#my mom is from java

[britishchick09]

my parents and i were about to leave olive garden when the waitress said "happy anniversary!" and gave us a free dessert! ;D

[xhoneygirlxx]

In My Feels

Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

summary: Steve’s heart now belongs to the pretty woman who always comes in with her two adorable kids. When he finally decides to make a move, he’s shocked to find out she’s not their mom.

warnings: fluff. Barista!Steve. Reader and Steve are both in their 20’s. Nanny!Reader. Modern!au. Readers ethnicity/skin tone is not mentioned. Pictures above are used for aesthetic purposes only. Shitty writing/grammar errors, not proofread.

*if I miss anything please let me know.

a/n: day two of my birthday bash has finally arrived!! I’m so grateful for the amount of love and support you guys have given me. Although this is my birthday week, I wanted to spend it with you guys and give us both something we can enjoy :) I love every single one of you guys and I hope you like this!

Now I’m in my feels 

Way up in the clouds somewhere now 

Don’t know what’s real 

Working at the Java Cup, Steve dealt with a lot of different people. Tired students, doctors and nurses coming and going from shifts, and everyone in between. During the six months of his employment there only one customer seemed to catch his attention, you. 

From the moment you walked in he knew he was fucked. With one kid on your hip and the other in the stroller, you already had him in the palm of your hand. No matter what, rain or shine, you and your two kids always came in with bright smiles. Although a lot of your interactions were small talk or your older son trying to, his heart infatuation for you every single time. 

You were so fucking beautiful and Steve was nothing but a fool for you. So many times he would go home and just pray that you weren’t taken, that maybe somewhere written in the stars there was a chance for him. 

Steve wanted to ask you out but every single time he chickened out, throwing out multiple cup sleeves that had horrible puns written on them in the process. Ever since getting broken up with by Nancy, his self esteem and confidence dropped. No matter how many times his best friend and coworker, Robin, tried to talk some sense into him, he just couldn’t do it. 

It was comical watching him stutter and blush scarlet every time you would speak, tripping over his words like it was his first time ever talking. Because he was so smitten with you, his insecurities grew and poking fun at him any time he would think about possibly asking you out.

Here you were, a pretty mom with two adorable kids that he adored, so sweet and kind to him, and so far out of his league. There was no pot at the end of this rainbow for Steve, but he continued to chase it in hopes that maybe, just maybe he was wrong.

Now it's been six months and Steve has run out of steam, his legs growing tired and his lungs burning with exhaustion with how long he's been running. So, he's decided that it's time to give up on his mission to of getting to the finish line.

There was no point to continue trying, not when you're probably more than happy with the father of your children, going home to your white picket fence and happy home. So he pulled back, watched from behind the counter, and continued to daydream about the life he's always wanted.

“You know you could just go talk to her, right?” Robin’s voice is louder than she thinks, the low music and hum of the espresso machine doing little to cover it up. 

“Say it louder, why don’t you.” Rolling his eyes, Steve continues to wipe down the counter that he’s been working on for the past ten minutes. 

“I’m just sayin’, it’s kind of pathetic and creepy that you’re always staring.” Shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly, the brunette girl runs her hands down her black apron. “Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?” 

“What’s the worst-” Turning on his heel quickly, Steve stares at his best friend with wide eyes, “Robin, there is a laundry list of things that could go wrong.” 

“Yeah? Try me.” Crossing her ankle over the other, Robin leans on the sink with a waiting look.

“Firstly, she could be married,” Steve starts counting on his finger. 

“No ring on her finger.” Robin counters. 

“Well she’s a mom with two kids, I doubt she has time for a twenty something, no good, barista that barely has his life together.” 

“EEEEEEEE WRONG,” She makes a loud buzzer noise, “One you aren’t no good, you’re actually a really great person who needs to see just how amazing he is. Two, you may be a barista who can barely keep his life together but, you’re reliable and take care of yourself, not to mention you have your own car and place, more than other twenty somethings. And lastly, you’re also a mother to a group of teenagers, so it works perfectly.” 

Dropping his hands down to his sides, Steve lets the words settle into his heart. He was a good person, he did have a good impression with the gaggle of kids he sometimes watches, and he did have some of his life together.

“Okay well, she could reject me and I will not only lose more of my confidence but I’ll also lose my favorite customer.” Sighing in defeat, he whips the rag that still sits in his hand over his shoulder. "Either way, I gave up on that dream a long time ago."

Robin shakes her head, stepping forward to the boy she calls her best friend and shakes him by the shoulders. “You are Steve ‘the hair’ Harrington! There was a reason everyone called you king Steve and it wasn’t just because you were a huge dick.” 

“Hey!!” Steve raises his voice in defeat and she waves him off continuing her peptalk. 

“Listen, I know that lady killer is somewhere in there,” She pokes at his chest, “So you’re gonna put your big boy panties on, walk up to her and ask her out! I’m sick and tired of watching you look all sad and depressing, so you’re going to do as I say or I’ll do it for you.” Smiling brightly at him, the girl taps him lovingly on the shoulder.

Robin may be a lot of things, including annoying, but a liar is not one of them. Steve knows that she will one hundred percent walk up to you, throw him under the bus, with a mega-watt smile as she does it.

Watching his friend walk around the counter with a broom and dust pan in hand, her head turns to wear your sat at a table by the front window, talking to your older son, rocking your baby in the stroller with your foot. Turning her attention back to Steve, she smiles wickedly and turns slightly like she’s heading your way. Anxiety rises in the back of his throat, heartbeat picking up and banging hard in his chest.

“Fine, I’m going just- fuck off.” It comes out through gritted teeth. Running a shaking hand down the front of his apron, Steve rounds the counter muttering something under his breath.

As he walks to the table, Robin gives him two thumbs up and an exaggerated smile to which he replies by simply throwing a middle finger up at her.

As he steps closer to your table the thought of turning back around and hiding in the back room comes into mind.

There’s no pot of gold here, only gray clouds and roaring thunder. He can turn back now and continue his sorrowful journey of pining.

But then he looks at you, smiling and laughing at something the young boy next to you said, eyes squeezed shut and head thrown back. What a beautiful way to die, Steve thinks. The thunder and lightning is all worth it when he gets to see you as he takes his final breaths.

“H-hey,” His voice is wobbly, nervousness clearly showing as he speaks.

“Hi Steve.” Your eyes meet his, saccharine smile tugging on the corners of your lips.

“Hi steeb!” The young boy next to you waves while clutching a red crayon in his tiny hand.

“Hi Aidan. How are you little man?” Steve seems to loosen up a bit, the presence of your son lets him exhale just slightly.

“M’colorin a pixture.” The small boy’s tongue pokes between his lips, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he draws what looks like a demented stick figure.

“It looks good, little dude.” Steve encourages, cooing sweetly at him.

“Fanks.” Still focusing on his picture, the smaller boy grabs a different crayon from the box that sits on the table.

“What’s up, Steve?” You ask, still rocking the stroller back and forth with your tennis shoe covered foot.

“Oh-h yeah, um I was just gonna ask, ah what you were doing.” Just like a switch, he’s back to being a fumbling doofus.

You giggle at him and he feels his cheeks tingle with heat. Looking between the two kids, you look back up to the older man in front of you.

“Well, I’m enjoying a coffee while Aidan colors and Bella naps peacefully.” You nod your head slowly, eyeing the barista questioningly.

Steve wants to slap a hand on his forehead, embarrassed by the fact he can’t even formulate one sentence.

“Yeah, no I see that. Seems fun, I mean not fun but like ya know, seems-“ His stammering is cut off by your soft voice.

“Are you okay? You seem really nervous.” Your eyebrows are pinched together, worry painted on your features.

“Me? I’m great, fantastic!” It comes enthusiastic and way louder than he intended, so loud that Robin hears and instantly facepalms.

“Well, that’s great Steve.” You’re still eyeing him suspiciously and he really wants to jump ship.

“I’m just gonna go and do my ugh, my stuff.” Hooking a thumb over his shoulder, spinning on the ball of his feet leaving before he can say anything else embarrassing.

No, he can’t leave now, not when he’s made it this close to the finish line. This is what he’s been waiting for, the treasure he’s been searching for. It’s no or never and he can’t go back to praying the same prayer that somewhere in this universe you two were destined to be.

With a new found confidence, he turns right back into the eye of the storm and faces it head strong.

“Actually, I came over here because I wanted to know if maybe you’d like to go out sometime.” His chest is puffed out like, more sure of himself than he’s ever been.

The confidence that’s surging through him starts to falter when he reads your expression. You, and Aidan who has now stopped coloring, stare at him with bugged out eyes and gaping mouths.

“Only if that’s okay with you and all. If you want you can bring the kids along and we can go get ice cream and stuff but if you need it I have some friends who are great with kids and who will be willing to babysit for you.” He’s back peddling, trying to give you a way out in case you want to reject him it won’t hurt so bad.

“Oh Steve,” it’s said with pity and he knows the lighting strike is about to hit, “I-I’m not their mom.”

“Yeah no I get it, sorry if I- wait..” Stopping in his tracks, he looks back and forth between you and the small boy, connecting the dots in his head. “You’re not their mom?”

You and Aidan share a look before giggling together. Gazing back up at the flustered man in front of you, you smile kindly at him.

“No, I’m their nanny, Steve. Although I love them like they’re my own, they’re not.”

“Oh.” Steve continues to stare at you, his pretty pink lips in the shape of an O.

“Yeah, I just watch these little guys.” You shrug your shoulders.

“That’s still cool, I mean the offer still stands.” Even though he’s confused, his voice is a little shaky when he asks.

“Do the kids still have to come?” You ask and Aidan shouts an offended “hey”.

“I mean they can if you want, it’s all up to you.” He eyes you, waiting for your reaction but your expression doesn’t give him much to go on.

“Hmmm, I’m going to have to ask my trusted right hand man.” Holding a finger up at him, you leave over to the smaller boy next to you.

Aidan covers you hear with a small hand trying to cover the movements of his lips, even though Steve can still his his muffled whispers from where he stands.

Shaking your head, you repeat back uh huh’s to him, taking everything that’s being said seriously.

Moving back to your upright position, you stare at Steve with a serious gaze.

“Well, my counsel says I should go but you have to buy me ice cream. No buts about it.” Your straight face begins to falter when Steve’s white teeth shine at you.

“Yeah, I’ll get you whatever ice cream you want.” Steve bobs his head, cheeks flaring pink and eyes shining brightly.

“You can’t kiss, only mommies and daddies do dat stuff.” Aidan pipes in and Steve can’t help but chuckle with how the little boys face is scrunched up with intensity.

“Yes sir.” Steve gives the little boy a solute, while sending you a sneaky wink, and the kid quickly accepts.

“So, I’ll text you?” Steve asks

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Your bottom lip is tucked between your teeth as you say it.

“Okay, cool cool. I’ll ah, see you later.” Steve nods his head, backing away from the table slowly.

Sprinting to the backroom, he sees Robin who pretends like she hasn’t been listening in.

“Robs, I fucking did it!” Steve whisper yells, still cautious knowing your still out there.

“I honestly thought you were gonna back out for a second! I’m so proud of you for hanging in there!”

The two of them start hopping around like jumping beans, beaming so brightly they can outshine any star in the sky.

“So you got her number?” Robin asks, heavily breathing from all their excitement.

“Fuck-“ stopping dead in his tracks, Steve bolts to the door and back out to the front.

That’s where he finds you’ve already left and he’s heartbroken. The only memory that you were even there is your lingering perfume that sticks to the air.

You’ll probably be back some time soon but he’s still a little let down knowing he didn’t fully seal the deal. Looking closely at the table, he notices Aidan left one of his drawings.

Picking up the paper, he looks at it closely realizing Aidan didn’t leave it, you did.

Steve,

You left before I could give you my number. I didn’t want to disrupt your little party or anything.

