#owning a house? job. like not even 'in this economy? lol'

[somecunttookmyurl]

all the while society conflates "being an adult" with "having a proper job" and "having money to make arbitrary Adult Purchases" disabled people who can't work - or can only work part time or can only do entry level baby jobs - will never be 'allowed' to be adults

you can say "being an adult is looking after yourself you don't have to have a job!!!" all you want but most people who say that will still assume anybody who doesn't either can't or won't 'look after themselves' actually. and every 'marker' of 'adulthood' that's observable and thus actually counts or whatever loops back around to... having a job and 'contributing' something

[quinnslogan]

More Quogan's headcanon post S4 of Zoey 101 (cause all we want is reading about they being so in love 😭😍) sorry for the grammar mistakes, but I am not english.

-During the Summer break they introduced each other to their families. Logan is a nervous wreak, but he enjoyed see Quinn's parents stable relationship. Quinn needed a little time to adjusted to Reese's family dynamic, but she become really closed to toddler Lyric

-The last year at the P.C.A. they lived their relationship out in public. They are very touchy and super soft. They helped each other in Chemestry. Logan is beginning to become more mature and he want become a better student and friend for her. Sushi Rox and Vaccaros dates

-First time was at the end of the year in his room. He paid Chase and Michael to have a free room . He’s prob be more nervous than her. It was so special for both of them

-Graduation is a big party for everybody. He mentioned wedding for the first time. Quinn is in a crying mess for leaving their beanch.

-Quinn goes to Harward of course. Logan goes to Santa Barbara college to study economy. They go the distance during college years: he was flying to her every weekeend and they spend the holiday together

-After college's grad they lived in Malibù in one of the Reese's houses. Logan start to work for his dad, while Quinn become the girl boss we all love.

-They traveled a lot due to Quinn's job. Logan try to joined her. They also have sweet romantic gateaway trips

-Even if they are not at home most of the time, they enjoy curling in bed on Sunday morning, taking baths together and talkung for hours

These are so cute😭 Even though their parents have very limited roles in the movie Quinn’s dad was giving this is my son in law whether I like it or not vibes so Logan definitely had to do some work in the in law department lol!!

For college, tbh I definitely think Logan went to an ivy league or some good school but like not by merit. Logan’s family is rich rich and his dad definitely spoils his kids. I def think that he “donated” Logan’s way into a good school😭 Maybe not the same one Quinn went to but I bet Logan has a name brand degree.

OR my other personal headcanon where Logan does get into a good school bc his dad bought Logan’s way in but Quinn being the good influence on him she is makes him realize he wants to earn what he gets. This then leads to him doing well in undergrad and earning his own way to a nice business school for his MBA.

And ugh yes!!! Give Logan a job thank u 😭 I’m sorry being Quinn’s love is a 10/10 job I want it. But like more seriously…Logan being 30 years old and living off his dad’s money with no kind of job is just sad i’m sorry. I also don’t think Quinn would marry someone that unambitious…

[chibitantei]

Type of bed: Her bed has a tatami style frame with a thick futon on top. It's a twin size, so it's not that big, but while she doesn't move around too much, she's one of those people who likes her space, so sharing a bed with her is a challenge. As in she's likely to kick your muse in her sleep. I highly advise against this staple of domestic and romantic fluff if your muse wants to live.

Number of blankets: In the colder months, she has two, one thin and one thick. The same thing applies for the warmer months, although on very hot days, she sleeps with a thin one and leaves a window open. She's a blanket hog so if the fact about her kicking didn't scare you, she has an iron grip. Best to have a separate blanket btw.

Number of pillows: She just needs one. She's a small thing.

Type of clothing: She's a T shirt and shorts kinda gal. Sometimes PJ pants in the winter, but anytime she's traveling, it's always shorts. Even in winter. It's faster to change out of, according to her. They're usually just solid colors like nearly any shade of blue, white, gray, black. There's like one dark red shirt and shorts somewhere.

Does it matter where they sleep?: Not really. She once slept outside on a bush because she forgot the keys to the estate. After that, she learned to make sure her keys were with her all the time, as well as picking locks. It's not a crime to pick a lock to enter your own house. While she's never had the need for long international flights, she would have a difficult time falling asleep on those. Economy sucks.

What do they do when they can't fall asleep?: If she can't, she don't lol. That aside, she either closes her eyes and tries to think about nothing or she reads a book. Books relating to mysteries and crimes are always cozy books—to her.

Frequent dreams, and/or nightmares: She barely remembers her dreams if she has any. The nightmares, though, she remembers those :) I mean, if she tends to take homicide cases, then she must see some gnarly things. Besides being in the car when her parents died. Oops.

Deep slumber or naps?: Both... Depends entirely on what's going on in the day/night. On the job, she leans towards naps more than deep sleeping.

When do they sleep?: Whenever she's tired and doesn't have to do work the next day, she sleeps. No set schedule for her. Besides her crippling coffee addiction and insomnia keeping her up.

What could wake them up?: Sometimes shaking her, turning on the lights or an alarm is enough, other times it will not. It's like a little roulette with her. Best to let her sleep if there's nothing going on.

Tagged by: @dxfiedfxte, @thuganomxcs, @quickdeaths Tagging: I don't remember who's done this already so yoink

[isaacsapphire]

Regarding Obama care could be but I don’t think it’s a guarantee. Economy is also tougher now and I have friends who also still have to live with their parents because this city is so damn expensive. For me being covered by my parents health insurance has been a huge relief since I am a full time student with various medical and mental issues that make living independently’ hard. I suppose it could? If by that you mean kids aren’t thinking about stuff like taxes and healthcare.. which they should lol. I was filing W9s etc when I was in high school getting a job. But I entirely agree that kids these days are not equipped to handle adulthood and it’s complexities, and it often drives me nuts the lack of critical thinking…

Oh, I don't think it's a bad thing that the cutoff age was extended! I was uninsured for years back in the pre-existing conditions era when that was gambling with your life, and that was not a good thing or an avoidable one for me during the Recession. But it was me legally being officially my own problem and sure did light a fire under my ass.

Living with parents after 18 seems to have become more and more common since the Recession. On the one hand, it's a return to a more traditional pattern, but on the other hand all the cultural stuff around young adults living with their parents AS ADULTS had died off in the mainstream so the infantilization follows unsurprisingly. I've definitely seen a lot of White white collar homeowner parents just... let their adult children stay indefinitely rent free or well below market rate, still treating them like teenagers and running interference for them while they behave like teenagers. Blue collar parents I know seem to be much more active in getting their kids eg. dealing with their own car insurance and taxes and jobs even if they still live at home. Blue collar Whites are closer to ethnic White traditions that included adult children living at home though, so idk if it's a class thing or a culture thing more.

Wouldn't be surprised if the trend isn't a cause as well as an effect of housing market changes by now; the borderline retirement age people I know who have bought or kept houses in the last decade bought and retained family sized houses despite their being at the stage to be empty nesters, and most of them had at least one adult child living with them who appeared to have no interest in getting a career and their own place.

Idk, it seems like the drop in horniness and increase in mental health issues could be seen as either a cause or an effect too.

[karebear923]

I just gotta put this out there! Cause there’s something that’s bothering me:

In the Japanese Cherry Magic they moved into Adachi’s apartment even though Kurosawa’s was bigger!! And closer to their job!! Like why would you do that!? It’s not a smart move! And yeah you can say that Kurosawa wanted to be surrounded by all of Adachi’s things and live in his space or whatever. That’s a romantic answer and I guess I can accept that but c’mon my guys make some logical decisions too! Lol 😅 maybe move into a different place altogether that can actually fit you both comfortably!

And now in the Thai Cherry Magic they make the same mistake of moving into the wrong place!! I mean maybe Karan’s condo is closer to their job and more fancy and luxurious but Achi owns a whole house!?!? Actual land is in his name!? Why wouldn’t you use that!? You’re gonna give that up!?!? In this economy!?!? I mean idk how the housing market is in Thailand but here in the U.S. it’s damn near impossible to afford a house these days! And now Achi’s just not even using his!

