#need side by side of them and my guinea babies

[porters-fangs]

aster presents

giving the redacted couples a pet !

operating under the assumption that they eventually move in together/establish a relationship if they haven’t already ofc :3

(this is very headcanon heavy, so if you’re allergic to other people’s opinions pls keep scrolling 🫶)

• David & Angel - Guinea Pigs

You’d think that the wolf shifters would have dogs, and you’d be wrong. They actually get incredibly antsy when there’s another dog in the house, replacing their scent. It’s their territory, and it feels like a threat when another canine comes along - even another member of the pack.

And so, when Angel came home with two squeaking guinea pigs one day, toppling over each other to crawl into his lap, David was thrilled pleasantly surprised.

• Asher & Baaabe - Pigeon

Asher found a pigeon on the side of the road on his way home from work, cowering by the curb, one of its wings broken and bleeding. Being the tender person that he is, he bundled it up in his hoodie and drove home with it in his lap, muttering over and over about how everything would be okay.

Babe gave it a bath while Asher made up a little bed for it, and they called the vet in the morning to see if there was anything else they could do. Long story short, that pigeon is the luckiest bird in the world.

• Milo & Sweetheart - Chinchilla

Now, of course they have Aggro. But that’s too easy. Either as an alternative (or an additional pet, why not)-

Sweetheart has always been a huge fan of exotic pets. As a child, they had practically every animal under the sun - except for their dream pet.

Milo was more than happy to oblige, and they spent a few months converting one of their spare rooms into a the perfect space for their new baby. Sweetheart spends every day after work doting on the little fluffball, sat in the large playpen to let the stress of work seep from their bones.

And Milo wasn’t unhappy with the arrangement either. He’ll regularly hand the little guy a post-it note (usually something along the lines of “fuck you chrissy”) take a picture, and send it to the group chat. Christian isn’t a huge fan.

• Sam & Darlin - Chickens

As a kid, Sam used to have a gorgeous border collie that he had to leave behind when he ran away, and that kills him inside. But he’d never subject Darlin to feeling on edge in their own home for the sake of reliving that bond.

So they have chickens.

Does Darlin threaten to storm the coop every time Sam makes a good point in an argument? Maybe

But Sam also finds them asleep in the hen house after a long day of work, leaning against the doorframe fondly as he watches them snore beneath a pile of feathers.

• Vincent & Lovely - German Shepherd

A stunning couple needs an equally stunning dog.

Do they really need a guard dog? No, not at all. But that beautiful dog and its sleek black coat could rip a man’s arm off almost as easily as they could themselves.

Lovely handles the training, and Vincent watches from a distance, mildly intimidated by the both of them, but also in awe of how gorgeous they are.

• Porter & Treasure - Calico

You can thank my beloved Vinn (@vind3miat0r) for this one 🫶

Treasure has a cat. They found it in an alley after a rough night of their own, hissing and backed up into a corner. It reminded them of themself. They coaxed it back out into the light, bundling it up and driving it home, forgetting all about their friends, still drinking themselves to death in the club.

Before they even met Porter, their adorable little calico kitty kept them sane, nuzzling into their face and lapping at their tears every time they found themself sobbing in bed.

Porter always thought of himself as a dog person.

Porter was wrong.

Porter loves Cinnamon Toast Crunch more than life itself.

Treasure has come home multiple times to find the vampire sprawled out on the sofa with their cat snoozing on his chest, and they swear they fall in love all over again.

• Gavin & Freelancer - Betta Fish

Unfortunately, much to the Freelancer’s chagrin, Gavin is terrified of cats. So, instead, they have a huge fish tank in their kitchen. Call it a compromise.

The Freelancer comes home with more and more fish every time they go to the pet store just to get food, claiming that ���it looked so sad :(”

And Gavin had to agree. The way these fish were treated truly was inhumane, and he was more than happy to help the Freelancer name every addition to their tank that came through their front door.

He was also far more fascinated by them than he’d ever anticipated being. He could stare at that tank for hours.

• Lasko & Dear - Frogs

Dear loves frogs. Lasko? Not so much.

When they moved in, he wasn’t expecting the uninvited guests that came with them. He never complained, of course, but he did insist that the tank would reside in the spare room and not the bedroom that he slept in every night. For practical reasons. Not because those bugged eyes and those webbed feet unsettled him.

Not at all.

Although, Dear could’ve sworn they heard him yelp when they opened the little tub of mealworms for feeding time…

He’ll warm up to them.

• Damien & Huxley - Collie

As if Huxley wasn’t enough of a bundle of energy, these two decided that they wanted one of the most active dogs on the planet. It works out surprisingly well for both of them, though.

It joins Huxley on hikes, bounding up the trail ahead of him, tail wagging impatiently as it waits for him to catch up as he laughs into the trees.

It sits at Damien’s side as he pores over his notes, and when the furrow in his brow deepens, it’ll nudge its nose into his hand until he drops the pen, tugging him outside for a walk.

And when they all collapse onto the couch in the evening, a pile of fur and giggles and a thumping tail, everything feels right.

• Elliot & Sunshine - Lovebirds

The pun isn’t lost on me.

They have a gorgeous, bright, mated pair of lovebirds. Whenever the couple catch them nuzzling beaks, Elliot pulls Sunshine’s face to his and brushes his nose over theirs.

Sunshine makes jewellery out of the feathers that molt around the house, and they both have matching necklaces that they wear everywhere.

• Blake & Bestie - California King Snake

Bestie walks around the house with it curled around their neck. Blake thinks it’s hot.

That’s all I have to say.

• Avior & Starlight - Maine Coon

Starlight has a black maine coon named Urania, after the Greek muse of astronomy. She is their pride and joy.

She gets along with Avior incredibly well, and even though he was initially very intimidated by her size, he quickly realised that meant she was in fact the softest and warmest cuddle buddy he could ever ask for.

She sits on Starlight’s lap when they’re reading, purring even after she’s fallen asleep, sometimes reaching out to paw at the pages.

• Anton & Lover - Hedgehog

Another rescue story, except Lover found this little cutie in their backyard while Anton was still away at work. They were too nervous to let it back outside even after they’d nursed it back to health, since its front paw was still a little crooked, so they decided to dedicate a little space for it in their office to keep an eye on it.

When Anton came home a few weeks later, he fell in love with the hedgehog. Literally just spent hours playing with it, giving it little snacks (even after Lover insisted it’d had enough)

And so they gained a new member of their family to keep Lover company when Anton had to go away again. And again.

• Hush & Doc - Stick Insects

Doc loves bugs. This is a fact.

Hush loves bugs. He never knew this.

Doc has a tank of stick insects in their bedroom, and the first time Hush spent the night he asked them why they kept an empty tank. And so Doc pulled out one of their precious babies to show him. And he was absolutely fascinated.

“It’s a living stick?”

“No, it’s an insect that’s adapted to look like a stick. For protection.”

“…Can I touch it?”

They sat on Doc’s bed with the bugs for hours.

