#but I also get my next paycheck in two weeks so I might be able to go home in a couple of months

[arionaleilani]

1. it’s my 24th birthday today, so my goal of being published by the time i’m 25 is now a one year looming monster, but i never specified what kind of published and am currently looking in various literary magazines that are recommended for writers who have yet to be published, so i’m surprisingly confident that i can make it work? and tbh even if whatever i write isn’t officially published before my 25th birthday, if i have someone in the process of being published then i’ll be happy!! no matter what though, i’m gonna try to be proud of myself for at least giving it my best shot!!

2. i honestly love that my birthday is on the ides of march because the ides of march meme shitposting is only a thing on tumblr but it also being my birthday makes it easier to like. be excited about the ides of march outside of tumblr. like even in person i can be like “it’s my birthday! i’m an ides of march babe (:” and if someone is like oh what’s that? or if they say something along the lines of oh like julius caesar? i can be like yep!! and even if it’s a small thing outside of tumblr it brings me immense enjoyment and amusement being able to bring it up off of tumblr

3. transportation situation has been very rough since june 2023 when i totalled my car, my gap insurance are being assholes and i ended up putting my foot down on the phone with them yesterday which i’m pretty proud of because i am NOT a confrontational person (something i’ve been working on this past year, so seeing some improvement with my ability to hold my ground and not be a pushover yesterday was very cool!!) i was told i’d get a response from them by friday next week no matter what, and if i don’t then friday of next week i will continue to wreak havoc upon them. but my moms car which i’ve been using since my accident broke down yesterday, hopefully it’s fixable but my parents were saying it might be done for, so trying to think of how i’m gonna get to work next week is kind of stressing me out lmao, but for now i’m just gonna focus on enjoying my birthday the best i can because i don’t want to start off being 24 with an overwhelming anxiety for something that won’t be a potential issue until monday. plus i already messaged my boss today to let her know that i’m going to do everything i can to make it work out but just so she’s in the loop and knows of the potential of me not being able to make my morning shifts (one of my coworkers said she’s more than happy to give me a ride for our afternoon shifts which does help relieve some of the stress!) and i told her i’d let her know for sure sunday so that if necessary she can have time to figure out someone to fill in for me in the mornings!

overall: life is weird and i ended being 23 yesterday with a shitty situation but a positive outlook and i am going to enjoy my first day of being 24 no matter what because honestly i fucking earned it. happy friday everyone, i hope it’s a good day for you and me both!

[spacebell]

it’s 10 am on Monday and I have no motivation left for the rest of the week

[ghost-proofbaby]

thinking about how eddie munson probably has a ridiculous collection of guitar picks. little jars of them. some collected at shows, some he picked up for a nickel at the only local music shop he's ever trusted to do work on his Sweetheart, some he was gifted for free at his local record shop that he's been frequenting for years now. the little old man running the record shop even gets excited when new vinyls are sent out with promotional merch, and he knows it's a band or musician eddie is into. probably even called eddie in at times and handed him a handful of metallica themed pics, hardly worth much, but solely because "i knew you like them and will find a good use for these, son".

my point is, he's got a pick for every occasion. shitty plastic thin ones for just fucking around with. thicker, nicer ones that might have been proper holiday gifts to him. the kind that are meant to hook on his fingers like rings (he tried using them a few times, especially for rifts, but ended up saying he played better when he felt the strings against his skin instead while picking away). novelty ones, ones that just looked plain cool. so on and so forth.

and he's got his collection just sitting in little jars across his room. he used to keep them in other things, like old ash trays or tin cans he'd cut and mold to be good containers. but then he started dating you, and you insisted on lending him any empty jars you weren't using. you had your own collections in yours: pretty stones found down by the creek, bottle caps of the sodas you and eddie get every time you stop at the gas station right on the edge of town by lover's lake - you even had one of every single crumpled up note eddie had ever given you over your time of dating. a few jars of those, actually. so what was lending him a few spares? at this point, the jars were a collection in themselves, and... well... it was prettier to see his vast collection in those glass jars anyways. being able to pick out the vibrant tones of the guitar pick you'd been with him as he'd purchased two weeks prior, or the pick from the show you'd gotten him tickets to last christmas. it was nice. a cute reminder of time spent, of what made eddie munson tick.

the important thing is, eddie munson isn't blind. he sees the way you look at that collection, especially after he fills the jars with it.

how some days, he'll be strumming away on his guitar, softly humming, and you'll just grab a jar to pick through. interrupting his nonsensical playing to ask him where he got one you didn't recognize, sometimes asking for the stories behind ones he knew you already knew. he'd caught on to the way you just liked hearing him talk, especially about the things he cared most about.

you also really, really liked the pick he wore as a necklace. it was probably your favorite in his collection, and you knew it was his favorite too. giving it as a gift to you was never an option, because it had been given as a gift to him originally by his mom.

so he does the next best thing.

he figures out your favorite pick in his collection. the one you always go back to, the one you ask for the story behind on a nearly weekly basis. one similar to the one always resting against his collarbones. pearly sheen, marbled tones, a slow indent the shape of his thumb being worn into the old tortoiseshell. it's a little less red, a little bit brighter, and he can't even strum it against his strings anymore without thinking of you. it's somehow become his lucky pick - the pick he cherishes most aside the one from his mom.

and the one he chooses to turn into a necklace, for you.

does it all himself. carefully piercing a hole through the top just like his own, picks out a nice chain that costs two paychecks of his, takes an old pocket knife to it and spends weeks carving your initials into the shiny material. he's gentle as hell with it, finishing it off with some gold paint to fill in the carving that matches the chain and swirling tones of the picks.

a week before christmas he nearly backs out of the gift idea, and almost begs wayne to help him go to the mall and pick out some other basic but safe gift for you. a perfume/cologne, a nice sweater, anything. wayne refuses to let him, and the only thing the gentle old man will offer is a nice box for eddie to place that necklace born of love into.

the look on your face on christmas morning, sitting in the center of the munson's living room, on the verge of happy tears as you lift the homemade necklace so gently, soothes away every single doubt ever had about it all.

and the look on wayne's face is a simple, caring, stern vision of i told you so.

[orginllazyblog]

Where Are You?

Summary: Yuu stopped showing up in the HoM mainly because of the canon story still processing. This took place before and during Book 7.

Note: Gender-neutral Yuu (can use your Yuu oc for this)

It has been an exhausting day in school for Yuu. They just dealt with Idia's and Ortho's overblot a few weeks ago, and now Yuu has started to gain awareness. They notice how each overblot resembles the Great Seven's by the vivid dreams they are having, and now worrying for the next one. 

"*Sigh* I need to get ready for work. Just need to rest for a while before dinner." 

As minutes went by, Grim woke up Yuu to remind them that it's about to be dinner time, well, mainly to remind them of his tuna. Yuu couldn't blame Grim for this one, he did get kidnapped and probably never eaten his favorite food. 

"Sure, Grim. Let's go to Mr. Sam's shop. Maybe get more than three this time."

"Fnagh? You will?"

"Yes, I have been saving up from my job. Remember?"

"Oh yeah."

"Well then, let's go in a hurry as I have to go to work in about an hour."

*

*

*

In the House of Mouse, Yuu serves the food to the great sevens as they are the only waiter who wasn't afraid of them. Also the fact they can handle it. Yuu also knows about their evil deeds from their vivid dreams, but after dealing with the OB boys, they kind of got used to them and see the similarities between them. 

After their work hours, they are on their break so they went to the seven's table to chat with them.

"So Yuu, how's your day in Night Raven College?" (QoH)

"Busy as the upcoming exams are coming next month." 

"If you need help, you can ask one of your classmates. Why not ask Azul? I'm sure he'll help you without paying any debt." (Ursula)

"I'm pretty sure they'll ask Riddle as they are not what they call "shady" Ursula." (QoH)

"Aren't you forgetting that Leona is wiser than those two. He's even older than those brats." (Scar)

'Oh boy, here we go.' 

