#i have to cut so much of my own budget to start saving to get 1st and last and security for a new apartment to keep kt job and get fulltime

[mindthelspace]

Thanks for this! It's explained what's going on really well.

Word of comfort to Germans from a British person (... OK I know, not a point in my favour, we Brexited like idiots, you're generally doing better than us. But still!):

This post sounded kind of familiar. I couldn't help but compare it to the fun and games we had a couple of years ago, where Liz Truss (a broken AI made by the ghost of Ayn Rand) got voted in as Prime Minister... and broke both the economy and the government within two months.

Quick highlight recap of that time:

Truss quickly releases an unfunded, unresearched budget that was basically her personal wishlist to Economics Father Christmas. Short version was that she was going to cut taxes, cut taxes, and cut taxes- especially for the wealthy- and pay for national infrastructure with Blitz Spirit(tm) and pixie dust. This budget immediately blows a £40 billion hole in the UK economy (because investors everywhere decide the UK's gone utterly mad), which in turn triples some people's mortages overnight.

As you can imagine, this makes her rather unpopular, including with her own Conservative party. She's been so much of an incompetent right-wing dickhead that the 'incompetent right wing dickheads' party are looking at her like "hey, hang on, what the fuck are you doing!"

TLDR Our economy has lost the plot and the government is infighting.

About a month after this, Liz Truss fires her loyal chancellor that she had, up until that point, presented a united front with. It's blatantly to try and save her career. It doesn't work.

Liz Truss disappears from like, her job. At one point a senior Conservative MP (Member of Parliament) has to insist the house of commons that 'the prime minister is not hiding under a desk'.

This all culminates in a vote, which may have been a vote about fracking or may have been a vote of confidence in the Trussterfuck's premiership (even Conservative MPs weren't sure), that immediately descends into mania. Multiple major political figures resign. There are reports of MPs in tears. There are reports of MPs being physically manhandled to the voting queue by Truss loyalists (and, oh, we do not do amateur dramatics like that here!). Liz Truss herself misses the vote because she's too busy trying to talk a senior staff member out of resigning. A Conservative MP tells BBC News that the whole thing was 'a disgrace the party can't come back from.'

A few days after that, she was out. Just two months after being elected prime minister. She's officially the shortest serving Prime Minister ever (the next shortest died.) It's wild, unheard of. British politics doesn't work like this. This kind of unhinged political chaos doesn't happen to us.

... That was two years ago. These days? We're... OK.

Don't get me wrong, we have a rising far right just like you do (where doesn't these days), and our new government is better but not amazing. It does feel more stable here though than it has in years. Some things even seem like they might start getting better! Truss' bullshit blew over, and we got back to normal.

Also, there was 100% a point where The Trussterfuck got so awful it looped back round to being funny. Once politics really loses the plot, sometimes all you can do is laugh.

... Anyway that point of this is that Germany will be fine. Political chaos isn't always doom, and based on what you've said about the way your government works, it sounds like this will sort itself out. If Scholz can fire Lindner, anyone can fire anyone, and that in itself makes a far-right takeover way less likely. Unless a convincing AFD majority is a real risk (which- I might be wrong but I don't think it is), everything will work itself out, and you'll get to have a bit of a laugh in the meantime.

Good luck- you might need to buckle in for a bit- but definitely don't panic or despair!

Okay alright sorry for all the sudden German politics influx but lemme explain what happened so far and why Germans are losing it a bit:

The tldr? Our government is getting a divorce and it's turning messy with elections being called early and now being called even earlier.

The longer version?

Okay so, groundwork first:

in Germany there is a coalition currently in power called the Ampel(traffic lights) bc the colours of the party are red, yellow and green (or not anymore or for much longer??). They're centrist slightly more left leaning than right leaning. (You could argue about that I am aware). There has been infighting for as long as this coalition has been going on. It is also the first three party coalition since y know, the Last Time.

So. Enough groundwork. The yellow party (FDP) has a finance minister (Christiane Lindner) it's this guy

You will see him in memes I am sure. We don't like him. He's an asshole and has blocked every meaningful change that the coalition had been trying to accomplish. He also got his finance plan blocked by our highest court because parts were against our Constitution.

(.... I am oversimplifying hard here it's actually more complicated than that and not fully his fault, but it's also not the focus)

What WAS the fault though of him and the FDP was that they had a strong position of "saving money at all costs" which made bigger and bigger rifts with the two other coalition partners who were more leaftleaning. The war in Ukraine, Infrastructure, climate change - there were many places that needed more money and Lidner was like naaahhhhh for no fucking reason other than "oh we need to save money!!"

Long story short there have been arguing all the fucking time and therefore have started to lose approval. Drastically lose approval. As on for the first time since the Last Time there is a far right party in charge for part of the country that is also being investigated for being Nazis. (Oversimplifying again).

Which is. Worrying. You know. Especially with Trump now being elected. It has us all a little skittish.

The finance minister has also now been fired.

You see. We were all still trying to stomach Trump winning the US election, when Scholz, in the same fucking evening, fired Lindner.

And not in a polite way. Nah. Olaf fucking Scholz our Chancellor, notorious for saying literally nothing, and with a running joke that he regularly stops existing bc that man Does Not Take Stances, a spine of wet cardboard, delivered this yesterday evening:

(English subtitles by me you already got this far watch it I spent too much time on this lol)

And it is insane alright. For his standards and German politic standards thats the equivalent of calling Lindner a egomaniacal bitch that has only his self interest at heart and can not be trusted.

Lindner and his party have been pulverised in all recent elections. Which means that after he was fired, the FDP completely withdrew from the coalition and all minister from the FDP resigned.

....well all but one who apparently stayed in his positions because he's leaving the FDP over this. What sort of shitty backstabbing kindergarten fight is this. (Jokes aside hes the minister of transportation and says he needs to stay in office in important projects. Which. True. Having minister resigning en mass is not good)

Alright cool cool cool cool. Current situation yesterday is the following:

So. Trump is president. Fuck.

Lindner got fired! Yaaay!

Wait my goverment is now also falling apart! Fuck.

Which all lead to new elections being called in Germany.

Mind you, that's not usual ok. I know other countries have systems where they can call an election whenever but that is not a thing that normally happens here. We have a schedule alright. (Insert obligatory "Germans and their plans and structure" joke)

So new elections are called for spring, nearly a year early. Cool cool cool. With a right wing rising in Germany and deeply unpopular current leadership. On the eve of motherfucking trump getting elected.

Habeck, leader of the green party and one of the few policians in germany I think is vaguely liked by ppl (the general attitude in German politics is less "I like this guy" and more "you are the least shitty choice I guess") has appearently also nearly started crying after the news broke. So. Yeah.

Now. Let's make this shitshow complete,alright?

There is this party. CDU. They had been in charge for a very long time in Germany. Centrist, right leaning, with the afd on the rising even more right leaning than before. Their current leader is Friedrich Merz, as unpleasant as human beings can go.

He has now called for the new election to be not in a few months but like. To be called next week.

In the current climate.

So yeah. if you're German mutuals and friends are currently going through their own stages of grief - this is why.

[goddess-o-biscuits]

I can't take this.

I'm broke. I can't do anything to help.

I'm closing my inbox I know this is selfish and genocidal of me or whatever but I can't keep seeing these cries for help knowing I'm unable to even donate $5 because of my current financial situation

[adrianfridge]

I don't think enough people talk about the physical and mental energy it takes to cook when you weren't raised to cook.

It's not as simple as here are the ingredients and here are the steps. Cooking involves multi-tasking, timing, proportions, prepping, improvising, and more. The more complex the dish, the more juggling it requires.

Oh, and I haven't even mentioned obtaining the ingredients and the cleaning afterwards.

All these "healthy" and "save money" and "live better" motivational speeches to get people to cook more, and I'm over here like Cooking is Fucking Stressful and Incredibly Draining Actually.

I was raised a girl, but I'm entirely self-taught because my mom hated cooking and never bothered to teach me. She was convinced I'll just naturally learn on my own after I got married and was forced to cook for my husband and family 🙃

Anyway, I went through a HelloFresh phase several years ago to try to kick-start myself into a groove, but it never really latched on. I think the only thing I learned is the importance of prepping ingredients in advance so that once I'm bouncing around, things are just ready for me to grab.

This isn't to say I don't cook AT ALL EVER. I can make eggs on a skillet just fine. But it's a one-and-done kind of thing. Much like putting together a cold cut sandwich. But that's not Cooking™.

Turns out this past month I randomly got a hyperfixation to Cook™, so here I am facing the bone-tired aftermath of making meals that'll last more than one day.

