#The Roomba Location

[witchblade]

trash room

[emdotcom]

I got a policy on all new tech that I don't know -- I hate it from the get-go, & it needs to prove it's useful before I'm willing to accept it.

If a piece of tech isn't improving anything, you don't need that tech*. You need what that tech is trying to replace.

*I'll specify that this is a case-by-case basis for each individual. I.E. I wouldn't buy a smart soap dispenser -- I can buy an analog one, & I have no difficulty using it or need to slap a sensor onto it, meanwhile somebody with fine motor movement issues might find it easier than trying to press down a hand pump.

[boss-poss]

See, Lethal Company's real genius is that it somehow marries two normally opposed genres, those being horror and comedy together into something greater. Mechanically it's a multiplayer looter extraction survival type game. It's designed to create stressful and scary situations by forcing you to speedrun mini randomized dungeons while monsters hunt your character to meet a certain quota (our asses are not making quota). That's not the clever part though, no, that's giving the players the ability to fuck themselves over and the hilarity that comes from it.

Anything you say into your mic is said in the game world and can be heard by certain monsters. Many items, similarly, can be used to make noise and you can bet there is little impulse control when a player finds an air horn or gets a walkie talkie. The sound of a distant honk somewhere out of nowhere is not something most players are prepared for while in a pitch black maze. Sound in this game has a doppler effect, which makes it harder to hear the further away the source is, allowing screams to fade into nothing and unintelligible yelling heard for a second before vanishing. You must rely on your senses but those are, by design, limited and regularly tricked.

Because level layouts, monster locations, and item spawns are all random, it's insanely easy to get lost or lose track of thigs, especially in the dark and especially when panicking. Seeing a bracken for the first time will almost certainly send a player running in the opposite direction and get lost, if they even see it all. No one is prepared to have a hand wrap around their face and snap their neck in an instant. It's utterly shocking and will leave you gasping in surprise to first time you experience it.

Certain weather patterns make levels harder, some even nearly impossible (looking at you eclipse), and sometimes your options are avoiding deadly lightning or not being able to see due to fog. High level moons have excessively valuable loot but also feature the worst foes and cost a fee to access, forcing a compromise between greed, ability, and resources.

Dying, likewise incurs a penalties. Your team is fined for dying and not bringing the bodies back but if you all die, all your collected loot goes poof. Gone. A team wipe can and will effectively end the run in an instant if you do something stupid like stick around when you hear "pop goes the weasel" or try to pick up that funny looking roomba. You can almost feel the pressure weighing down on your shoulders when you realize you're the last one left and you need to get back to the ship or miss the quota.

The monsters likewise, are engines of terror that are comically effective killing machines with no cohesive theme to help anticipate them. The already mentioned bracken is one of the scariest things I've seen in a game, and those technically aren't even that bad. They're completely manageable if you keep your head on a swivel and pay attention to your surroundings. Coilheads are these mannequins with bobble heads that will path to and kill you in a microsecond the moment you aren't looking at them, weeping angel style. There's a thing called the ghost girl that I have yet to see but is apparently one of the most terrifying critters in the menagerie. Forest giants. If you know, you know.

All these little mechanics, these choices that are made by and for the player, create a maelstrom of unpredictable chaos that, like a buxom blond transforming into an orgasming pooltoy, turns what would be strictly serious horror into a unique form of dark comedy that layers over it like jelly on peanut butter. You are scared, you are on edge, and it only gets worse when you know what these things are capable of, but the sheer hopelessness is something you all have in common. It's funny how little hope you have. You will die. A monster will wipe your team. There will eventually come a quota you can't beat. You were doomed from the start.

So why not get silly with it? Why not try to fight that bracken with shovel? Fuck him. Why not just run past a turret and try to nab that fat jar of pickles? Why not wander off from the group? You're just as likely to come back with arms loaded and the quota met as you are likely to not come back at all. You're already dead, so take the gamble, do stupid shit, repeat this hell until you can meet its horrors with grim determination and put in the effort to afford that goddamn boombox. Dance. Just press 1 and dance the fear away.

You are all united in your mortality and duty, fragile sacks of flesh working to break even at the behest of perhaps the greatest horror of all: The company you work for. You are so preposterously fucked beyond all belief from every angle there really isn't enough adjectives to describe it. And that's comedy baby, when things are so bad all you can do is laugh.

[yekovac]

One when I was just a youngin I dreamt this one appeared to tell me great wisdoms

(WIP)

✿~

𝔼𝕟𝕒𝕕. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕪𝕤𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕪 ◄:•3

(𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕕 𝕤𝕠𝕠𝕟, 𝕀 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕖)

(´༎ຶ ͜ʖ ༎ຶ `)

✿~

~𝔼𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪!!~

[hae-yeon]

340.Unanticipated Visitor

뜻밖의 방문객

We found a place to sit, at the top of a hotel building near the COEX center. Peace let out a small yawn from my lap. I dispelled my camouflaging Skill as no one would be able to spot us up here, and ate a spoonful of the beaded ice cream I’d snuck from the aquarium. I’d made sure to leave payment, of course. Though it probably would’ve just seemed like someone’s misplaced money.

“Don’t have too much, sir.”

Noah chided me as I dug the spoon back into the mound of roly-poly ice cream beads. Even after all the coaxing I’d done back at the aquarium after his whispered objection about how I shouldn’t eat it, I’d only been able to talk him into letting me get one cup.

“It’s not as though there’s much in here to begin with, in any case. Here.”

Telling Noah-ssi that he should try some too, I offered him a spoonful. Honestly, they were far too stringent with my dietary allowances as of late. Although it was true, that reduced snacking and eating three square meals a day was far better for your health.

“I’d been impressed by the Seseung Guild Leader’s fish tanks at the time, but an actual aquarium is on a whole different playing field, after all.”

