#there's nuggets of good ideas hidden in there

[rawliverandgoronspice]

hey sorry everyone I'll reply the asks and everything (<3 thank youu they are all so good and I love them and I feel so blessed) I just... I need to be serious and focus on work for a solid minute. :((

BUT I played a little more of TotK and, yeah, I'm actually pretty baffled people are impressed by this story and considering it a step above BotW, when to me we are clearly below in almost every single way. Again: the game is super fun and I love the little touches and everything, but beyond The Issues there's a lot that's just... incompetent at a very basic level honestly, and I find little excuse for the amount of slack in the way informations are conveyed and, just, how nonsensical and disjointed I find the plot and the world to be overall

(I have a Post in my heart about how I think a single* fix would have done so much good to the story and actually led to a theme and to stakes and tension and characters arcs and everything this game is cruelly lacking in the narrative department)

((*it would imply a number of other cascading fixes, but the framework could roughly stay the same))

[digitaldiarystuff]

Our Secret Pt.2

sooo i’m starting to write before the poll is over hope the result stays the same lol

also thank you for not giving up on me💕

you can read part one here

————

pairing: Pedri Gonzalez x Y/N x Fermin Lopez

summary: you are Pedri’s girlfriend and know his friends, one of them being Fermin. It doesn’t look like he likes you very much but what if he likes you too much?

genre: angst

————

That night after Fermin dropped you at your place you had a weird feeling in your stomach you couldn’t quite place, you didn’t do anything wrong, you kept reminding yourself. Fermin is literally Pedri’s friend, he was just doing you a favor and you’re mad at Pedri because he left you alone, that’s it.

After taking a much needed shower to clear your thoughts you laid on your bed hoping to sleep quickly but unfortunately, you weren’t that lucky and had trouble falling asleep. You felt upset about Pedri’s behavior at the party and suddenly realized all the other times he made you feel uneasy in public, there were times he didn’t feel comfortable being seen with you because you weren’t official yet and that’s understandable given the fact that he’s insanely famous but a part of you felt like you shouldn’t be hidden no matter what. The more you thought about it, the sadder you felt but finally, you felt your eyes closing.

The next morning you woke up a little late and with a headache, great, you thought. You found your phone in between your sheets and looked at missed notifications secretly hoping to see a good morning text from Pedri but there was something else. An unsaved number texted you at 8.32 am

Hey, good morning! Hope you’re okay and don’t have a headache or stomachache, I think eating McDonald’s that late was a mistake 😅

You immediately realized it was Fermin and your heart warmed with his thoughtful words, he didn’t have to text you or check up on you but still did it while your boyfriend couldn’t even bother asking if you went home okay. It’s not like he was asleep because you knew for a fact he had practice this morning so he had to be up. You decided not to let it get to you and started typing.

Hey thank you so much for everything, I don’t know how I’d survive last night without you! And yes the nuggets definitely were a mistake lol, hope you’re okay too

You reread the text trying to make sure it’s not weird but why would it be weird, it’s just two friends checking up on each other even though you didn’t even know he had your number before today. He could’ve easily got it from Pedri, right?

Fermin didn’t text you back after that and you thought maybe it’s for the best but you also didn’t hear from Pedri until well into the afternoon when he called.

“Hey” he smiled softly like he wasn’t black out drunk last night

“Hey” you said with slight coldness in your voice but you weren’t doing it on purpose.

“Are we still on for tonight?” he asked without even mentioning anything about the previous night’s events and you were kind of taken aback.

“What’s tonight?”

“We have that charity event, remember, I told you a week ago.” you suddenly remembered him asking you to accompany him to this fancy event.

At first you were thrilled with the idea thinking this may be the night you make your relationship official but he quickly shut the idea down by telling you he’d pose for the cameras out front and meet up with you once the auction starts. You were less excited now but still said yes and forgot about it all till now.

“Oh yeah, sure we’re still going. How are you planning on going there?”

“The boys and I were thinking about getting a limo, can you take an Uber and meet me there?”

“Do you not want me in the limo?” you asked shocked by how inconsiderate he was being. First he hides you from the world and now he wants you to step in an Uber with a fancy looking dress and ride there alone.

“No of course not, you can come get ready at mine then. I’ll be at the house by five.”

“You know what, I’ll find my own way Pedri. You don’t have to worry about me, not that you care.” you said and ended the call feeling agitated.

He tried calling you a few more times but you didn’t pick up, you even considered turning your phone off and not showing up but wanted to have a nice night with him, maybe this could solve your issues.

You started getting ready for the event, trying on 2 different dresses. One was an off the shoulder black silk maxi dress and the other was a dark red spaghetti strap maxi dress with a wide slit on the side and a corset as a top. You took mirror selfies with both dresses and sent it to your best friend who was on top of your messages app and started on your makeup as you waited for an answer. Your phone pinged not long after and you picked it up expecting it to be Elena but was shocked to see Fermin’s name on the screen. You remembered saving his number in the morning. He sent you a single text.

Definitely the red one

Your cheeks heat up immediately realizing your mistake, you sent the photos to Fermin instead of Elena because he was the last person you texted.

I’m so sorry, it was meant for someone else lol

You wrote back but made a mental note to wear the red dress, maybe it was that much better. You anxiously waited an answer from Fermin but it never came and you felt stupid, did he think you did it on purpose or was he being the cold and stoic Fermin you know again? You felt like you managed to make him open up more and made progress in your friendship and would hate if he went back to being distant. You thought about what can you text him that would make him answer but before you could find something your phone started ringing.

Fermin Lopez

You picked it up slightly nervous.

“Hey”

“Hey, are you not riding with everyone else to the venue?” he asked straight away without even asking how you were.

“No, um, I’ll go straight from my place so…” you drifted off not knowing how to explain why you weren’t going with your boyfriend.

“Are you ready?”

“Well, I’ll probably be ready in 15.” you looked at yourself in the mirror, you had the dress on and your makeup was almost done.

“Okay, I’ll pick you up then.” he suggested but his voice was so neutral you couldn’t understand any emotion behind it.

“What? Fermin you don’t ha…”

“I’m on my way Y/N. I’ll text you once I’m outside.” he said and hung up before you could even reply.

You stood there for a few moments trying to understand what just happened, why was Fermin this interested in how you’ll arrive at the venue or how you’re doing and more importantly, why wasn’t Pedri?

You decided to push these thoughts away and put on your accessories for the night but was a little too slow because Fermin already texted you before you could put everything on. You told him you need 5 more minutes and he was welcome to wait in your living room whilst you finish up and he soon rang the doorbell.

You opened the door revealing Fermin in a suit, this was the first time you’ve seen him this formal and admittedly, he looked nice. Actually he looked so good that you had to tear your eyes away from him but he didn’t look like he noticed, he was too busy looking at your figure with wide eyes. This may be the longest he’s ever looked your way but once you made proper eye contact, he immediately looked away.

“Hi” you smiled and hugged him softly, kissing one of his cheeks. He smiled at you and placed his hand on your waist careful not to put it too low. It felt more like a fancy first date than two friends carpooling to a charity event where your boyfriend was waiting for you and the thought made your stomach turn. There was something about Fermin that you couldn’t understand, he was never inappropriate or weird with you but you couldn’t help but feel something and that something scared the living shit out of you.

“You look amazing, told you this was the best dress.” he shyly said and your cheeks turned red with his compliment, you knew he preferred this dress but it was also your favorite. You didn’t wear it for him.

“So do you.” you replied and it was his turn to have reddened cheeks. He looked down at his shoes and didn’t look back up until you spoke again.

“Let me put on my shoes and we can go.”

You went into your shoe closet and picked out the nude heels you had in mind. They weren’t too high but still elevated your look. You dropped them in front of your door and tried getting in them but struggled because of your dress hugging your body tightly, Fermin soon noticed your uncomfortable state.

“Here, let me help you” he didn’t even let you reply and kneeled down in front of you to help you step into your shoes and buckle them, he did one foot and lightly tapped your calf for you to hold the other one. His one hand on behind your calf steadied you while the other helped you and you were standing so close that you could feel his breath on your exposed leg which made you shiver. You placed one hand on his shoulder and he looked up at you, his eyes were filled with yet another emotion but this time you knew it wasn’t something like sadness or anger, it was pure lust and you hated that you also had the same look on your face.

He slowly rose to his feet but you didn’t let go of his shoulder, you felt glued to him at that moment. Fermin must have felt the same because he stood so close to you that your noses nearly touched and he made no effort to pull back, you knew better you really did, you should’ve taken a step back thank him for helping you and go to the event but Fermin had other plans.

