Couple hand print painting ideas

I have 3 cats. The oldest, Posada, is 12. ive had her for 8 years. But she would cry when i left so i got her a companion about 4 yrs ago, Carey who is now 4 yrs old. When Carey first came Posada was super aggressive but she seemed to calm down after a few weeks and she stopped crying at the door when i left. It seems to have curbed the loneliness but they dont really interact all that much. They dont play or cuddle together. They kind of just are like formal roommates. And thats ok.
However i rescued a 5 month old kitten 5 months ago, ive named her Maggie. Maggie was not fixed. And when i brought her in neither Carey or Posada was very happy. Posada got over it in 3 days and now she just doesnt care, in fact she'll bathe Maggie. Maggie isnt afraid of her either.
Carey on the other hand hated her vehemently. I thought 'oh its just a new cat' but it didnt abate after a month, in fact it got worse, more violent and frequent. So then i thought oh its cause Maggie isnt spayed and is spraying (something i didnt know female cats did until then). I cleaned up every time she did but yeah. It took me 3 months to get her finally spayed (2 months cause i usually wait for them to be around a year old to get them spayed, and another month for the 2 vet appts, i only got her spayed younger than i usually would because i thought itd help the aggression with Carey).
It did not. Ive had her for 5 months. She is fixed, shots, etc. And Carey is still violently aggressive with her. Maggie hisses and runs but she doesnt fight. I usually yell at Carey, which stops it in the moment but 5 minutes later shes back at it. Ive tried reintroducing slowly (something i know youre supposed to do at first but ive never bothered with because all my cats before this were fine after 2 weeks), ive tried different litter boxes, more food and water dishes (i had one community dish at the time), ive tried giving Carey more attention, ive thought oh maybe if i just let them fight it out eventually Maggie will fight back and swipe Carey a good one and Carey will leave her alone. But Maggie has yet to fight (this was my last resort). My vet checked Carey and Maggie, both are healthy.
She advised me to get a cat pheromone diffuser. I bought the one she recommended. Its been plugged in for 12 days. The first day saw no difference, but the next 3 days was far better. Not one fight, just Maggie growling and hissing. Which was a huge improvement because within the last 5 months of Maggie being here theyve never missed a single days worth of fighting for hours on and off all day. But the last 3 days its back to business as usual with Carey going after Maggie.
I am at my wits end, and ive been considering rehoming Maggie by the end of june if i havent made any progress by then. Because yes its driving me up the walls, but its also bothering Carey, and Maggie is so stressed shes hiding for most of the day and is beginning to get timid when she wasnt when i first got her.
If anyone, please, has any ideas, advice, tips, anything, id be grateful. I dont like rehoming animals if i dont absolutely have to. Thank you in advance

i recently lost 2 of my pet rats and i took stamps of their paw prints to get them tattooed. i have 2 more rats that i will eventually also add to this tattoo but i wanted to get started on it now. i know i want it to look like the rats are "walking" up my arm, with one or two prints from each rat, but id like to do some decoration around it too. i want the print themselves to be black but i love color tattoos and thought maybe i could have smth colorful around them, but i am no very creative and am having a hard time coming up with ideas. i thought maybe cartoon portraits of each rat? or some cute random color doodles? (im not super into realism and i love cartoony colorful tattoos) im just hitting a wall when it comes to ideas and wondered if anyone wanted to throw me some suggestions? :)

I'm looking into a prep for using water from a creek a couple hundred feet away. The creek is flat so I can't use a ram pump. It has a decent flow and I would like to be able to remove the pump system when it's not in use so it doesn't get messed with. Has anyone used a manual pump like "simple pump" to pump from flowing water rather than a dug well?
Another idea is a water wheel but I don't see any ready made solutions and it would be quite a project, especially since it would have to be removable.
I understand water rights issues, so please ignore that, I'm planning for grid down scenario.
Any thoughts?

Hello, Im a game developer currently working with a friend on a mobile game where players place different computer components on a grid to generate money and research while managing heat to keep parts from overheating. The game is mostly finished, but we are both programmers by trade and are struggling with creating the artwork for the different computer parts and some of the UI elements (IE. Buttons, the grid space, stuff of that nature)
We’re looking to find an artist who would be interested in collaborating with us on this project either as a hobby, or for rev share. We were thinking of going with a pixel art or minimalist style, but we aren’t particularly attached to any particular style. As far as icons you would be drawing different computer parts like graphics cards, ram sticks, processors, and fans. We also have several tiers in the game of each part so someone with ideas on differentiating these parts artistically is preferred. We also need a small handful of UI element graphics as explained above. Some examples would be borders for different menus, or like the buttons to switch between menus such as the upgrades menu vs the main game screen.
If you’re interested in working on this project, please reach out either here or on discord at
Coconut Mage#8779
I’d be happy to answer any follow up questions you may have on either the art and design aspects that we are looking for, or general questions about the game.

