#my grandparents CANNOT keep a house clean

[thatneoncrisis]

for ants: borax mixed with some powdered sugar in a little pile near where they gather. the borax is poisonous to them and the sugar attracts them. it’ll look worse for a bit because it really attracts them and they’ll all come to collect some, but they’ll take it back to their colony and distribute it there. if you have pets you might want to block the pile off from them so they don’t get into it though

no pets, thanks for the tip

[burnyourtrains]

SDV Bachelor/ette Headcanons!!

I was peer pressured by @jessibbb into posting these <3 (also I'm on mobile so if it looks bad no it doesn't.)

ALso divider credits to the lovely @thecutestgrotto and @saradika

Done in alphabetical order, because we're not playing favorites here

Bachelors:

Alex

I feel like he was into band when he was younger and in school, but he got bullied for it, so he switched to gridball instead. He loves gridball, but sometimes he wonders what would have happened if he stuck with the trumpet.

Jess thinks he's short, but I don't think he'd have as much arrogance/confidence that he does in game if he were short. I think he does the hands on top of the doorframe thing.

To me, he was one of those semi-annoying popular guys in high school who would interrupt the class of the younger grade and ask the teacher if she missed him.

Takes skincare seriously (ty Haley)

Helps Evelyn in the kitchen and around the house

Shockingly handy? He's good at fixing things (doesn't want to be a burden on his grandparents, and he knows George feels bad that he can't do maintenance around the house.)

He and Haley have matching friendship bracelets

Elliot

(To the Elliot stans, I'm so sorry, but I cannot stand his character. Initially I was gonna marry him but then he started talking and I just Couldn't. So here's how I thought he was going to be. (I try to keep it somewhat similar to how he is in game but I just,,,,,,,))

Very romantic

Comes on too strong at first, but once he realizes he apologizes and learns how to be one of your really close friends (unless you ever want to be more, obvs)

Loves the drama of a historical romance

Adores Jane Austen

I feel like the game suggests that he isn't very tidy, but in my mind he keeps himself and his space neat and clean. (He might have a depression pit when he's feeling morose or lacking creativity, but he gets it together after a shower or a walk)

He's not egotistical (I also feel the game implies some of this), but he's not entirely humble, either. Very self-assured, but that could possibly be to mask that he really worries about whether or not his writing career will take off.

Harvey

(Jess drew little hearts around my notes for this one lmao)

Actually very sickly as a child, which I think had a huge factor in driving him into medicine.

Likes when the farmer does his nails. It's nice to have someone want to dote on him. (He ends up taking the polish off when he has to work for sanitary purposes, but that just means you can do them again later <3)

Secretly had a piercing at one point, but he was relatively anxious about having it, even though it made him feel good about himself. Possibly anxious because it didn't fit his "image"; he doesn't have it anymore. (He was So crazy in college literally what was he thinking??????) (it was a bellybutton piercing btw)

His guilty pleasure food is ice cream don't tell

Podcast lover. (Mainly medical and aerospace)

Sam

Mans has a mullet. I will not be accepting arguments at this time

He doesn't have a favorite color, but he really loves bright ones

Definitely has ear and possibly facial piercings

Idk where I'm getting this from, it's kind of based solely on vibes, but I feel like he might be colorblind?

Loves having his makeup done

Wears minimal jewelry, but is always wearing at least one ring, whether that's on a chain or on his finger depends on the day.

Sebastian

He gets called emo but I get more punk vibes from him

When you meet him he's just starting on his second sleeve tattoo

He uses candy cigarettes when he's trying to quit smoking, partially because he thinks it's funny, and partially just because he likes the sugar

I think he feels very stuck in the persona the town has given him, so he kind of just gives up after living there for so long on trying to convince people otherwise

Ear and eyebrow piercings, at least. Very willing to accept constructive criticism here.

Probably has the chain belt thing

Rings rings rings

Shane

I feel like he's either very tall, or very short, and I cannot decide which one

Cleans up very nice after he gets sober

Raises Jas more than Marnie does (Concerning bc alcoholism, but I can't stand Marnie so. The lesser of two evils I guess?)

Regularly takes walks to ward off dark thoughts

Keg king back in his college days

Bachelorettes

These are more look-based, since Jess and I were trying to do a redesign situation. The men I was struck with sudden inspiration and clarity for how to flesh out their personalities more, but I'll have to update the character work for the women when the creativity strikes.

Abigail

I kind of get undercut vibes from her

I think she has gages, for sure

Facial piercings but idk what most of them are called. Specifically a lip piercing

She has a small stick and poke that she, Sam, and Seb designed together

The big overlined lips that were popular in 2020 (might still be popular now but I'm no longer chronically online God bless)

Tattoo choker that was popular in the early 2000s

Big shaggy wolfcut

Elevated HotTopic vibes

Emily

Mixed metal jewelry queen

Wears multiple necklaces

Hippie-esque style (they really did her dirty with her game design she looks like s clown but she's so sweet that it's Criminal)

Crystal girly (a given)

Definitely has some sort of altar set up. Idk much about witchcraft so very loosely assigning her as a crystal witch

Really likes incense

Alice Cullen haircut, y'all know the one

Haley

She has such pretty lashes, I just know it

Big yabos

Her nails are always immaculate. Despite thinking her sister is weird, I think Emily is the one who learned how to give her acrylics

Alex is definitely the person she's closest to

I don't really have that many ides for her I'm sorry :(

Leah

Very wispy, ethereal hair (1908s aogg vibes)

Former hairdresser. While she still lived in the city, she went into cosmetology since it had the opportunity to be a creative career, and her partner at the time didn't really support her in her art (I think the partner bit is canon). Ultimately, she came to resent her job, and she left the city for Stardew Valley. I think she still uses the skills and knowledge she acquired when doing her own hair, and occasionally the hair of some of the residents in the valley.

Howl's Moving Castle earrings

Honestly Howl's Moving Castle vibes overall for her style I think

Dresses masc. but in a way that still comes off as feminine, if that makes sense. Think billowy white shirt from the male lead of a period drama

Most likely covered in some sort of art medium, (acrylics, wood shavings, oil paints, etc.), in a charming way, not an unclean way.

Maru

Minimal makeup, if any at all

She has cute little stud earrings she got as a kid (they're stars)

Has an astronomy charm bracelet, but it's only worn on special occasions. I think she'd be wearing it when she shows you the telescope and tries to confess her feelings for the first time.

She's a silver girly

Little baby hairs. Give my girl Maru better hair

Lowkey loves Hello Kitty (idk where this one came from but I feel it)

Penny

Bumper bangs. In general I get very 50s vibes for style

Doesn't think she'll ever leave Stardew Valley, so she doesn't really have any huge aspirations for herself anymore.

She mostly invests herself in teaching Vincent and Jas to the best of her ability.

Would have loved to be a teacher if she were to leave, but she worries about her mother, so she's never left

I know there are some ideas on here that seem insubstantial compared to others, but this is the best I can do currently! I'd love feedback, since I'm relatively new to the fandom and the game, but I hope you enjoyed!!

[kosher-martian]

My parents are moving and it's the most disastrous series of unforced errors ever.

For context, my grandparents retired in the late 80s / early 90s with a very healthy nest egg, having made their careers and retired at the peak of American Capitalism. Between Social Security, military pension, and pensions from their careers, they were made for life.

They lived in the middle of nowhere playing pretend farmer/rancher/cowboy, far away from any medical resources or modern conveniences. There was a small grocery store and hardware store nearby, but anything else was 30-40 minutes away from their stupid little farmhouse. Hospital? Doctors? 45 minutes away minimum, usually an hour or more once traffic was factored in.

As they got older, it was increasingly difficult for them to live independently because of how far removed from everything they were. Independence came with ever-increasing costs: Home healthcare visits, house cleaning services, and grounds keeping services (among others) all paid for out of their copious pensions. Eventually it became a combination of all of those things plus my mother and aunt visiting them multiple times a week (over an hour drive just to get there) to make sure all of their needs were being met.

Even I eventually got roped into helping them maintain their faux independence. I tried to convince them to move back to civilization, but it was more important to them to maintain their fake farmer/rancher/cowboy lifestyle. In the end, they had to be forced into a nursing home pretty much against their will. It was not a fun period and I'm not keen to revisit it.

My parents retired recently. They will be trying to make ends meet on Social Security plus whatever remains in their 401Ks. Their 401Ks are a disaster because they made no attempt to manage them until right before they retired, at which point it was too late to make any changes that might affect the outcome. But that didn't matter because they wanted to retire anyways.

They have a home in the city, 15-25 minutes away from their doctors and surrounded by hospitals, standalone ERs, and urgent care clinics. There are grocery stores, hardware stores, and every conceivable kind of specialty shop within a stone's throw. To my knowledge, until very recently their plan was to live in their current home until they died. They hadn't really settled on what they would do with my grandparents' home. My siblings and I encouraged them to sell it and put the money towards their retirement. My parents were not committed to the idea. Then the pandemic came. Almost overnight, it seems, they changed into radically different people.

