#update; decided to credit my partial inspiration :')
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RE: Not So Berry Legacy Challenge
howdy! so a long, long time ago in like 2019, i decided that i wanted to rewrite the not so berry challenge originally by @lilsimsie and @alwaysimming to fit in some more of the occults and other packs we’ve gotten over the years since their challenge was originally created. this was also partially inspired after seeing @sweetlysimss had created an updated version of the original NSB challenge as well around the same time, so credit where credit is due! check out both the original challenge and sweetlysimss’ updated version — without them i wouldn’t have been able to be confident in recreating the challenge to suit my own tastes and interests! ♡
the challenge still follows a similar structure to the original challenge, but i’ve adjusted many of the generations to fit storylines that i find more fun, adjusted the rules to things that i personally would like to explore, and make use of packs that i don’t find myself playing with to their full potential too often. i especially added a lot of occult gameplay, because i tend to just make occult sims and then don’t do much to play with their specific gameplay or with the aspirations that come with the pack they’re in.
if you’d like to see a full rundown of the entire legacy, click here to see the google doc i’ve made with all of the generations’ rules laid out for you. below the cut is the first generation’s rules so you can get an idea of what the full challenge will be like!
GENERATION ONE: MINT GREEN
You are an alien who doesn’t quite understand all of what earth has to offer. You and your minty self decide to take the best course of action and learn about the world around you—through science! With the power of two worlds (literally) in your hands, you go a little...crazy with the power at your fingertips, and strive to become the world’s first alien mad scientist.
> The Sim
Traits: Genius, Ambitious, Materialistic
Aspiration: Chief of Mischief
Career: Scientist
Species: Alien
> Rules
Skills, Career, and Aspiration
Master scientist career
Complete Chief of Mischief aspiration
Master mischief and logic skills
Personal Life
Marry human spouse
Have at least one enemy (optional: who has a voodoo doll attached for...purposes)
Use the Electroflux Wormhole Generator to visit your home planet of Sixam
Number of children this generation doesn’t matter, but heir must be human
Optional
Complete the elements collection — you have to know all about the elements on this planet!
Live in StrangerVille & solve the StrangerVille mystery with your spouse. Why does the flora around here seem so familiar?
#simblr#new simblr#ts4#ts4 simblr#the sims 4#the sims 4 simblr#the sims#the sims community#ts4 challenge#the sims 4 challenge#not so berry challenge#not so berry#ts4 not so berry#the sims 4 not so berry#challenges#legacy challenge#ts4 legacy challenge#the sims 4 legacy challenge#RE not so berry#RE: not so berry#bold to be posting a whole legacy challenge when im still a new simblr but idc im playing with this challenge so i wanted to introduce it
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Amber Talbot + Her Boys
“I’ve got my room at the rock, I’ve got my boys, what more could a gal want?”
“We aren’t her--”
“Yeah, we are.”
edit somewhat inspired by @fictumlibrary (x)
TAGLIST
@seize-the-droid @anotherunreadblog @ocfairygodmother @kazinejghafa @eddysocs @foxesandmagic @seymours-secret @witchofinterest @akabluekat @booty-boggins @anna-phora @starcrossedjedis @bravelittleflower @jewelswrites-ish @ryutabas @darth-caillic @fuckitup-in-style
#ocappreciation#ocapp#ochub#queerocs#fyeahsuperheroocs#OC: Amber#story: electric feel#story: decode#the quote is a reference to a similar dw quote#also the joke her is gee amber how come you get 4 good boys#okay really billy and steven are the only two good boys lmao#basically the dynamic is; amber - cpr marc/steven/jake - misery billy - reeses puffs#update; decided to credit my partial inspiration :')
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Ask Answers (February 22nd, 2021)
Hello! Here’s another collection of anon ask answers all put together in one big post.
This might be strange considering how upbeat yall are about the fandoms for your games in general, but is there any particular trope or ship you WOULDN'T want us writing/drawing/etc. in relation to your stuff? (IE, any canon you don't want us 'overwriting' or something like that?)
Of course we would want the fan content people make to not be racist, sexist, homophobic, bigoted, harmful, etc. But in terms of generally doing non-canon pairings or adding in headcanons or stuff, we really don’t mind that. People are welcome to have fun and explore their own ideas.
for the 1.2 Android update was it meant to download as a separate app? I really want to keep my previous save files but they don't show up (also thank u for the updates I'm really excited to get back into the game!!)
We had to change the name of the file and unfortunately for some phones that meant it’s treated as a brand new game. I’m sorry your saves didn’t transfer over to the new version. You can try to look up your specific phone and see if there’s a way to access save files for games on your device and then transfer those saves over to the new build manually. It may or may not be possible.
I'm having some trouble figuring out how to get the update from Itichio without losing my save files? Is it the same game or a folder I can put in the properties? Sorry if this question is not worded well or if this isn't the avenue you'd want to take technical questions on
Are you using Android? If so, the above answer may apply to you. If you’re on PC or Mac, the save files will automatically still be included.
Hey. I really loved playing our life. It was a fun experience and I never thought I would like it this much. I do have a question, I am currently replaying the game and I am choosing choices I never chose at first. In step 2 during the road trip arc, I decided to ask Cove about what he liked to see on people. One of his response was anklets and black eyes. My MC have just happens to have black eyes. Do Cove say black eyes cuz my mc have it or it was just a coincidently programmed into the game?
He uses your eye color intentionally! If you changed your eye color he’d change what he said.
Will step 4 have 10 moments like steps 1-3?
Step 4 is only an epilogue. It plays like the openings/endings of the earlier Steps where it’s a bunch of scenes all in a row, there aren’t any individual Moments.
hi! who was/were the artist(s) for our life?
&
who is the artist for Our Life: Beginning and Always?
Main Sprite and CG Artist: Addrossi
Main Background Artist: Vui Huynh
Main Interface Artist: Winter Slice
Other artists who helped out can be seen in the credits of the game.
In the new ol, there are two main love interests... Would it be possible to pair them together or is that weird?
You can’t stay single and pair them together. If we are going to add all the extra content to have a route where the two LIs get together, it’d be a full poly route where them and the MC were all dating. And that’s not a for sure option yet because it’d add a lot of extra complications. But either way, in OL the relationships all gotta be about the MC, haha.
In OL2, there will be extra LIs in form of DLCs? Like Dexter and Baxter.
Maybe! We’ll see how it goes.
Since Cove will have 2 diff body types in s4, will the storyline and dialogs reflect this? Or all of it will be the same? Btw love the game and sorry for bad english. Hope this doesn't sound rude 😅
Some descriptions and pieces of dialog will change, but it won’t impact the story really. And you don’t need to apologize! It’s all good.
Will you ever release the transparent sprites of the Our Life characters?
Probably not, I’m afraid. They’ve got a lot of pieces and it’d just be kind of hard to deal with, aha.
Something I was curious about, what was your inspiration for making a game with so much customization?
Initially, the idea was just about having a romance where you actually grew up with the LI. But it was pretty stressful to try deciding how fast the relationship would progress with it taking place over such a long period of time and with no real storyline carrying it. People might not wanna play a game where the characters don’t get along as kids, but other people might not bother with a game where kids immediately liked each other. So the obvious answer came, just let the player pick themselves how it goes. From there we simply continued to add more flexibly with the MC due to the same thought process of wanting to make sure people were onboard with how their life was going.
What made you decide to change the artstyle for ol 2 so much? I of course respect all your decisions and will buy the shit out of everything related to ol 2, but i love the original style and i m honestly not a fan of the styles shown on patreon, despite me liking the painterly style in general. (I don t mind the style being changed, just that the examples shown so far all feel like there s something wrong with them.)
We’ve always used different art styles for each of our projects. They all have distinct looks from each other. It’s just nice to do something new. I’m glad you really like how the first game looks, though. And those samples were only general concepts, rather than the exact options being decided between. We wanted to see reactions to different options. The art style we’re going with won’t be exactly like those, though I personally like all of them. I think players are gonna enjoy the style Our Life: Now & Forever when it’s revealed.
Hey! Is it ok to ask what gender ourlife2 protagonist will be and if we'll be given the same opportunity to customize an MC? Totally understand if you're keeping this under wraps for now if u don't wanna say!
