#i mean i wouldn't be able to afford buying it

[katya-goncharov]

sometimes I will just suddenly wake up at 6am, randomly feeling mad about brexit

[bulldagger-bait]

I think. If you take out a loan. You should be able to pay off the principle first, and worry about the interest afterwards. The way loans work currently where you spend years just paying off interest first before you even touch the principle is just so fucking predatory. Like it's just about greed. Just money, money, money, and keeping the poor and working class imprisoned in debt for their whole lives. Makes me furious. I'm never going to take out a loan if i can help it.

[phantomrose96]

I've mentioned this thing in tags before but I've decided fuck it, it should be its own post.

I've seen this sentiment lumped into Eat the Rich posts which goes like "if you're worth more than $1 million I think you should die" and I think tumblr users need to know this is not the Eat the Rich statement they think it is.

Someone being worth $1 million doesn't mean what you think it means.

A 71-year-old widow who bought a single-family 2,000 sqft home in Somerville Massachusetts with her husband 40 years ago to raise their family in, who now lives in this home all alone because her children are grown and her husband is dead, is--without a shadow of a doubt--worth more than $1 million. Maybe even $1.5 or $2 million. And it's because of her home equity, because that's what single family homes go for these days in that area.

The 71-year-old widow may be living pension check to pension check, because her millionaire status can only be dipped into if she's removed from her home and sells it. And if it's the home she's loved for 40 years, where she simply wants to live out the rest of her time peacefully in, I wouldn't put her to the guillotine for that.

Maybe that comes off as an extreme example, like that's just an outlier of the "we hate millionaires" agenda. But I don't think it truly is. I'll scale back and tell you the median U.S. home price right now is about $430,000. And that's just median. Half of them are more expensive than that.

The statement "I think people should be able to afford to buy and own the homes they live in" is, I would desperately hope, not a radical statement to anyone on Tumblr. I think that's a pretty well-received idea. So someone who's done that, who's bought their home and worked many years to pay off the mortgage and now owns it fully, is worth close to half a million dollars on average. Many of them more than that, as many areas rapidly gentrify and drive up housing worth.

Statement 2: "I think people deserve to have a retirement fund which would comfortably support them through end of life." Too radical for anyone? I hope not. And I won't pretend to be an expert on how much retirement money is ideal. I'm sure it varies with cost of living in places. But considering this is money which, ideally, should support someone for the remaining 10-20 years of life (money which may be necessary to cover the absolutely crippling medical costs of end-of-life treatment) I'd bet it's well into the many hundreds of thousands. Even if someone was simply living off $30k/year of take home money and just making that work, then 15 years of retirement, costing $30k/year, plus maybe $50k+ of end-of-life medical costs... That's at least $500k.

Which is all to say, if you show me someone approaching retirement age who's "worth" $1 million dollars, my hope would be that their house is paid off and their retirement fund is comfortable. I'd be happy for them. I would want this for them.

Even that may not be true, though. Someone "worth" $1 million maybe owns a paid-off house which has rapidly appreciated to being worth $900k, and their $100k in retirement is something they're trying to stretch through end of life. Maybe someone worth $1 million owns a house which has ballooned to $1.1 million, and they're in fact $100k in debt.

And the fact that SO many Americans will never even meet this bar is significantly more appalling to me than the existence of people worth more than $1 million. "I own my home and can retire comfortably" is a bar we want every American to meet. I want more millionaires who are millionaires because they meet these criteria.

If Nana Somerville's house burns down tomorrow, she'll have lost everything. If a billionaire were to similarly lose $1 million of worth, he would not feel it. That's a fickle day at the stock market. That's Tuesday. That's the rich which desperately needs to be eaten.

[oriharakaoru]

TIT Tour Ticket Giveaway Lottery

Hello, so like I've done for some of the merch drops and wad stream, I'd like to give away some TIT tour tickets for phannies who otherwise wouldn't be able to attend the tour. There will be five winners in the lottery.

Here are the ~rules:

DM me with your entry and I will put you into a spreadsheet

Please only enter if you can't afford it to give people who need it a real chance

You must be over 18 though sorry!

The tickets are for the lowest price level (so I can afford to give out more tickets). This usually means upper balcony or near the back of the theatre.

You can go to any show you want and you will be buying your own ticket. I will paypal you the money if you win.

The deadline to enter is next Saturday, July 6th at 12:00pm eastern time (Toronto, New York, etc.).

I will randomly generate winners with google

Then I will dm you here and ask for your paypal email

Yay?

uh i swear this isn't scammy even though i read over that and it seems scammy lmao just ask all the peeps who got merch XD

[anothermansjeans]

youtube reader doing spencer’s makeup for a video? mgg has super long lashes and i just need to put some mascara on them 😭😭 i’m loving youtube reader they’re dynamic with spencer is so fun

THANK YOU I LOVE THEM SO MUCH THIS IS NO JOKE

cw: spencer wearing makeup, spencer is basically reader's bitch (affectionate)

wc: 623

youtuber!reader masterlist

++

“And you’re sure you wanna do this?”

“Of course. Why wouldn't I be?”

You swore you fell in love with Spencer even more every day. “Because some men have toxic masculinity and wouldn't let their girlfriends put makeup on them?”

“Well, those men don't have IQs as high as mine.”

You laughed and dabbed a blob of foundation on your hand, preparing to use the beauty sponge to blend it onto Spencer’s face. “Well thank God for that. I had to buy a whole new shade for you. Wouldn't want my money to go to waste.”

As you began blending, Spence flinched the tiniest bit at the cold substance. You were sure the camera was picking it up. He was a lot quieter than usual, and you had to comment on it. “Is everything okay?”

“Mhmm.”

“You're not talking… you're a certified yapper, Spence.”

“Hey!” Alas, his first words in five minutes were spoken.

“I’m not wrong,” your words were mumbled, but he heard them. “Sorry, sorry. Would you tell me why you’re not speaking, though?”

“I don't want to mess up your hard work.”

Again, you fell in love just a little bit more. “You won't mess anything up, Spencer.” You placed the sponge down and grabbed onto one of his hands. “Please talk as much as you want. The people are going to be here for you and your wisdom, babe.”

Even under the thin layer of foundation, you could see the hint of a blush appear on his cheeks. “Okay… did you know the word ‘cosmetic’ has a Greek origin, and was derived from the word ‘kosmos’, which means to adorn or arrange. The magazine, Cosmopolitan also has this same root.”

You smiled at the fact and continued with the routine. You got through the contour, blush, highlight, and eyeshadow, finally moving onto the mascara. “Okay, Spence, I’m going to put this wand near your eyelashes and I just need you to blink for me.” He did as he was told, and you couldn't keep your jealousy contained. “I'm so mad at you for your eyelashes.”

“What did they do?”

“They're so long!” You huffed and he chuckled. “It’s not fair. You do absolutely nothing to them and they're so beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome,” you mumbled out your response, finishing up his other eye before putting the mascara down and digging through the lipstick options. “We should do a liquid lip.”

“Liquid lip?”

“Yep! It won't transfer once it dries.”

“Did you know that the first lipstick appeared in ancient Mesopotamia approximately 4,000 years ago when women decorated their lips with the dust that was made of precious gems?”

“Thank God they stopped using precious gems or I wouldn't be able to afford the tens of lipsticks I have,” you quickly looked up at him, giving him a smile before finding the perfect shade for him. “Here we go! Now, I need you to not talk when I do this.” He gave a nod and allowed you to put it on. “Give it a minute to dry.”

You fanned his lips, and once you deemed it appropriately dry, you smiled and grabbed his face with one of your hands, causing his lips to pucker. “All good! See?” You pushed your lips together, giving him a big smooch in front of the camera. When you released him, you turned your face to the camera, showing your lips before turning back to him. “It didn't transfer!” He could only nod, shocked from the sudden affection, and you laughed as you ran your fingers through his hair. “You really are a pretty boy.”

You shared a chuckle and finished up the video. You were so lucky to have your pretty boy.

++

BONUS: some comments

@ user: i want a pretty boy :(

@ user1: what if i stole your man's eyelashes... then what?