"Oh wait! I forgot to mention that I won't be able to come back to work."

"So when will you be back from your exams?" (EQ)

"I would say about a week or two. I'm not sure how long it'll take considering it's a different school system from my home world, but I know it won't take long."

During the conversation, Yuu didn't bring up another overblot incident, which happened to be the shroud brothers. They didn't want to make them worried, but Yuu still needs to tell them about their vivid dreams and know the truth about them. They just need to wait until the time is right. 

After hours pass, the clubhouse is about to close. Yuu farewell to the great sevens and the other disney characters as they left. Mickey congrat them and gave them their paycheck of 5,000 thuamarks. 

"Thank you, Mickey."

"No problem, Yuu."

"By the way Mickey, I won't be able to work in the next couple of weeks. I have an upcoming exam so I would need time to study and a small break as well."

"Oh okay, thank you for reminding me, Yuu. Remember to take it easy. I'll have to tell the other staff about it."

"No worries, I also told the great sevens about it. I'm sure the rest will understand my situation."

"Okie dokie! Good night, Yuu." 

Little does Yuu know this might be the last time they see the rest of the disney characters again.

________________

After a couple of weeks, Mickey and the staff were able to work knowing Yuu is busy with their education. There was some mischief going around, but it was only from Pete, and one of the great seven's shows up one time only. So far, everything seems normal. Nothing can go wrong… right?

It's been about a month, and the whole House of Mouse Club was panicking. Yuu should have been done with the exams. Where are they? Did something happen to them? 

Of course it wouldn't make sense, Yuu wouldn't just quit their job as they need money to buy their needs or send a message to Mickey or anyone to let them know. 

Even the great seven's were wondering what happened to them. Someone like Maleficent, who has access to travel to Twisted Wonderland world only to find out she can't.

 As if there is a barrier that she can't enter. That's when things are going downhill.

Mickey and his friends try to calm everyone down, but nothing seems to work. Until the lights went dim, the front stage, the screen went black. Then the loading screen started, which is not just any loading screen but the twisted wonderland loading screen. Everyone then quieted down as they sat down at their table as they watched how book 7 started.

*

* half an hour later…

*

With all there is, the screen went black again. With half of them, questions to what just happened and the sleeping beauty cast, now know what's going to happen next. 

Then again, 2 months later, the theater screen went black and the twst loading screen play. Now playing Book 7, chapter 2. 

"Hey Mal, do you know what's going on?" (Hades)

"How I'm I supposed to know? I can't enter Twisted Wonderland because the canon story is happening so I can't interfere." (Maleficent) 

"But do you know what will happen? This is where he will began to overblot." (Jafar) 

"Let's just watch it. There's no way my descendant won't-" (Maleficent)

*Malleus OB by end*

"..." (Maleficent) 

"You were saying~?" (Scar)

"Shut up." (Maleficent)

_______________________

Knowing there's like 5 chapters in Book 7, I have no clue for how long will I continue writing. So I just stop at where chpater 2

[etraytin]

Postcards From the Dusty Mountains

Took the kiddo out yesterday with me when I went a-volunteering because he is getting very tired of not having anything to do. You know it's getting bad when a guy misses school and is tired of being on his computer all day. I'm not being sarcastic either, I'm deeply sympathetic to his plight and I wish he could get back to school and the friends he was making and the brand-new boyfriend he's been taking those first cautious romantic steps with. He already had to live through COVID homeschooling for two years, and now this. Ugh. I have heard rumors that they are hoping to open the schools back up on October 21, which means two more weeks closed, but it could be worse. So many places still don't even have power, much less water.

Anyway, I took him with me and we went down to a food distribution in Swannanoa. They got hit very very hard, and we spent a couple hours helping a Chick-Fil-A volunteer team from Atlanta hand out hot chicken sandwiches and bottled water. In normal days I don't have much to do with Chick-Fil-A because I don't like their politics, but when the matter at hand is giving hot food to people who've lost their homes, you put the politics aside. I just wish the rest of the country was able to do the same, because I am extraordinarily tired of people thinking of North Carolina as a "battleground state" when the battle we are fighting right now is to keep people alive as the weather starts to turn cold and the water lines stay broken.

Today was busy because I actually managed to keep a doctor's appointment I have been waiting a month for, which was quite a pleasant surprise! The doctor's office is in Hendersonville, so the fact that they were open for business and that I was able to get there are both things that I might have doubted a week ago. I also had an appointment with a local HVAC outfit about getting a whole-house standby generator installed so that next time we have a power outage, we can at least power the fridges, the well pump, the dehumidifiers and my CPAP, with maybe some left over for laptop charging. The price he quoted me for everything except the propane tank and line was $11,000, which was not exactly unexpected but still a big ol' yikes. The good news is, his company bought several of the right size generators before the storm so they would have an inventory, so I could theoretically have a generator before winter really sets in. Highly tempting.

In the afternoon, kiddo and I went out to do more helping. If nothing else has become more apparent over this week, it's that we were and continue to be so, so lucky. Of all the teachers at my husband's school, we are the _only_ family who are still in our own home with all our utilities back up. We are the only members of our extended family in the area who have power. We are part of a tiny fraction of households in the region who have potable water coming from our taps. Given all of that, we decided that we were going to take my final paycheck from canvassing and put it into a community that was not lucky at all. Our Lowes got restocked big time this week, so I was able to go in and get a propane tank, a gas can, a huge box of contractor bags, a straight rake, a shovel, and a gas-powered chainsaw with two cans of fuel for it. We also raided our own house and took our own three shovels and straight rake, our garden cart, some very cute hiking boots I bought but hadn't worn yet, eight packs of bath wipes and two of our cell phone power banks and drove the whole thing down to Black Mountain.

Black Mountain is very close to Swannanoa and was also hit extremely hard by the storm. We didn't go around touristing, but even on the main roads we took we could see devastation everywhere. Everywhere the water touched was drenched in toxic mud, which has dried over the past two weeks into an awful choking dust that covers everything. It blows on the wind and rises with every passing car. As we drove I took the opportunity to explain how the search and rescue paint marking system works to Kiddo, because their bright green graffiti was on all the half-destroyed houses we were passing.

There's an outdoor music venue in Black Mountain called Silverados that has been turned into a massive distribution center. Hot meals were being passed out in the front, while the rear was a busy hive of organizing and distributing supplies. We went there and dropped off all our items, where they were carted away into an absolutely teeming hub of supplies and volunteers. We asked if they needed any more help today, but they definitely had enough willing hands. I think my dad will laugh because I finally did get the chainsaw he talked me out of, but then gave it away before it even left the box.

With a little time on our hands, we went back up north and visited our favorite grocery store, the one that sells lightly-expired canned and boxed food at greatly reduced prices. We were very happy to see that they'd come through the storm unscathed except for a lack of internet, and stocked up on more of the seemingly endless supply of Old El Paso meal kits that they sell two for a dollar. Cheaper than buying tortillas and taco seasoning, lol! We also visited the local record store, which opened for regular business hours despite the circumstances as well, and bought a couple of records because we want them to stay in business even though times are tough. It was, overall, an extremely successful outing.

Sometimes the world here in our house feels tantalizingly close to normal, an endless weekend where we are just waiting to go back to school and work. But just driving into town and seeing all the places closed for lack of water is enough to destroy that bubble, and driving thirty minutes in any direction is like stepping into a different world. Marshall, Spruce Pine, Swannanoa, Black Mountain, the River Arts District. Dozens more places that I have not seen and probably couldn't even get to if I tried. I'm very afraid for what is about to happen in Florida, for their sake and for ours. Appalachia has a long history of being forgotten about when bad things are happening. I really hope it doesn't go that way again.