OL2 will have the same type of MC customization as OL1, but even more refined! So their gender will be up to you.
Hi! I happened upon Our Life on Steam by pure chance. It is such a great game, I am super excited about the DLC, and I just want you all to know that you are awesome! :D I have a question, and I'm sorry if it's been asked before. Do you have plans of making more games similar to Our Life, with customizable player character? The customizable player character was probably the one thing I personally have been desperate for in romance VNs. So glad there finally is one and would love to see more.
Thank you! And yep, we do have plans for more games like Our Life, most notably is another game in the franchise- Our Life: Now & Forever. We’ll also likely have other, non-OL, games with customizable MCs, though we may still have some games with set MCs in the future as well.
On the patreon dlc just curious but is it possible to play it without actually sleeping together/getting the nsfw content? I just want to spend more time with Cove
Yeah, you can still choose not to go that far. Though the event is shorter if you pass on the 18+ stuff.
At the beginning of Step 2, did Cove end up accidentally falling asleep in your bed? Or did he fall asleep on the floor?
He fell asleep sitting on the floor with his body/head leaning against the side of the bed.
This may seem like a weird question, but what exactly is the difference between "direct" and "relaxed" on the comfort scale?
Direct is blunter and more teasing, relaxed is lighthearted and goes with the flow.
can the MC have tattoos in step 3?
Not in Step 3, but you can in Step 4.
how would Cove react if he visited somewhere like North Carolina in winter where it can get in the 20s(F) at night sometimes?
He would be shocked and unprepared for what serious coldness is really like, haha. The poor beach baby would wanna go home.
Hello! I just joined the PATREON!! It’s amazing! I love your games! I have a question, approximately how much after will the nsfw be out? After or before the dlc 3 and step four? Sorry my English isn’t the best!❤️❤️❤️
Thanks so much! The NSFW DLC will be out after the Step 3 DLC but before Step 4. And you don’t need to apologize for that ^^.
This might be obvious but, will step 4 have dlcs? Also, where will the nsfw dlc happen? Won't bother me at all if it s in in our or his house but i do think it d be moderately funny
Step 4 will have the Cove Wedding DLC and the Derek and Baxter romance DLCs each add a lot of new content to Step 4, though they’re also partially set in Step 2 and Step 3 respectively. The NSFW DLC happens in Cove’s room.
I keep wondering what would've happened if Mr. Holden met Lizzie first instead of the MC. I can't see that turning out well somehow lol.
It wouldn’t have made a difference. He met the MC’s parents first and they told him about their two kids. He wanted the MC specifically to be Cove’s friend because the two were the same age.
Even though we have a way to go I'm really excited for OL 2! I was curious though, is the next main character going to be adopted again? I thought it was really clever to make the first main character adopted so when players are customizing, they can make them look how ever they like without worrying about pesky genetics. Just wondering!
The OL2 MC is not adopted. We wanted to go for a new dynamic. Instead their parents are their biological single mother who is partially customizable and an off-screen sperm donor father. So the mom will look generally like the MC and any other traits not from her can be assumed to come from whoever the father was.
—– —– —–
Thank you so much for all the asks ^^
FAQ If you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog
#our life#Our Life Beginnings & Always#ourlifeba#ask#gb patch#gb patch games#Our Life: Now & Forever
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Blind Date - Cale Makar
This was partially inspired for Devon’s love of complimenting Cale on social media
Word Count - 1.6k
Cale knew he was running late. The latest mindset book he was reading caught his attention and he didn’t realize it was time to leave until he was already going to be late. He has no idea why he agreed to this. “Devon wants me to go out more, but this is getting ridiculous,” he thinks. Devon and his wife have a neighbor who also apparently needs to get out more and the two of them thought Cale and this mystery person will be attached at the hip afterwards and convinced or bullied (he’s not sure which) Cale into this. He changes out of joggers, putting on better pants as he receives another text from Devon. Devon has been repeatedly reminding Cale of the “date” they had arranged to make sure he doesn’t bail. He puts on his shoes before grabbing his keys and wallet before running out the door, pausing only briefly to check the door.
He heads out of the elevator and pulls up the directions on his phone. They set them up in a diner that was a short walking distance away from his building. Not bothering to drive, he leaves the building, heading in the general direction of the diner. Devon thinks he’ll be safe with the baseball game having already started and the quiet nature of the diner, but Cale isn’t completely convinced. Devon texts him again, probably reminding him of his “date” to make sure he doesn’t leave the poor girl stranded. He sees the diner and stops in front of it sighing before running a hand through his hair, a poor attempt to fix the messy strands. “I really should have taken more time to get ready,” he thinks as nervous energy fills his stomach, unusual for him. He takes a few deep breaths to calm himself before entering.
---
KJ looks up as the door opens. A boy approximately her age walks in, waiting patiently for the hostess to greet him. Sighing, she drops her gaze back to her phone in hopes Kerry or even Devon texts her back with any updates on the guy. He was ten minutes late at this point and Kerry was getting slower in her responses to her messages. Glancing back up she sees the hostess leading the guy to her table. She places her phone away as he approaches, giving him a shot even if he was ten minutes late at this point, noting his red cheeks.
As he pulls out the chair he begins to speak, “Hi. I’m Cale. I am so sorry I’m late. I got caught up in a book and lost track of time.”
“Oh. It’s okay. It happens. I’m KJ by the way. What book?” KJ asks, surprising herself with her response.
His eyes widen, “Oh, um it's called, Zen Putting, by Bob Rotella. It helps with mindfulness and focusing on the process rather than the result.”
“Do you golf much?” She asks.
“Mainly in the summer, not much now. Work picks up this time of year but the concepts talked about are applicable to other things.”
“That’s cool. Have you read a lot of books on mindfulness?”
“Ya. Actually my dad is really big into mindset and he introduced it to me when I was fourteen. It helped me a lot and is something I still work on.” She watches the way he speaks, sometimes almost stumbling over his words but shows interest in it. They continue talking about anything that comes to mind until his voice begins to show signs of breaking as the waitress appears.
---
Cale looks up as the waitress approaches. Quickly glancing at the menu, he finds something that is loosely diet approved and would work. As KJ orders, he finds himself looking her over. He notices the way she responds to the waitress, eyes kind as she talks to the waitress. Once they’re done, they resume talking.
“What made you come to Denver?” He asks.
“Oh, they had a good collections program and was interested in that,” she replies.
“Wait really, like museum stuff?”
“Sometimes. It depends on where because a lot of universities might not have museums but will have collections from other things.”
“That's cool,” he replies. Their food comes and they continue to talk throughout their meal. They have a relaxed discussion and Cale really enjoys himself as he notices himself relaxing more throughout the conversation. Cale excuses himself to use the bathroom.
---
KJ watches the waitress come while Cale, dropping off the check. She handed her her credit card opting to cover the bill. Smiling, the waitress takes the card and leaves. Cale returns as the waitress drops off the card
“Hey, I was going to cover that,” he says once the waitress leaves.
“Too bad,” KJ replies with a smirk, “you can get the next one.”
“Oh, I see how it is. You expect to see me again?” he replies. He folds his lips to bite back a smirk but fails. “Do you want to walk around the park for a bit?”
“Sure,” KJ replies as she grabs her phone before standing, letting Cale take the lead, following him out of the restaurant. Following him out she reflects on the past hour and a half talking to Cale. She enjoyed herself and the conversation never seemed to get dull. She also noticed that he got more relaxed with hints of a canadian accent sneaking out but his cheeks always remained pink.
The sidewalk widens and Cale pauses for a second to let KJ catch up. They resume talking. As before, the conversation flowed and their strides match perfectly. KJ feels relaxed as they walk by an avs poster featuring Cale.
---
Cale tenses up when he sees the poster, not expecting there to be posters up of him yet.
“Did you come this way to see your face,” she jokes.
Cale turns even more red than usual. “Oh god,” he mumbles. “I forget how soon posters will go up sometimes and didn’t realize it was that time yet. It does get annoying to see your face everywhere in case you’re wondering,” he relies with a soft smile.
“I bet,” KJ replies, “I was on the performing arts council in high school and had my face on a banner outside the school for months to help fundraise. It was horrible.”
