didn't happen. After the fourth Tuesday in a row you gave up. The new manager didn't harass you anymore, while he didn't make things easy at work, denying you overtime and events that usually pay a little more, after all, the generous tip from those rich people is what pays your bills. You chose to resign when you realized that there was no advantage or anything that bound you there, the emergency fund lasted long enough until you got another job, this time in an Italian restaurant, not as fancy as your previous job but much more welcoming. Monday is usually a slow day, you found out after two months as a waitress, so you are alone with the chef, working overtime late at night when she enters the homely environment, looking out of place in her expensive suit and high heels worth a rent. "Miss Calhoun?" you whisper, an involuntary smile on your lips. "I told you to call me Rita, sweetie." she sits up and signals for you to come closer. "What are you doing here? Forgive me, but this restaurant… it's not up to your level, it's not fancy." deep down you wait for the answer that comes next, not being able to think of any other explanation for her being on the other side of the city alone on a week day. "I came after the service of my favorite waitress."

#law & order: special victims unit #svu fanfiction #law and order svu #alex cabot x reader #casey novak x reader #liz donnelly x reader #olivia benson x reader #rita calhoun x reader #preferences #female reader

[thewales]

Princess of Wales challenges Roger Federer on the court ahead of Wimbledon

The duo wanted to highlight the crucial role the 250 teenagers play each year at the prestigious tennis championships

Roger Federer, who is the most successful male grass court player of all time and an eight-time Wimbledon champion, and the Princess of Wales, who is patron of the AELTC, showed off their tennis skills in the new video.

Roger Federer on court at Wimbledon, the Princess of Wales was probably aware any hope of success would rest on her not making any mistakes.

But when an unforced error was made by the Princess, she was surely grateful to escape with a playful ribbing from the King of Grass rather than the punishments he handed out to opponents vanquished at the All England Club.

In a new video to highlight their support for the Championships’ ball boys and girls, sporting legend Roger Federer gently corrected the Princess for catching the ball instead of letting it bounce.

“In Australia they would catch it but in Wimbledon they don’t,” the Swiss player said, smiling.

The pair took to the club’s famous No.3 Court for a doubles rally to show their support for the Wimbledon ball boys and girls.

The duo wanted to highlight the integral role of the ball boys and girls, as well as all the training that it takes to qualify as one for the famous Championships.

The Princess, said: “Wimbledon is renowned for its amazingly professional ball boys and ball girls, the amount of work it takes, it’s incredible to see it behind the scenes.”

Released just over a week before the start of the annual event, the video features the pair visiting the All England Club to meet returning and prospective ball boys and girls and hear about their experiences in training for the role.

Before they start their doubles game, Federer asks the Princess: “Would you like to start or shall I start,” to which she quips: “I think you should start Roger.”

They are shown rallying back and forth before she hits a ball down the middle of the court that Federer and his partner didn’t return. The 20-time Grand Slam champion laughs and says: “I think it was on the line, amazing!”

“Any tips on my serve would be very helpful,” Kate tells Federer, to which he responds: “The serve looks good.”

The tennis champion and the Princess then visit the All England Club’s Indoor Tennis Centre, where a training session for prospective ball boys&girls is taking place.

After the session, the Princess tells them: “With all the discipline and everything you’ve learnt, you’ll be able to take it into so many other parts of your life, things like confidence and that feeling of pride with being on any of the courts is such a big moment.”

The film ends with the pair taking part in the session by shadowing the ball boys and girls before a final group photograph.

The film will go up on Wimbledon’s YouTube site at 00.01 tonight.

full article

#the princess of wales #roger federer #wimbledon

[mightyflamethrower]

They Are Coming For Your Coffee Now

KAREN TOWNSEND 6:40 PM on January 22, 2024

Swiss banker and World Economic Forum “agenda contributor”, Hubert Keller, is coming for your coffee. You know why. The climate agenda.

It will never be enough with these people. Do you put milk in your coffee? That’s a whole different battle. Cows, you know, produce methane when they fart and that’s not good for the climate. Carbon dioxide is necessary for life. Green plants feed on carbon dioxide and produce oxygen as a by-product. Yet, climate activists want to take as much carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere as possible, thinking that atmospheric carbon dioxide traps heat. That causes man-made global warning, their reasoning goes. They want to limit emissions of carbon dioxide.

One way of limiting emissions is to go after agricultural production and practices. In this case, it is the production of coffee. Keller spoke out about coffee production as a culprit in climate warming. He should pick on something else. Farmers are responsible people who conserve the land and keep it healthy to produce crops. Coffee producers are the same. I was once in Hawaii and toured a coffee plantation in Kona. That was back in the 1990s and even then a big part of the message was that it was an environmentally-friendly operation.

This guy’s tweet leads me to think about Keller speaking to the arrogant elites who wish to rule the world. There is a lot of hypocrisy among them. One example is that they preach about the use of fossil fuels, yet many of them arrive in private jets for the annual gathering in Davos. Look no further than John Kerry for extreme hypocrisy. Biden’s climate envoy lives one way while expecting regular people to live a drastically different way. Eat bugs and live without electricity, peasants.

