#i'm still on a slowdown for work and school

[jojaxcola]

thanks for being a friend

[ jojamart mockumentary #17 ]

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[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 99 (Winterfest Eve with the Nesbitt-Gordons)

Winterfest Eve was always busy. School and businesses were still open, so despite mourning the loss of Boomer, Heather and Conrad went to work, Ash went to school, and Lavender spent the day at daycare.

Ash was excited about a school project Conrad had been helping him with. For Career Day, every student had to interview someone about their job, and Ash picked Conrad. "On the next career day, I'll do vets," he promised his mother in case she felt left out. "But everyone knows what vets do in Brindleton Bay, and the other kids think it's cool that Conrad fights crime."

Heather didn't feel left out. She was grateful her son loved and respected Conrad almost as much as she did. Conrad told Ash all the cool things about being a detective, leaving out the parts he knew weren't suited to a six-year-old's Career Day presentation.

Gord had started joining him at work again, which set his mind more at ease even as his search for Rafa remained fruitless. He trusted Gord's instincts, and if he was willing to leave the house, Ximena must not be close by. His partner, Zion Spangler, still hadn't found her, and George Brindleton was still in Sulani with his wife, so the case had all but ground to a halt with the coming holidays.

He didn't mind the slowdown, anxious as he was to solve the mystery of Rafa's disappearance. This was Lavender's first Winterfest; needless to say he had more important people on his mind.

"No hits from Rafa's old yearbooks from the few years he spent at San Myshuno High," reported one of his deputies. "No extracurriculars or indications who might've been someone he'd call a friend."

Conrad frowned. A potentially deluded part of him still hoped he could figure out who had Rafa - and where - before the end of winter, but every lead he chased to a dead end left him frustrated and exhausted. He was more than ready to put this chapter of his life behind him.

At the clinic, Heather ran into the always glamorous Bella Goth when she brought in her cat, Spatula, for an exam.

"How've you been, Mrs. Goth?"

"Just wonderful! Grimmie and I went on a date the other night and it was lovely!"

Heather smiled. "I'm happy for you! And how's your pet crow, Obsidian?"

Bella smiled, dancing a little to the music coming from the clinic speakers. She reminded Heather so much of her daughter, Cassandra. "Very healthy. I know you specialize in dogs and cats, but should Obsidian ever need a good vet, will I be able to bring her to Buttercup Pet Clinic?"

"Of course, Mrs. Goth! We're not a pawspital anymore - any pets in need are always welcome!"

Mrs. Goth smiled, leaving a generous tip in the spirit of Winterfest when Heather finished with her cat. Heather closed up shop after dark, returning home under heavy snowfall and bright streetlights.

When she walked in the door, she was greeted by Gord and the cats, but she was drawn to the sound of voices upstairs, where Conrad and Ash had started decorating the tree without her. "I tried to bribe him to wait but he said he wanted to surprise you."

"I thought you might be tired, mommy."

She smiled warmly. "I don't mind that you started without me, but try not to finish yet. Just give me one second - I have a surprise!"

She raced down the stairs and pulled out four gift-wrapped boxes from beneath a pile of blankets in her wardrobe, each one labelled with their names. Conrad. Heather. Ash. Lavender. Their family.

Returning upstairs, the only place they could fit their tree, Ash squealed with excitement when he saw the presents. "Can we open them now?"

"Of course! You're going to want to wear them, I'm sure."

Conrad glanced at her with a smirk. "You ordered them, didn't you."

Heather's straight face bloomed into a smile. "Happy Winterfest Eve!"

She laughed as they opened their matching holiday pajamas. The burgundy knit sets by @vixonspixels were perfect for cold, snowy winter nights in Brindleton Bay, and they posed for a few photos they could send to family.

"Do you think we should have gotten the kids' haircuts before the holidays?" Heather moaned, playfully ruffling Ash's wispy mane.

"For some family photos?" Conrad scoffed. "The hair isn't going to be what makes them turn out great. It's the pajamas, obviously."