Laughing, Cale leads the way to a secluded overlook within the park he frequently visits. He checks in with himself and notices how comfortable he feels. Maybe Devon was right, but he doesn’t need to tell him that. Walking up to the overlook, Cale notices the sky beginning to turn colors. They walk up to the fence and Cale decides to take a half step closer to KJ, moving into her personal space. Looking up, She catches his eye and moves closer, allowing him to tuck her into his side as they watch the sunset. Cale feels himself relax more, allowing himself to enjoy the contact and the view as the sun sets.
When the sun dips below the horizon, Cale pulls back as he bites back a yawn. He has training camp again tomorrow and knows he should call it a night soon. “Hey, where’d you park,” he asks, knowing Devon lived a fair distance away.
“Oh, I took the train,” She replies.
“Oh, I can drive you home if you want,” he offers.
“I can take the train. It's actually probably easier, especially because you’re tired.”
Cale blushes, “Here, let me atleast walk you to the station. Is union station the one you’re using?”
“Ya, that's probably easiest.”
“You’ll text me when you get home right?”
“Um, if I get your number I will,” she chimes back at him, causing him to pull out his phone.
“Oh shit. Um, here,” he says as they exchange phones, Cale fighting back another blush.
They return their phones and head back, this time taking the longer path. They walk in a comfortable silence through the mostly quiet park, passing a few dog owners and couples along the way and exchanging small smiles as they pass. Once they return back to the buildings, their pace picks up as they return to the normal chaos of the city.
---
They make their way to the station both lost in thought. They walk side by side, each in their personal space, but neither one is uncomfortable with that. They slow down once the station’s sign becomes visible, wanting to savor their last few minutes together.
They reach the entrance and Cale turns to face KJ, opting to pull her into a hug. “Text me when you get home, yeah?” he murmurs into her ear.
His deep voice causes her to shiver slightly. She nods, inhaling his scent for the first time before pulling away. They say their goodbyes for the time being. Cale watches her walk into the station. He waits a few seconds before heading to his building. He decides to take the stairs, climbing up the flights to pass the time. He gets to his floor, checking his phone for any missed messages from KJ. Devon texts him again, probably annoyed at the lack of response. Ignoring that, he gets ready for bed, replacing his contacts with glasses and packs what he’ll need for tomorrow to kill time. He hears his phone chime and he races across the room to get it, seeing a text message appear. Unlocking his phone, he sees a message from KJ.
Kj: home [insert picture of the inside of a door]
Cale: ty. Let’s meet up again soon. I’ll cover dinner this time
Kj: 👍
Cale smiles as he heads to his bedroom, turning off lights along the way before crawling into bed and placing his glasses on the nightstand and falling asleep.
#cale makar#cale makar imagine#hockey imagine#hockey imagines#nhl imagines#nhl imagine#colorado avalanche imagine#colorado avalanche
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A First Hand Experience of the Kaikoura Earthquake Sequence
At 12:02am on Monday 14th November 2016 a 7.8 Magnitude quake struck near the small town of Waiau, South Island, New Zealand. This is what it felt like.
It’s 12:01am on Monday morning and I’m curled up in bed with my girlfriend trying to catch some sleep before our flight out of Wellington in the morning. Our host's flat is 10 floors up, giving excellent views of the central business district in which it's situated. Hailing originally from the UK, I have spent the last year living in Christchurch and thought that a weekend trip to New Zealand’s capital might be a nice break from several weeks’ worth of panicked work.
What had been a relaxing and enjoyable weekend was about to change very quickly. At 12:02 I’m woken up by a weak shaking, as if the bed and entire apartment has started to vibrate gently. In Christchurch, it's common for houses to shake like this when large trucks or busses drive past, however being 10 floors up this shaking can only mean one thing: Earthquake.
I sit up in bed and wait. The shaking will either gently subside and I can go back to sleep or it will suddenly intensify. I look around the room noting that nothing hangs from the ceiling but that the only source of cover is a small desk. It's barely big enough to shield one of us and its proximity to the floor to ceiling glass windows make me think twice. Being caught in a big quake is bad enough – staring down 10 floors while desperately holding on seemed worse.
After the first few seconds the shaking intensifies, the gentle vibrations being replaced with sudden shunting motions. I leap out of bed – simultaneously grabbing my partner and my clothes. Running out of the building isn’t an option – horror stories of Christchurch residents having stairwells bend and twist underneath them and of people opening doorways only to find staircases entirely missing means leaving the building isn't an option. Not until it stops shaking.
As the violence of the shaking continues items begin to fall off the wall – first a book swiftly followed by a mirror. Having discarded the desk as an unfeasible option we both head for the door frame. As I go to turn the door handle I hear the wine bottles in the hall way starting to smash, with some hitting the door to our room. If I don’t open the door, then I can’t stand in the doorway and can’t utilise the stability it provides. However, if I do open it I risk being hit by glass and other debris which is now loose in the hallway.
I decide to remain poised – if the glass bottles stop but the shaking continues then I open the door but up until then I remain trapped in the room. At this point the shaking is at its most violent, we can hear the building groan as it sways and I desperately struggle to remain upright. Realising that I am completely hopeless – that nothing I can do can influence my chance of survival and that my entire existence rests on the integrity of a building I know nothing about – I grab my partner and we hold each other as we wait for the shaking to stop.
After what feels like a decade (somewhere in the region of 1 to 2 minutes) the building comes to a rest. I hurriedly dress myself and then slowly ease open the door into the corridor. Before I survey the damage I call out to our host to make sure he is ok. He appears in the hallway looking confused, his previously immaculate flat now running red with ruined wine. I turn back into the room, conscious of the fact that we have mere seconds until the aftershocks begin but also aware that this may be the last time we are allowed into this building over the coming days. I tell my partner to grab all our belongings and we desperately begin to fumble in the dark, the earthquake having blown the fuses for the apartment.
We then race downstairs, saying silent prayers that we can make it down the ten flights before the next earthquake rolls in. Once outside our attempts to understand what has just happened begin. My first port of call is an app called ‘GeoNet Quake’ which provides information on where the earthquake occurred and how strong it was. I look at the screen in horror – a 7.2 centred in Culverden, in the South Island. This area is far closer to my hometown of Christchurch than it is to Wellington and I furiously begin contacting my friends to see how they are. Christchurch is still recovering from the 2010/2011 sequence that took 185 lives and decimated what was once the country’s second largest city (see here for more information: http://bit.ly/2jC3iYm). Even if people were ok physically, the shaking was sure to have brought back memories that have haunted residents for the past 5 years.
Partially thanks to a Facebook check in post, I begin to realise that everyone I care about is ok. As we sit outside feeling the aftershocks rumbling through, I suddenly realise I have no idea what to do now. Desperate Google searches bring up nothing and having never lived in Wellington I am oblivious to any emergency procedures that may be in place. Alarms are going of across the city and emergency vehicles streak past, filling the night with an array of haunting sirens. Other people begin to gather outside, each looking as bewildered as the next. People see our rucksacks and check we are ok and that we have somewhere to stay before walking aimlessly on into the night.
As a potential violent aftershock rumbles through I check Geonet. Panic begins to rise as I notice some of the aftershocks are beginning to arrive from the North Island not the South. Wellington is sat right on top of a fault that has the potential to bring the capital to its knees. It’s not unknown for one earthquake to trigger others on nearby faults and I catch myself before I go into full blown panic. I cross my fingers and continue to scroll through the list of aftershocks.
As I scroll one earthquake captures my eye. Registering a high 5 or low 6 it appears to have been centred in the seaside town of Kaikoura. Once again my stomach drops. Kaikoura is a tourist hotspot famous for the abundance of seals, dolphins and whales that visits its shores. The reason for its abundance of sea life? A huge offshore canyon where nutrients rise and provide a bountiful feast for its watery inhabitants. It’s also a canyon that has the potential to suffer submarine slides during strong earthquakes. This in turn can trigger tsunamis.
It’s now about 1 or 2 hours post-quake, and once again I desperately try to access information on what is going on. In my panicked searching, I find a tweet from a government site stating that a Tsunami warning has been put out for the entire east coast of New Zealand. Back in Christchurch I live in one of the seaside suburbs, one of the suburbs that is now at risk from the quake induced waves. I copy the tweet and forward it on to my housemates – both seeming surprised having yet to receive any information from the New Zealand Defence Force website. Despite the tsunami warning sirens remaining silent, and several websites still oblivious to the threat, they make their way up into the hills to spend a restless night in their car wondering if our house would stand up to the waves headed towards shore.