Can’t wait to get that ice cream.

-your favorite customer

683-027-9305

Folding up the paper, Steve sticks it in the pocket of his apron.

“Don’t worry Steve, she’ll be back.” Robin calls out from behind the counter, apparently not seeing the little not that was left.

“I know she will.” It’s said quietly but the smile on his lips isn’t.

It’s beautiful on this side of the rainbow, Steve thinks, the pot of gold was so worth all the work. Robin was right, he still had it.

Thank you all for joining me on this second day of my celebration!!! I hope you all enjoy!! Love you all ❤️

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[mmmichyyy]

🌸 gallavich fic rec list 🌸

welcome to my 2023 fic rec list! i went through my ao3 bookmarks and my tumblr tags from this year so here's some (not all, or else this post would go on forever) of my fave (new & older) one-shots, completed multi-chaps, wips & ficlets <3

make sure to check out my 2021 list & my 2022 list ! since i'm not going to include fics i've mentioned before in this year's list :)

& don't forget to check out @gallavichfanficlibrary @gallavich-fic-club @gallavichthings @thegallavault for more recs plus @galladrabbles & @gallavichmeta too ✨ let's go!

one-shots:

doesn't matter where we go by @heymacy (The boys take a road trip.)

to think that we could stay the same by teatrolley (post-breakup au, but Mickey gets out of prison, Caleb doesn't exist, and we get really into their past and Ian’s (struggling) head)

of going home by @lalazeewrites (Valiant has taken the greatest fall from grace the superhero world has witnessed in years. The Shrike is an unregistered vigilante who doesn't even ping the radar of Chicago's crime fighting scene. Ian is forcibly put on leave from his job and returns to the Gallagher house, a failure all over again. Not only does he not know what Mickey does when the world goes dark, he doesn't know that Mickey is still living southside at all. Not since the events of eight years ago.)

quiet by @babygirlmickey (In the quiet of a perceived absence of scrutiny, Mickey can be incontrovertibly tender. Or: 5 times Mickey lets his guard down, as observed by various third parties.)

all i need in this life of sin (is me and my husband) by literatii (As embarrassing as it might be, Ian is not only his husband but also his best friend, and Mickey is pretty damn okay with that. Why the fuck would he find other people to do the exact same shit with that he already does with Ian, minus the fucking, when he can just do that shit with Ian plus the fucking? It makes no sense. Or: Ian wants the two of them to have more friends. Mickey doesn’t.)

thirteen hours by @crossmydna (Ian has known for thirteen hours that he’s not crossing the border with Mickey, so he makes the most of the time he has left with him.)

queen of decatur by jaxington (“How’d you know that?” Ian asks, smelling chum in the water, the observant little fuck. “Not like your brothers are getting sent to lady prison all that often.” Mickey thumbs at his lip, trying to find a way out of this conversation. It probably wouldn’t be too hard to distract Ian just by taking of his pants, but he is trying this new thing where he actually tells Ian what’s going on in his head. “No.” He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “It’s my mom.”)

like strings of fire by @gardenerian (mickey finds a safe and colorful way for ian to indulge himself when hypersexuality rears its ugly head.)

the needle and the burning body by squash (jesuisgourde) (Mickey had two burning torches for hands but he knew what to do with them. Ian's head was on fire and all he knew was how to run and keep running. How to find a cliff and jump off. How to make Mickey chase after him, again and again. And in a cold cell in prison, Mickey catches him.)

some fucked up romcom by godisthedice (Two years after they locked him up, Mickey told himself that he was done with Ian fucking Gallagher for good. Two years as a free man and he's marrying him for all the wrong reasons.)

when the sun goes down by @sam-loves-seb (super cute and fluffy lifeguard au!)

lava java by @stocious (He's being really unprofessional. Mickey might not even be gay. He might be hitting on a straight man through takeout cups.)

here's to hoping i'm not what kills you by @crestfallercanyon (After a confrontation gone bad, Mickey and the Gallaghers get Ian to the hospital. And look, Mickey always knew that if the Gallaghers had a will they'd find a way, but being roped into their schemes himself wasn't something he'd planned on signing on for. All the Gallaghers need to know is Mickey's helping out because he's not pure fucking evil. They don't need to know Mickey was scared shitless when Ian got knocked unconscious, Jesus, he can barely admit that to himself. Once Mickey knows Ian's not dead and not dying, he's out of there. Except he can't bring himself to leave.)

to the thawing wind by @gardenerian (Living and working in the icy chill of an endless winter, Ian and his family are assigned to work the farms to bolster food supply. They live quietly enough, following the rules, until Mickey and Mandy Milkovich (with all their secrets) are moved in across the road.)

i'll come meet you where you are by @crestfallercanyon (Mickey comes back from prison with a ring of vicious bruises around his neck and an edge to him Ian doesn't recognize. But he came back. He came back, and now it's time for Ian to meet him halfway.

closing in walls and ticking clocks by c_cups_bitch_u_wish (So, this is happening. Mickey is sitting in the corner of the bedroom on the comfiest fucking chair he’s ever sat in, and his adult self and adult Ian are about to fuck. And he’s going to watch. What's most odd is that this doesn't even feel like the weirdest thing to happen to him today.)

a spark of fire by @lingy910y (“You wanted us to finally have some time alone. You wanted to keep me safe, but you didn’t really care as long as we were together. You didn’t want it to end.” Mickey swallows a lump in his throat. “I…I don’t fuckin’ know.” “But can I, uh, ask you something else?” Ian rubs his thumbs together. “You like me, Mick. You fucking like me.”)

flip fuck? by @gallawitchxx (Mickey’s always thought that Valentine’s Day was fucking gay. But then some dramatic, ginger fuckhead had to move into the room next to his, and steal his hole, his heart, and the attention of his tumblr mutuals. Mickey decides to keep it lowkey when he asks Ian to spend the evening together: You wanna hang out on Tuesday? Ian’s response is quick and gives absolutely nothing away: Sure thing! That big-dicked idiot better remember it’s fucking Valentine’s Day.)

completed:

prelude motel by @whatthebodygraspsnot (When Mickey’s secret spot is infiltrated by an intriguing stranger, all the warning signs are there. Despite the voice in the back of his head telling him to disengage, he can’t help but bite off more than he can chew, running straight back to the spot and the stranger when a job leaves him injured. Enter: the Prelude Motel - where, for the next three days, Mickey finds himself hiding from more than just his pursuers.)

garden song (series) by @gardenerian (two gorgeous fics about ian's bipolar, about hope, healing, and tomatoes)

better by anomalously (It's been ten years since Ian's seen Mickey.)

in your love by @sgtmickeyslaughter (Mickey had been out of prison for 2 years and Ian never would have known until they ran into one another on a random night in May. Ian fights for the love they shared while Mickey fights for the life he built, as they both struggle with shame and guilt from their shared past it becomes clear that they cannot help but be drawn to what is bright and beautiful between them.)

whumptober 2023 (series) by @sam-loves-seb (21 beautiful fics of angst & hurt/comfort)

out of nowhere by @suzy-queued (Ian should have never offered to hide his father's stash of gold. Now he's stuck living on a deserted piece of land in the woods, alone, losing his sanity. Mickey wants nothing more than to disappear — from prison, from his family, from the entire world. If only he knew where to get his hands on a cool million. The Gallagher gold. Mickey wants it. Ian will do anything to protect it. Who will cave first?)

all these things i have left to say to you by @crestfallercanyon (After all this time that Ian's been missing, he leaves a tape recorder on Mickey's pillow. And on it? An hour of pure, unfiltered, Ian audio that is all, apparently, dedicated to him.)

wips:

keys to my heart by @milkovichrules (Ian finds his stable college life getting difficult when a new neighbour moves into the dorms.)

intro to quantum dating by @spoonfulstar (another college au) (one of my fave fics of all time!!)

the ink is a witness to this by @palepinkgoat (six chapters about the stories tattoos can hold and hide.)

order up by @heymacy (Ian and Mickey work together at a Chicago diner. They like to push each other's buttons - all their buttons. How long until the dam finally breaks?)

second chapters by @squidyyy23 (When Mickey’s PO assigns him a job at the local library, he’s pleasantly surprised—not that he’d ever admit it. Practically lived in the prison library, and what better way to start his new life than with a career he might actually enjoy. And when he meets the charming, clever, utterly fuckable, redheaded children’s librarian, well, shit just keeps getting better and better. Mickey’s definitely not interested in anything serious right now, but what’s the harm in a little fun?)

electric blue by @goodkwuestion (Paramedic Ian Gallagher knows true love exists. He's not going to settle until he finds it either, no matter how much his friends and family roll their eyes at him. Mickey Milkovich, on the other hand, isn't sure about all that stuff. He's an engineer with a long to-do list, and chasing rainbows isn't on it. He'll never say no to a good time and a pretty face though. When they meet, it will feel like kismet, something inevitable that neither of them can shake. Honestly though, who would want to? Falling in love can be the easiest thing in the world, especially when the whole universe is rooting for you... That's if the whole universe is rooting for you.)

ficlets:

all of @heymrspatel's drabbles, especially this one of ian being self-conscious about his body

docks scene & birthday suit gardening ficlets by @metalheadmickey

all of @lupeloto's sweet & domestic ficlets

@sam-loves-seb's meta about ian being the moon and mickey being the sun

ian's birthday ficlet & 31 ways we never meet (a.u.gust 2023 ficlets) by @callivich

airport confessions by @dynamic-power

gallavich drabbles by @whatthebodygraspsnot

all of @howlinchickhowl's a.u.gust 2023 ficlets!

(if you made it this far, i also write fics occasionally too so here's a self-promo lol)

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Kitchensink callithump linkdump

On July 14, I'm giving the closing keynote for the fifteenth HACKERS ON PLANET EARTH, in QUEENS, NY. Happy Bastille Day! On July 20, I'm appearing in CHICAGO at Exile in Bookville.

With just days to go before my summer vacation, I find myself once again with a backlog of links that I didn't squeeze into the blog, and no hope of clearing them before I disappear into a hammock for two weeks, so it's time for my 21st linkdump – here's the other 20:

https://pluralistic.net/tag/linkdump/

I'm going to start off this week's 'dump with a little bragging, because it's my newsletter, after all. First up: a book! Yes, I write a lot of books, but what I'm talking about here is a physical book, a limited edition of ten, that I commissioned from three brilliant craftspeople.

Back in March 2023, I launched a Kickstarter to pre-sell the audiobook of Red Team Blues, the first novel in my new Martin Hench series, about a forensic accountant who specializes in unwinding tech bros' finance frauds:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865847/red-team-blues

One of the rewards for that campaign was a very special hardcover: a handmade, leather-bound edition of Red Team Blues, typeset by the typography legend John D. Berry:

https://johndberry.com/

Bound by the legendary book-artist John DeMerritt:

https://www.demerrittstudios.com/

And printed by the master printer JaVae Berry:

https://www.jgraphicssf.com/

But this wasn't a merely beautiful, well made book – it had a gimmick. You see, I had already completed the first draft of The Bezzle, the second Hench novel, by the time I launched the Kickstarter for Red Team Blues. I had John Berry lay out a tiny edition of that early draft as a quarter-sized book, and then John DeMerritt hand-bound it in card.

The reason that edition of The Bezzle had to be so small was that it was designed to slip into a hollow cavity in the hardcover, a cavity that John Berry had designed the type around, so that both books could be read and enjoyed.

I offered three of these for sale through the Kickstarter, and the three backers were very patient as the team went back and forth on the book, getting everything perfect. Last month, I took delivery of the books: three for my backers, one each for John DeMerritt and John Berry's personal archives, one for me, and a few more that I'm going to surprise some very special people with this Christmas.