(I love them and they have 3 different swatches - I used them all just to show them off and I thought it'd be cute since they still look like a match. And they have infant sizes which was harder to find and what really sold me!)

Gord still needed a walk after they'd finished decorating the tree, so Heather left Conrad in charge of the kids while she took the dog for a brisk walk down to the frozen creek.

Conrad cuddled Lavender while Ash finished his letter to Father Clement downstairs. His blue-eyed baby girl was just as perfect as her mother and looked up at him with devotion; it seemed strange to think he'd ever been afraid to be a father.

He put her to bed, reciting the story of The Giving Tree, just as he had for her elder brother when he was her age. As she drifted to sleep, he kissed her forehead and pulled a small box from his pocket.

Ash raced up the stairs excitedly - he'd clearly stolen one or two of the cookies meant for Father Clement - but it wasn't just a sugar high that had him jumping off the walls tonight. "Mommy and Gord are coming back! I saw through the window. Do you have it?"

Conrad grinned, crouching down to show him what he'd pulled from his pocket. "Do you think she'll like it?"

"I think she'll love it, not like it!" Ash dropped his voice to a whisper as they heard Heather's key turn in the door downstairs. "She'll be so surprised!"

Ash's Career Day presentation wasn't the only project these two had been working on. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 1 Summary | Gen 1 Start

NOTE: River was in on it, too! He gave Conrad the number for a jeweler in the episode when he drove out to Brindleton Bay to check Conrad's stress level.

WCIF Portrait Poses? 1st is Infant Insanity by @rebouks. Looks stunning and perfect as you can see. This particular pose has room for two todds in front of Heather but we don't have any, and the pose doesn't even look like anything is missing. I love it!

2nd pose is two-in-one and still needs one more kid to look perfect. I clipped Lavender over Conrad's feet so this one's on me, not the poses, but it's also not the official portrait that ended up in a frame on the wall because Lavender isn't crawling yet, either. It's from the Ultimate Family Portrait Posepack by @simmireen, which is an amazing set!

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, Chapter 8

Pairing: Platonic Steven Grant x Reader (for now, but we just might slowly be heading into non-platonic territory! 👀)

Rating: T

Word count: ~2300

Story Summary: Steven meets a beautiful woman in the Egyptian exhibit at the British Museum...

...Too bad she's his new boss.

Tags/Warnings: Canon Divergent since Steven still works for the British Museum post-canon, No Jake Lockley, developing friendship, wingman Marc 😉

A/N: I'm back!!! October is the busiest month of the year for me as far as day job goes, but since it's over I have more free time to write, so enjoy this next chapter!

Tag list: @runny-mascara

Let's see, we've got Jason, Sibohan, Ruby, and myself next Thursday, Steven thought to himself later that afternoon as he penciled in a tour for a group of students from a nearby summer camp on his desktop calendar. That won't be a problem.

He looked up as a light knock sounded on his door, his brow furrowing when he realized Dr. Y/L/N was standing in his open doorway with her purse hanging across her shoulder. 

“Hi,” she said. “Just seeing if you're ready to go.”

Steven looked at the clock on his computer, which read 5:06 PM. “Bollocks.”

Dr. Y/L/N huffed out a light laugh. “It's okay.”

Steven shut his computer down then grabbed his messenger bag out of his desk drawer. “I'm so sorry, give me just a moment. I was working on a couple of things and lost track of time.”

Dr. Y/L/N shook her head as Steven joined her. “Really, it's fine. I'm not in a hurry.”

Steven bit his lip. “In that case, would you… er, would you maybe like to stop for a cup of tea on the way home?”

A soft smile spread across Dr. Y/L/N’s face. “Sure, that sounds lovely.”

Steven grinned, pleased that she had accepted his invitation. “Great! Shall we, then?” 

They bade goodbye to Marlie, Fiona, and Darren, who were on the evening tour shift, then headed out of the museum.

“The weather's nice today, isn't it?” Dr. Y/L/N said as they descended the museum steps together. “It's definitely starting to feel like fall.”

