#especially in countries like mine where you have options

[kumeko]

There's a lot of "but they have to earn my vote, so just blame X politicians" messaging going around right now and it's just...no. That's not how that works.

Yes, a candidate has to earn your vote. They certainly should be spreading their messages and going door to door and more.

No, that doesn't absolve you if you don't vote at all. You have to put in the effort too--learn policies, candidates, etc. You're still living in your country. You are still impacted by the policies of the winner. You are still dealing with the election results regardless. You're not living behind a magic wall, incapable of doing your own research.

It is called civic duty for a reason.

If you don't want to have a voice in it, then fine. Don't vote. But don't act like that erases your part in the process and whoever wins. Because by not voting at all, you automatically vote for the winner. And you'd better hope others aren't so apathetic that you get someone you hate.

"I don't want to see anyone blaming abstaining voters for this!"

Of course you don't. The entire idea of abstaining was that you could pretend this didn't involve you. Not getting blamed was more important to you than doing any kind of damage control, more important than protecting any of the people you said you wanted to protect. And in this moment, I don't really care what you want. Of course, this isn't entirely your fault. Of course other people made this worse. But if you're going to pretend you had nothing to do with this, forgive me if I ignore you.

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

want talk about how important have AAC in your language.

language of birth country, of family, big language, so many native speaker, even more second third learned language speaker. but, even that, is language not often seen in robust AAC apps develop by western countries—because not one of big western countries.

there only one robust symbol based (or TTS tbh) AAC app have that language: TD snap.

which mean. must make it work.

how important it is have AAC that fit your needs: right grid size, right motor plan, right access support (switch, eye gaze, etc), right editing, right symbols, right color & color coding & contrast, right everything. n so much of this, actual need, and not preference.

which why there so many english symbol based AAC apps, each with different logic to where words are, how word organized, what symbol use, what editing feature have, all backed by their research & tech development… you get choose. if one app not right for you, have others. sometimes is prefer one over other, but other times is, some apps unusable for you, conflict needs for you, cannot understand it (e.g touch chat for me).

TD snap organization not work for me. core word not enough, fringe word organized not fit way my brain work, n overall not enough words that match own daily life.

but have to make it work. because it between this, or not communicate in words with family & with world in country where everyone speak this language.

so, am deleting everything, all words, all boards, & remake, reorganize. trying make it work. begging make it work. pay no mind how it take tens even hundreds of hours (years in making, still not finished). …it my only option.

n, this lucky case scenario—

people who cannot, or not allowed to, edit their AAC in such big way. people who cannot use that sad one app that contain your language.

or, especially: there languages & speaker of those language who need AAC but have no AAC because there no AAC that support their language.

their voice robbed.

but that not all. for longest time still not able use AAC in birth country language. because have no voice go along.

want talk about how important have useable voices in AAC in your language.

in gender that reflect you, tone & personality that reflect you, pronunciation & accent & everything that reflect you.

using voice that not used to, already feel like speaking through someone else mouth. very odd feeling—it you speaking, it you communicating, but it coming out of someone else mouth, in their voice, not yours. where yours?

even with voice that like, still take me while fully connect with voice. with voice mere tolerate, always feel discomfort, not fully mine. with voice that opposite who you are?

averse. rather not talk at all.

not willing choice. but physical reaction, recoil, hate, uncomfortable deep under skin, disgust.

between acapella voice group & IOS voices, there maybe 5-6 voices for birth country language, all very gendered, middle age “karen” sounding, robotic unnatural, unclear, hard hear what trying say, tele-announcer tone. 5-6, but somehow all sound same.

and, make no mistake, 5-6 badly made ones. is lots. other languages, have 1, or 2. or none. this, lucky.

so, not communicate with words at all. completely nonverbal all the time, so gestures, noises, grunts, is what left. need parents with 24/7, because other don’t know why not talk, don’t even know can not talk, don’t understand what mean with all these body language noises/-n, by the way, parents is part reason have cPTSD, but have be around them, because nonverbal high support needs, what can you do, what other option you have?. and, still, frequent meltdowns n tantrum—because often no one understand.

have words that cannot use. in language that itself is trauma trigger.

today, found that apple/ios now expanded voices for birth country language. so many now! so many also have enhanced & premium options, that come with ios, no extra cost. so many different personalities, tones, inflections. and, sound so natural.

cried. because. finally may able communicate with words in birth country language again.

don’t know how explain to people who, never had go through forced silence, how important and huge and even life changing this is.

won’t take away communication disability, won’t take away other AAC difficulties, won’t take away trauma, won’t make birth country language any less of trauma trigger, but—

it there when ready.

—to all my AAC users who speak language that not commonly supported by robust AAC apps on market. especially those BIPOC, those diaspora and those from the country. those who speak language with few speakers. especially those nonverbal nonspeaking who have no other option. those who cannot type, who can only use symbol base AAC, so effectively stranded without one that support their language. love you all, see you all, even if AAC companies don’t.

[mindfulstudyquest]

❥﹒♡﹒☕﹒ 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗺𝘂𝘀 pros and cons

a girl asked me to talk about my erasmus experience in the questions box and she inspired me to make this post. if you have posts to request don't be shy! unfortunately i don't have all the time i would like to uptade but i will try to keep up.

erasmus is a student mobility program of the european union that allows a european student to attend a school in another EU country for a period of time legally recognized by their home institution.

it is a temporary experience with many benefits, enabling students to engage with different cultures and customs. due to its non-permanent nature, i believe it is one of the most beautiful opportunities for a student to feel completely free to explore and understand themselves, to figure out what they want and do not want from their life and educational path.

but let’s start by discussing its downsides. unfortunately, not everything is perfect.

𝟭. paperwork ( 📄 )

hey, i know, guys, i'm not the first or the only one to say this, but the paperwork for erasmus is a pain in the ass. it's not only extremely complicated, but universities (mine for sure, but i know it's a common experience) provide zero help in filling out the documentation. especially if you're not familiar with bureaucracy (and at 20 it’s normal not to be familiar with these things), it can seem like an insurmountable mountain. but if i, someone who doesn’t understand anything about this stuff, managed to get through it, you can do it too. typically, the documentation includes:

various information like ID, health card, and the IBAN of an account in your name (or joint name) where they will deposit the scholarship.

learning agreement, another plague sent from hell because you usually have to deal with two professors, one from your university and one from the host university, who clearly would prefer to mop the sea than help you fill out your learning agreement.

financial agreement for the scholarship, which has specific deadlines by which you need to submit documents (usually IBAN, learning agreement, and acceptance letter from the host university). fun fact: i almost missed this and didn’t receive the scholarship because these deadlines were buried deep in my university’s website (don’t be like me, make sure to be informed well about the financial agreement or you risk being left without money).

the best advice i can give you is to find someone from your university who has already done the erasmus where you’re supposed to go and ask them for some information. they, having gone through it, know what mistakes to avoid and what’s best to do. the offices often assume too many things and give you insufficient and hasty information.

𝟮. finding an accomodation ( 🏡 )

this too, another pain in the ass. it depends on the city, but here in madrid, finding a place to live has been a nightmare (and indeed, i've significantly overshot the budget i had set for rent). you have various options for accommodation:

student dormitories these solutions may seem the best at first glance, but they aren’t always. here in madrid, the fees for the dormitories at my campus cost more than my current rent, plus having only one kitchen for an entire floor is not exactly optimal comfort, especially if, like me, you cook a lot.

apartment studio/flat this is definitely the most comfortable option, but also the most expensive. a studio outside the center in big cities can cost up to €1000 a month. however, if you can afford it and prefer privacy, then go for it. at first, living alone might not be easy, especially if it’s your first time away from family, but you’ll get through it quickly.

room in an apartment this can be the best or the worst option depending on your luck because having flatmates means cohabitation, which is not always pleasant. if you're going in erasmus with someone you know, it might be optimal to share an apartment or take two rooms in a larger flat. personally, i rented a room in an apartment with three other people (two bathrooms and a kitchen), and i couldn’t be happier; i love my flatmates, and we quickly became friends. we cook together, go out together, spend entire evenings chatting and joking and they helped me a lot overcoming the first crisis. i realize, though, that i am an exception, so choose your accommodation carefully.

in short, consider your choice based on 3 factors:

proximity to the university/public transport links i study outside of madrid, almost an hour by bus from my place, but i live practically across from the bus stop, so it’s not a problem at all.

centrality/connection to the city center you're in erasmus to experience the city!

comfort of the place such as private bathroom (very hard to find but not impossible), utensils, AC, appliances (we have a dishwasher at home, and i assure you it saves our lives everytime).

𝟯. homesickness ( 🤧 )

yes, everyone feels homesick, even the most stoic. but guarantee you, you'll get through it. first of all erasmus, fortunately or unfortunately, isn’t forever. it’s a 6 month/1 year experience that is incredibly valuable for your personal growth, at the end of this period of time, you'll be back home. secondly, you can always stay in touch with friends and family in the age of technology. those who truly love you will support you in this project and do everything they can to make you feel less lonely. lastly, during erasmus, you’ll make many amazing friendships and connections that you otherwise would never have the chance to make.

