#either get worse but have the same price as before OR get more expensive but don't drop in quality!

[liebelesbe]

need to start thinking about what food i want to get on my birthday but everything has dropped in quality so idk :/

[beenbaanbuun]

guard dog w/ jeong yunho

pt2

you live in a shitty apartment in a shitty neighbourhood surrounded by shitty neighbours who seem to make it their life’s work to make your life a living hell

the guy that lives across from you is an aspiring dj, emphasis on aspiring

unfortunately with him working the late shift at his supermarket job, it means he likes to practice late into the night

after the first 5 noice complaints, you just gave up trying to get a decent night sleep; part of you thinks he carried on just as one giant ‘fuck you’

the family that live upstairs aren’t great either

the son—timmy? tommy? who cares—thinks it’s fun to sit on the stairs with his buddies and smoke anything they can get their hands on

your air freshener is the only thing keeping you from losing your mind at them! well, that and the fact that quite frankly him and his friends terrify you

they watch you carefully as you make your way down the stairs, pushing through their congregation with a tight lipped, overly polite smile on your face

usually they don’t say a word, giving you little more acknowledgment than a hum as you thank them for barely making enough room for you to push through them

they make you nervous, you can’t deny that, and half of you thinks that’s the whole point

it’s like it’s some sort of strange power play to keep you from complaining to his parents, or worse, the landlord

not exactly a threat, but not not one

maybe it’s those nerves that made you open up to your friend one day

you’d met up with him at a local cafe, offering to pay for his coffee if he gave you half of the sandwich he’d brought with him

“they just spook me a little, y’know?” you mumble as a few crumbs topple over your bottom lip and onto your chin, “it’s a group of 10 over-grown teenage boys; it’s fucking intimidating!”

mingi just nods along, a small frown on his face as he listens to you complain about your living conditions for what seems like the millionth time

he gets it; moving is expensive, especially in the city, and you need to stay relatively close to where you work since you don’t have a car

it doesn’t mean he has to like it, though

“what about a guar—”

“a guard dog?” you cut him off, “mingi, we’ve had this conversation so many times before!”

it’s the truth; it seems like every single time you see him he brings up the same suggestion; scary dog privileges can get you very far in life according to you friend

“too mentally ill to look after another life, sure,” he reiterates the same point you make every single time, “but what about a hybrid?”

again, it feels like you’re in a constant loop of deja vu, destined to relive this conversation over and over again until you can finally afford to move out of that shit hole

“i can’t aff—”

“—afford a hybrid, yeah i know,” you roll your eyes as he finishes your sentence; jesus, he’s annoying, “but what if i told you i knew a guy?”

it sounds suspicious, but you won’t lie and say you’re not a little curious

perhaps you’re just a little too nosy to not lean in a little closer with a brow cocked a question of ‘who?’ primed on your tongue

“can’t say,” is all mingi says, “he doesn’t like people poking around in his business.”

he says it so nonchalantly as if he’s not your best friend who’s just announced that he knows someone who is almost definitely into some dodgy shit

you’d be a bad friend if you didn’t ask at least a few questions, but before you can even open your mouth, mingi beats you to it

“£200 will get you a hybrid though,” you almost choke on the sandwich at the price; this is some seriously dodgy guy if he’s selling hybrids for that little, “£300 if you start laying down preferences.”

“mingi,” you begin, about to beg him to get out of whatever business he’s getting himself involved in

“i’m assuming it’s a no?” he raises an eyebrow; you don’t even have to nod for him to understand your answer

he concedes, throwing his hands up in surrender like he always does whenever you have this conversation

still, the smirk on his face as the conversation moves onto something else doesn’t fill you with the upmost confidence

a week passes by rather quickly; you work, you come home, you go about your evenings as normal, you sleep

nothing seems any different, and why would it? nothing about your life ever really changes without some sort of built up or expectation

and then your doorbell rings

you assume it’s just your neighbour again, around at yours to ask you some sort of stupid question that could easy be solved using a single braincell and google

you trudge to the door with a sour look on your face and a bitterness already growing on your tongue, just to swing it open to see… not your neighbour

not anyone you recognise for that matter

your gaze travels up from the chest you stand eye-to-eye with, traipsing lazily over the defined muscles on his neck before reaching his face

a jaw set in stone, two steely brown eyes and a pair of jet black dog ears are what immediately catch your attention

that and the fact that he’s very handsome; so much so that it takes everything in you not to stare at him with your mouth wide open

“are you going to let me in?” he says as if the hybrid’s arrival at your door was at all expected by you

“who are you?” is the only response you can

“your guard dog,” he replies, and just like that everything clicks into place

mingi, that bastard

“but i didn’t pay for a guard dog,” you argue, hoping that it’ll be enough to make him go back to whatever creep it is that mingi has gotten involved with

“well, someone did.”

he looks bored as he uses a hand to push you aside and steps past you into your tiny apartment, as if this is just another day for him

maybe it is; you don’t know much about hybrids, but you’ve heard enough stories to know just how many of them go through life without a permanent home

they’re tossed from pillar to post as if they’re not conscious beings with minds and lives of their own

it’s sad, the fact that they can be so easily tossed aside by so many people

it’s even sadder to find yourself relating to that feeling

you shut the door, twisting the lock with a finality that you’re not sure you understand

“what’s your name?” you ask as you turn to face him

“yunho,” he sighs

it’s a pretty name, you think to yourself

one that you wouldn’t mind saying over and over again for the… foreseeable future…

seriously, fuck song mingi

“well i’m—”

“i know your name, puppy,” your mouth snaps shut at the authority that laces itself into his words, “it’s all i’ve heard for the past few days.”

you zip your mouth shut, something in your brain warning you not to speak out of turn

something in your brain seems to forget that this is your own home; surely you can speak whenever you want to

“i wasn’t sure what to expect, but you seem to fit the bill,” dark pupils land on your body, dancing up and down your form before finally meeting your eyes, “a pretty thing like you in a town like this? i’m shocked you’re still in one piece.”

“how dare you, i—”

“where am i sleeping?” he cuts you off like your complaints are little more than the stubborn words of a child

it irritates you to no end, and yet you can’t find the words to fight back

there’s just something in his eyes that has you convinced that maybe you’re not the one in charge here

“the couch,” you point to the ratty leather thing, feeling a slight twinge of guilt that it’s the only thing you have to offer

he takes a glance at at for just a second or two before shaking his head

“no,” he replies, “you have a double bed, right?”

“a double—” your eyes go wide, “you’re not sleeping in my bed!”

“yes, i am,” he insists, condescending and annoying. you hate him already, “because i’m certainly not sleeping on that thing, puppy.”

it doesn’t go unnoticed that he’s yet to use your name, instead sticking to that godforsaken nickname

if you thought it would make a difference, you might say something about it, but the stubborn arsehole has already shown enough of himself to make you understand that it would do very little

“the floor is available,” you spit, venemously

“and yet it tempts me even less than the sofa,” he smiles sarcastically and it boils your blood, “you’re just gonna have to get used to sharing.”

he takes a few paces forward until you’re having to crane your neck to look him in the eyes

you can practically feel his breath dancing across your cheeks as he lets out a low chuckle, a darkness washing over his face as he studies you

“you’re gonna have to get used to a lot of things now that i’m here,” warmth spreads across your cheek as his palm moves to cup it, “but that’s okay puppy, i can be patient while you learn.”

[kaija-rayne-author]

Review 2 in series for Dragon Age Veilguard

Spoilers for Veilguard

First part of review series is below.

I'm not an asshole disclaimer (same as the first one, if you read that, you can just skip down to the cut.)

Something came to my attention. I need to make it crystal clear that I utterly love the diversity in DAV. It's fantastic. I'm also a heavily left leaning, non-binary, queer as fuck reviewer, editor, and author.