Steven nodded. “I love this time of year.” 

“Me too.”

“So, how was your day?”

Dr. Y/L/N shrugged. “It was fine. Managed to get caught up on some stuff I had been behind on because of everything that was going on last week, so that was good. How was yours? Any fun tour groups today?”

Steven shook his head. “Not really. To be honest our guided tour numbers have been a bit low for the past couple of weeks, even including group bookings.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “I was looking at statistics from the past few years and it seems like there's always a dip in paid tours around this time, but even with the slowdown we've had three times more tour bookings than we had the entirety of last year so I'm not overly concerned. It'll pick back up once school starts in a few weeks.”

Steven nodded, reassured by Dr. Y/L/N’s confidence in him. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

They walked the rest of the way to the café in comfortable silence, just enjoying the sunshine and each other's company. 

Once they had reached the entrance, Steven opened the door for Dr. Y/L/N. “After you, ma'am.”

Dr. Y/L/N smiled at him as she stepped inside. “Why, thank you, kind sir.”

Steven chuckled then followed her to the register, recognizing the same young man who had taken their orders the last time they had been there.

“Afternoon,” Michael said. “What can I get for you?”

“May I have a cup of Earl Grey and a scone, please?” Dr. Y/L/N replied.

Steven pulled his wallet out of his pocket. “Make that two of each, please.”

He shook his head as Dr. Y/L/N turned to him to protest. “I’ve got it.”

Dr. Y/L/N bit her lip. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

Dr. Y/L/N smiled. “Okay then. Thank you.”

Michael tapped at the register screen. “Anything else?”

“No thank you.”

Michael nodded. “Okay, your total is £8.43. Name for the order?”

Steven handed Michael his bank card. “Steven -- with a ‘v’.”

“Okay, I'll have that right out for you.”

“Thanks.”

“Where do you want to sit?” Dr. Y/L/N asked as they headed towards the tables.

Steven gestured towards the corner table they had sat at the first time they'd had tea and coffee together outside of work. “How about the same table as last time?”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Yeah, that's good.”

They walked over to the table.

Steven bit his lip as they sat. “I, er, I wanted to thank you for the kind words you said about me in my evaluation.”

Dr. Y/L/N shook her head with a soft smile. “I didn't say anything that wasn't 100% true. You are a wonderful person and are absolutely incredible at your job, Steven. Keep up the good work.”

Steven nodded, his face heating at the praise. “I will, ma'am.” 

“When we first met I assumed that you were a tour guide or at the very least that you worked in curation because of how observant and knowledgeable you were about the exhibits.” Dr. Y/L/N huffed out a quiet laugh. “Imagine my surprise when I pulled your employee file and discovered that you worked in the gift shop."

She bit her lip. “Not that there was anything wrong with that, of course, I just meant --”

Steven shook his head. “Oh no, it's fine, I completely understand. I, er, I actually had always wanted to be a tour guide but there weren't any positions available when I applied at the museum, so I took the job in the gift shop intending to eventually transfer departments.”

He paused. “By the time there was a tour guide position open though Donna had already been promoted to gift shop manager and kept telling me that it would never happen and that I shouldn't bother applying.”

Dr. Y/L/N sighed. “I know I'm not supposed to say this, but I'm glad to be rid of her.”

Steven shook his head with a grin. “I won't tell anyone if you won't, because I am too. To be honest, I never really cared for her.”

Dr. Y/N huffed out a laugh. “It'll be our little secret then.”

Steven nodded then looked over at the pick-up counter as Michael called out his name. “I'll be right back.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Okay.”

Steven headed over to the counter and picked up their order, thanking Michael before bringing it over to the table. “Here we are.”

Dr. Y/L/N smiled up at him as he set the saucer holding her cup of tea and scone down in front of her. “Thank you.”

Steven set his own cup of tea and scone down on the table then sat. “You're welcome.”