I wondered what might’ve ended up happening with Sung Hyunjae-ssi’s housing situation, now that I thought about it. The apartment was only for temporary stay, and well, his original residence had completely collapsed in on itself. He probably had two or more back-up houses already for such a case, though, I imagined

“There really were very many fish.”

Noah said, a smile on his lips. We’d had to spend a bulk of our time avoiding fellow sightseers, but even then, we’d managed to cover a lot of ground. And sneaking around had been pretty fun, too. When a crowd of people was bearing down upon us, Noah would occasionally pick me up and fly us into the air. They’d be startled by the sudden gust of air sweeping over them, in those instances.

Just then, I got a text. It was from Min Sohan.

[ Would a part-time position be feasible as well? While I’m in school still. ]

Even though she’d acted as though she was completely disinterested, hmm.

[ Yes, that would be fine, miss. You’ve had a change of heart, it seems. ]

[ The terms were pretty good too, sir, but mostly because it wouldn’t stop bugging me, after all. ]

‘Because it wouldn’t stop bugging me’–did she mean Noah’s situation, perhaps? Or maybe she meant that she thought I might end up getting swindled. In any case, a part-time position would work just fine. After responding that she should go ahead and get in touch with the Haeyeon HR team, I turned to Noah.

“Min Sohan-ssi’s let me know that she intends to come work at the Rearing Facility as well.”

“The person we’d just met with, sir?”

“Yes. I suspect it’s due to Noah-ssi more than me, however.”

She might pretend otherwise, but she actually did enjoy taking care of people a fair bit. Min Sohan sent back an affirmative, and asked if part-timers were provided housing too. When I replied ‘yes,’ she said that a smaller pyong location would suffice, as it would be a pain to clean otherwise. I responded that she’d just need to keep the floor clear, and use a roomba. There were a lot of nice household appliances, after all. I should let her know to pick a place that came with a dishwasher and a compost disposal provided, and a recycling area within a convenient distance.(1)

Yoohyunie had attempted to go straight to incineration, when I’d groused a bit about how difficult it was to put out the trash for our house. The issue of landfills may have been just about solved with the appearance of Dungeons, but recycling was still important.

“She told me she plans on working part-time while still attending school–and come to think of it, Min Sohan-ssi’s school has a Hunter track, I believe. Noah-ssi, would you be interested in attending university next year?”

The last time I’d asked, I hadn’t been able to hear his response on account of events rapidly escalating.

“...I’m not sure, sir. Partly because I’ve been on and off again in my schooling as well.”

“But you attended up to the point you’d Awakened?”

Noah gave a small nod.

“I believe there shouldn’t be any issues, then. High-ranked Hunters are allowed to obtain an equivalency through Dungeon raid contributions, you see. You can hardly penalize the front-line responders when they’re doing their duty to deescalate a catastrophic situation, after all. Yoohyunie just about never attended classes after Awakening, either. Since protecting the country took greater precedence.”

I’d loitered around his school a few times regardless, on the off chance that I’d be able to run into him on his way to class–but we’d never crossed paths. When the situation had been far more dire, with all the Dungeon bursts going on, it was little wonder that an S-rank Hunter wouldn’t be permitted the leisure to do something like attend school. Back in the early days of Dungeon appearances, there had been so many school closures that whether or not the college entrance exams would still be held had even become a popular topic of discussion. The day before the entrance exams, there had been a lot of kids who’d come under fire for posting online that they hoped a Dungeon break would occur near the exam grounds.

“They still hardly attend class, as far as I’m aware. Though it’d be good for them to attend regularly, in my opinion.”

“...and yourself, Yoojin-ssi?”

“Hm?”

“The Breaker Guild Leader–she mentioned that it’d be good for you to have a degree under your belt too, sir. Are you planning to attend university next year as well, perhaps?”

“Ah… I had been considering putting in the effort to at least get accepted somewhere, for a start.”

I suspected that even if I hadn’t been intending to do so, I’d be forced to apply anyway. By Seok Shimyoung, in particular.

“I’d be willing to attend, if Yoojin-ssi enrolls as well.”

“But seeing as my only interest lies in getting the diploma, I doubt I would physically attend classes, though.”

I’d suggested Noah-ssi enroll because I’d wanted him to be able to experience an ordinary campus life, after all. And if Noah started attending somewhere, chances were that Kang Soyoung would follow on his heels–plus, if they ended up going to the same school as Sohanie, she’d look out for him as well. And where had Minnie enrolled, again. 

“If Yoojin-ssi attended classes, I expect that the Haeyeon Guild Leader would begin to show up as well.”

“That’s…….”

W-was that right. But, if I enrolled at the school Yoohyunie went to, that meant I would be considered his hoobae. Not that it seemed likely that Yoohyunie would want me to treat him as my sunbae, but still…….(2) What would a university lifestyle entail, I wondered. What knowledge did I even have about campus life, anyway. There were the festivals, and club activities, I guessed. 

“Well, at any rate–since I’ll be ‘enrolling,’ I’ll arrange to have your special admission processed at the same time, Noah-ssi.”

Soyoung-ssi would be delighted, I was sure. The two of them attending school together, it would certainly make for a dreamy picture. The ice cream had already disappeared, after what had felt like only a few spoonfuls. Noah checked the time, then pulled out a thermos from his crossbody bag. Ah, I should’ve saved the ice cream to have after my medication.

“Please don’t feel obligated to do so, as I’m only mentioning it since Noah-ssi already seemed to hold an interest.”

I said, taking the medicine that was handed to me.

“But would you be open to meeting with Team Leader Seok Shimyoung-ssi, perhaps?”

“By Team Leader Seok Shimyoung-ssi, you mean the Haeyeon Guild employee, sir? Seok Hayan-ssi’s uncle.”

“Yes. He’s particularly invested in Support-type Hunters, from what I’ve observed. For Noah-ssi to foray into championing the cause for Support-type Hunters on your own, will honestly be quite difficult. It’s only natural that it would feel impossible.”

