#i did like 95% of it in january

[reesycupmilkshake]

tomorrow. strong bad laugh compilation. hopefully. be thereeerere

[summerlinenss]

out of curiosity, if Max doesn’t release its metrics, then what metrics are you actually using to make these statements about the show’s popularity? what does “it’s currently in the 99.7th percentile of the comedy genre, meaning it’s in higher demand than 99.7% of all comedy series in the u.s.” even mean? How are you measuring what’s “in demand” - by who? Where? It’s bold to claim that this show was wildly popular (despite the fact that I never hear about it outside of tumblr, tho that’s a personal anecdote) but cancelled just for being queer, so I would be really interested to know where you’re getting all these numbers from. Thanks!

hey anon! first of all i am so sorry for the delayed response. i started typing something up and then i got distracted with something else and totally forgot about this in my drafts.

sure, i have no problem citing sources. i probably should’ve linked some in my original post, that’s absolutely fair.

this ended up way longer than i planned so bear with me, but a quick overview of what i’ll be going over:

1) what are the stats/where did they come from?

2) how is the show so popular?

3) was it really cancelled for being queer?

(also just a disclaimer that this will contain spoilers for the show)

1) first, the numbers

you’re right that hbo doesn’t release metrics to the public. in fact, ceo casey bloys tried to justify the cancellation to the hollywood reporter by saying “the numbers weren’t there,” despite refusing to say what exactly those numbers were or where they came from.

however, there are websites dedicated to researching/analyzing the data of different media. one of those is parrot analytics, who focus on industry insights like audience demand, competitive analysis, and content valuations. they’re trusted as a reliable source by forbes, the new york times, reuters, the wall street journal, and more.

this is what we can learn from them about our flag means death from a basic google search (note that all of this data is relevant to the last 30 days as of january 26 2024):

audience demand for our flag means death is now 33.6x greater than the average tv series in the united states. as explained in the “about demand distribution” section, this means it’s one of only 0.2% of all u.s. shows to fall in the “exceptional” performance range compared to the “average” demand benchmark of 64.1%.

the change in demand for ofmd in the u.s. has increased by 7.5% compared to the average tv series.

ofmd now actually ranks at the 99.8th percentile in the comedy genre in the u.s. i’m not a math person, but in basic terms, this is like a scale of measuring and comparing performances to create an average score. essentially, ofmd is performing at the very top of all comedy series in the u.s.

ofmd has 100% home market travelability. as it says above, the market of origin is always 100%, so in fairness i included the graph of international markets for comparison. some of these aren't super high, however (as explained by parrot analytics themselves) one of the key issues with the international market is accessibility to content, which has been an ongoing struggle for international fans. many people (i guess fittingly) have resorted to pirating ofmd because they don’t have access to max or affiliate streaming services in their country.

there are more stats i could have and wanted to go more in-depth into but it would make this even longer than it already is, so i’ll just leave some links you can check out if you’re interested and move on:

• comparison of ofmd's success to shows like ted lasso, euphoria, and peacemaker

• ofmd's placement as #1 most in-demand breakout series in the u.s. for 8 weeks

• ofmd's impressive 94% critics score and 95% audience score on rotten tomatoes

• how ofmd evolved from sleeper hit to a flagship series at max

• a list of ofmd's past and present award nominations/wins

• praise and recognition from news/entertainment sites: the atlantic (2022); the new york times (2023); tv guide (2023); vulture (2023); forbes (2023); the los angeles times (2022); vanity fair (2023)

2) so why haven’t you (or others) really heard of the show outside of tumblr despite all this success? likely because max did a terrible job marketing it.

ofmd first aired on hbo max (pre-merger before it was “max”) in march 2022. the entire season aired over one month, every thursday at 12am pst. season 2 followed a similar release schedule in october 2023.

season 1’s marketing was almost non-existent, pretty much relying on taika waititi’s name being attached. there was one teaser and one full-length trailer, as well as a few clips on youtube of taika and rhys darby answering pirate-themed trivia, all painting the show as a “silly pirate workplace/buddy comedy.” but hbo max didn’t put any real effort in because they didn’t care. david zaslav and the other higher-ups had no faith in the show and expected it to fail.

most people weren’t aware it was actually a romance due to the poor marketing, and although there were many romantically charged scenes between them, many were still wary to believe it wasn’t queerbaiting until ed & stede confessed their feelings and kissed.

showrunner david jenkins has said in interviews that he had no idea how deeply queerbaiting had hurt audiences and impacted their ability to trust what’s on screen without feeling like they’re being ridiculed, despite the fact that he was calling it a love story the whole time. it wasn’t until people realized they weren’t being queerbaited and that it was a funny, sincere show with a compelling plot that word-of-mouth began to spread. by the time the season 1 finale aired, there was a decent-sized fandom that continued to grow as it received more praise.

it was a fight to even get the show renewed for season 2, and david jenkins and the cast have majorly credited that renewal to the unexpected and massive fan response to the show, which basically forced hbo’s hand.

max didn’t bother trying to properly promote the series until season 2, when they begrudgingly accepted that it was one of their most profitable and successful shows. ofmd had huge billboards in times square, downtown los angeles, and on the side of hbo headquarters. they started accurately marketing the show as not just a workplace comedy at sea, but a heartfelt romcom. max began selling long-demanded merch (which became best sellers) and spent money on an FYC campaign.

i will emphasize, whether they liked it or not, they knew ofmd was their new moneymaker (especially with the recent end of succession, which was obviously a cash cow for hbo).

photo credit: @/bookishtheo

3) now if it was that successful, was it really cancelled just for being queer?

i mean, i can’t say that definitively. no one can. there are several potential factors at play that we may never know, and there have been a lot of rumours and speculation (many of which i don’t feel comfortable discussing in case they aren’t true) since the cancellation.

but do i believe the fact that it’s a queer romcom was one of those factors, especially since max has a history of cancelling and scrapping its most diverse projects? absolutely.

first and foremost, i can’t stress enough that this isn’t just a show with a few characters thrown in for token representation. ofmd is built on a diverse, intersectional cast and narratives, including:

• lgbtq+ representation: 5 main couples are explicitly queer (including mlm, wlw, nblm, and nblw relationships). multiple characters are implied to be poly, and there’s a polycule forming in season 2 that was hinted to be developed more in season 3. beyond relationships, it’s confirmed that (similarly to the way wwdits depicts all vampires as being pansexual) all of the pirates are somewhere on the queer spectrum.

• bipoc representation: the majority of the main cast are people of colour. this includes david fane, joel fry, leslie jones, samson kayo, vico ortiz, anapela polataivao, madeleine sami, samba schutte, ruibo qian, and taika waititi, as well as many guest actors (like rachel house, simone kessell, and maaka pohatu) and extras.

• disability representation: multiple characters have physical disabilities, most notably amputated/prosthetic limbs and visual impairment. a lot (actually most) of the characters also deal with mental health issues, particularly coping with severe trauma and suicidal ideation/behaviour.

• the show has been praised for addressing difficult and serious themes like toxic masculinity, colonialism, and self-discovery, all while still managing to be a witty comedy and not come across as “preachy.”

• the diversity also extends off-screen, with a team of directors, writers, and additional crew comprised of numerous bipoc, women, queer people, and trans/non-binary people.

my point isn’t just the quantity of representation, but the quality. they take great care and respect into every marginalized group depicted on-screen. the actors would often be consulted about their characters’ costumes, hair, tattoos, and the kind of language they use. it’s not a world where discrimination magically doesn’t exist, they just have zero tolerance for it. if a character does something homophobic or racist, you can guarantee they’ll quickly (and often violently) be punished.

so okay, sure, it’s got great representation. what does that have to do max cancelling it?

because they’ve been interfering with production from the start.

i already mentioned the marketing issues so i won’t get into that. it was also revealed in interviews with david jenkins after season 2 that hbo cut their budget by 40%, which is why they had to do everything they could to save money. this included letting go of some of the original cast (and even still having episodes where some of them don’t appear at all) and moving the entire production to AoNZ. the budget cuts also meant two less episodes, so they had to rush to fit an entire season’s worth of plot into eight half-hour long episodes.

but one of the biggest frustrations is hbo’s (alleged) censorship of the show. samba schutte revealed that the entire plot of episode 2x06 was completely different in the original script. before it was rewritten as “calypso’s birthday,” the episode took place during lucius & pete’s wedding and focused on the crew getting sick of the sexual tension between ed & stede and trying to get them to hook up (this aligned with lucius & pete getting engaged and ed & stede deciding to take things slow in the previous episode).

vico ortiz and writer jes tom have also commented that many scenes between jim, oluwande, and archie establishing them as a polycule were cut, including one of the three of them emerging from a bedroom in their underwear. jes has mentioned other elements of season 2 that had to be cut out or rewritten, like the implication of other poly dynamics between the crew and more sexually explicit scenarios and jokes.

