#inflation being what it is I don't feel like buying any more and becoming even more of a parody of myself

[sachermorte]

if you really want to know what kind of person I am, the last time I bought a birthday card the recipient was like "did you spray your fucking cologne on this" and I was like "and to think I'm not even hitting on you. it's just total force of habit. I honestly feel wrong if I DON'T do it"

[islxms]

-ˏˋ⋆ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄 ︱ 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐄 ⋆ˊˎ-

𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 ☆ 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 ☆ 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟

──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────

pairings - actor!aaronwarner x actress!femoc

summary - Kenji Kishimoto, your best friend, insisted that you audition for Dear Love, a romance series, as he didn't want to spend time there alone. After various pleas, you finally accepted the request.

warnings - none

words count - 1,948 words.

︳⋆ ⎙ 𝅄 𝖬𝖠𝖨𝖫𝖡𝖮𝖷 ﹎ hope you enjoy the first chapter, especially since it took me a while to start and finish, since I couldn't decide or think how to. I don't know how to feel about it, I hate it and love it. I promise the future ones will be better.

"Finally, ugh," I grumbled as the credits for Tangled rolled across the screen. Kenji had insisted on making me watch his favorite Disney movie again, and I was over it. This had to be the fifty-sixth time, on a fucking Friday! I could've done many things!

"Hey! Don't say that. Tangled is a masterpiece," he protested, flinging a pillow at me, which made me slip slightly on the couch.

"Yeah, sure," I said dryly, barely masking my irritation.

"I hate you," Kenji fake-pouted before storming off to the kitchen. Just like a little kid.

"So, are you going to audition for the new series or not?" Kenji changed the subject as he rummaged through the fridge. I knew he was after those damn Skittles he always devours at my place.

"I'm thinking about it," I replied, getting up from the couch and heading toward him. "But I heard it's a romance story, and I'm not keen on kissing anyone on screen." I folded my arms, narrowing my eyes as he finally pulled out the Skittles. "And if you keep raiding my stash, I might just stop buying them."

Kenji's eyes widened in mock horror as he clutched the candy to his chest. "How could you say that, Sunshine? I'm deeply hurt!" Despite his dramatics, he tore open the bag and started munching away.

"By the way, I'm in it too," he mumbled through a mouthful of Skittles.

I rolled my eyes. "Great. Just so you know, Kenji Kishimoto, I have zero plans of kissing you on set or out."

Kenji Kishimoto, my best friend and one of the few people I trusted, had a knack for making me laugh, even when I was at my lowest. He could pull me out of any funk with his jokes and relentless teasing. But despite his flirtations, I never saw him as more than a friend-something I could never admit to him since his ego was already larger than Asia, and the last thing I needed was to inflate it even further.

"Don't worry, you'll change your mind eventually," he said with a playful smirk, but his triumph was short-lived as I smacked him on the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" he whined, rubbing his arm.

"For letting your stupid ego get the best of you again," I shot back with a grin.

Kenji pouted, rubbing his arm like it was injured. "You know, you could work on your people skills. Not everyone is as charming as me."

I rolled my eyes, leaning against the counter. "Charming? Is that what we're calling it now? Delusion suits you perfectly."

He ignored my jab and popped another Skittle into his mouth, grinning like he'd won. "So, if you're not planning to kiss anyone, what's stopping you from auditioning? You could just act."

"Acting involves more than just pretending," I said, brushing a stray hair behind my ear. "And romance isn't exactly my thing."

Kenji studied me, his playful demeanor softening. "You used to love the idea of being in love. What changed?"

I paused, taken aback by his sudden seriousness. He wasn't wrong. I used to be a hopeless romantic, dreaming of whirlwind love stories. But life had a funny way of turning those dreams into something else entirely.

"I grew up," I replied firmly. "Realized that not all stories end with a fairy tale."

Kenji frowned, searching my face. "You don't believe that, do you? That happiness isn't in the cards for you?"

I shrugged. "Let's just say I've become more realistic."

"Realism's overrated," Kenji said, leaning closer with a serious edge. "You're too young to give up on love. You should audition. Who knows? Maybe you'll have fun."

I met his gaze, a smile tugging at my lips. "Since when did you become such an optimist?"

He grinned, the mischievous spark back in his eyes. "I'm not. I just think you'd look great trying to resist falling for me on set."

I laughed, shaking my head. "You're impossible."

"Impossible and irresistible," he corrected with a wink.

I sighed. "You know," I said, reaching for a Skittle from the bag still clutched in Kenji's hand, "if I audition and get the part, I expect you to be on your best behavior."

