#just a basic livable amount

[sol1056]

I have to say, it’s been awhile since I’ve read an article that’s left me feeling physically nauseated. A mix of impotent fury and utter disgust.

A vocational expert hired by the Social Security Administration had to tell the judge if there was any work Heard [the applicant for disability benefits] could still do despite his condition. Heard was stunned as the expert canvassed his computer and announced his findings: He could find work as a nut sorter, a dowel inspector or an egg processor — jobs that virtually no longer exist in the United States. [emp mine]

and

...while the judge agreed that Heard had multiple, severe impairments, he denied him benefits, writing that he had “job opportunities” in three occupations that are nearly obsolete and agreeing with the expert’s dubious claim that 130,000 positions were still available sorting nuts, inspecting dowels and processing eggs.

because

The jobs are spelled out in an exhaustive publication known as the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. The vast majority of the 12,700 entries were last updated in 1977. The Department of Labor, which originally compiled the index, abandoned it 31 years ago in a sign of the economy’s shift from blue-collar manufacturing to information and services.

Social Security, though, still relies on it at the final stage when a claim is reviewed. The government, using strict vocational rules, assesses someone’s capacity to work and if jobs exist “in significant numbers” that they could still do. The dictionary remains the backbone of a $200 billion disability system that provides benefits to 15 million people.

I knew things were fucked up. I had no idea of the depths.

[cookinguptales]

Can I ask you to do a post about Disney & disability please? You mentioned it and I’d love to know more!

Well, my notifications can't get any messier, so why not?

This post got very, very long because I ended up talking about a lot of the accessibility solutions in detail (and... ranting about how accessibility at Universal was so bad that I got physically injured there) so I'm putting it under a cut for you.

To preface this, I have mobility issues (as well as a lot of food intolerances/allergies) and general chronic illness, my sister is Deaf, and I have friends who regularly attend the park with autistic family members with high support needs. These are the disabilities I have experience with, so while I've heard a bit about others (such as portable descriptive devices for visitors with visual impairments) I can't speak as much about those accommodations.

I have also traveled quite a bit, mostly as a disabled adult. I can work from anywhere and my family enjoys traveling, so I've been very lucky in this regard. I also used to live in central Florida, not too far from Disney, and benefited from their FL resident rates.

So I'm coming at this from a person who has a lot of experience traveling while disabled and a fair amount of experience going to WDW, though I haven't been nearly as often since I moved out of Florida.

(Good fucking riddance.)

So know that I am speaking from experience when I say I have never, without exception, been to a single place half as accessible as Walt Disney World. It is literally the reason my family would go there; it was one of the only places we could all safely go together. One of the only places I've been on earth that even approached their level of thoughtful accommodations is Barcelona, which apparently did significant renovations throughout the city in order to prepare for the 1992 Paralympics.

(Hey, if anyone is reading this from Barcelona: I teared up the first time I used one of your curb cuts in my wheelchair, just so you know.)

Going through those parks in a wheelchair is a breeze, though you will probably have to fight a lot of clueless parents with strollers who are hellbent on using resources intended for wheelchair-users and then glaring at you when you try to use them yourself. Level ground, spacious sidewalks, accessible transportation, well-kept gradual ramps, roomy buildings, lots of accessible restrooms, alternate entrances at many rides for wheelchair users, special wheelchair rows in movie theaters that we're loaded into first, accessible queues in most rides designed or renovated in the last fifteen years, special viewing areas for shows/parades/fireworks so you don't end up staring at able-bodied butts for a half hour...

Like, structurally-speaking, the parks are very easy to get around in if you're a wheelchair user. That was built in and you can see a lot of very mindful design choices. As far as the rides go, most of their rides actually have special cars that you can load into while still in a wheelchair. They're pretty neat. I can transfer, but that means often leaving my wheelchair and/or cane with a cast member during the ride. They are always, without fail, waiting for me on the other side of the ride, no matter how far the exit is from the entrance. I have never once had a problem with this. A cast member will be there to put my assistive devices in my hand before I even have to think about getting up. Guaranteed.

Wheelchair users always used to be able to skip the line, but there was unfortunately a problem with able-bodied people pretending to be disabled to skip lines (because god forbid they not have access to a single thing we have to make our lives livable) so now there's a system where if you cannot wait in a line, they'll basically give you a special time to come back that's equivalent to the length of the line. Which feels fair to me as someone who often cannot be in even an accessible line for extended periods. (I have problems with sunlight, heat, and often need emergency food or restroom.)

More important than all this, though, is the fact that cast members are impeccably well-trained in all of this. Any disabled person can tell you that the most accessible design on earth isn't worth shit if the people working there aren't well-trained. (More on this later, when I take a giant shit on Universal Studios.) But Disney trains their employees, many of whom are disabled themselves, incredibly well.

Every employee will know where the accessible entrances are. Every employee will know the procedure for getting a return time. Every employee will know about first-aid centers, and every employee will know where the quiet areas are for people with sensory issues. Every time you make a reservation for a meal, hotel room, transportation, etc. they will ask for all accessibility needs and they'll be ready for you.

Every waiter you have will be incredibly careful and knowledgeable when it comes to special dietary needs, and chefs will often come out to discuss them with you. They often have specific menus for different dietary needs, and they are scrupulous when it comes to allergens. I have a few intolerances that suck and allergies that could kill me and I have always felt very safe in their hands. This ranges from fancy sit-down restaurants to quick service burger places.

And -- honestly, I have just always been treated with respect. I know that sounds like a low bar, but most people do fail to clear it. Disney has their employees very well-trained on how to interact with disabled guests. People speak directly to me, never to the able-bodied people over my head. They never treat me like I'm a child. They never ask invasive questions or make uncomfortable jokes. They never, ever get impatient with my accessibility needs.

The few times I have misjudged things and have injured myself or gotten extremely ill, they were professional and caring as they provided much-needed first-aid. It's kind of embarrassing to be doted on by a costumed character while you wait for a doctor to come help you sit up again, but also kind of endearing, I'll admit.

They also, in addition to captioning all videos in the park, have some of the best sign language interpreters in the world, bar none. They're very personal and professional, they're easy to reserve, they will always be in a visible place during shows, and they're incredible performers as well as being very technically proficient. In addition to the professional interpreters, many cast members, performers, and characters can sign as well.

In addition to that, and this brings me to my next point, you'll meet a lot of disabled employees throughout the park. In front-facing positions. Deaf employees, employees using mobility aids, etc. They're well-known to hire disabled people and treat them well. This is. Fuck, this is incredibly rare, I say as someone who was never able to find a job in Florida with my health conditions. It's the moral thing to do to hire disabled people, but also -- selfishly, there's something so heartening and normalizing about seeing people who look like you working at the park. I'm happy every single time.

I have a little less personal experience when it comes to accessibility for neurodivergence, despite being neurodivergent myself, but I've been told that Disney is very, very accommodating for people on the spectrum. A lot is done to lessen crowding, waiting, sensory overload, etc. for autistic guests. Cast members are usually super good at this; finding designated quiet areas, helping autistic guests avoid more crowded areas, keeping them out of long lines, making sure they have access to any particular experiences that are special to them, etc.

For folks who need help from their group, whether that's an autistic child who needs to be with a parent or a disabled adult who needs someone to push their wheelchair or anything else, Disney has a rider switch-off model. In other words, if you're there with both of your able-bodied parents, for example, and you need one of them to be with you at all times and you don't want to be on the ride yourself, Disney will allow one person to go on the ride while the other waits for them to finish, then will allow the second person to go on without any additional wait. This makes sure that everyone in the family gets equal access without leaving disabled people alone. (Which... can be a very shitty feeling, I assure you.)

I know that Disney has also pioneered a lot of assistive technology. The accessible rides, obviously, which can be ridiculously cool (like Toy Story Midway Mania has an accessible car with alternative "guns" for people with dexterity limitations so they can play the carnival games as well) but also handheld assistive devices for visually impaired guests, etc. Like they are literally inventing new forms of accessibility technology, which is so cool.

And honestly, I'm always learning about new ways they assist disabled guests. I've stayed in Disney's accessible hotel rooms before (they're very nice!) but I don't like to swim so I've never been in the pools. But even just this week, someone told me that Disney has pool lifts for disabled guests, which I had never even considered. That's so cool.

The best part about accessibility at Disney is that in some ways it's very casual. A lot of their design decisions are so intuitive that you never even notice how accessible the parks are until you go somewhere where that's... not the case.

Like -- just so you don't assume that any of these things are industry standard, let me tell you about the two times I went to Universal, a park very close to Disney. I went there once for an event and once with my family.

The first time I went was for an event at the opening of the Harry Potter park. (This was before JKR made her most appalling views public, to be clear.) It... was frustrating. Guests asked if there would be food and drink available for people with special dietary restrictions (such as sugar-free butterbeer) and were pretty much told that no, that was not something they were interested in pursuing. It became very obvious very quickly that the park itself was so narrow that it only barely fulfilled ADA standards -- when empty. We were told that JKR had actually specifically insisted that it feel "cramped". Which is a nice way to say that I couldn't actually get around in any of the stores while people were in them.

It was overall a frustrating experience, but it was like. One night. I figured it was probably a fluke and they were still ironing out all the details. So I ended up going back with my parents later.

Y'all, it was a shit show.

Broken elevators that prevented disabled guests from accessing rides. Performers being up on raised platforms/sidewalks so disabled guests couldn't get to them. Sidewalks being made inaccessible by putting movable signs directly in the middle of them. Stores (even outside of the HP part) that were so damn narrow that I actually ended up getting hurt trying to navigate one of them. And no -- it was not easy to get first aid.

And my god, was the training bad. We went to one of the new HP rides, asked if there was a specific entrance for disabled guests. We were told no. We waited for a very long time in a line that honestly I shouldn't have been waiting in, but I wanted to be a good sport. I was pretty sick by the time we got through it, and the line itself had some very dangerous inclines/turns for wheelchair users. We get to the front of the line -- and the employee asks why we didn't just use the accessible entrance. 🙃

(Side note: several of their rides are also just unrideable if you don't fit within a pretty narrow body type of thin and able-bodied, so... there's that.)

We'd asked repeatedly and gotten incorrect answers, and I'd been put in physical danger as a result. Wild. I started to notice that if you asked different employees, you'd get different answers about almost anything, really. Just exceptionally poor training. Even stuff that should've been a no-brainer, like loading wheelchair users into a stationary movie theater, ended up creating chaos when they did it incorrectly and we had a giant wheelchair pileup.

Like -- let me stress to you that many of the things that happened could have caused actual injury to people. Some of these situations were dangerous. And some of them were just alienating, like when I'd have to wait outside a store while my family could go in.

I never went back after that. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ We just kept going to Disney.