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House Republicans introduced legislation to suspend funding for the World Economic Forum.

“No funds available to the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, or any other department or agency may be used to provide funding for the World Economic Forum,” the bill simply reads. The legislation was introduced by Rep. Scott Perry, R-Penn., along with others, including Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., and Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Az. “The World Economic Forum doesn’t deserve one cent of American funding, and it’s past time we defund Davos,” Perry said in a press release. “The Defund Davos Act would ensure that U.S. tax dollars are not funding the World Economic Forum and their reset on our way of life. I thank Congressman Perry for leading this important effort,” Tiffany said.

Sounds good to me. The annual event is a bunch of reporters among the elites who get out whatever stories the rich and powerful want to get out. The virtue-signaling is off the charts. What does it all accomplish? Nothing as far as regular Americans can see. It sounds like a luxury vacation in Switzerland. Why are American taxpayers paying the way for John Kerry and many others to go?

The Heritage Foundation president accepted an invitation to speak in a panel discussion. I don’t think those in attendance enjoyed hearing what he had to say.

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Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts was offered a spot to participate in a panel discussing what to expect from a possible Republican presidency. He took the opportunity to criticize the WEF for supporting globalism and socialism and said that members of the next conservative presidential administration should reject all of the ideas being proposed at the WEF.

The world elites are dreading the thoughts of another Trump presidency. Maybe Mr. Keller is one of those people.

You aren’t getting my coffee, Hubert. Let’s talk about the champagne, ok?

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, brought together 3,000 participants from around the globe. That included 1,600 business leaders, 350 heads of state and government ministers, and hundreds of academics, civil society leaders, and entrepreneurs. It was an elite affair as always, with sky-high lodging fees, champagne nightcaps, and chances to see and be seen by people holding some of the most influential jobs on the planet. A speech by Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a reminder of the world’s precariousness When we asked Paul Knopp, the CEO of KPMG US, what he came to Davos feeling most worried about, he echoed a common refrain heard in Davos this week. “Last year, for me, it would have been the economy. I’m a little more concerned right now about the number of geopolitical concerns around the world that could create shocks,” he said.

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Surely the production of champagne must stop. Those grapes must help the coffee beans destroy the ozone, right? On a more serious note, the world is on fire and the elites have noticed. Too bad there isn’t a strong leader in the White House. There is concern about democracy, especially with so many regions holding elections oversea.

With elections this year in countries that are home to a combined 4.2 billion people, democratic leaders are worried about the threats of fascism, nationalism, disinformation, and other number of other risks for free societies. “We are now reaching a watershed moment: 2024 will be the year when European countries and the EU will be in a position to decide if we want to be sovereign or not,” French president Emmanuel Macron said, addressing just one region where elections are coming up soon.

When Trump primarily focuses on the United States, he is criticized for being an isolationist. You can bet that European leaders are nervous that Trump may be moving back into the White House. They are afraid of him and he intimidates them into such moves as paying their pledges to NATO and removing the U.S. from worthless international agreements like the Paris Climate Agreement.

The House Republicans may not be successful with their legislation, especially since many lawmakers make the trip to Davos, but it’s a good idea.

Progressives will not rest until they have removed every shred of joy from our lives.

[giurochedadomani]

Guys I've been possessed by the possibilities of a winter soldier mungrove au.

@puppetoffthehook 😁

I'm shit at any long format fic, but I couldn't stop thinking about the ‘first meeting’ post the winter soldier events. Also, perhaps Eddie getting framed for murder fits better post his turning into the winter soldier? As in, every information points in the direction that the winter soldier was designated to infiltrate, kill and disappear. So it doesn't make sense that he was behind the brutal murder of governor's Carver wife (or any of the horrific murders that take place shortly after). They have been extremely public and extremely gory, not like any of the other victims of the winter soldier, who disappeared never to be seen again.

However, Eddie might be the key to lead them to whoever's plotting behind the curtains (perhaps Vecna / Henry Creel is our Baron Zemo?). Billy really defends this hypothesis because something something he and Eddie have always had each other's back, something something he finds infuriating that people have always read the worst in him, but also because he prefers that option to telling anyone about why he's so invested in helping Eddie.

(Also, the logical thing to me is to make Steve into our Iron Man, because rich white boy with daddy issues and also to keep the Rivalry ™ with Billy, but I'm also a strong supporter of harringroveson or at least 'Steve, Eddie and Billy as besties' so, an Iron Man that doesn't have uhhhh the same kind of backstory with the winter soldier? A bit more understanding Iron Man that doesn't lead to the civil war big fight?)

(also Corroded Coffin as the howling commandos, perhaps?)

Anyway, a bit of suffering for our favourite guys:

A red guitar pick hangs from a necklace. Strange light reflects on it, making it vaguely fluorescent. Billy feels the familiar warmth of a leather jacket as two arms envelope him in a hug, a voice speaking as through a broken phone:

"Don't believe him. You know what Neil wants. What do I have to do to convince you that you're not the bad guy?"