First Prev Next
Approximated Earth Date: 3. May. 2235
A dull pain began to gather in Teresh's neck. Now that his shock was waning, he was beginning to feel the searing heat of the cut. His eyes glanced around at the oddly mundane things around him. Nothing seemed, well, alien. This room resembled many clinics and hospitals that he had visited throughout his life, though at a larger scale of course. These aliens seemed to have a fairly square approach to their furniture. The cabinets of medical supplies and the cots were evidence of that. Valaxi architecture favored more triangular geometry. Though not perfect triangles at times to preserve space, their beds and cots were wider near the head and skinnier near the feet. Their practical storage was still primarily square to be easily stacked, but many domestic shelves, cabinets, etc. were actually triangular in shape. Perhaps it wasn't the most efficient, but it was the artistry of it that was always apparent. He wondered if these aliens had art. If Tom had ever created a living mural or an infinite world.
There was a loud thunk as the door opened, Tom tentatively stepping inside. His voice resonated through the dull translator, "I have arranged a meeting, but we're going to have to hide you. If anyone sees you they'll probably panic. I don't want there to be any possibility that you'll be hurt."
"H-Hurt!" Teresh squawked, "Your people kill strangers on sight?!"
Tom sighed, the translator echoing a dull vibration. He continued, "No, we don't kill strangers on sight. If people see you and panic because they think that you'll hurt or kill them, then they may try to fight back first."
"Why would they do that? I'm not a danger to anyone... but myself it seems," he replied, his voice low.
"Humans..." Tom began, then stumbling, "that's us by the way. Our species."
"Hue-man, human," Teresh sounded out the word.
"Yes. Humans have something called a 'fight or flight' response. Under great stress, like seeing something that frightens us, we can either freeze up, run, hide, or become aggressive and defensive. There are plenty of other ways people act that fall into those camps, but that's roughly how it works," Tom explained. He made sure to have distance between them as he explained the aggressive part.
Both natural aggression and fear responses? Teresh had never heard anything like it.
Most species were either majorly one or the other, with exceptions of course. His own, the kooli, were actually aggressive when threatened. They could puff up their chest and crown, displaying an array of dazzling colors that could frighten many assailants. Their sharp talons usable as a last resort to rip and tear into their attackers. On the other claw, some like himself did prefer to run and hide. Though, Teresh always considered that a weakness of his. Not being honorable and brave like so many other kooli. It wasn't natural like with humans.
"Do you think I'm frightening?" He asked.
Tom immediately shook his head, "No! No, not at all."
"But other humans might be?" Teresh asked.
Tom explained, "There's a chance Teresh, that's all I'm saying. I don't want to take a chance with a diplomat like yourself. As you said, you need to speak to our leaders, and I'd like to facilitate that."
The kooli thought for a moment, his feathers unknowingly shifting to purples and violets. Then returning to his usual emerald green, "I-I understand, but how will you hide me? Please don't tell me you're going to toss me in a box."
"Okay, we really need to work on your perceptions of us. We're not callous," he replied, eliciting a strange look from Teresh.
"Callous?" Teresh questioned. Not familiar with the term.
The human paused for a moment, then rattled off, "It means... cruel, rude, brutish,"
That remains to be seen, he kept to himself. Though, he had to admit that Tom had shown him genuine compassion and hospitality since his arrival. He just hoped that the rest of his race was similar.
"How do you mean to hide me then?" Teresh asked, looking up at his own reflection in the black void.
"So, I've been thinking it over and I think I have a good solution. I need you to let me explain something that may be surprising to you, understand?" Tom responded.
Though he could feel his heart beating faster in his chest, he gave the human a nod.
Tom pointed to himself, "This is not what we, humans, look like naturally."
I surmised as much, Teresh noted sarcastically. He knew what a space suit was and would have donned his own if the atmosphere wasn't safe in the ship's hanger.
"This suit keeps me safe in the vacuum of space, including this," he made a closed fist with his hand and tapped the black mirror a few times. "You can't see my real face from the outside. I'd like to have you don one of these suits, so you don't stand out."
So, it is a helmet of some kind. For intimidation, it certainly is effective. I can't imagine seeing that on the battlefield, he noted.
Their own gear was nowhere near as terrifying. The kooli used a high-tech mask that vacuum fit to their head shape. It even accounted for the varying size of their crowns. This was the usual for most species using SSS (Smart Skin Suits), but it seems the humans haven't developed their own version of it. However, it seemed that this was working to their benefit. Perhaps this plan wasn't as farfetched as he initially thought. The thought of him dressed head to toe in orange and with the mirror helm would have made him laugh if he wasn't so nervous.
"I see, you mean to disguise me as one of your own," Teresh replied, receiving a nod of affirmation. "Could I pass as a human with my... size?"
"Yes, we humans actually come in many varying heights. There are plenty of humans that are actually shorter than yourself, albeit rare," Tom answered, getting another strange look from the kooli.
"Really? Are you humans highly varying in shape too, or just height?" He asked curiously.
"Eh... somewhat. Some can be a little bigger around the stomach area, but we all share the same shape for the most part," the human answered.
"I would love to sit down and discuss biology with you or your professionals, but that will have to wait till later. For now, I'm at your disposal," Teresh explained, then tacking on, "and please don't dispose of me."
"Wouldn't dream of it. Let's find you a proper suit first," Tom said, turning to face the door.
"Wait!" He called out, causing Tom to stop and flinch. The black mirror settled on him, knowing that there were however many eyes behind it. Gulping, he continued, "Would you let me see your face? Your real face?"
Tom paused, his stance still and tense. He had no idea what thoughts were stirring behind that glass, seeing only his own expression. The human's hand gripped the frame of the door a little tighter. Then he gave his answer.
