#and that 200+ people without a job now

[megafreeman]

Volition was shut down by Embracer.

[yohankang]

spent 12 hours at work today and tomorrow is gonna be the same.... got a call about a new job but it only made my day worse

[pears-trinkets]

everything sucks so hard rn idk

[fashion-runways]

hi!! new pinned post, because the last one had gotten long again-- if you want to read previous posts, here's the first one, here's the second one. the tl;dr from those is that my dad got wrongfully imprisoned abruptly, our place was raided, the cops broke a bunch of shit and took a bunch of our things and still haven't returned them, they left all the broken things for us to spend money in repairing, we had to spend money on a lawyer, trips to visit him, new clothes, medicine and food for him in jail, etc. it was a mess, way more details in both posts. he's back home now, with an ankle monitor because technically his case isn't being investigated yet, they haven't done anything about it at all, the case hasn't moved one ounce lmao it's great, always trust the judicial system and cops!! ugh, anyway!

we found a therapist for my dad who can help her deal with all the stuff he had to deal with while in prison, all the bullying, the depression, the starving, the separation, etc. he needs to get a bunch of other medical appointments, has to get surgery, among other things, but for now things are much better on that front. that being said, he did lose his job and my old redbubble account got suspended without a warning months ago, plus argentina's economy is... really bad right now. food prices rise every day, public transportation prices went up like a 200% in a couple of weeks, salaries are low and stuck there, subsidies are gone, the local peso keeps falling, we have an absolute psychopath as a president who spends more time insulting or threatening anyone who oppose him than caring about people. it's a disaster. for updates on argentina in english, this person on twitter makes very good informative threads if you're interested.

anyway, i used to make around 30/40 dollars a month in redbubble, and that used to help adding up to the donations i got here, and it got suspended, so now i make like 1/2 dollars on teepublic monthly. so... it's a huge loss. there's a lot of things me and my mom are in charge of paying-- groceries, power and water and gas, medicine (she's diabetic, i have some sort of chronic sinusitis), our dog and cat's food and medicines, wifi, phone bills, public transportation, healthcare, my dad's new therapist... so, you know, i really need anything people can donate. even if it's just a single dollar, literally any amount helps. i love fashion so much and i love this blog, i work really hard on it even when my brain says no, and i really appreciate how much you guys love it too. i love seeing people discover new styles, new designers, new things to be inspired by. so, yeah... i'm never going anywhere, but i do need help to basically stay afloat.

as usual, my kofi link is this one: https://ko-fi.com/fashionrunways and my teepublic link is this one: https://www.teepublic.com/user/dinah-lance. thanks for being around and sharing and reblogging my posts, thanks for asking questions about fashion, and of course thanks for helping to the ones who can, and thanks to the ones who can't too, i know how that feels like, don't worry about it. love you 💖

[tittyinfinity]

"You're so lucky that you can get paid to sit at home and do nothing" is something I hear from family members & people online.

Okay, let's say you're not disabled at all. No health issues. You've somehow tricked the system into believing you're disabled (not possible).

Would you still trade your job and salary to live off of $600-800 a month?

Would you give up your house, your car, your hobbies, the ability to buy gifts for yourself & others, and ALL of your savings, just for the "great benefit" of sitting in bed all day?

Do you really think it's that great?

Now, add health issues to all of that.

Not only are you stuck at home, but your body hurts every time you try to move, lights and sounds can send you into a meltdown, you can't even make it to the bathroom without nearly passing out the entire way there. You're always too fatigued, too dizzy, or in too much pain to do basic activities. You can't cook for yourself more than once or twice a month. Fast food is expensive. You can't keep your place clean or even get yourself to shower regularly. You can't afford your hobbies – even just buying a video game is 10% of your income for the entire month. You don't get to buy yourself (or your kid/s) nice things. After paying bills, you have almost nothing left for necessities and gas. Your car breaks down? It costs 50%-200% of your monthly paycheck. You want new clothes? You got the thrift shop, clearance section at walmart, or ordering cheap things from horrible places like Temu, Shein, or Wish. You want a place to live? You won't be able to afford to live alone until you get approved for housing assistance after waiting 5 or more years on a waiting list. And either way, bills are gonna be more than half of your monthly paycheck.

Does all of that sound like a privilege?

And do you REALLY believe anyone would try to fake a disability for that?

Get mad at the system that underpays you, not at disabled people who are paid well below a sub-minimum wage just to "sit around" and feel like shit all day

[gallusrostromegalus]

Soul Society is top heavy when it comes to power. With rare exceptions (Ikkaku), the gap between captains and rank-and-file troops, let alone normal citizens, is astronomical. How does Soul Society handle the reiryoku classism problem in and out of the Rukongai? Do the lower seats think of themselves as cannon fodder? Are there any major political factions that try to tackle the issue (ethically or not)?

So the gotei-13 is actually kind of a solution to this problem on accident.

The thing is, as powerful as the captains are, there usually only about a dozen of them, and a maximum of 2600 shinigami total. They are VASTLY outnumbered by literally everyone else, and because they need drastically more food than others (everyone in soul society needs to eat, but shinigami are at a drastically higher calorie demand and risk of starvation), they are VERY dependent on the rest of society. Zaraki made a fair fist of being a roaming menace but even he had to bow to the economy and work jobs to eat.

Hence, there IS reiryoku discrimination but it's largely in the other direction- shinigami are extremely exploited as workers, and that's the GOOD job. Other psychics are frequently drafted, kidnapped, enslaved for imprisoned so the rich and politically powerful can exploit their abilities. Even if a captain class individual were to say, take out a whole clan in self-defense, the rest of society would come down on them like a hammer and kill them or let them starve.

Yamamoto didn't found the Gotei-13 all at once. Originally it was just him, Sasakibe, the 200 spiritually aware students in his dojo, and the dojo was there to train the postal workers how to defend themselves against people trying to kill them for the messages they were carrying, but secondarily so spiritually powerful people didn't get press-ganged into serving the noble houses.

The first organization for psychic souls Yamamoto ever made was a... Relatively Safe Haven. He was also up against a wall dealing with the noble houses and other political factions so he needed anyone who could push back to do so, so a psychic would be expected to serve in at least some capacity. But the souls under his care were free to marry who they chose if they wanted or have children or not, or travel if they felt safe doing so, and even to just be weird without major repercussions, which was a vast improvement over the way they'd be treated as livestock by the noble houses. Even 1000 years later, Byakuya had to fight his family to marry who he wanted. Imagine what a psychic born in a random village and no legal protections would be facing.

