#I am generally a decent but not incredible cook

[grassbreads]

Made stir fry for dinner and it fucks unfathomably hard

[asmafamily]

Hello👋

Help Asma and her family in Gaza survive

Welcome, My name is Asma Salman Abu Daf from Gaza, trapped between walls of fear, despair and extreme sadness in the shadow of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, I appeal to every conscientious person, compassionate heart and human being who understands the meaning of humanity to help us.

Help me overcome adversity

I am reaching out to you today as a steadfast and compassionate person facing incredible challenges, life in our region has become increasingly difficult due to the ongoing and increasing conflict day by day, and I am struggling to secure the basic necessities for our family.

Who is Asmaa and her family?

I am married to Ashraf Abu Daf, 46 years old. I am 39 years old and suffer from chronic diseases, which are Mediterranean fever and Crohn's disease. I take expensive medications and treatments for life. I have 7 children. Jana, 13 years old, suffers from chronic diseases, thalassemia, which results in short stature. She needs treatment for many years to take expensive medications. Rafeeq, 18 years old. Nour, 16 years old. Abdul Rahman, 13 years old. Muhammad, 12 years old. Ibrahim, 5 years old. Misk, 3 years old.

How has the war made our lives like hell?

We all feel fear, extreme sadness and insecurity due to the severity of the bombing and destruction we have been exposed to since the beginning of the war on Gaza until now. My young children do not sleep normally due to the severity of the fear and nightmares. My family and I live in our house that has been exposed to shells and bombing. I fled with my family several times due to repeated threats and requests to move from one place to another. My husband's income is limited and does not cover the required living expenses.

Due to the lack of good food, healthy water and the necessary medicine for our treatment, our situation has gone from bad to worse. Our lives have become threatened either by death due to bombing, shrapnel and missiles or by malnutrition, the spread of epidemics and diseases, psychological insecurity, widespread unemployment, and the lack of fuel, cooking gas and electricity.

Despite the harsh conditions and constant doubts surrounding us, I am optimistic and determined to provide a better future for my husband and children. My spirit is unbreakable, but I need help from people with a living conscience and compassionate and humane hearts to overcome the obstacles we face.

How can you help me?

My family and I aspire to build a better future for our children and ensure their safety and that we all live a decent life, and that they feel safe and stable and live in peace and reassurance. Help us achieve this dream through your generous donation, which will certainly have a great impact in saving us.

The funds collected will be used to:

• Restore the destroyed house and purchase furniture and appliances required for daily life requirements

• Food, water and medicine, and ensure that we have access to daily necessities, medical supplies and health care.

• Education, supporting my children's education by covering fees, school supplies and providing the necessary needs.

Every contribution matters.

No donation is too small, every donation brings us one step closer to relief and a better future, even if you are not able to contribute financially, sharing this campaign with your generous network can make a big difference

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Asmaa Abu Daf

[bengiyo]

23.5 Ep 12 (Finale) Stray Thoughts

Last week, Ongsa went overboard on trying to reconcile with Sun after Sun outed all of them at a dinner she wasn’t prepared for. Sun felt human for the first time for me. Luna and Aylin are going strong, even as Luna has been pushing Aylin. Mawin confessed to Tinh. We left Ongsa and Sun on the swings as they discussed dealing with distance.

Episode 12: Promise Me…Sun

Interesting. They used the slow start at the end for the boys to highlight the impending graduation for multiple pairings.

Still amusing to me that everyone in the astronomy club is queer.

Waiting for Tinh and Chaoren to blow up another moment by popping up so the show can throw water on a hot moment.

I am enjoying Ongsa’s whole family showing up to help teach her cooking.

OMG they really just brought plain rice. Incredible. At least she brought seasoning.

I’m appreciating how chill both families have been about all of the sleepovers.

So weird that for all that the show has written Mawin as attracted to Tinh, because he interacts so often with Ton, I’m always like, “Here’s how Euro can still win…”

Did Tinh try to plug in a device immediately after pulling it out of water? That’s such a bad idea.

This is kind of a quiet episode, but the cast hanging out is decently watchable.

I kinda wanna be with them about how overthinking isn’t great. It’s not a bad thing to take from all of this.

That 13-hour time difference with Thailand is brutal. Sun must be in the Rockies.

Wow this extended epilogue feels dull.

Final Verdict: 6.5, This Was Boring and Generally Unsatisfying. I really didn’t want to be harsh to the MilkLove GL project, but these episodes did not flow together, and there’s a lot of confusion about queer reality in this show that leads to some dissonance. Individually these episodes were sometimes fine, but as a whole there’s not really a story I felt really connected to, especially when it comes to the boys. In all seriousness, why are Mawin and Ton even in this show, and what purpose do their romantic plotlines serve? This was not the moment and it really should have been. Milk and View give really accessible performances that I enjoyed.

[thebindingofpillo]

gamer skill ranked, specifically: roguelites

I have played exactly one roguelite in my whole life and it’s Isaac so I have literally no idea how the genre evolved past that. So I’m going to use this as an excuse to talk about generic video game skill

Isaac: pretty decent overall. Would like roguelites but wouldn’t spend all his time playing and grinding for achievements. Videogames for him are more a way to relax after a long days of commissions and art.

Magdalene: not really into videogames, especially roguelites. She prefers cozy games like Animal crossing, and games where she can excercise some creativity. She’d loooove Stardew Valley or The Sims. Maybe even Minecraft, but I’ve never played it so idk.

Judas: Not much of a videogame guy, his grandmother didn’t really understand it and never bought him any. Still, Isaac definitely lent him some videogames over the years. I think he’d be a fan of the Civilization saga, he seems like a resource management kind of guy.

Apollyon: him hands too big for the gotdamn controller :( his fingers are so big he presses like three keys at a time on the keyboard. He doesn’t mind watching other people play tho, and still has fun like that.

Azazel: looooves videogames, even if he’s shit at it!! Also on account of having Big Fucking Claws, so he also has a bit of difficulty holding the controller when not in human form. He’s also a cozy games lover like Maggie. They share an ACNH island most definitely.

Cain: doesn’t really like videogames BUT I think he would be decent at roguelites, and even grow to like them. Runs can be quick and the story itself isn’t really something you have to focus on to have fun. Yeah that tracks.

