#so instead of trying different jobs (I started with part time and was doing construction)

[intomybubble]

I started getting YT recs for Sims 4, and this is the start of my downfall.

I checked on steam, and the base game is F2P. I download the game and it’s basically the only thing I’ve been doing for the last 3 days, despite the fans in my laptop being put on blast.

Like, games with skills to level and autoplay? I am absolutely watching my screen for hours on end, only to realize several hours just disappeared for my life. I remember playing (and still have yet to finish) Persona 5 Strikers, and I am still in the 3rd dungeon and I already went ahead to max all the available characters skills bc it bothered me that they weren’t.

Seriously, I really should take advantage of cheats in the Sims so I’m not starting at my computer screen (literally not even mulitasking a game on my phone or Youtube on the side) waiting for my Sim to get better at gardening for an entire day.

[myreitha]

Costume time!

Okay, you know what, I want to share this process and I've chosen y'all to suffer with me.

SO! A friend of mine doesn't have a spooky show to produce this year, and so is putting all his energy into a cool-ass halloween event (Fancy paper invites, puzzles to solve, challenges, games, seances, etc). The whole thing is themed around this fake secret society that we're all now part of, and the dress cose and we're being encouraged to come up with cool fancy clothes/outfits to match the theme to come in. Best description I can come up with for this theme is "Fancy witchy-vampire" (Like, think VtM, but witchier). THAT SAID. I'm still out of a job, so, I've got to be strategic. AND I've got the itch to make things. Even better. (More past the cut!)

I don't have photos for a lot of these earlier decisions and stages, sorry. BUT I go through my closet and costume tubs (the for-fun-or-cosplay costumes as well as the circus/performing ones) and have a nice closet-runway to figure out what I'm starting with and settle on this one burgundy satin wrap top with big-ass sleeves that I love. . .that unfortunately doesn't go with much that I have in my wardrobe that vibes with the theme. (There's like. . .one or two things it works with, but I want to be FANCIER). So I sketch around and come up with an idea based around this shirt (and a statement necklace collar I have that was some of the best $5 I've ever spent)

I have this old dress I'd bought at a flea market years ago and had altered to be an overskirt for a hoop skirt, and then it's been worn as a bustle with the bodice tucked away more times than it's felt hoops. It's a similar color as the top, so I figured I'd finally take the bodice off it, pull it in to be something I could walk in that wouldn't trail on teh ground, and I could set it under a corset in the center. Bing-bang-boom! Genius!

No. The skirt and the shirt were similar-but-different enough colors and textures that they clashed. Damnit. Well, I can ditch the skirt and figure out the rest! Some skinny moto pants. A decorative corset - I could embroider a corset (Myr no), or, ooh, use gold appliques (Okay, more realistic, proceed).

Next step was to mock things up as I'm trying to find what I want without purchasing a bunch of shit, which got me to this:

Okay okay okay. Cool, I've got a direction (that's not the shirt, but it's the closest I coudl find online to use, so I used it). Now for the endless internet and thrift store (No fingers, not thirst store, dear god) and internet thrift store searching to find me some cool-ass pants and a corset and some shoes that'll work with this. You'll notice, though that my statement necklace has been swapped out for cool-strappy-thing. Because statement necklace-collar is geometric and GOOD LUCK finding geometric applique. Harder than I expected. Took me a couple months to find things that weren't lots of money that I could afford. BUT I EVENTUALLY DID IT. This included buying multiple corsets with the intention of returning things. Benefits of modern shopping. The happy "lets try everything on" day was this weekend!

SO FAR SO GOOD. Took a poll from friends and the short corset is the winner. It's definitely the best constructed of the three, though the pants aren't QUITE high enough waist to be able to wear under it without some adjustments. But it'll do. The shoes turned out to be dark brown instead of black, so I need to see about making them black (and fixing them so the tongue doesn't decide to go deep diving towards my toes.) Other things to do: bring in the wrists of those sleeves some, they're a bit too big (Here they're clipped with bobby pins), decorate the corset, maybe add some gold detailing onto the pants? They've got that gold ridging along the thighs that you find on moto-pants, but that's absolutely invisible most of the time, so I think if I just brush some gold paint along the tops of those ridges, it'll make them pop in a good way. You'll note that none of these photos have the strappy-thingy, and instead we're back to the statement necklace-collar. Turns out the differece between the image I found on the internet and teh shirt I own is enough that you BARELY SEE the strappy. Also, I decided that instead of using applique, I'd buy some gold paint, make a design that'd work, and paint it on the corset. Only time will reveal whether this was a good or a bad idea.

Other thing this showed me is that this doesn't feel FANCY enough. So I'm coming back to that half-skirt idea. This time, though I'm thinking about something sheer - either a burgundy to match the top, or a black with gold accents (OR A FULL DESIGN?!?!?!).

Last night I got flat photos of the corset for figuring out the design, since the shape I was working with in my sketches doesn't match the chosen corset shape. Pls to enjoy some of the designs I was playing with:

Proooooobably going to see about adjusting the eye design. I think it fits the theme best.

Last night I started on the alternations by taking in the waist of the pants. Please have this photo that happened 30 seconds before my thread was attacked.

[monty-glasses-roxy]

Hold on something's just hit me.

If everyone in the Plex were to believe that Gregory dropped Cassie at the end of Ruin to keep himself from being found, whether he did it or not, wouldn't that make Roxy to one most able to understand him?

As Mimic's guard dog, surely she would know the lengths you have to go through to keep that fucker trapped. A whole team of Raceway construction workers went straight to their deaths down there. Roxy won't let the Raceway be repaired and re-opened in order to keep people safe. She's probably been able to see Mimic and its victims through the floor this entire time, she knows what it can do and what it's done, even if she doesn't know the full extent of it.

She's willing to sacrifice her Raceway and Salon to keep people from finding Mimic. Her pride and joys, basically her whole reason for being built in the first place. They're not worth the risk to her.

Whether Gregory sacrificed Cassie to keep Mimic trapped or not, surely Roxy would realise some sort of similarity. She may think doing that to Cassie was too far, she may think he's a monster for even considering it and she may feel as though nothing could justify what he did... But there's a part of her that gets it. The absolute terror that comes at the slightest possibility that Mimic could escape. She gets that sacrifices have to made, fuck she's made those sacrifices herself. She would never have sacrificed someone for this, that's why she ran headfirst at Mimic instead of just sealing the exits again, but there could be that tiny little part of her that feels the need to constantly to remind her that Gregory was trying to do the same thing she was.

The key difference here, is that if Gregory had done it, it would fall in line with almost everything else we've seen him do. The sacrifices he makes, are of other people, and not himself. He sacrificed Roxy, Chica and Monty to upgrade Freddy for his safety and possibly the safety of Vanessa. If he also dropped Cassie, then he's once again sacrificing someone else for the sake of his own safety. Not like he has that much else to lose, but I'm drawing comparisons here.

Roxy on the other hand, sacrifices herself. She sacrificed her Raceway and her Salon for the benefit of both herself and others. Unlike Gregory finding himself in a hopeless situation and hurting others to get out of it, Roxy was given this job (probably) and chose to give up what little she has in the world to keep the situation from happening. Even when Cassie deactivates her and ends up face to face with Mimic, Roxy jumps straight at it to buy her time to escape which could have easily killed her.

So now you have Roxy, who unfortunately does understand Gregory's choice to drop Cassie (if she believes he did it which yeah she probably does) but has absolutely no sympathy for him. She couldn't care less about him. There's potentially a fearful little voice in her head that she's the same as Gregory that fuels her anger towards him even more. She hasn't ever sacrificed someone else to keep the Mimic at bay and she's been doing it for fuck knows how long, what gives Gregory a free pass? Maybe if he hadn't stolen her fucking eyes she would have been able to stop the whole thing from getting that far anyway!

I'm not saying this to frame Gregory as a villain or anything. I don't think he dropped Cassie and I still think it was entirely Freddy's fault for what happened to the others in SB. I just think this is interesting from a character stand point. The one person that could understand the choices they've made to keep Mimic from escaping is each other, but they're both too hateful of each other for it to affect anything... If they were ever to settle their differences, I think it would have to start here. The only common ground they share, is the one thing no one else does.

But Gregory didn't even fucking do it so I bet that goes well lmao

[lizardtakesflight]

"I do not know what I'm supposed to say when people clearly want me to feel properly apologetic/chastened."

I work closely with my sister in the same office. She is on the autism spectrum, and she said this to me today when she found out someone was not happy with part of her performance. We sometimes have conversations about things she struggles with as a neurodivergent person interacting with neurotypical coworkers or colleagues, so I figured that it was a good time to take off my Older Sibling hat and put on the Job Coach one.

Typically, an emotionless or brief "okay" is not sufficient when people point out a mistake, or something they perceive to be a mistake. It does not come across as an acknowledgment of understanding. In a work environment, that is going to come across as too passive and dismissive, especially since A) they probably don't know you well enough to understand how you express yourself and B) you may actually have a problem with communicating when you don't understand.