Cause no way is he selling the house yet, their relationship is still developing. I mean they’re together and we the audience know they’re endgame but any reasonable person would keep the land just in case they break up and they need to move back.

But if he is selling the house, would the condo sell for more? 🤔 Maybe the house is worth more and they’re gonna sell that instead? Maybe a whole house is too big for the two of them? Maybe Achi already feels like it’s too much for him to maintain and he’d rather get rid of it. That’s understandable, just not at this point in their relationship, not yet.

And the whole romantic angle can be argued here too like Karan wants to see Achi in his bed like he’s always imagined or whatever, but again this should be a logical decision lol.

Or maybe the explanation here is that Karan’s place isn’t a condo and it’s a rented apartment so they just have to wait until the rental contract expires to fully move into Achi’s house 🤔

Idk man, I’m convincing myself more and more now that maybe moving into Karan’s condo is a good choice 😅 but I stand by the fact that moving into Adachi’s apartment was the wrong move! 👏🏽

[copics-and-renegades]

Interrupting our scheduled Whumptober program to introduce y'all to this little brain bug that's been biting me for months now and that I've been quietly developing further AND that's now becoming relevant context for quite a bunch of Whumptober pieces I've prepared so far.

Let me tell y'all about.

Whumper!Yuan AU

Yes, it's got such a creative name. I guess its full title is "That One Terribad Unhinged Whumper!Yuan AU".

So what's it about? Let me tell you way more than you ever wanted to know! Basically, the spark to this whole AU came to me in a dream (no, really), where I dreamed up the gist and like a few scenes, and then I got up and was like "holy shit" and then I told my friend about it and he was like "holy shit" and then I started writing down stuff for it and even made a comic I never posted (until now).

The tl;dr is: Whumper!Yuan and Whumpee!Botta. (Really twisted setup tbh.) Modern setting. A series of bad coincidences and also bad active decisions happen that lead to a fist fight escalating to Yuan... basically chaining Botta up in his basement. That's it. That's the gist.

The more detailed description (and I'm still making some of this stuff up as I go or don't have an answer yet) is as follows:

Modern setting AU. No Renegades, no Cruxis either afaik. However, there is half-elf discrimination.

Mixing and matching the canon situation of half-elves and putting them in a modern context, half-elves are at the bottom of society's hierarchy. While open slavery like in the recent past of Canon!Sylvarant is, hm, not really practiced anymore and probably somewhat frowned upon? other discriminatory systems such as a whole economy of indentured servitude, lack of voting rights, exclusion from certain jobs or education, ... , you name it, is in place to keep them down. Like in Canon!Tethe'Alla, half-elves are also always one (1) misstep away from serious legal repercussions. Probably no death penalty on the regular, but harsh prison sentences, loss of rights, pretty much no chance of social recovery from a criminal record at all, that kind of stuff is the norm.

Half-elves have no right to bear, well, pretty much any weapon of self-defence at all, either.

Our man Yuan actually holds a "proper" job and has an income. He lives in a run-down little house in a pretty depopulated area he got for cheap somehow. He's working IT Support at some office and everyone is constantly pushing him around. He's above the half-elves cleaning the place or stocking the supplies, but wayyy below any human at all. For a half-elf, he's pretty privileged. As a whole? He struggles and struggles to be The Good Half-Elf, reaching and always slipping on the societal ladder, constantly beaten back down even though he's trying to convince himself he is just trying HARDER than all those other half-elves that don't even get their own shitty desk.

He's a mess and an asshole lol. His pent-up stress and rage are always at the point of finally overwhelming him. He makes himself look proper on the outside, for his human work contacts, he is A Good Half-Elf after all, but in truth he sustains himself on nothing but half-heated convenience store meals and caffeine in every form he can get a hold of. His sleep cycle is shit, the only hobby he feeds is getting mad at videogames he specifically is bad at, he has no social circle, no friends, family estranged, clutter heaping up in his house and pretty much all of it just shit that's been already there when he got it... You get the picture. He's a mess. (He's Canon!Yuan when he doesn't have someone to guide his relentless energy lmao.)

One day after work, circumstances I have not yet fully decided on lead to him meeting and CLASHING HARD WITH a half-elf called Botta.

Botta is also a bit of an asshole lol. He's NOT holding a steady job, maybe never has (he's against letting his labour be exploited by human society duh), he's homeless and always on the run. He gets along relatively fine like that, tho.

When they meet a second time, it's pretty much on Yuan's front lawn and Botta is currently fleeing from the cops. Probably for some petty crime he actually did commit lol. Yuan and Botta get into an argument, somehow. Maybe Botta is expecting help from a fellow half-elf, but Yuan is APPALLED to be put onto the same level as an uncivilised, criminal thug, WHO IS ALSO RUINING IT FOR THE REST OF US OK. (Yay, internalized bigotry and lateral discrimination, yay! Yay, respectability politics!)

One things leads to another, I don't have all details yet, the argument escalates to a fist fight that Botta is DOMINATING SO HARD because Yuan is a little office dweeb and Botta has been fighting for his life on the streets since forever. All under the time pressure of the cops around the corner.

In a fit of anger and desperation, Yuan finally pulls out a taser he is NOT supposed to have and ZAPS the other man at point-blank. Botta goes down, HARD, hits his head and is out like a light.

Oh shit.

Cop getting closer.

Yuan has just assaulted someone with a weapon he is banned from as much as touching, maybe even looking at.

Yuan does the only thing that is rational in this situation: Breaks into a run, catches the cop head-on as far away from the crime scene as he can get, and does the whole "Officer, sir, good sir, officer. There was a suspicious half-elf running past JUST that way, sir, suspicious half-elf. Always happy to assist the police, officer, good day to you, officer, sir."

Somehow that works.

When he returns to his front door, that living evidence of him a) illegally owning a weapon, b) illegally USING the weapon he illegally owns, and c) being obviously uncontrolled, untrustworthy and DANGEROUS enough to enact violence against a person (plus d) being brazen and CRIMINAL enought to lie to a good upholder of the law DIRECTLY TO THEIR FACE, unprompted!!)... Yeah, that living, breathing, but very out-of-it evidence is still THERE.

Yuan does the OTHER only thing that is rational in his situation: Chains that asshole up in his basement, because he SO had it coming. And also that level of power over someone?? When you've always been the one other people had power over?? Fucking hell, it feels GOOD. Vindicating. Intoxicating. GOOD.

Very quickly Yuan has to realize, tho, that he can't count on an element of sheer dumb luck and surprise to keep subduing a VERY angry, VERY uhm passionate PRISONER IN HIS OWN BASEMENT (also taser cartridges are expensive and hard to get, and for a rechargeable stun gun to be an option he'd have to get well within arm's range EVERY TIME), so he's lucky enough to somehow procure one of those shock collars for, well, very large (and in this setting possibly monstrous) dogs. which maybe belonged to the previous owner of the house?? and put it on his hissing, spitting, extremely "I'm going to break your spine LET ME GO!!!" uhm new involuntary roommate.

Said new "roommate" gets over the shock (hehe) but not the anger of all of this happening to him soon-ish enough, when he takes a good long look at That Unpredictable Weirdo Freak and starts asking (and asking and asking) the question that's REALLY pressing into his conscious mind now: "Damn Bitch, You Live Like This??"

:DD

Aaand that's how the initial situation came to be.

Whumper!Yuan AU.

Now how it's developing is, well, the topic of way too many of my thoughts. (Which I'm going to be filling y'all in bit by bit around here, I would assume.) To put it mildly, it's an uneven, unhinged, toxic AND ABSOLUTELY DARKLY HILARIOUS dynamic THAT IS SO MUCH FUN FOR ME TO EXPLORE YOU HAVE NO IDEA. Like, all their interactions are the American Chopper meme. I shouldn't laugh at my own jokes, I guess, but I do. It's such a fun AU to explore.

