#look. i'm not normally one who cares for podcasts. but it's SO good. it's nice to listen to while i'm drawing or playing games

[court-jobi]

Reheat

((banner by me! I don't own Horikoshi's work OR the mindblowing art of @gsony24))

Pairing: Midoriya x reader (support-hero!reader x teacher Izuku)

Words: 2.5k

Rating: G~

Warnings: comfort fic, tooth-rotting fluff here y'all, established relationship, work stress (livin' vicariously), talks of the future, a few fem pronouns used, but generally gender-neutral

Summary:

Izuku letting himself into your home after a long day has become comfortable background noise, and one you love to hear while you're bogged down. Work has been following you home all week. He's proud of you, without a doubt... But equally concerned when he sees your dinner half-eaten, your mind scatterbrained and racing faster than he can anchor you, and your angel eyes in desperate need of some TLC. He's cemented his place in your heart- and sees no reason he can't make himself at home here already.

A/N: do I have bigger fics in mind? Yes. Did I write this instead of sleeping bc I love soft, encouraging Deku? Also yes. Izuku Midoriya is a motivational speaker.

For my My Hero Academia Masterlist, check it out here!

Read on AO3

“Hey honey! I’m here!”

Over the tinny, background chatter of a podcast streaming from your phone, you call back to Izuku letting himself in.

“Hey you~” You throw interest into your voice, but still stayed tuned into your work.

“Ooo what’s this… What did you make here on the stove?”

“Risotto– it’s Italian~ has lots of veggies and good stuff in it,” you didn’t stop your typing pace, engrossed too heavily in getting an email out before you forget about it and Gmail has to ‘nudge’ you, again, “-gave it a Japanese spin with what I had in the house.”

“Oh wow– oh my gosh, honey– this is so good!”

You look up since your darling man has just appeared in your doorway, sparkly eyed to see you, but equally sated by what’s just graced his mouth. It was a meal you could babysit between taking a quick shower, getting ready for work, letting its flavors marry in the fridge throughout the day, and popping back on the stove that night.

“I’m glad, happy you like it~”

“D’you eat?” Izuku asks, midbite.

“Mhm. Little bit ago,” You motion to your bowl- but when he comes alongside you, he tuts over noting it's only half empty.

“You didn't finish- you feelin’ ok?”

Having circled back onto your screen, you double take again, this time caught by his perception check over you and feeling guilty. 

“Oh. Guess I didn't. I’ll nuke it up here in a bit.”

Izuku, setting down his bowl and starting the -normally alluring- task of rolling up his shirt sleeves to his forearms, comes to your side. However since you’re paying little mind to your peripherals, you missed the show the was making of it. A simple ask of ‘what’re you working on’ came from him, sounding no different than if he wasn't trying to make eyes at you; fact was, you just weren't paying attention.

“Just some stuff for the interns,” the sight of how many tabs are open on your split screen -and in your mind- make you sigh, “With this new role, I kinda feel like you some days. Lesson plans, processing their paperwork; it’s all the stuff you had to turn in as an intern– only now I'm the one dealing with it on the backend.”

Izuku sifted around though your training materials and your propped tablet making itself useful as a second screen. At your handwritten to-do list that’s one of the only things non-digitized nowadays, he makes an offhand comment that your handwriting is nice. It's the kind of cute, ‘blink-and-you’d-miss-it’ things he says that you just hum to, whether you were really listening or not.  

When you glance up to him again, you see he’s watching you with a caring gaze and feel caught.

 “What’re you looking at?” you tease, typing again to break the silence.

“A pretty girl…” Izuku teased lightly, “who doesn’t know when to take a break.”

You type away at his call out– the need for a night off at Izuku’s side is exactly why you've been working so hard at this. You figured you'd get some of this extra prep work under control now, so by the time he rolls around on Wednesday for your standing date n–

You freeze. 

Realizing what day it is in your planner.  It's Wednesday. For dinner.

“Oh my God- -you’re here.”

“Mhmmm~” Izuku really doesn't want to laugh, but his sucking in of a lip isn't hiding it well. 

“ohmygod imtheworst!!” you refresh your face in both hands, talking through the gaps.

“You are not!” Izuku chuckled, setting your notes down. “You just got busy with all the new tasks, because you’re just that good.” 

A faithful, scarred hand comes over to smooth over your back, pulling you over into a little half hug. You sink against him, relishing in his little forehead kiss. He can try all he likes to cure your embarrassment, but you look to him apologetically.

“I’ve never forgotten our dinner dates, ‘Zuku…”

Your darling shrugged unbothered, “Had to happen sometime. It’s no big deal.”

“Is to me,” you pressed- very much bothered.

“Honey,” Izuku chips your chin up, “You’re too hard on yourself. It’s ok, these things happen! I mean, you still made a delicious dinner; even if it was a bit of an oversight I would -in fact- be eating it.”

The pang of guilt hits you at forgetting. This was just a symptomatic sign that the brilliance of your taking on the additional role of Education Coordinator at the agency was perhaps an over-zealous one. Not only to be on-call for your base job as a linguistics quirk specialist, but to balance another full time role on the office hours end? Why did you convince Fatgum this was a good idea? It sounded like a stellar idea back at the beginning of the summer…

Now you’re forgetting not just who you’re supposed to be eating with- but also eating in general.

“I’m glad you did,” you boost Izuku’s elephant-like memory, “It feels so normal to have you here, it's not like I completely forgot I’d see you today. I just– maybe I… thought I was gonna take some to you, since I wouldn't see you till later in the week? I dunno.”

“C’mere- never got a real hug.” 

You rise at his hand’s insistence, and stretch up into his full, healing embrace. 

“Hi baby,” you cooed pitifully.

“Hi, my angel. Missed you today.”

You hummed at the affection, sinking into his neck more out of your residual misery.

Izuku simply took advantage of you being close to sway you in his wide stance- a dance, sans music.

“I appreciate you cooking so much for us,” he spoke gently from his perch over your shoulder, “I was looking forward to it all day, y’know? You’re always so thoughtful with everything you make.”

He’s pressing into you with compliments- against your hard wiring to accept…

“‘Zuku.”

“It’s true~ you’re generous! You remember what my favorites are, and leave out the stuff I don’t like; you even send me leftovers. And you make snacks and treats for when the midnight munchies strike– what can’t you do?”

“Zuku…”

“And you–” he runs a hand through your hair as he sways your shy self back and forth, “-- make for the most funny, beautiful, fascinating, most inspiring company I could ever hope to share a meal with.”

Head thunking onto his shoulder, you playfully land a closed fist on his chest with a muffled, whiny plea for him to stop.

He sighs, all in good humor.

“This streak of yours... I really have my work cut out for me, don’t I? Still can’t imagine how bad it must be in that brilliant mind that my incredible girlfriend has such a hard time accepting the tiniest compliment. Maybe it’s all that late night American comedy you watch...”

You exhale then fix him with your coolest look of sarcasm, anything to show that you have a modicum of having your shit together. So you cope with humor- who doesn't?

–shame that it looks too much like a pout and makes you decidedly not threatening at all, because Izuku just beams brightly at you in response.

“Oh! Now there’s my melty princess- I was wondering where she went.”

And at that, the aloofness was gone, and you snort into a laugh and hug him tighter around the neck. He even scoops you up and gives you one little twirl for good measure. 

When he set you down, Izuku cups your face in his hands and gifts you a few more forehead kisses before demanding your sights. 

“Now. We need to get you to finish eating first. Then, what can I do to help you tonight, hm? How can I make things easier for you?”

With a softer eye to your desk’s work, you sat back down staying connected to your ever doting Izuku by way of your hand in his. You tried again to focus back. You're newly refreshed by his affections and attempt for a more positive outlook, 

“Well, my goal of doing this tonight was so that I didn’t have to go in early tomorrow. Course, if I do run myself ragged tonight, I won't be any good to anyone there– or for you, here. But I think if I pare it down to just getting these e-sigs ready and getting their time-in checklists set up for their work study onboarding, that would give me a good enough start, and I can fill in the rest of their packets tomorrow. But that means I’d need -ugh- maybe… another hour of work tonight?” you looked to him for his approval, “I have a template, so it shouldn’t take me forever.”

“Alright! You’re the boss,” Izuku supported your plan with a smile, “How about I take care of the kitchen for you while you finish up?”

“You do not have to clean my kitchen!” you spouted back, offended– causing a laugh to burst from him, “It’s not funny! I didn’t ask you to come over after a day of work yourself to just slave away at my mess.”

Izuku fixed you a look, as if you knew better. 

“I think I can tidy up a kitchen, no matter how busy of a day I’ve had. Yours isn't even over yet- so when precisely were you going to have the energy to hammer at it? You’ll enjoy not having that mountain waiting for you.”

You huffed, but smiled gratefully all the same. 

“Besides, it’s just me- doing something nice for the woman I love; and I happen to like doing nice things for you. You deserve a clean space, hun.” 

He cleared off your previous bowl to reheat along with your empty water cup. Shaking the hollow straw inside to where it clinks, he knows exactly what you need and tells you so.

“You are getting a screenless break first, though. Something tells me you didn’t the first time around~”

Settled with a fist propping up your face, you swooned over this darling man. 

Trusting Autosave to have done its job, you shut the laptop down blindly, “Sure didn’t~” 

Izuku just rolled his eyes and stepped out of the study. 

You neaten up the collated stack of applications laid out by you and stepped over to the couch, taking a kneeling perch on the end while you sought out a new record for the player on the side table. Setting one on, it was able to fire up and fill some new life into the room with a movie score you haven’t listened to in a while. Everything just sounds better on vinyl.

When Izuku came back in the room, he’d found his houseshoes and returned with renewed interest to your music choice- and with a pleased expression seeing you actually lounging and taking things easier than how he found you. He traded your reheated meal in exchange for your blue-light glasses, which he’d then clean with a pocket square and set back on your desk once they were smudgeless.

“Now, that’s a better sight~ here you go, all set for later.”

You enjoyed Izuku’s company while finishing dinner, listening to him outline his workday while he cradled your legs in his lap. He'd had a pleasantly eventful one, with plenty to say about it. You’d play ‘two truths and a lie’ sometimes when he didn’t want to bore you with a particularly mind-numbing schedule, which pleased you just as well. You excelled at it, while he gave away his fictions every time- a terrible liar for the game, but great for a faithful partner, you reasoned.  You truly loved hearing him talk and talk, your love only growing at the domesticity of this feeling and never wanting that to change. 