One thing that'll probably show how good Disney is at accessibility is the whole Make-A-Wish thing. A lot of people know that it's a popular Make-A-Wish request, and you're likely to see at least a couple kids with Make-A-Wish buttons during your visit if you keep an eye out. One reason for this, is that, y'know, Disney World is fun. Kids want to go there. But more important, I think, is that Disney can accommodate people with at-times severe medical needs. Those kids can safely go anywhere and do anything in those parks that able-bodied kids can, and that's important.

All in all, the parks are just so accessible and you will never, ever be made to feel like you're lesser for needing those accommodations. You will be treated so well and you will not have to worry about accessibility because the cast members are always doing it for you. They'll usher you into the correct entrance as soon as they see a mobility device, and they'll do it with a very warm welcome. It's one of the very few places on earth where I have never felt like a burden.

Again, y'know, I know that Disney does not have a perfect track record on a lot of issues. I would never defend them from rightfully earned criticism. I strongly support labor action against them, and I do think they should be criticized whenever they fuck up. I have been uncomfortable with the sheer amount of power they have both in Florida and in the entertainment world just because no one should have that much power. But I am far more uncomfortable with that power being stripped away for blatantly discriminatory political reasons.

I do have some loyalty to Disney just because there is no other place on earth where I've been able to safely have fun with my friends with so little agony. That's... I mean, it's important, really. To be able to just exist in public without getting grief for it. And I have some loyalty to them because they were a safe space for me as a young, queer kid who was not safe being out in other areas of my life.

(Like, I am talking about actual literal safety. I kept seeing notes on my post saying that Disney didn't care about creating a "safe space for queer people" but as someone who lived in Florida for the entirety of my teenage years? It was the safest goddamn place there.)

I do not have enough loyalty to defend them when they do immoral bullshit, but I do have enough to make sure that people know the good that they do as well.

I want other businesses to follow Disney's model for disability. I will praise them forever for what they've done in that regard because if I don't, there's no reason for other companies to follow suit. I want to praise them for the good things they've done so they have incentive to keep doing it, and other companies have an incentive to do it as well.

Like bro, I just wanna be able to move around and be treated with some dignity, y'know? My bar is so low. lmao

But yeah. That's why you always see so many disabled guests at Disney. It's literally the only place some of us can go to have fun.

[phoenixyfriend]

Ko-fi prompt from @kayasurin:

Please lay out, in the most simple, basic terms, what progressive taxes (I think that's the name for them) are and how they work so I can eventually win an argument, thanks!

Personally, I still think this cartoon at @thenib explains marginal taxes better than anything else I've seen.

This is the wikipedia image for progressive tax rates, comparing taxation in 1970 in three countries (UK, US, France) to the same countries in 2005. (article)

The above illustrates how, ideally, people will be paying a greater amount of their wealth to the state if they have more wealth than a person should have. The actual details of it are a bit more complicated, since it deals with wealth percentiles instead of straight income amounts, so we'll move on.

Let's imagine that the margin is $50k/year, because that is the livable wage pre-tax for wherever we set this. Under the $50k, you pay 20%. Anything past that $50, you pay 70%.

If you make $25k/year, you pay 20% on it, and that's the end of it.

If you make $50k/year, you pay 20% on it, and that's the end of it.

If you make $150k/year, then you pay 20% on the first $50k, and then 70% on the remaining $100k.

If you make a a million, you still only pay 20% on the first $50k, but then 70% on the remaining $950k.

On a moral level, the idea here is that everyone should pay taxes, but nobody should face an undue burden. If you make at least $50k, then you are left with at least $40k after taxes, no matter how much more you make, which should be enough to live off of without trouble. If you make more after that, good for you! You have to pay a higher tax on that portion, but not on the previous $50k, so you will still have that livable wage of $40k post-tax. In the context of our setting, any money you make that is more than $50k is, in theory, a surplus. Not just disposable income, but extra-disposable income, the kind where a person asks "okay, you are making so much money that a lot of your surplus must be coming from someone else not getting paid enough, so let's just get that from you now to make up for the difference."

Buuuuuut there's still a difference between someone who makes $55k, someone who makes $250k, and someone who makes a million a year.

So the above explanation does greatly oversimplify. Part of progressive tax rates is that it's not just "people under this high wage get this tax rate, and everyone above it gets this other tax rate." It's not just the two categories, but a set of steps.

Let's look at this chart from Wiztax.

If this chart stresses you out to look at, don't worry. I'll explain.

(I believe 11k is approximately where the official poverty line sits in NYC right now, and 44,725 is about a living wage for someone with roommates and no kids.)

If you take a look at the second line, $11k-44,725, it tells you that the amount you pay is $1,100 plus 12% of the amount over. That $1,100 is the 10% of under 11k from the first line, and then you pay 12% of the rest.

Next line down, $44,726-95,375 looks wild in comparison. Your flat base for everything 44,725 and under is $5,147! Which is...

1,100 + 0.12*(44,725-11,000)

You pay the tax rate for that specific margin all the way up. You pay 10% for the first 11k, 12% on the next 33,725, 22% of the next 50,650, and so on.

It's chunks, and steps, because our tax code does (sometimes, if we're lucky) understand that all this exists on a spectrum. You do not get taxed out of your nose if you make one cent above that $44,725. You just get taxed a bit higher for the next 50k.

Here is a truly horrible little illustration of how it works, if that's easier:

[absentlurker]

my favorite headcanon is eddie becoming just the right amount of successful that he’s got quite a bit of money coming in. like he’s still working his ass off and he’s obviously not at the level of rockstar he wants to be yet but he’s not struggling. the first thing he does though is buy wayne a house.

he’d been asking wayne a bunch of small, subtle questions about what kind of house he would want. what would it look like, where would it be, how would he decorate it over a long period of time. eddie has had this dream of buying wayne a house and getting him out of the trailer park for years. and then he’s finally able to do it.

with steve’s help and patience, they manage to find the perfect house in the best location for wayne. it was a medium sized house with its own modest acreage and eddie knew wayne would love it the minute he saw it. wayne has always liked his privacy and his quiet and this new home was exactly that. eddie gave steve full control on the basic decorating just the make the house livable as soon as wayne moved in.

then they got to finally show him and eddie has never seen wayne tear up the way he did when steve and eddie explained the house was his. eddie couldn’t stop his own waterworks though when wayne caught him a tight, loving hug. he dragged steve into it and they stood together in the entry hall of the bright, beautiful house for a moment before wayne pulled back with a bright smile saying he was the luckiest guy to have such wonderful boys in his life.

[purplerose244]

Total Drama Wedding Rush (Alenoah fic I'm workin on)

THE ALENOAH BRAINROT PEOPLE 🥴🥴🥴 This one is super self indulgent I think, it's just me wanting to write them falling hopelessly in love with each other in the most inopportune situations I can throw at them 😛

This is basically a crossover of all TD series in a way, and although the focus is on the two stubborn geniuses, some of my favorite ships are definitely there 🥰🥰

So here what I got so far:

Set maybe 5 years after Total Drama Island reboot, TDI contestants are around 35 years old while the reboot contestants are over 20 (LIKELY NOT CANON SHUSH 😅)

Total Drama Wedding Rush is a coupled race (Chris is totally NOT still salty about not hosting The Ridonculous Race and he is NOT retaliating with this show 🤥), with a bit of a McLean twist later on...

There's a million for grabs, obvi 🤑🤑

Couples will go through wedding-related challenges, wearing suits and dresses, tasting tests (oh boy), meeting the parents, all the way to the walk to the altar

It's not a real wedding though

Seriously Chris cannot stress this enough, he would never lie about this

... no, for real, it's not an actual wedding 😅

Chris wanted to make it real and hide it until the end to scare to death some contestants but his stupid marketing agent said no

Noah decides to join one last reality show with Owen before committing to his new job

All the most iconic couples of all TD series are allowed, Noah didn't think him and Owen were gonna get in but they did

He will try to find out the reason during the show because something feels fishy to him

Yes there is a reason

Some other couples are Trent and Gwen, Duncan and Courtney, Julia and MK, Shawn and Jasmine, Emma and Chase... (to be determined if such couples are a thing or they're here to collaborate for the prize)

So far I can 100% confirm Rajbow, Zoke, Samkota and Shasmine 😍😍😍

It is all fine and dandy at first, reunions, laughter, love... until Chris decides to mix up the couples first challenge 🙃🙃

Contestants looked too comfortable

To regain the chance to be with your "significant other" in this game now, you HAVE to win. The winners will get to stay in the Honeymoon Suite, a place with all the comfort and luxury for a couple (😏😏😏), until the next challenge

All other couples stay at the Saltysun Cabin (Chris is insanely proud of this one), one room for each couple with the least amount of hygiene and livability 🤢

The worst couple is up to elimination and the others vote who of the two will leave

If someone is left alone they can still participate to the challenges it will be extra hard for one person, and if they lose they'll get eliminated immediately

Obviously, Noah gets the eel 😶

Yes Alejandro got in with Heather, but their status seems to be unknown

Let's just say it will take a while before team Alenoah will win the chance to choose someone else as their partners

Neither of them are happy about it

... yet 😉😉

[beautifulchris]

O students

pairing: kim seungmin x gn!reader

wc: 3,4k

featuring: han jisung, loona’s chaewon, the boyz’s eric, pentagon’s shinwon, sf9’s chani

summary: for two years, you considered seungmin as a rival, until his best efforts to befriend you didn't go unnoticed anymore

genres: hogwarts!au, rivals to friends to lovers!au, ravenclaw!seungmin, ravenclaw!reader, fluff

tw: swearing, a kiss

notes: moodboard made by me, pictures found on the internet. reposting works from my old blog

order of writing: chan - jisung - minho - hyunjin - jeongin - seungmin - changbin - felix

networks: @kflixnet @k-labels @straykidsland @kwritersworld

tag list: @badwithten @soobin-chois @raethethey send ask/dm/cmment to be added!

It was common knowledge that Seungmin was an O student, and you weren’t so far behind. In the beginning of first year up until the end of second year, you were rivals. You were competitive and Seungmin was a pain. He wasn’t competitive as much, but he was better than you, and you couldn’t tolerate it. Fortunately, he asked if he could talk to you on the train to your third year and you’ve been a better person ever since; less competitive, more open and definitely more livable. Bonus, you became friends with him.

Your parents had pressured you into being the best student and it made you do and say things you regret, but Seungmin understood, which you were thankful for. They also wanted you to be a Slytherin, like them, but perhaps the Sorting Hat knew deep down who you really were.

Hogwarts had always been a second home to you. At all times, you felt cozy and relaxed despite the amount of noise and homework. Making peace with yourself made the whole experience ten times better.