considering that ofmd is an extremely sex-positive show that isn’t afraid to be raunchy or taboo, it’s clear that either higher-ups at hbo forced them to cut these things out or they had no choice but to cut them out due to tight budget/time restraints.

in addition to this, a recent article citing an “anonymous insider” has alleged that hbo was uncomfortable with and was unsure how to market the “shock violence” in the show (the same network that aired game of thrones), which david jenkins outright called out as being bullshit. ofmd is rated TV-MA and the posters and trailers all show the audience that it contains violent content. there is literally nothing more graphic in ofmd than any other pirate show — it’s probably a lot tamer than most of them, actually.

violence on the show is most frequently used in a comedic context, in the sense that it’s not meant to be seen as scary or taken seriously. the few instances of serious graphic imagery on the show are meant to invoke a mood shift, like ed’s transformation into the kraken or ned low’s murder. it should also be noted that some of the most graphic deaths are reserved for bigots, like ed snapping the neck of a colonizer who was ridiculing stede’s love letter.

it’s also most often used in a sexual context — not sexual violence, but violence as a sexual metaphor. more specifically the act of stabbing as a metaphor for penetration, as seen with both ed & stede and anne & mary. bearing all this in mind, it seems like the real issue here isn’t executives struggling to market explicit violence to a mainstream audience, but rather explicit gay content.

as much as we joke and affectionately call it the “gay pirate show,” ofmd has always been nothing more than an opportunity for rainbow capitalism for hbo (e.g. the fact that they waited three months to announce season 2 just so they could do it on the first day of pride month). like other cancelled queer media, ofmd was a way for hbo executives to show how “inclusive” and “accepting” they are when it was convenient (aka profitable) for them, but they never actually respected the show or us as a community.

it’s impossible to be certain of what the exact reasoning for cancellation was, especially when they won’t give us a clear answer themselves. and maybe it had nothing to do with ofmd being a queer romcom at all. maybe that’s all a horrible coincidence. but for hbo/max to axe a critically acclaimed and beautifully inclusive show that’s successful by every metric, with an extremely devoted fanbase, especially after casey bloys just had the nerve to ask “gay twitter” to hype up the gilded age? it doesn’t exactly put them in the best light regardless.

in summary, i’ll leave you with this editorial, which details how the campaign to save ofmd isn’t just about one show, but a fight to save the future of all queer art.

[fyeahcopyright]

Mickey art by @foxestacado; Magic Kingdom photo by @heidi8.

I took my first Copyright Law class in 1993; just after the term concluded, certain motion pictures had their copyrights restored because of NAFTA, but the copyright terms for things like the Marx Bros' Animal Crackers, and yes, the original Mickey Mouse cartoons including Steamboat Willie and Plane Crazy were supposed to expire by the early 2000s, free for use by anyone, for any purpose (other than trademark infringement).

As we all know, they did not; the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act stretched the term from 75 years to 95 years after first publication, keeping the public domain closed for 20 years -- but those 95 years expire at midnight on January 1, 2024 for Steamboat Willie -- as well as Virginia Woolf's Orlando, the picture book Millions of Cats, a few of my favorite songs from Burt Kalmar & Harry Ruby, and the first sound recording of "Yes! We Have No Bananas!"

What does this mean for creativity? It's unpredictable! Will there be more productions of Threepenny Opera? Stage musical versions of Animal Crackers -- or Marx Bros VR? More tiktoks and YouTube videos set to songs our great grandparents enjoyed, now that the sea shanty trend is over? Will there be horror movie versions of early Mickey cartoons, the way some indie filmmakers did a horror movie version of Winnie the Pooh when the first Milne book went into the public domain a few years ago? Will there be a sequel to that horror film featuring Tigger now that His Bounciness is entering the public domain? Will I do a video setting Mickey to "Mack the Knife"? Perhaps!

But I and everyone else needs to remember that Disney still holds trademark rights in Mickey Mouse -- the original version and the evolutions since -- so it'll be important to include a disclaimer or notice that any follow-on work based on things in the public domain is not owned, created or distributed by Disney or the other relevant brand-owner.

What will I be doing to mark the occasion? I'm planning on celebrating the public domain moment *at* Walt Disney World; I need to feel it in my soul; I expect fireworks, and absolutely no recognition from anyone other than me (and possibly my family who tolerate my ridiculousness on this) about the momentousness of the moment. I may livestream it.

I've been waiting for this moment for thirty years, and I can't believe I finally get to celebrate it this week! Creativity is magic, and it'll be fascinating to see what happens next!

[artofalassa]

Really love your art ❤️ the wings you draw looks amazing 👏 how does one draw them? 👀 do you use any references?

Oh my god, this ask is making the circle full fr. ;; Thank you SO MUCH, Anon!! I've had an enormous wing kink most of my life, but scared of drawing and avoiding them for uh.......... most of my life lol. So reading this means A LOT. TLDR - yes, use refs of all sorts of birds! use gradients! don't overdoit with brushstrokes! wings are paperthin!

In 2021 I said fck it and-- asked my partner, @lesoldatmort, who's a wing-master to teach me how to wings. And the answer was simple - use refs. I did! And it looked better than before. But. Uh.

Most of my wings looked like-- pillow sheets? Or. Pillows. Blankets. Puffy and thick. (Rafe from December, 2020)

So the biggest trouble for me personally (and for my partner, who was trying to knock it in my thick skull), was to get the wings as thin as possible. And use refs. And draw a lot of wings.

The biggest and best advice I got from my man, was to think of wings as of paper. Flat and thin. And use gradients for the sections instead of too many brushstrokes for each feather. Actually, save on the brushstrokes where you can.

January 2022 this was the best I could do. And that's after a LOT of interference from my partner, who kept nagging me to get rid of brushstrokes and add. more. gradients.

In June I decided I'm cracking the case. Gave up on trying to paint too much, because I prefer lineart 95% of the time anyway and drew the Howl piece. Still too many brushstrokes, but I used vulture photos as a reference for this one. Adoration is from this time as well. Used a pinned down bald eagle as a ref for Zack's wing.

In summer, I did some more random studies, kept looking at wings very closely. Looked at other artists drawing them. In September I was lucky enough to get cmed to draw safer Sephiroth. And that was probably the final moment I gave up on too many details and brushes and started stylizing the hell out of it. And using gradients. And lasso tool. As my partner's been telling me for almost two years at that point. Thin. Finally.

And then I just kept going. Simplifying the hell out of them............

And here we are. I have a problem. It's called a wink kink. And I'm loving it. <3

A few months ago, due to a gender crisis, lol, I even started using the name "Alas" along with Alassa. Which supposedly means "wing" in latin.

So... Thank you for coming to my ted talk and personal vent and rant. Sorry this got so long! However, seeing somebody asking me specifically about wings in my art... feels like reaching a finish line after years of whining. Thank you so much! ;; <3

[vs120shound]

SF is really just like the rest of life: There's the good; and there's the bad. We are sharing sad news . . . BUT the glass is half full! We lost a sensational YouTube page overnight but a replacement is planned!

SAYING 'GOODBYE' TO AN OLD FRIEND, 'HELLO' TO A REPLACEMENT SOON!

★ ★ ★ ★ | Four "Stars" | 🙁

From IG@bobby_a_smoking | ★★★★☆ (L)

Dual-Media 7-Pack Megapost!

NICE TIME FOR A DEBUT . . . SOME 15 YEARS LATER!

We lead our significant and depressing announcement with the debut ⏤ of course long overdue; is there any other kind? ⏤ of Jenni Watkins from Smoking-Models (U.K.). This video was posted on Social Media by an SF force, "Bobby A," under its IG handle Instagram@bobby_a_smoking. Hours ago, its wonderful and longterm YouTube page, "Bobby A Smoking Videos" met its demise; it was terminated, de-activated . . . swimming with the fishes alongside Luca Brazi (if you are familiar with the original Godfather movie)!

. . . well, it was arranged for Jenni to participate in six videos for James, the web-master/web producer for Smoking-Models (U.K.) and Elegant Smoking. This video was dated on September 14, 2009. But it was posted to IG@bobby_a_smoking on January 14, 2024. Jenni made three other videos for S-M and did two for ES, each of which was produced and released in 2009.

Here is what Bobby A. received via e-mail from YT administrators:

. . . and so on and so forth. Here is his note accompanying the post of his notification from YouTube on his IG account:

"Unfortunately, YouTube has made the decision to remove my channel from YouTube and I will be working on creating a new YouTube channel in the coming days and reposting video clips that I previously posted and I will post the link in my profile on here and then spread the the word to everyone. Many thanks."

