#it is currently 4 in the morning here and i still have a ton of work to finish before i get to go to bed but like. oh my god

[astudyintheburningofhearts]

ah to be able to cry over your blorbos, what a wonderful life

[blissfullyecho]

My 2025 Skinny Routine

1. I’m cutting back on added sugar. My ultimate goal is to keep my added sugar below 20g or 30g weekly (I have a huge sweet tooth and can easily have this in a day). Added sugar is only found in processed foods and it makes you fat and age. But I’m not giving up on sweets entirely so I’ll limit my budget to 20-30g weekly.

2. Intermittent fasting at least 16:8 daily. Fasting is such a good way for your blood sugar to regulate, your gut to actually run smoothly, burns through carbs and sugars first to then burn fat (energy), etc.

3. Skinny dinners— no carbs at night unless it was on occasion. Carbs are important to give us fuel and energy. I don’t need energy and fuel before bed in a couple of hours.

4. I’m ditching dairy and having it on special occasions like if I ate out. But I won’t have dairy or anything containing dairy in my kitchen this year. I’ll enjoy it when I’m eating out.

5. Fasted cardio. So I live in LA and since moving here, I fell in love with hiking. My job allows me to work remote so I can go on a few hikes per week in the morning. Running is also one of my favs but I would like to be outside more this year.

6. Reformer pilates. I currently go to Pilates a solid 3x a week but I’m going to increase that to 4x a week. I spend almost $800 a month for my current membership (I have unlimited mat and reformer pilates) and would actually like to take advantage of what I’m paying for.

7. I’m going to start eating breakfasts again. I’ve noticed that when I don’t have breakfast, I make crazy decisions for lunch and dinner. I intermittent fast currently from 12p-6p but I’m thinking about changing it to 9a-3p.

8. You guys are going to gag but I spend almost $2k a month in food delivery. This includes tipping, and yes, I always tip and I tip 25% because I found out Uber only pays the drivers $2 per trip and drivers have to pay for their own gas. So yes, I’m tipping and I’m not going to cut down on tipping. But I am going to cut down on the amount of times I get food delivery because I get so bloated everytime I eat out. LA has really good healthy options but I still feel nauseous after I eat out vs. when I eat from home.

9. I’m going to start reaching for fruit way more than sweets. My problem is that I will buy a bunch of produce because it’s convenient for me when I’m feeling lazy, and then it sits in my fridge getting moldy because I want Tiramisu instead. I’m going to have to train myself to grab for fruit and let the tiramisu be a weekly treat and not a daily 9pm Uber Eats delivery (although I have been good because it’s holiday season and I cut back on the junk this time of year)

10. Scale back on the red meat. I have been eating steak almost every day and I am so lethargic afterwards. I’ve never really been a crazy meat eater but lately I’ve been eating filet or wagyu daily. I even had bacon wrapped scallops last night and I hate bacon. Like I said in my last skinny post, I eat a ton of protein around this time of year but the red meat is not making me feel too hot.

This is obviously subject to change but this is what I’ve been feeling lately. I don’t care for any messages that tell me this is triggering. What this is is healthy. Having 10 burgers a week because you’re “listening to your body” is not healthy and that’s not self-love or balance. That’s 10 freaking cheeseburgers lol.

Anyway, my book The Luxe Girl’s Playbook to Life that talks about going into 2025 an upgraded version of yourself will be unavailable in 2 days from this post (11/28/24). Get yourself yours today or miss out.

[aoi1dee]

OLNF Week Day 4: Stargazing

@olnfweek2024 a short fic is below...

Alexander didn’t know how late it was nor did he care. He is currently rummaging through the closet near the kitchen hoping that he could find the perfect blanket to lay down on without feeling the blades of grass underneath him. He didn’t want to feel uncomfortable tonight. His main focus tonight should be the gorgeous sky. 

Alex would never miss an opportunity like this. Ever since he moved here, he has noticed that Golden Grove has the best nighttime sky he has ever seen and luckily his backyard has an open space with no trees so it gives him the perfect view. He loves stargazing, whether it’s by himself, with his friends, or with his Ma. Just imagining what the world was like from beyond what he knew fascinated him. Tonight was the perfect night as well! No clouds, no rain, not too hot, not too cold, absolutely stunning. 

The only issue was, Alex had to get up super early for school tomorrow. Seriously, who thought it was a good idea to make high schoolers get up at 5 in the morning for school?! It is crazy to him that some people even get up earlier than 5… 

When he finally sees the blanket that he’s been dreaming of, he grabs the ends and begins to pull. It wasn’t budging. He would love to just continue to fight against it until it gave up, but then everything else in the closet which was holding it down will fall onto the ground and make tons of noise. He didn’t want to wake his Ma up… she also had stuff to do tomorrow. Plus she would force him to go back to bed if she saw him grabbing stuff to go outside at 11 at night. So instead of just tugging and pulling, he grabs some of the stuff on top of the blanket and pushes it out of the way while his other hand continues to pull at the blanket. And after about a minute of adjusting, moving everything around, and praying that nothing would fall, the blanket was finally in his arms and ready to be laid upon. 

A grin finds Alex’s face as he walks out the back door with the blanket in hand. He moves past some branches and finally makes it to the treeless paradise for stargazing. Alexander begins to unfold the blanket until his phone buzzes. 

A little voice in his brain was praying that it wasn’t his Ma telling him to come back inside and go to bed. He quickly lays the blanket out on the golden grass, sits on it, and pulls out his phone to read the notification…

Tamarack 11:12pm - I saw you out my window, what are you doing? 

Oh, it was Tamarack! He couldn’t help but giggle as he lays fully down onto the blanket,

Alex 11:13pm - The sky is super pretty tonight ima watch it!

Alex 11:13pm - Do you wanna join me? 

He wasn’t expecting her to, I mean it was late at night and they had school tomorrow! Plus it might not be cold for him, but it could be cold for her. 

Tamarack 11:14pm - Yes. I’ll be out in a second.

Seriously? Alex is surprised that Ms. Tamarack Baumann wants to go outside late without her Omi and Opa knowing. If this was 3 years ago, she’d be having a heart attack. But that made him think, should he invite Qiu as well? Is that even a question? He closes Tamarack’s contact and opens up Qiu’s which was right under hers. 

Alex 11:15pm - I’m in my backyard watching the sky do u wanna join me?

Before he could even start waiting for them to respond, someone plops down next to him. 

“Hi Alex.” Tamarack says as she lays her sparkly hair all around her. Her arm snakes around his as she cuddles up next to him, “I should’ve assumed that you’d be stargazing when I saw you walking out.” She chuckles. Them snuggling has become a normal thing ever since they admitted that they had feelings for each other about a year ago but it still doesn’t fail to make Alex feel all warm inside. 

“I couldn’t resist…” he places his phone on his chest and looks up at the night sky. Her hair sparkles beside him just like the stars that he adores. Which fits because Alexander adores her as well. 

“Did you invite Qiu?” She asks while looking at his phone. 

“Ah- I texted them. I don’t think I have gotten a response though” They were probably sleeping by now, it’s completely understandable. Qiu needs their beauty sleep. 

Suddenly, something slaps him in the face. He moves his hands around to find the source of the impact. When he removes the item it's a… chip bag? “Hey.” They smirk from above, “Thought we could use snacks.” They scoot into the other side of Alex and sneaks their arm underneath his back while leaning their head against his. Snuggling is also usual for them too because they had also admitted their feelings for each other. They know that he likes them both and they both know that they like him. They aren’t dating though… Qiu and Tam had explained to him that they wanted to work a couple things out before it became official. Alex had also explained to them that he could wait eternities for them so they could take as much time as they needed. He still doesn’t know why they both squeezed him until he couldn’t breath right after he said that though.

Tamarack grabs the chips from Alex’s hand and begins to open them, “Thanks!” She begins munching on them with a pleased smile on her face, “Ah-” She shoots up quickly and looks down at Qiu. 

They look back at her looking more confused than ever but it hits them, “Oh! I’m not wearing nail polish.” 

Alex sits slightly up and looks at them, “Is that on purpose?” What Qiu prefers to go by at any moment is extremely important, he doesn’t want to mess it up and make them uncomfortable. 

“Yes sir.” He twiddles his nails in front of both of their faces, “he/him pleaseeee” Alex laughs in response as Tamarack lays back down, smiling wider than before.