He suddenly closed the gap between you two and pressed his lips onto yours in a hasty manner like he had to do it, he did it so urgently as if he needed you and you couldn’t help but move your lips with his placing your hand on the back of his neck. Your judgement was too clouded to stop as he walked you back into your living room without breaking the kiss, he only stopped when your back hit the wall and a soft moan escaped your lips.

“Fermin” you mewled as he was moving his hands all around your body and on your exposed leg.

He pulled back slightly, your foreheads still touching and both of you panting. His eyes opened for the first time since he kissed you and looked straight into your soul.

“Fermin” you whispered this time not even sure if you were asking him to stop or carry on.

“Y/N, I want this. I want this so fucking much but if you don’t, I can get out of here now and we can pretend this never happened. I’ll never bother you again.” he softly said and you were surprised at how calm he was talking contrary to how passionate he was being mere seconds ago.

You closed your eyes to try to slow your heartbeat down, your whole body was shaking a little. You tried to think but all you could think about was his lips and hands on you.

You stood there for a moment before leaning in again and he happily accepted your advances telling you to jump and you obliged not caring about anything else in the world other than Fermin. He was making you feel that alive.

“God, you’re perfect” he said while carrying you to your room and kissing every inch of skin he could find.

“Just make me feel good” you begged him and he nodded eagerly. He was going to do just that.

[things-arent-what-they-seem66]

I have been busy lately, but that will never stop me from creating ideas of angst.

So, I got a request.

In hell, I'd imagine there'd be this section of it, hidden away, of course, where weeping angels roam. What if Adam became one of those weeping angels, and one day, some people have to go get fat nuggets since he chewed off his leash. (I'd imagine the weeping angels section of hell would look like a valley with weeping angels literally crying a river. They cry so much that there's a river.)

When some of the crew go there to find fat nuggets, they see someone like Adam that's crying over everyone leaving him. It is Adam. They try to talk to him but he screeches when anyone gets close. No happy ending here, bro.

NOOOOOOOOOO THE ANGST IT'S TOO GOOD!!!!

That's really sad. Oh, what if the only way to cure a weeping Angel is to fix the reason they are crying in the first place?

But they are crying so much they can't even tell you.

Can they be taken out of the Valley of the Weeping Angels? Because I could see them not wanting to leave Adam there.

Damn it I want a happy ending! Lol

[captainofthedauntless]

Hello!! I just wanna say first I love your work and your doing amazing and if possible I'd like a to request something.

It's my birthday today, and I was wondering if you could write the bayverse tmnt boys and how they would celebrate your birthday or their birthday's if that's ok? I love you and have a great day👋

Hi lovely! Happy Birthday :] I hope it's still the right day LMAO

(Thank you BTW! You are so kind and that means a lot.)

Post-movies HCs below!

I think they all go a little apeshit for birthdays TBH. They are very aware of mortality, risking their asses all the time, and love any excuse to celebrate life.

(Since you didn't specify romantic or platonic, I'll try to do a bit of both! I think the guys would make an effort to know their brothers' partners anyway, so if you're with one they're probably all excited to celebrate with you LMAO)

Don's a sweetheart, okay? Like, to his core. He's sweet and thoughtful and caring, so if you're important to him then it's important to him that he do everything he can to make your big day as special as possible.

This guy totally keeps a list of all the things his loved ones mention through the year that might make good gifts. Things you need fixed, things you need replaced, stuff you want to do- he writes it all down (literally or mentally, I'm not sure). So when your birthday comes around, he's got ideas ready and waiting!

The remote for your TV that only works if it's held at a Very Specific Angle, with a muttered prayer and a sacrifice of chicken nuggets? Replaced, and it probably controls your lights now, too.

You mentioned your computer running slow? He gives you a very professional looking purple coupon for one free computer cleaning, courtesy of DuzMachines LLC, signed by the CEO himself, Donnie Tello. (He looks way too amused by it, honestly.)

Or your hidden passion for table tennis that you only brought up off-handedly six months prior? Well, you better be ready to stretch your wrists, because he assembled a table for it and found a net and paddles and he and Mikey have been practicing to kick your ass.

If you guys are dating, he makes absolutely sure that he gets some solo time with you, away from his family. He leaves all of his tech in the lair (except for his phone and an Absolute Emergency Only panic button, because he's been doing this "save the city" thing long enough to know that if he actually goes off without a way for his brothers to get a hold of him, he'll come back to something on fire or someone bleeding or some sort of bomb going off in Central Park) and takes you for a nice drive. You guys go out in the middle of the night when the traffic is as easy as it'll ever get, and he puts you on DJ duty, and you spend a couple hours just driving around and enjoying each other's company until you end up parked in a quiet spot and he's pulling out a cooler bag of your favorite dessert to share with you.

He stutters a little, but he tells you how much he loves you. How happy you make him. How grateful he is to get to be yours. He kisses you so sweetly that it's even better than the dessert, and when you finally break apart you're smiling and he looks absolutely lovestruck.

"I mean it, you know that?" he says softly, cupping your cheek is his hand and squeezing ever so gently. "I love you."

Leo is micro managing the shit out of his family. Every inch of the lair will be cleaned and prepped for celebrating, okay? If he sees a single pizza box out of place he will be a bitch about it.

He really, really wants to have everything perfect for you.

He's really big on meaningful gifts. He works with April to get you a nice copy of one of his favorite books and writes a heartfelt little note on the first page, wishing you a happy birthday.

Or maybe he's painstakingly curating the perfect playlist of songs that make him think of you and burning them onto a CD, writing your name on the front in that perfect handwriting of his that makes it look like he cares about each letter.

He's the one coordinating all of Mikey's big plans for your big day, too. Leo makes sure everyone's at the lair and settled on time, makes sure that every gift is accounted for and wrapped, makes sure that you know exactly what to expect so you're fully prepared when you walk in to a very happy (read: loud) family gathering.

If you're dating, it's even worse. Everything gets double and triple checked. He makes himself and everyone else a little insane.

And then you come in and grin at him and suddenly the mismatched wrapping paper and clashing bows are more charming and homey than they are frustrating.

Leo makes absolute certain that he gets you alone at the end of the night. It looks like a really natural transition to you, but you know from the big fake yawn Mikey puts on that he isn't nearly as tired as he claims- and knowing your boyfriend, you suspect he had a hand in the comfortable privacy the two of you find yourselves in.

You almost call him out on it, but he's looking at you with so much love it makes your heart ache a little, so you decide to skip the teasing. (For now.)

He gave you a gift with the rest of the group, sure, but now he digs out a cute little box. When you open it, there's a bracelet in just the right metal to contrast gorgeously with your skin, lovingly shaped and formed and perfect.

He's nervous, but it only takes you looking up at him and going "Oh, Leonardo," for him to smile at you again.

"I'm happy to make adjustments to it, if you want."

"If you think I'm letting this out of my sight long enough for that, you are spectacularly incorrect."

He chuckles, and he helps you put it on, and he presses a kiss to your forehead so tenderly you think you may melt right into the floor.

He immediately gives in to you tugging him down to kiss his lips, too.

Obviously, Mikey has exactly zero chill. He goes a lot apeshit. We're talkin' hand-painted banner with your name that goes across the entire living area, a table cloth in your favorite color, every single game and activity you have ever mentioned enjoying all stacked up nice and neat so you can pick whatever you want. You want to play Twister? You bet, baby- he'll even go easy on you. More of a Charades person? He's rounding up the whole crew to play, and Splinter is damn good at it. Mario Kart? You get first dibs on characters and cars. (He will not go easy on you, though. He has a reputation to protect, birthday or not.)

Do not get me started on food.

This guy goes ham. April gets a novel-length shopping list, with your favorite snacks and all the ingredients for your favorite meal and your favorite dessert and he's making mixed drinks that have edible glitter in them. Booze optional- he's a mocktail master, alright?

Leo happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when Mikey does a test run of your meal. Leo proceeds to be stuck because Mike needs a taste tester, and "C'mon, Leo, it's gotta be perfect!", and "No no, just one more tweak, 'kay? Then you're free to go be boring."

(It was not just one more tweak.)

Now, if you're more lowkey, he tries- really really really tries- to keep it chill for you. He does. But he doesn't know how not to do a little something, so you're still getting some Chef Mikey action. Sorry.