@ user2: can he do a collab with the calm app? ma'am i would pay good money for that but you get it FOR FREE

@ user3: TELLING HIM TO START TALKING?? I LOVE YOU GUYS

@ user4: brb sleeping on the freeway tonight

@ user5: THE KISS?? THE KISS!!!

++

youtuber!reader taglist: @im-a-ghost666 @lyd14k4y @happiestcat @hauntedtv13 @obi-wansgirl @charismatic-writer @navs-bhat

let me know if you would like to be added or removed!

[man3at3r-mp4]

𝕭𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖉 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖑𝖆𝖒𝖇 𝖍𝖍 𝖝 𝖒𝖆𝖑𝖊 𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖗 - 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 Ⅱ - 𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒆

Prologue Chapter 3.5

Chapter 1

Chapter 3

Charlie = underlined

Y/n = normal

Both = italics

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐞

𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

1:35 ───ㅇ───── 3:47

It's been 3 hours and you're already exhausted...okay well maybe not exhausted, but you were definitely bored.

You sighed, leaning your chin on your palm, as you listened to Liam go on about something, probably about how late you both were? You don't know, you stopped listening.

You glanced out the window, to see the 'busy' streets of Heaven. You were able to see what seemed to be a group of friends, laughing and talking with one another. You frowned, you wish you could be enjoying smoothies with Miko, Elijah, and Molly. They were really your only friends.

Yeah, despite being the prince of Heaven, you didn't have many friends. Part of that due, to Sera's insistence of not letting your travel far without super vision. But I suppose, trying to sneak out of heaven every chance you get to go outside is worthy of such a consequence. Well, maybe when you were younger it was an okay punishment, but you're an adult now. You don't need to be supervised like a child.

But like I said, that's only part of the reason. The second being, the friends you tried, or rather Sera forced you to try and make...felt fake. Not to say, they were twisted or two faced. They probably weren't, most likely just some overly excited heavenly resistance being able to meet the famous prince of heaven. However, that didn't mean it didn't get annoying. Whether they had good intentions or not, they made you feel an object..something pretty to ogle and admire. Like an expensive piece of art, a middle class soccer mom would buy, and hang up in the parlor to "impress" her friends, when it really it was to make them envious she was able to afford something so priceless.

It all felt fake, artificial whatever. You've  grown accustomed to it, people want to be your friend but they don't want to be your friend. You've come to realize that soon enough, so your feelings wouldn't be so hurt and eventually they didn't and you've came to terms with that.

Everybody loves you, but nobody likes you.

As you were wallowing in your own self pity, you failed to notice Liam, who was desperately trying to get your attention.

"y/n.....y/n!....Y/N!!!!"  You finally snapped out of it, the loud volume of Liam's voice effectively spooking you as your entire body went rigid, before you flopped to the floor like a fish.

"Oh dear! Your highness, are you alright?" The Angel cried, as he rushed to your side. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you!" He says, clealry panicking as he helped you stand up.

You rubbed the sore spot on your forehead as you mustered a pained smile, "I'm fine Liam, no need to worry about me" you patted him lightly on the shoulder to reassure him before taking a seat back on the chair.

"But I caused you harm!"

"It was an accident, Liam you're fine! I'm not about to damn your soul to hell" you say sarcastically. You were clealry joking, but apparently Liam didn't think it was very funny, as he looked genuinely distressed.

You frowned, deadpanning,"im joking"

"Oh...well it's not very funny, your highness we don't joke about those sorts of things"

"Me, Miko and Elijah do.." you huffed under your breath, unfortunately it seemed like the other angel heard you.

"Oh do they now?" He asks, if he had eyebrows he would raising them. "They're the hairdresser and the seamstress correct?". You perked up, a bit confused.

"Yeah why?"

"Well it makes sense why you're so snappy lately, I knew thsoe two were a bad influence" he says, arrogantly. Oh, yeah that pissed you off. You weren't one to get frustrated, at least publicly but this was ridiculous. He's blaming your only friends for the reason why  you having a sense of humor? You frowned, crossing your arms. You knew if you snapped at him, you would have just confirmed his suspicions and you're sure he would tell Sera, then you'd probably never see Elijah or Miko again.

"Let's just move on, Liam. We still have a shi-" a sharp look from Liam caused you to reword your sentence. "Stupendous amount of work to do" you corrected yourself, causing the other male to relax as he nodded.

"Very well, next we have your astronomy lessons"  he says, as he leads you down one of  the many halls of the palace.

The grimy streets of hell, the bright, obnoxious neon signs advertising drugs or porn studios, and the stink of death. All things Charlie has grown accustomed to as the princess of hell. One would think, with such an intimidating title as Princess of hell. You'd expect her to be terrifying, cold, and power hungry creature, when in reality Charlie is more comparable to a puppy...or rather a kid.

Charlie was someone you'd least expect to be the princess of Hell. She's sweet, kind, got a big heart, and she's got a passion for singing. She's literally a wannabe Disney princess, just lacking the animal side kick...well unless you count Razzle and Dazzle. But on a serious note, it's unexpected to have someone so happy go lucky as literal he'll born royalty. But what's even more shocking is the fact she started up a hotel to rehabilitate sinners. The reaction to the hotel...was less than positive. But she simply doesn't know when to quit despite being publicly humiliated on tv that her only tenant was involved with a turf war.

But like I said, Charlie has never given up. She simply doesn't know when to quit. Which leads us to now.

The princess of Hell, sitting in the lobby of the hotel, planning out another presentation about her hotel, to potential customers....the presentation really consisted of colorful messy  drawings Charlie enthusiastically put together.

the room was quiet , but Charlie could swear she'd be able to hear some radio static every now and then. Which she supposed made sense? Alastor was weird, she wasn't even sure if he slept. Like at all. She shrugged going back to finishing her drawings. "Oo! Oo! Almost finished! I just need pink! Ooo where's the pink!" She said, cheerfully as she scavenged around for her pink marker. Once she found the plastic tube. She quickly uncapped it and scribbled in some doodles and a stripe of pink on her rainbow, and she was finished.

The blonde stepped back, as she held up her masterpiece in the air. "This looks great! I cant wait to show Vaggie!" She grinned, though something caught her attention in the corner of her eye; her phone was on and the Lock Screen showed a picture of her, her father, and her mother. A small frown made its way onto her face, as she glanced back at the messy child like drawings she made. She sighed, placing the papers down on the table as she picked up her phone. She sunk down into the cushions of the couch as she stared at the screen, they were so happy back then....what happened?

"Cmon Charlie, happy thoughts happy thoughts!" She tried to encourage herself. "You've got a hotel to run and sinners to redeem!"

'That is if you get any actual clients'  a small voice in the back of her head, spoke but she tried to shake it away. Sure, advertising the hotel on the news wasn't the best choice. Charlie could remember getting into a fight with Katie, and the absolute humiliation of having Angel dust being shown in participating in a turf war. And sure, they haven't had much success, no other demons have joined besides Husk, Niffty and Alastor but they were all employees that were literally forced to be here.

No, she couldn't give up now. Despite the crippling self doubt. She wouldn't give up. "There's got to be someone out there who believes in this hotel as much as I do, there's just gotta be.." she whispered, as she turned to look out the window.

"There's gotta be."

Back in heaven, you were being poked with pins and needles, biting your lip as you desperately tried not to flinch away from the pointed ends. 

"Ow!" You finally yelped, as the needle pricked your skin. A small droplet of golden blood dripped from your forearm, staining the white gown you wore being fitted into.

"That wouldn't have happened if you would have stayed still, your highness" the Angel fitting you said, her voice in deep concentration as she clenched another pair of pins in between her teeth.

"I'm trying to!" You pouted, trying your best to stay still. "Why am I even being fitted? Elijah is the one who picks all my clothes! Also this looks like extremely formal attire!"

"Happy you finally noticed, your highness" Liam spoke up, "you're being fitted for wedding" he stated, casually.

"WHAT?!??" You screeched, your eyes as wide as saucers. "Wedding? Wh-what?! When? How- WHy?!?" You stammered over your words.