This is something my sister and I have talked about this before, where I would get angry and say: "Do you actually understand or are you just saying okay to make me drop it?" (It's usually the latter, but we're working on better ways to have that conversation.)

I personally had to learn the right response to criticism and make sure to stay mindful of it.

In a work environment, whether you think you're wrong or not, you:

1. Apologize: "I'm sorry about that."

2. Explain your thought process in the case that there was a true miscommunication or misunderstanding, keeping it very brief so that it doesn't sound like you're trying to make an excuse.

3. State what you will do differently going forward, or give a solution.

It's going to be frustrating to admit to wrong-doing if you truly don't believe you did. And maybe you really didn't! That's not really the point of this specific kind of interaction, though: it's a way to open communication in a work dynamic. I am not saying this is something you need to apply to your whole life, but can make a lot of things so much easier. Sometimes being able to move forward is more important than being right.

For example, when I started at my current job, I went crazy ordering office supplies. One of my coworkers in accounting came up to talk to me about it, so I said: "I'm sorry, I didn't realize how big an issue that was. Going forward, I can send you a list of the things we need to order, so you can tell me if you think it's unnecessary or we already have that thing. Does that seem appropriate?" That let us avoid an awkward or upsetting interaction.

In short: apologize, explain, give a solution. it's really simple, but very effective, you just have to stay calm and remember. I don't think most people either know how to do it, or if they do, they're not conscious of doing it. It does tend to pacify people, and sometimes even get them to admit if they did something incorrectly themselves.

I can remember the exact moment I figured it out. I did something to upset a coworker, and even though I did not think I did anything wrong, I went to her and apologized, taking those steps. That calmed her down and got her to concede that she was in the wrong as well, and we were able to constructively discuss the problem. In discussing it, I was also able to then see where I could have done things better in the first place. We were able to move forward effectively instead of separately stewing in our feelings and leaving the problem unsolved.

If you're reading this and thinking that it's all very obvious, great! You probably have a much easier time communicating than some people do, and that's a very good skill to have.

If you're reading this thinking "what the hell, why did nobody ever explain this", it's okay. There is nothing wrong with not just instinctively picking up on these things, and I know how hard it can be to try to learn things that other people seem to just implicitly understand. It just takes a little more work to learn, but once you get in the habit of doing these things, a lot of situations can go much more smoothly for you.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

What if you made a part 2 of “do you wanna be friends?” where ken starts falling for the reader after Barbie shuts Ken down like at the end of the movie. Reader realizes her own worth and how her tears aren’t worth it for ken and plot twist gets with Allan after he helps her with her feelings🫢

Ooough yes ;w;

Note this is definitely longer than part 1 but trust me I had a lot of ideas for this so enjoy the angst <3

Part 1 is here!

.......

In the days following your talk with Ken on the beach, things in Barbieland have....gradually turned upside-down.

He went to the Real World with Barbie after you convinced him to go after her, but you never expected him to come back with something called "patriarchy" and use it to destroy nearly everything the women have built up here.

According to him and the few books he brought, men and horses ran the show instead--and that's how it should be in this world, too.

At first, you had no idea how quickly things escalated as he explained these things to the other dolls...until suddenly the Barbies no longer had their own agencies, jobs, or livelihoods, instead dedicating all of that to their Kens.

Of course you didn't succumb to the brainwashing, and once you realized what was happening, you made it clear to Ken you wanted no part of it. You tried talking some sense into him, insisting that this wasn't just the "reverse" of how the Barbies treated them.

It was cruel and outright degrading.

Yet he didn't seem to care, shrugging off your concerns. It's like he turned into an entirely different person, no longer being that awkward lovestruck fool who'd ramble about his girlfriend's personality and charm to you day and night.

Instead, he started talking about her "hotness" and how any Barbie would've been lucky to have him, with his fellow Kens laughing in the background and nodding along to everything he was saying.

But they only fell silent when you snapped, saying no doll in the world would love him if he was going to act like this forever, before storming away and going home.

It's there where you finally let your tears out, feeling ache in your plastic heart for all sorts of reasons--among them being why you were stupid enough to still love Ken and why you felt so guilty for getting angry at him.

Even now, part of you was still clinging to the small hope that he would've understood your song and what you were trying to convey to him..

Obviously, he didn't.

Why would he?

All he could ever think about was Barbie, while you forced yourself to stand on the sidelines and support his efforts to impress her.

Well, you couldn't support him this time. Not in this "Kendom".

When Allan came to your door, trying to find refuge from the Kens and their endless demands for massages, you let him inside. And that's where you two sat on your (non-leather) couch and talked for a while.

Despite being proclaimed his "buddy", the two never hung out much, although at this point he didn't seem to care about that anymore. He too was fed up with everything going on and asked why you were wasting your tears on a jerk like him.

You got defensive at first, wanting to say that Ken isn't a jerk.

But then you realized that what he said was actually...really smart.

It's something you'd expect to hear from a Barbie, not an Allan. But he made a valid point.

Why should you waste your tears on a guy like that? Who can't see that you've been there for him all along?

He wasn't worth breaking your heart over.

So you ultimately resolved to leave Kendom together, stowing away in the backseat of Barbie's car--which was now in the control of the humans she brought back with her. You weren't sure where she was, but you believed getting out of here was more important.

No one in the Real World would care if an Allan and a [y/n] were roaming around.

Yet one scuffle with Construction Worker Kens later....you four were at Weird Barbie's house, helping Barbie out of her depression and coordinating a plan to take back your home, no longer wanting to run away.

You worked hard to help deprogram the Barbies, freeing them from Ken's tyranny before enacting the final step: turning him and his fellow dolls against each other.

Before long, Barbieland was somewhat restored to its former glory, with the ladies' ruling being reinstated and them promising to give the Kens more recognition.

Barbie and Ken eventually made their amends, too, before she chose to depart for the Real World permanently, believing she no longer felt at home here.

It was a bittersweet goodbye, and once she was gone, you consoled Allan, who was overwhelmed by all of the recent events that have taken place. He helped save Barbieland, too, and you made sure the Madame President didn't forget that and ignore him again.

Fortunately, the Barbies were in agreement this time, inviting him to help with the rest of the cleanup--to which he giddily scrambled to find the nearest broom and get right to work.

You smiled, feeling a little bit proud of yourself for being his number one advocate.

When you turned around, however, you noticed Ken lingering near the pink slide by Barbie's dreamhouse. He was just standing there all alone, hands stuffed into his hoodie pocket, still wearing the lightning bandanna.

Your anger from before had dwindled significantly, especially since you all heard his confession and realized he literally didn't know how to see past Barbie. Now you understood him a little better, and so you decided to approach him as a friend again.

"Hey, Ken. How you feeling?"

He looked up in surprise. Although he seemed exhausted, with his face stained with dry tear tracks, his smile was genuine. "Oh hey, [y/n]. I'm...still feeling kinda sad, but at the same time I feel...good? I dunno. It's weird."

"I understand." You nodded sympathetically

Sniffling, his gaze flickered back down to the ground. "Guess I should've listened to you more, huh?"

"It's okay." A reassuring smile graced your lips as you patted his arm in comfort. "She had to be the one to tell you, not me."

"Right...so um..."

"What's up?"

"Could I...maybe come over to your house later?" He quietly asked, crossing both of his fingers out of habit, although he glanced up and noticed your expression, quickly uncrossing them. "I-I mean not like that...not a sleepover or anything. I just...feel like we need to talk through some stuff."

"Oh...I think so, too." You relaxed, glad that he was finally gaining some maturity. "I'll see you tonight?"

His smile grew a little. "See you tonight."

..........

After the sun set over Barbieland once again, you had finished changing into your pajamas, unsure of whether Ken remembered to come over or if he decided to back out last minute.

You couldn't blame him if he suddenly didn't feel up to talking to anybody after all that's happened today. He probably needed some time alone to process things.

If he was ready, surely he'll let you know.

Yet you heard the doorbell ring while fine-tuning the strings of your guitar. You set it down on the table carefully before going to answer the door.

Much to your surprise (and bewilderment) it was Ken, all-dolled up in a nice sparkling vest and dress shirt. His hair was neatly combed, the bandanna and horseshoe chain necklace no longer anywhere to be seen.

"Hi, [y/n]...may I come in?" He awkwardly shuffled in place, clearly hiding something behind his back that he didn't want you to see for some reason.

"Sure. Nice outfit, by the way." You invited him in, now feeling a bit awkward yourself: here you were in cozy pjs, while your best friend looked ready for a night on the town.

Deep down, you began to worry about where this was heading, given the way he dressed up and seemed rather nervous, but you decided not to assume anything too quickly.

"Thanks." A light blush rose to his cheeks. "I wanted to look my absolute best for you."

"..for me?" You blinked. "I mean..this is a huge step-up from that mink coat, but I wasn't planning on going out anywhere. We were just gonna talk-"

"About our future together."

"...I'm sorry?"

"Our future together." He repeated, revealing the surprise to you: a small bouquet of plastic flowers with your favorite colors. "I've decided that...I'm ready to be your boyfriend, i-if you still want me."