Look, I had high hopes for this book. I dote on beautiful books, my house is busting with them, and I used to work at a new/used science fiction store where we had a small but heartstoppingly great rare book selection. But these books are fucking astounding. Every time I handle mine, my heart races. These are beautiful things, and I just want to show them to everyone:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorow/albums/72177720318331731/

As it happens, the next thing I'm going to do (after I finish this newsletter) is turn in the copyedited manuscript for the third Hench novel, Picks and Shovels, which comes out in Feb 2025 (luckily, I had enough time to review the edits myself, then turn it over to my mom, who has proofed every book I've written and always catches typos that everyone else misses, including some real howlers – thanks Mom!):

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels

Of course, the majority of people who enjoy my books do not end up with one of these beautiful hardcovers – indeed, many of you consume my work exclusively as electronic media: ebooks and (of course) audiobooks. I love audiobooks and the audio editions of my books are very good, with narrators like Amber Benson, Wil Wheaton, and Neil Gaiman.

But here's the thing: Audible refuses to carry my books, because they are DRM-free (which means that they aren't locked to Audible's approved players – you can play my audiobooks with any audiobook player). Audible has a no-exceptions, iron-clad rule that every book they sell must be permanently locked into their platform, which means that Audible customers can't ditch their Audible software without losing their libraries – all the books they purchased:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/25/can-you-hear-me-now/#acx-ripoff

Being excluded from Audible takes a huge bite out of my income – after all, they're a monopolist with a 90% market share. That's why I'm so grateful for indie audiobook stores that carry my books on equitable terms that Audible denies – stores like Libro.fm, Downpour and even Google Books.

This week, I discovered a new, amazing indie audiobook store called Storyfair, where the books are DRM-free and the authors get a 75% royalty on every sale:

https://storyfair.net/helpstoryfairgrow/

Storyfair is a labor of love created by a married couple who were sickened and furious by the way that Audible screws authors and listeners and decided to do something about it. Naturally, I uploaded my whole catalog to the site so they could sell it:

https://storyfair.net/search-for-audiobooks/?keyword=cory+doctorow&filter=any

These books are DRM-free, which means that no matter who you buy them from, you can play them in the same player as your other DRM-free audiobooks. You know how you can read all your books under the same lamp, sitting in the same chair, and then put them in the same bookcase when you're done with them? It's weird – outrageous even! – that tech companies think that buying a book from them means that they should have the legal right to force you to read or listen to it using their technology exclusively.

If you let your Storyfair audiobooks touch your Libro.fm audiobooks, they won't get cooties! Audible is like a toddler that won't let their broccoli touch their peas – only that toddler is also a rapacious monopolist that keeps 75% of every sale.

The fight for fair audiobooks is one of those places where the different parts of my professional life cross over: activism, digital media, art, writing the web, and breaking down complex technical subjects for a mass audience. I've just signed up to a six-year project to combine all those facets in a structured way, in collaboration with Cornell University.

Cornell just named me as their latest AD White Professor-at-Large. This is a six-year appointment that involves a series of week-long visits to Ithaca to lecture, run seminars, meet with colleagues, collaborate on research, and do community performances:

https://adwhiteprofessors.cornell.edu/

We've tentatively scheduled my first visit for early September 2025, to coincide with the Ithaca Book Festival, and we've got big plans, roping in multiple departments at Cornell, the local alternative school and local colleges, doing talks at the fair as well as at the university, and (we hope!) squeezing in a stop in NYC on the way home for a day at Cornell Tech. I'm so excited (and honored) to be working with Cornell (and getting a chance to visit Moosewood Restaurant, whose cookbooks taught me how to cook!). Watch this space.

Authorship has always been a political act, but never moreso than today, with waves of book-bans sweeping the country. One of the heroes of those bans is Maggie Tokuda-Hall, who made headlines when she publicly excoriated Scholastic for demanding that she remove references to racism from her kids' books in order to make them more palatable to reactionaries:

https://www.npr.org/2023/04/15/1169848627/scholastic-childrens-book-racism

Tokuda-Hall has stepped up the fight, co-founding Authors Against Book Bans, an org that provides training and support for author/activists so they can fight back against book bans at library board and city council meetings:

https://www.authorsagainstbookbans.com/

Authors Against Book bans is looking for members! I signed up last week, within seconds of having Tokuda-Hall give me the pitch when we ran into each other in Oakland at the Locus Awards. Are you an author? Sign up too! They're especially interested in branching out beyond YA and kids' authors (though they want those kinds of writers, too!).

Book bans affect us all. Even if you personally are never stymied when you visit your library and discover the book that you want to read has been removed by a swivel-eyed loon with terminal groomer-panic. The bans sweeping our country mean that our neighbors and loved ones are being denied literature by these cranks. There are people in your life who are losing out on the possibility of a life-changing literary adventure (which is why the far right hates these books – they want to be sure no one encounters the ideas between their covers).

The realization that you have to live in a society with people who are harmed by injustice, even if you personally escape that justice? It's the whole basis for solidarity.

Americans are living through a multigenerational project of stamping out solidarity and insisting that we only ever view ourselves as individuals, with no stake in the plights of our neighbors. That's how the US got the most expensive, least effective health care system in the world. And even if you are in the vanishingly tiny minority of Americans who are happy with their health care, you live amongst people who are being killed by the system around you.

The health system is a perfect example of how monopolization drives more monopolization, and how that comes to harm the public and workers. Health consolidation began with pharma mergers, that led to pharma companies gouging hospitals. Hospitals, in turn, engaged in a nonstop orgy of mergers, which created regional monopolies that could resist the pricing power of monopoly pharma – and screw insurers. That kicked off consolidation in insurance, which is why most Americans have a "choice" of between one and three private insurers – and why health workers' monopoly employers have eroded their wages and working conditions.

A new study in American Economic Review: Insights puts some quantitative spine in this tale, tracking the relationship between hospital mergers and skyrocketed health-care prices:

https://harris.uchicago.edu/news-events/news/consolidation-hospital-sector-leading-higher-health-care-costs-study-finds?itid=lk_inline_enhanced-template

The researchers investigated 1,164 acute-care hospital mergers, finding that while the FTC only challenged 1% of these, they could – and should – have challenged 20% of them, based on the agency's own criteria for merger scrutiny. The researchers blame the rising costs of hospital care directly on these mergers, and point out that Congress has historically starved the FTC of the budget it needed to investigate these mergers. The annual additional costs to the American people from these mergers exceed the entire annual budget of the FTC.

It's not just hospitals: the entire investor class is hell-bent on spending their way to monopoly. Nowhere is that more true than in AI, where hundreds of billions are being poured into bids to attain permanent dominance through scale. Writing for their excellent AI Snake Oil newsletter, Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor inject some realism into the AI scale hype:

https://www.aisnakeoil.com/p/ai-scaling-myths

Narayanan and Kapoor challenge the idea that throwing more data at large language models will make the better: "With LLMs, we may have a couple of orders of magnitude of scaling left, or we may already be done." They are skeptical that this can be fixed with synthetic data (whose use is limited to "fixing specific gaps and making domain-specific improvements"). They also point out that if returns from data slow, then returns from adding more compute or making bigger models might also be throttled.

They reserve their most skeptical take for "AGI" – the idea that LLMs are going to achieve consciousness. This is a fundamentally unserious idea, one that they unpack in detail in their forthcoming book:

https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691249131/ai-snake-oil

One thing I'm hoping for from the book is some analysis of the material usefulness of AI hype – what purpose does the hype serve? I mean, obviously, hype is useful if you're looking to suck up investor capital, or flip an investment to a greater fool. But there's a specific character to AI hype: namely, the claim that AI will displace labor, which is really a claim that a bet on AI is a bet on the increasing wealth of capital at labor's expense.

In other words, AI is a bet on oligarchy. In America, that's a pretty safe bet, and the odds just got even better, thanks to a string of brutal Supreme Court decisions that legalized bribery, banned most regulatory enforcement, and made being alive and unhoused into a crime (Poor Laws 2.0):

https://prospect.org/justice/2024-06-29-whos-gonna-check-supreme-court-chevron-separation-powers/

But amidst all those gimmes to the rich and powerful, there was one notable exception: the SCOTUS ruling on the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy. Purdue was the family business of the Sacklers, a multigenerational dope-peddling dynasty that went from super-rich to stratospherically rich by kickstarting the opioid epidemic with their blockbuster drug Oxycontin.

The Sacklers sold mountains of Oxy the old fashioned way: by lying. The lied about its efficacy and they lied about its safety, and they helped kill hundreds of thousands of Americans. Eventually, this caught up with them, and Purdue lost a bunch of court cases and was forced into bankruptcy.

That's where things get gnarly: the Sacklers took the already-sleazy world of elite bankruptcy to a whole new level, with a set of breathtakingly sleazy maneuvers that ensured that their case would be heard by the one judge in America who would let them off the hook:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/11/justice-delayed/#justice-redeemed

That judge was Robert Drain and the Sacklers were the blow-off to a long and shameful career in public "service." The Sacklers incorporated a subsidiary in White Plains, NY (in Drain's turf) precisely 181 days before filing for bankruptcy, then claimed that this empty small-town office had been the company HQ for more than six months. Then they hid machine-readable metadata in their filing that tricked the court's database into assigning the case to Drain:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/07/hr-4193/#shoppers-choice

The reason the Sacklers were so horny for Drain? He was a notoriously generous source of "nonconsensual third-party releases." These would allow the Sacklers to permanently end every lawsuit against them without having to declare bankruptcy. Instead, they could take their (ruined, hollow) company through bankruptcy, throw a small fraction of their personal fortunes into the pot, representing fractional pennies on the dollar of what they owed to their victims, and walk away with tens of billions and eternal protection from any future suits.

In other words, they could stiff their creditors and keep the loot. Which is exactly what Robert Drain gave them – before retiring from the bench to get a two-orders-of-magnitude pay raise at a white-shoe firm that specializes in representing corporate mass-murderers like the Sacklers.

That's where it would have ended, but for a surprising ruling from the Supreme Court, which threw out the nonconsensual third-party release deal and put the Sacklers back on the hook to pay the victims of their many, many crimes.

As ever, the best source of analysis and explanation for elite bankruptcy shenanigans is Adam Levitin of the Credit Slips blog:

https://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2024/06/purdue-pharma-decision-a-big-win-for-mass-tort-victims.html

Levitin has a prediction for what's going to happen next. He rejects the predictions of Sackler apologists, who say that this is going to add years or decades to the already too-long wait for compensation that the Sacklers' victims have endured. Instead, Levitin says that the Sacklers will almost certainly transfer billions more from their personal fortunes to the settlement pot and beg for consensual releases from their victims. In other words, they'll go from dictating terms to asking for them.

So the settlement will stand, but it will be larger, and victims who don't want to take it won't have to – they'll be able to sue. In other words, this ruling "does not prevent deals in bankruptcy. It just changes the terms of what those deals."

This has implications for other mass-murderers and corporate criminals, like Johnson and Johnson (who tricked women into dusting their vulvas with asbestos):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/01/j-and-j-jk/#risible-gambit

And the Boy Scouts of America, who let pedophiles abuse children for decades:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/05/third-party-nonconsensual-releases/#au-recherche-du-pedos-perdue

Both J&J and BSA carved out nonconsensual third-party releases in the mold of the Sacklers' deal, and both briefed the Supreme Court, warning that if the Sacklers were forced to pay what they owed, J&J and BSA's victims would also be entitled to far larger sums. Go ahead and threaten us with a good time, why doncha?

The Sackler decision is a real bright spot at a dark time for corporate impunity. It's always nice to see big corporate bullies getting a bit of a comeuppance. Another one of those comeuppances was just delivered thanks to a classic fatfinger error.