[wintrwinchestr]

checking in/where i've been

some personal rambling and life updates below the cut

so um hi. it hasn't really been that long since i've posted any drawing or writing but it feels that way to me. and i've been thinking for the past couple of days about making a post like this so here i am doing it now. i just thought i'd give a little explanation for where i've been and where i'm at.

i don't know if anyone noticed but i did turn my ask box off last month. after i posted my christmas joel drawing i got a handful of rude and accusatory anons about him in my inbox. i didn't respond or draw any attention to it but i still decided to turn off anon asks and then turn off my asks altogether so i could have some peace of mind. i also realized that turning off my asks would stop the "do you plan on continuing __?" and "when do you plan on posting more __?" type of questions, which also has given me more peace of mind lately. i appreciate that anyone has any interest or enthusiasm for my writing at all, but i just haven't had the answers to those questions lately.

my job has been chaotic for basically the entire two+ years i've had it, but it's been especially hard honestly kind of going all the way back to late last summer/early fall. drawing and writing used to be my escape from it at the end of the day, but lately my 9-5:30 has been more like 9-7:30/8:00, and i think i've worked every weekend of 2025 so far. i plan on working this weekend too. so needless to say, my job kind of sucks the soul out of me, and it's been worse than usual in recent months. every day i would go to work looking forward to at least being able to draw or write a little bit when i got home, and then that would end up never happening because i would get back home too late and have to go to bed before i knew it so i could do it all again the next day. there have been nights when i just broke down sobbing because of this job and truly felt like i was losing my mind. so i just decided i would take a break from creating for a while, because at least i wouldn't have to be disappointed and crying every night that i was too tired or didn't have enough time to continue doing the things that bring me joy.

"why don't you just quit or find another job?" you might ask. i was applying to jobs for a little while without hearing anything back, and then... i got promoted last week. so... maybe it's selfish and capitalist of me to say, but i think i'm just going to try and ride it out for at least a few more months while my new paycheck hits my account and not try to hit the road the second they actually give me the promotion i've been hoping to get for the past several months. sure, i hate staying at the office 2/2.5 hours past when i'm supposed to leave every night, and i haven't had a single work-free weekend in recent memory, but at least it's a little more worth it now. i'll deal with the stress and panic and crying as it comes.

i was also pretty addicted to tik tok until it got banned for all of about 19 hours, and i decided to take the opportunity to break my addiction and delete it from my phone altogether. i've decided to pick up reading books again, something i knew i should probably be doing but haven't really for the past couple of years, and i've been really enjoying it. even when i come home at the end of a long day and just don't have it in me to create anything, i can at least find half an hour to read a little bit instead of being sad and scrolling on my phone, and that's been helping me feel a little better.

so i guess what i'm trying to say with all this is that i don't know when i'll have a drawing to share again. i don't know when i'll be able to continue either of the series that you all have given me so much support on. i'm thinking about them almost every day, but... their stories will have to wait until my life is a little more stable. and i don't know when that will be. i'm more or less taking a break and allowing myself to not feel guilty about that.

i'm just trying to take everything one day at a time and keep as much of my sanity intact as possible. thanks for reading if you made it this far. i will leave you with one of the quotes that's been keeping me going recently.

"'Cause I didn't feel like there was kind of any moment past that moment. But there was, there was"

[pbandjesse]

My allergies are really bugging me right now and I'm pretty uncomfortable. But hopefully by the time I'm done this my meds will have kicked in and I'll feel better.

Today was a pretty good day. The kids weren't as awesome but I still had fun.

I also slept better last night. Still not fabulous but it's getting better. And when I woke up I didn't feel like I was dying. So that was good.

I got dressed and I actually loved my outfit and my hair today. I don't love my picture sadly. But it's whatever. There are worse things.

I made a bagel and left on time. But because I didn't stop I got to the musuem early. Which was fine. I was happy to go say no good morning to my James.

I had a pretty easy morning. I didn't have to set anything up. Only had to show Rosia how to turn on the DVD player. My group has movie and lunch first. So no stress for me!

And once the school came so did everyone else. Just busy busy! But we got everyone in and they were all super nice. I found my group in the hoard and when I told them they had movie first they cheered. So cute.

I went to the back and got to hear some drama and stuff and then just walked around for a bit. I got them from the movie and took them to lunch and went to make sure my neighborhood stuff was ready to go. And then I was on my way to get them for programming.

And neighborhood went super well. Besides some loudness they were doing so good. We did have one friend who was a little all over the place. And some boys who wouldn't stop hitting each other. But we all did our shopping and buying and counting and clapping and it was fun.

At the end we didn't have as much bank time as I nor ally like but it's all good. We had to get out of the way of Jessica's tour. Because Jessica was teaching. And Mike. And Adam was almost two hours late because of some confusion. And!! Kristen was even back from the other building teaching. It was a very busy day.

My last program of the day was lights on. And it didn't go as well as yesterday's. But their work was still really fun and I had a good time. The problem came at the end when the teacher left the room to go deal with something and we kind of melted down. It wasn't all of them. But the half that was loud made everything a lot for me. And then regular guests of the museum just. Opened the door and came in the room. And I was very frustrated.

But it was close enough to the end of the day. So I gathered them up and took them to get their stuff.

I went back to the room to clean everything up. Took my materials to restoration. And took a moment. I was just a bit tired.

I was pleased though to find I had emails. I emailed Anna at awah about materials this weekend as well as following up on my stress from yesterday's emails. And she forwarded my question to Jake and it turns out I was totally in the right so there was no issue. And then emails from our insurance agent with a possible way to bundle our renters and car insurance and save some money. And a lovely message from my mom just telling me I helped her and it made me feel so good.

I sat with James for a bit and we discussed finances. We got paid today so things aren't so dire feeling. And nice for us it's a 3 paycheck month! I might be able to get my savings back to where it was before.

Plus I'm working a lot next month in preparation for being away for two weeks. For our honeymoon. Which is coming up and I'm super excited about!!

I would leave James at the desk to go do supplies with Meril and Adam. And we chit chatted and talked about feildtrips we took and kids that made our lives difficult and just worked on oysters and cans and it was nice.

And at 2 I went to head out. I would end up staying behind a bit longer to stand outside with Jessica to gossip and also fill in my calendar even more. Busy busy busy.

I decided I wouldn't go home yet. I would go get taco bell. I would go walk around the thrift store. It was going to be great.

And it was! I had fun looking around. Not as much goofy stuff. I did find two large pads of art paper. And I had fun looking at the toys. A woman approached me and asked if I was Italian and told me I was beautiful (and that she was heterosexual and then she was like that was weird why did I say that?? Which was objectively hilarious). And I tried on some shoes.

I didn't pick much up though. So I let myself look at clothes. And found three pieces I lied a lot. Two comfy at home ones and one nicer one. So I am a little over my hope of keeping my clothing purchases to 3 a month. With these brining me to 6. But I'm still trying!

I went and had my tacobell next. I got two tacos. A bean and a potato. And after I ate in the car I headed home.

It was beautiful out. And once I got home I opened the windows and the backdoor and just enjoyed the breeze.

I tried on the clothes and loved them. And once everything was put away I decided to take am early shower. And curl up on the couch to draw a peep bunny. Meril said I of course have to if I like them so much. And I do so it makes sense.

James got home. And would give me a big kiss and make lasagna for dinner. They soon jumped on their podcast call. And I have been just having a good night. Hanging out with Sweetp. Watching videos. Scrolling. Just resting. It was a good day.

Tomorrow I have a good day at the museum. A tour. Training/watching Cindy lead balls and track. And then I lead a cannery. So let's hope it's a fun day.

Sleep well everyone. Take care of yourself!!

[whiskerinthestars]

Chapter 7: Silver Strategy

Urban Ascent

As I slowly began packing up my things, I thought to myself: So what caught that old man's attention was all the mana I was radiating. I was being a lot more obvious than I had realized. I hadn’t considered what it might look like to someone who could also sense that energy. I hear what he’s saying—obviously, I need to go back and work on my foundation—but if that’s all I do, what’s the point? I want to have at least something to show for my efforts. It’s not like a little practice is going to hurt anything, right?