Once you were done, you were honestly content to hear him continue his tangent, but it seems his inner discipline was stronger than yours. 

“Alright, now to attack that sink~”

You bemoaned again for his sake. But since you made such a small, affected noise, Izuku paused mid-rise, and sat back down a bit closer to you. He stretched an arm over the back of the couch, encouraging you to come closer and met you for a sweet kiss in the middle.

His mere presence reverted you to a younger self sometimes– one desperate for his attention, good or bad. It wasn't the loveliest impulse, but he clearly thinks it's all part of your charm seeing as he gives in every time, anyway.

“Thing is,” Izuku spoke softly while adoring the hand now placed in his, “If things keep going the way I think they’re going -the way I hope they’re going- it’s.. not hard to imagine that there’s gonna be both our dishes to clean up all the time. In our kitchen, in our home someday. So this is just practice, right? Seems perfectly normal to me. How it should be.”

That idea bloomed in your chest, the thought of sharing a home with him- where this exchange of chores and time together could be your new normal. Only it would be a future where he didn’t have to leave at the end of the night and go back to a bed with compact, collegiate-designed storage at the campus accommodations he stays in on the instructor's wing. He’s got enough to get him by, but he noticeably prefers your home here closer to downtown.

“And what happens when we both wanna ditch the dishes?” you countered sweetly.

Izuku smirked, “That’s what a dishwasher is for. Another thing we’d own together…”

“Forward thinking, there.” You relished that idea. 

Izuku nuzzled your forehead thoughtfully. 

“You’ve been doing things on your own for a long time– and it shows, sweetheart.”

His words came carefully, from a tender place spoken in confidence between you, referring to when you’ve spent other late nights like this one fueled with hot tea and a desire to keep ignoring the clock.

“And I know you’ve been used to that since you’ve been traveling so much, not even having roommates to help keep you company or lighten the load. I keep wishing I could have known you sooner, had more time with you before you had to learn some of those things the hard way… but I’m happy I get the chance to, now. I’m here now, and you’re not alone, so I hope you’ll let me take care of you when I can.”

With another happy sigh forcing your eyes shut, the mental will it took to not let the tears of a perpetual eldest daughter leave you was intense.

Izuku Midoriya never failed to hit the nail on the head when it came to pep talks; he does the same with his students. But why his ones aimed at you had to have a Full Cowling dash of heartfelt anecdotes in it, you don't know. But you're grateful. You're so grateful for him. 

“If you don’t quit talkin’ like that, Izuku, I will never let you leave this condo.”

He chuckled again, lifting your cheek for another kiss, “Twist my arm, love.”

Ultimately, he rose to quit distracting you, but not without you watching him leave with a hunger you’d never felt for another soul before. 

[voidendron]

I've been listening to The Magnus Archives

episode 111 broke my heart 😭

[lizzy-bonnet]

I love Jane Austen's work and I love podcasts, so naturally I follow several JA podcasts (please drop recs in the tags). I'm enjoying Live from Pemberley from Hot and Bothered, but a comment from literally the first episode of the series has been circulating in my brain since I listened to it several months ago: one of the hosts expressed surprise (and disappointment?) in the fact that when we first meet Lizzy, she is "employed in trimming a hat". This comment literally comes right after a conversation about how Austen tells us so much in the very short space of Chapter 1; without wasting any words, we know exactly who Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are (lightly toxic relationship), understand their family situation (need to marry well), meet the main driver of the first act (rich man in the neighbourhood), and understand a social dilemma (girls can't meet him if Mr. Bennet does not make the first overture). So what is Austen telling us when we meet Lizzy in the employment of trimming a hat?

We so often read a sort of modern girlboss feminism into Lizzy because she is smart and stands up for herself, but I think that's something that really gets embroidered on to the text. Lizzy trimming a bonnet is telling us several things about her:

She is frugal - new hats and bonnets are really expensive (my casual hobby is shopping for reproduction bonnets and this remains true), because the straw is braided by hand, the bonnet shape is assembled and blocked by hand, feathers have to be gathered from real (living or dead) birds, ribbons and flowers are hand-finished, the whole situation is fuck expensive. Lizzy is most likely putting new trim on a straw or wool bonnet she already owns to make it work better for this season's fashions, or a new dress, and possibly recycling trimmings from other hats. Contrast this with Lydia's spending all her pocket money on an ugly hat in Chapter 39, just so she can reduce it to parts, even though she acknowledges she'll also have to buy some extra satin too, to finish the project.

She cares about fashion - we don't get a lot of information on sartorial choices in Austen's work, and when characters are discussing fashion, it tends to be a framework for explaining something about their characters; Miss Steele's need to know how much Marianne's dresses cost (rude, crass); Mrs. Bennet's loving description of the lace on Mrs. Hurst's gown (shallow); Catherine Moreland's agonizing over what to wear to the Assembly (young, a bit flighty); Bingley wears a blue coat (has probably read The Sorrows of Young Werther, is fashionable). The fact that Lizzy is trimming a hat tells us she is fashionable, but paired with the fact that she will get a petticoat muddy in order to see her sister, and does not spend a lot of time worrying after fashion like Lydia tells us that she does not live and die on fashion.

She is creative - I've trimmed various hats and bonnets over my years of interest in historical fashion and honestly it's not easy. It's quite fiddly to get a nice ribbon edge, a ruched lining takes forever, and getting sprays of florals and feathers to be nicely shaped and all in a complementary palette is quite fussy. Getting a nice looking bonnet requires some thinking and planning. But it's also great fun! The Regency era is, in my opinion, a particularly good period for hats.

She is normal - I think Austen wants the reader to understand that Lizzy is a young woman with normal cares and concerns. She doesn't have cash for a new bonnet, she wants to look nice, she knows how to put an outfit together, she's not frivolous like her sisters, and she engages in the typical pursuits of someone who is not yet one and twenty who does not have a specific occupation.

A lot of modern readers are expecting Lizzy to be striding around the countryside unconcerned with "girly" things, or reading a clever book because we have come to think of her as proto-feminist in a way that suggests she might be a bra (corset) burner, but I think that comes from an outdated feminist lens that still wants to tell us that girly things are bad, or at least, a bit weak, and I don't see that in the text at all (I think some of this trickles over from the adaptations). Lizzy walks enthusiastically, she enjoys reading (but not to the exclusion of other employments), she dances very well and plays with mediocrity, she cares deeply about her friends and family, she has excellent manners, and dammit, she trims hats.

[torhues]

tsukishima kei.

"you're crying," tsukishima speaks over your soft sobs filling the atmosphere around an empty staircase.

"thanks for noticing, idiot," even though your throat is soar and you're barely in a position to say something, you manage to utter words of delightful gratitude, or insult, whatever fits the situation better.

he sighs, and you feel him sit next to you. to be honest, he's the last person you expected to see at the moment, and also the last person you wished would see you in your current state.

you don't have anything against again, not at all, but neither of you can stand each other's presence, especially you. perhaps, it's the way he refuses to compromise, or the moments he straight up calls your ideas stupid and lame, always getting on your nerves. tsukishima isn't a half bad student, but he sure is the worst project partner you could've been assigned.

another sigh escapes his lips. "if you would tell me what happened, maybe i can help,"

"yeah, no thanks, asshole," you reply.

"i don't see the need to call me names when i'm being nice to you,"

"jesus, tsukishima, i don't want to talk to anyone right now so please leave me alone," there's annoyance in your voice, hints of anger in your eyes, a frown on your face while you try your best to compose yourself and not break down.

it doesn't faze him.

tsukishima doesn't even blink. in fact, he looks at you as if he's used to seeing you this way. his eyes are still brimming with indifference, or maybe there's a little bit of emotion— warmth— you don't know, it's hard to figure out. reading him is hard because on other days, tsukishima doesn't seem to care.

he takes a deep breath, pulling out his phone from the pocket before leaning against the step behind him. "guess we're staying quiet,"

and you don't know why he doesn't leave.

the typical tsukishima would be with his friend or in a corner of the classroom, sitting by himself with air-pods plugged in. some say he listens to crime podcasts while others have seen him re-listen to the lectures, which could be the reason behind his excellent grades. on normal days, he would call you stupid for minor miscalculations in mathematics, suggesting that you should sign up for remedial classes before it's too late.

maybe, it's the significant change in weather today that has got him acting this way. maybe, he just needs someone to kill his boredom and coincidently, you happen to need someone who would lend you an ear.

"i broke up with my boyfriend," you begin, eyes on the gray tiles, voice low enough to equalize a whisper. "well, he broke up with me, and even though i said that i fucking hate him and that i'm better off without him, it hurts, y'know?"

tsukishima sighs again. it's a lighter one this time, like a sigh of relief, a sigh without stress, a sigh of comfort. you wait for him to speak but, all you hear is silence. for a second, you wonder if it was a wrong decision to tell him this in the first place, and the reason is far beyond the ideologies of sharing your weakness with your biggest rival. to put it simply, you don't think tsukishima is the right person to find comfort within.

he slips his phone back inside the pocket. "you curse a lot when you're angry, or upset,"

"is that what you inferred from everything i told you?"

he shrugs. "perhaps,"

"gosh, i new this was a bad idea," actually, you thought it was a good idea to share a few things with him, just for a brief second. of course, this isn't the only decision you'd be regretting, but you still hope you could go back in time and stop yourself while you still had the chance.

you grab your bag, swinging it up your shoulders before taking a last look at him, hoping he'd say something else, something worth noting instead of initiating pointless talks. when nothing comes your way from his side, you decide to leave on your own accord, for your own good.

"crying over men is lame," his words make you halt in your way. "just saying," and it's surprising and equally fascinating to hear something along those lines from his mouth.

"i know," you chuckle, "but, some of us have it tough out there,"

"you're not some random person. you decked your friend's ex because he cheated on her," first things first, you don't know the need to bring that up. you were in first year and had subpar hatred for people to cheat on their significant others— still do— but the current you wouldn't deck someone. and secondly, you don't know how that has anything to do with your relationship.

"hey, now, that was a different case,"

"you can deck your ex too," he states with a monotonous voice, being ever so serious and certain of his words as if they're wedding vows. "i don't see how that's any different,"

a trail of silence follows. you almost consider his words, almost, and brush off those thoughts from your mind the very next second. you take a look at his face, wondering if he's joking, but reading tsukishima has always been so hard, you don't know if his eyes resonate with a mere prank or if they spell something else out loud.