𝟰. language barrier ( 🦜 )

i can’t say much about this, i've never studied spanish in my life, but, since i'm italian, i have no trouble following the lessons and understanding people when they speak, even though i'm still not able to express myself well in this new language. however, by living in another country, you’ll learn the language much faster and more effectively than with any academic course. in just a month, i already feel much more comfortable with spanish, and everyday i learn new things.

and of course, i could talk for hours about the benefits of erasmus, but i might save my praises for a post i'll write later, towards the end of this experience.

i can tell you that in just a month here, a whole new world has opened up for me. not only is the thrill of being in another city, in another country, an electrifying flow of continuous energy, but i’ve also realized things about myself that i might have ignored before.

i have much more confidence in myself; i feel freer, less afraid of making mistakes. it’s true, i’m far from my family and friends, but this also means i’m far from all those eyes under which i always try to appear perfect.

i crave to see and learn, i'm eager to discover new things, and this drives me to do things i probably wouldn’t do in my home country, to appreciate their flavor and indulge in the uncertainty of "maybe i’ll like this".

for the first time, i’m experiencing a new country without the rose-tinted filter of a short vacation. i’ve never felt as rich and full of gratitude as i do now, and i hope this is a feeling every student can experience.

so, erasmus, yes or no? absolutely yes.

i’d love to keep updating you on my experience abroad. what do you think? would you like that? let me know in the comments! star kisses ⭐

[tanoraqui]

Dungeon Meshi Liveblog: In Which Chilchuck Begrudgingly Has Feelings for his Coworkers, and Kabru Has...Something. He Sure Has Something Going On Over There.

Before we continue, I feel I should clarify 2 things:

I've been trying, ish, to avoid spoilers for this comic, but I've watched through the Golden Country episode and more importantly I'm so bad at not reading spoiler-y but interesting- and insightful-looking analysis. So, much of this commentary isn't wholly original and any particularly genius theories of future events are likely made with actual foreknowledge.

When I said on the first post that I was starting the comic because "I need to know what happens", what I specifically meant was "I need to know how the Laios-Kabru dynamic ends up, and the general geopolitical situation, so I can accurately daydream what sort of tariffs they'll set in the kingdom of which Laios is definitely not going to be the one managing the political, economic, or social minutia." Tariffs are going to be important, okay. They're a key way a nation-state interacts with other nation-states, especially one with rare materials to trade, powerful neighbors who want them, and the natural barrier of an ocean. Truly, every fantasy series ever should be required to have an epilogue or many an additional book/season/etc of a The West Wing-style depiction of day-to-day governance of whatever resulted from the story's climactic finale.

Okay, back to the liveblog.

.

Inch resting. The manga characters, having met the Mad Mage, keep using she/her pronouns for them, where in the anime they used he/him. I assume one of these is just, like, wrong - some translation choice was made before truth was revealed later in the course of publication?

But it makes SENSE that the characters wouldn't necessarily know, at this point! The Mage's appearance is pretty gender-neutral, especially as an elf, an notably gender-ambiguous race. So the characters in the manga picked one guess and stuck with it, and the characters is the very slightly alternate timeline of the anime picked another and stuck with that!

Now: having used they/them throughout this musing and previously he/him because a) the show and b) that's what I saw in fandom, I think I'll switch to referring to the Mage with she/her pronouns now. Because A) that's how the thing I'm reading apparently will be doing it, and B) they still call her "Lord of the Dungeon", which is obviously the greatest gender option of all.

...however, the manga does keep saying "lunatic magician" rather than "Mad Mage" (caps mine), which is a TOTAL failing in drama. Always alliterate, preferably archaically.

.

Orc woman: Ugh, this halffoot sucks. I'll tolerate his company only as a favor to the vegetable guy.

Orc woman after listening to Chilchuck complain about his coworkers for an hour: Nvm, this halffoot is a worthy and loyal friend of the vegetable seller, and I guess those other guys too. He's just emotionally constipated about it.

.

Laios just has these soft little fond smiles sometimes and I? want to hug him?

.

MY MAN IS BACK!! Kabru wink count: 1 this chapter, 4 total [updated as I read]

.

Corpse Retriever: If you don't report us for trying to get you guys killed so we could collect a retrieval fee, we'll let you kill those two of our guys who are already unconscious and collect that fee yourselves. We'll just take 30% of it, for not telling on you.

Kabru, internally: Hm. Well, I'm not king of this dungeon yet, but nonetheless I feel comfortable passing and executing a just judgement upon you for your many known, presumed and planned crimes. Emphasis on 'executing.'

Kabru aloud: I accept!

Kabru: [starts killing them with a classic faint, wide-eyed smile]

What a guy. He's even holding that knife so well. Look, next he's analyzing social trends and acting ruthlessly to adjust them toward the direction of the greater good!

What a guy. Truly this is a "so my type that it's embarrassing" situation.

.

I can't efficiently crop panels to show all this, but favorite parallels in these chapters full of parallels:

Kabru's breakdown of the Touden party is like Laios eagerly explaining and analyzing the behavior and anatomy of monsters (including, though we don't know it yet, calculations for killing them - though we DO see him saying that humans are easy to kill because he knows all the physical weak points!)

The references throughout these two chapters, by Kabru and his party, to the interconnected socioeconomic dynamics of the island and dungeon - the corrupted system fails to check corpse retrievers, the Island Lord as an annoying but necessary bulwark against the Elves, the dungeon growing hungrier as fewer adventurers go down because there's less money and more risk - are so so so like Senshi and Laiois discussing the dungeon biome's ecosystem and food pyramid.

The whole vibe of the party re: their respective weirdo tallman leaders. We watched Team Laios develop this, recently crowned with Chilchuck's near-tearful argument to turn back for a rest, which means we can recognize it when we're dropped into it with Team Kabru: that "this guy is SUCH a goddamn weirdo, but I already followed him into some level of hell, so I'm obviously not turning back now." Kabru's party does think he's weird - "You remember so much about other people that it's creepy." "Why are you enjoying this?" But they're also pitching in on the speculation like Team Touden all hel cook monsters. Compare:

Also!! Something something predisposed beliefs and presumptions of others... This party is so eager to assume the worst of our party, even though our party objectively saved them from perma-death twice, once from ghosts and once from being eaten by fishmen. Chichuck is greedy and bossy, Senshi smells so...notably...that he's judged to be sketchy af... Kabru is trying his best with what info he has, he knows it's not enough to pass a judgement and he wants more, but it's very...uncomfortable? To see this sort of discussion of people we know are great, when we're so used to watching monsters be killed with exquisite understanding and respect.

...I'll chew on that angle of theme more later. Man, you know how, say, what makes the musical Hamilton so good is at its heart it's just like 5-10 leitmotifs that interweave to create every single song? Dungeon Meshi is like that. Hmm a Dungeon Meshical...

.

"Yeah, yeah, we've all heard your weekly lecture about how someone responsible and sociopolitically conscious needs to take the dungeon and the throne or everyone in this region is doomed. None of us can wait to see you flip off the Island Lord to his face. Eat your rations, buddy."

.

JUST THE CUTEST, INNOCENTEST, POLITEST, HELPFULEST (WITH NO ULTERIOR MOTIVATIONS WHATSOEVER) YOUNG MAN!! LOOK AT HIS BIG BLUE EYES AND EAGER LITTLE SMILE!

[3 seconds earlier:

I'm obsessed. In the spirit of this comic: I want to eat him with a spoon. I want to take small divots out of him and lick each one carefully off the spoon, luxuriously exploring and enjoying the complex texture and flavor. Like he's a really good pudding. And then I want to see if, if he and Laios kiss, do they both explode in antimatter.

[vaccariia]

Omgg I love your keyframes fanart, your mc is sooo pretty <333. I need to hear your thoughts on Elio !! (If you feel like sharing ofc, I've been obsessed with him and i wanna know what other people think lol)

M.....MY FIRST ANON ASK????!?!? MY MC IS PRETTY?? AND A FELLOW ELIO FAN????? THANK U!!!!!

anon, you are opening the metaphorical pandora's box in me. i played the extended demo a few more times because i wanted to see elio again FOR RESEARCH so i think i'm ready to put my thoughts into paper

(Uhhh disclaimer, this is my first time doing something like this, normally i just keep my thoughts to myself. So everything under here is merely speculative and things i made up LOL)

(Also I took some screenshots and used them to reinforce some of my statements. Game and characters are not mine, they belong to blank house, etc. etc. please do let me know if screenshots are not allowed, i'd be more than willing to remove them from this post!)

______________________________________________________________

I want to begin by citing a post from the devs . Said post contains an ask summarizing the LI's into three words. For Elio, he's given the following descriptors:

Sweet, sensitive, wild Determined, hopeful, friendly

(First line is how the devs would describe Elio, second line would be how Elio probably sees himself)

And for the most part, the traits DO check out!! He's sweet, especially when he's with his boys <3 We've also seen him be considerate with the MC and others (i.e carrying groceries for mc and refilling bottles, among other instances)

But I do want to say that despite his wild and impulsive tendencies, he does have a more delicate side to him

When MC tags along with Percy and Elio for a snack run, they have the option to check out a plant stall manned by the horticulture club. It's in this part where he reveals to MC that he knows a lot about ferns, but there's a particular set of lines that made me feel that there's something more to Elio than he lets on

His reaction to seeing the staghorn fern and recounting his childhood tells me that Elio had some rather fond memories from his youth.

i'm probably projecting here, but he can also get a bit homesick because of it. (imagine being in Hawai'i your whole life and then having to move to NY for school. Guy probably had a hard time adjusting at first. I mean granted it's the same country, but different states still have different norms and values to go by)

Additionally, I find it quite interesting that Elio doesn't give himself credit (Or downplays himself) sometimes. Like, man was fighting for his life when he was being stickered by Rory. Ooor the part where he says that the gang doesn't have to celebrate his birthday

This leads me to assume that he's the type to look out for others and has the tendency of putting himself second...

I'm guessing Elio is also a big family man, judging by how fondly he speaks of his siblings. Aaaaaand he could also potentially be a bit of a hopeless romantic because he's hopeful about wanting to experience a love that's similar to his parents someday <3 <3 <3

So yeah, there! Elio is true to his name; a jovial man who embodies the light of the sun. He is loved by all, (except for most animals, i'm sorry </3) and he reciprocates that love tenfold. He's competitive and lively, but he can also show a softer side if he wants to hehe

Tl;dr: I LOVE ELIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[indelen]

It’s tragic backstory hours so I’m fortifying myself with a chocolate loaf!