I've already drawn up a bunch of stuff for Whumptober that I'm going to share this month. (Which is also why I finally made this huge introduction post. For context. Context!!)

But brain is empty for now. Will post more on the whole thing later, in snippets and art and stuff. For now just. Be prepared. For Whumper!Yuan AU on my blog.

:D

[orossii]

hi! first of all, love you blog and your artwork is wonderful! secondly, i don't really have anyone to discuss this with, so i thought, i might as well bother a stranger on the internet. i recently came across dmitry orlov, a russian-american analyst-writer-blogger. while i disagree with him on a lot of things, he has rather sharp humor (the title of this post alone sure is something) and a strong conviction that the us is going to collapse a-la the soviet union, probably even worse. such predictions are usually met with an eye-roll, and i made a "pfft" sound and rolled my eyes as well. but then i come across an article stating that 50% of the respondents in the us expect no less than a civil war (!) in just a few years. where did this come from? is it just uber-maga people or what? along with other things, this type of info makes me scratch my head. what do you think?

thank you so much for the kind words and this ask @haissitall! i'm always open to messages and questions, though I can be a little spotty when it comes to answering sometimes. i'm unfamiliar with dmitry orlov but what i'm seeing of his work is very interesting so i'll try to backread some of his articles and keep up with his work going forward.

i found his article where he outlines the indications that the US is close to collapse and agree with them completely. the one i found was published in 2018 too, before the ukraine proxy war and the economic devastation and political polarization that exploded during COVID had even happened yet. i don't make the claim that i'm a geopolitical or economic expert by any stretch, but from my sort of above average level of understanding i think the US is absolutely in a state of free fall that i can't see taking much longer than another couple of years or so to really become fully apparent domestically. i'm going to put this reply under a cut because it ended up being pretty long. sorry for the text wall, this is just something i've wanted to put into words for a while now and you gave me an excuse to do so lol

so. the US dollar has been, up until recently, the world's reserve currency, meaning that much of international trade is reliant on a country having large amounts of US dollars in order to buy and sell goods internationally. from what i understand, this means that the US can leverage predatory loans against the global south via the IMF, whose terms entail that they agree to devastating economic austerity measures and buyouts of their national industries if they're to survive. this means that the US can plunder these countries for its own financial gain while also outsourcing domestic labor for a fraction of the cost. as a result of the US's heavily financialized imperialist economy, industry (and the skilled labor jobs that accompany it) have largely left the country, and our domestic economy now revolves around finance

to put that another way, americans that used to benefit from well-paying industrial jobs found themselves growing rapidly poorer as the reagan era delivered the death blow to labor unions and the subsequent flight of american industry to the global south made the domestic economy increasingly reliant on jobs in disposable, low-paying unskilled labor positions in the service industries, tech, and non-productive professional-managerial positions like doctors, office workers, and teachers. this means that the US working class had less economic power over the means of production, effectively crushing most of the working class's leverage to demand reforms or wage revolution against the ruling class of capitalists who derive their income from finance

this new, defanged working class is entirely dependent on the ruling class for their day to day survival. the cost of living is dramatically disproportionate to the income of most american families, so in order to pay for things like houses, cars, healthcare, education, and various day to day expenses, we have to take on predatory loans with high interest rates. this, in turn, allows the big banks to extract much of the meager wealth earned by the working class in order to enrich themselves exponentially. due to the endlessly greedy nature of capitalism, every year the working class grows poorer and more disenfranchised as the cost of living increases and the ruling class devises new ways to squeeze pennies out of people who are already largely a missed paycheck or two away from not being able to pay their bills

part of this form of capitalism's leverage over the working class is what's referred to in marxism as the reserve army of the unemployed-- this is a pool of unemployed workers that can be selected from at the ruling class's leisure in order to quickly fill vacancies in these poorly paying unskilled or low-skilled job positions. when workers are easily replaceable they'll do whatever they can to hold onto employment even if it means tolerating poor working conditions, low pay, and insufficient benefits. homelessness and incarceration is the implicit threat that keeps this neo-feudalist engine oiled and the people obedient

when a large proportion of the population is poor and the standard of living declines every year for people of the so-called middle classes, you naturally have a lot social instability that emerges. which is where the culture war comes in. i don't think it's a coincidence that the race to more deeply distinguish the cultural ideologies of the republican and democratic parties coincided with american de-industrialization. the ruling class needed to create a sort of good cop-bad cop dynamic for the people to project their angst onto. if you're a democrat, you're expected to blame the republicans for your ever-increasing misfortune, and the inverse is true of republicans. they advance intentionally divisive and increasingly drastic cultural positions that are guaranteed to repel a certain target subsection of the population while pairing that position to the core belief system of another subsection of the population. races are decided by where politicians stand on cultural issues such as abortion or gun rights, and while those issues are of course relevant to public consideration, both parties are united in advancing the economic interests of the imperial rent-extracting finance capitalists that fund their campaigns in relatively equal measure, depending on who is currently in power

there's a strong incentive to deepen the culture war every year, because the same messaging doesn't work forever. they have to create new fronts and inflame rhetoric more and more in order to hold peoples' interests. as a result, you end up with a population that's extremely individualistic, highly ideological, and loaded with contempt for other people within their class. they're so busy calling the other side fascist that they fail to realize that they're already living in a fascist country that's upheld by neo-feudalist and neo-colonial rent extraction policies as well as non-stop war and political interference abroad. in congress, neither side is able to concede to one another or agree on anything of substance so the only thing that really gets passed is funding for the US war machine

this is the domestic context the US is working with at the same time it started to realize that new economic rivals to its hegemony were starting to emerge. china in particular is set to surpass the US as the wealthiest country on earth within five years or so because of the unprecedented buildup of their productive industrial capacity that the US itself invested in because of the immediate promise of cheap outsourced labor. russia is a massive oil-producer with enough oil supply to easily provide europe with an alternative to more expensive US-owned oil, which was the purpose of the now-destroyed nordstream pipelines. iran is rich in a number of resources including oil and natural gas and serves as a military counter-balance to US domination over the middle east

the US, being almost completely de-industrialized and totally reliant on extraction from its imperial subjects in the global south for its industrial production, absolutely 100% can not under any circumstances tolerate the existence of a competitor to its highly aggressive foreign trade strategy. china and russia aren't without fault of course, but they've historically engaged in relatively straightforward, equitable trade with the leadership of the global south. they bring in affordable commodities while investing heavily in local infrastructure in order to increase domestic industrial capacity by providing them with resources and education on how to build and maintain their own factories and railways. they also don't meddle in their political affairs with assassinations and media manipulation, impose unpayable debt on developing nations, or use the threat of military intervention to coerce them into unfair trade deals. russia even helped syria, a key russian trade partner, militarily fight off US-backed forces seeking to overthrow its government, which would have happened were it not for their assistance

in the 20th century the US employed a divide and conquer strategy to pit the soviet union and china against one another to prevent them from forming a bloc, but by targeting russia, china, and iran all at the same time, they've catapulted all three into an iron-clad alliance that the US has no way of disrupting. the supremacy of the US dollar is falling rapidly as the neocons that run our foreign policy realize that they underestimated russia's economic resilience that comes with being an industrial power. the sanctions they imposed after goading russia into a military intervention in ukraine only hastened the emergence of a new multipolar world order that is already serving as a far more attractive counterbalance to the mafia-style US-led international order

i was utterly shocked by how little time it took for one-time US lapdogs turkey, india, and saudi arabia to start jumping ship and turning toward the eurasian axis. the EU and NATO states (aside from Turkey) have proven themselves to be total puppets to the interests that rule the US empire and are voluntarily de-industrializing themselves by cutting themselves off from russian oil all at once, and de-militarizing themselves all at once by sending all of their military infrastructure to ukraine to be blown up by the russian military. this is utterly catastrophic for the US. the global south is oriented more and more toward the russia-china-iran axis the longer the US drags out this unwinnable proxy war that it paradoxically can't afford to lose