While my dad is fairly outgoing, my mother has always been borderline agoraphobic. As far as I know she has no friends. The closest thing she has to a friend besides my dad (with whom she has nothing in common) and my aunt (who at best loathes her) is me. Did I mention my mother is a hoarder?

My mother LOVED quarantine. She was content to sit at home, watch television or read books, work from home, and then text me nonstop all day long (to the point that it was impacting my productivity at work and making me lose sleep). She still texts me nonstop.

She retired in the middle of the pandemic and now had even more free time; time she spent reading regurgitated reddit threads from those low-effort BuzzFeed knockoffs, writing fanfiction, and watching hours-upon-hours of television.

My dad did not like quarantine nearly as much, but he loved that he was incentivized to watch endless hours of television, play video games, and play on his iPad; activities he already enjoys.

I cannot overstate just how much television my parents watch. We're talking easily 14-16 hours each day, usually binge watching a single show or alternating between two different shows, and at most breaking for an hour to go buy lunch (which they eat in front of the TV) or maybe go to a doctor's appointment.

For the last 5 years, their daily TV consumption consists of Yellowstone, those HGTV home renovation shows (in particular Home Town), the storage unit auction show, and those travel channel shows that are just extended commercials for cruise lines.

All of a sudden their retirement plans changed. Now they want to move into my grandparents' old house in the countryside and play pretend farmer/rancher/cowboy AND also pretend home renovator AND go on a series of cruises they can't afford. It's like watching them toss their meager life savings into a burning dumpster.

I reminded them of how difficult it was for our grandparents to remain independent as they got older. "We're still young," they said.

I reminded them that our grandparents' independence came with high costs that they themselves will be unable to afford. "Don't worry about that now," they said.

I reminded them of how much time and energy they spent checking in on our grandparents and how me and my siblings don't have (and can't really foresee) the same standard of living that even my parents enjoyed. "You'll love visiting us in the country. We have so many plans for the house!" they said.

They've spent the better part of 18 months burning through their savings so they can live out the shows they see on TV. They've paid for a complete home makeover for my grandparents' stupid house, which included:

A costly asbestos abatement

All new appliances

Rewiring the house

Reupholstering much of the furniture in my grandparent's home plus more than a few pieces from their house in the city

Buying new furniture to replace the pieces they didn't want from either home

$20k for a top-of-the-line natural-gas powered generator (one strong enough to power a small restaurant) so they never have to worry about power outages

Art restoration for almost every painting in their current home plus a number of paintings my grandparents had

And they even renovated my grandparents' two barns!

By the way, they largely didn't clean out my grandparents' house, they just paid the contractor to dump everything in the barns after they were renovated.

They decided on March 1st that they want to move out completely by the end of March, which has forced my siblings and I to spend all of our available time helping them shovel out 30 years worth of my mother's compulsive hoarding. It never quite reached the point of the Collyer Brothers, but it did get to a point that our bedrooms were only nominally ours. We lost all functionality of the combination dining room / rec room around 2005. After 2018, neither of my siblings' bedrooms were even accessible. They want to move by April Fools Day.

I'm still cleaning out "my" room (only the upper layers of the piles of hoard were ever mine). I learned recently that my bedroom actually has a closet. I lived in that room for over 20 years thinking I never had a closet. I decided last night that I won't take anything. This will upset my mother. She envisioned "cleaning my room" as "taking everything somewhere else so she doesn't have to see me throw away anything". She has fought me on every item I have thrown away. I don't care about her feelings on the subject anymore.

She won't stop texting me about how much fun we're all going to have visiting them in the country, or how I need to hurry up and finish cleaning out "my" bedroom, or that I should be a good son and make time to help them go through everything they shoved into the barns. Maybe I should even take some of it (all of it preferably) because they won't have room for all of it once their stuff is moved in. Can't I help? Pretty please?

They've become completely unmoored from reality. My dad will just randomly force strangers at the grocery store to swipe through before and after pictures of their reupholstered furniture. My mother is talking in various fake accents (from her best approximation of "British" to Antebellum Southern drawl to 1940s Mid-Atlantic to that generic fake accent all modern country musicians use). They call me at all times of day. They don't care that I'm working or trying to sleep because I have work the next day. My needs don't matter anymore, only their wants matter.

EDIT: While I was typing this my dad sent me a before/after picture of a bookshelf they had restored.

When it became evident that I should probably wear a respirator and gloves to handle anything in the lower levels of my mother's hoard, she became upset. "It's not that bad! You're overreacting!" she said. Their home is a biohazard. They will never find a buyer for their home. the exterior is okay, but inside is wrecked beyond your wildest imagination. They are still ticked at my siblings and I because none of us could afford to buy their home nor did we express any interest in buying it at a significant discount. Whomever they convince to buy the home will need to gut it.

I'm honestly done with them. I don't think this personality shift is temporary. I just think it's who they are now. They've become selfish, shortsighted, incredibly inconsiderate, and unfathomably weird. Nothing I say has made a difference. I did everything I could to convince them they were making a mistake. I live with the existential dread that they are banking on me and my siblings helping them solve their problems when it inevitably hits the fan. Screw that! Luckily I live in a state without filial responsibility laws.

I will not be rescuing them and neither will my siblings. I will not be visiting them or sacrificing my time and energy when they could have just sold that stupid farmhouse and put the proceeds towards saving for their advanced age. For reasons I will never understand, it is more important that they get to play the characters they see on TV than it is to plan for a future when they are old and infirm. I get it, one is fun and one is not. Surely they can see that we're at the same age they were when they became parents. They had a house, two new-ish cars, & young kids. Meanwhile we live in miserable shoebox apartments, with cars that have 200,000+ miles on the odometer, and no path to home ownership in the foreseeable future.

But go on ahead. Go play Yellowstone. Go play Home Town. I hope whatever fleeting happiness they squeeze from their experience can fill the miserable void in their lives. I don't have the gas money to drive 100 miles round-trip to visit them every week vs the 40 miles round-trip I make now. They are making it harder and harder for me to see them. Once they are out of sight, they will be out of mind. They just don't realize it yet.

[purplesurveys]

1882

1. Are you still close with your godparents? Yes! In assigning my godparents, my parents tapped both sets of their siblings so I definitely have the most accessible godparents to that of my sister's (my mom's closest cousins) and brother's (close family friends).

2. What machines are running in your house currently?  Aircons, ref, electric fans. I also have the TV on if that counts.

3. Do you have any clothing/jewelry etc. that has your name on it? Nope.

4. Who do you know that is pregnant right now? I don't think so.

5. What hemp/cannabis products do you have?  None.

6. What percentage of your life have you been with your partner? I don't have one.

7. What picture is on your calendar this month?  I don't keep a calendar anymore.

8. How many doctors are you a patient of? The only one I visit regularly is my dentist.

9. What is something you remember from a recent dream? Bea coming back to the company and putting order to things.

10. What was the last thing you cleaned? My laptop screen and keyboard.

11. Last thing you repaired? I did a bit of DYI with my glasses since the left frame partially snapped a few days ago.

12. Are there any upcoming weddings you are attending? My grandparents had a renewal of vows for their 75th anniversary if that counts? Otherwise, no weddings on the radar.

13. Who do you know with the same model of vehicle as you? I know Cla has a Mitsubishi Mirage as well, but I have the small hatchback whereas she has the sedan.

14. Last thing you ordered on Amazon?  I've never ordered anything from Amazon.

15. What did you last buy at the grocery store? Essentials like eggs, milk, meat...and some snacks.

16. How far did you go the last time you left town? A little less than 80km to our accommodations in Tagaytay.

17. What colour belt are you wearing or last wore? Black.

18. What kind of milk do you consume? Almond and oat.

19. What colour is your fridge? Silver.

20. What was in the last smoothie you made? I don't consume smoothies.

21. Last friend’s pet you pet? Not a friend but we went to my dad's side's house this afternoon to drop my grandparents off, and we asked for Tonia, their newest and by the far the sweetest shihtzu they have haha.

22. Do you know anyone born on February 29th? Katreen's younger sister.

23. Run your fingers through your hair and measure the first stray. How long is it? I'm sorry I cannot be assed right now haha

24. For what did you last write your signature? A work document.

25. How many vehicles do you and your spouse own? I don't have a spouse, but my family has 3 cars.

[omnipresentotherness]

Those two little parks, the one that’s a five-minute walk from my grandparents’ house that I played in as a child, and the one down the next street from where I live.

They are my domain.

I wander there often, watching them change, I know the names of every tree. I have been here when the Broken Light set itself aglow every evening to remind my parents it was getting late. I have been here when the rusty brown seesaw was painted in bright reds and blues. My feet have descended the wooden steps down to the playground that now lie gated off and broken and so overgrown with vines that they are hard to see.

If you ever feel a quiet, thoughtful presence there, it is me. You will find me on the swings, listening to music and soaring and creating an everything anew inside my mind. You will find me crouched under a tree, greeting an ant or a spider (no wanderer is too small for me to appreciate.) You will find me picking up the odd plastic bottle or paper bag that a careless human has left behind, keeping my domain as clean as I possibly can. I will leave little wonders behind for anyone curious enough to find them.