After three weekends of going through it, here's how I autistically started handling the stress:

Find a recipe I will follow

Envision myself going through the steps and allocate a certain amount of energy to the task

Compile ingredients I need to obtain (or get my partner to obtain)

(If I have to go shopping myself, do it on a separate day from when I have to cook)

Open a Google Doc and copy/paste the recipe into it

Rewrite the recipe steps based on how I imagine I'll be going through them once I'm in motion

Mentally practice the steps

When it's time to cook, go through steps as I've mentally practiced them, with improvisation when real life takes a different turn

(If a lot of prep work is required, such as peeling and cutting potatoes, sit down to do it with a podcast before starting on anything else)

After cooking is complete, throw out any lingering garbage

My partner does the dishes :)

I'm sure it'll get easier the longer I do it, but this is exactly why I'm 34yo and always hated Cooking™ to the point that I budget for delivery and take-out on nearly a daily basis.

Cooking is hard actually.

[see-arcane]

A message to all the assorted unscrupulous undead: Beware the Ides of March.

To everyone else: Grab your kukri blades, your bowie knives, your stakes, your bone saws, and whatever else you have on hand to appropriately accessorize with your new copy of The Vampyres.

The book is out! Loose! Running rampant and bloodstained through the terrains of eBook and paperback alike!

My beautiful little baby, toddling into the literary world to deliver havoc unto the dastardly bastards of the revenant realm. I’m so proud. (And so happy to feel the stress headache finally start to crack.)

Now that The Vampyres is out in the open, a brief FAQ under the cut:

Where can I get the eBook?

Check out the Universal Book Link (UBL) here:

It’ll show you all the places you can grab a virtual vampyre by the throat.

Where can I get the paperback?

For folks in ‘murrica, I’d say hit up Bookshop.org to go and grab it from your physical store of choice:

You can also just search The Vampyres C.R. Kane and see the waterfall of options. Not sure of the exact timeline, but it should be more widely available in the coming weeks. At least hereabouts:

Pictured: Places to potentially purchase a paperback.

Can I get it at my library?

If you ask for it, yes! You’ll need the ISBNs when filling out your library’s request form, so:

eBook ISBN: 9798218374594

Paperback ISBN: 9798218374587

What’s the status on that paperback cover business?

Current status is still ???

At least in the sense that I’m not sure what version of the book cover you might get at the moment. Original matte? Temporary glossy? Updated matte that’s here to stay? No idea at the moment. My self-publishing page shows the update’s confirmed, but the online stores are still using the first version as the preview image and I’m not sure when that gets swapped out. At least the books are all print-on-demand, so whatever you order, just know it’s not coming from some thrown-away backup heap. It’s fresh from the book oven press.

Anything else I need to know?

First, reviews are extremely welcome! I am running on negative budget when it comes to waving my little flag to announce that I Made a Scary Vampire Book, so I’m really relying on word-of-mouth if I want it to actually get its head above water. Leaving stars and comments wherever you can, be it in the online stores, the Goodreadses or Smashwordses or whatever else, would be a big help.

(Really though, I can and will dissolve into a puddle of relieved ego if I see so much as one (1) Nice Comment on Tumblr, my cesspool of choice.*)

*This is not hyperbole. I can count on one hand how many PROMOTION © ™ posts I’ve made on Twitter and have fingers left over. This novella is tailored to my fellow fiendish bookworms on here.

Second, to those coming by this stuff for the first time and don’t know what all this hoopla is about, a preview of my novella, The Vampyres, is available on my website. Give it a gander if you want to see under-appreciated classic supernatural bogeymen dropped into their own horror story.

Thirdly, lastly, vitally: thank you.

The Vampyres is a beautiful accident that came together out of an itch to rattle something out just for myself; a break from a bloated piece that had turned into a chore which burned me out and threw away the fun of scribbling. A lightweight read that saved me from being crushed by a cinderblock.

By the same token, the people on here have shouldered me up and out of the creative pit of thinking ‘This is all for nothing.’ For all that I talk of how much I’m powered by spite and the desire to Read a Specific Thing only to realize I Have to Write That Thing First, I’d be a liar if I said the kindness and excitement of the folks who’ve been reading my nonsense for (holy hell) TWO YEARS in the wake of the first big Dracula Daily surge didn’t have a major role in getting this thing done.

I did make The Vampyres for me. But it’s for you guys too. For everyone who saw one of my rambles or little fictions and spoke up to say, I love this! I was thinking this! I wanted this! Finally, finally!

When you crack open the cover for the first time, on a screen or in your hands, I want you to know I’m thinking Thank You at you. I hope you enjoy all the horrors inside.

Postscript:

If you want more info on other stuff I'm tinkering with, check out my website here:

[spiderfunkz]

✦ I LOVE THE SMITHS, AND YOU!

summary : you love the smiths, peter loves you.

word count : 0,8k

warnings : fluff, reader is oblivious & peter is just peter, not proofread btw.

a/n : based on this request!! my requests for peter are like always open so feel free to send in your thoughts <33 also this is inspired by that one scene in 500 days of summer but on a budget.

peter parker was in love.

sorry, correction, is in love.

he didn't know when this little crush started.

maybe it was in the 5th grade, when he was paired with you to do a project together, that's when he first met you. he remembered how he'd admire you as you glued those stupid looking dinosaurs on the cardboard.

he remembered how your overgrown bangs were almost covering your eyes. he remembered how he'd ask why you didn't cut it, and how you replied with — "i dunno, i don't want to cut it yet. my mumma told me hair holds memories. and i don't want to forget those memories."

he remembered how that reply made him smile. how he'd knew you two would get along somehow. and also, since then he became really picky when it comes to haircuts.

or maybe it was in the 9th grade. when you were one of the few people that wished him a happy birthday. he remembered that you gave him a really big smile, and he always noted how it was the prettiest smile he has ever seen, well, other than aunt may's of course.

or maybe it was last week. when you sat next to him in french class.

maybe it's because he noticed how your bangs were now blended with the rest of your hair, how he'd realized you never cut it since 5th grade. he wondered how many memories you have kept because of it. he wonders if he's in any of those.

he also wonders if you ever noticed that he liked you. how he'd always steal a glance when you're not looking, how he had your birthday marked on every calendar he has owned, or how he'd save up to buy you the things you looked at for too long.

maybe you did. and maybe you didn't know what to think of it.

to be completely honest, you were never much of a romantic.

never really. in your entire life you only liked two and a half things. the pasta your mom cooked, your hair, and sometimes, peter parker.

well, most of the time, peter parker. i mean he's your friend of course you like him! he's funny, he has nice soft hair that you just want to run your fingers through, he's smart and witty but he never brags about it, he cares for you, and his hand intertwines with yours perfectly.

okay, maybe you like him more than a friend. but that's another story you don't want to get too deep into.

"how about this?" you ask, holding peter's 'the smiths ; the queen is dead' cd in your hand.

you were supposed to do your english essay with peter today in his room, but like every other work you do with peter in his room, you both end up getting distracted.

"i forgot i had that, i loved it." he smiles, "put it on." he says, gesturing to the cd player.

"i love love this album! i can't believe you forgot you had this." you turn the player on as the song starts to play.

"you can keep it if you want, since you like it so much." peter says. "really?" — "of course." peter nods.

"thanks, peter. you're the best." you sat next to him.

peter hands you the paper you were supposed to do your essay on. "i wrote half of it with a pencil, you can just trace it with a pen." he smiles. "oh my god, peter. you know i could've done it myself." — "yeah but then it'll take you 5 hours and no sleep. besides, i'm almost done with mine too, so."

"aw, thanks." you lean your head on his shoulder as you read what he wrote on the paper. you focus on the paper, not noticing that peter's face is turning bright red.

a few minutes pass by and peter's calming down, he leans his head on yours. but when he does your head immediately jerk up. "oh i love this part!" you turn the volume up. "don't you?" you turn to peter, he nods.

"to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die!" you sang. "ugh, i love the smiths." you lean forward to grab a pen so you could finish the essay.

peter looks at you as you hum to the song. he notices your cherry tinted lips, and how your hair is clipped to the side with a clip that peter bought you years ago. he looks at you with such care and love. though unfortunately, you don't notice that.

you look to peter, "what do i have something on my face?". peter looks away, "oh uh no, sorry."

you furrow your brows. "you sure?" peter nods. "okay..." you laugh.

you continue to nod to the song, the pen in your hand overwriting peter's messy handwriting. "i loveee the smiths." you repeated.

"i loveee you." peter blurts out. he hopes it wasn't too loud, but you seem to be focused on the song and your paper.

"huh?" you turn to peter. "what? huh." peter awkwardly looks away, again. you look at him for a bit before smiling, "did you say you loveee the smiths too? i thought you weren't that big of a fan anymore." you clearly misheard him.

peter was dumbfounded, sure he didn't want you to hear that. but at the same time he did want you to hear that. "no i uh- i said, i love you."

"you love, me?" you ask.

"yeah, l-o-v-e."

"love love?"

"yeah. love love."

[its-time-to-write]

i hold it like a grudge - ch. 1

okayyy so I’m completely done with this fic! I’m editing my posts now, and I’m not sure if it’ll all get done tonight. Definitely tomorrow. Here’s the first chapter, hope you enjoy!

table of contents you have everything (you still want more)

To say you were blindsided would be a gross understatement. 