Kenji's grin widened. "No promises, Sunshine. But for you, I'll try."

Did I just sell my soul to the devil? Probably.

Kenji managed to drag me to the set I might be working on. He was practically bouncing with excitement as he led me through the studio doors, and I had to remind myself this was my choice even if it felt like I was being dragged.

"This is going to be great, trust me," Kenji said, flashing his trademark grin. "Castle's a good friend, and he's excited to meet you."

Castle-the director. Naturally, Kenji was on a first-name basis with him. He seemed to know everyone who mattered. We walked through the bustling set, with people rushing around and the constant hum of activity.

"If I'm being honest, this isn't as bad as I thought it would be," I admitted, glancing around. The set was impressive-detailed and alive, like the story was already coming to life.

Kenji shot me a triumphant look. "See? I told you. It's not all that scary."

I rolled my eyes but couldn't deny a small thrill of excitement starting to build.

As we continued our tour, Kenji pointed out different parts of the set, explaining what each was for and how they'd be used in the scenes. He was in his element, effortlessly charming everyone we passed.

When we finally reached Castle, he greeted Kenji with a warm hug and then turned to me with a welcoming smile. "So, this is the star Kenji's been talking about," he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Glad to finally meet you."

I forced a confident smile. "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Castle."

"Please, call me Castle," he replied, waving off the formality. "I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do. Kenji's been talking you up like you're the next big thing."

I shot Kenji a look, but he just shrugged, grinning like a cat that got the cream. "Just speaking the truth."

Castle laughed, clearly entertained. "Well, I can't wait to see you in action. I have a feeling you're going to bring something special to this project."

I wasn't sure how to respond to Castle's enthusiasm, so I just nodded, keeping my nerves in check. I loved acting, just like I loved watching romance movies, but being in one and living out those moments on screen made me jittery. The thought of kissing someone on screen, even though I'd done it before, still gave me chills. This felt different.

What are you even worrying about? It's just acting. Don't throw away your opportunities. You've done it many times before!

Perfect, now I'm talking to myself.

Audition for the movie and stop being an overdramatic baby.

I'm not!

Then why are you still thinking about whether you should audition?

...

"What are the available roles for Dear Love, again?" I asked, breaking the silence as we continued walking through the set.

Kenji turned to me with a grin, clearly pleased with my sudden interest. "Ah, so you're considering it, huh? Well, the lead role of Emma is still open, and a few supporting characters too. But I have to say, you'd make a great Emma."

I bit my lip, the character's description echoing in my mind. Strong-willed, independent, and hesitant to believe in love-qualities that matched mine. Could I step into Emma's shoes and bring her story to life?

Before I could second-guess myself, I glanced at Kenji and said, "Alright, let's do it. I'll audition for Emma."

Kenji's face lit up with excitement and pride. "That's the spirit, Sunshine! You're going to crush it."

The next morning, I sat in front of my vanity, staring at my reflection with a sense of purpose. My mind was racing with thoughts of the audition. I had agreed to try out for the role of Emma, and now that the reality of it was sinking in, I was ready to own it.

What if I'm not good enough? What if this role isn't for me? What if I completely mess it up?

I shook my head, dismissing the doubts. I had done this before-auditions, roles, the whole process. I was a pro, and I had the confidence to prove it. The thought of kissing someone on screen, while still nerve-wracking, wasn't going to stop me. I faced tougher challenges and came out on top.

Kenji's words from the previous day echoed in my mind. "You're going to crush it." He had so much faith in me, and I was ready to show him and everyone else what I was made of.

With a deep breath, I started getting ready, choosing an outfit that made me feel confident and powerful. It was just an audition, after all.

As I applied a touch of makeup, I rehearsed the lines I'd been practicing. I could feel Emma's character taking shape within me-her strength, her hesitance, her guarded heart. I related to her in many ways, and I was determined to bring her to life on screen.

When I arrived at the studio, my nerves were still buzzing, but I was focused. Kenji was waiting for me at the entrance, his usual grin plastered on his face.

"Ready to show them what you've got?" he asked, his tone teasing but supportive.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I replied, forcing a confident smile.

We walked inside, surrounded by the buzz of activity. The studio was alive with the sounds of people preparing for their auditions, and the energy in the air was palpable.

Castle was chatting with a few other actors when he saw me. He waved me over with a warm smile. "Ms. Solans, great to see you again. Ready to give it your best shot?"

"Absolutely," I said, my voice steady and clear.

"Good. Just remember, have fun with it. Don't worry about being perfect-just be yourself," Castle advised, his words surprisingly comforting.