Lilith: blind. I am aware there are some accomodations for blind people to play games but I don’t think they could help her? She’s not visually impaired, she literally doesn’t have eyes. I don’t really think she’d be a roguelite fan either. She’d be more of a visual novel type. I think she could enjoy those with some kind of screen reader? Or with Cain reading for her.

Eve: Very good at fighting games and roguelites! She’s more of a casual gamer tho.

Samson: actually really likes videogames! He’s never felt the need to become good at them tho, they were just another escape from his life, and he already had sports and the gym for that. He’s okay skill-wise. Very good at Cooking Mama.

Eden: Is very interested in videogames for the Human Experience, but doesn’t really have much skill or experience in them. Usually play with Eve and she kicks their ass every time.

Lazarus: spent a lot of time gaming in his hospital bed as a kid, but it was more of a distraction for him. A little break between all the sports he wanted to try and all the accidents he got into. Now that he’s older he doesn’t really do that much anymore, unless he’s bedbound.

Bethany: she’s inherited all of Lazarus’ old games (and some of Jacob’s too) but she’s not incredibly skilled at it. She could probably be! But being busy with studying and university doesn’t really leave her a lot of time to get good at gaming. Also her favorite genre is dating sims

Jacob: Out of everyone he’s probably the best gamer. He’s spent a loooot of time honing his skills in the hospital, and not being able to actually play sports with his peers left him a lot of time to try a lot of different games. His favorite genre is rpgs! Especially jrpgs, he loves to immerse himself in a story and get attached to all the characters. He would totally dominate in a games tournament.

Esau: definitely not into gaming. It’s something he’s always felt was more Jacob’s territory, and he kinda wanted to distance himself from his brother. Just because they’re siblings doesn’t mean they have to like the same things right? And Esau was always a sporty kids anyway, he loved running around and playing in the mud, something that was precluded to Jacob because of his disability. With that being said, he used to play videogames with Jacob when he was younger, and managed to have fun still.

As for a more definitive ranking uuuuuuh here

[wizisbored]

hey you guys want some backstory on what nimona was talking about in my last whumptober post??

cw verbal abuse, referenced physical abuse, brief violence

///

Nimona can never go at it alone for long.

Some stints last longer than others, generally dictated by how much of an ass the last person she stuck with was. Asses, as it turns out, have the singular selling point of being a decent cure for loneliness. But time has the unfortunate habit of healing wounds, and after long enough the sharp points of the spite are worn down enough for her to think that maybe, maybe, this time will be different.

She knows what to look for and how to find it, and all in all it’s incredibly easy to put herself in the path of another horse thief.

Three days and one perfectly honorable and upstanding horse trader later, Nimona once again has her decision on whether to talk to her new companion postponed by a piece of metal shoved in her mouth. She’s a shifty, scrappy-looking woman clearly running from something, because she came willing to pay for any horse - even a great big heavy-footed thing that won’t take her anywhere fast - as long as it gets her out of town.

Nimona can do that.

The woman is a quiet rider. Some people sing in the saddle, some talk - to themselves or to her, regardless if they know that she understands them. But the day goes by without another word, the time filled instead by the creaking of saddle leather and the steady thudding of hooves. Nimona considers humming to herself, but past experience has taught her that humming tends to have a better chance than speaking does of making her rider question their sanity. At least when she opens her mouth and talks there’s a clear source. It’s easier to think humming could be coming from anywhere. Nimona amuses herself instead by fidgeting with the bit on her tongue.

Camp is made that night in the middle of nowhere, Nimona put on a rope and allowed to graze. She does, briefly, but she’s far more interested in getting to know her new companion. She wanders over to where the woman is cooking, and presses her nose to her shoulder. The woman half-turns towards her, still keeping her eye on the fire.

“What do you want?” she asks as she absent-mindedly strokes her nose, and Nimona makes a split-second decision.

“Just wanted to come say hey,” the horse says.

It’s a few days through the desert to get where they’re going, wherever the hell that is. The woman’s been cagy. Nimona doesn’t even know her name, and she’s been snapped at for using ‘Boss’. But, they’ve managed to settle on Ma’am, when they actually talk. The lady’s no more of a conversationalist now that she’s got someone to converse with, and outside of the rides characterized by long swaths of silence Nimona finds herself talking for two. It’s not something she finds all too difficult. She rambles, to put it plainly, and even with how long she’s been at this she’s still not learnt to be too tight-lipped in certain areas. Her new companion knows she can do more than just talk by the end of the second day.

“Y’know, you’ve really got this ‘mysterious drifter’ thing down,” Nimona tells her, at the end of the fourth. “Like, ‘so unknowable that not even her horse knows where she’s going.’”

“Most horses don’t know where they’re going, they just do as they’re told,” the lady points out.

“Yeah, I guess, but I’m not most horses, am I?” Nimona counters, with a teasing smile.

“Stop prying.”

The lady pointedly returns her attention to the beans and hardtack she’s eating. Nimona pouts, tearing loudly at a clump of desert grass she’s uprooted; sure, she looks human right now, but she can still survive like a horse and so she isn’t afforded a share of the rations. A stalk scratches at the corner of her mouth as she eats, and she absent-mindedly rubs at it. Wrong move.

“Don’t,” the woman snaps.

“What?”

“You’re finding a way to complain without complaining. I’ve told you to drop it.”

“I wasn’t, actually, but if you wanna bring it up so bad-”

“Don’t.”

“Why shouldn't I? I told you upfront I don’t like bits, but I let you have it ‘cause it’s what you wanted. And you thank me by being as heavy-handed on the thing as humanly possible?”

“You’re too stubborn. I wouldn’t have to be so firm with you if-”

“If what? If I was a perfectly obedient normal horse?

“Yes! I never asked for this, you know. I bought a standard, no-funny-business horse. I didn’t want a traveling companion!”

“Yeah- Well- That’s just how it is, sometimes! Sometimes you buy a horse and it turns out it’s not a horse! It happens!”

“No it does not! Horses are horses! It’s not normal to try to buy one and end up with some- some grubby, ugly little freak.”

Nimona is on her feet before she knows it, throwing the grass to the ground. “Some what?”

“You heard me,” the woman says, unimpressed. “You know. So stop being a brat and just listen - we’re gonna get out of this goddamn desert, and then you’re gonna let me sell you on as a horse to make back what I paid. Stay with whoever buys you, sneak off, I don’t care. But you’re getting me my money back.”