You were metaphorically slapped in the face so hard that you feel like you have a broken neck due to whiplash.

Your boyfriend had been away for the week with his football team, and you hadn’t been able to go with him. So you’d done what any WAG would do and watched the match on his giant telly, all decked out in pale blue.

Life with Jamie Tartt as your boyfriend was great. You’d been dating since secondary school while he was in the academy. It was strange to go from chicken shop dates to meals that cost more than your rent. He’d promised to pay for your uni fees which was a godsend because there was no way you’d be able to afford it on your own. You both had a whole future planned together.

Which is why you’re shocked to see Jamie’s name in the papers, followed by the name Keeley Jones.

And a picture of them kissing.

You aren’t even googling him when you find out. You’re out for groceries of all things, groceries for his welcome-home dinner in a day and a half. His name catches your eye so you stop to smile at him before you realize what you’re looking at.

The world goes fuzzy, your gaze locked on their lips.

In a single moment, your world has been tilted completely on its head.

You find yourself in Jamie’s too-large flat, staring at your phone, willing yourself to press the green call button.

You take a shallow breath and hold the phone up to your ear. It rings once, twice, almost to the point where it’ll go to voicemail, but then you hear Jamie say, “What?”

“What?” you reply, “what do you mean, what? I should be the one asking you that? What the fuck are you doing kissing an instagram model??”

Jamie snorts and says four words that cause your heart to drop like a stone.

“We’re broken up, babe.”

Your breath is coming in too fast and too shallow. “When were you going to tell me that we fucking broke up? And don’t call me babe!” you choke out.

Jamie says, “Thought it were implied,” in a dismissive voice. It’s foreign to you. He’s never spoke to you- to anyone like this before.

“Right, okay, yeah, makes total sense. I find out we’ve broken up after seeing you in the papers with another girl,” you retort.

“Glad it’s finally clicking,” Jamie says. It’s strange how much he can hurt you, even through the phone. 

A voice calls him in the background, a voice you presume belongs to Keeley Jones, and then there’s silence. He’s hung up. 

You stare at your phone for a long, long time. 

—

All you can think about is what you did wrong. You comb Jamie’s flat for anything that belongs to you, shove it into your car, and drive back to your own, too-small too-crowded flat. 

You wonder if you were too clingy as you carefully fold up every Man City kit. You think it’s possible you weren’t affectionate enough as you stack every polaroid photo. You wonder if maybe it has to do with your physical appearance as you hunt for scissors and some matches.

You try to make yourself not care as you burn the photos and cut up the shirts.

Your hands linger over a maroon away kit. It was always your favorite, and for a moment you consider keeping it.

Then you remember Jamie saying, glad it’s finally clicking as though you never meant anything, so you grab the scissors and cut it into shreds.

—

Uni is out of the question. There is absolutely no way you’re going to be able to afford it so you start two full-time jobs. 

Every day feels like a struggle to breathe. You get out of bed and tell yourself I can do this as you get ready for work and tighten your budget. The drowning feeling never quite goes away, but the months pass all the same. 

You’re grateful that although you don’t save a lot of money, you’re able to pay your bills on time. Your flatmates generally leave you alone when you’re home, but you’ve found ice cream in the freezer with your name on it that you know you didn’t buy. They’ll place a blanket over you every time you fall asleep on the couch, and fervently ban all Manchester City merchandise from entering the flat.

Breakthrough comes in the form of a gift.

A literal gift, and one you’re giving, not receiving.

It’s a set of earrings for a friend, hoops with her name set around them. She wears them to work exactly once, and the next thing you know, orders are pouring in. 

It’s enough that you quit one job, then the next, then hire both flatmates to help you in the evenings. Pretty soon, there’s an opportunity for you to open a small shop in a part of London. You get a larger flat (all to yourself!) and before long, Manchester blue no longer haunts you.

—

The bell above the door rings, signifying a customer. 

“Hi, you okay?” you say from behind the counter. You turn around and lock eyes with Keeley Jones, followed by Jamie Tartt.

Just breathe.

Jamie looks spooked, well, he looks spooked to you. Not sure if anyone else would know his expressions well enough to catch the shock cross his face. Keeley smiles brightly, and you can see that same adoring look you used to have. Maybe a little muted, she’s more mature than you were, so she probably understands her role in this relationship. Enjoy it while you can, get out before it hurts.

You can’t think about it now so before Jamie can ruin anything more you decide to play dumb and fucking introduce yourself as though your ex-boyfriend and the woman he shagged behind your back aren’t in your safe space that you created to escape him.

Keeley didn’t know, you remind yourself, except at this point it’s more of a prayer of faith hingeing on Jamie’s apparent selfish nature. There’s a good chance he didn’t mention you, a far cry from the boy who used to follow you grocery shopping because he liked to be with you (and so he could slip his card in the register before you had a chance to protest).

“Hi, I’m Keeley,” she says with a smile. “This one’s Jamie, but you’ll be hearing more about him I’m sure. He’s a footballer on loan to AFC Richmond, and he’s fucking brilliant on the pitch.”

You copy her smile. “How can I help you?”

“I saw your earrings on instagram, and I absolutely had to get some. Then when we moved here, I wanted to see your shop! And this one said he’d get them for me, isn’t that sweet?” 

Keeley wraps herself around Jamie’s arm, oblivious to the way he can’t figure out how to react.

He settles on a nod and a grunt, so you pull out different hoop sizes and letter fonts, and get to work.

She settles on gold, with tiny letters spelling Keeley.

“They’ll be ready for pickup in three days,” you say, ushering them out the door.

Keeley hasn’t stopped smiling this whole time and in contrast, Jamie hasn’t stopped frowning, but they’ve made their purchase and are headed down the street.

The moment they’re well and truly gone, you pull out your phone and Google, Jamie Tartt richmond. The top results are all about his loan from City to AFC Richmond, your Richmond; your escape is no longer an escape. It’s only a matter of time before his face is plastered all around town. The thought of it turns your stomach.

But there’s no way you’ll ever see him. 

So you get through your day like normal, head back home, and play too-loud music through your headphones as you cook dinner. By the time it’s ready, you’re dancing to Islands in the Stream with all worries about Jamie firmly banished from your mind.

table of contents

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

A reader in TW with character and Power abilities from Chinsaw Man? I think she will fit well into this universeXD

Chainsaw Man Reader | Yandere Twisted Wonderland

You most certainly are an odd one, even without the little chainsaw tug hanging from your chest. When you gain the favor of your harem newfound friends and they raise alarm to the minimalistic crappy style of life. Nonetheless, you're still smiling and happily eating the rations you’ve been ‘gifted’. And while the smallest things mean the most to you nobody expected your face to turn into this chainsaw demon when Crowley asked you to clear out some trees

“What? You asked me to clear it out didn’t you?”

Trey Clover

“O-oh my–huh?”

Dude is bewildered beyond belief

But ultimately he doesn’t mind your power

Because you’re still dependent on him

You’re always sticking close to him 

“Oh, Angel of all things delicious! Do you have anything for me to eat!”

“Not right now..but I’m going to make something now if you want?”

“Yeeessss!”

He loves how happy you are to eat his food

Subsequently loving him since he feeds you for free

He’s acutely aware of your disparity with emotions 

But he doesn’t care

Especially when you’re so willing to do anything for it

“So all I have to do is just not talk to them and I’ll get sweets forever?”

“Yeah…you also can’t tell them why okay?”

Azul Ashengrotto

“Wait wait so if you want me to enlist your services you just want…”

“A place to stay!”

“Yes and…”

“Meals and that I get to touch some nipples!”

“...yeah…just anybody’s will do?”

“Yup!”

Please let it be his

He sees how easily you’re willing to stray despite your massive power

“I can’t let them go…they may be able to do that but they don’t understand this world. They don’t understand anything so it's only right that I keep—take them in.”

In a way, he does think of you like a dog, only in your brain though

You wonderfully don’t have much morale other than comfortability

“That’s perfect! So we have a deal then.”

Dire Crowley

“AAAAA I’m sorry for not giving you a bigger budget! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

He’s probably the most shaken

Suddenly he’s worried his generosity isn’t enough 

Despite suddenly giving more and encouraging students to house you while he revamps Ramshackle

But once he calms down and he sees you genuinely hold no resentment

Specifically, after he offered you some takeout

With a sweat drop, he suddenly starts showing up around you more often

Praising you and letting you take breaks

And eventually, a proposal is made to send you to someone who will experiment on you for your condition

Granted Crowley has…cleaned up quite a few messes himself 

But once he does he realizes this will never stop 

But who are they to take his baby bird from him…even if you turn into a chainsaw creature on occasion 

Nonetheless, he’s decided you cannot be seen, touched, or otherwise 

Where safer than in his own little nest

It’ll take some time to get it ready, but he’ll be generous with his creation so that you can be comfy when he makes the move

“No worries (Y/n) I’ve already begun preparing the nest for you to stay in!”