"Your highness, please stay still.." the female Angel said once more, as she placed another pin into your outfit. You whimpered a soft 'Ow' as you felt it nick you again.

Liam smiled, "ah yes, I forgot, Sera did not tell you." He says nervously. "You're being wed! Congratulations your highness!" He summoned a scroll, this one with a picture of who you assumed would be your future spouse. Before you, you saw a beautiful woman, she had dark skin, and light  purple tinted hair, styled in braids, her hair was long, length wise it could rival Rapunzels! Her eyes were gorgeous, siren shaped and a rich color of brown, or well one of them was, the other was a shade of green. You could also notice her dimples. She was beautiful, ethereal even. But you didn't know her! You didn't want to get married to a stranger.

"No!" You screamed, causing everyone to fall silent and look at you in surprise from your outburst. "I-I mean! Yes!" You stuttered over your words to try and save yourself. "She is, sh-she's beautiful but I don't know her!"  

Liam looked confused, "she?" He then noticed his mistake. "Oh silly me, this is the wrong picture, you're not getting married to her, Aurora is your wedding planner.."

You jaw would have been on the floor, if it weren't literally attached to your skull.

" Why am I even getting married?! Sera told me none of us could since our life had to be devoted into making heaven and earth  a better place! And romance would get on the way?"

"Well, she's changed her mind. Or rather the humans on earth did, you are the Angel to represent us down in the mortal realm y'know? And you know humans and their romances! They think it's be a good idea!" Liam explained. So what? This was just a big PR stunt? For the fucking humans?!?

"But- don't-"

"Do not being up  Adam and Eve, y'know he and Eve were far from the perfect couple no matter how hard the mortals try to make it seem they were"

You sighed, "yeah..." you couldn't fight that, the fact Adam doesn't even fucking speak abt Eve, is already enough to know that even the humans on earth could see they weren't a great couple. Though,  they blamed most of it on Eve.

Misogynistic pigs.

"Don't worry, Prince Y/n. Everything  has already accepted  and he's more than happy to be married to you! He even sent engagement gifts!" Liam snapped his fingers, and a hoard of angels came in carrying gifts. Placing them neatly in the corner before exiting the room.

You were too stunned to say anything, Gifts?!? Really?!? They sent you gifts?!? luckily your fitting was over. The Angel fitting you pulled out all the pins, making you sigh in relief, as she went to speak to Liam.

"We'll have to shrink it down to a medium, and we need to adjust the waistline, the Prince has surprisingly wide hips for a man." They both glanced at you, as you blushed in embarrassment, shrinking back as you placed your hands in your hips, and felt around.

'Damn I guess I do have those Kim kardashian hips...' you thought. Though you couldn't really tell if that's a good or a bad thing. While you were in your thoughts, you failed to notice that Liam pulled out your to do list for today. "Oh, we're late, late, late. We have twenty, maximum twenty-two minutes for your royal fitting. And then it's move, move, move to your speech at the Angelic Society. After that, we have to rush, and I mean rush, to the Heavenly  Society Tea. And then there's your math lessons, your geography lessons, your science lessons..."

You sighed, as Liam began to go on and on, tuning him out as you focused your attention to look out the window. You noticed a butterfly, you're not sure how it got here, but you wished you could fly away like they could, "All my life, I've always wanted to have one day just for me. Nothing to do, and for once, nowhere I need to be" you placed your face in your palm.

"With no lessons, lords or lunches Or to-do list in the way" as you went on, your voice grew a bit louder to drown out Liam's rambling as you snuck away, desperately trying to loosen the tightness of the outfit you wore.

"No one to say when to eat or read or leave or stay" you made your way to the balcony as you continued on, you held out your pointer finger, as the (f/c) colored, butterfly landed on your finger.

"That would be the day"

"All my life, I've always wanted to have one day for myself. Not waking up with a pile of work on every shelf"  Charlie sang, as she brushed her suit jacket off, as she stood up from her spot on the couch.

"With no father in need of impressing. And no hotel in disarray" she stepped over the scattered markers on the floor as she saw something catch her attention out of the corner of her eyes. It was a butterfly, that intrigued her. You didn't see butterflies in hell. But it was a beautiful shade of cherry red, it matched her eyes.

"No hell with thousands of  sinners to save" she opened the window, gently to not spook the winged creature. It eagerly flew inside, spooking KeeKee a bit. Charlie chuckled, as she held out her finger as she watched it gently land on it. "And no extermination in the way".

Her smile fell a bit as she watched the butterfly fly off her finger, as all the weight and self doubt creeped in again. "What would it be like to be..."

You watched as the butterfly flew off your finger, "What would it be like to be free?"

"Free?"

"Free to try crazy things" you looked up at the sky, dreamily with a cheeky smile on your face.

"Free from endless IOUs" the red eyed demon, cooed, as she leaned against the wall of the hotel.

"Free to fly" your ears flicked, as you watched the butterfly flutter past you and out towards the balcony.

"Free to sing"

"And marry whom I choose" you sang bitterly, as you remembered your arranged engagement you own fucking sister didn't tell you about.

"Cmon your highness, don't be so upset. This is for the greater good, you both will be an adorable couple! Helping bring  hope to humans for centuries to come!" Liam said enthusiastically.

"I guess ..." you grumbled bitterly, "it's my duty..."

"Oh look! Another engagement gift!" He cooed, as another Angel sent down a gift on the growing pile. You rose a brow, a bit skeptical.  "You would think that I'm so lucky that I have so many things" you crouched down to grab one of the presents, it was wrapped in your favorite color with a golden ribbon on the top. "I'm realizing that every present comes with strings" you looked at the gift solemnly, as you fiddled with the string.

"Though I know I have so little, my determination's strong" Charlie, glanced around the slightly ramshackled walls of the hotel, nervously. Before putting on a determined grin, "People will gather around the 7 rings to hear my song!" The blonde twirled, as she thrusted her arms up enthusiastically into the air.

"Now I fear I'll never be..." 

"Soon, I will forever be..."

"Free"

You and Charlie both made your way back to your balconies, as you both sang in harmony. " I close my eyes and feel myself fly a thousand miles away". You both gripped the railing as you both overlooked your kingdoms; Your sunny blue clear skies and Charlie's dark and dingy horizon. "I could take flight, but would it be right?" You both glanced up at the colored butterflies fluttering around you. "My conscience tells me, "Stay"

"I'll remain forever royal" you sighed, as you closed your eyes.

"I won't give up on these sinners yet!" Charlie declared determinedly.

"Duty means doing the things your heart may well regret"

"But I'll never stop believing" Charlie cooed softly, as she looked up in the sky dreamily. She was sure there was someone up there in heaven who'd take her seriously

"She can never stop my schemes" you rolled your eyes playfully, as you leaned against the railing. Sure, Sera could try and  tie you down with marriage but you weren't about to roll over and take it.

"There's more to living than gloves and gowns and threads and seams"  You both sang into the empty sky, as y'all watched the butterflies finally soar away from the balcony

"In my dreams, I'll be free"

"Nice singing twink" a familiar voice snapped you out of your perfect harmony, causing you to freeze. You turned around bashfully, as heat began to rush to your face. You were NOT expecting to be caught. You were met with the familiar sight of Adam's exterminator mask, you sighed. "Good afternoon Adam..." you noticed Lute standing not far from him. "Good afternoon Lute"

"Afternoon, your highness" she replied, professionally, nodding her head in a slight bowed.

"Uh? You don't sound pleased to see me? Which is fucking crazy, since I'm ADAM y'know the-" you cut him off swiftly.

"The original dick? Yeah, I know Adam..." you huffed, crossing your arms. "What do you want anyways?" You asked, as you fiddled with the collar  of your shirt.

"What a guy can't see the cute little twink he's about to put a ring on?" He asked smugly.

Your eyes widened, at those words, your form stiffening, as you processed what he had just said. Adam...is the Angel you're marrying.

Adam.....marriage you.

Adam is marrying you.

