#’okay so what info do I need to make sure I qualify?’

[louisdelac]

insurance is literally the dumbest shit in the world btw.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Summer Breeze 8

Warnings: age gap (reader is 22, Andrew is mid 40s), dad’s friend, Andy being Andrew, other dark elements. As usual, be mindful of your content consumption.

I also beg of you to leave me some tuppence in the form of a comment and/or reblog. You are cherished!

Enjoy, my loverlies.

You leave your dad as the doctor goes through some tests with him. You sit out in the hall and stare at the panted brick. It’s so bad. He looks so vacant. He recognises you but he didn’t even remember the cottage. It took him a while to pick out Andy and he just called him the new neighbour. 

Your chest feels constricted and your head pounds each time you catch yourself holding your breath. A gentle weight on your leg startles you. You didn’t even realise Andy was sitting right there with you. 

“You okay?” He asks. You’re getting tired of that question. You’re not. 

“Yeah, uh,” you shake your head and swallow, “I... should call the insurance. The nurse mentioned something about it.” 

“Sure, sure, well, we can go grab your phone and I already gave all your dad’s info at the desk. His wallet’s in the room.” 

“Okay, yeah, I... need all that.” 

You’re just moving through the motions. Those walls are maddening. It’s all you’ve seen for the last day, almost two. You’re going to go crazy from the noise of alarms and call bells and beeping and whirring and everything. 

When you have your dad’s wallet and your phone, you leave Andy. It’s as good an excuse to have some space as it is to actually do something useful. You sit outside on the curb and breathe in the open air. It doesn’t taste like sanitizer and latex. It’s refreshing but chilling. 

You dial out to the number on the back of your father’s insurance card and smooth out the first night’s invoice. You wait on hold, the droning music itchy in your ears. When at last an agent picks up, you answer their questions. 

“Mm, yes, I see here the hospital submitted the claim. The admitting paper work is here on file,” the agent says, “it says the patient had a blood alcohol content above the legal limit. Some sort of motorized vehicle accident?” 

“A jet-ski, yeah,” you answer, blinking as acid brews in your stomach. 

“Right, right, so reviewing everything, the details we got from the healthcare provider and yourself, the cost of the room will be covered up to sixty percent and any diagnostics and testing do not qualify for coverage.” 

“What?” You puff out, “that doesn’t make sense. He has insurance.” 

“His insurance doesn’t cover injuries sustained under the influence of intoxicating substances. It’s typical insurance policy. You can access the terms under his account number through our app. If you have an email, I would be happy to forward a copy--” 

“No, no, this can’t--” You press your palm to your forehead as panic swirls in your chest and chokes you, “how... how are we going to pay for all this?” 

“Ma’am, I’m sorry, I wish I had an answer for that, but I can only speak on eligibility--” 

“I know,” you cut off sharply, “I know. I’m not—I'm sorry, I’m upset. Thank you. Thanks. I... have a good day.” 

You hang up and have to keep from throwing the phone. God, you always knew your dad’s drinking would get him hurt and now it’s going to bankrupt him. You nearly keel over at the thought of your tuition washing down the drain. It’s a selfish concern but you have three years behind you, you’re so close to the finish line. 

Who cares about a degree. You can’t lose your dad. You rub your eyes until they stop tingling and get up. You tamp down your distress and head inside. 

You approach your father’s room and find Andy waiting outside. He sits up as you near. He gives a tight-lipped expression, somewhere between a frown and a smile. You fold up the bill and and your dad’s wallet and clutch it against your phone. 

“Everything okay?” He asks. 

You’re so tired. You blow out between your lips. He’s done enough. He doesn’t need to worry about this. 

“Yeah, uh, yeah, just sitting on hold forever,” you grumble. “How’s dad?” 

“I think he’s doing alright. They said they need to do a bit more. Do some scans. X-rays, MRI, stuff like that. He’s going to be here for a while.” 

“Oh, I... makes sense,” your lips trembles and you make it stop. Each night is more money. You tuck the wallet and phone into your pocket. “I’m going to check on him.” 

“Okay, want me to come?” 

“No,” you say abruptly. “No, I just... want a moment.” 

“Sure, sweetheart, whatever you need.” 

You go inside the room and find your dad with his eyes closed. You stop beside his bead and stare. The large bandage around his head reminds you of the damage done. Damage that likely can’t be undone. 

“What’re you staring at?” He opens his eyes. 

You give a start and cough, “sorry, dad, I... I was checking on you.” 

“You look like crap,” he says in his blunt way. That makes you laugh. “Andy says you been chasing your tail all around.” 

“I... I’m worried.” 

“I hit my noggin, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry, I’ll have you back in time for prom.” 

You shy away as if you’ve been slapped. You search his face. He’s not kidding. 

“Dad, I... I finished high school three years ago.” 

His face slackens and fear ripples over him, “three years?” 

You touch his arm, “it’s okay. The doctor said it will take you some time to get back to normal.” 

“Mmm,” he hums, “yeah, I don’t feel very normal.” 

You’re quiet. What can you say? You’re as scared as he looks. 

“You gotta go,” he says suddenly, “get some sleep.” 

“What? No, I’ll stay and sleep here.” 

“On the floor? Nah, don’t be dumb,” he looks towards the door. You follow his gaze and find Andy watching, “Andy, you take her and make her get some sleep. You can come back tomorrow, kiddo.” 

“But--” 

“Now don’t be stubborn. You get that from me,” he points at you but his hand is weak and shaky. “’sides, I’m tired.” 

“No problem, Doug,” Andy says as he breaks the threshold, “we all need to rest up, huh?” 

You look between them and hide your chagrin. You don’t appreciate Andy listening in like that. You’re sure he’s just concerned but his help is starting to turn suffocating. 

[writings-of-a-hufflepuff]

Character: Indiana Jones

Warnings/Important info: Fem reader, implied English or at least has been to Oxford University. Angsty, miscommunication.

Notes: I watched Indiana Jones the other day and obviously my first crush never leaves because young Harrison Ford as an archaeologist adventurer is just *chefs kisses*

It's bizarre really, potentially concerning, worrying to a degree, that after 5 years you know the back of his head from a glance. Suffice to say you try not to draw attention to yourself when you recognise who stands mere meters away from you talking to two of his students about antiquarianism.

Maybe you should have expected it, after all Henry Jones seemed to have a way of haunting you. Maybe you should have been prepared to see him, despite assuming that the United States was so vast that your move from the University of Oxford to Marshall College as a newly qualified Doctor of History would certainly not guarantee seeing him. Perhaps, it was the Moirai, the fates, trying to test your resolve or simply coincidence.

But, after five years without a single letter, a single telephone call or telegram, you certainly weren't keen to stick around and have a conversation with the man. Besides, you had lectures to teach, students to help, papers to grade (okay, maybe not the last one considering it was in fact the very first day of the academic year).

It is with a sharp back peddle that has you careering into a pair of students behind you with a clipped apology that you make your daring escape and it is a surprised call of your given name that has you freezing, turning about face and responding with a strangled "It's actually Dr. Y/L/N now."

"What? I'm not allowed to call you by your name anymore? Guess you've already recinded the right to call you Honey Bee too." There are students stopping to watch, what feels like the entire student body eager to watch the new History professor and the most loved Archaeology professor at each other's throats. A mystery arising from their familiarity and a curiosity at what history lay between the two. You certainly weren't eager to put on a show.

With a flick of the wrist you smooth down your skirt, turning on your heels and walk away calling out to him, "It was a pleasure to see you again, Dr Jones." It leaves Indiana gaping in the centre of the quad, watching the sway of your hips and the click of your shoes on the pavement as you leave him behind.

You choose to ignore the bubble of anxiety it puts in the pit of your stomach all day. Your lectures help to distract you at least somewhat from the reality that your former...you're not even sure what to call him...something, is present and working at the same university as you and you briefly wonder if it isn't too late to go back to your job at Oxford. You're sure Professor Haylett would let you come back, you might need to grovel a bit but...perhaps that was preferable to the potential mess that was being in close proximity to Henry again.

The last time you'd see each other, he'd been a 27 year old Archaeology professor. Young, dashing, charming, with every student at the University of London eager to please him and hoping the American would give them extra attention. You had been a 23 year old History PhD student, one of the few women allowed to do so, after much hard graft and determination. You had refused to let anything or anyone distract you from your studies, from your goal...and then you'd been told that he could help you with your PhD, that he had some specific knowledge on the Battle of Syracuse that you could use and...you'd found yourself suitably distracted. You would be being bitter and unfair if you didn't admit that in the year you'd known him he'd helped you with your thesis immensely...but he'd also put your reptuation at risk, broken your heart and made promises that he never would fulfil. Your mother was right...romance was certainly a tricky business.

You're so frazzled at the end of the day that you don't even recognise that your office has the lights on, if you had, you would have stopped before entering, instead you bulldozer your way in and stumble at the sight of him sat in a chair waiting paitently as if he wasn't phased one bit by your reappearance in his life.

"So, Honey Bee, you gonna tell me why I get such a frosty reception?"

"Yo-The absolute...I cannot...ugh!" You find yourself unable to stutter out a complete sentence as you slam the door shut, it reverberating on its hinges. "You have some nerve, Henry Jones! As if you don't bloody know!" You storm around him, putting the hard wood desk between the two of you and shuffling papers to keep from looking at him knowing he'd melt your anger in a second just with a smile.

He always had the most ridiculous ability to placate you and you wanted to feel angry today, not soothed like a skittish horse or malcontent cat.

"Sweetheart, if I knew I wouldn't have asked!" It's the silky smoothness giving away to frustration that causes you to look up, your bottom lip shuddering under the weight of the sadness that sits in your chest, old feelings that you thought you'd processed and put to bed coming to the surface.

"You promised..." He's silent, confusion deepening as you take a deep breath and begin to pace back and forth behind your desk, agitation growing with each movement. "You promised to write me, to call or send a telegram and you never did. I...I waited to hear from you and I heard nothing. So I am dreadfully sorry, Henry, if I do not feel particularly like pleasentries or intimiate nicknames in front of an entire cohort of students! I have had to earn my place and I am still fighting for respect and no man, one who doesn't even honor his promises, is going to ruin this for me!"

You are breathing heavily, body warm, shoulders rising and falling with every agitated movement of your lungs as he looks down at his lap. Silence falls between you for so long that you turn to look out the window of your office, at the street lamps with their warm glow, the last few students wandering across campus as evening sets in.

"I did...I wrote you." His voice is low, quiet, the sort of quiet that Henry Jones never was, so quiet in fact that you turn to check he actually spoke.

"I wrote every day for three months...half of it was stupid, five lines about my day or a single sentence to say hello. I wrote for three months, sweetheart."