“Oh, that’s real bold. Real fucking bold! You think you’re getting on my back again after that?!”

“I better be! You better get your damn act together or I can promise you, there’ll be hell to pay!”

Nimona barks out a laugh, her eyes wide. “What kinda hell? No, really, what kinda hell? What do you think you could do to me?”

The woman stands too. “Are you threatening me? Making like you’re just going to up and leave?”

“What you gonna do about it if I am?”

In two strides the woman is right in her face, grabbing a fistful of Nimona’s bandanna and yanks it upward, like she’s trying to lift her by it. “You could do with learning some respect, girl.”

Nimona holds her gaze steady, not intimidated in the slightest. “Why,” she growls, “would I respect someone who cut my gums open and called me a freak?”

“You ARE a freak!” She tugs roughly on the bandana, almost shaking her. “Of course you’re a freak, look at you!”

Nimona snarls. Not like a human doing a poor imitation of an animal. Like a wolf. Teeth and all. For the first time, the woman falters.

“Stop that.”

She snarls louder. More teeth, brighter eyes. The woman shoves her away.

“You’re crazy, you-”

There’s teeth in her throat before she can finish.

Before the sun is up, a bloodied, wild-eyed teenager stumbles into a bar in the ass end of nowhere, alone. Nobody has the guts to deny her a drink.

[justagalwhowrites]

Get To Know Me pt 1

Thank you for the tag, @sheepdogchick3 !

1. Were you named after anyone? My middle name is my paternal grandmother's name.

2. When was the last time you cried? I teared up a bit Tuesday night but fully sobbed was probably last Friday.

3. Do you have kids? No BUT I have a bonus kiddo in the form of my foreign exchange student!

4. What sports do you/have you played? Softball and figure skating when I was in school.

5. Do you use sarcasm? My therapist once said "I can't picture you being anything but witty and bitingly sarcastic at the slightest provocation" so take that for what you will.

6. First thing you notice about people? Generally their demeanor, I will tiptoe around people who seem mad and like they might direct that anger at me. Second, probably height lol

7. What's your eye color? Hazel

8. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings, I am NOT a scary movie person! I just don't like being scared like that. I love roller coasters, I love suspense but I'm not big on horror.

9. Any talents? The closest thing I have to a talent is probably writing. I'm also a pretty decent cook and baker. I was a decent actor and director back in the day but now I mostly just use those skills to be a decent public speaker. I also did speech and debate all through high school and college (so if you were on the college forensics circuit in 2008-2011 we probably bumped into each other at least once.) That's about it, I don't have much going for me lol

10. Where were you born? Texas but I don't live there anymore! I love leaning on my Texas history when writing pre-or-no-outbreak TLOU fics though lol like hell yeah I'm going to include little Texas things in there like HEB and Shiner Bock and kolache and Dublin Dr. Pepper FIGHT ME (please don't I will lose)

11. What are your hobbies? This lol But I read a lot, play a lot of board games and D&D (if you want to geek out about these things please DM me I'm so serious), we go hiking and camping a fair bit. I also love film and am going to be starting my big Oscar movie binge probably this weekend.

12. Do you have any pets? One dog named Yondu! He's a lab/pit mix and he's my baby boy, I birthed him myself. He's also incredibly stupid but he's just the sweetest dog you will ever meet, I love him. He's currently wearing a sweater because he loves being warm and he's a snuggly thing.

13. How tall are you? 5'10" (I know, I'm a giant)

14. Favorite subject in high school? English, psychology, theater, journalism.

15. Dream job? Novelist and columnist who is sometimes a talking head so I can get paid to rant about my political opinions. I was a columnist for a few years in there with some syndication when I got picked up by wire services but that's the closest I've come!

NPT: @tightjeansjavi @diversemediums and anyone else who wants to do this! My brain is oddly fried atm and coming up with tags is overly difficult lol

[pastafossa]

I GOT THE MOTHMAN PERFUME THIS MORNING.

Also purchased: Yeti, Chupacabra Coffee House, and a Jersey Devil tarot sticker.

LOOK HOW CUTE THESE BOTTLES ARE, AND ALSO THEY'RE BIG.

I decided to try Mothman Milk first, and have been wearing it all day today to see if the reviews were right and it makes you smell like maple syrup and waffles.

Initial thoughts in bottle: I definitely get maple and some sugary sweetness, but the jasmine has a strong presence, to the point I was sure this was going to wind up being floral, which is great if you like florals but I am here for buttery waffle Mothman glory my friends. But I've learned to never judge a perfume by the bottle scent.

Wet application (always put unscented lotion on first to make scent linger!): the maple is WAY more evident the second it's out of the bottle, and at least with my skin, the floral dies down immediately, becoming a soft background note. And as it warmed up on my skin, the buttery vanilla blossomed. It smells like super fresh vanilla waffles coated in butter and maple syrup, maybe with a few flowers on the table! It's incredibly cozy and warm and if this is a sign of what Mothman is cooking in the kitchen then I am happy to volunteer for marriage ASAP, where you at baby.

I imagine this is what the kitchen smells like when Matt is making waffles for Jane

Scent strength: strong enough that with decent application whoever's sitting next to you will notice it, but not someone 2 seats away. I sat down in a chair next to one of my friends at the local witchy shop, and she immediately leaned over, inhaled, and went, 'I smell maple syrup???' More folks rapidly approached to confer because witches are drawn to new scents like moths to flames. Everyone loved it. General consensus: a dangerous perfume in that people passing by will, and I quote, 'want to lick your arm.'

Time: I've had it on for about 5 hours. The scent is still there, dried down to mostly vanilla and maple (jasmine has pretty much faded, though interestingly I'm finally getting the faint coconut listed in the official scent notes), but it's much closer to the skin now and people next to me cannot smell it unless they lean in close or hug me. So 5-6 hours of solid wear time before reapplication if desired!

Rating: 5 cryptids of 5, and a new favorite for fall! I SMELL LIKE MOTHMAN PANCAKES AND BUTTERY WAFFLES MY FRIENDS.