This is my reread of the Lockwood and Co. Books, organized by @blue-boxes-magic-and-tea, I'll make a general summary of several chapters and then post bits and pieces that jumped out at me.

Part II, Chapters 5-6:

I think it’s significant that Lucy comes from the north of England specifically. Northern England got the bad end of the stick multiple times in English history. The area was razed to the ground and starved viciously during the conquest of William the Conqueror. It was raided by Vikings. It suffered during England’s wars with Scotland. It’s a part of UK that saw a lot of violence and poverty. It has a lot of industries like mining, smelting, etc. and that means coal and factory towns and all the economic issues that come from them. A lot of hard, low wage jobs that are the first to go when the economy downturns or society changes. North of England was the worst hit my Margaret Thatcher’s policies and by austerity measures during the mid-2000s economic crisis. Knowing all that and from what Lucy tells us of living in Cheviot Hills we can guess that while life for people and especially kids sucks in London, it sucks a lot worse outside out it. North England post war had a lot of mines and factories with multiple shifts and late work hours. When The Problem kicked off and the curfew was enacted probably only the very wealthy owners could afford to make changes that would keep their factories running and there were probably massive layoffs. So the financial burden was shifted onto children and there are no competing agencies who try to poach the best kids here, just washouts like Jacobs who run The One Agency that’s your only option. If you’re born in that one town with Talent you’re stuck going to that one washout guy. And you don’t see the point in moving because the next town probably just has some other washout guy.

In the context of all this Lucy running away was an act of extraordinary risk, and yet you get it, because continuing working for Jacobs was both her only option and unbearable. She tried giving evidence against him at the trial and he was the only person who could complete her certification. This negligent alcoholic had untold amount of power over her and the law was on his side.

Odds and Ends:

The way Lucy consistently tries to be detached from this part of her life is so heartbreaking. She knew these kids from age of 8 to age of 13. She tries to separate herself from the horror of it all but the damage is so very much there.

Lucy simply wasn’t educated and apparently many children in this universe are not. Children’s brains until the age of about 8 can only focus on learning things one at a time. It’s why some kids pick up skills earlier or later than others. Something has to come first and the order of how the rest stacks up is different for every child. The ability to learn in parallel develops later and this is where proper education of multiple subjects really starts. In North America this is about Grade 3 level. That doesn’t mean the time before this is wasted, since that’s when you learn the basics of reading, writing and math but also things like social play, following instructions of authority figures, measuring time, adhering to a schedule and the general flow of whatever school system you have. But, in this universe this is all they teach agents! they teach just enough to make them obedient and no more. They learn to follow orders, read to do what they’re told, complete basic tasks, but nothing else. This is a world the people who do the most dangerous job are given no analytical or critical thinking education and if you display any independently, you’re told to shut up and die for your country like a good little soldier.

The most "this was definitely written by Anthony Lockwood"-ass ad imaginable. Spare a thought for poor Lucy alone and low on funds in a new metropolitan city trying to find a photo atelier for a portrait to staple to an application.

Lucy is often mean, but let the record state George fucking started it with her. Sir, she made an appointment and sent an application and presumably a photo. You know she's not Arif's girl. You're just crashing from a lack of snackies and are cranky.

Remember kids, always good to ask what happened to the guy you're replacing in any given interview!

Hang this dialogue in the Louvre, i don't care how

Now girl that's no way to talk about your future husband. But also, what I kind of love about this is that Lockwood is obviously conflicted here because her realizes Lucy quite literally too good to be true. She's obviously the most Talented person to ever apply for any position with them. And yet if she's really that powerful why hasn't another bigger agency scooped per up? He senses that there is some flaw, some lie beyond the fact that she doesn't have a reference. He extends her an offer and gives her a chance because she seems like a good fit and it's too good an opportunity to pass up, but he's not foolish or naive about this either. It's why for all his flaws he is a good agency leader.

RIP beloved "biscuit rule" slain in battle with a US publishing editor whose hands grow out their ass and who thinks brittle North American teenage brains will crack at the mere mention of certain British terms and idioms.

Lucy describes Lockwood's smile count: 5

[nighthunter241]

He is Mine-Chapter 3 (Henry Cavill x male reader)

Masterlist

NOT MY GIF, GIF USED FROM TUMBLR OPTION

18+ DNI if you are lower the age of 18

Rival #3 Ben Affleck

Week 3

You wake up to the sound of your alarm and head to the shower, while showering you keep thinking about Ben and Henry. Made you think if they were a possibility that they have feelings for each other or if Henry truly did have feelings for men in general. How could you miss all the signs or was it that Henry just was not into you? Just the thought of that made you feel a bit angsty, could Henry really not feel the same way and if so, can you change it? After the shower and with some breakfast you meet up with Henry to walk to school. You did not notice anything different, but he was simply good at hiding his true feelings, especially with what happened with Gal. The walk to school was incredibly quiet, Henry did not mention anything about Ben or his weekend. When getting to school Henry excuses himself for a moment, out of curiosity you decide to follow him and behind the school Henry meets up with Ben who is still wearing his workout clothes showing off some muscles, one thing you noticed was that Henry was starring.

Ben: Hey, you are on time, did not think you would show.

Henry: I mean, I said I would meet you. I do not usually like to lie.

Ben: That is nice to hear from you.

Henry: What did you….want to talk about?

Ben: I have sports practice this afternoon; I was wondering if you would want to watch it. You know it can be a good distraction from the crappy week you just had.

Henry: That sounds nice, but I am going to be busy later so that will distract me.

Ben: That is a shame, another day.

Henry: Yeah but thank you for the invitation it just ....going to be really busy.

Ben: No, I get it, some other time I can offer you a distraction.

You could swear that Henry blushes at his comment, you make it quickly but quietly to your homeroom and a couple minutes later Henry comes in and sits next to you. After a couple more minutes of silence Henry speaks:

Henry: Hey M/N quick question, are you busy after school?

M/N: No, I will not be busy, why do you ask?

Henry: Well both my parents work late tonight, and I want to see if you would want to come over.

M/N: Yeah, I would love to.

Henry: Awesome mate.

Henry had just invited you over, but he said he was going to be busy; did he lie to Ben just to hang out with you? Or does he know that Ben has a crush on him and does not feel the same, but he blushed. Ben will not be such a problem, hopefully it stays that way.

After School at Henry house

You walked into Henry’s home, would not be your first time over the course of your friendship. But for some reason this time you are feeling something different; you were not sure what it was. You head to Henry's room and after some time he goes back downstairs to grab some snacks. You felt a temptation to snoop around his room for some reason, and stupidly you did and ended up finding a piece of paper with a phone number on it signed by Ben. The fact that Henry did not bother to throw it out did not sit right with you. Henry walks back into the room with some of your guy’s favorite snack and sets it down on his nightstand. Whenever you are with Henry you always feel comfort around him, and some of you also believed that he felt the same. The time between Henry and you goes by fast, just the two of you chatting, enjoying each other's company like always.

Henry: I just want to graduate already; these past two weeks have been insane. I just can't wait to just leave.

M/N: Do you really want to leave that badly?

Henry: I guess so, college will be a fresh start for the both of us. So yes, I guess I really do want to leave.

M/N: Have you officially thought about your options, a college nearby to commute, outside the state or outside the country.

Henry: Good question I have just been thinking about it, I know what I want to do just do not know where.

M/N: Here I thought you had everything figured out, which idea sounds better to you.

Henry: That would have to be an out of state college, sounds like a lot but I feel like that is the right choice for me.

M/N: You will be leaving a lot behind.

Henry: Not really.

M/N: You would be leaving me behind.

Henry: I….guess you’re right, I would be leaving you.

In that moment you both looked at each other, having both realized the possibility of both of you being separated after graduation and by the look on Henry's face he did not like it. You did not notice how physically close Henry was getting to you but before you could respond you both heard the doorbell, startling the both of you. Henry is forced to get up to check it out and it turns out to be his parents getting back from work. You decide to call it a night and just head home, you say your goodbyes to Henry and his parents and start walking home. When you got home you relaxed by just watching tv, due to your hang out with Henry, it had made you completely forget that Ben was still an obstacle in your path. But you thought of a plan if Ben is really a typical jock, then it could be possible to change Ben’s attention and have it sought out by someone else. You grabbed your phone and sent a message to Robert.

M/N: Hey, I have a favor.

Robert: Been waiting for you to ask.

M/N: If you can be you able to find out Ben Affleck's interests, hobbies and what he seeks in a partner.

Robert: Sounds easy enough, just give me a couple of minutes.

COUPLE OF MINUTES LATER

Robert: All right I got it I will send you a file, when it comes to what he seeks in a partner I could not find much but based on his interest it should not be hard to figure it out.

SENT ATTACHED FILE

M/N: All right thanks

Before heading to bed, you read up on the file that Robert has sent you, Ben’s interest is of no surprise to you. He enjoys partying, video games, sports so it should not be hard to find another guy for him to fantasize about, hopefully. After a good night’s rest you get ready for school, have breakfast and head to school. Like always you walk to school with Henry and go your own way to the homeroom. Before entering the homeroom, you try to find Ben and you find him near the bathroom relaxing, while looking at Ben you also notice that someone else is also eyeing him down from a distance. You go up to the student and realize it is another senior called Jason.

M/N: Oh, who are you looking at?

Jason: Um nobody

M/N: Oh, really cause from where I was it looks like you were looking at our quarterback.

Jason: I have no idea what you are talking about, just back off please.

M/N: Hey, relax I am not making fun of you simply curious.

Jason: Well go be curious somewhere else.

M/N: Alright, I guess you do not want to know if he is into guys or not. I will just be leaving.

Jason: Wait please….is he?