europe is going to collapse without the russian oil needed to keep its industry and the US will be close behind. the US empire's capacity to maintain the hundreds of expensive military bases that pepper the globe will decrease dramatically when it can no longer rely on a constant inflow of imperial rents from a newly industrializing global south. the eurasian and eurasian-aligned countries will benefit from cheap and abundant energy while the european and american people will face a full scale economic disaster. people will freeze to death in winter, lose their houses and life savings, struggle with rampant food shortages. i feel like the US will probably try to re-industrialize, it seems like biden's nodding in that direction, but it would be impossible to do so in time for a collapse that in my largely uneducated opinion will probably be here in the next three to four years, if that, given how already pushed to their limits the people were at the start of this thing. no idea what happens from there. it'll be a total fucking nightmare but will ultimately, in my view, precipitate the re-industrialization and gradual socialist development of the west. i'm not looking forward to it but it needs to happen, the US empire is well beyond its expiration date and the slaughter has to end

if you'd like to read more about this from people i keep up with, i'd start with michael hudson and garland nixon. the above is a poor articulation of their analysis along with various others, so if you want to get it from the source, i'd start with them. i remember being profoundly impacted by this piece by michael hudson when i was still getting my bearings re: the ukraine proxy war, i think it's a good jumping off point

[tokyoheiku]

Japan 2024

Finally, after 12 years, I went back to Japan for nearly a month! It's a trip that's been a long time coming; a trip I've had many, many dreams about lol. After losing my passion for Japan/Japanese by the time my degree ended (for various reasons), it took a few years before I was toying with the idea of going back, particularly to see friends who had decided to go and move there (or already lived there) post-university. And then of course you've got to factor in time and cost. 2020 was the first time things seemded to be aligning and I really thought I might go back, but then, well, obviously I couldn't.

Then late last year, a friend (let's call her M) I recently got back in contact with happened to be planning her own Japan trip, and from time to time would mention that I should come along. I was hesitant at first (time and money!) but after thinking it over I realised that actually, for lots of reasons, this lined up pretty perfectly with my current life situation. So I agreed and we booked the trip!

This is a summation of that trip :D In parts cuz I can only upload so many photos per post -

Week 1! Tokyo

Our flight was indirect: Heathrow --> Helsinki --> Narita, with Finnair, who I have to hand it to, did a fantastic job. The planes were so nice and modern, and neither flight caused me any ear pain, which is a massive deal for me - if you've flown with me before, you'll know. Not to mention, the second flight only had 70 people on it...! So we were able to lay down. In economy! Plus we had some reindeer pasta during our layover in Helsinki, so now I can say I've done that. As flights go, (and for my first ever layover flight) it was possibly one of the best I've ever been on. Even though it was dragging toward the end of the 13 hours.

I don't know exactly what I had expected when arriving back in Japan, but it was so easy to just pick up where I left off. Everything was familiar, I was able to speak the language, I was finally returning to places I used to live.. it's amazing how quicky the brain just normalises these things. It was almost like I'd never left and those 12 years turned into nothing. This time I also had the added bonus of lots of pre-trip research, and google maps/translate (which I mostly needed for kanji every so often.!). I felt more at home than I did during my year abroad, I think. And in a far, far better mindset, to boot. I feel like I was able to take things in more; to experience the differences more. Or maybe I just don't remember what it was like 12 years ago lol

Something that catches your attention immediately in Japanese cities (apart from the neon) are the smells - walking by the many, many restaurants you'll get passing wafts of amazing smelling Japanese food. London cannot compete...! And for our first meal we ate at Torikizoku, an izakaya (pub-esque places where you can order Japanese 'tapas' style dishes for cheap) chain, and it was just immediately so heartening; even chain Japanese food is better than any Japanese food we can get in the UK. And my god, the price. I know the yen is weak right now which really worked in our favour this trip, but even so. A full meal for around £7 each.

It'd be an incredibly long post if I went day by day, so here are highlights of week one, separated by activities, and food

Activities:

Wandering around Shimokitazawa! I used to go fairly frequently since it was only a couple of stops away from Meidaimae, my station, which we also dropped into for that taste of nostalgia. Shimokitazawa is known for being a bit hipster, with a lot of vintage clothing shops. It's a nice change of vibe from the bigger areas like Shinjuku/Shibuya etc.

Night out in Shinjuku, at Psy Bar! One of the many, many tiny little bars dotted around Shinjuku/Kabukicho, this one was specifically rock/metal music themed and could house maybe 15 people? The guy behind the bar was already wasted, and a huge personality. Everyone was really friendly and the music was great. Definitely worth experiencing :D

Magical Lollipop Maid Cafe - we had to go to at least one! This one was themed around magical girls in training trying to become powerful enough to protect their customers. Despite the theme, it was pretty subdued compared to some other maid cafes but it was nice to chat to the maids and, of course, have our own omuraisu drawn on

Team Lab Planets - worth a mention mainly for the LED room tbh. I didn't think it was as good as it's made out to be, but then again it's so overhyped that that's pretty difficult. Worth experiencing, I think.

Muscle Girl Bar - absolutely fantastic. A++++. Only in Japan. The photos speak for themselves. M got slapped by like 8 muscley women and I got carried by two.

Food:

Fluffy Japanese pancakes from Flippers - dear god these are so light and fluffy and delicious and absolutely worth having if you ever go

Nabezou - a restaurant chain that does hotpot style dishes - specifically, in my case, SUKIYAKI! This is maybe my favourite meal of all time

Fancy yakiniku - yakiniku, but fancy

Zarusoba - a dish I'd never had before but have really come to enjoy: cold soba noodles you dip in a sauce. M ordered this tempura squid side dish which I ended up absolutely loving despite always having had reservations about squid in the past

Konbini bento boxes - the fried chicken/rice one was particularly good :D

Noteworthy mentions:

Shopping in Shibuya - it's worth traversing around 109 just to have a look.

Pokemon Centres - by the end of week 1 we'd already hit up a few

Cat Cafes - same here lol

Atami - a seaside town 40 minutes away from Tokyo by bullet train, where we went to the plum blossom garden

It's possible I front-loaded week 1 a little too much, but it ended up being so, so much fun - even if incredibly exhausting lol. By week 2 I was already feeling like I had eaten too much...!

A few things I took note of -

Japan is just so convenient. Everything this country does is to aid in helping make people's lives a little bit easier; diametrically opposed to England in that sense...! Having convenience stores literally everywhere really is so convenient, and the vending machines as well. There are drug stores on every corner, Starbucks on every other corner.. you could come to Japan with your passport and phone and immediately be within 5 minutes of everything you could possibly need.

On the flip side, they're obsessed with 1 ply toilet paper??? I get it, conservation etc, but if you're gonna go hard on conservation efforts, cut down on the plastic, Japan, not the toilet paper lol

Getting around takes time. Even if a train journey only takes 5 minutes, walking around the massive stations will take 10, and if you're outside, you've got to wait ages for traffic lights to change..!!! This was true everywhere I went, not just the metropolis that is Tokyo. Maybe it's different further out from the cities though.

Oh, and jingles. Jingles everywhere. I love them :')

Week 2 next!