"Eddie". Then again, louder: "Eddie". He feels the cold down his back and then– on his face? And the arms around him keep him from– Gareth's shouting something. And Billy hangs on the broken door of the train. And Eddie's scream gets lost in the distance as he falls to his death.

"Eddie!"

…

…

Billy wakes up as the bucket under the broken pipeline overflows. Drop, drop and then–

"Don't move", mutters a voice next to him. Billy rises up abruptly, only to be pulled back by his wrists and a clinking behind his back and– okay, he's handcuffed to what feels like a broken, old radiator. And Eddie's next to him.

Eddie–

Eddie slowly rises the damp rag when Billy's head snaps back to look at him. He's been. Patching him up? Big, brown eyes eye his forehead curiously as Billy feels the cut closing. The long list of plans, the myriad of contingencies Harrington ran him through disappear as his chest constricts.

He thinks: he's alive. He mutters: "Thanks".

The hair's longer than the last time, curls sitting comfortably past his shoulders as Eddie sets the rag aside and gets up. He has ditched the uniform in favor of a dark leather jacket over dark denim.

"You didn't have to put yourself in the middle". If it wasn't for the roughness of his voice, it would almost feel like they're again sixteen and he's chiding Billy for defending him from some bullies instead of for helping him out with a Swiss special operations team.

Billy shrugs.

"You didn't have to take me to–", wherever this is. He takes on the aseptic, spartan room they're into as Eddie moves around. There's a thin, ratty mattress in a corner, Billy can't help the little smile that curves the corner of his lips when he sees Eddie putting in a bag a scribbled notebook next to it. "You didn't have to help me either. Yet here we are".

He can't have been unconscious for long, they're probably still somewhere in Geneva. He wonders how long he has before someone inevitably tracks them down.

"I'm not here to arrest you. I can help", he says, because it probably begs clarification. Eddie's face parts in a sneer. "I know you didn't do it".

Which is an hypothesis at best, a bad hunch at worst, as Harrington oh so kindly put it back in New York.

Billy's not sure what Eddie's trying to read on his face, but he'd like to smooth his frown with his hand. He wants to– He wants–

"Whoever you're searching for is dead". Billy feels as if all air has been punched out of him, as if they were back at Starcourt, Eddie's hands around his throat. "You'll end up dead if you keep searching for him".

He thinks: no. He thinks: not even if another century passes. He'll drag Eddie back from hell no matter if the devil himself decides to get in his way.

"That's what he told you?", he shouts, as Eddie makes his way to the door. "You don't have to believe him! Eddie!"

(What do I have to do to convince you that you're not the bad guy?)

…

…

Later, a shadow on the Mont Blanc bridge will extend their hand over the water. They will absently caress a stolen necklace, feeling the slight beat of the minuscule tracking device hiding on the pick. After a long moment, the shadow will put it back around their neck.

#Mungrove #billy hargrove #Longpost #Also puppet! I want to post this on ao3. Do you mind if I'm the notes of the fic I link your winter soldier fic??

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 2.20 (after 1940)

1942 – World War II: Lieutenant Edward O'Hare becomes America's first World War II flying ace. 1943 – World War II: American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies. 1943 – The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms. 1944 – World War II: The "Big Week" began with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers. 1944 – World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Atoll. 1952 – Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League. 1956 – The United States Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy. 1959 – The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate. 1962 – Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes. 1965 – Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts. 1968 – The China Academy of Space Technology, China's main arm for the research, development, and creation of space satellites, is established in Beijing. 1971 – The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert. 1979 – An earthquake cracks open the Sinila volcanic crater on the Dieng Plateau, releasing poisonous H2S gas and killing 149 villagers in the Indonesian province of Central Java. 1986 – The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years. 1988 – The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. 1991 – In the Albanian capital Tirana, a gigantic statue of Albania's long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down by mobs of angry protesters. 1998 – American figure skater Tara Lipinski, at the age of 15, becomes the youngest Olympic figure skating gold-medalist at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. 2003 – During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the Station nightclub ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others. 2005 – Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout. 2009 – Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en route to the national airforce headquarters are shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a kamikaze style attack. 2010 – In Madeira Island, Portugal, heavy rain causes floods and mudslides, resulting in at least 43 deaths, in the worst disaster in the history of the archipelago. 2014 – Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters died in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, many reportedly killed by snipers. 2015 – Two trains collide in the Swiss town of Rafz resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services. 2016 – Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.

#Events

[more-than-a-princess]

Closed starter for @hxpelessnurse !

Japan, she felt, had plenty of virtues: convenience stores and vending machines stocked with all sorts of particular items, public transport that was never late (and that she got to use! Once!), and a selection of anime merchandise that made Novoselic's pale in comparison. But where it failed, though by no fault of its own? The eight hour time difference between Towa City and Novoselic, particularly when there was important, live television programs at home that Sonia simply couldn't miss.