M/N: Yes, he is, and what if I said I know how you can impress him.

Jason: Wait, how would you know?

M/N: Do you want to know or not?

Jason: Yes, I do.

M/N: Then stop asking questions.

As quickly as possible you try your best to let Jason know ways for Ben to notice him and what to say but midway you had an idea. When Jason talks to Ben, while wearing headphones on one of his ears you would talk to Jason directly and tell him what to say. With that you push Jason to talk to Ben, Jason walks up to Ben and waits for you to tell him what to say.

Jason: Hey Ben right, I saw your match recently, you were really impressive.

Ben: Oh...well thank you.

Jason: I mean as you as our quarterback it is no surprise our team won by a landslide.

Ben: Yes, some people do not believe it, but the team would be doomed without me. Was this your first match that you ever saw us play?

Jason: Yes, it was because I prefer the sports in video games, but I am slowly opening up to playing actual sports.

Ben: You like playing video games also, what type do you enjoy?

“Fuck, what type of video games would a jock like to play” you thought to yourself but quickly thought of a couple and say it into Jason ear.

Jason: I am really mixed, you know FPS, sport types, adventure that is very story driven.

Ben: I enjoy those types of games also; hey I never got your name.

Jason: My name is Jason.

Ben: Well Jason, I am Ben, but you knew that.

Jason: Hard not to know.

Ben: I will take that as a compliment.

Jason: You should.

Ben and Jason keep chatting to the point Jason does not realize that you stopped giving him hints on what to say. He actually was talking to Ben with his own words. After watching them for a bit you walked away to head to your homeroom and hope that was good enough to keep Ben away. 

After a couple of days Henry did not mention Ben and Ben had not tried to contact Henry, which thanks to Robert, he let you know about that info. One thing you had Robert find out for you was the messages between Ben and Jason and based on what you had read Ben’s head had turned towards Jason. You noticed them talk a lot more in the hallway, and with that you called that a mission success. It was Friday after school and you had been waiting for Henry until he finally showed up. He did not seem bothered or heartbroken about Ben ghosting him.

Henry: The weekend finally, and the best thing this week felt so normal.

M/N: Yes, it has been normal, glad it went by quick.

Henry: M/n I know we talked about it this week about my college stuff

M/N: Yes, we left it on a sour note.

Henry: You know, even if I do leave, I would never leave you, you do know that?

M/N: I know that.

Henry: That does not mean I would want to leave.

M/N: I….don’t understand.

Henry: M/n

M/N: Henry?

Henry: I just……maybe….

M/N: What?

Henry: Just need to let you know…

M/N: Know what?

Henry: We can go to the same college.

M/N: Oh…I mean that does sound like a clever idea.

Henry: Yes, we do not need to decide now but we can have that as a possibility

You nod in response and continue walking, based on how Henry was reacting it felt like that was not what he was trying to tell you. But you could not think of any other thing that he would want to talk about.

Sunday

After having such a normal week, Henry decides to get out of his house to walk into town. Once he has made it into town, he sees a store that catches his eye. After walking into it he realizes it is a photography store that shows pictures taken by photographers in the town. One photo caught his eye titled “The outside doesn’t reveal the inside” and it was named photograph of the month. When looking at the name it says Tom Hardy, Henry remembers that name a little but cannot put his finger on it, not until someone walks up behind to talk to him.

Tom: Do you like it?

Henry: Oh….you startled me.

Tom: Sorry about that, just noticed that you were looking at that photo for a while.

Henry: Yes, it is exceptionally beautiful, and the title is nice also.

Tom: Well, thank you, I am glad you like my photo.

Henry: Wait, you are Tom?

Tom: Yep, Tom Hardy member of the photography club at (your school’s name)

Henry: Now I know why your name sounded so familiar when I saw it, you also helped with the photos for the yearbook. You go around encouraging all the seniors to submit photos to the yearbook club.

Tom: Yeah, I may not be a part of it but they still want to help spread information about the yearbook so people will buy it.

Henry: You did an excellent job. I have been thinking about submitting a photo.

Tom: Well, I am sure you are photogenic.

Henry: Well, thank you, I may be photogenic but that does not mean I know how to take a photo.

Tom: I can help you with it, I am busy now but maybe starting this coming week I can help and give you some pointer

Henry: That does sound nice, why not I can use advice on what is my good side

Tom: Do not worry, all your sides are good.

Henry: That is a compliment I should take from a photographer.

Tom: You should, few people have the perfect face for photos

Henry: You think I have a perfect face

Tom: I do think so.

Henry: Then it has to be true

Tom: You know I need a new subject to pose, and you need photo ideas for the yearbook. You can be my subject while also getting photos to submit to the yearbook. Just an idea.

Henry: I like the idea, I am in.

Henry and Tom spend the day talking and without Henry realizing the flirting gestures that Tom is throwing at him. Henry finally heads home to relax before he has to head to bed for school tomorrow and he was surprisingly feeling excited for the new week, more excited than the past two weeks. While Tom was at home producing ideas on how to photograph his new subject, if only Tom knew that he would be crossing M/n, and it would be the biggest mistake in his life.

[naavispider]

Hey, what do you think life would be like for Spider and others in modern au? I mean the universe on Earth, nowadays. (For example - in my hc Jake is in a wheelchair, Spider has cystic fibrosis/severe asthma, Kiri has epilepsy and Grace is in a coma as a reference to the original story)

Spider Socorro Modern AU headcanons

Adding mine to the pile because I'm 😍 hooked 😍 Some of these are definitely influenced and adopted from other posts I've seen, especially @hyperfixatedfandomer (I searched but I couldn't find the other post that I really loved so I'm sorry whoever you are, know that you inspired me 🙌🏻) Again if you haven't, you need to read So close, yet a million worlds apart 🥰

has bounced from foster home to foster home growing up

Norm is his social worker who he has a good relationship with, despite Norm being pretty unable to find anyone to adopt him

Yes, Jake and Neytiri are one of the families who ended up fostering Spider as a teenager

He has asthma, which can occasionally flare up so he always carries his inhaler

His style is lots of oversized baggy clothes, a hoodie here or there but mostly bold t shirts, very grunge, very tumblr boy. His look reflects the care and attention he's gotten as a kid, which is obviously not a lot

Deffs has his ears pierced but hasn't braved his first tattoo yet

Plays guitar and can sing, but hates to do it in front of people

He's pretty musically talented all around, he once picked up piano pretty well

Very artistic, he definitely has a sketch book hidden somewhere and the sketchbook definitely includes Kiri's portrait more than once. The kind of kid that always has graphite on his fingertips

Skateboarder - so he can roll away from his problems

Alexa play 'They See Me Rollin'

Plaits his hair in cool styles, loves incense, would be into Yoga however he's never had the space or the vulnerability to try it in any of his foster homes.

Very popular at the children's home, lots of the younger kids look up to him and he has some cool friends his own age from there as well

Bright in school, though he can be cheeky so ends up in a few detentions, definitely has ADHD as well (high functioning)

Loves peanut butter! I feel it in my heart that it's his favourite food

relationship with the Sullys

when Norm called Jake and Neytiri and asked if they were willing to foster a kid for a few weeks, Lo'ak was Not Impressed

Tuk was delighted and Kiri and Neteyam were skeptical

The kid really needed fostering though due to a safeguarding concern (oh no Papa Miles found out where the children's home is but isn't allowed to see him so the only other option was to send Spider away across the country to another children's home)

As soon as Spider walked in the door Lo'ak knew they were gonna be thick as thieves, all trepidation vanished

Neytiri gives a warm welcome, but allows Jake and the kids to show Spider around. She definitely never tries to mother him, and Spider can feel that, it doesn't bother him (most of the time)

Jake is definitely in a wheelchair, and when he sees Spider's skateboard tucked under his arm on the doorstep he knows there's gonna be some wheel jokes

Spider is of course always respectful but the kid has banter, and Kiri and Lo'ak are all over it

Jake finds out his fave food is peanut butter and makes peanut butter chicken one night. The fam have never tried it before but it's an instant hit

Lo'ak and Spider sneak out together all the time, hanging around street corners and parking lots at night, and sometimes Kiri comes too

Spider got Lo'ak into skateboarding, Lo'ak eventually ditches his bike

Tuk is enamoured by Spider's hair, she thinks it's really pretty. Spider is great with her, because he has so much experience with younger kids in the children's home

Spider loved Kiri no doubt, but he's ace af so never thinks of her in that way. Kiri loves him back easily and they just know their souls align.

Someone at school once started taking the piss out of how friendly Kiri and Spider were, esp that they were foster siblings, and Lo'ak punched the guy square in the jaw, causing a big fight in the hallway and Lo'ak to get suspended for a day

Spider looks up to Neteyam, a little bit wary of him at first when he moved in, but doesn't see much of him since he's older and keeps himself to himself a lot

Neteyam will be going off to college soon (he's like 17 in this AU purely for the older bro vibes) and Spider can see that he wants that for himself as well, eventually

one time Neteyam catches Lo'ak and Spider sneaking in at like 3am from the skatepark and says that as long as they don't do it again he won't snitch on them

Lo'ak and Spider invite him on the next one

Neteyam notices a car parked on the street outside their house over a few days that seems kinda sus, and he mentions it to Jake, who tells Norm, who tells social services, because what do you know, it couldn't possibly be the dangerous Papa Miles stalking his son could it?? (someone please write a fic)

[mesetacadre]

So for my questions about geography:

1. What kind of job are you planning to get? I read about geography careers on Reddit and people brought up GIS a lot.

2. What types of projects did you partake in for geography?

3. Cheesy question that I’m sure you’ve probably heard before but what do you like about geography that makes you want to study it?

4. Is there anything anyone should know before choosing to major in geography?

Thank you for taking time out of your day for answering :]

Hi, thanks for the interest!