I have created angels to guard the hearts of travelers through my domain, with soft skin and glittering plastic eyes and welcoming smiles stitched on by hand, small enough to be grasped by one little hand and always stationed atop the slide. Sometimes even they get hurt fulfilling their duty, and I carry them home and carefully set things right before kissing their foreheads and returning them to their post, where their companions await.

My domain is one of transience and laughter, tears and memories, picnics under the clouds and flights of imagination, scraped knees and the kisses that made them okay, trees reaching their branches towards the sun and little trees and suns and flowers and cats and spaceships scribbled in chalk and marker on the pavement.

I love my domain. I cannot be more proud to be its [redacted].

[scum-belina]

lengthy life rant under the cut read it if you either want to sympathize, feel better abt your own life, or just out of morbid curiosity. Whatever the reason I understand.

My maternal grandma told me “you can’t keep living like a princess forever sweetie :)” yesterday and I........the level of delusion most of my family has is insane. What is so princess-like living in a mobile home that falling apart and has holes in the floor thanks to my dad never fixing anything and then dying and so I had to try my best to make this sinking ship still habitable??? what is princess-like being unable to find a job that actually pays enough that I could actually help my mom, get our house’s plumbing fixed so we could have running water again, or save money instead of it all just going towards gas money to fuel up my car to get to my shitty low paying job??? What is princess-like about being a caretaker for multiple family members and neighbors and seldom getting thanks for it and even more seldom ever getting paid for it even though I’m told I work a job most people wouldn’t be able to do??? 

What’s princess-like about having to live without running water due to aforementioned issue and having to live the water jug life at home for everything??? What s princess-like about me having to go to either a neighbor’s, my granny’s or my grandparent’s to fill up usually 16-20 1-gallon jugs multiple times a week, all while other neighbors stare at me or drive by trying to see what I’m doing, and have all their not fenced in dogs come over and bark at me and draw attention to me while I fill the jugs up, carry them all back into the car, then drive back home to carry them all back into the house. It’s humiliating. 

What’s princess-like about having to clean human and dog shit and piss of the floors and (bc my grandpa has dementia and they have an elderly sickly dog) of my maternal grandma’s house because I know she can’t see it or do it herself and still never being even thanked for it??? I try so hard with the little I have. And I believe in doing everything I can and then some for people if I am present and able to do it, even if they’re not the nicest person. But in her eyes and most of my family’s eyes they just see a lazy loser. The thing is though is that I cannot win. If I do somehow get a job that actually pays a livable wage, all my family will be like, “about time! it’s just an entry level job though...” and then proceed to complain about me not being available to do all the dirty work and errands for other family especially my grandparent’s and so they’ll have to skip a football game or shitty middle class snobby party to get my grandparent’s their groceries and god forbid actually have to visit with them for a few minutes. And my grandparent’s will treat me the same way!!! Lmao!!! 

Maybe I’m just utterly insane, but nothing about my life has ever felt even remotely princess-like. I’m struggling every day I’m working every day and usually for nothing. I won’t give up but it’s hard to carry on sometimes. It seems like everything and everyone is against me. 

[the-silent-windchime]

Midwest/Southwest Gothic

Here’s a list of things I associate with my particular brand gothic horror

My dad took us out to Oklahoma once to visit the house he grew up in. When we got there, we found a cracked concrete slab supporting the skeleton of a few crumbling walls and a nearly intact red brick chimney. There was the hollowed-out shell of an old VW Bug sitting on cinderblocks in the overgrown yard, and a barn that swayed every time a strong breeze picked up. The house, like a concerning amount of the childhood houses in my family, had burned to the ground years ago, and the title to the land was lost in the system. It’s unclear who now owns the land, and by extension, the house, or what they intend to do with it, but someone had zip tied a piece of cardboard to the fence that said “do not trespass”. There was a horse standing in what used to be my dad’s room.

One time I was riding my bike to work and happened to go past one of the town’s most notorious meth houses. They had a dog, and I’m not good with dog breeds but this one looked like it had been bred to be mean. It pulled its lead from the ground as I biked past and chased me all the way down the street, managing to bite me in the leg. Every time I tried to speed up to outrun it it got more agitated, so I just stopped. The dog stopped too, and just watched me from across the street, refusing to come any closer or let me approach. After a little while it wandered right back to the meth house and curled up under the saggy front porch. That dog was gone the next day.

Corn fields are spooky, but nothing is scarier than being in the woods by yourself at night.

Animals just wander into your space all the time. They have no concept of civilization vs wilderness. We would get deer, turkeys, coyotes, moles, groundhogs, and even once an entire family of black bears. There was a stray cat in the neighborhood that we never once saw, and only knew existed because it left dead mice on our back patio when we started leaving the door to the shed open at night.

Nothing, and I cannot stress this enough, NOTHING is more terrifying than turning on your brights when driving at night and suddenly seeing a crowd of deer standing on the side of the road, watching you as you drive past.

Cars coming on the opposite side of the road will sometimes flash their headlights at you as a warning about something, usually a cop. One time I was driving up the side of a mountain and a car coming down flashed their lights so frantically that I just found a place to turn around and went right back down. I passed someone else going up and gave them the same warning without knowing for sure what I was even warning them about.

My blog name is actually based on an item I pulled from the detritus of an old hoarder’s house I was helping clean out. The guy must not have liked the sound of the windchime, because he’d glued cut up bits of pool noodles to it to silence it. This one is less Midwest gothic and more what the fuck went on in your head dude

My grandparents have lived in the same trailer park for all my life. It’s a nice little place out in the middle of nowhere in Kansas, all the neighbors keep their places clean and quiet and they were all polite on the few occasions I interacted with them. It is Kansas, though, so the only way to get to the park is on the one cracked up old road that goes out of town and cuts through miles of nothing as far as the eye can see. And as someone who grew up mostly in urban areas, it’s a bit strange to see the plumes of smoke that go up every couple couple of days when people burn their trash (my grandpa is big into recycling, so for the longest time my grandparents used the inside of an old washing machine as a burn barrel)

Flea markets.

Pawn shops (bad and evil, full of weird taxidermy, walls of scratched up DVDs, and guys who are way too obsessed with guns)

Casinos were The Backrooms before The Backrooms were cool, and it’s completely by design. Manufactured fucking liminal space, baby

The weather changes on a dime. Sometimes after a few days of really warm weather the clouds will just close up like a trapdoor and turn the sky white instead of blue. And sometimes after a storm the clouds will blow away and the sky will be so blue it almost hurts to look at.

These were all the ones I could think of off the top of my head. I mostly did this because the search results for “Midwest gothic” were a lot of abandoned houses in the country and weird, decaying religious signs. And yeah, there’s a shit ton of that stuff in the midwest, don’t get me wrong! But that’s not all there is.

[06theloser]

TMNT 2012 OC IDEAS

hakdvdskhsn, it's 2 am I have to clear my floors Cuz I guy is coming over to power clean all my carpets and I start work at 12, HOWEVER I HAD A TOILET THOUGHT. OKSY SO 3 2012 TMNT OCS, main one is a 17 year old half Japanese half Columbian boy. Stay with me here. HIS LITTLE SISTER, okay? SHE AND A STRAY CAT SHE FOUND ON THE WAY HOME FROM SCHOOL, GET INTO AN ACCIDENT WITH SUM MUTAGEN AND BOOM! TWO YOUNG CAT MUTANTS. the sister is 8 and the Stray cat is about 4. They both come home to the grandparent and the older brother. Lots of panic, obviously. The next day big bro is round the back of the school om the phone talking to his alma about how to take care of them, CASEY JONES over hears, offers to help, bro doesn't trust at all and leaves. Casey goes to tell the turtles, Splinter and April back at the house and April offers to help Casey get rhem to help. Splinter tell them to get the girls to the house.

NEXT DAY Casey comes back to help him and April is with him. Bro accepts it reluctantly because although Casey seems cool, April passes him off. Casey and April take the car to the house, then drive the three siblings to the house, bro is being very protective and hold the girls close the entire car ride and even after they arrive. The three meet the turtles and Splinter. Immediately bonds with mikey and respects Leo and Splinter, doesn't trust Donnie one bit after seeing hiw he acts with april and refuses to speak to either April or donniw the whole time. Constantly keeping his guard up around raph and hold the girls close but is more relaxed around mikey and Splinter. He talks to Splinter, Leo and raph while mikey and Casey show the girls around and entertain them. Accepts splinters offer to leave the girls with them and visit on weekends, and the grandparents will know about their safety but skip out on their new carers being mutants too to keep everyone safe. Raph, and april are forced to promise to not speak to or teach the girls anything and donnie is only allowed to talk to them when teaching them all due to the brothers first impressions of them. And they are not to be taught combat only self defense. Those were the conditions the brother insisted on until he further interacted with them himself. Everyone but April agrees and respects this(Raph is reluctant but obliged after the brother explained it was mostly temporary until the brother knew them all better)

Casey takes him home after saying his goodbyes and tell the grandparents the girls were staying on a secluded farm on the other side of the forest with a middle-aged couple and their 9 year old kid. He lied and said the couple has taken care of a similar case until the mutant decided to live on his own in the wild somewhere. Idk something believable along those lines. T he brother becomes friends with Casey and helps him at school, and Casey drives him to and from the house to visit the girls.