As I stepped into the audition room, the familiar lights and cameras in place, I felt a surge of determination. This was my world-acting, performing, and becoming someone else for a while. I had this.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened them, I was Emma. The lines flowed naturally, and the emotions felt genuine. For those few minutes, I was fully immersed in the character's world, forgetting about everything else.

When I finished, there was a pause, followed by Castle's approving nod. "That was fantastic, Ms. Solans. You really brought Emma to life."

I felt a wave of relief wash over me, the tension in my shoulders easing. "Thank you," I replied, my voice steady.

As I left the room, Kenji was waiting outside, his grin wider than ever. "I told you you'd crush it! You were amazing in there, Sunshine."

I couldn't help but laugh, the earlier nerves replaced with a sense of accomplishment. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

"See? I knew you could do it," Kenji said, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "Now, let's get out of here. I'm starving, and I'm sure you could use a break."

"I saw you munching a sandwich earlier," I said with a smirk.

"What? A star can't eat now?" He crossed his arms dramatically, giving me an exaggerated pout. I stared him down, and the facade crumbled into a playful smile.

"Fine," I said, laughing. "Let's go grab something to eat."

[phantomrose96]

I love space and how extreme and fucked up it always in when viewed by the human level, and I thought many times about making a story like 938 Seconds Per Second, but I would always stop myself finding holes like "would the transported items even be valuable after so many years?" or "wouldn't the technology become obsolete at the exact moment it worked and years passed?" or "what about the ways language would have changed?" and you didn't allow details such as these to stop you. You didn't even gave them a spot in the story because it thematically ruins it, and now I am thinking "why am I not allowing myself to indulge the whole point of fiction?" and I feel something slowly unloxking within me. Also as a fan of fucked up physics and morals in sci-fi, loved the work!!!!

(938 Seconds Per Second)

See, here's the thing for me! Questions like that DO occur to me. It's part of thinking through the world-building. But for questions like that, unless they have a spot in the story it's MORE important, in my opinion, to instead answer: Does it detract from the story at all if I simply don't explore those? Is there anything about those questions that fundamentally breaks the story? Is it actually impossible for those to have answers?

"Would the items still be valuable?" If you mean in terms of the money amount that trades hands, I figure Entente money is pinned to an inflation-free peg. It can trade into local currency when it exchanges hands, but the Entente value is specifically inflation free, and specifically for workers dealing in time dilation. If you mean will the buyer still WANT the items after being shipped for so many years, sure there's speculation buying something you won't get for 100+ years. But I figure for intergalactic trade that spans light years, all their trade exists on these massive timescales. To have created this trade culture means there are cultures willing to wait out the time. The very foundation of their trade expects this exact thing.

"Wouldn't the technology become obsolete?" Keeping in mind the speed of light is still the fastest anything can move, you would NEED something like the ship to even get technology across the universe. So even if advancement is fast somewhere, spread is slow. These ships are probably couriers OF technology spread. And sure, probably a bunch of independent places independently advance their own technology, but the ship still docks down with some frequency between missions. Maintenance and upgrades can be done during any of those dock-down periods.

"Changing language?" Sure I bet language changes all the time. But for an intergalactic trade relation culture which has built itself upon immense time-gaps, they could easily have standardized to a specific, and non-changing, language standard. All legal documents are written in the common language, and as new items and concepts come into being they're given standard names. And then among regular people--translator masks. I gave the doctor one. The technology for that practically exists already today with google translate and text to speech, so it's very believable technology.

OKAY SO, ...were any of those answers actually super important to 938sps? Was 938sps harmed by not digging in to those...? I don't think so. Because none of this actually mattered to the core of the 938sps story. As long as none of these things presented glaring, unfixable plot-holes to the story, then I'm good. My answers to these questions might still be full of holes and what-ifs. Hell I probably could have answered any of these with "eh I dunno" and that still doesn't impact 938sps.

I think all of that leaves just a lot of runway and play-space to expand on the world presented in 938sps. But having any of those stop me from even putting down the first word? No, they don't matter.

[yourgamemasterthewhiterabbit]

Gremlin update supplemental September 12th 2024

It's September and it was getting really cool at night so I was under the impression I could take my air conditioner out for the year...

Wrong.

It's over 30 degrees in here and I was already sweating because of the pain I am in.

Had to put the stupid thing back in with every joint in my hands and wrists swollen to all fuck.

I got a call from my landlord today because they somehow already misplaced my registration e-mail and were trying to let me know that if they needed entry in an emergency or otherwise, they're only willing to e-mail me about it for warning, even being told I don't check my email even daily, let alone often enough for an emergency.