My first option is to join the IGN (Instituto Geográfico Nacional), which is the state's geographic administration. Think urbanism, rural administration, basically any aspect that requires knowing where things are (including transport infrastructure!). Within that I am especially interested in the Cartographic section of the IGN, which is in charge of the creation of maps like the National Topographic Map (!!). Beyond public administration, the other big paths are joining a private entity, which will more than likely be ESRI or an associated/dependent company, or becoming an independent consultant to the other two sets of entities. You'd be surprised how demanded geographers are nowadays, basically anywhere that has to deal with locations in the real world. And yes, GIS are very important wherever you work. GIS itself is not a career, it's just the most relevant and efficient sets of tools we have nowadays for the geographer's profession.

I haven't yet done any real work, so far only assignments for classes. Last year we went on a short trip and we did have to collect information and create a short video on a topic that was relevant to the location, me and my partner did it on tourism and conservation.

Since I can remember, looking at maps, thinking about maps and thinking through maps has been an innate habit of mine. When I first started learning about history at ~11 years old, for example, I memorized all I could through creating mental maps, instinctively. I still distinctly remember getting asked by a teacher when I was 12 about the countries that made up each side of WW1, and going through my mental map of each country. I still do this with everything I can. Finally getting to study like that (though not always, but I'm not bad with plain statistics anyway) has been a massive and very welcome change from general education. As I write this, there are 11 visible maps around me, plus another 18 that are not displayed. So I'd say cartography

If you choose to major in Geography, you're not going to avoid some amount of mathematics, especially statistics, and you're going to have to get comfortable with new digital data formats, pretty dogshit UIs, and just using a computer in general. I say this because more than half of my classmates were surprised by this (despite the fact that it was very clearly laid out in the course descriptions available before even choosing a major)

[sineala]

Steve/Tony Starter Comics Recs: 2023 Edition

I have been asked this month to talk about essential 616 Steve/Tony comics for a new reader, who is aware of the broadest strokes of their relationship (Civil War, Hickmanvengers) but wanted more context as well as recommendations for the best and/or most essential comics. [This is a repost from Patreon.]