He dipped his tea bag into his hot water to help his tea steep. “Oh, I've been meaning to ask you, have you tried any of the other teas from the collection I got for you?”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Oh, yeah. Most of them, actually.”

She pulled a small pocket-sized notebook out of her purse and handed it to him. “I found this tea journal online and figured it would be the easiest way to keep track of what varieties I liked and didn't like and why.”

Steven opened it, smiling at Dr. Y/L/N’s hand-written notes for each variety of tea. Variety: Earl Grey. Flavor profile: Fruity (contains bergamot). Notes: Recommended by Steven G. from work. Excellent, definitely a favorite. Variety: English Breakfast. Flavor profile: Dark, kind of a roasted flavor? Notes: Tastes like the tea back home. I like it. Variety: Peach-orange oolong. Flavor profile: Peach and a hint of orange. Notes: Lighter tea, wonderful flavor. Variety: Lady Grey. Flavor profile: Earl Grey with lemon. Notes: Lemon overpowers the bergamot. Not a fan. Variety: Chai. Flavor profile: Spice? Notes: Very warm wintery flavors (I can definitely taste cinnamon and nutmeg). Will probably be a go-to during the colder months.

He read through her notes on the rest of the teas she had tried and handed the notebook back to her. “I love that you're keeping notes. It’s very you .” 

“Oh.” Dr. Y/L/N looked down at her cup as she stirred some sugar into her tea. “Yeah. Thanks.”

She took a sip. “Since I'm almost done with these I might get some different ones to try out. There are so many varieties out there that sound interesting -- like chamomile honey vanilla, green tea with blackcurrant, pomegranate, and peach, and mango pineapple.”

Steven added a teaspoon of sugar to his own tea. “I've never had any of those varieties, although they all do sound interesting.”

Dr. Y/L/N bit her lip. “Maybe you can try them with me then -- if you want to, that is.”

Steven nodded. “Yeah, that sounds lovely.”

“Great! I'll let you know when I get them.”

Steven grinned. “I'll bring some biscuits and we can have our own little tea tasting session in the staff kitchen at work.”

Dr. Y/L/N huffed out a light laugh. “Sounds like a plan.”

She took another sip of her tea. “So have you gotten a chance to explore the neighborhood yet?”

Steven shook his head. “Not really. I was actually planning on going for a bit of a wander this weekend, check out the neighborhood shops.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Let me know if you want some company. My weekends are usually pretty free.”

“Yeah.” Steven smiled at the thought of getting to spend more time with Dr. Y/L/N outside of work. “Yeah, I will.”

He and Dr. Y/L/N continued to talk as they enjoyed their tea and scones.

Dr. Y/L/N set her cup down after taking her last sip. “Ready to head out?”

Steven nodded. “Yeah, I should probably get home, check on Gus.”

They collected their dishes and brought them to the return counter, thanking Michael again before leaving the café and continuing towards their respective apartment buildings.

“Thank you again for the tea -- and for walking me home again, of course,” Dr. Y/L/N said once they had reached her building. “I know it's a pretty short walk, but it's still nice having someone to talk to along the way.”

Steven nodded. “You’re quite welcome, ma'am, and I agree. I'd be happy to walk home with you anytime, especially since we're now in the same neighborhood.”

Dr. Y/L/N reached out and touched his arm, a soft smile on her face. “I'd really like that. I'll see you tomorrow, then?”

Steven nodded, his heart quickening in his chest at her touch. “See you tomorrow.”

He waited until Dr. Y/L/N was inside before taking a deep breath and continuing towards home.

Oh, buddy, Marc said as Steven headed up the street towards his apartment building. You’ve got it * bad* .

Steven sighed to himself. No matter how hard he had tried to fight them, his feelings for Dr. Y/L/N had blossomed into more than just a simple crush. 

It's not like I could help it, he replied silently. She's beautiful, and intelligent, and kind and caring and… and just a lovely person all-around.  

So what are you going to do about it?

Steven shook his head. What *can* I do? No matter how I feel about her, she's still my supervisor -- and not only that, she's the director of the entire museum.