When what he was aiming to accomplish was a type of social movement, it was undoubtedly going to be an arduous task. Many people had tried to tackle such issues–like race, gender, social hierarchy, and religion–over the course of time, but there were still many problems persisting to this day. Some places still even utilized caste systems, for example. 

And they were difficult problems to offer a perfect solution to, as well. Without everyone growing up to be mature, emotionally competent adults, there would always be a slippery slope to inadvertent discrimination present, particularly when there was a distinctive gap in skill or ability involved. It was why certain topics of discussion needed to be revived again and again, to try and instill progress bit by bit.

“Rather than trying to accomplish something right off the bat, it may prove more effective to get some thorough research done beforehand, first. As Sohan-ssi mentioned, you still have plenty of time, Noah-ssi. And you’re at an age where you’re still learning, to boot.”

“...I’ll think it over, sir. I’m still not sure what exactly it is that I’m trying to accomplish. It may turn out that what I actually crave is simply the ‘recognition’ that accompanies being an outstanding individual. As though ‘if I manage to do this, then I’m sure to receive praise’–that sort of thing. …even though it’s childish.”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with that. I expect that’s how it starts out for everyone, in fact. No one out there hates receiving praise, after all. ‘You did well,’ and ‘how amazing’–everyone likes hearing those kinds of words.”

As for Seok Shimyoung, well, I was certain he would be immensely taken by Noah, in any case. I was actually slightly worried that he might try to sweet talk him into transferring to Haeyeon, in fact.

“...if you do decide to meet with Team Leader Seok, please make sure to tell me about it in advance. He’s fairly personable, but has a bit of a black heart, you see. And avoid meeting with him on your own, if possible. You can go with either Myungwoo or myself, or even Haminie. Or maybe one of the people you met today, like Seo Kyunghoon-ssi or Lee Yooshin-ssi, or Min Sohan-ssi.”

I’d need to give him a talking to in advance, too. That he shouldn’t get any ideas in his head about coaxing the kid over for his own agenda. He wasn’t someone who would intentionally do something incondonable to me, but just in case.

- - -

As expected, it was decided that out of Haeyeon Guild’s HR division, Seok Shimyoung would serve as the point person for the new hires intended for the Rearing Facility. They would receive training there first, then make the transition over to the Rearing Facility; or to the company building, to be precise. Since there was plenty of room available within the building, I’d had a new office space freshly installed for them.

[ I confess I held a number of reservations, sir, but the first impression I’ve had of them has all been quite positive. ] 

Seok Shimyoung said, going on to comment that ‘it was impossible to know the measure of a person’s character with only one interaction, but they appear to be of fine mettle nevertheless.’ Considering they were all people who had managed to stick it out by my side for a long time, that was only a given, of course. They were perseverent by default, unwavering in their principles, and wouldn’t be easily swayed by others’ words.

What more could you ask for, when it comes to competent persons. They were the finest examples of such a precious resource indeed.

‘Though I probably would have just thought them to be ordinary people, if I hadn't gone through the experiences I’d had with them.’

If I hadn’t gone through such hardships with them, had never lost them–I might have gone my whole life being none the wiser. To have those memories of my past that held such hurt and sorrow, return so transformed to me. It was a queer feeling.

“Our Sorokie’s grown a bit at last, hmm.”

While walking along the length of the first floor of the Rearing Facility, I stopped to give the baby reindeer’s white belly a rub. Sorokie enjoyed wandering around the inside of the building more than the exercise grounds, which had been configured to resemble a forest. Not that it meant he got more exercise; but the sound of his hooves clattering against on the flooring material was what appealed to him so much, it seemed.

- Baaa.

A fluffy black lamb flounced around Sorokie’s vicinity. It made it up quite high in the air, as though it were a little bouncy ball. They were different monsters, yes, but perhaps because they were both ungulates, they seem to get along quite well. Though it was mostly the little lamb trying to coax Sorokie into playing together, more than anything.

“I haven’t heard so much as a peep from your dad in quite a while. He did appear to be pretty busy lately, though.”

- Baaa.

“Should we just barge in, d’you think?”

- Baa.

He had a lot to be occupied with, what with the Dungeons suddenly changing and the situation with the lab, but communication with him was nearly impossible. And I’d already sorted things out with the Hunter Association, too. They’d wanted to do something like an official mount handing-off ceremony over live broadcast, but Section Chief Song-nim had turned it down. On account of being unable to accept a mount intended for him solely, he’d said.

“Unless we can drive home that you’re specifically his designated mount beast, with Section Chief Song-nim’s personality, he’ll just keep dodging the matter indefinitely. Maybe I’ll have to force the matter, after all.”

Since his personality also meant that, once it became his responsibility, he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to abandon it either due to his sense of duty. Once I had some free time on my hands, I’d have to plan an ambush.

I was attempting to haul Sorokie up when I felt a presence approaching. It was too early for it to be time for me to take my medication, so it wouldn’t have been Yoohyunie–who might it be, then.

“...huh?”

The person who had appeared before me was someone completely unexpected. A stunningly handsome face shone a smile my way.

“How have you been, Yoojinie hyung. It’s been quite a while, right?”

“Ah, yeah–yes.”

“Please, speak comfortably.”(3)

Bak Hayool said, smiling. …I’d completely forgotten about him. He was supposed to be in China, so had he’d returned, then. The person accompanying Bak Hayool was an A-rank Hunter from Seseung Guild. He was one of the people on guard duty rotation for the Rearing Facility this week; but why had he brought Bak Hayool in, I wondered.

“I escorted him inside as he mentioned he was on close terms with you, Director Han-nim, sir–and he was correct, it seems.”

“Eh? Ah, I suppose you could say that, in a fashion.”

Slightly startled, I looked at the A-rank with astonishment. You’d really just brought him inside because he said he was friendly with me, no questions asked? That was almost certainly against protocol, no? Usually, unless they already lived inside of the building, no one would be allowed within the building or past the connecting corridor without my being notified beforehand. 