A Microsoft engineer accidentally released the sourcecode to Playready, the company's flagship DRM product:

https://borncity.com/win/2024/06/26/microsoft-employee-accidentally-publishes-playready-code/

Microsoft's DRM doesn't do anything to protect the interests of creative workers or even the companies that employ them. As a Microsoft rep admitted on stage at a presentation in 2006, the purpose of Microsoft DRM is to prevent small startups from entering the market, ensuring that Microsoft and its "rivals" can safely divide up the world without worrying about disruptive competitors:

https://memex.craphound.com/2006/01/30/msft-our-drm-licensing-is-there-to-eliminate-hobbyists-and-little-guys/

I was there that day and reported on the remarks, prompting both Microsoft and its rep to furiously deny that they'd ever said this, despite multiple witnesses who heard it. This was just a couple years after I gave a viral talk at Microsoft about why the company shouldn't use DRM:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/18/greetings-fellow-pirates/#arrrrrrrrrr

By 2006, it was clear that the company was all in on DRM, and today, DRM is the centerpiece of Microsoft's anticompetitive strategy, and Playready is the centerpiece of Microsoft's DRM. The source-code leak is doubtless going to give rise to lots of grey-market tools for stripping DRM from all kinds of media:

https://security-explorations.com/microsoft-playready.html

You love to see it! Now I'm doubly looking forward to this summer's security conferences, including Defcon, where, for the first time, I'll be emceeing the charity poker tournament to benefit EFF:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/06/betting-your-digital-rights-eff-benefit-poker-tournament-def-con-32

This should be very fun – and funny – especially given how little I know about poker (I have been specifically selected on that basis, for the comedy value). Every player gets a custom EFF poker-deck, and the winner gets a treasure chest filled by EFF board member Tarah Wheeler, including "emeralds, black pearls, amethysts, diamonds, and more."

I like to close these linkdumps with something fun and uplifting, and I'd planned to end things with the poker-tournament, but then my pal Raph Koster announced that his game studio Playable Worlds had dropped its first announcement of Stars Reach, an open-world MMO like no other:

https://www.raphkoster.com/2024/06/28/announcing-stars-reach/

Raph is a legend in MMO design circles, whose credits include Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies. He wrote the definitive text on how games work, A Theory of Fun, that's does for games what Understanding Comics did for comics:

https://www.theoryoffun.com/

Stars Reach is stupidly ambitious. It consists of truly open worlds, modeled to an absurd degree of fidelity:

We know the temperature, the humidity, the materials, for every cubic meter of every planet. Our water actually flows downhill and puddles. It freezes overnight or during the winter. It evaporates and turns to steam when heated up. And not just our water — everything does this. Catch a tree on fire with a stray blaster bolt. Melt your way through a glacier to find a hidden alien laboratory embedded in the ice. Stomp too hard on a rock bridge, and watch out, it might collapse under your feet. Dam up a river to irrigate your farm. Or float in space above an asteroid, and mine crystals from its depths.

The game is fundamentally a climate story, whose lore has humanity seeded around the galaxy by a powerful alien race called the Old Ones, only to have humans bust through the planetary limits of every world they were given. Now the Old Ones are giving humans another chance to try smarter ways of sustaining ourselves on new worlds, with the aid of powerful robots call "Servitors."

Because this is a Raph Koster game, it's got a bunch of extremely satisfying play dynamics:

A classless skill tree advancement system, where peaceful play matters just as much as combat

An intricate player-driven economy where players can craft their way to fame and fortune

An accessible yet deep combat system, where you can choose whether to play using action aiming or more forgiving homing shots or lock-on targeting

In-world player housing that lets you build and customize your home and form towns… and enough room for everyone to have a house

A single shardless galaxy, with both space and ground gameplay… in fact, you can build that house on an asteroid, if you want

The ability for a group to govern a planet, and define its laws, whether you want a peaceful home or a PvP free for all

Stars Reach is not playable yet, but the company's looking for gamers to give them feedback and steer the development:

https://starsreach.com/

OK, that wraps up the week's links. I'm gonna get one more edition out on Monday, god willin' and the crick don't rise, and then I'll be off for a couple weeks. Enjoy your summer!

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/29/pasticcio/#professor-at-large

Image: James St John https://flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/40894047123

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

[queenofthelanternfish]

May 2023-May 2024

My 10 gallon planted tank is now officially a year old! A year of trial and error, learning new things every day, and loving it more and more as time goes on 💕

I started off with plants only, then bought my first cherry shrimps, learned I had a gh of over 30 and brought it down to 8, shrimp population exploded, got a group of 6 galaxy rasboras at my lfs and only 1 survived, went to a different lfs and got 7 more galaxies and all but 1 thrived, majority turned out male, got 5 more that were female, and took my mom's unwanted snails from her own tank.

Today, I have well over 100 shrimps, 12 galaxy rasboras, and a bunch of snails all thriving in my setup! The plants are growing at breakneck speed, and keeping my water sustainable for my bioload. I currently have java ferns, amazon swords, anacharis, anubias nana, java moss, and green cabomba.

I know I talk about my aquarium a lot, but incorporating live plants and caring for more delicate invertebrates and fish has really reignited my love for the hobby by considering all factors of my aquarium's cycle and its delicate balance. I hope you all enjoyed my little journey in this tiny ecosystem I built and continue enjoying it for more years to come. 🥰

[ID: a picture of a sparsely planted aquarium with no animals next to an image of the same aquarium now densely planted and filled with animals. Images after are multiple pictures of red cherry shrimp and galaxy rasbora fish living in the aquarium in varying numbers among the plants. /end ID]

[prince-liest]

I saw that you are an aquarium fan! What's your favourite kind of tank fish? Mine is certainly Neon Innesa but Pterophyllum scalare are also pretty neat!!

TIL you can change the colors of text in asks! Neat!

And oooh - haha, thanks for getting me started on this! >:) I actually do have a group of neons in my larger community tank. I think they're very pretty fish and they hold a nostalgia for me because my mom had a bunch when I was young. I don't have a tank large enough for angelfish unfortunately, and I've also just in general been won over to the pros of having exclusively non-aggressive community fish in the community fish tank, so I'm not sure if I'd ever go for angels.

That said, if she hadn't been a homicidal shrimp murderer, I cannot overstate how nice it was to put my betta fish into a 20 gallon tank. People are often focused on putting bettas in the minimum safe size of tank for them, and it feels like you rarely see the interesting behaviors you get from bettas in larger tanks discussed. She used the whole tank, patrolled and explored constantly, and it was very clear that compared to the neons, who were often just vibing, most of her actions were performed with some sort of deliberate purpose. I felt almost guilty transferring her into her current 6.4 gallon tank, though it's heavily planted and has shrimp for her to pick at.

My generic "I fucking love betta fish" answer aside, my favorite fish tend to end up being loaches! I have java loaches in my community tank, which are hilarious, active noodles, and my favorite loaches are reticulated hillstream loaches.

They're very pretty: aside from the pattern, they look like tiny little manta rays, and they spend a lot of time sticking to the side of the glass and to smooth rocks. I've got three (soon to be four when I take my friend's extra when he moves) and they're very peaceful fish that do well in a large range of temperatures. Watching them flap at each other or sift sand is always really fun.

[cecilebutcher]

დStarKid songs I associate with twst boys დ

This is probably the most random one out of all my “songs I associate with twst boys”. But hey, Team StarKid is amazing what can I say～(￣▽￣～)

This is all for shits and giggles. And I did giggle while writing these.

I made this before npmd so no amazing songs from there😔

!!Don’t like,it does nothing. Reblog instesd!!

Characters: all the nrc students + some of my oc’s

Riddle Rosehearts: California MIA

“My mom's a bitch. An alcoholic. A melancholic. That we keep afloat. It's time to flip the switch. When the problem's chronic. Not being hyperbolic. But it's time to ghost”

Trey Clover: cup of roasted coffee

“Get your cup of roasted coffee. Your morning cup of Joey. We'll make a jamming cup of java. Mocha latte with the froth for you, Jack. Frappuccino with the freshly roasted mung beans. It's a caramel drizzle mud in a cup. With a drip, drip, drip-drip, drip. And we'll bring it right up”

Cater Diamond: deck the halls(of northville high)

“Can't wait. Deck the halls on high. Deck up Northville High School. Carol in the halls. Rising with the tide yule. Orient like kings. See what winter brings for your. Northville mistletoe”

Ace Trappola: join us (and die)

“Sorry to interrupt. But we got bones to pluck. The time for chaos is long past overdue. Death isn't optional. In fact it’s optimal. Your time is up. And now we go through you. We tried to convince you. In soliloquy. But now we'll kill you. With more than harmony! Just die”

Deuce Spade: show me your hands

“Ma'am, I need you to take a step back. You're facing the law, not the clerk at The Gap. Yeah, we're cops. Yeah, we're cops. You'd better shape on up. You better empty out all of them pockets. But don't empty out all of them pockets. Yeah, we're cops. Yeah, we're cops. And we make sense”

Leona Kingscholar: we got work to do

“I don't really wanna do the work today. I don't really wanna do the work today. I don't really wanna do the work today. I don't wanna do the work today”

Ruggie Bucchi: i steal everything

“Did you know in this barbaric country. They only give you money if you work. Thanks, but no thanks, the man. I'll keep stealing all I can. Instead of being a fascist yuppie jerk”

Jack Howl: happy ending

“I'll be treated like a hero. All the citizens adore. They'll throw a parade in my honor. With peacocks and monkeys galore. The people will cheer. For the royal vizier. For answering duty's call”

Azul Ashengrotto: our doors are open

“We'll gladly give you money. I'll gladly take your money now. I want the doll with the tummy. Oh, don't we all and here is how you get. The very thing you want. The highest of holidays. Comes but once a year. I'm not talking 'bout the fat man and his reindeer. It's the crème brûlée. Following turkey day”

Jade Leech: you tied up my heart

“I'm tied up, Charlotte. Tied up with you. You understand me. Now hand me those keys. The keys to my youth. God, we were young once. Innocent and fun once. And free. Let go of this grip on me. You tied up my heart. You tied me down. Now break me open. With your love and mercy”

Floyd Leech: tickle me wiggly

“He's a wiggly snig. And a sniggly wiggly (Yeah!) A fwendy-wend. That makes you giggly! He's an underwater creature from outta this world. A bestest fwendy-wend. To all the boys and girls! He's a wiggly wig. And a snuggle poo. And a wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle. Wiggle wiggle wiggle with you”

Kalim Al-Asim: cup of poisoned coffee

“Get your cup of poisoned coffee. Your toxic cup of Joey! We'll make a twisted cup of java mocha latte with the goo for you Jack. Jack, Jack, Jack! Hey, Mr. Business. How do you. How do you. How do you do?”

Jamil Viper: no one remembers achmend

“So to restore my repute. As a fierce fearsome brute, There's only one route I see. Arrange the slaughter of millions. Of innocent civilians. Then they'll remember me”

Vil Shoenheit: take me back

“Take me back in time to love you. Take me back when we were lost. Lost in love and lost in feeling. Without the cost. Take me back in time to high school. Take me back when things were light. Light my heart and light my shadow. And make it alright. Cause I already lost it once. What I already won”

Rook Hunt: Show stopping number

“A show stoppin' number. Is something you die for. A real catchy, earwormy tune. An award-winning score. That seeps in and out of your pores. A ditty to make the chorus girls swoon. It'll unify humanity in a thundering chorus. No exits from this Broadway venue. So splash those shiny cymbals. Got a show stoppin' hymnal for you”

Epel Felmier: final (a thousand and one nights reprise)

“A thousand and one lifetimes is not enough to spend. At last we have a story with no end. Let this be a story with no end...”

Idia Shroud: the golden rule (evil reprise)

“I follow the golden rule. How can a man resist. When the gold in his hand. Lets him rule the land. With an iron fist. I follow the golden rule. It's either them or me. The gold that my neighbor. Earns through his labor. Is gold I'll never see. Who has the gold makes all the rules. So he wins the game and then. The prize for winning?”