You couldn't help but let out the screech you've been holding in. Fuck that entire Disney princess ass song you sang about follwing your duty for the greater good that was when you thoughts you were marrying literally anybody else except literally FUCKING ADAM.

"OH YOU MOTHERFU-"

-... ..- - / .-- .. - .... / - .... . / .--. .-. . -.-. .. --- ..- ... / -... .-.. --- --- -.. / --- ..-. / -.-. .... .-. .. ... - --..-- / .- / .-.. .- -- -... / .-- .. - .... --- ..- - / -... .-.. . -- .. ... .... / --- .-. / -.. . ..-. . -.-. - .-.-.- .---- / .--. . - . .-. / .---- ---... .---- ----.

@mixplara @lukerycyja-reblogs

Hey y'all, how y'all doin *nervous smile*. I'm sorry this took so fucking long, the or I am dox got deleted and then I keep rewriting the chapter cause I didn't like it and honestly I'm not not even sure if I like this version of it. Let me know if you thought the addition of the song was corny, I had very mixed feelings towards it. Cause I thought it would

Also from now updates will be every Friday, any other updates in between the week will me deciding to be a motivated bitch out of literally nowhere. <333 anyways bye pookies

[aestherians]

Change and Loss

Word count: 1362

Expected reading time: 10-11 minutes

"If your otherkinity still serves you, it will never really leave you," is what I used to say - more as a reassurance than a statement of fact. I mean, how could I know for a fact that it was true? I didn't have any experience with losing a kintype. I still don't think I do; not really. And I always saw the idea repeated in the community - one time otherkind, always otherkind.

But I don't believe that's true anymore. I'm still a bison for sure. I've never doubted that. I'm still Ɐwhrayɐ the gnoll and I'm still Ben the shapeshifter… but I'm beginning to accept that those sides of me have changed.

"One time otherkin, always otherkin. If your otherkinity still serves you, it will never really leave you"… but what if that's not true? What if you still benefit from your kintypes, and they disappear regardless? What do you do if you lose a part of yourself, or if a part of yourself becomes unrecognizable to you? How do you keep living when you've lost yourself?

Sometime in 2023 the distress of always having to hide my true self became too much to bear alone. But I'm not a brave person. I think the better solution would've been to just bite the bullet and start expressing myself, but hindsight is 20/20. I've survived 25 years by hiding everything that makes me 'weird', and the idea of leaving my one dependable survival strategy behind was (is) terrifying. I went to a free self-help seminar ("Take control of your life!") but all it taught me is that I need a dependable support network before I can take control of my life. I went to my doctor to try and get a referral for a therapist (it's cheaper than just finding your own therapist). Instead he sent me to a psychiatrist for my 'delusions'. The psychiatrist told me my experiences, worldview, and self-perception were unusual but not harmful - they could only help if my goal was to get rid of my schizotypal traits (traits that weren't even significant enough to warrant a diagnosis). If all I wanted was to learn how to conquer my fears and express my true self, they couldn't help. It took months of visits to get the diagnosis: Traumatized by peer abuse, too poor to afford my own therapy, and too anxious and ADHD to even find a therapist in the first place.

I can't even say I was left at square one. I had started out hopeful. Nearing the end of 2023, I just felt helpless.

At the same time, my studies were drawing to a close. I completed my bachelor's degree in animal science and all it took was a diagnosis of ADHD so I could legally buy amphetamines, a compound-diagnosis of autism so I wouldn't get kicked out when I inevitably misunderstood exam questions and failed final after final, and 5½ years - almost twice the expected time for a bachelor's degree in my country.

It should've been freeing but instead it left me directionless. Helpless and directionless - that's how I entered 2024!

In the past, in the strictly structured day-to-day of school, my kintypes have been a source of comfort. Especially my Ben fictotype, which probably fell into the category of coping mechanism. I awakened in a time of intense stress and retreated to that world whenever my present life got too much. When crowds got me overstimulated or I missed an important deadline or fought with my neighbors or drifted apart from old friends, I thought about all the times Ben!me had gone through similar or worse. I cut off a friend in my present life after finding out he'd abused his ex - but in my other life I'd cut off a friend who tried to murder me, and things still turned out fine. I lived through it. I could live through it again. Every situation had a parallel in my other life.

I still don't know why that method failed me, but eventually it did. It's not that it didn't work, it was more that I suddenly had to put an effort into making it work. As if I'd always been able to enter Narnia and now suddenly I had to personally petition Aslan to let me back in. It started in the fall of 2023 but it wasn't until spring 2024 that I fully realized. Coping had never been an effort before, and the worst part is, I don't even know why it suddenly was.

My fictotype was drifting away, even when it still served me! This wasn't supposed to happen! Had I been lied to?!

I think our community has a lot of survivorship bias. Whichever mailing lists and newsgroups get archived, and whatever snailmail gets published, that's what our history is based on. The people who made archivable geocities sites get to write our story - not the people on closed forums or in private chat groups. People who leave the community don't tend to leave behind pristine essays on their fully archived websites explaining why they left. It does happen, don't get me wrong, but it's rare. And when they do leave behind messages, it's usually some variant of "I still love the community that fostered my awakening, I'm just an adult with responsibilities now and I don't have time for this."

But what about the people who don't love the community? Who 'unawakened'? Who aren't passionate enough to leave behind a final message? Do we ever hear from the otherkind who 'fizzled out' and became human - or at least lost a kintype?

You can understand my panic, right? I considered turning my fictotype into a copinglink, but my ADHD is so debilitating I barely remember to brush my teeth - no way I was gonna remember to do daily reinforcement exercises. Especially frazzled 2024 me (still frazzled as of June but I'm hanging in there!).

I was forced to accept whatever my come.

I'm still Ben, on some level, but I won't say "I'm thankfully still Ben," 'cause is it really that bad to not be Ben? Even if that facet had served me well and could still serve me? $1,000,000 could serve me well, but uselessly pining after it doesn't serve me.

I didn't prepare myself for loss because I really wasn't sure I was gonna lose a part of me - and, in any case, grieving preemptively is a waste of energy if you ask me. Instead a turned to the Bison - not my own bison theriotype, but the archetype of the Bison. When one woowoo solution fails, why not try another?

The Bison has always been a good teacher to me - better than any self-help seminar or psychiatrist. The Bison takes everything in stride. The Bison survives until it can thrive. The Bison ruminates on the present, it doesn't ponder the future. The Bison doesn't grieve or fret unnecessarily. It exists in the now. I exist in the now.

Of course, the chance that anyone reading this works with the Bison spirit is slim, but I think its teachings can help everyone - regardless of spirituality.

When turning to other worlds doesn't aid you, accept it, and turn to the present world. Let your worries pass through you, you can't see clearly when you're pent up with worry. You can't prevent the seasons from turning, all you can do is turn with them. Accept your lack of control, instead of trying to grasp at the uncontrollable. Sometimes change is unexpected, and you may not like it, and it might not even open up new doors for you. Not all change is good. But you cannot prevent every unwanted change, and you have to keep living regardless.

My fictionkinity doesn't have the intensity of my first few years post-awakening, but it also doesn't have the casual reassuredness of decade-old kintypes. It comes and goes, and when it comes it's like a whisper. And one day it might become too quiet for me to notice. One day it might not return.

But I think I can live with that.

[tiger-in-the-flightdeck]

Sewing Class is beginning again this month! Which means I am once again requesting donations so I can cover supplies for students who aren't able to afford to purchase fabrics.

Because of the donations I've received in the past for other classes, students who wouldn't otherwise be able to make themselves much were able to produce some really wonderful garments that they were proud to wear! Everything from hair accessories, to bags, to whole outfits.

Any little bit helps, but if I reach $100 worth of donations, I will be posting a tutorial for one of the projects I'll be teaching them this term.

I also have a wishlist set up that has a lot of non-fabric supplies that are sorely needed, specifically thread.