“Thank you for your help~”

Bak Hayool thanked the A-rank Hunter. It was no problem at all, the A-rank Hunter said, smiling happily. …was he a fan of Bak Hayool, I wondered. His demeanor towards him had struck me as being–how should I put it–excessively indulgent. You weren’t supposed to allow your personal feelings to impede your professional work, in any case. I eyed the A-rank Hunter warily as he turned to leave. I’d need to contact Seseung, and let them know that he didn’t seem to be a reliable enough person to be on guard duty…….

“I’ve been hearing a lot of news about you, hyung!”

“Um…….”

Bak Hayool interjected, suddenly striding right up to me. Wow, he was incredibly good-looking. I didn’t even recall him being this handsome before–living in China had really agreed with him, it seemed. His facial features really drew you in.

“I was a bit saddened when you didn’t contact me, hyung.”

“Ah, I’m sorry about that.”

“Well, that’s alright. Out of curiosity, no one should be coming by, right?”

“Huh?”

“There’s a lot of S-rank Hunters that hang around hyung. Is anyone supposed to come by?”

Bak Hayool asked, looking straight into my eyes. His eyes were beautiful, too. They had this kind of sparkling quality to them, just like pearls. I wondered if he was wearing lenses.(4) The slate-colored hair he now sported complimented him immaculately as well.

“My dongsaeng, he’s supposed to come by in about two hours or so.”

“Ah, is that so? So you’re generally by yourself for the most part, then.”

“Since there are a lot of people keeping an eye on me. There’s several high-ranked Hunters standing guard, and Noah-ssi may be absent at the moment, but there’s Peace, too.”

“By Peace, you mean that S-rank monster, right? Is it always with you?”

“Almost always. But a lot of the kids tend to be afraid of him, so when I come to check in on the baby monsters, I leave him at home sometimes.”

I trailed off while speaking and cocked my head, puzzled. Was it alright for me to be divulging all of this, actually. But it also didn’t seem like it would be a problem, surely.

“Hyung.”

His voice was really nice, too. Bak Hayool’s eyes curved in a faint smile. 

“I can come see you again, right?”

“That’s, of course.”

“But I hope you won’t mention to the others that I stopped by. It can be kind of nerve-wracking, after all. There’s a lot of scary people around hyung.”

Was that so? Then again, it made sense that S-rank Hunters would seem intimidating to a non-Awakened. I… could probably omit mentioning his visit to anyone. Since it was just a casual visit from an acquaintance, anyway.

“Sure.”

“Thanks, hyung.”

I felt happy, seeing how pleased it seemed to make him. Something like that was probably fine, seeing as how I already felt somewhat guilty for having forgotten about him.

“Should I make you some tea, at least?”

“That’s alright. I’m afraid I can’t stay for long today. I’ll be back, though.”

Entreating me to keep his visit a secret once more, Bak Hayool turned to leave. Watching him depart, I felt a bit wistful for some reason. It was nice to have gotten to see him again, in any case.

- Baaa.

Standing there dazedly, I suddenly snapped back to reality at Sorokie’s bleating. Sorokie had gotten up at some point, and was now nibbling on the hem of my clothes. The baby lamb was industriously applying itself to the same task on the opposite side, tugging me in the other direction.

“...feels like I got bewitched for a moment, there.”(5)

I felt a bit odd, somehow. But he’d also kept his mouth closed so far, and he didn’t seem to be a bad guy. In fact, he kind of felt like the opposite. …right? Just then, my phone rang. It was Yerimie.

[ Mister! I’m all done with the raid, sir! ]

“Already?”

[ Yessir! And Blue’s doing great as well. ] 

[ Kyawoo! ]

I’d anticipated that she’d finish quickly, but I didn’t realize it’d be this quick. Telling her she’d done a great job, I showered her in praise.

[ I’ll be returning tomorrow morning, sir, after finishing up an interview and a few other things here and there. Everything going alright, sir? Han Yoohyun’s taking good care of you, right? ]

“Of course. Nothing out of the ordinary. I’ll come and get you tomorrow.”

[ You don’t need to trouble yourself to, sir. ]

She might’ve said it was fine, but I could clearly picture the wide grin on her face. After exchanging a few more words, we ended the call. As the corridor suddenly fell silent, a chill seemed to pervade the air. 

Something definitely felt strange, but I couldn’t manage to pinpoint the reason why.

- - - - -

(1) https://10mag.com/your-complete-guide-to-garbage-disposal-in-south-korea/

(2) What honorifics would an older hoobae use with a younger sunbae? (i.e. bait for role-reversal play)

(3) yoojin starts off responding in casual language (‘아, 응’) then quickly lapses into formal language (‘네’) to repeat ‘yes,’ so bak hayool telling him that he can just ‘speak comfortably’ is telling him to forgo formality in speech to speak in a more ‘intimate’ register to feed into the artificial sense of closeness; as the younger of the two, bak hayool is still ‘speaking up’ to him in a formal (but casually friendly) way to yoojin, however

> interpersonal dynamics/social hierarchy

(4) ‘fashion’ lenses (1) (2) 

(5) 귀신에 홀린 → lit. ‘bewitched/possessed/hypnotized/entranced by a (malevolent) spirit/ghost’

+(Q&A)