Still, he’s right about one thing: I don’t need to attract any more attention. This time it worked out, but what about next time? At the very least, I should stop using charm magic directly on people passing by. It would be more noticeable to other cultivators, and it could potentially cause offense to them.

Since I don’t know how common other cultivators even are in this world, I need to stay low-key. Instead of using such an overt output of energy in public, practically broadcasting that I’m a weak newbie cultivator who can be picked on, what if I bought some more expensive premade trinkets—jewelry, maybe—and focused on imbuing them with mana to make them more inherently desirable?

After all, I’ve read plenty of stories about spell arrays, formations, glyphs, and talismans. I should be able to do something like that with enough practice, right? That way, I can use mana in the privacy of my own apartment to avoid attracting any attention—getting some practice in while staying inconspicuous. But there’s no way I’m coming back to this flea market. If there’s one cultivator here, there might be two. So on the off chance there’s something about this place that tends to attract them, I need to stay well away from it.

I guess I’ll try a discreet stall outside of the shopping center after all. I could use a small folding stool and just have a couple of trinkets on display. If security does get called eventually, I’ll just move on to the next store. It’s not like I haven't seen similar things outside those stores before. I’m sure it would take at least twenty or thirty minutes before they start hounding me to leave, right?

I’m going to have to grow a thicker skin and just put up with it. Maybe I can wear one of those flu masks and really cover up my appearance as much as possible.

Eventually, I packed everything back into my truck and got back on the road. Speaking of trinkets, maybe I’ll stop off at Walmart and check out their jewelry department. They should have plenty of cheap silver rings with some glass stones and the like. If I can get them for under twenty bucks and sell them for sixty, that means just five rings a day will keep the bills away. So if I can sell at least twenty-five a week, I can afford to put in for some leave at work, which will give me a lot more time to cultivate.

Besides, after finally having something exciting in my life to work towards, the idea of spending forty precious hours a week sitting and pretending to look busy—while only having five hours of actual work to do—sounds like actual torture. It’s a fate all of my fellow office workers are well aware of. Well, except for the unlucky few of them actually keeping the company afloat with hard work—too bad all that hard work doesn’t reflect in their paycheck. Been there, done that. No thanks.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I checked the time—about 12:45 PM—and Walmart was certainly busy today. I guess it is Sunday, after all. But whatever. I think the jewelry department has its own register, right? Hopefully, they’re not too busy. After managing to find a lone parking spot nearly on the opposite side of the lot, I popped in my earbuds and strolled towards the entrance, lost in my own thoughts—half on autopilot as I made my way into the store.

Barely paying attention to where I was going, I suddenly found myself standing in front of the jewelry counter. And to my surprise, it was completely dead. I guess no one really shops for jewelry at Walmart, huh? I muttered under my breath, letting out a small sigh of relief.

Luckily, the jewelry was just as cheap as I’d imagined. Silver isn’t too expensive after all, and it’s not like these baubles weigh much. The first thing that caught my eye was actually just a plain silver band. No adornments—just a simple, unassuming loop of silver. But for some reason, it really called to me. If I’m practicing using my magic to… enchant—yeah, let’s call it that—these rings, I can’t help but think of the storage rings in those novels.

While I’m sure that’s way above my weight class at the moment, maybe I could inscribe something useful on it eventually. Who knows when inspiration might strike? Hell, maybe wearing it while I cultivate will help form some sort of bond with it or prepare it to be inscribed. Sure, I’m just talking out of my ass at this point, but it was only seventeen dollars, so I grabbed it.

After that, I picked up a few more rings, necklaces, and bracelets—twenty-six pieces in total, including the plain silver band I was already wearing—coming to a grand total of $468. I handed over the $337 in cash I’d made earlier and cringed as I swiped my card to cover the remaining $131 balance for this junk.

But you can’t make money without spending money. I’ll just think of this as an investment. After all, this gives me twenty-five pieces to sell. If I can flip them for at least sixty bucks each, that’s a decent margin—meaning I’ll clear a cool $1,000. That’ll more than cover my expenses for the week and make up for missing work.

I’m definitely calling in on Monday with some bullshit excuse to take the week off. It’s not like I’ve taken any time off recently, and with how little work I actually do, I doubt anyone will even notice I’m gone. Plus, this job isn’t exactly high-paying, so even if they do notice and I end up needing to find something else, it shouldn’t be too hard to replace. I’ve got enough savings to stay afloat for a few months, even if I don’t make anything right away. Still, I need to focus on making this plan work before I start dreaming too big. Sure, if I get good at it, I could start charging a hundred bucks a piece and cut my workload in half. But for now, I’ll take it one step at a time.

Eventually, I tossed the Walmart bag into the passenger seat and started the drive home. The silver band on my finger kept catching my eye. Who am I kidding? It’s just a plain ring. I smirked to myself—already imagining it becoming something way cooler than it had any right to be. But hey, dreaming big is half the fun.

I zoned out for most of the drive, replaying that weird conversation with the old man in my head. His words bugged me, but they also made too much sense to ignore. I needed a stronger foundation before I got ahead of myself—otherwise, I’d end up burning out. Still, that didn't mean I had to stop everything. I wasn’t about to sit around meditating 24/7 without at least trying something new.

By the time I got home, my apartment greeted me with its usual blend of cozy and claustrophobic. I kicked off my shoes and dropped the bag on the counter with a metallic clink. All that shiny silver staring back at me—I had to resist the urge to dive right into trying to work my magic on it.

But no. I knew better. First things first—foundation work. The old man had drilled that into me. So I headed to my little meditation corner—aka the only clean part of my place—and settled in for another round of trying not to screw up my energy flow.

Sitting there, I started to focus inward, guiding the mana through my body like I’d been practicing. Torso and head? Doing alright. Limbs? Not so much. Still, there was progress. After who knows how long, I’d managed to chip away at some of those blockages in my arms and legs—maybe 25% closer to what the old man would consider decent. Not too shabby, right? At least I was getting better at controlling the flow.

Eventually, I got up, stretched out the soreness, and looked over at that bag of jewelry. Tomorrow, I’d start messing around with the trinkets, maybe see if I could actually imbue them with something useful. I had this idea of running mana through them like they were an extension of me—sort of refining them as I went. Maybe I’d even figure out how to store mana in them for a little while.

But that was a challenge for future-me. I still had a lot to figure out. No point in burning out early by rushing things—one step at a time, like the old man said.

For now, though, I needed sleep. Tomorrow, the real experimentation would begin.

[benign-virus]

Holy ass

Im officially poor enough that i gathered up what little jewelry i have that might be worth anything (and that I'm willing to part with) last night to bring to the pawn shop after work today

The guy gave me $220 for like a charm bead that I've had for ages and thought was probably mostly scrap. Honestly I kinda still think it is, but my man paid in cash and didn't even ask my name so HIS PROBLEM NOW. I got way more money than i even dared to hope for and I didn't even have to give up anything I'm emotionally attached to, +/- i still have backup pearls to hawk in case of further emergency even tho i like my pearls. Just not at the same place bc they don't take pearls and also in case they find out they made a Bad Fuckin Deal lmaoooo

(As long as I'm very careful this will be enough to last me until i get paid from New Job 1 next week, when I'm also starting New Job 2 so from then on I'll be getting two paychecks so i should be able to claw my way out of the hole. Rental agency does do extensions/payment plans so as long as i communicate where I'm at with them before the end of the month I won't get dinged. i will make it all work and I'll be fine.)