So everyone with even an ounce of spiritual capacity was joining the postal service for his protection. It was a boon to the non-psychic messengers too- not knowing if a random Mail carrier could set would-be attackers on fire with their mind made all carriers safer.

...and them the Quincy attacked.

Yamamoto was now even more up against a wall because while having a united front had been helping him it was now a problem-the Quincy were attacking psychics specifically, something that endangered his ENTIRE organization.

...so he hired every spiritually powerful person he could find, including thriteen real bastards directly off of death row and organized them into an army to fucking deal with Yhwach.

Once yhwach was gone though, he had an army. And a lot of nobles looking to exploit or destroy that army.

Fortunately, one of the real bastards he'd hired had fallen for his peculiar charms and become his wife, and what Lady Tsubaki lacked in battle prowess, she more than made up for in political shrewdness. Be magnanimous, she explained. Be generous and speak of peace in our lifetimes and extend the olive branch to those who harassed you for so long. They won't realize it's bait.

So with her help, Yamamoto proposed that his army become the COURT GUARD in charge of protecting the very real and definitely alive Soul King, as well as all the people of soul society from the hollows and other misfortunes that may befall them. Finally, *proper* employment for all those spare heirs and potentially dangerous village psychics, doing the noble work of protecting society.

Why, he even helped found the central 46, a council of sages and scholars and general brain trust to work on the greater problems of soul society (a problem later but at the time, a VAST improvement over the eternally warring clans), that Yamamoto himself would be beholden to, just to show how civic-minded he was.

And just to finally, fully bury the hatchet- Yamamoto offered five of the captain's seats to the five remaining great noble houses, to be passed from scion to scion, ensuring each line would have a place in the direction of this army... Not realizing it was a trap to trick them into handing over any psychics they had, but also the high mortality rate of captains would kill scion after scion and gradually weaken the clans to the point of irrelevance.

And it WORKED.

By the time Ichigo turns up, the scion of the Shihouin clan is in exile with no plans of returning, the Shibas are reduced to a roaming band of pyromaniacs, the Tsunyashiro clan has been gone so long they don't even appear in the manga, and while the ISE and Kuchiki clans still both have representation within the captainacy... The Ise clan only has a brother-in-law and the Kuchiki are at a genetic dead end, and both those men are FAR more loyal to Yamamoto than their own clans.

Yamamoto has done what he set out to do- make a safe haven for the spiritually powerful to work the (not great but still best) protected jobs in the afterlife, destroyed his enemies the great noble houses, and largely wrested government control from them.

It's not perfect, but you can't fault the man for his accomplishment.

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Halloween prompts year 2 day 15

Hood remained silent, even as he clenched the gun tightly in his hand. He hadn't even seen a hint of green portals or blond elfs but 200 witnesses couldn't all be wrong.

All of them had stated that a white haired meta with a gas mask was working with a blond elf with a leaf mask and that they had been the ones kidnapping the kids and teens of Gotham.

Jason had heard stories of fairies snatching kids and infants, sometimes swapping them out with a sickly one of thier own. But there were no trades that Jason knew of. Only missing kids.

Hell, all of the biggest child gangs around Crime Alley and the Narrows were gone.

As in gone gone. Not a single member was left nor any trace of where they could have been taken to. As much as he hated to admit it, he might need to ask for help from the Justice League Dark...

---

Link stared down at the kids from his rooftop perch.

They looked...cleaner. Happier. They had gained a healthy amount of weight, no longer stick thin and weak looking. They had season appropriate clothing without holes and others hidden away in chests and armours for the coming seasons far off from now.

His spirit friend, Phantom, had panicked a bit after he realized what they were doing was trafficking, but calmed down once he pointed out that these kids would have a much better life in Hyrule than they would have had in the rotting trashpit that was Gotham.

If they would have lived much longer at all

Still, thier presence here was mutually beneficial. Hyrule had lost over 80% of its population in the Great Calamity and they were no where close to regaining the population they once had. All of thier forts, training areas, ect were specifically targeted and destroyed in the attacks and gardians and monsters were left in the ruins to ensure they could not rebuild what was lost

Which led to the bigger issues at hand. All the empty occupations.

The castle, and thus castle town, were ground zero for the disaster that wiped out the Hylian peoples. With it many businesses and trades were lost. Hyrule had few soldiers and those they did have desperately needed armor, weapons and training.

That wasn't all. Hudson construction had attempted to repair Castle town and eventually the castle, but they were wood workers, not stone masons. They knew little of the craft that was needed.

There were lessons and information in the castle archives covering most of the jobs and trades, as well as how to proform them, but the princess didn't see it as a priority. They didn't have the people necessary to teach these crafts and the castle and town surrounding wasn't really a priority anyway. Not with all the people who still needed help around the kingdom.

Phantom helped a lot too. Other than helping them build towns for the kids (the child gangs actually really liked having a town all to themselves) he did a lot of other random jobs around the kingdom, much like Link himself.

Unfortunately, his next trip to Gotham lead to a run in with the "Red Hood" and the phrase, "Was that a fucking fruit grenade?!" Link did not know what the word "Fucking" meant but the Hood man would not tell him. He is learning a lot of new words from this guy, words that Phantom appearently didn't like cause he loudly scolded Red Hood like a naughty child the first time they met. It was hilarious to see this tiny 15 year old tell off a giant tank of a man.

Link couldn't see the mans expression due to the odd red helm the man wore, but he could tell he was cowed, even if just a bit. Then he began speaking to someone who wasn't there while pressing his finger to the side of his helm where his ear should be. Is Red Hood ill? Does he have a mind sickness like the ones Phantom told him of when describing his parents? Or is this something Link doesn't yet understand...either way he doesn't think he's getting more children for Hyrules future in this trip...or anytime soon if those ominous masked people landing on the rooftops around them had any say in the matter.

