#i made a lot of mistakes with this one uggghhh

[rabbit-of-the-sun]

Trying to recreate the ROs from various ParrotWatcher games in Picrew, day 2 feat. ﾌﾞﾝﾎﾞﾍﾞﾎﾞﾎﾞﾝﾎﾞﾌﾒｰｶｰ（みかん）

In order: Totem Force ROs (Kay -> Sammy -> Anara -> Chi -> Ryu -> Akira -> Phil -> Lani -> Mirabelle)

Unearth your Gays ROs (Aiden -> Toby -> Lan -> Seth)

Lovecraft Academy ROs (Veera -> Fothy -> Robin -> Will -> Jasper -> Bignell)

The One Chosen ROs (Ædmund -> Helena -> Teri -> Charlie -> Max -> Xiulan -> Dahlia -> Kevin)

[fizzingwizard]

I am sick!! Surprising no one.

Happy thing today - I discovered a new brand of iced milk tea in the vending machine outside my apartment. It costs only 100 yen (a lot of drinks that used to be 100 yen have shot up to 110, 120, 130 this year) and it's a normal amount of drink inside. With milk tea it's often too sweet for me, but this one is really nice! Just lightly sweet and very fragrant. I bet it will taste great when it's heated up in fall too. Cheap, tasty, and nearby... yess I can be happy as long as it continues to be stocked, lol x'D coincidentally i watched a vid today where a person was on a business class JAL flight and ordered royal milk tea, the same kind that comes in a can in vending machines for 150 yen, only it cost 300 of course because you're drinking it on an airplane!! lmao

now work stuff!

It's been a pretty uggghhh September. I had a lot on my plate, and then I got bad news that my work partner, the only person on staff with me at the school over the past four years who didn't quit last spring, is going to quit in October. Not only is she going to quit, but the company doesn't have a replacement for her... I'm really upset, not with her for quitting, because if anything she's smarter than me for taking the plunge lol, but because I'm going to be left with just my 19-year-old newbie coworker and a random rotation of subs who aren't always even teachers themselves for some indefinite amount of time, with a class of 20 two and three year olds. And the company has been pretending the understaffing is a problem caused by so many people quitting at once - as if we hadn't been understaffed for years, and as if the reasons those employees chose to quit were nothing to do with how the company treated them... -.-'

So, to be honest, although I've said it in the past I've reached a point where it's more true when I say I really am job hunting again. It's a struggle, because no matter how bad things get here, I do genuinely enjoy working with very young children. I don't mind changing diapers and I don't mind tantrums and I've learned so much, I feel, about people in general from observing how different and how thoughtful my students are. I think it's a pretty sweet deal to work somewhere you can get constant hugs, play pretend, and celebrate holidays as part of your work. There are a lot of stressors as well, but they all go away when I see my kids.

But I'm so frustrated with the company. An entire staff quits (technically two requested transfers, a third was just transferred because reasons, and two stayed on as subs with the intention of quitting, one of whom has already done so - but everyone else besides me and my co-teacher genuinely quit) and their reaction is "they're a clique who did this on purpose to harm the company." Instead of "what did we do which drove away these hard-working, kind, experienced teachers who daily went above and beyond both for their students and for their coworkers?" Like. I'm not saying no mistakes were made by anyone. I just think it's ridiculous that the small mistakes that were made were treated so harshly, while little to no recognition, let alone help, was given for the very real issues we were handling. Everyone was a hard worker who I relied on and enjoyed working with. I'm not a slacker. But many of my coworkers worked even harder than me. And the company just did nothing to try to keep them. Also, that one teacher I mentioned who was transferred for mysterious "reasons" - I'm really bitter about that now because obviously we needed her here! If she wasn't against leaving, why did they make her?? She was transferred nearby (to a school that did also have some staffing issues but nowhere near as bad as ours) and is often at our school anyway filling in because there are no subs :) So dumb.

I'm especially concerned about my co-teacher quitting because as I said, my other co-teacher is only 19. She's great, but she can't help that she's young and new. And not only do I have a large class of 20 mostly still two-year-olds, but I have several emotionally challenging ones who need a lot of one-on-one attention. It's not just about how tiring it is, it's also about safety. If I'm the only experienced teacher, and I have to rely on my newbie co-teacher and some random third person who doesn't know the routine or the kids, that opens the door to so many problems. I'm the one who knows how to handle those emotionally-challenging kids. (Side note: at the start of the year I was told that my class was getting most of the challenging kids because my co-teacher has some kind of specific child development certification that made her the best choice of teacher for them. But... she is quitting... so... lol) But then I can't lead the rest of the class when they're having meltdowns. My co-teacher will have to do that. While she is doing very well, she hasn't found her teacher voice yet. She also doesn't know how to anticipate what kids will do unexpectedly. And she'll be supported by some random person... I don't like it at all. And I feel anything that happens, I will be blamed for. Like, even if I'm not blamed directly, there's a difference between not being directly blamed and getting glowing feedback in your file. The other two-threes class has also been through ups and downs and has as many kids as we do. But at least two of three teachers are experienced and the one new one has been with us almost since the beginning of he school year and isn't fresh out of high school. I just feel afraid my class will fall short and despite the challenges we faced we'll still be compared.