You had to take a step back, eyes wide in shock. "Ken--are you.....is this a joke?"

"It's not a joke. I remembered that song you were playing on the beach. You wanted to be more than just friends...but you were scared to tell me because you didn't wanna ruin what we already had. That's what it was about, right?"

Freezing in place, you were now completely tongue-tied as you fumbled to generate some kind of excuse. You didn't think he'd actually hear any of those lyrics or even understand them.

"I-It's....yes, it's a song about unrequited love. But that's all it is, Ken. Just a random song I so happened to know. It doesn't mean anything-"

"It meant something to you, though. You were speaking to me through that song, and I was too stupid to realize it before. But I get it now! I understand!" With a childish grin he offered the flowers to you once more. "That was your confession, and I'm here to say that I accept it! I'm ready to be more than friends."

"...look, I'm glad you understand now. But.." Pausing, you took the flowers and set them on a nearby table, watching as his expression gradually faltered. "You and Barbie literally broke up hours ago. Don't you remember what she said?"

".....I-I didn't forget." The blond stood rigid, trying his best to keep his composure. "I'm not my girlfriend or any of that crap. I thought I could only love her, but I was wrong. And I'm okay with that. I'm ready to move on and be with the person who I should've been paying more attention to."

Stepping closer, he took your hands into his own, a pleading gaze sweeping across his face. "That's you, [y/n]. I know I was an idiot to ignore your feelings...and an even bigger idiot for bringing patriarchy here, but..I promise I'll do better. I'll be better."

"Ken, this isn't-" You attempted to speak, but he was already rambling about the endless possibilities that awaited this relationship.

"If you want, you can play the guitar at me and I'll play mine right back!"

"That's not what I-"

"I promise I won't play Push this time. I've learned way cooler songs since then and I can show them all to you."

"Ken, just listen to-"

"Oh! We can teach each other different songs, or-!"

"The answer's NO, Ken." You raised your voice in a small fit of frustration and impatience.

Those words came out harsher than you intended, but the damage was done, as he flinched and took his hands away, holding them to his chest with wide eyes.

"No as in...y-you don't wanna play the guitar with me?" His voice began to tremble.

"I mean "no" as in..." You hesitated, knowing you were about to break his heart and regret it. But you had to give him the truth. "Look, you can't just...suddenly decide you wanna be with me just because Barbie left the picture. That's not how this works. I'm not her replacement. I'm not her, and I can never be her."

"N-No, that's..." Tears began pooling in his eyes, scrambling to find a way to salvage this situation. "That's not what I meant at all! I-I'm not looking for any replacement! You sang your heart out to me, and-"

"That was back when I was naive and afraid to speak up for myself. I've changed since, Ken. Now I know my worth."

He was confused by what you meant by that, but before he could respond, he heard another male doll's voice speak up.

Not a Ken, but an Allan.

"I-I helped them realize that, of course!"

"...Allan? Buddy?" Blinking away his tears, he noticed the auburn-haired doll coming down the stairs. He was so incredibly lost as he glanced between you both, although he eventually connected the dots. "Wait, [y/n]...is he...?"

"Hold on, you didn't tell him yet??" Allan muttered to you, growing tense when you sent a slightly annoyed expression his way.

"I was getting there, but...." You stopped, looking back at Ken to see the devastation written all over his face. "Yes, Allan and I are a thing now. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but he helped me through a lot of stuff and...I realized my heart was in the wrong place. It's with him."

"...o-oh, I...I see now. And when did this...?"

"Two hours ago, after we finished cleaning the cul-de-sac."

He felt his heart shatter into a billion plastic pieces at this news. It took all his strength not to immediately bawl his eyes out; he wasn't even sure if he had any more tears left to cry.

This stung ten times worse than Barbie rejecting him in favor of Girls' Night. But deep down he knew that he only had himself to blame.

Why did he choose to fall for you after the fact he hurt you?

"Look, I know this must absolutely suck. But..you screwed up a lot, man." Allan shook his head, a slight frown on his face. "You can't expect [y/n] to forgive you like nothing ever-"

"I do forgive him." You gently corrected him, before glancing back at Ken once more. "I forgive you. You were made to love her, and you were frustrated she didn't feel the same. That's Mattel's fault. But...you clearly haven't moved past this yet, and you're never going to if you keep giving your heart away. You need time for yourself..not a relationship."

"...o-okay. I'll focus more on me...I get it. I'm gonna go now. Goodnight." He took the bouquet, hiding his face with them.

But it did little to masquerade his sniffles, even as he turned around and tried making a quick exit towards the door, embarrassed and ashamed.

You probably didn't want to see him ever again-

Yet he froze as he felt your hand resting on his back.

"C'mon Ken, don't be like that. Could you look at me?"

"......."

"Please?"

He listened as he slowly turned around and set down the flowers, allowing you to see his face--now stained with fresh new tears. There was a tiny glimmer of hope in his eyes that you were only joking about dating Allan just to see his reaction.

Yet there was only a sad smile on your face. "I'm willing to stay friends. We can do guitar lessons together and all that fun stuff if you want. I don't plan on going to the Real World anytime soon, so..I'll always be here if you wanna hang out."

"...you will?" His voice was small, his sniffles continuing. "I didn't..r-ruin anything between us?"

You shook your head and opened your arms up. "Not a thing--oof!"

Next thing you knew, he collapsed into your embrace, and you could feel him shaking. "I-I'm just...so scared that I'll never find love again.." He cried softly. "How will I know who's the right person? Or when it's the right time? Or-?"

"You'll know. I promise." Patting his back, you sighed and closed your eyes, appreciating the fact that Allan left the room to give you two space. "For now, just..keep focusing on yourself and who you are outside of your love life and accessories, okay?"

He nodded in understanding, staying in your hold for a little bit longer before he regrettably let you go. "Thank you, [y/n]..w-will you..at least keep the flowers?"

"Of course. I won't tell Allan." You winked in a lighthearted manner, which made him smile a tiny bit.

After that, Ken properly left your house this time, his heart still aching with the pain of knowing you two simply weren't meant to be. He knew this was for the best but...it still hurts.

Once again he was wandering alone, off to wherever he and the other Kens slept.

Housing for them was still being discussed among the Barbies, although the project seemed to be a success in-progress as he spotted some dolls already moving into newer homes.

They were like the dreamhouses, except smaller with blue accents and minimal horse decorum. One seemed to be up for sale near your house.

Yet he kept walking underneath the brightly-lit streetlights, finding himself humming the tune of that same song you held near and dear to your heart.

If being friends is how he got to have you, then...sure.

He could settle for that.

[noonmutter]

Development

DWC Feb 2024 Day 2: Suppress/Pastel

Stromgarde Keep--Terry mused that they probably ought to start calling it Stromgarde Castle, these days calling it a keep felt a bit like calling a dreadnaught a boat--was still new enough that parts of it almost shined under the afternoon sun. He'd spent just long enough in the gloomy, rainy climate of his homeland that he wasn't used to that anymore, and it took him a minute or two to figure out why. He had nothing against the place, its people, or anything else; the brightness and the odd newness of all the construction just set him on edge. As he strode along the walkways toward one of the buildings just off the keep itself, he reflected that he was probably going to feel that way about most of Gilneas in the coming years.

His boots clicked audibly on the cobbles of the pathway, and that added to the unease. Terry Ambroce was farm folk, a street slag, a degenerate; his boots should've been awful, worn, silent things that looked moments away from a trip to the rubbish bin but did their job beautifully. Instead, the fuckers announced his arrival before the secretary had a chance to stand up. The nondescript building had been converted, or possibly just actually become used for its intended purpose as a clerking office, and people dressed in their finest inexplicably-drab-even-under-direct-sunlight Gilnean suits bustled back and forth between one anothers' desks. Stacks of papers in all sorts of quality and condition were everywhere, but Terry noted there were no single sheets drifting across the floor, and no ink spatters on anything.

It was chaos, but it was organized chaos. Sort of, anyway.

"Sergeant Ambroce to see you, Mister Rumpole."

Terry suppressed a snort at the name. It was aggressively Gilnean, teetering on the edge of being too silly to say aloud. Or hear, in his case, but he was not immune to being a childish idiot. He was saved by the sounds of shuffling paper growing suddenly much louder as a fellow who carried himself like a much larger, heavier man rose from his desk to approach.

Much like everything else about his day so far, Terry was not accustomed to being greeted by an outstretched hand rather than a fist holding a weapon. It took him just a second or so longer than the average person might have to react the appropriate way, and he still fumbled a little bit when he grasped the man's wrist instead of his hand. It was a painfully soldier thing for him to do, but Terry had, despite himself, become a soldier at some point.

Mr. Rumpole rallied easily enough and responded in kind, then huffed a short, but nonetheless genuine, laugh. "Of course, I should've thought about that. I promise, you'll find no knives on me, mate, but if you notice a fountain pen anywhere, do let me know. I've been trying to find my favorite and I'm all but certain Jenkins stole it. Egg'd be on my face if he didn't, but at least I'd have it back, eh?"