[nmakii]

Omg ! I didn't think you'd actually respond !! We're gonna fly away from here is easily one of the best ones in the series!! It's so Twisted and disturbing but almost domestic... (Also tysm for including my name idea in your story, Idk where it came from, I just liked it and I appreciate you!) I digress. I've returned with a concept. Al almost always has a plan when he does something. I don't know where you want to go with the second child but this won't be too focused on that one...for now. I really liked how you interpreted Alastor being a weasel and weaseling his way back into the families life and was thinking about how many I wonder about if he has a plan right now, like not a long term one, obviously, but a very specific one for a 'short term'. Women back then, especially in the south weren't allowed to have bank accounts so finicial trapping works well in this case. Also just kinda the ability to turn their kids against her would be enough to terify me. People talk about the 1950's housewife, but oh my god, 1920's housewives were a new kind of depressed. I, personally, don't think Alastor is the type of physically abuse women. No, he's far too classy for that. Instead, like I said, I think he'd either use his status in their house to trap his wife. We were able to run away while we were pregnant and alone, but we have a child now...and would we be willing to leave our child with him? No, I don't think I would, personally. This was just me rambling. K, love u, currently hyperfixated on this au. Byeee !!!! _ Cherry Anon!

DON’T REALLY WANT NO TRUST FUND BABY

[before reading this, read the rest of the story!]

— seems as if alastor found out your little secret

— UR TOO SWEET I SC THIS ON MY IG STORY AND YAPPED TO MY BOY BSF FOR AN HOUR AB IT IM BLUSHING SO HARDDDD!! ABUSE WAS LIT MY LAST SOCIAL STUDIES LESSON FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR MY TCH YAPPED AB FINANCE SO HARD 🤭🤭

being married to alastor, the radio show host is quite the sensation in your town. but, behind the closed curtains, alastor did things that would’ve made lucifer shake in his boots.

no, he didn’t hit you. his mother would kill him if he hit his wife. but, just because alastor never hit you, didn’t mean he didn’t abuse you.

he tormented you in the worst way possible, through noah. and now, emilia.

it’s been 3 years. your little emilia lives up to her name, a cute little girl who’s eager to win. and, little noah is now a big boy, double digits and all.

and, since you’ve returned back to his house, alastor has done nothing but twist your babies’ minds. ‘once upon a time, mama wanted to run away from daddy… so, she ran away and took big brother with her. daddy was sooo worried for mama and big brother though… daddy was able to track mama down, and took her home!’ he cooed to your daughter, bouncing her in his arms— with you right beside him!

you wanted to yell; scream. of course, emilia was too young to understand what alastor was saying. but, still— the fact that he was trying to tell your children that he was some sort of white knight who saved you from yourself. you wanted nothing less, but to snap that neck of his like a twig.

you really shouldn’t act so brashly though. to outsmart alastor, you have to think like him. think of what’s smarter in long run.

alastor was ‘kind’ enough to give you an allowance. $200 every week for groceries and whatever you may need. he’s even so kind as to let you have some ‘private bonding’ with noah and emilia as they accompany you to the farmer’s market.

thankfully, you had a father who wanted to make his little girl survived even without a husband. and so, you had to hear all of his ramblings about finance. saving about 45% each week for 3 years… was about $14,000!

if you saved just a little more, you’d be semi-financially independent until you can get a proper job to take care of your children. it was run-away money, so to speak.

you hid the money in noah’s room. after all, who would expect money there? especially $14,000? and, it worked, for a while. every monday, while you tucked him into bed, you brought the money with you and hid it behind his dresser.

until, what had seemed like a normal tuesday. you came home from the tailor’s, getting back a dress that noah accidentally tore. when you came home, it was only two hours after noon. and despite that, alastor was home.

“a-alastor..! what are you doing home so early? you have a broadcast in 2 hours…” you narrowed your eyes at alastor, on the floor with your children, many new toys surrounding them. “ah, darling! i decided to pick up our children early, and we may have splurged on our little shopping spree…” he smugly grinned. “oh..? where’d you get the money?” you raised your eyebrow, closing the door and laying your bearings on the dining table.

“funniest story ever, my love! there was a random stash of money in noah’s room! seems as if the tooth fairy came early!” he laughed. random stash of money in noah’s room..? “oh. i see.” your breath stopped for a minute, thinking of what kind of consequences could come from it.

“do you have any idea how that money landed there?” he side-eyed you, expecting a lie. “perhaps it was from the old owners? you know this house, there’s so many secrets in here.” you said. “i see… i suppose you are right, darling!” he giggled.

you were back on square one. financially dependent on your husband, if you could even call him ‘husband’. as you climbed up the stairs, you heard alastor whisper to your son. “you see that? momma lied. she got less talkative when papa asked her a question.”

this is what alastor’s been teaching your son. as much as you want to protest, you did lie.

oh, how much you wished for much more simpler times. playing with your baby boy in the kitchen as you make little treats together for his snack at school. and now, the boy alastor’s turning him into— a cunning sociopath, the lord only knows what he will teach your daughter.

this is just a minor setback, it has to be.

[richiehugs]

Some of you might have been wondering what has happened to Giorgos and his updates.

On the one hand, I didn't have much free-time to organize. On the other hand, there was really nothing to give you an update about. But here is a little update with some more "successfull" screenshots.

So, he reached his peak of 95 kilos / 210 or so pounds in mid May. But, he was planning to do a trip to the monastery on the Athos Peninsula. He had the trip on the last days of May, walking for hours under the scarching Greek sun, with little food and no alcohol near. Looks like he rapidly lost 5 kilos / 10-12 pounds, reaching his "ideal" weight of 90 kilos / 200 pounds. The first four pictures are from early June, around this weight.

Then, he found himself a new job and passion - construction. That's right, he started to work at his father's housing company, building houses and apartements with his two hands. He also had to move to Athens, but he keeps visiting home back to his village on the Peloponnese. Pictures 5-6 are from this time, late June-early July. New environment, without mama's cooking, and the little time to eat made him lose another 5 kilos / 10 pounds, falling back to 85 kilos / 188-190 pounds. Then he vanished from socials (I thought he had a love affair, but he stayed single whatever happened).

The last four screens are rather recent (mid July). He seems to have accomodated to the new environment, seems to have figured things out, and I'm positive he got confident enough to "care about his body" some more. He is allegedly still 85 kilos, he looks kinda proud of his weight loss (he brags about him to anyone calling him fatty - 10 kilos in less than two month is still quite impressive - I'm afraid he gets too cocky about it and will keep up "dieting"), but he still won't give up on the belly.