Q) 1. which among the following is how the ‘aesthetic boost caused by being of higher rank’ mechanic operates? ① the Hunter undergoing the aesthetic change has their actual physical traits subtly altered (physical appearance correction) ② the Hunter receiving the aesthetic boost actually retains their original features, but others who see them begin to perceive their looks in a more favorable light (not a cognition manipulation Skill, but has a similar effect) ③ other option 2. Crescent Moon is said to be naturally beautiful in appearance, but to also possess a unique charm(special ability) that earns her unconditional ‘positive regard’ from others as well. are there cases where a Hunter’s Skill can mimic this sort of trait? additionally, i was curious whether sung hyunjae, who is tied to Crescent Moon, also possesses this kind of characteristic (or Skill)~ A) 1. ① is the answer. Awakening above a certain rank threshold triggers changes not only in appearance, but in physiology as well. as mana becomes present, one’s body begins to undergo a transformation affected by both rank, as well as the idiosyncrasies of their special traits/affinities. while ‘evolving’ into a body that is more sturdy and well-balanced, one of the components that is also affected is facial symmetry, which becomes more harmonious and distinct(chiseled). for those who were ‘well-balanced’ to begin with, it tends not to change much. particularly in the case of the born s-ranks, it’s safe to say that they remain nearly identical from where they’d started. because there are cases of more ‘dramatic’ changes occurring, however, it’s widely believed that ‘Awakening = automatic appearance boost.’ but most people do to tend to receive a slight boost, in fact^^ 2. bak hayool is such a case. as a result of Crescent Moon’s influence, he was able to cultivate the ‘appearance boost + likeability’ Skill. it’s also a trait attributed to ‘Dreams.’ sung hyunjae possesses a similar charm, true, but it’s the result of both innate and accumulated effects (from being ‘reincarnated’ several-fold), rather than being a trait of Crescent Moon’s. additionally, due to his Fairy Dragon attribute, han gyeol is also capable of manifesting a similar ability.

[actualbird]

Heya! Completely Random Tot Fixation I wondered if you have info about: Tabby the NXX cat

I know Tabby is a cat only really there during the mini events to sit there and be cute (I wish that was my life). But since nxx hq is meant to be linked to vyns house, or is owned by him or something, is Tabby technically his cat? Is Tabby actually his or just sneaks in all the time? Who takes care of this mysterious cat living at hq? If Tabby is his why was he so confused w Puff in the pet event? Where is the cat from? Why is he able to retrieve Random ingredients like bubble tea for us during events but it takes 4 hours???

I'm just wondering if there's any more info about him, I haven't figured out how to use the tot wiki....

hi hi!!! so youre absolutely correct that tabby only shows up in minigames, and his backstory/background is actually present in the very first minigame we see him in: the minigame where the nxx roomba goes missing

(sidenote 1: the badge for this event was so cute. LOUD ALL CAPS "FAT CAT" with him riding the roomba like a MIGHTY STEED)

this event was very early on cuz it ran from 2021-10-03 to 2021-10-13, so newer players wouldnt have experienced it. which is a shame, because it gives the Tabby's Lore in the story: he was a stray cat that started sitting on the nxx roomba, causing the roomba to overheat and malfunction and not move because of the cat's chonkiness

(sidenote 2: screencapped below from the tot wiki's transcript of the event on the event's page, i just want to share how marius does NOT let up on calling this cat Heavy)

-

ANYHOO, as for your question: does vyn own Tabby then?

nope!

so!! Tabby is not strictly speaking vyn's. tho given that vyn supposedly sent Tabby to his new owner yet Tabby continues to keep showing up for subsequent events, i can only assume that vyn gets saddled with catsitting duty rather often HAHA.

either that or the patient who owns Tabby lives nearby and Tabby just got so used to hanging around nxx hq that he pops by to visit the team sometimes....

....and helps the team make snacks and food by getting them ingredients from unknown locations

(i dont know why it takes this cat 4 hours to fetch me a strawberry either. go to the grocery, boy)

[oooo-leanderies]

Literally ran out of ideas and made an au that was just. Literally based off a little story of mine that is in the works (I lost focus after downloading twst help me. Twst is taking over my mind)

Anywya some context:

- Welcome to the Diopheros! Some notable locations include Ardes, Rosdorf, Crissolo, Liliren , and Pont-Ciel.

- Mist Harbour is a popular summer holiday spot in Pont-Ciel

- Gear-bound are robots that are a common sight around Diopheros, are treated kind of like Alexas or Roombas or simple machine. They get simple jobs and chores and tasks done easily

- (So I suppose you guys can guess why Rui likes messing with his Gear-bound)

[thesilvercup]

Oh! Lover Boy!

A Jake Seresin x Reader

Reader finds out she’s pregnant and tries to come up with the perfect way to surprise her husband. But not all things go to plan.

Words: 2.1k

Warnings: none? If there are let me know!

Feel free to like, reblog, comment, not read, not like, or whatever your heart desires. Enjoy and happy reading! Find my master list here!

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Do you ever feel like no one has your back except for a few people? Yep, that’s exactly how I feel. Working as a painter while my husband is a naval aviator people always seems to paint me as the “trophy” wife or the dumb but pretty wife. Why won’t people see me for me? Even when I let them in their snide remarks push me further away from feeling worthy of any meaningful love or relationship. And trying to complain to people I get hit with “I wish that was my problem.” I feel so lost in life. That is until I see my husband.

Jake has always been there for me. He has picked me up when days got bad and he’s loved me for me. Not for my body or my looks like so many claim. That’s one of the reasons why I can trust him with my whole mind, body, and soul. However, I have a secret. A secret that won’t be a secret soon but a secret that makes the wait so much better. I, Samantha Seresin, am pregnant with Jake Seresin’s baby. The one catch is that he doesn’t know yet.

Jake’s had an extremely busy past few weeks at work. Which is awful for Jake and puts him under a lot of stress but ideal conditions for this secret. The long hours he has been working gives my gift more time to be perfected. I am painting a tiny little square canvas of us holding hands with me turned to the side to show a bump. Since this piece is so detailed yet really small I need the most amount of time I can get to finish it. Luckily for me, the painting is almost finished. As I paint my mind tends to wander so no wonder I just found out as I gazed upon the clock that I only have about an hour until Jake gets home. I put my painting products away and hide my canvas in a random draw in my studio.

Swiftly but carefully, I go about the house to pick up out of place objects and straighten crooked blankets. After that is done I head into our pantry. I bend down and push the start button located on the top of the roomba so I can focus my attention on dinner. Before I do any cooking in the kitchen I head out of pantry and into our living room. I turn on our record player and put on my favorite record of all time, A Night At The Opera by Queen. As the needle touches the vinyl and the music starts playing my body moves on autopilot. I walk through the doorway and into our kitchen where our defrosted chicken lay in the sink. I glance at my phone. Thirty minutes until he leaves work. Dinner will definitely be a time crunch because we live on base.