Anyway. Like I said, I'm pretty decided to quit, even though I'm not happy about it. The question is what to do next. Of course I'd love to stay in pre-K. But if I'm quitting anyway, it would be nice to work somewhere I can make more money. I don't know where that would be. It probably won't be education. I feel really at sea right now. I never wanted an office job, I never wanted to work for money, and I'm afraid I'll just hate it. But on the other hand, I do need money. I have savings but not a lot. And my job here is physically demanding to the point that I'm so exhausted every day. I don't get to sit down. For eight hours I'm chasing kids, squatting, lifting, running up and down stairs, carrying baskets, scrubbing floors, setting up and breaking down tables... It gets to be a lot doing it every day, although it's put me in better shape than I was even in college, lol. But I wouldn't mind a break :P and maybe just go to the gym like a normal person, lol.

So I'm looking around but I honestly don't really know what I'm gonna find, if anything, that will suit me and I'll suit it. And I'm not unrealistic about salary either - I'm not expecting to make a ton more than I do now. Just idk, more. We'll see I guess. I really don't want to leave Japan. My options here are limited as a foreigner (if I knew IT or something I'd be a little better off) but my fingers are crossed I'll somehow find a job that pays at least a little higher than what I get now.

Since I'm feeling pretty firm about quitting at the end of my contract, I'm seizing the last of my PTO to take my first trip home since before covid. Haven't bought the tickets yet though. That's gonna hurt ;___; not just the money but last time I looked I couldn't find flights that would get me home in less than 30+ hours... sigh. Fingers crossed there too buhahahha

[thiswasinevitableid]

43, Indruck please. Just finished your wonderful knight au, and I'm low on Indruck content for my lonely heart ❤️

Thank you! I’m so glad you liked that AU.

I got a second request “Indruck with 43 could be quite entertaining, especially if it was Indrid who had one too many nogs” so off we go.

#43 Are you drunk?

“Are you drunk?” Duck stands in the doorway of the Winnebago, trying to make sense of the sight in front of him: Indrid, robe open to reveal tank top and pajama pants, looking even more a mess than usual and swaying worryingly from side to side. The trailer smells like alcohol and…nutmeg?

“Noooo. C’min, you were almost late for our date.” He pulls Duck into the sweltering space, nearly face plants on the floor when his foot connects with a stray snow-boot. It’s alarming enough that Duck almost misses the fact he called their twice-weekly visit a date.

“Indrid, it smells like a bar in here. What the hell have you been doin’? You’re not even supposed to have alcohol in the campgrounds.”

“M’not drunk. Just had some eggnog. Have some ‘s good.” He holds out a carton to Duck, who takes it and reads the label aloud.

“Tennessee Moonshine Nog: 90 proof. Banned in Sweden, Australia, and the UK. Holy shit, how much of this did you drink?”

“That many.” Indrid points to four large cartons tossed in the general direction of the trash.

“Oh fuck.”

“Got ‘em online cause the stores stopped stocking nog last month. Got enough to last me until October.”

Duck makes a mental note to come back with a larger truck and a permit to dispose of hazardous waste some time tomorrow, since there’s no way in hell he’s leaving Indrid alone like this. He swipes the carton that Indrid is drinking, empties it into the sink.

“What was that for?” Indrid pouts, hiccups.

“Indrid, it’s a goddamn miracle you don’t have alcohol poisonin’. Probably because of you bein’ a Sylph, who knows. Anyway, you should-”

“Sylph! You’re a genius.” Indrid whips off his glasses and the springs in the couch break under the weight of his Sylph form.

“This’ll give me a higher tolerance.” He stands, takes one step forward, wobbles. Face-plants on the floor, the entire trailer shaking as he does.

“Ouch.” He giggles, which turns into a full blown guffaw.

“Shit! You okay?”  Duck does his best to haul him up, but he’s limp and huge and too busy laughing to help Duck out. He grabs the discarded glasses, hands them to Indrid.

“Don’t wanna, like being a moth.”

“You can’t just go all mothman like that. Remember what happened last time?”

“Hehe, yeah, Aubrey killed a man.”

“No, she didn’t, never mind. Put them on so I can get you to bed and tuck you in.”

“OOOH, okay.” He slips the glasses back on and Duck is finally able to guide him into the bedroom. Indrid half falls, half rolls onto the bed. Duck searches for somewhere other than the mattress to sit, until Indrid makes a whining noise to get his attention.

“Want ranger cuddles.”

“Uh, okay.” He scooches onto the bed and Indrid wraps around him, chirping and hiccuping happily.

This is fine. He’s just helping a friend who’s gonna have a hell of morning and night ahead of him. He’s not noticing how safe, how happy he feels with the other mans arms around him. Not remembering the many times over the last weeks he’s daydreamed about this.

