#it's just a Lot

[scintillatingshortgirl19]

i finally got to the "you manipulative bitch" scene and oh boy it did not disappoint

[songbirdstew]

Well, Tom Petty, it turns out I DO have to live like a refugee.

We are back in evacuation mode. I guess a three and a half year break isn't bad.

Saturday, we woke up to half an inch of ice coating every possible surface.

Our power went out at 3 that afternoon.

Sunday, we woke up to an inch thick layer of ice coating every possible surface.

None of this is snow. It is all ice.

The outside temperature ranged from 23 to 27*F. By Tuesday, the inside temperature had dropped to 39, our power bank was drained, and our devices were near dead. Our immediate plan was to head to the Parks center, or if that didn't work, to City Hall (where our library is), both usually sound options for getting a cup of coffee and charging up. We would make contact with the outside world, check the weather forecast, make a plan, then head back home to grab essentials. But C's sister happened to text me right as I was gathering everything up, so we headed for her place instead.

The path from here to there was NOT GREAT BOB.

The roads were all coated in ice, still. Even in the middle of town, on the main thoroughfares, on the Priority 1 deicing routes. All along the route, there are power lines down, power poles down and broken, transformers exploded, trees down, trees snapped in half, trees sliced down the middle vertically. There are power lines dangling over the road, lying in the road, draped across people's driveways and over their front doors so they can't get out. Half the traffic lights were out.

So as soon as we got here, we decided to stay put for the night. The cats were loaded on food and water, and the house was safe and sound.

We quickly learned the entire East half of our town (where the Parks center is) and most of mid town and downtown (where the library is) were totally without power, plus the Parks center's parking lot was blocked by downed trees, so it was just as well we ended up skipping our initial idea and just came straight to Emma and Zev's.

Today, C&I went back to get things we'll need while we're here (we brought NOTHING with us yesterday). The temperature finally rose, so most of the ice had melted. Most of the traffic lights were back on.

But everything else is still the same, if not worse. Once the ice melted, everything that had been hanging by a frozen thread just crashed. Large parts of town are under orders to boil all of their water (remember, they don't have power). When we got home, we found a tree branch had completely shattered the rear window of C's car while we were gone. A huge hunk of ice fell out of the same tree and put a brand new dent in my fender while we were there. It was still only 37* at our house, even though it was up to 47 less than a mile away. The fuck?

The kitties were okay. Charlie seemed perfectly fine (like, What? You were gone?), and Glitch was well, but very, very sad. She HATES being alone (she doesn't even like being alone in a room when people are home). She HATES it when I'm not there. She could tell we were leaving again right away, and she was so unhappy. I set up her favorite blankets for her on the couch and on the bed. We gave them food and water for a few days, plus wet food with calming drops mixed in. We freshened their boxes, and we closed them in their separate spaces so that Charlie won't be bullying Glitch & stealing her food the whole time.

Curtis plans to go back out to the house on his own tomorrow, largely to further inspect his car and take more pictures for the insurance company. School is cancelled for the week. So far I have not had to go in to work, but tomorrow and Friday remain to be seen. My boss will let me know sometime in the morning whether she expects me to work or not, and then Curtis and I will decide if we think it's safe enough to get me there and back. We haven't been to that part of town, so we don't know how bad the tree damage etc might be. If it's anything like the rest of the city, I know I won't feel comfortable navigating that in the dark.

For now, we are good, and warm, and safe, with people we love. Emma and Zev are such good influences on Royal, that Royal actually ate something green today (enchilada sauce).

Please snuggle your kitties for me and kiss their stupid little heads, okay?

[starbuck]

“Martha... How do you stop- How do you stop it?” “You don’t.”

Martha from Ravenous (1999) ~ requested by anonymous

[gemmahale]

Updated the COD WIP List. Added 3 WIPs, filled a few more out since I've worked on them, corrected some pairings and details, added a few new categories (Hi Ghost and Laswell!).

Folks, we're at 16. All multi-chapter behemoths. (Even the one-shot is probably going to be 2 chapters.)

Goal for May: Finish something. Anything.

[justalittlebluetiefling]

The real tragedy here is that not only is the world ending for these people, but they’re watching their friendships with each other fall apart as well.

[paranormalcryologist]

I'm a little overwhelmed! I posted the selfie in the hopes of attention, and I'm pleasantly surprised at the amount I'm getting!!!

[chungledown-bimothy]

corn cuties fight 🤝 zarb 🤝 izzy brennan and lou in sam says

butt holes. so many butt holes. a truly staggering amount of butt holes.

[adhd-merlin]

the forehead touch....