Surely it was acceptable, she thought, that without class the following day, she could remain awake at 3 AM. While the rest of the dormitory peacefully slept, she'd crept out of her room with heavy, quick footsteps. A quick walk, she thought, during the commercial breaks and in-between the pre-recorded backstory segments would earn her enough time to reach the student lounge where she could hastily retrieve something caffeinated and a snack before disappearing back into her room. Just as well: she looked rather ridiculous as it was, in an oversized graphic t-shirt, pajama pants outfitted with a screenprint of Jason Voorhees' iconic mask, and fluffy slippers, her long hair plaited back into a messy braid and a thick exfoliating mask spread over her face.

But it was to Sonia's surprise that she was indeed not the only person awake at 3 AM. The lights had already been switched on and Sonia froze, embarrassed for an array of reasons, as she spotted Tsumiki Mikan there. Considering how fast she must have skidded into the room, she likely gave the other girl a fright.

"Mikan-san!" Sonia half-gasped, half-whispered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you, I just didn't think anyone was awake and I just wanted something to keep me awake!"

Which was hardly healthy, something she wondered if her friend would point out. Striding over to the refrigerator, she retrieved a soda, a bottle of milk tea, and a slice of swiss roll on a plate before turning back to Mikan with a shrug and shy smile. Sonia's gaze darted down to her t-shirt by way of explanation.

"Tonight is the national finals in Novoselic for the Eurovision contest," She said, though the bright, colorful logo for the contest printed on her shirt was clear enough. "It's the sort of thing that can divide a country, depending on who wins the vote, and it's the first time in four years that we're going to enter!" After not even placing into the semi-finals four years ago, Novoselic had been too ashamed to give it another go until the Minister of Culture had put forth an undeniably smart proposal that her father couldn't turn down. Besides, if they made it into the semi-finals and further, she'd be quickly sent home right after Golden Week to help support Novoselic's winning entry.

"It's a big continental event," She added, though she couldn't think of a local contest to compare it to. "Why are you awake so late, Mikan-san? Hopefully you're not also watching television with a significant time difference: it does alter your sleep schedule after awhile."

#hxpelessnurse #Non-Despair AU: Hope's Peak Academy verse #(Congrats Mikan you've caught Sonia at one of her more awkward moments) #(Look Novoselic just wants to win Eur.ovision -once-!)

[warningsine]

Christian Imark, a member of the Swiss parliament from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, told the Guardian that he believes the party can boost its share of the vote this weekend because “immigration, the energy security and the increase of energy cost” are “our main topics.”

Imark said that immigration is a “big problem” for Switzerland because it means there is a need for more infrastructure and housing.

The parliamentarian said that he can feel a difference on the campaign trail compared to an election four years ago.

“You feel it’s much better for us,” he said, noting that “people are coming” to campaign events “and they want to talk with us more than four years ago.”

But, he said, much will depend on turnout on Sunday.

#switzerland #politics #elections

[emeritus-fuckers]

Hello, hope you’re doing well, I would like to take part of the match up, preferably a ghoul but down for anyone really (tho my favourites are swiss, dewdrop, rain and i do have a thing for terzo).

I’m a 5’1, 110lbs cis woman, i have light blue eyes, i’m white as a ghost tbh nobody see my tan except me. I have long, brown hair that reach under my butt. I’m recovering from depression and anxiety, i still struggle with it but i’m doing better and have stopped meds a couple months ago. I have anger issues and my friends make jokes about it cause i’m short.

I’m a big introvert and like to stay home with my cat. I love to play the piano, listen to music, dance, draw, watch movies, cook, do yoga and i especially love reading. I’m pretty shy when i first meet someone but once i get comfortable with them i get pretty wild. i love to party and go to festivals, which is ironic cause i hate people but with enough alcohol in my system i don’t care anymore. i love to smoke too (i know it’s not healthy but i’m slowly switching to vaping). i also love animals and nature. I’m really sarcastic and apparently i can be a bitch, i call it honesty but they call it bitching 🤷🏻‍♀️

That’s it i think, I’m really curious to see who’ll be my match. Thank you for your time, i love your blog.

This post is a part of Match-up Event. The Event ended on July 15th.

Your match is... Secondo

He will support you 100% whatever you need.

He's there to listen or just hold you, whatever gets you through the harder times. He never ever judges you and wants you to know that.

He can deal with your anger issues, he'll patiently wait for you to calm down then he'll offer to talk it over with you.

If he sees you getting stressed, or angry he'll try and get you to do Yoga. He joins in to be supportive and he is surprisingly flexible. But the man doesn't really understand the point of a downward dog unless it's something you do in bed.

He is content to paint while you play the piano, he loves listening to you. He enjoys seeing you do something you love so much.

He buys you the most expensive piano to practice on.

He loves chilling on the sofa with you, watching a film or reading after a home cooked meal. You both enjoy cooking so you either take turns or cook together, which can be messy but fun.