Tamarack places the bag onto Alex’s chest once again so all three of them could reach for it. She goes back snuggling up against him the way she did before. All of them look towards the sky which twinkles brightly through the dark sky. Different shades of cyan hide behind said stars giving a bit of definition and purpose to the night. That's what Alex really loves about this town. In any other city he’s lived in before, the sky always looked the same. But here, it's magnificent. And he is absolutely going to blame his two neighbors for making everything here so beautiful. It’s like they make Alex’s life more wonderful by just cuddling up next to him.

Even though it’s a school night and tonight is going to end much earlier than he wants because of that, he still wouldn’t want anything different than to be with the two loves of his life watching the sky above. Alexander hoped that he could stay with them like this for the rest of their lives.

(this one is a little short my apologies)

[apomaro-mellow]

Two in the Bush 5

Part 4

Eddie:

Doesn’t take care of his hair

Daddy issues

Hasn’t talked to dad in years

Billy:

Daddy issues

Never worked anywhere longer than a year

Anger issues

Doesn’t talk to sister

“I don’t get how we both have daddy issues but I have to reach out to my old man?”, Eddie groaned.

The two alphas had reconvened a few days later at the bar Billy worked at. It was 11 am, so it was basically empty. Eddie sat at the bar while Billy cleaned some glasses.

“Well, did your old man ever beat you black and blue?”, Billy asked.

“No, just made me help him steal cars”, Eddie answered. “Still a shitty guy though. He’s locked up not too far from here.”

“Then bleeding heart Stevie probably wants you to reconcile with the guy.” 

Eddie groaned and dropped his head onto the bar. “He smelled good, didn’t he?”, he said, voice muffled.

“He smelled like mine”, Billy said.

That got Eddie to look up. “He smelled like mine.”

They glared at each other and were at a stalemate for a long moment. Another alpha was trying to move in on their omega. Their pregnant omega. 

“What happens when we find out it’s mine?”, Billy asked. “Are you gonna bow out or are we gonna fight about it?”

“I’m not letting Steve go”, Eddie said. “Even if that pup’s not mine. What about you? You really just gonna leave him alone if the pup’s not yours?”

Billy didn’t like entertaining the thought that it might not be his. He wasn’t like, super gone on Steve or anything, but he hadn’t finished having fun with him yet. And there was no reason for an incoming baby to get in the way of that, he thought.

“It’s mine”, was all Billy said.

“Yeah, well, that’s neither here nor there. Steve made it clear. Work on ourselves or be banished from his loins for good. And contacting our estranged families seems like a good place to start.”

Steve had gone about a month without hearing anything from either alpha. Part of him was a little disappointed. But mostly this was what he had expected. It was hard to change and he didn’t think himself or his pup important enough to get them to do so. He didn’t need some half-assed help from some alpha. He had Robin to rub his back through his morning sickness. 

He was currently lounging on the couch, feeling his belly. He couldn’t actually tell if he was showing yet or if that was just the crap ton of pasta he’d just eaten. He’s going to believe it’s his baby for now.

“It’s you, me, and Auntie Robin my lil jellybean”, he giggled to himself. 

And that was when the doorbell rang. He got up and to his surprise, there was Billy and Steve. They both looked incredibly proud of themselves.

“Boom!”, Eddie held up a polaroid of himself sitting at a table with a man who looked a lot like him on the other side. “I’ve been visiting my dad in prison once a week.”

“And?”, Steve asked.

“He’s been working on his GED, actually”, Eddie said, stuffing the photo into his pocket. “He even apologized when he first saw me. For a lot of stuff.”

“And why are you here?”, Steve pointed the question to Billy.

“I took the photo.” He glared at Eddie when the other man nudged him without a hint of subtlety. “And uh, here”, he took out his own picture. In it, he and a young woman stared at the camera. Well, glowered was more like it. They didn’t look alike at all except for the identical scowls on their faces. 

“Is that your stepsister?”, Steve asked.

“Yeah”, Billy said. “I tracked her down and found out she’s not too far from here. And that she’s kinda badass.”

Steve was taken aback. “You two…you’re really working on that list?”

“It’s for the pup”, Billy said.

“And you were right about the stuff on the list”, Eddie said. “I’m glad I gave my dad a chance. Feels better already than just remembering him as some asshole who never cared about me.”

“Max was surprisingly easy to talk to”, Billy admitted. “I thought she’d want nothing to do with me since our childhood, but she was like, almost happy to hear from me.”

Steve snickered. “You both looked miserable though.”

“Because this clown cracked some lame joke trying to get us to smile for the camera”, Billy shoved Eddie, almost knocking the other guy off of Steve’s porch.

Steve didn’t want to get his hopes up that he had two whole men willing to turn their lives around just for him. But his hormones didn’t get the message and tears began to prick his eyes. He sniffed, trying to hold them back and he appreciated neither of them pointing it out.

“Okay”, he nodded. “Okay. Um, do you guys wanna come in? Robin will be back soon and we’re gonna plan the shower.”

The way they clambered inside was like seeing two excited little puppies and Steve had the dawning realization that he didn’t want to lose either of them. But this pup only had one father. And he knew he couldn’t ask the other to hang around and help raise a child that wasn’t his. But for now, as the four of them (five really) sat around the kitchen and figured out the baby shower, he could dream.

Part 6

[infinitestarsdev]

Devlog 2024-02-09 (Episode 4 - Part 1 is out NOW!)

It's Friday! And this is a special Friday because it's a RELEASE Friday!

That's right! Episode 4 - Part 1 is now live!

Update Edit: It's also a sad day for my family. I lost someone dear to me this morning, someone even dearer to my loved ones, and my heart is aching with them for our loss. I wish things weren't the way they are. I wish I could do more to ease their suffering.

Project Details:

167,666 words in total. (That's roughly the same length as the first two Harry Potter novels combined)

825 possible choices.

Patrons can get their version over here (win|mac|lin) or here (android), and everyone else can get the full game on Steam or Itchio!

Episode 4 - Part 1 continues the story after the dramatic conclusion from Episode 3.

It introduces several new characters, several new and redrawn backgrounds, several new portraits, several new music tracks, an overhauled story controller, a new free-roam mechanic, a new star system navigation interface, a lore gallery with unlockable entries, a system for players to load custom-made stories written by other players into the game, a seasonal event (Spooktober Heist), and nearly 40K additional words of content (some being intimate content for Kiaria, Lochem and Khalil).

It also includes two very special player portraits! Thanks to the amazing ladies from Wanderlust Games, you can now play your Mah'Abeu as a younger version of Damon or Ayame from Andromeda Six! (Seriously, if you're hearing about Andromeda Six for the first time– You're about to fall in love. Go check them out and support them if your wallet allows!)

We've been working extremely hard to bring this release to you, and while we've added a ton of new things, we would have loved to add more. Sadly, we had to draw a line in the sand and release what was available.

Some of the things that we could add before the deadline that were requested by our beta testers:

MC is more knowledgeable about the Cephilusk.

Added a location hint during free-roam sequences.

Made Kiaria more Kiaria when dealing with current events.

Your Mah'Abue now crafts the notice being sent to the crew.

Several more personality options (with more on their way)

Most free-roam scenes now have the crew members touching on or hinting at the current situation.

Fixed some logic bugs with Sonia's scene.

Adjusted Andreas' scene with an additional choice if he becomes too much.

Added some additional logic and checks to the response you can give when the crew/your LI asks about how you are coping. (Might still expand on this.)

Your Mah'Abue now has more control over how they handle Nikau.

Added Lindi's music track.

An additional intimate scene for Khalil

Some of the things that we couldn't add before the deadline that will be added very soon. (over the next week or three):

Implementing some more of the Beta Tester feedback requests.

The start of Tabitha's character arc.

A free-roam scene for Lebeny, along with an additional intimate scene.

Adding a semi-intimate, more risque scene with Matthias.

Adding additional character expressions to some of the free-roam content.

Additional music tracks where there is only silence.

Missing Lore Descriptions, replacing the WiP notice with actual content.

The new trailer for Episode 4.

Some of the things that we couldn't add before the deadline that will be added down the line. (more than a month from now)

Additional backgrounds and characters.

Continuing Episode 4, including the much-anticipated Matthias Elevator scene.

Additional Lore items to unlock.

More free-roam content, more character content (Reyna and more), more intimate scenes.

Character relationship arcs (and intimate scenes) for Raymond, Matthias, Veera and Tabitha as a prioity.

Character relationship arcs (and intimate scenes) for Cephilusk, Andreas and TBD a little further down the road.

As always, despite the hours and hours and heaps of financial resources poured into the project, Infinite Stars is still entirely free! If you like what we are doing and can afford to show your support, please consider joining one of our paid Patreon tiers!