[frogsandfries]

I actually had a great fucking evening, surprisingly

My sister took me to a trail by surprise and I didn't dare to hope preemptively, but my body still works! I knew it wasn't just being fat--I knew something massive changed after having covid. This proves it to me. Like my sister said, I struggled out on the ice cave path (which was a few thousand feet even higher than I've been living). But this walk, I was finally able to walk at my own pace without worrying about the pain of breathing (until it got really really cold; I didn't expect my respiratory 'allergy' to cold to go away).

Then I proceeded to get a sporadic lecture about my horrifically poor relationship to food. I kinda deserve it; I'm the one who minded her relationship with food from afar for years, but I made no moves to improve my own. It's hard when food hurts more than it helps. Sometimes it's just easier to go hungry.

Anyway, even bigger than that, I figured my cats might have some pent up energy from being trapped in the bedroom for two weeks now, so I borrowed one of the lesser used toys from my sister's cats and my girl decided that it was hiss and growl at a fucking toy time. I hissed back at her and she stopped hissing, but she kept growling. She hasn't growled during playing with me since she was an older kitten; I'm less worried since she was her regular angelic self afterwards. Besides, she's warming right up to my sister (traitor lol), which is rather promising.

We're most likely going to at least get the shit out of the truck I think this weekend fucking finally. We're also going to have to figure out how to move her stuff. It would make the most sense just to use the truck; empty my stuff out. It'll be easier now that my respiratory system works and we aren't hauling shit up and down three floors. We did that in about a day. Do that Saturday, load her stuff Sunday. Just dump all of it more or less in whatever room is at the back of the house and figure it out from there.

I spent so much time living in such a dangerous city, I keep imagining that someone with ill intent is going to come upon the truck and just take what they want. And after how rainy it's been, I'm also concerned about water damage. We went to this gas station to see if I could use the ATM (I maxed out my withdrawal limit oops), and my sister was sketched out about it and I was like, this gas station ain't shit.

I am quite sad that I didn't get any beading done, and I wish my current work space had enough space to bead in while I'm at work. I could make insane progress on this piece. Next paycheck, I really need to get a chair. Like I left myself no choice. I think I'll start by getting the gaming chair; then I'll get the kneeling chair later. Thank gawd I threw out that old chair. It really did have to go.

I also can't wait to be in a space where my sister's cats can be disallowed and I can worm on my work. I've got like five thousand ideas for these seed bead plushies. After Eeyore, I want to make a Catbus, Jiji, and Luna and Artemis, and hey, since I'm collecting animated cats, let's get the Cheshire Cat from the Disney animation. I'm going to make my own Kanga and Roo patterns; Stitch and Scrump, and Cheshire Cat. I also want to make a seed bead BJD a la oksana_somati. So. Let's see how far I get on this before something else takes my attention (probably my depression, like I've conjectured before).

This beadweaving thing is something from my childhood fantasies. I always wanted to figure out how to make cool things with seed beads. I've wanted to make my own plushies for the longest time as well.

I need to acquire a decent tool that emits heat. I'm going to shrink wrap my sculptures and cut the wrap off to get the shapes for the plushies I'm going to design.

[apollo-zero-one]

I love my parents and they undeniably do a lot for me and as a member of this family I should be a team player and stick it out. But also. I think my life would genuinely be so much better if I cut my parents off from my bank account and moved out. They try both they are so fucking financially irresponsible and it is like actually ruining my life I think. And I know they have good intentions but when I mention maybe wanting to move out they immediately go on about how much harder it would be and how it involves so much more than just paying rent- okay! Teach me then! I am not allowed to see any of the bills in this household. That my entire paycheck and then some goes toward. I let my mom know I had a credit card and she asked to borrow it a handful of times and it is maxed out. My bank account is always negative because she has a debit card on it. I spend maybe $40 total every two weeks and I'm here feeling miserable and guilty about it because it's making my account so much more negative and she has purchased my baby sister a new backpack. Which is fine. It's not a bad thing, alone. It's just that it's all. The. Time. And my stepdad gets on her ass about it and that forces me to take her side even though I don't agree with her because He's Doing The Same Shit!! Worse even because he doesn't TELL US ANYTHING. We all agreed to cancel all of our subscriptions in an attempt to get out of the hole and who do I find watching fucking Hulu with his secret account he made separate from the family one. Bringing home individual snacks and drinks from the overpriced corner store- and getting pissy when I say he needs to cut it out. I'm not fucking saying you can't have snacks!! I'm saying buy them from the goddamn grocery store and divide them into baggies!! The cost of a party size bag of chips and a box of sandwich sized baggies is significantly less than the cost of one single serving bag of chips every day for a week and WE. ARE. IN. DEBT. I don't fucking understand how he's got negative a thousand dollars or fucking whatever and can justify this shit. And he's the one who is always bringing it up as if he isn't just as guilty as my mom! My brother has it right, he never tells our parents where he is, what he's doing, or how much he makes. They don't know how much he works or how much money he has and he is never reliably home so he isn't asked to do things. While I, I am sharing everything I have and I thought I was helping my family through a hard time but I think I'm just enabling their irresponsibility.

And I am currently trying to figure out how to talk to them about this without it turning into a fight. I don't know if I'm going to be able to stay calm because I finally passed the threshold from defeated to just absolutely fucking seething. You are both nearly fifty fucking years old and it should not have been on me as your child to realize as my credit score tanks and my bank leaves me threatening voicemails that helping my family is financially irresponsible.

I love my family so much and it is hurting me so, so bad to get the perspective that they are a sinking ship dragging me down with them. There isn't, actually, anything I can do to help. Maybe if I do just fucking leave it'll be the kick in the ass they need to actually change. What are my other options? Lecturing them? Guilting them? Screaming at them? They already know I'm upset. Of course I'm upset.

And I'm not innocent of spending more than I should every now and then but it's never more than I was confident I had and it always was a punch to the gut when I wake up the next day and my account is hundreds of dollars negative because of something my mother did. I don't even fucking know what.

Yeah, living by myself might be hard, but at least I'll actually know and have control over everything going on. At least when my account goes negative I will know exactly why and be able to prevent it the next time. I can learn. I need to get out of this helpless, hopeless situation before it kills me.

[sensitiveeeeee]

When Gratitude Surpasses Anxiety🌕

My neurotic brain constantly searches for images of my ideal self. What she might be wearing when she is brave enough, what her office will look like, what hobbies she’ll engage in when she has time for them and what talents might be brought to the surface, how motherhood may or may not fit in, and what she will be like when she has mastered mindfulness and is able to live in the present moment. Yes, instead of being present, I think about what it might be like to be present, in the future. Maybe then, my foot won’t be shaking at all times and I’ll accept awkward moments.

My neurotic brain has gotten me pretty far, but it’s been miserable getting here. But I am here, and I’m taking a moment to think about that. Instead of my ideal self, I wonder what my past selves might think of me if they could see me. The one who was cleaning dead flies and mice last year to pay for school would be amazed at being graduated and receiving the biggest paycheck she’s ever earned. The one who felt unsafe at work would be ecstatic to have a space, her own office, all to herself. The one who was surrounded by lawyers rolling their eyes at her incompetence could not even imagine being a respected psychologist. A psychologist who also has someone to come home to after a long day. The 16-year-old who hated herself would never believe she’d live with a partner she is attracted to who sings her praises and expresses his love each day. The bulimic teenager who was body-shamed would laugh if she was told she’d be married to a man who enjoys food with her and mentions daily how much he loves her ass (even if I do laugh at it and don’t understand how he thinks that). The small child in Title I who was so sure she was stupid would never think she’d be smart one day.

For a decade, I’ve felt stuck on a treadmill, exhausted and going nowhere. My mind got fit while I neglected my health, my passions, and my spirit. But tonight, this Wednesday night, instead of being enveloped in the stress of deadlines, I went outside with my love to watch the blue super moon and eat gelato. We sat in the middle of a blocked off street undergoing construction outside our apartment. We watched the street lights change and the brilliant moon rise higher in the sky as cars drove towards us before making detours, feeling the firm ground beneath us and the late summer night breeze. And I thought about how lucky I am. This ugly city I live in still has a beautiful moon. I have an amazing family who I’m able to see every week because I choose to stay in said ugly city. I have two adorable cats who adore me. I have the job I’ve been after for ten years. I have real love.