Ortho Shroud: sands of time- golden rule

“Follow the golden rule. For life's a two-way street. Keep that in mind. And you'll be kind. To everyone you meet! Follow the golden rule. It isn't hard to do. Always treat others like sisters and brothers. And they'll do the same for you. Before you harm your fellow man. Ask this question first: How would you wish that he treat you. If your fortunes were reversed?”

Malleus Draconia: dream a little harder

“Why don't we have enough to eat? Why are we dying in the street? Why does my baby always cry? Why did my mommy have to die? Mine too. Mine too. Mine too, Mine too, Mine too! The answer here is crystal clear. Jafar, that ugly old Vizier. He's the reason for our many woes”

Lilia Vanrouge: twisted

“What remains of a man when that man is dead and gone? Only memories and stories of his deeds will linger on. But if a man's accomplishments aren't in the tale they tell. Are the deeds that go unheralded his legacy as well? If a war breaks out tomorrow, we'll all have Hell to pay. Why protect my reputation? I'm a dead man either way. How will they tell my story? How will they tell my tale? Will anybody even care?”

Silver (Vanrouge): not your seed

“You left me out of your sight for one second. And look what happens, nightmare time. It's worse than you could imagine. Not sex and not drugs. Just alien invading minds. No more family vacays together. 'Cause your only daughter's under the weather. And if you actually paid attention to me”

Sebek Zigvolt: wiggle

“I hear his voice. I feel his power. I see his kingdom and his plans. Laid out for me. Oh, he's mine, mine, mine. To follow his orders. Oh, it's my, my monument to build. He will wiggle, wiggle. Wiggly will wiggle tonight. Oh He will wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle his way into life”

“Oc’s”

Ibhana “Vesper” Baske: Adore me

“I will destroy everything. And then I will destroy everything. I'll guarantee I'll destroy everything. In my path. Unless I get what I - Shit, it's Gerald. I will destroy everything. And then I will destroy everything. (Alright, keep going, don't say the shit part) I'll guarantee I'll destroy everything. (Alright, that's good, don't say the shit part) In my path. Unless I get what I shit”

Tao Yúchi: everything and more

“I want the moon. I want to live on the moon. And eat it in a pie. And keep it as a pet. And wear it like a gemstone in my hair. And someday soon. The people who say I'm just dreaming. Like father and Ja'far. Will see how wrong they are. As I laugh in their faces through mouthfuls of moonbeam pie”

Igor Kazentoc: the guy who didn’t like musicals

“In the tiny town of Hatchetfield. Lived an awful grinch named Paul. Spends his day surfing the web. And not singing and dancing with us all. Should we kill him? Should we kill him? Oh, he pines after a cute lil' barista. Isn’t that worth a show-stopping fiesta, yeah? But for some damn reason. He won’t join our singing season. What an ass! What a bitch! What a cuck!”

Junto Shuisha: La dee dah dah day

“Sometimes I just wanna shout. On top of roof and mountain tops. All the world is paved in gold. Yesterday is retroactive. Got myself a new perspective. I strut it up and down the road. So I throw out my worries. And my old skin away. Doing what I want to. On this la dee dah dah day!”

Jasper Spade: Black Friday

“Is this what I lived for? To be choked in a toy store. While staring into hell. There's something that's beautiful. Being awake for my funeral. You can close the casket now. The plans for my father's hopeless seed. Born into moral poverty. Still, I wasn't the angel heaven sent. To break through my cliché boundaries”

Najih Al-Amin: feast or famine

“You never should settle for the lifetime that is handed to you. There's always a line to be cut and someone to barrel through. And if you should find that you're about to get the short of the stick. Take what you want. Return what you get”

Aikat Spanos: Backfire

“What if I tried something new. And it— Backfired! What if I did something more. And it— Backfired! You made a Schwoopsie... You burned down the village... You killed all the mammoths... You poisoned the water... You lost my Grant... Chorn... Okay, okay, okay! Geez Chorn, I get it”

Phobes Spanos: a thousand and one nights

“I want to know your story. I want to know your past. So tell me slowly from the start. Leave out no detail. Savour every part. I want to know your story. So make the story last. I want to know each twist and turn. Tell me all I've missed. I've so much to learn”

“BONUS”

Grim: Wagon on fire

“Your wagon is on fire. Your wagon is aflame. Your wagon is on fire. It’ll never be the same”

All of these songs are part of musicals, go watch them, they are amazing(and stupidly funny) this is for shits and giggles btw, don’t take it seriously, please T^T

(Also, did I give Kalim a song about poison for the irony of his life? Yes. Did I give silver a song about a father daughter angst relationship for angst? Also yes)

!!requests are open!!

comments are more than appreciated. but reblogs help the content reach more people so please reblog if you want to like<3 likes do nothing. Seriously, don’t like, reblog.

[redux-iterum]

Incoming essay, fish and plants aquariums are a special interest of mine. Hope you don't mind! Some plants don't need to be planted! Anacharis and hornwort are two that prefer floating near the top. They can provide some shelter to your fishies. Both are fairly easy to take care of. Anubias and Java Fern are two others that are easy to take care of. These two can be attached to driftwood, rocks, or other tank decorations. If you bury their stems in the substrate, they will die. I started off with these two and I still have my original plants like 4 years later. The one I put in my mom's tank is huge now.

If you can find it, Brazilian pennywort can also float but it can also be planted as well. It's the dominate plant in my 29 gallon and I've had to remove feet of it when I neglected plant maintenance. It loves it in there and it's just floating near the hang on back filter.

Lighting is also pretty important. Anacharis, hornwort, and Brazilian pennywort all require higher light then anubias and java fern. If your 20 gallon was a tank kit like my 29 gallon, the light will probably be good enough for medium light plants and down. I'd try out higher light plants anyway if you can find/afford to experiment with plants. Honestly experimenting with plants is part of the fun of a planted tank. You never know what will grow till you try it in your particular tank. I've had a plant do horribly in one just to take over another, even fairly easy plants like anacharis.

Also you might annoy some purists but have a few silk plants isn't a bad thing. I have some in my 29 gallon for my ember tetras and they don't care they're fake. They give them places to hide and feel secure while the floating plants do most of the water purifying. I've also found some catfish lounging in them occasionally. They're also a good temporary option while your real plants grow in if you eventually just want live plants. Oh and please avoid plastic plants. They're horrible for betta fish fins and I can't imagine they're great for other fish either.

And from what I've heard mollies are pretty good for planted tanks? If I remember correctly, they like picking algae off of plants. So they'll even help keep algae down if I'm remembering that fact right.

I am so glad you gave specific plant names, anon, thank you. The local pet store has a wide selection of tank plants, so I'm sure they've got at least some of the plants you named, if not most or all of them. I'm fond of mollies for their cute little faces, but it turns out they're also excellent starting fish for newcomers like myself for exactly what you said. It's going to be a while before I can buy any, just because next month's going to be busy as hell and I won't be home a lot, but this is going to be extremely useful for the future!

[v0id-clawz]

Ermmmmmie do u play java minecraft.....

- @snow-on-mtsilver

Yeah, but it doesn't work on the computer in my room and I don't think my mom would be chill with me playing with ppl from the internet :(

[wildpeachfarm]

Shout out to my poor mother during the goguation who just let me scream rant and fed me java chip ice cream. She had no idea what was going on other than "dream sapnap george = minecraft people my child likes" i didnt even talk to her about the Drituation this was her first online drama experience 💀

Oh bless her😭 moms can be the best

My mom gets a panicked phone call from me during EVERYYYYY controversy so she kinda knows what to do to get me to calm down these days since she knows how attached I am lol

[blue-thief]

thanks for the tag :3 @bueris

favourite colour: blue

last song: here i am by air supply (my mom is playing music in the other room)

last movie: the age of innocence. that fucked me up man. i cried for the last 30 mins of the movie LMAO

currently reading: ken liu's the paper menagerie short story collection

currently watching: house md

craving: the steak, gravy, and java rice from sizzling plate baguio.... please...... it's been years 😭😭

tea or coffee: tea :p

no pressure tags for people you wanna know more/catch up with: @getosugurusbangs @galaxynajma @togo--mimori @theclearblue @chodzacaparodia @wroophruh @idolnagi @lemon-milk-cake if some of you have already been tagged/if i didn't tag you (it's probably bc i thought someone else already tagged you lol)

[gurokichi]

Hello 💕 No worries, Bon! I assumed you were busy with something.

So happy to hear you've been good!!! You should send me pictures of the build you were working on!!! I love seeing your builds ♡

Dolly has been good!! We've had a lazy day, played some Sims 4 earlier. My mom wanted me to make her Sim some friends and other sims in the world!! I ended up making 2 Sims and decorating a house for them and their 2 cats!

Thank you for understandinggg 💜

I’ll definitely make sure to send some pictures later! I’m gonna have to figure out how to screenshot on bedrock… playing on a realm with friends and there’s no designated key from what I’ve seen for screenshotting like there is java (T ^ T)

I’m glad to hear that you’ve been well! I’d love to see your Sims and their house if you’re fine with showing them!

[elidoesntbreathwee]

Chrissy and Eddie being alive and happy and best friends :)

// CW! descriptions of ED //

-

Eddie had seen Chrissy around school a fair amount of times, and of course at the middle school talent show, but if he was honest, he would have never guessed what she was really like. He kinda thought she'd be mean and scary, like a stereotypical popular cheerleader, and then he met her in the woods one day.

She was way cooler than Eddie had thought she'd be. She laughed at his jokes and made some good ones herself. She'd come there for a reason, though, so Eddie delivered, of course, but he and Chrissy had gotten more out of it than they thought they would.

Chrissy wanted something stronger than Eddie had on him though, so Eddie just decided to take her to his and his uncle's trailer. He got her what she wanted, she payed, then left. Eddie thought that'd be the last time he would talk to Chrissy, but he was most certainly wrong.

-

Only a week or so later, Eddie had run into Chrissy again, not in the woods or anything, in a much more normal place, with less suspicious activity. Eddie was making his way back to his trailer after getting some soda form a corner store, when he saw Chrissy a little bit ahead of him. He didn't think to walk up to her, since he usually never talked to his costumers again, unless they wanted more of the good stuff, but Chrissy turned around at just the right moment and smiled brightly. She jogged over to him cheerfully.

"Eddie! Hi, how are you?!" She said, still smiling.

"Hey Chrissy," Eddie smiled. "I've been good, actually. Did the stuff help you?"

Chrissy looked lost for a moment, then realized what he meant.

"Oh! Yeah, I guess a little."

"Glad it helped"

"Do you... i dont know. Do you want to talk at like, a coffee shop?"

"Uhh, sure. Why not."

Chrissy led Eddie to her favorite coffee shop in town, called Café Java, where she visited semi-regularly, to the point that a few of the employees knew who she was. Chrissy ordered a vanilla latte, and Eddie, after trying his best to understand what all the different types were, chose an americano, because he panicked.

They talked for a while, and somehow they'd been talking for 3 hours. When Eddie realized this he remembered that his soda was probably now warm. He told Chrissy that he needed to take them home, and that they should hang out again soon.

He ran home and put his soda in the fridge :)

-

The next night, Eddie had been up trying to write a song, when he heard a knock on the trailer's door. Wayne had work that night, so it couldn't have been him, so Eddie was curious. He set down his pen and went to open the door.

"Hey" Chrissy said, with a worried smile on her face, and did a small wave.

"Chrissy? Is everything ok?"

"Yeah... I just... I just got scared I guess, and I didn't know where to go."

"Don't you have a boyfriend you could go to?"

"He... doesn't understand. It's complicated, but, he gets upset... I guess... so I don't really want to go to him." Chrissy was fidgeting with the zipper on her jacket, the same way Eddie messed with his rings when he was nervous.