Infinite Stars wouldn't be nearly as cool as it is without the support of our amazing Patrons who believe in us!

If you can't afford to support us, that's cool. We still love you, and having you enjoy our game fills our hearts with joy! If you like the game, share it with your friends or give us a positive review to help with the visibility algorithms.

Have a peaceful weekend, enjoy the release, and go hug one of your loved ones!

[slylock-syl]

Hey Syllll! Long time, no chat! I just wanted to get this off my chest before i go ham trying to figure out what i wanna commission from you soon.

I have been reading Undersource for years now, and i think we've both come a long way since then! God, that feels weird to say, i'm not even old enough to drink yet lmao. But! I am old enough to spend my money responsibly now, which is nuts given that my responsible spending is now aimed at getting art of my blorbos LOL.

You've grown as an artist so much since i first started reading- i think that was around... the pirate arc? Not sure! But i do remember the early days of me having discord, during the EKD server category era. But anyways, i know the way you drew our favorite skeletons was different back then, and it's all gotten so much smoother in that time. You're also (at least seemingly) taking way better care of yourself! You've set boundaries, you've set more time for yourself and not the blog, and you're still happily chugging along, after all these years. Not to mention you're working on this side story now, which i'm fairly certain you've been looking forward to for a while.

How's that sleeping though? Do you still have the sleep cycle of an austalian? Can't say i'm any better, im slowly becoming nocturnal again lol. Some things NEVER change.

Anyways. All this to say: im really proud to have been part of this little community for so long. To see the comic and its artist come so far. Even if im not a diehard fan anymore, im glad i can still take a little time every weekend to realize "OH, U/S shoulda updated!" and run over here. Thanks for giving me a good starting point of community on this god damned hellsite.

(Here's to sleepy 5 am "you're great" asks LMAO)

sjksdhLKSDJFHG THIS IS SUCH A SWEET MESSAGE OMG-

Hi Azzy! :D I'm glad you still like my work even after all this time! Thank you for sticking around! :D

I have been taking better care of myself these days! I'm (only sometimes begrudgingly XD) going on daily walks (Pikmin Bloom is really helping with that, I love Pikmin they're so cute), and made some new friends! When I first started this blog I was convinced I had to constantly/frequently produce content, and I time went on I slowly realized that wasn't really viable, so I slowly trimmed down the workloads for better manageability, I'd say it's helped a lot! Even if it may not look like it sometimes XD

There was a point before I adjusted my work schedule where I figured out that I may have been riding a creative burnout for a long while, as when I looked back it felt like my work had begun to visually stagnate. I think at the time I was cramming working on the comic update across only 3 or 4 days (Wednesday/Thursday to Saturday mornings, sometimes down to the wire), with several hours of just constant work (plus any distractions and 3 daily asks) because I was procrastinating so badly X'D I'm still recovering from the visual stagnation, but I'm definitely trying to experiment where I can! I may not be the best at it but I hope I'm improving at least ksjdghLSDGH My current schedule is MUCH more spaced out and much more manageable, spanning Sunday to Friday and broken down into stages for each day, and Saturdays are my designated day off~

As for the side story, it's one I've had around for quite a while and have been excited to finally show off! There were a few people who were interested in it when it was first teased, though I've no idea if they're still around, if they are I hope they're enjoying the story so far as well! 💜

Oddly enough my sleep schedule is no longer on Cthulhu Standard Time SKSDJGHDLG We had a TON of construction going on in the house the past few months and it was way too awkward to sleep with a bunch of strangers either being in or near my room, as well as making a LOT of noise sjkdhgLKSDJG There was a brief section of time where I'd actually go to bed at a "normal" time and get up at like, 9 or 10 am X'D Though it's slowly sneaking it's way into afternoons to 3 or 4 AM after I feed the kitties, kinda like my old college schedule XD

Thank you again for liking my work and sticking around! I really appreciate it!! :D

I may not be anywhere near whatever my "peak" was a few years ago, but I'm still happy to keep going for those who still come around! 💜

[mamaestapa]

We Need to Talk…

•pairing: Joe Burrow x reader

•series summary: Y/n Hubbard, the younger sister of Cincinnati Bengals Defensive End Sam Hubbard, finds herself in a difficult situation after a steamy hookup with her brothers best friend, who just so happens to be the quarterback for the Bengals. In just nine months their lives will be changed forever. How will Y/n and Joe manage to to go through parenthood together? more so, how will Sam take the news he is going to be the uncle of his best friends baby?

•chapter summary: The time comes for you to tell Joe some of the most life-changing news he’ll ever receive. However, his reaction isn’t exactly what you were hoping for

•word count: 3.6k

•warnings: Pregnancy, morning sickness, vomiting, crying, mood swings, arguing, angst

series masterlist

——————————————————

January 25, 2023

4 weeks pregnant

You pulled into the parking lot of Kettering Health, yawning loudly and tiredly. You were currently having some major caffeine withdrawals. Since you found out you were pregnant, you have stopped drinking coffee. Even though you are able to have as much decaf as you want, you haven't been drinking any coffee due to the fact that it makes you nauseous anytime you're near it. After turning off your car, you reached over to the passenger seat and grabbed your bag. You reached into the bag and pulled out your favorite chapstick. For some reason, this pregnancy is making your lips and skin extremely dry. After putting the chapstick on your chapped, cracked lips, you fluffed your softly curled hair and stepped out of the car. As you made your way into the practice facility, you were greeted by Tee.

"Mornin' Y/n."

You smiled, happy that Tee was the first person you saw upon entering the building, "Hey Tee! How's it going?"

"Pretty good," he shrugged, "nerves are a just lil high around here though."

"Oh I bet. Film this morning?" you asked, already knowing the answer.

He nodded, "Yup, that's where I'm headed now. We'll be watching film all morning," he sighed, "gotta make sure we're prepared for our matchup against the Chiefs."

The Bengals beat the Ravens 24-17 in the wildcard round, moving them on to a snowy divisional round. Joe and the Bengals battled against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, and let's just say, the Bengals came to PLAY. The guys defeated Allen and the rest of the Buffalo crew 27-10. This upcoming Sunday, they'll play the Kansas City Chiefs for the second year in a row for the AFC conference title. If they win, the Cincinnati Bengals will head to Super Bowl 57.

"It won't be easy, but I have faith that you guys can pull out a win." You said with a warm smile.

Tee nodded, "For sure. It's not the defense stopping us that I'm worried about...it's their offense with Mahomes and Kelce," he whistled, "they're one hell of a scoring duo."

You chuckled, "It won't be easy, but think about it. You guys have outscored them before, multiple times at that. I truly believe one that you guys will beat them again."

Tee let out a breath and shook his head, "Shit, I hope so. You comin' to the game?"

You shrugged, stopping at your office door with Tee, "I'm not sure yet. Zac still has to let Kate and I know which one of us is going. I'm hoping it'll be me."

Tee chuckled, "Fingers crossed it's you. we need our good luck charm there."

"Awe, thanks Tee." you smiled, laughing softly.

"Of course. See you out at practice, Y/n."

You waved as he started to walk away, "Bye Tee, good luck with film." He let out a scoff in response, "Thanks, I need it."

As Tee walked down the hall, you shut your door and walked over to your desk. You sat down in the office chair and pulled out my MacBook. For the past couple days, your workload has been fairly small since the season is coming to an end. Normally, when you didn't have a ton of work to do, you would walk around the practice facility and talk with some of guys. However, this season is different. Well, at least now it's different. You have been avoiding talking to the guys the past few days--for good reason too. You're trying to avoid Joe as much as possible. You're still trying to think about how to tell Joe that you're pregnant with his baby. You knew it was going to be hard, but you never expected it to be this hard. As you were typing away on your MacBook, your mouth began to water and your stomach started to churn. You looked at the time: 10:15.

You sighed and got out of your chair. As soon as you were in the hallway of your office, you took off running to the nearest bathroom. Every day around this time, morning sickness hits you the hardest. Your morning sickness was only bad when you first woke up, and then again around 10. You were thankful it wasn't an all day thing like some women experience. You emptied your stomach contents until you swore there was nothing left in there. After flushing the toilet, you wiped your mouth and let out a sigh. Morning sickness was no fun. You walked over to the sinks and washed your hands, grabbing a paper towel in the process and getting it wet so you could wipe the corners of your mouth. You turned the water off and fixed your hair before wiping your hands on your jeans. You made your way out of the bathroom, looking at your shoes as you walked down the hall. Suddenly, you were on the floor.

Hmph.

