#and indeed i am up on my feets completing the bedtime ritual now

[grison-in-space]

The face of a little dog very Concerned that I am missing bedtime and torn between accepting small "snooze" bribes to let me finish my episode and bullying me into going to bed and COMPLETING the ROUTINE

[theeyethatbinds]

Five things? Oh man...

Five things that make me happy??? What a question 😨😹🤔

Thanks for the lovely, lovely tag @pseudofaux , and all the thoughts that come with it 💞I can’t tell you how loudly I squealed when I scrolled through your post and saw my name at the bottom haha; your posts are always a treat, and even if I’m lax on tagging when I reblog them, please know that you hit me right in the 💘with them every time.

So, forgive formatting errors and the lack of shine; I pretty much never actually make a post, so I guess we’re Utilitarian now 😅

1. All the green directly outside (and inside) my window. I live in the middle of the woods in the middle of nowhere, and my house is completely entrenched in evergreen forest. That, plus my fruit trees are starting to bud and flower, and it’s long-ingrained habit to glance outside my window when I’m at my desk (which is all the time 😂) and to have my corneas seared with the blast of pleased, dignified elders surrounding me 🌲🌲🌲🌳🌿🍁🍂🌱🍃 My gardens have all started rioting with blooms and every time I go outside I feel like a school Principle looking out over her graduating students like “You did it! Yes, I gave you the tools and the guidelines, but you yourself did this! You brought yourself to flower and you look gorgeous doing it. I’m excited to see where you go from here.” 🌷🌼🌻🌺🌹🏵🌸💐 Also, all of my indoor plants are growing like crazy, which is both fun to watch and also mildly concerning in the case of my money tree, because it just keeps getting bigger and omg what am I supposed to do when it finally touches the ceiling 😱 I call that a problem for another day haha.

2. The way my cats settle down for bed 🛌. We have a nightly ritual, my two fur children and I. Whenever it’s time for bed, I’ll get up and turn off the ambient lamp in my living room. As I do so, I’ll say to my boy Tiki “It’s bedtimes! Bedtimes, Tiki! It’s bedtimes!” 😺 and then both him and my orange, long-haired girl Smalls will lead me through my nightly routine, then we’ll head to bed. They’ll let me get settled, then Smalls will chirp 📣 her way to climbing onto my hip (I’m a side sleeper lol) and drape herself over me like a very fluffy pancake, all legs hanging over me. Meanwhile, Tiki will take himself to the pillow at my face and stare 😾, very gently touching my nose with just the tips of his beans, until I lift the blanket so he can climb in and settle behind my knees. This happens every night, nearly without fail, and I’ll wake up in the morning to my feet/legs being pinned between them. And then in the morning, they’ll only get up with me if I tell them both “Good morning ⏰🌞” and rub their ears. Otherwise, well, it’s not morning then, is it? 🌛

3.The official Discord that I’m a member of for Tailor Tales. ...Seems a little weird, right, to be so happy for a Discord for an otome game? Well, weird or not, it’s been a blessing and a helping hand for me, right when I needed it the most. I’ve been out of work since September (for various reasons), and job hunting has definitely not been kind. I was experiencing increasingly extreme self-doubt as time went on with no interest or response to my applications and inquiries, to the point where things had gotten hazardous to my health. My closest friends had left the area for further education and job opportunities, and I had effectively been left behind. I was very alone and desperately lonely with it. One day, I stumbled across an otome game I’d heard good things about but hadn’t tried, and I fell in love immediately. I decided to support the creator on Patreon, and gained access to their Discord. It was hard to talk at first, from months of self-loathing and doubt, but I received one of the warmest responses from an online community I’ve ever had the pleasure of being part of. I found like-minded people who were more than happy to discuss anything and everything that might come to mind, and in the process made some friends that I desperately needed. I can say absolutely, that without the online family I fell into, things would be very dire for me right now indeed. I cannot physically express how grateful and happy I am that I’m able to be myself around them and not feel vilified because of it.

4.The beach, specifically at low tide. When I was a kid, I was alone all the time, because my parents worked very hard and for long hours. So the vast majority of my time was spent at the beach and our local marina, fishing, turning over rocks to see what was under them, swimming in the ocean, and so on. I come from a small town, so while I was alone, I was constantly monitored by the locals while I adventured, and at any point would be glad to talk about my findings. The beach at low tide has a very particular smell; damp, decay, salt, thick mud and eel grass, oyster and clam and barnacle, which all mixes together into a sort of bouillabaisse of life in a water cycle. It’s a smell I’d recognize anywhere, and whenever I drive by the water it always hits deep in my chest, like a deliberately-aimed goosedown pillow.

5. The bi-weekly phone calls from my best friend. He and I have been friends for 20 years, and I love him dearly. We’ve helped each other grow and ‘mature’ (ha), with quips and biting comments and excited gushing and commiseration over the dumbest things. We’ve had so many adventures (read: near-death experiences), witty repartee, arguments... like a Newton’s Cradle of camaraderie. He was there for me when my parents and I had a major falling out when I was a teenager, and I am still humbled that I was who he chose to call when his own family situation came to a semi-violent head a few years later. He’s moved to the other side of the country at the moment, pursuing his Master’s degree and working his tail off while doing it, and I couldn’t be prouder (while also being more than a bit lonely). We talk over Discord a lot, but when he’s able to find time to actually chat, it’s like we’re in the car on the way to Walmart at 2 in the morning again, just because we can. Boy do I miss that idiot.

Well this turned out a little more emotional than I’d planned 🙄😂🥰 But the heart is there, at least. Again, thank you so much for the tag, Pseu! I’d thought I wouldn’t really stand out with my thirst over prime Seteth content (mostly found elsewhere) and also just my general thirst levels 🤣🥵👀💦

I guess I’ll tag a couple people who might need a pick-me-up, and be interested: @towa-no-yume , @toreii No pressure if you choose against! Just sending love 💓