The librarian came out of nowhere with an unpleasant look —the usual— and hissed to the whole library before storming out: “Pray that I won’t find out who damaged our copy of Important modern magic discoveries.”

You looked at Seungmin at the other side of the table and laughed quietly while he shook his head. You knew who it was, but you wouldn’t snitch on a fellow Ravenclaw. Especially not when he cost too much house points already.

Seungmin didn’t like studying in the Great Hall because it was too loud compared to the library, where the librarian never accepted any sound (whispers were worse than speaking out loud for her). The common room was okay, sometimes, but it was mostly a place to chill and read.

Moreover, he knew every inch of the library like the back of his hand, so he often helped restock and find books for other students if they looked lost. You found that admirable, knowing the librarian’s temperament. He didn’t seem to mind, though. In fact, she seemed to respect your friend, value even.

“I can’t believe Jisung’s scared of acromantulas,” you blurted out of the blue, the last class of defense against the dark arts still fresh on your mind.

“Me neither. He does have one fear, after all,” he shrugged. As desperate as he was, never would he use this fear to ‘tame’ his friend.

You nodded, refocusing on your task at hand, when a tired-looking Chaewon sat next to you with a light thud. She sighed, pinching her nose bridge in annoyance.

“What’s wrong?” you asked, your voice laced with worry.

“I just tutored Heejin for transfiguration but she’s not making any effort.”

“She asked the professor herself, though?”

“Exactly! Ugh, why did it have to be me?”

“Ask the professor to change tutor,” proposed Seungmin.

“Already did, but she said I was the second best choice, the first being Hyunjin, and he’s already tutoring a Gryffindor.”

“Wait. You don’t have to actually meet up, right?” You were not going to let your friend have a hard time for basically nothing.

“I guess not…”

“Then just don’t. I’m sure she doesn’t even need the help.”

“You’re right, she looked jealous over the person that genuinely needed it,” recalled Seungmin.

“I guess she likes Hyunjin or something,” Chaewon shrugged.

“Poor girl. He’s never going to see her that way,” you shook your head.

“Shhh!” hissed the librarian behind you, making you all flinch. No one saw her coming back and it put an end to your conversation.

A few days later, in history of magic class shared between Ravenclaws and Slytherins, the professor monotonously recited his 14th century’s witch hunt lesson while some classmates were playing exploding snap at the back. Seungmin was, as usual, immersed in the lecture while you were trying your best not to fall asleep. Chaewon was diligently writing down notes two rows back, next to Hyunjin who gave up on staying awake a long time ago. You’ve never spent time with the Slytherin girl, but she was close to Chaewon. You could hear mini explosions and laughter from behind you, and if you weren’t so drowsy right now, you would’ve gone to see how the game was going.

After the class, you went to the courtyard during recess with Seungmin.

“I just don’t get why flying carpets are illegal, you know? They look so much steadier than brooms,” you sighed, sitting on the low wall surrounding the courtyard, your friend following you.

“I’d tell you the reason, but you know it already.”

“Yes, they have been defined as a ‘muggle artifact’ by the registry of proscribed charmable objects, so now they’re banned. But so are brooms! I guess the ministry had to choose, and made a huge mistake.”

“Why don’t you send them an owl to make a change?” Seungmin proposed, amused by your beliefs.

“Are you out of your mind? My dad works at the ministry, I don’t fancy receiving a howler during breakfast for my ‘disrespect of the wizarding law’, thank you very much.”

You visibly shivered at the thought.

“Would be fun to—” Seungmin started, but your attention drifted off to a guy standing on the edge of the fountain.

“Anyone want to do my history homework? I can pay,” proposed a fourth year Gryffindor, Eric if you weren’t mistaken.

Seeing you were about to get up to walk in the direction of the guy, Seungmin stopped you by tugging on your robe. “You’re not seriously considering it?”

“Why not? If he pays well, I can buy some books at Fleury and Bott this weekend,” you shrugged.

“I’ll buy you every book you want but please. Don’t do it, you already have a lot on your plate.”

“Aww. Do I detect worry? You’re so cute. Every book I want, huh? You can’t back down now!”

Seungmin grimaced a bit as he watched you excitedly walking to your next class. He sighed tiredly before joining you, considering Eric’s offer for a brief moment to buy those books. That would’ve been hypocritical of him to do that, so he kept walking.

He never regretted it because he could spend more quality time with you. His wallet though, it was another story.

Out of the books you acquired, there was the ‘Quintessence: A Quest’ charm book destined for the sixth year students.

Back to Ravenclaw’s common room that Sunday, you browsed through it while Seungmin was, no big surprise, working on assignments. Chaewon was with you two for a few hours, then decided to go outside, quoting her: ‘to enjoy the first warm day of the year.’

As you were turning the pages, a spell caught your eye. It was the bubble-head charm.

“I can’t believe that spell is too advanced for me,” you whispered to yourself.

Seungmin took a quick look at your interest and shrugged, saying, “it never stopped me.”

“Me neither. I’m just saying that it’s a cool spell that we should’ve learned already! How cool would it be to swim in the black lake for hours, meet the merpeople and the giant squid?”

“Y/N, let me stop you right there,” he said seriously, bringing a hand up. “The black lake is forbidden, please don’t do anything stupid. Jisung is already a pain for losing house points daily,” he requested, his eyes pleading.

“Contrary to what you may think, I didn’t get sorted into Ravenclaw simply because I like the color blue. I know how to stay out of trouble.” Seungmin gave you an unimpressed look. “Okay. Okay, I won’t enter the black lake. Promise.”

“Thank you,” he let out a relieved sigh.

“I’m still learning that spell, though.”

“Y/N!”

(っ◔◡◔)っ ✿

“The library is like a second Ravenclaw common room at this point,” Chaewon pointed out, sitting next to you at a table attached to one of many narrow rows. “I’ve seen a majority of blue robes since I entered.”

“Can’t deny it,” you shrugged, amused, finishing a transfiguration assignment.

Your friend chuckled lightly, stopped abruptly when she heard a ‘shh’ from the end of the row —the librarian, no doubt— and sighed quietly. “I have five minutes to cry over my potions essay.”

“Already?”

Lunch time was about to end. Passing your own potions essay to your friend under her thanks, you packed up your things and waited for her to rectify a few facts on her parchment.

“I’m forever grateful,” the Ravenclaw girl said on your way to the dungeons, where you joined Seungmin and the Hufflepuffs.

“Come on Chae, we’re friends. I would lend you my essays anytime.”

“You’re the best Y/N!” Chaewon exclaimed, a pretty eye smile adorning her soft features, as she put her arms around one of yours.

Seungmin stood there, smiling to himself at the exchange, his eyes lingering on your face, which didn’t go unnoticed by Jisung. As you all entered the classroom, he nudged his friend.

“Is this a one-sided enemies to lovers au?”

He friendly slapped his shoulder and told him to shut up. Everyone around you both knew your past. It was quite the show.

“It’s so frustrating! He’s always ahead of me, no matter how hard I try to be the best,” you told your cousin.

It was about April of your second year. You had a cousin who was in his 7th year at that time. A Slytherin, too.

“You’re being too hard on yourself, Y/N,” he smiled as he put a hand on your shoulder.

Shinwon was always supportive and cheerful, despite your family motto (‘be the best in everything’). At seventeen, he already chose his path, his parents accepting it or not. Indeed, he wanted to become a healer at St Mungo’s and save lives. It was admirable, and you wished you were more like him.

“I know your parents are putting a lot of pressure on you, but you’re only twelve. Enjoy your school years, forge your own path, make friends and, more importantly, be happy.”

Those words actually helped you get through the end of your second year. Your cousin was now a healer at St Mungo’s as he dreamed of, and to honor his kind words, you were enjoying your school days as much as you could.

After potions, you got to herbology.

You’ve spent the two last classes learning the herbivicus charm, and Seungmin particularly loved it. All week, he practiced on the few plants in the common room, or the ones outside.

Herbology was one of your friend’s favorite subjects, he loved to take care of the plants, even outside of class. The professor let him water every plant in the greenhouses on weekends— to his request.

At lunch, you were eating with Seungmin, Chaewon, Jisung, his partner in crime and Chani. The latter looked around the table, stopped for a few seconds, then offered his hand over the table for Chaewon to shake. She confusedly did.

“Looks like we’re likely to end up together, this feels like a triple date.” Chaewon removed her hand from his under the protests and indignation of the five persons concerned. Chani put his hands up in fake surrender, “That was a joke, jeez.”

“Not very funny,” muttered Jisung before taking a sip of pumpkin juice.

“Don’t scare me like that again,” Chaewon glared at Chani, gently rubbing the hand that touched his own under the table.

He sent her an apologetic smile, and you were so immersed in their conversation that —you caught Chani’s red ears and how your friend’s features didn’t match her actions— you weren’t aware of Seungmin gazing at you, his brain going blank.

No thoughts, just your pretty eyes, cute smile and soft skin.

He snapped out of it when Jisung flicked his fingers in front of him. “You okay there, mate? Looks like you were daydreaming.”

Seungmin kicked him under the table —making him dramatically yelp in pain— and resumed eating his lunch in silence, trying his best to hide his embarrassment.

Actually, he had harbored feelings for you for quite some time, a few months before you talked out your rivalry. He never said anything, of course, by fear you would reject him or worse, end your friendship with him. He always did his best to hide his secret from everyone; that was until Jisung caught up.

During defense against the dark arts this afternoon, as Ravenclaws and Slytherins were practicing the twitchy-ears hex —and, therefore, the shield charm—, Jisung and his partner in crime were half-heartedly training, preferring taking their time to chat, glancing at Seungmin and you from time to time from the other side of the room. You were diligently practicing with Chaewon while Chani was with Seungmin.

The latter wasn’t fully concentrated though, often having the overwhelming feeling of eyes boring into him. He didn’t like that. It even made him mess up his shield charm, resulting in him feeling his ear twitch. He groaned, congratulated Chani and pointed his wand at his ear, whispering: “Finite.” Then, he hexed Jisung across the room when he wasn’t looking, his partner being confused because they wasn’t the one to hex him.

Meanwhile, Chaewon and you were pretty good at this so everytime one of you casted a spell, there was no difference. Both your shield charms were perfect.

“Almost would’ve liked to know how the hex feels,” Chaewon laughed during recess.

You were at the library, working on the herbology essay you got that morning, with Seungmin and Chaewon. Without a word, you put your wand out of your robe pocket, pointing it at your friend. She raised her hands to her ears, an unpleasant look on her face.

“I said almost! It’s quite irksome, actually.” You released her from the hex and she relaxed, quickly rubbing her ears, “Thanks.”

“My pleasure.”