"Oh my god, Y/n!" a familiar voice said in shock, "I'm so sorry."

You looked and saw Joe standing there, observing you with a concerned look on his face. He held his hand out for you to grab. As soon as you grabbed his hand, he carefully pulled you up from the ground. Your free hand instinctively went to your stomach, protecting the baby in your womb. Joe held onto your hand, a slight blush on both of your cheeks as you looked into each others soft eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked, furrowing his brows in a concerned manner.

You smiled, "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that."

"Don't be sorry, I should be the one apologizing." You nodded in response, "Okay. Well, I uh, I should get going. Bye Joe." you said quickly as you hurried off down the hall.

"Okay..?" Joe trailed off in confusion, watching as you hurried away from him. Joe stood still, his shoulders falling with a sigh as a slight frown appeared on his face.

Closing your office door, you immediately stood against it and let out a shaky sigh. That was a close one. You thought to yourself. You began to breathe heavily and before you knew it, you broke down crying. You've been doing a lot of that lately. You have been extremely overwhelmed, plus all of the added pregnancy hormones don't help. As you choked out a sob, you heard a knock at the door. Trying to control your breathing, you sat back down in your chair.

"Come in!" you wavered out, hiccuping as you wiped away tears from your cheeks. The door opened and a worried Zac Taylor walked in, holding a cup of coffee. Bless his heart. He placed the coffee cup on the small table that sat in your room. He grabbed a chair and pulled it up to your desk so he could sit for a moment.

"Y/n, are you crying?" he asked, voice extremely soft.

You looked up at him with bloodshot eyes. "No?" you said softly, wiping your nose that was dripping with snot. His face softened from his usual hard gaze, "Oh, Y/n..."

You choked out another sob, falling into Zac's arms. He instantly wrapped them around your body and gently cradled your head. "Shhh," he soothed, "you're okay..you're okay." he repeated, over and over, letting you get all of your pent up emotions out. As much as you were thankful to have someone comforting you at the moment, you had slightly wished it was Joe consoling you instead. Zac gently stroked your shoulder as your gut wrenching sobs turned into the occasional sniffle. Zac gently pulled your head up, frowning as his eyes scanned your red face. "Now," he sighed, "what's got you so worked up? Did I give you too much work? If I did, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

You shook your head, sniffing as you wiped your eyes. "N-no, It's not from you." you croaked out, clearing your phlegmy throat and taking a deep breath. You sat up straight and looked over at Zac. He reached out and put a hand on your shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly.

"I um," you said hesitantly, "I'm going to tell you something, and when you find out, I need you to not say anything to anyone."

He nodded, "Of course, hun. Shoot."

"I've only told a couple friends, and now you. So you need to promise me, that you won't say anything, please?" You pleaded, tears pricking your eyes once again.

Zac took your pinky finger in his, "Pinky promise. You can't break one of those, yeah?"

You laughed softly at his response. Zac really does have a soft and joking side to him when he isn't on the field. You heaved a sigh once more, "A couple days ago, I.." you began, gulping nervously before continuing, "I found out that I'm pregnant."

Zac's eyes widened and a small smile appeared on his face, "Y/n...congratulations."

You smiled tightly, tears brimming your eyes, "Thank you."

"So, is this, is this good news or bad news?" he asked, brows furrowed.

"It's, it's good, I think? I'm just so terrified. I don't even know how I'm supposed to tell the father. Hell, I don't even know how I'm supposed to be a mom yet. I mean, my schedule is so busy, and, and the baby daddy's schedule is just the same as mine, so that-."

Your heart dropped to your stomach as you realized. Oh no...I have said WAY too much.

"Hold on, his schedule is the same as yours?" Zac questioned.

You gulped nervously, knowing he was catching on, "Please don't say anything." Your eyes giving away the answer to his question. He nodded and placed a hand over yours that sat on on your thigh. "I won't, I promise," he sighed, "but you need to tell him, Y/n. He deserves to know about his kid."

You nodded, "I know, I know he does. I just don't know when to tell him...or how to tell him," you said, voice coming out as a whisper. Your lip began to tremble again as emotions flooded over you as you told Zac about everything. He pulled you into a tight embrace and kissed the top of your head. It was a comforting, but friendly gesture. After a good ten minutes of silence, except for a couple sniffles from you and whispers of sweet nothings from Zac, you took a few deep breaths to compose myself and you pulled away from his embrace.

"Thank you, Zac."

He smiled, "Of course, kiddo. Hey, if he decides he doesn't want to be in this kids life, you let me know, and I'll have a good, long talk with him."

You couldn't hold back your giggle, "Okay."

"And Y/n?" Zac said softly.

You looked up at him, "Yeah?"

"No matter what happens, just know you have a whole group behind you, supporting and loving you and the baby every step of the way."

You smiled, standing up so you could hug Zac. Your arms wrapped around his neck as he hugged you back, tightly. "Thank you so much. This truly means so much to me." you whispered into his shoulder. You felt him nod as he pulled back and smiled, "Of course. If you ever need to talk, or if you need anything at all, don't hesitate to ask. The guys and I will gladly help."

You smiled warmly, "Thank you. I seriously don't know what I would do if I didn't have the teams support."

Zac chuckled, "You and me both. Is there anything I can do for you right now?"

"Hmm..." you trailed off, thinking about anything Zac may be able to help you with. Suddenly it hit you, "Oh! If it's not too much to ask, could I come to the game Sunday? Even if I'm not the media manager on duty?"

"Yeah, of course!" he nodded, "it wouldn't be the same without you there. Are you sure you can fly though?"

You nodded, "Yeah, I think so? Women fly during their first trimester all the time."

"OK. As long as you feel safe flying, that's fine with me then," he paused, glancing at his watch "Ah shoot, I have to go catch up on some film with Joe right now. I'll see you later Ms. Hubbard."

Your breath hitched at the mention of Joe. Your face fell, but you covered it with a smile, "See you later. Thank you again, Zac. I really appreciate it."

He nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. "It's no problem at all." he went to walk out the door, but stopped in the doorway. "oh, and Y/n. Congratulations, again. You're going to make an amazing mother."

You couldn't help but tear up at his words. He shut the door behind him, leaving you alone in your office. You shook away all the emotions with a deep breath. You leaned back in your chair and placed a hand on your tummy, greeting your unborn baby while you typed away on your computer with your other hand.

~Time skip~

You walked down to the team cafeteria to get yourself some lunch. You kept it light incase your morning sickness acted up again. You got a chef salad, an apple, and a bottle of water. As you were paying for your food, you heard the commotion of the guys coming into the cafeteria. You contemplated on where to eat lunch at. The cafeteria or my office. As you thanked the cashier, you made eye contact with Ja'Marr. He swallowed whatever he was chewing before he greeted you, "Hey, y/n! Come sit."

You smiled, making your way over to Ja'Marr and sitting down across from him.

"Hey, Ja'Marr," you smiled, "how was morning workouts?"

He shrugged, "Eh, not too bad. I think film was worse though. Watching that and listening to Taylor yell at us is torture."

You chuckled and took a sip of your water, letting out a soft Ah before you spoke, "Sounds like torture."

Ja'Marr took a bite of his sandwich. "So, are you coming to the game Sunday?"

You nodded, "Yep." Ja,Marr smiled, "Great! Wanna rep my number?" he asked with a wink.

You let out a laugh, "I don't know. I already promised Tee I would rep his."

"Hey, there's two halves, do a jersey a half." he suggested, laughing lightly.

You smiled, taking a bite of your salad after you replied. "That's not a bad idea, maybe I'll do that."

Ja'Marr chuckled and went back to eating. As you ate your lunch, you saw someone sit down next to you out of the corner of your eye. You looked over and saw that it was Joe. You shifted nervously in your seat as Sam sat down right after Joe did.

Joe smiled, "Hey 'Marr, Y/n."

"Hi." you said quickly, averting your eyes away from him.

Joe turned to you. You could feel his blue eyes boring into you, "Y/n, I didn't see you out on the field today, what were you doing?"

You scoffed, "Does it matter? I was busy. You winced slightly as you noticed your tone was a bit snippy. You didn't mean for the words to come out that harshly, it's just your hormones are making you have terrible mood swings. Oh the joys of pregnancy.

Sam turned to you, giving you an odd look in response to your snippy remark, "It's fine, Y/n. He was just asking."

Before you could say anything that you might regret later, you decided to leave. "I gotta go. See you guys later." You said, getting up from the table and throwing away the rest of your food. You hurried out of the cafeteria and made your way back to your office. The guys at the table all watched as you rushed out of the cafeteria. Ja'Marr and Sam both looked at Joe.