Here is our post, a comment (followup) on Smoking Fetish Kingdom ⏤ where we read an announcement of the "Bobby A" termination late at night on January 13, 2024 ⏤ at 10:19 a.m. EST (011424):

"Thanks for posting, fetishaddict. Discovered myself last night after 2 a.m. EST. Talk about a terrible way to end a day of SF! Tamig's point is well taken but I must argue. This is arbitrary. Almost all of SF on the World Wide Webs ⏤ mainly on SFK, YouTube and my personal haven, tumblr ⏤ is copyright infringement. 95 percent of it, no? And what about everything off Instagram and other Social Media/Social Network platforms. Pirating makes "P" the middle initial in Smoking Fetish, invisible, I know but we are SPF . . . Smoking Pirating Fetish. The truth. Loved Bobby A's YouTube page. Great. Wonderful for Specialized Videos (that's defunct, that's copyright infringement? . . . don't have a legal background/training) and Random Snaps. Hope he resurfaces on YouTube. As of now, this is a horrifying, dreadful loss within the Greater SF World Community scene, or is it the Greater SPF World Community scene. We will all soldier on . . . what else can we do? Give up on our fix of SF (SPF!)?"

And now, the "cart" after "the horse" ⏤ the announcement on SFK from "fetishaddict" at 8:19 a.m. EST on January 14, 2024:

"Wow! This really sucks. Fantastic poster and excellent resource. Terrible day for the SF community!"

The "fetishaddict" post on SFK provided a link to an admiring rival on YouTube, "Fdtccnnbrow" from January 14, 2024 . . .

And for those who cannot open up and play the "Fdtccnnbrow" tribute video, this is what Fdtccnnbrow wrote about "Bobby A:"

"Bobby A, the greatest smoking Youtuber of all time, was banned today. If you go to his old channel link there's a reason listed. I dunno. "I was given a content strike when I uploaded Leah and Shalini [of Specialized Videos]. You can see like half of a side-boob in a scene with a bubble bath. I didn't think it was that bad, but Youtube came back like if you do that again you'll be banned. "I saw last night Bobby had some videos lined up for the regular Saturday drop. Nothing looked scandalous to me, but if you fuck up just a little bit and just two times you can get wiped out. "He had the best channel. He has way more unique Specialized videos than me [Fdtccnnbrow has plenty of SV content] and he shared them with all of us. He gave me Compilations 35 and 38 for nothing. I had never seen them uploaded anywhere since the site collapsed like 10 years ago and Bobby was like here you go. "He even had Leah from Specialized comment on a few of his videos. Those comments have been deleted into nothing, which means there is an actual legend you can tell about Bobby's channel. His channel is literally legendary."

Bobby A's Taste in SF Photographs! (Posted on to its Instagram Page)!

From Instagram@bobby_a_smoking . . .

IG@bobby_a_smoking's SF models, listed clockwise: Tammy of R.S.; Laura, our favorite SF model of all-time, of R.S.; Amber of USA Smokers (Arizona, U.S.A.) in the picture in which she is prettier than how she appears in all other photos of her; Maddie of the Frida & Maddie Show of R.S. fame; Kristi of USA Smokers; Skye of R.S. (Australia; self-de-activated)!

[muirmarie]

mcspirk month mYEAR planning post

idk if anyone likes these (these being planning posts), but here, it feels weird to have it tucked away in my notes when my BTHB and mcspirk bingo planning posts are on here, so. anywho. you know the drill: this is just me rambling, feel free to ignore!!

the bolded are those i still don't have a plan for <3 - as per my usual these are all tos unless otherwise noted

Day 1: Forced Proximity (“this isn’t a blessing,” mccoy hisses. “one day,” the king says, “you’ll see that is it.” - the one where spock and kirk cannot get more than an arm's length away from mccoy for 30 days w/o causing him debilitating pain)

Day 2: Touch-starved (spock and kirk cuddle mccoy out of touch starvation - this is like 75% done, I just need to finish it)

Day 3: Only One Bed (established mckirk to mcspirk. um. very nsfw. by far the most nsfw i’ve ever even considered writing lmao. currently sitting at almost 12k, probably will be around 15-17k all told. i don't even know how to describe this. kirk aggressively helping spock play gay chicken with mccoy until mccoy finally believes spock wants both of them, idk.)

Day 4: Hand Holding (maybe the one where spock & kirk slowly gaslight mccoy into holding hands with them - yes the tags are spones but i am very certain kirk would be very happy to gaslight mccoy into hand-holding as well)

Day 5: [hurt comfort or against a wall (no story planned)]

Day 6: Protective McCoy (no story planned)

Day 7: Hand Kink (the one where spock is cucked w/ hand sex lmao)

Day 8: Public Display of Affection (would you still love and/or employ me if i was a worm?)

Day 9: Spock is a Hopeless Romantic (the flirty spock one probably?)

Day 10: [Hands or a bonus (no story planned)]

Day 11: Fuck or Die (vulcan sex magic hanahaki, this is, like. I have elements of it, but it’s not nailed down yet quite how it works. it's a vulcan disease but naturally mccoy's the one who gets it.)

Day 12: Aliens Made them Do It (the plato’s stepchildren one - i've been poking at this one since. like. january lmao. it's maybe 30% done, but it's not gonna be super long, i'm just slow with it. it is. hm. not a fluffy story. the platonians decide that mccoy simply needs to learn to say yes to them. how helpful they have spock and kirk around to help underscore the point.)

Day 13: [time loop or sex in a three way body swap or a bonus (no story planned, BUT do I really wanna write another time loop fic and/or can I really handle writing another smut fic lmao. If I did do time loop tho it would be the one where Kirk refuses to leave the time loop until he can solve the no-win scenario, i just don’t know how that goes yet. The sex in a three way body swap would be the AOS mcspirkura one, probably. Or the tos spones to mcspirk one. idk idk.)]

Day 14: Tarsus IV (kirk: i always knew i’d die alone. this is....jim character study, i think? I do need to come up w/ a happy (or at least: not sad) ending for it tho. So I’m still Thinking about this one.)

Day 15: Fake Dating (the one where the royal is trying to marry mccoy in order to keep him, and spock and kirk independently decide to fake date him to save him. also sarek loves trashy romance books. background uhura/scotty.)

Day 16: Lost the Ability to Speak (bones and uhura signing in federation common sign language - yes that's vague but all i need is something to center around tbh)

Day 17: McCoy Hurt w/ Spock & Kirk Comfort (this is like 95% of what i write lmao but i don’t have a specific plot yet)

Day 18: [Jealous Bones OR Oral Fixation (no story planned but it it’s jealousy it’s not gonna be traditional jealousy, bc I’m generally not a fan of jealousy storylines (unless all parties are unaware that they’re jealous - those I find VERY funny)]

Day 19: [Kirk is Missing, Presumed Dead or a bonus - probably a bonus (no story planned)]

Day 20: Accidental Voyeurism (okay the one where mccoy wakes up and his arm is trapped underneath kirk’s head and spock’s holding that hand as he’s laying on top of kirk and making out with him. I will have to find a plot tho. a reason. a Reason. It’s not established spirk either)

Day 21: Bondage (heh established spirk discovering mccoy’s penchant for getting tied up and/or tying others up and then literally not able to shut up about their platonic friends private habits for like a solid three months. they only care platonically of course. you don’t need those other ppl to tie you up bones you’ve got us. this one’s about 10% started.)

Day 22: Mirrorverse (mirrorverse katra sharing, it’s a whole thing, this is out of my wheelhouse but i have some Ideas, but this one isn’t going to be anytime soon)

Day 23: [reunion or teasing or a bonus (no story planned) - *eta actually for teasing i could maybe do the one where spock conducts an "experiment" in a private lab where he has mccoy & kirk work on a project for him while he gets extremely handsy w/ them - he's doing a study ("study" - they're all aware this is just spock's ideal version of foreplay) about human arousal in a working environment, and they're supposed to not let him distract them*]

Day 24: Temporary Blindness (this is going to be such a long messy mccoy whump story tbh. orpheus and eurydice part two. before i can even really start it tho i have to decide on pov, because that….really affects things for this one. but i mostly know how the story goes. also not anytime soon tho, maybe not even this year)

Day 25: Praise Kink (i COULD go temporary awkward ability if i don’t want to write anything too sexy, but the planned version is, like, kirk blossoms like a bashful babe and spock is genuinely moved when it comes to praise, but mccoy turns bright red and wants them to stop? BUT they like so much the way he flushes and struggles to accept the praise that they ask him to be good for them because THEY like it, and so he’s absolutely mortified but still? allows it for them? and they of course like it because they want to make him accept it.)

Day 26: Expectations vs Reality (counseling fic! The one where spock and kirk are dating but still somehow drag mccoy to their relationship counseling.)

Day 27: Vacation Gone Awry (no story planned)

Day 28: Awkward Spock (checking for pulse over the liver instead of the wrist because he forgets where human hearts are when jim or leonard is hurt)

Day 29: Getting Interrupted (mcspirk sexy 3d chess - that’s right they’re interrupting mccoy’s WORK lmao)

Day 30: Desperate Measures (the enemy within one that’s 80% finished where kirk’s wolf and sheep sides both have to have sex w/ mccoy while spock melds with them both, all for very important science reasons - don’t worry about it.)