I have everything I need.

Yes, I’ll have a large caseload soon enough. Yes, I’ll have many uncomfortable moments. Yes, I still have to study and work towards my independent license. Yes, I don’t look how I want to, and my health isn’t where I’d like it to be. Yes, my work and home spaces need a lot of work. Yes, I’ll have to make a life-altering decision in the next couple years before my biological clock makes it for me. My anxiety loves to make lists, and it goes on and on and on.

Yes, I am not my ideal self, but I’m the closest I’ve ever been. And maybe I will never meet her, and maybe that is okay. The enormous hill is finally leveling out and I’m enjoying the view and the strength it’s taken to arrive here to see it. I’m here. I’m still uncertain. I’m still flawed. But in this moment, I am accepting of the parts of reality I don’t like. My neurosis is so loud that I lose awareness that I do like most parts of my reality. I have a good life.

I have everything I need. I am anxious. And I am grateful.

[kamipyre]

@rippleofwords sent in: talk about hyuk || the paper machine's gossip session ( ft. talk about meme )

send “talk about-” and a name for my muse to talk about that person!

embers verse:

“…He reminds me of my old colleagues.” Not that he’s actually heard her talk about them, save for, maybe Edgeworth. It’s okay- he doesn’t really talk much about his colleagues back in Seoul anyways. Maybe she wants to keep it that way since well, even if the corruption is weeded out of the LAPD, they’ll never be able to go back to the way things were before. Detective Lee ( @jeoseungsaja ) might be able to do in Seoul, but not hers. Deft fingers press along the fold. “They have a better sense of humor than he does, but he has a similar drive.” The exacting drive demanding nothing more and nothing less than the truth. The recklessness and sheer force to get the desired results. The hardheadedness. She sees them all in Detective Lee, the ghost of friends long gone, never to return…or maybe their spirit, the true nature of the LAPD,  is simply being passed down from one generation to the next. Either way, she makes another fold. This one is going to be a pigeon. “Is he done with questioning Mister Trevor?” That’s the parrot the court is bringing in as a witness for next week’s trial. “He said he had more PAPER for me!”

black knight verse:

 “I deserve a pay raise.” Not that her current salary is terrible- actually, it might be more affordable, living in Seoul rather than in LA. At the very least, she doesn’t need to give up half of her paycheck to cover rent…although then again, it can’t be traditional, living in her current boss’s apartment. One may say it’s even unprofessional…and she might agree if not for the fact that he’s hardly ever in there to begin with. The couch in the office is his actual bed these days. “No one told me I was going to have two jobs while I was here- he needs to find something to do outside of his job. At the rate he’s going, I’ll surprised if he makes it to the end of the year-“ Not that, mind you, she’s going to let him deteriorate to that point. Jae Hwan won’t let that happen either, but it doesn’t change that Lee is barreling in that direction and there’s so much either of them can do to slow his descent. And the quickest way to do that is get to the bottom of the case- if only pleasing him was as simple as pleasing the Pigeon Man…all that guy needs is a bag of seeds and the pigeons. Nevertheless, her eyes soften as she sets her folded report on the desk. “…It’s not like the truth is going to change anything.” But he’s going to go for it anyways, won’t he? Find out the full story or die trying. She doesn’t know the whole story behind this all-consuming desire, no one does and Lee isn’t planning on changing that but…

“I want answers.” Not only to figure out the irritating conundrum of the case, but also set Lee’s ghosts to rest. It’s hard to live one’s own life, when the ghosts of those beloved have not been properly buried.

She would know that BETTER than anyone else.  

[frostandflamesfanfic]

couch. (Peter Parker x Reader)

couch. (Rated G)

Request?: No...

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader (wrote with Peter 3 in mind, but can be applied to any of our spidey boys)

Word Count: 1.7k+

Warnings: Tooth rotting fluff, I wrote this while being sleep deprived so there may be typos, Peter being just too gosh darn adorable

Summary: Inspired by "couch" by We Three- The best laid plans always work out right? On one lazy Saturday morning, Peter is contemplating how to start taking the next steps toward your future together. When you remind him how important it is to relax, does he stick with his big plan or learn to sometimes just to go with the flow?

We've got a lot of things to figure out

Like cash the checks and go workout,

But I think I'd rather sit here on the couch

“Peter?” your voice danced its way into the living room of his apartment. “Have you seen my hoodie? I can’t find it anywhere and I need to get to the bank to put in my paycheck.” You stumbled throughout the space, one hand rubbing at your sleep-riddled eyes. To Peter, there wasn’t a more beautiful sight to wake up to. You were dressed in a pair of his sweatpants and one of his old beat up t-shirts. He had lent you a pair of oversized socks, too, because you were complaining about your toes being cold under the covers the night before.

The brown-haired looked up from his spot on the oversized ripped sofa, where he was working on his laptop. He tilted his head to look at you with squinted eyes. The morning sun was streaming through the windows of his apartment in just the right (but also totally wrong and annoying) way. “Good morning to you, too, sweetheart,” he gave you the sweetest tight smile before directing his attention back to the screen. “Have you checked under the bed?”

He was supposed to be editing a series of images he snapped of Spider-Man over the last week. Was he actually doing that? No. He was actually looking up plane tickets to Bali. Why Bali? Because that’s where he wanted to be able to propose to you – the same place your parents met on a volunteer expedition. He had been saving for months. Not just for the trip, but the beautiful silver half-carat diamond ring that was burning a hole through its hiding place in his dresser drawer. 

The two of you had been dating for a year or so now, which might seem a bit rushed to some people, but not for you or Peter. You had both seen your fair share of tragedy before you finally crossed paths. He had lost his parents as a child and the love of his life around the end of high school. He needed to start over completely. You lost your parents in a freak accident at a young age, not to mention your fiance merely weeks after beginning your new job at some corrupt company. 

When you met on the subway, it almost seemed like the universe was trying to tell you something. There had been no seats left and the two of you were forced to stand face-to-face on opposite sides of the car after a series of delays. Not that Peter was complaining, though. You looked like a vision to him. From the way you anxiously shifted your weight from foot to foot, to the way you bit the middle of your bottom in concentration as you looked at your phone. He wished he would have had the courage right then and there to ask your name. Yet something stopped him.

For a subway ride, it had been a rather bumpy one. You had been pushed forward and fallen against him…twice. Each time you collided, he could feel your heartbeat thudding incredibly hard against his chest. He was surprised to discover that his heartbeat soon matched your rhythm and he gave a subtle grimace at the sweat gathering in his palm. He tried to get himself to talk to you, to even ask your name, but nothing escaped him. By the time you had reached Peter’s stop, he sighed as he ultimately gave up with the internal battle. He had no chance, Peter had assured himself. Then he heard you stammering behind him as he turned to walk toward the door. 

“So how many times would I have needed to fall into you before you asked me out?” your voice called out.

It was safe to say Peter didn’t hesitate any more after that.

The next year was a beautiful rollercoaster. Peter had to pinch himself a few times to realize that this was real – you were actually his and he was yours. He didn’t need to worry about pretending to be someone he wasn’t. With you, he could let down his guard. You made him feel safe, loved…at home. He really hoped you would say yes to his proposal. He couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with you.

The feeling of an added weight on the couch and something brushing against his arm caused Peter to be snapped from his thoughts. You were snuggling into his side, attempting to rest your chin atop his shoulder to look at his screen. In a panic, Peter minimized the tab and started to play around with a random image in his editing software. His quick thinking- and reflexes- came to the rescue again as you gave a small nod.