"Three months?"

"Three."

"But, I never...how...if you wrote for three months then how on earth did I not receive a single one!" You're unsure if you believe him, at the same time you never knew Henry to be a liar and it...it boggles your mind. There's an impending sense of your world teetering on it's axis, emotional whiplash as you feel a soaring sense of hope, yet a feeling of disbelief, fear, all rolled into one.

"I don't know, honey, but I wrote for three months to 21 Hanover Street and you never wrote me back so I assumed...I assumed you'd moved on, found yourself a nice, sensible husband and gotten married!" There's an anger that you'd never noticed til now, a sense that he'd been hurt to, that he'd felt like you'd abandoned him. So far removed from the debonair, rakish persona he so often displayed.

"21 Hanover Street? You wrote to 21 Hanover Street?"

"Yes, goddamn it!"

"Henry...I lived at 12 Hanover Street."

"What?"

"I lived at number 12, one two, not two one. 12!" It is so absolutely absurd that you can't help but start laugh rather hysterically. That you felt abanonded all these years, angry, resentful, heartbroken and he'd simply gotten the wrong house number, a stupid, ridiculous mistake that had broken your heart into pieces, only to reforge it again.

"You're telling me that for three months I was writing to the wrong address...?" Henry is out of his chair, rounding the table and closing the distance between you so fast that it makes your head spin...or perhaps that is the effect of the emotional journey you're currently experiencing.

"I'm afraid so..."

"Goddamn it...well, shit, honey..." There's a pregnant pause as your eyes scan his profile, the frustrated set of his brow, the clench of his jaw, the familiar bend of his nose. He's not changed, not really. He's older, more lines around his eyes than last you remember, and a few more grey hairs, but then you're older too. Your first grey hairs finally settling in, the soft baby fat of your face having melted away somewhat over the years. But, he's still Henry and you're still the busy Honey Bee he used to chase around the library to the chagrin of the librarian. Things haven't really changed, you realise. With the removal of the one point of hurt between you, you can acknowledge that you still love him without the weight of anger or heartbreak pushing it down.

"Henry?"

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

"Kiss me." It makes you laugh against his mouth how quickly he follows your request, the scrape of his stubble against your skin an old, familiar sensation that you'd all but forgot. It was like coming home, so familiar that it sent a sharp stabbing sense of yearning into your chest even as his arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you to him.

The woodsy smell of his cologne surrounds you, the familiar tweed of his suit jacket scratches your arms, the soft strands of his hair through your fingers, the press of his nose against your cheek. It's like there hasn't been five years since you last kissed, like you hadn't been so angry with him up until five minutes ago that it hurt.

God, and to think, you'd nearly gone your entire life thinking he'd never cared. All because he'd mixed up two simple numbers.

[keymintt]

Not sure if this has been asked before but, how did you start doing professional work for traffic cabinets? Was there some sort of job fair or exhibit that you advertised your art at and the city decides "this guy is really good, let's get his art in public"?

OKAY so the thing with public art is it's all local and every city kinda does it differently, but so far in my career all of the public art stuff i've done has been application-based

this got long so i'll go into details about what the searching/application process looks like under the cut but tldr: a big part of finding work like this is knowing where to look for local opportunities and submitting applications

generally the cities/towns/whatever will put out a call for artists (also sometimes called a request for qualifications or RFQ) that's basically like "hey we need some artists to do this, this is how much we'll pay you and the details for the project" and from there they'll link a form (or sometimes give you an email address) to apply to where you submit stuff like your contact info, resume/portfolio, sometimes references, and usually a letter of interest on the project

because i submit applications to things pretty regularly, i'm usually good about keeping track of what i use to apply to things—this includes what i've written for applications and stuff like image descriptions—so when I apply to new things it's a lot of copypasting and editing things to explain how i'm a fit for the specific project yadda yadda it's cover letters. it's basically cover letters. pain and agony

in terms of finding the applications, i'm signed up for several local newsletters and arts organizations, but i also check sites like the az commission of the arts (bc i'm az-based) for their updated list of opportunities pretty regularly, as well as searching for stuff like [city] arts and culture and poking around the .gov sites to see if they have an arts opportunities page. in all honesty a pretty big component of finding this work is knowing where to look, and unfortunately if you're doing public art a) it's not always listed on social media b) the best places to look/start are local, and that differs for everyone so i can't say like "oh look here and you'll find something"

once you apply it usually takes awhile to hear back (they usually give you a timeline on the initial application of how long it takes to review all the applications), but i've found people in these fields are good about letting you know when you didn't get something so you can move on with your life lol. atm i'm waiting to hear back from....over five things so i'm kind of always doing this "applying to projects while i'm working on other projects" song and dance which is honestly just...kind of the freelance artist experience?

i feel the need to mention that public art stuff like this consists of about...2/5 of my yearly income...? i'm not solely making a living off of doing these things bc i also usually have teaching and ttrpg illustration stuff in the mix BUT there are artists who can and do make a living off public art and murals and whatnot. i simply cannot resist the urge to stick my finger into any pie i'm even remotely qualified for

working with public art stuff is also that same thing with a lot of fields where once you get some sort of experience, it's easier to get more jobs, BUT as an artist your portfolio can do a lot of speaking for you, even if you don't have experience with public art specifically. take my traffic boxes for example: i've done three of them now and have a fourth lined up, i know that if there's an application for one i have the exact experience they're looking for and will in all likelihood be one of the selected artists at this point. however with my very first one, i obviously didn't have a traffic box in my portfolio so i included a digitally illustrated city banner i designed, several other digital illustrations of mine (bc they wanted a digital artist), and a mural i had painted on a 3d object (to demonstrate i could design with 3d forms in mind), and together these things all helped my credibility as someone who could do this project. as much as i loathe writing letters of interest these are also good places to elaborate on how your portfolio can connect to the project

also with public art starting local is also your best bet at first (not to say you can't land other opportunities right off the bat though), bc people like their artists to know the local scene. i have the experience to back me up more nowadays, but when i was first applying to things you bet your ass i was all like 'i love it here and want to give art back to my local community bc i'm an artist and i'm fresh out of college yaaaaayyyy' you don't have to mean this when you say it, but they don't have to know

thank you for the ask !! and best of luck with any of your potential artistic endeavors (to anyone reading this)!! feel free to ask any more questions, i'm happy to elaborate on anythin btw for anyone :>

[holymaccaronii]

Sorry for sounding like a kid asking their mom for something in the store- but can you pretty please give feedback on my version of swapped AM I just posted? You seem pretty qualified and all with how well written your AU and BE are.

Ou hello mutual c:, I just read your version and I’ll gladly give feedback on what you said! Sorry for answering so late btw I felt tired from an event I went to yesterday, but I’m good now.

Okay so- Before we begin I would like to comment that some stuff such as the political part was kind of hard to understand because I don’t know much about those themes ;;. I am not saying that it is improperly written, but it is stuff that I am not very informed of thus can’t easily get an idea of.

It is actually quite impressive that you could make a swap of AM involved in politics + divide his mind into the legislative, judicial and executive sectors. I honestly find that to be a quite creative way of dividing his mind and it does really fit IS as a whole. Some other nice points of parallelism that I noticed regarding them and AM is that they were created to help humanity by restoring part of the planet but not in a perfect way, that they model their personality based on the people it has counseled and interacted with, and that they are overstimulated due to what they have catalogued from past experiences. I also noticed that similarly to what AM does when tormenting his survivors to cope with his hatred, IS copes by building stuff and listening to them to distract their mind. I love it when people attribute phrases with their ihnmaims OCs, and I was surprised to learn that your phrase comes from an actual philosopher like Seneca. These r the stuff I found very cool and I love the concept so far from what I have read!

The only feedback that I could give you regarding this concept is to maybe arrange all of the points you mentioned in a chronological or compact way so they’re a bit more clear to understand, if you do plan to develop IS’s lore, which I highly encourage you to do! I got a bit lost on some aspects such as their personality and the events that occurred to them, but it’s understandable since you mentioned the info was scattered all around + it’s probably the first version? It’s just about working on the simple definition of a character once you have a big lore behind them. (Maybe it’s that or maybe my English isn’t englishing to understand some big words- sorry if it’s abt that.)

My own AU had a lot of different versions before it got to be what it is, and some of my (old) drawings aren’t even canon anymore due to those changes. Now I am sure of what my AU is about and I am able to actually resume it chronologically for people to get an either simple or complex concept about it (I think ppl do understand it lol I HOPE). I can now explain BE’s character and how she changed through time in a simple and concise manner which I believe is a good indicator that your character is properly defined.

As a conclusion I rlly liked the idea and I’d like to keep reading abt them in the future :3. If you need any help or opinions abt their lore don’t fear to ask.

@surlynotaperson

[n1ghtcrwler]

Revival, Part One

From the records of John Matteson Dated 1 August 2028

“You look like shit,” Fox said as I walked into the office.

“Good morning to you, too.”

“Have you been drinking again?”

I slumped onto the couch. “A little. It’s not what you think, I just…needed a little.”

“The fact that you need it is the problem. Now get off your ass and clean yourself up, you have a client waiting in your office.” I pointed at my office door and silently expressed my confusion. “She didn’t give me a name, but swore you’d recognize her, the poor thing. So I let her wait there.”

I grumbled and went to the bathroom, to adjust my tie and clean up my face. When I was satisfied it was as good as it was going to get for now, I went into my office. “Good morning,” I said, closing the door behind me. “What can I do fo–” I froze as she turned to face me.

“Hi, John,” Lori said.

Twenty-three years, this November. It was like a timer went off in my brain, counting from the last time I’d seen her; one I didn’t even know was running. We stared at each other for a moment that felt way too long, and then I caught my breath and hurriedly made my way to my desk.

“Matteson,” I managed to get out, before clearing my throat and trying again. “People call me Matteson.”

She looked concerned as she leaned forward. “No one did until her, John,” she whispered. “You’re not–”

“What can I do for you, Lori?”

There was a long pause, and then she sighed and leaned back into her chair. “Are you familiar with Mystics Anonymous?”

“I am. I know a guy, Benedict de Monte, works with them.”

“I’ve met him. He said you were doing well, didn’t mention the eye patch. What happened?”

“That’s…new. It also isn’t why you came.”

“We’ve run into a problem.” She started to explain her role with the group, how she had spent the last two decades helping people deal with supernatural trauma, how she went back to school and became a psychiatrist. Apparently, she had tried to help some people in this small town in Massachusetts, but came to realize that whatever was causing the trauma was still active. “We don’t have people that deal with this sort of thing. I needed outside help, and you were the most qualified person I could think of. And, you know, it’s been a while, I wanted to see how you were doing.”