I'm on media blackout while I play this, so I'm only getting second-hand info on how awful it is right now in the DA Fandom. Please be safe and take care of yourselves. Arguing with incels and white supremacists is completely pointless. They sea lion worse than an actual sea lion. Your mental health is important.

Though, every single time the anti-queer brigade comes out for a new DA game, I sit there thinking 'have you bozos ever played any DA game, like, ever?' My guess is nope.

9 hours in, 7 hours playtime.

Negative review

While I'm incredibly grateful that I can play this game, because I really hope the story actually starts soon, (yes, I said it, the pacing on this is terrible, and I'm both an editor and a writer, I have a clue). I hate to say... I am soooo glad I didn't buy it. Or I'd be demanding a refund. I didn’t actually look at the price tag, but it must’ve been around $80 Canadian. Given our cost of living crisis, that's obscene but whatever. Games are expensive.

It's just not worth that much in its current state. Sure. Games on release often have bugs. I kinda hate spending money to be an unpaid beta tester. BG3 had nowhere near as many.

My computer comes down right around the middle of the minimum and recommended specs. DA4 doesn't even make it get hot like BG3 makes it. So I'm really thinking glitchy game vs computer issues. Considering I'm not the only one it's happening to... welp. (I looked the glitch up, it's pretty common.)

5 out of 10 loads, my character glitches back to the stock elf body. And if I continue playing, it corrupts my saves and they won't load. It has also happened mid-battle, too. So I have to figure out which save to go back to before the glitch bit. Which, without pics in the save files is fun /s.

'Balanced' play isn’t. I play on tactician/hard in most games. I'm on balanced, and keep fucking dying. TBH I'm not extremely awesome with the controls and moves yet, but I'm not bad either. I honestly just think the bad guys are too overpowered (way too fast, hit too hard, and it takes too long to break their armour) for beginning levels. And yes, I have my Rook in the best armour I currently have. Maybe if I could carry more than 3 potions, it wouldn't matter as much, but IDEK man.

And you know what isn't actually any fun in games? Dying a lot. Also? Having to drop my difficulty level for regular bad guys less than ten hours into the game. It's still teaching me moves ffs, so is sorta the tutorial. I'm not a 'get gud' type. I think that's ridiculous. Gaming is supposed to be fun. If it makes it more fun to drop the level for a boss fight or whatever, more power to you. But I usually don't have to until end-game material. If I have to at all. It's honestly pretty rare. Load time is ridiculous, so every time an over-powered not-a-fucking-darkspawn slams my rogue (which I swear shouldn't be possible, I know how to fight with rogues, they're my first and favourite class), I get creamed because I'm bloody stuck in a place I shouldn't get stuck in.

I know they had testing on this. Wasn't that why the date was pushed back? My memory isn't great since COVID but I think I might’ve seen that somewhere.

Solavellans will likely be disappointed in the first seven hours. You see Solas twice. He may as well not even be in the game.

And I really hate to say this, but I'm just bored. I wasn’t itching to play it like I usually am with good games. (If a game catches me up, it's about the only thing I want to do.) I still loaded it up tonight, didn’t have anything better to do. (Because I'd probably have done that instead.) I'm mostly playing so I know what happens in the story myself. And I was hoping we'd get some answers to all this lore that lives in my head, rent free. So, whatever, I'm still hoping it will catch me up. I'll keep playing in hopes we actually get something resembling a story at some point soon.

And the number of editorial errors is ridiculous. Both developmental and copy.

'Cause bodies can't decompose in the Anderfels? Because nothing external lives there? Granted, I have specialized knowledge there (former forensic anthropologist) but, that isn't remotely how decomp works.

Does your 3 week old raw hamburger not rot because it was in a cold, dark place without any external decomposers? (My 17 year old knew the correct answer to that, so did my 12 year old.)

The primary forms of humanoid/mammalian decomposition come from inside us. Bugs don't even start showing up for a bit. Why do you think bodies bloat? Our gut bacteria going wild. Why do you think bodies are routinely embalmed? No bugs (usually) in a funeral home or morgue either.

And y'know? I actually outright told Epler on Twitter (before it went to complete hell) that he needed a better editor or 4 after playing DAI. And DAV already has more editorial issues than I noticed in the whole first half of DAI. Way to prove my point.

I'm an exacting editor. I'm pretty good at it. And I don't expect perfection in anything. Perfectionism is a trauma response, after all. But so many errors so soon? Really?

I'm not even getting into the story issues. Because I'm still hoping we actually, y'know, get to a story? And if I'm really lucky? That story will cover some of the glaring errors.

But so far? I'm not impressed. I've never, since I started playing DA games, been fucking bored.

Next one is here:

[mishydraws]

Very... very unfortunate life update

Hi, everyone.

Ok, I don’t want to waste your time but I wanted to be upfront about what’s going on in my life just so you all know.

Last night I got what is probably one of the worst emails that could have ever appeared in my inbox? Our landlord has given us a 60-day notice to get out. For context, my mom and I have been living here since the year 2000. We have never been late on rent or missed a payment despite every difficulty life has thrown at us in that time and this has completely blindsided us.

We haven’t spoken to any of the neighbors yet but some of the wording on the notice makes me think that they may be kicking out the entire building. Or maybe they’re just targeting those of us in the non-renovated units because we’ve been here so long and they could charge a new tenant much more with a quick kitchen and bathroom upgrade. Renoviction is a new word I just learned. I don’t know. That’s what happened to my brother at his last apartment. They kicked out everyone in his building, renovated, raised the rent, then let new people move in.

They suddenly started increasing our rent every year like clockwork a few years ago so I’ve had a feeling they’ve been trying to price us out for a while but I didn’t know they could just… tell us to leave just because they can. Rent consistently paid up and everything for 24 years.

The notice we received really doesn’t say much so it’s all speculation I guess. It doesn’t state a reason why it just says we need to be gone by March 31st.

But basically, I’m really not doing well right now in all honesty. I slept for maybe an hour last night and it’s like a switch flipped in me as soon as I read the email. My stomach has had this weird knotted feeling ever since and I can’t stand up for more than a few minutes before needing to lie down again in case I either faint or vomit… I’m not sure which but it’s been this way since last night. I had to stand up at the sink to wash one singular dish from dinner and I could barely do it. At least I didn’t see the email until after I ate last night because I still have no appetite now.

However bad I’m feeling I know my mom is probably feeling worse. She has been for a while. She’s getting older and my dad is no longer alive. Aside from my brother and one irl friend I still see in person regularly, we have no family or other support system in this country and are well and truly on our own, staring down the barrel of homelessness if we can’t quickly secure a place and move decades worth of our life there before the end of March.

All of this to say, I don’t know what our usual art shenanigans here are going to look like during this time. I am incredibly stressed to the point where I am physically ill but I also can’t pause and step away because I do need the income that I receive from your support of me/my art here. It’s just the reality. I’ve never been particularly Big And Successful with what I do so your support means all the much more and makes a real impact on my life.

I am so sorry if this dampens your mood at all today or if you notice a decrease in the quality of art I’m able to deliver over the next few months but I will try my best to keep things rolling and let you know if there’s any particular delays to expect.

To top it off, I requested a tour of a nearby apartment last night (more expensive than our current) and the name of the person who just texted me back has the same name as our current landlord. Who wants to start taking bets? I know for a fact they own a lot of property in the area so this isn’t looking promising.

Anyways. Sorry for this downer of a post. If we’re not homeless in 2 months then… I dunno. I’ll have somewhere indoors to do art? Yay? You can imagine the housing market we’re dealing with being in California. The prospect of moving at this point has always been one of my biggest fears but we’ll see if we get lucky real fast 😢

If you've ever thought about supporting my Patreon or anything else, now and over the next few months might be a good time if you can swing it. Maybe it'll help us secure a place to move if I can point to it and be like 'Look! A whole income!' 🥲 Idk man.

There's an art update in the (public) post I made if you want to see what we're at least trying to work on for sticker club through all of this.

