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mono-dot-jpeg · 8 months

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[1:43am]

a/n; cute timestamp 143 (ily) i almost forgot this idea i had for twst since i was thinking about dragon reader. but this time i was thinking about nimona shark so.... an excuse for me to write for octo dorm again

platonic??? romantic??? idk you can decide.

you loved your home (back in the ocean) and all but man, you couldn't help but gravitate even more towards the ocean themed dorm. you don't like getting attached to people. you kind of live with your own school of sharks when it was feeding time, and that was it for the most part.

but you wanted a friend or two... one that wasn't scared of you at least. that was a hard ask back in your school (as if you've only lived in the sea until this exchange program).

but here, you had a chance at least!

you learned about the dorm and you were hooked from the start. when you first met floyd and jade, you were caught off guard with their sharp teeth and supposedly odd personalities. you understood the fear.. you think. but you thought floyd seemed nice despite the raving rumors around him. maybe it was because you knew that you could body him with your size and height alone.

you were a very big shark after all. and floyd seemed interested. before he had a chance to really know you, he called you a whale (not out of insult but as a nickname), and you had corrected him that you were a whale shark. "i'm not a whale, i'm a whale shark." the lack of sharp teeth had him even more interested. "very different creatures clearly."

"hehe, looks like sharky has some bite after all!" floyd snickered as this was a first meeting and he's only heard you from gossip. "we're gonna get along great."

that was a lie. he always tried to get on your nerves because of your loner-like personality. how you didn't really mind other guppies (humans) and how you didn't even mind being friends with leona's dorm members. you didn't really care most of the time when he did it, which did get him bored.

but then you met jade and the dorm leader himself, azul. your tall stature had initially startled him. but you reassued him, "don't worry, i don't eat octopus." somehow, you had amused the leech twins, both of them snickering at your blunt statement as azul stares up at you in disbelief. "i really don't."

"it's true." floyd vouches. "they eat people." he almost says it a little too seriously, causing you to smack him behind the head. "sharky!"

"i don't eat people. you do."

"well, that's just not true!"

"don't lie about me and i won't lie about you." and somehow you find a job in the lounge, becoming a host or the last line of security for the place. you certainly capture the attention of other students. you reflect most of your shark counterparts and behaviors that scare them, but you're really a gentle person.

you provide an odd sense of comfort to the guests of the lounge. it's rather endearing watching a shark-mer such as yourself try to be gentle and (mostly) nice to others.

floyd often turns to you for when he wants to squeeze something, and he just doesn't feel like chasing that magicless prefect yet. you're not really a warm-blooded person, so it's not a warm hug or anything, but you are one of the few people who can take a squeeze from the eel. and he takes that to his advantage. sometimes you are forced to carry him around when he's feeling extra clingy, but you don't seem to mind.

jade comes to you when he's done forcing mushroom dishes to his twin. you have a big appetite, so it only makes sense for him to test dishes with you around. he likes your peaceful presence as well, always commenting how people must mistake you for those violent shark movies and videos that those guppies watch. you sigh heavily every time when someone talks about those movies and if they were actually how sharks were.

azul comes to you for your calm presence. he warmed up to you slowly as you were still technically one of the few biggest sharks. but you always tell him it's okay to be scared of you because you're just used to it. and he's a little concerned now. "do you not have many friends because of your lineage?"

"no one likes a scary shark. not many people, at least." and it kind of reminds him of how alone he felt back in elementary. and he gave himself a silent pack to just not make you feel that way. he had even offered to let you swim the back lounge area for the employees. you were very happy at that. of course, he didn't fully account for how big your shark-mer form really was. but you looked so happy, he couldn't ruin that for you. and after that, he opened up a bit more and you both spend your time together in a comforting silence while he works and you rest or work with him. you're not the best with negotiating, but you do bring an energy that helps ease the clients (or scare them) into signing his contracts.

unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and you had to go back to your school because the exchange program ended. you were all kind of sad. but at least you knew that you had made a friend, and that felt like enough. they promised to visit and everything. even inviting you to school events at nrc if it was possible. and you offer the same as well.

you don't mind being a scary shark anymore.

#twisted wonderland floyd #twisted wonderland azul #twst wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland floyd leech #twisted wonderland #azul ashengrotto x reader #azul x reader #floyd leech x reader #floyd x reader #twst floyd #jade leech x reader #jade x reader #twst jade #twst octavinelle

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osamusbigtits · 1 month

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I think motoya is a little weirded out by how open sunaosa are about sex and kink. and it's just something he isn't used to.

like he comes home and osamu's splayed out on the couch and motoya gets so flustered and so confused. why is his boyfriend naked? not in the bedroom?

so its a weird learning curve for him. and sunaosa ask if there are boundaries they're overstepping, because they'll make a change so fast. and its not like they're technically doing anything wrong, motoya's just not used to it.

motoya tries. he gets a little flirty.

he gives suna bedroom eyes when they're at practice and panics when suna gets hit in the face with a volleyball bc they're both distanced.

he sends, not nudes, but suggestive photos to osamu. only when he knows osamu's not at work. only to get incomprehensible texts in response. (suna tells him it means osamu's into it.)

but joining in on their scenes feels a bit too far for him. he tries, but usually ends up quietly slipping out of the room. he's seen them in the aftermath. one of them so out of it they can't talk, and the other one still ready to give a command.

they suggest scenes that focus solely on motoya, but motoya always declines. he's never done anything more than vanilla sex. expect for his ex who had a thing for dirty talk, but that was the craziest he ever got.

one day he's in osamu's lap, they're both just kissing. and kissing slowly turns into more.

and he's being fucked by osamu, so slow and controlled it makes motoya dizzy as he begs for more. and then suna's whispering intoxicating words into his ears. words of praise that send bolts through his veins, his skin tingles and head spins.

motoya's back arches as he cums, untouched but not embarrassed by it. osamu kisses motoya's neck, but his hips don't stop. suna's continue, unwavering. usually he'd be done after this. usually his partner cums long before he does.

motoya covers his mouth, moans becoming louder and more uncontrolled. he doesn't want this to stop, he realizes. this is the best sex he's ever had.

"don't cover your mouth, darling," osamu says.

suna coos softly, "come on, pretty boy. let us hear you. let us know how good we're making you feel." he wraps a hand around motoya's cock.

their words, their names, their touches... it's not long before motoya cums again.

his head feels fuzzy and each touch feels electric. he's not sure how, but he ends up in a nice warm, bubbly bath that smells of vanilla and cinnamon. the water sloshes and someone sits behind him. motoya leans his back against whoever it is. only relishing in the extra warmth it provides.

"did that feel good?" a voice asks. it takes motoya a moment to recognize osamu's voice.

motoya nods with a smile.

"rin's getting you some water and a snack."

motoya nods again. osamu's arms are so comforting around him, motoya melts against his chest.

"we should do that again," motoya mumbles.

"yeah?" osamu asks. his voice sounds like honey. motoya nods. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, sweetie."

motoya doesn't know how he gets to bed. he finds he doesn't care when he's wrapped up in a soft blanket, surrounded by his warm boyfriends.

after that night, he becomes far more curious about what suna and osamu get up to in the bedroom.