"minato treated me well, tsukishima," you retort, "i don't know what's going on in that head of yours but, don't make any assumptions,"

the slight necessity to clarify your relationship compelled those words to fall off your lips. although, you did broke up on bad terms, the period while you were with him wasn't half bad. you both had your share of happiness and sorrow, arguments and comfort, just like any other normal relationship would. maybe that's why now that you've broken up, it hurts more, and perhaps, the reason is not him but instead, everything that the two of you had.

"well, you've got other guys out there," once again, tsukishima's words pull out of your thoughts. his expression is ambiguous and his gaze mirror something that you've never seen in his eyes. you take your time to come up with a response, knowing that while his words means more than what they seem to.

and when you don't say anything for the next new seconds, tsukishima stands up, taking a step towards you. "i'm saying, you have me,"

[immortaltale]

recently stumbled upon this really interesting german podcast that had klopp as a guest! and i don't speak german (had to use google translate) so maybe i'm missing things but here is a summary of some interesting things he spoke about if anyone is interested!! under the cut as it's quite long

he likes living in england because he thinks the vibes are similar to germany/where he grew up

he doesn't feel "proud" of his achievements as a manager because he has very high expectations of himself, and when he wins important matches he usually feels more relief than anything

after the 2019 champions league final, he thought it was very important to talk to pochettino and congratulate him because he knew what losing felt like and he thinks often the loser doesn't get enough recognition for their accomplishments leading up to the match

he knows how to deal with the public perception of him and considers this "one of my few talents"

he has "no problem at all belonging to the group [of losers]" (even though it hurts in the moment) because in the grand scheme of life it doesn't matter

looking back, he'd like people to remember him as a nice person first and foremost, and everything else (his champions league wins/losses/etc) is irrelevant

as a child he loved to read books because it allowed him to enter a dream sort of world. otherwise lots of his childhood was playing with friends that he still talks to, and he appreciates the rural environment as it allows you to "do things where you simply establish relationships which are enough for life"

he credits his father as the one who made it possible for him to have a career as a footballer. his strengths were his speed, heading ability, and a good shot

he says being a manager isn't just about football, it's also about the people (and how you treat them)

"life is too short not to [go all in]!"

"i'm too old for that shit" (referring to the media and caring about public opinion)

he's not a good loser lol and the day afterwards he can use it to move forward to the next game but he "has no solution" for the headloss immediately after 😭

he's of course happy when he wins trophies but the best thing about it for him is seeing other people happy

he didn't think about it at all before making his famous "the normal one" statement, he randomly said it in the moment because he was nervous that his english wasn't good enough to do a press conference

"i am [currently] at the best version of myself i have ever known"

he describes himself as a "natural leader"

he believes the purpose of his life is to make his family's lives as pleasant as possible, and he'd like to do this with as many people as possible (which he obviously can't do for everyone) so he focuses on his family. he wants to be an advisor, a problem solver, and a listener for them

his bucket list priorities: to stay healthy and fit, and to travel a lot

"is the end of your career already in sight?" "no"

[nonbinarylocalcryptid]

MAG5 - Thrown Away, more quotes and review

This one? If Amy Patel's statement in MAG3 was painfully normal, this one is more than that, this one is about those parts of society you have forgotten because they are often unseen or just so far away from you that you can't make yourself care about them.

This is gonna sound like the roman empire meme but, how often do you think about the trash truck? I hear it every night as the insomniac I am, and sometimes I wonder about the people that collect the waste, how they look like, what kind of life they have; hell, I even think about where the trash go sometimes, the process it goes trough until it reachs the wasteland or its recycled. Humanity is damned and all we will leave behind is a big pile of rubbish, etc, etc

And then you remember that waste collectors exist, because a fictional guy in a podcast talks about another fictional guy who happens to be a bin man, and the second guy finds weird AF rubbish.

Quotable bits:

Not gonna quote anything from the statement part cuz it Rubs Me Wrong with capital letters.

"It’s nice to have a statement where most of the particulars are easily verifiable." - Freaking Jonathan Sims, acting like he didn't shat his pants, April 1st 2016

" (...) but at least it got Martin out of the Institute for an afternoon, which is always a welcome relief." - Also that guy who records freaky stuff

lmao Jon. U Know when someone tells a little girl how a boy is mean to her because he likes her? This quote has the same vibes.

"(...) but all two thousand seven hundred and eighty of them were the exact, same, tooth." - Jon "u r not sleepiing tonight" Sims

And then he says "End Statement" like you are not looking at your wall in disbelief.

Small review:

The "ominous garbage bags" statement is so goddamn weird, like, you spend 20 sth minutes of your life remembering that waste collectors exist and muttering wtf wtf wtf wtf wtf for a while and then boom, teeth.

Soooooooooooo many teeth.

Now, I don't Know if you guys feel gross out about this kind of stuff, I don't, I'm quite insensitive to body stuff, but wow, this upsets me a lot, like it's sth, u Know...

(transcript: Sam Winchester from Supernatural saying "not natural?")

General overview: Vibe: wtf did I just listen to??? (but in a good creepy way)

Horror: spooky, the kind of spooky u wanna forget soon

Audio: naisu

Humour: Jon bullying Martin in the way emotional constipated people do when they don't want to face their feelings

Score: 10/10

[windona]

whenever you do a prompt night I always want to send you a prompt for fun but I can only ever think of 'bad prompts', so I usually don't send anything to you. I decided that I would try one today anyway. It is going to be a 'bad prompt' so don't worry about ignoring it. this was the best 'bad prompt' I could thing of: The first time 13 yr old Jason Todd met 11 yr old Billy Batson and the first time Captain Marvel met The Red Hood

A/N: ...If this is a 'bad' prompt then I wonder what you consider a good one.

Billy sighed, kicking his feet. He was grateful, really! Even now that he was adopted by Dudley, healthcare was still an issue in Fawcett so being allowed to use the League's state of the art care for a checkup was something he was glad Superman suggested. He wished that more kids could have this, but, well, apparently the purple healing ray was hard to replicate and needed FDA approval anyway.

He sighed, feeling out of sorts as he always did when he was in a League base as Billy. Everything seemed so much larger.

"Do they have magazines?"

Billy looked to his right at the new Robin. "Not really? Most Leaguers don't really think to bring their own, and what would you bring for them anyway?"

The new Robin shrugged. "I dunno, probably not Highlights. Maybe Forbes? That's an adult magazine. I mean, one adults read, not a dirty one."

Billy raised an eyebrow at that. The old Robin wouldn't have talked about that sort of thing.

Robin squirmed. "I mean. You know. Maybe a literary magazine? I think the short stories in those are pretty cool. The New Yorker has a nice literary section."

"Huh. That would be cool. Maybe I could ask J'onn about that? He likes learning about Earth stuff, and I think he handles supplies."

"Uh, yeah. Hey, do you like to read?"

"Yeah, though I'm a bigger radio fan. I've been getting into podcasts- they remind me of those old fashioned radio serials. It's so cool, because it lets you picture the events like a book but with voice acting.

"Huh, I'll have to give those a try. By the way, what's your name?"

"Billy. Yours?"

"J-Robin. I'm Robin."

*Seven Years Later*

Gotham's wind blew the smell of waste over the buildings. Captain Marvel stayed in the air, firm.

It really said something that Batman had been so open to letting him try this.

Gunshots rang out. Captain Marvel flew over, and exhaled. It seemed that it was just a normal robbery, with henchmen too small for the infamous Red Hood to kill.

(Billy hoped that Jason remembered why his own father had been a criminal. That crime could be caused by desperation as much as malice.)

The robbers fled with scattered motion and wide eyes. Red Hood stood up and turned to face Captain Marvel.

"Gotta say, I'm surprised. There's no word of any Fawcett villains here."

"Surprised I came to see an old friend? I heard you were back and wanted to see."

"Going to follow up with a lecture?"

"I get the feeling you wouldn't listen to one."

Red Hood put away his guns. "No. I won't. I know I'm right."

"Would the street kid that loved literary magazines and being Robin have agreed?"

Tilting his mask up, Red Hood snorted. "That boy died and his murderer is still out there."

"Then who am I talking to?"

"A ghost." He flicked a flash bang towards the ground, and not even the speed of mercury could have gotten him to close his eyes before it went off. When Captain Marvel blinked them open, Red Hood was gone.

"If my friend ever wants to stop by, I saved some magazines," he said to the air, hoping Jason heard him.

[nitewrighter]

I’ve been lurking around your blog trying to find all the Cinderella posts, but it’s been difficult bc I’m on mobile and for some reason I can’t see “common tags” on ANY blog when you click the “search in blog” function, so I don’t even know if the Cinderella story HAS a tag but. I just wanna talk about how much I love it for a second?

Your narration style genuinely feels like YOU are the narrator, and we’re sitting in the lounge or study of a lovely cabin mansion in the woods and I’m a fourteen year old who’s begged a story off of my favorite older cousin, who’s fun and doesn’t give a shit and cares more about the story than the Way they’re telling it. It makes it more fun and casual and I think it harkens more to the way oral fairy tales would’ve been told back when they were more often oral rather than written. And in the same vein you reflect modern times in how you tell it, along with the humour while (as another ask pointed out) retaining the feel and time of the story. It’s actually facinating and makes it SO MUCH fun to read.

And I love the takes you have on the story that make the characters both recognisable but also unique and different enough to be interesting, and also fills in a lot of plot holes people lovingly look over in the og stories. And also how you characterised the fairy godmother is so amazing sjdbdjdbd like she’s normally matronly, motherly, and mature and wise and dignified and this is more like “you’re the “loser” main character in an early 2010’s disney channel movie and you dress in soft colours and you’re sweet and your best friend is the emo/goth loner with a weird sense of humor, ripped shirts and lots of eyeliner whos rly only here for the people and it’s SO FUN. I love the vibe of her. It’s so different

In the vein of fairy tales using children as currency, I would happily give my first born child for you to continue this series, or if you’ve already started doing that, directing me to a tag or master post where I can read more. (I read the intro and the two parts linked on it. Idk If there’s more? Looking is Very Hard on mobile >:| ) thank you so mcu for writing

Oh gosh! This was so flattering to read! I mostly just tag it under Cinderella, I didn't really think to call it something like I had the "Fightin' Daphne AU" a couple years back... "Cool Rat Girl Cindy," maybe?

The Fairy Godmother as the Quirky Alt/Goth Best Friend in a Disney Channel Original movie... oh my god... I can see it.