Day 31: Insecurity (*eta - mccoy gets out of a LDR and is bummed, and kirk tries to cheer him up by putting his name up for the underground "sexiest starfleet officer" bracket that scotty & uhura are running, to prove to mccoy that ppl find him attractive. unfortunately it turns out the crew finds him VERY attractive, kirk is having some jealously-related revelations, spock is gonna kill jim if he has to watch mccoy get asked out one more time, and mcco is yay close to having a nervous breakdown from being turned into a sex symbol*)

Bonus 1: nightmares (look this is fucked, just trust me this is a very messy thing and it is very fucked and i have to make all my maths fit together before i write it or it will feel too flimsy and fall apart, but. kirk's trapped in a nightmare by a parasite that bleeds into the waking world (there are reasons for it) that cause physical damage to mccoy. spock melds w/ kirk to try to change the dream. this has unexpected side effects. - this one WILL be written for mcspirk month i just don't know what day i'm replacing yet.)

Bonus 2: pet names (i think i might be able to fit the kiss me/fuck me fic into this prompt but i’m not 100% sure yet - aka the one where mccoy & kirk use “kiss me” as a SFW swear for “fuck me” and “don’t make me kiss you” as a SFW swear for “fuck you” and annoy everyone around them w/ this silly in joke until one time mccoy says “kiss me” w/o thinking to spock, and spock’s just. hmm. don’t mind if i do. and kirk thinks it’s so funny he starts kissing mccoy all the time as WELL. very pre-them even realizing they want a relationship (except for spock, spock has Plans, thank you). this will be written at SOME point, it depends if i need another bonus/if it fits the prompt enough.)

Other bonuses i’d consider if i need them, but no stories planned: blindfolds, misuse of the bond, uhura helps them out.

Other vague stories i have that i could rotate until they might fit a prompt: pacific rim au, space forgetties, [number]+1 of mccoy getting kissed awake/the +1 getting kissed to shut him up, spock going through the wringer re: mccoy getting hurt (that was written spones but could easily by mcspirk), empath era katra au, post-empath spock won't stop touching mccoy, katra transfer requires a kiss, this isn’t even all of them, it genuinely is absurd how many tag spirals i’ve written like this lmaoooo /sigh 

[pleasantboatpress]

Unconditional by @letteredlettered/lettered

title/page numbers: Goudy Trajan body text: Cardo

44,960 words | 372 pages

so this fic awakened something in me, hoo boy. I read so much fic in January and let me tell you, 95% of it was Star Trek. I'm feeling some type of way and that way is: very emotional. I did not realise I needed a character study of Spock's emotions and relationship with sexuality but I got it and I am very very grateful. when I got the notification that lettered had posted this one, I was like "oh I guess I'll try this" and then I sat there for 2 hours while I read the whole thing in one sitting. it was posted in June last year, and I have reread it 5 times since then. when I say that this fic is something special to me, it truly is. if you have any inkling whatsoever towards reading it, please do. as for the design, I wanted to keep it clean and classy, and I pulled elements from the fic to give it those design elements, like the colours of the discs used on the front, and the sequence of the colours for the endbands. Touch is a huge theme of the fic, and having the hand on the front was informed by the conversations I had with @a-gay-old-time about her lovely lovely hand designs on a lot of her fanbinds. ALL IN ALL: what a good fic, by a fantastic author.

[why-the-heck-not]

Hi! I've been a follower for some time now and I always see your posts about trying to be productive and consistent. I'm a student who's studying fully online, and because I'm only doing my thesis, I spend all my time to myself, it gets really lonely, and I feel somehow disconnected with the work and end up not doing it at all. Do you have any tips? Also, I really enjoy your updates!

Hii! I truly get you, I’ve been doing like 95% of my studies at home myself too. Got the same feelings, so I don’t rly have a solid solution, but libraries help a lot. There are other ppl there so it’s not so lonely, and less distractions and something abt going home around the same time other ppl are going home from their jobs makes me feel a lot more like I’m actually in this society/world etc.

Ideal would be to have like a routine of going to do ur studies somewhere and coming back home after u’ve done ur things for the day. (I don’t follow this but would love to and I think it would really help; did do that in january for like a week and it was nice & I felt like a real person (but then the winter got to me lol)).

Also other things that have helped a bit:

Leaving the apartment every day, no matter where or for how long. Just gotta get outside

Routines <3 a sleeping schedule <3 makes things feel a lot less like a mess. (especially a solid morning routine is very important I think)

Going to the gym in the morning (bc gets u out of the house for a decent amount of time first thing so then the threshold of leaving somewhere later on the day is smaller)

Purposely going in places when it’s the 5-6pm rush hours (mainly grocery store bc like where else would I go) even tho it sort of sucks. But I used to avoid those and then realized I’d been seeing like maybe max 10 ppl per week and felt insane, like in an apocalyptic movie sort of way. Just try to get urself to places where there’s other ppl lol (except a warning: friday & saturday evenings? Stay inside lmao, there’s only friendgroups etc. out, and that makes it feel very lonely (at least that’s my experience lol))

Podcasts and music and tvshows and books all the time lol drown out the lonely (not maybe the healthiest but better than a social media doom scroll bc that just makes it feel like u’re the only one living like this, and u’re not)

Walks !!! Walks make everything better always. Feel sad? Frustrated or confused about anything ?Not fully there? Walk it out !! (Also music/podcast during the walk and it’s super chill)

Caffeine bc dopamine & serotonin (nothing a cup of coffee wouldn’t solve)

Putting on actual clothes you could to public places with every morning, even if u aren’t planning on going anywhere rly anytime soon

Live in delusion; u’re not ”studying while feeling lonely”, you’re now the obsessed genius who has no time for anything/anyone else character trope

[daydream-cement]

Heavenly Aether Ch. 3

Miranda Hilmarson x Reader

Miranda is able to learn more about The Church of Mithras and comes to see the true depth of police corruption.

Thank you to @bri-sonat for being my beta buddy <3

TW: cults, suicide, death, corruption, brief descriptions of violence

February 6th, 2023

“Take a seat, please...” You pass the armchair placed before your desk, gesturing for the blonde to take a seat. 

Miranda quickly dropped into the chair, shifting to sit on the edge of the cushion. Her posture was pulled taut, and you could feel the energy radiating off of her. Little did you know that the constable was overflowing with pride, beyond excited for the potential of being a step closer to breaking the case. 

“Please tell me everything you know. Start wherever you would like.” Miranda rested her hands on her knees, earnestly leaning forward, trying to display her gratitude for you taking the time to talk with her. Rather than pulling out her notebook, Miranda was opting to take mental notes, wishing to be present in the moment with the information you had to offer. 

You settle down into your desk chair once more, releasing a small sigh, trying to shake the annoyance of still being in the office this late into the evening. Pausing for a moment, you are unsure of where to start, no one had ever wanted to hear the full story before. 

“Well... I’ve traced the roots of the church back to January of ‘95. At first, it just seemed to be an elite social group of sorts. One percenter’s, more specifically, the one percenter’s children. For the most part, the organization was quiet until that first mass death.” With the press of a button, you turned on your computer once again. As you wait for the computer to boot up, you lean back in your desk chair, mulling over even the most minute of details. “They were operating out of a commercial outlet in Tamarama. It’s hard to find all the documentation, but from what I could find, they would have been needing to pull in at least $50k a month to keep the lights on.”

Miranda’s mind was reeling from the very baseline information you offered her. As the future detective Miranda was, her mind was already attempting to connect the dots, “Who is leading it all? Must be someone elite from Tamarama, don’t you think?” 

“I know plenty about the church, but I don’t know who is leading it all. Whoever it is, they stay shrouded in the darkness. Even the few followers I’ve spoken to say they have never seen his face. My guess is the leader is independently wealthy, has a powerful parent, or is leaching from someone else... Could be a mix...” You gave a shrug, wishing you had more information on the hierarchy of it all. 

“Hmm...” The constable paused, visibly vexed by the lack of information you provided her with. Rather than dwelling on it, however, she chose to move onward, “What does the church worship? Is it connected to one of the larger global religions?” 

“It’s not my best journalism, but they keep a tight lid on their religious texts and documents. If I trace back the names and dates of the killings, it all leads back to the Cult of Mithras. It was a Roman mystery religion centered on the god Mithras with connections to astrology.” Your voice became hushed, nervous to admit the following pieces of evidence as you hadn’t revealed them to anyone prior, “From the members I interviewed, there seems to be an absurd amount of symbolism and Gods, but they use those components to justify harming their followers.”

“And what are those symbols and icons?” Miranda probed deeper, her hands shifting away from her knees so her elbows could rest on the edge of your desk. The constable was no doubtably enthralled by the case at hand, never had she worked on a case that was so undoubtedly messy. 