#idk where this came from #bex thoughts #hq #sunaosakomo

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rpgarbage · 5 months

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HTML BASICS

hey goobers, let's learn some basics for rp.me HTML coding.

under the cut, we have:

-getting image URL -what are hex codes? -how to post a gif/image -how to add a background -how to bold, italic, underline, or highlight text -coloring text -centering text or right aligning text -line breaks -creating a link

*ignore my typos, i'm stupid **if you need any extra help w/ these, lmk on discord @feralgnat

getting image url:

i'm only adding this because it's important for other steps and i don't wanna assume y'all know how to get this.

to get a image url, typically you can right-click on any interwebz photo and click "copy image link/url."

you can also upload onto imgur or similar places and still copy the image url. some sites have specific copy zones for those urls, but i always just right click and copy. up to you.

make sure your url ends in .jpeg, .png, .gif and similar. i don't think .svg works for html coding but i am probably wrong and stupid.

hex codes:

we're gonna be using a lot of hex codes too so here's what they are!!!!

hex codes will have # and 6 characters after that represent any color you can think of. for a full list of hex code colors, go here and look around. copy and paste that number/letter code, including #, and use that in any codes that require hex codes.

black: #000000 white: #ffffff

posting gif/image:

whenever you're posting a gif or an image, you'll use the same code, which is:

with this code, it will post the original size of the photo you're using. sometimes that's OK!!!!!! but a lot of the time, we are lazy and don't want to personally resize pictures. there is a solution!!!

back to our original code but with a new addition: <img src='IMAGE URL HERE' width=100> or <img src='IMAGE URL HERE' height=100>

this code will keep the aspect ratio the same, but will now make the picture 100 pixels in width (or height in the second code). you can TECHNICALLY add both width and height to your code, but you might fuck up the aspect ratio (you do you, tho). you can obviously edit the width/height number to whatever space you need to fit it in. you'll probably have to play with it and adjust it a lot, but that's life, baybee.

adding a background:

idk this code off of the top of my head, but here u go.

background image:

the url used should end in .jpeg, .png, .gif, or similar.

background color only:

(this code could prob be shorter but i'm not touching it. what if i fuck it up? we will DIE!!!!!!! more code is better than less code, imo)

bold, italic, underline, or highlight text:

bold: <b>text herehehehehrehherehhe </b> italic: <i> text heehrhehrhehhehehheh </i> underline: <u> text herehehrhehrheh </u> highlight: <mark> text herehehrhehr </mark>

there's a way to change the highlight color, too!!! add this code: <style> mark {background-color:ADD HEX CODE; color: black; } </style>

background color is the actual highlight color and the second color is your text color. typically we're gonna use black but you can also adjust that with another hex code if ur feeling fancy.

with all of these codes, do not forget to add the second code when you are done with transforming whatever text you're working with. those </> codes are your friends.

coloring text:

you're gonna need ur handy, dandy hex codes for this too.

before text you wanna color, use: <font color=HEX CODE HERE>TEXT WHEEE</font>

once again, don't forget that </font> or else everything after the code will be the color you chose. unless you want that.... it's your life.

centering text or right aligning text:

centering: <center> TEXT OR PIC CODE??? WHATEVER </center>

right align: <p align=right> TEXT OR PIC OR WHATEVER </p>

left align (default but here u go): <p align=left>TEXT WHEEEE</p>

line breaks:

many of you prob know this but JUST IN CASEEEEE

new line: <br> skip a line: <p>

creating a link:

#rp.me #roleplayer.me #get crazy get stupid #html #resources #this post likes to not show up in the resources tag #why

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itsgoghtime · 14 days

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World in Color

Chapter X

Words : 2587

CW : family life - so if ya don’t like kids in fics, this chapter ain’t for you - this is also technically an Epilogue, but it’s the very happy end. it makes me sad that we’re at the close or World In Color, but it’s been so special to write this story that’s been so close to my heart. 🫶

taglist : @valmare @permanentlyexhaustedpigeon88 @horserad-ish

"Boys! Dinner!" Pumpkin called from the back porch, ringing the bell a few times.

It had been over five years since the MacPherson's had been married, and they were now well established in the ranching community in New Hope.

Will appeared out of the barn first, smiling as his eyes landed on his wife, her bump somehow more round than yesterday. It made his heart burst with pride.

A year and a half into their marriage, they had learned of her pregnancy - one that would result in fraternal twin boys. Will had practically been speechless at the first ultrasound.

"I didn't think I'd be nervous going in to see our baby. Maybe it's just because it's the first time." Pumpkin's fingers intertwined with Will's on her small bump as they waited to be called back.

"It's definitely a new experience. I don't envy you having to keep a full bladder though, that sounds uncomfortable."

"Oh, don't remind me. If I don't think about it too hard, I don't need to go as bad. But we've been waiting a while, and dang."

"MacPherson?" A tech appeared, and Pumpkin sighed in relief, standing from her chair gingerly.

"Sorry there was such a delay, we were running a bit behind." The young woman smiled, leading them down the hall.

"No worries, we don't mind waiting. Well, my bladder does, but the rest of me doesn't." She chuckled.

"That will make it so much easier to see everything! You are the best - that's part of the reason we were running behind, the last patient didn't have a full bladder and we had to do an alternate ultrasound route. Here we are." The tech opened the door for them to the ultrasound room.

It was dimly lit, but had a calm atmosphere about it.

"Well, my bladder is most definitely full." Pumpkin chuckled as she laid down on the table, lifting her shirt as the tech instructed.

"I'll make it as quick as I can - and it should go by fast, considering you followed the instructions. We should be able to find your baby in no time." The tech applied the gel, beginning to press down on Pumpkin's abdomen.

Will took his wife's hand in his, noticing her discomfort.

"When did you find out you were pregnant?" The tech asked.

"It's been four weeks since the positive test, and we're guessing she was about four weeks when she tested positive." Will responded.

The young woman nodded, moving her wand around. When she found what she was looking for, she smiled.

"Well, Mr. and Mrs. MacPherson, looks like you have two healthy babies."

"There's two?" Will's eyes widened.

"Yeah! Let me get some measurements while I'm in the right spot and then I'll show you the screen."

After a couple minutes, the nurse turned her screen to show the couple what she was talking about.

"We have twin A on the left, and twin B on the right. Both looking to be about the same size, which is a great sign in these early stages. We'll definitely want to keep a close eye on them as they develop though, so I'll add to your notes for your doctor that you'll want to come in for an ultrasound every other week, at least until we can see more. Twins can be high risk, so you'll just want to make sure you're taking extra good care of yourself to make sure they continue to grow."

After Pumpkin had wiped the gel off and the tech had handed them their pictures, the couple walked out into the hall in silence, taking in all the information they had just been given. Pumpkin went into the bathroom, and even their walk to the car once she was done was pretty quiet. Spooky finally seemed to wrap his mind around the fact that he not only had one baby on the way, but two, and turned to his wife with the widest smile.

"We're having twins. Two babies." He laughed, picking her up into his arms and spinning her, making her giggle. "We're having twins!!"

Despite their initial shock, they were elated that their family was growing by two. Nothing about those next seven months had been easy, and they'd had a couple scares - but even with everything they had to deal with, two healthy baby boys were delivered ten minutes apart and only had a NICU stay of twenty two days before they went home.