[hellcatinnc]

How the Men Of Love And Deepspace Would Be On Being Fathers

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Warning This includes: SFW (Read Tags Before Continuing)

Tags: sfw, fathers, daddys, pregnancy, baby daddys, babies, baby rooms, morning sickness, fluff, love and deepspace, zayne, xavier, rafayel, lamaze, birth, pregnancy test, flirty, kuudere

Word Count: 2,292

Feature: x Fem! Reader

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Zayne

That moment when you show up at the hospital and he is in between surgeries. He has been there for over 24 hours now with all the wrecks of recently but you just can't wait to tell him. You let his nurses know to tell him that you will be waiting in the cafeteria until he has a moment. A couple hours have gone by and your play candy crush or one of your other addictive mobile games this week it might just be the new game that came out "Love and Deepspace". ;)

After time has passed you happen to look up yawning its nearly 9pm cafeteria hours are almost up but you see a shadow out of the corner of your eye. He is grabbing a few croissants and a few sweet treats then walks over at the table and sits down in front of you. Same Zayne you have always loved even though its hard to know what he is thinking you know he loves you in the little things he does for you. Like the fact he had already slid across the table your favorite pastry and coffee and he didn't even ask, he has been with you long enough to just get them now.

You take a deep breath then look at him "You're going to be a daddy!" You are so used to no expression so you expect it you just happen to tell him when he was sipping his coffee and he started coughing, it had gone down the wrong way because the moment he heard that he breathed in the liquid. After a few moments it took and he got his composure he looked back up at you. "I thought we been using protection and pills, you been on pills right?" You nod yes "Sometimes they aren't all full proof, you're a doctor you should know that."

He looks at you then sighs, "Well you know we financially can afford it but we will have to look for a bigger place and then balance our bank account and see what we need to take out each month on what we are going to buy for the baby's room. Then there is the care after they are born......" He trails off on this logic train you lean over put your finger to his lips "Shhh, honey lets take one day at a time. For now its to be happy that we are going to have a little one together. Tomorrow on we can think about the logics but for now lets just be happy. I mean you are happy right?" He nods yes, you know he is just freaking out under it all but you wouldn't expect it any other way than him trying to plan ahead to make sure you and the baby is taken care of.

He always goes out of his way to make sure you are safe and secure and he wants to do the same for you during your pregnancy right on into having the baby. You two think differently however this ride you will be on having a baby you will teach him to breathe and feel the baby kick, and he will be there making sure your lined up for the best daycares and have just enough diapers when you come home from the hospital. He doesn't always tell you how he feels but the next 9 months he will be the man who brings you home lotions to give your feet massage from where they are swelling due to water weight in the pregnancy. He will pick up you prescription on his way home for lunch for your prenatal. He is there holding your hair out of the way when you have morning sickness in the toilet. He helps you decorate the baby room with a more clean look to it but not to childish but with name brand stuff in the room.

The day the baby is born it will be induced earlier since he was able to get one day off the clock to be there for you in the emergency room. He will be there holding your hand as you push. Because he is a doctor you won't have to worry about him being squeamish. He is there when they cut the ambilocal cord and he is the first one with his baby in his arms. Its a little girl looking up at her daddy in that moment you see a smile curl up on his face. If no one else can get an expression from him the moment he sees her she melts his icy demeaner and thats how she will always be wrapping her daddy around her little fingers.

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Rafayel

You show up at his art studio day and you wanted to surprise him with lunch because he has a habit getting caught up in his artwork and sometimes forgets to eat. You step inside and see him painting away and don't want to startle him so you go sit on the couch and set up a little lunch picnic on the table for him. He happens to look back at one point sees you there and heads over to you walking over leaning in and kissing your lips first as he gives you a playful smile. "This looks amazing, also you look absolutely radiant today. Something new about you darling?" No sooner than he says that you think your sweet Raffy has been in tune with your emotions and feelings from the very start so doesn't surprise you that he can already tell your pregnant even though he doesn't know he can still notice the differences in changes in your appearance.

You nod yes as you pull out a box from your purse and hand it to him. Well Raffy loves getting gifts from you but he hadn't expected what was to come. Its a longer box so he is kind of surprised but smiles wide at you as he opens the box. He pushes the paper aside to see a pregnancy test sitting in the box. He flopped down in the chair and has a shocked look on his face. He starts to smile and looks up at you with tears starting to form in his eyes. "You.... Y-ou mean......I'm..I'm going to be a d-daddy?" His cute stutter was precious but with his actions, the tears in his eyes you knew you had picked the perfect partner to have a family with and spend your life with. You reach over wiping his tears out of his eyes and kiss him softly. "Yes my love, your going to be a daddy." He starts to chuckle a bit then gives you that sheepish smile he knows he did well to get you pregnant and you can see that gleam in his eyes he is proud of himself.

He is there every step of the way, you thought he was clingy before you haven't seen anything. He will make sure everything is done though, he will make food for you and keep the house cleaned up. Even though he is normally a messy person he refuses to be the reason you fall and get hurt or hurt the baby. He is sitting beside you in morning sickness wiping your face with a cool rag and handing you water in between getting sick so that you are keeping hydrated. He is all about going out shopping for baby stuff like cute rompers, and he will find little baby paint brush sets that look like paint brushes but are rattles instead. He will decorate the baby room by painting cute baby stuff all around the room. He will paint a underwater theme he did it with more of a kid friendly feel to match the rest of the baby room.

He is set and ready to go. Those 9 months are just not gonna go by fast enough for him. He is super excited and can't wait to meet his offspring. You will go to lamaze classes with him and sign up for a midwife to do a water birth. So the day you go in labor he will have the midwife on speed dial on his phone so that she can get over there and give birth to your child in the garden tub you have in the bathroom. No matter how much Rafayel tries to keep it together he gets dizzy at one point and looks away but refuses to leave your side. He holds your hand through it all no matter how much you scream at him he doesn't leave. When his daughter cries for the first time he is in tears looking down at his sweet little baby. First words out of his mouth is "I love my baby girl and thank you darlin for giving us such a beautiful family." Now its time for selfie time he will take a 100 of photos of you and him and the baby before the nights even over because he will be so proud. He will take care of everything while you recover after birth for the next couple weeks.

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Xavier

You sent him a text seeing if he was home and awake. When you got a response back he asked you if you wanted to come up and make them some pancakes. You agree because you know he is better on a full stomach and well rested so this would be the perfect time to tell him. You get up to his apartment and even though normally he doesn't get too excited when it comes to food he is all in ready for it. So you decide to get creative and after you make the pancakes you draw with the syrup the word daddy on the pancakes well that didn't work. No sooner than you sat the plate in front of him he jumped right into eating didn't even notice the words in syrup. You sit across the table and you sigh of course now you have to go a different route.

"Honey, have you ever thought about having kids?" The moment he hears you say this he almost chokes on his pancakes then looks up at you like you have got to be kidding. I mean sure have you ever thought Xavier would be good daddy material, probably not but hey its going to happen your pregnant and he is your boyfriend. He gives you that curious stare he likes to give like he is trying to figure out if your pulling his chain or if your serious. "I can't say I have." He says in a hurry but then goes back to eating like you had interfered with his enjoyment. You look directly at him put your hand on his hand as he looks up at you. "Well we are going to be having a baby, I'm pregnant!" He just stares at you like he is trying to figure out how to address this.

He sits there eating as he does so in silence like he is trying to figure out what to do next. You sit there uncomfortable thinking that he doesn't want you and the baby now. After some time he finishes his breakfast then grabs your hand and walks you to the bed. Pulls you onto it and into his arms where he wraps his arms around you. "I'm not prepared, nor am I ready. I have never wanted kids or even thought about them. However I feel for you like no one else, so lets see where this takes us." He made you happy in that moment, yeah sure he isn't over the moon but he is also still staying by your side through it all. He goes to the doctors appointments with you and finds out you are having a girl he had no performance thought.

You two went to appointments and he asked alot of questions. Went to help you get baby stuff for the house and he asked you to move in with him so that you two could be there through out the pregnancy. Whenever you got sick with morning sickness he would teleport you to the hospital. When it came to picking out baby furniture he just wanted the items to either be accented in stars or lights or both. He strung all the lights himself so that you dont have to do alot of work he wanted you to lay low while he did most everything so that your pregnancy stay healthy.