• Vega & Warden - Dobermann

Vega values loyalty and obedience. And he adores his dobermann like you wouldn’t believe. If he ever had a soft spot for anything other than Warden, it was that dog.

He trains it meticulously, despite having every capability to protect himself, and praises every milestone.

When it first met Warden, Vega was expecting the usual wariness, for the dog’s ears to flick forward as it appraised them.

Not at all.

For the first time that Vega could remember, it broke heel to launch itself at Warden, licking at their face in excitement. And he didn’t reprimand it. Why would he?

After losing his memories, Vega found a strange familiarity in that dog as it stood by Warden’s side, as though protecting them… from him.

• Guy & Honey - Ferrets

I feel like I don’t need to elaborate.

I will.

They have three.

Honey loves playing with them. They have that macaroni bath and the ferrets love wiggling around while Honey laughs until their ribs hurt.

Guy slips them pizza scraps after his shift, putting his finger over his lips and warning them to stay quiet or else Honey might hear them snacking.

• Aaron & Smartass - Belgian Malinois

It lays under Aaron’s desk while he works from home, nudging his foot with its nose every so often to remind him to take a break.

He often comes home from the office to find Smartass stretched across the couch, having fallen asleep while trying to wait up for him, the dog in their lap. It looks up when he closes the door behind him, clearly unimpressed with his poor punctuality.

That dog has a favourite.

• Ollie & Baby - Hamsters

They have two and both seemed determined to end their little rodent lives early. Ollie and Baby both love them so much, but they’ll wake up to find one with its head poking out between the bars, precariously close to choking, and another just passed out in the wood chips.

The vet bill? Ridiculous.

• Geordi & Cutie - Rabbit

In another life perhaps, they have a very sweet grey rabbit with an attitude. Thumping its paws whenever it isn’t allowed outside immediately when it asks, whenever its dinner is two minutes too late, whenever it’s woken up from its very important nap in the sunlight.

Geordi jokes that it reminds him of Cutie.

• Morgan & Seer Obscura - Mice

Seer Obscura actually saved these mice from lab testing as part of a charity program, and they were planning to adopt them out to close friends - but instead ended up with six mice that they love very much.

They scatter across their shoulders, and sometimes when Morgan brushes a lock of hair back from their face, a little fuzzy nose will poke out from behind their neck, sniffing around.

• Azmidi & Sweetie - Boa Constrictor

Scares the shit out of any visitors they have round.

They enjoy that very much.

Sweetie will fully poke their fingers into the enclosure when feeding it, and has not yet been bitten by some miracle.

No survival instincts, I tell you.

———

okay thank you for joining me on this wonderful journey! i do apologise if any of these are out of character or deviate from the canon - i don’t listen to all of the redacted boys but i do like to try and be inclusive 🫶

[chicgeekgirl89]

Thanks to @strandnreyes and @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad for the tags!

From something new that I'm working on:

Carlos walks over and pats the side of T.K.’s thigh. “Move please,” he says mildly, waiting until T.K. shifts over enough that he can get into the drawer that’s hidden behind his legs.  He extracts the spoon he needs and then taps the space again indicating that T.K. can move back, which he does, still talking. “We had a pet frog in my class when I was in third grade. His name was Sir Henry. He died on the hundredth day of school.” At this T.K. looks a little glum. Then he perks up. “But my teacher got a hamster after that and we got to vote on a name. We picked Pikachu.” “Sounds fun.” “I wonder if hamsters have a symbiotic relationship with another animal,” T.K. says, picking his phone back up again. “Hm. Nope,” he says after a minute. “But, hamsters will eat their babies if you don’t separate them. Oh! Did you know that it’s illegal to own just one guinea pig in Switzerland? You have to have two because they’re social animals and they’ll get lonely. But then in Peru people eat them for special occasions. Isn’t that crazy how different those two countries are?” “Almost as crazy as spiders keeping frogs as pets.” “I wish I had a pet frog,” T.K. says. “Do you think Buttercup would eat it?” “I’ve seen Buttercup eat his own poop. Yes. I think he would eat a frog if he could catch it."

If you have no idea what's happening here, you and Carlos are in the same boat lol.

Tagging @lemonlyman-dotcom, @bonheur-cafe, @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut, @carlos-in-glasses, @carlos-tk, @ladytessa74, @liminalmemories21 and anyone else who would like to share!

[ananke-xiii]

Form and Void... Hands and Hearts.

Intro + the post before this you kinda need to read them all or it won't make a lot of sense lol

Dean and Crowley's relationship is not fun.

Full disclosure here: I have no problems in terms of shipping and having fun with the characters outside of what's canon but I personally don't see Dean's canon relationship with Crowley as "fun", it's not something that I particularly enjoy watching. Like, the actors are great etc. but the actual story makes me feel... uncomfortable. I actually find it sad that Dean's still attached to Crowley because, as much as I like him as a character, the King of Hell acts like a total predator towards Dean and this episode highlights this side of their relationship in uncomfortable ways. So be warned that things get a little ugly from here.

Let's see how food is treated in the episode: Crowley is presented as "Father Crowley" while he puts sugar in his tea and calls Dean "a rather scrumptious altar boy". The image I get from this is both that of the sugar daddy and, because of the religious references, of the scandals surrounding the Vatican and its priests (I'm trying to be as sensitive as I can but the show is really not and Crowley literally makes a reference to these events later on in the episode).

Father Crowley is a piece of shit.

He will later pull up in a van and kidnap young Amara with this line:

My, haven't you grown into a sweet young thing? Want some candy, little girl?

If we consider that Amara and Dean are connected (by the mark that's above Amara's heart and that was on Dean's right arm) Dean and Crowley's past relationship doesn't look so much fun anymore (well, it never was fun to begin with as I've written although the show did its best to make it look like it was fun with the karaoke, the cowboy hats and the sex. I mean, on paper it does look like fun if we can just forget that Dean was very much Crowley's guinea pig).

In case you were wondering, Dean and Amara are bound, guys.

Crowley here is the preacher/hunter of "The Night of the Hunter". He dresses like a priest but he's hunting for demons (yeah, I know, it's a clear reference to "The Exorcist" too). He happens to find "the child that eats the souls" and proceed to kidnap her. I mean, brrrrr.

And how does Dean feel about it? He still loves him! Poor, poor, poor Dean.

While Sam went for the heart of Poor Guy with the electrocution device, the angels went for Cas' heart (and other parts too) with the angel blades, Dean goes for Crowley's heart with Ruby's knife. Unlike Sam and the angels, he doesn't finish what he had set up to do.

Dean's knife is pointed at Crowley's heart but I'm bad at taking screenshots so this is what you get.

Instead, he pins Crowley's to the wall by stabbing his left hand (the hand of love and receiving) with an angel blade. Visually, it's quite similar (not the same, similar) thing that happened to Cas at the end of S10. It couldn't be more sexual (angels blades are the dicks, also interesting choice of weapon to stab Crowley: Cas' ghost in their relationship is ever present) and more problematic: in a heartbeat Dean goes from prey to predator.