Really hoping this isn't step one of them pulling some bullshit.

Still trying to watch through all the old x-men cartoons and movies at once while recovering from full body gout and the dermatomayositis.

Mostly, I wake up with slightly sore knees and wrists and hands that are swollen to all fuck. I do not know what my hands think they are doing, but my left wrist was so swollen this morning I kept getting pins and needles in my fingers.

The blister on the back of my finger is an inflated blister again. It seems to fluctuate with hydration levels, but it isn't bothering me.

I am eager to get back to doing some serious cleaning and organizing again. At least I have been doing laundry to get that all caught up with the machine, but from the moment I was like "okay this step is done and it looks presentable so I can chill for a bit now" I have been horribly sick with autoimmune attack and gout and that doesn't feel very fucking much like taking a break... And yet... And yet I am chomping at the bit to be able to just do something fucking useful with my body because it has been uncooperative for so long.

At least i don't have to do laundry in the sink anymore.

I shrank the list of "life improvement purchases" down to 1 batch under 500, and a secondary batch for good storage options I haven't gotten yet, but probably will once I downsize more [also under 500]. The rest I may never get -at least not living here- because there isn't room between the cabinets for most counter top dishwashers, and other things like that. So, really under one month's rent to fix every problem I have that can be fixed by throwing money at it, including all my pants being threadbare and beyond any reasonable repair. Without dipping into savings for that or my winter groceries.

And yeah, I was getting a kick out of repairing the same 3-4 pairs of fast fashion pants for over 10 years and simply refusing to ever buy more... But they were getting threadbare enough that too much flexing any muscle or moving around would tear them back open along new lines, and yes, if my hands were working I could keep repairing them and I could keep wearing stretch leggings under them so my ass doesn't show, but at some point you are just walking around in full werewolf aesthetic because it is obvious you have ripped out of your clothes like 20+ times and it just starts to become absurd not to buy new clothes.

I got to buy men's jeans this time. No they are not cut to fit my body but I can sew. I mean I am still going to do some elaborate patching of the other 4 pairs of pants, but at this point those other pants pretty much ARE the patches for the next set I ruin.

I was doing so good last time until i had to lift my cart into the house. I still plan on making a ramp but that's going to take time.

I am so fucking tired and my nerves are raw from being in screaming pain all over my body for about a month on end now... But I have been enjoying many fried proteins and home-cut fries.

I'm recovering, really, just not nearly as fast as I used to and it makes me cranky and I am sorry. I promise I am still fun and chill T~T

[firendgold]

If you’re doing the violence ask game, can you do 9, 13 , and 19?

oooh, yes. I am indeed. Let's not delay. My friend the read-more is here to help.

choose violence ask game

9. worst part of canon

This is a very 2007 era, "I just finished Deathly Hallows" opinion, but even after all this time, I think the epilogue really is the worst part of canon. Not just because I personally dislike the canon ships, but because JKR (hereafter referred to as That Woman) had the opportunity to do some more "show not tell" for Life After Voldemort, to flesh out what the characters' priorities would be after defeating the figurehead of Wizarding Britain's prejudice and a few of his public cronies, and she just... didn't.

I probably could have stomached the canon ships if more attention was paid in the epilogue to the reforms that were made or being made to society, the ones that have only passing mentions in Pottermore or post-book interviews—the reformation of Azkaban/removal of dementors, actually seeing Harry as an Auror/Department Head (perhaps chasing down some minor league foe?), or any sort of follow up on the themes That Woman set up in the series. In DH alone we have heroes falling from pedestals, the gritty realities of war for the average people, hostile takeover of an already corrupt government, falsely torturing and imprisoning innocent people, the fallout of being betrayed by peers and/or superiors you trust, more kids becoming orphans... I could go on. There's many, many issues for the war's survivors to tackle once the dust has settled.

But we don't get that. Instead we get "here, look, the main characters got married and had kids! even Teddy is dating someone! you remember Teddy right? last time you saw him he was a baby, and now he's all grown up with a Weasley girlfriend! love love love! kiddos off to Hogwarts again! isn't that charming?" Eh... not really. I, uh, wanted to know if society has improved at all...?

I definitely get the appeal of having the "back to normal" feeling of Kids Boarding the Train at the Platform, I do... it just wasn't what I expected for the end of Harry Potter. In my not-so-humble opinion, "and then they got married and had kids" is boring in literature of any kind. It's just so boring. And it's worse for a world of magic where the characters could be doing anything else.