To be honest, his ten kilo weight loss hardly shows. Of course, that belly would look a lot softer and a lot more like Giorgos, but he still has a lot of it. He has finally found himself a passion, and hopefully it's just a question of time till the late-night gyro-runs start to show. It's also the middle of the hottest summer ever recorded in Greece, and don't forget that he is a physical worker now - I actually find it surprising he didn't go lower than where he is now, and that he is still looking out of shape. Somehow his muscles don't seem to develop, maybe because of the inappropriate diet he is following.

And you know what this means? Instability. He has no balance. His body knows that it can't go lower and has to keep storing the amount of bodyfat he is having. And I'm counting on that as soon as summer is over, his hunger will grow (as people are bilogically installed to craving less energy during the summer and more in the winter). As we know him, he won't probably be able to hold himself back, especially during the holidays. You remember how he ballooned up to 95 kilos before Christmas? And he didn't even care.

Anyway, this might mean less updates until something interesting happens (e.g. no more constructions for a while / going back to a sedentary lifestyle, getting homemade meals, probably a girlfriend who can cook for him?). I still have some "material" to post if anyone is interested but it would take some time and patience to make it publishable.

[dinodanicus]

you can skip this wall of text its just about the scam this illustration was involved in.

This fairly ordinary illustration of two hands holding was involved in a very weird and convoluted scam. Last month I was commission to illustrate this image for invitations meant to go out for a supposed wedding anniversary coming up in March. The whole commission seemed odd to me I mainly draw dinosaurs and aliens. Not many people know I also draw people but the buyer who called himself Petterson Reid was offering to pay 300 up front and 200 after the work was finished. A nice offer for what was a very simple illustration. I took the job and sent him a very rough sketch of the hands to show him what the final image might look like. He liked the sketch and told me to finish the image after he sent the first payment I went ahead and finished the image that night. I held onto the picture to see if he would really send the 300 dollars first. The buyer wanted to send a check by mail which is weird but I thought he might have been a boomer who didn't understand how to use PayPal. His emails and text seemed like something my grandmother would write very proper and overly polite. I was fairly suspicious of him and waited to see if a check would actually be delivered. To my surprise a check did arrive a week later from Petterson Reid except it was for 2,790 dollars. knowing this was far too much money I asked him if it was a mistake. He said the extra money was for a PayPal invoice to the printers involved in the invitations. He wanted me to use the extra money on the check to pay the printers on his behalf. Again very weird but I chalked it up to an old person who didn't know how to pay online. I cashed the check the next day, since it was from an out of state bank they were putting it on hold for 3 days to see if the funds would clear. I told the buyer about the three day waiting period and asked for the invoice I was suppose to be paying and he went absolutely ape shit. He claimed I was trying to steal his money and was threatening to pursue legal action I was completely shocked by the change in attitude. I had to mute my phone because he kept sending wave after wave of threatening texts. At this point I was 90% sure this was some sort of scam but when I called the bank they said there was nothing to do until the hold expired. I was confident it wouldn't then to my surprise the check cleared and the money was in my account. At this point I had the finished artwork and the money so I wanted to get this crazy asshole on his way so I wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. I told him to send the invoice for the printer and I would pay it with the money on the check then I would send the picture and our business would be done. This prick sends some half assed looking invoice with a payable link on PayPal. When I try to pay, it says payment will be held till Feb 7th. Apparently this date is too late for the printers so now that processing payment has been canceled by the printer in favor of a new payment process through Zelle. I was trying to figure out what was going on, if its a scam what is the take the entirety of the check was still in my account it didn't even say it was pending. I go to pay on Zelle and discover the 2,790 dollars has been rescinded by the bank. I call and learn this ass hair had sent a forged check to the bank in an effort to have me pay these fake invoices with my own money. He guessed the bank would deposit the check without fully vetting it for the standard 10 days since I'm a long time member. He knew he had until about five a clock that day before the bank would catch the discrepancy. He was posing as the printer in order to scam 4,740 dollars from me through both attempted payment methods. luckily for me I'm broke as hell right now and didn't have the money in my own account to cover either payment with out the check. everything has been taken care of now I just thought I better share this story since I've never seen a scam like this before. It took an entire month for him to essentially get nothing I really don't know what to think of any of this its such a weird scheme.

[yandereforme]

Yan Batfam x Singer! Single mom! Martha lookalike! Reader

( I know it’s a lot but they are all important to the plot)

Part 1:Beginnings and first encounters

You are Bruce’s bio daughter. Your mom, who didn’t know who the father of her kid was, gave you up to your aunt to be raised by them, but you didn’t know until your adoptive parent’s funeral that you weren’t their biological daughter. You had twins recently with a shitty ex of yours who you broke up with not long before the funeral after he tried to hurt your daughter for crying.

After the funeral, where you learn that your bio mom wasn’t sure who your bio dad was, but that she knew he lived in Gotham, you decide to move to Gotham. In part due to your biological father, in part due to avoiding your ex(who had refused to be listed on the birth certificate since you gave birth during a break in your relationship), and in part due to the basically free house your bio mom had owned in Gotham. So, you moved with the twins to an abandoned, slightly dilapidated house just outside of Crime Alley, and got yourself to work.

You got a job at the Ice berg Lounge, in part due to there being an opening, and in part due to you helping two women who worked there who apparently worked right under Mr. Cobblepot?

You quickly got a reputation as a singer with a knack for knowing just what song fit a customer. It was a bit of a game between you and the other workers, where they would point out a person and you would sing a song based on their vibes. You always managed your hit home with your songs, leading to you becoming one of the most popular performers at the Iceberg Lounge.

That’s what leads to Red Hood coming in one night. He had heard about you from a few of his men, and wanted to know what all the hype was about.(This take place after the Red Hood arc, where he has already been established as a crime boss and the Batfamily know his identity, but he hasn’t made up with any of them)

Cobblepot asked you to sing a song for Red, and pointed him out to you. You knew who he was, you were just outside his area, and honestly you kind of liked what he was doing for the community, so you were willing to preform, even offering to sing two songs about him(something you had only done a few times with regulars who you really liked.