The question made you hold your breath, knowing the answer was longer and more arduous than Miranda anticipated. Turning your attention to your computer monitor, you swiftly log into the system, pull the flash drive from around your neck, and plug in the USB. If you were going to thoroughly answer her questions, you would need some of your own notes. 

With a few clicks, you found your notes, giving the constable a sympathetic glance before starting to go through the thorough research you had completed on each of the church’s iconography. From time to time, you would glance up at Miranda as you read off the document, and each time you did, she was completely engaged, eyes trained on your face. 

It took nearly a half hour to work through the belief system of the cult, all of which you found to be trivial information. In your personal opinion, the church seemed to adopt a surface-level complexity that was only motivated by greed at the end of the day. All of the rituals had a price to attend and a price to take part in, but if you opted out, there were consequences for not being as dedicated as your peers. 

You saved the most important God for last, knowing it was responsible for the more unethical and criminal portions of the case, “Moreover, they recognize an icon named Cautes which appears to be in connection with the Roman god Caelus and the Greek god Uranus. This is huge. Each of the dates of the mass deaths matches up with Uranus entering different zodiacs.”

Miranda’s brow furrowed, a wave of righteous anger overtaking her, “So we know when each of these is happening? How long have you known about the dates of the mass deaths?”

You made eye contact with the constable, the weariness and disappointment from the years of witnessing constant police corruption evident in your eyes, “I’ve known since the 90s. Nothing has been done so far.”

“No. No. That can’t be. This... this could have all been prevented?” From Miranda’s facial expressions, you felt as though she was going through the seven stages of grief. She was well aware of the systematic flaws built into the career she had chosen, but some cases of corruption were hard for the blonde to comprehend.

“Yeah.”

Miranda sat in silence for a long moment. She was searching her index of superintendents and leaders within the department that could be responsible for such an oversight. The name at the top of her list was her direct supervisor: Adrian Butler. 

You interrupted her thoughts with a question of your own, “How do you expect to solve this case when there is so much obvious police corruption?”

“I- I don’t know…”

The next few hours fly by and before you know it, the lights in the main office space turned on: the night janitors were in. It must be about 11 pm. 

Miranda had covered your office wall in sticky notes and taped notecards as it was her way of visualizing the case at hand. Now she sat before her creation, having turned her chair away from your desk towards the webbing expanse of clues. She was entirely slouched down into the chair, her butt was nearly off the seat and her arms were folded over her chest. Her face was scrunched up in an intense level of focus, and if you weren’t mistaken, she looked kinda… cute.

“We have a bit of a hierarchy created. Like you said, we have the head ‘guy’ or whatever, then we have these two public relations people, Marco and Penny Penfield, and the next level is temporary, you get that job and you die.” Miranda raised an arm, finger pointing out the different levels within the church, ending with the rotating group of five individuals that were akin to middle managers.

Miranda had pinned a list of names beneath the final level of the hierarchy. This list contained all of the people who have died, and one additional name: one of the current low-level functionaries that was fated to die in 30 days. 

Before the last grouping of church members had died, you had been able to interview one of them: Andrew Slosser. It was four days before November 6, 2018, and you had caught Andrew as he was walking to his car from the church. In his efforts to blow you off, he gave a blustering and angry spiel, inadvertently revealing the last name of the person who would be taking his place: Alexandra Terion. 

“We need to talk to her. We get her to talk to us about what’s happening and maybe we can figure out how to contact those two.” Miranda's hand was gesturing about to the different people, outlining a plan for herself. You glanced down at the constable’s face and saw how heavy her lids were; this was far later than she had stayed up in a long time. 

“Perhaps we should call it a night, constable?”

“Do you have time to talk more about this tomorrow? I’d like for my partner to hear some of this directly from you.” She sleepily turned her head, glancing up at you with the softest eyes. 

Your breath caught for a moment before you turned away, unsure of why the policewoman had made you feel warm and tingly inside. Turning your attention to the calendar on your desk, you had a couple of meetings in the morning and another in the early afternoon, “The earliest I can do is 3 pm.”

Without hesitation, Miranda nodded, confirming the meeting, “We will be there.”

You gathered your belongings once more and locked up your office, repeating the same steps as you had earlier that afternoon. Both you and Miranda made your way down to the first floor and out the front doors in relative silence. 

Miranda veered to the left when you continued straight, but she stopped in her tracks when she realized your cars were in opposite directions. She jogged back to your side, falling into stride with you, “Let me walk you to your car.”

“No, you really don’t ha-” You began to argue, but Miranda only cut you off.

“Please. I’d like to walk you to your car. I want to see you get home safe.” Miranda was adamant, showing no signs of wavering from your side as you led her toward the parking garage. 

You kept your face forward, hoping the constable couldn’t see your growing smile as you passed under the city street lights, “I- Okay...”

----

“Drop it!” Adrian ordered, his scowl growing deeper and angrier as Constable Hilmarson continued her aggressive offense of how they should put more resources into following the case of The Church of Mithras. 

Miranda was quick and uninhibited with her retort, the blonde’s face growing redder as she continued arguing, “Stop avoiding the question! Why are you preventing us from pursuing this?”

“I said drop it, Hilmarson!” Adrian stood from his desk, leaning in towards Miranda as an unconscious intimidation tactic. 

Miranda turned away from Adrian, pacing slightly as she raked a hand through her hair out of pure frustration. The constable’s voice was growing in volume, her rage was becoming more unbridled, “Adrian! You know this is-”

Detective Butler was only partially lying. He knew the case wasn’t to be pursued, but he had never been given a real reason for shelving the case (other than his career being at stake), “I don’t know anything, Miranda. Now drop it before I put you on desk duty for the next month.”

Miranda went silent, but her glare was louder than words could ever be. 

“Promise me you will drop this, Hilmarson.” Adrian was pleading with his ex, knowing trouble would only come if she were to pursue this. 

The constable hesitated for a moment. She hated lying to anyone, but this was an instance where her sense of righteous justice was far greater than her duty to her boss, “Yes. I’ll drop it.”

Adrian shook his head with a sigh, gesturing to his office door for Miranda to leave. The constable could be the most stubborn person in the world, not often dropping things when she was ordered to. Against his better judgment, Adrian trusted the blonde as she strode from his office.

Miranda moved past her desk and headed towards her usual spot out in the parking garage so she could smoke a cigarette and mull over the fact Adrian was obviously hiding something. 

Once Miranda was in the parking garage, she assumed her normal position, allowing her back to hit the wall before she slid down to sit on the concrete floor. She paused for a brief moment, listening to see if anyone had followed her or was lingering in the garage. When a soundless garage reverberated back to Miranda, she pulled out her phone and dialed your number.

When your phone buzzed and you glanced down to see Miranda’s contact (she had offered you her number as she stood outside your car), you moved a little too quickly to answer the call, pushing the phone up to your ear when you accepted it, “Hello? Miranda?”

“Care to grab lunch?”

[rmsrkive]

meet the seventeen members :D

DISCLAIMER: i am not a Seventeen expert as i became a fan not too long ago so please do not come after me if any of this information is wrong <333 please just message me if i need to fix anything, thank you :)

this is for my bae @addictedtohobi and anybody else who isn't familiar with seventeen! thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about my favorite men 🤭 (besides bangtan ofc)

so Seventeen has a total of 13 members (no, not 17) and they debuted on May 16, 2015. they are under Pledis Entertainment so if you ever hear Pledis, your first thought is most likely going to be Seventeen. their ages range from ‘95 to ‘99 and although there are a lot of them, it’s actually pretty easy getting to know who’s who once you match their names to faces! the only difficulty i had was matching their real names to their faces rather than their stage names.