Honestly what inspired my take on the Fairy Godmother was a Blindboy podcast I heard a couple years back where they had an Irish folklorist on the show, and at one point the folklorist says, "You know, honestly, I feel like leaving gifts for the fairies is like paying protection money to the mafia" and that kind of stuck with me. I'm Irish on my mom's side so I'm very into the concept of "Do Not Under Any Circumstances Fuck With The Good People Under the Hills" so I thought it would be fun to have a fairy godmother who's like, a fairy godmother, but I also like scrappy characters so the concept of a Fairy Godmother who's kind of flying by the seat of her pants was appealing as well. I think like... one of the thing that makes Cinderella a hard tale for people to get through--certainly what makes it a hard tale for me to get through--is how you get so pissed off at how Cinderella is treated, the injustice of it all. Like in a lot of film adaptations, stretching it out often leaves you with like... 75% of the movie being Cinderella being treated like shit. I kind of liked the idea of the Fairy Godmother kind of having all that anger and spite that we, the audience, have on Cinderella's behalf. And there was also this one post about people on the east coast being "Kind but not nice" and I really loved that concept so that went into my Fairy Godmother as well.

[danielpowell]

Okay, I'm making the show post cause I have to put my thoughts in one place. Warning you that this is full of spoilers, so don't get mad and say I didn't warn you. This very well could change on a re-watch, honestly. These feelings are rather fresh.

Pros:

The theme visuals look pretty.

Wardrobe is great- I genuinely want Dan's shirt and cardigan look, the film bar one.

Lots of sets look really nice and packed with detail- there's even nods to the podcast and the miniseries.

Certain tracks are nice and the sound design is well done for the most part.

Expanded backstory of the two mains we don't get in the podcast- while I don't necessarily like the ones they are given because of the aspect of ~ they were connected the entire time ~ it was nice to see any at all.

Expanded backstory and personality of the two supporting characters for the main- Mark feels far more involved and while I do think he's supportive and caring in the podcast, I do think the show does a great job at showing his ride or die attitude. Annabelle, Alexa's replacement, is still very queer ! She's a very fun character too. I think her actress did a fantastic job in this role. I would have loved to see her in a relationship with Melody outside of roommate and best friend.

Ratty is there and far more realistic in depiction. Dan barely fighting anything Ratty does is hilarious. He's a disgruntled roomie and puts up with it. I find this dynamic way more enjoyable than in the podcast, in all honesty.

The film restoration bits are sexy. The tech is on point and the tools are pretty fucking accurate if you ask me. Thanks for wearing gloves, Dan. More than I can say for Daniel Powell who doesn't even say the right model and doesn't prep the tapes before playing them.

Speaking of, they have the Otari MX5050 Bii model in the background at one point. Kudos.

The mold is kind of cool, actually. I think it would have worked better if he had noticed it on the tapes sooner. More Mold, please.

I wanna say that many of them give great performances, but genuinely it's hard to tell what I think is bad or good because the writing or directing hinders it. They did a good job with what they were given.

It is apparent they listened to the podcast by all the homages and references thrown in.

They have a Magnetic Fields track in there. It's short, but it did get me as it's one I put in an Archive 81 playlist.

The short segments at the start of each episode are reminiscent of the tapes and in-show ads from the podcast. I thought the killer clown movie one was hilarious and I kind of want to see it.

Mark bludgeons Davenport, go king go.

I'm in the unpopular crowd here, but I'm glad Rat isn't in it. People can't be normal about him. I think if he was people would have rioted anyway.

Cons:

They did in fact erase the sapphic relationship and instead have them as platonic. While Annabelle is unabashedly queer, is teasing and flirty towards Melody, and is present through a large amount of the show, there is nothing that states, alludes, or cements a romantic involvement between her and Melody which is a grevious offense.

Melody mouth kisses Samuel on screen after flirting with him. They go on a date. It's kind of implied they were going to drink and maybe do stuff in the privacy of her apartment. It's very uncomfortable paired with the fact she is now not sapphic.

There is zero confirmation she is a lesbian or sapphic in any way. If anything, it's the opposite.

They do make Cassandra Wall a lesbian, but it's done so in a way that feels... icky. I can't speak much on it as I am neither a woman nor a lesbian.

Melody is now kind of incompetent and a damsel in distress, which is so far removed from the original. She has to be rescued.

She also has a fight with her best friend and gets told she is smothering people for trying to help them. It was very upsetting to witness.

Jesse is both aged down and changed to a girl, for some reason. I think it's to further connect Dan as he has a sister in this portrayal, but it rubs me the wrong way. There are certainly some improvements when it came to antiblackness, but maybe replacing the teenage black boy with a younger girl (with lighter complexion) isn't a good look.

In that same vein, while Jess still runs errands for Visser residents, they completely get rid of any mention of Why. This snippet was supposed to give hints to people gathering ritual components and more importantly, touch on disability and the fact that there are disabled and elderly residents and that the programs in place for their food deliveries suck. It was an important detail to me, but instead it's utilized as an excuse to have Jess around and help groom her as a sacrifice for the cult.

I'm not sure if it's just me, but I found the scenes of her in pain distressing and unnecessary.

Oh yeah. And she lives unlike in the podcast, but she's a nun now :/

On that note, they change the genre from found-footage weird fiction with comedy and cosmic horror elements to a religious horror mystery drama that made me more angry with each bastardization of the religions in question. It feels very satanic panic and uninspired at best and lazy and offensive at worst.

The backstory for the mains quite frankly suck. The connection and involvement between them was wholly unnecessary. I don't care if it makes their connection deeper or whatever. The point was that Dan was isolated and didn't know these people. He was an observer that got strung in thanks to his obsessive and curious nature. Trading this for a tragic backstory and a family connection to Melody was a poor decision to me. I was not a fan.

The dog being the same is dumb ! That's the most generic dog with a red collar I've ever seen. Dan, what the hell are you talking about ?

Melody is a witch now, I guess ? The whole thing with her mom was just, bad. It's bad. I hate stories that try and do genetic witch shit. I'm Irish Pagan and it's by choice, it's not a hereditary thing.

Also, making it to where Melody is instead trying to track down her mom rather than simply gathering stories and staying because she cares and it's her job is a choice they made. It's not a good choice. Isn't Melody supposed to be a social worker ? Or was that not good enough for this re-envisioned story ?

Also, she stays in Visser in this portrayal and doesn't even live in New York. They could have easily kept it to where it was her act of recording and taking the tapes with her that give her a connection to Visser and its Weirdness. But they don't! In fact, the recording only feels important for the sake of letting Dan watch it and go :0

Dan's dad is her therapist because sure, why not ? Let's add threads where there didn't need to be.

Dan also has a history of mental illness and they shove this down your throat many times by having people constantly ask him if he is having a mental health emergency. It feels very modern, I'll give them that, but it only infuriates me further as:

Why the hell is LMG name-dropped in full and why did they try and make them seem any kind of caring ? They are a face-less, heartless corporation.

Dan can get groceries and leave whenever he wants. They eliminate isolation, poor living conditions, and poor nutrition. These were huge factors for his mental decline, why axe them ? You wouldn't have had to rig all the family history and trauma if you had just stuck with this. In fact, it would have been enhanced !

Dan's kind of a huge asshole to Mark for seemingly no reason ? To me, Mark was shown to be supportive and present for Dan when he needed to be. Why is Dan saying to not do stuff for the podcast, you only care about the podcast, when it doesn't look like it was, ever ?? I feel like I missed a scene or a conversation or a line somewhere. Please correct me if I did miss something cause it was not at all spelled out to me. It felt out of place, like they wrote this scene for the end but forgot to actually bring any conflict.

They do scenes where Dan and Melody interact and talk with each other and they are So Awkward. There is no chemistry here, I'm sorry.

For some reason they turned Dan into solely a techie nerd and instead gave the hipster qualities to Thomas (?) and MELODY. If they were trying to make a connecting factor with them, it failed miserably.

Dan finds out he's being watched early on and navigates this by 'hacking' so he can find blindspots. He later destroys the cameras. He is never reprimanded for having visitors or other things, I don't know why this was done at all, please help me understand, this show is somehow so stupid and so convoluted at the same time.

Something about sending both Melody and Annabelle to psych wards "for safety" really doesn't sit well. Like, um, it's pretty obviously bad ? It's bad, right ? Pairing this with people constantly thinking Dan is just having a mental breakdown feels very wrong and kinda ableist. I don't know if that's just me or not.

Ratty was an afterthought. I loved him being there and alive, but he does nothing except serve as a treat for podcast fans. He's barely there. If this was so Rat, could actually be Ratty, that would be hilarious to me.

The theme song sucks, there I said it. I found it boring and even annoying when they played it in scenes. The shrill tones, yuck.

Some tracks are actually painful to listen to. There's one in particular that would trigger headaches. It was also paired with flashing lights at one point which is just asking for trouble.

The dialogue is Bad. It's very stiff and unnatural. Boring, even.

There is some gore and the blood looks like corn syrup. It's not good special effects. At least they had sfx.

The magic CGI also blows.

The sex scene is sudden and unnecessary.

There is one archive and it never said to be the 81st. The title has no relevance to the series.

The last shot where you can see the twin towers reflecting in the windows is COMICALLY BAD.

Overall, I was bored to tears. I multitasked at points and was still wishing I was watching something else.

TL;DR [too long, didn't read]

It's a very bland and uninspired adaptation that makes very bad, stupid decisions for plot and only has a few good things going for it.

I'm proud of Marc and Dan for getting to this point, and I want to support them, but if you are a fan of the podcast I have a strong feeling you won't enjoy this show. But hey, you just might.

Edit: [March 30th, 2024] I'm actually a fagdyke, so this is funny to look back on.

Also, for reference, I now have the screen worn film bar shirt. Huzzah.

[jimlingss]

Hey kina!!

Could you let me know some bits about the surgery..? I have to undergo one as well but I'm anxious and I haven't been able to gather courage yet😅. I have myopi

I’d be happy to!! I also had myopia and my prescription was something like -2.5ish. I set up my first ever free consultation in January and there they checked my eyes with the usual machines that they use in a regular eye exam, then I waited and spoke to an optometrist who used the usual letter chart to ask me what I could see and couldn’t see + he told me if I was eligible for LASIK or not. Then the last ‘station’ I went to was a guy who spoke about logistics (ie. cost and what date my surgery would be on). I asked a ton of questions throughout. I had all my questions answered. Overall, it was all good and I booked for end of April after my exams were done.