Terry chose not to tell him he'd spotted six different possible missing inkpens sticking out of all the bits and bobs on the desk he'd left behind, and simply nodded. "'Ave y' considered filin' cabinets, by any chance? Fer th' mess?"

"Oh, surely!" Rumpole turned and led Terry back to his desk, lifting stacks of books and scrolls and parchment out of his way and setting them gingerly back down exactly as they'd been before. "And by the time we actually get them here, we'll be hearing a few offices have finally been cleared up in the city proper, you know how it goes. No, no, we're making do with what we've got, same as we always have, eh?"

He didn't want to, but Terry was already starting to like this man, and that seemed dangerous. He was clearly a lawyer, maybe even a proper barrister once upon a time, and likeable lawyers were tricky. Coming to a stop at the edge of Rumpole's apparent desk, Terry almost asked whether he was supposed to sit, but Rumpole answered that question for him when he grabbed a thin file from another stack and gestured to be followed again.

They made their way to the back of the building, a thankfully much quieter part of the building, though Terry saw that as a warning as much as anything. Not many ways out if this really was all some elaborate ambush. But, Rumpole shouldered open the door at the end of the hall to reveal nothing more insidious than a simply-appointed private office. Which, really, was insidious enough on its own. The light coming through the windows was pleasant enough, and the smell of old paper was mild enough to actually be appreciated, rather than feeling assaulted by it. The furniture, unlike almost everything else in the keep as a whole, carried the air of age around it, despite being immaculate and polished.

Rumpole set the file down and gave the dark, gleaming wood a fond pat, grinning as he nodded Terry toward the chair on the opposite side. "Gorgeous, isn't she? I may not have been the richest man in my firm, but you can bet I went for the niceties when I could afford them! Sadly, she's not my old one. I suspect that's been wrecked along with the rest of the firm, but we'll cross that bridge when we chase the monsters out from under it, eh?"

Terry could only nod. He wasn't quite as unnerved as he'd been when he arrived, but that left him heading directly toward confused, instead. What the hell was he doing in a barrister's office?

"So! You've already got my name, and I've already yours, and we both know you got our Queen's fascinating correspondence or you wouldn't be here, so I won't waste your time going over all that again. I do still have to observe the usual niceties and thank you for your time, of course; I've been doing plenty of reading about you, Sergeant, and nothing seemed more offensive than taking up your time away from your expansive family, eh?"

Ah. This. Terry had seen this plenty of times from the outside, when people were talking to blue-bloods or high ranking officers and the like. It was downright wierd to have it aimed directly at him: The man was buttering him up for something. "I appreciate th' speed-through introduction, mate, but as y' so clearly already know, I was kinda keen on surprisin' my kids by pickin' 'em up from school t'day. No offense t' you, o' course, but kin y' skip t' th' point?"

Another bark of laughter preceded a small flurry of movement as Rumpole untied the twine binding the file, withdrawing a surprising number of sheets from the battered leather folder and spreading them out not unlike a casino dealer would playing cards. "Fair play to you, Sergeant! Well, let's see here..." Turning his back to his guest, he reached up to the sparsely-filled shelves behind the desk and pulled down a much larger, rolled-up scroll that was easily recognizable as a map. As he spoke, he unrolled it to reveal a large portion of Gilneas, laid out in odd, mostly-rectangular shapes with numbers and notes all over each one.

An estate map? What are they trying to pin on me now?

To his frustration, Terry couldn't make out the legend properly from where he was seated without moving the map himself, and Rumpole was already--still--talking.

"As you're obviously aware, Gilneas was finally declared a safe zone, though of course there are still all those pocket skirmishes and little border incursions…"

And now the confusion was giving way to annoyance. "I 'elped clear a fair number o' those pockets. Yes, I'm aware."

"Right, well!" Rumpole had the decency to look suitably chastised, recognizing he was starting to prattle even after he'd skipped a good portion of the prattling already. "Straight to it, Sergeant: My colleagues all across the kingdoms have seen the writing on the wall and, more importantly, on paper, and gathered all the records that still remain intact enough to have standing." He waved one hand toward the closed door to indicate the mass of papers and fellow lawyers just beyond. Then, he placed one finger squarely on a specific point on that map.

Terry's eyes widened as he sorted out where precisely it was.

"I was given the unique honor to be the one to inform you that your family's stead is one of those lucky few. If you wish to claim it, of course. Our recently crowned queen has declared anybody that shows valid claim has, in layman's terms, dibs. Standard post-war repatriation; there's a bit of a shortlist for whatever's left of the noble houses, the officers, and the notables. I suppose you can sort out where you fell on that list, eh?"

"I--my--...wot? Notable?"

"You are the Lighthound, aren't you?"

Terry blinked.

"Sir, I am a barrister. I do research."

"Right, yeah, sorry, I... 'oly shit."

Terry's thoughts were going entirely too fast for him to catch up with, but when they all went in circles, they all eventually wound up in the same place. It was just a matter of waiting them out, and Rumpole, sensing an opportunity to give his prepared presentation, seized on the moment. Though he was still technically listening, Terry spent the majority of that time studying the map. Now that he had a reference point he could work from, the other plots around his family's ranch clicked into place. His neighbors, to the best of his knowledge, were all dead.

Except for the two.

Declan Diggs' father had run a respectably-sized distillery, owed mostly to Big Diggs' love of vodka, of all things. Made him a bit wierd to everyone else--Gilneans were mostly scotch, whisky, and bourbon people--but growing potatoes had only been the start. They were easy to grow, hard to kill, and turned into strong booze, so Big Diggs was all over it. Terry remembered hearing his buddy talk about how his dad was looking at getting a few fruit trees transplanted to try and branch out--gods, Diggs thought he was so fuckin' funny--into wine, but then everything had gone to absolute shit, and Big Diggs didn't make it out alive.

Smits' parents had devoted a ton of time and effort to clearing their own land of stone before he'd been born. The Mathers family had made a killing selling it to various quarries and sculptors, and then turned around and got that crappy dirt worked into good growing soil. By the time Smits was old enough to walk, he was already an accomplished stone-picker, and by the time they were going to school together, Smits already had tons of ideas and plans to get out of Gilneas, see the world, and most importantly, make tons of money and make a name for himself. Much like Terry, he hadn't been clear on what sort of name he wanted to make, he'd just known he'd wanted to make one.

They were all supposed to be big shots, making big shit happen, together. But they weren't, and only some of that had been Terry's fault. He'd already known, from the moment he'd found out what they'd done to him--what they'd tried to do to his family--that they didn't deserve to be forgiven.

But the people they'd been, the friends he'd once known, didn't deserve to be forgotten, either.

"...wish to re-stake the claim, the Crown would be happy to purchase the land back from you for a tidy sum. You could also grant ownership to another party, if you've got someone in m--"

"Where do I sign."

"Eh? Oh! Of course, just here, here, and..."

"And I want first biddin' rights on any o' th' adjacent steads, if their owners give 'em up or don't 'ave sufficient records. These two 'ere," Terry thumped his finger down on the Diggs and Mathers steads in turn, "Their last livin' fam'ly members are in prison fer treason, among other thin's. I doubt they'll want or be able t' claim it. Let me know about those as y' can…"

Terry and Rumpole spent almost an hour discussing the details. After that, Rumpole took advantage of Terry's damn near photographic memory to help sort out some plots they'd had a lot of trouble identifying. By the time they'd gotten too close to the cities for him to be of use anymore, Terry realized another hour had gone by on top of that, and he'd long since missed the window to surprise his kids at school.

It was time to go home.

( @daily-writing-challenge )

[queen-mihai]

Hi I know that this may seem out of place. But at what point in your life did you begin to feel stable/adult. I often times have conflicted my feelings of gender discomfort or writing with these beliefs. Because of this I have abandoned myself to a point where a stranger now lives in my body. Have these thoughts ever bothered you?

Hmm🤔

This is an interesting question. I suppose it's rather gradual. And there's never a feeling really of being "there".

You always feel kinda like you're faking it in a way. People really are telling the truth that nobody knows what they're doing. Everybody's making it up as they go along

And one thing that we all eventually find is that no one can do this alone. I work as an engineer. I work in the field with machines that don't move, meaning I have to go to it instead of it coming to me.

That means that I not only have to be an expert at math and designing and troubleshooting, but also logistics. I need to figure out schedules and times and make phone calls so people know who I am and what I'm doing and if it's going to affect them.

But like that didn't happen suddenly all at once. The reason jobs measure *years* of experience, is that it genuinely takes *years* to get used to the type of things adults have to do just getting around.

My boss doesn't want to have to come pick me up to bring me to work. The regional manager I work for would suffer if every time I ran into a problem I came asking him what to do. I wouldn't have gotten this job if I hadn't been doing the stuff I do here for years already. But I didn't start by doing this much. I started in my career just kind of accepting assignments that needed to be traveled for. They might have come once every 6 months in my early career. But I jumped at them because I wanted to get out of the office and I thought that part of the job was fun.