[asmaa-family]

Hello 👋

My name is Asma Salman Abu Daf

from Gaza, trapped between walls of fear, despair and extreme sadness in the shadow of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, I appeal to every conscientious person, compassionate heart and human being who understands the meaning of humanity to help us.

Help me overcome adversity

I am reaching out to you today as a steadfast and compassionate person facing incredible challenges, life in our region has become increasingly difficult due to the ongoing and increasing conflict day by day, and I am struggling to secure the basic necessities for our family.

Who is Asmaa and her family?

I am married to Ashraf Abu Daf, 46 years old. I am 39 years old and suffer from chronic diseases, which are Mediterranean fever and Crohn's disease. I take expensive medications and treatments for life. I have 7 children. Jana, 13 years old, suffers from chronic diseases, thalassemia, which results in short stature. She needs treatment for many years to take expensive medications. Rafeeq, 18 years old. Nour, 16 years old. Abdul Rahman, 13 years old. Muhammad, 12 years old. Ibrahim, 5 years old. Misk, 3 years old.

How has the war made our lives like hell?

We all feel fear, extreme sadness and insecurity due to the severity of the bombing and destruction we have been exposed to since the beginning of the war on Gaza until now. My young children do not sleep normally due to the severity of the fear and nightmares. My family and I live in our house that has been exposed to shells and bombing. I fled with my family several times due to repeated threats and requests to move from one place to another. My husband's income is limited and does not cover the required living expenses

Due to the lack of good food, healthy water and the necessary medicine for our treatment, our situation has gone from bad to worse. Our lives have become threatened either by death due to bombing, shrapnel and missiles or by malnutrition, the spread of epidemics and diseases, psychological insecurity, widespread unemployment, and the lack of fuel, cooking gas and electricity.

Despite the harsh conditions and constant doubts surrounding us, I am optimistic and determined to provide a better future for my husband and children. My spirit is unbreakable, but I need help from people with a living conscience and compassionate and humane hearts to overcome the obstacles we face.

How can you help me?

My family and I aspire to build a better future for our children and ensure their safety and that we all live a decent life, and that they feel safe and stable and live in peace and reassurance. Help us achieve this dream through your generous donation, which will certainly have a great impact in saving us.

The funds collected will be used to:

• Restore the destroyed house and purchase furniture and appliances required for daily life requirements

• Food, water and medicine, and ensure that we have access to daily necessities, medical supplies and health care.

• Education, supporting my children's education by covering fees, school supplies and providing the necessary needs.

Every contribution matters

No donation is too small, every donation brings us one step closer to relief and a better future, even if you are not able to contribute financially, sharing this campaign with your generous network can make a big difference.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Asmaa Abu Daf

[serenityhime1]

3, 13, 21

These are excellent asks lol

3. If you could live anywhere and cost wasn’t an issue, where would you live?

So I like a lot about where I live, but I dislike the country in which I live. I'm assuming that by cost not being an issue that means I'd have unlimited travel funds to visit friends and family, because being close to a few select people is important to me. I think the answer to this would probably be one of the scandanavian countries, because it would have to be somewhere that's pretty cool about LGBTQ+ stuff and has a decent healthcare system. You know, somewhere I don't feel afraid to hold my wife's hand in public sometimes is a great start.

13. If you could commit any crime without consequence, which crime would you commit? Or would you not commit any crime at all?

Hmm well someone else asked this and my answer was rob billionaires, so for a different answer I think I would pick a few select people to kick in the junk as hard as I could. I am by nature a pacifist for many reasons and violence makes me incredibly uncomfortable, but also the head douche at Twitter made a rant yesterday deadnaming his trans daughter and I just would find so much satisfaction kicking that guy in the jiblies.

21. How would you dispose of a body?

Okay. So are we talking unlimited (reasonable) resources, or current status? The "easy" way if you had access to crematory-level equipment would be to cremate the body, take all remains and pulverize what's left since not everything cooks down evenly, and then mix it into concrete or something similar. Cremation generally destroys DNA and other identifying info, pulverizing will make sure all your teeth and whatnot get nice and formless, and mixing it into concrete should make the cremains unidentifiable and untestable. If anyone else asks this I'll assume I have fewer resources.

[samtheflamingomain]

strike one

As someone whose working life actually started in a union, and a mother (derogatory) who was a union activist (abusers can be outwardly good people blah blah), I have a pretty solid understanding of the ins-and-outs of unions.

I got my first job at 14 in a chain grocery store floral stand. I was automatically in a union. It never affected me until my manager warned me we might be on strike soon. I asked why and he looked at me, fresh out of 8th grade, making less than minimum wage (because it's actually legal to pay students less even though I was working almost full-time) with no benefits and still technically on probation and thus not entitled to the 10% off groceries card that came with the job and remembered volunteering to take my mothers' cart thru the checkout to get us that 10% off till I did get my card, and this is a run on sentence for good reason. He said, "I can't give you a good reason."

"Can you give me *a* reason?"

"Full-timers are holding out for a health care insurance increase." Oh. Okay. I'm a child and don't understand 85% of those words.

Luckily we didn't strike, but looking back, I completely disagree with his initial statement. He *did* give me a good reason - or at least a fairly decent one. For 2007, downright progressive.

But a few days pass and next time I see him I ask my manager about it and he says not to worry [about the strike, not about him], we made a deal. To me this sounded kinda shady, because I'm a child and have only heard the term "make a deal" used on CSI when someone is getting stabbed etc. I asked what the deal was.

"We got 85% [health care] coverage." Oh, that's good. The more the better, right? I'm a child.

He looks at me as if I'd just spoken tongues. "Why would you even care? It doesn't affect you, you're technically part-time [and thus not entitled to ANY health care]?"

Maybe now's a good time to say that he's a boomer. The concept of someone actually wanting someone else to have something they don't have genuinely shocked him.

I think it's also the time to mention that I'm Canadian - when we bargain over health care, we're talking eyes/teeth/mental health care - all should be included but they're not.

"Because... everyone should have full health coverage?" It just sent him.

I may have mentioned that I was a kid through all of this - because even as a marginalized class of worker, I still held solidarity with the people in my department.

Now, I'm a cook by trade but an artist by passion (and occasionally commission). I work in 2 departments. And even though the SAG-AFTRA are higher-ups and full-timers and I am not, I still hold solidarity.