Fast forward to the surgery date, I was 80% excited and 20% nervous. Came in at 10AM. They checked/took photos of my eyes using the regular eye exam machines again. I waited, then spoke to the optometrist who checked over my eyes one more time + gave me artificial tear eye drops and told me to put them in every 10 mins. I waited again then went to talk to the logistics guy and finalized my payment + got all my eyedrops in a nice bag + the explanation of when to take them. Then I got more pics of my eyes. Then they called me in for surgery.

For the surgery, I went in with some other dude lol into this darker room. I got a hair net and then a net for my shoes and was waiting for my turn in the operation room. The nurse lady put in lots of numbing eye drops and got me to wait and then it was my turn. When I went in, they got me to take off my jacket and brought me over to the bed/table and gave me stress balls. 

The surgery itself was painless and easy. They said all I had to do was stare at this green light. Said green light bounced around as he did stuff but I tried my best and tried to relax. I would say the surgery was uncomfortable at times, but it was so fast and was done before I knew it. The nurses were there to comfort me too so it was pretty nice. 

When I was done, I sat up. Surgeon checked my eyes. Then I sat in the dark room, got more eyedrops via the nurse, got my blood pressure taken. Then I waited in the normal waiting room for like 20 mins w/ the sunglasses, had another optometrist check my eyes, asked for drops, and then I left!

When I got home, I ate and focused on completing the eye drop schedule. I used A LOT of lubricating eye drops. They said once every hour but I did prob once every 15-30 mins and I still use them a lot. I think that’s def helped with the healing process. But on that first day, I used siri on my phone and kept my eyes completely shut. Never looked at a single screen. Just stayed in my dark bedroom and listened to podcasts while lying in bed + using eyedrops. 

Next morning, went to my follow up and they said everything was great. My vision is 20/20 and it should keep sharpening up (fingers crossed). My eyes felt normal. The same as before. Except obviously my vision was clear. It was pretty shocking since I expected my eyes to ache or be swollen or hurt, but not at all.

I’m using screens now, prob sooner than I should lol but I lubricate my eyes a LOT to keep them from being dry and I think that’s the key. I think one thing I didn’t expect is for some of the drops to leave a bitter taste in my throat lol. Also I’d say I think I was a bit extreme on the ‘try to keep your eyes closed’ rule in the 24 hours post surgery. It’s ok to open your eyes. I didn’t at all and it caused my lashes to get stuck to my skin which made it harder to put in drops lmao, so I’d say after putting in drops, try to blink a few times. It was pretty uncomfortable not to be able to rub my eyes either or touch them at all cause they got pretty gunky and dirty but during my follow up, the eye doctor helped me clean up and when I got home, I was able to splash my face w/ water and use a wet q-tip to clean up the area.

Overall, I’d say that surgery was the easiest procedure I’ve done. 

I’ve gotten my wisdom teeth removed 2 years ago and subsequently got 2 infections and that was difficult. Eating was hard, speaking was hard, and it ached. I recently got my brows micro-bladed and the procedure hurt at times + I couldn’t lay on my side or touch my brows 2 weeks afterwards or use water on them. That was difficult in itself. I’ve even had cosmetic surgery before to remove moles and the area bruised + I got stitches I had to take care of. But out of all those experiences, I’d say LASIK was the least difficult.

Just because it’s faster than the three other procedures. and the healing process is a lot faster too. All that’s different now (4 days after the surgery) is that I have to put in drops and I still can’t rub my eyes. Other than that, my eyes feel completely the same but my vision has suddenly cleared up as if I’m wearing glasses :) 

[wheeloffortune-design]

I need art advice! (if you would be so kind as to help me :)). So people have been asking me for merch and stuff. And I'm kinda broke so some money would be nice. The thing is, I don't know where to begin with setting that up? Like how do you price commissions? What's a good site to sell merch? How doi monetize this hobby in general?? (Sorry to bother you, you don't have to answer if it's too much)

al-RIGHT let’s monetize that talent

FIRST- Get a Redbubble or a Society-6 account. NO INITIAL INVESTMENT NEEDED. I love these coz you upload your art, and they take care of the rest, and then you get a paypal transfer every month. I’ve had one for years and I don’t even publicise it and I still get 20 to 30$ every month, which is always nice. Warning: Copyrights- my experience with RB is that they remove your fanart when they find is and they find it even faster if you tag it. They DO have partnerships with some shows now, like Rick and Morty and Steven Universe so check it out!

Patreon: Is nice, but you always have to be uploading something just for them and it’s kinda stressful for me? I mean, I got a handful of amazing Patrons, and a monthly 30$ is still good, but like, half of it are my parents. Anyway, I think it works better with an ongoing project, like a comic or a podcast. 

YOUR OWN MERCH- If you want to invest a bit and deal with everything yourself, you can always do it, but it’s always a bit daunting in the beginning. 

Prints- Get a photo printer and good paper and ink. My printer is a Canon Pixma that I got on sale for huh 100 Canadian dollars at La Source - Circuit City, it prints magnificent colors and no margins. The paper I use it “brochure and flyer paper” glossy, which is less expensive than photo paper and is like light cardboard. For the ink, sadly, that’s expensive, and I cheat a bit coz my cousin’s husband works for a company and gets me super cheap cartridges. 

Buttons: I use https://www.sixcentpress.com  they’re efficient and good quality.

Stickers: I use https://www.stickermule.com/ but then again I got a voucher that considerably reduces the price, if you want to go looking for that. 

Tshirts: I DO NOT RECOMMEND leave it to the prints-on-demand sites..

With all that you can either (or both) sell in on your won website (Wordpress has a good and easy ecom platform and I use it for my shop and calendars, you can check it out on talhidesign.com). You can also go the convention route, it’s a lot of effort and investment but it’s so much fun. 

COMMISSIONS: are a pain in the ass to price?? But you must get into your mind that ART IS A LUXURY, SO THEY SHOULD PAY A LUXURY. There are a lot of mathematical ways to calculate your rate, depending on your time and art experience, etc etc. I go with my gut feeling? I mean, ok, generally I charge an hourly rate for my graphic work, may it be illustration, graphic design, photo retouch, etc. I used to charge 20$CA/hour but then my friend who was in graphic design with me said I should charge more and said her rate was 30$/hour and I was like whaaaaat you can do that? Huh yes, professionals do that. 

All that to explain that it’s normal to feel weird when you price your art because art and women work and fandom work is generally seen as lesser and not real work and not worth money (since we are an exchange based economy)- so people will make you feel that you ask for too much. Those people need to shut up. Your inner voice needs to shut up. Art is a luxury. Price it. 

I found a good ressource for my original work, it’s the Illustrator’s Survival Guide that has a lot of nice pricing ressources, but it’s written for and by Quebec people. If you are american, these prices may vary. Also, canadian money. 

For the internet, you may be temped to charge less, which I feel ya, I mean, your fans are not companies. Don’t go too low, though, I mean, if a sketch takes an hour, don’t charge less than minimum wage. Actually, you’re a professional, and it’s a luxury item, so I encourage you to AT LEAST CHARGE DOUBLE THE HOURLY MINIMUM WAGE. And from there, up tour prices every year, coz you’re gaining experience and drawing faster. 

So calculate how long it takes you to make the sketch of a bust, or a full grown character, how long it takes to color, to shade it, how long does a simple background or a detailed background, and then math this with the hourly rate you picked, and voilà! Pricing grid! 

So, overall, being an artist and making money out of it are a long and tiring thing, and if you want to do it, awesome! But you never stop learning how things work, like right now I’ve been binge watching a ton of youtube vids on how to promote your art on instagram because apparently it’s the shit. 

I wish you, and whoever wants to monetise their talent and hard work, the best of luck, and remember that Auntie Talhí is always there to help. 

[zealynstan]

Unlabeled Interview Part 4

Isabelle: Umm... Okay, so I wanna go back on a little bit about why I like this podcast is I can get a little deeper than what people see on social media.

Zealyn: Yeah. Mhm.

Isabelle: And what people see- umm... the stuff that we choose to share. So, for you, being an artist now, what's something that is in your daily life and that's part of the artist life that you either struggle with that most people wouldn't expect would be part of your life?

Zealyn: Oh my goodness! I think that the... hands down, the biggest struggle of an artist, especially- I have so many ideas through my head I want to do so much and the only thing that holds me back from doing things is money. Like that's- being an artist is expensive. It's every song costs x amount of dollars and every video you wanna do costs x amount and every tour you wanna do costs this and every- I mean, everything's so expensive and think that if I had a bank, which is usually a label, I think that if I had a bank, life would be so much easier and creativity would flow more because I'd be able to do every idea I think of.

Isabelle: Yeah.

Zealyn: But now I need to only choose... my- the most important things to me. I need to be very "pick and choose" and careful and make the most of everything, but I think that- was that the question? Was that-

Isabelle: That was the question. Yeah yeah.

Zealyn: Kinda.

Isabelle: Did I asked you- Yeah, I think I asked you. That was the question.

Zealyn: Right? And you said it was like the hardest thing an artist for me right now or something?

Isabelle: Yeah, people don't like- see people think- I think people think... that we're doing really well financially.

Zealyn: Yeah! Yeah. Totally, and I don't blame them for thinking that because on Instagram, I don't think I portray myself- you know what I mean like-

Isabelle: The pictures look professional.

Zealyn: Right! Exactly.

Isabelle: and everything looks glamorous and smooth.

Zealyn: Yeah.

Isabelle: So most people would look at that and say, "Wow! She's living a great life and she must be doing really well and she must be frolicking on the beach all the time." You know.

Zealyn: Right.

Isabelle: No!

Zealyn: But it's what people are seeing is a very well thought out and really "well cared for" process. And, you know, even it looks nice and it looks expensive and that's the point. I wanted to do that. I care about my brand, I care about my work, so I put everything I can into what I'm doing. So I'm glad that if people think, "Oh! She's-"

Isabelle: Yeah. The music is supposed to transport you like-

Zealyn: Yeah!

Isabelle: Even Instagram and social media, that's almost an art form because you are transporting people into thinking almost like of a fantasy life where maybe, you know, your music is taking them through a journey they need to go through and taking them out of their own problems that they're going through in their own life.

Zealyn: Yeah.

Isabelle: So all the pictures and everything represents almost like this illusion.

Zealyn: Mhm.