If you're dating? Hooooo boy. You are getting smothered in as much affection as you can stand- and he's pretty good at gauging that, so it's only good vibes here. No overload from Mikey, not on your big day! But if you're receptive, you're getting texts right at midnight (despite him being on patrol, BTW) full to the point of bursting with emojis. He follows that up with good morning texts when he gets up. Then it's you coming down to the lair and celebrating and eventually, when things start to slow down a bit, he tugs you away to a secluded corner of their home for cute smooches and big hugs and "Happy birthday, Angel."

("You have a good day?" he asks, eyes big and hopeful and sweet, and when you say yes he scoops you up and spins you just to hear you giggle.)

Raph is actually the only one of the four with any kind of chill- mostly because he is terrified of ruining your day. Birthdays are a huge deal to him, and if he screwed up yours he would legitimately feel guilty until the day he died.

So he keeps it pretty simple. He's a crafty guy, so he might carve you a little wooden decoration for your place, or make you a bowl out of clay, or knit you a big blanket in your favorite color. It's thoughtful, it's either useful or gorgeous, and it's easy for you to carry home.

He's the one that keeps Mikey in check- tries to keep some of the bigger, crazier schemes in line, but he does it without raining on Mike's parade.

And if anybody catches an attitude on your big day? They have this guy to deal with. He takes zero shit. Seriously, Leo's getting bitchy? He gets one (1) warning look. Vern turns up and does anything even remotely annoying? Raph's behind you, silently threatening anything and everything Vern holds dear. Mikey gets too noisy? Raph's bumping his shoulder and having some silent sibling communication. It's all so subtle it's almost off-brand, but it's his way of making sure you have a good day. He's protective!

And if you're dating? Please.

He's doing whatever you want. You need a massage? You're hungry? Tired? Like two degrees too cold? He's got you.

You're having the perfect day if he has to cut his own arm off to make it happen, okay?

He's perceptive, too, so you probably don't have to ask for much.

The gang tries to sing and you look a little uncomfortable? "Happy Birthday to you, blah blah, cake time." And he's winking at you and passing you the cake cutter and it's so no-bullshit that everyone takes the hint but it makes him the center of attention long enough for you to relax again.

(And if you're not a cake person, he totally has Mikey organize another treat, just for you. He helps Mike in the kitchen, too. That shit is made with so much love.)

The night ends with the cuddles of your life. He gets kinda quiet, and it's easy to think he's just tired, but you look over at him and he's staring at you and he looks like you're built out of stardust.

"Shit," he mutters, nuzzling into you and hiding his face in the process. "Love you."

[thenickelportrust]

So I've spoken before about how one of (and probably the) main reasons writing Model Citizens always takes me so so long is because I have my own guilty-pleasure for making deeply branched but otherwise inconsequential conversations.

And I thought, for funsies and as a preview of the new part of the interview, I'd show you a little what I mean.

If you like to go in completely blind, then all good, it's under the read more. But I chose a part of the next update that is pretty much entirely devoid of anything plot relevant, and is one of the points that is only used for building your character, your relationship with Yolanda, and your relationship with others.

//

(I'm using a test file for this, so some choices you'll see, like divorcee-relevant things, are hidden because I skipped through a bunch of previous stuff to get to here.)

So as I mentioned way back before, for the next part of the update I wanted to add some questions that are otherwise inconsequential but provide you a basis to change your relationship with Yolanda so that you can get better or different responses in the more meaningful questions.

Enter the opinions questions.

But like, my brain goes, wouldn't it be fun to hide little things in here? Not even just plot things, but just little conversation branches to get to know people.

And, my brain continues, it would be far more fun if even inconsequential questions can lead to interesting conversation paths. It makes them actually worthwhile, and not just time-wasters.

So, we click on "today's fashion trends".

So of course, you click on it, you get a little stuff, but oh boy it doesn't end there. It's MC building time. How does your MC respond to this otherwise irrelevant little subject? I think it's fun to think about. Makes your character feel more alive. More involved.

Like, maybe your MC doesn't really like fashion itself, but they are the type that likes seeing other people get passionate. That's cool! I like that. I want to write that. I'll include an option for that.

And Yolanda is the type of person who also likes to see people passionate about things! So if the MC expresses that same inclination, she'll want to know more about them as well.

But, I realize, maybe the reader feels this is dragging on away from the subject at hand. Ok. I'll put in an option to go back, end the conversation here.

But otherwise-- while this MC might like hearing other people talk about it, what if they're the type to not be so honest about their own hobbies, or maybe they're concerned about their standing with Yolanda, and want to try and impress her, and think lying about their interests will do that?

Or, maybe they are really, genuinely excited to say something that they're interested in. Oh, what could an MC be interested in?

Well, I could list a bunch of things but... what if I added things that could be relevant to the conversation at hand?

For example-- what if the MC shared an interest with their Ex? Raf liked baking, so if they choose that and he was their Ex...

Or Lucy was big on being active, and if the MC liked to exercise with her...

... but Yolanda's sister also likes to knit and sew! So what if they shared a hobby with her? Yolanda would respond well to that.

So this otherwise small, inconsequential little tangent also builds a bit more character, both of the MC and, potentially, their relationship to others!

I find writing and hiding these little nuggets of world and character building a lot of fun. It's one of my favorite parts of writing interactive fiction, honestly. So I always enjoy writing these kinds of branching character dialogues.

But, of course, this isn't the only one where this kind of conversation tree is hidden. Here's the one I'm currently working on:

For an MC who has 0 interest in fashion. Not even all the options are shown here, Raf and Lucy's are both missing because, like I said, I skipped through to show this part, haha.

Anyway, I find this fun, and I find the idea of it branching in these small ways a lot of fun too. It takes a damn long time to write through all the scenarios, but it's what I love about this format of writing.

So I hoped you enjoyed this little ramble and preview! I hope it also gives you some insight into my funky lil thought process. And thank you once more for your patience on everything! :D

[littlefirefly42]

Little!Wednesday with CG!Enid Headcanons

-Wednesday regresses very young. Her range is 0-2. She can regress older, but it doesn't happen often

-Wednesday is usually nonverbal and very quiet, when she's little she communicates through tapping the way Thing does and pointing at things

-When she does speak, it's very soft (Enid can't even hear her sometimes), but otherwise exactly like her regular voice, yielding no childlike lisps or mispronunciations

-Despite her disdain for physical touch when she's big, Wednesday loves it when she's regressed. She's always holding Enid's hand, giving her hugs, sitting in her lap, etc.

-Enid adores it and in return gives her lots of physical attention, even just little things like kissing her head or braiding her hair, because she can tell it makes Wednesday happy

-Enid crocheted a baby blanket for Wednesday

-Wednesday is in timeout a LOT because she always gets her hands on some dangerous weapon she had hidden somewhere and starts playing with it and it gives Enid a heart attack

-Thing is The World's Best BabysitterTM, especially when Wednesday regresses on a full moon

-Wednesday HATES loud sounds she will pout, her eyes will get watery, she will crawl into her mama's lap with her hands clamped over her ears, and she will be very upsetti spaghetti

-Cranberry juice and dino nuggets!!! Which is about the only thing Wednesday ever eats. She doesn't eat as often as she should either

-Enid regularly tries to match Wednesday's vibe and get her to eat by making her spooky foods like mummy fingers and whatnot, and Wednesday appreciates the effort, even if she's not good at showing it

- Wednesday, despite being in the mindset of a literal 2 year old, still refuses to show emotion (sign of weakness and all that). So when she gets upset she either hides or tries her best to smother her feelings

-Enid always notices when this happens and very gently coaxes her to let herself be free to express negative feelings. It doesn't always work, but sometimes it does

-Her form of vulnerability is sitting in Enid's lap and crying silently, with her face completely expressionless, except for the tears. Enid understands that this is an absolute display of trust and comforts Wednesday always

-Wednesday had an easier time learning to show joy or excitement in littlespace

-At first she suppressed it, but eventually she opened up on her own

-She doesn't smile of course, but she bounces on her toes and rocks back and forth and swings her legs.

-If she an Enid are out in public however, Wednesday's back at square one

-She will not speak at all, nor show any conceivable human emotion.