Feeling more useless than ever I continue to hunt for updates – trying to piece together what has happened. I knock on the window of a nearby car that has a family huddled inside intently listening to the radio. They kindly fill me in on the news but its once again nothing of real substance. I consider our options; no-one has come around to check our building and the aftershocks are still consistently hitting with such force that I have no wish to return to our 10th storey apartment. However, with the tsunami warning out a decision must be made: to head towards the hills encircling the city or to return to the apartment.
Not knowing the damage to the hills or the infrastructure leading there I decide to return to the apartment. We sprint up the 10 flights of stairs and huddle in the only part of the flat not showered in glass or unknown fluids. I set my phone to the local radio station and for the next few hours we sit, huddled under a blanket wincing with each aftershock – waiting to see if this will be another big one and send us running for cover.
After 3 or 4 hours our host returns and we attempt to clean up the apartment. Once that is complete we decide to try and get some sleep. My partner swiftly falls asleep while I lay awake paralysed with fear that the next earthquake will set off the fault slumbering beneath us.
Thankfully damage to infrastructure in Wellington was minor and we were able to fly back to Christchurch the next day. The relief of being in the air and therefore being unable to feel any aftershocks was huge even if short lived. Back in Christchurch we could still feel the aftershocks rocking through and for 24 hours had the car boot packed in case another tsunami warning was released and we had to head to the hills.
While the experience was pretty scary it hasn't left me with any residual anxiety. I do have a greater appreciation of the fact that the earth can move suddenly and without warning (even though I'm a geologist) and that preparation is key to making it through.
Watson
For more information on the Kaikoura Earthquake check out our other posts: https://tmblr.co/Zyv2Js2EhM2SU https://tmblr.co/Zyv2Js2F7Gy_k https://tmblr.co/Zyv2Js2H0eWxk Image Credit: Kate Pedley (http://bit.ly/2jSDc3E) and Tamsin Laird For more awe-inspiring images of post quake features the UC Science (http://bit.ly/2j6XMOI) facebook page
#Kaikoura#Earthquake#Geology#Geologist#New Zealand#Story#November#Wellington#Apartment#Shake#Seismic#natural disaster#Travel#Danger#Aftershock#The earth story
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How you can Create Relevant Distinction
Kanyakumari tourist uses you the option to enjoy a elegant and also attractive vacation within this spotless destination. There are actually other wonderful guy Hindu labels to decide on along with numerous meaningful interpretations consisting of Aashish (True blessing), Bijoy (Filled with happiness), Chiman (Curious), Rich (Lightweight), Ekagrah (Centered), Gandhik (Fragrance), Hardik (Packed with affection), Jawahar (Treasure), Mitrajit (Helpful), Navrang (Vibrant), Paran (Life), Rasul (Angel), Sadhil (Perfect), Tuhin (Snowy), Umang (Need), Vatsa (Boy), and also Yamir (Moon). You would be far much better off utilizing your social networking sites presence to support your media attempts, where you could constitute relevant connection along with a much smaller group of targeted people. Quickies could sound like the sort of thing guys will enjoy as well as ladies would merely accept. Obviously, this infers that happiness is in some way totally associated with making one's lifestyle meaningful. Relevant Charm's 30-day introductory offer is $29.99 with a cash back assurance. There are actually two main elements of meaningful communication: show business as well as interaction. When I first began performing my email list, I performed that once a month and about 35% from people opened this and read this. Today I perform my email list weekly, and also I have in some cases as much as 85% available it up and also read this. This only shows that if you correspond as well as actually allotment meaningful web content, individuals will certainly want even more from it. They will definitely really want even more of you! Relevant use of electronic health and wellness document determines a collection from priorities centered on boosted client involvement; decrease from genetic differences; renovation of functionality protection and efficiency from the care supplied; as well as the boost in general populace health and wellness. If you are you looking for more information about yellow pages online residential uk (http://amzed--fitdsyear.info) check out our own web-page. The watermelon, which is actually given the absolute most credit for Meaningful Appeal's success is actually not one of the key active ingredients specified. So, assortment, improvement and variety, these are actually the words that go to the heart from indoor vegetation excellence. It's simply not that purposeful to earn an additional container of coffee, to wipe an additional table, in order to help another client gain yet another item. Yesterday, for example, I performed certainly not begin this post that you read right now (phoned Inspirational Lifestyle Quotations in order to help You Reside Your Lifestyle NOW!). This allows a more flowing rhyme as well as could be used to incorporate a soft emotion along with its phrases. Some of the main reasons being actually that you may sculpt or stamp a personal declaration or details on such wristlets if you like or even your initials, or a few other symbolic representations (like center or other different shapes and sizes) or even condition which could be actually of value to you. The complying with ideas are going to undoubtedly help you when traveling to starting a relevant connection with a brand new girl of your goals. Although there are a lot of particulars to be rationalized, keeping the reason for the event in the first place, your little one's rite of passage - his/her First Holy Communion, as the focus will help guide your thought and feelings and also choices. Just you are going to understand what is very most necessary for your loved ones as well as this unique opportunity, which in itself, will certainly assist you to plan a party that is actually relevant and also personal for your little one as well as your guests. These phrases are actually not just central to the scripture message but they are actually difficult attached to the guarantee of eternal life. One carries out certainly not must have Celtic associations to put on Celtic crucifix designs as this design will certainly do for anyone that links a cross along with theological or even metaphysical significance. These shifts highlight the 'do's' as well as 'do n'ts' our company could think about when moving toward relevant advertising and marketing. Consider one from the report permission located connection models as an alternative (reviewed here)if the assimilation scenario along with HealthVault goes beyond Meaningful Use. By means of her exclusive skills as well as gifts Joan Marie could share with you the exact grow older when your problem started as she works with you to bring you particular devices to assist you cure your spirit and emotional states. Our company have removaled thus far off of this, partially in response to real problems for the well-being of youngsters functioning in manufacturing facilities in the 1800s, and also partially due to mandatory education and learning, that our experts are actually now raising a substantial proportion from the population to maturity without expertise from job, or even significant responsibilities. There are actually various other lovely guy Hindu titles to decide on along with numerous purposeful translations featuring Aashish (Good thing), Bijoy (Loaded with pleasure), Chiman (Curious), Rich (Lightweight), Ekagrah (Centered), Gandhik (Fragrance), Hardik (Loaded with affection), Jawahar (Treasure), Mitrajit (Welcoming), Navrang (Vivid), Paran (Lifestyle), Rasul (Angel), Sadhil (Perfect), Tuhin (Snowy), Umang (Wish), Vatsa (Child), and also Yamir (Moon). These awards may take the type from luncheons, cash bonuses, gifts (made off entertaining protection poster) or even a trophy. The major models utilized to create a record certification for the objectives from Meaningful Use, are through an internet site and also making use of the Person Attach style. Specifying significant targets as opposed to empty amounts is actually a fantastic means to enhance efficiency and also personnel incentive. This should begin through identifying exactly what you wish, or even what is actually relevant to you, certainly not in the intellectual yet progressively specified and exact as your hunt creates. Medicaid EHR Reward System- Eligible experts and also allowed medical centers might train if they espouse, administer, update or materialize the purposeful use professional Electronic Health Document technology in the initial year of their involvement, and carry on revealing that in the following years from engagement too. Christmas was actually commemorated through offering presents like cigarette lighter in weights, costly ash racks, as well as joyful containers from one's favorite brand. Eventually, when our sales people reviewed the supplier literary works, they were actually presently familiar with the product so the literary works was extra meaningful and also retentiveness from finding out a lot more significant. She was motivated to change her typical sign lucky extra meaningful as well as private, as well as therefore this manual was actually born. For the allowed health centers as well as CAHs, a total amount of 24 meaningful make use of goals have actually been hired before you start, from which at least 19 have to be complied with prior to being actually thought about entitled for the motivations. Nevertheless, essentially, you need to question exactly how purposeful that label will be to your kid. Some individuals discover significance through lining up with purposeful sources", often those with service-oriented or socially liable plans. Make use of regular sound judgment when utilizing a meaningful title such as how effectively the name teams up with your last name as well as whether the label will be actually pronounceable as well as doable in an on a daily basis type of technique as well. Recognizing as well as connecting along with the appropriate individuals, with whom you can develop relevant relationship, is one of the primary reasons for creating a prosperous, equally encouraging system. Though DC single people are actually likely to allow you to approach them at a bar without being actually also cool or even extreme, people that tend to be actually most responsive at bars are actually certainly not necessarily the people you want to have a purposeful partnership along with. Some skin specialists state that Meaningful Elegance can certainly not undo the impacts from sunlight damages despite product insurance claims. This will certainly make your poems extra significant as well as allow you to think much better about your job.