He eventually warms up to donnie a little bit and Raph by a lot. He himself talk to donnie about science stuff and mechanics with Casey but donnie still isn't allowed to interact woth the girls outside of teaching. But Raph is as long as Leo isn't with them and he cannot lay a hand on anyone besides threats infront of the girls. He still hates April and April quickly hates him back, causing a passive aggressive "I hate you but I'm gonna smile anyway because it's polite and I'm too mature to fight you" relationship with donnie. Bro insults the ugly ugg boots off of April but she never comes up with a good come back and Raph teams with the brother and him up everytime.

Casey was really conflicted with his friendship with the brother and April even after he moved on from April, but that later changed after Casey dumped the whole Love triangle story to the bro and the bro explains how she's way too toxic and should try and softly hint that to donnie bc the bro can't get through o donniw even if he wanted to. Casey understands himself better now and sees how bad April actually is as a person.

The Stray Cat is eventually adopted to idea of being the baby sister and now is considered family to the other cat mutant and the human bro. All three are super close and the girls get excited whenever their bro cokes by on the weekends. Whenever there's mission or an emergency the bro gets called and he stays with them at the house or the girls are either taken back to the bro and grandparents if the house is under attack.

After the donnie atom split, April is banished from the team entirely and the bro basically replaces her role and visits every day he doesn't have work. He and the girls learn to use European style swords instead of Japanese weapons because grandma used to be a swordsman and fencing instructor. Bro also uses guns. He aint fvcking around

[onedayatatime-please]

Thursday, Aug. 15th, 2024. 1:03 pm

I've spent the whole day with extreme anxiety. I did my breakfast sandwich, shower, and everything like I said I would, but in between has been spent doing breathing exercises to try and calm myself down as my heart has been racing. I have been sitting in front of my computer emotionally prepping for my therapy appointment only to get a call five minutes before its supposed to start telling me that its been cancelled because the therapist had some sort of emergency and is now no longer taking new clients. This is fine, shit happens. Im now just emotionally exhausted and a bit upset that I had to change the person I wanted to be my therapist, and the new person im going to do intake with seems good but not quite as good. Who knows, maybe im wrong and Im gonna end up loving them but Im so fucking tired.

Also I had a dream last night where I was back on Randy's farm and got to say hi to Bandito. He must be a very old horse now if he is still alive (I know his mother passed a few years ago), and in my dream his hairs were greying a bit, but he still had the white pattern around his eyes. There was a girl there working on the farm and we were flirting, and in the dream I was kinda hoping to get with her. Most of the dream was spent on the farm, but at some point it shifted to a desert scape and suddenly I was in a war zone and hiding out in some low mud buildings from a group of soldiers. As some point a soldier found me and the last thing I remember from my dream was crying and begging for my life as he pointed his gun in my face. Very weird to have those two things happen one after the other.

I woke up feeling like I had not slept at all, which has been pretty much how I've been waking up every day recently.

I'm gonna clean the house and get ready for my cousins to be here in 3 hours. I am also going to try and photograph some more drawings for my portfolio so I can work on uploading them when I am visiting with my grandparents.

I am not dead yet, I will do my best to keep it that way.

9:42 pm edit:

Dinner went well and now I am very tired. I had a call with 🪶. He’s going to another city on the same days I’ll be near him. I think it’s time I move on from him. I loved him so much, and it’s not his fault that his life is falling apart. I want to be there for him and I want to keep loving him because I love loving him but I know it’s not sustainable. A part of me feels like I should just go along for the ride, I’m twenty, it doesn’t need to be sustainable yet. But I don’t want a ride, not really. He does tho, he wants to do crazy shit and that would be fine if we could work together to sustain our relationship on top of that but that doesn’t seem likely. This has been coming for so long I don’t really feel sad about it yet, I just feel lonely. I haven’t felt like I’m actually in a relationship for a while. And he was the one who made me want a sustainable relationship in the first place. I was so set on being lonely, but then I met him and it made me realize that I really do want another person, I want to be married, I want kids. But he doesn’t want any of that yet and he probably doesn’t want it with me either way. I’m glad that we were able to love each other for the few years we did. I wish things could be simple, but they are not. I don’t want to break it off with him because I’m afraid of experiencing true loneliness again after knowing what it’s like to actually not be lonely. Either decision leads to me being fucking miserable for a certain amount of time and I keep doing this thing where I try to negotiate and find a middle ground where I can be kind of okay for a little bit but that’s not how all this shit is gonna work in the end. I love him and I know that he loves me but we are at a time in our lives where we cannot fulfill each others needs in a stable relationship and so instead we are probably going to part ways and never hear from each other again and the thought of that makes me fucking sick.

I feel like a coward for wanting to leave him when he is struggling even though he is actively pushing me away.

I Wanna be an Astronaut floating through space

And be tied to a ship by a cord and just be simple and quiet.

But instead I’m a dog.

I’m gonna go to the ocean soon, so I can float in the water.

I’m not dead yet, I will do my best to keep it that way.

[patrixiajoi]

My life during Semestral break

My whole Semestral break was so peaceful and at the same time it was productive; being productive during our semestral break really helps me a lot and it even helps me with my everyday routine. During our vacation, I spent most of my time in our house with my siblings and grandparents; it was also fun spending time with them. It was short period of time but memorable one. It is the time of giving break from acads and to yourself. Because almost all my time have been spent from school hour nor time for making assignments and projects even though I'm at home. I maximized those short vacation by helping in the house chores, like cleaning rooms, taking care of my siblings at the same time playing with them, cleaning all my rubber shoes since I love collecting it. I'm a bookworm also, because reading makes me feel like dreaming like something magical can happen. It yes, was indeed a time to rest in waking up early morning just to prepare for school.

School is fun but exhausting. Well I guess that's life! It's all about hard works, and hard works always pay of. There's no shortcuts. You need patience and consistent in all things in able for you to achieve all of your dreams. My goal to be on top and finish my studies. having a good education will lead you to success because school provides knowledge and intelligence for several people in the word cannot afford for their kids to go to school so it's important for us to learn how to read, write and communicate. Semestral break is indeed a time to forget all the problem that we have encountered specially in school, and time to have peaceful mind without thinking about assignments nor projects. During those times, I had enjoyed a lot because I can finally rest my brain even just for a week. And that was perfect! I had found time to be with my family specially my brother and sister since they're growing so fast. I like hanging out with them and I know they're too. My mom always tells me that time spent with family is worth every second. As you may know, I grew up that my mom was always away since she's an international flight attendant. Its hard to have an overseas Filipino worker mom but I do understand the situation, she's earning money for us so we can achieve our dream and so we can buy everything that we need or want. And one day I want to become like her, to be a flight attendant so I would be able to travel the world and learn different cultures and meet different people.

I also hang out with my friends. I went to their house or they went to ours so we could hangout even just a hour. Take the time to catch up on our upcoming lesson, when the semestral break is over and back to school, I would have advance knowledge in the topic on that subjects. I also like listening to music. It makes me calm, helps me sleep better and most of the time makes me productive. I and my siblings as well as my grandma and grandpa went to cemetery to visit my relatives like my grandpa, uncles and aunties who already passed away. It's sad that I wasn't able to meet them when they were still alive but mom says, grandpa was amazing and as well her brother and sisters. If I can bring back the time, I would like to meet them in person.

Students most likely of our age really crave for a vacation or break especially those who are really stressed and drained out during the school days. We are always expecting for vacation/break because we think that we need to have a break in academic. The keep saying millennials is far from Gen-Z in term of everything, like lifestyle, bonding, even using gadgets. That’s why sometimes I and mom have conflict. Good thing daddy is always to the rescue. My parents are strict; I have limited time using my phone. I could only go out of our house when I need to go to my classmate's house for a project but I still have a curfew. but I know it is  for my own good. I know they’re just protecting me in this uncertain world and they only want the best for me. Going back to the topic, sembreak really helps us a lot it gives us a break in academic validation. I also hang out with my highschools friends like Kiesha, Chloe and Chrizia we played a lot like playing board games, codm and roblox then we bought Jollibee for our lunch then we went to xentro mall so we could have shopping. I can say that it was somehow fun.

I learned that our Sem break / vacations should be spent wisely. We have to use our time wise and we should be more productive so that we can do more things and be more organized. I was so happy when the DEPED order announced that we had a semestral break but before our semestral break I complied all the activities and quizzes that I missed. Vacation means a gentleness with ourselves, helps you relieve stress and boredom and gives us scenery, and help us to bring closer to people we love. As our vacation comes to an end I’m grateful for the moments I shared with family and friends. It’s always bittersweet but the memories last forever. It’s also a reminder to appreciate the moment and cherish the memories of past. For now, it time to focus again in my studies again. Like my mom always says, keep your eye on the goal. One day, I will fly soar high and waking up in different country. For now I just need to wake up and go to school and keep my focus intact.