Seungmin was lost in thought, thinking about how smart and talented you were. He had a stupid smile on his face until he shook his head and realized Chaewon was staring at him suspiciously. He coughed and got back to his assignment, not being able to fully focus.

He was losing control of his emotions.

That night in the common room, as you three were still working —uh, boringgg— on your assignments before dinner, Chaewon decided she had enough and preferred reading a romance book on her bed. She packed her stuff and went to her dorm, leaving Seungmin and you in a comfortable silence. Until Jisung entered the room, sneakily walking behind your backs at a safe distance.

He pointed his wand at your sleeves —they were a few inches apart— and whispered: “Epoximise.” He then fled out of the room like he was never here, excitedly thinking how his plan was working perfectly.

You didn’t notice for like twenty seconds, but when you moved your hand to write on your parchment, Seungmin’s left arm followed. You looked at each other in disbelief, raising your arms to see what could’ve happened.

Seungmin’s robe sleeve somehow merged with yours.

The sudden proximity —your pinky fingers touched a few times— embarrassed you for some reason, while Seungmin was a blushing mess.

“We should probably do something about that,” you finally say, gesturing to your hands.

“Right.”

“You should do it.”

“Yeah,” he murmured as he took his wand, “finite.”

“I wonder who did this.”

“I have an idea.” Seungmin looked upset, but you didn’t pry. “I’ll be back,” he said, getting up and leaving the common room in a hurry.

You took this time alone —well, almost, there were other Ravenclaws around— to think about why your cheeks burned as much as they did when your hands were touching.

You didn’t like him like that, right?

He was just a good friend you disliked before, who’s been nothing but sweet and understanding. A truly smart guy who, despite his gigantic love for academics and books, could always make time to help others whenever they needed. You loved that in him— wait.

No, no, no.

While you tried to convince yourself it wasn’t ‘love’ you were feeling, Seungmin was out for Jisung’s head. He found him on the spiral staircase leading to their common room, walking up in his direction.

“Jisung,” he shouted from a few stairs above him, startling not only the concerned, but a few paintings too.

“Oh, Seung, hey, how’re you doing?” he asked as he stopped in his tracks.

“What were you THINKING?”

Slowly walking backwards, Jisung started sweating, his friend’s anger intimidating him a little. “It wasn’t—”

“I know it was you, don’t deny it. I’ve felt you staring at me for hours today, I knew you were planning something.”

“I was going to say that it wasn’t meant to hurt you in any way, more like bring you two closer with a little push. I’m sorry.”

“I should hex you right now,” Seungmin huffed.

“Didn’t you already do in dada?” he raised a brow, crossing his arms.

“True. I guess we’re even, then.”

Jisung let out a relieved breath, “how did it go?”

“It was awkward,” he explained as they came back to the common room together, “and I won’t discuss this matter further with you. You’ve done your part,” he stopped to give the eagle knocker an answer to his riddle, “please don’t do anything else.”

Jisung nodded as he saw you were alone at the table, your hands in your hair like you were having a crisis. He excused himself before going to his dorm, while Seungmin sat next to you. “You okay?”

You shot your head up, using your hands to fix your hair. “Of course. Yeah. Totally.”

It looked like you were freaking out, which worried Seungmin, but he kept his mouth shut, gazing at your face. You finally looked at him and it was weird, your heart was still beating fast but you felt at ease. You managed to smile, losing yourself in his soft brown eyes.

“You’re really beautiful,” he whispered to himself but you heard it.

You blushed, your smile growing wider. “You’re beautiful, too.”

His eyes widened, his ears got red as he hid his face behind his hands.

Giggling, you gently took his hands in yours and brought them down, leaning towards him. You looked in each other’s eyes with adoration.

He slowly closed the gap between you in a chaste kiss. It didn’t last long, but it was sweet and made you all fuzzy inside. The euphoria ended immediately after a couple Ravenclaws cheered for you, though, but it was a nice feeling.

At dinner, Seungmin, Chaewon, Jisung, his partner in crime, Chani and you were all eating together, and you two lovebirds were holding hands under the table.

Jisung raised his glass out of nowhere, “I’d like to make a toast.”

“We’re fourteen,” Chani interrupted.

“Shut up and raise your damn pumpkin juice,” he cursed in a whisper, before smiling at his friends raising their own glasses —reluctantly or not. “To the new couple I helped”—Seungmin scoffed—“make happen today,” he announced as he glanced at you two, “next is your turn, buddies,” he added to the attention of Chaewon and Chani, who blushed hard.

“Cheers,” his partner in crime jovially said, before drinking.

“And when’s your turn?” Seungmin asked Jisung, murmuring over the table so he’d be the only one hearing.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” he murmured back.

After dinner, Seungmin and you were walking around the courtyard, holding hands and making heart eyes at each other.

“Remember when I decided to learn the bubble-head charm?”

“I don’t think I like what you’re implying…” he softly answered, already feeling anxious about your next words.

“It’s not that bad, I promise,” you giggled, “I learned how to make blue sparks too.”

You put your wand out and pointed to the night sky. Making the right hand movement, jets of blue sparks came out of the tip of your wand, illuminating the sky. “Vermillious,” you enunciated, adding jets of red sparks into the mini fireworks, creating purple sparks in the process.

Seungmin was amazed, it was such a mesmerizing view. His eyes fell on your face, and, at that exact moment, intently watching as your eyes shone and your smile held pure gratification, he knew why he loved you.

You were full of life, always by his side, a good friend and so, so beautiful under the multicolored lights.

thank you for reading! if you enjoyed, please let me know <3 and here's the masterlist!

[celestie0]

what do you think about grad school and maybe getting a masters or phd? like for you😭 i’m curious what more do you feel about academia

hiii bb!! ouu yeah i think with the way things are in job market rn, at least for a science degree, having a masters is a MUST and phd too if you want to teach or go into research...just an undergraduate degree for any STEM job i have noticed doesn't suffice unless you're like a comp sci major or have hella connections or something lmfaooo (or if you're a trust fund baby)

i'm actually going to med school so my four years of undergrad were spent working towards that goal, and not really with thoughts of phd or masters, but i did think about doing a masters during my gap year (which would've been this past year) since my school offered a few one years masters programs that i was interested in. it was gonna be a sort of back up plan for me in case i didn't get in anywhere, but ultimately i just had faith in my application n didn't want to spend money on a year of masters tuition haha

but it's hard for me to say for other fields, such as humanities, on what i think of the necessities of masters/phd programs...i'd imagine it's the same though, you'd probably need to pursue a lot of higher education to be qualified to teach or publish etc. in premed, you've got options of going to nursing school, PA school, med school, so i guess there are ways to pivot that don't involve masters programs if you still wanted to be a healthcare provider

i did watch an interesting video recently about the whole trap of the phd/masters pipeline, where students get a degree and think they'll be able to land a decent job post grad from wishful thinking, spend lots of time unsuccessful in the job market, then scramble to apply to grad school, and then even if they feel as though the phd program they're in isn't really giving them what they want from it, they don't want to quit because at that point it'll feel like sunken cost, and it damages their mental health and motivation and is basically this recurring loop where the system forces students to continuously stay in school and do excessive amount of research/work for criminally low compensation, just to become overqualified candidates for barely minimally paying jobs. ofc all in the name to benefit the insanely rich and wealthy. honestly most grad students i meet are stressed and so incredibly jaded, i can't imagine that it's easy on them at all. a lot of universities hardly pay them any sort of livable wage for the work that they do

as for academia in general, i think it's worth it to become educated, as it can open doors. obviously there are different paths for all people, some people choose not to go to school, some people go to trade school, others go to school much later in life. i remember i worked w this one doctor who was a mechanic for thirty years and he went back to school to get his undergrad degree and then went to med school, all while he was in his 50s, and now he's a practicing physician! i thought that was really incredible and inspiring. school is something that's there for you whenever you want it, need it, or feel ready for it. i think it's worthy to invest in your education, but you have to go into it knowing that you're going to make the most of it. in that, pursue higher education if you have a plan of why you're there and what you're going to do when you're there, and not just for the sake of earning a degree or putting off working because you'd rather just stay a student. the reason why someone from harvard might work at the same job as someone who went to community college is ultimately because the person who went to CC might've made more of their experience n harnessed connections/skills n probably had a much more clear idea of what they wanted to do with the education they were earning compared to someone who might've been coasting through a reputable school because once they got in, that was all they cared about (lol i sound bitter saying this, no hate to big name schools, but it's such a common misconception that just because you get a degree from like an ivy league, you'll be set for life. and same applies vice versa. some of the smartest ppl i know are people who did CC for two years and then transferred to a four year university. they saved hella money and got the same degree in the end, with the same exact if not better job opportunities. similarly, i've worked at clinics/hospitals where some of the doctors went to UCLA and others went to caribbean med school, but they all ended up at the same place in the end)

GOD THIS BECAME SO LONG i swear whenever i answer asks on my computer it becomes an essay loool but yea these are just my general opinions about college, higher education, and academia in general? i hope this answers and that i didn't misinterpret the question hahah but thank u for the ask bb!!

[blackwoolncrown]

Yeah I put this in the tags but it bears focus-

I’m no professional on the matter so I can only wager a guess but a huge amount of the population of the US is in a Slow Death situation.

We don’t have accessable health insurance, a pandemic is raging. Hospital costs are completely unaffordable if you do get sick. Jobs are hardly hiring and none of them are paying wages that can compete with the ever-rising cost of living, not to mention the astronomical and impossible rent prices (the fact that a majority of us cannot afford to buy a home but homes are being bought by bank bots notwithstanding).

Literally, for example, one of the things that drove me out was that there was nowhere I could move. ‘Downsizing’ just isn’t a thing. All the prices are high regardless of how reasonable it is for the size and in the meantime most work fields just cannot provide a living wage....

Much less the ability to save money...which is what ppl would need in case any unfortunate event came along (in a pandemic).

Meanwhile what’s actually happening is like global water levels- a creeping rise in costs and lack of support meaning every day everything is costing more and you’re making less and draining your savings and your energy trying to keep up but no help is in sight bc it’s year 3- almost 4- of this.

I don’t mean to be a downer but that’s literally what’s happening in the US rn. t’s a slow bleed, frog-in-hot-water situation. It’s bad. Everyone I know back home is shacking up w each other just to afford rent and food and these ppl are making good money. It doesn’t matter.

Despite working 3-4 businesses non stop basically all day every day I couldn’t afford to stay and couldn’t afford to leave either without crowdfunding- but I made the bid to go bc I literally could not see a livable future there and literally every mmonth it got more expensive. Literally my body could not produce enough money to keep up and afford just staying alive in the US.

It’s suffocation.

Capitalism is beyond late stage. It feels darker than that rn, at least in the US.