Jason accepted. You started off with You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid by The Offspring. You didn’t usually do a lot of rock songs, but that song resonated with you when you looked at him.(Jason loved the song. It was angry but fighting music, and your voice was really good. He understood why so many of his men praised your music(he just couldn’t understand why you looked so familiar))

The next song was different. You didn’t usually sing two songs, and the few times you did, people tended to vary reactions, from shock to anger to accidentally setting off a break down. But you had promised. You just hoped Red Hood wouldn’t hate you for the next song(you didn’t understand why it felt so right to sing the next song, when it didn’t seem like a Red Hood song, but you didn’t want to question it now.)

Then, you sang Good for you by Olivia Rodrigo, and everyone froze. (Jason didn’t know how you knew this anger of his. How did you know how he felt about Bruce replacing him? How did you know?) No one understood the song, especially when the recipient was a murderous crime boss, but they didn’t interrupt.

After you finished the song, you looked at Red Hood. He was sitting ramrod straight. You couldn’t see his face, but his posture was very tense. Slowly, he stood up, and walked to the stage. You didn’t know what you expected, but it wasn’t for him to drop $200 in your tip jar, and leave without a word.(Jason’s head was spinning. The green wasn’t invading, but it surrounded the edges of his vision. He needed to leave. He had to come back again, probably as a civilian, but for now, he needed to leave.)

After that, you got even more visitors, and a raise in your salary. You even made a new friend, Jason, and you were even starting to consider sending your kids to daycare instead of a baby sitter(you wouldn’t do that. You liked your arrangement with the street kids, where you would pay them in food and cash to watch your kids during the day. You liked taking care of them, but they needed to feel like they were doing stuff for you, so you didn’t make a fuss.)

Then, the Joker got out of Arkham.

Edit: I hope you guys enjoy this. This will probably be a series. I’ve had this idea for ages but never got around to it before now. This isn’t related to my Bruce or Jason series, which I will do, but I just wanted to finally put the on here. Please comment any suggestions for the kids names, or what you want to see next!

[kiefbowl]

i made a string of really dumb financial decisions and now im in debt that might take me years to pay off, do you have any words of wisdom for me queen. like that feels bad. how do i even save up. imagine flushing a pile of money down the toilet thats what this debt it

I know how that feels, believe me. A lot of people do. I'm feeling the pain of my 9 month school loans, and credit cards I had already paid off back "on" again (one in particular is pretty high...whooooops).

Don't lose your cool, I have a couple of flexible suggestions that you take, use, and modify to your specifics:

Tithe yourself - if your job does direct deposit (which most do!), you can direct deposit your money into multiple accounts. Get it set up so your paycheck goes 90% into your checking account, 10% into your savings account so that you're not even thinking about it. You might feel the squeeze for a little bit but you'll acclimate to that "missing" 10% sooner than you think.

Ask for a raise - if you're working, ask for a raise. If you're new, or maybe not that "great", or they're penny-pinchers, or you're just nervous to ask, don't even worry about it. Ask for 3% - this is low, and most jobs will give it to you just for the convenience of getting you to stop bothering them about it (if they can't afford 3%, run run run). For context, if you make $10 an hour, a 3% raise only gives you $12.00 more each week. It's really not much, but not nothing! If you're NOT worried about asking a raise, go all in! Ask for 10%, maybe even 15%. Flex some negotiation skills. Maybe you'll walkaway with 7%, but every penny counts.

Get yourself on auto payments [at the smallest amounts you can] - if you've got credit cards, log in right now and get yourself on auto payments for the smallest amount. If you've got student loans, do the same thing. If you've got utility bills, get them on auto pay. These things take 3 minutes to set up, and there are phone numbers to call if you can't figure it out. These companies WANT you to do this, they will help you get it done.

Work off the smallest amount you owe first [aggressively] - Let's say you have a $60 parking ticket, a credit card you owe $400 on, and three student loans that are currently at $6,000 & $7,000 & $10,000. Forget the student loans right now, you've got them on autopay for the smallest amount you can get away with. First, pay off that $60 parking ticket with your next pay check before it becomes a $200 ticket and a court appearance. Now you can focus on the paying off the $400 aggressively. Your minimum payments will still go off, but every time you get a paycheck, long on and pay an additional amount to the credit card (something you can manage and will also feel good to your brain - $50 feels good when you're thinking of your debit in hundreds for example). Once you've got that paid off, now you can aggressively pay off your $6,000. Don't worry about the other two. Just focus on the smallest amount you owe. Each paycheck, payoff a chunk of your smallest debt. It'll get exciting after awhile, like yes I get paid I can make that credit card even smaller. Gamify it, whatever.

Stop worrying about how long it will all take - Only worry about the smallest amount of debt you owe and how (reasonably) fast you can get that paid off. That $400 credit card, if you can spare $100 each pay check - that's only 4 paychecks. That's not too long, right? That's the way to think of time and debt: how much can you spare each paycheck to pay off your lowest debt.

Ask for help - do not punish yourself by lying to your parents and friends. Tell your friends you can't do fancy dinners because you are paying off debt and can't afford it. Real friends will bring over a pizza to hang with you. Your parents might be willing to send you a check without you asking for it. Don't feel guilty about monetary gifts, just take it. Go to a bank and talk about their consolidation options. Bring a third party so you aren't dazzled by sales pitches. Consolidation loans aren't objectively good or bad, they can be a life saver if they have the right terms that work for you. Don't think it's over your head! Ask as many questions until you understand all your options.

