#I'm never going to financially recover from this

[the-arteest]

the most traumatic experience i've ever gone through

[ijustwanttoreadfanfiction]

I'll be honest guys instead of writing, I've been spending an extortionate amount of money on beads, and making bracelets for a concert which is like 10 months away...

[wkiwf]

i'm not going to shut up about chicago the closer the trip gets the more i vibrate with excitement omggggg. and i'm going with FRIENDS! so many friends! and you know i'm never ever going to shut up about my trip to japan (tokyo + kyoto) once december rolls around

[virgyvandijk]

buying stock for a market at the end of the month and my basket's already over £200 and i'm not even done

[chalkrub]

do you think it’s a friendly wolf

[fisheito]

Leave me to my delusions

[noblekenshi]

Got my pass for PAX Unplugged. Excitement ensues.

[noirapocalypto]

Every time I remember I have a doctor's appointment coming soon, the fucking dread sets in.

[nohj3]

Haha yeah...

Nothing like being woken up to your car being repossessed because your partner, who told you they paid all their bills this time they promise, didn't pay for the car in 4 months.

Apparently, they didn't lie they claim, Because that's a car "payment" not a car "bill" they paid their "bills".

They also didn't pay their bills. ¬.¬

While we are on the subject - financial abuse is not always just physically taking money away or not having a savings account or escape stash. For a lot of people it is the other spouse sabotaging your credit score, constantly overspending, and you being unable to trust that joint household bills and loans are paid. Did you know that once you add an authorized user to your bank account it’s nearly impossible to remove them without their permission? Did you know that your spouse, who likely knows your birthday and SSN, can often gain access and reset passwords for any online accounts and create new ones?

Financial abuse will ruin your life and there’s really nothing except significant time that fixes it. If you are in a situation where you think this might happen to you you should freeze your credit with all three major agencies. You can find info on how to do this at USA.gov/credit-freeze

This is not something that only happens to tradwives. You are not exempt because you are independent or competent.

[bitevibe]

I miss going to the cinema

[gallusrostromegalus]

Basically. I got screwed.

I am very sorry for how relatively quiet this blog has been but I've been dealing with a very unpleasant situation the last few months, and now I need help.

Essentially, I tried to help someone out, and she took advantage of me, and I have no way to recoup my losses.

Earlier this year, I moved into a new house. Before we sold the old house, a Now-Former friend ran into some trouble and was about to become homeless with pets and a small child. Not wanting them to be on the street, we offered to hold off selling the old house so she could stay there for a little while, if she could pay the cost of the mortgage on that house (because I could afford one mortgage but not two) while we helped her find somewhere more permanent.

I was not making money from this- since I was still paying the utilities and property taxes, I was actually losing money, but willing to soak that in order to help her save up and get her on her feet.

Instead, she:

Never Paid a Dime towards covering the mortgage costs like she agreed ($12,000 for the nine months she was there)

Trashed the house ($500 dump fees for the trash alone)

Let her pets piss and shit all over the house ($1,500 bio hazard cleanup, $4000 to replace the carpet and other damaged flooring)

Caused an electrical issue in the garage ($900 to repair)

Broke the washer, dryer and refrigerator ($2500 to replace)

Broke the fence ($1000 to repair)

When I told her I could no longer financially support her and that I needed to sell the old house, she illegally squatted there for a solid three months and I had to hire a lawyer and actually take her to court to get her to leave ($2,500)

The resulting stress has been, as you can imagine, stressful.

So stressful, in fact, that it aggravated a the medical conditions my husband had and made him extremely sick. He had to go to the hospital and take time off work to recover. Now the health insurance is trying to weasel out of paying his short-term disability claim.

So net, this woman has managed to cost me around $25,000 and that's not taking into account the missed paychecks and medical expenses. I do not have $25,000, and until at least $13,000 of that is spent to repair the damage she did, I legally cannot sell the house to even begin to recoup my losses.

Theoretically, I could sue this woman, but she doesn't have any money and it would be me paying even more money I don't have to get... Nothing. So I'm asking for help to cover the costs of getting the old house ready to sell, my husband's medical expenses, and other expenses incurred by this debacle:

If you can help out in any way-share, donate spare change, anything- I'd be extremely grateful.

Thank you.