“Psst, Duck. Duck.” Indrid nudges his cheek with his nose until he turns to look at him.

“Wanna know some futures?”

“Sure, are they bad ones or-”

“Dani’s gonna spend two hours deciding whether to ask Aubrey to dinner, Barclays gonna make lasagna, probably, he might make quiche, Ned is gonna fall asleep on the sofa, again, hehe, Billy’s gonna eat a bunch of postcards.”

“Are you just sayin’ things as you see them?”

“Uh huh.” His voices changes, dips lower than Duck is used to hearing, “wanna know what’s in your future?”

“Other’n keepin’ an eye on you?”

Indrid nuzzles his cheek again before kissing him, Duck letting out a surprised “mphm” before wrapping his arms around the skinnier mans’ waist. Indrid keeps kissing him and Duck wants to do this all night, but there’s one major problem.

“Indrid, hold up.” He cups his face, smiles at him gently, “I really, really, really wanna keep kissin’ you. But you’re so drunk I ain’t sure you know what you’re doin’.”

“Know exactly what I’m doing, ‘m kissing the guy I have a crush on, cause he’s cute and has pretty eyes and, and, uh…” Indrids’ eyelids droop before he shakes his head, trying to snap himself awake.

“I’ll make you a deal. You wait until tomorrow mornin’. If you still feel the same way, we can talk about it then.”

“‘An’ you’ll kiss me more?”

“We’ll see.” He kisses the top of Indrids head, feels his weight getting heavier until the Sylph is snoring, still cuddled up against him.

—————————————-

Indrid is in hell. He doesn’t even believe in hell, but he doesn’t have a better word to describe how his head and stomach feel.

He shuffles into the shower, which makes him feel marginally better, then into the kitchen.

Wait, where’s Duck?

Oh no, ohnoohnoohno, he scared him off last night. He remembers kissing him, remembers Duck telling him to wait. Oh dear, he’s gone and messed this all up.

The door creaks open and Duck walks in, holding a bag.

“Mornin’, sunshine.”

“Uggghhh.” Indrid shuts his eyes against the light from outside, only opens them once the door is closed and Duck is standing in front of him.

“Bagel sandwich and Gatorade. Ain’t a miracle cure but it made the hangovers I got before I got my powers a lot more bearable.”

“Thank you.” He takes the bag, looks at Duck meekly.

“I’m sorry about last night.”

“Made some…substance based mistakes myself in the past, so no judgement. But you gotta promise you’ll get rid of that nog. And not break any more campground rules.” He arches an eyebrow.

“Promise. I…I kissed you, didn’t I?”

Ducks expression goes soft and warm, a look that never fails to make Indrid melt inside.

“Yeah, you did, said you had a crush on me.”

“I do.” He whispers, stares at the floor, terrified of looking at the future to see what comes next.

Warm hands take his own, and as soon as he brings himself to look up Duck kisses him once, chaste as can be.

“How about that? Because I got a crush on you somethin’ fierce.” Another kiss, deeper and full of so much potential that Indrids’ knees go weak.

Indrid was wrong, he isn’t in hell. He’s in heaven.

[nicefandom]

Icon Tutorial

Gues who’s an idiot, yep me!

An anon asked me how I make icons and right after I posted the tutorial, I was going to edit the tags and I deleted it by mistake uggghhh. I’m so sorry anon, forgive me for my sins and stupidity. But here it is: 

I do Icons from scans I get from Minitokyo, One Piece Treasure Cruise and Zerochan. Make sure to use Official Art and not other people’s art work (like Zerochan, I add it because I have found some scans there, but don’t trust it at all, there’s a lot of reposts).

Open the scan on Photoshop and delete the background. Use the Polygon Lasso Tool or (in some cases) Quick Selection Tool. In this case I’ll delete the background from the part I’m gonna use:

Now, resize it on a new canvas. I always use a 150*150px.

Then, edit the scan. I use an action I made because I’m too lazy and decided to make one because I do the same adjustments to every image/scan I use. My action consists on:

Convert on a Smart Object

Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen (Amount: 300 or your choose, Radius: 0.3, Remove: Lens Blur)

Set the Smart Sharpen to Darken (using/click the lines next to Smart Sharpen in your layer [I circle them below ↓ ], and “Darken”)

Filter > Blur > Surface Blur (Radius: 4, Threshold: 4 or your choose)

Filter > Stylize > Diffuse > Select Anisotropic

Click once again the lines next to Diffuse and set the opcaity to 20% or 30%

Finnally, Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask (Amount: 30)

For the background, use a Solid Color (like I always do uggh) or a Gradient. And add a PSD. You can find a lot of PSD here on Tumblr or you can make your own: adding, curves, levels, gradient map, selective color, etc. In this case I used someone else’s PSD, but I won’t share it because I promised the owner that I wouldn’t. Sorry :/

I’ll TRY to use a Gradient and ofc, the PSD:

shit I like this one more than the others lmao. wtf.

Now save it as PNG. And that’s it!