#i didn't do day 1 but whatever

[flurry-bace]

TMayNT Day 2: Favourite April

Mutant Mayhem April!

Mainly because of realistic her response to seeing the Turtles for the first time, lol. Freaked out, and then almost immediately chill.

[seventh-district]

Making Incorrect H:SR Quotes Until I Run Out of (hopefully) Original Ideas - Pt. 2

[Pt. 1] [Pt. 3] [Pt. 4] [Pt. 5] [Pt. 6]

[deoidesign]

One of my first digital pieces (2010) versus one of my recent ones (2024)

We all start somewhere!

[seaseren]

Roevember Day 2: Roots

It wasn't often that time slipped away from Ameliance Leveilleur, but that day was one of those rare occasions. She had spent all day at various errands, mostly in her capacity as the keeper of House Leveilleur's coinpurse, and it came as quite a shock to her when she looked up to the sky to find that dusk had settled over the island without her notice. She started home in no great hurry- Fourchenault had already informed her he would be at the Rostra until quite late, and she quite enjoyed leisurely walks on quiet nights. She was nearly home when she saw it- a form in the grass next to the river, huddled against the far side of a building, staring up at the nascent night.

Ameliance cocked her head. Entlona was no unusual sight around Sharlayan these days- once the business with the Final Days was finished she had quickly occupied herself working with the Studium, with the Students of Baldesion, and even for Ameliance herself. That, in fact, was what was so concerning. Ameliance had come to know Entlona fairly over the past few months (at least, she thought she had!), and never once had she seen the girl so...idle.

...Well, it wasn't as if anyone was waiting for her at home. Ameliance stepped off the path home, picking her way across the uneven cliffside with grace until she was at Entlona's side. "Entlona?" she called out- then, with more force when the first call went unheeded- "Entlona!"

Entlona started, her glasses threatening to slip off her nose. Ameliance might has found the sight charmingly clumsy, except something was so clearly wrong. The look in her eyes was something- well, it was something Ameliance would expect to see on her husband's face.

"Oh, sweetheart," she said before she could stop herself. Careful not to let her dress get dirtied, she sat on the low wall Entlona was leaning against and laid a hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "What's the matter? I've never seen you so...out of sorts."

It was a long moment before Entlona spoke, though she leaned very slightly into Ameliance's hand. "I...had an appointment that I was unable to keep, and I thought. While I was in the area. That I could...look at the stars. For... research purposes," she finally said.

Twelve bless the poor dear but it was obvious from the first word that she was lying and it only got worse from there. Still, Ameliance didn't want to make her uncomfortable by calling her out, so to speak. "What sort of appointment?" she asked instead. "I have quite a few contacts around Sharlayan-" quite the modest understatement!- "and I am sure I can help smooth over any misunderstandings!"

Entlona, the poor thing, actually squirmed a little, like a child facing down a tutor and explaining why their essay is mysteriously missing! There was a part of Ameliance- well, to be honest, a majority, and probably the same part that had always delighted in dressing her children in matching outfits- that was delighting in watching the normally stoic, self-confident woman so out of sorts. She would have to remember to feel guilty about that, at some point.

"It was a personal matter," Entlona mumbled- mumbled!- after a time. Ameliance knew how to deal with this sort of reticence. She simply nodded, kept her hand on Entlona's shoulder, and waited. It only took a few seconds of that before Entlona's head dropped, and she stared at the grass beneath her as she said, "...My grandparents invited me to dinner."

Oh. Ameliance had heard about the situation- among certain circles, it had been quite the topic of gossip after the excitement of the near end-of-the-world had died down. Around twenty-five years ago, the only daughter of two respected Studium professors had left to work on her thesis in Eorzea- and ended up joining a pirate crew. If that wasn't enough, she married and eventually sent word home that she was expecting, and that she wished for her parents to care for her child while she and her beloved continued to adventure across the sea. Except no child ever came, and nobody ever heard from the daughter again. They had given up all hope- but when the Scions of the Seventh Dawn had departed the Ragnarok before all of Sharlayan, they had taken one look at the tall Roegadyn being supported by two Elezen men and known instantly that she was their granddaughter. Though they had been unable to meet her then, they visited the Baldesion Annex every day until the good Students there agreed to facilitate a meeting- and there, Ameliance, supposed, they were.

It was hard to imagine Entlona Eifasaldwyn scared of anything, let alone dinner with a couple of retirees. Ameliance had to fight the urge to scoop her into a hug- she'd have to ask the twins, when able, if Entlona appreciated that sort of thing. "Is this your first time talking to them?" she asked, voice gentle. If Entlona had already had a bad experience she didn't want to push it- but Entlona shook her head.