"Bro, what did you do?" Ja'Marr asked, his eyes wide.

Sam chuckled, "Eh, I wouldn't worry. Y/n is probably just on her period. I love her, but when it's shark week, you never ask her any questions."

Joe just sat at the table in silence, suddenly losing his appetite he had worked up from his extreme morning workout. Why were you avoiding him all of a sudden? Suddenly, Joe stood up and walked over to the nearest garbage can, throwing his half eaten lunch in the trash.

"Dude, where you going?" Sam asked, brows furrowed in confusion as he watched his best friend start to the leave the cafeteria out of nowhere.

"I have to go talk to Zac about something. I'lll see you guys outside." Joe said, rushing out of the cafeteria. Meanwhile, you began to pace around your office. A sudden knock at the door caused your pacing to stop, and before you could answer, the door opened. An upset Joe walked I, shutting and locking the door behind him.

"Joe-."

"No." he cut you off, "let me talk, please."

You gulped nervously, preparing yourself for what he was going to say, "Okay." you said, your voice slightly above a whisper.

"Why have you been avoiding me the last few days? Just when I thought we were both getting over the hookup, you start ignoring me. Why Y/n? What did I do?" Joe asked with a pained look on his face. He was completely lost as to why you were treating him this way.

You sighed, "Joe, you didn't do anything, I-."

He rubbed his face, "Oh bullshit, Y/n! You jumped at the sudden raise of his voice. You have never heard Joe get this loud before.

"I don't know what happened or what I did, but whatever it was, how could it be so bad that you have to avoid me?" You sat in silence as he stood and confronted you for your recent actions, "like earlier when you ran into me and I helped you up, you just rushed off! And then just now trying to talk to you in the cafeteria, because god forbid I try talk to you, you run away! Y/n, do you know how much that hurts? I mean, are you embarrassed about hooking up with me? Just, please, tell me what I did to you." His voice cracked with emotion as his beautiful blues began to water from both heartbreak and anger.

You felt the tears well up in your eyes once again. You knew you had to tell him. "Joe, please. Just let me explain."

Joe looked at you, a look of hurt and confusion in his blue eyes.

"Joe, I'm going to tell you something, and I need you to promise me that you won't freak out too much."

Joe's face softened, "Is everything alright?"

Not at all.

You nodded, "Yeah..just maybe it'll be a good idea if you sit down."

Joe sat down on the chair beside your desk that was still there from when you told Zac about the baby earlier in the day.

You took a deep shaky breath. Your palms were sweaty and your heart felt like it was beating a mile a minute. "So," you started, already fearing the worse, "you know how the morning after our uh, our hookup. you asked me if you used protection and I said no, but I did remember I'm on birth control?"

Joe nodded, giving you a look signaling for you to continue.

"Well...about four days ago I found out..."you paused, looking into his eyes as you finished, "that I'm pregnant."

Joe's eyes widened slightly as his breath hitched. "Y-you're what?"

"I''m pregnant."

His face went pale and he stood up, running his fingers through his hair. "Oh my god..."

You cringed, rubbing your temples. "Joe, I am so sorry.”

Joe rubbed his hands down his face, taking a deep breath as he plopped down on your desk, “I thought you were on the pill, Y/n.”

You rolled your eyes, “Yeah well, I hate to break it to you but that’s not a hundred percent effective Joe.”

Joe sighed once again, his blue eyes void of any emotion. You knew he was in pure shock right now. You had felt a wave of many emotions when you found out about the baby, you can only imagine how he’s feeling right now.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” you said quietly, voice cracking with emotion. You watched as Joe stood up and shook his head at your words.

“And you think I did?” he asked with a scoff. You swallowed nervously, “I never said that.”

"I'm not ready to be a dad."

"You think I'm ready to be a mom?"

The two of you were silent, both of you trying to process what had been said in the last few minutes during your important conversation. You weren’t exactly sure how you expected Joe to react to the news; however, you knew he wasn’t going to take the news well and be jumping for joy at the prospect of being a father. Joe walked over to the door of your office and reached out for the handle. He stood there, hand hovered over the handle and contemplating over what to do. You noticed his shoulders heave with a deep breath before he stood around to face you.

“I just,” he wet his lips, “I need time to process all of this Y/n.” With that, he hesitantly took his eyes off of you and walked out of your office without another word.

hey loves!

emotional rollercoaster of a chapter huh? well, get used to them because there will be a lot in this series ;)

do you think Joe will come around soon or do you think he'll take some time?

i hope you all are liking this series as much as i am! i'm having so much fun re-writing it. I feel like it's so much better with Joe. thank you again for all the continued love and support, it is greatly appreciated! you are all so sweet and encouraging, I love all of you🤍

tags: @dandelionwrites8 @joeburreauxsworld @theflawedwriter @mrsshiesty @ann288 @ijustcrypretty @theoneandonlyfanz @wickedfun9 @venus-b @hummusxx @stainednailpolishremover @a-moment-captured @alternativemadchen @erinmartin1987 @sirlewisworld @kkrenae @unhingedfangirl @sublimemusic-rebel @meameagirl @ilovejoeburroww @hallecarey1 @j-worlds-blog @blinkloverx3 @jordyn14 @emherb10

[dark-elf-writes]

okay now that i'm actually able to think and function clearly (stupid early morning doctor appointment), here's a handful of sites that have free and easy patterns, plus some tutorials.

Mama in a stitch (here) has some very pretty blanket patterns. I'm currently doing the Mae Rib one for a friend. There's also scarves and hat patterns too, and a pattern for a knitted chicken (which i wanna try at some point). Treasurie (here) also offers a variety of patterns and tutorials. Love life yarn (here) , again tutorials, but also beginner patterns. Allfreeknitting (here), tons of patterns, from dishcloths to home decor. also has a list for charity knitting. Purl Soho (here) is such a dangerous site for me because not only do they have tons of free patterns that you can filter by yarn weight, and very helpful tutorials, they also sell hella pretty yarn. to be fair though, i do like to browse their selections for fun, and if i really want pretty yarn, i'll poke through my local yarn store or the craft stores in general. Now I've rec'd her before, but Davina (sheep and stitch) is still a good starting point. she has beginner stitches with accompanying videos, and also funky ideas for gift knitting, AND money saving tips and tricks ( i personally love the ziploc bag trick because god knows i would not use a yarn bowl) Hope you enjoy these! I've been knitting for almost 4 years at this point, and still learning new things. and drool over yarn i don't need. but isn't that half the fun? ;D

Thank you so much this is going to be so helpful! I’m definitely having a lot of fun teaching myself how to do this and can definitely see myself continuing

[plantmommoonbaby]

Some Cannabis and Overenthusiasm-fuelled Fan Theories about Worlds Beyond Number (Part 2)

Theory #2: Is Eioghorain Rasper?

Look, this one is so thin. But it really leads back to my overarching theory that Eioghorain isn't actually as bad as we think actually, this theory of mine is very emotional and very deep, so I shall keep it to myself until I have a relisten specifically geared toward proving this, or if he is, it's not in the way we think. In reality, it probably stems solely from me thinking over and over again about the GIFT that is the fact that Eioghorain looks like Toshiro Mifune. But we know literally 2 things about Rasper (as recallled from memory so please correct me if I'm mistaken):

1) his origins are very mysterious but his name is likely a name cloak

2) he is an older east asian man with graying hair at his temples and a lithe, athletic build

This literally just occured to me today while listening to the Fireside Chat when Brennan made an effort to remark that Eioghorain would be older now. Aabria and Erika were (rightly) distracted by Mifune still being smoking hot at any age, but I can't help but wonder...

Theory #3: Indri and Mirara are working together to kill Hakea

Ok... ride with me, please. I've already talked about this before, but I have to say it again because... i just believe it so much. We know that The King of Night wants to eliminate Ame so that the Coven can make moves against the Citadel. But... what if his infiltration of Hakea's retinue is actually a ploy from Indri to incriminate Hakea in the death of Gramore's lover??? Gramore and Hakea came into this house the closest bond. And Hakea is the one witch currently in the coven with an undeniable authority over Indri. If there can only be 3 witches, it seems like the very best chance Indri has in convincing Gramore is by turning her against Hakea so that it is Ame and Hakea on the chopping block.