-If she needs to communicate something to Enid, she does so through a language of subtle hand squeezes

-If Wednesday grabs Enid's hand willingly, Enid knows she's regressed

-If Wednesday gives a short squeeze it means she's trying to direct Enid's attention to something

-If she gives quick rapid squeezes, it means she's happy

-If she squeezes tightly and for a long time, it means she's angry, stressed, or in any other way upset

-They never discussed this silent code, Wednesday just started doing it and Enid picked up pretty quick

-Wednesday chews on EVERYTHING

-If Enid tells her to stop chewing an object because of germs she will continue chewing on said object while looking Enid directly in the eyes

-Enid finally got the idea to begin stocking up on teethers and chewlery, and while Wednesday does use them, she'll always prefer her blankie (the one Enid made)

-Typewriter go clack clack make baby happy

-Wednesday doesn't really do much in little space. She doesn't play or color or anything like that. Usually she just sits and stares vacantly or cuddles up to her mama

-Enid is fine with this, she usually does some artsy thing or writes her blog while still giving Wednesday attention in little ways that fulfill but don't overwhelm the little, like baby-talking her or holding her hand

-Sometimes, Enid reads to her. Mostly scary things like old fairy tales and Goosebumps, but mysteries too, like Nancy Drew books and The Mysterious Benedict Society

[not-your-fucking-kacchan]

hi! I read your hiei fic the other day it was really good ^_^!

Could I req a fem!former delinquent!sweetheart!reader with Kurama and Hiei (together is preferred but seperate is fine) thank youu!

also to go in detail - yusuke and kuwabara knew her and feared her (without knowing that she was a girl and actually pretty caring unless you wronged her) then yusuke wanted to fight her and they met up. eventually became a part of team urameshi!

thank you again!

.. reimi

Aw thank you! I'm always glad to see some yyh lovers on here <3

Also since this was like the 80s-90s, I think the 'never hit a woman' thing was even more relevant to them lol

If y'all want part two lemme know! <3

𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 <3

Check out my kinktober!

𝐊𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐱 𝐅𝐞𝐦!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐇𝐢𝐞𝐢 - 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭

Bastards.

Can a girl not just be minding her business on the rooftop on her own, without being bothered? This had become your safe space, somewhere you could just forget about these losers that were just looking for a fight.

"Hey! Yuuri!"

That's not your name anymore, but okay.

"'s not my name, asshole."

Somehow people had never connected the dots that you weren't a man. It's a fucking mystery where that little gold nugget of gossip even came from. It's not like you were uniquely masculine looking, you were just very androgynous, and it's not your fault that men's clothes are smarter, more comfortable and made to last longer. Fuck women's clothes, seriously.

You have long hair, but you suppose that people just think you're a cute femboy, like that Shuichi kid from the next school over.

Thus, you had been dubbed "Yuuri", since the general public apparently couldn't be bothered to remember your real name.

Finally, long legs hidden by baggy men's suit pants in a deep black stretch out, knees cracking when you stand. Yusuke doesn't even flinch. Boy, what a trooper.

One would have to be living under a rock, under the ocean, and under another rock to not know who this infamous troublemaker is. This day was bound to come, this guy's probably been in bare-knuckle fist fights with grizzly bears, at this point.

Oh boy, you never know how they'll take the news you're about to break.

"You know, I'm not Yuuri anymore, right?"...

"Meet me in the parking lot in ten!"

"I have class in five minutes"

Your words are lost on him, and you sigh, knowing you're about to stand the poor guy up on what's probably his first date. Poor thing. There's no way in hell you're gonna meet that asshole. He just can't take a hint for the life of him. Just how long has Keiko had that crush on him for?

"Listen, I'm not "meeting up" with you. I'm not in the business of hurting people anymore-"

Let me have my character development arc, asshole.

Nothing more can be said as you walk straight past the little delinquent. Though, he does bristle in offence at your casual dismissal. Maybe you should've rejected him slowly... 'it's not you, it's me...'

Yeah, right.

-

The two of you do end up meeting anyway, curse you and your curiosity, and you now stand in front of Yusuke with the most unimpressed, 'look, you've got the wrong idea' expression.

Meanwhile, Yusuke is looking aweful proud of himself, and it seems he rolled up with the whole pussy patrol. Of course Shuichi is here, whom you know about because of various contacts that keep tabs on suspicious people for you. And oh, boy, is this redhead suspicious after he caught every single contact of yours with ease, and even more so now that he's groupied with Yusuke, of all people.

Kuwabara obviously wouldn't have missed this for the world, but the fourth guy is simply a mystery to you. Mystery short stack wears only black, like you even despite the school dress code, and as soon as you tilt your head in curiosity at him he immediately looks away. Wierd.

The matter at hand is that Yusuke Urameshi wants to fight you, yet you're not willing to go back to starting shit for no reason. It was just too much hassle, and the second your friends and family got dragged into it was when you called it quits.

"Look, whatever dick measuring contest you think this is, I'm not into it, man."

"Yeah, whatever, man! Come on over here and get your ass-kickin', that smug face a' yours says 'kick me' all over it!"

"You know I'm a woman, right?"

The shocked silence that follows is comical, really.

Yusuke and Kazuma had known of you for a while now, and heard of your feats through others that they had left as pulp on the ground, and were genuinely curious about you. Of course, they never knew the were picking a fight with a woman. As much as they like to promote equality, part of them still cringe at the thought of going against the one rule in the book. Never hit a woman.

Everywhere you look, eyes are wide like dinner plates. Everyone seems genuinely caught off guard, even Hiei and Kurama weren't expecting this. They had just come to see Yusuke get his ass handed to him.

"Why is this such a shock to you people?! Do I really look like a man to you?! Am I ugly?!"

"No- no! You- uh- well..."

Kuwabara steps in to save him, and fails miserably.

"We just thought you were one of those really pretty boys- l-like Kur- I mean- Shuichi..."

This is starting to fuck with you now. At the sight of what Yusuke now knows to be an upset woman in front of him, he cringes. Kuwabara's going on about how rude he is for making a girl cry, even though you're not crying, and like he didn't assume you were a man as well, but he's just background noise.

Somewhere in his head he connects the dots, thinking of every woman he knows and how unexpectedly violent they get when they're angry.

"Actually, that makes sense, you know."

-

After this turn of events you had actually forgiven this particular group, and the memory of when they all thought you were a man is now a long running joke between the four of you.

At some point, you'd pointed out to 'Useless Urameshi', as you had dubbed him, that he should talk to Keiko because she likes him, and it was getting a little painful to watch them dance around eachother like idiots.

You had grown especially close with Hiei and Kurama after being sucked into one of their demon-hunting escapades, and although the short tempered fire demon had been especially cold at first, it was nothing you hadn't dealt with before. He was just having trouble opening up to you. Kurama warned that it might take a while to get through to him.

Nonetheless, you had patience, or at least more than you did before you had stopped being a delinquent.

In reality, the group thought you were an absolute sweetheart, and even a bit of a doormat at times, but the second you lost your patience it took a while for them to convince you not to commit murder in the first degree. Even Hiei was genuinely surprised at how unnecessarily angry you could get for just an otherwise ordinary human girl, even despite your slight spiritual awareness.

Despite your temper, the group adored you, and you adored them. Kurama often joked that you were his favourite human because of the behemoth strength behind "such pretty eyes". Butterflies invaded your stomach when he said that and they never left.

The two demons especially took a liking to you, since you treated them so well, and it was obvious to everyone except you, that they were competing for you, ironically. It's like Yusuke and Keiko all over again. He's still haunted by the name you gave him. 'Useless Urameshi- What an ass.' he would think.