So you're just going to suffer in silence and miss your chance with her, then.

Steven could hear the disappointment in Marc's voice. It's not like I have much of a choice. And don't you dare pretend to be me while you're in control of the body and tell her how I feel.

Marc scoffed, clearly offended by the mere suggestion. I would never do that.

I dunno, you asked Cheryl out without my knowledge.

No I didn't.

Well *I* certainly didn't ask her out for dinner at a bloody steakhouse!

You had to’ve, it just might've been during one of those weird moments where neither of us remember what happened.

Steven shook his head as he reached his apartment building, waiting until he had unlocked the door and headed inside before answering. It's just my bloody luck though, innit? Had to go and develop unrequited feelings for my very-off-limits boss.

I wouldn't be too sure about that.

Steven's brow furrowed. What do you mean?

Just that I'm not so sure your feelings are all that unrequited.

What makes you think that?

You don't see Dr. Y/L/N asking anyone else to taste-test new teas with her, do you?

Steven stopped by his mail receptacle before heading to the elevator. She was just being nice.

I doubt that, but even so, there have been other signs too. 

Steven caught Marc's reflection in the elevator door. “Like what?” he said aloud.

Marc shrugged. “Like the fact that when she's feeling overwhelmed and needs a break at the museum galas she seeks you out, not to mention the fact that you never hear about her offering to spend time with anyone else from work outside of work except for you.”

Steven shook his head as the elevator opened and he stepped inside. “She’s comfortable with me, that's all. And since we now live in the same neighborhood, we'd wind up running into each other anyway, so it makes sense for her to offer to accompany me on my walk this weekend.”

Marc smirked. “You honestly believe that she doesn't have any sort of non-professional feelings towards you?”

Steven shrugged as the elevator stopped on his floor. “I guess we've sort of become friends, but that's all there is -- on her end, at least.”

The elevator door opened and he stepped out into the hallway, shutting Marc out in the process. 

He shook his head, trying to clear it off the seed of possibility Marc had planted. He was completely wrong -- there was no way Dr. Y/L/N felt anything but friendly cordiality towards Steven.

...Was there?

[grxygreenrain]

i just drove downstate and hit several slowdowns bc of MA'G'A groups on the overfreeway bridges holding up signs and flags. And I've seen the stuff on RedNote making people learn more about whats actually going on in Americ a. And I wonder if people outside of the US know about how daily an occurance these are in populated areas. Especially in the state im in, and I'm in a Big Blue state. There are signs in big crop fields, some from 2020, some from 2016. There are billboards, people with signs, merch pop-ups, and flags on houses all over. Up and Down. Even in the most liberal areas, you would be hard pressed to find as much political campaigning for any other candidate. We see it every single day, mostly old people, waving flags and holding signs. It's not just rallies, its constant, daily interruptions, it's traffic slowdowns, it's outside my work, by home, by schools. It has become so normal it is barely a talking point, besides the occassional "Still? He already won."

[kelsendeavor]

Alright, I really don't want to work on these essays anymore, so this is a brain break to share The Fuckshit.

Job Stuff: Company A got back to me to say that the absolute earliest I can interview with the studio head is Wednesday, and though they hope to have decisions this week, it may bleed into next. Obviously, this is not ideal because Company B (didn't hear back from what I was calling Company B, so the previous Company C is Company B again) wants me to respond to their offer by tomorrow. I tried to reach out for them to push for more time and they shot me RIGHT the fuck down and told me they needed to move on if I can't make a call tomorrow, so I guess that settles that. I have to sign on and hopefully not burn too many bridges, especially with Ellie, if Company A does hire me if I have to pull out. Fuck this uncertainty, fuck this bullshit, fuck this industry for robbing all the possible joy out of what could be a dream come true. Fuck.