[aaeds]

What's more annoying than that is not recognizing it can swing both ways, and watching tv or having one good experience with the disease doesn't make you an expert on it. It's incredibly terrifying to live in the same house with it not knowing whether or not that person will recognize you, or threaten to shove you down the stairs. If your parent or grandparent is growing more warm or violent in their actions and words and all you have is OP's statement about what can and can't be taken from our psyche is in direct opposition to science. In the end, when it has progressed toward the final stages these people will not know how to care for themselves let alone others. Granted the disease cannot take what they've done away from them, but it is very real in that it does take away what they can do.

It is the quality of care they receive and ability to receive that care that helps. And mood can swing one way or another depending on anything from energy to medications. I held my dad's hand and he calmed down, and then tried to grab the nurse by his throat and grabbed the second nurse by the shirt instead. It took over a minute to safely remove her from his grip. It doesn't matter how cute your kid is, or how much you love them it is an ugly disease and above all else you should educate yourself on what you're going to observe in the coming months to years, and make peace with the fact that you won't be having the same conversations and moments with them in the future. That was likely already taken from you long before the diagnosis.

Comments like the screencap turn the patient into a figure, much in the way pink ribbons are for breast cancer and how we can recognize the Gerber Baby before we see we've entered the infant aisle.

I say this because like any disease with a scary name or calm 'image' behind it in a tidy cardigan wrapped up with blankets, pushed by a smiling nurse in clean scrubs and a smile in her face - it does not account for ugly facts or something a company would put on a television ad because it does not draw our sympathies. If there is cancer, or dementia or Alzheimer's or any number of debilitating diseases in your family research the signs, talk to your family doctor if you have one and if not plan on getting one if you can within the next 5-10 years.

Your life isn't going to turn into a live laugh love spread in a magazine, there is more to treatment than medicine, and sometimes in the end we can't win against it.

Overtly cheerful bullshit the OP provides in a vapid salve, thick with positivity to detract from apathy. It's not enough to wall yourself in with inane messages of support typed over a picturesque sunset. You have to believe them, and to believe that they will not help others. OP meant well, but their anecdote can't wrest my mind of images of my father in a canopy bed wrestling for some incompressible control, naked and savaged by absent appetite.

I no more imagine him holding a grandchild, than I could see him holding my dead sister with the care he could when she was alive. I don't know what's really burned in our psyche but I would probably wager they are concepts and feelings anyone of us could struggle with and still fail to express.

And with all things we should be more patient than we know we can be, and won't recognize it until the end - because we'll keep lying to ourselves later will come in soft pastel softness and cardigans and smiling nurses, and not 3am in the dark empty hospital on a weekday.

i get what op is trying to say but deeply annoying post to have 22k notes tbh, like it's very common for people with dementia to become uncharacteristically suspicious/violent/angry in ways that make can make them very unpleasant to be around and yet they're still just as "human" and deserving of support. directly conflating "humanity" with being "kind and gentle" and "caring for others" does nothing but dehumanize people with dementia who are not like that through no fault of their own & probably already have difficulties with care

[weepingpussywillowtree]

One account of generational trauma

tw: discussion of alcoholism, abuse, war, eating disorders, abortion, and myriad other upsetting topics.

This is sort of a writing exercise for me. its quite long and probably depressing. no need to read, I just wanted to put it somewhere.

It probably started before this, but to my knowledge it starts with my great-grandparents.

My maternal grandmother's parents came over from Ireland before she was born. Her father was a lawyer, her mother was a housewife. They were both alcoholics. He dies when grandma is around fourteen, and she is thrust into the role of family caretaker for her mother and sisters. Grandma takes care of great-grandma and her youngest sister, who is intellectually and physically disabled, until they both die. My mom tells stories about how when great-grandma got dementia, she would accidentally drink cleaning supplies because she used hide alcohol in them and would forget which bottles were liquor. These stories are apparently meant to be funny.

My maternal grandfather is orphaned at birth; his mother dies bringing him into the world. His father, having no idea what to do with a dead wife and a new baby, gives him up to an orphanage. No one knows much of anything else about grandpa's childhood. The topic is avoided in discussion, even after he is dead.

On my dad's side, grandma is raised by strict parents. Her mother is exacting and critical, and judgemental of grandma's size. Grandma is bulimic, and has been her entire life. Dad is conceived out of wedlock when grandma is a teenager. Her and grandpa have a shotgun wedding, grandma's mother is not happy about this either. Grandma's father is abusive. He sits in the basement of the house chain smoking, a beer always in his hand. Everyone is afraid of him. He only emerges from the basement to exact his wrath on the residents of the house. Great-grandma is much happier after he dies.

Grandpa rarely talks about anything except bird watching and how he dodged the Vietnam draft. Dad says that grandpa's dad was a world war two veteran who's parents came over from Sicily, and that he had darker skin like grandpa. He was extremely racist against Japanese people because he claimed that during the war when he was a prisoner, they locked him in a cage and called him a monkey and some other nasty racial slurs. Grandpa doesn't talk to any of his extended family. He has never mentioned his mother. A quick google search shows that his extended family that remain are mostly involved in lots of crime and domestic abuse.

My mother was abused by both her parents. Grandpa beat her and her siblings when they misbehaved. He used to say "this is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you". Grandma also used corporal punishment but she was more emotionally abusive. She told her kids there was something wrong with them, that they were born wrong. She picked favorites and iced people out. Her opinion was law in the house, always. She was emotionally cold and distant. It is eerie to me how much this account mimics my own mother's abuse of me.

Dad's mom taught him to be bulimic. Its something he still can't kick. Its a large reason i've struggled with disordered eating myself. His father is usually incredibly docile and quiet, but he has a secret explosive temper that is terrifying when it is revealed. Dad and his brother are both spoiled and abused. They are pitted against each other by their parents, smothered, subject to grandpa's temper, and grandma's paranoia and whims. Grandma forces my father to take a cocktail of cold and flu medicines most days when he is a child because she cannot accept that he is allergic to her cats. Similar stories dominate my father's childhood experience. Keeping up with the joneses is paramount and family trauma's and secrets are buried at all costs, usually with the assistance of binge eating.

As a child, my mother is cruel and exacting. Emotional vulnerability is forbidden and harshly punished. When she punishes us, she says that it is harder for her to do than it is for us to experience. Food deprivation, verbal abuse, and extreme isolation (months at a time alone in the house, which is possible because we are homeschooled) are favorite punishments, but being dragged, hit, kicked, and having hard or sharp objects thrown at you comes standard as well. She picks favorites on a rotating basis, but broadly, my brother is spoiled, my sister is ignored and looked down on, and I am hated with an unprecedented vitriol. My aunt says grandma always preferred her boys to her girls.

As the oldest girl, I am hated, but also expected to raise my siblings alongside my mother, and take on more domestic tasks. Despite my usual willingness to go along with this, as well as my tendency to follow every rule I'm given, I'm given the moniker 'queen bitch' by the whole family, a nickname passed down from my mom's oldest sister. Mom tells me that I was born with something wrong with me that I can never fix, I just have to learn how to suppress it. She tells our extended family that she believes I am insane.

On the top shelf in our kitchen, sit two angel bear beanie babies. Mom tells us they are my brother and I's dead siblings that we shared a womb with. I think about them on my birthday and wonder if they would have liked me. If we could have played together. I am older when I learn they are the result of a voluntary pregnancy reduction. Mom says dad forced her into it, saying he would leave her and withdraw support if she wanted to keep all four of us. Other relatives say that mom decided to do it independently to reduce our chance of having severe disabilities or dying straight after we were born. My guess is that neither story is completely true. Mom wants to bury the remains of the two fetuses and have a service. Dad takes them in the middle of the night and leaves them at the dump. The idea that anyone might know about this procedure is too shameful.

Dad spends most of his time in the basement or living room, eating and playing video games. We learn not to bother or interrupt him at a young age. He's usually quiet and nervous, but he has an explosive and terrifying temper. At night, I hear him purging from his binges in the bathroom. I ask my mother why dad is always sick and she makes a face. When dad does spend time with us, he alternates between spoiling us with all the latest toys and experiences and piles of junk food, and taking his anger out on us. As I'm older, I become his emotional support. He treats me like a second wife, and regularly calls me by my mother's name by accident. He leaves the bedroom door open while masturbating and leaves pornography open on the family laptop. When he has a mental breakdown and ends up in a psychiatric hospital when I'm a teenager, I learn he was sexually abused by a sports coach as a child. I learn he was not allowed alone with us when we were infants after he left hand shaped bruises on my body for crying when I was only a few days old.

I am filled with sadness as a child, a deep sense of tragedy and pain that I don't understand the gravity nor the source of. Now, I understand, at least partly, where this feeling comes from.