I rub different spices into the chicken breasts along with butter to crispen its skin. Along with buttered and salted asparagus i plop them in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. I then get started on the pasta I want to make. Although I follow social media I don’t worship celebrities. However, Jake and I both love Gigi Hadid’s vodka pasta. I hear the music stop so after I finish plopping the pasta noodles in boiling water I flip the record to side B. That’s when I hear my phone chime from the kitchen. Without looking at it yet I know that the text is Jake on his way home. Once I get into the kitchen I confirm that it is and rush to finish this pasta. He’s suspiciously 15 minutes early. I brush it off and continue cooking. 5 minutes later and the pasta is done as well as the asparagus with the chicken still cooking away in the oven, I hear the sound of keys dangling and my beautiful but tired husband walk through the doors. “Hey, Honey,” I call from my spot in the kitchen currently trying to take out our cute sea foam green glass dishes from the highest shelf. It’s evident that Jake can hear the slightest tense in my voice and he’s by my side in an instant, reaching up to grab the dishes but also reaching down with his opposite hand to grab my ass and give me a kiss at the same time.

“Hiya, baby. Missed you today,” he says as he sets down the plates on the counter and hugs me. I let my body relax into his and retort, “I bet I miss you more, baby.” He shakes his head and adjusts his hug to be tighter than before. “At work today, I couldn’t stop talking about you. Even more so than I normally do that everyone joked my call sign should be changed.”

“To what, Jakey?” I ask. I look up at him and his cheeks are tinted pink. “To Lover Boy,” he says sheepishly. I love the name! I start to giggle. “Well lover boy, I think it’s a perfect fit,” I say as I lean up to kiss him. Jake kisses back with extreme vigor but right as things started to get heated the oven dinged.

“Oh our dinner!” I exclaim as I go and get the hot hands from the island. Jake gets there quicker than I do. And manages to get the chicken out of the oven before I can even protest. I smile and kiss Jake as I turn off the oven and start packing our plates with food. As we start eating my mind keeps wondering from our conversation. Jake has to say my name a few times for me to snap out of my thoughts. I truly can’t help it. I keep thinking about the painting two rooms over. I want to give it to Jake so bad right now but I’m not sure if it’s the right timing. But will it ever be the right timing? Probably not. Maybe is should wait for him to shower? I assume he’s already showered before getting home. If not it might ruin the mood. How will he take it? We’ve been married for 2 years and I’m only 24 and he’s 30 so we are still quite young. Oh well maybe if I just rush and do — “Sam,” Jake states, “baby are you okay? You’ve been spacey all dinner?” Oh shit. “Yeah Jake I’m okay. It’s just this big project that I’m rushing to finish.” The concern from Jake’s eyes leave and for once I feel like I could actually lie and get away with it from my husband. Sadly, that’s not the case.

As fast as the concern left his face confusion trickled in. “I thought you weren’t completing anymore projects this month?” My face dropped and my jaw would’ve hit the table if it was connected any looser to my jaw. Trying to keep my composure I try a white lie. “Well actually it’s more of a personal venture than a business one.” The holds over Jake but it doesn’t seem like it’s enough. However, he doesn’t push me any further that evening. A few hours later we’re climbing into bed. With all these longer shifts, Jake hasn’t really had the energy or been in the mood to fuck. That’s okay though, I’ve been so incredibly exhausted having our tiny little love inside of me he barely notices how fast I fall asleep now. I pull the blankets up closer to my neck and snuggle in to Jake. His grip on me tightens and we drift off to sleep. With similar topics on our minds yet neither of us had a clue.

On typical weekday mornings, Jake would wake up first, have breakfast, and be dressed ready to go to work before I had even gotten out of bed. Yet today I woke up 30 minutes before Jake’s alarm. From the most awful and tight feeling in my stomach and my throat. I was going to puke! As the clock turned to 4:00 am I was up and in the bathroom spewing out the contents of dinner from the night before. Hearing Jake groan and step out of bed I hurry to come up with a good enough excuse. Should I say food poisoning? No because he’s completely fine and I was the one that cooked. Hmmm how about the flu? That could work I’ll go with that.

As I lean over the toilet to let out more of my stomach contents Jake crouches down behind me and gently rubs my back. “It’s okay baby, let it out. Shhhh, Sammy it’s okay,” he whispers. After a few minutes I feel a bit better and go to clean the toilet and brush my teeth. Jake stops me from cleaning the toilet saying that he wants to help. I oblige, not really having the energy or the urge to fight him on this. Once we get back in bed it’s around 4:20, ten minutes before he has to wake up.

“I’m sorry for waking you up, baby,” I croak out as he holds me in his arms. “Shhh my love it’s okay, I just want you to feel better,” he replies. “I actually feel so much better now,” I state as I hold onto him, the one person in the world that wouldn’t care that I just cost him 30 more minutes of uninterrupted sleep. “I’m so glad, baby,” he gently states. After a while of him hugging and rubbing my sides he works up the courage to say, “I actually liked that you got sick. It made me think of you being pregnant and how it would be like with me comforting you.”

“Hmmm,” I say, “that’s actually quite funny.” Jake furrows his eyebrows. “Why is that funny?” I croon my neck to look up at him. With a smile I say, “give me a second and you’ll see.” I toss the covers off of us and make my way down the steps. I turn into my studio and fish out the painting. Although it’s unfinished it’s close to being done. I also dig around another drawer to retrieve the pregnancy tests I had peed on yesterday, so that I didn’t give him old musty ones. I quickly glide up the stairs to give him his gift. It’s perfect! Impromptu yet cute. Before I enter our bedroom I call out, “Jake close your eyes and don’t open them until I tell you too.” “Yes ma’am,” Jake calls back. I peak around the corner to make sure his eyes are closed and once I’m 99% sure I come into the room. “Ok baby give me your hands.” “Yes, baby,” Jake replies. I place the canvas in his hands first, while keeping the pregnancy tests behind my back. “Ok , Jakey you can open your eyes now.”