[wendersfive]

Tea Time Posting It's Just A Lot edit x x

[whatimdoing-here]

Ah, more emotional labor. Small fry has a project due tomorrow that I kinda helped him with tonight. But I had to work late so it wasn't the best but he was proud of it.

In talking to M about it tonight, I'm realizing he doesn't have the app downloaded to get any of the newsletters or messages from either of the kids' teachers. So he deals with zero communication. Asked if he got any emails from the teachers and the response was just "babe I have so many emails I don't know". Which is all fine and dandy but like what if I died.

"I would have helped him with it."

Okay it's been hanging on the fridge with the directions on the back, and it was in the newsletter that... He doesn't get. Sigh.

[uselessgaywhovian]

internet: If you have never tried an edible before or are new to cannabis, consume no more than 2.5 mg of THC and wait to feel effects before taking more.

me, who already ate a 20mg gummy: hmm.

[devselia]

[wexhappyxfew]

hiiii shannon! i hope you're having an amazing day :) how about ginko and cottonwood for the tree themed ask game? attdc of course!

@xxluckystrike BLU!!! hello friend! thanks so much for stopping by the askbox! :) i'm doing pretty well, thank you! enjoying the cozy, snowy vibes of the day and chilling out before my semester starts up. i hope you've been well too! i will happily answer these two more than anything - this ask game writing list seemed so cool so thank you so much! <3

Gingko: What part of your story is the oldest, has stuck around from that original idea?

So the 'oldest' part of And Then The Dawn Came is actually the prologue! I have been someone to always write in order, I don't know what it is, I just have trouble writing out of order, so I sat down and cranked out a prologue in probably January 2021 when the idea first hit and it ended up being the actual prologue of the fic because I loved it so much!

Here's it linked on AO3!

And quite possibly my favorite part of it; not only are we introduced to a few BoB boys, but also Esther, my main, including two intriguing secondary OCs who play massive roles in the fic, Millie and Rolande (who in my opinion, are quite funny together)!

A fav snippet:

" Crickets do not sing when they know what is near." the Maquis member whispered," They know more than we know." Mildred swallowed quickly, her throat feeling dry suddenly as panic settled into her bones. Disturbances sent crickets quiet, just like how it sent birds flying through the air. They'd do anything to get away, to hide, to make their presence unknown to whatever was causing the disturbance. Her stomach lurched when she glanced towards the Maquis member and found her already staring at her with her piercing brown eyes, a gloved finger held to her chapped lips, sharp eyes dead-set on Mildred. 

I would say the vibe of the fic in the prologue starts off mysterious and ominous, with this eerie vibe about it that can't quite be deciphered in my eyes at least? And then it enters with it quite sunny and bright and rough-and-tumble training in Chapter 1 - so we break from that ominous prologue and don't come back to that vibe until Esther and Mercy hit D-Day. I would definitely say it is a very intentional approach for specific reasons for the fic. (Okay, I'm done now lol, this got long-winded haha)

Cottonwood: What event has the most impact throughout the story, leaves it's trace in many scenes?

So with ATTDC, I wouldn't say there is one specific, catalyst event that leaves a lasting impact, but I center the entire story and build-up around D-Day. As previously mentioned in the above question, I talk about this 'ominous vibe', specifically with D-Day, which is very much the intention and feeling I'm going for. So, when the D-Day chapters come out, in my mind, they're the most important and intentional parts of the story, and therefore long-lasting (and constantly referenced thereafter) - we meet the handful of OCs I've eluded to, and their interactions with Easy Co., and Esther and Mercy. The entirety of D-Day and its events are what the whole of the story is focused on, both before and after, and the entire atmosphere of that period of time in the fic has been one of my favorites to experiment with! I'm so excited to continue to work with it + the characters involved.

Blu this was so fun genuinely thank you! It helped my brain to actually write it out and think about it all! So truly, thank you! I appreciated you sending some questions in! :)

If anyone is interested, the ask game is [here]!

[3-inch-sam]

hmmmm i am thinking about shifting the hl tron au circuits to a more 2.0 style. i think it really fits more?? we'll see how insane it makes me to draw them lol

[emilykaldwen]

I think the most freeing thing about moving away from the tag list for fic is that I don't have to stare at my computer at the likes and lack of interaction. Because that just feels so not great.

[patronsaintoffinalgirls]

really struggling with the looming certainty that im gonna have to move to the city and its gonna be a huge change that my life experiences (of living in like 3 towns in the mostly-rural south over the course of 20 years) have me woefully unprepared for, no matter what state we end up moving to