“Ewww I wouldn’t want to live in a nest. That’d be cramped and scratchy.”

“No no *ahem* it’s a house or room rather…”

“Oh! Will there be food?”

“...uh…yes, yes there will be is.”

“Yay!”

Ace Trappola

“Oi oi could you do the hedges for the Heartslabyul hedges? Sure’d save me loads of time.”

“Eh?! I don’t want Riddle to yell at me…”

“I'll let you touch my balls.”

“YES SIR! Those hedges will be cut! “

“Just trim them, make shapes if you wanna. I don’t care.”

Leans into your carnal desires the most

Dangling food and sex to get what he wants from you

He loves it though

In private he blushes like crazy 

totally taking advantage of your eagerness

He gets off on just about everything you do

But part of the fun is pretending he’s just this cool unbothered love interest

“Hehehe look at you sucking like that~like a dog.”

Now while you may be the one with chainsaws 

He’s the one who actually sets you on them 

Or decides to do something about the ones who want to do the same

“They might have said they’ll do anything but I’m letting you know now they will not be. Especially since you’re not going to be able to ask.”

[breathing-the-same-air]

Hey, lovely souls. Just here to spread a kind word for anyone who's feeling (understandably) down today🩷

So OFMD has been officially cancelled. Is this the end? Of course not. It will never be.

I mean, even if we'd got S3 there would have been an end to it too. Is it unfair that our awesome cast & producers didn't get to finish what they started in the way they envisioned it? Of course. Is the tv industry absolute shit? Hell yes! So many good shows are cancelled every day, and so many more never even get to exist. We got OFMD for two seasons, a blessing none of us ever expected, that changed our lives in so many ways, that saved so many lives. And if you think about the ending, even though the last episode was rushed and budget was cut and all, we still got such a wonderful, poetic ending, Ed and Stede are together in their inn, love in their eyes, they're safe, they're happy, honestly I couldn't have asked for anything better.

The thing is, things in life are limited (apparently), but the underlying truth to that is that things that truly matter are infinite.

How so? I'll tell you a scientific truth: time does not exist, at least not as we understand it. Because time is just like space, ever-present, every moment in time is actually forever alive. Nothing can ever truly die.

Which leads to another truth: we are infinite, just like the Universe, for we are Universe too. We are stardust and love, and Love is infinite.

We are all one, you and I and everyone out there, we're one same thing. There is no end to something that was created with love. And damn, I've never seen such an outrageous, wonderful outburst of love in my whole life! There is true magic in what we created together, fans, cast, crew, producers... we healed one another, we came together because one day someone just as crazy as us envisioned this absolutely mad world of kindness and inclusion and diversity and sheer joy and against all odds the moment we saw it we jumped on the ship without thinking twice. We made it possible for this show to get a second season, and more than anything, we built this wonderful world around it.

Stories are so much more than imagination, they're not just actors playing a role, there is a point where it stops being just a story and becomes a world on its own, and that world translates into our world, and when that magic happens, when that bridge is created, something so much bigger emerges that forever merges both worlds. It's magic and it's a blessing and I can't but be thankful for it.

My loves, I know you're sad right now. I know we all are struggling for one reason or another, we're all fighting our own battles, be it about physical or mental health, work, study, family, discrimination, or anything else. And OFMD has fought by our side and helped us win so many of those battles already. So when you're in middle of the darkness and can't imagine there could ever be light outside, remember this: we are all with you, right here, right now. Wherever you are, we are with you, and OFMD is with you. Because the things we love do never truly leave us.

We keep saying that OFMD changed us, right? That means that it's become a part of us.

OFMD is and will forever be a part of who you are—and in you, it will live on forever. Be grateful, be immensely grateful, for gratefulness is the vibration that heals the fabric of the Universe and makes miracle happens. Crew, we got something we could never have imagined to begin with!! We are so, so lucky to have had this blessing.

Take the time you need to heal, cry, let out all your pain. But then please be brave and choose kindness, just like OFMD has taught us to. Choose to raise your vibration to that of love and gentleness and dare to believe that life has wonderful things waiting for you. There is hope, there is light, there is magic in your future, a whole life just waiting for you to have the courage to take the next step.

What do you think the crew of the Revenge would have done if they had been told their ship was going to forever stop sailing? They would have thrown another Calypso's birthday party just to celebrate the chance they had to spend so much time there together, and they would have looked forward, found new reasons to be happy, and a new life. Open an inn, for instance!

They would not want us to cry, they would like us to smile and be happy because of the journey we've shared. Or at least, smile through our tears!

You are loved, you are important, your very existence is an absolute blessing to this world. Please never stop being your awesome, beautiful, magical self, because the world needs you exactly as you are- that is why you are here!

Cheer up Crew - we have been so immensely blessed. Can only be thankful 🙏💜🏴‍☠️🖤

[mikuni14]

Why I think the way the final episode of The Sign was distributed is wrong, offensive and unfair to fans. And how disappointing I am with this approach, because I sincerely supported Idol Factory and Saint.

Personally, I pay for Gaga, Viki and IQIYI, plus a VPN to watch shows that are not available in my country (like Pit Babe), which, you know, I already paid for 🙄 Additionally, I pay for Netflix, I have combined subscriptions with other people for Disney, HBO, Skyshowtime, Prime, last year we paid for Apple to watch Silo and Severance (I recommend both series btw 👌). I also don't mind paying one-time for a film on the platform, which is how I recently watched Oppenheimer.

Money is not an issue (<- lol), apart from the fact that I support myself and I have to work, and I have to carefully manage my budget in order to feed myself and my cat, clothe myself, pay my bills, and my loss of job will mean obviously giving up access to all these media. I say that money is not a problem in the sense that I WILL SPEND MONEY on something I like. I will save, I will give up something else, but I will spend this money on stuff I love.

The Sign has chosen a certain distribution method for international fans. They chose YouTube and chose a set airing hour. They could have chosen to distribute only in Thailand like Cherry Magic, or they could have chosen any other platform with paid subscriptions. But they chose YouTube. And they released 11 episodes for free and at a set time. And now they CHOSE to make the last ep paid and to create a complete chaos related to the distribution of the finale, because I honestly don't know at this point whether it is paid or not, what is paid and what is not, whether it is on Saturday or Sunday or it's for a ticket or for free on channel3 and apparently they have two endings????, which is always an alarming sign for me, because it's very Game of Thrones/Marvel style shit.

Besides, people have their own lives, their obligations, their schedules. Sometimes you just can't get around certain things and you can't watch a series in the available time, no matter how much you want. Secondly, releasing a product for free in order to limit access to it in the final phase is the worst manifestation of toxic capitalism. This is preying on the desperation and devotion of fans. The third thing is the selection of viewers into those who can afford it, have the time, have the resources and those who do not. And yes, sometimes even just $15 of an unexpected expense makes a huge difference in a person's budget. It's telling some of the fans that you are VIP and can sit in the front row, and the rest of the peasants should wait outside for two weeks 😄

tl;dr personally I want and can pay for: 1) the entire series on a legal platform 2) ADDITIONAL things, like specials, fan stuff, etc. I consider paying for access to the series finale, which until now was free, immoral.

But tbh I really have no idea what's going on, I go with the flow 🤡Whenever I check The Sign tag, I read more and more new information related to the possibility of watching the finale, and it's different every day. And if it turns out that the cut version of the series will be available for free on Channel 3, and the uncut version with subs will be available tomorrow with a ticket, it will be the funniest thing ever. Because that would mean that people paid $15 to watch, I don't know what, a sex scene? 😄

Idk, guys, instead of enjoying the finale, people are wondering how to watch it at all. And if IF starts doing this, won't others follow suit? 11 episodes for free, oh you want to watch the finale, well you have to pay or wait and dodge the spoilers 😈

And one last thing for potential defenders of this system, like "what's your problem, it will be available in 2 weeks, just wait": so you accept that not ALL fans will have a chance to experience the final ep together, which is the basis of the fan community? That some fans will experience and analyze the episodes this weekend, and the rest will wait?

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

how to tell your corporate overlord is about to lay people off

(based on my own observations working at a large Canadian corporation)

Your company is in the first quarter of their fiscal year, and people are telling you not to spend money / to cut back on spending. Usually the first quarter is when the money situation is okay. If you're being asked to slash budgets at the start of the fiscal year, shit is going south and fast.

You see emails about senior managers "leaving the company" and the email doesn't say what company they're going to. If no new job is called out, they're probably leaving because someone else decided they should. If you see retirement notices for people who seem pretty young to be retiring, that's a possible sign as well.

You hear about other parts of the company "re-organizing" or "restructuring" - these are both cover for layoffs happening at the same time. If you can, find someone from those departments and see how many people were let go. A few people is just normal course of business. Dozens? That's a sign that you might be in for it too.

A manager or senior manager asks you what another employee does. If they ask how it's different from what someone else does, that person is likely on a list of people they're considering laying off.