13. worst blorboficiation

I'm becoming such an old I had to look this up to make sure I knew what it meant before giving my opinion. :')

Am I allowed to say more than one person? This is me choosing violence, so I'm going to list off all the HP ones that came to my mind once I knew the definition.

Remus Lupin. Holy shit, bro. This fandom has ruined this character. I get that people like him. (I like him too!) I get that he's very hard to pin down because he's one of the more mysterious people, but (until recently) I've never seen a character who's pretty neutral in canon get so positively inflated by the fandom. And it's literally just because of wolfstar. Sirius gets inflated too (more on that in a sec), but Remus gets inflated just because long ago fans decided that the two of them were obviously together and, by extension, would be perfect, flawless co-dads for Harry. You could argue that Remus doesn't really show much romantic feeling towards Tonks until DH, but you'd also have to argue that he doesn't show much romantic feeling (or feelings at all, besides grief and nostalgia) for anyone.

But like... I'm not a total Debbie Downer. I get the appeal of wolfstar alone and wolfstar dads, really, but they're hard to completely buy into (especially when the latter usually turns into a Dumbledore bashfest). Sometimes fans act like their ideal of who Remus is and what he is to Harry, Sirius, and other characters is canon when it's not. Preferable to canon, maybe, but not source material at all. The wolfstar-partner-raising-Harry!Remus is nowhere close to the real Remus. The real Remus:

is unaccounted for for the first 10 years of Harry's time at the Dursleys, and for his first and second year, with no retroactive explanation given

doesn't contact Harry after year 3, and indeed isn't even seen or mentioned again until year 5

is only briefly around Harry in year 6 (you know, the year right after Sirius dies)

consents to starting a family and then almost immediately tries to leave that family behind once he finally gets bit by the "oh, maybe now I should try being Harry's surrogate parent" bug, then doesn't understand why that pisses Harry off

So. Yeah. You teach a kid the Patronus charm one time and suddenly you're the man who can Do No Wrong in 99.3% of all fanon material. It's irritating. Ships and/or found family stuff could wrangle with the man Remus is, they just choose not to in favor of recycling old fanon archetypes.

Sirius Black. Much of the same said above about Remus applies to Sirius tenfold. Sirius cares about Harry, sure, but lots of fans like to sand over the part where Sirius made one little protest about Harry going to the Dursleys, then fully committed to going after Pettigrew in 1981 without telling anyone about the Secret-Keeper switch, or anything that would have kept him out of jail even in our aforementioned corrupt wizarding society. In their minds, that evil meanie Dumbledore forced him to not whisk Harry away to Black Manor or whatever to raise him. *eyeroll*

Sirius is a character who is developmentally delayed in canon, but some of his fans downright infantilize him. Poor Sirius, he just wanted to be a baby gay and raise Harry but the Ministry/Dumbledore/That Woman just wouldn't let him. (You can argue the last one, but it is SO RARE to find a fanfic where Sirius has to grow the fuck up and face the consequences of his early choices, while also actually taking steps to be better and be a good surrogate dad for Harry.) Just because Sirius is Harry's godfather doesn't mean he's a perfect one. And he's not dealing with a typical kid either. Sirius and Harry wouldn't easily or neatly slot into typical familial roles because they've both Been Through Some Shit—and that's why their relationship is so compelling.

And I haven't even gone into the other side of fanon!Sirius, the one who's this devil-may-care man who Got All The Ladies in his time, is mostly physically and mentally unaffected by his Azkaban stint, and is only around to: support Harry in whatever independent!Harry schemes he has going on (screw Dumbledore! run away from the war somehow! become a Cool Dude! fight the power!), blather on about Lordships and fanon shit the real Sirius wouldn't give one toss about, or to give him girl advice on whatever girl (or harem) Harry is being shipped with in that particular fic. The only reason this version of Sirius isn't an obvious homophobic backlash to the "Sirius is gay" version is because I'm pretty sure this version came first chronologically in fandom. I'm actually not sure which version of Sirius is more annoying to me.

last but not least, we have:

Daphne Greengrass. Technically I shouldn't be able to put her here, because she doesn't even HAVE a canon personality. Everything about her besides her name, her House, and her sister('s relationship to Draco) is completely made up. But fanon has come to a Consensus on her, and this consensus is THE MOST annoying made-up persona in a fandom where we also have "he's just misunderstood/traumatized by the Muggle wars/going about things the wrong way!" Tom Riddle/Voldemort, "he was just being mean to Harry for his cover/Harry deserved it" Severus Snape, "brightest witch of her age And No Other Personality Traits" Hermione Granger, "he WAS going to change sides, really!" Draco Malfoy, and "purebloods wanting to gatekeep magical society and call uppity muggleborns slurs is fine actually" fanon discourse, among other irritants. Maybe it was intriguing the first time I read it. Now, it's not.