They re-used this very explicit image in S12.

Just like Dean is bound to Amara, he's still bound to his former abuser Crowley. And, I mean, from a storytelling pov it tracks because Amara is very much Crowley's and Dean's baby ("You're very maternal, Dean"). Yeah, I can hear your "ewwww" from here knowing where they went with Dean and Amara but I didn't write the show, they did and I'm picking up the things they've put down. Anyway, Dean and Crowley's relationship will be over only once Dean's not bound to Amara anymore. Or, at least, it should be but like any love triangle writers liked to milk it unti it was dry, i.e. one of the three permadied. This is why, I think, we had the echoes of the same trite trope in S12 too and if you enjoyed it good for you. For me it was torture.

Demons would be the perfect angels. Sam too.

A SPN-related theory of mine is that demons would make perfect angels. Both demons and angels are cursed with the "I get what I want" mentality. Abbadon said it, Crowley says it again in this episode. It's a very angel-like mentality, however demons are unironically more likely to put in the effort, follow the guidelines, work behind the curtains. They would be perfect angels for Chuck.

Ironically this time, angels and demons have hardly ever gotten what they wanted (hello Castiel!). They all tend to work in a certain direction only for the result to backfire in the end or leave them dead. Which reminds of a certain character named Sam Winchester.

"Form and Void" is an episode that explicity parallels Sam to the angels and to Crowley. Sam and Crowley's parallels are my everything. Up until s8 they were quite obvious while after that they're in the story's backbone rather than clearly on screen. If you care, this is one of the reasons why Crowley and Lucifer's power struggle could've been way more interesting if they had thrown in Sam in some capacity instead of doing whatever they did with Sam in s12. *breathes and calms down*

The End (of this rambling post).

"Form and Void" foreshadows how S11 would end: dark and light becoming One. It's something that US tv shows (tended to) do a lot when they deal with Christian themes: when they're going a little over the edge and very close to blasphemy they pull a "Eastern Mysticism" card to signal that they were just kidding! In SPN they did the same thing to Jack in s15. When they deal with God they use buddhist concepts as a cop-out to avoid doing things that may upset Christian believers (and no, canon bisexual God is less of a threat than canon God's older sister who's more powerful, female-presenting and holding a huuuuge grudge or than having a world with no God, no Hell and no Heaven).

Hands and hearts are a huge motifs and they signal what the characters will be doing and/or their true intention/identity. In order to see this, though, one must pay appention to the scene shown at the very beginning of the episode, a scene from the movie "The Night of the Hunter". This specific scene tells us that what we see is the opposite of what the writers mean and that the core theme of S11 is not so much God vs The Darkness but rather love. This love, however, lies in cages protected by keys and it's secret and forbidden but, as that scene tells us, love's a-winnin'. To save the day and let Love still win we've got a giant plot-twist in the form of maternal love and the resurrection of Mary Winchester. The heart's needs are met, its wants are still unknown. You can't always get what you want... SPN really did believe that.

[kata-sans]

Raising Stripe

Chapter 24

Craig was dead on his feet. Work had been especially tiresome that day due to insufferable customers with faulty cars. Everyone in town needed last minute checkups before hitting the road for Thanksgiving holiday. He was glad to have a long break from work.

After a long day at work, Craig was ready to call it a night but his phone began to ring. He didn't even bother to check the ID on his screen before answering, “Hello…Mom!...Sorry, I didn't mean to not call you. I've been crazy busy a-and…No I don't mean I'm too busy for you I just…Thanksgiving dinner?...Sh**! It completely slipped my mind… No we don't have other plans but… Mom no don't say that of course Tweek and I still care about you…Fine we'll be in Denver tomorrow…Love you too. Bye”

Craig groaned loudly into his pillow. His mom always had a way of making him cave into her requests. He heard his husband snickering by the bedroom door. He threw his pillow in his direction which Tweek easily sidestepped.

“Was that your mom on the phone?” Tweek asked full of mirth as he made his way to his side of the bed.

“We forgot about Thanksgiving plans with my family.” Craig stated with annoyance.

Tweek froze, “What! Craig, how did this happen! Your parents are going to think we don't care about them! GAH! We need to start packing. Good thing we restocked the diapers but we might need extra formula.”

Craig suddenly sat up straight with a shocked look. “Babe! I just realized, my parents don't know about Stripe!”

They stared at each other in silent horror. Needless to say, this Thanksgiving was going to be memorable in the Tucker household.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura Tucker was placing the final touches on her famous turkey marinade when she heard the sound of a car in the driveway. She quickly made it to door and saw her son and son-in-law climbing out of their car. Craig noticed her and had a guilty expression on his face.

“Hey Mom. I have a surprise for you. Please don't freak out.” Craig said as he moved to open the backseat.

Laura almost fell down in shock when she saw her son pull out a baby car seat from the car. She let out a shriek of excitement, “Craigory Tucker! Why didn't you tell me! Oh! THOMAS! Come here!”

Craig's father came rushing out at the sound of Laura's shouts. Thomas was surprised when he noticed his wife hovering over the baby carrier in Craig's hands. He joined his wife and clapped his son on the back in congratulations before suggesting moving indoors.

Inside the house, Laura had quickly taken the baby into her arms before confronting the couple about their surprise. “Craig, you brat! Why didn't you tell me about my grandbaby? What's his name? Are you fostering or did you adopt him?”

Craig cleared his throat, “Well umm, it's a funny story. You see, this is Stripe…”

Laura gasped, “You named him after your Guinea Pig!”

“No! The baby is our guinea pig. There was an accident and our friend Kenny turned him into a human baby.” Tweek explained.

Laura and Thomas were shocked. They could hardly believe the baby in Laura's arms used to be a guinea pig. He looked and acted just like a real baby. They spent an hour asking questions about Stripe and soon became comfortable with the situation. Regardless of the circumstances, they were going to enjoy the experience of having a cute baby in the family to dote on.

"Well regardless of how he came to be... Nana has something special in her attic for you." Laura said switching to baby talk when she addressed Stripe.

Laura immediately led the family into the attic. She instructed the men to move furniture and boxes until she found what she was looking for. Finally they found what she insisted on finding and together they pulled out into the living room three boxes labeled “Craig's Baby Stuff.”

Tweek was excited to see the momentos from Craig's childhood. Craig on the other hand was curious but embarrassed by the idea of Tweek rummaging through his baby items. The first box was full of baby clothes. Tweek gushed when he pulled out a tiny set of yellow rain boots. Laura pulled out the matching raincoat and pointed to a photo album in the box. Before Craig could grab the book to hide it, Tweek snatched it and began flipping through the pages.

“Aww. Craig you were adorable. Is this a picture of the raincoat?” Tweek asked as he pointed to the picture in the book.

“Yes, it was a gift from his grandma. He would always insist on going out in the rain just to wear it.” Laura said with a laugh.