First up, quick advice for newbies getting into Steve/Tony comics: I know there are thousands of comics and trying to figure out what to read is kind of like trying to drink from a firehose. It's going to be okay. You don't have to read everything. You're not going to read everything. Almost no one has read everything. A lot of things flat-out contradict each other. If you're looking to read fanfiction that is close to canon, most fic authors will generally give you an idea of when their stories are set, and you can look the issues up if you want. Or you can just wing it and see how far you get and look something up if you're really confused. That's what I do. Where do you find all these comics? If you are willing to pay money to access comics, the best thing you can do is subscribe to Marvel Unlimited, which is about $10/month and gives you digital access to pretty much every comic that is from more than three months ago. This is the way to go. They also have reading lists for characters and events. And they have recently introduced a line of comics called "Infinity Comics" that are only available though Marvel Unlimited that are designed to be read on your phone -- they're a single long comic that you just scroll through -- and as of right now they have just had a very fun Steve & Tony storyline in Avengers Unlimited. If you have a tablet, a regular-size tablet screen (mine is 9.7") will show you one page at a time, about the size of a regular page in a paper comic, and is definitely the optimal way to go. You can also read on your phone; most of the digital comics on Marvel's app are set up so it zooms in on a panel at a time. You can also read them on a computer, on their website, but the website version is much harder to use. There are a lot of different options for getting comics in paper -- and I'm happy to talk about them if anyone wants to know any of this, especially since some of the reprint lines have changed since the last time I probably made a guide about this. Just let me know. But I think for the newbie, digital is the way to go until you know more about what you like. Then you can fill your house with paper comics. If you are in the US (I cannot vouch for other countries), your local library almost certainly has comics in book form (usually paperbacks collecting multiple issues) and you can read paper comics for completely free. If your library subscribes to Hoopla, you can also read some digital comics for completely free. It's worth checking out. Right. I think that's probably all you need to know about acquiring comics for right now, so onto the recs. I have made some similar lists before. I have a list of essentials I previously made (yes, a lot of them are the same) and I have a flowchart of what the different volumes are. So a lot of this is going to be repeated from previous lists because the old stuff is still relevant. So, since the content will be similar, I thought I would arrange this a little differently than I've done previously, to liven this up. I feel like "best Steve/Tony comics" and "essential Steve/Tony comics" are separate lists with separate purposes, although some of the comics on the list overlap. There are a lot of comics with great Steve/Tony moments that we all love to read and share pictures of and so on and so forth. Like, "One Night in Madripoor." Great comic. A lot of fun. Would definitely recommend. But is it going to show up in fanfiction? Probably not all that much. It's just not a comic that inspires a lot of fic. So it's probably one of the best to read, but it's not essential to know. If you get what I'm saying. (The essential comics are generally also ones that are best to read, so it's really more of a subset/superset relation. Probably.) Okay, yeah, "essential" is basically the angsty shippy stuff and "best" is the fluffy cute shippy stuff. Essential Steve/Tony If you're coming from MCU fandom, the dynamic between 616 Steve, Tony, and the rest of the team may not be what you're expecting. They're not SHIELD's pet superhero project -- they in fact tend to have an uneasy and occasionally adversarial relationship with the government, for all that Tony originally founded SHIELD and Steve often works for them. The Avengers have existed in a world that's basically been full of weird shit for their entire adult lives, and so they've been dealing with it for their entire adult lives. They are seasoned professionals. They are also friends. You know all that 2012 Avengers MCU fic where the Avengers all live together and they eat meals together and they hang out and watch movies together? You know the fanon I mean? That's comics canon. People wrote MCU fic like that because that's exactly what the comics are like and everyone assumed it was going to be similar. The Avengers are also a little more structured than you may be expecting. They've got bylaws and procedures and -- when necessary -- courts-martial. It's also not a case of "Captain America always leads the team." He often does, but not always. He's not the team leader right now (Carol is; before her, it was T'Challa) and in fact he's not even on the team right now. When they started out, they actually rotated the position of team chair; the longest-serving chairs are Steve, Jan, and Natasha, in that order, but I think most of the major Avengers have had a turn at some point. Characters also leave and rejoin the team fairly often; it's unusual for the same lineup to persist for more than a couple years. So Steve's not there right now, but he probably will be again. It doesn't mean they're breaking up forever if someone leaves the team. They'll probably be back. If they're dead they'll also probably be back. The timeline's a mess but basically everyone was in their mid-20s when they started and is going to be in their mid-30s forever, for reasons that are too complicated to go into. So if you're looking for context, here's the best high-level overview I can come up with, focusing on Steve/Tony: The founding Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, Ant-Man, and the Hulk, who is retroactively un-foundered) have all been doing the superhero thing on their own for a bit in their solo books when they team up to defeat Loki, decide that they work well together, and decide to form the Avengers (named by Jan). They all move into the mansion. The Hulk then quits the team basically for forever (if you're here from MCU fandom, you should know he's... really not an Avenger) and he disappears, and while the Avengers are out looking for him in a submarine, they instead find a block of ice, containing Captain America, who is miraculously alive. (Iron Man is the first person he sees and also the first person who speaks to him. Fandom likes this.) After saving the Avengers, Steve decides to join the team. The team only remains the same for about twelve issues, at which point all the other founding members decide they need a break while Steve is off on a mission and he gets back to find that they have left him three brand-new Avengers (Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver), all of whom are career criminals. He's not real happy at first. The Avengers' roster changes many times over the years, and Steve and Tony are often but not always on the team together. Highlights in Tony's life include when he gets a heart transplant and no longer has to wear and charge the chestplate to survive, and also when he decides to stop making weapons. Steve quits and becomes Nomad for a few months while he gets over his feelings about the government, because the president of the United States has been conspiring with aliens to take over the world, and then commits suicide, shooting himself in the head right in front of Steve. Understandably, this messes Steve up more than a little. Steve and Tony first get a bit contentious in The Korvac Saga, in which Steve at one point punches Tony (well, Iron Man) in the face. They get over it pretty quickly. Tony develops a drinking problem. Then Tony gets sober, which lasts for a few years. In the intervening time Steve finds out Tony is Iron Man. Then Tony starts drinking again, it gets very bad, Steve is upset, and Tony nearly freezes to death in in a blizzard. Then he gets sober. At this point Tony has quit the main team to join the West Coast Avengers and then Force Works, where he stays for about ten years in real time. So he and Steve are on different teams for quite a while. Then Steve and Tony start to have fights. We get Armor Wars, where Steve disagrees with Tony trying to take back his technology, and we get Operation Galactic Storm, where they disagree about whether the main villain should die. Eventually they make up. They're still not on the same team. Eventually there's a massive plot that involves Tony being a brainwashed murderer, Tony being replaced by his teenage self, Tony dying in Steve's arms, and then everybody dying (except not really) while fighting Onslaught. They come back. Then we get a very nice run where basically Steve and Tony are friends and everyone is on the same team and everyone lives in the mansion and it's great, until Wanda loses her grip on reality, murders a few people, and blows up the mansion. Whoops. But Steve and Tony are still trying. They form the New Avengers together, move into the Tower, and everything is great until Civil War happens, at which point Steve gets killed (Bucky, who just came back to life, becomes Captain America) and Tony spends a lot of comics lying on the floor crying. Many bad things happen, including a Skrull invasion, which Tony doesn't really deal with as well as he could have on account of the lying on the floor crying. Eventually Steve comes back to life, and for Reasons, Tony develops amnesia and has now forgotten the entire Civil War. Steve remembers it, though. They don't immediately get back together. Things are a little rough and Steve isn't on the team because Bucky is still Captain America and Steve is off doing black ops with the Secret Avengers, which he is very bad at and is also depressed about, but eventually comes back, joins the Illuminati, gets the shield back, rejoins the team, and everyone generally has a good time other than the part where Tony has to drink to save the world and also the part where everyone punches the X-Men. Then the multiverse starts ending. Thanks, Jonathan Hickman. For reasons that seem like a good idea at the time, everyone kicks Steve off the Illuminati and then wipes his memory about this. Steve and Tony continue to be BFFs while Tony is lying his face off about this, until Steve remembers this and then attempts to hunt Tony down and kill him, which is complicated by Steve becoming suddenly old and deserumed and Tony becoming evil. Then the multiverse actually ends, a bunch of weird things happen, and then everything on Earth 616 comes back with basically the only difference being that Earth 616 now contains the Ultimate Universe's Miles Morales and the Ultimate Universe's Reed Richards who is a murderous psychopath. No one ever talks about the murdering or the part where the world ended ever again. After that, Tony is no longer evil, but Steve is still old. They aren't on the same team, I don't think -- Tony is main team, Steve is leading the Uncanny Avengers -- but then a Cosmic Cube makes Steve young again, which would be great except for the part where it secretly replaced him with an evil Hydra version of himself who then takes over America. This is a phenomenally unpopular move and this event ends much earlier than Marvel had planned. People tend to like this for villain AU purposes and also the AI version of Tony (because human Tony is in a coma). Also, oh, yeah, Tony finds out he's adopted. He found out a little before this, but now he's found his biological parents. Don't worry, his biological parents hate him too. We've spent the past five years having Jason Aaron's Avengers run which I don't think anyone really liked (it was okay) but at least Steve and Tony were both on the team, a couple of Cap runs with a lot of conspiracy theories in them (IMO, they've both been okay runs but not outstanding), and an Iron Man run where Tony gets addicted to morphine (do not read this run). Steve and Tony are on generally good terms at this point and have not tried to murder each other for years. (The brand-new Avengers run by Jed MacKay is really too new to say much about yet. The new Cap run hasn't started yet and will be by JMS, which I am excited about. The current Iron Man run by Gerry Duggan is absolutely the best IM run I have read in the past ten years.) So if any of that sounds interesting, that would be a place to start. If you're looking to familiarize yourself with comics that will give you the most context for fanfiction, I would recommend Civil War and surrounding events, as well as Hickmanvengers. This is because these two eras have a fair amount of fic about them and they have so much going on that's hard to figure out just by reading fic about it, and a lot of fic will be about the details. Whereas with something like Onslaught, it might get occasionally mentioned but you will probably never need to know anything more than "most of the Avengers died but they didn't really die and then they all came back a year later." So which comics exactly am I recommending, you ask? At some point you should probably read some version of Tony's origin story. The original is in Tales of Suspense #39, but there are a lot of retellings. Many people like the one in Extremis (IM v4 #1-6). Founding: The Avengers form up in Avengers v1 #1. Steve is found in Avengers v1 #4, and he and Tony are on the same team until Avengers #16. After that they are often both on the same team but this is the classic run with the founding Avengers. Heart transplant: This happens in Iron Man v1 #17-19 and Avengers #69. You probably don't actually need to read all this stuff to know what happens, but it's a great arc where a LMD tries to take Tony's place and Tony wanders around in the rain charging his heart from a car battery and then is kidnapped by people who think they are kidnapping the LMD and will train him to replace Tony. Weaponry: Tony stops making weapons in IM v1 #78. Nomad: Cap v1 #176-183. Steve isn't Nomad for very long. But he is in our hearts. Korvac Saga: This is Avengers #167-177. Demon in a Bottle: This is IM v1 #120-128. It's not actually the story whose events you think of when you think about Tony drinking (most people are probably thinking of the second drinking arc) but it is the storyline that first made him an alcoholic. Features Steve teaching Tony self-defense. This is by Layton & Michelinie who are responsible for a lot of fan-favorite classic IM arcs (this, Doomquest, Armor Wars, the introduction of Ghost, the Kathy Dare arc). Steve finds out Tony's secret identity: This is Avengers v1 #216. It involves Molecule Man stripping Tony out of his armor so he's standing there in his underwear. Second drinking arc: This one's the one with the blizzard. This is (most of) Denny O'Neil's run. It lasts from IM #160-200. Yes, it really is forty entire issues. Steve makes an appearance in #172 (the "flophouse" issue. where he has an argument with Tony). The blizzard is in #182. The rest of it is Tony trying to put his life back together. The villain in this one is actually Obadiah Stane; this is where he's from. This is probably my very favorite Iron Man run. I made a reading order for this. While you don't need a reading order for the main arc -- it's just a straight shot through forty issues of Iron Man -- it is referenced in other comics at the time and some of them contain scenes you might want to read. One issue that is not in that list (because I didn't know about it until recently) is Daredevil #204; Denny O'Neil was also writing Daredevil at the same time and he has a very drunk Tony make an appearance at a party Matt is at. Armor Wars: This is IM #225-232. The issue you actually want is #228, which is Steve and Tony having their first big fight. A bond is broken! Operation Galactic Storm: This is a crossover with about 20 issues across multiple comics; you can find a list somewhere. If you read fic where Steve is mad at Tony because Tony wanted to kill the Kree Supreme Intelligence, that's a reference to this arc. The easier option is to skip every issue in this except for the Aftermath issue, which is Cap #401, which features Steve and Tony discussing all the fights they've had. There are apologies. Kaminski IM: Len Kaminski's IM run is #278 to #318 and not all of it is great (however, if you are reading it, it's pretty easy to tell which parts are not great) but there's a lot of flashbacks here to Tony's childhood that often get referred to in fic; if a story has a canon detail about Tony's childhood, there's a pretty good chance it's from this run. 286 has the famed "Stark men are made of iron" flashback. 288, Tony's parents die and he buys the company that made their car and fixes the manufacturing defect. 313, the flashback with Tony taking his first drink, as a child. v3: I'd just like to issue a blanket recommendation for all of Avengers, Cap, and Iron Man volume 3 (this is the 1998 run). This is basically the very last of the classic Avengers dynamic, when everyone was still friends and lived in the mansion. Avengers v3: The first half of the Avengers run is by Busiek and Pérez and is, deservedly, a classic. The second half is perhaps a little less memorable but does contain Red Zone, which features everyone's favorite dramatic moment where Tony removes his helmet and exposes himself to a deadly airborne disease in order to give Steve CPR so Steve can live. No, don't think about the science; just enjoy the entire page of their mouths pressed together. Cap v3: I actually haven't seen much fic about the specifics of this Cap run (people will occasionally mention the part where Steve lost his shield and Tony helped him find the pieces) but it's by Mark Waid and in my opinion contains one of the best modern characterizations of Steve. IM v3: The first 25 issues of this is Busiek's run, which features both Carol's drinking arc and Sunset Bain's appearance in Tony's life. The rest of it has such great moments as the Sentient Armor arc (in which Tony's armor acquires sentience and then tries to kill him) and both DreamVision arcs, which are where Tiberius Stone is introduced. Civil War and surrounding events (CW, Secret Invasion, Dark Reign, Siege, Captain America Reborn): This is where I (and a lot of other people) started reading. There's a period of maybe two years of comics including the lead-in to Civil War (mostly the beginning of New Avengers v1 and the beginning of the Iron Man and Cap runs), Civil War itself, Steve's death, then the events Secret Invasion, Dark Reign, and Siege. Then Steve comes back to life. Even if you read none of the rest of this you absolutely have to read "Civil War: Casualties of War" and "Civil War: The Confession." The Confession is why we have a Steve/Tony fandom in the first place. I have a reading list for this, but please make sure to read those two comics. Avengers v4: The last of Bendis' Avengers runs (he started with New Avengers and then basically wrote every Avengers book for like seven or eight years); this is basically the story of Steve and Tony trying to figure out how to be friends again after Civil War. The era opens with Avengers Prime, which is a great miniseries featuring a truly epic Steve/Tony hug, and then about two-thirds of the run is Steve and Tony having screaming fights in front of all their friends, and then Steve gets to be Captain America again and rejoins the team and then everyone is friends until Hickman takes over. Hickman (Avengers v5 & New Avengers v3): The epic saga of Tony betraying Steve and then the entire multiverse ending. If you're going to read any of this, this is about 100 issues long and you have to read all of it in a very precise order (reading both series at the same time) or it will make almost no sense. Steve gets old. You probably will want to read Superior Iron Man, in which Tony is temporarily evil. Then the multiverse, in fact, ends. Then Secret Wars happens, but Steve and Tony aren't there. I also have a reading list for this run. Secret Empire and surrounding events (Standoff, Civil War II, Secret Empire): So after the multiverse stops ending (everything's fine, don't worry about it) and Tony stops being evil, we get the event Standoff, where Steve is young again but is secretly evil (he is replaced by a Hydra version of himself), and he continues being secretly evil throughout the events of Civil War II, which this time is Carol vs. Tony and Tony ends up in a coma. The one thing you will absolutely want to read is Civil War II: The Oath, an epilogue issue in which Steve villain-monologues at Tony's comatose body and tells him that Real Steve always loved him. Then Secret Empire happens, and Steve decides to be openly evil and take over America. Tony is an AI. Eventually Evil Steve is defeated and Real Steve comes back. I think that's about it for what Steve/Tony fandom considers to be important angsty events. There's been more recent good stuff, I promise, but it's all mostly been fluffy, in the sense that Steve and Tony haven't fought each other since then and nobody's died. I mean, not permanently. Best Steve/Tony (that isn't already essential) And now the fluff. I mean, it's not entirely fluff. I put 1872 on here. In my defense, I think a lot of the 1872 fic that gets written is fluff and/or fix-its. Tales of Suspense #58: Tales of Suspense, the comic book that Iron Man debuted in in #39, became primarily an Iron Man comic book for nearly twenty issues after that. But starting with #58, he shared the book with Captain America -- every issue from #59 to #99 (when the book ended) had one IM story and one Cap story, but not related to each other, just two separate stories in the same comic. The exception to this is #58 here, a story about both Steve and Tony, in which Steve is impersonated by the Chameleon. Tony at first thinks Steve is in trouble, and then he tries to chase him down -- but he ends up chasing the real Steve. Whoops. (This is one of the stories mentioned in Civil War: Casualties of War.) Tales of Suspense vol 2 #1 (1994 one-shot): Better known in fandom as "the azure eyes" issue, this is a Steve & Tony team-up where they've been on the outs for no reason I can determine but they have to work with each other and learn to be friends again. There are two pages that are Steve and Tony's interior monologues about each other and how they both think the other one is amazing and way better than them. (Tony is particularly fond of Steve's eyes, hence the fandom name for the issue.) Captain America & Iron Man 1998 Annual: This is technically part of my blanket v3 rec but I'd like to mention it specifically here. It's a standalone team-up issue where for Reasons, Tony decides to give Steve some amnesia, but they eventually make up and are friends again and it's very sweet by the end. Captain America & Iron Man: Invasion Force: This is an obscure internet-only team-up comic (you can find it on YouTube in four parts) which includes, among other things, Steve joking about Tony's dick and Tony, in response, offering to make Steve a sex tape. No, really. Captain America: Man Out of Time: This is generally my first rec to everyone; it's a modern retelling of Steve's origin story with some cute Steve/Tony moments and the addition of giving Steve a choice about whether to stay in the future. One Night in Madripoor: Technically, this storyline is Captain America & Iron Man #633-635; "one night in Madripoor" is on the cover of the first issue. This is some excellent Steve & Tony shenanigans in Madripoor with a lot of great banter. Avengers Annual vol 5: This is the annual from Hickman's run, but it's not by Hickman. It's a Christmas story and it's also the story that features the panel where Tony has made Steve's password "Captain Handsome." Avengers: Endless Wartime: The overall plot in this graphic novel is not at all what I would call fluffy but if you pretend that the only panel that exists is the one where Tony calls Steve "beloved" then it's pretty good. I don't recommend paying more than about five dollars for this. 1872: This is one of the AUs from Secret Wars, a Wild West world where Steve is the sheriff and Tony is the town drunk. Yes, I know 1872 is not fluffy. I know Steve is eaten alive by pigs in issue #2. However, there are some really sweet Steve & Tony moments in the first issue and I think most of the fic is a little softer than canon. Captain America/Iron Man (miniseries): This is a relatively recent (2021) team-up miniseries. Five glorious issues of Steve and Tony fighting villains, bantering, and also being really nice to each other. Avengers Annual 2021: This is the last annual in the Infinite Destinies annual series and it's basically "Steve and Tony hang out at home together and work out together and Steve feeds Tony his own breakfast and then they go fight a robot who makes them fight projections of each other because it knows they are weak for each other." Avengers Unlimited #52-54: Civil Score: New as of last month, this is a fun storyline where Steve and Tony attempt to steal a flash drive from the Serpent Society at a fancy party except they're both trying to get it before the other one does. (The very first issue of Avengers Unlimited is also worth a look, because it features Steve and Tony teaming up to fight Ghost and Taskmaster, and Taskmaster stops Steve's heart and Tony has to put Steve in his armor. It is some great h/c.) That's all I can think of! I'm sure I've missed some. I hope this gives you a place to start.