Every single time I see "politically-neutral blonde/black-haired ice queen who teaches Harry about Noble Houses/convinces him that Not All Slytherins/gets him on the Right Political Path For His Future" I want to throw up in my mouth. It's so fucking boring. It's not what Harry Potter is about to me, it's not what it should be about, and it's not even what I look for in other media. (I think the Sword of Truth series is the only series I read where there's actual politics that I care about, and it's still high fantasy!) So much Daphne and Haphne fandom content just feels like a bunch of people missed the point of the series, which is that pretentious family nonsense is just that and pureblood tradition shit doesn't matter. And Daphne's "backstory" is not even logical. Neutral factions? "Gray" factions? Do you really think that 1970s era Voldemort, at the top of his game, would have been okay with a supposedly prominent and influential pureblood family sitting out the war in the way the Greengrasses are often written? Like, actually saying "no thanks, our clan has always been capital-N Neutral" to him? No. Fuck no. He would have murdered them all and skipped away, leaving them to be found by other "fence-sitting" purebloods as an example. Yes, there are people who are neutral in wars, but not in the HP universe when Voldemort asks you directly. And the fanon Greengrasses would have been asked directly to get that skull tattoo.

I've even been bamboozled in the past into reading Haphnes that I think are going to be different but then start treading down this same stupid road, like the comments are getting to them or something. (And readers, why the fuck would you want to read the exact same fanfic 1,000 times but written by 1,000 different people? Hello??)

It's gotten to the point where it's actually refreshing if Daphne shows up in a fic and isn't shipped with Harry, or if she is but she has a completely different personality than the above. I'm reading a few Haphnes now that I can stomach because they are different or the plot is interesting enough for me to ignore the tropes, but it's been a long time since an HP fanon "collective character headcanon" or ship other than wolfstar has left such a bad taste in my mouth or caused me to actively avoid content with that character.

...oop. I know I said "last but not least" above but I forgot to mention Regulus Black so I'll briefly do so here. I don't know what happened in the last five-ish years but this man went from "devoted Voldemort follower who did one decent thing because he liked his slave, thank goodness, even though he slowed down the locket's destruction by taking it away" to "OMG my BLORBO he was fighting the GOOD FIGHT and also he's probably in love with James Potter!! and Lily is evil for keeping them apart!!" Huh?? Fanon's gonna fanon, but is one fanfic really responsible for all this? Jegulus and "secret freedom fighter Regulus" are just beyond my comprehension I guess. Mostly because it seems like fandom picks and chooses when they want a character to be evil-aligned-but-complex, and when they want to just sand over their rough edges and make them an Unsung Hero Who Did Nothing Wrong Ever. And also because I firmly believe that if James was gay, he'd have been with Sirius.

19. you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

Teacher/student ships. (I mean, of course. I'm running this blog.) Of course IRL I don't condone that at all, but some of the most fascinating pairs in the HP universe are bonds between some of the professors and some of their students. Albus and Harry speak for themselves. But you've also got Minerva and Hermione to a lesser extent, and Snape with Draco in the early years (not so much later). And even those are nothing compared to the most interesting partnerships, which imo are between adults who at one point weren't both adults. Consider Albus and Minerva, who have been teaching, working and living together for at least five decades, before which Minerva was probably one of Albus' better Transfiguration students. Consider Albus and Snape, with Snape being the person who so recently graduated from being one of Albus' pupils to being one of his closest confidants. Consider Horace Slughorn and... well, Tom Riddle was my first choice, but really him with any student, because imo that man is very weird about networking with children. Hell, consider Albus and Tom because you know that was the most awkward seven years either of them has ever had, both being so powerful and skilled while intensely disliking each other. They're all so good. Playing with power dynamics can be fun. Especially when (and this is the only time I want politics in my HP fics!!) the older party potentially faces consequences, or doesn't, for taking advantage of the younger one, precisely because of who's involved and who's on the Hogwarts Board of Governors and what war's going on right now in the background and...

I think that's all the violence I can dish out for these questions! Thanks for the ask.~

[thezoe611]

How did everyone celebrate Timothy’s first birthday with the rest of the family?

I really liked this question! (it will be a long answer) Timothy's birthday is in early spring, so it should be in March. And since all the events of "Unstoppable" happened in mid-spring, it would mean that it would be almost a year since Tim found "Dark Orchid" at his base.