I fully believe we should ALL support this strike, but I'd like to appeal to the artists among us, and the creative within all of us:

If any of us ever want to be fairly compensated for art - generated by a human with a soul and passion - we have to support "higher ups" getting fairly compensated for same.

Remember how I said I was a kid earlier? And I came to that ~incredibly enlightened~ position? Yeah, it was a kid just shoehorning the concept of "union bargaining" into "The Golden Rule". Because it doesn't take a lot of thought to show our work on that exercise.

It really is that simple. Treat the writers and actors the way you, a hopeful fiction writer or a local theatre actor, or you, an Etsy jewelry maker or custom portraiteer, the freelance taxedermist, the for-hire graphic designer, would like to be treated. With, at minimum, fairness.

The situations aren't 1:1, and of course I'm in favor of all of us getting a fair deal, if we want to set a precedent, now has never been a better time.

Stay Greater, Flamingos

[aesopsbaby]

Ayyyyyy the matchmaking sounds cool! Also, I wanna get Wynne more out so I'll describe her!

Wynne is a woman who likes to get her things done. She is very hardworking and dedicated, and she won't back away until the task assigned is done. She can be a little silly and cute sometimes but she would totally deny it. She tries to be mature and posh but in reality she is a bouncy girl.

Likes: art, getting things completed, writing something meaningful, designing clothing, cooking, spicy food

Dislikes: bad food, messy rooms, loud people, rude people, anyone who looks like their face deserves a punch

Let's see who she gets!

After a long while, Cupid has made a decision! :D

Generating match up...: Nathan!

Cupid notes:

Nathan finds that someone who is able to fight for themselves is a good trait. Someone that is motivated by their ideals and won't back down from a task is something that Nathan finds really appealing and admirable, thus, he's a good match for Wynne.

Nathan is a man of few words, choosing to keep to himself rather than cause problems for everyone with his worries. However, I find that Wynne would be able to bring Nathan out of his shell with her cheer-y aura. Nathan is sure to be more comfortable in the calming and cheerful presence of Wynne.

Nathan is a rather polite and respectful individual even though he may have a intimating and cold demeanor that says otherwise. His manners are exceptional and he tends to put everyone else before him.

Even though he may not show it nor talk about it much, Nathan is a decent cook. He'll cook up a simple dish for anyone that has fallen ill in his care, one that smells of their childhood and brings a sense of nostalgia as the aroma fills their senses.

Nathan has a traditional way of loving people -

He'll gift flowers or pick up little gifts that reminds him of his loved one.

Dancing anywhere alone with old tunes playing softly in the background.

He's an old fashioned guy and so are his ways of loving.

The only bad side is that he has an incredible bad sense of fashion. He'll just throw on anything that seems comfortable and just go on with his day. I hope and am confident that Wynne will be able to dress him decently.

[singthesongsofsin]

if (adelard & mary & esaie) had a kid...

@novinare | from ye olde meme that I am not going to go searching for!

Technically they shouldn't be able to have children, but it's a gift, as result of the fact that Mary and Esaie were angels, and Adelard being on friendly terms with some incredibly powerful people. They're thrilled when they think it's just one child, and positively ecstatic at the idea of multiples. Nervous though! More than they would be, considering the risks of childbirth at all. Luckily, there are benefits of modern medicine.

Name: Amren Gender: male General Appearance: Amren takes after Esaie and Adelard the most. He has Esaie's more dove-like bird attributes, rather than the corvids, or the pigeon like ones of Mary. However, his hair, and the more general human-esque colouring is Adelard's. His most recognizable trait is the incredibly long hair! Personality: Amren is the middle twin, and not the quietest, but certainly the one who is the most deliberate in his word choice, which is true of most of what Amren does. His siblings were often the unlucky targets of some well-thought out, if sarcastic comments! He starts as a blacksmith and a locksmith, and whatever else that his parents teach him about creating. From there, he ends up aiding Kaniel in digitizing the library, and the technological aspects of that, which in turn, leads him to getting a job with Vox, helping to build things. He enjoys the set building; larger, wooden or metal set pieces, or smaller lights and glowing sci-fi input screens. Special Talents: Amren is incredibly talented at putting things together. This is both the technological and mechanical things he enjoys, but also linguistic. He has a mind well equipped for breaking things into their composite pieces and then putting it all back together. At least so long as those things all remain in their pieces! He's not a good cook because with that, everything changes too much. Who they like better: Esaie Who they take after more: Adelard Personal Head canon: Amren isn't terribly ambitious, not because he doesn't like the concept of working more closely with Vox, but because as a relatively low position, he's more likely to get bounced between as many different projects as need hands. He enjoys the variety offered, and gets along well with his co-workers, even if sometimes, he finds he has more in common with the Hellborn! Face Claim: picrew or Gabriel Bin as a human

Name: Elisaria "Eira" Gender: female General Appearance: Eira, physically, takes the least after their parents. She's an owl, rather than a corvid, or something more related to the pigeon family. Her colouring take after Esaie though. Personality: Eira is the oldest and wisest of the triplets, and the one who took best to Adelard's teachings in healing, though her passion and love is with the arts. She's a painter, a singer, a weaver. Were she not born in Hell, but the era from which her parents came from, she would have been a travelling bard of some variety. Special Talents: Eira, like all three children, have an eclectic combination of skills, some of which are more well suited for a modern person, and others which are relics of the medieval. Kaniel helps her set up doing bardcore covers of songs, because while she's a talented artist, it's also all tinged by the period. Who they like better: Mary Who they take after more: Esaie Personal Head canon: While she is content in Hell, Eira wishes to see something beyond Pentagram City and the Pride Ring. It could be Earth, or the other rings of Hell, Heaven, Purgatory once it's made. Face Claim: picrew (and if human, Eloise Smyth)

Name: Isolde Gender: female General Appearance: Isolde is a fairly decent approximation of Mary and Adelard. She has Mary's hair, and while not a crow like Adelard, she is a magpie, which means she has some of the same iridescence that Mary does. Unlike all her parents however, she keeps her hair quite short. Personality: Isolde is the youngest triplet, and a bit of an oddball! Which, admittedly, doesn't mean much in this family. She's an ominous manic pixie dream girl, she's the person who knows Adelard's garden as well as he does. She knows a dozen languages and can usually be found in the company of one of the other family members. Like a magpie collects shiny things, Isolde collects hobbies and interests Special Talents: At some point Isolde sort of trips from Adelard's daughter, helping cook and garden, and reading, to actual hedge witchery! Isolde isn't exactly the image one conjures when they think about a witch, but it keeps her entertained. Who they like better: Adelard Who they take after more: Mary Personal Head canon: While not the sibling with the most desire to see the world beyond Pentagram City-- that would be Elisaria-- Isolde is the one most likely to find a way to do it (and then bring her family, obviously). Face Claim: Temzin Merchant (if her hair were a little redder!) or the picrew.