When it came the day you were to give birth you woke up from a sound sleep. So as he realized you were in labor he teleported you to the hospital. He wanted to be in the room with you but the moment they told you to push and the baby was crowning he got nauseated and passed out. When he woke up the baby was already laying in your arms. He crawled on to the hospital bed cuddling up to you watching you talk to you two's little girl. He looked down at her "She is so precious". you could tell he was interested in her even if he acted like he wasn't. When you got home you realized he had someone there cleaning up so you could focus on you and the baby. He still couldn't believe he was. He cuddled you two for a few hours and then he went and laid his head against you as you both snuggled up and pulled a bassinet next to you to put your baby in as he held you the rest of the night so you could get rest after the long day as well you felt safe.

[phoenixyfriend]

I've been thinking about how it might be useful, if not necessarily entirely fulfilling for whatever it is that I need out of them, to ask politicians how they would define a healthy economy, as opposed to just asking them how they would try to ensure a healthy economy.

President Joe Biden took to the White House lectern Friday to tout the healthy economy – strong job creation, lowering inflation and increased workforce participation and job satisfaction. - US News, Sep. 1, 2023

And

"I think we will see a big pickup in growth. We may not see it in the winter quarter...but I’m hopeful that we’ll see it in the spring,” Larry Kudlow, head of the National Economic Council, said on Fox Business. “It’s a fundamentally healthy economy,” he said, touting the 3.5 percent unemployment rate and “tremendous wage gains.” - The Washington Post, Jan. 30, 2020

In both cases they are offering a few signs of a healthy economy, the things that are quantified and measured as indicators, like unemployment, inflation, and wages.

But... wouldn't 'the ability to buy or rent a living space, and food security, for as many people as possible' make more sense?

Yeah, low inflation is the sign of a good economy, but what is the healthy economy actually doing? The jobs being created, are they actually full time and paying a living wage?

Fuck knows how many times a person at the podium has referenced the stock market as a signifier of the economy's health, and we all know that's barely relevant to the lives of us normal people.

I guess the question I'd want to ask politicians is "if the economy's health were measured in percentage of people who are able to afford housing, food, and other essentials on a full-time job with no government assistance, is the economy actually healthy?"

Low inflation means jackshit if the minimum wage is still no inflation. Job creation means something, but not if it's so far from your home that you spend most of your paycheck commuting. 'Tremendous wage gains' don't mean much if you're looking at an average that includes the CEOs and allows their paychecks to skew the data upwards.

How many of your citizens can afford housing, groceries, and medical care on a full-time wage, without government assistance?

[toji-fushiguro-is-broke]

Toji proposing to you

Toji proposing to you

It's been years since you and Toji had been in a relationship, You've made bonds with Megumi and Tsumiki and your relationship has gotten stronger over the years. Thanks to you they were able to live a happy life with a complete family.

But years pass, Megumi and Tsumiki are wondering when you'll marry Toji.

Kids their age ask why your parents aren't married. And they don't know how to answer them because it is very complicated.

Ever since, Megumi and Tsumiki kept bringing the Idea to Toji

"DAD, WHEN WILL YOU MARRY MOM?" Tsumiki yelled at her father, thankfully you were out to buy groceries so they can confront him about.

"Why, what's the matter? Me and her are together. That's what what matters." Toji said as Tsumiki hits her with a punch.

"IF YOU DON'T MARRY MOM ANOTHER MAN WILL SEE IT AS A SIGN THAT SHE'S AVAILABLE TO TAKE!!!" Tsumiki angrily yells at the man infront of her.

"Alot of guys kept asking mom for her number and thought I was her brother." Megumi said to stir his mind up.

"SEE?!? IF YOU DON'T ACT NOW, SHE'LL VANISH! HEAR ME??!?? VANISH!!!!"

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT SHE SEES IN YOU DAD YOU'RE OLD AND CRANKY!!!" She huffs at him.

"I doubt anyone other than mom can handle you, SO SEAL THE DEAL!!!" Tsumiki yells again

"Tsumiki why are you yelling at your Dad again?" You spoke as you just got home.

"BECAUSE DADS STUPID! I WANT ICE CREAM!!!" She yells as she runs to you with a hug as Megumi comes in to hug you as well.

You didn't hear what happened but you thought it was just the kids nagging Toji about junk foods again.

"Okay okay, a little bit of ice cream isn't bad." You said as you pulled out some ice cream from your groceries.

"YAYYYY!!! WE LOVE YOU MOMMY!!!" Tsumiki squeals in glee

"Thank you, Mommy I love you." Megumi says as he kisses your cheek.

"I LOVE YOU MOMMMEEHHH!!" Tsumiki yells as she kisses you too.

As they both got the Ice cream, they sat on the couch to watch some movies with you.

After that talk with Tsumiki and Megumi, Toji got to thinking.

He did wanted to marry you but he's worried if he afford a grand wedding for you. He heard that girls like big weddings.

So he's been secretly saving money up, but Tsumiki was right.

You were younger than him, beautiful, smart, energetic. Who wouldn't want you?

He thought should speed up on his plan as he took more missions.

While you on the other hand, were getting worried about Toji, as he kept coming home very very late.

He kept using work as an excuse, and you trust him.

You sighed as you were stressed about your relationship with him.

Ever since you knew he was an assassin you get VERY worried, you had accepted Toji for who he is and accepted it.

But of course you wanted some things to change to have a healthy happy life with him, hopefully one day he'll quit gambling and assassination overall.

*After a few days*

"Tsumiki, Megumi let's go out." Toji said as he was walking to the front door.

"Why?" Megumi asked.

"We're picking a ring for mama" Toji said as Tsumiki butted in.

"Mom should be the one who chooses the wedding ring Dad! It's the new hype these days." Tsumiki said

As Toji just stood there, "I don't get what that means."

"It means what if mom doesn't like the ring? These days I've heard the guys will propose with a ring but later on they'll let the girl choose the ring-" Tsumiki

"Gosh, how hard is it to marry these days." Toji sighed.

"Hard enough that half of the population is still unmarried." Tsumiki crosses her hands.

"Aight, You do it then plan the proposal." Toji said as he hands Tsumiki the money.

"OKAY I KNOW THE BEST PLACE." Tsumiki said as she drags her father and brother out.

At the Mall, Toji was shocked at the ring prices.

"This can feed us for an entire fucking month" He said

"Language Dad, I'll tell on you." Tsumiki said

"let's get over with, mom is going to be home any time soon." Megumi complains as Tsumiki was taking so long to choose.

"It's done." Tsumiki said as she raised the ring up in the air.

Toji and Megumi looked at the ring.

"It looks kinda plain" Megumi says.

"Mom likes plain and elegant jewelry didn't you notice? Of course not you're both boys." She said as she walks to the counter to have it wrapped up and paid.

Tsumiki and Megumi helps alot with the preparations on the engagement.

They were going to surpise you.

Meanwhile you, were getting suspicious as your family is clearly hiding something from you, so after coming home from work.

You decided to confront them, you opened the door to hear balloons popping, Two kids fighting and a lot of groaning from an adult man who's trying to hang designs.

"IT LOOKS HORRIBLE DAD!" Tsumiki yells

"Mom's coming home we better-" Megumi spoke as he got interrupted when he saw you.

"Too late." He said as Toji turned to see you as he lost balance on the chair he was standing on as he fell down.

"TOJI!! Are you okay? That must've hurt." You rush to him concerned.

"I've fought stronger enemies, something like this won't do anything." said still sitting on the floor.

"Still, But what were you guys doing." You asked as you shifted your eyes around.

As you saw a banner that isn't being covered by Toji's body anymore.

-> //Will you marry me?

You gasped and yelled "YES!!!" you immediately hugged and kissed him.

"Ewwww" Tsumiki and Megumi said both at the same time.

"UGHHH THIS ISN'T ROMANTICCCCC"

"Congratulations though mama and papa!" She said as she smiles.

"Congratulations" Megumi said as Tsumiki takes her phone out to take a picture.

"Say cheese!!!"

"Cheese!!!"