Now, the first birthday. Oh, Gosalyn would be on edge, wanting it to be the best birthday for Timothy, even going so far as to work late to make sure there weren't any important missions or robberies to distract her that day.

Max would be looking at recipes to make the best cake for the kid, even asking Launchpad and Goofy for help, since their cooking skills were still unsurpassed.

Drake would also be the same as his daughter. Nervous, wanting to get the best gift for his first grandchild, feeling the same nerves he felt when he celebrated Gosalyn's first birthday. And it didn't help if Fenton, in his eagerness to help his friend, suggested a Gizmoduck toy. The Mallard would growl at him for such a suggestion, making him uncomfortable.

Negaduck… would be normal. Not anxious or anything, although by that time he would have "accepted a little" the Pet. But he would notice uncomfortably as Gosalyn planned a schedule with sheets on the wall of his house (not her apartment, but HIS house) to ensure that she had the best plan possible. Invite Timothy's little friends, buy inflatable games, decorations…

The villain would have to patiently stop his Baby Girl, pointing out if she asked the Pet what he wanted. If the brat would be comfortable with something so ostentatious. …Gosalyn would notice that he had a point, and that it was obvious that he already knew Tim, annoying the villain.

Gosalyn and Max would ask Launchpad to ask Tim sneaky questions, so the kid wouldn't become suspicious of the party. And after a "sneaky" conversation between the pilot and his little friend, Launchpad would point out to the young couple that Tim HAS NO IDEA what a birthday party is like. The boy has not celebrated his last three birthdays. The last one (the sixth) he "celebrated" by stealing a piece of cake from a shop, around the time he had escaped from Mortimer.

Yes, Tim has seen and participated in the rest of the family's birthday parties this past year, but he had no idea what parties are like for kids his age. That's why he hadn't even accepted the birthday invitations from his classmates, because he didn't know if those children's parties were fun, and he preferred to be with his parents.

"…I'm going to kill Mortimer," Gosalyn would growl, still wondering WHY she hadn't done it yet. "And although that is very tempting, it is still illegal" Max would tell her, agreeing with her, but being the one who thinks more calmly.

With that information, Gosalyn would make a decision. She would discard the previous ideas, and decide that the party would be a family one. Not so ostentatious, because the little mouse was not yet used to that. Tim liked spending time with his new family, so she would do what the boy wanted (as Papa Wolf suggested). And since the kid liked to camp… Gosalyn would accept the sacrifice of camping that weekend, without internet, without electricity, without ordinary comforts. Yup, all for her kid.

The party would be like this, camping, and it would be a big surprise for Tim, who had been so excited about the idea of camping, that he hadn't realized that that weekend was going to be his birthday.

The kid would be HAPPY and SURPRISED to see the cake that Max, Uncle LP and Grandpa Goofy made for him. He would also be surprised (Gosalyn would be too) by Grandpa DW's gift from him, which would be a pocket switch.

That switch was made between Darkwing and Gizmoduck, and was ONLY for emergencies. If Tim pressed it, both heroes would receive a signal and immediately go to the location where the boy was.

"I don't know what surprises me more: that you worked with Gizmoduck on a gift, or that you didn't give Tim something with your face on it," Gosalyn would say to her father with amusement, offending him.

But Drake wouldn't be angry, as Tim would give him a big hug, happy, saying that this way he could receive help from the best hero of all right away. Drake would smile, extremely proud and vain.

Gosalyn and Max would give the boy something more appropriate for his age: a bicycle. And that would also make Tim very happy… even though he still couldn't reach the pedals, offended that he was still so short.

This would be the kid's first birthday.

Oh, and if you ask about Negaduck. It has been confirmed that the villain is not one for celebrating birthdays, nor for outings like that, so he would not go that weekend (although he would make sure that there was no criminal to ruin the peace of his Baby Girl) Of course, Gosalyn would find among the birthday things a yellow package with a black ribbon, which did not belong to anyone. Smiling at how socially awkward Negaduck was, Gosalyn would hand the gift to the surprised Tim… What would the villain give the Pet "that he still doesn't accept"? I'll leave it to your imagination.

Gosalyn would make sure to save a piece of cake for her Papa Wolf, happy to see how Timothy enjoyed his first birthday as Goof-Mallard.

And that is^^

[esmecuckoo]

Well I am in a bad place right now.

Cutting this because this might get pretty dark and bleak.

Context: I am disabled, I can't work, I survive thanks to Social Security, and have done for all my life.