Raising their boys had been their pride and joy for the last four years, and Will was so proud of who they were becoming under their parent's guidance, even if they did get into mischief sometimes. They were his boys, he could expect nothing less.

"Wesley Miguel! Don't threaten the goat with the shovel. I know she head butted you, but you were chasing her. C'mere." Pumpkin chided, though somehow her tone was still filled with love - something Will adored about her parenting style.

"Theo!" She called, but as her second boy continued to giggle and chase one of the chickens, she chuckled. "Theodore William MacPherson, come here. It's time to get all the dirt off your hands and eat dinner."

"Come, boys. Let's get washed up." Will laughed, and both boys came running past them into the house, but not before taking their little work boots off at the door - just as their Mama had taught them.

"And as for you..." Pumpkin turned to Will, chuckling softly as he embraced her.

"Hey, beautiful." He whispered.

"Hey, handsome." She smiled as his thumb rubbed comforting circles on her belly. "How was working with the boys?"

"They've got a lot to learn, but they seem to understand most of it. Not that collecting eggs and shoveling dirt is very hard to understand." He nudged her nose with his. "How are my girls?"

"Good. She's been kicking away today, just letting me know she's there."

Just six months ago, they had discovered their third child was on the way.

Since the twins had turned two years old, Pumpkin had wanted another baby. The boys had come so easily, she was fairly confident that it wouldn't be too hard to have their third child. Will had plans for a house full of kids - and they weren't exactly getting any younger.

But time passed. Baby number three didn't come. Pumpkin miscarried twice, within the first few weeks each time. It broke Will's heart - not only to lose their babies, but that his sweet love had to endure such heartache each time she learned she had lost one.

After the second miscarriage, they had decided to take a break from actively trying, to take some time to focus on the boys. Their dream of the house full of children was still there, but Wesley and Theo kept them busy enough that they began to heal. Pumpkin made an extra effort to get her hormones balanced, to make sure she was doing everything she could to be able to have another baby.

One evening, after a long day teaching the boys how to manage their field crops, the dinner bell rang. He herded his tired twins towards the house, kissing Pumpkin softly before going into the kitchen to wash up. Spooky's smile grew as he caught the smell of her ravioli casserole - one of the family's favorites.

"How was your day, honey?" His tone was soft, carrying across the room to her as she set the table.

"It was good."

"Errands in town go well?"

"They did! I finally was able to get a hold of those melon seeds we've been waiting for. I want to see if we can get them planted within the next week or so, they'll be a little late but I think we'll be able to get some good profit off of them. The boys loved the melon jerky we freeze dried last year, maybe we could make some of that at the end of the season too."

After the last plate had been set, Will's arms came around her from behind, breathing in her scent.

"You're chipper today."

"Just have a lot of reasons to be happy, I guess." She chuckled. "And I picked up a surprise for you and the boys on my way out of town this afternoon."

"Oh?"

"Mhmm. Wrapped it and everything."

As if on cue, Wesley and Theo discovered the wrapped box on their way out of their bathroom.

"Mama! Is this a present for us?" Theo asked.

"It isn't even anyone's birthday!" Wesley giggled.

"Come here, my little loves, and open it with Daddy. It's for the three of you." Pumpkin smiled, and the boys sat on either side of Will on the couch.

"Yeah, boys only!" Wesley chuckled.

"Won't you help us, Mama? I don't think it should be boys only." Theo said softly.

"Of course. we can each grab a corner and pull. Ready, set, pull." She said softly, and the wrapping paper came clean off the box, in several pieces. Will opened the box, pulling out two folded t-shirts, evidently for the boys because of their size.

It all happened so quick after that. Will reached the bottom of the box, eyes widening at the two items that were left for him. The boys opened their shirts, a little confused.

"It says 'Big Brother'?" Wesley's little brow furrowed.

"That's what mine says too." Theo asks.

Will discarded the box, standing as he held the little printed picture and the stick in his hands.

"You... are you serious?" Spooky's voice shook, full of emotion.

"Found out today." Her lips met his nose, tears already on her cheeks.

"We're gonna have a baby?"

"We're gonna have a baby. Twelve weeks, and looking completely healthy. Sweetest little heartbeat."

"Is Mama having a baby?" Theo asked.

"A baby! Oh goodness! Mama's going to have a baby!" Wesley giggled, hugging his parent's legs tightly, Theo following suit.

"My little Dot." Will smiled.

"Dot Erin MacPherson. I love her name already. And she seems to as well, she's been kicking when I've mentioned it..."

Since the baby had begun to grow, Will had hoped for a girl. His heart wanted nothing more than a little copy of Pumpkin running around, as both of his boys seemed to take after him in most of their features.

"Mama, when do we get to see the baby?"

"Is the baby a boy or a girl?"

"Boys, come here." Will scooped his sons into his arms. "We've just got to wait. We'll get to see baby soon."

"MacPherson?" The tech came through the door.

Will stood with the boys on his hips, and smiled at Pumpkin as she went into the room first. She was radiant, even though she was only halfway through her pregnancy.

"What do you boys think your little sibling is?" The tech asked as the boys stood next to her to watch what she was doing.

"I think it's going to be a girl." Theo responded.

"Me too. But it could also be a boy." Wesley stated.

"If they're bugging you, let us know and we can wrangle them." Pumpkin chuckled, the gel cool on her bump.

"They're alright, it's fun to have older siblings want to be involved."

"Will we get to see the baby on that screen up there?" Theo pointed at the blank monitor.

"Is that the camera you use?" Wesley asked as the tech moved the wand.

"Boys, come here. Let the technician do her job." Will held his arms out, and the boy's little feet soon had them cuddled into his sides.

The technician chuckled, looking on the screen to begin her search.

"I can't quite see gender yet, but looking at measurements so far, baby is looking great."

"Is the baby shy?" Wesley's little voice was soft.

"Yeah, baby is being a little shy. Can you cheer them on a little bit to see if they'll turn for us?"

Will's boys clapped their hands, giggling as they cheered on for their baby sibling. The technician moved the wand a bit, trying to get a different angle and move the baby a little bit.

For a split second, the baby turned and stretched their legs wide, and the technician caught a glimpse before the baby's legs scrunched back up.

"You did such a good job cheering, friends! Your little sister moved just enough so I could see!"

Everyone went quiet, the twin's eyes went wide.

"A little sister?"

"Yeah! Baby MacPherson is a girl." The technician smiled. "Congratulations."

Will's smile grew wide, his gaze moving to his wife. "I'm so proud. We've been needing another girl in the house."

"Where did she go... come on, Dot, say hello to daddy." Pumpkin took his hand, placing it at the bottom of her belly, where the baby began to kick. "There she is."

"Three months, and the boys will have a little sister." Spooky kissed his wife's forehead.

"Sister! Sisterrr!" Wesley bounded into the room, Theo right on his heels.

"Is she kicking, Mama? Did she miss us?" Theo asked, and both sets of the boy's hands landed gently on her stomach, pleased to feel her moving around.

"I am certain Dot missed you both, very much. Did you get your hands all washed?" Pumpkin asked, and the boys showed her their hands. "Perfect. Thank you so much. Now, can you please set the table for us?"