Eventually employers got used to that idea and they sent me out more. "Oh Mihai will take care of that. She loves driving around. And with her doing that, we can have some of the other engineers do something else"

Eventually that grew into enough that I could add it to my resume and really take it on as part of whatever job I got next. Etc etc etc until the job I have now doesn't HAVE an office; I'm pretty much forced to demand a company vehicle, and I spend practically half my life living in hotels.

Regarding feeling stable, that's more a job of meditating and feeling good about being *you*.

I don't feel like the world is stable. I don't feel like people's opinions of me are stable. The political, corporate, financial, and climate world is unstable. But I know who I am, and how I make decisions. I know I'm always going to be honest about how I feel, if I am proud of my work or if I made mistakes, and I'll always try to communicate. I know I work really best alone, but I love being around people. I know I'm a leader and people tend to do what I do, so I try to do the right thing always. That's what makes me feel stable. I'm stable in myself, no matter how unstable the world is around me. And that consistency of personhood provides an anchor from which other people can latch on and help find themselves too. (Because you're not me, but you can use me to find what similarities and differences there are between us, and thus, paint a clearer picture of your own personal image)

I don't know how much I can help with the "abandoning yourself" part.

Part of what hurt me previously was being involved in a very destructive relationship. Once I left that relationship, it became much easier to construct *me*. Maybe that's not what you have going on, but it may be worthwhile to take a look at your environment and see if there's something making you feel like you can't grow into the person you want to be.

In any case I wish you well. And I hope you find your place. What I can say is that there's no finish line; there's no race; there's not even a path. There's just decisions you make every day. They're all important and none of them are important. But what IS important is that you see that you're not waiting to start your story. You're in the middle of it right now. Please know that you are loved, and very cool, and I especially appreciate you for sending such an interesting ask 🥰

Peace ✌️ ❤️

[jalebi-weds-bluetooth]

Hi AJ. Shy anon here.

I was wondering if you could give me some advice.

I recently started working. It's part of the reason why I haven't been on Tumblr as much as before. The thing is that this isn't the first time I have gotten a job. I've worked for a couple of years before. But this time around the circumstances are very different. My family's financial situation is bad rn because an incident happened at our old home and we had to move to a brand new house. Plus the timing of this was just after my marriage so a lot of expenses had already gone into wedding stuff anyway. My husband has a job and he's had the same job with a steady income since even before we started dating. But he's the only one earning in the family. So we discussed the entire situation and decided that I would also start working again so that the entire pressure isn't just on him.

The issue is that every time I go to work I feel extremely guilty. My in laws are fully supportive and we discussed this with them before I found a job. But my mother in law is now taking care of the house by herself. And she's not exactly sick, touchwood. But I still feel horrible that she has to cook and clean and do everything herself now because I'm away at work. I try and do as much of the housework as I can when I'm at home, but it obviously won't be the same as before. She's also been really exhausted mentally because of everything that's happened and I'm usually the person she comes to to talk about things. Woh kehte hain na mann ka boaj halka karne. Waise vaale conversations. So I feel bad about leaving her alone in the house too.

The guilt is so bad to the point where I've spent nights sleepless and crying and apologizing to my husband for everything. Because I really do want to work and help him manage the house financially but I also really don't want to leave all the house responsibilities for maa to handle alone. My husband has been really patient and understanding and he's told me that he's perfectly fine with me not working if I feel guilty about leaving the house. But the thing is I would feel bad about quitting my job now too because I already committed to helping out my husband financially and I really do want to share that responsibility with him.

I'm reaching out to you incase you have some advice or even just some comforting words. I think it would really help me out.

I'm also really sorry for talking about my personal problems on your blog but it just felt easier to talk to you than to anyone irl because I can't find it in me to talk to my parents or relatives about this because idk it seems wrong somehow to discuss sasural ke problems with them. I feel like my sasural waale won't like it.

Thank you for reading the entire message. Please take care.

Bye 🥰

Dear Shy Anon,

Sending you the biggest hugs and care ok. Thank you for trusting me and opening up.

I will try to keep this brief yet constructive so I can offer some comfort as well as advice.

First of all life is about trade offs. That is when you decide something you have to adjust something else. It does not mean one is more important than the other, it just means that in life we all try to take the best decision possible.

What you are doing is EQUALLY AND EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Providing financially is the core of a household sustenance. Change is tough and you're worrying you're leaving important responsibilities behind but you also have to recognize that you have taken a NEW responsibility. While it's natural to feel worried over not doing your previous responsibilities, executing your new ones perfectly will also comfort and serve your family the way they need. You are being there for your family. It's like this, for breakfast you're now cooking pancakes and juice instead of paratha and dahi. It's a change, but ultimately you are giving breakfast to your family and keeping them fed. Bottom line, you are providing for your family and you need to have your courage with you *hugs*

TIME MANAGEMENT. Somethings are very important for you and your family. Such as spending time with aunty. So even though it's no more an hour long chat but ensure you're spending some time with her by scheduling a routine. Maybe you both have morning chai together. Maybe it's the evening chai. Maybe just before sleeping for the day you spend half an hour together. But ensure a daily time with aunty to ease your anxiety.

SHARE RESPONSIBILITIES. What is most important is to understand you won't be able to do everything you did before. If you expect to do everything or even half of what you did previous to your job, you will fall short on your expectations and be anxious about not doing enough. Just take up one responsibility. Maybe you're doing the morning tea. That's it. Or the night dishes. That's it. I know it does not feel enough but if there's one thing that you and your husband can do - then that's two things off aunty's list.

SAVE FOR HOUSEHELP. I do not know if you have a househelp or not but investing in a good househelp is necessary for the house to smoothly run and I'd definitely recommend saving for that. Share this plan with your husband. Aunty might say it's not at all necessary, lol, but still sit with her after a couple of months and you both select a househelp who will help aunty with major tasks like dusting, mopping, laundry and prepping ingredients.

FAMILY TIME. I understand family is an important aspect for you and small things matter a lot. Maybe every Saturday night it's the family eating dinner and watching a favorite film together. Or it's a small date night with you and Mr Shy Anon. The point of these moments is to try and bring in joy even during stressful times. Because life will always have stress in one way or the other and sustaining relationships even during the tough times matter.

All in all now you have a new responsibility Shy Anon, and by trying to incorporate the new changes while financially providing the best for your family means the most. Write on a wall what's your purpose for your family. That you're working towards a particular goal that is fulfilled with you and your husband working. Sometimes we lose sight as to why we take certain decisions with our fears, anxieties and sadness. But remind yourself every morning that there's a reason why you're working.

Your motivation, courage and happiness is the pillar of your family. When you're positive, so is your family. And please, always cry and let out your fears. Keep messaging me, crying to your husband, saying sorry to aunty to ease your heart when it hurts! And then smile brightly and go forward with purpose. It is so brave to do everything you can to support your family. And honestly I'm just sending big hugs to your whole family for they're all doing their best.

Cry it out my love and stride forward. We're all sending you the biggest positive hugs.

Much love,

AJ (also always check notes cause people leave sweet words in comments!)

[wings-of-flying]

please tell me about your oc??

okay okay okay so this was from when i was like 14 so excuse how bizarre it is

red adams is my main girlie from my never written novel repeat after me (it's a timeloop romance thingie and i loved it). she's a 17 year old who ran from home and has been followed by trouble ever since. she's a bisexual sassy icon with red hair (hehe, very original i know) and mummy issues and she accidentally becomes involved in a heist on a newly invented time machine. (she gets called to do it by her ex, clifford, who's a real jerk and also a gang leader type of guy. it's a whole deal)

instead of managing to steal the time machine, however, she ends up getting roped up in the testing of it (don't question how, i never quite reached that part). it goes wrong, because of course it does, and she ends up getting stuck in a timeloop. in this timeloop she relives the day she first did a job for clifford over and over, until she realised that this was the day that the project to start the time machine's construction was first tested (one of the first versions of it), and to get back to the present day she'll have to figure out how to use it. she can only live through one day before she's sent back to the morning, however, which makes things difficult

after a few iterations she bumps into one of the students working on the project in a cafe that they work at. a girlie called mary walton (she's got typical mousey brown hair and slightly hazel eyes and red definitely doesn't have a crush on her wink wink. she's also a physics nerd and we love her for it). the students had already come up with a codeword to know that they're visiting from the future, so mary quite easily believes her. they start trying to figure out a way to get it to work, because it hadn't been completed yet

they figure out a way to do this within an hour so that if anything happens and the day resets it'll be easy to do again (as long as red remembers it). the day restarts a couple of times and after a few trials red realises she's beginning to fall for mary. one of the days they have a moment where red confesses and mary is a little weirded out because red seems to know her really well and doesn't take it well, and red goes all angsty and the day resets and we begin to see that maybe red isn't the best and healthiest of people

they've got it all sorted and BOOM red does something slightly differently (that she has to do in order to fix the machine) and as a result clifford finds out what's going on so he shows up at the time machine and kills mary and destroys the machine. day resets and red realises that there's no possible way for her to break the cycle without mary dying. and by this point she's learned that she can't go back to exactly the current time, she's got to relive from whenever the timeloop stops

it all happens again. mary dies. red is all angsty about it. she gets the machine working. the next day comes and mary is still dead. a few months pass and red has caught up to where she left off. clifford tells her to steal the time machine again

the ending is left open, but there's an epilogue from mary's pov. she's working a normal day at the cafe and there's a mysterious girl with red hair in the corner. mary goes over and talks to her for a bit. red asks her out. mary says it'll have to wait for tomorrow because she's busy after her shift. red smiles sadly and says "i'll see you tomorrow". boom. done. end. woo

i'm a little sad i never wrote this tbh. maybe i'll try again because i love these guys

[ahordeofwasps]

Find the Word Tag

I’ve been tagged by @spuddlespud! Thanks for the tag! 