Theory #4: Indri is eliminating the Coven of Elders one by one

Look... there's not a ton of data to back me up on this one besides Brennan admitting that Indri is him living his best Regina George Life. Here's what I do have

• Indri's predecessor was not about isolation and self like Indri is

• Indri killed her predecessor

• Indri is so threatened by other witches that she "gets rid of" any apprentice she has that starts learning magic

• Oh, and the Mysterious Garden of Highly Specifically Posed Ice Sculptures, including one who is very much Not Like the Others

• Indri looked exactly the same as she does now when she met Morning Wrensong... meaning she was likely equally as powerful

• Grandma Wren would've been the third witch eliminated from the Coven if Ame's curse worked

And... lbr, that's all I need to know this woman is threatened by other powerful women and is Very Likely Up to No Good...

Theory #5: Halumon might be our best bet at fixing the Coven of Elders

Remember how Halumon melted the ground of the courtyard? Also, remember the ice sculpture that was Not Like the Others? I feel like the only way we really put an end to Indri's determined elimination of her own Coven will be getting the pretty pony back to melt Ice Mommy and have her reclaim her position as the Witch of Wind and Stars. This is less of a theory and more of a hope, ngl...

Anywho, again, if you actually made it here, thanks for reading and please tell me how you feel about any of these. Also, if toy are anything like me, you have cottonmouth rn, so don't forget to hydrate.

[dream-meister-translations]

PERSONA 5 : THE PHANTOM X

PERSONA 5 : THE PHANTOM X BETA - PART 4

━

After a long day, Wonder lays down to go to bed for the night, only to wake up in the Velvet Room again.

MEROPE : Good evening...

WONDER : Merope..?

MEROPE : Yes, that is my name. You are currently at home. Asleep. I apologize for disturbing your rest, however, Master has an important message to convey to you...

IGOR : I have more advice I'd like to share with you.

WONDER : Advice...?

IGOR : However, I would first like to express my gratitude that you are still safe and sound. I told you that I wanted to see you again, and you have fulfilled that wish for me.

IGOR : Not only that, you have revealed to me another possible path forward...

WONDER : Another path forward...?

IGOR : Ah, are you "curious" to know? Hehehe...Very well. I believe you have the power to make others aware of the "desires" they have forgotten. 

IGOR : This new development makes our inevitable parting even more unfortunate...

MEROPE : In the end, your fate is "Destruction." 

WONDER : Destruction...?

IGOR : This is why I wish to give you another piece of advice. That power you possess might lead you down another path...

IGOR : Those who awaken to their desires, can build connections with each other...Helping to nurture said desires in each other's hearts. That is what you must do.

WONDER : Nurturing each other's desires...?

IGOR : Hehehe...You need not understand now. In time it will all become clear. All you need to know is that if you resist your inevitable "destruction," and seek out those like you with desires hidden in their hearts, you can hone your own desire.

IGOR : Merope will assist you in this process. I have responsibilities of my own, you understand, right?

MEROPE : I am at your service. We can continue this at a later time. You should rest for tonight.

IGOR : I really do hope to see you again. Hehehe...

-

WONDER : (...Something's touching my forehead...?)

RUFERU : Good morning...

Wonder's eyes snap open and he sits up in bed, realizing that it is Ruferu who has been tapping his forehead with his beak in hopes of waking him up.

WONDER : Good morning...

RUFERU : Sorry to disturb you so early, but there's something important I need to report. 

RUFERU : I know that I told you I would explain everything, but there is something I must investigate first. Once I figure out what's going on, I promise to tell you everything I know.

RUFERU : I'll stop by your school during lunch break to find you. I just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten our agreement.

RUFERU : After all, we are partners now. It's important to keep each other informed through meetings like this. 

WONDER : You mentioned something about assignments before...?

RUFERU : Right! Your performance yesterday in the Metaverse really impressed me. Which means we will be working on cases together from here on out!

WONDER : (Working together with Ruferu...It feels like something is changing inside of me at the news...My relationship with Ruferu seems to be growing...)

"With this, thou attains a brand new oath,  Swear to sail desire's distant waves together, Riding the blessed currents,  Wandering hearts, adding to your strength..."

RUFERU : This room of yours is pretty boring...If it's gonna be our base, you should really spruce it up and add some color. Anyway, I'm gonna get outta here. See you later...

WONDER : (To resist destruction I must seek out those with desires hidden in their hearts and hone my own desire...What did he mean by that? I have no idea...)

WONDER : (Did Ruferu just say this is "our base?" Ugh...I have no time to think about this stuff, if I don't leave now I'll be late for school!)

He gets out of bed and heads out of the room, stopped midway through the hallway by the sound of a text message from his mother. Checking it, he finds she has texted a few times.

MOM : We reached the airport.

MOM : It's been years since your dad and I traveled alone.

MOM : Look forward to tons of souvenirs! 

MOM : I left you some Yen on the table, don't spend it too recklessly. 

MOM : Oh, and remember to stay safe and lock the door. I'll message when we get there. 

WONDER : (Oh yeah, I totally forgot mom and dad are going on vacation...They said it would be a couple of weeks before they come back...On the note of locking the door, mom always does, so Ruferu must have got through my window...I better make sure to shut it properly...Anyway! I'm gonna be late for school!)

With that, Wonder heads out the front door. Before he can rush to school, a woman comes over to speak with him. 

INNOVATIVE WOMAN : Ah~ If it isn't little Wonder?

WONDER : Yeah, I'm Wonder...

INNOVATIVE WOMAN : Oh my~ It really is you! It's been such a long time. You went and grew into a handsome young man~! You haven't forgotten me, have you? It's me, Kayo Tohyama. 

KAYO TOHYAMA : I'm your next door neighbor. You kids grow up so fast~ I talk to your mom from time to time~ Oh dear, I'm so sorry, you must be heading to school, right?

KAYO TOHYAMA : This school uniform...You must be attending Kokatsu Academy?

WONDER : That's right. You really know your stuff.

KAYO TOHYAMA : Why of course I do~ The collar and number of pockets on the uniform are quite distinctive. It hasn't changed since I was your age~

KAYO TOHYAMA : Speaking of school, when my son went to school this morning he said he would be partaking in a tournament held at Kokatsu Academy~ I even told him I would go to Kokatsu Academy to bring him food and cheer him on~ 

KAYO TOHYAMA : First you have to head to Shibuya, then take the Inishi Line to Shimokitazawa, right~? Oh dear, I almost forgot! I have to make food for my boy! Well, until next time~

WONDER : (I'm so gonna be late for school...)

[ryanscabinlife]

I can't believe it's been a month since I posted the May garden update. A lot of things has happened. Loads of wins and also plenty of failures. I guess I'll start with the progress of the ones I featured last month.

The hardneck garlic that overwintered are just about ready to be harvested. According to online sources, garlics can be harvested about a month after the scapes emerges. I was delighted to see the scapes as I was taking pics this morning. Can't wait to collect and make something out of them.

Oh tomatoes. I talked about how our weather has been awful many of times on this blog. After the dry May, they started showing some damaged on their leaves, and since they barely saw the sun this month, they did not grow very much. I panicked so I bought 30 more roma seedlings and 6 more cherry tomatoes. After a few days of sun, all of them are bouncing back to life and looking very healthy. Now I'm stuck with 60 romas and 12 cherries. Not the worst problem to have, really. All corners of the garden have tomatoes planted in them.

The beds where the trellis is sitting is now filled with plants. All of the beans and peas are looking great. The snow peas are about 4 ft tall and there's plenty of beans on the ground. The luffa that I was so excited about, none of them showed up. I bought a packet of 10 seeds for a whopping $4.99 and only 1 germinated. I'm currently babying it and waiting for the perfect time to transplant it. The cucumber is the other one I'm totally having hard time with. So far I've already used up the whole packet, and so far I have seen none. I planted the last 6 seeds yesterday but I'm not holding my breath. We have a neighbour (I'm using the word neighbour very loosely here, they're about 5km from us) who have a small road-side stand and in the summer they sell cucumbers. I think I'm just gonna have to rely on them for cucumbers.

The potatoes (all 30ft row) are doing extremely well. Some of them suffered from light frost and their early leaves died but they all bounced back. I think next year, I'll plant them even earlier.

It looks like the apple or crabapple (I still don't know) tree had a couple of successful pollinations. I think the reason for the lack of blooms is because the tree has been neglected and unkept for a long time. I've already been researching and watching a ton of videos on how to properly prune apple trees so I can prune it next spring in hopes that it will put out more blooms next year.

The border is looking a bit sad. Something to be expected on the first year due to the fact that most of the plants I have in it are perennials. I think they'll live though, I can only hope that they come out stronger next year. Looking closely, the wildflowers that I broadcasted are out. I see hundreds of them. I've added two smaller beds, I'm hoping to fill them up with the annual seedlings I'm currently growing. No progress at all on the potted garden in the background.