"Oh. Well, come on in, make yourself comfy, and I'll getcha some water, alright." Eddie smile as Chrissy walked in and sat on the couch in the middle of their living room.

"Do you wanna talk about why ya got scared?" He said as he handed her a glass of water, then sat next to her.

"I dont know... you'd probably think I was insane..."

"Hey, no matter what it is, I won't think that, but if you really don't wanna tell me, you don't have to. We can talk about something else?" Eddie patted Chrissy's shoulder, hoping she got the non-verbal message that he was here for her.

"No, I- uh, I need to get it off my chest." she took a deep breath, then let it out. "Sometimes I get... visions, i guess, of my mom and she's screaming at me, telling me that I..." Chrissy bit her lip, trying to stop herself from crying, but failed. Eddie put his arm around her to comfort her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to cry in front of you"

"Hey, its ok, Chrissy, you dont have to worry. Y'need more water?"

"No- no thank you, im alright." Chrissy sniffled.

"Alright."

"So um, she says that, um.. basically she yells at me about how Im... ugly, and that I shouldn't be eating as much as i do... but" she glanced at Eddie to make sure he didn't look angry. "but i really only eat two (2) small meals and she's still not happy... and my dad" Chrissy started sobbing. Between sobs she got out "My dad just sits there like nothing's even happening, like he doesn't even care"

Eddie hugged her tightly for a while, until she her breathing was more regular, and she had stopped crying. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye "Chrissy, you're probably the prettiest girl in the entire school, and if your parents can't even see that, then they're full of shit. I know I can't just fix all the damage that's been done, but I wanna help you, because you're my friend, Chrissy, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Chrissy was silent for a moment, then she hugged Eddie again "Thank you so much. You dont know how much it means to me that- that you'd be there for me."

"Hey, are ya hungry?" Eddie said, pulling out of the hug.

"... Mhm." Chrissy nodded

"Welp," Eddie stood up "We dont have a lot, but uh, we've prolly got some spaghetti, if ya like that?"

Chrissy laughed "Yeah! Yeah, that'd be great!"

Chrissy ended up staying over the whole night. They had talked more and Eddie brought out his cards and taught her how to play Palace, then they just messed around. If you asked either of them what happened the rest of the night, they wouldn't have known. They had just been there.

-

After that they had hung out anytime they could, whether it was going to a café, or seeing a movie. Sometimes Chrissy sat by and watched Hellfire, and Eddie would watch her cheer practice. One day, though, someone found out about it all, and was not happy.

"WHY ARE YOU HANGING AROUND THIS LOW LIFE? HE'S JUST GONNA HURT YOU!"

"Jason! He- he's not like that, you're wrong about him! He's a good person and he'd never hurt me!" Chrissy insisted.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK! IT'S WHAT HE WANTS YOU TO THINK SO YOU'LL HANG OUT WITH HIM AND THEN HE'LL HURT YOU! Listen, Chrissy, I just dont want you to get hurt." Jason put his hands on his shoulders.

"And I wont! He wont hurt me."

"Chri-"

"HE WONT!" That was the first time Chrissy had ever raised her voice at Jason Carver, her boyfriend. On the other hand, Jason yelling at her was becoming more and more common.

"Listen, Chrissy. You can hang out with him, but if you choose to do that, we're done."

"Jason, you aren't serious, right?" Chrissy moved back from him.

"No! I'm very serious! Eddie's some low life prick, and you're hanging out with him more that you're hanging out with me! So either you stop going near him, or you stay away from me."

"... ok then." Chrissy started walking away.

"Where are you going?!" Jason started walking after her

Chrissy turned around "You said it was you or Eddie, i choose him. He doesn't yell at me, and he actually cares about what i think. So goodbye, Jason. Were over."

And that was the end of it. Chrissy later found out from talking to people about it, that especially near the end, their relationship sounded pretty toxic, and it was good that she broke it off before it could get wore.

Chrissy went to find Eddie as quick as possible, because although she seemed confident on the outside, she was a wreck on the in side.

"Eddie, I broke up with him" Chrissy said, standing in Eddie's doorway, once again.

"Come'ere." Chrissy hugged Eddie tightly, then after a few moments, Eddie led Chrissy to the couch, and they talked about it until it was morning again.

-

One day, the two (2) of them had decided to have a movie marathon night, so they went to Family Video. Eddie was about to walk in, when he looked up and saw *him*. Eddie walked away from the door

"Where are you going?" Chrissy asked

"What do you mean? I'm not going anywhere." Eddie said, stoping in his tracks.

Chrissy looked in through the door "Is it her? Do... you like her?"

"Uhhh, something like that, sure"

"Oh?" Chrissy stared for a moment "She is pretty."

"Robin? I mean, yeah, she is." Eddie smiled awkwardly, not wanting to seem like he was lying. Unfortunately for him, Chrissy could tell that this wasn't about Robin.

"Come on, Eddie, we're friends! You can tell me." Chrissy smiled. "But, you don't have to if you don't want to"

"mMMmmmerg auhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." Eddie said, sounding intelligent (sarcasm lmao). "mmm... Ok, I just- yeah, It's not about Robin. Let's just find some movies to watch though. That cool?" Eddie had started to fidget with his rings.

"Yeah, that's cool." Chrissy smiled as Eddie opened the door for her to walk in.

Robin greeted them from the counter, before going back to the book she was reading.

They looked around for a while and each found 2 movies.

"You ready to check out?" Eddie said once he and Chrissy had met back in their meeting spot (the romcom section)

"Yup! What'd you get?"

"E.T. and Back To The Future. 'M just in the mood for sci-fi. How 'bout you?" Eddie pointed at the tapes in Chrissy's hands

"Well, I got The Wizard of Oz, because it used to be my favorite, and I got Heathers!" Chrissy smiled big. "I'm so excited!"

When they got to the front desk (AN which was like 10 steps away im so silly :p) Eddie tried to avoid eye contact, furthering Chrissy's suspicion that he definitely liked someone behind that desk.

"Hey Eddie." Steve smiled "Dustin said he had fun last night..." Steve said awkwardly, since he didn't usually talk to Eddie when he picked the kids up from Hellfire.

"Hey. Glad he did..." Eddie said, equally awkwardly.

There was awkward silence while Steve was doing his thing (AN idk how to rent movies so ur just gonna deal with poor descriptions) and when he handed Eddie his tapes, his hand lingered for just a moment too long, their hands touching.

"Uh... Sinclair won his game, right?" Eddie had seen Dustin, Mike, and Erica run up to Lucas the night before, asking him questions about the game. Eddie had seen them jumping so he assumed Lucas had won.

"Yeah, he did! Super proud of the kid." Steve smiled "He made the winning shot, too!" Ever since Lucas had made the winning shot for the Championship game, he hadn't been on the bench in a while, and he'd been winning a lot of games too.

"No way! Guess I can't be that mad at him for missing Hellfire then." Steve and Eddie both chuckled "Well, uh, we gotta watch these." He looked at Chrissy, who had been rather quiet through Steve and Eddie's awkward interaction

"Chrissy?" Eddie waved his hand in front of her face

"Huh! Oh, sorry." Chrissy's face went red "See you guys" Chrissy smiled at Steve and Robin

As the two (2) were heading out the door, Eddie nudged Chrissy

"What?" Chrissy said

"Come ooon, you're face was bright red!" Eddie argued

"You startled me and I was embarrassed!" Chrissy laughed, knowing it wasn't the full truth "Besides, who cares what my face looked like: 'Glad he did, Steve' 'Sinclair won his game, right, Steve' 'Wow! Really, Steve!'"

"Ok!" Chrissy laughed. "First of all, that wasn't how the conversation went, and second, it was just a friendly conversation!" Eddie defended

"Sureee" Chrissy smiled slyly

"Yeah, yeah, smile all ya want." Eddie nudged Chrissy playfully, and she nudged him back. They kept on walking to Eddie's trailer to watch their movies.

-

Chrissy and Eddie had been watching their movies for about three (3) hours, and had watched E.T. and when an hour through The Wizard of Oz, but Eddie hadn't been paying very much attention.

He and Chrissy had been friends for a while, and they had gotten to know each other really well, but there was always something that Eddie kept from her. He'd planed on telling her eventually, it just wasn't something that everyone took kindly too. His uncle loved him no matter what, so when Eddie came out to Wayne, it wasn't that big of a deal, but Eddie knew not everyone was like that. But earlier that day when Chrissy had teased him about Steve, she seemed like it didn't bother her that Eddie and Steve were both guys. Even her comment about Robin, which Eddie first took as Chrissy just being nice, seemed a little bit like she didn't mean it in just a friendly way. Eddie decided that she seemed safe enough, and that if she wasn't she wouldn't tell everyone she could about how much more of a freak Eddie "The Freak" Munson was.

"Chrissy?" Eddie said, after a deep breath

"Yeah? What's up?" Chrissy turned down the movie a little bit, then turned back to Eddie.

"Uhm..." Eddie took another deep breath "Ok, I'm just gonna say it, and it'd be nice if you didn't tell the whole world about it."

"Of course I wouldn't tell anyone, not if you asked me not to, Eddie." Chrissy furrowed her brow slightly, confused as to why Eddie felt he needed to say that.

"Ok... um. Chrissy, I'm gay."

Chrissy was silent, her eyes wide.

"Yeah, yeah, ok, I kinda had a feeling this might happen." Eddie stood up "I'll help you get you're stuff an-"

"What?"

"What do you mean?" Eddie said slowly

"Why would we get my stuff? I'm not leaving."

"You're not... weirded out?" Eddie asked

"Of course not! You're my best friend! Who you love isn't going to change that." Eddie's eyes started to water as Chrissy stood up and grabbed Eddie's shoulder's "You're amazing, Eddie, any way you come. I hope we can always be best friends." She smiled "I'm happy you felt comfortable enough to tell me."

Even if Eddie tried, he couldn't have stopped himself from crying. Chrissy hugged him tightly and Eddie hugged her back, just as tight.

"Thank you." He said through tears. Chrissy hugged him just a little bit tighter before letting go.

"You ready to keep watching the movies now?" She asked

Eddie laughed "You betcha"

-

Chrissy had insisted they return the movies as soon as possible, though Eddie wasn't sure why. The morning after their marathon, after they'd both eaten breakfast, they headed out to Family Video, where they'd been just they day before.

Chrissy held the door open for Eddie, who was carrying the movies, and gestured for him to walk in.

"Thanks! Guess we're going in turns" Eddie smiled at her

"Yup!" Chrissy smiled.

Chrissy walked into the Family Video, Eddie following behind her. behind the counter, Steve greeted them,

"Back already?" Steve said.

"Yeah, uh, we watched all our movies and I don't want any late fees, so... yeah" Eddie said awkwardly, seriously though, why cant he just be normal around Steve, Eddie thought, he guessed it wasn't too big of a deal, since Steve seemed awkward around him too.

"Oh, cool... Uh, I can take those for you..." Steve replied, holding out his hand to take the stack of tapes. Eddie handed him the tapes and Steve went to put them on a counter behind him.

"Well, uh, It was good to see you." Eddie said after awkward silence.

"Yeah, you too." Steve smiled, Eddie smiled back before turning to Chrissy.

"You ready to go?" Chrissy was staring into the room in the back. "Uhh... Chrissy?"

"Oh! Yeah! I'm ready, yeah." She said, startled.

"Alrighty." Eddie chuckled. "See ya, Stevie." He waved at Steve, Steve waving back, his face looking more red than usual.

Once Eddie and Chrissy had walked out of the video store, Eddie nudged her shoulder, something that seemed to happen every time they came out of that store.

"Soooo... What were you staring at?" Eddie smiled slyly.

"Shut up." Chrissy rolled her eyes.

“Oh come on, you got to tease me last time, I thought we were taking turns” Eddie said, now walking backwards, so as to face Chrissy.