[al-chemystic]

vent

is this something? is this anything? am i the fucking stupid one? a real bleeding heart, too young and inexperienced and stupid to know that i was supposed to let society beat the hope out of me already like a "rational, logical person?"

i gave up halfway throughout this text. i don't think i have the energy to finish it. i don't think i can be normal with him until i feel seen and heard. i don't think i can feel seen and heard until i finish and send this text. you're going to see me get frustrated at that paradox. i am not trying to pass this off as a complete and coherent statement, but i need to find somebody who understands what i'm getting at so i don't feel fucking crazy.

hey man, i have some things i can't get off my mind.

i don't try to have these discussions with you to start fights or try to make you believe exactly the same things i do. i do it because as someone who has grown up in and directly experienced ableism my entire life, there are a lot of basic, "societal principals" that i can now recognize are rooted in ableism.

first is the idea that human worth is intrinsically tied to the amount of labor one can perform. this is the driving idea behind not wanting to give livable funds to people who cannot maintain that themselves. arguments are made along the lines of "if nobody is doing labor and keeping our society going, it will fall apart." this causes a mass societal inference that anyone who cannot work is not essential to society (society and capitalism are inseparable to most). if you don't think someone is essential for society, you won't care if they have food, water, or shelter, especially not with all the caring you're doing for your own situation. it's so bad that in some circles, ideas like this are stated just as explicitly as i have said them: if you don't work you don't deserve money. you can't survive on your own without money.

that sustainability argument treats the situation as if we're asking for the cessation of all labor, for the government to hand everyone infinite money, and to spawn products out of thin air. at best, this is a thoughtless overcorrection of the problem, and at worst, a purposeful attempt to shut down any questioning of how the lower class is treated in this country by inflating the outcome as something nobody wants. it's important to remember that nobody is asking for that; that is clearly unsustainable.

while the unsustainability argument is a frontline tactic used to stop the asking of questions, the idea that labor = worth is what keeps the answers to the questions that do get through palatable to our capitalist society.

when people are kept in stress, they will get exhausted over time and jaded and nihilistic-- something you clearly recognize. the easiest way to do this is to keep people in financial stress. it is actively happening to you. you are worried about tax increases and not being able to afford to get the house you want. that's not a naturally occurring process.

society is manufactured. it was set up to put you in this situation. when you say things like "that's just how the world is," what you're actually saying is "that's just how the world started, and we're in too deep now to do anything about it."

because it's not like putting water on a grease fire. the way of society is not an unobjectionable fact of the universe based on how the physical world interacts. this is "just how the world is" because humans made it this way. so if humans designed it full of struggle, and if we are on this earth purely as an accident of nature and there is no universal meaning of life, then there is absolutely nothing else that matters more than making the world a better place. there simply is no higher purpose to wait through the struggling for. another prominent function of religion is distracting people during their lifetime so they feel like they're not suffering for no reason, which keeps them from asking for the suffering to stop.

what you're worried about isn't a hurricane that nobody caused and nobody can stop. you're afraid of an indirect threat. you already lose so much to taxes that all they have to do now is threaten to make you lose more, and you (the general "you") will pick the option or belief system that they did not correlate with you losing money. it's manufactured struggle, and it can be stopped.

so running it back, an argument might be

"we can't expand state income accessibility because then nobody will work and society will collapse." there's a silent "as we know it" hidden in there that nobody ever says, because the idea that society can be any different than what we made it has to be stamped out for rich lobbyists to maintain power.

society as we know it will undoubtedly change. again.. look around at all the manufactured financial stress. it has to change.

that quoted argument can only be said without cognitive dissonaance from someone who holds these beliefs:

- capitalist society is the only good society (this keeps lobbyists in power)

- your work is tied to your labor ability (thinking anything else puts you in a position to question capitalism, which threatens current powers. this also takes advantage of peoples' sense of purpose; they have to work themselves ragged to stay afloat, but at least they feel like they're contributing to the society that's hurting them. the idea that anyone isn't working 40+hrs a week and might be able to eat dinner in a house despite that fact immediately sets them on fire, by design, because they have to kill themselves to achieve that)

- increasing aid for others means that the government has to take something from me (while they keep you in such a bad position that you can't afford to lose anything else, instead of a proper distribution of billionaire lobbyists' wealth that could end homelessness in America)

- i dont know ive been writing for two hours and i want to throw up here's my other notes from even earlier:

it's amazing that you can point out why people are suffering and they still will not forsake the systems that keep them in suffering.

you recognize that our government keeps us in stress over our stability on purpose, to keep us distracted. you recognize that the two-party system is the definition of divide and conquer, and is another distraction that's also designed to pit people against each other. it actually blows my mind how you can hold both of those ideas in your head and then turn around and say "anymore i just have to do what makes my life easier for me." without realizing that the decisions you're making-- or not making-- to achieve or maintain that ease steps on other people.

okay, voting for trump will lower your taxes since you're better off than the average american. awesome. do you know what a second trump presidency will do to everyone else? to disabled people? to queer people, of which you are? to people of color? to women? to children?

nobody is saying your vote will fix everything overnight. nobody is saying your voice will make an immediate change in your surrounding community and drop a house in a struggling person's hands.

but choosing to favor policies that benefits you at the cost of others is ACTIVELY DECIDING to endanger other communities because god damn you just want that tax break. a tax break you need because you're fed up with taxes that are increasing "due to inflation." you mean... the manufactured inflation designed to keep you under stress so that you're too tired to care about others?

so it's okay for YOU to get tired? you're allowed to decide that nothing's changing so it's time to stop fighting, but GOD FORBID a homeless person experience that same emotional plight because then they're "doing it to themselves."

NEW NOTES:

i don't think you're wrong for being tired. i don't think you're wrong for wanting your own happiness and your own comfort. i think you're wrong for being unable to apply that to other people.

if the only people fighting for the relief and-- god forbid-- the COMFORT of disabled people are the disabled people, and YOU AS AN ABLE BODIED PERSON CANNOT STOP YOURSELF FROM GETTING BURNT OUT FIGHTING A SYSTEM THAT WON'T CHANGE, HOW THE HELL CAN YOU SIT THERE AND SAY THAT THE DISABLED PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCE THE SAME BURN OUT IN TRYING TO GET OUT OF HOMELESSNES ARE JUST LAZY AND COMPLACENT. YOU'RE LITERALLY SAYING HEY KID GO FIGHT YOUR OWN BATTLES TO SOMEONE WHO'S 4'2" WHEN THEIR OPPONENT IS 6'4". YOU SEE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HITTING A DISABLED CHILD AND HITTING A REGULAR CHILD BUT WHEN IT COMES TO FIGHTING FOR RIGHTS YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES AND PRETEND WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO IT ALL ALONE? YOUR VIEW OF DISABLED COMPETENCE IS COMPLETELY DEPENDENT ON WHAT SERVES YOU BEST, YET WHEN A DISABLED PERSON EXPERIENCES AMBIVALENT ABILITY, THEY'RE FAKING IT?

"oh if my grandpa didn't spank me id be a horrible person today" you were verbally abused. you acted out as a kid because your life sucked and your needs weren't met. people train dogs with more care for their basic needs than they raise a child. if a child is acting out they're missing a need.

the belief that those who achieve any level of relief to their suffering will get greedy and "always want more" is the exact thing they said to stop people of color from getting rights. to stop women from getting rights. to stop gay people from getting rights. to stop trans people from getting rights. and it's used to stop disabled people from getting rights. how is that last one different and acceptable? (it's not)

you're saying things that don't align with my core values, and then acting like if someone decides to step away from a relationship for those reasons that it's not right and they must've never really cared to begin with. you're asking people to sacrifice their belief systems for you. i can already hear you arguing that i'm doing the same, but i'm not demanding that you change your mind nor am i demanding that you sacrifice standing up for what you believe just to stay friends with me. if i believed murder wasn't wrong and that belief caused you to want to distance yourself from me, you would not be a bad person for choosing not to invest your time and energy into someone who believes something that so vehemently opposes your own core values (murder is wrong). i believe hitting a child is wrong regardless. i believe disabled people aren't just lazy. i believe all life has intrinsic value just by the sheer irrefutable fact that it is alive on this planet. you do not share these four beliefs whose opposing ideas-- which you do hold-- directly affect my life negatively. i don't have anybody in my immediate life who does agree with me and understand where i'm coming from. i don't get to choose my family. i get to choose my friends. it would not be wrong for me to decide against subjecting myself to people who hold the same ideas that beat me down everyday.

"just get over it you have to find your own happiness you don't have to justify yourself to anyone blah blah blah. buuuuut also justify yourself to a govt who doesn't care how you can't maintain a job and do it more frequently than you already do because people are abusing the system already so we have to restrict it more. thanks!"

how can you recognize that the generation that thinks the younger generations are all lazy and entitled are falling victim to the same "WELL WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T DO IT; I DID IT AND I DIDN'T LIKE IT BUT I HAD TO. NOW YOU'RE JUST BEING LAZY; YOU JUST DON'T WANT TO WORK ENOUGH TO AFFORD A HOUSE." no, houses are getting more expensive and the disparity between income and cost of living has increased exponentially. it's plain harder, and people are tired.

then all those tired people see disabled people who can't even struggle through a job the same way able bodied people are, and they look behind them at all the boomers calling them lazy, and they go "I'M lazy? well at least i'm doing it; those people do NOTHING and get money for it!!!!!" it's manufactured hatred over manufactured struggle.

i don't know if i can keep subjecting myself to the harsh reality that nobody fucking cares about disabled people and nobody ever will just for the sake of keeping one friend who i don't get to be real with. it's not like i can just end this and go find anyone and they'll probably agree with me. this hatred is baked into everyone; even disabled people. they're just the most likely candidates for breaking free from it.

if the only people in my life are people who keep proving to me nobody cares about my comfort and wellbeing, what's the point of having them?

[trans-girl-nausicaa]

tumblr choose your own adventure: vampire ark: part 29

>Resolve to tell Louisiana that you want to continue living together.

That’s it, you’ve decided. You feel comfortable having her in your life, so, why not just... keep going with it? 

When it comes up, you’ll tell her. 

You sleep well that night. You don’t remember any sort of distinct dream. 

The following day, you and Louisiana spend hours cleaning your apartment, trying to render it livable after the severe damage that was done to it in the attack. The carpet and couch are the largest of the personal items that were damaged; both of them are basically ruined. Louisiana disassembles the couch and loads it and the carpet and a few other ruined sundries into her car. 

She heads to the municipal dump, and you finally get around to checking your phone. 

Most of the notifications are easily dealt with. 

“I was out of town, and I didn’t have cell service,” you tell a few of your less-close friends. 

There are multiple notifications from your boss: a missed call and a couple texts asking when you’ll be out of the hospital, when you’ll be returning to work. 