Mishy

[battiegutz]

AUTISM TIME

ok so i got a few of the blind box gen7 pets today and i originally i was only gonna use one for a custom but im considering customizing all of them and infact im going to do a full review below

disclaimer: i am giving an honest review of these. my wording might appear harsh or whiny at some points but i am just trying to honestly review them. i am still very happy that lps are returning to these molds. also pls keep in mind that i dont currently have any authetic gen2 lps to compare them to rn, so my comparison is mostly based off my memory of them and the bases i have that are modeled after them

okay im gonna seperate this into categories bc i love lists im list boy. nvm dont call me that. ok

Appearance&design: even from first glance you can tell these are different than gen2, the og. the colors are way more saturated and dont get me wrong i love bright colors but for example the spaniel and ox? bull? both have "nuetral" colors aka brown in this case, but theyre very saturated to the point that both just look orange and its not very appealing at all. the caterpillar is ok, the green isnt too loud and pairs well with the yellow, and the otter's pastel pink isnt too bad either. however. a thing with these new lps is instead of the personality eye shines they can have personality markings on them. now this isnt necessarily a bad idea, and i can see it being quite cute is done well, but unfortunately this idea is not well executed. the markings look slapped on and out of place and because theyre only on certain pets it looks especially strange. on top of that, the paint job on these is not the greatest. i wouldnt normally be so critical of this, but considering everything else wrong with them, well. anyway. there are scuff? and paint marks on quite a few spots on all figures, though the otter seems the least blemished. the worst offender of a bad paint job is the ox. the muzzle is a splotchy and uneven attempt to call back to the airbrushed markings of old and the paint around his horns and hair is wildly uneven. not to mention how his hooves are not a different color than the rest of his body, which looks especially strange with the stark white horns. additionally, whatever sealant or plastic or whatever they used for the bulls hair feels greasy somehow? the mold for the ox is very cute tho :3 the color difference between the head and body on them isnt that bad, and can easily be overlooked, though it is worst on the caterpillar. the designs overall could be improved with at least some of the pets having more grounded colors and reworking the personality markings, maybe something like a small star on the bottom of a foot or a little cheek mark? ive spent enough time in this section lets move on

Quality: it is immediately obvious these are made of worse material than gen2. this is a problem in all modern toys though, so i dont particularly blame them for it. however, the ox head is bad. while all the toys seem to have a bit of give to the heads theyre not super squishy. the ox head is. because of how squishy the head is, it seems his nose bridge is caving in? it looks indented is what im saying. the texture of them isnt too bad but they feel noticeably worse than even my fake base ones i bought (shoutout to CustomLShop on ebay, the bases arrived super fast and were in excellent condition aswell as very nice packaging with even some bonus stickers :3) the caterpillars antennae are a little too flexible, im worried they might snap. there are very visible lines on the spaniel and the ox where the body mustve been in multiple pieces before being assembled. another thing is that while the heads do bobble mostly fine, they have a lot of trouble turning, theres resistance if even tilt the head, and it feels very strange. once again the otter seems to be the highest quality out of the ones i got, but it still has the same problems.

Price: i get that everything is expensive these days, but i feel it wouldve been more fair based on the quality if the individual boxes were around 2 dollars instead. it wouldve also been nice it there was a deal if you got the whole box set. also it seems that employees have been throwing away the bonus pet in the box when the box is empty of blind boxes, which is a shame because the bonus pet is a nice idea, but i think its not a great idea to have her on the box for the blind boxes as people are a majority of the time buying only a few individual boxes, so she gets left there as she looks like shes just part of the display

Final verdict: if you love lps or just arent concerned abt minor quality changes, go ahead and get em!! there are many problems with these but theyre still very cute and its awesome to see them coming back in the style i remember from my childhood :3

ok my energy is dwindling bc we also went grocery shopping (sensory overload city). i think? i covered everything i wanted to so. yea :3 lmk ur thoughts btw nd would also love to hear frm ppl who have also bought th blind boxes and your thoughts on them

also as far as customizing them i think ill stick to just repaints of them to preserve their design atleast a bit :3 tho th spaniel is an exception i hav big plans fr her lol

[dspdick]

hello everyone. i hope you have some snacks on you because i have yet another thing to rant about. fortunately it isn’t about the bunch of idiots i have the misfortune of calling classmates, instead it’s the cursed place where i chose to continue my education. let’s yell about university.

for starters, i would like to point out that this is an expensive university. like. 900€/month expensive. i get to pay almost half of it because i have a discount due to my high school grades, but you have to keep it up during your stay in college and once it’s taken away you can’t ask for it again.

given the exorbitant price every single of its students is paying, you would think that my class would be in a decent building. wrong. we’re in a prefabricated shitty three-story building in the other side of campus from our labs. because medicine students have their own simulation clinics and the business students get a bajillion brick buildings but fuck the genetics kids amiright?

speaking of labs. the installations are cool and all but the materials need a serious upgrade. I CANT DO A PROPER GEL ELECTROPHORESIS IF THE MICROPIPETTE DOES THE EQUIVALENT OF A DRIVING NEWBIE WITH A MANUAL CAR. also the ph-meters are the bane of my existence and me the bane of theirs.

also. the lab practices are four hours long. which wouldn’t be too bad if they didn’t make us start them at three or four pm when we’ve been in classes from eight or ten am. yes i spend close to twelve hours on campus on lab weeks yes they also pretend that we have time to study.

BY THE WAY. OH MY GOD. studying. i know it’s necessary. but i have EIGHT SUBJECTS THIS SEMESTER. EIGHT. students in other universities have less subjects per year. one of them is a lab subject and we have a fuckin. oral and practical exam. ITS A LAB SUBJECT?? WHY DO I HAVE TO LEARN THE PROCEDURES AND WHY EVERYTHING IS DONE PLUS DO A NiCE LaB nOTeBoOk. SUCK MY DICK.

that and the fact that i not only have science subjects but also philosophy, communication and fucking BUSINESS. yes they’re useful but i frankly haven’t seen a subject with a worse organization than my philosophy class. and on top of that my business teacher just keeps sending projects and questions. maam your class is worth three credits. be grateful i do an effort to get out of bed and spend two and a half bitchass hours to listen to you yap about ip and business life cycles at eight thirty in the morning on a friday.

and now that i mention this, i still can’t believe we’ll have to do 50 mandatory hours of volunteer work next year. yay for volunteer work, i’ve done before and it’s amazing. but you can’t expect someone who spends 10+ hours in college regularly to do the same amount of time as people who only have 3 to 4 hours of class per day.

the worst part of all is the fact that our degree supervisor just expects us to act like phd students or some shit. she literally told to the class presidents that “we can’t expect to have compromises and extracurriculars outside of university. we have to focus on our college life”. this is our first year. i don’t even want to think about how we’ll be treated from now on.

and i guess this is why im so scared. i like genetics. love it, even, when applied to things i enjoy and not a clinical environment. but i want to live my life and be able to truly rest and enjoy and not want to kill myself constantly over the amount of workload that we have to deal with.

i don’t know if i’m going to drop out or keep going but all my options are bleak. either i continue and somehow survive college enough time to get my degree without having killed myself, or i drop out. and from there i have more options. a) immediately switching to a different college and/or undergrad, b) taking an off year and changing my undergrad.

i don’t even know what i’m going to do. i’m exhausted on all the levels a human can be tired and i have no idea if i have it in me to keep going or just take the easy out.