*the picture of the member will be ABOVE their introduction just as an fyi*

first, we have S.Coups, aka Choi Seungcheol who is the oldest! his birthday is August 8, 1995 (happy belated birthday to my man 😎) and he is the leader of Seventeen, alongside the leader of Hip-Hop Unit (i will dive into that later).

the second eldest is Yoon Jeonghan and his birthday is October 4, 1995. he is part of Vocal Unit and he is said to be one of the visuals of the group and i agree, he is a beautiful beautiful man indeed 😁

next, we have Hong Joshua (or Jisoo, his Korean name) and he is one of the Korean-American members. he was born in Los Angeles, California, and lived there until he was 18 before he joined Pledis Entertainment and moved to Korea. his birthday is December 30, 1995, the same as Taehyung's! he is also part of Vocal Unit.

the fourth member is Wen Junhui (or Moon Junhwi, which is his Korean name) and he is one of the Chinese members of the group. he is part of Performance Unit and his birthday is June 10, 1996.

the fifth member is Hoshi, aka Kwon Soonyoung, and he is the leader of Performance Unit! if you've ever seen or heard a Seventeen member talk about tigers, chances are it was Hoshi. his job is just...tiger. he was born on June 15, 1996. he is one of the two Seventeen members who appeared on Suchitwa so if you've seen all of the episodes, you may recognize him! he is also part of a sub unit called BooSeokSoon (BSS).

number 6 is Jeon Wonwoo and he is part of Hip Hop Unit. his birthday is July 17, 1996. if you've ever seen a clip of a hot guy eating a flower, it's him. my blind little bat.

the seventh eldest is Woozi, aka Lee Jihoon, and he is the leader of Vocal Unit. he is known to be the producer of the group just like Yoongi and is actually said to look similar to Yoongi. if you've seen clips of Yoongi and Woozi, you can actually see a similarity between them but they also look very different. he is the other Seventeen member who was a guest on Suchitwa. his birthday is November 22, 1996.

the eighth member is Dokyeom (DK), aka Lee Seokmin. he is part of Vocal Unit and i see him as the sunshine of the group (like hobi)! he is also part of BSS and is the leader. his birthday is February 18, 1997.

the ninth member is Kim Mingyu and he is part of Hip Hop Unit! i think he is the most well-known member of Seventeen (specifically for ARMY) because of his close friendship with Jungkook and he is the one who did the Super + Seven challenge with him! he also appeared on one of Jungkook's lives. his birthday is April 6, 1997.

the tenth member is The8, aka Xu Minghao (or Seo Myungho, his Korean name) and he is the other Chinese member of the group. He is part of Performance Unit and his birthday is November 7, 1997.

the eleventh member is Boo Seungkwan and he’s probably the most popular member of Seventeen because of how much he promoted the group through variety shows. he is part of Vocal Unit and is the last member of BSS. he was born on January 16, 1998.

the second to last member is Chwe Vernon (or Chwe Hansol, his Korean name) and he is the other Korean-American member. he was born in New York but moved to Korea when he was 5. he is the only wasian in the group, with his dad being Korean and mom being American. he is the youngest of Hip Hop Unit and his birthday is February 18, 1998.

lastly, the maknae of the group is Dino, aka Lee Chan. he is part of Performance Unit and he is the only member born in 1999. his birthday is February 11, 1999.

here is an ot13 photo :)

(this introduction is based on AGE order, NOT by designated number (for any CARATS reading). each Seventeen member has a designated number based on their age order but you’ll notice how Minghao (The8) is number 8 and Seokmin (DK) is number 10. this is because they swapped designated numbers because Minghao’s stage name is The8 (and he really likes the number 8 i’m guessing).)

and that is all of Seventeen! i realize that some members have longer introductions than others and i apologize for that. the members who have more prominent roles (e.g. a leader) or have more distinct characteristics (e.g. a foreign member) has made it easier for me to introduce them.

now for the explanation of the units and why Seventeen has 13 members rather than 17.

the group is split into three subgroups/units: Performance, Vocal, and Hip Hop.

Performance Unit consists of the main + lead dancers and the best BTS equivalent i can think of is 3J.

Vocal Unit consists of the main + lead vocalists which is equivalent to Bangtan’s vocal line.

Hip Hop Unit consists of the main + lead rappers which is equivalent to rap line.

to be honest, though, i’m not entirely sure if Seventeen ever divided main vs lead parts amongst the members because Hip Hop Unit mentioned in this interview (at 1:35) how they don’t have any main or lead rappers BUT that could be for Hip Hop Unit ONLY. the rest of the internet does divide them into main/leads but every website is different so i would take my words with a grain of salt bc everything i’ve heard is different.

now where does Seventeen come from when there are only 13 members? the simplest explanation is this: there are 13 members, 3 units, and 1 group.

13 + 3 + 1 = 17.

yay for math :D

i think they were supposed to debut with 17 members (not entirely sure about this) but they kept adding + removing trainees and the most they ever had at once in the group was 16.

this was a VERY long introduction to Seventeen so if you’ve read this far, thank you! i am NOT by any means a Seventeen expert especially because i did not become a CARAT until maybe 3-4 months ago so anything that i am not sure of, please take it lightly!

n e ways hope you enjoyed :D

[notthewriteryourelookingfor]

I am at my fucking limit so buckle up:

Because I have adhd and anxiety and depression, I need to take melatonin to get to sleep at a reasonable time otherwise I'll be lying in bed for literal hours until I can fall asleep, doubly so if I take my adhd meds that day.

So I live in Australia and if you live in Australia you can't buy melatonin over the counter if you're under 55 (idk why I'm too tired to look up why) and I'm 29 so fuck me I'd need to get a prescription and then a months supply is like $30.

So I've been ordering melatonin from this place in the US which is about 5 months supply for about the same price maybe a lil extra for shipping like $50 for 150 tablets.

So when I realised I was getting low on them I went to the sight and ordered again.

Easy-peasy right?

Well it turned out that I had enough to get me to the last day of their delivery window (about the 27th of Feb) and I was like " ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ they're usually pretty quick with delivery so I should be ok" but then the 27th rolled around and no delivery.

So I checked the tracking and it hadn't been scanned since the 17th. It was in my country, in my state, but hadn't moved in 10 days.

So I looked and the company was using a new 3rd party delivery company and they Sucked. It was a continuous problem that they just didn't deliver packages, lost them, took months and months and months to deliver something to next door the facility.

So I got in contact with the American company and they're gonna send me a refund (more on that in a sec) and til then i was like "dear God ill have to order from Amazon 🤮) so I did.

Shipping cost more than the product but the delivery time was about a week and I'd found 2 of my old diazepam that I could take if I really needed to.

To note: I usually only take my meds for work, I can generally get by without them when I'm not working but now not taking them for work makes me feel like I am not being as useful/productive/etc as I could be and as a supervisor who is often the one in charge I need to be on the ball.

Amazon package was meant to come today.

I did get an Amazon package today but was it my desperately needed melatonin? No it was a fucking Christian self-help book:

Like does this look like medication to you?!?!?!

I get that mistakes happen but this is the 2nd issue I've had with this 1 thing.

Also as a queer satanist/witch it feels a lil insulting even tho it wasn't probably wasnt intentional at all and some Christian who wanted a self help book has been sent sleep medication like oops.

But that is not the end of the saga.

Luckily Amazon is on the ball about refunds and I was able to reorder the item (& a 2nd brand so we'll see who comes first) and paid extra for fast shipping. Even then it will take another week for it to arrive.

I have my supervisor shift on the weekend, I cannot be unmedicated for it but I will be running on 2 hours of sleep if I'm lucky.

If I didn't take the adhd meds I'd be on maybe 4 hours sleep so it's not much difference tbh.

But on top of all that: the refund from the 1st company (that I will never be going back to after this) was pending in my bank account. It had the amount ($95 cuz I ordered 3 bottles of 2 different strengths plus shipping) with a "this is pending" label.

It has now vanished from my account.

It is no longer pending but I also do not have the money.

I am giving them the 10 business days they said it'll take and if it's not in my account I am raining hell.

I work retail minimum wage, I live paycheque to paycheque, I cannot be out $95 with nothing to show for it.

10 business days is the 15th

My new order is meant to arrive on the 14th

We'll see what I get first, a refund from the person I ordered from in January or the replacement items I ordered Wednesday last week.

(Also the express shipping isn't much faster I just need it literally as soon as possible I am so tired)

[what-if-queen-camilla]

Chapter 36

05th January 1996

Back home in Ray Mill and with Thea having finally fallen asleep after the third good-night story, Camilla poured herself a glass of red wine and sat down on the cosy sofa in the sitting room - her sitting room, that was, in her house. For the first time in her life she owned a home that was entirely hers and though she had never expected to feel that way, she had to admit that it felt good. This was her very own little piece of paradise, she was the boss and could design and furnish it all just the way she liked it, without having to argue with somebody who didn't like her kitschy decorations or her collection of commemorative mugs, and that was very nice. She particularly appreciated it after last week; Birkhall had been heaven, it had been wonderful to be with Charles, the Queen Mother had been way too kind and Thea and the other children had had a good time, but once again she had come to realise how "unfree" that life as a member of the Royal Family actually was, how little they could decide for themselves, how every little step had to be planned and arranged and how much fuss everybody made of everything. And it had only been Birkhall which came nowhere near the flumery of the Big Houses like Balmoral, Sandringham or Buckingham Palace, not to speak of Windsor Castle, but still. She was glad that she didn't have to deal with that on a daily basis.