Once Jake does his eyes widen and he glances up at me. The biggest smile I’ve ever seen from him is plastered on his face. “You want to have a baby, too,” Jake questions. I burst out into a fit of giggles. “Jakey, no. I don’t want to have a baby, too. We’re having a baby.” I show him the pregnancy tests that were hidden from behind my back. I start to tear up, however Jake starts bawling his eyes out. He launches into me telling me how happy he his. “Baby I love you so much,” he manages to get out, “this is the best thing to ever happen to me.” I nod my head in agreeance. My eyes happen to catch the clock as it reads 4:45. “Jake!” I say concerned, “you need to leave for work soon.” Without leaving my side he whips out his phone and agrees that he needs to get out of bed.

“But I really don’t want to leave you,” Jake whines. “I know baby but we’ll be here waiting for you to get back.” Jake’s smile appears and he kisses me all over the face and then shimmies down to kiss my still flat stomach. “I love the both of you so much,” Jake says. “We love you too,” I beam at him. Jake quickly gets dressed and grabs a small bite to eat before heading out of the door. I follow him to it and call out, “Lover Boy! Maybe get off work early for a special surprise?” Jake’s head snaps towards me so fast and he frantically nods. “Will do, I’ll even break orders to get here.” We exchange love you’s as he pulls out of the driveway. Oh how I love my Lover Boy.

[sogthewoz]

you know I did consider a marionette roomba at one point, but decided against it, because it helped my location stand out against the others, but also that sadly means no Roomba Dee womp womp.

- charlie the cursed phone guy

Disappointed in u charlie,,, think about the possibilities:

[stevebattle]

Roomba Silver (models 4150, 415) by iRobot, Bedford, MA (2005). This model has a distinctive silver finish, and was sold via Amazon.com and Target. It’s one of the first models to sport the two-tone swivel caster wheel. This passive caster located at the front of the Roomba provides a third point of support in addition to the two drive wheels. This half black & half white caster is also a rotary encoder, with an optical sensor detecting the alternating contrast as it rotates. This detects if the Roomba is stuck or beached, when the drive wheels are spinning, but the Roomba isn't moving.

[cod-dump]

The whole Roomba thing has convinced me that Ghost has an entire flat of really outdated appliances that honestly need to be replaced, but he just refuses. It's not even because he's barely there, so what's the point in spending a lot of money on replacing all of them.

No, it's because he's emotionally attached to all of them. His horribly loud and very poorly functioning microwave? That's Suzie. The toaster? Bart. The oven that has one stove eye that doesn't work anymore no matter what you do to try and fix it? That's Mason. The dryer that sounds like it's going to explode every time he runs it? Oh, that's just Sam.

To make it sad, he's attached because all of these appliances where fully functioning and relatively new during some of the worst parts of his adult life. They were there for him when he lost everything. They were the only reliable people things in his life after everything that happened with Roba. He doesn't want to replace them because he's afraid that he won't have that stability in his life anymore. He's afraid of losing what little he had saved of himself. He knows he has the 141, but those are actual people. He's gone through so much betrayal and been exposed to so many manipulative people in his life that he's afraid the same thing is gonna happen with them. Which is why he's attached to his appliances. Hey, they still work and they can't manipulate and abuse him! Sure, they can be touchy about how they work, but at least they're trying their best for him.

Basically, Simon is afraid to move on because he's afraid of what that means for him. (totally not self-projecting with that part, but okay)

Delicious angst! Thank you for the meal.

But his attachment doesn’t stop at his flat, there’s this ancient Austin Champ that they drove around base that was given the nickname “Ol’ Tin”. That thing has been there for years and it has never faltered since he’s been there. But then one day Ol’ Tin was gone and when Price said it had officially been retired Ghost almost lost it. He immediately asked if there was anyway he could buy it but Price just told him he didn’t know where it was.

Price noticed how much this was bothering Ghost and called around until he located Ol’ Tin. Ghost actually cried when he saw the old truck back in the garage. Price decided to have a talk with Ghost about it because why was he crying over a old truck?

They unpacked a lot during those two hours.

[welcome-to-roomba-fazbender]

Howdy! (sorry haven't chatted in a hot min) How ya be doin' these days?

-- Fluffy

"Business is booming, hell I even needed to shift reality and make the kitchen bigger so I can store more food! My place has alot of customers, I honestly could make another location at this point."

"But I kinda like running just one, but let me tell you I've already long outlived Freddy's candy's and fredbears, and my restaurant will be around alot longer then most fast food brands once the people revolt and fight against the restaurant mascots in order to get the better pay they deserve!"

"If I did hire people, I'd offer 30hr pay, but I got Roomba's and I'm an eldritch horror so I kinda don't need to."

[clouseplayssims]

So I've mentioned it before but I'm taking part in the DOTY 2024 competition over on SimPearls because it looked like fun. I feel like I'm not really a typical designer over there because I love chaos, maximalism, and telling a story with the space, but it's helping me learn to pare things back.

Anyway, for round 1 the prompt was "NAPOLI - NAPLES  - THE CITY OF ARTS

Signor Giovanni lives in an historic villa in Naples. He wanted to honor his ancestors by turning his house into a private collection museum. We are going to design for him an impressive entry (hallway) as a statement for his collection. He will allow  exhibits anywhere on the premises, except for a small space that he intent to use himself as residence."

Required: double door, windows only on the selected wall, staircase (located anywhere), moldings, art piece, seating area, place for coats/hats/umbrellas

Optional: archways

There were some inspiration images included as well. One of them featured iron railing which I immediately knew I wanted in my entry way and there was also a piano shown and a prominent sculpture piece. The floors were also tile laid in a pattern.