[katya-goncharov]

sometimes i think it would be nice to live in an era where i actually had a chance of buying a house one day

[imdead770]

The Outsiders Black Friday Headcannons

I know it's late but let me have this

-- ☆ -- ☆ -- ☆ -- ☆ -- ☆ -- ☆ -- ☆ -- ☆ -- ☆ --

Darry -

This motherfucker is built like a semi truck. No one, I mean no one, would push past him. There's an actually good TV he can surprisingly afford? It's over. Surrender. He will literally bulldoze people out of the way.

◇ Definitely gets stuff for his brothers so they'll be happy

Sodapop -

I think he'd get some decent stuff. Maybe some jean jacket he thought was tuff that was 75% off. I think he'd put up a fight for really nice cheap stuff, but he didn't want to hit a woman so he just settled for something else.

◇ He definitely got some stupid shit like a customized shot glass or something

" Look Dar! Ain't it pretty? "

" You don't even drink, Soda "

" But it's got palm trees! "

Ponyboy -

He doesn't even know it's Black Friday. The fights are regular in Tulsa so he doesn't even think twice when he sees someone punch a lady for a Polaroid. His only clue was when he went to the movies and the cashier said the tickets are 80% off. That was when he started wondering if it was Saturday or Friday.

◇ Even if he knew he wouldn't have gone anywhere except the book store

Johnny -

I feel like Johnny is actually a little scared of Black Friday. He thinks if he buys something he'll get jumped again. So he'd probably just go to the movies with Ponyboy or something.

◇ If he tried Black Friday and someone asked for it, he wouldn't be able to say no, so he fails Black Friday 💀

Dallas -

Technaically, if you steal stuff, everyday is Black Friday. But during Black Friday this mf is throwing punches, tackling people, all of itm Dally just sees it as an opportunity to fight someone, win, and then walk out without paying for it. He probably got arrested for A) Stealing or B) Knocking a guys tooth out.

◇ He sits in the cell all cocky because he has a new leather jacket now so he thinks he's 10x cooler

Two-Bit -

I don't know for sure what he'd do but I think he'd try to put up a fight. Not for technology, he's probably going for some mickey mouse merch and fighting with a 10 year old for it. He might try to get another pocket knife, but none of them meet his expectations.

◇ Ended up making some kid cry, so he tried to tell them a joke, but it didn't work. So he just walked off. But hey, he has a mickey mouse watched now.

Steve -

He'd definitely put up a fight. He saw some hair gel he's been eyeing that's 80% off? At least two people are getting their noses broken. He wouldn't go for all the big stuff, he isn't interested in a new tv, but he'd definitely tackle someone for a new fridge.

◇ In the end he'd probably punched 17 people and gotten an ass ton of bruises, but hey, now he has a fridge that actually stays cold.

-- ☆ -- ☆ -- ☆ -- ☆ -- ☆ -- ☆ -- ☆ -- ☆ -- ☆ --

[sidekick-hero]

Until I found you

(steddie | 1.5k | mature | AO3 | Collection with wedding fics)

My dearest @thefreakandthehair, you were the first person I really interacted with in this fandom and your Winter Challenge was the reason I wrote my very first ST fanfic. You have a special place in my heart Lex and I am so glad, that I and all the others, were able to show you how much you mean to us with our wedding gifts.

I wish you and Billiam a life filled with love and happiness and the knowledge that you found something special within each other 💜

Most of the time, Eddie doesn’t mind being poor. Hell, he grew up with no money to his name, and as with so many things, you can't really miss what you've never had.

But sometimes he wishes that he wasn't.

Not even for himself, but for Steve. Because Steve? Steve knows what he's missing.

Before he came out to his parents, involuntarily, when they caught them making out on the floor of their living room, and they kicked him out of their house and their family, Steve had money. He could buy anything he wanted and never had to worry about affording rent and groceries.

Now, Eddie and Steve were living together in a small but cozy apartment in Indianapolis with their cats, Merry and Pippin. Steve was studying to be an EMT, and Eddie was working as a bartender where his band played regularly. They got by just fine, even though most of their furniture was second-hand, and they went grocery shopping on a weekly budget.

Their life was good. Perfect, in fact, if you asked Eddie. They had everything they needed, especially each other, which was the most important thing, a fact Steve never tired of reminding him of.

But that never stopped Eddie from wanting to give Steve more. Steve deserved the world and Eddie hated that he couldn't give it to him. He couldn't even give him the honeymoon he deserved.

If he's honest, he still can't believe Steve said yes. Especially after Eddie proposed at the worst possible time. Not during sex, which would have been bad, but not the worst. No, he proposed during a fight.

Steve was yelling at him, probably about something inane because he was tired and frustrated at the time, Eddie doesn’t even remember. And all he could think was that he would do anything to have Steve yell at him and smile at him and kiss him and tease him for the rest of his life.

"If you don't care, fine, but some of us —"

"Marry me."

"What - are you kidding me?"

"No, I have never been more serious in my life. Marry me, Steve."

"Are you asking me to marry you so I’ll stop yelling at you? Because I won't."

"Oh, I know. You don't have to. Just say yes before you go on?"

Steve had stopped yelling at him after that, too busy kissing him. They fucked right there on their kitchen floor, and Steve bitched about it the whole next day when his knees hurt. It was perfect.

Eddie wants their honeymoon to be just as perfect. But even though his uncle pitched in as much as he could, their wedding ate up what little savings they had. So instead of going to a beach somewhere and enjoying the sight of his husband in nothing but his swim trunks and lathering his gorgeous skin in sunscreen, they stayed home.

"Come on, it's not that bad. You know us. We wouldn't have left the hotel room anyway." Steve tries to cheer him up as Eddie sulks on their bed, wiggling his eyebrows in the way he knows makes Eddie laugh every time. It has the desired effect when Eddie snorts, but the thought of letting Steve down still lingers on his mind.

"Seriously, Eds. I know we don't have much right now, but we can always go on vacation together later. Right now, I really want to enjoy some quality time with my husband. So could you please tell him to stop moping?"

It's said with a teasing smile, so Eddie knows that Steve isn't really annoyed with him. But he's right, this is their honeymoon, even if they have to spend it at home. He shouldn't sit around and mope. He's failing at being a husband. He should probably prepare himself for the inevitable moment when Steve realizes that too and asks him for a divorce. Maybe they can at least stay friends. The thought hurts, a pang in his chest that he knows has nothing on how much the real thing would hurt. Like a supernova imploding in his chest, a black hole that would suck the life out of him. But he would try anyway. Not right away, but maybe someday, because Eddie can't imagine a life without Steve in it, even if it won't be the way he hoped it would be —

"I see you spiraling from here, Eddie."

Steve's voice is soft, as is his touch, as he cups Eddie's cheek with the palm of his hand. When Eddie looks up into his eyes, they are soft as well, filled with nothing but love. They look exactly the same as they did when Steve said "I do.” Just before he kissed Eddie with so much tenderness that Eddie could feel it in his toes.

"I just want to make you happy, Stevie. I don't want to disappoint you."

It's painfully honest, but they both worked hard at being honest with each other. Even when they screw up or when they think it might hurt the other. Honesty is the foundation on which they built their relationship, along with trust, respect, and, of course, love. And fantastic sex.

Steve smiles at him, and something about the look on his face actually brings tears to Eddie's eyes and his heart clenches in his chest. Fuck. He never thought you could love someone so much that it physically hurts until he met Steve. "I know, baby. I know. Wanna know a secret?"

Eddie hums and presses a small kiss to Steve's palm. Steve's thumb reaches up to gently stroke his cheekbones, wiping away the wetness that has begun to gather. "You make me happy every day in so many ways."

Steve kisses the tender skin under Eddie's eye, first left, then right. "When I wake up in the morning, way before you, sleepyhead, and you always kiss me, even when you're not awake yet."

He kisses Eddie's nose next, adding a little nip to the tip that makes Eddie smile. "When you text me throughout the day, just to share your thoughts and hear mine. Just to show me you were thinking about me."