I only see my family a few times a year. My sister is in a cult, seeking the attention and acceptance she never got as a child, and dating a man twenty years her senior who recently got out of prison for murdering a woman by beating her to death. My brother is seen as gentle, reliable, and an intellectual genius, but he has a manipulative streak and a nasty temper, which becomes violent if you push him too hard. I worry for his girlfriend. My mother is in a second marriage with a man who's first marriage ended when he choked his wife in a fit of rage. She has no friends, and bemoans to me how alone she is. But when I visit, she begins belittling and picking fights with me within a day. I wonder how much of it she means and how much of it is an echo of what her mother told her. Dad is alone. He does crossfit, goes to concerts with friends, takes care of his dogs, and is successful in his career. He went to therapy after the divorce, and is on anti-anxiety medication. I know that he will never apologize to me, but I'm happy for him.

When I was deciding if I'd ever have children, I asked myself a lot of questions, but one of them was if I could commit to breaking the cycle. If, when faced with the typical difficulties of parenting, I could do something other than fall back on what my family has been doing to each other for generations. And the honest answer is that I don't know. There are many other reasons I don't want children, but answer to this particular question is why even if I wanted children, I would be very hesitant to have them. Because here's the truth: after everything I said about my parents, it seems obvious to you, the reader, that they are recreating the traumas they experienced, but both of them thought that they were breaking the cycle. That they were treading new ground. And the idea of that, that I could have a child and bring them into a soup of pain, tragedy, and confusion, all while sincerely believing that I was different, terrifies me more than anything.

Mom gave me scars on my forearm with her fingernails when I was eleven. In a few days, I'm getting a new tattoo in that same spot. I want that part of my body back, and so I'm taking it. I'm going to make it beautiful again. I woke up a few months ago, and realized that I was happy, and that for the first time in my life, I wanted to be alive. I look at myself in the mirror, and I see a little girl who deserves good things, who needs someone to protect and take care of her. My family can never be those people, but I can be that person for myself.

[j-graysonlibrary]

The Xiang Chronicles: Book Three Chapter 9

Title: The Xiang Chronicles: Book Three

Author: Jay Grayson

Word Count: 107k

Genres: Fantasy, adventure, drama, LGBT+

Available on: my website

Synopsis: Only one Xiang remains and her name is Merra. She hopes to unite the land by force and plow down anyone in her way—especially the people of Agni who she deems faithless and the native people of Terra who refuse to cooperate with her.

Raine continues to serve his Lord but he has taken to alcoholism to soothe his grief—a fact he keeps out of his letters with Heidi. Baiya has returned to mercenary work in order to keep his family safe while Kira is on the warpath. He, fully, takes on the title of Chaaya and means to defeat the Xiang he sees as false.

And, in a guarded castle in Enlil, a stir-crazy Princess dabbles in the dark arts, setting in motion something even Tiandi cannot see.

Full chapter 9 under the cut

Chapter IX:

The patch of woods around the logging building was certainly not as easy to navigate as Heidi recalled. She was already out of breath and she had just begun to breach the thick of it. Granted, she was in a very different physical condition from the last time she was there but it still caught her by surprise.

“Little Lady, where did you go?” She grumbled, more to herself than anything.

Her right hand reached down to press against her belly—the real issue. Not that she would blame the baby but he really was weighing her down in this instance.

Really, it should have been Idris out there searching for Wi Lady but Heidi was sure, when she left the house anyway, that she would be able to do it just fine. Only being a month away from possible delivery, she was ordered to rest as much as possible but her spirit craved activity. If she spent another moment lying in bed, in those same four walls of her bedroom, she would surely go stir crazy.

The fallen tree blocking her path was making her second guess her decision, however.

She huffed and leaned against a trunk, catching her breath. “Lady!” she called out again after a moment.

There was still no response. Heidi gathered her strength and marched on, swinging her legs over the fallen tree, one at a time. Her pace remained relatively slow but she made it to the clearing on the other side in somewhat decent time. The sun would be on the decline when they got back to the house but that was alright. Dinner would probably be ready as well.

“Lady,” she said as she finally saw her form in the distance.

The young girl looked up, one, big, beautiful eye showing from behind her hair. She kept it pinned back most of the time these days but her adventure in the woods had probably shaken it loose.

Her hands clutched a stick and were caked in dirt as was her dress and her legs. It had rained a few days prior so it was especially messy.

Heidi rubbed along her brows and sighed. “Lady…what are you doing?”

“Playing,” she answered with the obvious.

“You know you will have to take a bath now, right?.”

Lady stood and wiped her palms against her skirt. “No, see?” She showed her dirt smeared hands and grinned. “They are clean now.”

“No,no, no.” Heidi approached her and set a hand on top of her head. “That is not going to work. Bath.”

The girl groaned but she would, eventually, go along with the nightly routine. She had settled into her new life quite easily and there had only been a few hiccups. Namely, she would sometimes use her power but only in the most innocuous and cheeky ways (like making her grandparents give her an extra cookie or to try to get out of chores). Heidi still reprimanded her for that and reminded her of the deal that was struck between Sha-Parvati and Pangu.

Usually, however, those old names were never brought up. Not unless Heidi was speaking about her baby. She was not sure yet, not entirely, that they would be a boy but she planned on naming him Pangu regardless. She had a feeling and she wanted to carry on her brother’s memory in her child.

Lady was jealous of the baby and, though she would not say it outright, it was still quite obvious.

She probably worried that, once little Pangu was born, she would no longer receive any attention at all. Heidi was sure she would be wrapped up in her baby but she could not imagine ignoring Wi Lady for anything either.

Despite the fact there was only a ten year difference between them, she really did see the girl as her daughter. It had been a feeling in her gut since she first saw her and, since living with her, that feeling had only strengthened.

It seemed Kira had been right, in one instance. She did find the role of mother surprisingly comfortable. Plus, her parents were happy to finally have grandchildren, even if their blood grandchild had yet to be born.

Their excitement for him was palpable.

Lady grasped Heidi’s hand, spreading the mud to her palm but she did not care. “What’s for dinner? I’m hungry.”

“Honestly?” Heidi pressed her lips together. “I have no idea. But, your father was making something with your grandma when I left.”

“What did it smell like?”

“Sweet…a bit nutty,” she recalled and, instantly, Lady’s pace quickened.

“Let’s go!”

There were still bad days where Lady would remember her past or just simply feel as though she did not deserve the love she was currently receiving. Those were always hard but Heidi was getting better at comforting her. Idris was phenomenal at it and, even if the two were awkward around one another at first, he had really stepped into the role of a father figure and thrived.

They loved one another dearly and Heidi loved them both.

Back home, in the kitchen, Sayama and Idris stirred a pot and pulled a tray out of the oven respectfully. The smell in the room was dense and both sweet and savory. Heidi could tell right away that some sort of pastry was made along with roasted vegetables. It reminded her of a dish her mother would always make when Pangu came to visit. She used spices that made the vegetables taste meatier so Heidi would eat them as a youngster. It worked for Lady now.

“Oh look at you,” Sayama gasped when she caught sight of the girl. “What have you been doing?”

“Playing in the mud,” Lady answered with a proud smile.

“You need a bath before you can eat.”

She pouted.

“Grandma will help.” She chuckled and moved away from the food to take Lady from Heidi. Her eyes shifted between the two. “Reminds me of you when you were this age.”

Heidi arched an eyebrow. She recalled playing outside a lot, of course, but she did not remember tracking in mud through the house. “I was never this dirty,” she commented.

But her mother just laughed. “Oh, yes you were.” She took Lady’s hand and led her down the hall. On the way she could be heard saying, “Your mother was a terror sometimes.”

Heidi frowned. If her mother told Lady too much then the girl would never take her advice seriously. Telling her of her bad behavior was basically a free pass for her to do the same.

A shadow came over her and finally made her look away from the hall. Idris stared down at her, a half crooked smile on his lips.

“You look like you had fun out there,” he commented before leaning down and giving her a kiss.

“Do I?” Heidi remarked as he pulled away. She gripped the front of his robe and tugged a little. Even after so long, it was still a bit strange to see him in the casual attire.

He blended right in with the town, somehow. Really, sometimes he was too friendly, she felt. He had made friends with all of her co-workers and had the admiration of every man who had been too afraid to ask her on a date before. Some days he would spend her entire lunch break just chatting with everyone and teaching them how to curse in Foi’rra.

Not so much lately—not since Heidi had gotten so big. It was not easy for her to chop wood in her current state and her doctor strictly advised against it. Only a few months after the baby’s arrival would she be approved to return to work though she knew, from that point on, her life would be drastically different.

It already was but she tried to focus only on the positives.

Idris helped with that a lot. Some days he would have to pick both Heidi and Lady up from the depths of a depressive episode.

She really did not know what she would have done without him.

The man’s hand rested over hers and he gave her another kiss. “You seem reinvigorated.”

“I am exhausted,” she responded with a laugh, “I feel so out of shape.”

“You have another human in your body. Do not be so hard on yourself, Urishka.” Another kiss.

Only from the corner of her eye did Heidi see the smoke coming from the stove. She broke away from Idris and rushed to take the vegetables off the fire. They were a little burnt on the bottom but she hoped the flavor would not be too badly affected. Her mother would notice, for certain, but maybe no one else would.

Like when she was young, her father still worked until nightfall. Sometimes he would be able to call it an early night and arrive just after sundown but it was fairly rare. So, it was nothing out of the ordinary to sit down to dinner without him.