"In time, but not now. I'd rather not expose you to any possible diseases, but..." Tom faltered, "I promise I will if all goes well. Deal?"
"If you're asking me to accept your terms, then yes," Teresh agreed, his feathers flashing a bright yellow.
"Good. I'll be back soon, just need to make sure my crew aren't experiencing their own fight or flight response," Tom concluded. He shut the door behind him, and left Teresh in silence.
-------------
Date: May 3, 2235
Tom stepped past the threshold and immediately leaned on his side. His mind spiraled, his breath tight in his chest. There was too much going on. The lights were too bright, the dull humming of electricity and the pipes pounding in his ears. His blood rushed through his veins, and every muscle twitched with energy. His anxiety like a swirling maelstrom in his chest. Everything was too much.
Come on, remember to breathe. Inhale. 1... 2... 3... 4... Exhale. 2... 3... 4... and Inhale. 2... 3... 4... Tom repeated in his mind. Forcing his body to follow the rhythm as his chest raised and lowered.
A simple salvage mission had turned into so, so much more. He had no idea what he was doing. There was a god damn alien in his med bay. He talked to them, and they talked to him. They shared a conversation about humanity and now he was trying to sneak them into a UNEM base. What the hell is happening with my life? It was supposed to get easier after service, but it's been nothing but more and more difficult. Why did it have to be me?
Dread began to fill his being as he made the long trek from the med bay to the cargo bay, to the administrative branch, and up to the bridge. He knew the others could watch him through the cams, and he could only imagine their expressions throughout the ordeal. Each step another clang against the metal floor below. Passing room after vacant room. He considered it an annoyance to only have the three of them working for the day, but now he held it as one of the greatest blessings. Clang, clang, clang. The sound of his boot impacting the stairs echoed through the air as he climbed to the top step. A hiss escaped the air as he removed his helmet and placed it under his left arm. With a heavy hand, he opened the door and stepped into the bridge. Both Maxim and Ally were crowded around the monitors, helmets off, expressions gaunt.
He looked at them, and they looked at him. The tension in the air kept them in an eternal moment. Up until Tom finally decided to cut through the silence.
"Their name is Teresh. They're friendly as far as I can tell," he explained, neither of them saying a word. Tom paused, and continued, "I phoned Mikael, going to try and figure this mess out together. I'm taking them to Jefferson base."
That seemed to snap them out of their stupor. Maxim speaking first, announcing, "Captain, you can't be serious."
Maxim may not don the uniform the uniform, but he was always a soldier. Young, strong, and ready for anything. He remembered Maxim coming to him fresh off his 18th birthday, ready to save the world. Tom could still see the innocence in those blue eyes, though tarnished with time. A number of pale scars and tattoos now adorning his obsidian arms. His voice was like a rough-cut gem. Strong, chiseled features, though he'd never tell him that. With jet black hair, he retained the buzz cut from service, and the same carefree attitude that Tom used to grapple with. However, given the situation, he knew it was the time for professionalism.
At the sound of his old title, there was a surprisingly flash of anger that swirled inside Tom.
"I'm not a captain anymore!" Tom growled. Then quickly dropping the snarl, continuing, "and I'm deadly serious. We need to get them to Earth gov and do it quickly. This is the most important thing that's ever happened in human history, and it's been dropped on our plate."
"Ca- Sir, we have an honest to God alien in our med bay. How do you expect us to get through clearance?" Ally asked, concern in her eyes.
Ally was always too kind for her own good. Their line of work didn't deserve someone like her. She came to their unit fresh out of college and worked as their intel operative. Outside of his lead, she was the one who pulled their asses out of fires. A tad shorter than both he and Maxim, but she was hiding the strength of a seasoned gymnast in that deceptive frame. She may not be able to go toe to toe with either of them, but she as hell could toss them around like ragdolls with their own body weight. Ally had hazel green eyes, lighter skin, dirty blond hair, and usually wore it in a ponytail.
"Already thought of it. I'm going to put them in an EVO suit and escort them ourselves. Give them a box, act like we're there delivering cargo," Tom explained, drawing stares from both of them.
"That's your plan?" Maxim asked with disbelief.
"Yes, damn it! I've had all of fifteen minutes to think of it, so I'd say it's pretty damn good. Look, you both know how the bulls are. Walk and talk like you belong, no one says a word," he replied, a tad exasperated.
"And if they scan the ship? Y'know, like the routine surface scan that's definitely going to pick up an unknown craft in our hanger bay," Ally said, a hint of an edge in her voice.
Tom allowed himself a smile, "Already thought of that. If they ask, it's top-secret clearance. They want info on it, they can go to Mikael."
"You're seriously going to throw the commander into the brush like that?" Maxim asked, hiding a chuckle in his voice.
"You better believe it. He owes us far more than that," Tom concluded, placing both hands on the helm.
He looked out of the viewport. Neptune was still in sight, with colorful marbles of various size in the distance. Dipping his hand down, he turned the navigator to the moon and set it to autopilot.
The nav computer's voice filled the ship, "Destination set: Earth's Moon. Estimated travel time: Fifty-five minutes, and twenty-three seconds."
With a small shunt, the ship shifted and began to turn. Its engines roared to life as it began to coast towards the moon. They could've used FTL but making a jump like that would've drawn much more attention to them. Better to play it safe and slow. See if they could dodge some of the air control towers while they're at it.
With a few extra button presses, he put the countdown timer up on the screen. They now had a little under an hour to formulate their plan and strategize for any obstacles. In some ways, it was sickeningly nostalgic. The three of them were tasked with an impossible mission once again. However, this time, it would be for peace and not for war. Failure was not an option.
Just like old times, Tom thought to himself. Just like old times...