[plutobutartsy]

more shared custody au hehe (part 3)

no i didn't forget about this au

part 1

gavin works as a nurse!! he's really good with people and especially old people at the hospital love him. a lot of them try to set him up with their kids/grandkids but they also just enjoy chewing his ear off while he washes them and stuff. he just puts people at ease :)

he's lowkey overworking himself, taking on extra shifts and jumping in for his coworkers when he can. vega doesn't like to admit it but he does get worried sometimes, especially after gavin takes on more responsibilities with school events

vega is a chef! he used to work at a really high end restaurant but he got sick of the attitude everyone there had. employers were arrogant and looked down on the staff, same with most of the customers. even though he didn't have much direct contact with customers, he still noticed how his coworkers were treated and it made him so unbelievably angry

now he works at a small family owned restaurant and he really enjoys working there

the family in question are the greers (stella try not to make everything about the shaw pack challenge FAILED), marie took it over from her parents. tank, david and asher have all worked there part time at some point and still help out on busy days if they can.

milo works there full time. he does a bit of everything; waiting, cooking, cleaning, delivering, whatever needs to be done. he also takes on security gigs from david from time to time

marie's restaurant is the type of well hidden secret that the locals try to gatekeep from tourists lol

vega loves working there so much and he's gotten really attached to the entire shaw pack but specifically marie like, he would kill for her. he tries to hide it but they all know, it's an unspoken rule to act like they don't. marie ignores this rule.

this goes without saying but of course vega is amazing at cooking. gavin always has caelum bring home a container with leftovers.

as much as caelum loves vega's amazing cooking, when asked what he wants for dinner he ALWAYS asks for dino chicken nuggets and it lowkey kills vega

vega comes over to gavin's place to meal prep when he can under the guise of making sure that caelum gets proper meals but he really does it to take some weight off of gavin's shoulders (again, he worries about gavin)

gavin isn't the best cook, he knows how to make a few basic meals and they don't taste bad but they're not amazing either. but they have that home made charm, it's like you can taste how much effort and love he puts into cooking meals for his loved ones

to make up for his average cooking skills he actually gets pretty good at baking after all those bake sales! when he drops caelum off at vega's place he also drops off a bunch of baked treats for vega specifically, to repay him for meal prepping.

vega doesn't like most sweet things so gavin mostly makes savory stuff for him

for vega's and pet's first proper date (because vega doesn't accept grabbing coffee together can be considered a proper date), he cooked pet their favourite childhood meal

pet teared up a little from the thoughtfulness and vega almost had a heart attack

huxley is a tattoo artist and helps coach the local highschool's football team in his free time

him and damien have matching tattoos that he designed (hnggg idk what yet but i'll come up with something lol also open for ideas :))

huxley has SO MANY tattoos, including, but not limited to: a frog on a skateboard, a bunch of dandelions, "love you" (twice, in both of his moms' handwriting), a birtday cake, a little ghost dude, damien's birth date and a bunch of lemons

caelum likes to colour huxley's tattoos in when he and damien babysit

i'm not set yet on what damien does for a living, i can see him being a professional photographer tbh but he also seems like somebody who'd have a regular office job? ahhhh i don't know

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 05/02/2024

Epic Rap Battles of History: Funny vs. Funnier

Season 5 Featured on: Rips From Around The Way 7 (Hidden Track)

Ripped by DonnieTheGuy Visuals by moralem, Blookerstein, PsychLantern, Myeauxyoozi

Requested by crickep! (Discord)

Yknow, for as much as I like to go on and on about Season 2 being my favorite period of the channel's life - it may honestly just be due to my own personal investment being at its highest at that point. Its a herculean, damn near impossible task nowadays to actually try and critically evaluate a season of SiIvaGunner in retrospect, and most of what I go off of obviously just comes from my own experiences and memories. It goes to reason, then, that Season 5 is my least favorite season of the channel not necessarily due to any fault of its own, but just due to my own personal investment in the channel being rather low at the time. I say that, because with every rip I cover from the Season - now including Epic Rap Battles of History: Funny vs. Funnier - I'm baffled as to why I'd ever consider the season anything less than peak.

When I have that discussion with other people (or just with the voices in my head), the reasons tend to primarily boil down to a lack of lore developments made during the year. Yet as I talked about way back in Knowledge of the Depths, even that feels like doing the Season a disservice, given just how enjoyable and, in a way, lore-crucial the audio dramas made during Season 4 Episode 2 and Season 5 wound up becoming. Which again makes me point toward my own lack of attentiveness toward the Season as the one to blame: because how else could I have missed out on how genuinely engaging and interesting the lore regarding Lady, Yankin', Masked Wolf and Astronaut in the Ocean was? And as the cherry on top - how could I have missed just how perfect of an ending to it all Epic Rap Battles of History: Funny vs. Funnier wound up being?

I've dissected and talked about Masked Wolf before in Aquarium in the Ocean and Snow halocean, as the figment who best fits the role of a true anti-hero within SiIvaGunner - an agent of chaos whose rips only occasionally bother to actually sound good, yet one we wound up loving despite (or because of!) it all. Yet as Season 5 began to truly ramp up, his role seemed to change from agent of chaos to necessary evil - as the only remaining figment capable of stopping the reign of hell that Lady's "Yankover" was subjecting us all to. No doubt SiIva has had its contentious, long-lasting takeovers before (Harlem Shakeover and Totally Shaaking Out Right Now, anyone?), yet nothing truly compared to the neverending downpour of hellfire cast upon us by one particularly crass rapper singing about her genitalia. And for once, it seemed as if the SiIvaGunner team agreed - Lady became, for all intents and purposes, the actual villain of Season 5, with her figment form reimagined as a full-on demon in need of imprisonment. And small nuggets of lore were being handed out week by week (nuggets that I, again, unfortunately glazed over back in the day), Lady's defeat wound up happening at the hands of HoBART, everyone's favorite mixer from the King for Another Day Tournament. Yet to me, Epic Rap Battles of History: Funny vs. Funnier still sits at the most pure, befitting end to her reign - a battle between the Season's fallen angel and its lawless demon, set to the tune of a game whose entire hype cycle practically enveloped Season 5 in its entirety.

Back in Satinpanties Symphony, I mused over how Friday Night Funkin became a mainstay feature on SiIvaGunner almost overnight, and how it feels as if the two projects share a lot of DNA that make them a perfect fit for one another, in how they handle the idea of legacy. What better game, then, could there be to depict the encounter between these two legends that defined the season, than with the game that defined the year - coincidentally, one entirely focused on duels between rappers. That's not to imply that Epic Rap Battles of History: Funny vs. Funnier isn't an absolute banger on its own - the melodic core of Ugh, paired with the implementation of both Astronaut in the Ocean and Yankin's backings into the back-and-fourth, creates a fantastic re-imagining of the song that's both endlessly relistenable and incredibly charming with the custom visuals. Yet its the same point I made in Take You To The Desert - with all that context in mind of all that led up to this battle, the knowledge of how much the community suffered under the thumb of both rappers yet came to understand one for his harmless-if-strange tendencies yet came to loathe the other...Epic Rap Battles of History: Funny vs. Funnier becomes something genuinely legendary. Paired with so many small flourishes added on top, such as the original track's "Ugh" sample being replaced with Masked Wolf's opening "Astro", the reference to Lady's attempted Thanksgiving resurrection ritual in Twerkey (seriously), down to Lady being positioned as the player character to truly sell home how dominant she was during her reign...It feels like yet another one of those, for lack of another word, Perfect, rips.

The cherry on top of it all though is, of course, the ending. Despite the seemingly even back-and-forth in the battle, Lady is suddenly dragged back into the pits of hell, as Masked Wolf leaves her with his parting words.

I believe in G-O-D, don't believe in T-H-O-T.

[raincitygirl76]

I’m quite sure that the Substack posts by @tvmicroscope by Young Royals have been linked by various people. But as I am a subscriber of theirs on Substack, I will take advantage of the convenience to link all their posts thus far.

The Competition Metaphor. The one with Felice’s eggs!!! Note this link is to Part 1 of a theme that’s spread over 2 posts. Part 2 of 2 is the post linked just below. Read the Competition Metaphor post before the Water Metaphor post.

The water metaphor, aka Part 2 of 2. Read the competition metaphor post first. Also, this is the longest post by far from @tvmicroscope I would suggest either setting aside about half an hour, or knowing in advance that you’ll read part of the post, and then come back to read the rest when time allows.

Please do NOT be be scared off by my warning to allow extra reading time. The water metaphor is a GREAT post. Long, but packed with amazing symbolism and thoughts. Well worth half an hour out of your day. You just might not have half an hour all at once.

Those above were the 2 most recent posts. I’m being rather disorganized. Had originally planned to link the posts in reverse chronological order. Then decided partway through to change my mind. The next 3 links are in chronological order. And that’s it. @tvmicroscope has only written 5 posts so far but I’m already hooked on the analysis.

Visual metaphors

The music metaphor

Symbolism and YR’s original score.

Also, I don’t know @tvmicroscope at all, so I’m not trying to convince you to shell out money for a friend of mine, I promise. But IF you are in a financial position to do so, I think subscribing to them on Substack might be a good idea to consider. Obviously, not everyone is in that financial position. And some fans have an ethical problem with fans monetizing at all. Not a position I share, but I respect that position.

I fortunately can afford to subscribe. There is zero subscriber-only content so far, and I have no idea if any is planned. But if someone is posting really thoughtful, thought-provoking analysis (or gifs, or vids) that I haven’t seen elsewhere, and they have a Ko-Fi/Substack/Patreon, I’ll think about it.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

I hadn’t realized this, but there is also a FREE option to subscribe to @tvmicroscope on Substack without paying any money at all! So if you’re not in a financial position to get a paid subscription, you can still subscribe and enjoy the posts.