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Work/Career/Job Employment /Therapy/Volunteer/Going Out Online Entry 16 pertaining to days leading up until Wednesday January 31 2018 and to chronicle up to at least Saturday February 17 2018 andor later
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Work/Career/Job Employment /Therapy/Volunteer/Going Out Online Entry 16 pertaining to days leading up until Wednesday January 31 2018 and to chronicle up to at least Saturday February 17 2018 andor lateradditional update; First off, I Stella Carrier do credit the inspiration from various circumstances experienced through my current University of Maryland College Park food services job in indirectly seeding/bringing to life the idea in my subconscious to start the log in the first place. I confess that I did not consult with any of my reasonable leaders at my job before following my intuition and logic to start this log and resuming it in 2018. However, I intuitively and logically trust that it is ok for me to continue to keep this type of log as long as my writings are civil even with this being a public online blog outside of my current job that anyone can view either domestically andor internationally/globally. I Stella Carrier plan to include places that I go to in my free time from work to help merge together my ambitious and determined spirit coming through me for both present and future. I do appreciate my current food services job at the University of Maryland College Park and I understand that I am in control of my professional destiny when it comes to the outcome I seek in eventually securing a year round job that is at least a lateral career move before making up my mind on how I am going to make this happen after February 9, 2018. I am giving myself some time to decide to ensure that I am making attempts at year round employment with an emotionally calmer and determined/emotionally resilient head. I am also resuming this log to help prepare for my lifetime/future goals to eventually go back to school while balancing full time employment and my dream of eventual year round employment. I saw an uplifting and encouraging email in one of my gmail inboxes less than 13 hours ago encouraging me to apply for admission at a prestigious college with a major that include online courses that I have a strong interest in. I intend to respond to the email by tomorrow even I am still working out how I would pay for more college classes without taking on more student loans. I also had a sleeptime dream less than 10 hours ago that helped me to intuitively and logically understand why I must return back to eventually working full time and juggling online classes simultaneously even if I may be questioned for my decision based on my physical appearance, age, socio-economic status, andor personality. Some wise andor influential critics may question if I am trying to recapture the passion andor unlimited potential within myself that I felt in 8th grade when I made class valedictorian andor when I scored in the top 32 percent of U.S. navy test takers (both across the U.S. navy domestically and worldwide in March 2002 when I took a navywide advancement exam to cross over into the storekeeper field (for the military paygrade of E-4) which is now logistics specialist. In the critics defense, this would only be partially right as fortunately my ambition only grows stronger within me the longer I am alive and even when others may question my decision for climbing a mountain that may at first appear to big andor ambitious for the likes of me. Rather this work/career/job employment/therapy/volunteer/going out online log is going to help me archive and record the type of determined and creative spirit coursing through me as I ambitiously passionately, and creatively navigate various areas of my life (personal professional wise spiritual wise etc) in all areas of my life both online and offline both present and future.
Work/Career/Job Employment /Therapy/Volunteer/Going Out Online Entry 16 pertaining to days leading up to Wednesday January 31 2018 and to chronicle up until at least Saturday February 17 2018 andor laterWork/Career/Job Employment /Therapy/Volunteer/Going Out Online Entry 16 pertaining to days leading up until Tuesday October 16 2017 and to chronicle up until at least Friday November 10 2017 andor later.
First disclaimer; Please know that I am writing these work logs with appreciation of the good job that I have and that fact that I work with motivated and driven coworkers with fair leaders. I am writing these work/volunteer/therapy logs definitely not as a way of telling anybody what to do. Rather, I am keeping these work/volunteer/therapy writings with the intent to write about my employment/volunteer/therapy efforts for the rest of my current lifetime as a way to document the type of person I am emotionally and spiritually at the moment especially as a reference for when I look at these logs within 10 years from now or less. I must say this because I recently received an online communication implying that maybe some well-meaning, intelligent, persuasive, andor gifted people think that I am trying to tell them what to do andor suggest things. This is far from the case and I am rather writing these work/volunteer/therapy entries as a way for me Stella Carrier to document the type of American born woman I am channeling spirit-wise as a University of Maryland College Park food services employee for both present and future and for my future jobs/volunteer/therapy incarnations that I am humbly aware are going to be indirectly influenced with my heaven inspired karmic destiny.2
nd
disclaimer from beforeI Stella Carrier Call Upon the Positive Influence of my heaven higher self and my heaven spirit ally team of the heaven worlds of divine love and divine happiness to channel the most benevolent and creative writings as inspired by the wisdom and uniqueness of both my higher self and the happy/celestial energy of heaven for both present and future.
Some Insights From A Previous Online Log
I know that I wrote this before but I am following my intuition by including it again
Preface; please know that I feel blessed for my current job and I am just following my intuition and logic as it relates to my career and money life when it comes to starting a Work Volunteer Therapy posts in the public relations section of my blogs for at least googleplus and tumblr, wordpress to be determinedEach day and in every way I Stella Carrier am learning to become more self confident, happier, and to contributing a great deal that benefits those around me in all areas of my life both present and future
Intuitive insights from beforePresent and future intuitive insight; keep a small notebook for my weight loss dreams just obviously always keep pg13 in case small notebook is accidently found, keep a small notebook for work log food activity and record ideally 2 to 3 times a week but at least once a week minimumAffirmation; I Stella Carrier give thanks for the blessing of both being born an American female and the blessing of being able to have the privilege of living wherever I want in the United States regardless of my economic andor career situation.
I Stella Carrier also feel blessed for a job that pays me plenty of money for what I do and a loving husband who is supportive and encouraging of my money,career goals, educational goals, spiritual goals, fitness goals etc. My psychic and genius abilities/talents expand each day.I am creating heaven on earth.Yesterday, many of the customers came for the sushi and wraps in equal portion. I admit that I wish that I had the same restraint to limit some of my portions as I have seen some of my customers doing. Usually the cauliflower goes pretty fast as well as the guacamole and hummus in equal fashion. By Tomorrow or Thursday I intend to start a weekly version of this work log to document the type of employee I am channeling at the time as I notice that I am also learning various inspirational things from multiple customers. For instance, yesterday I realized that I need to step it up and stick with a 10 mile walking routine for now after hearing one cheerful customer mentioning running 6 miles and admitting to me that they are training for a half marathon. Another friendly customer admitting to running long distance in high school and I could tell by the way her voice lit up that she was inspired by her father who has ran marathons when she kindly shared with me this inspirational information. My point; On a positive note, I feel blessed from type of inspiration and ideas I pick up from both customers and coworkers from time to time.