"I...I just don't know what to say to them," she admitted, voice low. Heroically, Ameliance managed to keep her face straight. Entlona varied wildly between silent and chatterbox, veering between complete disengagement from conversation to total domination with the confidence of someone who had always just said whatever she wanted to say whenever she wanted to say it. That this was the situation she was unsure about, when her grandparents surely would be happy to hear anything, up to and including an hours' worth of speculation on Mhachi demographics or types of coral in the Rhotano Sea or Gridania's war against invasive beetles- but it took just a glance at Entlona's face to see how genuine these feelings were. Uncertainty looked so wrong on Entlona- but if there was one thing Ameliance had learned, it was that those who were the least used to the feeling needed the most support when it did visit them.

"You know..." she said, turning her gaze to the houses across the gorge as she rubbed Entlona's shoulder, "I have been meaning to get to know Professor Dennharrsyn and Professor Tofftylwyn. These might be a nice chance- if I could count on you to make an introduction?"

Entlona turned her gaze away from the ground and towards Ameliance, eyes narrowed slightly. Even Entlona, it seemed, was not socially oblivious enough to buy such a tale. Still- and with great apparent effort- she nodded. All of a sudden she stood, reminding Ameliance with a start that right, this girl towers over near everyone- but her expression was almost sheepish when she turned to Ameliance.

"Do you know their names? I forgot to write them down."

Ameliance could not stop the laugh, though thankfully Entlona didn't seem too discouraged. "Get that journal of yours out now," she said, already leading them away from the river and to the residential side of town. "It certainly won't do if you forget to write it down a second time!"

[haarute]

something i realized in the recent years is that while my mom is a very nice person and i can understand why she is the way that she is sometimes, she had a history of always dismissing and throwing away things that were important to me, and in hindsight that certainly had an effect on both my trust in her and how much i was willing to ever share, and also just turned me into a dumpster goblin because i just gave up on ever having nice things so why bother ever caring about my personal space at all ✌️ i'll just live in the filth because we'll never have anything better after all !!

[seaofreverie]

The Me who bought tickets to see TMBG in february 2023 and the Me who's going to actually go to the show next month are two completely different people

[izzyspussy]

why are they laughing at him as he gets straight up killed??? he doesn't deserve this! he's a sweet kid at heart! he literally just needs one (1) real friend!!

[mars-ipan]

this is gonna sound incredibly virtue signal-y i fear but i have been feeling. so fiercely protective of all the transfems i've ever met lately

[izzy-b-hands]

Putting on last year's trans rigs stream from Drawfee before i have to get ready to go out with my mum and her bf today (bc i have the worst feeling in my gut he's gonna make that An Thing for me if given the chance today, aka whenever i eventually need the restroom while we're at Mystic)

[coquelicoq]

things i learned today:

my stepdad doesn't like the word obituary. why? well i can't be 100% certain because i asked no follow-up questions, but based on the way he relayed this information ("i don't like to use the word [lowers voice] oBITCHuary") i have a pretty good idea.

"we have to google meet" (as in, call each other on the Google Meet app) and "we have to google 'meat'" sound identical and i will interpret it as the latter regardless of how little sense that makes in context.

some drinking glasses have a little divot at the top of the handle into which my thumb fits perfectly!!!!!!!!

apparently when you find yourself at a branch of the library that's closing in three days for renovations, you should go ahead and check out all 11 books you have an eye on, because the computer will give you a due date SEVEN MONTHS INTO THE FUTURE. even though you could return the books at any other branch! jackpot.

[scare-ard--sleigh]

ohhhhhhhhhh my goddddddddd and now the fucking t*ble t*nnis guy is passive aggressively up my ass : \

[lucalicatteart]

Poll adventure (paventure? lol) Day 13: read the small story tidbit below the poll for more details, OR just vote based on initial impression

(✦ see past poll results + further information HERE (link) ✦)

Yesterday's poll decided that The Adventurer should just start crying whilst being robbed in the abandoned barn ...

~

(----- tw for mild violence (he gets into sort of a fight) until after the next orange text section in parentheses -----)

Not sure what else to even do, The Adventurer simply collapses into a ball on the floor and starts sobbing, screaming, and rolling about. The hooded figure pauses in confusion at first, but.. apparently is not very sympathetic to his plight.

They rush over, grappling with him as he cries, fighting to pry the backpack out of his hands. The Adventurer continues screeching frantically, and during some of his flailing accidentally swings his arm up, elbowing the hooded figure in the face. They let out an exasperated sigh, knocking him against the wall then firmly yanking him up by the hair, securing their arm around his throat to restrain him as they grab for the backpack. He kicks a few times, struggling, clawing at the hooded figure's arms, but just isn't strong enough to free himself.. There's a thwack and a sudden sharpness in the side of his head, the backpack pulling away from his shoulders, cold ground, and then… nothing at all..…

(------------------- mild violence tw over -----------------) ...............