The phone rang and she rushed over to answer the call before Thea would wake up again. It was Charles. "Hello Darling. How are you doing? Back in London safe and sound?", she asked and his desperate sigh told her that this was not quite the case. "What's wrong, darling?" "Diana…", he almost disgorged her name, before telling Camilla that his wife had freaked out completely when he dropped off the boys at Kensington Palace, screaming and shouting at him in front of their sons, and though he didn't told her what she had called Camilla and Theodora, she could vividly imagine her outbreak. "Darling, I'm so sorry.", she said. "Perhaps it was all a bit too early and we'd better…" "No!", he interrupted her with determination. "It was just right! I love you both and you're a part of my life. Thea is my daughter and the half-sister of my sons. God knows how many little bastards the slut would've had by now if it wasn't for the pill…" "Charles!", she interrupted him harshly. She understood his frustration but that sort of language really wasn't necessary. "I… I just think that we need to be careful, darling.", she added. "I don't want to offend anyone. And Harry early didn't feel comfortable." "He's just his mother's mouthpiece!", Charles ranted. "Even if that's the case - we have to be considerate with him. We can't force him to accept thing which upset him. At the end, it will only divide us all. Listen, I've been loving our week and I'm so happy to see our little darling getting along so well with William. He doesn't seem to have an issue with us, but Harry does and we should take it seriously. Please don't bring him in situations that make him feel uncomfortable. Give him time. Anything else will only deepen the trenches between you and him." "Hmpf…", Charles moaned, not quite satisfied with her advice but he knew deep inside that she was right and he'd better not rush things as long as one of his boys had such difficulties with it.

"How is your grandmother?", Camilla asked, subtly changing the topic to a lighter one. "She's brilliant.", Charles replied. "Back at Sandringham with the others and already had an argument with my mother as Anne tells me.", he added and Camilla laughed. The old lady really was one of a kind. If she herself still were as half as fit at 95, she'd probably have achieved everythingshe coul ever have wished for. "Oh did she?", she asked. "She did. Apparently Mama wasn't all that happy when she heard about her party. Not that she had an issue with it taking place or you two being there - but she doesn't like to be bypassed.", he explained. "Of Course she doesn't.", Camilla giggled, vividly imagining these two tiny women passionately arguing with each other. It could have been funny but the fact it was partly because of her and Thea's presence at the Queen Mother's New Year's bash made her feel rather uncomfortable. She didn't want to be the reason for anyone to argue about, she didn't want to cause trouble. And once more she felt those fears and doubts creeping up on her, that insecurity and uncertainty whether all of this was actually right. It had already caused so many people a heartache and it kept on causing problems everywhere… perhaps it just wasn't to be.

"Darling, stop it!", Charles said harshly. "We've come so far! Look what we've achieved. The public supports us, well, not everyone maybe, but an awful lot of them, you're doing so well and our little darling has been absolutely brilliant. She is happy, isn't she? And I'm happy. Very happy. We're almost there, darling. If only Diana and Mama would finally agree on a divorce… then I'd be free and could marry you." Camilla choked heavily. This was the first time he had spoken the words and somehow it scared her. She loved him. Of course she wanted to be his wife. Charles' wife. But the wife of the Prince of Wales? An official member of his crazy family? Good lord… and what about Thea? She had had to so many changes over the past two years, first her and Andrew's separation and divorce, the new home where they'd just settled themselves, the news of Charles being her biological father instead of Andrew, the new family she suddenly had… how much more could her little girl possibly cope with? "She wants us to get married.", Charles said. "She talks about it all the time…" Camilla couldn't deny that. She kept on asking when it was going to happen and why it took so long because for her sweet little innocent, eight-year-old heart, two people who loved each other getting married was the most natural thing in the world and just something that was supposed to be. And perhaps it really was that simple. Perhaps she just had to trust that her love for Charles and his for her was the only thing it took and that everything else was going to fall in place somehow...

One month later, on February 7th, 1996, Andrew married Rosemary in a small and private civil ceremony that was attended only by her three sons, as well as Tom, Laura and Thea, proudly in charge as a bridesmaid, who still adored her daddy Andrew and was equally adored by him. Though they hadn't announced anything in advance, there were lots of photographers outside of the registry office, but Tom and Rose's boys took good care of her and everything went well. There were pictures in the papers and of course people were talking and there were pros and cons, love and hate, and perhaps she just had to accept and embrace the fact that it was going to be like that for the rest of her life now. Andrew and Rose had beamed with happiness on the day and though Camilla was over the moon for them, she couldn't help feeling a little jealous somehow as well. If only she and Charles could have something like that. Just going to an office, signing the papers, becoming husband and wife. No fuss, just them and their children… but this was never going to happen. It was not possible to marry just Charles, the man, and it was impossible for the future monarch to get married for the second time round,let alone in a simple civil ceremony.

[bunk12bear]

Steddie Kids

I've been stuck with the random urge to imagine Steve and Eddie's children/future for some reason. These are written with them both being cis but can be adjusted accordingly if you want one or both of them to be trans.

Steve and Eddie both end up being teachers and end up settling in Chicago using government hush money to buy a nice duplex with Robin and her partner( when people ask how they can afford it they just shrug and say that Steve had Rich parents). I fell in love with Jewish eddie so the kids grow up celebrating both Christian and Jewish holidies.

They all have Eddie's last name because I love the idea of Steve not wanting oto taint something as precious as his children with everything the Harrington name represents or contribute to his Dad having any sort of legacy. Does that make sense logistically I don't know and I don't have any particular urge to figure that out at the moment so 🤷‍♀️

Sarah Munson

Born May 11th 1995( did I make their eldest born in 95 because that was the year I was born, yes yes I did)

Born via a surrogate with eddies DNA and a doner egg

Named after the protagonist in The Labyrinth( Steve and Eddie went to see it on their first date)

Lesbian

she/they

Dark curly hair and big brown doe eyes like Eddie but tan skin and a fuller figure from her bio mom

5' 7"

Whether it's nature or nurture she ends up taking after Eddie loving all things fantasy and Dungeons & Dragons. She also falls in love with alt music/style but ends up going more of a punk/Riot grrrl direction much to Eddie's horror( to be clear I don't think Eddie would super buy into the punk metal rivalry but I love the idea of them getting into albeit friendly arguments about the merits of each genre)

Anthropology PhD student(studying the effect of American mass media on global cultures) and activist

ADHD/Autistic but doesn't struggle in school the same way Eddie did because he and Steve pushed to get her diagnosed when she's little so she has an IEP from kindergarten( to be clear I also think Eddie is ADHD autistic and that's why he struggled so much in school)

Daniel "Danny"Munson

Born july 2nd 1998

Born via a surrogate and a donor egg like Sarah but with Steve's DNA this time

Named for Danny Zuko( I have completely fallen in love with the idea that Steve loves Grease)

arro ace

He/him

Ends up looking like a near carbon copy of Steve except for with black hair and gray eyes from his bio mom

5' 11"

Is athletic like Steve but also follows in his aunt Robin's footsteps and joins the marching band so he only plays sports that don't conflict. Despite for taking in to school activities that put him in a bit of a spotlight he's actually rather shy and soft spoken often having to have his big sister stand up for him. Struggles with reading but still loves discussing books with Eddie and his aunt Nancy. Pretty simple style-wise jeans and a t-shirt kind of guy.

Started a program abused neglected under privileged children both to teach them practical life skills like cooking in taxes and applying for a job but also to offer a warm supportive environment( inspired by learning about how his dads grew up)

Dyslexic; was also diagnosed Young

Charlotte and James Munson

Twins born January 31st 2000

Adopted after a younger coworker got pregnant unexpectedly and realized that she couldn't mentally be a mother but wanted them to go to a good home( birth mom is still heavily involved but fills more of an aunt role)

Named my their birth mom

Both Bi( had a crush on the same guy once it was a problem until they realize he wasn't interested in either of them)

she/her and they/them

Both have red hair and freckles( their aunt Max is delighted to have more redheads and the weird family all the upside down crew have formed over the years) but Charlotte has green eyes and James has brown

5'2" and 5'6"

both theater kids( once try to switch rules before realizing that only works with identical twins) and mischievous( yes they've been compared to the Weasley twins yes they were devastated when they found out what happened to Fred) Charlotte falls in love with Fiber Arts after helping their Middle School Drama teacher create the costumes for one of their plays. Mostly designs sew and clothing but and also knit sew and embroider. James is a writer. The twins used to put on little plays and he'd write the scripts but mostly sticks to poetry and prose as he gets older. James is an ideas guy where is Charlotte is more practical and helps him bring the ideas to life. James is more spontaneous where as Charlotte likes to stick with a routine. Charlotte style is rather eclectic and tends to shift around is mostly comprised of clothing she made or altered herself. James is one of those people that went full vintage day to day he looks like he stepped straight out of the 1920s

costume designer( Charlotte) Author/retail until his career takes off

I considered adding two more kids but I figured four was a big family while being a bit more manageable then six. However the absolutely do road trip like Steve was imagining. I could probably do a bit more to separate the twins but to avoid cliche I didn't want to make them complete opposites or exactly the same so I tried to balance the two.