“I don’t think I’m ready to have that conversation, but thank you. I can do Massachusetts. What do you know about this thing?”

“I’m under the impression it’s some kind of nature spirit, must be angry about something. I don’t know, John. I usually only deal with these situations after someone has been through it and needs help, and they tell me what they experienced, and sometimes the type of spirit that did it matters and sometimes it doesn’t. I don’t really know how to identify spirits in the field. What are your fees?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“John, no, don’t do that.”

“I couldn’t–”

“Don’t. I’m here to hire you because of your skill set, not because I’m looking for pity.” She crossed her arms and stared me down until I threw my hands up and leaned back.

“Fine. I can head up tomorrow. Make sure Fox has the address to send your bill.”

“Actually, if you don’t mind, I’d like to check in with some people here, and I flew in. Would you be okay with waiting until Thursday, and giving me a ride up?”

“Sure. Alpha will be happy to see you.”

“You still have the same car?”

“Always.”

She laughed and stood. “Thank you, John. I’ll meet you here on Thursday.”

I walked her out, waited while she gave Fox her information, then watched the door for a little longer than I realized after it closed behind her.

“So who is that?” Fox asked.

“Lori Berman.”

“Yeah, I got that.” She held up the paper she’d just written Lori’s info on. “Who is she to you?”

“You can lose that, by the way. I’m not billing her.” I dropped onto the couch and loosened my tie as I leaned back.

“Why would you wanna do that? Matteson, what the hell is going on here? Who is that woman, really?”

“I can’t bill her. Not after…I owe her, is all. It’s complicated. Old news. Don’t worry about it.”

“Look, Matteson. It doesn’t have to be me, I get it, but you need to talk to someone. All these secrets aren’t healthy.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, getting up and heading into my office. “I’ll be out of the office starting Thursday.” I heard Fox grumble something as I closed the door behind me. Probably best not to find out what.

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[inkdemonapologist]

JDS Bankruptcy Thoughts????

Okay so the latest news article has got me thinking about JDS’s bankruptcy, now that we actually have a year. I was checking the bankruptcy notice in Joey’s apartment to see if this lined up with information we already knew, and Boo pointed out something far more interesting: Joey filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

(source)

So, I checked with an accountant friend who was happy to dissect my silly fandom things and explain business terminology to me, and the first thing to get out of the way is that Chapter 11 wasn’t an option for corporations until 1978. But, you know, this is BatIM, where we have tape recorders in 1929, so maybe this just happened 30-some-odd years early in the BatIM timeline. (or maybe Joey’s apartment isn’t real and none of the letters in it can be trusted. That’s also possible). (or maybe this was just a mistake and will be quietly dropped from the lore without explanation THATS ALSO FINE)

But if we assume this did in fact happen, then this is interesting: Chapter 11 lets a corporation stay in business despite their outstanding debts, as long as they have a plan in place to pay them off. Accountant friend described it as “reorganisation” and “essentially, asking for more time.” When Boo had looked it up, he found big companies doing things like liquidating many many stores in order to focus on supporting a smaller number of stores that they felt could remain sustainable and keep making money. So you’ll get headlines about COMPANY BANKRUPT, CLOSING 400 STORES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, but they’re not fully shutting down.

We don’t know if BatDR and BatIM will have consistent lore between them, bUT IF SO, then the 1948 newspaper article announcing the the animation studio is CLOSING ITS DOORS FOREVER doesn’t seem to match the kind of bankruptcy that Joey Drew supposedly filed for. How would he keep the company going if he’s getting rid of everything?

When @inkyvendingmachine and I were trying to make sense of this, he offered one possible explanation: WHAT IF… THERE ARE TWO STUDIOS.

We’ve already been given two conflicting studio locations – TIOL in 1942 describes a studio in the Meatpacking District, which Joey could be lying about I guess, but there’s no reason we can see for him to lie about that – especially when it’s not exactly a normal or glamorous place for an animation studio to be – versus Buddy’s description of Joey Drew Studios being on Broadway in 1946, with Joey purchasing a theatre next door and promising to bring toy merchandising in-house by the end of DCTL. The 1948 news article specifies it is the Broadway location and the company’s land in New Jersey (likely intended for Bendyland) that are being liquidated to pay off debts – so what if the Meatpacking District location still exists?

iirc Halfusek brought up the concept of two studios WAY BACK WHEN we first got this info from TIOL – the idea that there could be a reason Joey specifies “the Old Workshop,” the place Henry used to work, as opposed to the newer fancier place that he’s having to abruptly sell in 1948. By promising to downscale his ambitiously expensive projects and go back to doing what JDS does best, Joey might be able to make a case that JDS could bounce back… which DOES seem in-character. And he’s moved the machine before – just stash it in the Meatpacking District location now, and nobody’ll be the wiser.

This… probably didn’t work out for him. There’s hints in the 1948 article that Joey might have gone missing (which I’m sure (???) we’ll get more information on soon), so that would sort of get in the way of a bankruptcy hearing if he didn't turn up again before the deadline (abandoning the business is a whole OTHER legal thing). And the August 15th notice above is not actually the bankruptcy going through, just the first step, where JDS is found to qualify for Chapter 11 and the plan to pay back debts has been approved – as far as my accountant friend could tell, it still needs to be approved by the company’s creditors, and there would be more hearings after this. So… we don’t know that the bankruptcy actually went through just because Joey filed it, and if he were found falsifying information about the company’s finances (something im sure joey would NEVER do) or trying to stuff company funds or assets in his own pocket (again, something TRULY unthinkable for mr drew [meaningful glance at the ink machine in joey’s apartment]) then that could also be an explanation for why Joey does NOT seem well off in 1963, if he ended up without bankruptcy protection and was found personally liable for the some of the company’s debts.

Anyway, we don’t know enough to know anything for sure, and this might all get jossed with the next press archive release, but I found Boo’s idea such an iNTERESTING THOUGHT that I'm sticking it up here anyway lmao WE'LL SEE HOW LONG IT LASTS!! in the meantime def interested to know about alternate takes on the BANKRUPTCY SITUATION if anything stands out to anyone else 👀

[literaticat]

Last week on Twitter someone said they did the math and now it is far easier to get into Harvard than it is to become an agented author. Do you think that math works out? Thanks!

That's a fun sound-bite, but like many things on Twitter, I call shenanigans.

BARE STATISTICS-wise, maybe it's true. Kinda. But in order to know for sure, we'd have to know a lot more info. I read all different stats for how many students Harvard accepts -- some say around 3%-ish for regular admission, 7%-ish for for Early Action -- some say 4.-something% total -- some say 5 in 100 or 2000 out of 40000 applicants (5%), and others say 2000 out of 60000 applicants (3.5%ish) -- BUT WHATEVER, we get it, it's competitive, to keep things simple, let's say "less than 5% of students applying to Harvard get into Harvard."

The problem is, of course, we have zero idea how many writers are querying in a given year, or even how many agents there are, or how many writers a given agent might take on in a year, let alone what % of writers who are querying in a given year end up agented. Based on MY inbox, it's probably like .10% maybe -- I hardly take anything on. But then, I already rep a lot of people (do they count? Or are we only counting NEWLY repped people?). Of course, I'm hardly the only agent, and I'm certainly less Hungry for new talent than many, because my dance card is already pretty full. So let's say 1 in 100 of new people who query end up with an agent. 1%. That seems reasonable to me -- and just looking at that number, it's obvious, yes, it's harder to get an agent than it is to get into Harvard.

However. We don't know, in EITHER case, what % of the students applying or writers querying are even qualified. You need way above a 4.0 and nearly perfect SAT scores and great recommendations and extracurriculars and community leadership AND a great essay, and on and on in order to even be in the running to get into Harvard. That is many years of dedicated work, plus being just extra smart, and probably lucky -- plus, it costs money to apply, and most people probably only get one chance to even try.

While being an Agented Writer does involve hard work and some luck, the bar for entry is significantly lower! Basically what you need is a great manuscript, and perseverance. Querying is free. And, most importantly, you can keep trying -- while lots of people DO quit and take themselves out of the running, the fact is, most people who end up with agents don't get signed on their first try.

Qualification-wise, based on my inbox, a HEFTY percentage of queriers are just not even qualified, they are barking up the wrong tree, they have not done any research, their work is not written in a language that I know how to read, or it's a category I don't rep, etc -- they are out of the running immediately. And lots and lots are okay; their manuscripts and queries are technically fine, but they aren't STANDOUTS to me.

Out of 100 people querying, probably only 10 are REALLY ready to be querying and REALLY have something that is "good enough to be published" in my opinion, and will probably end up with an agent on this project -- so IF you check all those boxes, my 1 in 100 above is in reality more like one in ten. (And lots of those people who just missed it will end up writing another book and trying again, and will end up with an agent on THAT one!)

So: No. While the bare statistics may make it seem otherwise, it's for sure easier to get an agent than it is to get into Harvard. Sorry, Twitter.

[winchester-reload]

Jackie...fellow bi needs assistance. I'm in the closet and my only outlet is Destiel fanfic and internet forums where I hide and search for friendly faces. Fic recs, advice, help me pls? Also, is there a way to buy your art without anyone knowing? I live at home and my parents are not exactly on board with this part of me.

oof, okay, well, first--

I'm gonna answer this ask the best I can, but I can't promise I won't "disaster-bi" my way through it, so I apologize in advance. I'm not sure I'm qualified to give any advice. But right at the start of this I’m gonna drop some online resources for you:

the Bisexual Resource Center

Bisexual.org - topical info, people, resources

LGBTQ+ Student Resources

Now, if you’re looking for IRL community, without knowing your age, it's hard to point you to many concrete resources. But, some options are:

If you are high school-aged or older (which I assume you are), you can always find a teacher/counselor with a "safe zone" sticker in their room or office and see if they have any contact info for local lgbtq+ groups or organizations you could join or make friends. Typically it wouldn't be a concern that any of these people would out you, but if you're especially tentative about it, make sure you speak with a teacher or counselor you trust.

If you're in college or around the age where you can tour a college, I highly recommend talking with an admissions counselor at your local community or liberal arts college (on your own, without parents) and request resources for campus clubs or organizations you could join--

You also don’t have to go to the college to speak with them. You can simply email asking for resources, you don’t have to attend. A counselor or office admin would be more than happy to dig up some local resources for you or give you the contact info of someone who can - it’s literally what they do (trust me).

However, I know there are a lot of people who use destiel and this community as an outlet, or their only outlet, for lgbtq+ community and content, and, for the record, I think that’s great. There are a ton of friends to be had around here. If you’re comfortable, you can try to connect with some people on tumblr, maybe about fanfic you like, or fanfic you write, or art - hey, like me! - and start establishing some friendships. You can hang out via Discord, do voice and video chat, do watch-a-longs, you name it. 