He claimed not to be a cat person, however, one day you came home to find him with your cat curled up next to him. Secondo looked incredibly content. He's happy for you to know, but don't tell anyone else.

He's happy to stay in if you want, he loves spending time with you at home.

But when you are ready to go out partying, the man full on grins. He'll look out for you at the party/festival, he knows you hate people so he'll often find a more secluded spot to party until you want to join the main event, if you want to at all that is.

He is a lot of fun, his energry sweeps you up and carries you along with him. It's easier to forget you don't like people, you don't even need as much alcohol in your system anymore. Seondo is a lot of fun and you know he's going to have your back.

~

Written by Nyx

#anon #ghost band #match up event #match up #ghost bc #ghost band x reader #ghost bc x reader #ghost x reader #papa emeritus ii #papa emeritus ii x reader #secondo x reader #secondo

[bubbleboybev]

every year dew challenges mountain to grow a pepper too hot for him to eat. the pepper tasting has become a whole event at this point. everyone gathers around to see if dew can eat it. aether begs them not to do it so he doesn't have to see dew in the infirmary later. last year dew blew smoke out of his hears cartoon style but he insists that doesn't count

#swiss is a big supporter of this event #mountain can be silly too guys #of COURSE hes gonna try to grow some kind of insane pepper #thats his dewdrop #and hes not gonna take a challenge to his gardening skills lying down

[noobinoe-gaming]

Noobinoe Journeys 1: One Piece Card Game Philippines Preliminary 2

One Piece Card Game is one of the hottest trading card games in the world right now and it has taken 2022 like a storm, not only here in Asia but the whole world. It is not a secret how popular One Piece is in the manga and anime platforms but translating this popularity into an over the table card game is a really bold move by Bandai and it seems like they are already harvesting rewards from this project.

One of the things people like about the game, aside from the good-looking cards and very exciting gameplay, is the support the community is receiving from Bandai through events and tournaments. As of the moment, the biggest events are the worlds qualifiers and preliminaries for players trying to get into the highest stage in OPCG - the OPCG world championships that will happen in 2023.

In this blog, I will share my journey through the 2nd round of preliminaries here in the Philippines, together with my deck choice, match-ups and overall experience of the event.

I woke up at 3 am that day. My friends and I live in a province so we need to allot time for the travel. Our meet-up place is in 7/11 along the national highway where we will ride a bus going to Manila. We arrived at around 8 am in the location which is too early as the registration time is 10:00 am. The venue is still closed so we decided to find a place to eat first and then do some play testing. We went to the venue but there was a slight misunderstanding as the mall where the venue is located will open at 11 am and not 10 so we have to wait an hour outside before the registration. The venue itself is nice and spacious, enough for 128 players to battle their way into the top 8 across 7 rounds.

Here are my round match-ups in Swiss: Round 1 vs Red Zoro 1-0 Round 2 vs Blue Ivankov 1-0 Round 3 vs Green Kinemon 1-0 Round 4 vs Green Kinemon 1-0 Round 5 vs Blue Doflamingo 1-0 Round 6 vs Purple Kaido 0-1 Round 7 vs Red Zoro 1-0

Top 8 vs Blue Ivankov 1-0 I went first during this match so I have the advantage already. I have an okay hand and starts with Onigashima on my 2nd turn followed by 6 cost King on my 3rd turn gradually making the board advantage already. He managed to swarm the board with blockers despite my best effort to eliminate his characters. Luckily, I have my 10 cost Kaido in my hand since the beginning of the game. I dropped it and cleared the board shifting the momentum towards my end.

Top 4 vs Purple Kaido 1-0 (against the one who beat me in Swiss) This is pretty much a back and forth match but 10 cost Kaido sealed the game as he has no answer to a big threat like that. I did some misplays during the match that can cost me the game but I just played what I can with the hand I have dealt with and countered his last big attack and finish the game with an attack from the 10 cost Kaido.

Finals vs Green Kidd 0-1 My opening here is not that bad and I actually am in the lead during the start of the game. The problem is that my draws towards mid and late game are so bad that I can't do much against his board. If I have drawn into my 10 cost Kaido earlier, the outcome of the match will be different for sure.

Overall, I had a great time during the event though me and my friends experienced some mishaps that I will discuss in another blog. The next preliminary is scheduled in January and it will still be the same card pool as of the 2nd prelims. I will adjust the deck according to the meta data here in the Philippines and of course I will share my journey again to you all once the event is finished. (P.S. I will try to capture more images this time around)

#one piece card game #card games #one piece #blog

[jaeheewillalwaysbemyfav]

Hey hey, big fan of your blog~ You're the one who dragged me into DCA hole, so thanks💜

💝💔☀️🪐 for the emojii ask?

(re: the DCA - you're welcome and i'm sorry lol) Thank you so much, I really like yours too! Val's super interesting and it's always fun to learn more about them!

Thanks again for giving me an excuse to ramble about my cursed crossover~

☀️ - Did your Mc take measures to get enough vitamin D or did they have to deal with the inevitable deficiency of not getting any sun?