Lady, clean and in a fresh dress, threw down her food as if she was starving. Heidi was happy no one mentioned the slight bitter undertone to the vegetables as she ate her share, occasionally checking in with everyone. Silence was the mark of a successful meal, she figured, and then focused on clearing her plate.

The first fork to clank down was Lady’s. She let out a big, satisfied sigh, and then she mentioned, “Grandpa is late again.”

“Yes,” Sayama replied and combed back some of Lady’s hair with her fingers. “You may have to go to bed without seeing him.”

“I’ll just get up reeeeal early.” The girl grinned.

“Then you have to go to bed early too.”

She pouted dramatically but it did not last long.

Idris rose from his seat and asked, “Ready for the next chapter of your bedtime story?”

Lady jumped up next. “Yes! I forgot about that!”

Heidi snickered to herself as she watched them. Idris’ ability to read the script of common tongue had pretty much been mastered through reading Lady her stories at bedtime. He still found some words he did not know occasionally but he would usually figure it out on his own. Heidi could not remember the last time he had called her in to ask for help.

Idris picked Lady up and carried her like a bag of potatoes, making her shriek in laughter. Heidi was not sure what it was about being tossed around but Lady loved it. Then again, her childhood memories showed her asking her parents to do similar things. Even the idea of that much motion as an adult, especially a pregnant one, was enough to make her stomach flip.

Their laughter bounced off the walls and grew softer and softer as they headed to Lady’s bedroom. Heidi moved her eyes down, to the table and then to her mother.

“I will clean up,” she told her.

Still, Sayama picked up some of the dishes for her and helped by bringing them to the sink. Then she lingered. Heidi could feel the stare on the side of her head and the smile being shot in her direction.

“A letter came for you today.”

She had not been expecting that. Heidi turned to glimpse her. “Yeah?”

“It is from Kyrie.”

That was all that was needed to be said for Heidi to speed through the dishes. Her mother laughed at her enthusiasm but did leave her be.

As soon as she was done, Heidi retrieved the letter from the nearby counter and took it to the table where she could read it under sufficient candle light. Her name, written in neat script over the envelope, instantly brought a smile to her lips.

After a year, Raine was the only one that kept in touch. He was her only lifeline out into current events and she looked forward to his letters which usually arrived like clockwork. This one was a little more delayed than the others but she understood he did not have as much time to sit and write like she did.

Despite that, he had still managed to write her every few weeks, even during the scrimmages on the border. Sometimes Heidi felt guilty that she was not helping and, instead, living a relatively peaceful life back in her hometown with her family.

But, of course, each time she had mentioned that feeling in her letters, Raine would always come back and tell her that her happiness was most important. And that Pangu would prefer her to stay out of harm’s way.

Her fingers trembled with excitement as she unfolded the pages and her eyes immediately started to scan over the writing.

“Heidi,

Sorry it has taken me a week longer than usual to sit down and respond to your last letter. The new...management…is often difficult to deal with. I would have gotten this to you sooner if not for the shortened breaks and constant assignments. I am sorry if this merely sounds like an excuse to you.

Honestly, while I do write to you on the basic principle that I wish to keep up with you, these letters have also been fairly cathartic for me. I try not to think of it in such selfish terms but the week I went without writing things down to tell you, I did feel far more tense than usual.

That aside, I am happy to hear that your pregnancy is going smoothly. I would expect no less from such a strong person such as yourself. And Pangu is the perfect name. I am sure I do not have to tell you but I believe he would have been honored to have a nephew (or niece) named after him.

I am also glad to hear that Idris is studying under the local doctor. His knowledge of plants and passion for medicine will make him great at it. Plus, if you ever want to travel again, a job like that would offer more flexibility on the road. Though, I would recommend against going anywhere any time soon—pregnancy aside.

The battles will be moving away from the east coast and further west but I still suspect there will be resistance fights cropping up all over the place. Merra has made some oversights in her urgency and, while I cannot say more than that, I will just let you know to be careful.

The wedding to unify the Enlil royals should prove to be trying but you are far enough away from the heart of that to not cause me any concern. Just stay put until it blows over and I hope, for the peoples’ sake, there is no coup or uprising. I know frighteningly little about the actual plan but, as I keep being told, it does not concern me.

I still have not caught Kira. I…I think I should meet him again soon but who knows what will happen? He has chosen his path and I have chosen mine. That is all there is to say.

Baiya is well though his letters are short. I have encouraged him to write you as well but I have a feeling he will not. He only writes me to give me political updates anyway and he keeps them vague to not draw suspicion. I look forward to them so that I can know he is still alive and that Viren and Oli are well.

I do miss them but I could not afford to visit for more reasons than I could possibly list. I am sure you know most of them anyway.

Well…tell everyone that I send my regards. Please stay safe and I hope your delivery goes smoothly and little Pangu is perfectly healthy. I look forward to hearing about him.

Song Raine Sei.”

Heidi exhaled slowly and then immediately grabbed a spare sheet of parchment and a pen. She did not have enough for a full letter but she wished to start one anyway.

[progressivemother]

The three year glitch and seven year itch

For many the three year glitch and the seven year itch are difficult to navigate. I think it depends on who you are on which one you have. They are both similar. Older generations usually have the seven year itch while younger ones tend to have the three year glitch.

The three-year glitch has replaced the seven-year itch as the tipping point where couples start to take each other for granted. But either way every relationship goes through this stage. Stinginess, weight gain, cleaniness, etc can all play a part. Even things that were once considered cute by a spouse has become annoying, such as being controlling.

Longer working hours combined with money worries can take a toll, along with sexual incompatibility (even if you were compatible before), personality differences, different outlooks and goals, and incompatible lifestyle quirks. These can play a role in every relationship but that doesn't mean you will see all of these problems in your marriage.

Mine was mainly cleanliness and his long hours. His was that I was too much of a clean freak. But we figured out how to make it work. Now he actually enjoys the house being clean and gets annoyed at messes. He got a different job with less hours and I started working from home.

To say it was a stressful time in our lives is an understatement. We went through the three year glitch. At seven years we didn't have an issue.

Here are some ways to get through this.

1. Realize you can’t change anyone but yourself. We cannot change another person, and attempting to do so actually harms the relationship. This isn’t to say that people can’t change. They totally can. On their own. My husband and I have changed over time naturally with the motivation of each other.

2. Get out of the victim mentality. You will drown if you are focusing on yourself. Remember that your spouse has just as many things that they could be upset about that you do. There’s two sides to every story. This is why communication is key. As I said in another post, use anger as an opportunity not an obstacle.

3. Share things equally. This is related to #2. If you feel like your doing everything on your own while your spouse comes home and sits for hours after work, then talk about it. If you don't, you'll be miserable. Since you can't change your spouse, you have to address it another way. For us, I went back to work and also had some girls nights out, giving him time to care for the kids. He got to where he understood how hard it was. We both work and we both parent. It has been really good for us.

4. Have regular date nights. This one is simple, but important. And easier said than done. Because life is busy! Having time to just be a couple can be extremely beneficial to the relationship. It doesn't have to be anything expensive either. You can have a picnic or stay at home and have a movie night while the kids spend the night with the grandparents. For us, we decided on at least once a month, maybe more if we have time. Mix it up. Adventure promotes bonding.

5. Choose to laugh. My husband likes to tease. He makes a lot of jokes and loves to pinch and slap my butt. If either of us get upset about something silly, laughing immediately diffuses any situation. Keep your mood up. Find things to laugh about throughout the day. Watch some funny Youtube clips or TikTok.

6. Focus on your spouse’s good qualities. This one is hard to do when you’re annoyed with your spouse, but it is powerful. My husband likes to joke, he is a very accepting person, reliable, hardworking, trustworthy, loyal, responsible, courageous, kind, has integrity, would die before he let anything happen to me or the kids, and best of all he cares for women's rights, lgbtqia rights, children's rights, and bipoc rights.

7. Don't compare your marriage to others. No one's marriage is perfect and to think it is isn't being honest with yourself. Don't compare your marriage to Instagram or Facebook marriages you see. Yours is yours. I don't compare ours to anyone's, because the reality is that those couples don't have the perfect marriage either. Perfect isn't a reality. The reality is that our marriage is perfect for us.

8. Make a plan for improvement. Pick a handful of things to work on. Things that you think will have the biggest impact. Make some goals, set aside some time. Make a plan. Decide to improve your marriage and increase your happiness. We did this for ourselves. We are at our ten year milestone and are much happier than we were in the third year of our marriage.

Marriage can be hard, but we all know it's worth it. You can be as in love with your spouse as you were on the day you married. It takes effort to keep a marriage going but it is well worth it, especially when you are in love. Marriage will always take give, take, compromise, and plenty of communication.

[thestalkerbunny]

More Shadow Oaks content? More Shadow Oaks Content. Meet the Brimstone Clan, the oldest and redneck clan of tieflings in Shadow Oak (as well as meet Celeste's Vampire Sire.) Granted this is only 1/4th of the actual clan. The actual full family is much much bigger.