As far as the art question goes: All the art you order from me comes in a nondescript box or flat mailer, but you can always email me or message me in advance to request more packaging or discuss specific concerns you may have.

Now for the fic rec part!

A great one (that I’m also hesitant to recommend because I don’t know your age, but is very topically appropriate) is Four Letter Word by Bendingsignpost. In it, Dean explores is bisexuality - but please mind the tags. I’ll let other people recommend their favorite fics in the comments if anyone has one they’d like to add!

Now--  I sincerely hope some of this helps. even if just a little. (and if it doesn’t, or its not even close to what you wanted to know, I’m so sorry *finger guns*)

[the-fiction-witch]

Ice Cold

Media Love Actually Age Up

Character Sam

Couple Sam X Reader

Rating Sweet + Sad

Concept Second thoughts

I grabbed my case from the taxi jumping out onto the street, I paid and thanked him before I hurried myself inside the tall hotel, I passed the desk without a word and went to the lift pressing the button for the required floor. Once it stopped I got out and headed down the corridor until I found the door I'd been looking for knocking a good few times. I waited a little while before knocking again and on the second round the door opened.

He was leaning on the door, eyes barely open, hair a mess, wearing a old band tee and his blue shorts. 

"Y/n!" He smiled excitedly pulling me into the tightest hug and dragging me inside the hotel room "ummmm my second favorite girl in the whole wide world" 

"My god Sam how hungover are you?" 

"I'm not hungover" he says heading into the room and I was taken back by the utter madness of the once cute hotel room now a messy upturned hell hole "if anything… I'm kinda, still drunk" he says taking a beer from the table 

"Have housekeeping been by?"

"No,"

"Oh thank god. I don't want to even imagine the meltdown if Joanna got the bill for all this"

"It's my wedding to you know" he pouts collapsing on the sofa 

"Okay," I smiled setting my things down going over and wrapping my arms around his neck and shoulders "come on, what's going on in that blonde noggin?" 

"Im getting married tomorrow"

"Yes you are. It's perfectly natural to get cold feet Sam. Especially given your kinda drunk" 

"Just…it's nothing"

"You sure?"

"Yeah, come on we have stuff to do" 

"Alright" I went and grabbed my case and began working, I had been best friends with Sam for forever really, since we were tiny little kids mostly thought the school band where of course he plaid drums and I plaid piano so we often were stuck up the back next to each other on the large unmovable bits of equipment we became very fast friends and had been close forever, I even had a crush on him at one point but he had always been head over heels for Joanna for as long as I could remember and after reconnecting a few months ago they were getting married. It had all been a bit rushed but it was still really sweet. Even if Joanna had been a bit controlling of things, kinda bridezilla is not gonna lie. But the wedding was on a tight budget so to minimize costs the girls were doing there own hair and make up all of them being very skilled in such things and as I did a lot of hair and make up stuff for my photography job she asked if I could be incharge of making the boys look presentable which of course I agreed. So I was here today to prep the room and do a base sort of Sam ready to do him and his groomsmen tomorrow morning. 

"You excited?" I asked as I sat working in his nails 

"Course. Just… nervy is all"

"It's your wedding Sam it's fine to be nervous" I laughed "I take it the bachelor party was fun?" I asked glancing are the hotel room

"Ah. No. you know the rules. No penis no info. Bachelor party for boys only"

"Sam, I'm basically a boy."

"You don't have a penis"

"I have one in my bag then can I qualify?" 

"What Joanna ask you to check up on me?"

"No, I'm just curious"

"It was fun. I had a good time"

"That's good, that's the whole point"

"There weren't strippers."

"Ohh?"

"She'll ask you. I know she will. She was very clear about it"

"Okay, no strippers" I laughed "but…?"

"But?"

"But?"

"No. There wasn't. We most just got really really drunk and plaid video games"

"Awww sounds lovely. So long as you had fun" 

"Oww" he complained

"Ohh don't be a baby Sammy. If you took care of your hands and nails I wouldn't have to put so much work in"

"I don't think I need all this honestly. Just like a brush through my hair tomorrow seems like enough" he says 

"It's your wedding Sam she wants you to look nice for all your pictures and things,"

"What wedding photo is gonna show my nails?"

"I don't know… shot of the wedding rings?"

"Good point"

"plus I wouldn't wanna be holding hands with these callus meat claws for an hour in this state, you need lotion. And to clean all the dirt out" 

"That's fair. Plus it makes her happy to think I did it all"

"Exactly. Anything to make her less angry right now"

"Tell me about it" he sighed "still. It's nice just getting the time to hang with you"

"Yeah it's nice to just be with you too Sam" I smiled we continued in doing various things all to prep him for the wedding tomorrow I made sure his suit was all together and steamed, his hands sorted, his shoes shined, his hang over slowly being cured ready for a six am start tomorrow. he currently sat on his third hangover cure smoothie being misted by the little Steam machine in the middle of the skincare treatment I had done for him to clean his skin up for tomorrow 

"Why is this on such a budget?"

"Joanna doesn't like spending alot of money"

"I guess. Maybe stuff wouldn't be so pricey if you waited a little longer"

"I know but she wants it all over with so we can get on with life you know"

"No other reason?" I asked 

"...no. at least she hasn't told me if there is" he explained finishing up his face and we got sat down watching TV with a drink and some pizza

"Y/n?"

"Yeah?"

"Am I a bad person."

"For what?' 

"For second guessing? The night before my wedding? Shouldn't I be giddy and happy and barely able to contain my excitement and yet… I'm not. Is that bad?"

"No sam, it's fine everyone gets nervous, has second thoughts it's a big thing. It's okay your not a bad person for having doubts" 

"I don't know, everyone says cold feet is normal but… this is like ice cold."

"Do you love Joanna?"

"Yes"

"Do you wanna be her?"

"Yes"

"Do you wanna grow old and have bouncy little babies with her?"

"Yeah"

"Then you're fine." 

"Thanks y/n. I'm happy I'm here with you. Out of everyone"

"Really?"

"Of course you're my best friend." He says "I worry I won't really get to see you much after this"

"We'll still see each other"

"Joanna doesn't like you."

"... I mean. I kinda assumed that"

"Like really really doesn't like you. I had to fight to have you asked to do this for me. She didn't even want you to be invited"

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. She really doesn't like you" 

"I mean I thought she kinda wasn't a fan. Kinda sounds like she hates me"

"I did have to tell her a little white lie"

"Oh?"

"She didn't want you to stay here tonight. So she thinks you got another room."

"Ooooh your gonna be in trouble"

"I wasn't exactly planning on telling her. She already doesn't like you. She's stressed just… not tell her"

"Alright, our little secret."

"Our little secret" he smiled as we finished up our food "can I tell you a secret?"

"Go for it Sam" 

"I used to have a crush on you" 

I choked on my drink a little"what?"

"I did. When Joanna left again. I couldn't help thinking how much I liked you and I thought about asking you out, alot. All the way till I met up with Joanna again "

"Really?"

"Really."

"That's really sweet Sam. You wanna know a secret?"

"Yeah"

"I had a crush on you too"

"You did?"

"Yeah I kinda just assumed you were always just to love sick over Joanna to pay me any attention" 

"So all that time you and I could have?"

"We could. Another life I suppose"

"Yeah… another life"

"Come on let's get to bed early start tomorrow"

"Yeah you okay on the single?"

"I'll be fine. Sleep tight Sam"

"You too y/n" 

I woke to my alarm and immediate got to work setting up a station at the vanity Sam took a little while longer but eventually forced himself up "good morning Mr groom"

"Oh my god. I am… so hung over."

"Hang over smoothie?" 

"God yes. I'm gonna… go and sit in the shower a while"

"Sit in the shower?" I laughed pouring him another hangover smoothie as I had already made a batch ready for this morning

"Yeah in just gonna sit in the bottom and just kinda… exist." He says taking the drink

"Alright, don't be too long the boys will be here soon" I told him as he headed to the bathroom for his shower, soon enough one by one groomsmen arrived all of whom I knew of course, I did hair and some minimal photo ready makeup all while the guys laughed and joked getting themselves ready for the wedding. I was getting a little worried Sam had been in the bathroom all morning and it had gotten to the point now we had to get him out or we'd be late. 

"Sam? You okay?" I asked tapping on the door 

"Yeah, sorry I'm just I'm kinda struggling"

"Sam it's okay to be nervous, just come on out okay and we'll get you sorted" 

The door opened a tiny bit and he grabbed my arm pulling me in the bathroom

"Whoa! What the heck Sam" I complained as he relocked the door 

"Im sorry I'm sorry I just -"

"Sam. Tell me. What is going on?" I asked as I really looked at him dressed into clean PJ's from his shower his hair still wet tears staining his face

"I… I don't know if I can do this"

"What?"

"I know everyone's worked so hard. And we've put so much money and time but I just… I don't know if I can do it."

"Why not?"

"... because. Look I've been up all night, I couldn't sleep after last night. I feel awful I should be happy and excited I should have been too excited to sleep thinking about my wedding but - all I thought about all night. Was you. I spend all night tossing and turning thinking about what might have been." He says 

"Sam, that's sweet but it's your wedding today"

"I know I know. But I can't help it. I'm so sorry I don't mean to put you in a situation like this I just… I didn't realize that my feelings never really went away"

"Aww Sam. I don't think mine did either. But you're engaged to Joanna and you're marrying her today. We just have to move on and try not to think about the other life"

"The life we could have had. Together."

"Exactly. Come on or we'll be late" I told him going to unlock the door but he stopped me 

"Y/n wait" he says pulling my arm close and before I could say a word he leant down and kissed me I blushed hard and even teared up as I felt this firework of passion inside me I'd never had a kiss like that before when we pulled away I never wanted to leave his arms and I know he didn't want me too either "fuck."

"What?"

"I really hoped that would make me feel better. I think I just made it so much worse."

"Come on let's just uhhh get you ready" quickly I left the bathroom and took a moment to compose myself he followed suit greeting his groomsmen and taking his seat I struggled a little not to tear up as I for him ready finally giving his jacket a brush and his hair a fix as the boys left to get the car "how are you feeling?"

"Conflicted."

"It'll be okay you just, have to wait. I'm sure the moment you see her in her wedding dress everything will become clear"

"Okay," he nods trying to lean in for another kiss but I stopped him

"I don't think that's the best idea."

"Do you want to kiss me?"