The brassicas are my favourites but also the main cause of my headaches. Thank god I have seeded a good amount of extras because these bitches have plethora of enemies! The first to attack was slugs. They destroyed a handful of seedlings (100% my fault coz I decided to plant them too young). I battled this with non-stop weeding and slug hunting. So far it's been working, I just go in early in the morning, remove all of the slugs and the weeds they hide into. Then the rabbits. I did not plan to build a fence this year but after the rabbit attack that ate almost half of the original plants, I decided to build a fence around the garden. Again, so far it's working. Then just when they start actually growing, the damn flea beetles happened. Yesterday, I ordered some food grade diatomaceous earth. I'm aware that it will kill all of the insects it will come across with whether they're good or bad but I guess I'll just have to be careful not to put it on any of the flowering crops so it doesn't kill the pollinators. Next year, to avoid using such measure, I plan to install netting on all of the leafy veggies. I don't wanna do that now because it will just trap in the ones I already have in.

Speaking of flea beetles and brassicas, these godforsaken creatures killed all of the arugulas and boy choy I planted at the end of April. I then replanted them a couple of weeks ago and lo and behold, all of them are damaged again. I'm leaving them on the bed for now to hopefully serve as food for the pests and in hopes that I'll be able to trap and kill them once the diatomaceous earth arrives. I'll try to grow them again in the fall when the temperature starts going down with netting. But for now, I planted some of my extra tomatoes to keep this spot occupied.

To my surprise, the asparagus are doing exceedingly well. Can't wait for 2025 when I can finally harvest some.

I have 3 tomatillos that survived and they're doing well. They're planted with the original cherry tomatoes and celery.

3 weeks ago, I though these celery plants were dead, but they managed to come back.

Peanut, another big failure. I planted a whole row of peanuts parallel to the row of potatoes. 30 ft of it and roughly 40 seeds, 3 germinated, 2 out of those 3 got devoured by slugs. So now I have ONE peanut plant. I scattered few sage and pepper seeds in the area as replacement. Let's see what happens.

After the small radish harvest yesterday, these is what's left. I'm gonna give them a week or so until I pull them all out. In preparation for their departure, I have okras and eggplants growing in between rows. I've already replanted the okra and eggplants a couple of times because slugs and birds keep on eating them. To avoid that, I just covered them with recycled plastic cups as protection for now.

On the same bed as the radish, okra, and eggplants are the softneck garlic. It's more or less an experiment. I was just curious if they actually produce garlic bulbs at the end of growing season. The garlic cloves I used are from Costco. They're not looking too bad.

Next bed over (where I have the failed arugula and bokchoy) are onions. I bought a pack of a hundred bulbs and shoved all of them in this bed. They just started emerging.

Next bed after that (my biggest one) are corn, zucchini, and butternut squash. The corns are doing alright. I dealt with poor germination with both of the squashes and when they show up, birds eats them. Nothing much I could do other than keep replanting seeds and protecting the seedlings with plastic cups. Looks like the ones I have at the moment are gonna make it.

Next bed after that are carrots. I planted these back in April, and this is what they look like now. They sure to take their sweet time to germinate.

25-Jun-2023

[owlgirl495]

@iphyslitterator tagged me in this so here you go!:

✨💖Positivity chain! List 5 to 10 things that make you smile and explain why! Then send this to others to let them know they make you smile✨💖

(this is in no particular order)

1. my college friends! they’re awesome and i love them very very much. they let me ramble about whatever current obsession i have and are just so so lovely to talk to

2. my kids! (they’re not really my kids, they’re only a couple years younger than me but they’re my friends who are still in high school/just graduated recently) i love them so so so much! they always seem super excited/happy to see me when i’m back home visiting and they text me that they miss me sometimes when im back at school. they’re overall just the sweetest and i’m so so happy they’re in my life

3. the bucktommy fandom! it might be a little cheesy to put this on here but you all are so so talented and lovely and i have pretty much been immersing myself in fanworks for the past couple months <3

4. my family! they might annoy me sometimes but i very much love them and it’s been nice to see them while im home for thanksgiving break. i love being able to debrief my mom on my life and just talking to her about anything and i love hanging out with my sister (we’re going to see the new wicked movie tomorrow morning and im so excited!) and my dad has kept mentioning how he’s happy that me and my sister are home, which is very very sweet of him

5. the fact that i’ve been able to draw a little bit the past couple days! i love drawing and creating things so much but i don’t always have a ton of time to draw at school so i’m just really happy i was able to create a little while i’ve been on break

6. making mocktails! i started learning how to make mocktails over the summer and i just had a blast making a kind of fallish/thanksgivingish one earlier today that was so good!

[blossoming-mind-palace]

Life Update! No, I'm not on hiatus.

Sorry for not writing for a while, but like I posted a while ago I suddenly became the mom of two 4 week old kittens. I don't plan on going on hiatus. Also, there's some bad news but I'm gonna leave that under the cut.

Any who, meet Pookie and Piggy! My family found them under my shed last weekend and we've been caring for them ever since. That's why I haven't created much lately. Not only are they young, but they also have a virus and are currently being quarantined in my bathroom.

They're a lot of work, and it's like I have two full-time jobs right now. I have to feed them every three hours (This is why I'm so sleep deprived.), give them their meds, play with them because they're kittens with TONS of energy, treat their eyes every night, give them flea baths, etc. It's a lot of work but it's worth it.

I haven't had a cat since 2020, and I haven't had kittens since I was in elementary school. This is a learning experience for me, and it's the most fun I've had in a while. Before we found them I was literally thinking," Man, everyone I know is having babies and getting married. I wish something interesting would happen to me." and then BOOM kittens.

I'm still trying to write and draw, and I'll probably be more active when they become more independent. For right now my productivity might slow down, but I don't plan on completely stopping any time soon. Here's some kitten pictures as an apology for being so inactive.

The black one is Pookie (my baby) and the grey one is Piggy (my mom's baby). Pookie's name used to be Fiesty, but they're too sweet for that! They were just "fiesty" because they were scared IMO. Either that or I'm just Pookie's favorite human, because they've always been sweet to me. Piggy's name is self-explanatory and is the softest and most chaotic of the two.

They used to have fleas, but we've given them flea baths and I'm pretty sure they're all dead. The grey one had so much flea dirt that its bath water turned brown. I just know Piggy felt ten times better after we killed all those pesky fleas. As for their virus, it's a congestion thing. They're too young to test them and see exactly what it is, but they're taking antibiotics right now. They're on day 3 of 10 of their quarantine, and I'm excited for it to be over so I can properly introduce them to my dog and take them to the pet store.

But yeah that's what I've been up to for the past week. Don't ask me about my pets unless you want an essay on them. I am that annoying pet parent who won't shut up about their pets.

Okay here's the sad part. TW for pet death.

I've also been silent because two kittens used to be three. The runt was in terrible condition when we found it with Piggy. Its eyes were matted shut thanks to the congestion, it was malnourished, had the worst case of fleas, etc. We cleaned it up, fed it, and its condition had improved a lot, but mother nature is a cruel bitch and it became a victim of sudden kitten death. I think it was the virus the other two had and a respiratory illness, but the vet said it could've been multiple things since it was already in terrible condition when we found it.

I spent the most time taking care of it and bonded with it. It was starting to open its eyes a few days before it died and I was probably the last thing it saw. I cried for a solid hour and lost my appetite for a while. Another shitty thing is that it died the morning before their vet appointment. Sudden kitten death is the worst.

But yeah I've also been unproductive because I've been really sad. Thankfully, the other two have a much higher chance to live. They're currently being treated for their virus and according to the vet I've been taking care of them correctly. I'm really glad that we found Pookie because Piggy was attached to the runt (we found Piggy and the runt together, but Pookie was found a day later), and I think Pookie has helped both of us get through this.

This is the last time I'm gonna talk about the runt on here so please don't send asks about it. I'm trying to heal from this experience, but thinking about it still makes me lose my appetite.

Any who, thanks so much for being patient with me despite my inactivity. Love you guys. <3

[upbeatmelancholy]

As I procrastinate this lovely, blisteringly hot evening, I would like to share my tips and tricks for everyone who does not have AC this summer. My qualifications are that I grew up without AC for much of my childhood and am currently living without AC right now.

House:

Houses love to get hot so here's a few quick tips to help keep it, and you, cool.