Gunter Hedwig is a Drow who fell into the trap that was opium dens during the 1800s. He literally wasted away and died in one and resurrected as a vampire without even noticing for a while. (since he thought being pale and hungry and uncomfortable was just his natural default state.)Thanks to his high tolerance to drugs-he basically traveled the lands seeking a bigger and better high. Around the time of the 80s or so he bit Celeste; although neither of them seem to be able to remember this happening-they just know now they're both vampires and the fun can never end. Eventually they seem to had gotten separated and Celeste was found by her current keeper, Brone, face down in her own pool of blood and vomit. She was legally removed from the care of Gunter because of his neglect of her and himself and will be permitted to see her again if he cleans up his act. He also does not remember this court hearing and does often see her regardless. He lurks out in Warm Waters-Shadow Oak's superior sister city- and deals drugs out of the clubs there, which is were Celeste gets most of hers. he is tragically not that bright and drugs do not help that fact. He's often addled out of his mind and hardly recognizes people, he hardly recognizes Celeste half the time if it weren't for her very loud voice and pink outfit.

Old Man Jeb Brimstone

The Grandfather of the Brimstone Clan, He's the oldest member next to his wife who is older than him by 5 years. A crotchety old koot, he's the embodiment of 'get off my property you damn kids' and 'I remember when you could go to the county fair on only a quarter'. He can hardly hear, his entire existence is apparently a spit in the eye of the god of death as he's survived numerous near fatal events and is starting to go a bit blind in one eye. Brimstone youth have to do a mandatory check in on him daily to make sure he's alive and something didn't fall on him again. Old Man Brimstone manages the junkyard of the town-local lore goes he built the junkyard on top of a Hell Gate-a naturally occurring portal in the world that infernal creatures can pass thru-so true evil cannot escape and spends his free time shooting infernal imps with a sawed off shot gun. Only that's rumor, he just may be an extreme hoarder who managed to movie his weird junk fixation to a property that isn't his house. That rumor is fueled however by the presence of his guard dog, Girl Dog, a massive Hell hound that patrols the grounds day and night.

Mary Brimstone

The original Brimstone Matriarch, Jeb ended up taking her last name considering how she was the one in the family had the land and money and titles. Just as grumpy and confused about everything as Jeb is, Mary is a bit more of a home body-only leaving to go down into the hollow outside the trailer park they all reside in to visit her still. She is a good cook and prides herself on being able to make a meal out of anything that's laying around and insists on a MANDATORY Sunday Family dinner of the entire clan once a month. A family that eats together is stronger together. Most of the family tries to keep her and Jeb in the dark about things like two of the grandchildren being gay and one of her sons contemplating marrying his fey coworker out of fear of how these two old fashioned grumpy grandparents would react. Plot twist, Jeb doesn't care and Mary probably already knows. Her hobbies are hitting people with a wooden spoon and hollering. The children may have a taste of the moonshine when they turn 18, as is tradition, to make sure they KNOW what good liquor tastes like.

Tief and Tire-Autobody and Repair Garage

Ottoman 'Auto Otto' Brimstone is the owner of the Tief and Tire garage and the oldest of the Brimstone brothers. He has a love of everything mechanical and is the kind of friendly old mechanic who will give you a discount just because 'we're neighbors, neighbors don't gotta pay 500 bucks for a new part that I can find and fix in the junkyard for free' The type of guy unafraid to help a stranger fix a flat tire or give 'em a tow back to town when their car is totaled in a ditch. He's the kind of dad who doesn't exactly always understands what his kinds are talking about and struggles to keep up with their lives since they seem to go much faster than he does-but he often supports them even if he doesn't know what the fuck is going on.

Diana is Otto's wife and doesn't really have much going on. Her idea of a good time is sipping fruity beers, feeding her numerous chickens little tiny pancakes and reading trash romance novels. She is often concerned for her kids, but supportive in her own way. She's a bit intimidated by her mother in law and for the right reasons and struggles to try and make her proud with her cooking. She specializes in chicken and dumplings (do not tell her chickens)

Angelo Brimstone is the older employee of the garage, he has a love of cars and things that go fast and is happiest when it comes to fixing and restoring things. He claims that bringing the beauty in something old and unloved back to the surface is very cathartic. He lacks a bit of school smarts but still plans to go thru with his final year to get a proper Class based education. He's divided between Barbarian and Artificer. He belongs to the Brimstone Clan-the biggest tiefling family in Shadow Oaks as well as the oldest. He often is a bit forgetful that friendly gestures he gives to strangers can seem sexual-resulting him being the targeted fantasies of individuals in his age category.

Amelia Brimstone is the younger sister of Angelo who also works at the garage. She prefers specializing in fixing the bodies of vehicles and paint jobs, although there's not much demand for car modifications so she ends up pulling dents out of cars most of the time much to her chagrin as her creativity is squandered. She's often very protective of her 'himbo' of a brother because people seem to want to take advantage of his amicable easy go along personality. Amelia herself is a lesbian, if the mullet, the tattoo on the side of her head, her 'I <3 Womans' sticker on the back of motorbike wasn't telling enough-She is still hopeful although she's probably going to want to look outside of Shadow Oaks-where everyone is in everyone's business.

Fiend and Fey-Attorneys at Law

The finest Lawyers Shadow Oaks can offer. Which often isn't saying a whole lot because everything from Shadow Oaks seems to produce everything made by the lowest bidder-but for once, these two are the people you want in your corner in the court room. Nobody can find a loop hole for you faster than Fiend and Fey-the finest of negotiators and deal makers the both of them. If they can't get you out of jail, they can at least get a ankle tracker on you for the next half year and a house arrest with a community service and mandatory theraphy vist bargin deal.

Rusalika GoodForest-or Rusa-is the fey of the team. A pixie of very small size (and even smaller enlarged sized) Her entire personality is best summed up as Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. Ever an optimist and a fan of cute outfits, the color pink and good skin and hair care, Rusa is very smart despite the 'dumb fairy blonde' assumptions make about her. In the Feywilds, a blue antennead pixie is regarded as someone who would 'make a good spouse'-which is the polite translation to common. Rusa is an unofficial member of the Brimstone clan and often comes to their Sunday family dinners and plays with the younger Brimstones as she is roughly the same size as them. Rusalika lives in a tree in Eidlewood's backyard.

Eidlewood 'Iddy' Brimstone is the fiend of the team. Belonging to the Brimstone Tiefling Family-one of the oldest and most redneck group of people living in Shadow Oaks since the 1920s, he seems to be one of the more accomplished of the Brimstones. He's often cited by his 'feral hick' relatives to get them out of ridiculous jail allegations, which he often assists in getting them out. Eidlewood is very level headed and clinical when it comes to his work. He's very unafraid to tell clients that they will most likely go to jail for their crimes and they will probably be shived in a lunchroom power move to assert dominance by lower ranking prisoners. But he will do his absolute best for you in the court room to get you the least damning sentence possible if you are as guilty as the court finds.

He is unfortunately very much in love with Rusalika and is embarrassed at his hesitance regarding his relationship with her because marriage to a Fey is basically handing a big part of your identity over to them and basically relinquishing a lot of yourself personally for the sake of this union and he doesn't think he could make that level of a sacrifice and thinking about it for too long scares him. Also he uh. Probably should make her his GIRLFRIEND first. Or let her know he likes her that way.

[freebooter4ever]

ok maybe its because i am still in the middle of a housing search and i have seen a LOT of shitty LA houses but i cant stop thinking about joe's post, like if you inspect those photos they look as if they could have been taken the same day this man did not update his house

the warmth and the lighting is different but that's the same flooring, the same carpet, the same doors, the same wall paint, the same fireplace???? extremely important analysis under cut bc i know everybody wants to read about this

perhaps i have been viewing too many rentals lately because the lack of new wall paint just FLOORS me. HOW did he keep his walls so clean???? we know he's the type of guy who doesn't like to get dirt under his fingernails but this is a whole nother extreme

that low saturation dark blue color on the far wall? that is a CHOICE my dude. and he kept it for fourteen years???!??!? but not only that if you look at the history of the house online...

ITS THE SAME COLOR. that's the same tile! even the wood is the same! im just so impressed i thought only my grandparents kept up their house this high level (when we moved grandma out of her house in 2018 she had the same kitchen tile/counters/appliances/cabinets that she had when the house was built in 1973)(i have photos to prove it)

joe's kitchen meanwhile

he updated the appliances and changed the green to yellow but otherwise...the same in 2008...

i cant even ;_; this man sets new standards for dude cleanliness. i dont think my dad even knew where the cleaning supplies were in my childhood house's kitchen that was my job. my current dude roommates hire a cleaning person who doesn't do a very good job. and they bought their house in 2016 and it's already looking yucky bc lack of care. i cannot understate how impressed i am. just. look at it. not a speck of baked in grime on that tile. and it extends to the bathroom

like yes that tile is a very ugly very late 90s choice but HE KEPT IT CLEAN. because THERE IT IS. IN 2008!!!

wtf joe do you give lessons bc i have a long lists of male roommates who need to learn.

A Hero.

anyway i have more photos but tumblr is cutting me off. i've hit my photo limit i've had too much of clean house content. my poor rental heart cant take it.