Also, any content that is not currently paywalled for paying subscribers will never be put behind a paywall. So the 5 articles I linked above will ALWAYS stay available to everybody, whether or not they have a paid subscription. More details in link below.

[zot3-flopped]

oh my god , I had completely removed this… urgh! forum popjustice com/threads/louis-tomlinson.62253/post-4997532

Some highlights:

So just to recap - can't sing, can't dance, music is total hogwash, stage presence of expired milk, card-carrying 'real music' bore, could throw a stone in any TopMan branch and hit 20 better looking guys....anyone care to explain what the point of him is?

He is an entitled, rude, defensive and clearly somewhat dim little brat with no good music to back him up. The sooner his label gives up and he disappears the better.

But Louis has always hidden behind this idea of being "sassy" to be a complete trash human being and as much as it will amuse me when he inevitably only proves how bad of a singer he is, it's whiteness working yet again to keep this idiot famous and even richer.

He's literally the worst member out of 1D and I don't know why he's being sold as a solo artist when he can't sing for shit and looks like a squinty gecko.

He was totally obnoxious in that video where he smoked pot with Zayn. He was so full of himself I wanted to punch the screen. There really isn't enough autotune in the world to make him sound listenable.

Doesn't he have a history of being a bit ignorant? I also recall something about throwing chicken nuggets/food at fans. I mean, Bieber has been just as unpleasant, or worse, but Louis Tomlinson is a... shockingly new level of talentless with absolutely nothing to offer artistically, creatively, etc.

Stop comparing people to Louis it's offensive to even Camila. The worst singer I know sounds like nails on a chalkboard but Louis somehow manages to sound worse than that live and on record.

[centrally-unplanned]

The real buried nugget of the Brandon Sanderson interview is that he is one of the august race of humans who are genetically incapable of experiencing pain. He isn't alone, its extremely rare but it is a documented effect - and it has a less potent version you see in their children for a mixed gene effect.

This is one of those 'out-of-left-field' genetic engineering targets; from what we can tell these people are generally fine, normally less anxious and happier though perhaps a bit more sedate and diagnosing certain medical conditions can be harder (The woman in the link was reported as forgetful, but Brandon Sanderson is certainly not, so I think that is a coincidence). They can just use other senses to protect themselves from harm pefectly adequetely, and meanwhile they can interact with modern medicine at a ludicrously more effective level. And, ya know, they don't feel pain. Which sounds ~whatever when you are young and healthy, but while estimates vary a good bet would be ~20 percent of people will acquire chronic pain in their lives, and its often one of the worst parts of health issues. Limitations in mobility or senses can be mitigated with life changes, but pain can ruin everything.

I would argue we should aim to experiment with mass-dissemination of this genetic superpower once genetic engineering tools can do so. Lots of health-engineering targets are very specific; prevent ciliacs, give someone the AIDS-immunity disease, etc. This gene is far more broadly effective than any of those - it prevents the worst part of a huge swath of medical issues. And on the flip side no one yet knows how to like increase IQ, or happiness, or sociability, or whatever. They are complex traits with huge social depencies. Meanwhile this one appears to be more-or-less a toggle. If you are afraid of there being hidden costs to not experiencing pain like the woman's struggles diagnosing her own health conditions, you can use the less potent version of the gene, reducing but not eliminating pain.

I am pretty radically transhumanist on the idea of improving the human condition, but I recognize how hard that is going to be; inventing 'new' genes is currently largely beyond us, so it tends to be a job of discovering extent genes that have emerged haphazardly. To me this is one of the most powerful we might be able to find, that functions independent of the social structure around us. Would be my first target as a gene to make available if the tech ever gets there.

[recovering-redditor]

Hi, it's me, cat hate anon. Can you find Nugget and somehow show her this for me? Just pull it up on your phone or something and show it to her. Thanks.

Dear Nugget,

I'm sorry. I know it sounds stupid, but I never meant to hurt you. I was just making a joke. A stupid joke. An incredibly stupid joke. It wasn't from a place of malice. That's what I'm trying to say.

I've seen posts about this sort of thing, but I didn't realize that I too had been infected by the "being unnecessarily mean for a bit" virus until I did some serious reflection. I don't think I'd go up to anyone I know IRL and tell them their cat is "not good." So why did I feel entitled to do that with you? I've said this before, but it was supposed to be a joke. But it wasn't a joke. It was hurtful and uncalled for and I'm sorry I ever thought it was a good idea.

I hurt you. And for what? 4 notes? The ire of Redd? Some hidden unconscious desire to spread hate and misery? I feel disgusted by myself.

You've done nothing to deserve it. Maybe you're guilty of "a tiny amount (at most) of facebitery," but that isn't nearly terrible enough to warrant this type of jeer from me. Redd loves you. My relationship is a lot more distant, but your cute little face brightens by day when he interacts with my posts. By all accounts you are a kind and sweet cat and I feel so awful about badmouthing you like that.

I'd imagine that we'll never meet, but I want to say that I love you. And maybe you'll never love me back, because loving an internet stranger who just called you a mean name is weird. But I still love you.

I'm sorry, OK?

So I was sitting with her on my lap when I saw this, and she started rubbing her face on the screen. I’m pretty sure all is forgiven, Anon, and she might actually love you actually.

[thestudentfarmer]

Feb 20, 2023

Hey everyone! I hope you've all had as great a week as possible and been able to work on your gardens, homesteading skills and sustainable methods this week :)

We've had a little bit of everything this week for all the above here in our little plot.

Today's post is going to include an update on the lentils and then some info and caretaking stuff for ducks 🦆

So first up! The lentil experiment!

This is a pic as of today, there's clear spotting in the grow pattern. But I kind of expected that. I didn't have a lot for even coverage (and just tossed it out). It had a late grow period and the front gets a weird double micro- climate/grow zone in the winter.

A lil close up of what's come up. They are a bit darker stemmed and darker leaved than it looks. But those that sprouted are doing amazing!

I'm thinking about letting a section grow entirely to produce more pods and seeds just to see how well it'll do now and just doing a half row of till in.

🦆🦆🦆Now onwards to the ducks! 🦆🦆🦆🦆

If you've ever thought about getting ducks, please do your research on them.

Despite sis having done extensive research there's still things we don't know, didn't know until it happened and we're continually learning as we go.

As a quick mention our ducks are kept primarily as pets, for pest control and because we wanted their eggs. Sis and my Hubby love them, though only Hubby can eat them. (I don't overly enjoy the taste personally, but I can eat them)

Meet Nugget (the back left), Pie (back right) and some of you may recognize the handsome fellow in the front middle, Cheese! (Aka, Poppa Cheese).

These are our ducks. While we don't know for sure what Pie (we believe is a magpie) and Nugget (we believe is a magpie mix ) are, we are certain Cheese is a silver Appleyard.

Awhile back I noticed we weren't finding any duck eggs, well Miss Pie it turns out hid a nest. I believe I posted it awhile ago with a few eggs in it by the time it was discovered. We figured we would let her sit on them and gave them the hatch time plus a week to be sure. Sadly no eggs hatched. We will not be allowing large nesting again. And the next hatch will be done with an incubator. ( a fun experiment and share for later!)

This is what the nest ended up looking like on "pull date" (today actually)

I think one broke yesterday morning as there was that unforgettable rotten egg smell. For the comfort of us and our neighbours (as well as Pie.) It was time to remove it.

Found the broke one(s?) They were not rolemovable by hand. So a shovel was needed to remove them.

All empty. I did fully remove, trim and am planning to block this spot so she may not nest here again.

The hidden bounty was way bigger than expected and I have a feeling she wasn't really nesting now :( there was almost 60 eggs hidden here!)

The lesson this student learned? At this time natural incubation is a no for our homestead. Any found nests from now on, sadly will have to be removed. We have tried nesting a handful of times now and it just hasn't panned out.

As well a note to share with those thinking of ducks~

They need ponds and if you get filtration get the darn best filtration you can.

In addition to the nest removal and cleanout It was pond clean day happens every 2-3 days so long as it doesn't rain.

This is a pond washed out and refilled 3 days ago. (It rained, we don't do pond wash on rainy days.)

Dumped, be sure to rinse em well, this is why if u get filtration make sure it's heavy duty. This sludge probably could be watered down heavily and used for soil fertilization. For me tho, I'm only doing that in the duck area. Too many weed seeds for the garden to be a viable use for that and not a good filter system planned yet.