[yannig]

6, 12, 16

Thanks for the ask <3

6. Who is the Asian ql villain you actually just hate?

I'm not too sure where to draw the line between villain I love to hate and villain I actually hate, tbh.

The bad guy from Laws of Attraction? I'm sure he has a name, I just don't care. So happy he died in prison so everyone can heal without his bad influence!

Or Way from Pit Babe. I know he isn't supposed to be a villain but just. I hate what they did with his character.

I was ready to try and forgive him despite everything, and you have to work to make me forgive SA, because clearly that's where they were going. So I was like, trying to stay open. I was invested, I wanted to see where they would take his redemption, because.

But no, they had to pull up all the tropes I hate the most, and finished it with a fucking sacrifice-death-because-what-he-did-was-too-bad-to-be-forgiven-but-we-still-don't-want-the-audience-to-hate-him-and-you-can't-speak-badly-of-the-dead-especially-when-they-died-for-you, topped with the worst dying speech ever.

I hope he stays dead. I know he's going to come back in season 2 but I really hope he stays dead. Just so they won't destroy him even more.

12. Which Asian country's bl do you want to watch more of?

Definitely Taiwan. I've only watched Kiseki: Dear to me at this point and I really liked it. And I've heard a lot of good things about Taiwanese ql, so I've got a few on my watch-list.

Problem is: the ones I do have in my watch-list are very much the roller-coaster of emotions kind of stories, and I'm too busy currently. When I do have the time to watch ql I don't have the energy to watch shows that are going to make me stress for the entire run-time and make me cry every episode. So I'm afraid Taiwan is gonna have to wait for me to finish my master thesis before I actually get into it.

16. If you could remake one Asian ql, which would it be and how would you change it?

I think Color Rush actually. Which is funny because I didn't really like it. And part of it is just that I don't really vibe with the really clean Korean style.

But mostly I remembered finishing it like "what the hell did I just watch?" and I've thought about why I got that feeling, and I'm pretty sure it's the world-building.

Because the show is never clear if Mono are actually dangerous or if it's all just discriminatory stereotypes, and both options give widely different flavors to the story. And I'd be fine with both, I just need the show to pick a lane.

I think I'd go with the "Mono are dangerous but this one still mine and you will not take him away from me" route because the co-dependency was fun in this show (and because I've read a fic that did a really good job of it) and I like me a well-written toxic but mutual co-dependent relationship. Also gives space for a more nuanced take on discrimination than just the usual "they're not dangerous it's all just stereotypes".

(and, you know, give it a bit more run-time too)

[9w1ft]

How do you find LGBTQ+ people are viewed in Japan? Is it safe to come out?

i think it’s a bit of a mixed bag

on the one hand, laws and civic setups are still pretty antiquated (gay marriage is only recognized in several cities, still very common for forms to provide man/woman as the only options for gender, etc) on the other hand, even as we move at a snail’s pace, ending discrimination is, in general, a publicly communicated goal for the country, and many big businesses have proactively adopted lgbtq+ friendly policies without waiting for the government (gender inclusive bathrooms and uniforms, access to family benefits for partners regardless of gender, etc).

there is definitely representation of a variety of lgbtq+ people in media both in fiction and also news/variety tv though it can get a bit trope-y at times especially with effeminate stereotypes. still, there is a history of gender swapping / adopted gender presentation in theater (kabuki, takarazuka), and many known famous historical figures having same sex suitors and confidantes, so i think that more than in some countries people are predisposed to the idea of gender as a concept and the existence of gay people who have done important things. its also not incompatible with religions indigenous to japan, so there’s not so much a “you’re going to hell” vibe to the prejudice, its more of a “why do you insist on being different” prejudice if that makes sense. not great but it could be a lot worse.

i was part of a lgbtq+ circle at university and a gay friend of mine told me there’s a phrase that goes something like “it’s okay to be gay as long as you have a wife and kids” so once again just this idea that older generations value maintaining a public face for the sake of the group, whereas gayness is considered a subculture or private part of oneself.

so i think in terms of coming out i think it really depends on your situation, like my understanding (based on the stories of japanese friends i have) is that in general you would closet during your school years to avoid potential bullying for being different (maybe be out to close friends) but it’s much easier to come out in university or to move to a bigger city as a young adult. easier to find your people. but you might be careful when dating and stick to places where you know gay people are. you might closet at your company as well depending on the industry, and it’s a bit of a don’t ask don’t tell vibe socially among strangers, but it’s not necessarily something you’d hide.. if that makes sense. in my case i flag at work and i definitely know lgbtq people because they flag too and i know they know im flagging. but we don’t really talk about it. we just vibe and are extra kind to one another.

in terms of if it’s “safe” i’d say once again it depends but that there’s less (not zero but less) of a physical safety issue than many countries. even so, irl harassment exists and internet harassment is also a thing especially for out public figures. you might hesitate to come out to family or friends just so as not to ‘upset the order of things’ or to chance making people you love uncomfortable. over time your parents might ask why you won’t marry or won’t have kids like so-and-so’s daughter or so-and-so’s son.. these social pressures and tensions, especially in important relationships, can lead to depression and because mental health is also not that progressively talked about here, this is the part that is most dangerous, in my opinion.

just as a footnote this is all my impression of the generation of my age group and the ones above it and i think things are a little more relaxed or open for the next generation. but i think it’ll take one or two more generations to get to the point where it is in the US where everyone’s like, out and proud and colorful at school and work and among strangers. so once again, it’s not great, but i feel like things could be a lot worse.

[bloggingboutburgers]

Before realising I'm aroace I've been thinking that I'll eventually find a partner and live in my own flat, so I'll have to move from my parents to the different part of the city. It made me sad, but I assumed it would be an inevitable fate.

But after getting older and realising that I'm aroace and not so attached to other people... Like a switch was flipped. I've realised that when my parents pass away, their flat will become... Mine. Because there will be only me there. And. I don't feel negative about it. Before I thought that when the owner of the house passes away, people try to move out and sell this property, because they must buy their own home and staying in the same place where their loved one used to live will hurt them. Like it's some kind of rule.

And now sometimes I'm imagining my future adult life in my room. Because if I want to move, I'll be moving abroad (my current living situation is the best an ordinary person in my country can afford). So this place, this flat will probably be my forever home.

Nobody has ever discussed this with me. It's so strange to see options beyond society's expectations. But on the flip side, I finally can imagine my future - and I could never do that before.

Honestly I feel ya especially on the whole "my future doesn't have to be like what society dictates" part.