"Yes, Mama!" Theo led his brother into the kitchen, pulling plates from the lower cupboard and silverware from the drawer. If there was one thing the MacPherson boys loved, it was being helpful.

"Oh, and one last thing for you, Daddy. Because you're the only one who will really understand it." She smiled, waddling back into their bedroom to retrieve something. It was not long before her feet padded into the living room once more. "I had this made for you. For us."

Will took the item from her hands, shaking his head with a smile as tears pored over his cheeks once more.

It was a little sunflower frame made from wood, the latest picture they'd had taken of their family in the middle. The top read "Our world is in color when we're together" and the bottom line was "MacPhersons, est 2009".

"Pumpkin..." Spooky chuckled, her fingers soft on his cheeks as she wiped his tears. "It's beautiful. We'll have to get another picture when Dot is born."

"Most definitely."

"Mama! Does Dot like the casserole like we do?" Wesley asked.

"Does she like ice cream too? Because we could make her ice cream after dinner!" Theo chimed in.

"I'm sure she does, boys. And if you eat all your dinner and help with dishes, we can have ice cream later." Will answered his boys before kissing Pumpkin.

"I hope they'll let us have the raspberry sauce from our raspberry bushes again. That was the best part." Theo whispered as he went to the table.

"Me too." Wesley sighed softly, following his brother.

Will carefully set the sunflower frame on the fridge, making sure the magnet was strong enough, before his hand came to rest on his wife's lower back as she brought the hot casserole dish to the table.

Things would come, and things would go. Seasons would change. The house would fill with children, and they'd grow up and move away. But one thing was certain.

As long as they were together, Spooky and Pumpkin's world would always be in color.

♡ ♡ ♡

previous chapter ♡ the end ♡

series masterlist

biggest thank you’s to @valmare and @permanentlyexhaustedpigeon88 for supporting this since the beginning - it’s been you, my friends, that have kept me excited to continue sharing every installment. Couldn’t have done this without you and I am so happy I got to share this piece of me with you. My heart is so full! 🫶

#world in color #val kilmer #will ‘spooky’ macpherson #william macpherson #will macpherson #spooky #spooky and pumpkin #conspiracy #conspiracy 2008 #spooky x pumpkin #spooky x reader

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wenevergotusedtoegypt · 3 months

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I am...pretty upset at our babysitter.

When we hired her back in the fall, she quoted a range for her hourly rate, of which the lowest end was tbh significantly higher than the going rate around here. But, she was actually available for all the hours we needed (which we struggled to find), she had glowing references, and she gave off a good vibe. So I had an honest conversation with her where I explained that we really wanted to hire her, but we're a single income family and, while it's not on her to accept a lower wage to accommodate that fact, we couldn't do more than the low end of her range (and that, though I didn't tell her, only with some financial help from my in-laws). She agreed to that rate and told us that she would always be transparent with us if money was becoming an issue, and might potentially take on an additional job if she needed to, though she hoped to work for just us.

So fast forward a few months. She's great with the kids, they love her, she's very reliable. She's asked about our childcare needs over the summer, so it seems she anticipates continuing to work for us over the longterm if we'll have her. Everything is going great.

Then we hit my husband's winter break, which was over a month long and started right before Chanukah. She asked if we needed her over Chanukah because she wanted to visit family, and we said no due to my husband being on break. She then asked about the rest of the break. I told her that technically we didn't need her, BUT I knew she was relying on the money, so we were happy to have her continue working throughout the break or for part of it, and it was totally up to her. She declined to work at all over the break.

First day back after the break and she asked if she could speak to me before she left. She told me that after the month of not working, she was struggling financially, and had had to borrow money. Here I began to expect she was going to ask for a raise. I told her that I was so sorry, because maybe I hadn't been clear, but I'd really meant it when I'd said that we would've been happy to have her keep working over the break. She said that it wasn't my fault, but now that her class schedule is fully in the evening (she's a part time student, and in the fall it was part evening and part afternoon), she realized she needs to work more of a full time schedule during the day in order to make enough to get by. And that therefore, she was giving her 2 weeks, because she was going to look for another job.

So I get she needs money. She only works for us 10-11ish hours a week. I had kind of assumed til now that her parents were paying some of her expenses.

But like.

How did you not realize in the fall that this wouldn't be enough money? Why did it take a month of not working to figure that out? Would/when would this realization even have hit if my husband hadn't had a break?

WHY DID YOU NOT WORK FOR A MONTH WHEN WE LITERALLY TOLD YOU WE WOULD PAY YOU IF MONEY WAS SUCH A CONCERN

It's not actually her 2 weeks. Because she literally had not even applied to a single job as of that conversations, because

She waited to start doing so until she could talk to us?? Like I feel like she thought she was doing the right thing by speaking in person, but...we could have had maybe even WEEKS extra time to figure something out?? Or she could've started applying when my husband was on break so if she left it wouldn't be an immediate crisis.....

So the "2 weeks" is really more "I reserve the right to be done as of 2 weeks from now but if I don't find a job by then I'll stay til an unspecified point." Which is EXTREMELY unhelpful because how am I supposed to hire someone without a definite start date. IF I'm going to hire someone, that is, because....

I asked her if she would be interested if I could help her find another family nearby that needed babysitting earlier in the day. Prior to this offer, she had told me that she really really didn't want to stop working for us, she loves our family, etc. so I thought this would be a great solution all around (as another issue she mentioned was the commute and whether it was worth it for only a couple hours of work at a time). She seemed genuinely interested in the prospect, so as soon as she left, I put out feelers to a bunch of local groups. I had like 16 people, maybe more, contact me about her and I connected her with all of them. I was feeling like maaaaybe things would work out, as long as she could find someone else who would accept her rate (or maybe she'd go down if it was more hours). Either way I couldn't try to find someone else because maybe I wasn't even going to hire anyone.

After a couple of days 2 of those people reached out to me asking if I knew what was up, because they had reached out, and she had never replied. So I was going to ask her what the deal was today, because wth, girl, I'm trying to find you a job and you're not even responding to would-be employers. But before I even got the chance, she told me that she was "offered a job" at a place that lines up well with her intended field, and she has an interview on Wednesday, so she'll let me know what's happening - but good news, it would probably start about a week later than she thought! I was like wait, you have a job offer or you have an interview?

It's just an interview. It's just a first interview. I almost have to admire the level of confidence entailed in being that sure you're going to land the job that you're already making plans around it, but anyway. What good does it do for me to know that you have an interview and you think there's a really good chance you'd get the job and that if you did you would probably start by X date? I still can't actually plan anything.

And, I'm also frustrated because I feel like if she was going to accept my offer to help her find another babysitting job nearby, she owed it to me to make a good faith effort to look into whether anything I found would meet her needs, and meanwhile she didn't even reply to all the interested parties I found her. If she wasn't going to take that option seriously, she should've just told me it wasn't something she was interested in. I feel misled by how enthusiastically she declared that she wanted to keep working for us and then it feels like she didn't really even try to make that happen.