[hot-take-tournament]

ok original submitter of the christmas halloween take here! i’ve seen this point being brought up that i’d like to speak on and that’s the following: ‘well there’s christmas stuff being sold like well before christmas so it’s not exclusive to the christmas season! therefore that point is invalidated’

here’s the thing; halloween stuff is also being sold before halloween season, and again it’s socially acceptable to have that kinda stuff around year round as it’s generally just spooky aesthetics. meanwhile having christmas stuff all year round is silly because it’s intrinsically tied to december. you can’t have christmas decor in your house and other relayed stuff in summer that’s just silly! (unless you’re doing a hhgregg joke) (and also you’re free to do whatever forever i just think it’s a bit silly :-P)

‘but it may be sold that time’ think about it; would you rather buy christmas stuff in advance and save it for the season, or buy it all in december during the Rush to buy christmas stuff? plus stuff is less likely to be sold out earlier you buy it

btw while some christmas stuff is general winter stuff, such as snowflakes, a lot of it (christmas songs, stockings, reindeers) is specific to christmas, and there is a distinction between general cozy winter aesthetics and christmas aesthetics so even then you can’t do christmas stuff in february.

ok, i know this isn't entirely the same point, but it is one that i feel really strongly about and i've been holding in this rant for a long time now without even realising it

i think pretty much every argument about why halloween is better than christmas is valid - but the one argument that i see a lot and 100% disagree with is when people say that halloween 'stays in october', while christmas 'spreads throughout the year'

i can understand why most people feel that way - it's true that the lead up to christmas usually starts the second october ends, but... for me, at least, halloween is worse

i've worked retail for a long time, and in my experience at least even though they're both sold super early halloween stuff stays on the shelves a lot longer than christmas stuff does - actually, halloween stuff never goes away.

(this is a grocery store, so we're talking about food specifically)

christmas products do get sold really early, but they don't stick around that long after christmas is over, either because they either sell out or just go out of date.

and we're never overstocked with branded christmas stuff. it's always more expensive, higher quality, and takes up more shelf space - things like shortbread tins, fancy chocolate reindeer, stuff like that - so we don't get sent as much, and we don't build up a surplus of stock - by new year's it usually gone

but our halloween stock consists of mountains of cheap shit candy - more than we could ever sell - that's filled with so many chemical preservatives it takes 12 months or more until it hits its sell-by, and since there's always a chance someone will buy it, we just leave it up there until it's replaced by more of the same halloween candy next year

at least christmas decorations go away eventually - we have a dedicated, decorated halloween section all year long.

i already have really bad memories associated with halloween, and i'm reminded of those memories every day because for me, halloween never fucking ends.

i know that people when people make this point they actually mean christmas adverts and songs and stuff playing too early... but i'm so done with halloween, i can't take it anymore

i'm trapped in a never-ending halloween hell and if listening to mariah carey in october is the price i'd have to pay for freedom then i'd pay it in a heartbeat

i'm so tired

just let me be free

[queerstudiesnatural]

Hello! I'm just wondering if you have any advice for someone getting their first tattoo? I'm gonna get one of a pair of wings on my back in September to mark the anniversary of me getting free of my mom, and I've never gotten a tattoo before, so idrk how it would work. Here's the design for the wings if that makes a difference:

hiiiii omg i just saw this?? idk why i never got a notification i'm so sorry 😔

idk where you live so the process of getting an appointment would depend on that, it's not the same everywhere, but generally you need to be 18+ and sober (they're not gonna test that last part but it's strongly recommended bc your blood gets thinner when you drink and that would mess up the tattoo process).

i would also recommend that the design be either yours or that you get the creator's permission to use their design. some tattoo artists will not agree to tattoo an uncredited (or worse, copyrighted) design. most won't care, but i know my tattoo artist for example would ask where the design came from.

next thing i can say is to do your research and find an artist whose vibe you like and whom you trust. preferably someone whose art you resonate with (check their instagram/other socials), that's usually a good indicator of their personality. this person is going to spend some time with you, probably hours, working a needle into your skin to mark it permanently, so it's important that you feel comfortable with them.

once you've found your artist, ask for their prices. tattoos can get expensive, and it's better not to be blindsided with that on the day of.

i don't know how big you want those wings to be, but just know that back tattoos are said to hurt quite a bit more than other places on your body. i personally don't have a back tattoo so i can't attest to that, and i generally don't find tattoos to be that painful, but my cousin who had lots of tattoos everywhere said her back tattoo was definitely the most painful. so be prepared for that. and tbh if it's your first tattoo i wouldn't go with something too big. everyone reacts to the tattoo process differently, so i'd test your pain tolerance to that particular process first, with something small. the design you sent leads me to believe you want that to be quite a big tattoo, but let me know if that isn't the case.

at the end of the day it's your body and you decide what you want to do, i just want you to be aware that tattoos aren't painless and the bigger they are the longer they take and the more painful they become (because your skin gets irritated and sensitive after a while so everything becomes more painful). and the back area in particular is quite sensitive. that being said i guess the fact that it's a meaningful symbol to you can make it easier to bear, because you know why you're doing it. i'd just personally start with something less commitment heavy (smaller, on a less sensitive area of the body) to see how you react to the process. unless i'm getting this wrong and you actually want a tiny pair of wings, in which case that should be totally fine! :)

i'm not trying to scare you, i love tattoos and wish i could get them all the time (if only they weren't so damn expensive...), and i've actually had people advise me against getting tattoos on certain body parts because they're supposed to hurt more, when in fact i found them quite mild/painless. so take everything i say with a grain of salt.

mainly yeah do your research, contact your artist in advance, and maybe just ask them for their opinion directly! :)

[fowl-leaf]

my 2023 summary of art!

Template:here

still not consistently posting anywhere, but I like doing these. they're fun there's a lot of things i would've liked to include but had to exclude, due to not being shareable on this account. maybe i'll have more stuff next year!

this is long, so details under the cut

JANUARY silly lizard oc i generally dont do much single line hatching, so it was nice to fiddle with it this time

FEBRUARY the wittle scrunkly lizard last time i drew this one, they were an lps shitpost, so its nice to like draw them normally lol

MARCH herman is running out of time glasses axolotl but make him neon idk

APRIL fancy calico i honestly dont know whats up with the clothes, i just kinda drew whatever tbh

MAY yippie!! toontown oc! was playing ttcc w/shard and co, this is the character i ended up making i also got covid around april-march iirc so i was feeling horrid for a while (and the remaining symptoms didnt clear up till like june)

JUNE an oc i got years ago but didnt have the confidence to draw for a while lmao anyways i like her colors and shape, she's fun

JULY mandatory artfight posting this was one of the last ones i did! ocs belong to pookapooka and they were so fun to paint

idk if ill be doing artfight again tbh. ive been doing it consistently since sun vs moon but its honestly felt less fun ever since the tiktok invasion`and how ppls behavior has changed, and especially since the whole ownership thing that happened mid fight this year. (not interested in any of the alternatives ive seen either bc they have the same issues, notably worse issues, or are not furry friendly) but tbh that might just be me being disenchanted with online art spaces due to the intensifying shittification of basically everything, fucking rip

AUGUST ring but hes going to jail (again but for real this time) the staxie monthly prompt was barbie mugshots but i . . . i did this with ring and lumos and promptly forgor to do this with cakes and ale like i was planning to lmfao im actually gonna watch the barbie movie tonight, renting it so i can watch it on the big tv (didnt watch in theaters bc expensive (movie tickets are generally 15-25 bucks in my area (compared to the 5-10 in my aunt's area (renting is cheaper per person)), and they changed the chairs to these weird uncomfy pleather recliners that make my skin crawl to "justify the price raise" + i hate sitting for more than an hour i need water, bathroom, stretch, and snack breaks))

SEPTEMBER ganache went over the hedge was very busy w/projects so i did little casual art this was inspired by me comparing the over the hedge version of supermarket by ben folds (upbeat & high energy) vs the one by the clash (melancholy + commercial-induced agony) ever since then i cant stop thinking abt how much the lemon demon guy's voice sounds like the fucking clash guy sdjkhfkjsd also over the hedge was one of my favorite movies as a kid and i watched it at least 10 times before we had to return the dvd to netflix. i also regularly played the flash games on the site until i forgot about it after finding out about miniclip + notdoppler from other kids and decided to use those for flash games instead bc more options lol