New Information Pertaining To My Time At the Vegan Station at my University of Maryland College Park food services job from the Remainder of autumn/winter 2017 and part of early 2018
Resuming Wednesday January 31, 2018
I Stella Carrier feel blessed to say that many the customers at my station are return customers from the Vegan Station from last semester. I avoid taking this for granted as I understand that there are multiple other stations that many of these customers can go to in addition to other diners across the University of Maryland College Park campus. Many of the customers come for the vegan nuggets and the wraps (the spinach wrap is pretty popular). I confess that despite my own success with my weight loss that I only eat some things from the Vegan station from time to time, when I eat at work I usually get food from other stations. However, fortunately many of the Vegan station customers are very openminded and pleasant about this when I admit this. Additionally, I understand that it is important to stay humble and do a good job with little concern for recognition andor positive validation. However, even I Stella Carrier am far from immune in a good way when multiple customers remark on my good customer service andor if they enjoyed any of the wraps andor sandwiches that I prepare for them at the Vegan station. Fortunately all of the employees that I have been asked to train at the Vegan station seem to be at ease and comfortable at the station as well. I admit that another reason I know that I must stay humble is because I have noticed that many of the employees I have been asked to train have easily figured out how to do the Vegan station within 2 hours or less. I am far from surprised at this in a good way as even I figured out along of the things from the Vegan station even on my own when I was first placed there. However, seeing all of the employees I am given to train figure out the Vegan station within 2 hours or less does remind me to stay humble as I continue to give my best to all of the Vegan station customers regardless of how often I train other employees. Additionally, another reason for this sentiment is because I have always understood to avoid taking any of my jobs for granted and seeing other employees train within 2 hours or less when I train them at the Vegan station encourages me to keep cross training myself career andor educational wise either through work andor outside of work whenever possible. I admit that cross training other employees has helped remind me why I also must continue to work on my social skills, my weight loss goals, and reminds me in a positive way why it is also important for me to also follow through with my goals to go to therapy and volunteer in 2018 (which I am hoping to obtain a volunteer opportunity related to my current job). Last, but far from least, many of the customers at the Vegan station love the chipotle mayo (a combination of the Vegan mayonaise and Siracha sauce). Additionally, I have had multiple customers inquire about the Seaweed salad as that is a popular vegan station item as well. Fortunately one of the food supply persons is understanding of the customers needs and advised me to go ahead and notify the customers when the seaweed salad may arrive as they were also going to strive to order some pickled ginger (I've had the pickled ginger before with the cilantro pineapple sushi roll and the ginger is pretty good). I must conclude this entry for now to give myself some time to gather a couple of online resources and do some other stuff around my apartment within 19 minutes or less before leaving for work today.
resourcesYes I understand that these food links are far from vegetarian related yet my intuition and logic are indirectly influencing me to share whatever website links pertain to my work/career/job employment/therapy/volunteer/going out online entries
business insider food
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/photos/30-minute-dinner-recipes
30-Minute Dinner RecipesGet dinner on the table in a half-hour or less with these quick and easy recipes.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/photos/30-minute-dinner-recipes
business insider food
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-things-everyone-will-be-eating-and-drinking-in-2018-according-to-whole-foods-2017-12
The 10 things everyone will be eating and drinking in 2018, according to Whole Foodsby Alison Millington
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-things-everyone-will-be-eating-and-drinking-in-2018-according-to-whole-foods-2017-12
http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Lodging-food-and-beverage-programs-will-continue-to-thrive-in-2018-1014687288
Lodging food and beverage programs will continue to thrive in 2018
http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Lodging-food-and-beverage-programs-will-continue-to-thrive-in-2018-1014687288
http://www.businessinsider.com/new-food-tech-startups-2017-7
7 food startups that could change the way you eatby Leanna Garfield
http://www.businessinsider.com/new-food-tech-startups-2017-7
cnbc food
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/29/families-waste-1500-a-year-on-food-save-by-making-meals-from-scraps.html
US families waste $1,500 a year throwing out food—here's how to save more and eat better
Kathleen Elkins
|
@kathleen_elk
12:40 PM ET Mon, 29 Jan 2018
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/29/families-waste-1500-a-year-on-food-save-by-making-meals-from-scraps.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/27/6-foods-you-will-be-eating-in-2018.html
6 foods you will be eating in 2018 by Sarah Whitten
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/27/6-foods-you-will-be-eating-in-2018.html
virginian pilot food
https://pilotonline.com/life/flavor/restaurants/turning-tables/article_6536990a-44d8-526a-81e5-7782186b2c73.html
New restaurants in Virginia Beach, Norfolk can't wait to spring into action by Judy Cowling
https://pilotonline.com/life/flavor/restaurants/turning-tables/article_6536990a-44d8-526a-81e5-7782186b2c73.html
washingtonian food
https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/01/30/bride-unknowingly-smuggled-her-own-engagement-ring-overseas-willard-navy-officer-wedding/This Naval Officer Bride Unwittingly Smuggled Her Own Engagement Ring Overseas to Her Air Force Officer GroomLauren and David wed in May of 2016 at The Willard Intercontinental Hotel.WRITTEN BY
HAYLEY GARRISON PHILLIPS
| PUBLISHED ON JANUARY 30, 2018
https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/01/30/bride-unknowingly-smuggled-her-own-engagement-ring-overseas-willard-navy-officer-wedding/
https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/01/17/whole-30-friendly-places-to-eat-in-dc/Whole 30-Friendly Places to Eat in DC That Aren’t Your KitchenNo dairy, added sugar, alcohol, beans, or grains? We've got you covered.WRITTEN BY
MIMI MONTGOMERY
| PUBLISHED ON JANUARY 17, 2018
https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/01/17/whole-30-friendly-places-to-eat-in-dc/
this reminds me to take action to start an instagram account by February 9 2018 andor sooner
https://www.washingtonian.com/2017/12/01/dc-foodie-instagram-spots/
10 Spots Every DC Foodie Needs on Their InstagramHave your Insta and eat it too.WRITTEN BY
ABBEY GINGRAS
| PUBLISHED ON DECEMBER 1, 2017
https://www.washingtonian.com/2017/12/01/dc-foodie-instagram-spots/
I have no French ancestry as far as I know and the only family member that I know of who had some significant percentage of French ancestry was my late adoptive mother who was both American born and of Caucasian descent which by proxy would also mean my older adoptive siblings that she gave birth to. Still, my intuition is nudging me to share this link for whatever reasonhttp://robbreport.com/food-drink/dining/montreal-best-french-restaurants-eg18-2775654/
The Best French Restaurants in Montreal by Raphael Kadushin
http://robbreport.com/food-drink/dining/montreal-best-french-restaurants-eg18-2775654/
Songs for me to keep in mind
Sky Full of Stars by ColdplayThe Voice by the Moody BluesC'mon Catch' Em By Surprise by Tiesto feat. Busta RhymesI Can See Clearly Now by Jimmy CliffVogue by MadonnaChampion by Fall Out Boya risque song yet my intuition is nudging me to add the song in for whatever wild reasonCake by the Ocean by DNCE
Intuitive insights combination from before and new intuitive insights; start a tri-weekly-three weeks entry for freestyle stories, work logs and fitness logs ideally maximum of 8 per weekly entries andor at least one new entry a month involving these three, complete my play by February 16 2018 and my short story by February 23 2018, do some longer length walking after work and make sure to notify my husband about my longer walking plans
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The Introduction to MRBF!
I figured we would kick things off with a little introduction to who the girl behind this blog is (although most of you reading this now are probably pretty familiar with who I am) and what this blog will be about.
Why hello and welcome to my blog! A little (or a lot) bit about me: My name is Amber and so far I’ve made 19 trips around the sun. Later on in this blog you’ll start to see why that is impressive. I work at a grocery store in my area and today not only marks the release date of MRBF, but also my tenth month working there. Although those are big parts of who I am and things I take a lot of pride in, that is not the full Amber experience. I don’t think I could put that in words, but I will try. I’m a daughter, a sister, a friend, a listener. I work hard, but I have fun. I’m a huge goof and always will be. I’m an animal lover. I’m an old soul, a writer, an artist.
I’m someone who suffers from anxiety, most of it being social anxiety. I also suffered from depression for about seven years and it was seven years of pure torture. Most of the people around me didn’t know exactly what I was going through or the severity of the situation until things hit an absolute low and I couldn’t hide it anymore. I dealt with most of it alone in the beginning. Throughout that time, I struggled with many addictions and extremely dark thoughts, which included suicidal thoughts that eventually turned into suicide attempts. I hit rock bottom and thought it was the end of everything for me. One day I decided enough was enough. I got up off the ground, dusted myself off, and started to make some changes. It wasn’t just that simple and didn’t stick at first. Took many failures and relapses to get to where I’m at now. Regardless, I’m still here to share my story and to help those who have thought or are thinking the same thing (that it’s the end of the road) to take back their lives and live on to do the same. I’ve been given so many chances and this time I’m taking one and doing something with it. I still have a lot to learn and I still have far to go. I have a message to share and something very important to teach. I want to reach as many people as I can who need to hear it. Due to this just being an introduction, I will leave it at that for now on my about me. Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of posts to get to know me more if you stay tuned! :)
Although I have a lot of fun in life now, you can already see it hasn’t always been rainbows, butterflies and sunny skies. However, because of my personal struggles I have been given the opportunity to use what I went through and what I learned for the greater good. That brings us to My Rock Bottom Foundation… The intended purpose of this blog is to continue to educate people further on the subject of mental health and mental illness and to have others who have suffered or do suffer from mental illness join me on the road to recovery. This blog will have a more informational aspect to it if you will where I will be sharing articles and other forms of information about the topic. What are the different types of mental illnesses? How do I help someone who suffers from these illnesses? These questions, along with many more, will all be answered throughout our journey together. This part of the MRBF blog will not be solely from my personal experience, but more from research, books, and the all holy Google. Why not put our resources to good use?