The best Ori has ever eaten was while they were part of the exchange program. Usually they subsist off of dry cereal in a plastic bag, vending machine snacks, the fears of their research subjects and colleagues, and whatever someone gets for them if and when they go on takeout runs.

But in the Devildom, Diavolo and the gang had to make sure the exchange students had access to foods that were a) edible to them and b) nutritious for them. So they were covered pretty well in terms of vitamins, including vitamin D!

As for the psychological effects of no sun, Ori's used to being away from it due to where they live and their job (shout out to Canadian winters, one of the biggest supporters of seasonal depression out there /s), but Zero Sun is still a lot. They don't think about it at first, but eventually they would consider either arranging for regular short visits to the human world or getting a sun lamp.

hard to think about the lack of sun bumming you out when you're focused on being kidnapped by demons

🪐 - Did your Mc want to get anything important to them from the human world when they got transferred to the Devildom? What was it?

bigger knife

Ori's situation is funny because on the one hand, they were kidnapped, but it was while they were heading to the Magnus Institute, so they had a lot of their usual research stuff with them.

One thing they do end up missing is their toolbox. They've got a swiss-army-knife style multitool with them, but it's not the same as their full arsenal, and it's a shame. There's a lot in the Devildom they'd like to take apart and examine, maybe try to replicate.

The other thing they miss isn't an object, but their team. They didn't get a chance to tell them what happened...

💝 - What's your Mc's favorite thing to do with their partner(s)?

Depends! They like finding out what their partner/s like to do, and they also like novelty. But when you essentially hunt ghosts and monsters for a living, "novelty" can include a lot of things other people would find routine.

They really appreciate being able to have quiet moments with their partner/s, whether that's domestic activities or just being in the same room, enjoying each other's presence.

They'd die before telling anyone this though

💔 - Did your Mc have a bad fall out with anyone? If yes, did they make up or not?

hehehehehehe... if I say too much there will be Spoilers, but yeah, there are several points where they get into big conflicts.

The first one we'll see in Be Not Afraid is with Mammon. It's not enormous, so idk if it "counts", but it's the catalyst for them getting along much better in the end. Mammon's the first one to get them to really drop their guard, it's just not pretty at first.

One I feel reasonably safe talking about is with Barbatos, Diavolo, and to a lesser extent Lucifer. It's about the time travel shenanigans, Belphegor's imprisonment/execution, their own (attempted) murder, and the exchange program as a whole.

They make up eventually, but at different paces, and in different ways. And Certain Events complicate matters further.

The hardest one for them to forgive is Diavolo.

#cursed tma x om crossover #obey me mc #obey me #tma #tma avatar oc #mine #ori #honestly ori's relationship with lucifer is the funniest #bc they go from barking at each other #to a level of trust neither expected to experience #least of all in each other #(but also they do still sometimes bark at each other)

[lizseyi]

Should Your Fashion Brand Branch Out Into Beauty - Skywire

It has been hard not to notice more and more instances of luxury fashion brands extending their reach to the beauty sector in recent times. This begs the question: should your fashion business follow suit? The answer is complex and can very much depend on your current corporate trajectory.

In October 2023, the French-based Kering — the luxury goods purveyor with the celebrated names Gucci, Balenciaga, and Alexander McQueen under its wing — acquired Creed, a fragrance brand with a history dating as far back as 1760.

Similarly, last April saw the Estée Lauder Companies purchase Tom Ford, with these two brands having already long partnered in beauty since 2005.

Why have more fashion houses started embracing beauty?

Many opinions on this subject were voiced at the online publication Beauty Independent’s Dealmaker Summit EU/UK 2023 held in December. The trade show took place in London, where we have based Skywire London, our marketing agency for luxury brands.

Speaking at the two-day event, Sandra Nait-Amer — managing director of the Paris-headquartered bank Rothschild & Co — observed to attendees that many fashion companies had recently orchestrated a “complete shift of strategy”.

This change, she added, was prompted by “the realisation that there is a big business to be made within beauty”. She pointed out that beauty gave businesses access to a dynamic and large-scale global market and was not driven by the sales cycles often seen in fashion.

Have moves into beauty actually worked out for fashion brands?

It is easy to see instances where they indeed have. Nait-Amer noted: “When you look at brands like Chanel or Dior, 40% of the brand sales are from fragrance and beauty.”

Nonetheless, one key factor is exactly how the shift into beauty is made. Nait-Amar acknowledged that as luxury fashion brands take “a lot of time to build”, there is considerable sense in creating a beauty arm afresh under an existing brand, as opposed to acquiring and scaling another fashion house. 

In heeding this advice, your own fashion business could take inspiration from the Swiss luxury titan Richemont’s recent creation of a perfume and beauty division. You may also recall the Italian-based Dolce & Gabbana internalising its beauty activities via Dolce & Gabbana Beauty in 2022.

Should your fashion business start taking its own steps into beauty?