[system-startup]

It's astounding how much suffering and stalling occurs from a pure lack of control over your life. Even if the fundamental needs are otherwise ultimately met, the consequences of the absence of autonomy severely limits how much good it can really do. It makes being alive...inefficient. Because by forcing multiple bodies on a schedule, depending on how it's done, more than one is not optimized, and the presence of other human beings doesn't even make up for it because there remains an insufficient lack of the tendency to help and build one-another up.

Sure, I have plenty of food. I'm not literally starving. However almost all of it has to be cooked (this takes time, and I physically cannot preform the task), or it isn't mine (eat any/too much and people will get upset), or it's something that I've been depending on to survive too much (so my brain is beginning to struggle to choke it down despite it's microwaveable factor being a huge convenience).

Even if I try to course-correct by asking for food sooner, well. I have to basically demand it, and even then it just won't work out. Aside from feeling selfish and horrible in general (preventing me from being too bad about it to begin with), I have to filter through someonelse. Do THEY want to eat this? Do THEY want to do this? And most of all, RIGHT NOW?

And then the insistence on doing things together; if, beyond my control, I'd gone just about the length of time it takes for me to start breaking down due to the lack of food in my system (and my disabilities make that so that it can take as little as 6-to-4 hours, sometimes as bad as 2 depending on the day), I am regularly made to wait an extra 1-4 hours for the dinner someonelse planned.

This results in approximately half my day being thrown away because it took too long to eat. For a decent amount of the duration of my wait, and afterwards--eating, digestion, these take longer to supply me with brain activity especially the longer I waited to eat.

If the same thing happens with breakfast (and chef my beloved is a night owl while I'm an early bird so this is a frequent issue) my whole day is easily shot by this. And there is almost nothing I can do to protect myself from losing the whole day because of a bad start. If I don't eat breakfast before 10am, I am going to lose at least a few hours of my day. This is consistent. I can't change my sleeping schedule because against all odds my body will simply become horrendously sleep deprived because it insists on waking up in the wee hours of the morning no matter what.

To be able to type this up at all is indicative of a lot of recent successes; the chances that a single delay will completely fuck up our shit are low because we've been on top of it like nothing else lately. But this is exhausting to maintain and if too many hiccups happen down the road we know in our heart and our charts that we will fucking crash again.

So I've been working on my analysi, but there are so many it makes it incredibly difficult to focus on one long enough to complete a thought and put it somewhere that it can easily be found again.

[marvelfilth]

Am i wife material 😭

I unfortunately cannot cook, but ill buy you anything you’d like! If i wasnt broke 😔

If you ask me to clean i will! I dont really like to but i am good at it!

I am a big horror movie fan and i love reading

I am loyal and i try to be very honest!

Ill do my best to support you and your interests

Anytime you need me ill be there

I love to make people happy

I always try to be generous

I am in college

I can send you pictures of my cat

I always try to stay busy but i can make time for you

I’ll be a motivator

I ask lots of questions and im very curious

I have to admit i have bad time management skills and i make terrible jokes 😭

Im incredibly clumsy but at least you can laugh at that 🤷‍♀️

I have no idea how to do this im probably lacking something that i need to add 😔 i swear i have some decent qualities but my mind is blank rn

Thank you for reading ☺️

-🤍 i dont know if someone used this already

Another one, 🪓!!

Doesn't sound too bad tbh, but I'll need 🪓 opinion

[servin-up-surveys]

survey #124

Do you like pineapple on pizza? To be entirely fair, I don't think I've tried it, but considering I'm generally not a fan of sweet and savory combos, I'm doubtful I would enjoy it.

Do you like milk? I do, but only legitimate, mammalian milk. No oat, soy, etc. stuff; trust me, I've tried it because the dairy industry is actually fucking horrible and rooted in awful abuse & I want NOTHING to do with it, but I just don't like non-dairy alternatives, like in the way that I have to aggressively fight spewing it out - which I don't always succeed at. I just hate it. I am so, so sensitive to tastes I dislike.

Do you like syrup or powdered sugar on your french toast? Uh I guess a bit of both is ideal, but I could see me going for one or the other depending on my mood.

Do you put jelly or butter on your toast? I honestly don't really eat toast. But if I DO have it for whatever reason, I'm gonna want grape jam on it.

Do you like baking? Never done it. I really should learn, though... I just need to learn cooking in general.

What are you grandparents' names? Right now I only remember my mom's parents' tbh, which were Cecelia and William.

If any, how old are your siblings? Ashley is 29, Nicole JUST turned 25, Misty is 35, Katie is 39, and Bobby is... oh, he doesn't have his birth year on FB, so idk lmao, but younger than Katie. Full disclosure I looked up Misty's and Katie's too bc I'm awful and don't remember my half-siblings' birthdays/ages like a literal asshole <333333

What color is your dad's hair? So he was born blonde IF I remember his childhood pictures correctly, but it became totally black for the majority of his life. It's pretty much entirely gray by now, but you can see the hue kinda peppers in lightness in a sorta way where at least to me, you can tell his hair is supposed to be black, he's just old.

How old was your mom when she had you? FUCK my mom doesn't have her birth year on FB either, but I THINK it was 1961, so if that is the case she would've been 34. It's somewhere around there.

Do you live with any of your family members currently? Just my mom.

What is your favorite cousins name? I don't have a close relationship with any of my cousins, honestly.

Who are you closest to in your family? My mom.

How long have you and your partner been together? It's been around a year and a half now.

Do you live together? Not currently, but I'm aware that when he has his own place again, he wants me to come with him. His mom is in a stable enough place and has been for a long enough time where he's comfortable leaving her with the house, but because of just how fucking CLINICALLY INSANE the housing market is right now, he just hasn't found a decent place that's priced even remotely reasonably. It's just financially intelligent to stay where he is until the market gets better or an incredible deal falls into his lap.