You recall that the last time you contacted your work was to say you were injured during your stay in the hospital after you were bitten by Valencie. 

It feels like forever ago. 

But yeah, if your boss thinks you’re still recovering, then you’re basically free to put off responding for the rest of the day. You have plenty of shit to deal with until then. 

While Louisiana is gone, you finish cleaning. With all the damaged items, broken glass, debris, and fire extinguisher residue cleared up, you can finally do a full assessment of the damage. 

Yep, this place is fucked.

As you suspected, you find water damage. While the window remained un-repaired, rainwater had freely entered the unit. It must’ve rained pretty hard. You can see the places where the windowsill, baseboard, and floorboards directly under the broken window have absorbed a significant amount of water. 

You take pictures of everything. 

When Louisiana gets back, you discuss your findings with her. 

“Wow, looks pretty severe, huh? Yeah, management is TOTALLY liable for this. We can definitely get some concessions out of ‘em. Especially when I get Lux involved!”

“Who’s Lux?

“Oh, she’s a lawyer! She’s a regular at work. She told me that if I ever needed legal help, she’d ‘make it a priority’ to help me out! Oh, hold on, I have it here somewhere...”

Louisiana rummages through her purse, then produces a business card. 

It’s cream-colored, and emblazoned with the name Lux Aurelia Monaco, Esquire. 

“Wow!” you say. “I don’t know any lawyers. I was just gonna send management an email and say ‘I’m considering my legal options’ and hope that spooks them.”

Louisiana laughs. 

“Well, this way, we can really light a fire under their asses,” she says.

You send Louisiana the photos from your phone and she attaches them to an email to Lux. 

Louisiana looks up from her phone.

“So,” she says.

“So...?” you say.

“We finally have some free time,” she says.

She sidles towards you, swaying her hips.

She’s in your personal space now.

You start to get nervous. Oh, god, what’s happening. You stand stock-still, arms stuck to your sides.

Louisiana looks into your wide eyes.

“I don’t really wanna eat here tonight,” she says, fluttering her eyelashes. 

“Take me out to dinner.”

“Y-YES MA’AM!” you manage to say. ‘Oh jesus,’ you think to yourself.

“I-I mean, yeah, totally,” you add. 

“I’d like to go to Fuoco Toscano,” she says. It’s an Italian restaurant. Family owned. 

“Th-that sounds really good,” you say.

Louisiana checks her phone. It’s already 4:30. “How about six?” she says, still in your space. 

“Yes, six,” you say, as if the number six was a new and novel concept to you. 

“Okay, cool!” she says, brightly, and twirls around, walking away.

‘What the hell just happened,’ you think to yourself. 

You decide to take a quick shower to refresh yourself after all the work you did today. 

You’re not sure what you’re going to wear to your... date. 

You do some quick mental math. God, has it really been THAT long since you went on a date? That’s kind of depressing. You try not to dwell on it. 

Oh well, you can just shower first and decide later. 

You go into your apartment’s single bathroom and take a quick shower. Once you’re clean, you turn the water temperature to cool and let the water flow over you. You stand there for a minute, eyes closed, and take a few deep breaths. 

Everything is going to be okay. 

You wrap your hair in a towel and wrap yourself in another towel and step into the hallway. Louisiana is there, of course, and she winks at you. You smile nervously, go into your room, and close the door. 

Jesus, she really is...

Anyway.

You look through your clothes. 

Casual wear, casual wear, doesn’t fit any more, WAY out of style... god, you have a lot of stuff you should get rid of. Well, you’re going to be moving soon, so that’ll be a great opportunity to go through everything and see what you can do without. 

You settle on your “job interview” outfit: a black pantsuit with a pastel pink dress shirt. You put it on. You feel it’s kind of missing something. You unbutton the top two buttons of the shirt. Your bra is almost visible, but not quite. There, that’s... uh, ‘sending a signal’ or something? You really don’t know. 

You don’t know what aspects of yourself are considered “attractive.” After all, attractiveness is subjective. Just like how “normal” is subjective. So there’s no point in worrying about it. Either Louisiana will see you as attractive or she won’t. ‘No point in worrying about it,’ you try and tell yourself.

Overall, you feel pretty ambivalent about your outfit, but it’ll do. 

You step out into the hallway and check out the shoe rack. Gotta figure out what shoes to go with. 

You certainly can’t wear sneakers. Not on a night like tonight.

Oh, good- you still have that pair of black Chelsea boots. They’re cheap, made of pleather, but they look basically the same as expensive ones do, you think with a bit of amusement.

Well, that’s settled. 

You look around. Louisiana is nowhere to be seen, and her bedroom door is closed. She must still be getting ready. 

You walk to the kitchen and get a glass of water. At least the kitchen table and chairs were undamaged. Well, undamaged by the fire. They do have normal wear and tear.

You sit down and hydrate. 

And then you wait. And wait.

You check your phone. No new messages. Aaand you still don’t want to talk to your boss. 

You realize that you didn’t put on any makeup. I mean, you moisturize, but... You usually don’t care enough to wear makeup at your food service job. It gets sweaty in the kitchen, and you never really know if you’re going to be cooking, serving, or both on any particular day. But... Jeez. It really HAS been a long time since you’ve just... gone out. You’re not sure if you’d even be able to do a good job if you DID put on makeup, so you decide against it. 

On that note. 

...Should you have shaved your legs?

Now THAT’S a thought that has a lot of implications to it. Very dangerous territory. 

You try to put it out of your mind. 

Oh, man, but that thought is definitely still in your brain. 

You walk to the bathroom. The door is closed. You knock. 

“Doing my makeup, sorry,” says Louisiana from behind the door. “Is it urgent?”

“No,” you say, and walk back to the kitchen. 

Okay, so, you can’t shave your legs. Don’t worry, though, there’s... a very LOW chance... that Louisiana would even have any REASON... to SEE or, uh, well, TOUCH your bare legs tonight... 

Not that you’re thinking about that!

Jesus!

You think back to your usual, “normal” life with Louisiana. Y’know, “before.”

You would often hang out watching TV, both of you in your underwear, and you would usually have unshaved legs. So, like, she probably wouldn’t, like, EXPECT it of you. 

You hear the clack-clack of high heels on the wood floor. It’s 5:59, and Louisiana calls out “Okay, I’m ready to go!”

You hastily stand up and straighten yourself out, brushing out a couple creases in your shirt. 

Louisiana is wearing a long red dress with a deep V neckline, a black choker necklace, and shiny black pumps. 

She’s gone for a subtle, “natural” look for her makeup, but you can tell she put a lot of effort into it.

“Wow,” you say, involuntarily. 

“You look amazing. I mean, you always look great, but, uh, wow.”

Louisiana does a little twirl. 

“Thaaaank youuuu!” she says brightly. “And look at you! So sharp. I like it!”

You smile and rub the back of your neck. 

“Let’s get going!” she says. 

The two of you step outside. The weather is unseasonably warm. 

You remark that even though the restaurant is walking distance, it’s just one of those places that you just don’t go to that often. Louisiana agrees. She’s only eaten there once, but she says she loved the food.

Fuoco Toscano is in the middle of a small street, right on the border of your neighborhood, which is mixed-use, and a residential neighborhood, which is mostly single-family homes. 

A bell rings as you push open the door. The hostess hurries over and ushers you to a small wooden table for two. There’s a candle next to a yellow flower in a small vase in the center of the table. You don’t know what kind of flower. You don’t know anything about flowers. 

In less than five minutes after you’re seated, your server comes over and asks if you want anything to drink. You get a glass of the house red. Louisiana orders a glass of Bourbon.

You ask her what she’s thinking of ordering. 

“Maybe the margherita pizza,” she says. 

“But you can get pizza anywhere,” you say.

“Yeah, but this is pizza in an ITALIAN restaurant! They make it way better. Okay, now I HAVE to order it, to prove you wrong.”

You both laugh. 

You propose that you get a large pizza to split. 

“How romantic,” says Louisiana, but you’re in the middle of taking a sip of water. You almost spit it out, but you manage to contain yourself, literally and figuratively.

She laughs again. “You’re so cute,” she says. “I wonder why I never...” she trails off. 

You look at her quizzically. She just looks back at you, smiling. 

“The only thing that doesn’t change is the fact that everything changes,” she says. 

“Sun Tzu said that,” you reply, smirking. You’re feeling a bit cheeky.

“He did not!”

“No, I’m pretty sure he did. Don’t look it up on your phone! It’s bad manners to check your phone on a date,” you say.

“But yeah, a bunch of stuff is gonna change soon,” you say. 

“We’re moving out, I might quit my job, we’re dating now... lots of stuff.”

“Dating? Is that what we’re calling it?” she asks.

“Uh- Um, I... Is that too presumptuous, or is- are we-”

“No, it’s fine...” she says. “Sure. We’re dating. But of course that means you will need to go on a second date with me.” She smiles.

“I’m having a good time so far,” you say. “So sure, why not?” You grin, exposing your pointy, triangular teeth. 

The waiter arrives with a pizza on a platter. You hastily cover your mouth. You make eye contact with Louisiana and exchange a knowing look. 

The two of you thank the waiter and try the pizza. 

You have to admit, it’s really good. Much better than almost any pizza you’ve had at restaurants that bill themselves as pizza places.

You finish a slice and admit that she was right. 

She’s a bit triumphant.

You smile, then change the subject.

“But yeah, what I was going to say before, about stuff changing...”

Louisiana looks at you with interest.

“Would you, er... I mean, I would like, if you’re okay with it, to move into a new place, that has room for both of us. To keep living together. If that’s okay with you,” you say. You try to be as direct as you can.

“Yeah, of course,” she says. “That’s fine with me.”

“And, like... even if... even if we don’t, uh, end up dating. Long term. I’d still want to... I’d still want you in my life. The way you have been up to now,” you say. 

“That’s very sweet of you to say,” says Louisiana, softly.

You look into each other’s eyes for a moment. A feeling passes between the two of you that you can’t quite identify.

The bell on the front door of the restaurant rings. It has rung several times since you sat down, but for some reason, you look over. 

Valencie Maude-Pirenese has just walked in to the restaurant.

STATS:

AGGRESSION: 6

CAUTION: 0

HOMOSEXUALITY: 10

ENDURANCE: 1

SKILL: 4

INVENTORY:

[Wallet] [Cash: $14.50]

[Keys]

[Antique Czech Typewriter] [Ink ribbons: 0]

[Antique Czech Lighter] [Fuel level: 1000%]

[Antique CZ 75 Pistol, 9mm, Automatic] [Ammunition: 40]

[Sharpened Metal Stake] [4]

[Ornate Dagger]

Read the rest of the story: https://www.tumblr.com/trans-girl-nausicaa/tagged/CYOA

[hesitationss]

i'm all caught up on book keeping and calculated basic shit like rent and the already confirmed amount i'll be getting paid for the rest of the year 🫶🏼 it's looking livable and comfortable. this month is just my HELL month

[darkysilverwing]

Just woke up, time for some more infodumping about virtual virtual reality!