[jino-stuff]

There's a bridge in my town know for the high rate of suicides and I willingly gonna jump of that bridge if I don't get the tickets for TB show

[tossawary]

At the end of "Fullmetal Alchemist", Ed Elric quits the military, has given up his ability to "play god", and is (as he has been since he burned his fucking house down as a tweenager) homeless, disabled, and crashing at the Rockbell place to help his very sick brother recover.

And it's easy and funny to imagine Edward Elric essentially becoming the house husband of successful and innovative automail mechanic Winry Rockbell (and later a stay-at-home dad). Small family businesses are pretty much always a mess of needing an extra hand just to answer phones and the mail, to schedule appointments, to deliver and pick up parts, to organize stock, to "just hold this for a second for me", and so on. Pinako is not getting any younger and could use someone to cook dinner and fix the roof while she rests her back!!! Winry is busy!!!

There is also always a lot to do in a rural community, so I'm sure that Ed would find another hobby in the absence of alchemy and could turn it into a gig if necessary, if he really doesn't like automail. He has a lot of skills that he could potentially turn towards an income. I've also generally assumed that Ed made a pretty decent amount of money as a State Alchemist and still has some generous savings on that front.

But I was also thinking that it would be kind of funny if being a State Alchemist came with incredible retirement benefits. Like, the military wants to lure people in with wealth and power and resources - and then make alchemists desperate enough to keep these things that they become walking weapons of war, commit horrible crimes against humanity in the name of "research", and/or resort to human transmutation and become viable sacrifices. Ed never had to worry about getting kicked out (and presumably losing his benefits) because he was a perfect human sacrifice from the get-go (although he didn't know this). I'm guessing a lot of State Alchemists were never actually able to retire between dying in wars, failing out of the program (the brass finding excuses to save money! Bosses are always cheap!), getting arrested for speaking out or actually getting caught publicly doing bad shit, and being murdered for their crimes against humanity.

But, in theory, maybe the State Alchemist retirement benefits were absolutely incredible if you could somehow survive long enough or get permission for an early, "honorable" retirement, because King Bradley (who let's say set up this financial bait) somewhat reasonably assumed that Father would completely destroy the country before he'd ever have to pay out a pension. Which means that Ed could be out of the military for years and somehow still costing Roy Mustang a lot of money.

[livelaughloveluffy]

darling - sir crocodile

a/n: thank you everyone who filled out this poll, due to extremely popular demand, i figured i would start writing for crocodile first, but i'm definitely planning on eventually branching out to more one piece characters!!

a/n: also apologies for not posting in awhile!! i really thought i was spared from the fanfic writer curse, but this past week i've been recovering from a concussion since i randomly collapsed 💀

a/n: but to bring some sense of normalcy back to me posting, i couldn't help but recommend this song for this read. i listened to it on repeat while writing this and it perfectly encapsulates the vibe of this fic.

it gets a bit smutty under the cut 🖤 viewer discretion is advised

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when you were initially brought to baroque works, you had never imagined that you'd be working so close with the man running the organization. sir crocodile had an extensive and well-known reputation. he was mostly known for having ambitious desires and how he'd do anything to reach them.

even if that meant using brute force.

his position and power alone was something to flinch at. the very idea of it makes your skin crawl. you don't get to be an emperor of the sea without stepping on the toes of many other people.

maybe it was sheer stupidity or optimistic naivety that lead you to believe the same wouldn't be true romantically....

• ♡ •

it wasn't until your first day on the job at rain dinners that you found out you weren't just an ordinary member of the cleaning staff, but a privately selected member to clean for sir crocodile himself.

to say you were intimidated was an understatement. everything about crocodile had you walking on eggshells; from his age difference to his personality. the stone-cold stern expression that was practically embedded into his face instantly made you weak in the knees.

and it didn't help that crocodile relished in any opportunity to tease new employees.

• ♡ •

with one glance at your mandatory uniform, you could just tell it was designed to just slightly degrade you. from the tightness of the fabric to how the skirt was slightly shorter in the back. the frilly maid dress that was now adorn on your body was just another test of your confidence and endurance.

it's only once you mustered up all your courage, did you open the door to sir crocodile's office.