I moved into my property in the late 90's and we get the feeling the double glazing was installed in the 80's as we inherited every scrap of paper going back 150 years to the blueprints. The history is fascinating, in the 1980's there was planning permission granted to convert to a 'hostel' but as it's a mid terrace house I feel that moniker could mean several things.
A it's Victorian we are lucky to still have two sash windows, one is painted shut like super thick layers on layers over the years, and the other is operating. This one lets in a lot of cold air in in winter, it's on a landing at the top of the house.
There's a couple of plain panes (with no opening handle) which I would like to open so I was thinking oh god that's a double glazing lead from heaven for one sales rep. A whole house done and I'll be hounded with calls and emails and leaflets and god knows what and I'm terrified.
How many years shall I leave it? How old is everyone's double glazing? I don't think I can handle the stress if one breaks and then we may as well get them all done and it's a really bad time like winter.

It took us days, days of wandering in this forsaken heat. But eventually we found a store where the owner was willing to make a deal, he’d get us the equipment needed and ingredients that weren’t too expensive and in exchange we got half of the profits. By the end of our first week we were making more gold than we were spending, morgan had dyed her hair black and cut it. Fortunately, the wanted posters of us that we saw didn’t bear too much of a resemblance… still we did our best to avoid the city guard. With our first week we turned into our regular room.
“so how much gold do you figure we need?” [morgan] “well, I did ask about the relevant info and I think we need another hundred to be safe and sure that there will be enough. Before you ask it looks like we’re making, well saving maybe ten gold a week”
I sigh. “I hate this place.” [giggles] “what big bad bug doesn’t like the heat? Well, it’s a nice change for me, all sort of free people around to chat with and do business while the warbug has to skulk around in fear”
“hate me that much do you?” [morgan] shakes her head with a sigh. “I grew up in fear of your kind looming over me for any failing no matter my desires or effort, don’t expect me to be the most sympathetic”
“and here I was thinking we were starting to get along somewhat” [morgan] “I’m helping you so you don’t get the urge to kill me like some fucking warbug did to my little brother before tossing his body into the shit pit. So no, I don’t like you. I can tolerate you however which is more than I can say for most of your kind”
“shit pit?” [morgan] “yes, a pit that had our camps shit in it, poop, crap, call it what you will now shut up and sleep.”
She went under her bed’s blankets and turned putting her back to me… an odd move. But I knew one thing, she can’t learn that I killed her brother. Wasn’t there something about smooth-skins turning their backs to others? Ahhh it could wait to think about.
The next week is quiet, she doesn’t talk to me. She barely interacts with me. After long thought as to why this old smooth-skin, companion was acting like that I recalled her saying memories can bring pain to them, so remembering her brother's death was painful? Hmmm, I suppose it would go away with time. If it didn’t then how would any smooth-skin function?
Halfway through our third week we went to our room, and she finally talked. At last I could have some conversation… and ask myself why I was so glad to have talk to me again.
[morgan] “look, I… I’m not sure you see it this way but… well, your people caused both of us a lot of harm. They took things precious too both of us, d-did you grow up in a family?”
“no… no I didn’t, not even a creche. Oh, uh it’s like what your kind would call extended family? I think?” [morgan] “is that how your people used to be raised, way back when?”
“yeah, that’s what our records say… I was raised by the… caretakers, caretakers fits. They see to raising the hatchlings to adulthood… well they do now at least” [morgan] “they do now? What did they used to do?”
“sane but for not as long, since it was all old souls” [morgan] “wait, that’s right new souls were a recent thing. The earth mother woke up a bit and changed how that works for you guys”
“yeah, more or less. Nobody understands why she did it… actually some think she didn’t. After all how could a new soul help more than one that’s seen countless battles and honed their skills for centuries?” [morgan] “… maybe, their age is why she did it?”
“explain, I don’t understand” [morgan] “well at least for us the oldest tend to get a bit, set in their ways. Unwilling to change to new realities and improve themselves. They get too stubborn”
I don’t reply I just sit and think about her point, her potentially very valid and reasonable point. If it was true, if that’s the reason for the change then wouldn’t our input as new souls be highly valued? Had the great mother only been able to put part of her plans in motion before being put back to sleep?
[morgan] “well, let’s get to sleep then.”
Another day and more earnings, more heat, more tedium. Though I am distracted somewhat thinking about what was discussed.
“this is going to get old not talking almost all day” [morgan] “your kind don’t strike me as the talkative type”
“little conversation isn’t no conversation. Besides, I can’t occupy my time with reading and learning other things like I could before” I sigh “those were two very good years” [morgan] “they were better than many before them”
“you know he wasn’t my favorite but blade did save us” [morgan] “yeah. He was devoted to his duty. But if that was to kill us he’d have done it in a heartbeat”
“… an old soul would have been able to fight it off, would’ve saved themselves as well as us” [morgan] “we had other old souls with us then right? Didn’t they all die? Maybe they keep putting you down so they stay on top?”
“no, they devote themselves to the good of our people. To the restoration of our culture.” [morgan] “have they? Did they start restoring that culture when they had new souls to raise? Do they know what’s best? I mean even if they try for what’s best they can still be wrong right?”
“… you’re oddly thoughtful. Don’t most of your kind just want simple things and not really care about the bigger questions like this? They just want their needs taken care off and family?” [morgan] sighs “you’re not fully wrong… inaccurate but not entirely missing either. I am, weird. I never did take to things quite like the others. Spent time asking adults questions and not playing with the other kids as much… I hate to admit it but I did like being able to read so much at the old scribe job. Even if it was for your kind, it suited me.”
I nod. “I miss my friend, despite there being so many of us it was always a bit, lonely. Being a new soul means I’m not as good, not as useful. You know some would ask why one of us new souls had to take a body that could’ve been for an old soul instead.” [morgan] “they resent you existing? I thought that was just for everyone but their kind.”
“I, well no they-… it’s, hmmm. Why do I sometimes feel like you understand my people better than me?” [morgan] she just stares at me for a moment. “that’s, well. I guess being aware of others motivations is something my kind is better at.”
“yes well I suppose it doesn’t matter since you only tolerate me right?” [morgan] “yeah, yeah I guess so… let’s get some sleep.”
Another quiet couple of days pass. Being alone like this is, well I can’t say I like it. Spending so much time in a city of these soft-skins. Though I see some that are surprisingly strong, and others I note are cunning.