“Fine,” Chrissy said, trying to hide a smile and sighing, “There was just something cool in the backroom.”

“Whatever you say Chris” Eddie said, turning to walk normally.

-

One lazy afternoon, Chrissy had come over to the Munson’s trailer to hang out. When Eddie opened the door, Chrissy could definitely tell that he was high. She didn’t mind or anything, she could just tell he’d been smoking.

“Chrissycat! Hey, what’s up!” Eddie said, if this had been TV, this would be the moment where Chrissy looked directly at the camera and said ‘definitely high.’

“Hi Eddie, How are you?” Chrissy asked.

“Uhh, I’m good, yeah, come in!” Eddie said, and as Chrissy stepped in he shut the door with a loud thud that made Chrissy jump.

Chrissy sat on the couch, and Eddie draped himself over the place on the couch next to her.

“Soooo, How’s it goin’?” Eddie asked, drawing out most of his words.

“It’s going good, how about you?” Chrissy smiled at him.

“Um, It’s going… Uh… Chriss” Eddie paused. “You promise you won’t laugh?”

“Yeah, Eddie, I promise.” Chrissy said sincerely. 

“So uh, I’ve been thinkin’ this afternoon and well I- , well, you know,” Eddie inhaled deeply. “I think, no I definitely have a crush on Steve, y’know?” He looked over at Chrissy.

Then he heard a suppressed giggle.

“What?”

Chrissy couldn’t hold it back anymore, she began laughing like crazy.

“What! Chrisss, come onn, you promised!” Eddie said, lightly hitting her shoulder.

“No, no, it’s just you were kinda obvious and I was gonna tell you” Chrissy began to calm her laughing down, “the same thing - well, not the same thing, but that I definitely have a crush on someone, but, y’know, not Steve.”

Eddie stared at her. “Wait… Do you think Steve already knows I like him! Ahg!” Eddie panicked. 

“I don’t think you’re obvious to him, just to me, don’t worry, silly.” Chrissy said to calm him.

“Wait, so who do you definitely have a crush on? You said you have a definitely crush on someone, right?” Eddie said, straight faced.

“‘A definitely crush’? Eddie, oh my god. But yeah, um, I have a crush…” Chrissy said laughing at ‘a definitely crush’. “ Um… Yeah so you know how you’re gay?”

“Yeah?” Eddie responded.

“I think I am too.” Chrissy breathed out, looking at the ceiling. “Ever since I broke up with Jason I’ve been thinking, y’know? I’ve had ‘boyfriends’ but only because people expect me to be with them. Eddie, “She said, now looking at Eddie. “I think I like girls - Like, just girls.”

“Sick, man.” Eddie said, hugging her. It wasn’t quite the response she was expecting, but she wasn't expecting Eddie to be high either.

“Yeah, Eddie, It is pretty sick.” Chrissy said smiling.

“Now we're both gay nerds!” Eddie said, releasing Chrissy from his bear trap of a hug.

Chrissy laughed.

“So, who’s your cruuush.” Eddie said like a middle school girl.

Chrissy rolled her eyes. “Fine. It’s… well, Robin.”

“Oh my god this is perfect! Our crushes work at the same place, so it’ll be easier for me to wingman you and hopelessly pine!” Eddie said enthusiastically. 

“Wait, you expect to wingman me, and think that I’ll let you just be hopeless? No way, Eddie! You’re getting a date with Steve.” Chrissy announced to the walls of Eddie’s living room.

“Chrissycat, I’m glad you’re my friend.” Eddie said on a slightly more serious note.

“I’m glad you're my friend too, Eddie.” Chrissy smiled. The rest of the afternoon, the two just hung out, if you asked either of them what happened, they couldn’t tell you, they wouldn’t have known. They had just been there together.

----

(A/N) Helloooo hope you liked this, and sorry if its a bit inconsistent (or if there r typos), it took me like 11 months to write lol, and tho it was a struggle bus for me and my procrastination, it was very fun to write. A like or reblog would be SO INCREDIBLY APPRECIATED especially on this :') Hope u have a good day :D

[haru-kuneko]

I may not be a big fan but there is just something unique and fun about stuff from the 1980's-2000's. Two of my novels, TCOTRB (The Case of The Red Bubble) and "AMANDI," were inspired by a lot of the movies and shows I used to watch as a kid.

There are so many of them that it's gonna take us forever if we're gonna have to mention every single one of them. So, let's start off with three of my personal faves: "Cabin In The Woods", "Detective Conan" and "Martin Mystery."

Cabin In The Woods (2011)

I remember seeing this on TV during the weekends when I was about in middle school. It definitely creeped me out and almost kept me up at night because, seriously, imagine finding out there is a secret underground facility that controls these dangerous creatures beneath the cabin you and your friends are sleeping in.

There are various references to ol' horror films and video games such as The Twins from The Shining, zombies from Left 4 Dead, and the Deadites from The Evil Dead. What makes this movie stand out to me is its unique take on common tropes.

For example, you have a freakin' cult pulling the strings on a group of five unsuspecting teenagers, each must fill these archetypes (The Whore, Athlete, Scholar, Fool, and Virgin) and be killed as a sacrifice to The Ancient Ones (who are basically giant creatures that used to roam the earth thousands of years ago).

Detective Conan (1996 - ongoing)

Based on the manga by Gosho Aoyama, the series follows a seventeen-year-old student detective Shinichi Kudo who suddenly gets knocked out by a couple of members of The Black Organization and forcibly given a strange drug that turns him into a little kid.

Now, he goes by the name Conan Edogawa (which is a combination of Arthur Conan Doyle and Edogawa Rampo) and must keep his identity a secret as he helps crack the world's greatest crime mysteries. I used to like how Conan owns these nifty gadgets such as the voice-changing bowtie, stun-gun wristwatch and super-enhanced shoes that enables him to kick objects at a mile away all made by the elderly Professor Agasa.

I used to resent Kogoro Mori as a kid as he was always mean toward Conan. This guy is supposed to be the detective yet sucks at his job. I swear a kid had to put him to sleep and voice as him to explain his findings, then he ended up taking all the credit.

Martin Mystery (2003-2006)

For some odd reason, I was banned from watching this show when my mom saw how creepy and disturbing it was. Let me tell you how obsessed I was with this show. I remember back in elementary school, a couple of friends (who happened to be boys) and I would constantly talk about it.

Now, to those who don't know, the show is centered around sixteen-year-old Martin Mystery, his stepsister Diana Lombardi, and a caveman named Java as they are tasked to solve all kinds of weird mysteries around the world.

They work for a secret organization known as "The Center," which covertly protects the people of Earth from supernatural threats and investigates the unknown and the paranormal. Their boss is known as M.O.M.

Here's a fun fact: The anime was based on the 1980's Italian comic of the same name by Alfredo Castelli and artist Giancarlo Alessandrini. Unlike the series, the comics are much gritty and mature.

I also loved the iconic title cards such as the one above. You have others like "Curse of the Deep," "Beast From Within," "Attack of the Sandman" and "Terror from the Sky." People would say how lame my book titles are but even those basic corny-a** titles didn't stop Martin Mystery, CITW, and other movies from gaining a sizeable fandom.

[sweetswesf]

After receiving the offer, I jumped into high gear to prepare for my new role. They were requiring me to be in the office in Silicon Valley. My prayers to move out of San Francisco had been answered. My whole reason for moving from New York to get to Silicon Valley that I initially dreamed at 21 had come true at 30. Although SF and my last company and becoming a software engineer was a goal that I accomplished in 2019, being a software engineer in Silicon Valley at this type of company was the initial goal. I found a church QUICKLY that seems to be everything I want: diverse, full of happy, friendly, and genuine people, but especially Black people. So many people of all races have welcomed me and asked for my number and check in on me and save me seats and invite me to lunches and hikes and game nights. I’m getting paid more than double what I was making at my last company. I have a quiet apartment with counter space in my bathroom and kitchen. I have a short commute and can walk 10 minutes to the shuttle stop that takes me to campus in a WiFi bus. This place has so much documentation. Services are stable and work. Setting up my laptop, schedule, goals, etc have been great. My team has been so welcoming. They constantly remind me to take my time and that I can hop in when I’m ready. There are 2 other Black women on my team. They invest a lot into their employees and brand. I have a great relationship with my parents and grandparents. My mom calls em everyday. My Mom continued to send me $1000 a month every month until I got my pay check. I didn’t get my paycheck until the end of my 2nd week, but she still sent money my first week of work. I had to move from the first place I moved in because the insulation was so poor that I heard EVERY footstep and thank God I followed what I believe to be His voice to look at my lease to see that they had a 30 day guarantee where I could break my lease no questions asked. I’m in a better place. I have a Costco membership. I get to buy clothes that fit that I enjoy wearing. I still need to be a good steward of the blessings God has given me. I learned how to trim my hair, so I’m truly independent with my hair care. I was freaking out about not knowing Java before I started my new role, but my manager planned before I got there to give me time to ramp up on the language but give me tasks in a language I already know so I could start delivering on the team. He is giving me space while allowing me to feel productive. I’ve received great feedback so far. I know what I’m being asked to do in my role. Things are clear. I feel more responsible. I be tired, but the office is a great temperature! Most of my team is scattered across the country and only me and another colleague come in the office, but we don’t even sit right next to each other so there’s no pressure to show up a certain way. She’s such a sweetheart. Upon meeting me, she asked if she could hug me. It felt like God was hugging me through her. Like, “You made it child.” I’m trying my best to remember where I came from, maintain in relationship with God, keep praying as I did when I really needed God to come through, expect only the best and not let my past or past bad habits haunt me. I went through what I went through for a reason. I’m more patient, responsible, happy, grateful, calm, trusting. When I learned my destination was closed when I got dropped off, my Uber driver said, “You took that pretty well. Most people would be mad.” I’ve come a long way to hear this. This was such a compliment. I’ve learned to chill. I practiced this before getting what I prayed for because I knew God would grant me it.

I know I will face challenges, but I know that I don’t need to worry. Before all these blessings, I thanked God for making it happen, because I knew He would. All while I got to stay true to myself and just focus on doing my best. I have prayers for my life, my career, a marriage, my finances, my health, my family, the world, and I know God is capable. I know things are going to turn out better than I expect.

I had been wanting to share God’s love with y’all for a while, I just needed time to settle in to all the newness. God did exceedingly, abundantly, above all I could ask or think. And He can do the same for you. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Holy Spirit. God bless you, reader. Whatever you’re going through, I know God can get you through.

[toonqueen]

Duckvember Day 21: Community Duck

My original plan was to write info on the 2nd Generation Team I have for Mighty Ducks but then it flowed more better talking about the main teams and who we shipped them with and how their kids are like compared to them. I GUESS???

Whenever I say WE I mean @ flux java because she was there when all this was going down back in the day. I’m citing dark magic and she was there when it was written yadda yadda. 

Grin - We had him shipped with OC Nina by @fluxchix who was a duck from the planet Cheribu. That planet has brightly feathered ducks, with Nina being pink with bright yellow hair. The ducks there were actually related to Puckworld ducks A LONG STORY. 

They have three kids, Karma, Krystal and a third I cannot remember the name offf. Loool. Krystal and the one I can’t remember the name of were twin girls. Fractional and looked very different.  One was very muscular. Lol. Karma pretty much looked like his Dad but mom’s blonde hair. Nina had magical healing powers cuz her planet was renaissancey and magical. Grin’s kids end up noy being magical in a sense but more uh- Dragon Ball Z knock off Ki energy force stuff. I DUNNO I was 15ish when we were coming up with this stuff I’m not to blameeee.

Anyways Grin (and Nina) are great parents. Have pretty chill kids. I really didn’t write them much so I don’t have  much else to say. Lolol. 