OCTOBER dta img for a new oc i got, funny long neck budgie thingy busy w/projects again so little casual art had to use old mini tablet bc previous tablet was completely unusable fucking rip

NOVEMBER ganache + cactus pony, they want to know if you have any bubblegum. do you? busy w/projects again so little casual art doodle i made in heavypaint (one of the old layerless versions, i bought a lisence for it a while ago.) i got a new tablet on black friday since the mini tablet was horrible + my broken tablet was making me work very slow

DECEMBER ring in the void (this is lore accurate) or as nic put it, "fucked up twilight sparkle" lol busy w/projects + gifts so little casual art i actually sketched this w/the mini tablet, but didnt finish it up till getting the new tablet

---

for reading this far, you get to see amogus.

i would've put amogus whisper on the chart but decided against it since im not done with that one yet lmao

[jack-bytez-genuine-corner]

I hate being politically knowledgeable so I'll give some real quick off the cuff reasons why you shouldn't doom scroll but should be a little hopeful and stay engaged, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't take a break over long periods, I'm basically just laying out some potentials for why you should be joyful towards 2026.

* 2/3rds of government would be needed to enact a large chunk of Project 2025 not counting outright SCOTUS intervention. This matters as for the SCOTUS to even exist as an institution Trump can never be more powerful than they are, putting their interests square opposite of Trump's want to be a dictator. Similarly the business wall street interests that propelled Trump to this point will be facing the harsh realities of an unstable economy long before anything even happens. As Trump becomes more unglued he will lash out more and more which will put Wallstreet, that only wanted him for the immediate sell off we're seeing now, pressed between a dictator wannabe's wishes and a US that is even more isolated from it's allies and trade partners while the citizenry themselves are forced to buckle down due to the very little high tariffs that will double the price of everyday goods forcing companies to either drastically drop prices and sell at a loss or keep prices high like they are now and push it off on the consumer who will buy infinitely less as a result. The most scary part of the Republican agenda is a deck of cards that falls over predicated entirely on Republicans ability to maintain the balance between worshipping corporations and keeping the peons angry and content enough to not strike out.

* 2026 is an inevitable Dem flip for 2 reasons. 1, people will actually live with Trump again and will remember exactly why so many people found him unpalatable in the first place. You can also be sure that any RNC mandate to ban say "Porn", that being anything queer or woman health centric, IVF, Abortion and the rolling back of social safety nets will inevitably cause innocent people to die and shell shock the exact same people who voted for him this time around. After all it's incredibly hard to be Latino, MAGA and happy when your own elected officials hate your guts and very real people you know are being deported in one of the most expensive and brutal moves in American history, rivaling Asian internment camps. 2, none of this is predicted on Trump doing anything more than what he already has promised to do and it is not reliant on Republicans being actual, considerate human beings. Even looking at the vote currently lots of voters chose the couch over voting for Harris with Trump propelling his margins in large part due to Fox News, Rogan, Musk, etc. Dems for their part can just play the fact he is killing any indictments against him, can play the populous card as blue dog conservative l institualist Dems is more dead than ever before and actually focus on the issues that get Dems out to vote, and any and every gaff is just going to be free fuel for Dems. Even more, legacy media has effectively scorned more and more Americans who are now engaging alternative media sources like Brian Tyler Cohen alongside other podsters. I include him specifically due to his high quality but you have the Pod Save America guys, you have The Bulwark, all the way to the obvious loony bin manosphere with the first three being examples of HOW Dems can appeal and win future races while the last one is a highlight of a soon to be burned content mill, most notably because, again, it's going to be real hard to hate women that much when women you know and love have to suffer for no reason. You can also guarantee that the worse parts of Trump's base can and will be reinvigorated to be horrible people which is, again, part of why he lost in 2020 to begin with.

* I mentioned Wallstreet, courts and businesses earlier but it is no secret that the incompetency in each of these places is seeping through to a pretty forceful change towards unions, but even past that they have hit the point where they are the dog who caught the speeding car. Taking the business interests first, consumers have become more and more direct with their connection with businesses not being predicated on convenience nor price but on morality. When Target and Bud Light caved to altright extremists who believe the very idea that different people shouldn't be allowed to exist that opened up a Pandora's box that has seen Target and Bud Light continue to lose business, not because Republicans were their core base, but because the common person believes that queer people are acceptable while treating them as second class is not acceptable. Tesla and Musk are on the up in the stock market but the reality is that Tesla itself has been seeing less and less sales vs 100% tariff Chinese EV's due to Musk's extremism. The immediate bump they're seeing now is great for the current rot economy where infinite growth is the only acceptable outcome for investors, but there is absolutely a potential for these companies to scorn so many people that they become persona non grata and can't continue to operate. We've seen the same thing with anti DEI measures and book bans leading to less teachers and schools, abortion bans leading to less workers period, you combo that with the guaranteed hyper inflation the tarriffs will cause and the financial strife we're looking at an economic down turn that a golden parachute can't save you from, mostly because the people themselves will want a lot more than they were demanding prior. For Courts, the overturning of the Chevron decision, combo'd with the historically low effort supreme court means that more and more laws are becoming impossible to enforce, requiring constant SCOTUS intervention, but if that keeps up like we are already seeing it do so the courts will become paralyzed and cause unrest that we have not seen before, again, as the stalling tactics they used to save Trump will now be the reason for people to be subjected to unjust laws waiting on appeal. The SCOTUS, for their part, is guaranteed to be Republican majority who can and will overstep yet again like they did with Roe, but they can't cede power fully to Republicans/Trump because if they do they will cease to have any power, because dictators don't need a court because they are the court. This tightrope means that any dissent is very likely going to cause these current supporters of the RNC being forced to buck the current support they give. This will be made even worse for them when inevitably Trump pardons January 6th insurrectionists, his cronies and himself, reigniting the heated eyes on the courts without the safety net of Dem institutionalists who will likely lose all power following the collapse of the Harris and Biden campaign. Reminder that it was a nigh gift to Republicans that Biden appointed Merrick Garland, a feckless, cowardly institutionalist himself that was so scared of Republican name calling he refused to actually try and charge Republicans WE KNOW we're involved with the insurrection in order to seem nonpartisan, the miscalculation is that there will BE no more feckless conservative Dem institutionalists as the main two are no longer in the running for leadership with Obama and Clinton having now burned every perceivable bridge to guide the party. I won't say this will lead to a Bernie progressive party, but it will absolutely be more populist and you're going to see way less outreach to Republicans and far more to actual voters who actually matter. Republicans win on low turnout, this was a low turnout election, and NOTHING increases turnout like rage, and honestly? American Dems have a lot more to be angry about that Republicans at this point given the complete and total failure of every single institution meant to act as a check on the President and Political officials.

* The only bill Republicans could pass among themselves was a tax cut for the rich from 2016 to 2018, with a lot of their "Accomplishments" being pen and paper executive orders which are just as easily made as they are broken. Their current R House Congress is one of the least productive in history. Do you truly believe they can actually pull off any dangerous bills or constitutional amendments without absolutely fucking themselves over, especially now that McConnell is out of the picture in Senate and any competent Republican in the House like Cheey, the only person who was capable of getting Republicans the SCOTUS and the only person capable of pretending the party has any morals? The answer is they can't. I have no doubts they'll pass some horrible shit, but will they have to kill the filibuster? Will they have a house majority? If they have a house majority by how much and will they play nice long enough among themselves to pass the bills? After all Gaetz and other MAGA Republicans are not popular among their cowardly peers and their cowardly peers have bucked them before. If you ask me I don't think they can. The most dangerous things they can do involve federal agencies and state governments, but if they do those dangerous things it'll piss people off and we'll go right back to the original point that a pissed off population will be extra bad for Republicans due to the fact that institutionalist Dems are now completely out of favor.