[morgan] “hey. Uh, I know you might not want to answer this but… why do you want to go back?”
“what do you mean? It’s my home. It’s where my people are” [morgan] “True. But is that all it takes? I mean do you really want to go back to that, back to where they resent you for existing despite being your kind? Back to the people that took your arms? Back to trying to please them when they’ll never be fully satisfied no matter what you do?”
“that’s… reveal was happy with what I did, mys was a good friend.” [morgan] “and is that it? Just a friend and happy superior? You know there are places much further where they wouldn’t hate you like here. Places where you could become a valued member. Where you might be able to have more than just a friend and happy boss. There’s a lot more you could have.”
“so I should betray my people because it would be good for me alone? How can any society last with that as a basis?” [morgan] “betray? Did you ever go against your people before being made penitent? Did you not work to further their interests? How did that end? How did the treat you for doing your best to help them? To do something with yourself when they kept telling you that you were less than them.”
“I’m not worthless, you are! All of you pathetic soft-skins, you’re all lesser, all deserving of death” standing as I shout back. She takes a breath. [morgan] “that’s what they told you, can you tell me why? Without shouting, we are trying to not be detected.”
Practically grinding out the words “your kind destroyed mine, slaughtered them with your scaled monsters. Your kind started the butchery.” [morgan] “alright, which ones? Come on, which individuals did it?”
“individuals don’t matter, your people, your kind did it so you share the blame” [morgan] “then they were right to make you penitent, not for a mistake but for being born”
“NO, I did nothing wrong. I didn’t choose that, and I did my best to make the most of it. I helped as much as I could” [morgan] “moonshadow, individuals don’t matter. Your kind, new souls are at fault so you deserved it.” “...your kind chose to kill mine” [morgan] “maybe, but if we are to pay for other's actions, then you are guilty and justly punished as a penitent regardless” … [morgan] “you might hate it, but if that’s how you evaluate then it’s true”
“then how do you evaluate it?” [morgan] “same as most I grew up with did, by your actions, by your choices… perhaps with some leeway on context but by the individual.”
“fuck you soft-skins” I go to bed. The next week I don’t chat, thinking things over. I hate it; I hate her approach… I have nothing in it, there’s nothing. No purpose, no higher meaning in it. Just everyone being terrible, everyone causing war and death without end.
As we are walking through the town at the start of our fifth week, I see a young soft-skin, one that goes up to a merchant at their stall. I’ve seen it before, this dirty and unkempt young talking to the merchant when they aren’t busy with a customer and getting a bag filled with something then running of after getting a kiss on the head. Morgan notices I stopped and comes up to me. I whisper down when she’s close enough.
“the young ran off with a bag the merchant gave, over there. Do you know why?” [morgan] “stay right there grandpa I’ll be right back” she walks to the merchant, with the number of other people talking I can’t hear what’s said. Minutes later she comes back with some fruit.
[morgan] “these were at a good price! Come along grandpa. So the kid Taelyr, his mom was the merchant’s friend. Mom died trying to give birth to his sister and since dad died fighting the merchant took him in. I think she struggles to keep him and her own kids taken care of, she hasn’t been able to keep up with getting them properly clothed”
I nod and keep walking. After we finish our potion making I pull her along to a clothing store.
[morgan] “grandpa, we’re fine on clothes. There’s no need to enter here.” I pull her close to whisper.
“for the kids, I asked about this morning.” [morgan] “I… that’s, very nice thought but we really shoul-”
I pull her up to the counter. A green-skinned female smiles, small tusks showing. [merchant] “well what can I do for you two? I’ve got clothes to fit all sorts of physiques in all sorts of styles.” [morgan] “uh” I push her. [morgan] “alright grandpa. So it’s not really for us. There’s a fruit and vegetable vendor we saw this morning and a kid she-” [merchant] “ah yeah Mylia, sweet woman. Too bad I have to make a living with this all.” [morgan] “yes well, grandpa was moved to help her out so if you have it we’ll pay.” [merchant] “well that’s mighty fine of you. I’ll be right back with what’s needed.”
she gives me a glare before the merchant comes back. [merchant] sets a stack of clothes on the counter-top. “here we are, a stack for one gold” [morgan] “that’s, a lot… are you sure it only costs one gold?” [merchant] “well yeah, it’s at cost after all. Now go get her these.” [morgan] “I… y-yeah we’ll do that right away”
Minutes of walking and we arrive at a simple mud made structure… it’s, less than what anyone of my kin would stay in long-term. The woman, mylia opens the door and quickly I can see her… fear, apprehension, panic?
[mylia] “uh wrong place we want no trouble.” [morgan] “no no that’s, we’re not hear to cause you any trouble.” [mylia] “then please tell me why you’re here.” [morgan] “I, we talked earlier in the market. My grandpa here heard things from me and well.” she holds out the stack of clothes. [mylia] “is, is this?” she starts looking through the stack of clothes. That’s, you… how, n-never mind come in.”
I follow behind morgan; the woman sets us down at her table and soon she and her two children are eating soup with us. She thanks us and talks with morgan as the time goes on. The cover story of being refugees but having potion making skills seems to put her at ease. I see the young, rowdy, full of energy, somewhat oblivious to things around them. I also see the way she cares for them, shows affection to both of them. I can’t help but recall the differing traditions I read about, hands held in hands upturned. Heads softly pressed against each other with one arm on each-others head as a sign of care between lovers. Parent’s and family playing with the young. Things I had only read about, only ever in ancient history. Except here, in their own way the soft-skins were that way. I could see how she looked at the young she cared for, how they were precious to her like no wealth could ever be… We chatted for a while more… well morgan did and mylia gave us here thanks, saying we must have been sent by… one god or another I forget. It didn’t matter to me, what mattered was what I saw. We went to our room, and I went to sleep immediately.
In the morning I lay in the bed. [morgan] “ok you’re being really slow today. We need to clear out… are you going to move?”
“they never did that.” [morgan] “did what? Who? Seriously, no more cryptic stuff please.”
“my kind, when I was growing up. They never did that.” [morgan] “wait, you… the kids? Hugging? Your people never hugged you?”
“no, but yes. When she looked at them, took care of them. She cared, there was… what is that?” [morgan] “lov-… oh, oohhh. Fuck, they. When they raised you they didn’t love you?”
“There’s all sorts of affectations, little actions. Different than your kinds, but they do exist. Just the only place seems to be in our history books.” [morgan] “that’s… I. Damn, moonshadow I didn’t even know it was-” a loud two bangs hits the door. [innkeeper] “ten minutes!” [morgan] “yeah nearly out! Moon, we’ll talk tonight alright”