Isabelle: Which isn't a bad thing, that's why we love music because-

Zealyn: It's art! It's photography, it's an expression and I love it. I love all of it and umm... But yeah, if there's like an artist watching who's just like, "Ahh, your music is- I love music but I can't afford it." Like, I understand and I got ya like-

Isabelle: Yeah.

Zealyn: Every artist starts with nothing, you know, so-

Isabelle: A pen and a paper and maybe a friend who's gonna help them produce a song.

Zealyn: Exactly. And that's the other thing, I'm very thankful for so many friends and photographers and musicians who have helped me along the way and umm... yeah. It makes a huge difference.

Isabelle: That's like... we couldn't do what we do without so many supporters.

Zealyn: Oh yeah.

Isabelle: Whether it's friends who shoot photos for free, produce- those who produce your song for free, friends who are musicians who are like, "We'll lend you my, you know, I'll play guitar for you for an hour or for a show-"

Zealyn: Oh yeah.

Isabelle: We wouldn't be able to do any of this. There are very few people who can do it all like very few. And if you are in a position of... maybe you wanna be a songwriter, maybe you wanna be a dancer, maybe you wanna make videos of your own or produce a play or anything, don't be afraid to ask people. I think that's something that we do a lot of. We are always asking people to help us. So and... don't ever be afraid to say yes to something even if it doesn't pay or even if, you know, you don't make anything off of it, it's not about you. I think we can both attest that every single experience we've been a part of has helped us in some way.

Zealyn: Yeah. Absolutely. Oh for sure. But then also the flip side, if I ask someone if they can help me out with something at a low cost and they say, "No, I'm sorry.", that's fine. That's totally fine. We get it, everyone needs to make money, everyone's gotta support themselves. So I just think that- I think that money needs to be a more of an okay topic to talk about like it's okay. "Oh, you can't do this gig." That's totally fine, I understand or, you know, anyways-

Isabelle: Yeah, yeah. And to bring that to- you know, I'm really inspired by Zealyn because I'm about to go on my first tour in the summer and she's already been on one massive tour. Right, one? One big massive tour?

Zealyn: One. 2017.

Isabelle: And then- yeah, as Zealyn. And then, she's going on another tour. If she is near you, you have got to see her. I promise you like I do not "up" this many people about live performance and she is-

Zealyn: Aww.

Isabelle: She's one of the best so what are the dates you're going on tour?

Zealyn: Uhh so, we're splitting it up more this year so 10 days in May, 10 days in June and 10 days in August. And actually, some people are hearing this for the first time.

Isabelle: Oooh!

Zealyn: So we're doing Midwest in May, East Coast in June, West Coast in August. So umm...

Isabelle: Wow.

Zealyn: Yeah, not all the dates have officially been announced but they will soon. So yeah.

Isabelle: And go support her because I know, because I've called her many times, freaking out about budget. It's really expensive to go and get in a bus and take all of your musicians and pay for their food and pay for everything upfront. Like, if you could spare 10 or 20 dollars to go see a show like it goes so far and so, if you're on the fence, just know that- like that money, we normally don't make a dollar if anything, we go in the red from tours. If you can support her, just know that it goes so much further than, you know, just seeing her show, it goes beyond that for sure.

Zealyn: Aww thanks.

[valeriemperez]

I'm the CS has Slytherin traits anon: I thought she could be a Slytherin because she's proud. Like Nora she keeps secrets and isn't above getting her hands dirty to get what she wants. Oliver does the same and he's a Slytherine but I think Caitlin is less aware that she's doing that, if that makes sense. She's also a bit of a science snob. I would say that she has also stabbed her friends in the back but Ravenclaws do that too. Wasn't the girl who outed the DA to Umbridge a Ravenclaw?

Oh, nice! That’s not a bad take at all. I think @ladieswgumption may use this as feedback in our podcast this week, if you don’t mind.

I haven’t listened to the podcast yet, but I need to express my outrage at the potential remake of Strong Girl Bong Soon before I listen. Ugh! Unlike The Good Doctor, I actually liked the original version, so to see this remake with possibly Rhonda Rousey as the lead is all kinds of disappointing after watching her in the Fast and Furious and WWE. In order to make this remake work, a good female and male lead and their chemistry is key… and casting her as lead has me rolling my eyes.

Yeah, those are my thoughts exactly. I would be very cautious about a remake to begin with because the story of SWDBS is so specific, but they need to really search for the right leads and not just let Rousey do it because she wants to act.

But Wells was blamed for Nora’s murder in S2 premiere and that’s why HR used the face changing device in S3 so I don’t understand how Nora didn’t connect that Thawne looks like Wells who killed Barry’s mother? or when she met Harry in S4 she didn’t think he looks like Thawne and made some research and found out how and why? it is a stupid plot hole

You’re right that it’s a plothole, mostly because they chose to use Tom C. instead of Matt L. But I guess they are just pretending like Nora never checked the history books or did a Google search or whatever to find out about her grandmother or about Wells, lol. I mean, Harry wandered the streets in S4 as if he was no longer a wanted man, so sadly the writers probably forgot.

You say you don’t care about cast interactions but you do. You Tweeted that clip of GG talking to CP at the 100 party and captioned it, “this is all I needed and I’m good now” or something like that. Everyone in this fandom at one point or another believed there was tension between them. We hold our breath during the extended periods they go without giving any indication that they’re on good terms until we get something. I wish more people would own up to their odd relationship, including you.

But I’m not saying that I would reject cast interactions, or that they have a normal relationship. I’m just saying that if I have to choose, I pick them being good onscreen as long as the offscreen situation isn’t toxic. 

Of course a perfect world would be one where G is supportive of her publicly and the whole cast hangs out and takes pics while also doing the best onscreen. But we don’t live in a perfect world, and I still prefer watching TF despite their weird af cast dynamics than watching Arr*w despite their friendlier ones.

[pbandjesse]

I am very tired. My foot is very swollen and it hurts a lot today. So it made the second half of the day very hard. But in general I had a really nice time. I was just tired.

I woke up today when my alarm went off at 7 and I was so upset. I kept saying I'm going to call out. I'm not going into work. But I knew if I did that I wouldn't have been able to fall back asleep anyway and then I would just feel stupid. But I'm glad I went. I got up and got dressed. I made breakfast and lunch. I fed sweetpea and got my bag and I headed out. I went to the BMI. I was a couple minutes late but nobody cares. I'm really glad I was there because I had a really nice time helping set up with Jack. And the group we had were Mennonite teenagers which was fabulous.

They were all so sweet and well-behaved. Both of my torch went really well. I have floundered a couple times just because I don't do the tours as often as I used to but it went really good and I was happy. Plus there was a lot of cupcakes in the breakroom which is always nice.

I actually got done there about 45 minutes earlier than I anticipated. So I was able to take my time biking home. I drop my bike off at my apartment. And I still had like 25 minutes so I just laid on the couch while Sweet Pea laid on me.

I left here around 12:15 and walk down to the marketplace and got a smoothie. I asked the girl if she could put it inside my Klean kanteen water bottle and she was very happy to do so. I'm going to try to do that more often. See if I can use my reusable cup brother and get a plastic cup. Since I know it's about 12 oz. We'll see if people will let me do that.

I have my smoothie and I walked to the bus. It was a beautiful day outside. And the bus didn't take too long to get there. I listen to my podcast and I got to the school by 1.

School was fine. Me and Fitsum didn't have any set up to do with the project I have going on. So we mostly just that in our closet space and I listen to my podcast and he told me about his Fellowship interview he just had. He's so funny. He started telling me that they were asking who the weirdest questions. And I asked him what. And he said they were asking him where he saw himself in 5 years. And then he just goes that's not their business! And I'm like fitsum! That's a very normal question. And then every other question he told me they asked that he thought was irrelevant we're very normal interview questions. Like why did you want to do this fellowship. And what kind of art do you make. He can be a very odd duck.

The kids were really good today too. We did have to suspend one child because she spit on someone. But it was handled and they sewed and I had a conversation with them about being kind. And about how I expect them to be better. And I really think that they did a good job. We voted off movie and we're going to watch that the next two days.

We went to go to recess and we usually lamp on the blue line. But somewhere in the kid culture of the school they have decided that the Orange Line means you're a lesbian and the blue line means you're gay. So no one wanted to touch those tiles. So we're all straddling them one leg on each side of the line. And it was very funny and then we're running down the hallway jumping over zigzagways over the orange line. By the end of the day I was standing in the middle of all three tiles and telling them I was just a little bit gay. Which they thought was hilarious.

It was fun though I had a nice time today. I was just really tired by the end and I was kind of limping. I think I have like a blood bubble on the top of my toe. Because once I got home I kind of booked at it and it started gushing blood. I had to deal with that before I went to James for dinner.

I got to his place and we talked. He let me eat some cookie dough that he saved for me and he gave me a Christmas present. I love him very much. It's a little book of love spells. What a cute boyfriend.

He made me mac and cheese and then his DND friend started coming. It was nice to see all of them. James reminded me that we hadn't seen each other for 24 full hours. And that was very sad. We did get to share with Lane that James had been on Jeopardy. And specifically he was on the hot people of Jeopardy Tumblr. And I mostly just hung out and talked to them and play it on my phone until just about 9.

I got back here and changed and sweet pea has been all up in my face since then. I'm going to go wash my face now and get ready to sleep. I have another full day of Museum and teaching and then the ship's Christmas party which I'm very much looking forward to.

So I hope you all sleep well tonight. Kiss all of your cats for me. Have a good night sleep.

[jacksbutland]

ChriKra did an amazing interview, I think they overran by an hour, but it was sooooo funny...!!! They had people ask him questions. Jonas Hofmann asked "Hi Chris, it's Jonas. I'd really like to know: Do you like your own dressing style?" and Chris replied Yes! He does! He's aware he's a very boring dresser, with his trousers and basic t-shirts and long-sleeve shirts, but he's comfortable and that's his priority. "I sound like I'm > forty, don't I? WHO CARES!" interviewers: So the others in the

dressing room have more swag?“ Chris "I mean *obviously*! Just look at Ibo Traoré! He can pull off *everything*! To be honest, I’d love to be able to wear that, all that glitz and glam and gold that he does, but if I tried that people would say ‘look at the lanky German, what does he think he’s doing?!” He says some nice and wise things as well, and spends a good deal gushing about Thorsten Mattuschka, which is so cute. “To me it was love at first sight!”