Buy smart, stop suffering - this really should be like 4 different bullet points, but I'm going to be as concise as possible: you'll never get out of debt if you spend your money without purpose, and you'll never get out under the yoke of anxiety that you fucked up if you just squirrel your money away in fear. A lot of people will give you advice that you need to put yourself on a tight, punishing budget. Maybe, but I think those are doomed to fail for most people. And now you feel twice as bad. Don't do that to yourself. Learning the value of $10 is important. So it learning the value of $100, or $1,000. And the best way to learn is to practice buying and using your money - there's a cheap $1,000 and an expensive $10, and you have to learn how much value you are getting out of these amounts for these purchases. If you punish yourself all week, and then allow yourself a "little treat" on Sunday - that doesn't feel worthwhile to me. Those little treats will grow every day. Soon you're stopping at Starbucks every day for "just $10" and your Sunday treat has become a weekly blow out brunch with friends and then week to week you're scrounging to eat Top Ramen and lamenting your dreams are dying. Instead, save money by spending money on things worthwhile that make you budget for them. Go sign up for those yoga classes you want, go sign up for those guitar lessons you want, go sign up for those art lessons you want, whatever it is. Whatever brings value to your life. Your $70 a week yoga membership can now be valued against your $70 week at Starbucks, and as your pockets pinch one hopes you'll choose the yoga over the Starbucks because one hopes that the yoga is serving you better. Or maybe yoga is ass and you want to spend it on Starbucks, at least now you know. Though I recommend your local coffee shop, as Starbucks is a union busting piece of shit corporation :)

[lesbiansforastarion]

A Silly Plan to Begin With

Astarion x gn tav

Summary: Everyone at camp rests for the night but Astarion's left to reflect on his new found affection.

Now he knows he's lost it. It was just a simple touch. Your fingers brushed the slightest bit walking during their journey that day. Nothing more than the fleeting feeling of skin on the back of his hand and now he's left lying here awake thinking about it. It was so silly, how many people had he been with? How much flesh has he felt in his 200 years in much darker ways just to have such an innocent gesture send him swooning like a damned school boy. This was not how things were supposed to go. You were supposed to be lying awake with thoughts of him. You were supposed to be swooning for him. You were supposed to be bending over backwards for him, awaiting his every command, pinning for just a hint of his approval. And here he was.

He felt like a lovesick teenager.

He felt like a dog.

He'd hated the term puppy love but what else was there to call it when he clung to your every word. When he'd follow you around mindlessly like a second shadow. When he pouted and moped at camp when you told him to stay. He did stay as you told him after all. He was no better than Scratch, except he never got the delightful petting that the damned mut did. He definitely couldn't say he was better when he decided that the best use of his time was to lay about your belongings like your scent would somehow bring you back sooner. He'd sit there and mend your clothing and tidy your space for your return, hoping somewhat wistfully that you might notice his work, maybe even praise him for his usefulness and skill. Perhaps he'd even get an enchanting smile made just for him. Maybe one of those compliments he'd been craving so much. A brush of lips. You'd might even hold his face again-

His back shot straight up from his bed roll. This had to stop. All these stupid thoughts and scenarios in his head had to stop. These were not trance thoughts, these weren't restful thoughts. These were lying awake anxiously longing thoughts. They were dangerous. He couldn't afford to get lost in such silly fantasies, that was supposed to be your job after all, not his. He was holding his face between his knees now trying to calm the phantom heart rate in his chest. His hand ruffling the hair out of his face. It should have been yours-

That thought sent him straight up, now standing completely and startled at the mere notion that he would want something so earnestly. He should leave, maybe not forever but at the very least hunt. Take his mind off of his apparent favorite companion, gain some clarity before these rising feelings decide to take hold of his mind. He was ready to stock off into the woods and murder something until he felt better but he'd noticed a dim light still in your tent, and he'd be damned if he wasn't curious. You weren't a creature of the night nor someone who could live without sleep so you being up at such an hour was odd, troubling even, if he were willing to admit to being worried for you. He found himself walking to your tent automatically without question, just the thought that he would be in your presence was enough to make him drop any violent thoughts he had about the woodland creatures.

There was a faint knock on the front post holding your tent up, not wanting to make too much noise in case you'd just forgotten to blow out a candle. But of course that wasn't the case, you were awake and fiddling with one of the many trinkets from the day's journey before you came and lifted one of the flaps to welcome him in. He already felt the tension leave him once his nose filled with your surrounding scent. He wondered if that was what made his own tent so uninviting recently, it smelled nothing like you. Save that tunic he’d found abandoned weeks ago, but the scent has faded so much after just the first night he slept with it that there was almost no point in hoarding it, except the mere embarrassment that would come with returning it.

“You okay?” Shit, they're speaking.

“Sorry, what was that darling?” Embarrassment was flooding him now even at just being caught gawking at you in your entranceway. He couldn't imagine how mortified he'd be if you ever discovered the tunic.

You gave a small chuckle and was cheery as always with your reply “Well I said ‘fancy meeting you here, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?’ and then you got all spacy on me so I asked if you were doing okay.” You tilted your head “Are you okay? You've been a little out of it since the hike this morning. Something bugging you?”

“Oh yes! I'm fine my dear. Nothing serious I assure you.” He spoke too quickly and he could barely hold eye contact with you while he fiddled with his hands. He wasn't used to feeling so nervous and insecure around people but you just seemed to bring this shyness out of him. He was definitely taking too long to answer your question for him to come across as any form of smooth or suave. “Might I- Could I- You…you know I was just wondering if…”

You moved closer and rested your hand on his arm in an attempt to comfort him a little. If he was having trouble concentrating on speech before he definitely was now that your warm flesh was touching him again. He cleared his throat, folding his arms neatly in an attempt to regain order on his person. “Well my sweet, I couldn't help but notice that you still had a light on at such a dreadful hour. Just wanted to check in on you, make sure you were doing alright or if there was a stray candle needing blowing out. That's all.”

You let out a small giggle at his clear excuse and leaned in more comfortably towards the man stood before you. “Well we all know how important fire safety is to you.” If he didn't know any better he'd say you were flirting with him now.

He'd gasped dramatically, clutching his non-existent pears “Why of course I am dear! I mean think of all the little snacks running around in the woods, positively flammable. Gods, what might Halsin say if he found out?”

You played along with his antics so well. You swooned into his arms with a distressed hand to your forehead “My goodness you're right! What ever shall I do if word were to get out?”

“He'd surely alert the grove.”