"...I do"

"Then it's a good idea" he smiled giving my lips a final kiss softly and sweetly stroking my cheek as we kissed "I wish I'd done that years ago" 

"You should go Sam"

"Yeah. I need to go" he nods forcing himself away

I pushed my feelings down and just got on with things as usual taking my seat to watch the wedding I wanted to check up on him but I didn't want to put anymore doubt in his mind, the wedding began quickly and I noticed Sam looking at me I did my best not to look back at him when Joanna arrived she did look beautiful and Sam looked so happy to see her, I felt relieved but disappointed at the same time. It all went on as any wedding would 

"do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I don't."

Silence ran across the whole wedding as everyone sat in a moment of shock 

"Excuse me?" 

"I don't. I do not"

"Joanna? What are you talking about?" Sam asked 

"I'm sorry Sam. I didn't want to do it this way but - I can't marry you. It's not that I don't care for you, I care so much for you but we were childhood sweethearts and were not children anymore you're not the boy I fell in love with and I'm not the girl you loved either we've changed, we've grown and now… all that connects us is being childhood sweethearts. I thought it would all come back, that it would come back and be just like it was but I was being stupid. I can't marry you. You'll always be my first love, my first kiss but you can't be my husband. And… I've been seeing like for the last few months romantically" she explained oh my god I knew something was up about that, nowone goes to the gym together that much 

"You- you were cheating in me? All this time…"

"Yes, I'm sorry Sam"

"Uhhhh okay. If uhhh if you think that's best." He nods "what uhh what do we do then?"

"Well we've paid for everything might as well just have a party?"

"Yeah uhh okay. Sounds good" he nods clearly completely broken but what else do you say to that. And just like that it was over the wedding cleared out into the reception space everyone drinking and eating given everything was already there and had been booked and paid for eventually I found Sam drinking on the patio steps 

"You okay?" I asked sitting beside him

"Fine. Just got stood up at my own wedding" he says drinking some more "makes sense why she wanted a quick And cheap wedding. She wanted it over with hopes it would kick start our relationship again. When she didn't feel fireworks walking down the aisle she called it off."

"I mean, is it really a bad thing? I know it hurts but you were so conflicted about it second guessing for days. I know it hurts now but maybe it's for the best" 

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I was just being stupid. Who really marries first girl they get a crush on and expect them to actually have a healthy marriage" he says "I knew something was up with her and luke I just didn't wanna be a dick. Maybe I'd I had this whole mess could have been avoided"

"It's okay, none of us knew"

"sorry I'm just -"

"It's okay, perfectly normal to be emotional" I told him "come here" I cooed pulling him to lean on my shoulder

"Thanks y/n"

"Your welcome." I smiled kissing his head letting him whine and cry as much as he needed too "hey it's okay, come on. You wanna dance?" He shook his head "you wanna go get another drink?" He shook his head "you wanna go get some pizza and drop red wine down Joanna's white dress?" He nods "okay let's go get some pizza and drop a big glass of red wine down her dress" I smiled helping him up

"Thanks y/n"

"Your welcome,"

"Y/n"

"Yes Sam?"

He simply pulled me close and gently kissed me I smiled and kissed him back when he pulled away I saw him smile again "do you wanna come over and watch a movie together tomorrow?"

"What like a date?"

"Very much a date"

"I'd love too" I smiled giving him a kiss "come on before all the pizzas gone" 

[handweavers]

hey Kiran. um. not totally sure how to ask this. but i was hoping you could talk about some of your experiences with university as a disabled person of colour in Canada? bc i am those things as well (lol) and ive just about finished my first term and im thinking hard about whether or not i should continue despite the difficulty and youve spoken about some of that before. if you dont want to talk publicly i can come off anon

i'm okay with talking loosely about it publicly but if you want more precise/specific info talking privately would be better or if you want to know something that i don't mention in this answer. i also can't speak for experiences that i don't have, ie. my experience is my own and may or may not reflect yours or that of other disabled poc given the sheer diversity of people encompassed by that phrase. i'm just going to do bullet points here of stuff i think is most important off the top of my head:

- first of all, see if you qualify for the canada permanent disability student grant benefit if you aren't already receiving it. i'm familiar with OSAP but regardless of what province you're in, if you provide documentation that states you have a permanent disability to your province's student aid system and you show financial need you can receive up to $2000 per semester IN GRANTS (not loans) from the federal government as part of the canada permanent disability student benefit to help you with tuition and paying for other expenses, and even more if you do a spring/summer semester. again, it's paperwork and it's a drag, but that's a LOT of money that can make your life easier so you can focus on taking care of yourself and on your education. and again, i repeat, it's a GRANT not a loan, you don't have to pay it back.

- with that out of the way, i've found university exceptionally difficult and something i would only recommend if going to university is what is needed for the job you want to do or the field you want to be in. if you're unsure of what you want to do/what your goal is for university, or if what you want to do doesn't necessarily require a bachelor's degree, i don't think the pain is worth it. wait or do something else and then if you know for sure what you want and that you need a degree to get there, go ahead, and pace yourself. don't do a full course load, figure out what the sweet spot for you is and stick to that. my max course load is 3 classes per semester, less if i'm doing studio courses. if you have your disability status on file with your uni and with your provincial student aid system, you can take as little as 30-40% course load* (depends on the school and province) and you will still count as a full time student and reap the benefits of that.

- make sure that you have academic accommodations with your university's accessibility services, it can be a lot of work but it will save your life. having that & especially having accommodations that Require professors to give you extensions to assignments is so necessary and is the only reason i've gotten this far. the process for getting this & for getting permanent disability approved for student aid with the government various depending on your disabilities and can be exhausting and inaccessible, which is a problem in itself, but its completely necessary and something I personally would've been completely fucked without

- ive been in post secondary education for 6+ years now and i have never encountered a professor that refused to give me an extension on an assignment, including when I've submitted assignments late without mentioning it to them first, and outside of accommodations I put this largely on keeping an open and friendly communication with my profs. at the start of the semester I let them know that I have accommodations and will need extensions due to physical and mental health issues, and whenever i've had a flare up the first thing I did once I felt well enough to was to email them and let them know, and tell them that I am working on my assignments and will try my best to get them in as soon as I can. I have even submitted assignments weeks late, with an apology and amended with "I understand if this can't be marked/if it's too late, and I thank you for your patience with me regardless" and every single time they have marked my assignment without penalty. even if you have to suck up to them and apologize and do all of that shit, do it, because it'll save you. you don't need to elaborate and write your life story, just speak plainly and tell them you're having issues related to the reasons why you have accommodations and you're struggling but you're trying, and they will appreciate that. the vast majority of them want you to succeed and want to help you do that, you just have to try to meet them partway.

- if something fucked up is going on and you need help with a prof or some other kind of situation, contact your student union and ask them for help and they can either write on your behalf to wherever the complaint is best sent and follow up with it on your behalf OR point you in the right direction and offer support and resources. check if your student union has an accessibility rep and a rep for students of colour and contact them in particular, they are there to help you and they are your peers. they will also almost definitely have a food bank and can help you when it comes to your student medical insurance plan or any other concerns

- if you're on OSAP or other student aid and you need to drop a class, do it early, don't force yourself to suffer through it, because the longer you wait to drop it the higher chance you won't get a refund for the course, and if youre receiving grants that $ will be converted to loans if you don't get that refund. again, this is based on my experience with OSAP, but be aware of drop dates and plan accordingly. if something happens and you miss the drop date though, don't force yourself to suffer and stick through a course you know you cant finish. drop it before you get a 0 or failing mark on your file, because that can fuck you with the university admin side of things and get you on academic probation which can then effect your OSAP or whichever student aid service you have. based on experience I'd rather just get the $500 or however much tuition for that class cost me converted to a loan and deal with paying that back after I graduate, but of course it's entirely up to you.

[moonmeg]

Are you doing your au pair with a company or independent? I have been considering doing one for years to improve my french and would take any advice you give!

First off, brave decision my friend! Chapeau to that!

I'm here with an agency but I know others who are here without and found a placement through aupairworld.com

With an agency (depends on the agency I believe) your stay will cost a bit more than if you go on your own. I think I still have a 450-500€ fee to pay. That does not include flight etc. Also I had to fill out a whole lot of documents with 2 references from people outside my family that prove I have experience with children and describe the type of person I am and a lot more other stuff. Lots of bureaucracy. Maybe it's just Germany but it would make sense... after all not everyone is and should be qualified as Au Pair to work with kids.

However, with an agency you have two persons you can contact if you have problems/questions/anything. One in your home country and one in the host country. That can come in handy when you turn out to have problems with your host family or get kicked out for whatever reason(s). The agent responsible for me was immediately there to check on me when first host family called them and expressed worry for the placement and later told me they want to end it. The same night I was already sent the profile of another family (my current one) and got the contact info for current host mom and we even immediately could decide on a day to meet each other. The first days, the agent checked on me if everything is going well and if there are problems they will gladly help. They get paid for that after all lol.

As for aupairworld.com - I don't know much about it. I know they don't ask you to pay a fee or something. Not if you're there as Au Pair. As host family they do want you to pay a certain amount of money to make sure you're serious and you treat it with seriousness. Here you get to find your host family on your own. No contact person in-between like with an agency. (You can decline an offered family by an agency too though). So yeah, a lot more independent. The only con would be that in case of problems or the desire to change host families you don't have a helping hand I believe. Not a directly assigned to you one at least. But I don't know enough about the independent way unfortunately.

Find out what you want and what you're comfortable with

Au Pairs work with children. Babies, toddlers, preteens. Teenagers are rare and families with teenagers usually don't require an Au Pair as teens are usually old enough to be on their own. Are you comfortable enough changing diapers or doing potty training and not afraid of cleaning the child's butt and such afterwards? If not then scratch out any family that has a child under the age of 5 (it's best to ask the host family about the matter if the child requires that help). How many children are you willing to take care of? How many do you feel most comfortable with? What ages would you be most comfortable with? What if the child has a handicap, ADHD, autism etc. (the parents NEED to inform the agencies about that because in that case it's better you already have experience with that or are even specialized... obviously). It might be the child is diabetic - are you willing to inject insulin if needed? What about the parents? Are you okay with a single mom or single dad? Or would you prefer a couple? Same-sex couple? (It shouldn't matter at all if it's a same-sex couple or not because it's not your business who loves who but I'm going through the points the agency asked me and they did ask me if that would be okay for me... which is kinda sad) Are you okay with it if one or both smoke? Would you be okay if the family follows a diet you don't (vegetarian or vegan for example)? Is religion important to you? What if it is/isn't important to the family? What if the family (esp. the children) don't speak English or a language you understand/know? Would you like to improve your language skills in host country? Would you like to visit a language school? Does the family allow it? Has the family had Au Pairs before?