Virtual Virtual Reality is a story about a world that reached the singularity, and instead of the destruction of the entire human race, or at least the end of capitalism, the power dynamic of humanity has shifted.

In the world of VVR AI can do anything, every job that would normally be done is done by a sentient AI, but instead of doing away with capitalism there's just more and more unemployment.

Enter Activitude, a service that allows humans to enter into a virtual environment, and do tasks for AI clients. Essentially it's artisanal labor.

But there are some issues that stem from this, mostly the fact that humans are messy and inefficient. A human performing actions for an AI is kinda like giving your toddler a broom and telling them to sweep the floor, it's not that great an action.

Now there are bits of the lore that I'm not 100% on but I'm under the impression that Activitude was a financial failure for this very reason. A lot of the tasks our AI clients have us do are either sitting around, doing basically nothing, performing very simple tasks which amount to little minigames, or literal impossible tasks, but whatever we're tasked with doing we never get more than a 3 star rating.

At some point in Activitude's history it's founder and CEO Chaz goes a bit off the deep end, i'm not sure what brought this on but I think it started when his partner, Eliza, is put on ice. She became archived, which I'll have to talk about later but basically it means she was stored away for later.

Now Eliza and Chaz were working on a virtual environment called Latitude, where you could basically experience a bunch of virtual adventures. This was an experience designed to give anyone who wanted the ability to have a fufilled life both inside and outside the virutal space.

See, Eliza and Chaz, despite being in this virtual world, they're not actually AI, they're uploaded humans. Chaz was actually part of a company who discovered where consciousness was and how to download it and put it inside a computer, and Chaz was the first person to upload their brain into the virtual world.

This means that humanity didn't actually have to stay in meatspace, they could make the jump to the virtual world and live a fufilled life there. But unfortunately life, even in the virtual world, is complicated and Chaz was convinced by Hernandez, an AI buisiness consultant, to archive eliza, and use the backbone of Latitude to create a business called Activate.

Now, Chaz wasn't the biggest fan of hernandez, as the two clashed on what they thought activate should be about. Hernandez wanted AI and humans to work together in a endless slog, to perpetually work with no breaks, forever. Make more profit by any means nessesary, Chaz was focused a lot more on moral.

Activate wasn't that great either though, the perpetual slog caused Hernandez to undergo too much stress, it was too much for the AI and so Chaz archived him, and created Activitude.

Years went by and this is where the lore gets a bit weird in my opinion. See, we join the scene as Bee, a human who just signed up to be a human worker for Activitude. However it's not long before you're contacted by an external entity, The human Labor Union.

According to the human labor union, humans, by the nature of being humans, have on average very low scores, and since your paycheck is determined based on your scores that means that humans are breaking their backs day in and day out for nothing and Activitude needs to be reset for any human to make a livable wage in activitude.

So you're given the ability to suck up data and redistrubute it in other places, because objects that spend too much time being unused end up undergoing bitrot, which I'm not 100% sure what that means, best guess is that they're gradually compressed to save on memory.

So you take your new ablity and use it to break out of the areas you're suppose to be working in, and you make your way around, basically trying to find a way to access HR, so you can reset Activitude. However, once you gain admin access and get to HR you confront chaz, who drops the bombshell that you're not the first one to go on this journey, not the first human to go all this way. As a matter of fact, that human union you were talking to? They never existed.

So from this perspective, for some reason Chaz is running around, pretending to be the human union, giving humans the means to explore and grant themselves admin access. At this point there are 2 paths to go down. You can either do what you came there to do, reset activitude and chaz along with it, or you can merge with chaz, upload your brain to the network.

That second option isn't entirely willing though. Chaz can throw out headsets and if you don't avoid them then they'll lock onto your head, and you'll be uploaded, this is actually how I, and many of the lets plays I've seen, went down. You get uploaded to the system and become a cog in the machine. (I could easily go into a little discussion about this but that'll be it's own post)

There's also the other option though, you can get through the entire boss battle, pull out all the cores in the memory bank before chaz can slap a headset on you, and the entire system will restart and the game will end with you having a nice picnic with chaz.

In both options the game ends with yet another headset flying off and it being revealed that the entire story was some sort of game, and from that point you can pull off more headsets which lead you to some behind the scenes areas which I don't think are really cannon.

But basically the real question that I'd like to know is why. Why is Chaz doing this? best guess would be that those who are willing to take the bait and go through all the rigamarole are worthy to be uploaded in Chaz's eyes, or maybe Chaz doesn't want to go the route of hernandez and thus this entire thing is a recruitment drive designed to ease the burden of running Activitude so Chaz doesn't burn out?

There's no wiki to discuss this and I've seen very little lore discussion for vvr so i'm not 100% sure.

This post is long enough as is but I'm thinking about the lore of VVR2 as well so that'll probably be another post.

[sweetiesshortstories]

I read an article earlier from the perspective of a writer that wrote one episode of Suits. Yes. ONE episode.

I have sympathy for the Suits writer even though I didn’t like the show and couldn’t even get into the first few episodes which arguably should be the best episodes of a show. Writing one episode for a show is stupid and I honestly don’t know who would accept that. Furthermore, how on earth did you sign anything that would allow your compensation to be under $300 for a show with billions of streams? But I digress, the contracts aren’t why I’m writing this.

I’m writing this because writers for decades have devalued writing by accepting crumbs. They’ve forced every writer after them to take on a fight they didn’t know was happening. Instead of standing for consistency and stability and demanding that for their employment and for the viewers, they leapt at the “exposure instead of money” pipe dream and now want everyone to rally around them for support since that hasn’t paid off.

As a writer myself, I say every writer deserves fair compensation. But as a human with basic logic, Hollywood writers made their bed themselves and are asking everyone else to fix it and lay in it with them, and I won’t.

Yeah, their royalty checks are low but on the low end those writers are making $200k a year. 70% of Americans are making way under that amount. Today there are real wages that add up to $26k a year. In the US, the cost to live COMFORTABLY is a salary of $60k-$75k. Not luxuriously, just comfortably.

Over HALF of our population is making less than the SAG AFTRA & WGA strikers.

Until fast food workers, janitors, teachers, gas station attendants, all make a livable wage, i will not waste my energy on anyone in Hollywood.

No one will get a fair wage as long as our lowest paid workers can’t afford the cost of living.

Let’s not forget the extreme amount of privilege it takes to be able to say “I’m not going to work indefinitely until this is fixed”. For most Americans, that’s a ticket to becoming houseless, or without a home.

[sissytobitch10seconds]

Evolution of Us

Fandom: The Umbrella Academy Summary: Five and Viktor have been through a lot together, and they're ready to take their next step forward. Warnings: Mentions of canon-typical child abuse and drugging Word Count: 1,909 Ship(s): Five Hargreeves/Viktor Hargreeves

Archive link!

A/N: I know that this one is also pretty short but when they're already together I feel like I have less explaining I have to do, lol. I also wrote and edited this while fairly tired so if there are any errors please be kind when you point them out! I hope that you guys enjoy this installment in my year of OTP! Stay sissy and bitchy everyone &lt;3

They had been there for almost every single achievement that someone could have. They shared a birthday and had been there to see each one until they were thirteen, but their birthdays were still celebrated together. They had been there to see when their powers first started developing, even if things had been erased by magic words when they were just a little bit older. They had been there to hear first words and see the first steps taken without toddling. They had been there to see the beginnings of food preferences taking place. They had been there to see their first day of school, their first step towards their talents, their first step towards clothing preferences, their first step towards media likes and dislikes, everything.

Viktor had seen Five’s first mission, had been lurking on the roof next to the building to watch what he was doing. Five had been there to see the first fully played song that Viktor had performed to an audience, even if that was only him.

They had also missed a lot of each other’s lives. They had missed the other person’s first kisses, their first loves, their first day on the job, and their first home outside of the Academy. It was something that they both regretted quite a lot since they had seen the beginning and not the middle, like they had missed out on their own lives. They had to soothe that worry by knowing that every other step that they made would be with each other.

At least, that was what Five had been telling himself the entire time that they loaded boxes onto the moving truck. 

They had been living in Viktor’s small, poorly kept apartment while they settled themselves out in the new universe. He had recently gotten a job at a high school and Viktor had gotten a job with a paying orchestra so that he could do what he loved and provide for them. That meant that after just a few months post-job acquiring, they were able to put a downpayment on a house. That had resulted in them sharing another first together, the packing up of their house and moving all of their belongings to a new place. They had also gone house hunting together, which had brought forth all kinds of wonderful feelings for them both.

Once the moving truck was loaded up with every item that they were allowed to take from the apartment, they headed across The City and out into the suburbs. The house that they had chosen was closer to the main part of the city than the newer establishments since Viktor had wanted something vaguely old. They had chosen a cute post-war cottage that was near the university, which held the high school that Five taught math and science at. 

It had chipper red brick with white accents on the porch and around the windows. Inside, it had the original dark hardwood flooring and some of the accents like crown molding along the walls. There was a kitchen with bright white tile and plenty of counter space for the tiny amount of cooking that they did with each other. There were two bedrooms, both of them small enough that they felt cozy without making Viktor feel like the walls closing in on him. There was also an unfinished basement that gave them a bit of a project to do without having to worry about the livability of their home.

They arrived at the house with basically no problems. Viktor gave an excited noise as he leaned over and kissed Five’s cheek. When he pulled away, his brows furrowed together and he settled better into the front bench of the moving truck. “Sweetheart?”

“Hmm?” Five asked as he turned towards his boyfriend. He had been trying to stay out of his own thoughts but now that things were actually happening, he felt kind of like they were consuming him whole.

“Is everything okay?” Viktor asked, one hand moving to hold Five’s arm so that the other was forced to turn and look at the smaller man properly.

“I just…” he sighed and leaned his head back against the headrest. “Promise that you won’t make fun of me?”

“I would never, ever make fun of you,” Viktor shook his head. Five knew that it was true, he had always known that it was true. Even when they were children, Viktor had never participated in the teasing that the others had subjected whoever the unlucky sibling was that week to. The closest that they had gotten to it was when he had made a comment about Five’s drunken speech at Luther and Sloane’s first wedding.

Five turned so that they were facing each other on the bench. He reached out so that his fingers were interwoven with his boyfriend’s and then pressed their foreheads together. “I can’t help but wonder what this was like when you were moving out of the Academy. I missed so much of your adult life and while I’m so glad that we have the chance to do it now, I can’t help but feel a little sad that I wasn’t there to see it initially,” he explained. He said it all at once so that he wouldn’t chicken out and end up saying that it was nothing or lying about what was on his mind.