Actually now I think about it I think Krystal had healy magic too.  Karma was pretty much like Grin, Krystal was like her mom Nina, and the one whose name I cannot remember was a combo of them both. Karma is pretty much the peace maker of the group. Since the three main protagonists of the 2nd Gen can be very fiery and he needs to get them to chill a lot. (That being Luke, Tayshia, and Mercedes which we will get to THEM soon.)

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Mallory - So we shipped her with Chrono. He’s an OC that was the leader of the Galaxy Team. A team that was sent out to find Canard’s team and the mask they disappeared off with. Chrono was part of the Puckworld Special Forces too, with a perfect record great at  everything. Also a big sweety. Weh. He had a mask as well that was assumed to be a prototype mask before the main one was made. It didn’t have all the abilities of  the main Drake Ducane mask, with less of the scanning and not really seeing invisible stuff. However it did give who wore it increased physical strength. 

ALWAYS. Chrono was a known war hero through word of mouth because he had been captured by Dragaunus back early in the war  on Puckworld. He was electric shock tortured to try to get info of where the resistance bases were. Chrono didn’t give out any info tho, and was rescued by other resistance. The torture though had given him a speech impediment of switching words around when speaking. It sometimes made what he said confusing. Later on he was chosen to be given the prototype mask to test it out, he found with it on he spoke like he used to. He used to wear the mask almost 24/7 but once he gets on Earth and has down time he went without it more and more, with people around him learning to understand him without it. 

Anyways we ship him with Mallory because she seemed like the type  that needs a nice military hero. That one ep where they went to a town where there was a human military hero that she was a fan of was just ASSUMED she would find someone that's a military hero to be cool okay. 

Sometime later Chrono and Mallory have twins. I can’t remember their real names but their nicknames were Caster and Blaster. They are actually the youngest out of the 2nd Gen team. Well youngest of the canon characters kids. Lol. Identical twins and redheads like mom. Blaster is more weapons inclined while Caster actually had a gift for magic. Once again we didn’t write these kids much. So not much to say other than Mallory and Chrono were good parents. One being a magic user I think Mallory would first find confusing to relate to. She (and Chrono) seem like a multi generational military family and magic is just weird man. But they’d still be supportive and get help with training Caster in their talents. (Which means getting Cheribu team to help wheee)

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Nosedive - He gets shipped with my main Mary Sue OC Duluna L’Orange. She’s Duke’s younger sister by MANY years. Very much the ray of sunshine with a cynical storm cloud ship. Of course Nosedive did have his cynical moments in the show too, maybe that's what they bond on lolol. Nosedive was very ‘love on first sight’ with Duluna while she took awhile to begrudgingly like him and then fall in love over time. They’re both opposites in a lot of ways but then end up getting together by some miracle from hell. Duluna does realize he can be brave and sweet and does like him dragging her to things like amusement parks and actually having some fun. 

They have a daughter named Mercedes after she’s practically born in Phil’s Mercedes on the way to the hospital. Ruined his car’s interior. A sign of things to come. She pretty much looks likea  carbon copy of her Dad but with mom’s black hair and green eyes. Mercedes gets spoiled by her Dad ALOT. Nosedive is clearly the YES parent while Duluna is the NO parent. Not that Duluna is no fun but also not wanting her daughter to get hurt be it physically or emotionally. Just a little bit protective. Weh.  

Mercedes turned out being like Nosedive but amped up 110%. And Duluna and Duke made the mistake of teaching her sword fighting lololol. She’s very much a combo of her parents will all of their pluses and their faults. SWEATS. 

When Mercedes is older, even though she has a good relationship with her parents, she didn’t go to them first to be like “Heyyyyy, so I’m kinda seeing this Saurian and also he’s Dragaunus’s son….” She still felt like she had to hide that from them for a while. SHE DOES TELL TANYA FIRST THO. lawd. 

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Duke - So he’s shipped with @fluxchix OC Gallery who came to Earth with Chrono’s Galaxy Team. Gallery is a NERD like Tanya. Her and Tanya actually went to college together. Of course Tanya in college was still a kid being an overachiever. When the Galaxy team came to Earth Tanya vouched for Gallery knowing she could be trusted. I remember the canon team and Galaxy team were so sus of each other at first. Main team didn’t want Galaxy team to be another “Lucretia” situation. I do not know why the Galaxy team were suspicious of the canon team. Maybe because Canard not being there was OFF. and this other dude is wearing the mask of Drake Ducaine now. And they’re telling a LIKELY story of Canard ‘jumping’ off the ship because they needed to lose weight when uh- couldn’t the muscular guy just rip out some chairs maybe???? Gallery hacked Drake One for info it was great. Fun was had by all. 

ANYWAYS - Duke and Gallery end up hitting it off I’m assuming not as a serious relationship at first tho kinda hard to have a one night stand with someone when they live down the hall in the underground complex you live in so have fun with that. Gallery is not my char so It’s not my job to remember how she fell for Duke lulz.

Their first kid is named Luke and is technically the oldest of the 2nd Gen kids BORN on Earth. He has a good 5-7 years ahead of the others that get born on Earth later. He’s smart and techy like his Mom. But as he gets older he doesn’t seem to apply himself. But more of the  ‘genus kid gets burned out’ kinda vibe. Can have dry sarcasm and sometimes have a temper. (usually justified.) While Duke and Gallery are good parents, as Luke gets older he doesn’t share his negative feelings with is parents so they don’t really know what's 100% going on with him emotionally when he’s having a tough time. He does sometimes talk it out with Karma and used to with Tayshia a lot and later Maestro too. (I’ll get to them  sooon.)

Duke and Gallery’s second kid Mollisa. She’s the quietest of all the 2nd Gen kids. I wouldn’t say shy, but probably the only one of the core 2nd Gen Team that is introverted. Also smart with tech like her Mom. Luke was always supportive of her. And not surprised that she got the main tech person of the team position over him. But he’s sometimes bitter over it but isn’t mad at his sister about it.

—--

Lucretia and Canard - They actually don’t stay together as a ship it was just a THING that oops made a kid lol. Mind you this is stuff I came up with in High School okay. But the idea was Canard was already imprisoned by some bad Saurians in Limbo. Lucretia ends up in the same cell as Canard and they’re supposed to be executed the next day. I headcanon that Canard had already had Tanya on his team when the Lucretia incident happened on Puckworld. So He knew who she was. ANYWAYS since they think it’s their last night alive they decide to screw it and screw. Lol. Then the next day I think the plot was that they actually escape because there are other Saurians that attack the Saurians that were holding them. They use the confusion of the civil fighting to get out of there. They end up traveling together for a bit and figuring out how this whole Limbo thing works. They find out there are different Saurian clans and some are seemingly good over others. There is one called Scale Way that are good and nice to wayward ducks in Limbo. There’s been more than just Canard and Lucretia in the past. 

They end up having a son and Canard asks to name him Wildwing after his best friend. Lucretia, instead of saying no to that, finds it ironic to name the kid after the person whos the reason she’s here and goes along with it. 

Long story short, Wing Jr. ends up not seeing his dad much because Canard spends his time traveling around looking for a way out of Limbo. Canard picks up his own little Saurian crew.  Lucretia stays with her son at a major hub town with her new Saurian boyfriend. Wing Jr ends up having some reality bending and illusion powers. Saurian boyfriend, Ricochet, ends up giving Wing Jr. the nickname Maestro which sticks because who names their child Wildwing. Terrible. Lucretia ends up being a good mom with some wine aunt vibes but really looking out for her kid. 

Maestro is deaf and his Saurian step dad teaches him saurian sign language, which he finds out later is much different from Puckworld sign language but that is a whole other story. Lucretia, since she is a good mom, is quick to learn the language too. He grew up to be a very sweet boy and very empathetic to everybody. 

Being exposed to like wild ether areas of Limbo is said to cause madness and Canard ends up getting a little weird. He learns from other shady Saurian sources that Maestro’s powers could make a gateway. Maestro is about 13ish at this time. Canard sets up some stuff for Maestro to make the portal out. The kid starts to do it for him but it starts to wear on him. Luc tells them to stop but Canard has one of his buddies hold her back. She ends up wiggling free and then pushing Maestro through his own portal and POOF - Maestro ends up in that storage room the Earth Mighty Ducks team keeps all the random things they get from villain battles. 

The Earth crew take instantly to Maestro but what throws him off is this. The people that knew Canard there think Canard was great and that Lucretia was a baddy. But Maestro grew up with Canard not being the quite right one and Lucretia being a great mom. So that's heavy. 

—---—

Tanya and Wildwing - I’ll be real with you, the main reason I shipped these two since I was 15 is because I read into some random things that happened in some eps where it seemed like Tanya had a crush on Wildwing.  Tanya was my fav character (I wrote about her way more than I did my main OC and Nosedive) and if she liked Wildwing I was gonna get her Wildwing lol. 

They both has insomnia and are up brainstorming strategies to get Dragaunus. And in the process of being the two teammates together all the time they ended up dating and then together and then married okay AWWH TRUE LOVE. 

They have a daughter name Tayshia, named after Tanya’s mom even though she didn’t have the best relationship with her mom.  She has the positives of both her parents and does not seem to have the negatives of them. BUT  Sometimes good parents have jerk ass children.  

When Tayshia as an adult becomes leader of the 2nd Gen team, she ends up being a very harsh and cold decision maker on the battlefield. Now, she wasn’t made leader cuz her dad was leader. All the kids were taught all different skills by different adult team members of the team and saw what they got an interest in and let them build on what they were best at. They had trials and all that stuff to see who was best fit, and it ended up being Tayshia. 

The reason Tayshia starts out her leadership rather jerky is, since she was a kid she internalizes the stress she sees Tanya and Wildwing in. Wing and Tan never even purposely said anything around Tayshia but like most kids they know more than you think and pick up on things. She drove herself to perfection because she felt now it was her obligation to deal with the Saurians. Even though Tanya and Wildwing NEVER directly said this to her. She just stressed herself out on her own. 

With time though and kinda co-leading with Luke and Karma she does get better. Once she realizes she doesn’t have to hold the burden to herself.

Tanya and Wildwing end up pretty much taking in Maestro when he appears. Tayshia considers him to be her sibling and he feels the same. Canard was Wildwing’s best friend so he’s happy to take him in. Also, Wildwing can share with him good stories about Canard since Canard wasn’t quite himself in Limbo. Tanya also knew Canard a short time in the resistance, and also technically knew Lucretia a short time too. The whole TEAM does their best no to talk badly of Maestro’s mom, they know it's complicated. 

Tanya and Wildwing also take in Rex, Dragaunus’ son, at some point too. They don’t really RAISE him as much as they did Maestro. Rex was already in his late teens. He willingly left the Saurians because hey he didn’t like it there and also he and Mercedes were having a THING. His mom was a Saurian known as Tracey who had it out for Tanya. That's a whole other long story. Tracey could shapeshift like Chameleon but do it much better most of the time. Rex can also transform but his duck form is very red tinted. 

Unlike with Maestro, the whole larger earth team (including a lot of OCs at this point) aren’t as accepting with Rex. But Tanya and Wildwing had seen him in fights with the Saurians and know he seemed to let them escape and be more helpful than attacking. Also Wraith as Rex was growing up kinda realized this kid wasn’t gonna fit in around them and started telling him stories about a Saurian group called Scale Way that were defending the ducks during the great war. Wraith always seemed a bit grey area disgruntled worker and man if the Boss’ son wanted to defect well I’ll push him that way. There was actually a concept with Wraith being a triple agent but that's a WHOLE other story too. 

Whole other point to this is Tanya thought she would be a bad mom and then pretty much all of 2nd Gen calls her Aunt Tanya and tells her stuff they might in in trouble with before telling their own parents. Lol. Of course Tanya tells Wildwing everything when they’re on their own and they often have a good laugh about it. Ha.