You basically need to go through all possible cases to find out what you want in a host family and for your stay abroad.

The host family

I think it's obvious that this is among the most important points. Those people are gonna be your family. Or at least they should be. A simple profile describing the family doesn't give you everything you need to know. It gives you the basic information and what your tasks are but it's always recommended to have some calls (best multiple video calls) with the family that appeals most to you. Get to know them and their expectations at you better. Be sure you are comfortable with them. Listen. To. Your. Gut.

Just as some people should never be Au Pairs, certain families should never host one.

An Au Pair is NOT a cheap babysitter.

An Au Pair is NOT a cheap servant or housekeeper.

An Au Pair SHOULD have free time.

An Au Pair SHOULD have evenings and at least one day a week off - even better if you get the whole weekend off.

An Au Pair SHOULD get paid accordingly for their work.

An Au Pair SHOULD have their own bedroom.

An Au Pair SHOULD get food (and in the best case the family even asks you if you prefer something for breakfast or if you need something food wise and they will provide for it.)

An Au Pair IS a helping hand for the family and acts as older brother or sister.

Being and host an Au Pair is a give and take. You receive housing, food, etc. without paying rent and other stuff and if you do go to a restaurant to eat it's from your pocket money you receive while you support and help in the family.

Don't just pick the first family you get recommended. Seriously consider it through. In case of problems though, there most likely always is the chance of changing host families.

In any case though, you CAN and SHOULD put a full stop where one is needed. If you can't take it, if you don't want to continue for whatever reason that may be, STOP and RETURN HOME.

My experience...

has been a roller-coaster. After thinking I was in good hands with my first host family and thinking we were on common ground it was devastating to hear they no longer want to continue being my host family. We had multiple calls, I was welcomed warmly, I felt comfortable and yes, I was willing to continue being with them until the end of my stay. But it was only when I was truly living with them I realized that our life styles are quite different and while no problem to me, it was one to them. The boys, my host-brothers, were a handful sometimes and yeah, had to endure tantrums and stubbornness but I actually really liked them... well at least the younger two. They were distant first, which is to be expected. It was the same with current host-sisters. Both sides need time getting used to this new situation. And as we humans are all different it will also take both sides a different amount of time to get used. Maybe it will just be a week. Maybe two. It could also take a month... or even more. Don't rush it. Don't be discouraged if after a week your host sister or brother or sibling is still distant when you already got used to them and the situation. A good relationship to your host parents is SO important. Cuz if your host sibling is shitty, sure that's not great either but having the parents against you is worse. They are supposed to be people you can turn to when you have troubles or questions. They are supposed to listen and help you if there is a problem with the or a child. Having a good relationship to them makes the whole thing easier and warmer. Here I must add one important advice for any relationship or working place: Communication is key. Misunderstandings happen. And between strangers - especially strangers from different countries that don't share a native language and communicate over a second language like English - misunderstandings are BOUND to happen. Your host parents will probably not speak perfect English (except for if you are an Au Pair in an English speaking country of course). Your English levels will be a bit apart, I can imagine. And with your host siblings it will most likely be even further apart. There are exceptions but this is the situation you are most likely going to end up in. If there is a misunderstanding or if there is anything else you need to get off your chest COMMUNICATE SO.

Also! Piece of advice: try to get the contact data of former Au Pairs if the family hosted any. Exchange experience with them or ask them for advice when there's problems with your host sibling.

It also proves itself useful to have people you can vent to that aren't your host family. Your friends back home, your family, or a tumblr blog where you spam your followers with whatever situation just happened ;) Maybe a simple a journal/diary does too. Just something or someone you can let it all out on or who you can ask for advice if anything. It's important.

If you have a good relationship to your family or have at least one friend back home, you WILL be homesick at times and miss them terribly. Being abroad is the devil's arse when it comes to this point. You're kinda alone. You will with a very high chance find other Au Pair friends and hang out together, go out for dinner, take city trips outside your host city and more. But you will 100% miss home and that's okay. Your homesickness might bring tears. Let them flow. Like my current host mom said "it's a good thing that you are homesick. It means you are loved at home." and that's a beautiful, bittersweet realization to come to.

Take a plushie with you. Something from your friends. Little things that remind you of home and that give you strength. I for example have a postcard from my former choir conductor that she gifted me at prom with some very sweet and encouraging words on the back of it attached ro my mirror here in my room. Also attached to that mirror is another postcard from the choir with the words "Dear Margarita... we will miss you!" and signatures from all the members of the choir. I have a pusheen plush with me, a t-shirt my best friend brought me from Portugal and my mom's cardigan.

Being an Au Pair is hard. It's a challenge. It's tough. You're miles away from friends and family. You are going to have waves of homesickness overrunning you every now and then.

It's a life experience. One you will hold dear and remember fondly or one you wish was never part of your life. I won't let you believe it's gonna be all happy and a field of dandelions. There will be roses with thorns on your way. It might also be your entire field is just thorns.

I don't want to discourage you, absolutely not. But I wish I had someone tell me there will be these downsides and the possibilities it won't work out at all. It doesn't hurt to be aware of that, I think.

I'm sure you will have a great experience as Au Pair! I tend to share more the negative things here because I need to vent and let it out but there's a lot of good things with my current family too and I'm actually am enjoying my stay.

I would also tell you some things my Au Pair friends have experienced so far but this is already way too long a post dhhdnsnsn

If you need anything else just drop another ask or slide in my dms <3

You got this!

[the-institute-promos]

➤ OPEN CHARACTER: REBEKKAH, 23, SLAVE, HUMAN

FULL NAME: Rebekkah Colt NICKNAME(S):Bekkah PRONOUNS: She/Her BIRTHDAY: September 1 AGE: 23 STATUS: Slave SUBJECT: Greco-Roman History SPECIES: Human SPECIAL POWERS: None SEXUALITY: Pansexual, prefers women I AM A: Submissive I WANT A: Dominant TURN-ONS: Orgasm control, orgasm denial, flogging, spanking, collaring, ddlg TURN-OFFS: Jealousy, scat, vomit, blood-play, rape-play, consensual non-consent

➤ BIOGRAPHY

Bekkah was a girl who was like most girls growing up. She had many special family moments and really did have a great family upbringing. She had many different relationships and did love to sleep around with all kinds of people. She wasn’t that to herself when it came to sex. She loved it and would indulge whenever the opportunity came. She was in highschool in her senior year when the accident happened though. It was something that would change her life forever. Her parents were killed in a car crash on the way to pick her up from school. So instead of being picked up by them she was picked up by the police who took her to the hospital. Her parents didn’t make it. She didn’t have a choice but move in with her rich uncle who really didn’t care for Bekkah and her attitude. Bekkah just didn’t think that he was right to tell her how to be when she had grown up with parents who had spent their whole life showing her that it was okay to just be herself even when others were telling you that you needed to be their way. That was something she just couldn’t accept and she pushed back every time he tried to change her. Sure there was probably something to what he was saying but whatever it was she didn’t hear it. After graduation she didn’t really want to live with him anymore and she didn’t want to go to college right away. What was there to do? She didn’t want a waitress job, and she wasn’t qualified for a super paying job. So she decided to become a call girl. She was very accessible through the agency she worked with and her online page was looking very hot. Money started pouring in. She was living the good life and seemed to be really on top of things. That was until a client who was a repeat had really planned an evening of hurting her. He was a computer hacking bodybuilding shy guy who mostly never went out with people unless it was pay per moment like this was. He tied her to the bed and really hurt her. Beating her senseless and having his moment with her that he had paid for was just the beginning. Over the next few days he extracted information from her through using forced drugs and alcohol into her system. Keeping her always very out of it. Indulging in her body over and over while he kept wearing her down. A future she would have to learn to sort her way through. The agency she had worked for was totally looking out for themselves. A lesson she took to heart after being so surprised and not knowing quite who was responsible for her arrival into her new life.

➤ PERSONALITY

✚ Dedicated, passionate, sensual, open-minded ▬ Direct, indulgent, moody, self-serving

➤ ESTABLISHED CONNECTIONS

None

➤ FACE CLAIM & OOC INFO

Rebekkah’s faceclaim is Zoe Kravitz. // Could Rebekkah be right for you?

Bio written by Penelope.

Can someone finally go toe-to-toe with the fearsome Headmaster Malvolio? And can The Institute survive the struggle? Only time will tell.

The Institute - Plot - Rules - Ask - Apply

The Institute is a supernatural master/slave roleplay established in 2015, set at a prestigious university on a tropical island--a prestigious university with some dark secrets. With our eight year anniversary approaching, we have some very exciting events planned. Want to be a part of it? Join today!

CURRENT BANS: NONE

[f1]

Hamilton fears struggle to get into the top 10 in Spanish GP qualifying as Russell gives verdict on Mercedes updates

Lewis Hamilton reckons he could be in a battle to reach the final phase of qualifying at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after a low-key first day of practice where he ended outside the top 10 positions. With the package of updates Mercedes debuted last time out in Monaco getting its first proper test, the team placed eighth and 11th with George Russell and Hamilton respectively during Friday’s running. FP2: Verstappen edges out Alonso during second Barcelona practice session Asked about the upgrades and how his car is feeling, Hamilton said: “It’s okay, we’re fighting as hard as we can. I would say it was a difficult day one, P1 and P2, just getting on top of the tyres and the deg. Our car feels like… the car. “We’re just focusing on… I think the long-run pace didn’t look terrible, we’ve just got to work on trying to figure out how we can extract more on a single lap.” As for his qualifying expectations, Hamilton admitted that there will be plenty of work ahead for himself and the team on Friday night if he is to make an impression on the grid-deciding session. Hamilton ended Friday practice in Barcelona down in 11th on the timesheets “I think from the pace that I had today, it’s a struggle for me currently to get into the top 10, but hopefully we’ll do some changes overnight,” he commented. “I think it’s very, very close between us and that middle kind of… After P5 back to kind of P10. It’s really, really close between us all and it’s impressive to see all the improvements that everyone seems to have made all around us. READ MORE: Vasseur explains Ferrari’s sidepod change and how it will ‘open some doors’ for future development “If you look at [Esteban] Ocon, the Alpines are doing great. You saw the Aston Martin [of Fernando Alonso] in second, right behind the Red Bull [of Max Verstappen], which is really, really impressive. It’s not going to be easy, that’s for sure.” He added: “I’m just going to try and do the best job I can tonight to make the right set-up changes. There’s definitely improvements I know I can make with the set-up, so I’ll get on top of that.” Russell’s day included a trip through the gravel trap at Turn 10 Russell, meanwhile, offered a wider assessment of the upgraded W14 after surviving a trip through the gravel trap when he approached the slow-moving McLaren of Oscar Piastri during FP2. “I think we learnt a huge amount, and we’ll dig into the data tonight,” he said. “We know that we’re not Friday specialists and we often take a bit of a step forward on Saturday and Sunday, so it’s the right way round for it to be. NEED TO KNOW: The most important facts, stats and trivia ahead of the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix “But we are where we are. I think a lot of people are bringing updates to the car, we weren’t expecting to suddenly set the world on fire, and we just need to learn what we can from the info we’ve got and try and move forward tomorrow. “I think definitely we can find some gains. There’s a few surprises out there today, but I’m sure the story will be slightly different tomorrow and again on Sunday, and as we know, we score points on Sunday, so that’s what we’re targeting.” via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

[baekhvuns]

I knooooow and this person wanna hang out with me as well 😭 this is ridiculous, just let me enjoy the concerts I have... go see Ateez 4 times and leave me alone

Oh no 🥑 must be cold, avos don't like cold 💔

KQ released another statement about disrespectful fans, but it's not enough, they need to start electrocuting them or something. I'm not sure how some fansites work either, I know some get info from the companies (not always legally), so you're gonna wake up early as fuck to take some photos??? Be serious lol it's so weird to me...