Nait-Amar enthused that while fashion brands would previously “only see the beauty potential in launching their own fragrance under the same name… now you can really build a whole beauty business that’s worth billions, beyond just fragrance.” 

Still, jumping into beauty remains the sport of kings — what Nait-Amar called the “mega luxury brands”. It could be argued that smaller, lesser-established fashion companies would be better served by focusing on their core business.

For such firms, one major stumbling block is that stretching into beauty would entail a high level of investment that may be impractical for a company to undertake during the earlier stages of its growth journey. 

Here at Skywire London, we are proud to be a marketing agency for luxury brands that are looking to make the most of their current assets in support of their growth ambitions over the short, medium, and long term. To enquire about any of our specialist services, please email [email protected] today. 

‍

#marketing agency for luxury brands.

[transratsactivist]

saw you were reading 'big swiss' - what are your thoughts so far? it's been on my tbr for ages, curious to know what you think!

i'm about 80% through the book and have been enjoying it. i've had trouble getting into books with lots of unlikeable characters in the past, but it hasn't really been a problem with big swiss... maybe because greta as a protagonist is also funny and kind of relatable. i recommend this book to people who want to read about women who are disasters. and also to people who support women's wrongs 💪

do check out content warnings though, there are discussions and descriptions of violent and traumatic events in the characters' past among other things

#ask

[ailtrahq]

Coin Fam🇨🇭☀️ In the last article we teased VESA being in Switzerland, and how the country is advancing leaps and bounds in the eyes of the international crypto community, but today we will give you the lowdown on what the Swiss Web3 Fest was all about and who are the people in the ecosystem behind it. In general, to preface why the following is important, it’s good to mention something. VESA has been working with a bunch of people, from big to small companies and beyond, and what is quite frightening is the ratio of competent people even in big organisations, who have their shit together. It is  R A R E. So, let’s get to it.The Crypto Oasis founders (from left) Saqr, Ralf, and Faisal with us at the Art In Space gallery in Dubai earlier From Crypto Oasis to Crypto Valley and back 💫 If you have been connected to the crypto scene in Dubai at all, you must have heard of Crypto Oasis. The spearhead pack is the fastest growing crypto ecosystem in the world, but not everyone knows of their strong presence, and co-founder origins, in Switzerland. Grace under pressure The whole teams of Crypto Valley and Oasis were like fish in water when D-day finally came. The type of pressure that producing a large conference brings didn’t seem to faze them. It’s not an act when the curtains open. Quite the opposite. The day before the fest is set to go, the meeting room was still full of laughter and the team was constantly aware of opportunities to connect and support others already arriving early. VESA has been to see some 400+ events and many of them behind closed doors don’t have laughter coming out at that point – that’s for sure. While we are most familiar with Crypto Oasis, Ralph, and Saqr especially, at Dubai’s end, the home ground advantage that CV Labs and Crypto Valley had in Switzerland was tangible. It is clear that this network that drapes over the two countries and more is a legit, and expanding fast. Valley or desert, some people knwo how to generate.   What bear market? The Swiss Web3 Fest kicked off and the feeling had that same kind of buzz that was Miami during the height of the bull market in Jan 2018 at the North American Bitcoin Conf. Many of the attendees had a personal connection to one or several of the Founders of the Fest and as it’s not only crypto, the peaks and valleys of its cycles aren’t touching this as much. It’s one thing to keep being in this space through the rough seas of the bear market, and a whole other to pack electric conferences during it. Captured from the plane ride over The Swiss Alps lent its majesty as the backdrop of the affair as the attendees flew in and were greeted by the opulence and wealth of the country. First time visitors were quickly educated on the cost of living in the country, as grabbing a bottle of water at the airport set you back a distinguished 7,30 euros. NFT ART DAY IN ZUG It’s great to get in contact time and time again with the artworld at large – from the crypto art & NFT bubbles. Legacy art is still so far behind in understanding why digital certificates done right, matter, that it’s scary. In general in culture now, we feel the touch of history, as we delete and censor things all the time. Culture and tastes change, and now we see deletion of conversations, ideas and people all the time. It’s always been like this. Statues are being torn, and some are still pissed that the library of Alexandria was burned. We can never take knowing history for granted. Something verified on the blockchain, now at the edge of AI mixing things even further and irrecognisably, decentralised blockchain matters more than ever. It was most excellent, as always, to see, hang out and party with the powerful Brittany Kaiser and my trusted gallerist Tomas Cermak from Cermak Eisenkraft Gallery. DFINITY & Internet Computer Sponsoring and co-hosting the Fest were DFINITY and their innovative project Internet Computer, who were prominently visible throughout the festival.