Use the weather to your advantage. When the sun goes down, open your windows, especially in second, third, and higher stories. Heat settles up high so let it out while it is a little cooler. HOWEVER: make sure to close them early (like 4 am early) as the sun is coming up to maximize the amount of cool air that stays in the house.

Make your house a bunker. Close up all your windows, blinds, and cover windows during the day. This especially applies to windows that get direct morning or midday sun. It likes to roast your house so stop it from doing that.

Spend as much time as possible on lower floors. If you have a basement, especially an unfinished one, it can be your best friend. Cooler air sinks, less sunlight, and usually underground are winning combos for basements. Either way though, the lower you are the cooler it is usually.

If you can/need to: insulate the outside, circulate the inside. What that means is create barriers to the outside to stop heat from entering. Put up rolled towels in windows or doors that are not sealed well. Inside, keep doors open and have fans going to circulate the air. This helps it feel cooler and stops it from becoming suffocatingly still.

Don't cook if you can avoid it, or cook outside. Definitely do not bake. If you need to cook or bake, try to do it after the sun sets so you can open the windows and air out the house. Alternatively, use a barbeque, grill, or hotplate outside. There are tons of great recipes and you can do almost all your cooking out there.

Yourself:

As a person, here are some things you can do to keep cool.

Drink a metric ton of water. Self-explanatory but you're going to be sweating a fair amount no matter what so make sure to replace it.

Eat cool foods. I don't necessarily mean popsicles and stuff, although those are great. But consider eating things that are lighter, easy to prepare, and easy to eat (one of my staples this time of year is beans, salsa, and tortilla chips). Also eat things with high water contents like apples, they give a feeling of coolness and help hydrate.

Shower warm. This may seem counter-intuitive but by raising your internal temperature it helps your body acclimatize. Always give yourself like 10 seconds of freezing cold water at the end just before you get out though to feel super cool and amazing.

Wear light clothes. Or wear less clothes. Whatever floats your boat. Wear materials that are breathable (more natural materials like cotton) and avoid heavy materials (like polyesters and wool).

Along with clothes, avoid putting things on your head, wrists, and feet if possible. These are places where we lose a lot of body heat and we are trying to encourage that, so don't cover them. A great thing to do is to blow gently on your wrists, it sometimes gives you the sensation of cooling down slightly when you're just too hot.

If you are overheating, use cool water or towel wrapped ice. Specifically near your face, neck, wrists, elbows, back of the knees, and feet. All of these places have arteries and veins close to the surface so it will help you cool down faster. ALWAYS wrap your ice in a towel or move it around on your skin so you don't get burnt by the ice.

Lay down on hardwood or tile floors. It feels great and helps to leech the heat from your body. Tile works better then hardwood for this but anything is better then carpets and rugs.

Right before bed:

I know tons of people have a hard time sleeping in the heat too so here's some tricks just for that too!

Get Wet. Right before going to bed, have a shower, go swimming, run through a sprinkler, or even wipe yourself down with a wet cloth. Do this right before you go to bed and it helps keep your body cool while you fall asleep. Just make sure to leave yourself a little wet and don't dry off fully so the water can act like sweat and cool you down.

Move where you sleep. If you live in a multi-story house or a room in your home is cooler guess what that's your bedroom now. Find the coolest place to sleep and set up shop there instead. It's better to get a good night's rest then not.

Alternatively, find a different surface to sleep on. If your bed is too hot and you can handle it, move to a tile or wood floor. They stay much cooler then anything made of fabrics.

Sleep without blankets and other people wherever possible. If you still need to or want to sleep with someone, don't share blankets so you don't share body heat. Making a wall of pillows is also great to keep bodies away from each other's heat.

Use a fan! Whether you direct it straight at you or have it oscillate it makes a world of difference!

I hope that helps someone somewhere. This comes from a lot of years of experimentation and errors, but it works for me at least. If anyone has anything else to add throw it in here too!

[duchessofostergotlands]

This morning the VP of the company I work at called me into his office and I thought it would be a mundane conversation, but he asked me if I want to be his executive assistant! His current one has worked here since the 70s and she’s retiring. She uses shorthand and keeps ledgers.. I’ve been with the company for 4 years and while I’m def interested, I feel like there are people with more seniority / probably better qualified??? He said they have to still put up a job listing for it, but wants me to start training asap. I’m so nervous lmao

Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth! Seniority means nothing, firstly. I did a graduate programme after uni, so age 22 ish, and they said in 10 years we should all be CEOs. Now I am not even a manager 8 years later. And I know I could have been but I hate interviews (interviewing while neurodivergent is hell on Earth), I get paid more than some people more senior than me in other charities, and ultimately I made the choice to stay in the same place and focus on therapy and getting healthier (didn’t work but the intention was there). So people progress at different paces; someone being more senior doesn’t mean they’re better or more experienced than you. And in terms of the better qualified thing, that’s also really subjective. I find job hunting frustrating because I truly believe most people could learn to do most jobs, if supported. So I think it comes down to how you work a lot of the time. And for an EA role you will basically manage this guy’s life so yeah, maybe someone else is more qualified on paper but maybe he trusts you more. Maybe you’re really perceptive and pick up on things others don’t notice. Maybe you know him and his area of work better than others. All I’d say is get a job offer/contract in place. I don’t know where you’re from but if it’s the US, the stories about the lack of protections for staff are so frightening to me! If they want to train you, they should take the job ad down or wait ;) Other than that, go for it. EAs can get paid a ton at the high levels hahaha

[lesbiangallagher]

Fandom tag!! thank u for tagging me @suchagallabitch 🥰

Your First Fandom(s): i wasn’t going to do this but fuck it, here’s all the fandoms i remember being in: south park, left 4 dead, pokemon, homestuck, the book of mormon, les mis, the lorax, camp lazlo, one direction, shameless us (there’s more but i do not remember currently)

How did you first get into fandom? i liked writing self insert fic and i used to spend hours on youtube watching AMVs to like, bullet for my valentine in 2007 lol i found ffnet and deviantart soon after and the rest is history!

How long have you been engaging with fandom spaces? 2007 so officially 16 years. i was 11 reading south park yaoi

How often do you read fanfics? i open ao3 every single morning to see if any of my favorite wips have been updated. i love wips, i used to not read them bc i was always afraid the writer would abandon it but now i’ll read absolutely anything. i love the journey of reading wips now. it’s like my morning newspaper

Top 3 characters from your current fandom(s): mickey milkovich, ian gallagher, and now retsuko from aggretsuko…i feel like i am in no fandom rn, just passin by. i’m like the old man that lives on the edge of town who still comes to the street events

Have you ever written a fic for a fandom? yeah i’ve written a bunch of drabbles on my blog and uploaded two finished works, both one shots for the spicy gallavich collab 2021 and 2022…i am particularly proud of this year’s spicy fic. somehow reached 11k words and it’s about lesbians mickey and ian 💃 search lesbiangallagher on ao3. but in the past i feel like i’ve written at least one fic for every fandom i’ve been in…and i’ve been in a LOT of fandoms lol but they’re all on my old blog that only og rocco fans know about

Have you ever drawn fanart for a fandom? if so, shout it out! nah i’ve never been a fanart type of creator. i’m sure i’ve drawn characters jokingly or something

Share a personal headcanon that you feel very strongly about: since 2014, i have a HARD and STRONG headcanon that mickey is a trans dude

You're trying to convince a friend to get into your current fandom(s) with you. what episode, clip, or scene are you showing them? i don’t want anyone to get on the shameless US train because it was a whole lot of suffering but if i had to: the episode where they steal the meat from the meat truck. for aggretsuko: the episode where ton and retsuko go at it at karaoke

And finally, what does fandom mean to you? it’s always been an ~escape~ for me, where all my unhinged thoughts are welcome. i’ve seen just about everything at this point, but i still love the idea of community who bond over One niche thing

SECOND TAG ok slay!!!

name: rocco

age: i’ll be 27 in may 😵‍💫

Where in the world are you? georgia, us of a

The meaning behind your URL: i’m lesbian ian gallagher

Your second favourite color: i guess it’s orangey yellow

any pets? my cat, minky and two birds merlin and mulder

favourite season? fall

Last thing you read: new update of dead meet🫣

Last song you listened to: lavender haze by miss swift

What are you wearing right now? black skeleton dress and cooking apron

A hobby of yours: i read a LOT, i’ll read practically anything lol. now that i have a new glasses prescription, i feel invincible

and finally, what are you up to today? currently making breakfast and getting ready for vacation this week 😗

i don’t know who’s all been tagged but feel free to do this!! i am always reminded of myspace with these lol