Anyway, bottom line, she's put us in an extremely difficult spot. Assuming she does leave, any gap between that departure and finding a suitable new sitter will entail my missing hours of work a week (my husband isn't allowed to miss any of his classes and can't really miss any more days in the clinic than what he'll miss for yontiff, because he has to make up each day he misses). She is a really good sitter and I think she has had genuinely good intentions this whole time. But she is just like. Woefully naive about finances I guess? and not very tuned into what would actually be helpful to us as far as notice.

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eisforeidolon · 8 months

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Question: My question is, can you guys talk a bit about the strike, like what it's for? I know you just did the, like, assembly with Supernatural cast, I heard Jensen you got a pie truck out there?

Jensen: Technically Kripke got it, and just gave me some extra credit.

Question: So I was wondering if you guys would talk a bit about what it means with the show? 'Cause I know you guys - a lot of people view that upper echelon of actors and they don't really see what the point of the strike is for a lot of those who are not as well off doing it? And you guys used to be there when you were first starting out in that area, so if you guys could talk about it a bit I think -

Putting the answers under a cut, because both guys have a fair bit to say on the subject.

Jared: Sure. Yeah, that's actually really interesting. And I think it'll be real interesting, because I think we all know some stuff that he and I have done together that's been public? But not everybody in the room knows what the ingredients are to the recipe that ultimately makes the meal, or whatever. To that extent, right now - and I don't - full disclosure, I don't have any secrets that aren't public. The mediators and the attorneys on both sides are all under nondisclosure agreements and I don't know Fran Drescher other than [does Drescher's signature laugh], y'know, so.

Jensen: So you mean The Nanny?

Jared: Sorry Ms. President. But uh, I don't know her and so it's not like she's giving me secrets off the record. But one of the things that concerns me about what appears to be the situation that the AMPTP is going after, is it doesn't give young writers, young actors and actresses, the chance to grow and build around experts. Y'know? I started out as a costar - like guest starring on ER, then I guest starred on Gilmore Girls, and like [audience cheers] I know, I know. Stop. But anyways, after my time on [pause] Gilmore Girls [pauses for more audience cheers]. Okay, okay, I'll stop. But seriously, then I was a guest star, and then they hired me to be in 7/13ths of the episodes, then 10/13, then on - so you grow. It's like if you're in taekwondo or karate or something and they say, hey no one's allowed in here but black belts. Then once the black belts move on, there will be no more black belts. Because you have to have white belts in there to learn, you have to have yellow belts, and blue belts, and brown, and purple and so on and so forth. So removing opportunities from people to learn and grow, which I was very fortunate, and I think Jensen was as well [Jensen nods], to learn from people who had a decade of experience, three decades of experience, four decades of experience. And so I'm hoping that it doesn't go there, I know that generative - generative artificial intelligence, is it generative? I've heard generative - it generates, artificial intelligence is dangerous. I think it's existential, in that it can kinda repro- when we shoot, it's on a memory card. So you'll film something, a tv show or a streamer show for an hour and they'll take little memory card and send it off - it's all ones and zeros. So all they need is something to process those ones and zeros, it'll look like me, sound like me, look like him, sound like him, but it won't be us, you know? I stand by the people who are still white belts trying to earn their white belts someday? And I think in that analogy, I think Jensen and I are black belts [audience cheers]. Well, thank you. Thank you, I didn't - I hope that doesn't sound like we're bad-ass, what I meant is that -

Audience: You are! [Jensen makes smug face, nods]

Jared: Well, thank you, but that wasn't my point. But my point is that we had the chance to learn from a hundred black belts while we were white belts. Y'know? So I hope that situation still lasts. Yeah.

Jensen: Yeah, there's a lot of different elements to the negotiations and stuff and there's been some headway on certain aspects, and there's been just massive road blocks with others. But it essentially is, it's targeting pretty much the streamers - so your Netflix, your Apple, your Hulu, your you know. All of those that are essentially making content without a contract that reflects what our contracts with major studios for broadcast would be. And, you know, it was just, it was never established. Well, now that those platforms are clearly working - I think we all, we all agree with that. We now need to put into place contracts so that - one he was talking about AI, there's another element of residual paychecks and residuals stuff for somebody that does come on and does a guest star, or does an episode, or two, or three of a show. They just get bought out, and then that's it. No more. Well, as actors that are, like, coming up in the industry, or writers, or directors, you know any of those kind of fields? They count on the money that comes through with residuals to weather the dry patches of work, because you're not always working. I mean, this industry is very much feast or famine. And during those famine times, you rely on what you did previously to kind of get you through to the next job and that doesn't really exist anymore with the streamers. And so they're fighting for a kind of a pay model to help with that, and to put it - they're not, you know, saying oh you've gotta start - it's not like we need more, we need to raise the ceiling and we're asking for tons of - it's not really that much. It's just there's a loophole right now where we don't have it established. And so they're like, well, we're not gonna just do it, give it to you. And we're like, well you have to. And they're like, alright, we're not going to. Well, alright, we're not coming to work. [audience cheers] And you know, we've all, we all benefit, or I would say, largely benefit, from unions, whether or not you are part of one or not. [Jared nods] I mean, it's the reason we have five day work weeks. It's the reason we work 9 to 5s. It's the reason why we've got your vacations. It's the reason we've got our turnarounds. It's the reason there's sick days. It's the reason there's maternity leaves. It's the reason - you know, it's like all of this stuff has been negotiated largely with unions at the base core of all that. So we've all benefited, I would imagine, some way or another from unions. And if they don't do their job and we don't get a deal that is a fair deal - we're not asking for it not to be a fair deal, we just want a fair deal. And if we can't get that fair deal, then unfortunately that's when we find ourselves in situations like this. None of us wanna be doing this. None of us want a strike, this isn't fun for anybody, y'know? And it's not just the writers and the actors, I mean, everybody is suffering because of it. Camera operators, the hair and makeup teams, the wardrobe department, the grips, the electrics, I mean there are so many people that are affected by this, it's breaking my heart. And I just wish we could come to a fair deal, and hopefully we will - but I don't know what that looks like and I don't know when it will be. So.

#minncon 2023 #j2 main panel #long post

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mountainmaven · 5 months

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Long share.

I know there's still a little over a month left in the year, but what a year.

We had a record breaking winter with snowfall this year. We had a thousand-year storm (Hillary) come through that did severe damage to our mountain (thankfully no loss of life).

A week ago all the roads on the mountain completed the re-opening process. Though many of the hiking trails and parking lots remain closed. Some will remain so indefinitely. We live within a National Forest, and National Recreation Area, just to give you an idea of why things are being handled the way they are.

Our library is re-opening today which I am very happy about and will be going up there this afternoon to visit. It's been 3 months almost to the day since the flood that did damage to our little library and forced her to close.

On personal notes: I'm back in therapy. I'm working on my own spiritual journey again. My husband traveled all over the world this year for work.

Some of you may remember back on Dec. 31, 2020 our oldest got married. She and her (then fiance) bought a house together earlier that year, then he joined the Army after their wedding. This past summer he was deployed and when he came home he told our daughter that he wanted a divorce and there was no changing his mind. We were all devastated most of all of course our daughter, and she's still healing from this. Their divorce is technically final but they are still joined financially until they sell their home. She just needs all this to be behind her. When he told her he wanted the divorce he also told her that he'd been thinking about it for the better part of a year - seriously??!! So yeah, a lot of crap she's been going through.