“The clerics”

“We'd never be allowed at camp again” 

“Tarnish the thought”

With each of your comments you'd both drawn impossibly closer. Leaning more and more against each other with your joking distress while you made lighthearted jabs at the druid. Just the two of you stifling laughter in each other's arms with a special warmth brewing in Astarion’s body that only you could be the cause of. He loves being like this with you. He loved the freedom he felt to be silly with you with no need for any sensual act. He loved more than anything that he could make you laugh like this. Like you've always been so comfortable with each other. It sparked hope in his heart that he knew would only add to the senseless daydreams that plagued him. If he could make you happy like this in such a fleeting moment, what would an eternity in your smile feel like? If instead of taking absolute power he chose to submit to your warmth instead. Devoting the rest of his eternity into making you as happy as someone as wretched as him could. He honestly was already confused by your fondness for him as it was but if he could, he'd love to kindle that with you. He'd never be worthy of your love but he craves to have the chance to try to prove a thousand times over that he could be deserving. Gods, he started this journey wanting you groveling at his feet in servitude and now here he was ready to do just the same, all to get you to look at him. Really it was a silly plan to begin with. Honestly, how was he supposed to not fall for you. You're you. And you're looking at him so fondly now that the laughter had died down and you're left both just holding each other with giddy smiles.

“Might I stay for a little while” he broke the comfortable silence. You were looking at him through your eyelashes, absentmindedly stroking his arm in that wondrous way you always did when trying to sooth him. He'd never asked to stay before. Even when he'd fed he'd leave after a while, trying to assure himself that it was only to let your need for him fester in his absence and surely had nothing to do with the fear that his own might if he stayed too long. But he's sure that he's beyond the point of no return now anyways. He was staying awake all night because he couldn't stop thinking of you and he'd definitely continue going restless if he didn't have you near him.

“Star, you could stay all night if you wanted” Your smile was all the reassurance he could ask for. Despite his flirty nature and affinity towards the casual pet name, something about you referring to him with one felt different. Even if it was just a little one, just a shortening of his name, it still made that bashful warmth bloom again. You were the only one that called him that as well, which made it even more special. He could almost be a little virgin with how all your innocent affection made him feel. That look in your eyes definitely wasn't helping. If you let him he would stand in that entrance forever getting lost in that loving gaze.

You seemed to come to the same realization that you two were just standing and staring in the opening of your tent. You pulled him in by the arm you were stroking earlier, giggling all the way while you pulled him down onto your bedroll. A complete disorganized mess of blankets and pillows that he couldn't care less about now that he's hearing such a happy sound from you again. He followed suit with you when he saw you getting nestled under the blankets. He squeezed in next to you and relished the warmth as he pulled you against his body. Rogue fingers finding purchase in the small of your back and another set stroking from your shoulder to your arm. This could be quite nice for eternity. You seemed to be not quite as comfortable yet as you shifted. He couldn't help his grip when it felt too closely like you were leaving. But of course you weren't. Instead you were shimmying up the pile of pillows before pulling his body over yours. Using a gentle hand to guide his head to your chest while a second stroked the skin of his back under his shirt. He moved both hands to circle tightly around your waist as you shifted the two of you. If anything this was better than before. Having such a delicate touch against him for a change was a pleasantry that had been so rare for him in his life. The small brush of fingers through his scalp, coupled with the slight circles you were drawing on his skin, he really was jealous of the dog if this is what it felt like to be petted and praised by you. 

A possessive thought crossed his mind as he inhaled your scents mixing together in your small space. Your tent and you would smell of him by morning and his being would smell of yours. Not that the wizard or the blade of frontiers would ever notice the subtle claim over you with their lackluster senses, but the druid and the githyanki would see the meaning behind your muddled scents. Maybe it’d even be enough to keep Lae’zel from enjoying your ‘musk.’  But those two were far from what he wanted his final thoughts to be before he goes into trance. That honor should only be to you and this made up happily ending he keeps longing for after all this mess is over.

His plan had definitely failed now, there's no return from his new acceptance. He still wants you to want him. He still needs you to want him, he supposed. Except now it's not for a vengeance plot, now it's for something much different. A completely new plan his mind couldn't shut up about.

[regal-bones]

REGAL BONES COMMISSION SHEET

ANIMATED MAGIC ITEMS: £100

Non animated, non coloured, and non shaded versions are available for a cheaper price! All payments through paypal. Items with moving parts (like the butterfly knife) may cost more as they can be more technically challenging. If you are planning on using your commission for a commercial use, there is a +50% commercial fee You can DM me here or on Twitter if you’d like to get in contact about a commission!

WAITING TIMES (PLEASE READ)

Thanks to the amazing support of my Patrons, I no longer need to do commissions to sustain myself for bare essentials like rent and food. But that means that I am now only working on commission work if I need extra money. This means that waiting times can be very long, and should be considered indefinite! Even when I was working on commissions as my full time job, waiting times were up to 11 months long! This is now going to increase, and if you aren’t already on the waiting list please factor a wait of at least 2 years. This kinda sucks, but as an artist I don’t really want to be working on commissions forever and being able to spend more time on my own work is very fulfilling! My commissions work on a waitlist system. Moving forward, if I am in a position where I need to work on commissions I will work slowly through my waiting list. If I message you and you are no longer financially in a place to work get something like this done, no stress! I’ll keep your spot at the top and anytime you have the money I can fit you into my schedule and get to work :)

If you are a patron of mine, please let me know when you are placing your order! As a patron you’ll skip half the waiting list ❤️

As of today (04/10/2023), my waiting list is 35 slots long!

That being said, I can be motivated with money! If you want your item here and now, I offer priority slots for £200 where I will drop everything and work on your item! I know that is a high price, but as mentioned I am very busy with my own projects! I am always focusing on making money so that I can make art - not the other way around. I only hold 3 priority slots at a time.

I also draw stuff besides magic items! Characters, creatures, environment work - check out my archive if that interests you! These prices can be negotiable depending on the project, but anything that isn’t an item starts pricing at £250

Thank you so much! This is a huge change in how my commissions work, and this level of creative freedom wouldn’t be possible without support from people who like my art, and especially my patrons! (You guys rock!!!) I hope you have a lovely day, and let’s make some fun stuff together

[lordelmelloi2]

we need help again...

I hate hate hate hate to make this post but we could really use some help. Mostly because I am uninsured until my job opens enrollment for its health insurance in June and on the eve of us signing the apartment lease tomorrow, I have contracted strep throat from my coworkers. Hooray!