Tweek continued to flip through the book until he found a picture of Craig standing next to a Winnie the Pooh mascot. He smirked and showed the image to Craig. “Look what I found.”

Craig frowned, “Burn it!”

Laura rolled her eyes, “Are you still holding a grudge against Winnie the Pooh? Craig that was years ago.”

Tweek perked up, “Is there really a reason he hates that bear?”

“Oh Craig used to love Winnie the Pooh.” She pulled out some toys with the cartoon bear. Stripe immediately reached out to grab the toys and Laura handed them over. “Craig would beg me to buy these for him. You can imagine how excited he was when we went to Disneyland and he met his idol in real life.” Laura laughed as she held up the picture.

“Anyways when Craig was four, we went on a trip to the zoo. Craig was eager to visit the bear exhibit because one of them was named Winnie. When we made it to the bear cave the poor thing was dead asleep. Craig really wanted to see Winnie and he began to shout and tap the glass. The bear was so mad, he charged towards Craig and scared him.” Everyone bursted into laughter while Craig turned red in embarrassment.

“Bears are stupid! That's all!” Craig tried to defend himself from his family's ridicule.

“Oh Craig it's okay to admit bears scare you.” Tweek said as he calmed down.

“I am not scared of a dumb cartoon bear!” Craig said petulantly.

Tweek kissed his cheek, “Sure, babe. Whatever you say.”

Thomas suddenly came into the room with a dusty trash bag. “I found it Laura!”

Laura jumped up with the baby in her arms. “Wonderful Thomas! Pull it out to see if it's still in one piece.”

Thomas nodded and pulled out a flat baby walker from the large black bag. He pulled it open and set it on the floor. Laura was pleased to see the bag had kept it clean and proceeded to place Stripe in the seat.

Stripe inspected his new chair. He noticed a tray full of toys in front of him and eagerly began to fiddle with each one. He had a rolling toy, a squeaky button, and a loop d’loop toy. Stripe was enthralled and began to kick his feet in joy. He ran his fingers through toy enjoying the cacophony of noise each one caused.

Tweek pulled out his phone and began to take pictures of Stripe in his new toy. Laura followed suit quickly snapping pictures of her grandbaby. She grabbed Craig's baby album and turned to a picture of Craig sitting in the exact same walker as an infant. Tweek and Laura compared Craig and Stripes' pictures laughing at how similar they appeared to be. The family enjoyed their time before preparing for dinner.

Ch23

Ch25

[thegayneapigs]

Hi again! I was wondering if you could help me another time 😂 I've had my two guinea pigs for about 6 months now, and I watched this video on YouTube of the LA Guinea Pig Rescue where they said to bathe your guinea pigs at least every 4 months. I'm a little afraid that they might get sick or have a heart attack. The bigger of them, Abel, is a tad dramatic and Cain is a bit smaller in size. I have the materials to bathe them, it's just now the time to decide if I should. I've heard mixed opinions, and I was wondering what yours is.

Thank you!!!

We've been inactive for a bit on tumblr so this is probably a suuuuuuper late reply. So sorry! Hopefully it can help other piggie parents.

Bathing is such a controversial thing in the guinea pig-verse. At the end of the day, I would trust your instinct and talk with an exotic vet about your specific piggies. That being said, here's what we do.

We only bathe our piggies if we have a reason to. We don't personally feel like any more is necessary; they generally keep themselves fairly well-groomed. In the past when we have bathed them, it's come down to these reasons:

1) They stink. We have one boy (Leo) who is extremely greasy. It builds up in his fur and he starts to smell bad, and honestly it's just gross to pet him. I bathe him about once or twice a year, whenever I feel like he needs it. I mostly just wash his underside and butt area, where the grease and grime tend to accumulate. We use very gentle scent-free baby soap.

2) Moral support. When Leo's brother was alive we used to give him a mini bath too with Leo. We always found Leo was calmer and more well-behaved with a friend. Lynx didn't need it, but Leo appreciated the company.

3) Diarrhea. Kind of self-explanatory. We've had a couple sick pigs who have made a HUGE mess, and in that case we would just give them a butt bath and clean wherever was dirty.

4) Ringworm. We have a boy (Io) who had it a lot when he was young. We found that in addition to the anti-fungal cream, a bath with miconazole shampoo was very effective.

A few tips; just make sure the water is a good temp, you use very gentle soap, dry them off well, and don't get water in their eyes/nose/ears.

Also, we used to have a Silkie, and we would blow dry his hair on a low/cool setting.

I would also recommend to be mindful about where you bathe them - after a few years of trial and error, we use a shallow pan of water in the kitchen sink, and a cup to rinse them off with. (When Leo was very young, he jumped clear over the side of our bathtub. Sara just barely caught him midair. No more bathtubs for us lol.) Make sure the environment is calm and quiet, and use a soothing voice. The calmer you are, the better.

[mj-iza-writer]

SP Special Containment part 3. Human Weapons Whumpee

Caretaker did a quick peak into Whumpee's monitor room to see if everything was okay.

This was a small room off to the side of Whumpee's room. There was several monitors connected to the cameras monitoring Whumpee. Plus one monitored the room quality, and with a click of a button it monitored a new device. Whumpee allowed themslf to be the guinea pig for this new device, it was a bracelet that tracked several health stats. Heart rate, blood pressure, body temp, plus other health stats could be monitored continuously.

Caretaker didn't see anything concerning so they continued on, they had a meeting with the director.

"I spy with my little eye something red."

Caretaker stopped dead in their tracks and backed up.

They saw Whumpee wandering around the room pointing at something.

"No that's not it Whumpee", one of the guards smiled.

"What's going on in here?", Caretaker stepped in.

The guards stood at attention, "good morning."

"Good morning, at ease", Caretaker took a closer look.

"I'm sorry Whumpee, Caretaker just stepped in. What was your answer?", one of the guards listened to their head set, "yes you got it, let me help Caretaker, then we can continue if you'd like, its your round next."

"What's going on in here?", Caretaker asked again curiously.

"I'm multitasking Caretaker", the guard blushed, "we had to test the new two way speakers, Whumpee was bored and had low health stats, so I was trying to entertain them with a game of eye spy. They're pretty good at it."

Caretaker smiled, "that's a really good idea, I appreciate you doing that for them."

"Yes of course", the guard grinned, "do you want to watch a round, they get to spy now."

Caretaker smiled, "of course."

The guard clicked the speaker so everyone in the room could communicate and hear Whumpee.

"Okay Whumpee, do you want to play more? Caretaker is watching."

"Yes", Whumpee plopped on their bed, "I have a hard one for you."

"Bring it", the guard grinned.

"I spy with my little eye something blue", Whumpee leaned back pleased with themself.

"Hmm, you don't have any blue in your room", the guard glanced at the screens, "wait is it your cookie wrapper in the trash bin."

"How did you see that?", Whumpee sat up, "I purposely hid it."

"I'm just that good", the guard laughed.