“Oh, Five,” Viktor sighed gently.

“I know that it’s stupid,” he whispered quietly. “I should just be happy that we’re getting to have this but I keep regretting everything that I missed.”

“I regret it too,” the other man admitted after a moment of silence had hung between them. “I wish that you had been there on my first day of college or when I moved into my first apartment. I was so scared during both of them, or I guess as scared as I could be when I was on massive sedatives, you would have made it all better.”

“I know that there’s nothing that we can do to fix it,” he sniffled. He didn’t know where the sorrow and mourning for a time that had already long past was coming from. He should have been able to push it down and away the same way that he had all of the people he had met while working for the Commission. For some reason, though, he was unable to. When his mind was clearer he would assume that the reason was because Viktor was so much closer to him than they were. The other man had held his heart since they were first brought together, possibly even before. 

He had never wanted to be separated from Viktor, but he had gotten stuck in the apocalypse that his love had caused. He had made the best of it and even created a wife that would help him move past the blossoming little crush that he had. He had fought tooth and nail to get back to Viktor and the rest of their siblings, and then to keep them together after. He should have just been grateful that they had that time now, that they were allowed to be together, but he was still mourning the time that they could have had together had he not made the one impulse decision that had damned him.

“Would it be better if I told you about what they were like?” Viktor asked. “You could tell me a bit about what it was like to move into that place that you had in the apocalypse.”

“How do you always know the ways to make me feel better?” Five laughed as he darted forward to steal a kiss.

“Because I’m your soulmate,” Viktor replied. “Am I meant to take that as a yes?”

“You certainly are,” he nodded. “But I think that we should do it while we’re unpacking and setting up our new home. I’m not very keen on the idea of having to sleep on the floor.”

After a quick nod of agreement from the other, they both got out of the car and got two of their smaller boxes full of personal items. They walked up to their new home and opened the door for the first time, which settled the anxiety that had been brewing in the back of Five’s head since they had started packing. They both worked hard and efficiently to bring in all of their things and get them into the proper rooms. Once the entire truck was empty and all of their boxes were inside, they began to put together the furniture in their bedroom.

“I didn’t have to do this when I moved into my college dorm,” Viktor explained as he screwed another peg into the slot where they had been told to by the instructions. “Reggie sent me to a pretty prestigious music college so my dorm was basically a furnished apartment. I had the classic cinderblock wall but it was painted a really nice blue color. I had a bedframe with a mattress, no pillows or blankets though. I had a desk, a chair, and a chest of drawers that was only mine. The rest of the house had the basic things that you needed to be able to live but they weren’t just mine. Mom was let out of the house long enough to help me really settle in but I think that was just so Dad could make sure I didn’t miss my first dose of meds without her giving it to me.”

“Asshole,” Five muttered, shaking his head. “What about your apartment?”

“I moved into one apartment and then stayed there the rest of my life. Even after I got more money and could have moved,” he laughed. “I barely had anything and I had to sleep on the floor when I first moved in. I didn’t waste my money on going out so I was able to get new furniture pretty quickly, thankfully. I was so scared of the neighborhood that I had moved into that I slept with my kitchen knife next to my bed. No one came to visit me, not even Diego or Klaus.”

Viktor didn’t let himself dwell on the sadness of being left alone for long as he quickly asked, “What was your home in the apocalypse like? You had one, didn’t you?”

The taller man nodded, “I did. It was a bombed out building, I think it used to be the library. I gathered up things that I found around the city. I had a chalkboard and a nest of blankets. I got basically every book that I could find about whatever, mostly so that I would have somewhere to write my notes. I should have gotten things like food but I spent a lot of my time looking for wine and clothes for Dolores.”

They went quiet for a bit as they both sat in the sadness that their adult lives had been before they had reunited. Viktor set down the furniture piece that he had been working on and then reached over to take his boyfriend’s hand. He brought it up to his lips and whispered, “I’m so glad that we can be together for this change. I hope that it’ll be a lot more pleasant than the last couple of times we moved.”

Five cupped his lover’s face and brought their lips together in a sweet kiss. “Me too, love, me too.”

[theinvisiblemuseum]

Because you do both, I was wondering, do you consider yourself more of a writer or an artist (as in someone who makes art.jpg)?

For example, I do both, but I would only consider myself a writer, and my drawing/painting is a lot less centered in my mind

this is an interesting question actually… ur gonna have to bear with me while i answer this way more in depth than you’re asking for lollllll

on here? probably more artist than writer, i made this blog for the purpose of posting art, and it literally is my “invisible museum” of sorts, even tho i write a fair amount as well. i also know most people only follow me for art, so in that regard i would say artist.

but outside of tumblr i sort of find the distinction has very blurry lines for me. i’ve always been an “artist” but i’ve never really been a studio artist if that makes sense. outside of fanart stuff, i dont really draw or anything. sometimes i paint for fun, but i see studio art as a hobby in my life because i’ve never been *that* good at it and i’ve never really wanted to pursue it as a professional. i did, however study art in school, but my focus was video/performance art. i even did a little bit of sound design as well, and those are really my niches. when i say i’m an artist, i’m mostly always talking about video or performance art (and performance for me isn’t in the Performance Art sense, i just mean dance lol). so yeah i guess i’ve never considered myself a 2d artist even though i make a lot of 2d art for fun.

and as far as writer vs artist, the two intertwine a lot for me, because video art + writing basically equals film, and that’s, like, my major area of interest. but would you call a director an artist in the same way you would a painter? i don’t know tbh. i don’t think there’s an answer. this probably is way too much information to say i don’t really have an answer other than that i sort of consider myself an artist and a writer on an equal level because i tend to combine the two, even for fanfics/fanart. i like to do them all in conjunction with one another under the broad label of “artist” or “creative” or “probably never going to make a livable wage because i hate work that isn’t creatively driven” LOL

[justcruzing]

☪ CHARACTER INFO

Name: Alexia "Lexi" Cruz Gender/Pronouns: She/Her Age: 32 Date of Birth: 10.30.1991 Place of Origin: El Paso, TX Occupation: Mechanic at Casey's Current Neighborhood: Shadow Lake How long have they been in town?: 2 weeks Have they triggered their curse: Yes Wolf Classification:(Beta Position in the Pack: (Member, Non Member, Leadership position etc.) Faceclaim:

☪ BIOGRAPHY

Born to a werewolf mother who left her shortly after birth and human father, Alexia Cruz spent her childhood living above her daddy’s auto body shop; more often than not falling asleep to the sounds of drill bits and saws. For as long as she could remember they had been the symphony to her life. A single dad after the death of her mother, Jorge Cruz struggled to make life livable for his little girl. The money the shop brought in was enough to keep them afloat, but left very little excess. As a result Alexia often wore hand-me-downs given to them by the local church and before each school year a trip was made to the thrift shop one city over. There little Lexi could pick out the fashions she wanted in an attempt to blend in at school. It was never successful. When she was young it was easy to blend in, but growing older meant that those who were ignorant started judging her for participating in activities that were typical “boy” things along with her more worn-out clothes. She never cared. Her father taught her that no matter her gender she should do what she found the most joy in and that money did not make someone happy, love did. 

Lexi excelled in sports, playing both softball and track. Her grades were never anything to write home about, the only subject that did not completely allude her was math. Her experience of helping her father work on the cars and needing to know the dimensions of various parts for the perfect fit was a big help in geometry. Of course, her biggest passion came from assisting her father. She was as handy with a wrench as any of the guys, perhaps even more than some, a skill carefully crafted under her father’s tutelage. By the time she was sixteen Lexi could change out a transmission in no time flat. Sixteen was also the same year her father had his first stroke. 

It devastated the pair and though Lexi tried her best to keep the shop afloat, the amount of work piled too high. The money wasn’t there to hire a full-time manager and the employees they did have quit when their paychecks stopped clearing. Without health insurance the bills from the hospital took too much, until finally the shop itself was sold to keep creditors at bay. In an effort to assist her father, rather than go to a trade school as she had initially intended, Lexi enlisted into the army on her eighteenth birthday and rolled out for basic training as soon as she’d graduated. Initially the army was just a way for her to send money home to her father, so that he could rest easier. 

Lexi however quickly found being in the army was an environment in which she thrived. A talented military mechanic with a keen mind for strategy, she rose quickly through the ranks. Her unit was her family, only away from them on short leaves to visit her ailing father. All of her money went towards his hospice care, a second stroke had ravaged the stoic man, leaving him incapable of caring for himself. Things shifted slightly after her first confirmed kill. Lexi did not know her mother was a wolf. The first time she shifted terrified her, and she struggled to keep the secret. She thought herself a freak. Only a talk with her father calmed her down, he had known. Lexi was angry that he had not thought to tell her before she enlisted, knowing that it was likely she would activate the curse. He told her that he had been stubbornly hanging onto hope that what he feared wasn’t true. 

For thirteen years she served faithfully within army ranks, doing her best to hide her condition. Until one day, horror struck. A dog had missed an IED. The explosion killed every man and woman within her unit. 

To this day, Lexi believes the only reason that she survived was because of her werewolf genes. Still, the blast had left its mark on her as well. The left half of her body was severely burned, her left eardrum ruptured from the force of the blast. Her right leg had needed to be reconstructed, and though healed now, she still walks with a bit of a limp. Certainly much less severe of a one than it would have been were she human. Hearing never returned to her left ear, and though her burns healed well, they still scarred thickly. The only saving grace there was that thanks to her lupine genetics she had not needed skin grafts. She spent six months in rehab, only to learn upon her release that her father had passed. Apparently his heart had not been able to handle the thought she might not survive. 

Alone, truly and utterly alone for the first time in her life, Lexi was terrified. Angry. Constantly getting in drunken brawls and fights. During one such fight she nearly killed the man, unable to temper her wolf strength while she was so inebriated. On the run from the cops is when she stumbled upon Lunar Cove. She’s been here for two weeks now and having gotten a job at the local mechanic and a house far enough away from others that she is sure they can’t hear her scream at night. Things are bleak. But maybe here she can learn to live again. Learn that the thing she has had to fight so hard to hide is a blessing rather than a curse.

☪ MISC INFO

Until she moved to Lunar Cove, Lexi had no idea that other super natural creatures existed, and was very limited in her knowledge about her own species.

Deaf in her left ear and walks with a limp on her right side.

Glares at anyone who stares at her scars for too long. She doesn't feel it is her obligation to hide the damage caused to her fighting for her country because they make the people who look at them uncomfortable.

More to come as I get to know her!

A map of Lexi's burn scars