What is the first movie you watched together? As a couple? Technically, I think it'd be Coraline, which I know we watched once at my place the first time we tried dating in '17. Oh wait... or it mighta been the remake of It, which we watched in theaters.

How old are they? He's 29 and convinced he's basically on this deathbed age-wise lmao sir your life has JUST started

What are some things you enjoy doing? Primarily computer-related stuff, like watching videos or listening to music, socials activities, RPing, editing various things, playing WoW, doing surveys... but I also like to take photographs, read, draw, play video games (these days primarily with others), and I would absolutely adore going on nature walks and things of the like if I was in better shape (one day!!), and it wasn't hot. I also love learning about and watching animals.

What is your favorite color? Pastel pink is #1, followed by... many other pink shades, haha, like coral, rose gold, neon, fuchsia, etc. etc. I also like deep, regal reddish-purple colors, like maroon and burgundy, and lighter shades of purple, like lilac, orchid, and such.

What state are you from? North Carolina.

Have you ever adopted an animal? I'm assuming you don't mean truly "purchase" from a breeder or something, in which case, yes.

Have you ever taken in a stray? That's how our outdoor cat infestation from my childhood started, haha. I know my family (myself 100% included) has ZERO regrets over rescuing Chance, but yeah, it was a massive problem. Even after her, when we'd entered a phase of having no cats, we took in two kittens (Aphrodite and her sister whose name I just can't remember anymore) that were LITERALLY thrown out of a car in a plastic bag. Aphrodite started a fresh chain of having way too many cats, but not nearly as many as we had with Chance's family. They were still taken by animal control, though, because of wildly shitty neighbors that never communicated "hey they keep wandering into our yard, stop this or we're calling somebody." Coming home from school to every single one of them gone was one of the worst days of my fucking life (I was literally shrieking curses and sobbing on the porch), and I still grieve Aphrodite especially; I adored that cat. BUT ANYWAY, DO NOT keep your cats outdoors, and even when solely indoor pets, spay/neuter them, PLEASE.

What is an animal you are scared of? Whale sharks. It's funny, I like them, they're such peaceful animals, but their mouths just REALLY freak me out. I'd actually like to swim near one one day, maybe kill the fear.

Have you ever been bitten by a dog? Not a serious bite, no. Just a couple nips from nervous ones, the kinds that never even drew blood. My sister has been bitten by a German shepherd though on the hand; it belonged to her friend, and for some reason I don't remember, the dog just attacked her. She wound up needing stitches, and bless her friend, poor girl was sobbing because she felt so bad. It didn't affect Nicole's love for dogs though, and later in life she basically owned a German shepherd named Zeke. Maybe she sorta still does, idk; he was her ex-boyfriend's, and even after the split I know she's always been allowed to see him and I THINK bring him to her place occasionally? That dog is literally the child of divorced parents lmfao

Is Halloween your favorite holiday? Concept and aesthetic-wise, absolutely yes. I LIVE for the vibe, but as far as celebrating the holiday goes, it's not; I really don't do anything, pretty much ever. Christmas is definitely my fave celebratory-wise, because my family gets together and I just love seeing Ash's kids be so overjoyed about it all. It's just one of those days where you really, really focus on the love you have for the people you choose to spend your life with.

Do you like to watch scary movies during October? Meh, I'm just not a movie person, at least when it comes to watching them alone. I'd totally be done for like, watching them with Girt. Primarily because he hates horror/is a total pansy about it and it's hilarious lmfao

What are a couple of your favorite horror films? The original The Blair Witch Project is #1 (I like the sequel too), and I also totally adore The Crazies; maybe tied with the former mention, actually, idk. I thought The Boy was EXCELLENT, that's actually a movie I'd love to watch again. You can't go wrong with The Shining, either! The acting is just historical, plus I'm really into the concept of hysteria building off of what is technically nothing; I think that's also why I love The Blair Witch Project so much, at least the explanation behind it (collective hysteria, overreacting to certain things). The mind is SUCH a powerful thing.

What is your favorite Halloween treat/candy? Pumpkin-shaped Reese's, haha.

Do you often find yourself eating just because you’re bored? I used to be really bad at this, but not so much anymore. I'm not gonna say it NEVER happens, but I've gotten way better about reinforcing to myself "no, you're not hungry, you're bored."

Are you a sex addict? lmao if you know me at all, you know I'm definitely not.

Have you ever had a boyfriend/girlfriend taken from you? No. She tried, but I know Juan didn't date her after a lie she made up DID make me say "you know what fuck this I'm done with this whole drama bye" and break up with him. The lie she'd told was very believable for him honestly, and even though I DID know it could be a lie, Rachel had caused enough stress for me already and I wasn't confident enough of how into Juan I was to put up with it. To this day, I consider that lie a saving grace. I know Juan's done bad things that I don't know about (it's specifically stuck with me to this day that his answer to me asking about a stab wound scar he had was "I deserved it"), and bad things I do know about. It says something when your teacher pulls you aside when she noticed him visiting me a lot in art class to tell me to stay away from him. I'm pretty sure she did this literally twice, but for certain once.

If so, what would you like to do to the person who took them from you? Even in the hypothetical of Juan getting back with Rachel after that incident, Rachel is actually my friend now and I think she's fantastic (people grow, I will not hold her past against her). I wish her zero harm at all, only good things.

Have you ever been cheated on? If so, have you forgiven them? No. To mention my last survey, I DO sometimes wonder if Jason and the girl he dated after me (Ashley) had something stirring before we even split, but in total honesty, I don't think so, I really don't. I don't think that's the kind of person Jason was. But it WAS definitely alarming just how quickly he was onto someone else after we split following dating super seriously for over three and a half years.

Quick! Tell me the name of your favorite movie. The Lion King and The Meerkats 2008 documentary. I forget to mention the latter a lot, because it's an obscure movie barely anyone you will ever meet probably even knows, but it is simply phenomenal.

Do you wear water bras? ... What the fuck is a water bra?

Have you ever sent an anon hate message, be honest now. Nope.

Would you let someone give you a golden shower for a million dollars? I had to look this up and hell fucking no.