Caretaker laughed, there was something so funny about a dangerous weapon playing eye spy. Caretaker loved when Whumpee's human sides showed.

"Hey Whumpee, can they hear me", Caretaker tried, "I don't know how these things work.

"I can hear you Caretaker", Whumpee grinned.

"Great, I've enjoyed watching you, but I have a meeting with the director", Caretaker spoke, "I'll be in later to talk with you, and I'll have lunch."

"Okay", Whumpee looked closely into one of the monitors.

Caretaker laughed, "have fun."

Caretaker sat in the boardroom with a few others. This was a meeting amongst staff in charge of the human weapons.

They all talked about their experiences with the weapons. Caretaker just had to tell them about the eye spy game. They all laughed and shared the goofy things they had seen and dealt with.

The director entered and listened for a few minutes to everyone talking before starting the meeting.

"Hello, happy late morning to everyone. This will just be a brief meeting regarding an issue that has arisen in our facility, and others that have the human weapons.", the director explained, "that is showering."

The group collectively groaned.

"Yep, has anyone here attempted to shower their case?", the director looked around the room.

Everyone laughed sarcastically, it was a collective no.

"You saw what happened when I took Whumpee to close to the showers", Caretaker spoke up, "we've been spot cleaning with baby wipes, but I know they are in desperate need of a shower, I can tell they're getting uncomfortable now."

"I got a report from a different holding facility, a guard was accidentally, but seriously injured when a human weapon was in the showers", the director pulled out the document, "we have to figure out something as it is a health concern for the weapons, but we have to be smart about this."

"How about we shower them at the same time or sedate them?", one of the guards questioned.

"That's smart, put them all in the same room, they either fight each other, or team up", another guard spoke up.

"Caretaker I think you've made a lot of headway with Whumpee, and have helped with the other two weapons as well. Do you have any thoughts?", the director looked at them, "I don't think fully sedating them would be good, they could develop trust issues and continue to have bad experiences with the showers."

Everyone agreed.

Caretaker thought for a minute, "Whumpee has been really good about telling me when a blackout happens, and telling me things. The trainers they had were pretty much merciless. They were almost weapons themselves. I can try to talk to them and see if they know a way to make this easier."

Everyone seemed to agree.

"That bracelet seems to be doing well for Whumpee, I looked at the results before coming in here", the director looked up, "maybe we can see if the other two would be willing to try out the bracelet monitors as well, maybe mention it to your case, get an idea of how they may feel about it."

A few questions were asked in response to the bracelet, nothing of major importance.

"We have one more means of business here. Uh, it seems one of the trainers evaded capture, this one was Whumpee's trainer", the director looked up sadly, "all facilities are on high alert in case there is a break in."

Caretaker suddenly felt faint, "wh-what do you mean?"

"After the raid, somehow Whumpee's trainer escaped capture, I just found out. They've gone through the records. He's definitely missing", the director looked down sadly, "again the facilities are all on high alert, I will give you all information as it comes, and please do not tell the weapons, they do not need to know about this risk."

"So what, just don't tell Aramais, he's going to know something is up the moment he sees me", a different weapon caretaker, Andy, spoke up, "they can sense stuff like this."

"Whumpee will ask about the meeting as well, they'll know I'm hiding something", Caretaker sighed.

"We will have to try our best for a few days, they're hoping something was missed, I don't think scaring the Human Weapons is a good idea", the director waved his hands in surrender, "actually that would be dangerous."

Caretaker sighed when leaving the meeting. They smiled at the other two caregivers, "good luck."

"You too sir", they replied.

Caretaker gulped as they carried the food tray to Whumpee's door, and waited to be buzzed in. He forced a smile, and entered.

Whumpee waited until Caretaker had sat in his normal spot. They eyed the food, then Caretaker.

"How was the meeting?", Whumpee approached the food, "can you talk about it?"

"It was mostly about trying to find ways to shower your three, a guard got seriously injured at another facility", Caretaker felt his throat tighten, "everything else was boring though. No need to worry."

Whumpee examined the food closely, "is that why your heart is pounding out of your chest?"

Caretaker panicked, "huh?", was all he could say.

Whumpee stepped in front of him, and examined him, "I know something is up, I haven't heard your heart race like this since we first met", they smiled, "I know it wasn't just about the showers."

Whumpee went back to the food and started to eat, "it's okay, we can get to it on your time sir."

Caretaker felt like they had just been sucker punched in the gut.

"I'm sorry, I'm not at liberty to discuss farther. Please trust me, it's for your best interest", Caretaker choked out. There was something more intimidating when Whumpee stared at him like that. This was the weapon. This was the danger.

Whumpee finished eating, then retreated to their bed. They watched Caretaker pull out two packs of cookies, and lay them on their table.

"Is there anything you'd like to say or talk about?", Caretaker stood.

Whumpee looked past him at the wall, "thankyou sir for the food and treats."

Caretaker sighed, "your welcome, let the guards know if you need me, I'll be in my office. Okay."

Whumpee pulled their knees to their chin.

"Yes sir", Whumpee looked at him sadly.

Caretaker stopped by the monitor room and took one last look at Whumpee.

One of the guards that was at the meeting looked back at him, "that was intense, sir."

"Your telling me", Caretaker leaned on the door frame, "I'm not normally that tense around them, but man that was bad. Let me know if I'm needed."

Caretaker looked into the monitor room of the Human Weapon Aramais. He noticed the caregiver Agent Andy watching the monitors, holding a bag of ice to his head.

"How did it go?", Caretaker stepped in.

"He's refusing to eat and threw his slippers at me, I had to get a rescue from the guard", Andy rubbed his head, "he's got good aim."

"Oh no, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, he's communicating right now and has apologized", Andy smiled weakly.

Aramais said something into the speaker.

"Sorry Aramais say that again", Andy spoke into the speaker.

"I'm not hungry, but can I have some water please. I'm sorry again for throwing the slippers. Are you okay?", Aramais then looked into one of the cameras.

"It's okay, Aramais, I'm fine. I know you were frustrated. Next time, please don't aim at my head though", Andy laughed a little, "it's fine if you don't want to eat, we can try at dinner, I'll get you some water."

Andy sighed, "how did yours do?"

"I didn't get hit by slippers, but definitely intimated", Caretaker smiled weakly, "I think we should go to the director and mention what happened."

"I agree", a reply came from the doorway.

Agent McGee, how did yours take it?", Caretaker replied.

"She chucked her food at the cameras and told me to leave", Agent Mcgee stated in exasperation, "then she went insane, this is not safe for us or them", Mcgee sighed, "the guards had to sedate her. Just enough so they could restrain her to clean the food up."

"Should we go now?", Andy questioned, "I need to give Aramais some water first though."

Andy grabbed a water pitcher, then went back to the door to be buzzed in.

"Alright where are the slippers?", they peaked their head in.

Aramais sat on the floor, leaning against their bed, "exactly where they landed after hitting you", Aramais held up his hands, "I'm not armed."