Your CEO goes to an investor call and tells investors that the company will be spending X amount of money on "restructuring" and that this will result in Y amount of realized savings / profits / etc. in the next 6-18 months. The X dollars is how much they'll be spending on severance packages and other associated lay off costs.

when shit actually goes down

Smaller layoffs tend to happen in the fourth fiscal quarter as a way to get the company's annual numbers to look better. They won't happen in the last month because that's too late for reporting. It's more likely to be in month 10 or 11 of the fiscal year.

Layoffs also tend to happen Tues-Thurs. Mondays are usually the last day of "trades" (figuring out the finalized list of who's staying and who's being laid off). It also tends to be when the managers find out that they're being laid of (if they are). They tend not to lay people off on Fridays.

On the day of, people who are being laid off will get an unexpected meeting from their manager (or their manager's manager if you're both being laid off). They'll be told the news and given a chance to ask questions, then they'll hear what the next steps are. They do all of these meetings in the morning.

People who are not being laid off will get an unexpected meeting in the afternoon. If you're being moved to a different team, you'll get two meetings. The first one will be to notify you that you're moving. The second one will be to tell you about everyone who got laid off.

The announcement meeting will be telling the entire team at once. By reading the names of the invitees, you'll know who else is still employed. People not on the invite aren't there because they've been laid off.

the bright spot in the hellscape darkness

Over the last 6 months, a lot of my friends and colleagues have been laid off and most of them are already re-employed. The rest are either taking a sabbatical or starting their own business. Everyone I've talked to has said that getting laid off was the best thing that could have happened.

This is for middle-management level desk jobs at a corporation, so that won't apply to every job but hey. I wanted to end on a high note.

[thetriggeredhappy]

so i know i don’t exactly talk about my personal life very much online except for occasional general details, and that’s for a reason—im a big fan of the privacy inherent to an internet persona. that’s one reason i don’t use any social media except tumblr. but some good stuff is starting to happen to me offline, so i wanted to give an overview!

i’ve been avoiding telling people about this, mostly because i was convinced that with my recent string of bad luck, i would jinx everything in the third act.

basically, i had a falling out with my family years ago and have been supporting myself ever since, financially unstable and, frankly, getting worse every year. but a few months ago, after i moved and was looking for a new job, i got a wild offer—basically, this guy who owned a local restaurant saw that i’d essentially been a head chef at my previous job for years, and he would pay for me to go get some credentials at a culinary school over a thousand miles away, and in return, i would work at the restaurant as a lead chef for a reasonable living wage with a consistent schedule and a lot of creative freedom. the catch was that i had to be able to afford my way on certain things—paying my rent and bills back home, paying for food and transportation once i was at the school, that sort of stuff. so i cracked down, got a different job in the meantime, and started saving money.

my job cut hours a bit, so i started looking for a second one. my job cut hours entirely, so i started looking for any work at all. i ran out of savings. i sold any of my things that i could. i went to any job interview i got, even ones that told me they’d already filled the position but would ‘hear me out’. when choosing between selling my mode of transport and getting a loan, i got a loan.

essentially, i made it here by the skin of my teeth! hopefully, once my time is up out here i’ll start working right away. and once i’m out of that rocky point in the middle, everything will be great! not having to work all hours of the day seven days a week will hopefully mean that i’ll finally have the free time to more seriously pursue my creative interests. that would mean, for example, an average of more than one chapter every few months, and therefore, the end of Taking Shots within our lifetimes.

that’s the gist of it! i’m still going to be offering commissions while i’m out here, since the budget is honestly way tighter than i’m comfortable with. and my kofi is over here, if you just wanna give a funky little gift.

thank you to everyone who drops by to vibe with me about the stuff i make, it really helps lift me up when i’m feeling down. happy new year!

[forcedhesitation]

I definitely do not have the time for a full essay's worth of commentary on the Casting of Frank Stone, but I definitely could give you that if I did. There is...a lot to take apart there. I am certainly...fascinated...by some of the writing & gameplay choices they made, to summarise my thoughts somewhat vaguely.

A few spoilery comments under the cut.

Like I said, I don't really have the time to offer extensive analysis (a full paper) of the game, but I do want to say a few things.

First and foremost: Do not purchase this game. In the words of Mr. Otzdarva himself: Go and watch someone play it instead. Your play through will be 95% the same as theirs. It is not worth your 50 dollars. If you still want it after you've viewed someone else's playthrough, that is your own right.

I honestly became annoyed with the writing much faster than Mr. Otzdarva did, and at first I thought it was because I was spoiled by BG3's infinitely better writing. But no, it's rather that he was being very patient. He finished with a rather negative opinion of the game, after thoroughly going through it to test just how much control you as the player really have.

I will be fair-- It is certainly a visually stunning game, as far as Supermassive titles go. Much better looking than The Devil in Me. The music is also incredible. And some of the voice acting was well done and added much needed life to otherwise bland characters.

But good grief is the writing utterly nonsensical!! Even if you respect the "a multiverse exists, so anything is possible" fact which is canon to Dead by Daylight itself, it still doesn't make any damned sense. I mean, is it ever explained why there is time travel involved? Or how it is even possible? Did they simply expect people to just assume that Augustine figured out time travel in a certain timeline? Does it have something to do with the Entity, since it can clearly traverse time? If so, why was Sam able to voluntarily time travel to Madi & elder Linda's timeline? Why and how the FUCK is Frank Stone first bound to the mill and then camera using what is clearly the same magic as the horologium, when we know the Entity has not yet been brought to that timeline??

And playing the "anything is possible" card would be fine to explain certain things, I will concede, but it really starts to feel meaningless when you realise just how many massive plot elements are never explained and that none of your choices really have any impact on the ending of the game. The story literally ends the same no matter what you do. And to be fair, I do not think it is a bad ending at all. Barring the corny "trial starting" sound that they jammed in at the last second, I thought the ending was one of the better parts of the game. It works great to make you feel hopeless, and like there is truly no escape from the Entity. I just feel that this format of a "your choices impact the outcome of the story" game was the incorrect format for the story they wanted to tell. Because it truly doesn't even matter if you get everyone killed, or you save everyone-- everything happens the same way and the world's fate is the same.

There are other things that bothered me, too. I thought having Frank Stone appear as this corny, glitchy spectral monster for most of the game was...a terrible choice, both design wise and writing wise. Now, I do not think killing him in the opening was necessarily a bad decision. I honestly thought it was a bold choice that functioned well to surprise the viewer and urge them to continue, so they might discover how the story plays out after the death of the titular character. But keeping him as this ghoulish creature, that honestly looked as though it were from some solo indie developer's first low budget horror game, was awful. He did not feel threatening whatsoever, just wildly out of place in a visual quality sense. I hate the final design much less, it is certainly much more threatening and much, much more gruesome, but it still does not make sense as to why he looks that way. The Entity still had not taken him, why did he appear as this inhuman monster before his entry into the Fog? They should have kept a more humanlike design until the very end of the game, when the Entity arrives. Then, a transformation sequence where the Entity mutates him should have been restricted to the ending where no one from the cast is seen in the Fog, so players at least get something different in that allegedly "unique" ending. After all, if a cast member does get taken, at least you get to see visions of what followed the 1980s storyline.

Also why did Augustine work alone when she is clearly part of the Black Vale? The excuse of "the cult didn't exist yet" doesn't work here, because she can time travel and is fully aware of the multiverse she exists in. Like... I thought elder Linda's mention of secret passages being for staff "so they are seen as little as possible" was foreshadowing for Augustine having fellow cultists aiding her, but it just went nowhere. Another thing that goes nowhere is the baby that Sam can save at the very beginning. Should the baby live or die has absolutely no impact whatsoever on the story, which feels like an enormous mistake to me. That baby should have grown up to be a character that the cast could have interacted with to gain...oh I don't know, some piece of important knowledge, or an item, that could then later change the fate of the cast. This way, the player's choices in the 1960s segment actually have an impact on later gameplay, rather than meaning absolutely nothing.

I'd also love to know why the hell elder Sam was sent alone to prevent this situation from occurring, when the Imperatti (I think they were called? The parents of the Pariahs, or something, right?) would have surely realised the gravity of this situation? Like, how does this make any sense? And this is far from the only moment that makes no sense at all.

Why do Jaime and Robert have almost no relevance whatsoever after the 1980s segment concludes? Robert is guaranteed survival of this segment, as that part of the game is written so that two characters always survive-- be that Linda and Robert, or Sam and Robert. As annoying as Stan was, I didn't hate him because he had great dialogue that pushed other characters to have different dialogue than what we were used to. But it felt scummy that Robert was just given this sad, offscreen death instead of being included in a lot more meaningful way.

Not going to lie, it reminded me of how in Stranger Things 4, Patrick was the one teenager whose trauma wasn't really explored or given the same respect as the others. It's like the writers went, "Guys, guys! It's okay! We still have the other Black guy! This makes our game Diverse, and therefore no one could possibly complain!" Meanwhile, we get an entire cutscene about Madi's nightmares, and elder Linda's movie career and associated trauma is talked about numerous times. But all we know about 2024 Robert is that Stan took advantage of him, and then he later died, utterly miserable. Also, Sam somehow knows about this and he and Stan know one another, despite this Sam being from a different timeline than elder Linda, Madi, and Stan himself.