I set up walls and sculptures so when you "looked" through the archways you'd see the beginnings of the mentioned museum collection. Overall in terms of layout I do regret the giant sculpture in the center of the room because it made taking screenshots difficult. I also completely forgot about the view from the outside!

For the seating area I went simple, two leather chairs set up by the stairs. The dog illustrations I imagine weren't "nice enough" for the collection but were perhaps drawn by one of Signor Giovanni's relatives. I included the roomba because I built him up in my head as an older man who was tired of trying to keep the marble floors nice and shiny.

I like the piano near the stairs as it fits the inspiration image, and I tried to use portraits featuring people of different decades who could feasibly be related. The woman and man here are meant to be Signor Giovanni's parents.

As for where the money came from I like to think they were involved in shipping, hence the giant fish statue and the framed ship painting.

This painting is meant to be Signor Giovanni's grandmother, hence the different style. This shot also was to show the coat rack and umbrella stand from another angle, just in case.

When searching for Tuscan-styled homes I saw a lot of mixed natural materials, like marble, wood, and glass, which is why I selected the wood/glass table in the corner by the chaise. As you can see the background is NOTHING because I'm a goose. You also can't really see the room that well from this angle because of our giant goldfish friend.

[v3ros]

a location in... ONTARIO CANADA YOU SAY?

I don't think a certain "cursed" phone guy will be happy with that news.

Might wanna hide your shoes, ah screw it I'ma just summon him

CHARLIE THE CURSED PHONE GUY

Uh oh, when Salem founded Corny's he didn't realize he was stepping on Charlie's turf-

(Charlie belongs to @welcome-to-roomba-fazbender and honestly, has got to be one of my favourite phone men now.)

[fazbear-enterprises]

Uh, Hi yes is this the Fazbear Entertainment Company? I'd like to register a complaint to the CEO about one of your locations, Roomba Fazbears or something?

I was bitten by a walrus not an animtronic one but an actual one! LIKE A WILD ANIMAL just walking in the dining area, so unsanitary and the manager there was freakishly tall!!! and stole my shoes and ate them!

Just what do you think you people are doing letting a man like that run a pizzaria?

- A Karen

Ma'am, I'm sorry about your experience at our restaurant however I can assure you at none of these events happened and that are restaurants are very sanitary.

As well as that, walruses are no where near any of our establishments and I don't think we have any "freakishly tall" managers except for Scott Steven but he's working the night shift making it impossible for him to have been there recently.

Sorry ma'am however your claim will be disregarded and any attempts for suing will be met with our legal team, thank you for your concern.

response from Henry Emily, if you have any more concerns please contact us further!

[marcusrobertobaq]

Sav Dan's Shop (Android Zone) exploration and commentary

⚠️ The quality is just terrible

This Android Zone is called SAV SHOP in the game files. Where is it located within Detroit? No fucking clue. There's a similar destroyed Android Zone in Kara's BfD. Dunno if they're the same.

They sell new and pre-owned androids, components, repairs even some electronics and some other shit like that. Real average small tech shop.

"Kalu's Tool"? What a name. No idea wtf it is but this Uke Antivirius is kinda funny 🤪 I just can't read the text at all, bro.

Idk what these RXL things are but ok. Reading "robot" i assume is related to those robots from the concept art. But maybe can be used in androids?

Now those LVB ones:

LVB MACRODATA 7850: Move effortlessly between Androids applications with a powerful processor.

LVB "300% ENERGY": Move effortlessly between applications with a powerful processor.

LVB SMOOTH 2.2: Help preventing further darkening and protect the skin from premature erosion

Ok, we're talking about 2 processors and one stuff for the skin? THE SKIN AIN'T A HOLOGRAM CONFIRMED.

Now, man, now look the size of that shit right there, this EYE™️ component.

Gotta be for those heavy work models. It says TR600 and the heavy model we know is TR400. Maybe a new gen? But, man, still too "big" xD that's what she said

As u can see, androids parts ain't "hollow". Ain't supposed to be, at least. Also u can notice how androids are made with "easy limbs detachment and replacement" in mind, the cables in the joints are basically plug/unplug. Still weird tho.

Say hi to the Roomba

Other android parts they sell are these "patellas" (the knee the joint) and legs/arms. Also those "Thirium cells"...

Kinda different from the regulator we know, huh? They also got a whole M series shit going on related to that patella thing i'll leave this link cuz these textures are ridiculous. Means some models series are named with one letter only, the second letter being variations of the same "model family".

"POWER UNIT" and it's part of a UPGRADE PACK. Also a "GENUINE PARTS PROGRAM" idk what this means. Maybe pirated and cheap 3D printed components are a thing, we see these machines in Jericho.

I still don't know how these limbs works in practice, sometimes the joints just...doesn't make any sense in my head.

I ain't got no idea what those small boxes are. "Dust Cover"? What?

No idea what the triangle thing is, there's nothing on the box. Judging by being a triangle must be something related to androids (ofc).

Also boxes like that purple and red ones are CABLE PACKS (from AFC?). I can notice there are some formats (one of 'em really similar to the one Zlatko uses when plugging into Kara)

U can see a Hard Disk, Wireless and "Tabs" icons there. I'm not sure what that means, maybe u can used to connect these things O.o

And ofc...CLOTHES.

They sell clothes for androids? I mean, ain't got the markings we are used to and they look pretty generic but still something.

On the table we see what looks like empty thirium bag, an opened triangle-shaped box then below the Uke Antivirus, other cable packs, dust covers, regulators, eye components, audio processing components and some other shit that looks like HDs and SSDs

This SATA III SSD also comes in 8TB, 4TB and 2TB. Wtf xD

An honorable mention to the Android Compartments (feat Kara without a head)

I personally think it should also be a recharging point too but, well, doesn't look like one - but how tf this shit's detecting the android status then? Whatever, i hc they can recharge in there.