Andy poured the water in Aramais's water bottle, "you're always armed."

"True, I'm sorry again", Aramais looked down, "you didn't deserve that."

"It's okay, I thought it was kind of funny afterwards", Andy eyed the food tray, "I'm gonna take that. Are you sure you don't want anything?"

"Not hungry, just wish I knew what the big secret was", Aramais looked up, "your radio was still on. Go talk to the director. If they want to keep secrets from us, they need to come down and tell us that themself. Not send you all to do their bidding."

Andy looked at him in shock.

"Tell them when Human Weapons get cornered they become even more dangerous, they have three of us to deal with. Tell them I will be waiting, and I will refuse to eat until they meet with us. At. The. Same. Time", Aramais warned.

Andy stood their visibly shaken up.

Aramais smiled, "don't worry I'm not mad at you, thanks for the water."

Andy forced themself to nod, and quickly went for the door.

"Remember I'm not eating until that director talks to us", Aramais reminded once more.

Andy hurried out the door, and into the monitor room.

Caretaker and agent Mcgee stood their in shock.

"That's a problem", Caretaker frowned, and looked at one of the monitors, "he's looking right at it, like he's looking at me."

"This is not good", McGee frowned, "what do we do."

"We tell the director what happened, and what Aramais said", Andy frowned, "he is going to have to be the director, there is no way around it."

Caretaker frowned, "I felt bad when Aramais said they felt cornered. I can only imagine."

"Okay let's go", Andy started for the door, "Aramais has spoken, and I'm sure he is speaking for the other two as well, and I for one don't want to tick them off."

I bet you want to know what happens next, me too. Part 4 is in the works and will come out soon. -MJ

Taglist. As always please let me know if you want to be added or taken off. It's not a problem at all. @villainsandheroes @the-beasts-have-arrived @sacredwrath @porschethemermaid @written-by-jayy

[bexsua]

changing seasons. feat. @bexjae

she’s going to owe jae so much for being her guinea pig– on stream, no less. it’s going to be something new for her, something to spice things up a bit. sua might not be confident it will all turn out okay– but that’s content baby. she’ll try, for jae’s sake– but it’s also a learning experience for her. makeup hasn’t been the hardest thing anymore for her– not with how much help she’s gotten from her friends lately. she can trust herself on doing her own makeup, but this is a new thing to attempt: and it’s live, for everyone’s viewing pleasure. 

“-- and you can totally talk to chat, if you want.” sua says distractedly, going over everything with jae as she sets everything up. she adjusts the monitor screen, chat pulled up off of view of the camera so they can both see it as sua works. “they like the attention. and you can tell them to shut up if they’re being shitty or annoying. my mods should be keeping an eye out for that though.” sua casts a side eye to her chat, already pilling up with things. 

she steps away from the screen, satisfied with how she’s set it up, and moves back over to jae. she unpacks everything she brought, things she looked up herself or asked her friends about what is needed for a full makeover. she’s going to do it blind– and see if she can do it without any assistance. 

“okay. any questions? not you, chat.” she adds absentmindedly, not even glancing over at the screen, but looking to jae instead. “you can give me a kind of…style you want, jae, and i’ll do my best to get you there but…no promises.” she jokes, corner of her mouth quirking into a half-smile.

[leahm2000]

Journal Entry

July 13, 2023

It’s my dad’s birthday week. A big one too. And I am not able to celebrate it with him. No he isn’t dead or anything like that. He, like the rest of my family, live several hours away. On top of this I found out some really impactful news that affects my family but they are all hours away. I feel like you all may need a back story for this. I am the oldest of several children. I have been and always will be the Guinea pig child. Because of this my ‘first’s are also my parents. I was the first to have a serious relationship. I was the first gen college student.I was and still am the first and only child to move out of my parents house (despite only a five year age difference between me and my youngest sibling). I not only moved out but I flew far away and intend on keeping it that way.

But sometimes, in the mist of my busy and wonderfully fulfilling life, I feel guilty. I feel guilty that I am so far away and that I miss so many things with my family. Yes I know everyone is happy for me and glad that I have ‘spread my wings and found my own nest’ but I’m still feeling guilty. My future children will not have the close relationship with my side of the family as I would wish them to have. The aunts that they are closet to will not be their biological ones but rather my best friends that I found all on my own.

I will not be there when/if something happens to my family members while on a fire call (we are all firefighters and have been for years). I will be the one who gets a phone call randomly to get some life altering news. Growing up I watch my cousins all slowly disappear out of my grandmothers life and how much it broke her. I watched them all have babies that are now double digits and she has only met once or twice despite countless attempts. I promised myself I would never do that to her, that she would know her great grand babies just as well as she knew me growing up. But here I am, several long hours away from her. ‘

No one talks about this guilt. No one talks about the mixed feelings you have when you look at your life and love everything about it but hate that your family is so far away

[starryseth]

It's been a minute since I posted something so here's some cute head cannons for my favorite DSMP boys <3

Jschlatt

Okay so Jschlatt is 100000% a secret romance kinda guy. He loves the mystery and gets a thrill out of keeping a secret. He may seem like an open kinda person but when it comes to his s/o he likes to keep it private. That's probably why his fans and friends didn't know he had a partner until they got married

He used to be on a community baseball team and each game he would give you his hat to wear because he believed that you were his good luck charm. So when you were sick for the big game, he quit because he wouldn't have any luck and he would feel like the reason they lost.

He finds it adorable when he ends a late night stream and he crawls to the bedroom and finds you cuddled with Jambo.

He can't say no to you. Like at all. So when you ask to do his hair and makeup he agrees. He loved the way you looked so happy with your work and he wouldn't mind letting you do it again just to see you have a sense of accomplishment. Don't ask him about it though. He'll deny it.

Sapnap

Sapnap loveesssss to show you off. Like legit. In the group chat with the rest of the boys sap is constantly talking about you. They are tired of it

I believe he is a Pyro. Like anything and everything to do with fire and he's in so you constantly have to keep an eye on him. Granted he is very safe with fire but still. (Don't play with fire it's very dangerous)

He is actually very neat and organized. He has all of his and your clothes arranged in order of colors. In rainbow order of course. He also has the same hoodie in several different colors.

He gets frustrated easily so he is constantly doing things that he likes. One of those things is coloring. H loves to sit down with you and just be a kid again. You guys have a drawer in your room filled with kids coloring books and coloring supplies.

Karl

Karl loves when you play with his hair. Original I know. But it just makes him melt when you start to braid his hair or just testing new hair styles on him.

I believe that he loves being your Guinea pig for new recipes that you make if you like to cook. Anything you make for him is made from love. He genuinely almost cried when he was sick and he tried some of the soup you made and it tasted just like the soup his mom made him when he was younger

He lives to be around people. All day everyday it is energy but during the peaceful moments you guys go out and play mini golf or go to cafes to try new things. He loves your little adventures.