And Jaime, poor sweet Jaime, he really just feels like he's there as someone they can conveniently kill to shock the player. The first chance he has to die results in a horrible, very graphic death (although not the most graphic in the game by a long shot) that I feel many players will encounter because they see it as reasonable to visit the curiosities shop first, and then to later attempt to save Chris (even though her fate is the same here, regardless of what you do). And even if you should keep Jaime alive through that first confrontation with the spectral Frank Stone, it's not as though his survival impacts following events. He can die again, when fleeing Frank with Bonnie and an injured Linda. Why they have Linda, who has a gaping hole in her shoulder, attempt to pull Jaime up the platform alone while HIS OLDER SISTER just WATCHES is beyond me. But writing his death, whether it be here, or earlier, to have no impact on Bonnie's fate, or any future events, is plain bad writing.

You cannot save Bonnie, no matter what you do. And this scene makes no sense. When Frank grabs Bonnie, Linda points the camera at him, which should work. There really isn't any reasonable explanation as to why this should not work, or should not even momentarily distract him (Which could have led to a different ending where Bonnie lives and Linda dies instead?), because in the storm drain, so much as yelling at Frank causes him to abandon whoever he's attacking to seek out the new target. I suppose, at the very least, 1980s Bonnie's death does serve some kind of purpose in the 2024 storyline, because it serves as foreshadowing for Madi's potential fate. But just like Robert, 2024 Bonnie is given a sad offscreen death and we never really learn about how she or Jaime survived that night at the mill.

And I will say, it just feels shitty from a player point of view, to make it so you cannot save certain characters. Like, I'm sorry, is that a canon event? Where is Mr. O'Hara? Because Madi must be a god-damned anomaly, being Bonnie's daughter!! And Chris- god- Chris who mysteriously travels through time...I really do hate this part of the story because understanding its purpose can only happen if you manage to get the secret ending where she goes through the projector screen and DOESN'T burn and die. Which would require you to not have taken the pocket mirror or given the "protective" amulet to her. This unlocks a secret ending where she goes back in time to the moment where she, Jaime, and Linda were inintially shooting in the mill, right before Sam interrupted them. I took this as the writers trying to show us that there would be one timeline in which Frank Stone is never released (not sure how he ever was in the first place, really), likely saving them from the Entity. But other than the player somehow luckily getting this ending, I really don't see the point of Chris' time travel, because she can also be sent immediately back in the horologium, which does nothing meaningful. And why does it have to be Chris? Why not write it so it could be her or Jaime, so that maybe the player's choice to have her and Jaime breakup or not actually has some kind of impact on the gameplay?

One of the worst things about the game though, and I cannot stress this enough, is how badly the references to DBD are integrated. I love a good reference-- it can serve to add a little playful flair to a moment, or even go so far as to have the viewer look at the piece from a different perspective they had not previously considered. Buuuut... this is only if the reference is done well. And, well, what this game does could hardly be described as tolerable, even. In was so heavy-handed, it felt almost as bad as product placement in a Michael Bay movie. Many of these "references" felt out of place to the degree that someone with no knowledge of DBD would be likely able to pick them out, because they heavily disrupt either the game's aesthetic or the gameplay itself! One generator was funny, and honestly expected, but THREE of those damn things? Clunky, corny, and honestly? Lazy.

Unfortunately, I feel those three adjectives describe how I feel about the game overall. I feel bad for the people who put hard work into making it, because there is potential there for something great. But it really felt as though they were pushed to release this game as quickly as possible, so BHVR could sell us a 50 dollar, five-to-six-hour advertisement for their next DLC chapter. Hard to think anything else, really, when completion of the game is followed by a a literal ad for it.

All I can say is-- I really hope we get 2024 Linda as a survivor. It seems more likely that it will be Madi, but it is possible we could have a two-survivor chapter (unless they specifically outlined in the roadmap that there are no upcoming 2-survivor chapters?).

Madi and 2024 Linda would be cool though. We have no older women as survivors, despite having more than one older man. I think it's about damn time. And I love the mother/daughter bond that can sort of develop between Madi and 2024 Linda in the game.

[countlessrealities]

I normally wouldn't do this, because this is a RP blog and one of its purposes is to allow me to take a break from reality, but this is too important and it's heaving me too much not to put it out there.

It's the first and ONLY post I'll ever make on the subject. Anything else can be discussed privately, if you want to talk to me about it. Ofc, with "talk" I mean a civil discussion, otherwise fuck off.

I'll start with saying this: I'm not American, I live in Europe. Still, what happened with the elections affects the whole world, including my country, so I think I have the right to be as bitter and upset and real fucking worried as anyone else.

Also because, you know, Russia and Ukraine are my neighbours, so if someone decides to do something extreme, like dropping a nuclear bomb, well...it was nice knowing you, guys.

However, that's just one of my concerns, and it's not even at the top of the list. What really scares me is what the world has been turning into in the past few years. There are extremists and fanatics everywhere, I see people getting killed every day on the news, and not just war victims. I'm talking deaths in countries that are supposed to be at peace and civilised.

Where I live, every day there's at least one woman who gets killed. The youngest one so far was 14. Every day there's some hate crime happening. Every day there are immigrants who die at sea, because my country prevents rescues and tries to stop humanitarian organisations from saving lives.

Every day our government makes a step further in denying us our rights. Abortion, euthanasia (which has never been legal in my country, btw, and now it probably never will), the right to hold peaceful protests, civil unions for not conventional (hetero cis) couples, a proper accessible health system, and so on. The list goes on and on.

I'm a doctor and I work in the public health system. Around here, the State is supposed to provide free basic care to everyone and make the rest at very accessible prices (with exemptions for some categories, depending on age, income, disability, etc). This sounds nice, but it's becoming less and less of a reality. They keep cutting our budgets, the waiting lists get longer and longer, people are forced to pay for what should be provided by the taxes they pay. It's nowhere as bad as it's in many other counties, not yet, but I see it getting worse every day. Over a year of waiting for an exam. You could literally die while waiting for it, if you can't afford to pay for it. Also, everything in the health system is understaffed. There aren't enough doctors, nurses and the rest of the personnel. A lot of my colleagues leave the public and open their own private practices and, as much as I hate it, I can't even blame them. We're mostly underpaid and the shifts are fucking brutal.

It's getting hard to do everything. Do your work properly, have freedom, be able to be yourself, be allowed to live your life now and with whom you choose.

I know for sure that Trump's winning is just going to exacerbate all of this and honestly I can't help but think that it's gonna end badly for a lot of people, if not for everyone. I'm not saying that the other side is blameless, it's their fault too if we got this far, but at least we wouldn't be risking what we're facing now with them.

I wish I could say that I'm shocked that he won, and with so many votes, but I'm not. If something, this is the umpteenth proof of what I've been thinking for years. Humans suck and we're obviously set on self-destruction. Just look at what we have done to the planet. And what's crazier is that, even with all the consequences of climate change slapping us in the face every day, we still go on as if it wasn't a big deal. Because, of course, unless it happens to you specially, it doesn't really matter, does it?

I'm not saying that I've completely lost the little faith I had in humanity after this, but I've surely become more pessimistic than I already was. Perhaps we should really just go extinct, it would be for the best.

I've rambled enough. I'll end by saying that, if there's at least a little justice in the universe, that man will get stopped before he can do irreparable damage. Does me wishing him the worst make me a bad person? Probably, in the eyes of some. But let's look at the fact. He's old, overweight, eats badly, probably never exercises. Being president of the USA is a highly stressful job. It's a fact that he is an individual with a high risk of cardiovascular events.

Anyway. Don't give up on trying to change things, no matter how little. I won't, even if I'm really tempted to. Stay safe, as much as you can. I hope to see you on the other side.

[uninformedartist]

Ok so Viv just released this on her Twitter

Ok to start off this post will not go about Erica and what she is going through now, I wish her well and all the best going forward. I'm strictly going to talk about how Viv handled her business decisions concerning the VAs, Loona as a character and her budgeting.

Viv states: 1) they didn't have much of a budget starting off with season 2 as they do now, 2) if a character didn't play a significant role (like Loona) they didn't record her due to budget reasons, 3) season 2 was recorded 2-3 years ago, 4) Loona will be seen more in season 2 than season 1 so would more voice lines I asume and lastly guest VAs didn't get paid more than the main cast.

Now taking all this some things don't add up. If season two was recorded 2-3 years ago and Loona would've played a definite more involved role why didn't they record her voice regardless of budget, she has a prominent role in so2 so they should've recorded her voice not so. And yes Viv states Loona will seen (maybe heard more in so2) but so2 is by episode 5 now, Loona only spoke once so far and I'm comparing how long so1 was to so2. If they not even halfway how long will so2 be to see more of Loona speaking, again so2 was recorded 2-3 years ago.