• ♡ •

the first thing you noticed as you walked into crocodile's office wasn't the extravagance of it all. the lavish antique wooden furniture with deep velvet cushions go unnoticed. a personal library that must've cost a small fortune was also ignored.

everything else in the room just seemed to pale at the fiery gaze of the very man himself. crocodile's face donned in an unrelentingly dour expression while his eyes seemed to dance with lust and fervor.

once you're able to get past the shock itself of being this close to a man such as sir crocodile, a slight panic crawls over your body. embarrassed at the awkward silence and unintentional staring contest you've been having with your boss, your cheeks flush. it isn't until crocodile finally utters out the command "you can start with organizing the papers over there." that you remember how to move your body again.

luckily, the table he was referring to was in the corner of the room, allowing you to turn your back to his prying stare. with your face concealed and vision clear from crocodile, you're finally able to compose yourself and focus on the task at hand.

you take a moment to surveil the mass hoards of paper, seemingly thrown onto the desk without a second thought. hundreds of financial documents, contracts, and reports were stacked with no particular system. you definitely had your work cut out for you.

• ♡ •

your hands moving swiftly from stack to stack, placing the papers in their consolidated group. you were so engrossed in your newfound organizational system, that you didn't even notice how close sir crocodile was. until his sultry deep voice reached your ear as a delicate whisper. "darling... you should know just how dangerous it is to be here looking that gorgeous.." you could feel the hot air of his taunt tickle the inside of your ear due to the closeness of his lips.

once you finally build up the courage to meet his eyes, gaze sharp and piercing, his hand had already found a firm grip on your hip. and with his hook engraved in the wood of the table, enclosing your body in between his arms, you were left utterly helpless to his whims.

you could practically taste the cigar smoke radiating from sir crocodile as he spoke. "a pretty girl like you doesn't stand a chance alone with me..."

it took all the strength in your body to not crumble to the ground as you felt his hand begin to move at a painfully slow pace. his touch was firm and unabashed. sir crocodile was the kind of man who had no issue making his presence be known. you couldn't help but be utterly absorbed into him. every gasp of air you took was drenched in the fragrance of smoked cedar wood that emanated from crocodile. the warmth of his body pressed against your back and towering over you was all consuming.

the most you could do was choke out a faint whisper of the word "sir..." before your brain did backflips to try and process the sudden breeze and emptiness next to you.

you frantically turn your head side-to-side and do two 360 degree spins before noticing crocodile was back in his desk chair. his feet crossed at the ankles and thrown on top of his desk, as if he was just lounging around. you watched as his seemingly disinterested expression turns into a wide smirk.

the sound of his deep bellied laugh and the searing hot burn of blush on your cheeks was ingrained into your memory.

• ♡ •

when you finally make it back to your designated room at rain dinners, you instantly collapse into the plush mattress of your bed. drained from a long day of work and emotional whiplash, you lay sprawled on your back. and it's only then, with your eyes heavy from exhaustion, sleep about to overtake you, that you indulge in your deepest darkest fantasy of feeling sir crocodile's touch again.

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tags ♡: @vamphoria

a/n: hopefully the long fic made up for my absence!! i had way too much fun writing it!! do not fret, there will definitely be a part two for this fic!!!

want to join the taglist? click here!! (it's just been updated with more characters to choose from, if you've already filled it out before, feel free to submit it again if your heart desires!!)

a/n: enjoyed this fic? here's my masterlist!!

[transmutationisms]

As a person deemed overweight who deals with binge/restrict cycles and is getting worried abt how restriction is affecting my health, I'm considering trying to get help for my ED and wondered if you had any advice. I obviously don't trust the medical system but I really don't feel like I can keep doing this on my own. Are there any programs, groups, etc (either medical or non-medical) that you'd recommend, or any ways to mitigate harm when interfacing with the med system as a fat person?

alright i'll just level with you. i have made numerous attempts to speak to many different medical professionals (psychiatrists, GPs, therapists, other specialists) about eating disorder stuff, every single time has been an unmitigated disaster, & i refuse to do it anymore. i have never in my life spoken to a single medical professional who does not believe some or all of the following:

that i should only weight-restore to [number] or [body fat percentage], & no further

that my restrictive eating & compensatory exercise are 'healthy habits' that i personally have simply 'taken too far'