I just found out a couple of days ago that we have to give a speech as part of our English GCSE and I'm completely lost on what to do. Our speech has to be five minutes long and it's about what we would put into room 101. My speech is tomorrow and I still haven't written anything as I am completely stumped for ideas, does anyone have any advice?

I've been with my wife for a little over 6 years (married for 5 months). I love and adore my wife, and I feel guilty and ashamed for any stress or pain I have caused. Our troubles began during the wedding planning process. I hate being the center of attention and the wedding made me extremely anxious as a result. I had tried to get my wife to make some modifications to meet me halfway, but pushing for any changes led to her becoming very upset as these changes would have offended her family and/or friends. I was able to get through the wedding, and it was honestly a great day that I look back on fondly. However, my wife took my anxiety very personally during the process, and it prevented her from looking forward to the wedding.
Preceding our wedding, we moved across the country for her career. The area we moved to is primarily spanish speaking and this made it tough for me to find work, and ultimately I had to take a night shift job at an old folks home (I'm an RN), and it doesn't pay very well. I felt very isolated being so far from family and friends, and I haven't really been able to make any friends here. She, on the other hand, has made several friends and loves it here. My work situation, as well as feeling isolated, really put me into a mental funk. I put on weight and became a hermit when I was not at work. That being said, I still went out of my way to take care of her. I do all the cooking, cleaning, errands, etc. I do it for her because she works so hard and I just want her to put her feet up and relax when she gets home after work.
I started to get out of slump a couple months ago by prioritizing my health by quitting smoking, losing 20 pounds, taking care of extensive dental work I had put off, and making the best of work. However, there were a couple trips my wife took alone during my funk, and this hurt her. Three weeks ago she called, while she went away to ski with her friends back home, to tell me how unhappy she is, how I've been since we've moved here has made her feel very alone, and dampened this new experience in a new place for her. I had not gone on these trips because I didn't think it was financially prudent given our living expenses on top of all my dental work. There was no malice in not going on my end, but I feel silly for not in hindsight, I was just too locked up in my head to see the big picture. She had given me no inclination as to how unhappy she was before leaving, and the phone call felt like a rug being pulled out from under me. She claims she didn't realize how unhappy she was until this trip.
While I want to look at this as a rough patch we can work through, and move forward, she has told me recently that she's not sure if she's ever going to feel the same again in regards to our relationship. This truly breaks my heart. I'm committed to making the necessary changes to make her happy, but I feel as though she's already writing things off despite wanting to do couples counseling, as well as agreeing to take a new job closer to home to better our relationship. Moving again with her seems like a leap of faith, as I'm not sure how committed she truly is, and I'm constantly waiting for the next shoe to drop. I can't eat, sleep, or focus at work, and when I'm home I just pace around the apartment dwelling on all of this. I know a big component of moving back closer to home is so she can be closer to her mother, who I feel has always been prioritized over me.
I'm staying at a hotel tonight and flying back home to see my parents tomorrow in order to clear my head for a few days before proceeding forward. Am I wrong for having a pessimistic view of how things are looking?

I havent dated anyone or had a crush on anyone else in 8 years. Im now 30, my last relationship lasted 7 years and we've been broken up for one. Ive met people and dated around but no one really made me want to see them a second time. Then I met this girl, 27, who is the first person Ive had feelings for or tried to date since my last LTR, and she blew me away. We seemed to have tons in common, were extremely physically attracted to one another, the whole nine yards.
She asked me to be her boyfriend on our third date because she didnt want anyone else to have me. Would tell me things like I was the best in bed she's ever had, was the only person to ever make her orgasm, that she never wanted to leave me, hopes I never leave her, slews of other compliments. Would joke about marriage, etc. One night about 3 weeks in, she tells me she loves me, makes me pinky promise neither of us will leave, buys us cruise tickets for months in advance.. and dumps me by text 2 days later.
She starts saying things like she isnt ready, it isnt fair to me, we're moving too fast, she didnt mean to fall in love with me. We meet again later that week and she tells me she wants to start over and go slower. Things seem ok, we text like normal, plan a date for the next week. Then one night she doesnt talk to me at all, so I ask her the next morning if she died one me or something. She blows up at me, tells me she told me she isnt ready, stop texting her, shes glad its over with. Blocks my number.
Later that night, she unblocks me, insults me some more, then says shes actually breaking down crying because she wanted us to work more than anything but slept with someone else the night before. Then starts saying how she regrets it, it wasnt worth it, it made her realize she really loves me, wishes she hadnt done it so we could work it out. Says shes going to block me again after this conversation for both our sakes. She says she loves me more than anything, deletes my number, and that was the last time I talked to her for over a week.
After that 8 or 9 days or whatever of not talking at all, we end up texting for a bit which leads to us spontaneously hanging out and sleeping together multiple times. She tells me how much she loves me, but knows that she broke the trust and why would I even want to keep seeing her. But she sleeps over, tells me how much she missed me, loves being with me, and how perfect our night was. She then starts texting me again the next day and calls me multiple times passed midnight. Wake up to texts of her saying she wishes she was with me.
The next day, she says she wants to hang out, but then starts saying again how she doesnt want to love me or miss me and why do I want to do the same with someone who slept with someone else. How she doesnt see relationships the same since her last LTR.
So i know I should run away from this, but its easier said than done. Part of my wants more than anything for that girl that I had those first few dates with to be under all of the drama. Whenever we're actually together in person, it's amazing, we feel electric together; cant keep our hands off each other, constantly laughing. If she would be this person all the time, I could see a really great relationship with her. But I know its almost like an act. She doesnt understand or doesnt care how much the rollercoaster ride has crushed my soul, or how her playing with my emotions has taken such a toll on my head.
I shouldve just left the first time she said she wasnt ready, but again I havent dated anyone since I was pretty much just a kid and I loved the feeling that someone would think as highly of me as she did. That I had so much in common with one person. So much chemistry and attraction. Ive never felt anything like it before, only for it to be pulled out from under me. We've only known each other for 2 months, but Ive never felt heartbreak like what Im going through with this person. I shouldnt even entertain the idea given she slept with someone else, but I actually went to talk to a therapist about this whole situation and he said if I really wanted to try and understand this person to understand maybe since we were "on a break" she didnt see us as together and therefore not cheating. And that maybe her admitting it was a mistake and regretting it means she learned a lesson that she did want me more than other people, she just needs time to process it.
I know I should just delete her number and run away. But my head is such a mess and I dont know how to make myself do it.

For our anniversary, my wife and I are planning to take a small trip to lower Michigan for a couple of days. The planned time is mid-April and we are planning on a 3 1/2 day trip (leaving Thursday afternoon/evening, coming home Sunday night). We are coming for Southeast Wisconsin.
Currently we are planning to stop at Notre Dame in South Bend, IN on our way, but outside of that we are going in blind and I was hoping to get some ideas on destinations and activites for the trip. We both enjoy outdoor activies, so nature reserves and state parks are a plus, but we welcome any other ideas as well.
The boxed area in the screenshot is our comfort zone as far as travel distance, as further than that would cut in to activity time. TIA.