Karl adores playing games with you. His two loves in life are you and video games. He had you help him out with the tales of the SMP so it would be fun. It was actually inspired by a stupid convo you guys had over a dinner date.

Wilbur

Wilbur will absolutely sing you to sleep. Personally I have nightmares and I can certainly see him just being like "oh love, it's alright. Come here and just close your eyes." And he just hums and sings everything he lives about you while you fall back asleep

Every gig he doesn't with the band he has you in the front row or off to the side of the stage so when the band needs water, you can give it to them. Everyone loves you from the band and appreciates your company.

Tommy is like Wilburs younger brother. Everyone knows this. You are like the peace keeper between the two. They often squabble and when they do you grab one ear of each and make them apologize. They immediately do because they know if they don't they'll be put in the get along shirt.

Wilbur can be kinda insecure. He doesn't believe that he can be good enough for you so on those days you baby him. He taught you to play guitar so you sing to him. Even if you may not sound the best while singing, he enjoys the love that you both have.

Charlie

During days when he's doing chuckle sandwich he makes non stop dad jokes. Like it's bad. It's like it's his ritual to get ready. Like take his little book of jokes away from him.

He is a giant goofball all the time. He loves making people laugh and enjoys seeing you smile along at his dumb attempt of making a new language called "slimenican"

When he was doing gen loss you thought his slime monster character was just an evil version of his Minecraft character and picked on him for it. He didn't understand what you meant until he saw the first episode and then it clicked.

[exactlyimportantpatrol]

You gotta hear me out on this one. The Herta has kids. It sounds farfetched I know. But you gotta hear me out.

Disclaimer this only for fun and a headcanon. This may not be in the game.

The Herta Space Station was built to house curios that Herta had collected over the years. But what curio started it all? Madame Herta had used some of her own DNA and did the whole mad scientist thing and made a human without a man. Thus the Space Station was created to house such a curio. It would be funny to see the space station which is all metal and a few rough edges turn into a child's paradise. The water fountains (if there is one) dispense different kinds of milk (strawberry, banana, chocolate etc) and juices (orange, apple, etc.) and of course water. The floor and walls would be lined with foam. Herta's office would have a baby lock. Maybe an AI system specifically to watch over while Herta is away. A huge playroom I imagined that one of the labs used to be a playroom like with those plastic slides, foam pit, ball pit, twists and turns etc.

I think the kid could still be part of the Genius Society with Herta's genes coursing through their veins. Not to mention Herta's connection with Nous. So she could put a little word in or that Nous is interested himself.

I kinda think Herta would be strict but cool at the same time? If you get what I'm thinking. Like she's strict about certain things dress code, wasting food, nap time, no means no. Though all those things would mostly benefit herself. If the kid follows the proper dress code that Herta had a set then they won't look like they aren't a creation of hers. If they start to waste food Herta would probably give them the silent treatment. When the kid finally falls asleep for nap time then that's when Herta gets to work in peace. The cool thing about Herta is that she isn't around often. So the kid doesn't really need to fret. They can do whatever they want and they can disable the AI system from updating Herta. Why? Because they felt like it.

Would I think Herta would be a good parent?

NOPE. The Genius Society despite being an organization of geniuses are cold blooded. One of their own tried to kill other geniuses. Somehow, someway their ideals (sometimes) align with humanity. Mostly because it's the cold truth.

Herta would be there so to say. Like present but never really present in a consistent motion. The kid is nothing but an experiment. A lab rat. A guinea pig. Perhaps the only reason Herta isn't discarding them yet was because they were interesting to create. Not to mention the psychology side of things. Since there was no other DNA but Herta's which she could have modified to create them and gave them different traits just a tad bit different. The kid could start to think they were Herta or that they were an extension of Herta. Why? Because their genes are exactly the same. But if Herta was feeling generous she'd modify it. They'd feel nothing but a clone.

It doesn't help that the kid might develop things that Herta likes unknowingly. The kid would hate the things Herta hates unknowingly. A clone. A clone with a mind of its own.

Well that's all :). Thanks for reading and minding my crazy idea.

[dooksofearl]

Greetings from Dooks of Earl Ferret Sanctuary,

How have you been? What's been going on here? We are so glad you asked. (I still say we meaning me, the fuzzies, and Justin because I know he is watching over me and all these precious babies from heaven.)

We have had several of our hospice care ferrets pass on to go be with Justin. Undoubtedly, they are biting his toes and making him play endlessly. We have only had to take in 11 emergency surrenders this month which is really a low number for us this time of year. That's a good thing. The next couple of months we will get lots of calls about bunnies, chickens, ducks, and oddly, guinea pigs. However, we have already established a group of fosters and other rescues in which we trust and network with to cover the influx so that these precious ones receive the proper attention and love. We are very excited about expanding our partnerships with the other rescues and fosters. Their support helps me continue to do God's will without putting more on me than I can handle.

I currently have in my care; 107 ferrets, 2 bunnies, 1 hamster, 1 sugar glider, 1 three legged turtle, 2 cats, and a very large puppy. They are as much a blessing to me as I can be to them. Most of these ferrets have been with us for years and I expect to lose a great number of them this year. I am so grateful for the few young ones that will help me through that tremendous grief along with my cuddle bunnies.

Our Fund raising goal for this month is unfortunately steep (needed before the last day of the month) is: $1854.00. Any part of that you can help us raise would be a monumental blessing.

Normally I am able to get some grants in, even small ones, but that has not been the case this month.

That will cover:

The rescues regular bills like housing ($729) , utilities ($280 on average since our HVAC is still out), and pet foods ($488)

We also spend an average per week of $65 on produce for the vegetarian and omnivore animals.

And a total of $97 on medicines and wellness. I have managed to raise enough to cover the other bills and supplies. And of course, none of this is for me personally nor do I get paid for the work I do. It's not about me, it's about these animals and making their lives amazing for however long they have left.

Other needs that the rescue has not included in this list are:

11 small cage locking food dishes. Unfortunately many of our smaller and older ferrets have trouble with dishes that are too deep for them to just put their heads in and eat. If they have to put their paws on the side and lean in it causes discomfort for their joints.

30 bags of Pine pellets from tractor supply company. We go through a lot but it's important that everyone have a clean litterbox to use. Not only does it help me see if their bowel movements are healthy but it keeps down the risks of bacteria or parasites.

5 water bottles from rent a coop with plastic bowls.

I have created a short wishlist with links to these items on Amazon. The pine pellets I just listed tractor supply gift cards because they don't sell them through Amazon for delivery. If there was a bulk pack or other options I listed those as well.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/dl/invite/63ZMinE?ref_=wl_share

We also really need an extra large dog house and outdoor dog kennel (or left over fencing supplies) if anyone can by finding one used or a really good deal on one and bless us with that, we'd greatly appreciate it.

Thank you so much for sticking by us, loving us, and supporting us. You can't imagine what that means to me as I struggle with my grief from losing Justin and while I am getting treatment for my medical situation.

God bless you.