“That’s a nice shot,” you mumbled sleepily before yawning again. You rested your head against the side of his arm and smacked your lips like a small child. It always made Peter smile to see you like this. You reminded him of a little kid in this state, but always with this mushy personality. 

He leaned over to press a kiss to your forehead before allowing himself to get fixated back on the image in front of him. “Thanks, sweetheart,” Peter answered. “I mean, it is my job right now, so…I hope I’m good at it.”

You gave a hum of agreement and nestled against his sitting frame. Another smile plastered itself against Peter’s lips as you tangled your legs with his. Your nose nudged at the back of his arm and you closed your eyes. “This is nice,” you said, stretching out just a bit more. 

Peter nodded and let out his own sound of acknowledgement, expertly adjusting the saturation levels of the image. 

We've got a lot of people we should see

And I know that we should get some groceries,

But honestly, I just don't want to leave

“We need cereal,” another mumble into his shirt sleeve. “And milk. And fruit. And eggs…”

A chuckle escaped Peter before he could prevent it. “We,” you had said. Slowly but surely, it wasn’t just his apartment anymore. Your stuff had begun to find its way into random drawers and closets in the space. Your toothbrush sat right next to his own in the bathroom. There was a shared grocery list stuck to his refrigerator with both of your handwriting on it. Even your shampoo was stored in the shower, its sweet vanilla scent flooding the room and making him relax every time he stepped inside. It smelled like you and he couldn’t get enough. He never thought he would be able to share his life with someone like this ever again, but he was beyond grateful he could. 

“We can get them from the store on Fifth,” he said now, nodding a bit at the mental note he made to visit the shop. Martha, the shopkeeper, would be happy to see him there. She’d probably pester him about the fact he had yet to make you an honest person, but he honestly didn’t care. “You can take one of my hoodies when we go, if you want.”

You grunted. “Or…” you mumbled. “We could just stay here.” You snuggled closer into his side. “This is pretty perfect right now.”

Cause I'm here and you're there,

Breathin' in my air

Feel it stop, skip a beat

Peter moved his hand to toy with the ends of your hair, making you hum in delight. It was a sound that brought a smile to his face and a warm feeling in his heart. Everything you did was perfect to him and gave him so much joy. He loved how you felt in his arms, how good your hair smells after you get out of a shower… 

“Marry me,” he said softly. Peter barely registered the words as they left his mouth, but deep down, he knew it was the right thing to do. This was the moment. Not some big vacation to Bali, nothing overly extravagant. All he needed was you, him, and this couch. The two of you were in your own little world and that was perfect. 

“What?” you asked, sitting up ever-so-slightly. 

“I want to marry you,” Peter was more confident now. “I want to wake up with you every day, I want to hold your hand in the grocery store. The days you’re having the best time, I want to be there. I want to hold you when you’re crying and having the worst day, tell you it’s okay and things will work out. I want to see you come down the aisle and we both are crying.” The two of you laughed at the last part. “Most of all, I just want to know that for every day for the rest of my life, you’re going to be in it. So please, marry me?”

“Peter…” you breathed out. 

That’s when he realized something was missing. Something that was really…really important to this particular moment. “Actually,” he said, standing up suddenly before taking off to the bedroom, “hold on one second. Just…stay there. I have to get something.”

When he came back into the living room, he got down on one knee before you. His dark eyes searched yours as he opened the small velvet box to reveal the sparkling piece of jewelry. “I know it’s only been a year,” he said, “and I really should have had a much better speech planned out, but that’s just it. With you, I don’t have to plan. You make me want to be spontaneous, to be a person that doesn’t have a care in the world. But…I can only be that person with you. So, what do you say?”

You shook your head with a playful expression on your face. “It took you long enough,” you teased, giving him the slightest of nods with the largest of smiles threatening to appear. It was so bright, Peter was afraid he might go blind just looking at it for too long. “Of course I’ll marry you.” 

As he slipped the ring on your finger, Peter pressed his lips to yours and nearly melted. You truly were his missing puzzle piece, his better half that he always was going to need. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for you and he couldn’t wait to see what forever would hold. 

On this couch, in my T

You're wearin' my sweatpants

Without a doubt, not goin' out

Let's stay on the couch

================

Author's Note: I have no self control. I swear, I cannot help myself when I hear a song and get a character scenario stuck in my head. This is the second time this has happened in the last few days, but this is first one I'm posting. I still need to work on the other one! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this little fluff piece with our lovable dork, Peter Parker. I thought this song was just perfect for him, even if it means doing something a bit different than my typical Strange fics.

As usual, if you liked this fic, leave a like, comment, and a cheeky reblog. It helps me out with the lovely algorithm and lets me know what kind of stories you like to see on my blog! And let me know which Peter YOU imagine this story to be about. I'm curious...

Until next time, little sparks! If you want to be added to any of my character taglists, drop me an ask or private message- I promise I'm really not that scary!

[sparrowpharoh]

~Mutual Aid Request~

So let's start with the good news. I have a job starting this sunday (8/28). If the universe aligns in a merciful way, I should be getting my first paycheck on the sixteenth of September.

More likely than not that check will largely be consumed by the multitude of overdue and neglected expenses I have been unable to pay for, so how much of a finish line that date serves as remains to be seen. I may well have another two weeks beyond that before I actually have any real usable income.

BUT! Now is not the time for pessimism! Now is the time for hope, and may despair take the week off for a change. For now, my only obstacle is getting through the next few weeks.

Yesterday I spent the remainder of my available cash on as much groceries as I could afford to get through until then. Today I did the math and everything together is barely over 2k calories.

I do not think that will stretch over the next 20+ days.

I am looking into local food banks but I'm in a rural area, so even 'nearby' places mean a decent amount of driving and therefore gas. I currently only have enough gas to cover maybe a week max of commuting to work, if that. In addition there are other complications with food because I'm living in a stationary bus with limited electricity. My only means of cooking or boiling water involves making a fire, so I'm trying to avoid that as much as possible. I have no refrigeration and am in a constant state of war with the neighboring mouse and ant populations which make storing any food that isn't canned difficult and risky.

As far as medications I am immensely relieved to say that I have a surplus of my psychiatric meds. But I have only a couple days left of my HRT, which frankly does jus as much if not more for my mental health and stability.

If anyone who sees this is able to help, I will be eternally grateful. But if you can't, please, don't let this add to your stress. If you would feel guilt for not being able to help the whole of the earth with only two hands, then there is something you can do to help me, and that's to help yourself. Let your own wounds heal first and know that doing so will make us all stronger as a rising tide lifts all ships.

But if you do have the means to offer assistance, my cshapp is $SparrowPharoh and I also have a PP and Vnmo I can tell over DM. Or jus spreading this so someone else who might have more means to offer has the chance to see it as well.

$54/200 (tentative goal)

The work seems endless and every victory carries three more challenges with it. But there is light in the distance. I know there is.

[angelicyoongie]

the crimson shell

— pairing: jungkook x f!reader — genre: mermaid au, yandere au — w.c: 1.9k — warnings: mild stalking, near drowning, mentions of eating humans — notes: just wanted to contribute something to mermay! this is also my first time attempting to do anything in the realms of yandere (and mermaids!), so pls be nice lol. in this universe everyone is referred to as a mermaid, no matter what gender they are. this will most likely be a two or three part series with jk growing more and more obsessed as he gets y/n into his scaly clutches :)

Part I / II / III / IIII

— summary: you had always found comfort in being at the beach, often spending hours just watching the waves lap against the shore. but unbeknowst to you – something had been watching you back.

You inhale deeply, enjoying the salty smell that so uniquely belongs to the ocean. The last rays of sun are slowly disappearing behind the horizon, painting the skies and the waves in hues of deep pink and purple. You’re going to miss this view.