The lucky ducks enjoying the fresh cleaned pond (for now lol)

Their area is under some redesign as well. Projects I will be sharing later as they are done~

Thank you all for joining me today! What project or ideas are you looking forward to this week on your own gardening, homesteading, learning journey?

🌱🦆Happy Homesteading and Animal Husbandry!🦆🌱

[sunspray-peak]

Ch. 65: Birthday Beets

SATURDAY - WINTER 20

With his new role, Alex didn’t need to work on the weekends anymore. But, as Achilles often said, there was no rest for the weary, and this little nugget must have rubbed off a bit on Alex, as he’d taken to spending his Saturday mornings training in the mountainside spa. 

Achilles had joined him halfway through his workout, favorite pen in hand per usual. He’d parked himself on one of the surrounding wooden benches (not nearly as comfortable as the ones at Orange Grove, unfortunately), legs crossed at the knee as he hunched away from the spa’s chipped neon tiles. 

It was a longer workout than usual, to Achilles’ mild annoyance (the pages of his notebook kept curling in the humidity). But he said nothing, merely munched on some pistachio nuts he’d snuck in (not that there had been anyone in the lobby to stop him) while listening to Alex flutter kick his way up and down the pool. 

“All nervous energy, I think I might’ve broken a personal record,” Alex said, after finally calling it in at noon. With a grunt, he clambered out of the water one handed, the other ripping off his swim cap to reveal a messy cascade of brown curls. “Not even vi—vicarious? Vicarious. It’s all just me. Was that right?” 

“Very good!” Achilles threw him a pistachio that bounced off his forehead. “Whoops.” 

Alex bent down to retrieve the tiny nut, eyeing it closely before tossing it in to a nearby trash can. “Man, I couldn’t even eat a pistachio if I tried, haven’t got an appetite… welp. It is what it is, let’s go… four and half hours ’til they’re back…” 

They made their way towards the locker rooms just in time to see Lewis, in bright purple swim trunks trimmed with gold, and Marnie laying towels down by the hot tub. At the very first sight of that grey walrus mustache, Achilles immediately dove to behind a trio of pale blue tables, instinctively yanking Alex down with him.  

But it seemed like Lewis had a similar idea, though it was Marnie alone he unceremoniously shoved behind a potted plant before stepping forward, twirling the aforementioned mustache.“Achilles! Alexander! Good seeing you youngsters taking advantage of one of our community’s many little ‘hidden paradises’ as I like to say.” Lewis doffed an invisible cap (he must’ve left it behind in the locked room). 

“Yes sir!” It was Alex who, after smacking Achilles who’d only groaned in response, stood to great the mayor. “It’s great having a pool in the Valley, now. Marnie, hope you’re doing well.” He gave her one of his warm smiles as she tip-toed out from behind the fern. 

Taking advantage of Lewis’ momentary distraction (too busy shooting Marnie a wicked glare), Achilles promptly popped up like a groundhog from behind the table with the confidence of one who hadn’t just attempted to run from the premises. “Lewis, Marnie, good to see you both! The spa really is wonderful, and it looks like we had similar ideas—glad to see the weather hasn’t been keeping you both from enjoying some valuable, quality time together.” He seamlessly dodged Alex’s kick without breaking his grin. 

“Ah… yes, yes…” Lewis’ browed furrowed as he digested Achilles’ words. “Well, we don’t want to keep ya from your plans… Alex, give your grandmother my regards, please. Tell her happy birthday from me. Been here all her life you know, 84 years! A true pillar of our community!” 

“Yes sir!” 

With tight-lipped smiles, the two continued on their way to the locker room. 

“Man, why do you hate Mayor Lewis so much, he’s not that bad.” 

“That mustache just activates my fight or flight. And just you wait until he hears you’re swimming competitively again, you’ll be his new target… new ‘star of the community,’ he’ll never leave you alone…” 

*****

“Four hours to go… Okay, now don’t be too mean to him, okay?” Alex said, tossing his goggles into the tangerine gym bag at his feet. 

“Yes, of course.” 

“Hmm.” He leaned against the lockers and crossed his arms. “Well, I mean, I guess you can be a little mean…”

“Okay.” 

“Oh, but he is 86 years old…”

“Yes, for sure.” 

Alex poked his head out from the sweatshirt he was still wrangling on. “I guess, just don’t… bad cop it up too much?” 

“Yessir.” 

“I just need him to like, be open to chatting with me after that.” 

“You got it.” 

*****

George had taken Evelyn out to the Zuzu Botanical Garden to see the special holiday lights and decorations, leaving Alex and Achilles alone to prepare her early birthday dinner (“It’s early because they’re old.” “Thanks for the explanation, Al.”) 

Alex had prepared tonight’s menu—beet salad with arugula and leek, roasted Cornish hens with stuffing, mushroom bourguignon and mashed potatoes, and of course, a triple chocolate cake. 

All, to Achilles’ overwhelming distress, to be homemade. 

“Look, but I’ve thought this out, be proud of me. See, all you have to do right now,” Alex had said, a tiny little hen in one hand, a paper towel in the other, and flecks of cranberry sauce on his face, “Is cut those thingies.” He waved the game hen at the pile of produce Achilles had just washed. “I believe in you.” 

Achilles examined a leek closely before setting it back down on the cutting board. “Glad one of us does…” He ran his (clean) finger along the edge of the knife he’d grabbed from the drawer.

Alex was, not unexpectedly, painfully neat in the kitchen (to the disappointment of Dusty, who’d been hoping for scraps), but even so, Achilles thought it best to keep out of his way, and attempted to move his overflowing basket of produce to the kitchen table. 

“You put that knife down, Achilles Oleander Desrosiers Robinson, don’t you go carrying five thousand things at once, you’re gonna hurt yourself—or worse, Dusty—”

Atop the dining table, next to a small stack of wrapped gifts, was a bouquet of freshly cut tulips for which Alex had had to place a special order. In addition to a new vase, Achilles had purchased for Evelyn a nice set of bakeware, whereas Alex had thoughtfully put together a gardening gift basket, complete with new gloves, her favorite flower seeds, and more. 

“2pm,” Alex said, eyes darting towards the clock on the oven as they had been every ten minutes for the past hour. “We’ve got another three hours before they’re back…” 

Unlike Alex, Achilles had been feeling quite calm about the situation, cutting his beets with a steady hand (maybe that was the real reason Alex had had him cutting vegetables instead of over-spicing the Cornish hens). It was, perhaps, a bit strange, given he was treading in somewhat unfamiliar waters having never had to have a similar conversation with his family. But he told himself not to overthink it—in typical fashion, he’d prepped quite a bit the night before after Alex left—and instead attempted to spread his placidity by telling Alex a “fun” story from his childhood. 

As the hours ticked away, though, and the prepping transitioned to actual cooking, Alex’s nerves slowly seemed to settle. Balancing four dishes was surely quite a distraction, and by the end of the third hour, Alex was resting across two kitchen chairs with his head in Achilles’ lap breathing easy. 

That is, until they heard voices at the doorstep.

A look of terror streaked across Alex’s face, and he froze. But in the second just before the front door opened, Achilles squeezed his arm and leaned over to kiss him softly on the nose; and with Achilles’ hand on his shoulder, Alex scrambled up from the dining table and greeted his grandparents with convincing enthusiasm. 

*****

Dinner was, as Achilles had predicted, a somewhat awkward affair, although not nearly quite as awkward as it could’ve been, thanks to George’s determination to remain absolutely silent. The old man had seemed to be all smiles and laughter before entering the house, but his lips had formed a squat little line the moment he’d caught sight of Achilles. 

That left Achilles, Alex, and Evelyn to carry the conversation among themselves, and outside of Alex’s oddly loud voice—his nerves breaking through or overcompensating for his grandparents’ hearing?—it was, all things considered, an ordinary birthday dinner. 

Alex and Achilles had just finished clearing the table, the former’s hand now trembling as he carried the dishes back to the sink, when they saw George beginning to make his way to the living room. Achilles quickly called after him. 

“Hey, George—I’d like to speak with you.”

The old man gave a start, likely surprised Achilles was speaking directly to him, before grunting, “I have nothing to say to you, young man.” 

“Oh no worries, that’s fine. It’s actually me who’s got something to say to you, I don’t need you to say anything back.” 

That got his attention. With a scowl, George turned himself around. “You can set aside the cheek, boy. I knew your father, Perry was a good man. Didn’t he raise you to respect your elders?” 