School Stuff: Realized, with 9/10 of my essays for SC1 written, that what I had thought were word maximums were actually character maximums. Because I'm a stupid fucking piece of shit. It explains a lot, but basically requires re-writes, which absolutely sucks eggs. But I've now got three of them done (the new one I wrote to the word count, plus two more) and am on track to finish the next seven over the next two days without too much slowdown. But still, fuck. I planned for this to be a light work day and was planning to spend the afternoon watching a dang movie.

Assorted Pluses and Minuses: Minus, I am, indeed, sick with what appears to be a fairly mild cold, but still a cold. Plus, I took my Zep for the first time in a month and I feel it working but not making me sick, hooray! Minus, holy fuck, the election stress. Plus, I got my vote in the mail! Every ballot counts, or whatever, even though it doesn't. I just have to hope for the best. Minus, Oscar is barking his head off for literally no reason and I'm trying not to walk him again until 4:30 to get him on board with Daylight Savings Time. Another minus, Daylight Savings Time. Plus, The Penguin was so good and made me cry this morning. Sofia Falcone, I'd do anything for you. Minus, it feels very much like she's set up to lose in the end, and if that's handled poorly, it will ruin the whole show for me. Plus, I get to go back to my house tonight (!!!) and watch Justified with my friends (!!!!!). Minus, it'll take me a full fucking hour to get there, if I'm lucky.

Minuses are winning today. They will probably win every day until all of this chaos is over-- I'm settled in a job, my grad school apps are done, I'm back home with the dogs out of my care, the election is over (ideally with the right winner), I have money, and can get eight hours of sleep a night.

I can get there. I know I can. I just have to hold on and muddle through.

[sophie-soliloquy]

Alright, I really don't want to work on these essays anymore, so this is a brain break to share The Fuckshit.

Job Stuff: Company A got back to me to say that the absolute earliest I can interview with the studio head is Wednesday, and though they hope to have decisions this week, it may bleed into next. Obviously, this is not ideal because Company B (didn't hear back from what I was calling Company B, so the previous Company C is Company B again) wants me to respond to their offer by tomorrow. I tried to reach out for them to push for more time and they shot me RIGHT the fuck down and told me they needed to move on if I can't make a call tomorrow, so I guess that settles that. I have to sign on and hopefully not burn too many bridges, especially with Ellie, if Company A does hire me if I have to pull out. Fuck this uncertainty, fuck this bullshit, fuck this industry for robbing all the possible joy out of what could be a dream come true. Fuck.

School Stuff: Realized, with 9/10 of my essays for SC1 written, that what I had thought were word maximums were actually character maximums. Because I'm a stupid fucking piece of shit. It explains a lot, but basically requires re-writes, which absolutely sucks eggs. But I've now got three of them done (the new one I wrote to the word count, plus two more) and am on track to finish the next seven over the next two days without too much slowdown. But still, fuck. I planned for this to be a light work day and was planning to spend the afternoon watching a dang movie.

Assorted Pluses and Minuses: Minus, I am, indeed, sick with what appears to be a fairly mild cold, but still a cold. Plus, I took my Zep for the first time in a month and I feel it working but not making me sick, hooray! Minus, holy fuck, the election stress. Plus, I got my vote in the mail! Every ballot counts, or whatever, even though it doesn't. I just have to hope for the best. Minus, Oscar is barking his head off for literally no reason and I'm trying not to walk him again until 4:30 to get him on board with Daylight Savings Time. Another minus, Daylight Savings Time. Plus, The Penguin was so good and made me cry this morning. Sofia Falcone, I'd do anything for you. Minus, it feels very much like she's set up to lose in the end, and if that's handled poorly, it will ruin the whole show for me. Plus, I get to go back to my house tonight (!!!) and watch Justified with my friends (!!!!!). Minus, it'll take me a full fucking hour to get there, if I'm lucky.

Minuses are winning today. They will probably win every day until all of this chaos is over-- I'm settled in a job, my grad school apps are done, I'm back home with the dogs out of my care, the election is over (ideally with the right winner), I have money, and can get eight hours of sleep a night.

I can get there. I know I can. I just have to hold on and muddle through.