Before I get into the words I have been given, the no pressure tags! I’ll be tagging @jamieanovels, @afoolandathief, @winterandwords, and @hottubraccoon! Your words are care, cool, chatter, calm, and construct!

My words are bring, boom, bloody, body, and but! I’ll be sharing excerpts from three different WIPs, sorted not by word, but by WIP. It will be told not in the initial order of the words, but by whether or not said work I’m sharing has an excerpt with a content warning. I’ll start off with Crying Wolf (no content warning), followed by Steve’s Trial (cw: child death) and then there will be Refurbishing the Fleshy Horrors that have Entered Our Reality for Profit (RTFHTHEORFP) (cw: gore). The last two excerpts (body and bloody) will be the ones with content warnings. I’ll repeat the content warnings for these excerpts. If any of these content warnings are not adequate, please let me know and I will update the content warnings accordingly. 

Crying Wolf

Boom

Theo didn’t dwell on the demon’s familiarity for long. Soon after the demon arrived, it was the 14th Sect’s turn to try to succeed where the 13th Sect had failed. Theo had barely any time to say goodbye to Claudine and when he did so, he wished he wasn’t saying goodbye at all. Claudine looked tired and her voice lacked the booming energy it usually had. Something was wrong, but he did not know what. He didn’t know what and he knew there was nothing he could do to help, at least not at that moment. All Theo could do was hug her and promise to return. It was a promise he didn’t know if he could keep.

Steve’s Trial

But

But Steve wasn’t human. He had no eyes, at least none in the biologic sense, nor did he have skin. He didn’t even have a brain to fry. All he had were bones. He was a walking skeleton. Currently, this walking skeleton was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a pair of plaid trousers held up by suspenders. Instead of panicking, Steve looked around the room.

Bring

There was nothing Steve could do to bring Mason back. There was nothing he could say that would ease her pain. No matter how hard he wished. Steve didn’t have a heart, but something inside him ached.

Body, cw: child death

He wished he could close his eyes, but he had no eyes to close. So, Steve moved as fast as he could, guiding the soul into the briefcase with his hand, before slamming it shut. He wished there was something to say, but the job was done and there was nothing he could say that would make it better. He rushed out of the bungalow as fast as he could, leaving the mother to cradle her son’s body.

RTFHTHEORFP

Bloody (cheated a bit with this one), cw: gore

I place my hands on my lap, my fingers clutching the fabric of my pants. Slowly, I force my gaze to follow Dale’s to his hole. The pit of dread in my stomach is screaming at me to not look. To become nauseous. The rational part of my brain yells at it to shut up. 

I look into Dale’s hole. There isn’t shale at the bottom of it. Instead, I see the broken white of bone, surrounded by a viscous pool of dark blood. Chunks of mangled meat are floating in the pool.

[kinjedl]

"Ok, now walk me through what you're doing again, step by step..."

I listened patiently while the wizard at the other end got started in describing his process. Most of the terms he used, I understood only in the academic sense, and even then it was more of a pop-culture absorption than actual understanding. I spoke up, interrupting him before he really got started.

"Tell me why you're doing each step - walk me through the reasoning behind it. Yes, even the most basic things like inscribing your runic circle. I'm not there, remember, I can't see details, so I'm relying on you telling me what's going on, instead of just saying that something went wrong."

I had started adding that last part after one particular... I think he said he was a Grand Invoker? ...got very curious when I asked him about the inscriptions he was using for his spell construct. He said that they were, and I quote, "Something every first year apprentice should have mastered." I've dealt with enough stressed C-level executives that I was able to talk him down, and even crack a joke that had him laughing when it turned out he had skipped one of the key elements in the inscriptions he was using.

I tuned in from the half-attention I was paying to the wizard on the phone, something that he said catching my ear.

"Now sir... you said that you were using, if I recall, jasper as a power focus, and you just said you're routing the spell through amethyst as a stabilizer, right?"

I waited just a moment for confirmation, nodding to myself as I got it.

"Ok, I think I get the problem then. Do you have any other possible power or stabilizer focuses?"

I paused another couple moments as the sounds of someone rummaging around in what sounded like a drawer full of rocks, listing off the contents. Some of the items he listed were probably worth enough to pay off my mortgage if sold at Sotheby's. I stopped him and pulled up a Wiki page, checked at the top, and then instructed him, "Alright, what I want you to do is swap out that ruby you just found for the amethyst. Keep everything else as it is, and I'd like you to give that a shot, and then tell me what happens."

The pause this time while I waited was a couple of minutes long, during which I put myself on mute and walked over to my fridge, flipping my headset's boom up just because I'm paranoid about somehow accidentally unmuting myself.

I got out my water and started pouring a glass as the sounds of something chanting in a language I didn't recognize, but that definitely not Latin echoed faintly over the call. Just as I was putting the pitcher back in the fridge, I heard footsteps, so I wandered back over to my desk with my glass.

"Yup, I'm not surprised that worked. So, what I'm pretty sure was happening is that jasper and amethyst are both quartz crystals - they're both impure silicates. You were basically trying to route your power through the same thing for two different purposes, and I'm thinking it was just creating some kind of feedback loop. The stability focus didn't have to be ruby, it just had to be something not-quartz. ...yup, yes of course, no problem, you have a nice day. Yes, the usual payment would be fine. Doesn't have to be wealth blessings, any kind of prosperity charms you've got will do. Of course, sir, you have a wonderful day!"

I mustered as much genuine cheer as I was able as I tried to get the wizard on the phone to stop telling me that of course he knows all about that, he's just been distracted by... something, honestly I had tuned him out at that point. It took me almost another full minute to get him to go tend to his spell so he didn't have to start over.

I took a long pull of my ice cold water and sat back at my desk.

It had been about three months since I gave up my original day job. The first wizard to call had been very confused when I didn't know what he was talking about, but he was so insistent, so desperate for help that my instincts took over. When I was able to rubber duck my way into letting him solve his own problem, he was so grateful that he blessed me with something called 'Inzeqium's Illustrious Benediction.'

I won the lottery that day. I didn't even buy a ticket, I found an unused scratch-off in the gas station parking lot on my way home from work, and made a thousand-five hundred dollars.

My next three days in a row, I was even luckier.

I'm not a wealthy man, even now - the rate of calls isn't high enough to merit that, but I'm comfortable, and I probably only work an hour or two a day. I'm even starting to learn some things. I doubt I'll ever become a full wizard myself, but I picked up a wand, and I'm reasonably sure the feather I got to practice with is going to lift off the table soon. Maybe some day I'll see if I can start an official business and do this on purpose. For now, though, I sat back in my office chair and opened up Steam.

Since your phone number is one digit off from the Wizard Tech Support hotline, you get the occasional call. You know nothing of magic, but your computer skills and common sense translate real well.

[vinxwatches]

star trek: Lower Decks season 2

actions pact start. on the one side it's a very interesting conflict. on the other this feels like trying to undo the setup of the finally. ok, semi reset. like the option of them working together, but also maintaining the status quo

i do hope that main guy and main girl don't get together. i just think their relationship is so much better as a friendship. lamp shading animation errors. neat. odd to introduce a new character to just replace him with an old one.

ok. last episode did some lampshading. but if they just undo a major character death then that's just stupid. like maybe it's a reference to another show but that doesn't work in this show on it's own, and if the show doesn't work on it's own then that's a major weakness of the show. like if it's the plot of the episode great. but it better not be just a throw away joke or lampshade. so she's pansexual. it wasn't confirmed yet. yet somehow her being straight or even lesbian would be a bigger surprise. ok, they actually did something with it. more a joke, but at least it's something i can accept.

ok, i'm a very basic bitch. i just love myself some badass lady.