Stop this isn't Sweet Home Alabama moment ok 😭 I heard that some people were disappointed with Romantic Killer's ending? The manga isn't terrible, but it was boring to me

I think Tasir being the bad guy wouldn't make sense and be such a cheap plot twist. So fingers crossed he's okay 🤞 The earrings phase started with Howl Pendragon and now we're here...

It's sad to see great teams lose, but also kinda funny ngl 😅 this year is wild, and the fact Italy didn't even qualify like what? Honestly I haven't watched the matches, just saw bits and pieces, but I heard some decisions were controversial. Richarlison is so funny, I can't stan a Spurs player tho, gotta respect myself. Lmao Mbappe, that would be me

SM is either doing something right or terribly. With JYP, Skz are doing ok so clearly their division isn't that bad, but Itzy? Some people argue Twice is losing their momentum as well... Itzy tho, damn they had so many Korean and Japanese releases this year and all of them were pretty mid and kinda similar 💀

Both Jinni amd Yedam trained for a long time, whatever happened with them hopefully they're doing ok

Thankfully my friend didn't meet a lot of racists jahdhshsjagsha she had a boyfriend there, but now she has another one in Straya 👀 so nothing is really there for her in the Maple Land anymore. Zoologist and something else, I always forget because it's so complicated lol.

Baek jshsiausushssvs

Waiting until I see model Hwa on a huge ass billboard 🥰 ohhh what are you gonna do in Paris 👀 ngl I used to like the city now I think it's overrated hahahah, but it's not bad

Yesss I didn't think you were necessarily giving Yeohui vibes before, but the description fits.

Speaking of blonde. Thoughts? Personally I'm sooooo into it. The person who said Seonghwa looks awful in blonde... get help, pls

Okay but imagine this AU, uber driver or just some guy goes back in time and needs to work in a mansion or something...

Cottagecore or dark academia, visually the latter, but he would definitely be pretentious and while it can be cool, I need some soft Hwa in his big ass knitted hat <3

Dark haired aloof this is so specific lol. Bestie all the lyrics question and ofc Taylor 🔪 anyways I got matcha. I don't even like matcha very much...

Seonghwa in his big hat and scarf, very cosy and warm, I'm gonna bite his nose 🤗

Ohhh are we gonna see Ateez at the wedding or... also some of the comments 😬 Atinys have this weird hate boner towards Eden as though he didn't produce so many amazing songs they love, clown behaviour

I know, I know miss tenelka delivering again 👀

Ahhhhh this is cool

A WIN FOR SPY X FAMILY NATION

AIEYUAGSHSGSUSHAHSHS and 🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️

Can they stooooop

P.S. had so many messy dreams last night but Seonghwa was featured... - DV 💖

hi hello!!

I knooooow and this person wanna hang out with me as well 😭 this is ridiculous, just let me enjoy the concerts I have... go see Ateez 4 times and leave me alone /// Oh no 🥑 must be cold, avos don't like cold 💔

LMFAOOOO BESTIE UR STUCK 😭😭😭 and now the comeback they said they wanna focus on the kr fans in jan but then the tour starts feb 😭😭 they’re really saying ur not seeing them 😭😭🤚🏼ABSOLUTE BS 😭😭 mister avo is constantly stuck under the snow its rly hilarious bc ppl make a snowman out of it fbf

KQ released another statement about disrespectful fans, but it's not enough, they need to start electrocuting them or something. I'm not sure how some fansites work either, I know some get info from the companies (not always legally), so you're gonna wake up early as fuck to take some photos??? Be serious lol it's so weird to me...

LMFAOOOO RBQMFBKSBDAK ELECTROCUTING 😭😭😭 ur right the stalking hasn’t gone yet and the fact that there’s a whole law on it now and ppl are still not stopping is mad low,, no it really is! the dedication is obsession

Stop this isn't Sweet Home Alabama moment ok 😭 I heard that some people were disappointed with Romantic Killer's ending? The manga isn't terrible, but it was boring to me

LMFAOOOO I CANT HELP IT I HAD TO DOUBLE TAKE FBWKDBW okay yeah! the ending was a bit disappointing in the sense that the show was great and ppl kept expecting more and more that the ending just kinda went flat 🧍🏻‍♀️

I think Tasir being the bad guy wouldn't make sense and be such a cheap plot twist. So fingers crossed he's okay 🤞 The earrings phase started with Howl Pendragon and now we're here...

it def would be, but if they play it well 😩 VILLAIN ARC >> NOT W HOWL FJWKDHWKDJWBDKS HE IS THE EPITOME OF A ✨ MAN ✨

It's sad to see great teams lose, but also kinda funny ngl 😅 this year is wild, and the fact Italy didn't even qualify like what? Honestly I haven't watched the matches, just saw bits and pieces, but I heard some decisions were controversial. Richarlison is so funny, I can't stan a Spurs player tho, gotta respect myself. Lmao Mbappe, that would be me

it really is! 😭 it was quite upsetting to see them walk off and then ppl make those edits with sad music and it just HURTS EVEN MORE FBWMDB nOOO BC HOW DID ITALY NOT QUALIFY?? BIGGEST SHOCKER,, yeah, the decisions were rly controversial to the point the brazilian players called the coach out <//3 it would’ve been amazing to see 2 powerhouses like brazil & argentina play together, mayhaps next time but it wont be the same 😭😭 LMFAOOOO HEY FBQNDJW COME ON A LITTLE BIT OF SELF RESPECT CAN LEAVE FBWKDH mbappe pisses me of sm 😭😭😭 but he’s so funnybfbwkdhwj but i have to say, so far the best game of the wc has been argentina v netherlands, every 5 minutes they were fighting 😭😭 the desperation and the tension on the penalties seriously took time off my life 😭😭

SM is either doing something right or terribly. With JYP, Skz are doing ok so clearly their division isn't that bad, but Itzy? Some people argue Twice is losing their momentum as well... Itzy tho, damn they had so many Korean and Japanese releases this year and all of them were pretty mid and kinda similar 💀

exactly!! sm’s rly doing the hit or miss and unfortunately doesn’t realize that some groups don’t fit the ‘experimental’ genre well esp bc they have a pre established genre itself! same w jyp! itzy has their already established genre and it was peak icy, wannabe but then they started to get a little too 📈📉 with the genre and now it’s just been miss miss miss instead of the hit hit hit 😭😭😭

Both Jinni amd Yedam trained for a long time, whatever happened with them hopefully they're doing ok

yeah! hope they’re all well bc damn it really is saddening seeing all these talented ppl leave, id be so frustrated to have worked so hard only for it to shatter 😭😭

Thankfully my friend didn't meet a lot of racists jahdhshsjagsha she had a boyfriend there, but now she has another one in Straya 👀 so nothing is really there for her in the Maple Land anymore. Zoologist and something else, I always forget because it's so complicated lol.

I HAVE WANTED TO SHOW THIS EVER SINCE WE TALKED ABOUT THIS bc what the fUCK. IS THAT THE PERSON WHOS BF IS YOUNGER AND LIVED A WHOLE AU FBSNDBDB ur friend has such a cool job

Baek jshsiausushssvs

LMFAOOOO RM MINGI MARK 😭😭😭 PLS THIS WOULD BE AMAZING TO WATCH, hear me out we need kwangsoo in this

Waiting until I see model Hwa on a huge ass billboard 🥰 ohhh what are you gonna do in Paris 👀 ngl I used to like the city now I think it's overrated hahahah, but it's not bad

waiting for the ysl ambassadorship bc that would be my last straw,, i have a few weddings to attend actually! in london but since paris is right there MIGHT AS WELL OUI OUI CREME DE LA CREME primarily for the fashion and the twinkle of the eiffel tower will live my yn <3

Yesss I didn't think you were necessarily giving Yeohui vibes before, but the description fits. /// Speaking of blonde. Thoughts? Personally I'm sooooo into it. The person who said Seonghwa looks awful in blonde... get help, pls

<33 tysm 😭😭 AND YES I AGREE ALL BLOND ATEEZ !!!!!!! WE NEED THIS !!!! jongho’s blond undercut >>> mingi is unstoppable with blond hair, san and hwa’s wave blond colour esp >>> hongjoong with blond and not that yellow hair he had,,, wooyoung blond was superior esp w the wonderland uniform concept, boy was majestic ✨🫡 THAT PERSON JUST SEES HWA AS THE YELLOWLY BLOND BUT WHEN THEY SEE THE DIRTY BLOND 😮‍💨😮‍💨 nothing’s much better

Okay but imagine this AU, uber driver or just some guy goes back in time and needs to work in a mansion or something...

this but with the duke and his general’s next universe 🤩

Cottagecore or dark academia, visually the latter, but he would definitely be pretentious and while it can be cool, I need some soft Hwa in his big ass knitted hat <3 //// Dark haired aloof this is so specific lol. Bestie all the lyrics question and ofc Taylor 🔪 anyways I got matcha. I don't even like matcha very much...

pretentious law school rivals dark academia but he knits for fun and the reader finds out he knits <33 domesticness <33 A HAT SO BIG I NEED HIS FACE GONE also what is this 😭😭 what the hell 😭😭,, IT RLT IS BC IT REMINDED ME OF TASIR DBDBD ok matcha is literally g r a s s, i do not understand the hype around it evfkw hello <3 i am oolong tea <3

Seonghwa in his big hat and scarf, very cosy and warm, I'm gonna bite his nose 🤗 /// Ohhh are we gonna see Ateez at the wedding or... also some of the comments 😬 Atinys have this weird hate boner towards Eden as though he didn't produce so many amazing songs they love, clown behaviour

seonghwa is the epitome of christian girl fall but winter, but uh,, is this ur model paris hwa? ,,, i don’t understand why sm ppl hate him, w/o him there would’ve been no ateez and they wouldn’t have gone this far if not for the experience and guidance he has in producing kpop worthy songs! his wife is so pretty eden who? need his wife 🔫

I know, I know miss tenelka delivering again 👀

MISS IS DELIVERING AND I NEED TO CATCH UP FHWKDHSK

Ahhhhh this is cool ////// A WIN FOR SPY X FAMILY NATION

THE PRESENCE THE CHOREO !!!!!!! WHAT A PERFORMANCE im gonna eat him

AIEYUAGSHSGSUSHAHSHS and 🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️ /// Can they stooooop

HELLO NO! NO! AGAIN! NO! NO! NO MADAME NON!