My other thing is if so2 recordings was done 2-3 years ago, then so1 voice recordings should've by my assumption been done way before, before the pilot even. When recording season 2, 2-3 years ago and they didn't have much of a budget as they do now, so1 should've been voice recorded on blessing money yet so1 has 2 celebrity guest voices, Norman and Kesha. Now I heard Norman did the voice out of his own accord, is a fan of the show maybe they stuck a nice deal with him. But Kesha, that is a celebrity singer that did a voice for a character. And the 8th episode of helluva was stuck in limbo for years as Viv stated before releasing now recently.

So my thoughts, so2 little budget voices done 2-3 years ago, this should've included Norman but he was replaced by Ed. But So1 was done I assume way before the pilot they should be on little to no budget but they got Norman and Kesha to voice. Its just not adding up to me personally.

I do agree with Viv on not harassing the VAs, crew and Erica especially. The speculation, rumors and fights going on is unneeded so glad Viv addressed that. The other things she says though, doesn't add up to me at all.

Very last, that puppy aspect of Loona Viv is talking about, um why show the puppy side of a twenty something year old woman thats been nothing but awful in season two. The episode didn't need Loona to be there, cutting Loona would've saved budget actually (no need to animate her/cut episode run time) the Vet plot didn't add anything to the story really but just a nitpick from me.

But would like input on this, my brain isn't a but functional today just got home from a stock take shift. Would love to hear other's thoughts on this.

[the-teddy-bear-butch]

Alright gay people. Be prepared to lose your shit:

Ronance Lemonade Mouth AU

Nancy is Stella!!! Because I said so!!! Nancy deserves a rebel era and I can so see her being upset about the arts funding being cut for sports, including journalism. Electric guitar player Nancy my beloved >>>

Robin is Olivia, the shy, socially awkward songwriter and singer!!! Going to have her living with Steve as opposed to a grandma or something, but keeping the cat (who ironically in the movie is named Nancy). Might keep the her dad is in prison part? Undecided on how I’m translating Olivia’s background to Robin.

Speaking of Steve, he gets to be Charlie, the drummer! Keeping the pretty hair and parental pressure, but instead of wanting him to go to Stanford or play soccer, his dad wants him to join the insurance firm.

Eddie is Wen because Stella/Wen friendship > Nancy/Eddie besties ofc. Rather than coming in with rap, he adds amazing guitar riffs and heavy metal elements to the band’s sound. His family trouble involves settling in with Wayne, rather than dealing with a new stepmom.

And Mo was hard to decide, but!!! Our own Chrissy Cunningham. Her mom puts so much pressure on her to be the perfect daughter and Mo’s relationship with the one guy translates far too well to Chrissy’s relationship with Jason. Chrissy bass player arc omfg.

The rival band includes Jason, Billy (the one shitty guy who always starts drama), Tommy H, and Lucas (mirroring the basketball team here). Lucas tries to settle the drama throughout the AU.

The story begins when everyone gets detention. Robin and Chrissy were skipping class, Nancy blew up at someone about a news segment. Eddie got mad at a teacher, and Steve hit someone with a basketball (on accident).

The music teacher is Joyce and she leaves them all alone and that goofy little music moment happens and they all sing together.

Instead of Mel’s Lemonade, hear me out: Argyle’s Lemonade.

Robin has severe stage fright, but the band helps her get through it, especially Nancy. She and Steve live together. Eddie is often over to help with lyrics. She has an old ass cat that’s the last thing she has of her mother, just like Olivia.

Nancy gets to be rebellious in this fic. Her dad thinks she should just settle for a white picket fence (when he bothers to pay attention to her at all), her mom doesn’t really fight it, so Nancy rebels. She’s also getting the school newspaper together after the funding cut. Tell me this girl isn’t the kind to protest lack of free speech and the removal of the lemonade machine.

Eddie was only just sent to Wayne. It’s supposed to be temporary. In the same way Wen gets used to his stepmom, Eddie has to get used to Wayne and they do eventually grow closer. The scene where it’s revealed that Wen’s stepmom is moving in is instead Eddie arriving home to all of his belongings there in boxes and his parents nowhere to be seen—his stay is suddenly much more permanent.

Steve’s dad wants him to be an athlete (basketball) and join the insurance firm, but Steve just doesn’t want that. He quits basketball for the band and there’s some family struggle.

Rethinking the living situation, I may have Robin and Steve move in together partway through the story as opposed to the beginning, but I’m unsure where that leaves Robin. Her background is the hardest to work out.

Chrissy learns to stand on her own, gets away from her mom’s expectations, and sees Jason as the manipulative shitheel he is. Naturally she falls for one of the band’s biggest fans: Vickie.

Dustin plays the role of the AV kid that helps the band throughout the movie. He shows Nancy around in the beginning, explains the budget cut, and he makes the first vinyls for the band.

Nancy gets to rock Billy’s shit because I said so.

In the end scene, it’s Max and Lucas who save the day. Lucas leaves the rival band to help Lemonade Mouth out, Max is the first person in the crowd to start singing.

Steddie is established already. Ronance is the focus. Any of the Wen/Olivia scenes will be Ronance instead because I said so. Rumors circulate that Eddie and Robin are dating because Steddie keeps quiet and Robin isn’t out and the whole band finds it hilarious.

[popculturebuffet]

HCG: Garfield His 9 Lives Retrospective: The Special (Patreon Review for Emma Fici)

Hello all you blues cats paying your dues and welcome back to my look at the three faces of Garfield His 9 Lives. Last time we covered the book which was excellent for the most part from some good comedy to excellent horror.

So now we're onto the second part of this unintentional trilogy. The book was clearly either a success or a good enough idea that not only did Film Roman make a special out of it but unlike the others this big chonky boy is an hour long. It's something I forgot but you yourself can experince as the specials are all on Peacock and Tubi, and I highly recommend this one off the bat.

9 Lives takes the basic premise of the book and adapts it decently for animation: There is still a good chunk of segmetns that use the regular garfield style, but some vary it up a bit in ways similar to the book if not as radical to keep the budget down.

The bigger change is that 4/9 of the segments are replaced. Only Cave Cat, the Garden, Lab Animal, Garfield and Space Cat remain, largely unchanged. Babes and Bullets is gone but was made into it's own excellent special, while The Vikings, the Exterminators, and Primal Self are just gone.

If I had to guess why, the Vikings might of been hard to replicate on a bduget with it's fantasy style illustrations, hence the much cheaper King Cat in it's place. The Exterminators coudl've been a rights thing, since some stooges shorts were under copyright, but it could've just as easily been a time thing as the special exclusive stunt cat is only a minute long. Finally we have primal self, the only one where it's damn obvious WHY it didn't happen

This version is the most popular, likely because while the book is clearly known and loved, it hasn't been reprinted. it was printed enough that thankfully it's cheap to get and the Internet Archive makes it avaliable, but far as I can tell it hasn't been reprinted in decades. The special on the other hand has 80's nostalgia for the kids who were there at the time, got a release on the garfield fantasies dvd (Alongside babes and bullets of course.. and a indiana jones spoof with a dash of james bond that is far more foregatable but fits the astetic), and is as I mentioned currently avaliable for free under garfield and friends on tubi or on it's own on peacock. It's way easier to see the specail and for it to get more word of mouth. I even saw it first before the book thanks to said dvd. So the question is how does this more popular adaptation hold up to the OG? Let's find out under the cut and once again learn when you've got 9 lives you've got nine ways to loose.

Directed by Phil Roman, who Co-Directs all other segments

I love the title cards in this version too. And it starts the same way: Jim Davis is god

And orders the creation of cat. It looses a bit of luster as oversaturated footage of paws inc isn't as fun, but I do like the booming voice of god, played by C. Lindsay Workman who played the old man in the halloween special and Garfield's Grandpa in Garfield on the Town. The punchilne's also not as strong as rather than revealing him as a cat he just says "It'd make for an intresting story". This is understandable as they save this for the ending. More on that when we get there. For now this segment is alright and workman makes it fun, but it's the only segment I feel got a downgrade between versions.

We next get our opening number, which for once isn't tied into the story thus technically giving us 11 segments this time. Garfield wails on the harmonica while we get another great Lou Rawls opening, a blues song underlying how rough it is to have 9 lives "You've got 9 ways to loose" and the genre fits the man like a glove. Truly awesome stuff and a song that's been in my head this whole retrospective and while making the cover arts.

Directed by George Singer

Watching this one I figured out WHY I didn't like the Book version as much: I saw this one first and Cave Cat has one thing this one dosen't: narration. The hammy narrator really sells the documentary feel of things better than text boxes can. I love comics as a medium but there's some hard limits, and this is a bit that just works better when you have what I suspect to be Thom Huge giving nature doctumentary style narration. It makes even the cornier jokes hilaroius and Cave Cat feels more distinct ironically with Lorenzo Music's iconic voice, with him doing a good job making this cat still have the garfield voice but feel primitive. It's good stuff and just a few touches take a pretty decent if done before bit into something fun.