Professional couple M50/F47 looking for some added spice. New to the Life Style. Let's see where we can take this. Would love to connect with another (F) or the right couple and see where things could go. Looking to find someone near Central Southern Virginia or Northern North Carolina for chatting, dinner, drinks and hopefully more. We love to go to strip clubs, the (F) loves dancing and to be danced for. Especially when hands wonder up and down her body. We have been to a couple swingers events and have recently started frequenting "The House" in Raleigh and really enjoy it. Please NO single males. DM if you are interested.

My buddy and I are a couple of weeks into this game (kinda arriving late to the party, ha) and have created a clan just for the sake of having a clan.
I see that there are perks and benefits to having at least 4 people in a clan, and would be curious to see what that is all about.
While we are fairly regular players, playing almost every night, with families and odd work schedules, we can't guarantee always being on, so therefore aren't interested (at least for now) being a part of a larger, more serious clan interested in rising the ranks of the online heirarchy.
Currently my character is Level 20 and my buddy is Level 15. Our clan's name is Hawt Chyp.
I'm wondering, are there any players out there on PlayStation that are solo players who would be interested in joining a small, laid back clan with the idea of being in a clan large enough (4ish people) to gain the clan perks, however large or inconsequential they may be?

My boyfriend (27M) and I (27F) met in our hometown through mutual friend groups almost 3 years ago. We casually dated for a little before falling out of touch. But then we ended up moving to the same area across the country (not planned!), which is when we reconnected and have been dating on and off for the past 1.5 years. I recently moved in with him due to my lease ending, but we signed for another year at his place. I really thought moving in together would give me more confidence that he is 100% ready to commit.
However, I have ONLY just started to meet his friend group. While I do know his hometown friends and have been on holiday vacations with his family, I have yet to spend much time with this new friend group he has had for over a year. He spends almost every weekend with them, plus a day or two during the week. They go on trips almost every month. I understand wanting separate lives, as I love having my own thing. I’m super appreciative that he will hang out and travel with my friends and I, but I feel so disconnected to his life outside of our relationship and my friend group.
The kicker is that the other day one of my friends was at the same bar as he and his friends. She said he was so affectionate with his friends… lot of hugs, arms around shoulders, etc. She said he even tucked hair behind one of his girl friend’s ears. My friend did say it was mostly the boys in the group and only one girl he was super affectionate with. And when he shows me group pictures of them, he is so close and cuddly with his friends… and this makes me a little uneasy but he even got so close to that girl in a group picture that he literally had his arm around her neck pulling her closer to him while standing behind her. I know it’s just a picture, but seeing how affectionate he is even just with his guy friends stings because he is so anti-PDA with me. It doesn’t even look like we’re a couple in public. I have brought this up before and he just has said it makes him uncomfortable being PDA with a girlfriend.
I don’t know how to go about this. I didn’t see it with my own eyes so I’ve been struggling with how to approach it. But I’ve been on edge about LIVING with him and still not being around his friends, especially given how often he is with them. I’m hoping that he is warming up to the idea since we did recently go on a double-date with one of the couples from this friend group. But even in front of ONLY them, he couldn’t so much as hold my hand. And they are a very loving and affectionate couple which only made it worse.
What is the best way to approach this with my boyfriend? Do I bring up what my friend saw?
tl;dr my boyfriend doesn’t mind PDA with his friends but does with me

I am a first time home buyer and have seen a few. The only one we’ve somewhat liked is because of the neighborhood rather than the home. Inspection was yesterday and it was…. Not great. Many issues but the worst are that it needs a new roof semi-soon, windows could stand to be replaced, some wood siding might need replacing (only a couple spots), and new water heater.
The inside is not great but I feel like even just painting, making some repairs, and adding some more light could work wonders.
Bottom line: I see many saying “the house we are in now is ‘the one’” and “we walked a lap around and KNEW it was the one”. Can anyone share a success story of a flawed home that you were able to fix up over time and are happy with it? Here in FL prices are insane and finding a safe neighborhood in our price range has been hard. We love the neighborhood but the price feels so high for what the house itself is (MAXING our budget and it has many flaws) and I need some hope.

This is a throw away account because...well, you'll see.
I am a shop steward. That means I represent the interests of the workers at a business. We have a contract with management that they are obligated to follow. My job is to make sure they do that. Most of the time it has to do with overtime, making sure management does right by workers if they're injured on the job, and so on. One of the higher drama things I have to deal with is when management enforces discipline. Specifically, when a worker violates a rule. Management has to follow a specific process when they seek to "correct behavior". Unfortunately, things get very frustrating when it gets to the point where a worker may get fired.
For the sake of argument, let's call the worker Stephen. For the last few years Stephen has been calling out of work a lot. I think last year he worked maybe a third of the days he should have been. He has excuses for these absences but for most it would allow for a day or two here or there. He misses months at a time. On top of that I have witnessed him get verbally violent with others in front of management in ways where I have seen people get fired for in other jobs. However, he is still here.
The contract dictates that discipline is progressive. Short of something truly heinous you can't be fired for a single offense. For the sake of simplicity let's just call these demerits. You get issued one when you've done something wrong, management has gone through their process, and it's given to you. As a shop steward I look at the demerit, see if everything has been done correctly and then write a grievance. The grievance basically says, "you did this wrong" and "the demerit should be expunged, reduced or on the worker's record for less time". Once the demerit has expired it's like it was never there. Now on to Stephen.
Like I said, Stephen has missed a lot of days and it makes a lot of people angry because we have to pick up the slack. A big part of the reason Stephen is still around is because management hasn't issued those demerits. People look at me and say "why do you defend him" and I say "I haven't had to defend him lately because management hasn't issued the demerits. " Well, management has finally pulled the trigger. They sent him a letter notifying him he's been fired. Unfortunately, they screwed even that up.
I said that the system is progressive. That means you must accumulate three or more demerits before management can fire you. The idea is to give a worker time to get their act in order. I don't know why management has been entirely too easy for me to negotiate with. Stephen's demerits have expired. So, when I grieve this termination, I will almost certainly win but I don't want to.
Nothing Stephen has done in the last couple of years makes me want to work with him. He's slow, unreliable and doesn't show up to work. By every standard he should be fired. All of my coworkers want him fired. I want him fired but as a shop steward I am obligated to defend him, and this defense is a God damned layup. I am furious at management for not doing their job properly. I am furious that I have to defend this guy. And it doesn't help that when I do succeed I will basically be persona non grata at this office.
TLDR I am a shop steward and I have to defend a coworker from getting fired. I will be able to do so but I don't want to. He is a terrible employee and if management had done their job he would have been fired years ago.