Lomesh Dutta gave a couple of keynote speeches on the mission and vision of the project and partied with us to Ibiza tunes late after the Unconference end. The DFINITY Foundation’s mission is to build, promote, and maintain the Internet Computer — the world’s first web-speed, internet-scale public blockchain. It enables smart contracts to securely serve interactive web content directly into the browsers of end users, making it possible to build dapps, DeFi, open internet services, and enterprise systems that can operate at hyperscale. It helps credibility that they have a whole building to themselves The Data-Cleopatra This title will make sense a bit later.. VESA and Brittany are both going to Cairo later this year. One of the most magical aspects of in person events is that they bring together partners that you have an open folder with. Brittany Kaiser, who visited Finland in November 2021 to shoot an NFT project with VESA on data ownership and her entire life story, was present at the Fest. A major theme of the entire Fest was environmental consciousness and green initiatives. Brittany in VESA’s studio earlier filming a project, which is about to get energised from Egypt to complete post production via Mercantura Forum Featured initiative by the festival founders was the Green Block. The Green Block is an initiative by Crypto Oasis Ventures to create an Ecosystem for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) related Blockchain projects and platforms. This is the first Global initiative of Crypto Oasis Ventures in commitment to the UAE’s COP28 initiative. Unlike in many other green initiative groups, this one is not afraid to have the battle of ideas inside of the group either from fear mongering to green washing – it was all on the table to figure out what is real about it. The Green Block is going to be an Ecosystem that aims to foster a sustainable future by bringing together stakeholders to develop and implement solutions for corporate governance, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility. The Green Block concentrates on promoting, leading, and connecting the industry to align with the goals of the UAE for COP28 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for the World. The conversations and connections evolved throughout the Fest and by the end of the conference, something beyond huge was already brewing. The first phone calls for this new development are taking place as we speak, more on that soon. Brittany had also embarked on another venture. She told VESA that she is in the process of tokenizing high-value real estate assets, namely heritage castles in France, and had her eyes on other parts of the world as well. The Fork & Flip piece from 2017 made an appearance at the back of the main ballroom at the Unconference. Faisal killed it as a moderator when Brittany was talking about green mining, the new castle project etc. Not much can be made public about the castle project yet, but you can enquire about it via [email protected] It was good to also reconnect with Matti Liukas, his lovely wife Brynne Kennedy & business partner Antonio Beja to catch up. As with every conf, there are late nights, possibly cigars, and a pissed off kitchen staff to bring in 5 times the amount of food ordered. Guess they didn’t want to be dragged back into the kitchen by a bunch of party animals 🤷 All handled with laughter & good spirits. BR8VE and Fork & Flip Two VESA pieces that have an impressive pedigree are the commission piece for an anonymous crypto OG, THE BR8VE and an early crypto art called Fork & Flip. The works were exhibited at the Fest as large fabric pieces. In themes both works are right in the core of crypto art, the predecessor to NFTs, and tell the story of the decentralized movement. It’s pretty fire to say the BR8VE could be the Guernica of Crypto, but I challenge anyone to look at the substance and at least have to consider it. The Swiss Web3 Fest coincided with new VESA NFTs being released on Tokengate, an NFT platform associated with the Crypto Oasis and Arte community.

The highly curated and sophisticated platform immediately felt like home for the new Mirror- series, which explores transcendental, symmetrical shapes in motion and colour. What ever your art form is, when the attitude is to get things done, you hang from ceilings, help others come to contribute. We go beyond always to what is expected and don’t give up when things don’t look optimal. The large fabric piece is now available via the website shipping almost anywhere within 10 days. It was also a pleasure to meet this Saudi gentleman Zeyad Alkhelaifi, a CAMO Aircraft Engineer, who was our guest at his first ever crypto conference. The piece Fork & Flip can be found here. Visiting the Unpaired gallery with Georg Bak Swiss NFT Association Swiss NFT Association – Assemble! Another piece of the armada forming in Switzerland is SNA – Swiss NFT Association, which held its ground as a part of the entire Swiss Web3 Fest. It was called the Unconference, held by the Swiss NFT Lakeside as it wrapped up the action-packed week of keynotes, connections, panels, and workshops. The whole experience felt like a mere glimpse into the potential firepower of the ecosystem and the Swiss NFT culture. It was great to get to know Victor and Josephine a bit, and start discussing further Swiss contributions. Pioneer gifts Early Bitcoin art gifts – verified on the #BTC chain – to early Bitcoin people and their incredible teams pushing this space forward This iPad cover has been with me since 2018, and travelled a bunch. It was once of those early one off experiments that I didn’t put for sale and forgot to make more of. It’s now verified on chain via @verisart “BitCover I”now dedicated and given as a token of appreciation to As Arnold Schwarzenegger says in his Netflix docu series, no one is self made. This took an all star team. It was great to connect with Luca making sure we all got to where we needed to be, Saed connecting us to new people like Kareem from Mercantura Forum, Manal, Fabio and Mic as a new acquaintance. Tom from Tokengate was hanging with me in the ceiling attaching the large BR8VE artwork last minute. Pascal was there always to lend a hand or an idea, and was good to reconnect with Dennis as always. VESA wasn’t able to connect with everyone but many are left unmentioned. So yea. It was a vortex. Grateful to you all, and see you in Dubai soon habibis. Lotta for V E S A Crypto & NFT Artist All links to physical, NFTs, and more below Source