Directed by John Sparey

Yeah I don't like this one. Before reading the boom comics version, this was easily my bottom life across all versions.

King Cat DOES have an interesting hook: Garfield is the pet of a dim witted pharoah and thus worshipped. The problem is as basically vice pharoah.. garfield has slaves

For starters a past version of Odie is one of them and Garfield spends the short fighting to not be killed.. but you don't care as King Garfield enslaves a bunch of dogs and hassles the slaves at the period. Karma does bite him as despite his best efforts his owner dies and he becomes a slave to odie after odie saves his life but it's hard to see that as a good "the oppressed has become the opresser"

So not only do you have slave master garfield and this ending.. you also have no real jokes. The only one that makes me chuckle a bit is that the pharoah's evil brother who eventuallyt akes the throne is named prince black bart. It's sto stupid it works. This segment.. is so bland and weirdly fucked up at the same time it just dosen't work.

Directed by Ruth Kissane

The garden is kept the same plot wise, but does feel like an equilveant exchange. The animation looses the weird 3d style and while they try to make it slightly puffier to match the book, it mostly comes across as the standard garfield. That said what we loose in the trippy 3d, we gain in the narration, done by what seems to be Nermals voice actor which comes off as Chloe herself narrating it, which adds a nice bit of whimsy that papers over what was lost. The segment's still not entirely for me, but I appricate it for what it is.

Directed by Bob Scott

Court Musician has my faviorite look out of the shorts, being one of the few to get more of a visual identity in the adpatation, having a nice very blocky style to the charcters. I love it. And it's no suprise that director Bob Scott would go on to have a healthy career doing a lot of work for disney and some design work. He even designed the characters for the threre best segments in this one, also doing the designs for Diana's Piano and Lab Animal.

The short is a fun romb as we follow famous composer Fredrick Handel whose cat is a nicely deisgned blue cat.

I really wish bob had gotten to direct more, this is great stuff as Freddy , as bluefield calls him, finds out he has to make a concerto overnight... which his boss the king never commuincated to him. So to do so he has his cat write half. The first half is a slow well done fuege as the Jester, history's greatest monster, taunts Freddy with his death should he fail... only for a rousing jazz number the cat wrote to be a big hit. It's fun as hell, well written and even caps off the special in lieu of blues cat. Which i'd object if this peice weren't so great.

Directed by Bill LIttlejohn and Bob Nester

Stunt Kat is a quick fun segment likely done as while the special was given extra room it didn't have room for 9 full segments. So instead we get a fun bit of comics history as this garfield was a stunt double for the legendary 30's comic strip Krazy Kat. Krazy Cat was a fairly simple but influental strip with surreal backgrounds. The basics boil down to this

Krazy loves Ignatz, Ignatz throws bricks a tthem, and the local cop tries to put Ignatz away and loves Krazy. It's a zany love trinagle, a tragicomedy and magistically drawn. I haven't gotten super into it, but I do respect it and it's influence on later cartoonits with both Bill Watterston and Berkely Brethead citing this one as an influence.

So here Garfield fills in when Krazy gets a bunch of bricks dropped on them while Officer Pupp runs the camera... and dies pretty quickly. A brutal fun gag and a nice way to give a cameo to a legend... if I'd remembered this I would've done the same in the first entry but hey, thems the breaks. Or the bricks I guess

Directed by Doug Frankel

Diana's Piano might be my faviorite segment here and it's the simpliest, a tale about a woman reflecting on her life to her cat patches, and the life of her previous cat Diana, a cat she got as a child, and kept for most of her life, into marriage right out of college, through the birth of her child and to Diana's sad end. It's got the most gorgeous animation of the special, this nice fuzzy style as if it was painted. The animations very limited for the most part, but it works well, making it feel like a painting come to life. It's a simple realistic tale. It could face issues with not feeling very garfield like.. but with some of the more experimental segments from the comic gone, it nicely fills the place of stretching the concept of "it's a cat" to as far as you can take it. Diana isn't garfield yet has pieces of him: her not wanting her owner to marry, issues with kids, there's pieces of garfield in his past self. I also think it's neat they acknowledge that past lives don't have to be exact matches for their future lives. This is reincarnation after all. Part of the books charm was that the various garfields were so diffrent from one another yet had some part of who he'd be in his 8th life.

Diana's piano is a moving, wonderfully done piece, a short heartbreaking story of life that uses the medium well.

Directed by Doug Frankel

Lab Animal is the special's most memorable segments for the same reasons it was in His 9 Lives: It's the darkest segment here with Primal Self gone, and it's a striknig diffrence:While Diana's piano gives us another grounded segment, instead of a sentimental story of a cat's life, we get a cat desperately breaking free. Rather than go full realistic, they go more with a don bluth style: cartoony yet stylish. I checked director doug frankel's imdb but he shockingly only worked on one bluth film AFTER this, Ferngully, like most people on this special going on to disney or early dreamworks.

Lab Animal really is a straight adapatation of the book the only big changes being a sequence with the dogs chasing the Lab Cat up a tree, and the MP just.. glaring at the cat instead of shooting at it. Which is less effective but.. I get it. Late 80's cartoon standards and all that. Everything else is largely the same, and I feel both versions are equally good: The original has nice shades and detailed artwork, while this has gorgeous animation, a really tense score, and both have the effective twist at the end. It's fantastic and easily the best adaptation of the bunch, adapting the story perfectly while changing it just enough.

Directed by Bob Nisler and John Sparey

I really.. don't have much to say about this one. It's not bad at all: given this was one of Film Roman's later specials, they've perfected doing garfield at this point, so it's not suprising the garfield section still looks great.

The thing is this segment is the straghtest adaptation out of the bunch. It's almost word for word panel for panel with only the slightest changes. One of those changes bothers me as they censor old eli's line

The bury me is why it works. It'd be like shoretning Snoopy's Awkard Teenage Nephew's neck. It's fucked up and it's funny. And you could say "Well they censored other stuff for kids".. but they still had garfied and odie own slaves. I can understand editing out the gunfire from Lab Animal as it was the 80's and guns in kids shows was, and still is, if for more understandable reasons, a touchy subject. But this is just a bit of black comedy and I refuse to belivie garfield owning slaves is more acceptable than Old Eli wanting people to take him home and bury him.

Otherwise it's a solid adaptation, it just dosen't stand out as much both due to having no real changes for better or equal like the others, or being that diffrent from the other specials or garfield and friends. It's a reason King Kat also limped along for me I forgot to get to in that section: It feels like one of those historical episodes garfield and friends would do. Every so often they'd have jon and garfield play their own ancestors. It feels lazy in comparison to the book and other segments here. This dosen't because it shares the whole origin story thing, but does fade into the background a bit.

Directed by Bob Nessler and John Sparrey

Like cave cat I like this one more than the book, but even more as the animated version is vastly experimented. The federation planning to murder garfield in space is given more personality, counting down to his death and skipping one because he was in the bathroom, and the count down gives things a sense of pressure, as does the fact that rather than be a game this is all real and garfiled is sent out to survivie as this is his last life. So it adds tension: we know it, they know it and thus we WANT Spacefield to survivie. We also get a bunch of clone odies who hilarously get thrown back from attacking in drone ships by a fire hydrant. It keeps the best stuff from the short but expands it to be way funnier.

The ending also helps. Garfield.. still dies.. this time for real as does Odie.. and god cat calls him before them.. and due to a seeming clerical error asks garfield what life he's on. And in a touching bit of clearly remembering his eight life some how, or just kindness.. garfield gets odie 8 lives too. IT's a reminder that while Odie may anoy him.. garfield loves his brother and gladly saves him. And the ending does use the god cat twist well. We don't see a full furry face just the eyes.. btu we get the sense god was just lying his ass off and willingly let both get 9 lives as they deserved it. Garfield's argument is also.. valid. Unlike his other deaths, he didn't volunteer for this one. he was just shot up into space and died horribly. IT's a cute ending and really ties it all together well and feels like a better much more concise one than the book.

The Ranking Diana's Piano: It's schmaltzy but damn if it dosen't work on me every time, with gorgeous animation and a truly lovely story. Court Musician: I"m shocked this one ended up as high as it did but I just love the blocky, gorgeous art, that fun ending number and the jester being a hilaroiusly cruel shithead the whole segment Lab Animal: Tense, well done and gorgeous Space Cat: HIlarious and the best garfield style segment of the bunch Cave Cat: Music's performance and the great narration really sell this one Blues Cat: A catchy as hell number from lou motherfucking rawls. Stunt Cat: Only this low because it's so short but it's so damn funny and dark. In the Beginning: It's fine Garfield: Ditto The Garden: Thirded King Cat: We need a sequel where Jon is moses and frees the slaves from odie.

Next Time: We end this look with a hit and miss comics anthology that came decades later. No one really talks about.