[chellyrps]

What are your biggest reflections, lessons learned, and gratitudes for 2023? What are your intentions, goals, and dreams for 2024? Pass this on to 3 blogs you follow!

these are such beautiful questions !! i really wanted to sit down and give these a long hard think, so thank you nonnie ♡ this past year, i did a lot to challenge myself - especially in terms of my career. i was able to land an awesome && unexpected promotion, totally outside of my comfort zone, and it's been going really well. maybe even better than i had initially figured. i've had some stumbles, but all within an environment that has allowed for my growth, and for that i am truly thankful. i'm thankful for all of it tbh. it's meant a lot, getting to work in human services, and it's reminded me to count my blessings. even when things have been bleak, i've always had support, and not everyone can say that. i've been taught many lessons in gratitude this year, but also in patience and acceptance ... because my siblings really let me down this past year, but i've made some real peace with that. i came to understand that they're just doing their best from their own ends. i know that there are going to be more opportunities to show up for each other, so i'm thankful for that, too. i really do believe that we are all just doing our best with what we have at the time. as for 2024, oh man ... i have a lot of hopes. i'm not necessarily calling them goals, because i'm working on managing my own expectations in 2024, but i have hopes. things i want to accomplish, but won't be too hard on myself if i don't. i think that's going to be very important for me, and probably for many of us, this year !! i want to have a great first year at this new job, and i really want to be able to implement some of the changes that i can see being beneficial to our department. i'm going to do some more part-time work with a small business and help get their feet off the ground in my area; i have some serious hopes for what that will turn into. all of this to continue building my skills && my savings so that i can hopefully, and pls i'll need a prayer circle for this lmao, move into a nicer space, maybe even get really lucky and buy a house with my partner. in this economy ... i know, i feel it too, these are hopes for a reason !! improvement, in all areas of my life ... even small betterments - that's really what i want for myself this year. i'm starting to feel my age, which is beautiful, as it's a blessing to age !! but alas, i am, and i want to be able to give myself more sure footing if i can, and i really believe that i can. which, speaking of, i've got to start making more home cooked meals because i was pitiful with that during the week in 2023 so here's to summoning my inner julia child in 2024 !! i've also been spending SO much time with my friends lately, and that is something i really need to continue into 2024 because they are my favorite, and the community we have built is truly everything to me !! wow, thank you for sending this to me, nonnie !! i think i needed this today after we just got like 12 inches of snow LOL i had more time to reflect than i probably otherwise would have. and please let me take a moment to thank everyone on tumblr dot com who has been with me this year, even just in notifications, because you've also made me so happy ♡ i left this blog on ice for a while, but it feels so heckin nice to be back and enjoying it. here's to an amazing and gratifying 2024 ♡ if anyone ever needs some support, i'm always here.

[medusas-lovely-eyes]

I don't mean this in a braggy way because like, state of the world/society/economy and all that, but the fact that I have had multiple unexpected expenses with my car and cat this year equaling roughly $1-2k (I'm guessing I don't actually know) and I have been able to pay for all of them out of pocket with money I already had saved is something I'm so proud of. Growing up my parents made some poor financial decisions and then were hit with big medical bills so I always watched them struggle. I watched cars get repossessed, I watched them discuss the best way to ask my grandparents for a loan so the house wouldn't get foreclosed, I watched my mom sob on the phone to debt collectors who treated her like absolute shit. I even had to pay for my moms groceries before when her card got unexpectedly declined and then comforted her while she cried from embarrassment on the ride home. And on top of all that they put themselves into even more debt to give us as normal of a childhood as possible. They are entering their late 50s, my mom hopes that the last of their credit card debt will finally be paid off and all they have left is the mortgage, but they have no savings.

According to the experts I'm not where I am supposed to be financially at the age of 30, but I know I am a lot better off than others my age. I don't particularly like my job; it can be very stressful for a good chunk of the year, I had to give up hopes of using my degree to stay here because this job actually pays me a living wage (which is a whole other discussion about certain fields demanding a degree and then paying a shit wage), the owner isn't as involved in day to day operations as we would like and doesn't see the same looming issues that we do, and it's not what I envisioned myself doing for the rest of my life (nor do I know if I can physically or mentally do it for another 40 years lol) BUT I don't live paycheck to paycheck like I always feared I would. I have worked hard for my promotion and raises, I have literally made myself an invaluable asset to the company (yes a very capitalistic view I know), and I have started earning bonuses that I can put into savings or put towards paying off student loans.

I have learned from my parents mistakes enough to not fall into the trap of credit card debt. I have one credit card and I have never maxed it out nor have I ever used more than I can pay off. I will admit that this past year I was a little frivolous with some of my purchases, but God I think I deserve a little fun now. If my 2024 budget and goals go to plan then by the end of the year I will have an emergency fund with 6 months of expenses built up, my high yield savings account will have 10k, and I will still have money left over to enjoy some things here and there.

I'm rambling. I'm not here to brag, I'm here to tell myself to take a breath and relax a little. I'm 30, single, and doing it all on my own with no one to fall back on for financial support and as of right now I'm doing good. I'm proud of myself and I believe in myself.

(also if I'm being honest all this is me convincing myself not to quit my job after a shitty and exhausting christmas season that has left my sick and emotionally drained lol)

[versalles]

Hi there, trust you are having great Wednesday Morning, and here is wishing you a productive week ahead. I'm a victim of abuse from my grandmother and dad, I don't want to go too much into detail, as it's highly triggering, i worked on getting some evidence to press charge against them(going well so far) but i need to move out of the house of my abusers as soon as possible and seek justice. I need all the help i can get (please see my pinned post for my frequently updated "beg-post"). I beseech(beg of) you to donate towards my moving/getting justice if you can. Also, if you can, please consider boosting my pinned post (a detailed beg-post)(if you have already seen my post somehow before now, there's been a recent development/progress)- that will help reach more potential helpers. please don't ignore me, please!. I'm open to suggestions/corrections, you can send an inbox/ direct message if you have concerns/questions, and i will answer in no time. Thank you for hearing me out on my birthday week.

Hey! I live in El Salvador, a country that currently is being abused by a dictator called Bukele. We live in a militarized country, I have chronic bronchitis due to oversmoke in my previous 12 hour shift job! ( that means if I make a little mistake I can go back to cough blood and have high fevers for a whole month!) I also have PCOS (which makes me bleed and feel pain like if im being killed alive) and I live with my parents (which is embarassing bc they are elders that cant retire bc america decided to fuck up our country imposing their own economy in a third world country), currently unemployed with rent problems. I can't even go out! I can't even see my friends because the military can just disappear us in no time. I have extreme suicidal thoughts and this year I have tried to kill my self 4 or 5 times, stopped self harming because I wont be hired if they see me at presential interviews lol.

Even though everything is so complicated at the time I'm still looking for a job and selling things I don´t use. I wouldn´t be comfortable asking for money to strangers online despite the urgency of the before mentioned because I think I emphatize that everyone struggles to get money in this capitalist selfish environment.

Briefly, DO NOT ASK ME FOR DONATIONS, keep going.

[taintedwolf]

i wonder what things will be like in another 10 years if i am still kicking. if it is anything like the LAST decade idk if i still will be lol.

i realize that being 20, I am officially at the point where half of my life has been defined by trauma and it makes me really sad. every year has given me some sort of long lasting regret or fear and I think I am afraid to live now. I cannot make decisions or commit to anything. I am moving into my first apartment today, at least. thats exciting right? but i cannot stop worrying about it.

I keep trying to be optimistic. maybe in 10 years, i will own a house (doubtful with the way the economy is going.) maybe in 10 years, i will have worked through all my trauma and no longer meet the qualifiers for bpd (this requires actually getting help.) maybe in 10 years, i will be married (do i even like the concept of marriage? will i even be ALLOWED to marry in 10 years with the political climate?) maybe in 10 years, i will have top surgery (again, political climate, and what if i die in surgery?) maybe i will have one of the jobs i have wanted to pursue (what if i regret it?)

its all so stupid. i really wish my brain would let me have hope. i try so hard to let myself have that.

[books-and-catears]

Y'know that phrase "Eat the rich"? Well the brother(minus Mammon), the new dateables, and Luke would all be considered rich in a way. So what if they heard the MC talking to a friend and they said it. Who would get it 'n take it as a joke then who wouldn't, and how would they react towards it?

This is probably one of the dumbest asks I've done, so feel free to ignore this lol

Ahahha this is not dumb at all, honey! This is something I'd definitely love to read and laugh at.

Thank you so much for this. Hope I can do this justice :) This is a bit shorter than I usually write I'm so sorry

(And for all of you other lovely people who have also requested, please forgive me for the delays. My college is freaking BOMBARDING me with assignments! So please be patient with me

>\\\<)

MC: *over phone* They did what?!