Also none of them are straight because that's just how I roll is it statistically likely no do I care also no.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

November 14, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

NOV 14, 2023

This evening, by a vote of 336 to 95, the House of Representatives passed a bill to fund the government. Pushed by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), the measure funds the government at current spending levels. Funding for different parts of the government will run out on two separate dates: January 19 and February 2. The measure does not include any funding for military aid to Israel or Ukraine. 

Democrats provided most of the votes for the measure, which passed under a special rule that required two thirds of the House to agree to it. The Democrats provided 209 yes votes; the Republicans, 127. Two Democrats and 93 Republicans opposed it.

The Democratic House leadership, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA) and Vice Chair Ted Lieu (D-CA), released a statement saying:

“From the very beginning of the Congress, House Democrats have made clear that we will always put people over politics and try to find common ground with our Republican colleagues wherever possible, while pushing back against Republican extremism whenever necessary. 

“That is the framework through which we will evaluate all issues before us this Congress. We have consistently made clear that a government shutdown would hurt the economy, our national security and everyday Americans during a very fragile time and must be avoided. To that end, House Democrats have repeatedly articulated that any continuing resolution must be set at the fiscal year 2023 spending level, be devoid of harmful cuts and free of extreme right-wing policy riders. The continuing resolution before the House today meets [those] criteria and we will support it.”  

Just two Democrats opposed the measure. Ninety-three Republicans did. 

Passing a continuing resolution at the same spending levels as fiscal year 2023 with the help of Democrats while much of his own party opposes it puts Johnson in the exact same place Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was in when eight extremists voted to oust him from the speakership: relying on Democratic votes to fund the government. 

Far-right extremists were angry at Johnson and took an official stand against it. Now they are talking about retaliating against the speaker by holding up any further legislation in procedural votes so it cannot move forward, grinding the House to another halt. Johnson might have been trying to address that anger when he today endorsed former president Donald Trump for president in 2024, a move his predecessor McCarthy refused to make.  

But McCarthy supporters looked at Johnson getting a pass for the same deal that cost McCarthy his leadership and cried foul. Republican tempers ran hot on Capitol Hill today as Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN) accused former speaker McCarthy of elbowing him in the kidney as McCarthy passed him in the House basement while Burchett was talking to NPR reporter Claudia Grisales. Clearly taken aback, Grisales tweeted: “Have NEVER seen this on Capitol Hill: While talking to [Burchett] after the GOP conference meeting, former [Speaker McCarthy] walked by with his detail and McCarthy shoved Burchett. Burchett lunged towards me. I thought it was a joke, it was not. And a chase ensued….” Burchett was one of the eight Republican representatives who voted to oust McCarthy from the speakership.  

In a House hearing of the Oversight Committee on the U.S. General Services Administration, chair James Comer (R-KY) angrily told Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), who was wearing a blue suit, that he looked like a Smurf (a small, blue cartoon character). Comer angrily defended himself from Moskowitz’s observation that Comer had lent the same amount of money to his own brother that President Biden lent to his brother James. 

Comer has insisted without any proof that Biden’s loan was illicit; Moskowitz has repeatedly asked Comer to testify about his own loan. "That is bullsh*t," Comer said of Moskowitz’s observation that the American people would like to know more about his own loan. Moskowitz answered: "Your word means nothing, Mr. Chairman.... I think the American people have lots of questions, Mr. Chairman, and perhaps you should sit maybe for a deposition."

That was House Republicans today. 

In the Senate, at a hearing of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Republican Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma tried to start a physical fight with one of the witnesses, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union Sean O'Brien. O’Brien had criticized Mullin on Twitter, and Mullin wanted to fight it out. O’Brien indicated he was more than ready. Mullin got up from his chair as if to begin, when Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), chair of the committee, yelled at him to sit back down. “You are a United States senator!” he shouted. 

Meanwhile, the Biden administration today celebrated the drop of the inflation rate to zero for the month of October, meaning that prices did not rise at all between September and October. That flat month means the yearly inflation rate dropped to 3.2% for the past year. Much of that lower inflation rate reflects lower gasoline prices, which dropped 5% in October. 

Under the Democratic administration, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which oversees the maintenance of fair business practices, has been much more aggressive about policing misconduct, and today it announced it filed 784 enforcement actions and claimed $4.95 billion in penalties in the fiscal year that ended in September. This financial recovery was the second highest in the history of the SEC, second only to last year’s amount of $6.4 billion. 

The White House yesterday announced a new initiative on women’s health research designed to combat the fact that women’s health has been ill studied, leaving half the nation’s people suffering from poorly understood debilitating conditions such as endometriosis and fibroids, as well as being diagnosed or treated incorrectly for disorders such as cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and autoimmune disorders.

Today the White House issued the fifth national climate assessment, which showed a decline in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions despite the growth of the population and of the economy. The White House statement attributes this decline to efforts to mitigate emissions and the increasingly available low-emissions options. In the last decade, it noted, wind energy costs dropped 70% and solar energy costs dropped 90%. In 2020, 80% of new energy generation capacity came from clean energy. Climate change and related extreme weather events are rapidly intensifying, the administration warned, and will cost the U.S. at least $150 billion a year. 

Reflecting that fact, Biden today announced more than $6 billion in investments to strengthen the electric grid, reduce flooding, support conservation, and advance environmental justice, as underserved communities bear the brunt of weather events. The money is coming primarily from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the  Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Inflation Reduction Act.

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[the-song-of-the-day]

May 13, 2024

Song #95

The Milk Carton by Madilyn Mei

It was released on January 20, 2023

Fun Fact: It's a song about feeling lost and disconnected from one's home and past. The coyote represents the scary and unpredictable aspects of the world outside the familiarity of home. The refrain "And the birds don't talk like the ones on screen, have they really domesticated me?" suggests that the narrator feels trapped and isolated, possibly comparing themselves to a caged bird. The line "Say, is that the kid from the milk carton? Can I do anything when I'm also missing?" hints at the idea of feeling forgotten or lost, like the missing children on milk cartons.

[cocogum]

how did you calculate the adult trio's bday? 😮

Hi Anon! Thanks for asking me this question! I was actually hoping that someone would have asked me this and I’m glad it came sooner than I expected. Well to answer your question, it was mainly fun and easy to find Hisoka’s and Chrollo’s but a bit tricky with Illumi’s. I don’t fully trust what the anime gives us as numbers so I mainly relied on the manga. So to find out their birthdates I decided to first find solid concrete evidence of the year this was all taking place in.

Illumi and Hisoka partook in the 287th hunter exam with the main four which was back in 1999. I found the year thanks to chapter 146 where Killua exits Greed Island to apply for the hunter exam a second time and we see a sign hanging from a store building which gave us the exact year of when this was all occurring as well as the month and the day. According to the sign, the date is said to be December 29th, 1999.

The 287th hunter exam, just like any other hunter exams, starts on January 7th so the hunter exam arc all the way to Greed Island arc takes place in 1999.

Now that I had the year, all I had to do now was find the adult trio’s respective birth years.

How I found Hisoka’s birth year.

EDIT: okay so due to the fact that I made a slight mistake on Hisoka’s birthday, (I thought his actual age came from the databook when in reality his age was never mentioned in there) that meant I wasn’t actually able to find out his canonical birth year I’m so sorry I should’ve been more aware on the fact that his ‘birthday’ was just a fan theory and nothing more. This man is such a mystery even his own birthday is an enigma. I took off his supposed birth year from the list though so that should be better now.

Hisoka’s was the easiest of the three.

His full official birthday was already listed and placed with the main four’s birthdays so there was no need to search for his for very long. His birthday completely aligns with the main four’s birthdays as well (Leorio -> March 3 3/3, Kurapika -> April 4th 4/4, Gon -> May 5th 5/5, Hisoka -> June 6 6/6, Killua -> July 7th 7/7).

How I found Chrollo’s birth year.

Chrollo’s was actually pretty fun to find.

In chapter 95, he talks to Neon about her ability and gives her what she needs in order to activate her ability. He gave her his full name, birthday and blood type. When Neon finally saw his answers, she comments on how old he actually is when she saw that the man was 26 years old.

Since this scene took place in Yorknew City during September in the same year of 1999, I simply calculated his birth year thanks to his age (so all I pretty much had to do was do 1999 - 26 = 1973).

How I found Illumi’s birth year.

Illumi’s was a bit puzzling in the beginning but I did find it.

Unlike Chrollo’s (where his age has already been shown in the manga), Illumi’s age nor his birth year ever appears in the story. So I had to rely on another reliable source that could help me -> “The HxH Hunter Association Official Issue: Hunter’s Guide: Character & World Official Databook”. Thankfully, the book was able to give me his age which was 24 years old when he took the 287th hunter exam. So now all I had to do was calculate the year we first see him and what his age was at the time (1999 - 24 = 1975).

And there we go! I hope my explanation for each of them was easy to understand.

If you also want to find out how I found the year in which the 287th hunter exam took place in with more details, then go look here.

Hope this helped!