 “Ah, no, you see, my dad actually raised me to respect only the people I thought deserved it.” 

It was a sassy response and he knew it—from the corner of his eye, he caught Alex’s grimace. 

Best not push your luck. He told you not to be too much of an asshole, Achilles…  

Achilles returned to the dining table and took a seat, just as Alex and Evelyn (whom Alex had forewarned) made their way noiselessly to the living room. As they had planned it, Alex would join the conversation later—but for now, it was up to Achilles. 

George didn’t seem to notice their retreat. Likely torn between a spiteful unwillingness to back down and his distaste for Achilles, George paused in the entryway for several seconds before ultimately deciding to stand his ground and return to the dining table. 

Achilles chose to take this as a somewhat promising sign, until George, glaring at him from across the stained wood grain, said, “Fighting my grandson’s battles for him, eh?”

But he responded smoothly. “I don’t see why it has to be a battle, George. But consider me the overture and your grandson Act 1 of a… a one act play. Hmm. I apologize, this metaphor is getting away from me.” 

George only grunted. 

Unsurprising. The joke had been a poor attempt to break the tension—of course, he was only remembering now that George was not a theatre goer. 

“I asked you to stay away from my grandson.” 

“That wouldn’t have changed anything, George.” 

“He doesn’t know what he likes, and I’m afraid to say your presence has influenced him and made him think—”

“He hasn’t changed, George. He’s the same person you’ve always known and loved, his sexuality has always been a part of him—”

“It’s not normal.” 

Achilles sighed. What he wouldn’t give for an ounce of Alex’s patience… but he succeeded in keeping his tone as light and easy-going as possible. “I suppose one could argue it’s not… the norm, per se. But it’s normal.” 

“Says who?” the old man shot back. 

Yoba, George— He had to bite back his scoff. Time to put your research to use… He’d made sure to have done his homework on the off chance George was the type to respond to a solid statistic. 

“Well, who’s saying it’s abnormal? In fact, a recent study conducted by the Ferngill Psychiatric Association has found significant evidence that homosexuality is a normal variant of human sexual orientation. Not to mention, same-sex marriage is legal in the Ferngill Republic, George, and nearly 82% of all Ferngillians support and believe that—” 

“Your father—Perry. He knows about your… preference?” 

“It’s not a preference, George, this isn’t a choice that I actively make every morning when I wake up, just as I’m sure you don’t wake up every morning and choose to be straight. And yes—both of my parents are aware and have always respected me and loved me for who I am. It’s their unwavering support that’s allowed me to share my life with them fully and honestly.” 

George said nothing, and so he plowed forward. 

“I understand that it must’ve come as a surprise, and that you likely need some time to adjust. Really. I understand. And so does Alex. But you’re refusing to even acknowledge his existence, George—frankly, I could describe it a number of ways, but all I’ll say is that it’s demoralizing and wrong for Alex to be treated like he straight up doesn’t exist in his own home. A home he’s almost single-handedly supporting, mind you. 

“So all I’m asking here is that you listen to him. Listen to him and give him even just half of the respect that he has always been so generous in giving to you.”

He paused, and found himself looking upwards at the ceiling now.  

“Alex is—he’s just so selfless, isn’t he? And kind. And good. And he’s sacrificed so much and— and he loves you so much, and it really hurts—” He stopped to swallow, to catch his breath. Fuck, bitch, don’t you start crying. “It really hurts that you’re willing to set aside everything he’s done and everything he is as a person because of this singular part of who he’s always been.” 

He wasn’t sure at what point Alex had reentered the room, how much he had overheard, but when he looked up, there he was.  Standing in the doorway, hands folded across his chest, biting his bottom lip. 

They shared a glance for half a heartbeat, and Achilles thought perhaps he really would cry. But instead, he forced himself to look away and stood. “Well. I’ll leave you two to it. Thank you for listening, George.” 

He brushed Alex’s hand on the way out the door. 

*****

After taking a moment to himself in the bathroom to make sure his eyes were dry, he joined Evelyn across the hall in the living room. She seemed intent on her knitting, but looked up when he entered, a kind smile on her face. 

The Mullner household didn’t have a couch, but Alex must’ve pulled up the armchair earlier, and  Evelyn now patted the cushion with her free hand, motioning for him to take a seat. 

“I’m sorry dear, I wish I could do more for the both of you, but I’m afraid I just don’t know what more to say to George.” 

He sat, and found himself suddenly exhausted. “I understand.”  

She sighed, her knitting needles clacking as she brought the scarf closer to her face. “I told Alex I think he needs more time. At 86 years old, it can be a little hard to change your ways overnight, I’m sure you understand, dear.” 

“Yes ma’am.” 

“But I think this little talk you boys are having with him will be good. He told me you always know what to say… It’s been very tough for Alex, this past week, I can tell… I’m afraid George can sometimes be a little too tough on him, and he has always cared very, very much for his grandpa’s approval… I don’t know if he’s ever told you this, dear, but Alex’s father was not a very good man.” 

“Yes, I’ve heard.” 

“But I think you have been very good for Alex. I imagine he’s very happy with you… I’ve never seen him quite like this before with his girlfriends.” She set her knitting down in her lap. “He deserves to be happy. He’s a good boy.” 

“Yes ma’am, he is.” 

*****

Achilles wasn’t staying the night—that would really be pushing his luck. But after a sustained stretch of silence suggested the conversation in the kitchen had reached its end, he snuck a glance over to the hallway only to see Alex covertly motioning for him to join him for perhaps a debrief in his bedroom. And so he bid Evelyn a final happy birthday and farewell. 

He arrived in the doorway to find Alex sitting on his bed, a comically small, but seemingly well-loved, stuffed stegosaurus in his lap. On previous occasions, Achilles had paid it only a cursory notice—it had sat on the windowsill with the rest of the few stuffed animals and action figures from Alex’s childhood—but he recognized it now from Spirit’s Eve, from Alex’s memory. What had it witnessed over the years? What comforts had it had to provide? 

He shut the door softly behind him. “How’d it go?” 

Like Evelyn earlier, Alex patted the space next to him. “Honestly? I don’t know. I think I blacked out.” 

“Fair enough.” Achilles took the offered seat. After a beat, he lay a tentative hand on Alex’s shoulder. “I’m very proud of you.” 

Alex lay his head onto Achilles’ shoulder and closed his eyes. “It did make me feel braver, watching you talk to him first. I’d thought as much…” 

Achilles nodded into Alex’s hair and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. But in a burst of frustration, Alex sat back upright and began beating his forehead with the heel of his hands. “God, I can’t even talk to my own grandpa without help… ain’t that just pathetic…”

“No, it’s not pathetic— Al, hey— Al—”  Alex had begun to visibly shake, his head buried in his hands, and Achilles could make out the sudden sound of stifled sniffs.

“This should’ve been my own problem to fix, shouldn’t it’ve, I’m an idiot—”

Achilles wrapped his arms tightly around him, held him close as Alex had done for him so many nights ago on Spirit’s Eve. “Alex, listen to me. No. It’s not pathetic. And you’re not an idiot.”

He weaved his fingers through Alex’s, clutched them so hard they hurt. And when the trembling had died down, he raised Alex’s lightly tear-stained face gently to his own. 

“There no shame in asking for help, Al,” he murmured. “Isn’t that what you taught me? I’m here for you. I get to be here for you. There’s no reason to go about it alone if you don’t want to.” 

[todoappforme]

Looks like my past questions didn't come through. So I will repeat them. 1) If Carla needs it, will she kill Jerome? 2) The relationship of these two reminds me of the song Katy Perry - Dark Horse ft. Juicy J. What do you think? 3) The protagonist, Nugget, Billy and Jerome had strange abilities in the original game. Do they have any power in this AU, or does someone else have it? Or is it only for witches? 4) Why aren't Felix and Ted royalty? Would they like to be like that? 5) Can someone from royalty help Penny escape?

Carla made a promise not to kill anyone from royalty, so as not to commit more crimes. But if it happens, let's say that she would pay for all the crimes that she and the other witches who were previously burned have done.

how to say? , it's my favorite song! , the truth would be very good

is it only for witches, but let's say that maybe there is a hidden power in the protagonist that is not yet developed

My first idea was to make them royalty but even if I had put that they are royalty… they would have suffered a lot. (But P.Felix (I don't know if it counts) will marry R.Cindy but because they force him.)

Jerome and Maddison.