Friend: Yes I kid you not, they raised the prices again!

MC: As if the taxes weren't high enough already?!

Friend: I know right?! Like we won't be able to eat fast food either!!

MC: *screaming* Oh hell no. If they don't let us eat what we want, we'll freaking eat them. Eat the damn rich!

Meanwhile, the rest of the group overhearing from the next room...

Lucifer

What in Diavolo's name was that?

What do you mean by that?

MC what is the meaning of this?

You aren't supposed to eat people just because they are rich MC that's not proper

4 hour lecture if you don't explain it to him immediately.

Mammon

Goldie? Who is she? I don't know her!

MC I lost the last bet I swear I'm completely broke right now MC

Will you accept Grimm instead? Wait I have none

Wait doesn't that mean he's safe?

Yaay I'm not rich! Wait..that's not something to brag about

Help the confused boy out

Leviathan

Lol MC eats rich people?

Wait is he considered rich?

*looks around at all his expensive merchandise nervously* Uhhh MC ... don't get the wrong idea...

Oh no.. isn't snake meat a delicacy in the human world?

Reassure the poor snek boi that you won't eat him else he might summon Lotan

Satan

Laughs at his brother's reactions

Don't worry MC I've read this phrase in books

Tell my brothers? Why ? This is so much fun

Just look at Lucifer's horrified face

Well done MC

Mischievous catboi is enjoying this way too much

Asmodeus

Eek MC eats other other humans? Just cause they are rich?

That doesn't pretty at all MC. And neither healthy

Why not just take their stuff and leave?

Wait are you planning to eat him too? This is completely different from what he imagined!

Someone calm this boy down before his skin breaks out

Beelzebub

Eat? Eat what? The rich?

Is that some kinda salami snack flavored dish? He wants to try it too!

Wait what do you mean it's other humans? Humans eat each other?

Wait he did try to eat Asmo once accidentally cause he smelled like strawberries and cream (blame the perfume)

Sweet baby boy don't let him normalize this!

Belphegor

I knew humans were evil in the head but to this extent-

Eating their own kind? Well that makes his job easier then

He didn't even need to try and destroy humanity, they are doing it to themselves

Just gotta make sure MC doesn't get eaten

Will probably whine in disappointment when you tell him

Solomon

Ah money issues in the human world again?

Humans and their unstable economy what a bother

Also laughs at everyone's reaction

Fuels the chaos. Yes it's true, he once ate a whole merchant because he refused to lower the price on some magical stones

Winks at you as you shake your head in annoyance

Damnit MCShady you're making it worse!

Barbatos

Also secretly well versed in human knowledge

Secretly chuckles at everyone's reaction

Eating another human? My my it would take a long time to get the whole thing marinated and cooked-

Whispers to Diavolo what it actually means

Barbatos now is not the time is to be cheeky!

Diavolo

Confused on the outside, panicking on the inside

Is this something that humans do?

He's basically the richest guy in Devildom, is MC going to want to eat him? Surely not?!

What about Solomon? How rich is he?

If humans eat other humans, it was a good idea to put them in different houses!

Barbatos, calm the frazzled Prince of Hell down

Luke

Hides behind Simeon in horror

M-MC EATS PEOPLE? JUST CAUSE THEY ARE RICH?

Simeon are we rich? Are we going to be eaten too?

Humans can't eat angels can't they?!

I thought MC was sweet and harmless!

He's on the verge of tears, hurry up and tell him!

Simeon

Oh no what are they overpricing this time MC?

Humans and their constant inflation, it never ends does it? No wonder you resent the rich

Covers his mouth to hide his laughter at everyone's reaction

Luke, you don't need to hide behind me like this

Godamnit Simeon, help your son!

[ssvgawara]

Haikyuu boys and some oddly specific crime they’d commit

a/n: I come back and the first thing I write is a shitpost!! enjoy </3 tw for drugs, murder, alcohol and general crime committing xoxo

Karasuno

Daichi- he’s a cop sorry that’s all there is to it man

Suga- Suga has multiple charges of 1st-degree murder against him but they can’t seem to find his identity so he continues committing murder and will continue until he gets caught or ends up murdering enough people to be put in a position of power

Asahi- everyone is probably like “Oh Asahi is innocent” NO. He has learned that his slightly scary face will let him get away with a lot, he is buying alcohol illegally because he looks old enough to, and he’s buying so much other shit and just getting away with it

Nishinoya- This man gives fucking pimp vibes I can just see him in the big leopard print fur coat with a pretty girl in his lap and he calls himself big poppa but no one else will

Tanaka- Drug dealer vibes, probably runs an entire fucking drug ring with his sister and not just a Lil weed these mfkas have the hard shit too like you could probably buy meth from them, he’s not using it but it’s good business

Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita- They literally rob a bank they have an entire scheme and get away with multiple bank robberies and this goes on for MONTHS

Kageyama- We know he’s volleyball smart but otherwise he’s so mfing stupid and I love him for it but he is a chronic shoplifter. Just picks something up and takes it, has walked out of a store without paying for an entire bed set once and got away with it somehow so idk props to him

Hinata- He is the little guy in any heist situation, he fits anywhere so he can sneak in and out the best, he gave himself the stupid ass code name tiny giant but everyone goes with it because somehow he is the best

Tsukishima- armed robbery, but he doesn’t have a gun just a knife like he’s tall and as an attitude, a knife will get him whatever he needs he doesn’t need the gun

Yamaguchi- He runs a catfishing scheme where he pretends to be a naive girl, scams old men out of their money, and then ghosts them and I think it’s what he deserves let him carry on especially because no one would believe it’s him. Also not really like a crime crime but still a crime in a way

Kiyoko- She kills men and I know it, Queen Kiyoko ending the patriarchy one shitty man at a time like she only kills men who deserve it bc some have rights.

Yachi- She’s too anxious to commit an in-person crime so she does a lot of cybercrime, hacking government databases and releasing info to the people, truly the anonymous we deserve

Saeko- She’s running that drug ring with Tanaka, and she loves it because there’s a thrill to it even though yknow she’s dealing literal meth but like its fine plus she loves rocking people’s shit when they get too handsy, which bring me to my next point underground MMA Saeko, like the illegal one with no rules yeah <3

Ukai- this man probably sells all kinda shit to minors that he shouldn’t he is so unbothered a 7-year-old could probably walk in ask for a pack of camels and get them and leave before he noticed what was going on.

Takeda- Did y’all see how scared Hinata was when Takeda gave him that lecture? This dude could kidnap someone and scare them into giving all the information he needed, a legend truly

Aoba Johsai

Oikawa- took steroids one time. And of course in sports, that’s not allowed. But he only did it once and regretted it for months afterward. Never told anyone and was just relieved he didn’t have to piss in a cup and have someone find out.

Matsukawa- Without hesitation, I know this man takes dead people’s bones and sells them on the internet. Has dubbed himself the bone man and he feels so much power when someone buys a femur or sumn. It’s kinda funny honestly he has a hoard of bones to sell, his fave is the pelvis.

Hanamaki- He’s in between jobs because he stole money from his last job, like he said he was sorry he just needed a little extra for gas but was sad to find out that’s a literal crime and he was laundering money.

Iwaizumi- he’s a street racer, like the fast and furious style and it’s so sexy of him like late-night races ugh to be in an expensive fast car with him where he has one hand on my thigh okay that’s enough of that.

Kunimi- Look me in the eye and tell me he does not do drugs. He does and if you don’t believe me you are wrong and I will fight you on this one. 

Kyotani- If there is a crime he will commit it for fun. Like he will do it with no hesitation. He has a record longer than twilight and I’m not sure how he is not in prison actually nvm he escaped and is  a wanted criminal lol

Shiritorizawa

Ushijima- Assault, he just reeks of getting into bar fights when he’s absolutely wasted. Like he most likely didn’t start it but he will be finishing it

Tendou- grave robbing, he just goes into the cemetery picked the oldest plots, and gets to digging. Has made thousands on dead people jewelry and probably won’t get caught, like besides the groundskeeper there’s no security he will never stop.