He also he says he currently “can’tstand Dieter Hecking” for benching him. The reporter’s obviously a bit shocked and CK says “That’s normal, isn’t it?” and says he and Hecking get on really well personally; though you can tell he’s really miffed, & that Hecking’s not giving him good reasons for it (Hecking was actually asked about that statement by Chris and said he understood him perfectly & that it definitely wasn’t Chris’ fault. A bit weird.) 

His former Bochum coach asks a question, Kießling and Leno, Lars and Ginter, Knippiand Mattuschka and a comedian and the ZDF presenter that he did the world cup stint with (Breyer, who starts out “Hi my favourite colleague, 1st question, when will you hang up your boots and join me full time?”). HAHA! He’s asked if there are people who just know him as TV pundit, not as a footballer, because apparently Mehmet Scholl mentioned that once. CK “Well I can say, my presenting went over well with the ladies over sixty. I’ve got many elderly ladies telling me know what a cute littlelittle thing I am. I trace that back to the ZDF work, rather than football…” Apparently the cashiers in the supermarket say that to him “And I have to say I love it, every time! It’s the best compliment!" BILD reporter "It’s obvious, by the way, that you are quite well liked by your teammates and other colleagues, since every single person we asked to participate and send in questions agreed to do so immediately. Well, one exception. We also asked Max Kruse and he said he'd do everything for Christoph Kramer, but not for BILD. Which, well, ok, fair play to him, I respect that." .... 

oh, he's still keeping that diary. Düsseldorf game entry goes something like "sat on the bench again and it sucked, really annoyed. On the other hand we won 3-0, still up in the table, yay." Also he does NOT complain constantly about not playing "that would be really shitty for my teammates who do play, wouldn't it?" and the atmo in the team's apparently great, and heloves them all. Would he rather play for Dortmund or for Bayern? Neither, he wants to stay in Gladbach. What was the best offer that he seriously considered before deciding against it? Ever since 2014 he's repeatedly been approached by Italian clubs and he did consider it once, during the season at Leverkusen, but then Gladbach contacted him and everything else became irrelevant. 

"You learned to play the guitar -" "No stop it, shut up, I didn't." "What?" "Well. I can't. I really tried but I... I can't. It really hurt on my fingers as well, I was so told it was supposed to, but no. You know, if you have ten lessons and still can't play a single chord, you have to face the truth: you're not made out to play the guitar. I'll take up piano lessons soon, but I'll fail that, too." "Is that really the spirit?" "Oh, I definitely won't be able to play two-handed, but, you know, maybe with one hand. Actually I just want to be able to say, "care to hear a song?" and then play one." "Oh, so we'llsee you on stage soon on the piano." "No, you definitely won't. I have not a single musical bone in my body. Probably once my football career is over, when I can focus all my energy and concentration on music, I'll try really hard and learn to play the recorder." HAHAHA. He's really quite funny. 

Leno asks why, even after he left, there was a pair of shoes of his hanging in some room of the Bayer 04 premises. And he gets all emotional: those were his FAVOURITE shoes! A pair of white adidas running shoes, he loved them so much. And he stepped in dog shit with them!! "So, dissolved in tears, I ran into the showers with them and spent ages trying to clean them, but the material, and the surface structure was such..." He couldn't get them clean. Or rather, they looked alright, but they still *smelled*. He should have thrown them away, but he *really didn't want to!!!* So he hoped that if they could just air out they'd be alright & so he hung them on a hook in some little back room."So if, by chance, anybody from Leverkusen is listening and, hoping against all hope, those shoes are still there: I'd REALLY like them back!! ...But you've probably long thrown them away and I really can't blame you..." He is soooo funny, and really likable. 

The thing with the podcast is that he gets a squeaky toy (or whatever) and when he doesn't want to answer he can use it, he gets that option 2x2 times (2 for each part of the podcast) and he does use it once. The reporter starts "A littlewhile ago someone tried to blackmail you with pictures - oh ladies and gentlemen, there it is-" "[squeak]" Do you want to hear more? The entire thing is priceless. To the interviewer's great surprise, he's recently taken up golf. "Yes, well, my parents are both newly retired and to stop them from bashing each other's head in spending all that time together at home, I had to think of sth I could do with my dad so I gave him golfing lessons for his birthday. And it's much more fun than expected.""What about your mum?" "Her birthday's not been yet. But I have to think of something. I hope I will." 

The first part is about sports, Gladbach, Bundesliga, fans/ultras, world cup 2014, world cup 2018, his career, the second part is more personal. I don't know how long it's supposed to be, but in the first part, at some point, the interviewer says "to be honest we've already run far overtime but I actually have no intention of stopping you, I'm having so much fun...". It's called phrasenmäher (pun on "Phrasen" and "Rasenmäher") and I'd never heard of it before, but going by the reactions on twitter, ChriKra's was the best one yet and much more entertaining than the previous one with Lahm twitter com/DreiMannSturm/status/1062081498998824960. It's really extremely entertaining! (They also talk about some serious stuff, btw. I was quite happy with the big majority of his responses. But all in all, he's really very likable!)

thank you for sharing this interview w me honestly chris is such a babe and i really like that his personality really comes through in interviews like these

also lmfao at max drawing the line at bild but it’s so nice to see that theyre still close

i cant believe he’s getting on the golf bandwagon

kinda wanna know wha the question about the pictures is about but if he doesnt wanna talk about it fair play to him

maybe i’ll take a listen though i probably won’t understand much so honestly massive thanks to u for making me aware of his interview n translating stuff for me (one day ..... one day i’ll be able to understand enough german to listen to interviews and read articles but for now i shall have to rely on u my lovely anon)

[copperbadge]

Hi Sam! I'm curious about your magical time management skills: you have a full-time job, are super active in fandom, answer countless asks, write fanfiction and books, and still have time for jogging and many other stuffs. How do you organize yourself? I feel super overwhelmed due to lack of time and end up not doing what I want do. Do you allot time to do stuff? How does your typical day looks like? And any useful tips for us slackers.

I dunno how helpful it’ll be – I mean, some of it is time management, and some of it is that I have spent a long time working on arranging my life so that I have as much free time to pursue my own interests as possible. This hasn’t consciously meant giving up things like close brickspace friends and romantic relationships but in some ways it has kind of worked out that way. (Not that I couldn’t have those things if I chose to work towards them, in other words, but they don’t come naturally to me and I don’t mind the lack.) 

So, I will give you a rundown of my average day, but before we begin, I will also give you some context! And this will be long so I’ll put it under a readmore. 

I have at present no romantic partner, no children, no pets. This sounds sad, but I’m not complaining; I could work towards those things and choose not to, for a variety of reasons, some good, some not. I would like to have a partner, but honestly at this point in my life it’s as much because it’s cheaper to cohabitate; I am very independent and not, I suspect, built for the kind of daily intimacy that romantic cohabitation requires. 

If I were to get a pet it would probably not be a dog, since when I was dogsitting for R I had real trouble with the concept of properly caring for a creature whose life was so scheduled, who required specific attentions at specific times – I have owned dogs before and love them deeply, but never in an apartment or as a solitary person. I would probably get a cat or an axolotl (axolotls: like being alone, require very specific but easy-to-procure stimulus, look like tiny water dragons, sound like fantasy aliens). 

I have very few close brickspace friends, not by design but just because I’m kind of a private homebody, and my extensive network of online friendships is satisfying in that regard. But online friendships, while not LESS of a time commitment, are a different kind of commitment – you can multitask while hanging out with online friends, you don’t have travel times, if they’re running late you’re not stuck waiting and vice versa. 

I also am not in school, which is much more life-consuming than many jobs. School is a way of life; work can be, but doesn’t have to be. And I am very fortunate (in the literal sense of “it is luck that brought me here”) to have a job where I spend the vast majority of my time a) on a computer and b) in self-directed, non-public-facing work. For most of my day, every day, I guide my own workflow, I choose what to work on and when. Of course I have deadlines, but within the strictures of those deadlines I am free to triage my time as appropriate, and because I’m on a computer with unrestricted internet access, I can take ten minutes to log onto tumblr, read some things, respond to some things, and then go back to my work. 

So I am starting from an advantageous position: few personal commitments, unstructured time throughout the day, and a job where when I leave for the day, work stays at work. 

So here’s what a normal day is like for me. Bear in mind this is for comparison purposes rather than because I think it’s particularly ideal.

I wake up around 4am; if I haven’t slept well or feel like I need it, I may go back to sleep for about an hour. Normally when I get up I either work out from 4-5 (weights, running) or I sit on the couch with my laptop and check out what’s been going on while I was asleep. We’ll circle back to this, but I go to bed quite early, so at this point I have generally had at least seven hours of sleep. Also, I am a morning person, so I go straight from zero to lucid, which is nice. 

I answer email, check tumblr, check my RSS feeds (podcasts, news, fanfic, a couple of NSFW blogs that I can’t have on my tumblr feed because I read it at work). I look at my calendar so that I know what’s on offer for the day – my calendar doesn’t cover work stuff, but primarily anything I want to or need to do after work. My family has a mutual Google Calendar that we all use to schedule stuff the others should see, like whenever I take a vacation, and my parents also use it as their central calendar, so I can see what they’ll be up to on any given day. I’ve been thinking of switching over to a private Google Calendar, but out of habit for years I’ve used a custom-built spreadsheet, now in Google Sheets, that looks like a calendar: 

That’s July. This kind of layout works well for me because it’s easy to go in and change things, and I get a good “high level” view of the month. As you can see I’m traveling quite a bit; I’m tracking new TV shows, peoples’ birthdays, events I may attend (I will probably not be at everything happening in evenings on the week of the 10th), baseball games I have tickets for, and possible plans for camping. Google Calendar would work as well and would have some significant advantages, I just haven’t got off my ass to switch over. 

Around five, I usually get up and fix breakfast; often I’ll put on something to listen to while I cook and/or eat. If I’ve been working out, all the stuff I did – checking email, tumblr, etc – is pushed forward, and I do a bit less of it. But essentially from 4-6 I’m working out, eating breakfast, and getting a start on the personal-life aspect of my day. In terms of social media, this is the time I’m most likely to like something or save it to drafts to deal with later; I don’t spend brainpower on responding this early in the morning, usually. 

I have some fairly…prescriptive routines for the rest of the day, and that works for me, I like structure. Other people may find this sort of thing doesn’t work for them, and that’s okay. This is, again, for comparison purposes, not to dictate how your life should be. 