Moving out and owning one's own place is getting less and less realistic compared to before, so that's a whole thing, and the whole "find a partner and go 'start a life' with them" was flawed to begin with. If it ain't broke don't fix it. If it's not harming anyone around you, or yourself, is there really a point to the whole "follow the pre-traced steps" game at all? If you like where you live, and don't need a romantic partner, and could see yourself staying there forever, more power to you! I'm a person who typically doesn't like change for most things, so I find it super valid.

Personally I wound up moving out and getting into a renting-a-tiny-place loop (can't afford to buy anything or rent anything bigger either) but that's mainly because I didn't like where my parents lived and my family could afford to support me studying elsewhere until I could become independent. I quite like it now. Just so happens I also now wanna marry someone who lives in another country, despite being aroace (queerplatonic shenanigans and true vibes being true vibes), but... That's my experience and you have yours and yours sounds like it'd definitely work and would waste less time and resources than mine. If anything you're probably doing the world more of a favor than I am. 🙈

Either way I wish you the best with that future, I hope it remains a vibe! As long as you're happy where you are and can provide for your needs, nothing else should matter, really.

[mdhwrites]

The Roughness of Soldier 11

I like Soldier 11. I REALLY wish she was a better main DPS because I have her and I'd like to use her. I have her at full trust and seeing her makes me smile.

I don't really think about the fact that she is SOLDIER 11 very often besides it being silly flavor. Why is that? Why is it someone said that Belle11 was a cute ship but without enough angst when there is PLENTY (I'll include two obvious examples at the end of the analysis portion) to mine between the two of them?

Well, it comes down to two elements. The first is overall tone of the game and the second is specifically how we've been introduced to her. And a reminder: Neither of these are inherently bad, hell even no longer seeing her as a soldier is that big of a deal, but they're interesting in the cascading effect they have.

Let's start with her start: Her companion missions. They start exceptionally silly, with a cartoon level villain as the antagonist and a silly codename for you throughout the entire thing. That fits with the rest of the writing though and I ADORE her missions, with her first one making me consistently lose it, especially as she played along with her own set of lies. As they continue, we get more somber moments with her, and even one moment where she straight up admits to war crimes...

But what sticks from her mission set? Well, she continues to interact with Inky, her joke about spicy food is constantly reinforced and she continues to call us by varying versions of our codename. The silly elements, not the somber ones. Worse yet is also due to mechanics. The rebels are just another enemy type. They aren't very special to be fighting and can blur with the ethereals and raiders as just another enemy faction, not an opposing army. That robs a lot of bite out of the task that Soldier 11 faces as a soldier...

And that's strictly a good thing. ZZZ after all is much more tonally in line with a Sitcom. Hell, I'd argue her companion mission is essentially in line with a M.A.S.H. episode but with more action. A character who reminds you that the town is at war is kind of antithetical to that sort of tone so her problems should feel akin to Pubsec's problems: They're there but it's not a big deal and no one is in any real danger except for occasional flare ups. That allows for the breezier, sillier, cheesy tone of the game to work.

But it also means that these elements become a part of the churning melting pot of gimmicks and archtypes within the game. They lose their special flavor the more time is spent with them. Do you see Zhu Yuan as a police officer or just a naive, goody two shoes who tries too hard? Do you see Soldier 11 as a bloodthirsty soldier who will do anything for her country, or do you see her as your Kuudere girlfriend who likes spicy food and has weird interactions with cats?

The latter robs much of the deeper bite of the former, at least if you do not do anything to remind yourself of the former. It's like how Guinaifen is my favorite character in HSR but if anyone went, "But she's just a vapid streamer," I couldn't really blame them for focusing on that. It is the core element of her character that is presented, even if the game does a lot to play with that core element. That's without getting into her past, which is only briefly talked about by her, optionally, and otherwise in her character story. It's easy to lose these deeper layers if the writing focuses more on the superficial or gimmicky elements, let alone when much of the writing focuses on those elements.

But again, that's not necessarily a problem. ZZZ knows its tone and a blood psycopath is not a part of that. A clueless girl who doesn't realize her tastebuds became dead a decade ago is. See you next...

Wait, I did promise Belle11 angst potential so here's two angles of it, essentially one for each side:

Operator versus 'Operator': Belle is a bit of a braggart and exaggerator so she absolutely would whine about the danger she faces in the Hollows like she were actually there. Compare this to Soldier 11 who doesn't just fight ethereals when something goes wrong but soldiers actively attempting to murder her in a coordinated effort and uh... She might have some complaints about that. Might even get furious about it as she thinks Belle is trivializing not just her work but the sacrifice of every fallen comrade she's ever had, let alone the danger she puts others in with things like her excursions into Hollow Zero. What right does she, who only ever plays at being in danger, have to claim she's putting herself in the same situation as the boots on the ground?

Soldier versus 11: Soldier 11 is a perfect soldier. She is good at her job, loyal, strong, indestructible. Belle loves all these facts about her girlfriend. The fact that she does so much good work and can keep looking good doing it!... Until the day she's told a rebel soldier had bombs strapped to himself and instead of being interrogated, he exploded while Soldier 11 went to grab him. Now she's in critical condition, unconscious and very, very destructible. Very human, instead of some goddess of war. Which is the version Belle is actually attracted to, especially during 11's forced vacation to recover?

Anyways, see you next tale.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[noctilin]

Hey! Uhm i was hesitant to ask you so i hope you dont mind answering this question. Im really into art so im looking for an art-field job and i wanted to know if you’re working under this field or are you working under a completely different field of job? Are you a freelance illustrator, character concept artist, graphic designer etc.? If so, how difficult it is to work as one? I want to know your opinion and see if i can work under a similar job as yours. You don’t have to answer this if it’s too personal. Thanks :)

hi! not a problem at all! i've worked freelance so that's all I can really share with you. these days i mainly work for illustration but I've also accepted projects in graphic and ui/ux design when i was younger and illustration wasn't making the bank for me yet.

when it comes to it being "difficult" well... i think my lifestyle is very specific, to say the least, where working on a stable job is not really an option for me nor will it ever be in the foreseeable future. so my experience and opinion might not apply to most people. with the way my life works, i'm lucky to even be able to do freelance as an option so i'm grateful to have it at all. it gives me a chance to earn money at home while still being present at home and in the comfort of it.

i will say, the common problem or issue with working freelance is that you are your own boss. you have to manage and hold yourself accountable for everything you do. one might say "hey, that's AWESOME, i can do whatever i want" but i promise you that there will come a time when it will be a handful.

another is the fact that you hardly get additional benefits, if at all. no insurance, no yearly or holiday bonuses, etc etc., and when it comes to being paid, well, sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't. it's kind of a high-tide-low-tide situation especially when you start out. projects don't really roll in casually. this is why most people have a side job while freelancing because it's just not consistent sometimes, and, well, you gotta pay rent and utilities.

when it DOES roll in though, it's good times! especially when you live in a third world country like mine, being able to do freelance and accept projects from clients abroad who pay in dollars or euros is a lifechanger. so that's one of the perks of doing freelance when you also can't find a job overseas.

overall, i think it heavily depends on your lifestyle and how much you're willing to let go for what you can get, which unfortunately i can't help with aside from giving you a brief view of what's to come.

best of luck to you!

[thedisablednaturalist]

People should get reimbursed for commute time

If it takes someone over an hour to get to work, that should be part of their pay.

Many people have to commute long distances/through areas of slow traffic because they cannot afford to live closer to their workplace. This is also why work from home is a big thing.

If corporations want people to return to their offices, they need to make it appealing enough. I'm not going to fight through traffic for 2 hrs in my free time just to sit at a computer all day, when I could just stay home and don't waste that time.

Corporations would be forced to invest in local affordable housing, perhaps even affording housing credits. They would need to invest in local infrastructure (which in the US is falling to pieces) and improve public transport in their area (faster commute -> less cost to the company, less cars on road -> traffic moves faster, employees without cars would still be able to get to work). Also people would be less stressed and actually take the time to drive safely because they wouldn't feel the need to rush. It would make companies actually take an interest in how their workers get to work and investing in local communities.

I live sort of near DC. We have a HUGE amount of workers commuting into the city and its surrounding cities. Retail workers also have to commute to these cities and suburbs because they cannot afford to live in those areas. My boyfriend commutes an hour to his part time job at a kennel in a rich town. A lot of people live in the more affordable, lower income, far away areas in the nearby states because housing prices in my area are fucking insane. I knew someone who commuted 2+ hours to work and 2+ hours back. There are people who drive even more than that.

And where do these employees have to live? Food deserts. Crumbling infastructure. No parks, no walkability, no public transport, bare bones everything. Only the cities which only the few can afford have basic infrastructure. And even the people living there have to commute to OTHER even richer areas. There's a ton of places where housing developments have just been shoved and are surrounded by nothing but farms. There's nothing local to do, so everyone goes to the closest town and city. It's also why you see a lot of older towns have abandoned main streets. Why have your business cater to the 100 people who live there when you can be in a city with thousands?

There has been some recent interest in paid commute times. 1 2 especially with corporations trying to get workers to go back to the office. Personally, I love working in my office because having a separate space outside my home helps me keep work and home separate and allows me to focus easier since I'm not in "home mode". I don't have room for an office in my parents house so working from home kinda sucks rn even though it would help a lot since I'm disabled. But it is nice being physically near my coworkers, even if it gets annoying sometimes. Also many jobs involve fieldwork (like mine!) which can't be done remotely anyway!

There would be incentive for corporations to keep their employees close AND provide more remote work options for those living farther away. As well as matching pay to fit rent/housing prices in the area (or vice versa).

Also there needs to be something done about corporations having their entire workforce sourced from another country entirely, working for pennies. But that's an even more complicated situation that I don't have experience in.