Long worded way to say that you can be hopeful for the midterms. I know this country seems like a horrible place filled with horrible people, cause it is, but that doesn't mean horrible people out number people who care about trans people, queer people, women, POC, etc. The issue is getting those people to vote and not just sit on the couch and it also lies in actively talking the insane Republicans back into reality, a thing they desperately don't want to do thanks to Fox News and Republican media sources. I'm hopeful for 2026, I'm just extremely angry that very real, very innocent people who didn't have to die, who weren't going to die, will, because too many people would rather they die than a Black Asian woman be President. Like I can't even begin to state my disgust that we're back at 2016 again, but like with 2018, 2026 will not go well for Republicans who, even in this election were doing worse among the exact same demographics they had in 2016. A rural vote may be worth 100 votes where I live, but make no mistake that they can and will feel the squeeze that they brought upon themselves, and hopefully they'll learn this time. And if they don't, well, I hold the same common courtesy I do for Nazis; I won't even piss on them if they are fire, cause you can't keep hurting innocent people and expect infinite kindness in return.

[candy-floss-crazy]

Dodgems are easily one the most popular funfair ride available to hire. There are some absolutely fabulous examples available. Unfortunately there are also some complete cowboys, operating complete garbage. Read our 6 tips on dodgem hire to avoid the junk. When have read through it, visit us for a dodgem quote for your event. 1 Work Out What Type You Need There are 2 main types of dodgem rides, continental or traditional British style. Although the ride experience is essentially the same, they each have some unique strengths. Hire Dodgems Continental Style This type is the modern, slightly larger, ofton oblong shaped dodgem track. The ride essentially folds up on itself, and is then raised hydraulically off the floor allowing wheels to be fitted. The main advantage of this type is speed. Generally a smaller crew, can erect a continental dodgem in half the time of the traditional type. They also tend to be more highly decorated, with better sound systems and airbrushed artwork. The main drawback is the fact that they need to be driven into position. They cant be taken over a wall, through a narrow gate or up stairs. Continental Dodgems For Hire Traditional Dodgems The traditional dodgem on the other hand, dismantles into small sections. It can be carried into almost any venue. The drawback with the ride, is the fact that it can take 6-8 hours to erect, as opposed to 3-4 hours for a continental type. Oh, and you tend to have to pay for all that extra work. Traditional Dodgems For Hire 2 Find Out Exactly What You Are Getting Most rides of either type, need 2 heavy goods vehicles (averaging around 7 m.p.g), a support vehicle. Generator, 4-6 staff. 2 days to set up, operate and dismantle. Insurance, maintenance and general running costs. All legitimate operators have these as fixed, unavoidable expenses. So when someone offers you a dodgem for half the price of everybody else, you should be suspect. I know of 2 unscrupulous operators with the following deals; The first would offer you dodgems for around £800. Less than half the going rate. You would book them thinking you are getting a super deal. When the dodgems arrive and erected, you find that they have no lights, no music, no rain cover and 4 dodgem cars. When you query this sorry state of affairs, you are shown a folder with a picture of the £800 dodgems in, which is what you've hired. The operator would then turn a page showing a picture of the £1000 dodgems, which is the same ride but with a rain cover added. This process would be repeated a page at a time, until the final picture showed a fully set up dodgems for around the £2200 mark. Your choice at this point is to go ahead with the rubbish you've hired. Or pony up another £1400 to get a proper specced set up. The Second Deal The second one was even worse. They guy would quote a super low price, but when you wanted to book you have to agree to fork up a £500 non refundable deposit. The day before your event, you are informed that the dodgems, sadly, have broken down, but don't worry, you are going to be supplied with a simulator ride, or a Miami or similar. When you complain that's not what you want and ask to cancel, you are told you don't get your deposit back. Again your choice is to accept what you are offered, or start court proceedings Would you win? Most probably, but would the hassle and stress be worth it? 3 Agree Your Operating Times This is a must, a standard time slot is around 6 hours opening. They also need to be consecutive hours. We had one client booked us for 6 hours and wanted 3 hours one day, and 3 2 days later. Sorry, but the price quoted wasn't to cover the ride being tied up for an additional 2 days. You wouldn't be able to do that when you hired a car, so why would you think you could in this scenario. 4 Agree Set Up Times Usually dodgems are erected the evening before they are needed, and dismantled straight after the event. Depending on the work load, an operator may agree to leave them in situ when the event finishes and come back the next day. However don't just presume this. Quite often we can be operating on a saturday night at one venue, and need to be in position at another Sunday morning. 5 Make Sure You Receive All The Safety Docs Of all our 6 tips on dodgem hire, this one is the most important. Currently a reputable operator should be able to supply as a minimum; - Public Liability Insurance Certificate Of At Least £5 Million - Risk Assessments - Method Statements - Daily Check Log Book - Adips Annual Inspection Certificate The good operators will go farther and supply additional health and safety documentation. With regards to the ADIPS certificate, check it out at ADIPS.co.uk to ensure it is genuine. The advent of the scanner and photo shop means a young kid can alter the date or name on a certificate. Same goes for the insurance. 6 Ask For Testimonials The best operators in the hire arena tend to specialise in these jobs exclusively. Some operators spend most of their time at traditional funfairs, and the private jobs are an afterthought. That's not to say some of these aren't quite good. They are, but the best operators tend to pay more attention to customer service, and operate to a higher standard. By all means ask for contact names at some of the larger corporate clients they have had. A good operator should have no issue with sending you details of jobs they have done. If after reading our 6 tips on dodgem hire you are still unsure, by all means drop us an email asking for help. Read the full article

[localwebslingers]

@redhead-reporter sent in:

"hmmmm, i dunno ... what's it WORTH to ya?" mj asked with a smirk, hands clasped in faux innocence behind her back as she swayed side to side waiting for his answer. if he wanted her to share her location with his phone, willingly sign up to have an obsessive superhero stalker, there was going to be a hefty PRICE. especially since she looked so cute today, all game ready in her cheer uniform with her blue and gold bow PROUDLY nestled in her curly hair - she's EXPENSIVE pete, a hot commodity metaphorically speaking. (and yes, also sometimes literally).

should've thought of that before you fell in love with your DREAM girl (mcu!pete)

------

Did he feel a little bit bad and guilty about asking how Mary Jane felt about sharing her location? Yeah, honestly, Peter never thought he'd be the kind of person to ask someone to do something like that. But then he never thought he was going to be swinging around New York fighting bad guys and would have super powers to do it either. He would have felt a little more guilty if she wasn't smirking and that alone helping reassure him that she wasn't completely against the idea of it at least. If she was, Peter was pretty sure she'd have immediately shot down the idea.

"Uh....well it would be a two way street, for one, so you would be able to see where I was too if you wanted. Because it really wouldn't be fair otherwise." he offered first, not sure if that mattered to her the same way knowing where she was mattered to him. But it might, and it was definitely something Peter was already intending to make available if they went through with installing the app, "And I will watch an entire series, of your choice, start to finish with you, no matter what it is, new or old. Series, not season, seriously any one that you want even if it takes us over a year to finish it, or it's going to be running on the air for anther three. And...um..." he'd offer to take her web swinging more but honestly Peter did that on a regular basis already.

He was quiet a moment and let out a breath, "And I will absolutely admit that I'm being paranoid with this but it would really, really make me feel better knowing if you need something, I know exactly where you are." he admitted. Which, really, she probably already knew but next time might not be something like a lizard in her apartment, it could be worse. It could be somewhere else, and if that meant Peter was going to double as her personal taxi service too and watch whatever soap drama show she was hooked on to know he could find her in a hurry if he needed to? Peter would happily do it.

"But if you don't want to do it, I get it, and I'll also never, ever bring it up to you again."