At six o’clock my alarm goes off, warning me that I have nine minutes before I need to stop what I’m doing and start getting ready for work. This is by design, so that I have a buffer zone in which to shift my mental attitudes from morning routine to something more focused. I hit snooze on the alarm and then at 6:09 I turn the alarm off and get in the shower. I shower, brush my teeth, and get dressed in clothes I laid out over a rail the night before (I have an electric heated towel rail, one of the best random-ass things my mother ever gave me, and in winter I turn the heat on so I come out of the shower and into warm undies; in summer it’s just a convenient place to hang clothes). I dress, grab my bag, take my keys off the doorknob and put them in a pocket of the bag, and I’m out the door around 6:25. I catch the 6:40 express bus to work. I usually read on my tablet on the bus (currently reading The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier after remembering how much I loved her prose in Girl With A Pearl Earring) and I get to work around 7. 

At work I have routines too: I set down my bag, hang up my jacket, and before I do anything else I get my 32oz mug and go to the kitchen to get ice water to sip on throughout the morning. I come back to my desk, turn on my monitors, and log into my computer. 

I check my work email first, to make sure nothing is on fire from yesterday, since I leave work quite a bit earlier than most of my colleagues. If nothing is urgent I delete anything irrelevant to me, respond to anything that needs immediate response, and move on to a quick glance at email and tumblr, then I open my “daily bookmarks” folder. My daily bookmarks folder is mostly stuff that either I can’t or don’t want to put in my RSS reader: a couple of messageboards, a few real estate sites I’m watching for my dream home to show up, a couple of tumblr tags (I don’t follow tags on tumblr because I don’t like seeing shit recur constantly on my dash), and some activism facebook pages because I despise facebook but it’s the only site some of these organizations use. If it’s Monday, I also open my Monday bookmark folder, which is a combination of sites that rarely update and “event” sites (the cinema I’m a member of so I can see what new movies are coming, the calendar of a local band I like, the events page of various cultural centers). I review these quickly, closing most tabs and setting aside anything I need to look at more indepth like an event I’d like to attend. Usually basically I fuck around on the internet until about 8, unless work has something urgent for me. 

The one scheduled task I have daily at work is news clipping, where I read several news sites and save off articles of interest to our staff, which need to be turned in by mid-morning. Realistically this could take 15 minutes of focused work, but I like to read the news, too, so from eight to eight forty-five or nine, I’m usually reading a very specifically aimed sort of news, saving off articles, and archiving them appropriately. 

After that, the day is, in many ways, mine to do with as I please.

I organize my life by using Google Tasks, which is a little pop-up to-do list in gmail. I have a to-do list for every day, and anything that doesn’t get done one day gets moved to another day, depending on how urgent it is. So at nine or so, I open Google Tasks and start moving each task around based on how urgent it is or how quickly I can do it. Urgent work and fast tasks go at the top; less urgent work, stuff I’m less enthused about, and stuff I can’t do at my desk (buying a card for Father’s Day, picking up groceries after work, etc) goes at the bottom. Some tasks are recurring – every Monday, for example, Radio Free Monday is at the top of the list because it’s time-sensitive. 

You can see RFM there at the top; I have to email some information about a 5K to a friend, but I need to get his email from another friend first; I have some registration and hotel issues to attend to for an upcoming conference; I have to write up some evaluations, and do some reading for a presentation I’m giving. I should stop by my PO Box after work. Other stuff will no doubt be added when I check my work email (documents to be prepared, research requests) but this is where I start the day. You can also see I have stuff with pushed out deadlines – Credit Cards is a monthly reconciliation for my corporate card, which I will do ON the 26th rather than BEFORE it, and quarterly I check my 401K, so I won’t need to do that until August 7th.

“PRESENTATION: Reading” will probably get pushed to another day, because by the time I get down that far on the list, I won’t have a ton of brainpower left to do a lot of reading and analysis. It’s ok, my presentation’s not due until the 30th.

And then I just work through my to-do list. Some days I’m really good at getting it done. Some (rare) days I spend most of my time reading tumblr and fucking around because I’m not having a good focus day. But again: this is a job in which I have the luxury to do that, and I’m very lucky. 

Rather than take a traditional lunch, I usually eat two small meals, at 11am and 2pm. Usually I bring most of my lunch for the week on Monday and just reheat tupperwares as I go, augmenting them with cheese and crackers; sometimes I’ll throw in a protein bar from a stash I keep in a little box on my desk. Most of my lunches are cooked on the weekends, when my time is a lot less structured. You’ve probably seen my COOKING DAY posts; sometimes I just set aside a day to cook and rest.

I’m gonna tackle fandom and social media here because truthfully my job has enough spare time built into it that this is when I do the majority of my fannish activity, at work, in small chunks. And yes I am very active in fandom but occasionally in very limited ways.

I don’t read a ton of fannish blogs. I have a limit on my tumblr of following 99 people, and I choose those people very carefully. Some are friends, but those who aren’t personally known to me are people who post both low-volume and things that are of interest to me. I do not follow people who flood dashes not because I disapprove but because I don’t have time to wade through ten million gifsets of things that I’m not concerned with. I also follow a few artist or writers, but again, only if they’re of relevance to me. I follow Skottie Young because I really like his art and think he’s a cool dude, and most of what he posts is his art. I don’t follow Matt Fraction because while I think he is also a cool dude and I enjoy his writing, his tumblr wasn’t generally speaking about his writing or him, it was aesthetic stuff I didn’t care for and it was A LOT OF IT. 

I don’t read a ton of fanfic. I have a couple of tags fed to my RSS reader and I subscribe to a couple of fics and fic writers, but even then I skim for interesting summaries and tag combinations I don’t find offputting. I don’t read fanfic at work, full stop; when I find one I want to read, I set it aside for a time when I’m at home and feel like reading fanfic.

Throughout the day I will check in on tumblr, in a very systematic manner: I read my dash, only the posts, and like or queue anything I want to reblog or examine later. I read my inbox and try to respond, but some asks don’t get answers for a really long time, because they require more focus or time or whatnot. I read my Activity page and open any reblogs with commentary; I set comments aside to be responded to en mass. I check my likes and try to clean out anything I’ve liked that could go in drafts or queue; I check my drafts and try to move just one draft into my queue (I constantly have a draft backlog). This all takes about ten minutes, then I go back to work.

I get AO3 comment notifications throughout the week, but generally I set aside a block of time either on Friday (if work is slow) or on Sunday to “clear out” my comments; every week I go through my comments, re-read each one, and either delete it or respond to it and then delete it. I don’t reply to a vast majority of them simply because I don’t have the time to respond to each one (I have tried, it was very stressful) and also because most of them don’t really a require a response. For everyone’s patience in this, I thank you.

So work is a long series of multitasking, breaks, deadline work, procrastination. It’s about average, I’d say, with anyone else in my situation. If I’m doing something after work, I check to make sure I know how to get there and what’s going on; if I don’t have all the info I need, I prepare a “brief” that has maps and directions and anything else I need, print that out, and toss it in my messenger bag. And then around 3:45 I pack up my bag, make sure I have my phone, and I head out to either (usually) catch the 4pm express bus home, or catch transit of my choice to whatever I’m doing after work. 

If I don’t have something I’m doing after work, I come home, take my keys out of the bag pocket, hang them up on the doorknob once I’m inside, and set my bag down. I’m very specific about my keys here, as I was up above, as a way of demonstrating that I live a very habitual life. Stuff like keys, phone, wallet always has a specific place it goes, and it stays there if I’m not using it. I used to lose shit a lot, and rigidly adhering to “if this is not in your hand, it should be in X pocket” is what saves me. 

I change into more comfortable clothes, usually yoga pants and a t-shirt. I make something for dinner and eat it, I unpack anything that needs to come out of my bag and pack anything that needs to go into it, and then usually these days I fuck around on the ukulele for a while. I don’t set a time limit on it, so sometimes I do it for half an hour, sometimes for ninety minutes. It’s a way of unwinding and finding stress relief, so it’s entirely voluntary and anything I do during this time is being done because I want to do it. I think it’s the only thing in my life where there are no external pressures anywhere and I have set no goals for myself. 

I don’t think external pressures and goals are inherently bad. The goals I set for myself in my other hobbies, like writing and running, being in fandom, going to movies and such, are good goals and they help me do well. External pressure is something that exists in every human interaction; that’s just the nature of being a person in society, and likewise isn’t a terrible thing. And not everyone needs a release from those things, or finds that release in the same way. I like a lot of my life; I wouldn’t do things if I didn’t like them. But I have found that it helps to have one thing which only belongs to you and which has no goals or benchmarks. For me that’s currently the ukulele. 

In the later evening – and let’s be clear, I get home at like 4:30 so “later” to me is 6ish – I’ll hop back on tumblr, maybe do a little writing, or attend or host a stream. I’ll chatter with people, respond to emails and posts, read things I had set aside for reading earlier in the day; it’s probably my most socially active time.

When I was in my twenties I did perfectly fine on five hours of sleep a night, but as I got older that stopped being comfortable, and also I started realizing that after a certain point in the day, I not only wasn’t doing anything useful or interesting, I wasn’t having a good time. I was being awake for the sake of not going to bed. So I adjusted my life to going to bed at nine, and when I started getting up earlier to run, I adjusted again. In order to do that, I created an evening routine, because going to bed is easier if you start out by doing other shit BEFORE going to bed. 

Now, generally, I log off between 7 and 7:30. Sometimes I go to bed that early, but that’s when I close down social interaction. Not necessarily turning off the computer, but just gently shutting down on being “around” other people. I log off chats, I stop responding to emails and tumblr posts. I set them aside for the morning. I might continue to read my dash or listen to podcasts or whatnot until eight or so. 

I change into pyjamas, wash my face, brush my teeth, lay out my clothes for tomorrow, and get into bed, usually with my tablet to do a little reading. It’s a very rare evening I go to bed any time past 8:30.  And that’s my day.

I have actually some reasoning about why I go to bed so early, but I think it’s the most important part of a post that is REALLY LONG and otherwise devoted to the boring details of my day, so I’m going to make it a separate post. 

I hope this has helped, Anon! As you can see, what helps me organize and sort out all my time commitments is schedules, lists, and an adherence to several fairly rigid habits – this may not work for you, and I don’t recommend it for everyone. But for me, it’s really the only way I can stay on top of everything, especially in cases where I’m dealing with some particularly intense depression. I’m happy to answer questions, though if people have commentary about the post they should remember to reblog or comment, since I don’t repost asks sent to me about other asks.