We helped her find a place to live, she got a summer job that then led to a full time job and she's liking it and it will hopefully lead to a job (either within that company or elsewhere) in an area she really wants to be in. She's in a conservation job and wants to stay within that kind of work.

Our son got a second job and is loving it. He still has his first job for now but that may eventually go away. In the meantime while he works a lot of hours, he likes the extra money.

Our youngest ended her University journey as a student, and is now working as a farm hand at an equine research facility. She loves it, though it's hard work both physically and emotionally. We also helped her find an apartment where she's living.

We visited our other middle child this past summer and that was an amazing trip. We had such a great time, and have been itching to go back ever since. They are finishing up their Master's degree this year. I don't know yet if they're going for their Dr. right away or at all. They've loved the time they've had at their University and where they live. I hope wherever they go next, or if they stay there, they're are as happy as they have been this past year or so.

We've done some more house projects - electrical stuff, small retaining wall, steps leading to the propane tank up the embankment (the gas delivery people LOVE it as they no longer have to literally crawl up the embankment to deliver our gas!) We have more projects on deck for next year (it's always something!). We're still helping to support 3 of our children - it's a tough world out there financially and I truly don't understand how people think young people starting out, or anyone having to start over can do it on their own? We are very grateful that we have the ability to help our kids as we know so many families can't. It breaks my heart.

This Thursday is Thanksgiving here in the US and it will be the first Thanksgiving in almost 30 years where it's just hubby and I. It's going to feel so weird!! But, it will be a nice quiet day just the two of us (oh and our oldest's dog who we are dog sitting that day). But all the kids will be here for Christmas and my birthday so I'm super excited about that.

I hope this year has been a good one for you all, and if it's had its challenges like ours has then I hope you've come through them all in a way that is suitable for you, and you have peace with the outcomes. If you're still struggling I hope that peace will come soon. And I hope that next year is better for us all.

#personal #about me #life update

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danketsuround · 5 months

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sunday six!

typical monday six for me cause i forgot yesterday was sunday lol i was tagged by @four-white-trees and @overdevelopedglasses woo! thank you! i will tag everyone else i usually tag @c-cw-f-saeko @fire-tempers-steel @futilecombat @passthroughtime (think that's everyone? lmk if u want to be tagged/untagged) (share if you want don't if you don't as usual HI)

sharing something different cause i wasn't feeling well this weekend and i have this written already. little extra thing from two birds that expands on the letters kuwana and reiko wrote to each other. kind of long but i don't like it enough to post so just take the whole thing gosh!

To Kusumoto-san,

How are you? I'm sorry I haven't written yet. I just figured out how this works in the midst of moving around. Ehime is a nice place. Far, temperate. The people in Masaki are a little too friendly. Not sure I could say the same about Matsuyama, though, I guess that's the city to a stranger. It seems silly to say, but I hope you're making some friends, if you can.

When we first drove in, a seagull shat on my car. Right on the windshield! I almost killed us both. I know you just jumped at the thought, but we're really okay. Mitsuru made fun at me for getting so startled. He's a good kid. He's a lot like you and nothing like me. Thank God. Despite our differences I think we're getting along.

We came to Matsuyama for a bit. We wanted to pop in and see you but they told us it doesn't work that way. That day it really hit that you were in prison, and not just away on a terrible vacation. I guess I'll never get over missing you. It really upset Mitsuru, so I took him to do tourist stuff instead. It was nice because a lot of people visit those areas, so the wheelchair wasn't really a problem like it is on these gravely rural roads. We met the mascot, Mikyan, and took a picture with him. I'm sure it fell out when you tore open this envelope. Did you know Ehime is famous for its mandarins? They really won't let you forget it! The photo was just going to be of Mitsuru, but this lady behind me said she could take a photo of the both of us, and I got too shy to say no. I'd never do that! Maybe I'm a changed man after all. Anyways, you have the both of us now—though it wasn't like you didn't before.

Mitsuru gave me a haircut. I look ridiculous. You can see it in the photo, right? I would have done a better job blindfolded, but he seemed proud of it, so I kept it. His hair looks pretty choppy now, but not out of revenge. I just suck at cutting hair. Did I tell you that he's trying to get his high school diploma? What a dedicated young man you've raised. I technically still have my teaching license, so I've been helping. Feels good. It's weird. Whenever I help him, I remember why I became a teacher in the first place. Ironic, isn't it? I want to tell you everything but I'll save it for the next time we see you. I'm sorry for cutting it so short, but I have a favor to ask you.

The nurses in Ijincho explained a bunch of stuff to me about Mitsuru's condition and printed it out. It's expectedly massive. Sorry to be a pain, but would you mind taking a look at it and tell me what to do? Advice? I can't make sense of it all. Or maybe I refuse to believe it. Is he really hurt so badly? What does he think of all this? I wonder about it. I wonder about it a lot. He seems fine, but then I look at all his X-rays and blood tests and I don't know what to think. How do I get him too eat? To grab things? To smile? I'm taking it one step at a time, but these technical terms are a big hurdle. You can read it, right? You've always been so much smarter than me. I'm sorry again. I'm lost. Thank you. I'm running out of room. They've got a limit on paper for prison letters. Seems strict.

Mitsuru wanted to say:

M iSsyou Mo M

- Mi Tsu ru

He's got a damn strong grip on his pencil. You'd be proud.

Until then,

Kitakata,

It's good to finally hear from you. I'm doing as well as I can. You seem to be the same. I checked a map of Masaki to try and place you two. It seems like a nice town. Are you getting used to the short buildings and the little beach?

I've been friendly with some of the other inmates, and the seagulls here do the same, but I've been safer than you.

I got your picture. How cute. Your haircut isn't so bad, he did a good job.

I looked at the documents. I know what you mean. I expect you already know to use the feeding tube and how to bathe him. It's not surprising he did not respond well to the catheter. I wouldn't either.

Firstly, Mitsuru has anterograde amnesia. That means he has a very difficult time forming short term memory, even if his long term memory is intact. Remember when you told me he didn't know your name, even though you told him earlier? That's why. I'm not sure why he doesn't remember your face from before. I suppose that's a fortunate mystery. You may have noticed the nurses doing this, but if you tell him the same things over and over again, he'll have an easier time forming new memories. He knows what to call you now because you said it so many times. I'm sure he knows I'm in prison because the nurses told him many times, too. That's what I get.

I'm sure you're well aware of his mental health. He seems to go up and down a lot, I bet. Like his body, his brain is suck at seventeen. Doesn't he seem so... frozen in time to you? He's like an old doll, destined to be a kid forever. I'd be jealous if that was the end of it. The nurses observed that he sometimes behaves like a much younger child. Have you seen him suck his thumb? Does he tug at you when he wants your attention? Hug you at night? It's an acute stress response. He's defending his body from his mind—that's what that means.

Lastly, his food. It's not very difficult to do. Steam it for thirty minutes. If you lose track of time and think you've cooked it for too long, add another ten minutes. I did that when he was little. He hated vegetables until they weren't shaped much like vegetables anymore. He'd swallow his food whole to hurry up and play outside again, so boil it thoroughly. It should be the consistency of chewed gum or silt. Try it yourself, add salt if you hate it. He doesn't like broccoli. No broccoli. Like everything else, he's still relearning how to chew. Don't push him. He’s sensitive. You know that already, just like you know how to do all this other stuff. You have good intuition, and great memory, and it helps that Mitsuru seems to love you. Even still, don't push him. No broccoli. Thank you.