Semi- he breaks copyright laws on the daily. He’s sampling music in his all the time but he’s doing it so sneakily it’s fine its what deserves stream his band on Spotify right now,

Shirabu- His bangs are criminal enough. No, but he has stolen drugs from the hospital before he just wanted to try the Xanax, and yeah he could just write himself a prescription for it nut like it’s so easy to just go get some and no report it so that’s what he did.

Goshiki- y’all want me to say arson don’t you?? Fine. He commits arson multiple times and kills 7 people with fire before getting arrested and he doesn’t even feel bad so in prison he probably fucking runs a gang he is crazy.

Nekoma

Kuroo- he is a capitalist and class traitor and that’s crime enough I don’t care is he’s attractive or rich, He commits crimes daily by just existing but I still love him anyway.

Kai- Could not commit a crime he just wants to garden and live his life. Jk there’s at minimum one body in that garden let him kill a man he deserves it just let him have one dead body

Yaku- he keyed someone’s car once just because they pissed him off. Was it kuroo? Yes. But that’s fine because he also keyed Lev’s car but blamed lev for keying kuroo’s and Kuroo for keying Lev’s. He just wants to watch the world burn.

Kenma- cyberbullying but man he is mean. Like no bars held we will dig into every insecurity he can and that shit hurts and he doesn’t even feel bad about it he will just be as mean as he can if you’re not careful

Lev- his crime is being tall and dumb also doesn’t understand the economy and prints counterfeit money because why can’t we print more money? The government should get on that.

Inuoka- He released all the animals from a zoo, like snuck in one night and just let them all free, I’m surprised the tiger didn’t eat him but hey the animals are free, there’s still some missing uh oh he’s very proud of himself for it. After the rush, he starts sneaking into shelters and freeing all the dogs and cats

Yamamoto and Fukunaga- Have egged a house before, it was Kuroo’s he deserves all this bullying and you can’t stop me.

Date Tech

Aone- Criminal Conspiracy, sure he had an entire foolproof plan to get away with the perfect crime but someone found out, and now his plans are ruined, damn </3 and no one ever suspects the quiet guy either.

Futakuchi- Having a prostitute, he just wanted some company like mans is lonely so he paid a girl to just spend a Lil time with him it’s all good.

Fukurodani

Bokuto- I know we all haha funny laugh at tax evader bokuto and sure maybe he evades his taxes but he’s also committed vehicular manslaughter, he cannot drive and has killed someone with his car maybe even multiple someones but he always drives off in a panic because he doesn’t know what else to do.

Akaashi- Hasn’t actively committed a crime but has been an accomplice in every vehicular manslaughter Bokuto has committed why the fuck does he keep letting bokuto drive? He really needs to stop that.

Konoha- A master scammer he is so convincing everyone gives him money even if they’re a little sus because he’s just that good each scheme is so convincing.

Inarizaki

Kita- He grows weed, you can’t tell me those rice fields are just for rice he’s got all this space he is growing marijuana and selling it, let him do it I want him to be my plug.

Atsumu- "What is my perfect crime? I break into Tiffany's at midnight. Do I go for the vault? No, I go for the chandelier. It's priceless. As I'm taking it down, a woman catches me. She tells me to stop. It's her father's business. She's Tiffany. I say no. We make love all night. In the morning, the cops come and I escape in one of their uniforms. I tell her to meet me in Mexico, but I go to Canada. I don't trust her. Besides, I like the cold. Thirty years later, I get a postcard. I have a son and he's the chief of police. This is where the story gets interesting. I tell Tiffany to meet me in Paris by the Trocadero. She's been waiting for me all these years. She's never taken another lover. I don't care. I don't show up. I go to Berlin. That's where I stashed the chandelier."

Osamu- resisting arrest. He just said no and ran. Granted he shouldn’t have punched the cop in the first place to have to be arrested but like that’s not the point here.

Aran- accidental child abandonment, like he just forgot he was babysitting and left the kid alone for like a day. He felt terrible but he still forgot the kid and now is fearful of parenthood

Suna- owns an illegal weapon, like he just never registered it and keeps it around and would use it if needed Suna please just point the weapon at me maybe

Others

Terushima- Graffiti, he loves painting on the walls of buildings and tagging them, has so much spraypaint and his day isn’t complete if he doesn’t tag at least one building or train car.

Daishou- Public intoxication- he got a little too fucked up and stripped on the street he will forever have to live with everyone knowing he has an ass tattoo like damn bruh

Sakusa- Perjury he simply wanted to get out of court so he said some shit so he could leave granted he lied under oath but whatever, did they ever find out? No, so he’s fine and he’d do it again if it meant he could leave faster. Like sure he was a witness to a murder but bruh he pretends he does not see.

Hoshihumi- driving without a license he simply thought you didn’t need one because why do you need a piece of plastic to say you can drive a car like??? Just know how to drive it.

[fr-economics]

(Not sure if this was asked before... Tumblr search pulled up nothin, but it's Tumblr so...) Can you, in the simplest terms possible, explain what stocks are? I know they're important for. Some reason. And that they can screw with my life, based on the stock market crash at the end of the '20s. So it'd be nice to know what they are, why they're so impactful... And maybe why we have them in the first place.

Hmm so I'm not really an expert myself since it really is a complex field but I can definitely explain the basics. At the very basic level stocks are ownership in another company and a way to invest in it. If I have one stock in Walmart, I actually own a (very minuscule) part of it. As a part-owner I share in the profits by being paid in dividends and I can vote on decisions the company makes. If I think a company is going to do well in the future, or I just want to support it, I can invest in it by purchasing stock. The company can then take that money and use it to expand their business or just fund operations.

However, the modern stock market is considered public, ie: anyone can buy a stock. The opposite "private" situation would be for example, if I started a dog-walking business and my mom invested by giving me $1000 in exchange for owning part of it. She would want to own part of it in the hopes that it becomes successful and more valuable later on, and she could later sell the part she owns for a profit. Random people can't invest in my dog-walking business, though, unless I do an IPO (initial public offering) and offer stocks to anyone who wants to buy them.

Another model of business ownership espoused by leftists is the worker co-op model. There are many variations but the basic idea is that instead of random other people owning parts of companies, the workers are the ones who own it. The benefit here is that the workers are the ones who make decisions that affect them, and they all share in the profits instead of the profits going to the random other investors/owners who aren't even doing any actual work.

As for why stocks impact average people so strongly... It would take too long for me to explain how we got here, but suffice it to say, this model of investment in companies has been around for probably hundreds of years and has in the 20th century especially become crucial to the economy. Obviously, companies are a huge part of everyones' lives and one of the main things our society is based around. They have grown to wield a great deal of power over the economy. Normally people want "the economy" to do well, because in theory it means greater prosperity for everyone. If companies do better, they will pay employees better (lol) and create better/new products, etc. People who believe in capitalism want things to work this way.

If you're an average non-rich person who owns stocks (including a retirement account), then a lot of your wealth is going to be tied up in the success of "the economy" (unless you also have a lot of equity in a house or some other investment). You want companies to be successful so the value of your shares increase, you get paid more in dividends. etc. A lot of peoples' wealth got wiped out in 2008 because they were heavily invested in areas which took a plunge. All this loss of value has various other effects as well. People lost their jobs and houses, businesses closed, etc. On the other hand, 2020 has been pretty good for the stock market, largely because of government intervention. So if you had investments at the beginning of 2020, you are probably quite happy with their performance right now.

It is worth noting here that stocks aren't the only type of investment you can buy/trade. There's also REITs (real estate trusts), bonds, commodities, currencies, and more oblique ways to trade in stocks themselves, like mutual and index funds, ETFs, and options. So basic stocks like I described above are really just one part of the whole stock market system.