See title.
Trying to find this texture file so I can print it on decal paper and apply it to a model kit. Any idea where to start searching?

Hello Friends,
A comment on the daily chat a few weeks ago touched on something that's been turning around in my brain recently. I've noticed what seems to be a trend in many of the M/F traditionally published contemporary romances I've read the past 2-ish years having gender roles and performances that seem to tap heavily into very traditional, white, western patriarchal gender expectations and I wanted to talk about that.
Now, before I begin, several disclaimers.

• The trend that I feel like I've spotted could be confirmation bias/bad book picking on my part. I'm not prolific for a romance reader; I read maybe 2 romances a month. I also have a habit of doing 5-6 "zeitgeist reads" a year where I read a book purely because it feels inescapable and I want to know what the hype is about.
• This is not a judgment of people who are into M/F gender essentialist themes or like contemporary romance books with traditional gender roles. It is not something I'm particularly keen on in CR but lord knows that reading and enjoying something doesn't mean you endorse it.

That out of the way, so many of the CRs I've read of late have been pinging my "weirdly old-school gender shit" radar because the characters and how they interact seem to be rooted in and reinforce very binary gender essentialist ideas. And, like, I'm cis and straight and boring, so my standards for "weird old-school gender shit" are very conventional. Yet it feels every time I open a popular CR of late I am guaranteed to encounter two and usually more of the following: TALL/smol, experienced MMC sorting out youngeless-seasoned (professionally or sexually) FMC or experience FMC who rethinks her whole, up until this point successful life on the advice of the MMC, MMC who is just a little more competent/better than FMC, "dirty talk" that's leans heavily into male domination and possession in otherwise vanilla sex (ie: "who's pussy is this" and Twitter's current obsession, "good girl"), a clear power imbalance with the benefits going to the MMC. I can only think of one M/F contemporary genre Romance that I've read in the past year where the main couple felt like full equals. Generally speaking, I've only found what feels to me like more equitable relationship dynamics that don't rely heavily on traditional notions of masculinity and femininity in books that live on the border of romance/"women's" fiction.
For the most part, the "weird old-school gender shit" is just radar pings though; a few beeps a book. I've only read 1-2 books that I found rose to the level of "problematic as shit." For the majority of books, it has just been moments of saying, "Huh. Interesting choice," knocking off a star or two, and moving on. However, like tiles in a mosaic they begin to look different when you step back and look at them in the aggregate than they do as individual objects. When I see multiple gender essentialist elements per book in book after book, it starts to feel varying degrees of...conservative? Regressive? We're-still-doing-this-in-the-year-of-Keely-Jones-2023? And I've also noticed that the gender dimorphism seems to be getting more pronounced. The FMCs keep getting smaller (there have been so many cover reveals lately where the FMC looks like a literal child next to the MMC), the pet names more diminutive, the billionaires richer and their FMC's health care less certain.
Again, nothing is wrong with any of the above. There's no one book or trope that has me struggling to articulate my mushy thoughts into a coherent post. It's the trend: that weird gender shit it seems to be showing up and emphasized in so many actively marketed books; the books that are getting the most chatter and the most publishing resources. Add that this happening against the backdrop of book burnings, legislative attacks on trans and queer people, and the death of Roe and I start to find it even more unsettling.
IDK friends, I'm still very much noodling this out. What do you think? Have you noticed any trends with how gender is being treated and portrayed in contemporary romance? Are your observations similar to mine or have I just been picking bad books? I've stuck to trad pub because that's easiest for me to access (the vast majority of my Romance comes from the library and I don't have KU), is it different in the self-pub world? Want to rec me any books with two equally competent MCs who feel like teammates who complement each other rather than where the MMC is the coach and the FMC is the talented rookie he must guide to the life/sexual championship with his experience and superior judgement?

A few years ago when I started studying, I joined a student union, and made some great memories there. They organise an annual weekend activity (with about 20-25 people present), and five years ago I joined it and had a great time. I'd gladly have done it again, but some things intervened (like covid and schoolwork). Meanwhile, I've graduated, as do most of my friends, and almost no one from back in my active days is still active in the student union. Yet one person half-key invited me to join it again this year a couple of months ago, so I decided to join on a whim.
The problem is, I don't really know most of these people all that well. Most of them will be far younger than I am (I'm 23, the average age will be around 19-20). And the few people I know relatively well I thought would come along have all cancelled or passed the opportunity. So, essentially, I'm joining a weekend with a bunch of strangers to me who are already well-acquainted with each other for the biggest part. On one hand, I'd really like to join along and just get to know these people, but on the other hand, I'm worried it will be awkward since I don't really know them all that well and I'm not socially talented enough to just make friends in just a single weekend. I'm especially insecure about it because someone I know made a snarky comment about me joining the activities. So, I'm conflicted whether to cancel at the last minute (a safe bet that might leave me a little regretful that I never took the opportunity), or just go along knowing that it might be awkward.
In short: should I take the opportunity, or do I play on safe? In any case, how do I best navigate this?
If any of this is confusing, please just let me know, then I'll clarify things. Big thanks if anyone can help me here.