Thank you.

Don't expect me to say anything else, I'll see you soon.

Kusumoto Reiko

#my tummy hurts #sunday six

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poisonousquinzel · 2 years

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Hey y'all, I really hate to be making a post like this, but in true 2020 2.0 fashion, life has been... rough.

I've been trying to get a job in my city since May, but I've been denied because of my health issues.

We also don't have a car. And our town is small so while we technically have a bus, it comes by near my house once per day and isn't reliable.

My mom can't work and my step dad's online work has been stretched dry recently so he's been making bare minimum for months.

I had been under the impression in the beginning of May that I would have the assistance of my parents in this, I've never done most of this before and they made it sound like my mom would help me.

However that wasn't really the case, personal stuff happened for them and I don't necessarily blame them for that, but then in June I got denied for a job because "I have too many health issues" and my step dad told me that we'd get back to it after my birthday. (Post 12th)

I've asked my step dad every morning when I wake up what we're going to do that day, because he had said he was going to be the one handling the job stuff when we started again.

And every day we've done whatever it is he said. We walked up to 7-11, turned in an application, looked up online jobs, etc.

We did the same on Wednesday and the only reason I didn't keep looking into more of them that afternoon was because I had a migraine. And when I have migraines they're not just headaches and they're not just migraines.

It's something I've been working through with my doctor about, because my previous long term doctor since childhood was completely incompetent at her job.

When I get migraines, it makes me nauseous. And being nauseated makes my heart slow down and I faint or collapse.

I can't sleep, it hurts to close my eyes or move them behind my eyelids. It feels like it's sparking against metal with every movement.

I've had to go to the hospital for it in the past when I collapsed into a pile of bags and was barely breathing, my previous doctor just... didn't look at the hospital's report on my visit. Like when I tell you in hindsight she really sucked, she really fucking sucked.

So, yeah, I slept a lot on Wednesday. I wasn't thrilled about it either.

And I told my step dad that I'd do all that stuff on Thursday.

My physical state was pretty visibly clear, I couldn't leave my extra darkened room without wearing sunglasses even though it was 8:30 at night.

But, then on Thursday instead I got into a really heated discussion with the two of them.

And... I am just very, very tired now.

I panic called my therapist 5 times in less than 10 minutes afterwards. It was a really bad day.

Thankfully I was able to get back to back emergency appointments with her and my doctor yesterday morning so dw emotionally wise. But I don't know how I'd be fairing if I hadn't been able to get those scheduled.

But Long Story Short:TLDR: we are a couple of weeks away from being on the streets.

Or in a shelter. We wouldn't be able to bring any of our cats. We would lose all of them.

I don't want to beg, but I suppose I am cause I'm terrified

We're behind on bills and next months are just around the corner, we've run out of local resources here that can help. I don't know all of the specifics, but I do know we're out of options.

If you're in a good financial situation and you feel like it, if you can, literally anything would help.

It'd mean the world. I don't want to end up on the streets or in a shelter, and I really don't want to lose my cats.

I can't.

They're the only thing keeping me going, so, please

PayPal •

[email protected]

Cashapp • $Poisonousquinzel

reblogs and signal boosting are also super appreciated!!

#signal boost #financial help #donations #rent assistance

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captainsspnanon · 10 months

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C3E63 - reaction

FUN combat! Really pleased with the combats from this group, just been thoroughly entertaining and feel like they fly by! Interestingly though, this combat I kept thinking that I was seeing DM mistakes or player mistakes much more than usual. Didn't detract from my enjoyment, but took me a little by surprise.

Very fun moment with Marisha and Liam during the combat where she proposed he pull Hevestro out of the enemy with Seedling and he made a face at her because he'd already come up with the idea. XD

Poor barbarians and their wisdom saves XD

Wish we could have seen what the red orbs actually did. I think him reabsorbing one probably did heal, but it had to have been doing more than that, but they basically got sidelined.

Some Hishari lore! Finally! I'm actually very disappointed that this group has already finished and is returning back to the main grouping - this feels like it would have been the perfect time to make a detour for Ashton, especially because they Technically still had five days to do things (with possible who knows more from the failed teleport from team wildemount!). I'm not surprised that Matt had to massage the timeline a bit to make things work, but I'm also a bit disappointed by it. Especially especially because Taliesin has been showing interest in making storyline progress with the Hishari, having Ashton ask Abbidina and Hevestro about it. I hope more opportunities arise soon, but my guess is we're back on Main Plot track with the side journeys being finished.

Glad Matt specified that the Astral Sea wasn't just the sky/deep space.

I freely admit, I was one of the people who thought Bor'Dor was just who he said he was. I am very pleased to have been proven wrong! Utkarsh did a FANTASTIC job, and I see why they were pre-hyping the episode! Unlike Yu's about-face, this wasn't broadcasted to the audience at any point in time, so it felt like a true shock to the system.

Orym's little nod to Laudna! Laudna just completely losing control while feeling like she's in control! Delilah popping back in!

I fully agree with killing Bor'Dor. While the cast easily could have backed down and done a capture and talk scene, it felt right that it all boiled over and led to the finality of ending him.

I am FULL of feels! I'm very VERY excited to see how Laudna progresses from here, and also Orym now sort of shedding his hold on trying to be a Nice guy with throwing the locket away.

I wish we had another episode or two with the group. Even make it a little longer to allow for a Hishari detour, spend that extra time having team wildemount have to recover from the teleport!

Ah well. I'm still excited to see what happens next. IN TWO WEEKS AARGH.

EDIT: Oh! I forgot! I'm super confused with Bor'Dor's backstory though. The Menagerie Coast hates worship of the Wildmother??? What???

#cr spoilers #critical role #bells hells

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mqstermindswift · 2 months

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If you don't mind me asking, where are you from? Because I saw the English listening scores (yayy!!! I'm so proud of you for that btw<3) and you said you are now a certified english speaker?

I've never heard of that within the US (where I live) so I'm sorry if this offends you in any way, I'm just genuinely curious

oml no I don't mind you asking dw about it.I am from Greece!!(aww thank you sm <3)Well yea I technically am.We have to take extra curricular English lesson(I've been taking English lessons since my first year in elementary( when i was 5 to 6 I think?)and then after some time when we're prepared enough we have to take(is that even the right verb?)an assessment that will judge our English fluency.If we pass that it means that we knoe the language well enough and if we want to be like VERY fluent it's better we also take another assessment.After that,we're officially done with English and only continue if we want to become smth english related and English is needed for college.This applies to other languages as well.

I rlly hope this makes sense.lmk if u have any questions by sending an anonymous or not ask or by massaging me.(no no it doesn't offend me.why would it lmao?you were curious and just asked a question.nothing to be sorry bout <3)

#anon <3 #nicky shit talks

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allqrcoded · 3 months

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Devlog 6: About the lingering dread over the horizon + game summary

Oh, no, no, no. I think we're about to go to the 2nd act of game devving... The scary part -- oh, yes, we're going to bug fix. Sooner than later, apparently.