[artforsimps]

I would like to apologize the the woman I was helping at work today, she asked if I could write on a variety cake and I said i could give her a “happy birthday” plack thing so it would look better than jumbled writing. When she asked if it was okay that she had this I responded “as long as your paying” trying to be funny since sometimes people come up to the bakery asking for free kits and add ons when they aren’t buying cake because they want to

I work in a bakery and I decorate cakes. A lot of people have me write on cakes and sometimes writing can’t fit or there’s a texture on the cake that would make writing look bad or lumpy so we have happy birthday plaques that you can put on top. These are like the only free item you can get on non store brand stuff neside the labor and icing of writing in a cake, because the cost is roughly included in the product or something. we buy these mostly for when decorators aren’t available to write on cakes (you know like nights so people can still have a cute cake or we’re packed with orders and can’t handle distractions or write on cakes fast enough)

A customer approaches me, the bakeries open and she wants a cake for same day pick up, I can’t do that since it’s half way through the day, I have orders I still have to make and there’s no time for me to bend the rules and squeeze another order in and wait for more cake to thaw in order for me to decorate and have it ready for her. Mind you it’s Sunday (We also have a minimum 24 hours notice on cake orders and the usual mindset of whomevers asking to immediately have a custom cake for pick up is expecting you to just drop everything so they can pick it up immediately or they need the cake in the next two hours or less so they can make it to the party on time. Either way, it’s at the point of there being nothing I can do to help THAT much. Quick rant, you have a whole year to prepare for someone’s birthday and you can’t just order it a week before? not even the day before? There’s a point at which you’re the problem. I can deal with people with long lists of details, I can draw little mice or roller blades on cakes but I cannot stand impatient people. What I also know is that shit happens. Your friend that makes your cakes is gonna get sick sometimes, you don’t have time to make your specialty cake because you had to pick up a shift to pay for the party or the bakery you go to lost your order. hell, my own coworkers put orders in the wrong spot or give away both copies instead of keep one for us to reference. So I try to just do what I can and I know that after 11 am there’s nothing I can do to go the extra mile because I’m the only one in this bakery and my manager calls me the second that I ever need to get anything from my freezer even though she can see me walk all the way there and back but that’s a rant for another time.). She takes the news great, and is understanding 10/10. I suggest the variety cake because she wanted red velvet (a flavor we don’t carry and wouldn’t have been able to make even if she could have ordered it in time) and this way she gets the cake she wants the same day and still has writing on it so it’ll feel special . She only wants happy birthday on top no names, Great. I suggest the happy birthday plaque “would you like a birthday sign on top so it’s not uneven?” She asked how much it’ll cost, a very common question but writing and placks cost nothing. So since this is one of the few good interactions with customers I get in a day I decide to crack a joke. “Hey as long as you’re paying” you know cause in my mind I’m thinking it’s “free” because they buy the cake. Like how 1/4 sheet cakes are more expensive when you order them because the kits included in the pricing whether you get a cake with a kit, filling or nothing in it. And now I feel worse the more I think about it cause I have the context of

1.haha people ask for free stuff and if we handed out eveything we’d be fired

2.haha of course your paying for it you wouldn’t go up to the counter, ask for writing and leave it in the toy isle just to waste both our time

3. I’m not making the assumption you’re stealing or trying to imply that, its absurd that someone would think you’re going to steal such a noticeable item especially when you’re with your impressionable and innocent kids.

So to the woman who asked me to write on your birthday cake, I’m sorry for accidentally sounding racist and my stream of excuses. I genuinely didn’t mean to come off that way by speaking with context and not explaining the joke or adding “hey at least you’re offering people always ask for free stuff” or something similar.

[loverlylight]

Okay, I'm just gonna complain about the dismal state of housing for a bit, if that's okay? Adding a cut because this got very long.

So, like, not gonna mention any actual figures, but when we were growing up, we weren't living paycheck to paycheck, we were doing okay, but like... we were fairly frugal, and it was clear that it was because we needed to be, you know? Only buying used cars, almost only got hand-me-down clothes, store brand everything, didn't replace things if they still somewhat worked, anything technology related always secondhand and usually at least one generation behind, only one or two vacations that weren't either camping or visiting extended family, that kinda stuff. Anyway, Dad and I were talking the other day about how (apparently) the amount of money you "should" have saved is six months of income, and Mom and Dad didn't get to that point until I was already an adult.

And look, it depends on how you look at things of course, but if we're looking at that type of metric I'm technically in a proportionally better financial position than my parents were at my age. I don't have six months of income saved, but I'm not too far off (and I did have that amount before the Tinlightenment Kickstarter so... oops lol). I still function under the mindset of "if I haven't looked at my bank account in the past hour assume it's almost empty" so I historically do not spend money on things that aren't gifts or necessities unless it's something VERY important to me, and I'm still following those rules, even if I'm also like "hey, I can actually afford to donate money to people who need it now!" which is great, but basically, even though I'm going to have more expenses coming up I have more financial wiggle room than my parents did at my age.

And yet I would not be able to apply for a 1-bedroom apartment anywhere nearby without a co-signer, because there's nowhere within an hour or so where the rent is a third of my gross pay. And yet the concept of being able to purchase a home is a complete pipe dream. For a 20% down payment on a house basically anywhere close enough that I'd consider moving to, I'd pretty much have to save every cent of my take-home pay for three years, and that would just be for the down payment! When they were a little younger than I was, my parents were able to buy a house about half an hour away from where I'm currently living. I don't know how much it cost, but it looks like when we moved it sold for $178k, and since they bought it a decade prior presumably they purchased it for less than that. Apparently the estimated price for that house today is around $630k. And, granted, I am bummed out for my own sake. But just thinking about how many people are in the same or worse position than my parents were at my age, how that number keeps growing, how housing is becoming scarcer and less affordable by the day, and just... it's fucking infuriating, you know? Obviously, I want everyone to be able to live lives where they're able to have the things they want, not just the things they need, but while this is definitely not a novel thought nobody should have to live a life where their basic needs of food or shelter either are not fulfilled or are constantly hanging in the balance.

[magnusrosen-blog]

Irony and reality can sometimes be close to each other.

The sleeping people!

We sleep so heavily in an illusion that everything is done for our own good!

In the history of man we find a conclusion.

Even though people are injured and die in war, shot on our streets and in our homes in front of our noses, even though we have poor pensioners, Swedish citizens who are homeless, drug sales outside middle school in some schools in our country!!!

😴 So we sleep so well and soundly and I shouldn't question it, what if someone says against me, oh yeah yeah I don't want to be part of that, then it's better to be quiet and sleep on, then people get hurt while I closes my eyes.

Even fixed service agencies like banks are starting to question us all as if we were criminals. Questions like if we are active politically or have feelings in the military, why we want to deposit our cash or withdraw cash, act like we support terrorists or other criminal activities. Is integrity and respect for people completely gone?

Is it ok that we are all treated as potential criminals?

😴 But we just sleep on in a dream that everything is so good.

Our news is no longer objective, nor is the new healthcare that recommends preparations that have not been tested according to all the rules of the art, but they spread chemical mixtures into people's bodies, what is actually in these substances? 😴 But no one dares to ask, we just dare to say "yes" and continue to sleep.

5 G, which would make the whole world wake up to a thunderous quality and speed, turns out to be more intended for something else as everything has become worse when it comes to telephony and data speed.

Where I live slightly outside of Gothenburg, it has definitely gotten worse, so I have turned off my 5G.

The radiation inside the city is on "warning" for humans, I have seen this myself on a radiation meter.

😴 But no one seems to care or question this either.

Did you know that there are several different techniques that cause the sunlight to be blocked from our globe.

Yes, it is certainly scary that some people are experimenting with our entire mother earth.

Tinkering with the weather has been done since the Vietnam War.

😴 But what does it do when you can close your eyes and sleep on?

Wars are encouraged instead of effective peace processes, at the same time they talk about climate change which entails high environmental taxes, tax money that is not even earmarked?????