Next, Steve's lips find Eddie's forehead, lingering, pressing his love into Eddie's skin, wanting it to get through Eddie's thick skull. "When you come home after a long shift, tiptoeing through the apartment, and making a ruckus anyway because you couldn't be quiet to save your life. And you slide into bed next to me, wrap me up in your arms, kiss the side of my face, and tell me you love me.”

Finally, Steve kisses him on the lips, first taking his upper lip between his own, then his lower, before slowly dragging his tongue along the seam. Eddie opens his mouth and Steve's tongue slips in, just like that, just a tease, not as a prelude to anything, but because he can. Because what's Eddie's is his and what's Steve's is Eddie's. Everything he has and everything he is belongs to Steve. His husband.

"You made me the happiest man in the world when you asked me to marry you. When you said yes in front of our friends, our family." Steve whispers in the minimal space between their lips, and Eddie sniffles, too happy to be embarrassed.

"I love you, Stevie. So goddamn much." Another kiss, as gentle as the last.

Steve pulls away, both hands cupping Eddie's face, his thumbs wiping away the last of the tears. "I love you too. So how about we start with the whole honeymoon business, huh?"

"What do you have in mind?"

Steve's smile is sweet, innocent, but Eddie knows his husband well enough to see the gleam in his eyes. He's in for a treat, his stomach fluttering in anticipation.

"Well," Steve begins, letting go of Eddie's face to tap his chin, "I thought we'd take our mattress into the living room, put it in front of the TV and put on Lord of the Rings. Extended Edition." The words sound like music to his ears, the perfect way to spend the day in his book, but it's hardly a gift for the two of them.

Steve is not finished, however. "That's 686 minutes. Wanna show me how many times you can make me come in 11 hours?"

Standing up so fast he almost knocks Steve over, Eddie pulls Steve into a deep, heated kiss. "Marry me, Steve."

Steve laughs. "I already did, stupid. I take it you like the idea?"

"I love it. Almost as much as you." They kiss again, unable to keep their hands off each other.

Eddie wonders if the impromptu blowjob that follows on their bed can be added to the final count at the end of the day. If so, it's nine times. Not bad at all, if he says so himself.

Steve seems to agree as they cuddle on the couch, both naked, satiated and sleepy, their legs intertwined and Steve's head resting on Eddie's chest, their mattress beyond saving ("Good thing the new one gets delivered tomorrow.").

"Are you happy, Stevie?"

"Never been happier in my life, Mr. Munson-Harrington."

[shuttershocky]

Could you explain what aspects about MOBA's you enjoy? They've never clicked for me, but you always sound like you're having fun when you talk about them.

Sure thing, though a short history lesson first.

The Philippines is MOBA country. In the early 2000s, most people were too poor to really afford a gaming computer or console, but were still avid gamers. To fulfill this audience demand, many places opened up "Compshops", not a computer shop where you shop for parts, but a place to use a computer for a set amount of time like an internet cafe, but specifically for video games. Any student at the time could rent a computer for an hour at 20 pesos (sometimes even cheaper) to play video games. These kids would bring their friends, who would also bring their friends, and so you could have like 10+ kids entering a compshop at once.

Now if you put a bunch of computers in one place, you're set up for a LAN party. Two games emerged as kings here, Counterstrike, and Warcraft 3, with the latter's Defense of the Ancients custom map becoming the number 1 game.

These games were easy to pirate and easy to set up, but could also accommodate the large friend groups. Since they were team-based, you also wouldn't get a Quake situation where one guy stomps the entire lobby, better players had a responsibility to carry their weaker teammates.

Nowadays Dota is past its heyday, but still has devout players from my generation. MOBAs are still popular though, with Mobile Legends being what the kids are playing now.

This foreword is all to explain that I have never played any MOBA alone (except for SMNC). I have played DOTA and Dota 2, League of Legends, Smite, and now Deadlock with a party, even a full stack in most cases. This drastically increases how enjoyable the genre is, as so much of the fun is in team coordination and overcoming an immense challenge together.

Now as for what I personally like about MOBAs, it's how the genre ramps up tension and catharsis in a way no other video game can really match.

A single match in Dota 2 averages about 30-40 minutes, with really long games lasting for an hour, maybe more (the longest Dota 2 match in history was 3 hours long and was a pro match too!). The reason for that length is because everyone starts the match at level 1 and buck naked. Without any ability points you don't have any spells, and without items you don't have any stats. In this state it is impossible to siege the enemy base, because their towers will simply laugh and kill you if you try. Thus, you and the enemy team alike must gather resources to grow stronger through leveling up and buying items until you're strong enough to destroy the enemy base, while sabotaging the other team by killing them (and thus putting them into a respawn timer where they can't gather resources or defend their base) or by stealing what they have, since the map has limited resources.

This race to become stronger through any means possible creates the push and pull of the MOBA genre, but also has the side effect of ramping the tension like crazy. Since it takes a significant time to get strong, the match also gives you a lot of time to get emotionally invested, and the later the game goes the stronger that feeling gets. And since MOBAs have characters scale very hard going from wimps to being able to delete an enemy in the blink of an eye, the later the game gets the more punishing a single mistake or the more bountiful a victorious skirmish is.

This leads to some of the most intense, even anxiety-inducing experiences a video game can ever give. You just spent 40 minutes getting strong, but failed to stop the enemy team from also getting strong as well, so now you're both powerful enough to erase each other in an instant, the deciding factor is who makes the first mistake. Will all of your effort come to nothing, or will all of that time investment pay off in a spectacular win? That question can be decided in a matter of seconds.

And because youre only 1 player among 5, truly perfect coordination is almost impossible, and mistakes are unavoidable. Even when you make a mistake and the enemy capitalizes on it, they can still make a mistake themselves that you can exploit to turn a lost fight into a win if youve grown powerful enough to pull it off. A game can be decided in a few critical seconds, but nobody can ever be truly sure which seconds those are. Sometimes some people think they've already won, when suddenly the game is all over and they lost because they got overconfident.

It is because of all that buildup of tension and anxiety that the sheer catharsis when you win an extremely difficult game feels incredible. It feels so fucking good that you'll keep coming back even after some truly horrific losses to chase that same high.

I've been playing Dota 2 since 2012, meaning I've been playing the same game for 12 years now. Winning feels THAT good. There's just no other genre that gives me that rush.

It says something that the first game to truly compete with Dota 2 for me would be its spiritual sequel, Deadlock, which is Dota 2 if it was a third person shooter with actual movement options (bunny hopping, sliding, airdashing, walljumping, the works!)

Okay, okay, and also because Deadlock lets me parry enemy players to stun them.

It's so much fun. Neither Dota players nor Overwatch players expect you to just parry them when they go on you.

[timemachineyeah]

I just don't think renting should exist, but have no idea how to get there. Like, buying up properties and being able to profit off them endlessly, driving up the prices so the people who need them are less and less able to afford them and more and more dependent on renting... shouldn't exist. You just shouldn't get to own a ton of extra property you have no use for. And I think this is a thing a lot people believe. I mean, there's a reason we say being a landlord isn't really a job. But while we all agree - how? Do we do that? How do we change it?

Like we couldn't do it in one fell swoop. Certainly not without, like, a militia. And I am the kind of person who likes to naively believe there has to be SOME minimally or non-violent way to transition to a different economy. Even if realistically I think it's unlikely to play out that way, I have to at least believe it could be possible.

But even if we wrote a law tomorrow and it miraculously passed - which would not happen - but even with a grand legal decree saying you cannot charge rent or own more than [amount] property and must surrender your excess, you better bet the landowners would be willing to employ violence to protect their investment in capital. They already do in the form of police and personal security - they wouldn't just surrender the land and buildings they lay claim to.

There's a logistics to orchestrating the transition that I've no idea how to approach, but given the popularity and age of idea, I have to assume someone has better plans for how we could sneak into position to implement it in a... smoother? way?

Like entirely philosophically I don't really "believe" in personal property, in that it is a socially constructed idea, but it's useful and I don't think it can be entirely discarded - certainly not in my lifetime.

But I want to kill rent. I want it to die.