"we call ourselves the redshirts. makes us sound invinsible" even with my Very limited knowledge on startrek i get that joke.

everything tastes like black liquorish... well, being dutch would come in handy there. not like i'm the biggest fan of liquorish, but i grew up with it. random question: is liquorish related to liquor name wise? not much of a revelation. is or isn't he ready? what's their relationship like going forward?

roles reversed episode... but like... one of the big points is the that higher up often do a very meh job. showing their job is hard is stupid ways fails on so many levels. the point has to that it's rigged right? ok, they made good use of it.

so here's something i just thought of: the conceit of this show is that many people want to rank up, going from lowest rung to highest officer. this... well it's stupid. lets compare it to me: i'm a programmer. if the company i worked at worked like this then tough hard work and showing of i could move up the ranks. manager, maybe HR, CEO... i would not be able to do that. well except CEO because in big companies that's not a job. no matter how good i show of to be at making a program that's not the training i'd need to lead a team. i'd prefer the person to lead the team to be a good leader over being a good programmer. of course understanding what your team is doing well enough is part of being a good leader, you can't be a leader in construction and become a leader store management without training and be any good. but a leader wouldn't need to understand how my code works to be a good leader. their method of ranking up makes sense for a show (or a game) as it means the protagonists (or you the player) have something they can work towards. but in reality it's a sign of at best outdated leadership structures. now it makes sense why star trek has it: it's an old show based of submarine battles. so of course it takes hints from the military, which stuck for a long time or even still sticks to going from the bottom to the top instead of training people for different ranks. and as i said it works well for narratives. but it's still worth pointing out.

wait... why is there a door for the spaceport inside which spaceships remain? a massive interior space without atmosphere. i mean, could be justified as keeping it safe from debris, but still seems silly. i mean i was going to save compared to smaller hatches for individual ships, but that would mean multiple gates while this just means one giant gate all ships have to pass trough. still feel silly, but i can make it make sense. i doubt they put this much thought into it.

i feel so much for the lady who got angry over the ballroom dancing competition having to be postponed. damn you empathy.

damn this is a cool setup. and i already know the twist, it'll all be for nothing as the other ship will be able to save itself. either ruining the captains chances for success or making her want to stay on the old ship.

damn good finally already.

damn... that twist though.

[enkisstories]

EA & Maxis

Rather long read, but maybe funny: I created a sect for my sims. Ea & Maxis is the main religion in my Sims 2 lore, but what about the earlier cults of only EA and only Maxis?

Most sims are aware that their world didn’t always work the way it does today, and that that the various changes introduced over time are Lady Maxis’ doing. The joined clergy of EA & Maxis actively researches the several waves of “expansions”, a way too structured activity that the followers of just Lady Maxis wouldn’t ever ponder. The followers of just Lord Maxis even go a step further in actively condemning certain activities that were not part of the old (“pure”) world order.

In other words, if it wasn’t in basegame, it cannot be good for your spiritual wellbeing! As a result, the list of dos and don’ts looks long, but as a player you can easily play a follower of EA, because everything boils down to “basegame good, everything else shady”.

The details:

-         Leaving the house, although not sinful, certainly doesn’t become a proper follower of Ea.

-         Chatting on the phone is belittling the work that goes into building lasting relationships. Call the person you want to befriend over to your own house! They don’t want to come? Well, in this case wait if Lord EA sends them your way as walkbys, you impatient lout!

-         Keeping pets is no substitute for human interactions. This includes talking bricks.

-         (Not sure about the skunk, was that basegame?)

-         Fishing is a lazy way to feed your family, so try to refrain from it. It is allowed on vacations. If you HAVE to go on vacations, that is, because they are a pretty shady thing to do, too.

-         Same sex relationships, although not forbidden, are viewed as secondary and get a different label. (This is also because the Wedding with Priest cc arc doesn’t work with the Marriage Equality mod.)

-         Don’t fall for the lure of the three bolts! With proper dedication to one’s partner, every relationship can be successful, even those that start with negative chemistry! (Note: This is one of their view nice rules, that is also preached by the official religion.)

-         The righteous doesn’t send their children to university! In fact, students in themselves are a somewhat different lifeform from normal humans, so try to avoid them. (Keeping the YAs hidden is the reason why closed campuses exist, although few people nowadays remember that this is rooted in religion.)

-         Living in apartments violates the way Lord EA set up houses and neighborhoods. Only the faithless resort to such measures. You shall not date an architect who constructed an apartment complex, nor shall you be on too friendly terms with anyone who lifted a finger to build or run them!

-         Magic and its various trappings, including most supernaturals (except for aliens) have no place in this world! A follower of EA avoids having dealings with all of this and is held to encourage afflicted to get cured.

-         Lord EA smiles on the people of Sixam, who help men experience the joy of having babies. The faithful will NOT resort to actively CALLING aliens (via the freetime perk), though, but wait for the boon to happen naturally.

-         A true follower of EA knows their identity and doesn’t dally with a secondary aspiration!

-         Don’t penny-pinch by selling crafted things from home, get a real job! If you really HAVE to sell crafted stuff, open a business. It’s still bad, but a lesser evil. The clergy is of two minds whether that business should be on a community lot (because that simulates travel to and from work) or at home (because not leaving the house is smiled upon by EA).

-         Don’t have a servo replace your loyal maid, nanny and gardner! Hire a butler instead. Refrain from using the lesser robots, too, and do not give your children robot models to play with. (Most followers of EA accept a servo if it is played as a real sim instead of as a sophisticated household device.)

-         Painting is allowed, but seen as primarily an activity kids of poor parents do to help the family out.

-         Say NO to lemonade loudly and proudly!

-         Keep the damn flowers in the front yard, where they belong and give them proper care there! Don’t twist them around to put in vases!

-         Homemade food will always be superior over restaurants.

-         The changing of Seasons is ultimately a chaotic process, no matter Maxis’ attempts at structuring it to please Lord EA. Therefore weather machines are strongly encouraged to create eternal summer. Spring is next best, then Fall and finally Winter.

-         The penguin is a sore to the eye, try to avoid meeting it at any cost!

-         Certain clothing is more befitting the righteous than others. (There are long lists dealing with this, basically basagame clothes are best, then stuffpack outfits (because SPs don’t add new gameplay) and EP clothes are worst. cc is rated according to how Maxis Match it is, and knowing what “alpha” in the context of clothing and hair means is cause for excommunication)

-         Children in sports wear are a reason to cover your eyes and lament.

-         As are people of all ages in outerwear. The truly faithful go out in regular clothes during winter to defy the unnatural changes in the world order (but not to the extreme of dying, it’s more a rite of passage or self-punishment after breaking a rule.)

-         Furniture and walls/floors are given the same treatment as clothes.

Some extreme denominations even go as far as using Sims 1 as their benchmark, so things like only ever eating the same meal (chips are allowed, though) and the whole neighborhood wearing a single style of PJ are the lauded lifestyle. Toilets, actually Lady Maxis’ first invention, are strongly discouraged by EA. (I leave it to your imagination what the initiation rite is) The absolutely strictest sects refer back to Sims 1 basegame, leading to things even parties being seen as sinful. Since in the present the cults of EA and Maxis have joined, a cleric cannot go around declaring parties, THE trademark of Lady Maxis, to be sinful, so these sects are actively persecuted. Parents (regardless of their believes) are perfectly within their rights to tell off their teens as “Lord Ea frowns on you!” after a rambunctious party. That is because Lord Ea really isn’t a big fan of parties, so the statement is true, without being blasphemous towards Maxis. Surprisingly enough, the Sims 1 basegame followers are rather easy to deal with, because they tend to live in the present. Now is now, and such a newfangled thing as “Long term relationship score” should never get in the way of a friendship (or enemity).

[piggybankstomfoolery]

I'm really sorry. This whole situation really sucks, and I don't think you'd be wrong to continue using the program whenever you absolutely have to.

Back in 2013-14 I was really spooked when Adobe suddenly shut down the perpetual Master Collection line and shifted over to the Creative Cloud. It wasn't that I couldn't afford it, but rather that Flash, which was at the time my only animation and drawing tool (Toon Boom wasn't as big yet), was now going to suddenly require a monthly charge not because it offered anything substantial, but only because Adobe said so. And I could never trust them after that.

I started learning other animation and art tools, then started branching out in game dev as well when Construct started to fall behind due to Scirra's poor management. These days I run something of a "firehouse" studio (someone at Iron Galaxy coined that term and I really like it xP ) where I'll often quickly swoop in, ask questions, read the docs, do the assignment, then move on to the next one carrying the experience I gained from the last gig. Being able to quickly adapt to different tools and workflows accidentally became a skill all its own for me.

When I had asked one of my professors if being good in animation meant being a "jack of all trades, master of none", he said to instead think of it as adapting to each new assignment, learning only what you need in order to do the assignment well, then take that experience along with you to the next project. Game dev has much slower turnarounds than animation of course, but I always liked to think each game I've made or worked on only gets a little bit better every time I finish one, no matter what I make it in.

That all said, I'll still occasionally grab a sub for Flash or Construct whenever I just really need to get something made. But I still try to push myself to use other programs to get even a part of that job done.

from Bluesky.

Honestly I'm suspecting I'm still going to use Unity despite the massive mountain of reservations I have at this point, because I have nowhere else I can reasonably expect to pivot to at short notice.