I will alternate between my informational blog posts and my personal blog posts (which I will always make clear which ones are which) where I will share my personal experiences with mental illness and also my road to recovery and how I arrived to where I am today.
I do want to make a quick note while on the subject of personal posts that I won’t talk about topics in my personal posts that I have not experienced myself or haven’t experienced helping someone else. So anything I discuss in those personal posts is coming from my own experience with mental illness. This way you know I’m not feeding you what I like to refer to as “pretty lies”. For example… I don’t do drugs or never turned to them to cope. Therefore, you won’t find it in my personal posts. I may, however, do research or read up on drug usage and it’s effects on mental health or so on so forth and put it in one of the other posts. I will always do my best to keep even my opinions based on knowledge on a topic and not just what I think is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.
I will be sharing information that once scared the life out of me to ever think about anyone finding out. This is more of a personal blog, not professional. I don’t have writers, the blog is self run, and although I will proof read everything I type out I may miss things here or there. I’m not perfect nor are my writing skills. I just want to share my message and whether it’s professional or not, as long as it gets to you reading this and helps you even in the slightest of ways, that is all that truly matters to me. On My Rock Bottom Foundation there is no shame when it comes to personal struggles. The things I experienced were not only my everyday reality, but an everyday reality most people wake up and have to face. We can’t get through
To wrap this introduction up, I want to leave off on what inspired the name behind MRBF, give credit where it is due. I had mentioned in the about me part of this introduction how I had hit rock bottom and thought I’d never get back up again, which partially brought me to the name My Rock Bottom Foundation for that reason. It’s the story of how rock bottom was not my end, but instead a new, and better, beginning. The other factor was a quote, which if there’s one thing you will learn about me through my writing it’s that I am in love with quotes and I love to use them. That and analogies. The quote is, “Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life” -J.K. Rowling. I thought of that quote heavily while thinking up a blog name and I took it as a sign that I needed to go with MRBF. A huge part of what I have to teach comes from that quote and my time at rock bottom.
When you hit rock bottom it’s dark and cold and you don’t think you’ll ever find your way up from there, but I’m reaching out to you to let you know that you CAN and you WILL find your way up. You too will have your rock bottom foundation to build on and recreate yourself. So take my hand. Take this journey with me. Together we can and we will heal.
I really hope you will continue on this road with me. In an attempt to make that easier for you, I have created social medias for My Rock Bottom Foundation as well to keep up with information about the blog. On these social media accounts I will be posting any updates or information about the page. That way anyone who does wish to stay updated with upcoming posts and other information will be able to do so relatively easily.
Link to Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/myrockbottomfoundation/
Can also be found by typing in @myrockbottomfoundation
Instagram: myrockbottomfoundation
Contact Information
Email: [email protected]
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HYPNOTISED: A Jason Todd/Red Hood x OC Fan Fic
Summary: Snippets of a blossoming romance between Jason Tood/Red Hood and an original character (named Ima), with other DC characters in supporting roles. Jason falls for a waitress at a diner he frequents with his best friend, Roy Harper. When she is caught in the crossfire between him and Black Mask, he is determined to protect her at all costs. What he does not expect is her falling for him, too. And how much she becomes a part of his - and the Batfamily’s - life.
** Not strictly canon. Romance + fluff + minor angst. A lot of Batfamily feels. Title from the Coldplay song. Currently 8 chapters long, each one to be posted separately due to length. Editing may occur, depending on inspiration. :) **
Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight
Seven
He had been patrolling for sixteen hours straight and decided to take a much needed break. Well, partially. This was a stakeout. Three weeks had passed since the warehouse incident and not a day went by when he was not on Black Mask’s trail. The creep was becoming increasingly difficult to track, even for the Bat family’s standards, so he was patient with every lead, no matter how small.
And in spite of having already gathered a mountain of evidence, he was hungry for more, or at least enough to lock Black Mask and his crew away for far longer than the crooked justice system allowed. Enough so that, this time, the powerful Gothamites could no longer bear the shame of their alliances with him. This was personal.
Bruce would be proud. He chuckled at the thought that he was being more “detective” than “brawler”. Maybe the old man did rub off on him, after all.
"She checks out." Speak of the…
He almost fell off the gargoyle he had been straddling atop one of Gotham's ancient banks. His favorite. With his helmet off, he was about to chomp on a braaibroodtjies, when a familiar black cape whooshed in beside him. Only a few people could sneak up on him like that, and they all belonged to one family.
"Wh-"
"That young African-American waitress you've been harboring in your safe house," Bruce said gruffly, eyes firmly planted on the streets below and setting up a scoping device on the concrete balcony within seconds using short, well-practiced motions. His swiftness would still put men half his age to shame.
"Wait, what? How'd you...?"
"Why does this still surprise you, Red Hood?"
Jason shook his head. This was Batman he was talking to.
"That's, um... good to know. Thanks."
"Although, I'm surprised you didn't look into her background yourself."
"I guess I've just been... preoccupied." He did not have it in him to admit the real reason for it: he felt wrong going behind her back like that. He trusted her, was maybe even in… never mind. He did not need to hear another lecture on how emotional attachments affect “the misson”.
“Hn.” Maybe he already figured it out, anyway.
"The bounty. Which is why you and Arsenal are working together again." It was not a question, rather a statement of fact.
Jason still had connections to the criminal underworld, which was how he had gotten wind of Black Mask’s ominous offer: his and Roy’s heads for a measly billion dollars each. How original. A death threat was nothing new to him. Neither was death itself. If anything, he was more worried about his best friend.
"Yeah. Good ol' Roy. We've got an international rogues gallery after our asses.” How many superheroes could brag about that?
When Bruce remained silent, he continued. “So, I guess Luke filled you in on the warehouse incident.” This face-to-face conversation was long overdue, with Bruce having just come back from a mission with the new Justice League of America he was mentoring.
“You were careless.” What, no cigar for not dying that time?
“We improvised.” He had only been following Batman’s no-kill rule. He wanted to argue that showing mercy was what got them into that mess. But this was not the time to sass. “I’m surprised you didn’t sic your new Watchtower pals on us.” Okay, maybe just a bit.
"It looked like you two had it under control." Ha. Right. Wait, did he hear that right? Apparently, Jason was not the only one uncharacteristically trusting as of late.
“See, I’m not so sure about that anymore. This girl, Ima… She saw everything, Bruce. She didn’t mean to, had no idea the exchange was happening. She’s innocent, but I doubt that matters to a sociopath like Roman. There may not be a bounty on her head right now -”
“He may want to deal with her himself.” Bruce’s assessment made him cringe. Over his dead-again body.
Bruce listened patiently as Jason gave him updates, while still monitoring a local pharmacy for any suspicious activity. Although he did not get an invitation to the stakeout, he was grateful that his former Robin did not push him away this time. In spite of having been openly welcomed back into the family, Jason kept his distance, haunted by his past mistakes. He had a hard time accepting their affection, believing he did not deserve it just yet. Knowing that made Bruce’s heart ache.
The last time he saw Jason smiling the way he was now, as if he had not a burden in the world, was before Joker… No. He wanted to tell his son that he was proud of him for having outgrown (most of) his demons, for having become so much more than he gave himself credit for. That he loved him. But there were more pressing matters at the moment. And he did not want to scare him away.
“... And she and Roy are getting along really well now, which is great! Less headaches for me. Plus, I mean, it’s not like it’s hard to like her, y’know what I mean? She’s pretty, and silly, and - and -”
Jason felt his cheeks turn red. Shut up.
“So, yeah, she’s great,” Jason finished sheepishly. How long was he gushing?
He cleared his throat before becoming serious once again. If Bruce were at all annoyed by the waste of time, the man sure hid it well. Wait, was he grinning?