…uh

P.S. had so many messy dreams last night but Seonghwa was featured... - DV 💖

point form detailed now. 🔫

..

and 4 years to love shot and still no yunho cover 🔫🔫 haha men are liars!

ANON FBQMDHQKDJWK NOT THIS

hear me out, this au

what was this premier 😭😭 30 mins of rain asmr 😭😭😭🤚🏼 they’re sIRENS ITS COMING TRUE

[duckprintspress]

How to Edit an Over-Length Story Down to a Specific Word Count

One of the most wonderful things about writing as a hobby is that you never have to worry about the length of your story. You can be as self-indulgent as you want, make your prose the royalist of purples, include every single side story and extra thought that strikes your fancy. It’s your story, with no limits, and you can proceed with it as you wish.

When transitioning from casual writing to a more professional writing milieu, this changes. If you want to publish, odds are, you’ll need to write to a word count. If a flash fiction serial says, “1,000 words or less,” your story can’t be 1,025 and still qualify. If a website says, “we accept novellas ranging from 20,000 to 40,000 words,” your story will need to fall into that window. Even when you consider novel-length works, stories are expected to be a certain word count to fit neatly into specific genres - romance is usually around 80,000 words, young adult usually 50,000 to 80,000, debut novels usually have to be 100,000 words or less regardless of genre, etc. If you self-publish or work with a small press, you may be able to get away with breaking these “rules,” but it’s still worthwhile to learn to read your own writing critically with length in mind and learn to recognize what you do and do not need to make your story work - and then, if length isn’t an issue in your publishing setting, you can always decide after figuring out what’s non-essential to just keep everything anyway.

If you’re writing for fun? You literally never have to worry about your word count (well, except for sometimes in specific challenges that have minimum and/or maximum word counts), and as such, this post is probably not for you.

But, if you’re used to writing in the “throw in everything and the kitchen sink” way that’s common in fandom fanfiction circles, and you’re trying to transition only to be suddenly confronted with the reality that you’ve written 6,000 words for a short story project with a maximum word count of 5,000...well, we at Duck Prints Press have been there, we are in fact there right now, as we finish our stories for our upcoming anthology Add Magic to Taste and many of us wrote first drafts that were well over the maximum word count.

So, based on our experiences, here are our suggestions on approaches to help your story shorter...without losing the story you wanted to tell!

Cut weasel words (we wrote a whole post to help you learn how to do that!) such as unnecessary adverbs and adjectives, the “was ~ing” sentence structure, redundant time words such as “a moment later,” and many others.

When reviewing dialog, keep an eye out for “uh,” “er,” “I mean,” “well,” and other casual extra words. A small amount of that kind of language usage can make dialog more realistic, but a little goes a long way, and often a fair number of words can be removed by cutting these words, without negatively impacting your story at all.

Active voice almost always uses fewer words than passive voice, so try to use active voice more (but don’t forget that passive voice is important for varying up your sentence structures and keeping your story interesting, so don’t only write in active voice!).

Look for places where you can replace phrases with single words that mean the same thing. You can often save a lot of words by switching out phrases like “come back” for “return” and seeking out other places where one word can do the work of many.

Cut sentences that add atmosphere but don't forward the plot or grow your characters. (Obviously, use your judgement. Don't cut ALL the flavor, but start by going - I’ve got two sentences that are mostly flavor text - which adds more? And then delete the other, or combine them into one shorter sentence.)

Remove superfluous dialog tags. If it’s clear who’s talking, especially if it’s a conversation between only two people, you can cut all the he saids, she saids.

Look for places where you've written repetitively - at the most basic level, “ ‘hahaha,’ he laughed,” is an example, but repetition is often more subtle, like instances where you give information in once sentence, and then rephrase part or all of that sentence in the next one - it’s better to poke at the two sentences until you think of an effective, and more concise, way to make them into only one sentence. This also goes for scenes - if you’ve got two scenes that tend towards accomplishing the same plot-related goal, consider combining them into one scene.

Have a reason for every sentence, and even every sentence clause (as in, every comma insertion, every part of the sentence, every em dashed inclusion, that kind of thing). Ask yourself - what function does this serve? Have I met that function somewhere else? If it serves no function, or if it’s duplicative, consider cutting it. Or, the answer may be “none,” and you may choose to save it anyway - because it adds flavor, or is very in character for your PoV person, or any of a number of reasons. But if you’re saving it, make sure you’ve done so intentionally. It's important to be aware of what you're trying to do with your words, or else how can you recognize what to cut, and what not to cut?

Likewise, have a reason for every scene. They should all move the story along - whatever the story is, it doesn’t have to be “the end of the world,” your story can be simple and straightforward and sequential...but if you’re working to a word count, your scenes should still forward the story toward that end point. If the scene doesn’t contribute...you may not need them, or you may be able to fold it in with another scene, as suggested in item 6.

Review the worldbuilding you’ve included, and consider what you’re trying to accomplish with your story. A bit of worldbuilding outside of the bare essentials makes a story feel fleshed out, but again, a little can go a long way. If you’ve got lots of “fun” worldbuilding bits that don’t actually forward your plot and aren’t relevant to your characters, cut them. You can always put them as extras in your blog later, but they’ll just make your story clunky if you have a lot of them.

Beware of info-dumps. Often finding a more natural way to integrate that information - showing instead of telling in bits throughout the story - can help reduce word count.

Alternatively - if you over-show, and never tell, this will vastly increase your word count, so consider if there are any places in your story where you can gloss over the details in favor of a shorter more “tell-y” description. You don’t need to go into a minute description of every smile and laugh - sometimes it’s fine to just say, “she was happy” or “she frowned” without going into a long description of their reaction that makes the reader infer that they were happy. (Anyone who unconditionally says “show, don’t tell,” is giving you bad writing advice. It’s much more important to learn to recognize when showing is more appropriate, and when telling is more appropriate, because no story will function as a cohesive whole if it’s all one or all the other.)

If you’ve got long paragraphs, they’re often prime places to look for entire sentences to cut. Read them critically and consider what’s actually helping your story instead of just adding word count chonk.

Try reading some or all of the dialog out loud; if it gets boring, repetitive, or unnecessary, end your scene wherever you start to lose interest, and cut the dialog that came after. If necessary, add a sentence or two of description at the end to make sure the transition is abrupt, but honestly, you often won’t even need to do so - scenes that end at the final punchy point in a discussion often work very well.

Create a specific goal for a scene or chapter. Maybe it’s revealing a specific piece of information, or having a character discover a specific thing, or having a specific unexpected event occur, but, whatever it is, make sure you can say, “this scene/chapter is supposed to accomplish this.” Once you know what you’re trying to do, check if the scene met that goal, make any necessary changes to ensure it does, and cut things that don’t help the scene meet that goal.

Building on the previous one, you can do the same thing, but for your entire story. Starting from the beginning, re-outline the story scene-by-scene and/or chapter-by-chapter, picking out what the main “beats” and most important themes are, and then re-read your draft and make sure you’re hitting those clearly. Consider cutting out the pieces of your story that don’t contribute to those, and definitely cut the pieces that distract from those key moments (unless, of course, the distraction is the point.)

Re-read a section you think could be cut and see if any sentences snag your attention. Poke at that bit until you figure out why - often, it’s because the sentence is unnecessary, poorly worded, unclear, or otherwise superfluous. You can often rewrite the sentence to be clearer, or cut the sentence completely without negatively impacting your work.

Be prepared to cut your darlings; even if you love a sentence or dialog exchange or paragraph, if you are working to a strict word count and it doesn't add anything, it may have to go, and that's okay...even though yes, it will hurt, always, no matter how experienced a writer you are. (Tip? Save your original draft, and/or make a new word doc where you safely tuck your darlings in for the future. Second tip? If you really, really love it...find a way to save it, but understand that to do so, you’ll have to cut something else. It’s often wise to pick one or two favorites and sacrifice the rest to save the best ones. We are not saying “always cut your darlings.” That is terrible writing advice. Don’t always cut your darlings. Writing, and reading your own writing, should bring you joy, even when you’re doing it professionally.)

If you’re having trouble recognizing what in your own work CAN be cut, try implementing the above strategies in different places - cut things, and then re-read, and see how it works, and if it works at all. Sometimes, you’ll realize...you didn’t need any of what you cut. Other times, you’ll realize...it no longer feels like the story you were trying to tell. Fiddle with it until you figure out what you need for it to still feel like your story, and practice that kind of cutting until you get better at recognizing what can and can’t go without having to do as much tweaking.

Lastly...along the lines of the previous...understand that sometimes, cutting your story down to a certain word count will just be impossible. Some stories simply can’t be made very short, and others simply can’t be told at length. If you’re really struggling, it’s important to consider that your story just...isn’t going to work at that word count. And that’s okay. Go back to the drawing board, and try again - you’ll also get better at learning what stories you can tell, in your style, using your own writing voice, at different word counts. It’s not something you’ll just know how to do - that kind of estimating is a skill, just like all other writing abilities.

As with all our writing advice - there’s no one way to tackle cutting stories for length, and also, which of these strategies is most appropriate will depend on what kind of story you’re writing, how much over-length it is, what your target market is, your characters, and your personal writing style. Try different ones, and see which work for you - the most important aspect is to learn to read your own writing critically enough that you are able to recognize what you can cut, and then from that standpoint, use your expertise to decide what you should cut, which is definitely not always the same thing. Lots of details can be cut - but a story with all of the flavor and individuality removed should never be your goal.

Contributions to this post were made by @unforth, @jhoomwrites, @alecjmarsh, @shealynn88, @foxymoley, @willablythe, and @owlishintergalactic, and their input has been used with their knowledge and explicit permission. Thanks, everyone, for helping us consider different ways to shorten stories!