Name a band that you think is beyond overrated: I don't care man, let people enjoy whatever art they want. I really don't even know who's "in" these days anyway.

Who is the last person you said goodbye to? My PT therapist for today. She was new for me and is already tied with one other woman for my favorite, haha.

Who can you not live without? Nobody. PLEASE, don't adopt this mentality. I know it's hard to, but think realistically: you, in all technicality, CAN live without any one person, and I think this is so important to remember for when one day, you do lose them in one way or another, and you have to continue living without them. I totally used to believe this when it came to Jason, and I know it played a massive role in the severity of the breakup aftermath, but look at who the hell is living just fine - even happily - without him now.

What’s your favorite sea creature? Giant whales like blue whales top the list, but I also deeply love sea turtles, sea lions, seahorses, jellyfish, and dolphins. Sharks are also very cool and VERY unfairly villainized!!

What’s your favorite acoustic song? The "If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn" one by Sleeping With Sirens, I think. That's been a high wedding song contendor for years now, lmao.

What’s your favorite riddle? Okay so this is really just because of context/plot; it's from God of War: Ragnarök, where Brok asks, "What gets bigger the more you take away from it?," and Mimir realizes the answer near the end: a hole. You'd have to play the game to understand and feel the sheer weight of it, which I HIGHLY recommend, the game is fucking brilliant, I cried SO much through it.

What do you think happens after we pass? I just don't know. I know I don't believe in some perfect paradise and a wicked hell for suiting people, but I DO believe we're still... there somehow, but definitely not with the level of sentience and awareness that we do while alive. I like to think that it's a peacefulness, a feeling of wholeness with the world.

^ Is it different from what you’d like to happen? I don't know, really. It's like, on the surface, the idea of a Heaven sounds fantastic, but... to live in nothing but flawless harmony for all conceivable eternity? That just doesn't sound ideal for me. And I ABSOLUTELY don't believe in/want a Hell-like realm to exist, because like I mentioned earlier, people change, grow, and are ALWAYS (well, I suppose almost always) deserving of the chance to redeem themselves. Eternal punishment so severe that our human minds can't even interpret it is just purely fucking diabolical to me, I want that for nobody.

How do you feel about people self-diagnosing themselves with disorders? Hear me out: it depends. In MOST CASES, I absolutely hate this, especially when the person acts like it is stone-hard fact while holding an unconvincing amount of evidence. However, there are plenty of people who just don't have access to doctors capable of properly diagnosing, and then there's also worth mentioning that you know you more than anybody else does. Just depends on a lot.

[animezinglife]

Responses people give to that question can be incredibly important, though. I actually like when people ask me why I’m not working in the field my master’s degree is in--pay in said field is competitive with good engineering jobs and higher if I actually were to go into the STEM area with it. I don’t make bad money, but I definitely don’t make what I could if I were to go into that field.

The reality is, most 8-5 jobs do a terrible number on my sanity. I can’t stand stuffy office structures--most of which are toxic--or being glued to a screen to the point that I genuinely start questioning my will to live. I can’t stand frumpy, ugly dress codes that make you feel like you’ve thrown your youth away or have given up on life every time you have to slide on a pair of those awful slacks instead of a pair of jeans or joggers. I don’t do hierarchies, period, and that makes some people deeply uncomfortable. My current job is pretty median pay, and after one year, I’ve already gotten one raise. I took on a small, fun side gig with it and they pay me more for that than I anticipated, which leaves me a tiny bit of money after bills and savings that I actually have to spend on fun things. Of course, I’m frugal to almost a fault and my instinct is always to put money into savings or invest, but I have been able to relax just a little more. If I find a cute top on sale, I don’t feel like I’m making a bad decision buying it. If I’m too tired to cook dinner, I feel less guilty about swinging through the Chick-fil-A drive-thru, and am far more comfortable when my office goes out together to eat somewhere nice.

My job is flexible (I get to work remotely once a week, often twice per week during the summer), I love my team, and I found the rare, fantastic boss. She pretty much just leaves me completely alone unless something extremely urgent comes up and is communicative and helpful in the rare event I can’t figure something out on my own. We actually have a lot of fun together--sometimes, she does forget she’s a supervisor and tries to “mom” everyone, but that’s not a bad thing. She’s great about recognizing everyone’s human. She worked for the military for years and kind of just shoots brutally straight with people and doesn’t have a fake bone in her body (which I love and is what I grew up with).

On the topic of dating, I think age also plays a role. It gets progressively scarier to be single the older you get. While I’m not the type to get with a guy just for the sake of not being single, a lot of my friends are, and that helps them to feel a little less afraid and just to make it to the next day of their lives. 

“Well, what are you going to do if you do meet somebody you’re crazy about?” is usually the question they get, but honestly, the likelihood of that happening is pretty slim given how small the dating pool is post-college here. Plus, generally speaking, both people are either on the same page anyway or are already kind of aware that the slightly more sophisticated friends with benefits arrangement isn’t permanent. That can still get messy, though, and that doesn’t mean someone’s not going to get hurt in that process. But there is an actual thought process that goes into it, and depending on the people involved, it may not be a good or bad decision, but a completely neutral one made to cope.

I think at some point, we need to get real about what the reality of dating is like when you’re comfortably into adulthood and aren’t some teenager or sparkly-eyed early-twenty-something anymore. Options are limited and while you hope you can find someone you can either have that fairytale romance with or who sets you on fire, in actuality, that’s a big, fat “maybe” on whether you will or not. So, do you test the waters a bit with someone you genuinely do like/who’s good and decent who might end up being someone more serious, or do you not even take that chance?

It depends on the person, and it depends on the perspective.

I’m not disagreeing with you for the most part, but I think these questions bring awareness if nothing else, and I think that awareness is relevant. It comes back to human nature more than it does a lack of or strong enthusiasm. 

I don't get when someone asks the question, “Why are you single?”

Listen. Ma dudes. You don't need a “why” to be single, you need a “why” to be in a relationship. You are born single. You choose to date.

Ask yourself why you are with someone: is it to just not be single? Because if so, you need a better reason to be with them.

This goes for any decision, really. If someone asks, “Why aren't you pursuing that profession/getting married/having children?” The answer is, because I haven't found a reason to. The default should be to not do anything at all unless you're really enthusiastic about doing it, not the other way around.