But before that, happy holidays and a merry new year to all of you. As expected, I spent this time slaving away in the game dev mines and, of course, here's the story on how I did so/what I did. January's a busy month! Both IRL and in the coding sphere of things in this project.

(Also, a very late addition on the summary of Descent to Negative Zero is because I didn't add one):

Descent to Negative Zero follows our protagonists, Josh Lorenzo and Rex De Los Santos in a reunion/birthday road trip gone awry. After pulling up to a motel to close in for the night, instead of seeing their room, however, they both wake up locked in prison cells. As the two work their way out, they slowly uncover the underlying reason on why they're both there and maybe even personal secrets between them.

Maps, sprites & assets

As I'm writing this, we currently have around 45 parallax maps done in the game's folder! While overlays and all that fancy lighting stuff is pushed to the side, a majority of the maps needed in the main game itself are finished. A couple of extra Rexosh (AKA Rex/Josh) face/in-world sprites have also been taken care of, specifically for a section in the opening cutscene itself.

On that note, now that we're here, may I reveal to you an old (as in... Very old) screenshot I tested with when I was trying to figure out a face style for the portraits (painted vs pixeled). In the end, pixeled won.

Now that most of the game's maps have been taken care of, I've also made more maps that're specific to the end game itself.

I especially had fun making this map, even if it's simple (just a road with a bus stop and nature in the BG) because I loved the way it turned out. The sky is my favorite part of this thing.

I've also been bogging down on making individual assets on things such as lore letters scattered all over the game that'll lead to an ending. While I do know that I could've gone the easy way and made it so that the important things get conveyed through solely message windows and nothing more, I wanted to do something a bit more fun (even if it's to future me's detriment).

Albeit, that element is highly inspired by ZENO -- the whole main setting of this game is, really -- but I adored the tiny story telling techniques the custom assets gave me if I were to go that route instead. Yes, I know the text in the screenshot is inherently illegible, but you can't go wrong with a bit of extra censoring. Typesetting is a pain to do, especially on Aseprite, where I make the majority of the assets for this game on, but if I made that phone section in angel care possible, I know damn well I can do this, too. The visual puzzle hints are also on their way to completion.

1/27/24 update: most of the logs have been type-setted and done! It's only log 6 that still needs text, but I'm sure it won't be long until all of those assets are done.

End branches/puzzles galore

In the month of January, I have successfully coded in the 4 main end branches of the game! Woohoo! While the number "4" is questionable because I technically didn't code in the rest of the that end branch's dialogue + still have a bit of writing work to get done before I can be really satisfied with it, the main mechanics of how you get there is already in game. Writing down the dialogue doc before copy pasting the hell out of them into the game engine really helped me out in not getting lost in what I should do next. I also started to hunt down some ending music in freemusicarchive.com for the different credit rolls -- just to add a little more spice/impact once you reach the end.

Speaking of mechanics, the main semi-complicated/not-find-key-to-unlock-door puzzles have also been coded in! A specific wire puzzle did chop off a bit of my sanity last month, but, after a bit of tinkering and script hunting, I got it down. Turns out, it wasn't that complicated at all -- I just didn't know what the hell I was looking for, exactly. The core chase mechanic have also been added in the end game. While the chase itself still needs pizzazz like visual changes whenever you reach a certain point, chase music to set the mood and etc., I got that element done within this month.

What next?

In terms of what I'm doing right now, it's just directing the cutscenes, making custom assets for sprite interaction along with checking whether or not the variables line up with the events corresponding to them. Yep, it's bug fixing time. Right now, I'm trying to fix up a bit of code from the early game and took a break around the 2nd puzzle floor you encounter. It's, as usual, a bit tedious and frustrating at times because I kinda changed the way you solve puzzles by actually pulling up the inventory and using the item itself (sorry, future me), but either way, the good thing is that the core game -- up to the different endings are set in stone and just need detangling, polishing, and what have you.

Bug fixing Dt-Z compared to AC will certainly be a different experience because unlike AC, this game isn't a walking sim. However, if I went through the headache of bug fixing that game, then I'm sure that I'll do just fine with Dt-Z... Even if I hate doing it right now.

#dt-z #rpgmaker #devlog

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kbxyn · 1 year

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12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS: DAY 1 — KATSUKI BAKUGO

CONTENT — ( technically yesterday was 12 days but,,, oh well! ) very short story, christmas tree lighting, getting into a relationship/katsuki asking you out, katsuki is in u.a still in this fic for now, he can be either about to graduate or a third year, your choice!

SYNOPSIS — you've had a crush on katsuki bakugo for the longest time now and you've finally gained up the courage to ask him to go to the annual christmas tree lighting with you, but you knew he was planning something behind the scenes...

"our christmas baby." katsuki muttered under his breath along with a sigh, you shook your head with a smile as you saw his breath form in the cold mid-december air. "you do know you're talking to me right katsuki? not the person you seem to be imagining you're talking to. now snap out of it, the tree doesn't get lit for another five minutes so while we wait why don't we go get some hot chocolate to keep us warm?" you asked, your smile only getting brighter once you saw his nod of approval. you hurriedly grabbed the blonde's gloved hand and pulled him out of the row of people to quickly grab hot chocolate for the both of you. "katsuki! look how cute these cups are, we have to buy some for izuku, and eijiro, and shoto, and--" you began, just as katsuki put his hand over your mouth as he started to speak. "two hot chocolate cups, but add extra chocolate into mine got it? and yes, it's for the two of us, i'm not that greedy to take two for myself." he finished, removing his hand away from your mouth that was rubbing your nose against his glove so it could get some warmth. it was awkward and silent between the two of you for a minute before you heard the counter lady call out katsuki's name. you stared at his every move as he collected both of your drinks from the stand and handed yours to you, giving you the motion to stand up and follow him. "katsuki, it's so cold..." you whined, clinging onto his arm with one hand, the other occupied with your beverage as you heard a loud groan come from katsuki. "will you stop complaining? we're almost back to the damn christmas tree. after it's done lighting i'm driving you home and that's it." he said with a dramatic eye roll, his nose a bit red from the cold wind blowing against both of your faces. "hurry up and light the damn tree, i'm freezing my ass off!" katsuki yelled, gaining the attention of a few people. "katsuki! shh! they're about to turn it on!" you whisper-yelled back to him, breathing against your hands and rubbing them together to stay warm. katsuki wrapped an arm around your shoulder and you both smiled as the tree lit up, your eyes lighting up with it from what katsuki could notice. "katsuki, it's so pretty... katsuki! why are you looking at me like that...?" you asked, he cleared his throat before speaking. "will you please be my partner? i've had feelings for you for a long time now and i'm so tired of hiding it from you. the way your eyes lit up like that just now as soon as you saw the tree, you looked breathtaking." he said, taking a deep breath once he finished, about to speak. "you don't have to say yes by the way dumbass, i understand if--" you cut him off by hugging him tightly, smiling. "of course i'll be your lover katsuki. so you weren't just talking to a random voice in your head about it being our christmas after all?" you asked, resting your head underneath his chin. he rolled his eyes with a chuckle and nodded. "nope. it was for you. it's always been for you."

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