The Adventurer slowly opens his eyes to a quiet foggy morning.. Tiny particles in the dusty barn air gently flutter to and fro, dancing around in the streams of early sunlight trickling through the slight crack of the front doors. With a groan, he rolls over, suddenly feeling every ache in his body. His head, his wrist, his leg injury from crashing the raft.. He spends a while just laying on his back, watching the dust and gazing hopelessly at the moldy boards of the roof, mustering the strength to sit upright… What can he even do next? He's failed.. His first EVER actual quest of his adventuring career, and he can't even keep a stupid egg safe for more than a few days! What type of adventurer is that?? Maybe he should just give up.. Go back home and do nothing with his life, just as he was meant to... He sighs, turning back onto his side and curling into a ball to sulk even more dramatically. The cat trots over to him to interrupt his swirling thoughts, pawing at his face, then directing him towards a small stack of hay in the corner where... there it is! His backpack!! He scrambles over, immediately digging through to check for his belongings.. To his surprise, everything it still in it's place. His food, his money, all of the cool shiny rocks he's collected so far.. And tucked away in the very bottom, the Mysterious Egg box remains, completely undamaged.. somehow with the egg still inside! And... a note? He shakily unfolds a crisp sheet of pale yellow paper dotted with a few scribbly letters: "I took care of her for you. Be more careful next time. Just get where you have to go."

Well...... He supposes that if there's apparently going to be weirdos following him around anyway, maybe he's lucky at least one of them seems nice. Better than trying to ROB him, at least.. Even if it is a bit creepy. He realizes now that his injuries have been bandaged as well, and that when he woke up, he was wrapped in a blanket, and.. where is the hooded figure? What does the stranger mean that they "took care" of her?? He turns to the cat for answers, as if they'd be able to clear up his confusions, but they simply make a "mrrp!" noise and stare blankly in response. Figuring that it's all far too much to think about first thing in the morning (especially with the headache that he has), he just decides to be thankful he at least still has the egg, and thus can continue on his grand adventure!! He will NOT let himself fail again! Sore and limping but full of renewed motivation, he leaps up (at least as best he can) and continues back onto the road. After walking only a few hours, he comes to a clearing at the top of a large hill, overlooking the next stop on his journey (then double checks the map just to make sure it actually IS the next stop). This is a much bigger area than the previous villages he's been to, possibly large enough to even count as a small city. With a wider variation of shops and attractions available to him than usual, he wonders if he should just take a break and relax the rest of the day.

He's too tired to walk much today anyway, soo.. maybe it'd be good for him to spend some time in a safe public space, doing something to help take his mind off of this morning's drama… But, what should he do?

-

-

Additional Information

the adventurer's current main quest: follow his map to reach the abandoned castle ruins and see the rare animal specialist about the mysterious egg he has

[daisywords]

started rereading a book that I had mixed feelings about but have also thought about a lot since (and I do like to revisit works that had a particular resonance with me to try and figure out what that captivating something was) and anyway I did read this book the first time when I was probably too young for it (I think my mom was reading it for a book club and I saw it on her nightstand and read the blurb and she told me I probably should wait until I was older to read it) and I remember that sneaking into her room to read it in little snatches. Sitting on the floor of her bathroom in secret with that book. But ANYWAY what I'm trying to say is I remembered being vaguely annoyed with the narrator and I was wondering if that would still be the case reading it as an adult. And the answer is yes. I am finding her insufferable, in fact.

[wickedhawtwexler]

normal people: i'm taking a week of PTO to go on vacation :)

me: i'm taking a week of PTO to sit on my ass in my apartment and participate in nanowrimo :)

[fereldanwench]

so i only do one office day a week now, which is still one more than i would ideally like, but it's fine. whatever

but it astounds me that pre-pandemic, i used to go into the office, do the 6:30ish AM to 5:30ish PM schedule 4 days, sometimes 5 days a week, and still do things in the afternoons

and like, high-energy, social things. i used to work out 3x a week immediately after work. i used to fuckin stream on twitch 2x a week right after work, for like 2-3 hours at a time

there is no way in hell i could do that these days--I'm sooooo beat down after being in the office and dealing with commuting and coworkers and harsh lighting

i just wanna get in bed with my cats and rewatch a show I've seen a million times and pass out

[justabunchofdragons]

also the feeling of winning a politically based argument with my dad is soooo fucking good