You sigh, running your fingers through the coarse sand as you let the gentle breeze caress your face. You’ve been looking forward to this for years, but now that your departure is so imminent, it feels more scary than liberating. The time has come to finally leave your home behind, and you feel a pang of regret as you realize you might not see your friends or family for a very long time to come.

Years of saving up your measly paychecks have finally paid off, and you’re setting sail for an island you’ve been hearing constant murmurs about for the last few months. Originally, you were only going to travel to the next kingdom over, hoping to find more suitable work there to help your parents stay afloat. But the talk of the mystery island abundant with riches piped your interest more than you would like to admit – and you’ve never been one to shy away from adventure.

However, you weren’t stupid enough to just blindly trust the rumours milling around your little town. In fact, you wholeheartedly believed it to be a scam until a familiar face suddenly turned up in the town square only a few weeks ago.

You hadn’t seen Jimin ever since he set sail for the unknown six months ago; and so everyone, including yourself, had presumed that your talkative neighbour had met an ill fate, and was floating at the bottom of the sea. You realized you couldn’t have been more wrong when Jimin returned with riches you never expected you would ever lay eyes on, his whole body adorned with various diamonds and gold chains.

It was Jimin who had urged you to seek out the same island, saying he barely even took a handful of all the treasures that were there. He had warned you about a price that would need to be paid, but you weren’t all that concerned. If a sea witch wanted your first born, then fine, you weren’t too keen on children anyway.

You busy yourself with drawing patterns in the sand, lost in your own thoughts as you try to remember your little mental checklist of all the things you wanted to see before you left tomorrow morning. You’re pretty sure this beach was the last one. It’s not much; just a short stretch of sand at the edge of the hill leading up to your family’s cottage, but it has always felt like home.

You come here every evening without fail, using the time to relax and breathe. The last month has felt a little different though, even if you don’t like to admit it. You’ve always stayed on the beach quite late, there’s nothing you know of that can rival the starry sky that appears once the sun had set. But lately, you’ve found yourself retreating back up the hill before the night could fully greet you.

It feels like you’re being watched.

It’s silly of course, considering the only thing in front of you is the quiet ocean. You would have noticed if there was something there, but still, you can’t seem to shake the feeling that something is out there – observing you.

It always happens so suddenly; one second you’ll be merely enjoying the view, and in the next, a sense of dread would knock into you so hard it left you breathless. It would make your neck feel tight, as if someone was gripping your skin, and the hair on your arms would rise in alarm.

Even just the memory is enough to give you goosebumps, and you let out an annoyed huff at how easily you seem to be able to scare yourself. You dust the sand off your hands before you rub them up and down your arms, trying to calm down the twinge of anxiety that’s slowly spreading through your body.

You don’t want to remember your last night here as something uncomfortable, so you let your gaze sweep over the beach one last time.

Something catches your eye just as you’re about to turn. Something red is ebbing and flowing along with the waves, and you hesitantly step forward until you can see it clearer. It’s nothing more than a pretty shell, but you’ve never seen that tone of red before. You snatch it up from the water before the tide can pull it out, slowly turning it back and forth to study it. The last sliver of light seems to catch on to it just right, giving the red a gorgeous golden shimmer.

You let out a low gasp of wonder, trailing your fingers along the scalloped pattern. It’s stunning, and you can’t help but think that it’s the beach’s way of saying its last goodbye. Maybe it was giving you a parting gift.

You clutch the shell gently in your hand, a soft ‘thank you’ slipping past your lips as you watch the ocean fondly. You notice a few sudden ripples in the quiet sea a little further out from the beach, but it has started to grow so dark that it’s impossible to make out anything below the soft waves. Chalking it up to just being fish, you shrug it off, finally turning on your heel to walk back up the hill to your family’s little cottage.

--

You’ve officially been on the sea for a week, and you’ve already grown tired. The small group of fellow villagers that you left with have already started getting on your nerves, and you’re not sure how you’re going to make it all the way to the island and back without going insane. Jimin said you would need to travel north for about two weeks, so you try to find solace in the fact that you’re halfway there already.

The journey so far has been pretty smooth, but the dark clouds on the horizon seem to be rolling towards you at an alarming speed. You dig into the pocket of your trousers, finding comfort in running your fingers along the shell you found on your beach. You can only hope it serves as a token of good luck, because the storm heading straight for you really doesn’t look good at all.  

It feels like you only blink before the rain is pelting down against the ship, harsh waves tossing the wooden boat back and forth to its whims. You’re clinging on the side with all of your might, but the floor has turned wet and slippery, and it makes it even harder to stay on board with all the vicious tossing and turning.

You feel the electricity before it hits, the static making your hair stand up straight right before a bolt of lightning slams into the mast. You can barely hear the loud creak of wood over the screams from the other travellers, you gaze transfixed on the large wooden pole as it starts tipping.

You’re frozen in place; all of your muscles locking up in terror as you realize the mast is coming straight at you. You’ll be crushed in you don’t move, but you can’t. You close your eyes instinctively as the looming shadow rushes towards you, harshly sucking in one last breath of air. You feel the ship lurch, and your fingers slip from the bars you were clinging to as you’re tossed overboard.

A blanket of silence wraps around you the moment you hit the water, all of the screaming and creaking of wood suddenly ceasing as the cold liquid mercilessly drags you downwards. You can see the shadow of the ship growing smaller and smaller, your last breath escaping you as it bubbles up towards the surface.

You flail your hands desperately, your body too low on air to properly function. Swim, swim, swim! Your mind is screaming, but your heart has already accepted the rush of water filling your lungs, and the heavy feeling in your bones.

Your vision grows hazy, the blues and greys of the ocean blurring together. A streak of red suddenly breezes by your line of sight, but your tired brain only managing to provide you with the fleeting thought of fish? before the exhaustion truly sets in. You can hear a low series of muddled clicking noises all around you, but it only seems to make you even more drowsy.

Sleep, a deep voice whispers in the back of your mind. And slowly but surely, all of the mixed colours fade into nothingness.

--

It wasn’t that hard for the mermaid to steer your ship in the wrong direction. The ship was in his waters, under his control, and the storm that suddenly picked up in the northeast presented itself like the perfect opportunity.

He had been trailing after your ship ever since it left the dock, making sure he could strike at the right moment. He couldn’t believe the weird creature he had been watching for months was finally coming willingly to him, but it was only right considering you had accepted his courting gift.

And now, as you were sinking to the bottom of the sea, you were finally his. The mermaid circled you excitedly at a distance as your limbs flailed around underwater. He tried to tell you to calm down – that the fight against his ocean was futile – but you just wouldn’t stop trying.

The mermaid bristled in annoyance, his crimson tail cutting through the sea harshly as he watched the stupid creature fight a losing battle. He needed to take it home now, before his brothers could realize it was here.

Finally, your body stopped moving. The mermaid quickly closed in, strong arms wrapping around your torso as he stared into your unfocused eyes. While he didn’t exactly know what you were, and why you had one limb too many, he had at least gathered enough information to understand that you needed to breathe in that pesky air in order to survive.

He pushed up, letting the currents easily carry him up towards the surface. Of course, he made sure to emerge far from the sinking ship. While the gurgling screams usually were music to his ears – he couldn’t keep you too close to the food. His brothers would be here in no time to feast, and he couldn’t let his new pet be swallowed up before he even had a chance to play with it.

The creature sucked in a shuddering breath as oxygen finally flowed through its veins again. It didn’t take long before all his precious water was being expelled from the creature’s lungs, the mermaid watching in displeasure as it was replaced with that wretched air instead. It just seemed so .. inconvenient.

You didn’t wake however, the near drowning having swept away all of your energy. The mermaid threw one last look towards the remains of the ship, thin lips curling into a pout as the gurgling was replaced by bloody shrieks. He was hungry too, but it seemed like it would have to wait until his pet was out of harm’s way.

Well, at least until it was out of his brothers’ way. The mermaid didn’t like making promises he wasn’t certain he could keep.