—in other words, that i should continue to be anorexic, only not as severely as i have done before. this is not helpful advice and it is not 'harm reduction'; it is the same logic as the anorexia, only with a slightly different aesthetic standard to aspire to. if i'm going to continue to be anorexic anyway, i don't see how it's preferable to do so with the assistance of a state-funded ana coach rather than just taking care of it on my own damn time. certainly this way i am at much less risk of institutionalisation.

i have multiple serious health problems as a direct result of past & ongoing restrictive eating, and i do continue to seek medical attention for those issues as needed. but i absolutely do not tell doctors where these problems are coming from, and no doctor has ever pieced it together on their own, because this would require them to have any opinion on thinness besides approval. this has been my consistent experience at varying body weights & stages of acute unwellness.

my experiences are not universal, & i am positive someone on this psychiatry hellsite is about to jump in and tell you there are 'good ones' out there and that you simply need to try harder than me to find them. obviously what you do is up to you. my advice would just be that if you are going to seek external support for an eating disorder—whether from a hospital, therapist, peer group, or anything else—you should

familiarise yourself with your jurisdiction's laws on mandatory reporting, institutionalisation, and involuntary psych holds before you ever open your mouth about any ongoing behaviours, and

run, do not walk, from any group or program that purports to treat 'obesity' or 'overeating', or offers weight-loss counselling, in addition to or as part of its eating disorder services.

if you are interested in online resources, gwyneth olwyn's 'recover from eating disorders: homeodynamic recovery method, a step-by-step guide' is essentially a guide for how adults can DIY replicate the refeeding process that the minnie-maud method relies on family intervention to enforce. olwyn has more writing & info available at edinstitute.org. there's also the ellyn satter institute (ellynsatterinstitute.org), which is aimed at parents of eating-disordered children but which you can pretty much repurpose for your own needs as an adult. jennifer gaudiani's book 'sick enough' is at least helpful for understanding some of the medical issues you may be dealing with, though she's very pro-professional treatment and the book doesn't really give advice on how to deal with your own eating disorder yourself, or on how to find competent professionals besides herself (laughably financially inaccessible). groups or professionals that name these people or use their work may be better informed on EDs than the average, although frankly this has not really been my experience in practice.

i'm sorry this is not terribly helpful & i hope you find what you need in whatever form you can 💜

[adore-laur]

Dadrry idea: since Harry left his position of head chef and there’s a second baby now, maybe they’re struggling a tiny bit with money. Not too much but things are a little stressful and they have to cancel a holiday maybe? Or one of the girls just doesn’t get a toy she wants or something? And they have to explain it to the child just while Harry picks up a few more shifts

——

Harry handled the finances and was highly aware of each transaction made in the family. With two kids, you both had to be quite frugal, especially since Harry was working fewer hours at the restaurant and you were a stay-at-home mom. While there was never an issue of not having enough money to pay the bills and provide your children with life’s necessities, the prospect of running out still haunted your mind. It was possible that an unforeseeable emergency could snatch a hefty chunk of money away. Additionally, there were other boring adult charges like mortgages, taxes, and monthly subscriptions that all left a bigger deduction with each year that passed.

Then there was the summer trip to Italy happening in two months. The plane tickets had already been bought and gifted for Christmas, and the villa was booked in advance. It was expensive, but the other option of staying in a cramped hotel room for a week was undesirable in all regards. The space and privacy were crucial for your sanity.

Italy was not a cheap travel destination per se. There would be money spent every day on transportation, dining, tourist traps, and whatever else sucked you in with its magnificent European beauty. Indulging in extravagance would be tempting, but if you planned and budgeted ahead of time, maybe the financial repercussions of the trip wouldn't be so deplorable. Your wishful thinking was blatantly deceptive.

After putting the kids to bed, you sat at the kitchen table under the dim chandelier and waited for Harry to finish unloading the dishwasher. His silent presence was comfortable as you pondered the logistics of the upcoming trip. Well, pondered was putting it lightly—you were brooding.

"I can hear you thinking," Harry said, setting the last bowl in the cupboard to his left. He washed and dried his hands, then walked over to you with his cotton pajama pants slung low on his hips. His bare torso was at your eye level, and you fought the urge to bury your face in the warm, chiseled skin there.

"My head is going to explode," you muttered, feeling an imminent migraine pulsing near your temples.

He fell into the chair beside you, exhausted from an eventful Saturday filled with dad duties, and scooted it closer to you. "Why, baby?" he asked, his palms scrubbing down his face as he yawned.