I'm gonna try and get an appointment at the community health center doctor's tomorrow because I straight up don't have the money or time to go to the CVS minuteclinic across the street. They said it was $139 for a strep appointment without insurance, I said hell no... If I wait another day I can try and get a sliding scale $40 appt at the doctors. Right now is just stressful because we need money and because they didn't give us our security deposit back I'm not going to have enough money for my bills the beginning of the month. Plus there are literally THREE prescriptions I have asides from however much a Z pack will likely cost and one of them is an ointment from a compound pharmacy that I don't have money to pay for~!!!! 😭😭😭

Asides from that I am afraid that we miscalculated how much we have for rent for May so I'm trying to see about covering those costs so we aren't paying 3 days late into the month of May for our May rent first month. I really don't want to have a bad first impression with these people. They've been very kind to us so far with renting this new place but I don't want to push the limits.

I've already asked my dad for help but he wasn't able to spare enough for us to be totally covered + he needs me to pay him back by August. During the month of April I also applied to multiple credit unions for personal loans and got rejected...

So my total expenses are:

- Medication/Doctor's visit (including pre-existing prescriptions that I haven't had the money to pick up) ($160)

- Phone bill ($75 for this first month, should be going down next month as verizon charges my account with different coding)

- costs for rent/move (like hopefully $200 idk. I think we can swing the last hundred)

In addition: Because of my history of struggling with commissions due to my psychiatric disability, I don't really want to do this but if you donate a sum above $100 you can ask me to digitally paint something for you. Please no complicated requests or anything since I've been struggling with art for years now from depression/anxiety etc. but I would feel indebted to you if I didn't do anything. If this is something you'd like please DM me/send me an ask off anon.

* As for why we have been so financially fucked this month. Our current apartment complex (yes the one with the leaks, roaches, harmful construction noises etc.) has kept our security deposit which has us out $300 that we could've used towards the new place. They have fucked us over one last time.

My paypal as always is at: paypal.me/roseod

And please share if you can. Every reblog/donation of even a small amount is appreciated. Thank you all so much for supporting me.

[amica-aenigmata-naboo]

Shrink

Astarion x Y/N - Drabble - 800 WC

Masterlist

Warnings: I AM NOT A THERAPIST TAKE EVERYTHING I HAVE TO SAY WITH A GRAIN OF FUCKING SALT, therapy, trauma, analysis, isekai, flufffffffffffffffff

------------------------------

“What did you say your job was?” Astarion asked as he looked at you from across the tent.

“I’m a therapist… or I was at least.” you smiled at him and shrugged. 

“And what exactly do you do?” he asked, looking up from his book.

 “I listen to people tell me about their lives and help them navigate their feelings and/or trauma, learn coping skills… all sorts of stuff.” you said as you played with sparks between your fingers, entertaining yourself.

“So you listen to people whinge?” he said, raising an eyebrow at you, an unimpressed look on his face. 

“Not exactly. People certainly did complain to me about stuff, but the point of therapy is to heal.” you said, smiling softly at him. 

“And you think people can do all that through talking?” he asked.

“Absolutely. Talking is how you get everything out. Action comes second.” you nodded at him. 

“So what can you tell me about me, mighty therapist?” you could see the mischievous glint in his eye but you also saw a genuine, almost nervous look. 

“You really want me to “shrink” you?” you asked him, letting the sparks dissipate from your hands, scooching closer to him. 

He nodded at you with a small smirk.

“Alright… well… you are a deeply mistrusting person, you see everyone around you as a threat, and I think deep down you are scared and in pain and just want to be loved and cherished and protected. I won’t try to completely define you or your experiences because I have only scratched the surface of 200 years of your life… but I look forward to being with you and helping you when you want me to.” you struggled to get your answer out, not wanting to overwhelm him or get too deep without properly analyzing him.

Astarion hummed at you, leaning in to kiss you. You kissed him back before leaning back, eyes wide. You looked at him with a bit of confusion, most people not exactly loving when they are mentally looked over at a moment's notice. You searched his eyes for any sign of discomfort, yet found none.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to offend in any way…” you said, quickly trying to cover yourself and your words. 

“Darling, if I didn’t want to hear it, I wouldn’t have asked.” he smiled at you, gently caressing your cheek.

You nodded, kissing his palm. “So… what do people usually tell you during therapy?” he asked, pulling you into him so you laid together. He played with your hair as you played with your sparks again.

“Whatever they want, it is a judgment free zone.” you shrugged.

“Everyone must be in therapy,” Astarion said “it sounds like something everyone could use.” 

You laughed rather loudly, Astarion looked down at you with confusion. “Sorry love… it’s just… not everyone believes therapy to be helpful. And for them it may not be, but a lot of people just don’t give it a chance.” you tried to explain. 

Astarion let out a hum, “Did you like your job?” 

You smiled “It was rewarding, but also had its not so great moments… like every job I suppose.” 

“Did you work hard to become a therapist?” he asked, trying to gauge the schooling you received to do such a fascinating job.

“I went to university for eight years getting multiple different degrees and licenses so yeah… I worked pretty hard.” you chuckled, remembering all the blood, sweat, and tears that went into your life's work. 

Astarion stole a spark from your hand, making it dance between his fingers before it fizzled out. “Do you miss it?” he whispered. 

“I have a new job now.” you said quickly.

“What's that?” Astarion asked as he continued to steal your sparks.

“Adventure! Slay enemies, eat cake, love, lust, cry, celebrate…. All of it. And best of all, I get to be with you while I do it. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” you said as you leaned up and kissed him, wiping out any and all negativity in Astarion. 

He kissed you back, “Well… Let’s hope you have time for your favorite patient from time to time.” he smiled, leaning his forehead against yours. 

You smiled, “For you? Hmmmmm, it’ll cost you…”

“Oh? Cost what?” He kissed your cheeks.

“A kiss.” you blushed.

“Just the one? Darling, don’t cheapen yourself.” he smirked before kissing you deeply, you were sure there were sparks circling your head because you felt dizzy when he pulled away. 

You pulled him back to your lips by his collar, “As many kisses as I want?” you questioned before kissing him softly.

“That’s a bit more economically sound, in my humble opinion.” he smiled before kissing you and pulling you on top of him. 

----------------------------

Naboo's Note:

This is such a dumpster fire of a fic. I work in mental health and idk this just came to me but I kinda fucking hate it so who knows how long this will be up. AGAIN - I am not a therapist or counselor so if my analysis of Astarion isn't to your liking please remember this came straight out of my sleep deprived dome at 3 AM after working a double. A little grace if you please. Thank you all for the likes, comments, reblogs, and requests. TTYLXOXO!!!!!!!