Love and prayers,

Shelly Breeden-Conner

Executive director

Dooks of Earl Ferret Sanctuary Inc

731-326-0690

Tax ID 88-0945277

Donations can be made in our app

https://www.jotform.com/app/213234930973154

Zelle and PayPal

dooksofearlferretsafehaven@gmail.com

Venmo @DooksofEarl

Cashapp $dooksofearl

Checks or money orders to

Dooks of Earl Ferret Sanctuary Inc

4826 US Highway 70 East, Brownsville TN 38012

***If you are receiving this through a post or from a friend and would like to keep getting our newsletter and updates monthly, please text me your name, email address, and say "mailing list". We won't sell or share your information.

[themomsandthecity]

What the Kyte Baby Drama Reveals About Paid Leave For Adoptive Parents

Last month, the popular baby clothing brand Kyte Baby came under fire for denying a new mom's request to work remotely while her adopted son was in a neonatal intensive care unit hours from her home. Marissa Hughes, who qualified for two weeks of paid leave, was initially fired for not being able to do her job on site, per a since-deleted TikTok her sister posted - until an online uproar led the CEO, Ying Liu, to reverse her decision. Parents everywhere were incensed, and the debacle ignited a larger conversation about adequate leave and reasonable accommodations for new parents. Adoptive parents in particular related to the mom's frustration: many know all too well how easy it can be for employers to ignore the importance of adoption leave. On a national level, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires companies to offer 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave to birth parents and adoptive parents alike. But it's estimated that only 56 percent of US workers actually qualify for FMLA, according to a 2018 US Department of Labor survey (the most recent statistics available). Others work for small companies, are part-time employees, or - as was the case with Hughes - joined their company less than a year ago, all factors that can prevent them from qualifying. Paid family leave is even more rare; it was available to just 23 percent of unionized and 27 percent of non-unionized, private-sector workers in 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The United States is the only wealthy country in the world without a national paid leave policy (the others included in this group are small island nations like Papua New Guinea and Tonga). Thirteen states and the District of Columbia mandate some form of paid leave for qualifying employees, and any company can choose to offer it as a benefit for their employees. Natalie Shaak, who last year led a team from Drexel University's Center for Hunger-Free Communities on a brief that made the case for paid family leave, points out that many of those plans don't cover quite as many weeks for adoptive parents. "The reason why is because most paid family leave is done through disability-related insurances," Shaak says. "So it's more about the physical side of it. Even the amount of time that you can take is based on, 'Oh, did you have a vaginal birth or did you have a C-section?'" Related: How Much It Costs to Adopt a Child, According to Experts Sometimes, companies simply haven't considered adoption. But while it's not explicitly written in many benefits packages, employees can request it, says adoption and family-building attorney Elizabeth Vaysman, Esq. That said, adoptive parents may encounter hurdles like being asked to show a birth certificate, which can take months to get in adoption cases, Vaysman warns. "The need for it is on steroids." The good news: a 2023 survey from the Society of Human Resources Management found that 34 percent of employers now offer some form of paid adoption leave, up six percentage points from the previous year. That's an important acknowledgment of why this time is crucial for parents to spend with their kids. Although adoptive parents aren't recovering from labor and delivery, many argue that the time off may be even more critical. "The need for it is on steroids because of that original separation that is inherent in adoption," says adoption educator Lori Holden, coauthor of "Adoption Unfiltered." No matter their age, a newly adopted child has just "had a ginormous transition in their lives," says Samuel, cohost of "My Two Dads: The Adoption Podcast." (Samuel is being identified by his first name out of concern for privacy of his son's birth family.) "Imagine if someone [turned] up at your door and said, 'OK, you're coming to live with us now and we're in charge of you.' And then they just disappeared off again and you had no idea what was going on," Samuel explains. Holden, an adoptive mom… https://www.popsugar.com/family/kyte-baby-paid-leave-controversy-49335084?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[connectionterminated13]

No problem I love to talk and this has been in my head for about 2 years LMAO....

Lizzie has the same power as William, Evan would have had reality warping powers kind of similar to scarlet witch but he hadn't developed them yet and actually only got his powers literally as he was dying. And yeah it was all him and like pure terror that accidentally destroyed the pizzeria and knocked out half the town.

Oh no I didn't notice that but it does work for Mikey.

Michael at this point doesn't really see himself as mutant sure he has powers and sure he technically is what but he's not one of the freaky ones they show dead in the newspapers. He's not the kind that him and his buddies joke about in the lunchroom. He's not the kind that senators yell about late at night when dad accidentally leaves the TV on. Because he and his family are normal good people.

Yeah. The kid did. Like he knew Michael definitely did it but William of is just so trustworthy, And his story makes perfect sense if you listen to him... After a while it became too much for his family to try to disprove the rumors so they just kind of left before proper Legal persecution could happen.

Yes. Evan is still alive in there because he fucked up reality so he could still be alive in there as he was dying. That's why all the animatronics are so possessive. He fucked up reality real bad....... And yes the other kids are in there but they're just normal kids except for Cassidy.

Well from charlie's point of view her boyfriend was involved in a horrible accident that killed his brother and blew up one of their father's businesses. Charlie doesn't know, About any of it. After all he looked human, and always went along with his mean buddies jokes about mutants.

But Henry does now. He doesn't really care since Williams a good friend And business partner. He looks into x completely normal and it's just all around a great guy. And sure Henry probably wouldn't want either of his own kids to be like William but william's a good person, he's the exception along with his kids!

It is pretty useful but when it comes to not dying it is not useful.... And yes he does abuse it, Most people in town perceive him as like a great father and trustworthy human being plus like great friend. Literally the only person he's ever genuine with is Henry he's never used his abilities on Henry, Because Henry is such an intelligent and wonderful man that that would be a gross misuse of his power. And yes when he starts murdering people and selling death robots, He uses his ability to endear himself to people.

Well he doesn't really think of them as Guinea pigs.... Elizabeth's death was an accident a happy accident but an accident. He turned it into a success and made a business out of it That would both benefit him both scientifically and financially.

Are you kidding me it's the 80s baby everyone wants a slice of that Mutant killing pie. And after all all William needs to do is get some perspective shady army dude or just general fool With a lot of money in the same room as him and He could convince them to let him chop off their arm and beat them with it if he wanted to. Either way it's more like a side thing/like hobby for William. He gets lots of extra money and people get Basically mini sentinels

yes. William gets accidentally crushed to death in one of his own machines Killing him, But he comes back.

He still has his original power, But it's practically useless. Even when he can get his slow moving rare blood out and on fire it hurts now.. No Michael's a bit too scared to go and face William. His current plan is to go find X factor their group of mutant hunters, And tip them off anonymously about William then go try to find some Living relatives of his Mother who live in New York or just give up and live in the sewers. Luckily for him in Pennsylvania he decides to break in to A church to sleep somewhere safe and is accidentally awakened by a nice and concerned young man named Jeremy.

I would scream into the void about my X men AU if you all let me