Interestingly, historians debate whether the Great Depression was actually caused by the 1929 crash. What's more tangible is the psychological effects of the crash, which led to problems for the average person, such as businesses contracting, unemployment, reduced credit, etc. What's important to realize is that economics isn't really a field about numbers and money. Fundamentally, it's about human behavior. So examining economic problems is only partially about looking at concrete aspects and largely about looking at the fuzzier world of human behavior and motivations.

The main way to avoid economic events screwing with your life is not even really to just have money, because as we've seen, unless you're literally 1% rich and diversified, black swan events like 1929 and 2008 can hit you hard. And even then, the 1% is oftentimes bailed out by the government, and only because they have enough political power to demand that that happen. The "free market" by itself doesn't naturally work to the benefit of any particular group, and you'll find that a lot of free market conservatives (Obama is mostly one as well) are mysteriously quiet when it comes to government intervention to protect wealth.

Greater awareness of these phenomena has led to a resurgence of socialist ideas. The best way to ensure well-being for most people is to have strong public institutions whose main goal is the well-being of citizens, not the pursuit of profit for shareholders. Compare the U.K.'s NHS, as flawed as it may be, with the private insurance shitshow we have going on the U.S. The free market is going to continue to screw with all our lives unless we come up with something to stop that—which socialists believe is a strong state with the power to protect citizens through the creation of public institutions and regulation of economy activity.

[chattegeorgiana]

Not meaning to sound rude/offend(I’m truly not) but why post about USA politics instead of Romanian ones? Ngl I know the 45th isn’t the one true problem to it all (though he still fanned the flames) but after living with 4 yrs of T**** damage(lucky for non-USA people you didn’t have to live with that) it’s just good to have him out of the WH. Also it’s not just the president in charge, decisions are also made by the house of Congress, the senate, and surpreme court. President does have power, just not 💯 % or else it be dictatorship.

What is going on with Romania?

I do post about Romanian politics as well. It’s just scarce. The same way that post was scarce.

I don’t post politics all day on Tumblr or social media. I try to stay as much away as possible, because people are too invested into this to see that the picture is waaay bigger than Trump or Joe or any other politician.

The political system is an abomination of a system made to divide people to their core.

The political system has divided people and extremized them to their goddamn core and you guys think this is a joe vs trump issue.

Congrats, you just fell into their trap. It’s what this system is meant to do.

You think non-USA people weren’t affected? Have you heard about NATO? Have you heard about international relationships?

Don’t think that you lived in a vacuum and there weren’t ripple effects of this thing.

US is/was a world superpower. Everything the US does has ripple effects. The same way those other big players also leave ripple effects.

As for him being out of there, of course, I am not even going to say that it’s good or not. You guys should know better. 

What I would say is that careful with the mass media, ya know? Because some of the words he had said, were true. Some related to China, for example.

How do I know? Because little Romania, a country u guys have no idea about, or better said, my little hometown has been under the effect of Chinese MO.

A single thing has stood to me out of all the limited things that I saw about Trump and your guys’ politics: how he manage to raise employment rates again. 

How? By putting people back to work in the very factories the Chinese bought and then closed.

How do I know that? Because that’s the Chinese MO from Romania as well. From my very hometown.

We had factories of corrugated board (3nd best in the whole wide world), factories that gave the 2nd most purest water in the world and whatnot.

These were the very basic factories that sustained the local economy in my little hometown. Know what happened after Chinese business people came and bought those factories?

Everyone was out of job and my county became the 2nd poorest region in the country, because the factories were closed. People unemployed that had to just flee the city if they wanted to survive. Because those business they did with the Chinese were pure corrupt businesses.

My hometown is mostly a ghost town right now, run by local mafia who got rich after doing those businesses.

So you see, in some respects Trump was right. And I know he was, not because he said he was. I don’t trust a word coming from any politician’s mouth. 

I know he was because I’ve seen it happen with my own two eyes in other sides of the world. All you had to do is connect the dots for yourself. 

The media tried to paint him as crazy for spewing some truth.

So before you believe everything the media tells you about him or how you should think about him, try to detach a bit and do your own research.

I’ve worked in the media. My very first job actually. I learned there how the games are done behind closed doors.

Now, you’ll say I’m a Trump supporter or idk what label you will put on me. Because that’s going to be probably the easiest way to explain this.

Well, I’m not. I won’t support anything political in my entire life lol.

Trump said some truths, but he has some issues as well. He’s a goddamn narcissist and that’s what it was his downfall in politics.

Politics nowadays is shrewd. He’s not. He’s full blunt direct force. The perfect ammo for the system to paint him whatever they want to. In that respect he’s stupid and I would’ve expected him to  be smarter given all the shit he pulled in the past.

Like the thing with the banks and taxes that everyone blames him for.

Do I say he did a good or bad thing? Nah. I say he did a smart thing.

He found a way to give people jobs, while in the meantime getting himself rich. He found a loophole, yeah. But it’s not like all those instances with him not paying his taxes were done on his own. Nah. He had an agreement to people in power.

I often wonder... Do people hate him for not paying his taxes or for not having first the idea that he had to make money? 

Because in the end it’s all reduced to money. Because money is power and it’s what makes the world go round.

He found a way to grab power and be outside of the locks of banks.

Don’t you guys have those credits ever since you’re in school? That’s literally chains on your future.

You spend most of your lives trying to pay back the banks who lock you in an eco system that generates money to them, while keeping you in chains.

He just found a way to be out of those chains. Out of that wretched system.

Because you see, that’s the issue... It’s a system issue, not a Trump issue.

I don’t have the moral authority to say if what he did is right or wrong. After all, he did create thousands of jobs for people as well while doing what he did.

But are you guys under the impression that Trump might be the only one who did that? Lol, tell me you’re not that naive.

Those kind of people have armies of accountants around them to make the papers look good.

It just so happened that Trump probably disturbed someone. 

Because at those levels there’s a looot of power play. I mean, it’s not like in the past they didn’t all hang out together.

Come on, tell me you’re not that naive. It’s a move done by politicians ever since they goddamn invented that wretched system.

And since you asked by Romanian politics, what I’ve just written until now about Trump, is the same thing that happens in Romania.

It’s a global phenomena. It happens in every country. Here it’s the same, lol.

They all used to hang out together, and then whenever the elections come they start being at each other’s throats, posing as if they’re the biggest enemies.

But then you see clandestine pictures of them dining together at a restaurant. Or not even that. Just them hanging together.

You know, when the media isn’t there to be telling the story they want to tell to the audience.

Because if you think that the media isn’t politically subservient, you’re OH SO wrong.

Told you my first job was in the media.

You know what someone I worked with told me about some discussions they used to have in the USA on some sort of workshops or whatever u called them back in the day?

That US media hasn’t been free media since the 70′s. And that Romanian press was still free at that time (this was a discussion back in the 90′s).

But, there will come a time when the press won’t be free in Romania either. That they will write under political command.

Well, guess what happens nowadays? Exactly what that person said. It started somewhere back in 2008-2010.

In the pandemic for example, Romanian government gave the media 70$ billion in funds.

Which makes me wonder, why would the media need something like that, if it’s not an essential domain, like we oh so started labeling?

But hey, they did it in the pandemic so they are now free of any suspicions because if they did it now, all they wanted to do is “help”, right?

To write good about the political party in charge, while admonishing the others.

Despite people knowing all too well how the games are played.

So at the end of the day, all I’m saying is before putting your trust into politicians, look around you.

Now that it’s Biden, you say it’s a senate whatnot problem. Back when it was Trump, everyone blamed just him, as if he was the only one in charge.

Which is it after all? Is it a single person problem or a problem of senate/president/everyone else?

See what I mean?

Anyway... I’ll stop here. I am sure this thing won’t be understood in its true nature so I won’t bother anymore.

All I know is at the end of the day I have my conscience clean, no matter what.

So yeah, hope that answered your question. Basically to sum it up in Romania it’s the same shit as it is in other countries, only adapted locally, ofc.

But it’s still there to divide people, at the end of the day, so that’s that.