[iraprince]

Hi Ira! Do you have any tips for drawing characters in perspective/foreshortening? I’ve been trying to learn recently but I keep feeling like the characters end up way out of proportion.

sure! it's a complex thing that i'm sure other ppl have covered more thoroughly/coherently than i have, but i can try to throw together some quick notes on the stuff i tend to keep in mind.

the first one is one i'm sure you already know about and that everyone is sick of hearing but i'm reiterating it anyway bc it's just that important: REFERENCE!!! ref ref ref!!!! even though the intent is often to exaggerate or stylize well past what ref can offer, it's still a great way to train yourself and to start to build up a kind of visual library in your head of how certain body parts tend to behave in perspective, what overlaps look like and how to stylize them, etc. if you can't find reference that suits what you're drawing, try to take it yourself -- this can be tricky w foreshortened poses but if u have a housemate etc who can help you it's worth it. (i always feel kind of goofy when i'm taking my own ref but like, nobody ever has to see it. do it for the art)

the thing w ref tho, and i think this comes out with exaggerated posing/foreshortening even more often than usual, is sometimes u can really faithfully follow ref and stuff STILL looks bad/wonky/just OFF -- because sometimes in real life things just look dumb! that's how it is! that's when it becomes our job to just fudge it, and a reliable way to do that is by returning to basic construction.

so here's an example of a wip layout where i had to figure out a bunch of bodies in perspective. the camera is above the group, looking down at the central figure -- that central figure laying on the floor is not foreshortened, because it's laying flat and kind of directly facing the "camera," but all the figures standing up around it have to be foreshortened bc their heads are much closer to the viewer than their feet. when you think of them as just a bunch of complex bodies, that is really overwhelming.

what helped me a lot was to remember that you can put basically ANYTHING into perspective if you shove it into a box! then you can use those boxes -- which are MUCH easier to accurately draw in perspective -- as a guideline, and basically make sure everybody's respective body parts "fit" into those cubes.

you can do this in conjuction with using perspective rulers/setting up vanishing points/etc, but with enough practice you can just eyeball it and you'll already find yourself way ahead in terms of simplifying stuff and giving yourself guidelines. this is also really helpful with more complex poses -- in this case, the figure in the top right is standing pretty square, with all the different segments of her body facing forward, but hopefully you can imagine how breaking the body into boxes like this can help immensely in cases where, for example, the shoulders are twisting one way and the hips are twisting another, etc. simplifying all these different parts of the body (which are frequently putting themselves into DIFFERENT perspective by moving independently from each other) as boxes or other simple shapes stacked on top of each other lets you organize things visually and figure stuff out one piece at a time, instead of the mental nightmare of "oh my god i have to draw all this wiggly organic stuff all at different points in space"

here's another example. i freehanded this one, but i can try to kind of retroactively break down what i try to keep in mind when drawing stuff like this; a lot of it boils down to just trying to be consistent about how different body parts relate to each other + how that's all framed from the viewer's pov (stylized below as a camera angle):

it helps a lot to think of exaggeration in size as just a tool you're using to tell the viewer how close something is to the "camera." (if you've ever struggled to draw a leg in forshortening because the ankle is thinner than the thigh and trying to honor "closer thing = bigger" while still keeping that in proportion -- this is where using basic shapes in perspective helps!)

i'm struggling a little to explain it in words so i hope the diagram helps; basically, dole out the heaviest foreshortening to the parts that "deserve" it most (are coming most aggressively toward the viewer/"camera"), and worry about it less on body parts that aren't doing anything crazy (for example, in the main image, the torso's relationship to the camera is pretty neutral, so the body is drawn without much foreshortening or exaggeration. in the little camera angle diagram i drew in the top left, though, the body IS heavily foreshortened, because viewed from the front in this pose the head + torso would be sticking out straight ahead.)

this is a way more loosey-goosey approach than the boxes in perspective of the first example; i found this pose less difficult than a multi-character situation so i was winging it. is the "perspective" of this body probably correct? i'm like 99% sure it isn't. but 99% of illustration is just making sure things LOOK right, not necessarily actually DRAWING them right, and you can gloss over a LOT if you just try to make sure the spatial logic in your drawings is like, more or less consistent. once you've tricked the eye of the viewer into being like "sure, i buy that one leg is further back than the other and we're looking UP" or "yeah, it looks like we are looking DOWN at the tops of these character's heads", you can pretty much get away with murder in terms of actual perspective/anatomy, esp if u have a very stylized art style. be brave!!!!

[taiey]

Melanie has this self-image that she's—not just angry but dangerous, a hairsbreadth from violence. We hear it in 131 when she talks about her past:

Anger is… Anger’s been all I’ve had for a very long time. Years. Maybe since… oh, I, I don’t know. ... Angry at being passed over, being disrespected, ignored. That sort of anger, it – it powers you. Right up until it slips out and hurts someone.

and in 190 when she talks about how she feels about the cult:

If I didn’t have Georgie, I think I might just snap and beat them all to death. ... I swear, if it’s another hymn I am going to break something!

But look at how she actually reacts to Arun:

MELANIE: [Awkward] Oh, okay, um… Right, so… Arun, I just think that the… GEORGIE: I don’t think either of us is particularly comfortable with your use of the word “redeemers”. MELANIE: That’s… that’s not how it works. Is it? John? ARCHIVIST: Oh? No. That’s not how it works.

John and Georgie are included to demonstrate what "person being distinctly less gentle with Arun than Melanie is" looks like. Actually, ‘gentle’ is a bit of an understatement—I might be better to say ‘timid’.

And it’s not like this is the product of the therapy or, idk, Georgie. This entire post is inspired by pronouncingitwang’s post pointing this out—rewind to her first appearance:

I waited for another five minutes, but when Sarah still hadn’t returned I started to get a bit worried. I should have woken the others, but if it turned out she’d just gone to the bathroom, I didn’t want to embarrass her in front of everyone. In that case she should have got one of us up to take over watching, anyway, but she’d hardly been the most professional while she was working with us, so it wouldn’t have surprised me if she hadn’t. After another five minutes, I decided to go look for her.

Like, Sarah is not fulfilling her responsibilities that she agreed to carry out. (and in a kinda dangerous way) But Melanie’s worried about embarrassing her.

In the end it was actually Toni that asked we not work with Sarah Baldwin again. Apparently she’d gotten “weird vibes” and didn’t feel comfortable around her. I agreed, though I didn’t share my reasons. 

She doesn’t even speak up first to say “let’s not work with her again”—again, this is kinda crossing the line from 'gentle' to 'timid'. Like, you can react to things that negatively affect you without over-reacting? (This is something she works on in therapy! Speaking up that she doesn't like 'Mel'; work-stoppage at her evil work: constructive responses.) (the apocalypse, uh, derails this a tad. :| )

What effect does the Slaughter have on this? Well, the next example is while she's got the bullet in her.

In episode 100, she's already tired and frustrated when Brian comes in. (let’s get this over with. I just don’t hold out a lot of hope for… coherence.) She does not get coherence. Instead she gets a panic attack. (Admittedly kinda her fault, because she said that the archives couldn't help with his spider problem. But like, that's more about the circumstances being objectively panic-inducing, she wasn’t being Mean or anything.) And... she's gentle.

I… Please, just… There’s, there’s tea there. Okay. Right. Yes. Okay, breathe. Yeah… well… Drink, drink the tea.

I’ll, I’ll get you some biscuits. I’ll get you, I’ll get you, I’ll get you… something… Just breathe! Breathe for me… [BRIAN TAKES SOME CALMING DEEP BREATHS] Okay, yes. Good. Good.

She's not confident or practiced or comfortable at it. She's out of her depth and kinda at the end of her rope and... gentle. Trying.

I think the through-thread is—people she has power over. She feels that anger and chokes it down because she could hurt them.

It’s difficult to strike the right balance, when you’re doing that.

(There’s another bucket of just—equals. Basira’s always there; John is for the rest of season 4 after 125; Helen :| ; Martin at least in season 5; etc. She has casual, unguarded conversations, too; and ones that are mostly focused on some goal, and ones where she’s getting what she wants, and all sorts of things.)

Towards people with power over her (the guy with the steady office job and authority over whether her experience counts as genuine; apparent boys’ club; evil mindreading murder boss; etc) she bites back. The difference is it's safe to do that because—one part she can't hurt them, and one part it'd be deserved. (Melanie as a comedian who always punches up.)

Except, you know... there's this bit in where 106 Basira and Melanie discuss how she 'literally' made Tim and Martin cry, and... while you can construct reasons they could 'have power over her'—seniority, gender—Basira's only been around since 092. Since that point, it's obvious that those aren't real power here. That's what the Slaughter is doing to her with her; validating seeing the world as more and more against her, handing her power and encouraging her to see herself as a put-upon victim, free to fight back guiltlessly.

And then she wakes up to a numb, wounded leg and stabs John. I wonder—what if "Right up until it slips out and hurts someone. I hurt someone." & "It didn’t stay in my leg because of some ghostly master plan. It stayed because I wanted it." in 131 are saying that - like - it wasn't taking out the bullet that de-Slaughtered her? That it was the wake-up call that she hurt John, someone who was trying to help her, and she didn't want to do that.

Didn’t want to be that.

@melaniemonth I don’t know if this is Platonic, or Health: therapy&recovery, or simply Self, but it is very, very Melanie.