War is a terrible environmentally friendly act, but it doesn't matter because you fight for the good of everyone????? Or do you do this for the good of all. 😴 When did a war bring anything but illusions and death to the little man???

The vegetables are now genetically engineered to such a mild degree that the vitamins are starting to become difficult to detect in the increasingly brilliant, colorful vegetables that many times next only taste like water, 😴 but that can't wake us up either!

Some pieces of meat start to get an aftertaste from the brush 😴 but what does that do, or beef fillets filled with water to charge a higher kg price, 😴 but oh yes it's nothing to worry about when you can sleep on.

Yes, now it is even difficult in some professions to get full time since the 80% salary came into effect.

More expensive prices with less wages.

😴 Yes, that's good, then we won't be able to afford to live.

Think how good life is anyway, well until the day you open your eyes 👀 and ask yourself, how could it be like this.

Yes, that day started to get its last "well before date"

Then the road back is very long.

Yes there are many more alarm clocks ⏰, 😴 but it doesn't seem to help.

Shouldn't we at least question and demand an objective picture with more than one perspective?

Questioning gives answers but silence does not.

The wise ask and the foolish dare not question. But no questions are wrong and clear, transparent answers must always be given so that no major misunderstandings occur against the people.

The worst thing is if society splits up into small different groups that are against each other, because then we easily fall into the plates that the perfection of power has put out and become easy to sink our teeth into.

😴 But what does that do when you can close your eyes and sleep on.

Perhaps it is simply too much to ask to open one's beautiful eyes and instead just sleep further into an illusion and future that is currently presented when this text is read?!

But in any case, in the sign of love, you can wish everyone 😴 sleeping a good sleep.

Sleep tight!!! ❤️🙏

Magnus.

Love peace understanding

Remember: Questions bring knowledge

Free speech makes for a free world

Photo  Gabriel Henningson

www.magnusrosen.com

www.magnusrosenband.com

www.culturemeetsindustry.com

#book #magnusrosenband #outsidetherockbox #sound pollution #moderearth #spiritual #barvcafebar#brännö

#avelibooks #noise pollution

#magnusrosen #bassplayer #ljuset #miraclet #basenimitthjärta #avelibooks #mrb #nyhetsmorgon #tv4#rocknytt #manneinstrument #manneguitars #ebs #mannebass #understanding #thesea #sun#heavymetal #rockmusic #rock #itstimetorocktheworldagain

[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

So... after on and off for months, and the numerous problems cropping up over and over again at this place, mom finally got that familiar feeling.

It started at the 'fire/gas leak' we were evacuated for and has gotten worse since then. She said we overstayed our welcome and that every problem we've had from the staff in the days following, was a sign that they don't want us here anymore.

This has happened before. See...

Whoever is doing the work for the motel has apparently screwed up and is insisting that Dave hasn't paid the bill and that he owes money. Mind you, he worked out a deal to pay every afternoon between 5-6, cuz we can't guarantee that we'd have money before 11 AM to pay for the day. So, he goes to work with that guy he knows, gets $70-$80, and then uses it to pay for the room. That's how it's been going.

Every other week, mom accumulates enough points to pay for 1 night that way so he can take a break on a random Sunday. The points haven't been coming in, in the past 2 weeks when there should be enough by now, and it's because someone up there has been holding off on giving points cuz they claim Dave is behind on a payment(but waited weeks to tell him?). Mom has all confirmation emails though, and forced him to get a receipt every day he pays, which she has all records of.

Mom thinks, like every other time, that we've overstayed our welcome and the staff are trying to get rid of us by all these problems accumulating so quickly over the past couple weeks. This has happened at every other place we've managed to stay at since becoming homeless, so she isn't overreacting or anything. Eventually, they get tired of our presence and of not getting full-price on the rooms and start making up problems and rules we've broken.

Like the last place. The moment the state assistance vanished, we had to begin paying weekly for the single room for all 4 of us. Suddenly, one day, they couldn't let us stay anymore. Suddenly it wasn't allowed for people to stay more than a week at a time, and it had to be 30 days before they could come back and stay another week, but Dave's apparently kept in contact with someone who was staying there the same time and as us and… they weren't kicked out or told anything like that. They are still there and still making weekly payments. It's been 9 months since then.

Randomly this morning, the staff told Dave that every single room is booked all throughout the holiday weekend, so everyone has to be out before 11 AM on Friday. After telling him they'd keep this room and many others reserved(cuz there are several families staying here long-term cuz we're all homeless) for people. Guess what? The rest of them have been here as long as us and they weren't told they have to leave. And they don't have any reservations either soooo...

Bethy is with us again and she's been going stir crazy and she's now calling people she knows who work in hotels around Delaware, trying to get help.

Anyway, it's the weekend closest to the 4th of July and everything everywhere is not only booked but hella expensive af. Bethy never had to sleep in the van with us before, and mom's disabilities cannot physically handle the moving back and forth or sitting in the same place for more than a few hours at a time.

We don't even have money for food. We are subsisting on expired/rotten food gotten from the local food bank.

Yet Dave is over here thinking everything is perfectly okay and he just has to talk to the staff again... They told him they already have the room we're in reserved for a group this weekend and that we can't stay.

I fell asleep last night and the random thought struck me... I wonder how long we'll actually be able to stay here... and I wake up to this news.

Dave just doesn't get how finances work. Because he's so unhelpful and doesn't fucking listen when people speak, he's whining about how after getting paid, mom has nothing left for the month.

"But we don't have to spend $230 on the storage unit anymore!"

"That went into other bills, Dave!"

He thinks that cuz we don't have that one issue holding us down, we're going to be able to handle everything else easily and have money left over for whatever he wants.

Because mom has had to pay one bill and let another slide as a result every month. It's how she's hand to handle our financial problems this entire time.

Mom finally paid off the bank after Dave bounced her account several times last year. She's been paying $100+ a month for ages to get that handled. That should make things a little easier now.

The car insurance has increased by several dozen dollars so it's over $150 a month now.

Her phone and Bethy's phone have to be kept on because of her schooling and we need a functioning phone number or else we'll be in big trouble in many ways. $100+ just for 2 phones. Dave is in charge of his own damn phone.

She has to handle her Discover and Capital One cards since she's had to use them to save our asses a few times. She NEEDS to pay the off so he credit score doesn't tank, and many places won't give you a chance if your credit is low. She's got monthly payments for those around $100+ in total.

The P.O. Box price has increased(we have that handled for the next 3 months thankfully). Almost $50 now.

Dish Network has been on pause or 19 months cuz she can't cancel it before the full year she paid is used up or the fee is astronomical.

Then we have gas for a minivan, that Dave should be paying for, but isn't. A mostly full tank is around $80 every 4-5 days. Gas is average rn. So over $400 monthly in gas.

We need the part for the van which is $800+.

She has to pay for her medication cuz we have shit medical. She's already going without many of them but some health problems, like Asthma, can't be ignored so the inhalers are prioritized.

Amazon Prime and Norton are necessary since free shipping for all necessities, and she needs the protection since she does most business on her laptop.

Bethy needs school supplies regularly. Sometimes clothes and always hygiene stuff.

We need hygiene stuff.

But Dave just thinks that she should have all this extra money left over at the end of paying everything off. Many of these things come out instantly on the 1st of each month btw. She has to the work through what is left for the bills that aren't instantly paid off.

He thinks if he works with his friend for 3 weeks, he'll have enough money for an apartment, completely ignoring that He'd only have about $1800 for a full month of work with no breaks. The cheapest 2-bedroom in Delaware requires almost all of that, which is why we're waiting on housing which charges based on your monthly income. Even if he handled the monthly rent of $1400-$1600 for a 2-bedroom, mom still has all this stuff to worry about... and the Dish payments would start up again, and gas, water, electric, sewage, etc...

Dave doesn't listen. In public housing, those things are included. Outside it, they are separate expenses.

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