"I'm overthinking everything."

Placing his elbow on the table, he cradled his cheek in his palm and gave you his full focus. "Break it down for me."

"There's mainly one thing." You huffed, deciding to broach the topic before it got swept under the rug. "The Italy trip. Prices are going up, and I'm worried we won't be able to afford going anymore."

Harry's expression was the epitome of flummoxed. "Wait, what? Where is this coming from?"

"You're not working full-time," you explained, "and I'm not raking in any income. I mean, will we be able to financially recover from the trip? What if—"

"Hold on, hold on," he said softly, his eyes pinching shut. "Can I interrupt, please?"

You half-heartedly waved your hand in his general direction, in desperate need of his sensible guidance. "Be my guest."

"Let's backtrack for a second. Honey, why do you think we won't be able to afford it? The biggest costs are already out of the way."

"I just told you why. Think about it, Harry." You tapped the table to emphasize each point. "A meal for four people will probably cost over a hundred dollars. That includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so if we multiply that by the seven days we're there, it's going to be well over a thousand dollars."

"Okay," he said. He didn't seem to have anything to add after that, so you continued.

"Then there's transportation." You groaned, staring up at the ceiling. "We still have to decide if we're renting a car. If not, we'll have to pay for a bus, or a train, or a taxi. That's going to add up very quickly."

"Mm-hmm." Harry had a dopey look on his face, a hint of a smile tugging the corners of his lips up. Whatever. You were being realistic, and he was in a dreamland where money grew on trees.

You carried on, getting tangled in the vines of your brain's dense jungle. "And then what about all the sightseeing and activities? That's the most expensive aspect." You shrugged helplessly. "I was recently searching for free things to do in Tuscany. I guess there are a lot of buildings we can look at, but I don't know if the kids would enjoy it."

Harry nodded along. When he realized you were done with your long-winded explanation, he lifted his eyebrows and said, "It's a good thing we can spoil them with the raise I got yesterday."

"And also—what?" You stopped abruptly, catching your breath. Did he just...?

Harry stood and bent down to kiss your forehead in that sweet way of his—gentle and imploring, like he wanted to caress your brain and will it to calm down. "I got a raise yesterday," he repeated nonchalantly, nuzzling his nose into your hair.

"Why didn't you tell me?" you demanded, lightly smacking his shoulder.

"I'm telling you right now. I wanted to wait until we had a moment to ourselves." He crouched in front of you, holding your knees just like he'd done when you told him you were pregnant for the second time. The memory was so vivid that it almost left you stunned with emotion. "Five percent pay raise. We're going to be just fine." His simple smile was remedial. "We are not canceling this trip."

You exhaled, releasing all of your worries into the air, the pounding in your temples dissipating. "Why didn't you stop me from rambling on?"

"Because it's healthy to speak those types of thoughts aloud instead of letting them simmer," Harry replied like the perfect husband he was.

You cupped his cheeks and kissed him deeply, pouring all of your love and gratitude into it. "I'm so proud of you," you whispered against his mouth. He savored your words by humming and sliding his tongue across yours for a brief second. "I appreciate the hard work you put into making our little family happy. And thank you for making this vacation possible."

"Wanted to spoil my girls," Harry murmured, craning his neck to kiss you more. His wet lips pulled at yours, greedy for their pliancy.

"Are you going to pick up more hours at the restaurant?" you asked in between the sounds of lip-smacking and heavy breathing. Something about him at night, in the dimly lit kitchen, with you as his sole focus, was igniting that secret fuse only he could play with.

"Shhh..." His fingers dug into your waist as he lifted you off the chair. Your legs and arms wrapped around him, warmth flooding right under your skin like wildfire. "No more work talk. I want some alone time with my wife before a hungry baby wakes us up."

You giggled and bit his bottom lip in excitement before he carried you to the bedroom.

Miraculously, your six-month-old gave the both of you forty minutes of uninterrupted time to roll around in the sheets.

When you went to sleep later that night, visions of Tuscany's hillside vineyards and swimming in the vast sea erased your concerns. As did the unequivocal vision of the man beside you making precious memories with his babies.

With Harry, there was no need to sweat the small stuff. His eyes were set on the most important thing—family.

——