Jason slowly ran his hand through his hair, and sighed. “I don’t mind being on the run. I’ve been doing it almost my entire adult life. It’s bad enough that Roy got dragged into it, too. Well, okay, no - he gets half of the blame. But, Ima? I don’t know how I’m supposed to protect her without keeping her a prisoner in that safe house. Her brother gets murdered in cold blood before her own eyes, and she can’t even visit his grave to mourn him. I’m sure she gets lonely, too. And if anything were to happen to me, I don’t know how I’ll be able to -”
"She can stay."
" - keep her... What?"
"At the manor."
"The manor?"
"Indefinitely."
Jason was rendered speechless. Just like that?
"I'll trust her because I trust you, Jason. You've always had good instincts, only you used to act brashly upon them."
"Bruce, I'm -"
"Not that person anymore," the older man finished for him. "Besides, it could give you an excuse to drop by more often."
It took Jason all of two seconds trying to process what he had just been told, until the sound of a grappling hook whizzing past him brought him back to reality. The cowl and cape were gone. Classic Bruce.
Oh, the old man had conveniently left the scoping device, too.
"Thanks, B."
#batfam#batman#bruce wayne#nightwing#dick grayson#red hood#jason tood#red robin#tim drake#robin#damian wayne#alfred pennyworth#arsenal#roy harper
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Webcomic Whimsy Review: Iron and Steel
Welcome to the Woohooligan Weekly Webcomic Whimsy! I've given a couple of interviews in the past, but this is my first experience with reviewing. If you have any suggestions for ways to improve these reviews, feel free to leave a note. If you're a webcomic author and would like a review, you can see my announcement and review rules here.
Title: Iron and Steel
Author: Erin • DeviantArt
Site: Iron and Steel
Genres: Sci-Fi, Mystery, Espionage, camp, Inspector Gadget Alternate Universe
Rating: PG(?)
Updates: Tuesday and Saturday
Synopsis: (from the ComicFury hosting profile) This is an alternate universe take on Inspector Gadget. It mainly draws it's base inspiration from the classic series, but does use bits from the other incarnates done over the years. Don't expect to know what this is from knowing the canon content. This is a more serious and elaborate take on the fandom. I highly suggest reading the back stories connected to the comic before reading it. That is the only way the characters and plot will make total sense.
I have a confession to make. I have very mixed emotions about writing this review. Maybe I should have turned this one down, but I've already done the reading and the author is a friend of mine. So maybe this will be a learning experience for me, getting my footing writing these reviews, as this is new to me and only my third. On the one hand, I enjoy helping other creators (I publish my own humor comic), and my goal with these reviews is to help creators find their audience and readers find the kind of works they enjoy. On the other hand, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do that with this particular review.
When Erin requested this review, she said that the comics more or less require supplemental reading if you want to fully understand them. When she sent me the request for the review, she suggested that I start with the first prose backstory (of three), titled "The Nature of Change and Destruction". So I checked it out and realizing it was more than a few paragraphs decided I would need to print it out... had it been as much as ten or twelve pages, I might have read it. Over the past few years I've managed to improve my reading speed quite a lot, however, even assuming slightly large print, there's no way I had time to read 70 pages of backstory before getting to the very first page of the actual comic. (So if the other two are of similar length, that means an entire rougly 200 page novel before one page of comic.) Because I'm really busy lately both with publishing my own comics and a lot of errands and doctor's visits among my family (I'm the only driver in a house of six people), I decided I needed to set a cap on the amount of time reserved for these reviews. I figured I could devote at most an hour a week to reading, prior to writing my review, so the whole review process takes about two hours per week. My job is to condense that hour of reading into something you can digest in a few minutes to get a feel for the work before deciding if you want to commit yourself to reading it. Had I tried to read the backstory document, I could guarantee that I would have exhausted the hour before reaching the comic. So I decided to go ahead and just read from the first page of the comic to see if I could tease-out a plot. I got through thirty-two pages.
As Erin mentioned in her description, this is an Inspector Gadget fan-comic in an alternate universe. Having said that, I don't recall MAD being mentioned by name more than once, maybe twice in those thirty-two pages? The canonical master-villain, Doctor Claw appears once in about two pages. Inspector Gadget and Penny don't appear until page twenty-one, and for only eight pages before returning to the villains. So in a large chunk of the opening of the story, the heroes exist for only a quarter of the material I read.
In those eight pages, they only manage to wake up, get out of bed, discuss what time of year it is, that Penny is volunteering at a cat rescue for college credits, introduce two new junior detectives sent by HAPPY (the organization Gadget works for), and the fact that the same junior detectives cosplayed at Dragon Con and Penny isn't interested in dating them. To be fair, there is a bit of slap-stick visual humor in those eight pages, which is partially responsible for the minimal amount of information in that particular passage.
The face at the bottom of this page also shows one of the other reasons why I only managed to get through thirty-two pages. The panelling in this series is unconventional and all over the place. Rarely will you find a square panel like the one in the upper-left corner of this page. There are no gutters, just a thick black line between panels, usually squiggly, sometimes saw-toothed like these. Characters often escape the borders of panels with no clear understanding of the purpose for that. The lower-left panel in this page for example shows a plain orange background to emphasize the horesplay, but despite ample room on the page for the characters' feet to be inside that panel, the panel was cut through their legs. Meanwhile the similar horesplay panel immediately above it (blue background) offered an opportunity for the same feet to escape the panel but instead cut the feet inside the panel and allowed the characters to escape the panel on the other side where they overlap yet another panel.
I understand that on this specific page the characters are horsing around and panel breaking here could be an intentional style element. The issue I have is that panel breaking is a constant visual theme in places where there isn't any action and there was ample room to keep characters in the panels. The apperance of Gadget's face in the bottom middle panel underscores that overall feeling that panels and backgrounds and the readers visual orientation aren't given priority. Yes, you see the two at the door in the first panel in the upper left, but there's no "click" sound effect of the door opening, there's nothing to orient the face to the other characters who are already in the scene, so the only way you know he's just opened the door is if you're observant enough to notice the tan triangle on the right (the door) and realize that it's not just a fragmented portion of another irregularly-shaped, sometimes puzzle-piece-esque panel. That missing sense of orientation makes for a lot more trying to tease-out what's visually happening on the page... and then the desired visual orientation is provided on the very next page.
But again, even though that visual orientation we want is provided in that first panel, the rest of the panel layout begs for a do-over. This is a page with almost no dialogue. There's ample room for all those panels to be square, and given that it's just a basic introduction page with nothing particularly exciting happening (joke notwithstanding), all those panels probably should have been square.... but more important than the irregular panels, why do "Fidget and Digit's" heads escape the top of the third panel?! Even without moving the final panel down a little and to the right (make that a bust, we don't need to see his shirt all the way to the belt), there was ample room to get the two of them entirely inside that panel. The only thing letting their heads escape the top of that panel accomplished was to wash their hair out in the black and make it near invisible, giving them the appearance of having odd, bald, yet flat-topped, mask-shaped heads.
I really genuinely hate to be so critical here, I want these reviews to be mostly about helping people find their audience and as I said, I wasn't sure if I would be able to do that this time. There are some cool ideas in this comic (I'm usually fond of stories that feature shapeshifters), but there's been a lot of emphasis placed on backstory and on maintaining the sense of mystery, so the story istelf is parted out in really short scenes and in thirty-two pages (which incidentally is about one and a half standard comic issues), there's not been enough revealed to even guess at the plot. For my part I have to wonder, if that much backstory was necessary, then why wouldn't you just start drawing the comic from the first page of the backstory? I know a lot of people enjoyed the TV series Lost for example, but that's because they watched it from the beginning. You don't start into Lost from an episode in the middle of season three, and that's how I feel trying to read these.
So I wish I could say I have a pitch for this... If you like long-reads, a lot of mystery and Inspector Gadget, it may be worth a look, I just wish I could give you a better idea what it's about. Sorry, Erin, I tried.
If you are a webcomic author and are interested in a review from me, you can check out my announcement and my review rules here.
If you enjoy my reviews and would like to help ensure I'm able to continue publishing them, you can contribute on our Patreon or if you're short on funds you can also help me out by checking out and sharing my own webcomic, Woohooligan!
Thanks! Sam
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