Every so often I have to refill out forms for health insurance, which is annoying, because nothing has ever changed, and nothing ever will about me. Just leave me alone, but I digress.

I just went through another round, and got a notification today saying that my Medicare Part A is no longer going to be covered by SS and if it's not covered by other means, they'll start deducting the cost right from my monthly check.

Which is roughly 200+ dollars, from what I've researched.

With what I get, I BARELY scrape by. I can't do much, but I have a roof over my head, the bills are paid, and I get a pinch extra.

I was JUST feeling like I was getting my feet underneath me these last few months, had actually managed to start saving money without trying for the first time in AGES, aaaand this happens.

And why do I, who does not work, am suddenly "making" too much money a month? Because last years cost of living increase, gave me more money, which is JUST above the income limits to have it covered the way it was being covered.

So basically the government said "we have decided because of inflation people on SS need more money...but now you have too much to get a certain benefit, so we're taking more money back" HOW IS THIS FUCKING FAIR?

If you're gonna increase X, why isn't Y going up? NOTHING HAS CHANGED about my life, except what THEY decided to change!!

I am alternating between panic and anger.

My best option now, if I can't get this sorted out, is to detransition, because I just can't afford to be a woman. There goes my plans to start looking into maybe changing my name. I can't afford the meager allowance I was letting myself have to buy a piece of clothing or two a month.

Even then, I don't know if that will be enough, and then it becomes a question, "Do I not pay power, or not eat?"

There are days when suicide just make logical sense. I'll at least not have to worry any more, and I'll stop being the burden on society my conservative sister always reminds me I am.

[fanofbirdsflying]

sm entertainment is a bad managment company when it comes to exo.

this company has been relying on exo's fandom to carry ALL the promotion since kokobop (technically monster even).

this company releases albums quickly, gives them less then 7 music show apperances, less than a handful of variety (or radio) show appearances and expects fans to do everything.

in recent years it's become popular to show some of the recording bts of how the title tracks/album were recorded... has exo had that for obsession? or don't find the feeling? (hoping for cream soda...). exo and their producers do some actually interesting things with their songs, but we don't get to see that.

killing voice has become a great promo platform in recent years. exo went on there because fans asked for it.

exo is known for being a pretty group (vocals too)...when was the last time exo's faces were together for a magazine photoshoot?

sm doesn't understand that exo isn't as dead as they WANT them to be. they REFUSE to put exo out there and give them proper promotional cycles. they REFUSE to send them to variety shows to promote their music and the members. they give them 1 MAYBE 2 weeks of music shows to make fans shut up. they refuse to introduce exo to new audiences. there is only so much exo's old fandom can do in terms of streaming and buying albums. exols don't have the habits that other fandoms have of manipulating their own faves' numbers. if you don't make the effort to reach out to new audiences through variety shows, radio shows and online content, with barely any music show apperances, OTHER ppl/ppl who are NOT fans won't know about exo, their new song/album or their talent.

you might think it's stupid of me to want exo on music shows for a significant amount of time put it's not. the more you go on, the longer fans have sth to talk about. and maybe ppl who aren't fans will stumble upon their new performance while they were looking for sth else. (this isn't about the music, but there are instances of idols going viral for good styling (e.g. taeyeon lion heart), so even non musical things like this can do a lot.)

what's the point of of spending time on making an album if you don't go out there and promote it?

sm has the habit of releasing exo album's quickly so that they can go on an (asian) tour.

sm didn't really have much hope for exo in 2016 when they came out with their third album ex'act. sm thought (and made exo believe) their best days were over, despite exo outdoing themselves in terms of their personal best. and continued to do so with every following release.

sm actively holds them back by not properly managing them and planning schedules. i am aware that exo has individual schedules, but that's what the COMPANY is there for, to make it work somehow.

they also hold them back by not printing exo's album(s). sm, like many other companies, opens a preorder to roughly determine how much interest exists for an album, so that they have a rough number of how many copies to print. sm and exols tend to not really inflate exo's numbers. when exo released their obsession album, sm CANCELLED people's orders. to this day it is their lowest selling full album, because of sm not wanting to cater to exo (and exo's fandom). there is a DEMAND. people want to spend money on exo, but sm doesn't want that.

now, in case you haven't heard, sm has done the same with the exist album. they cancelled orders and don't want to meet demands of exo fans who want to buy exo's album and spend money on EXO. exo had over 1mio preorders, and refuses to meet demands, yet thus far (20230716) have no issues with nct dream and their 4mio copies of preorders (which have become a somewhat regular thing for bgs in the past few years, inflated numbers, to media-play with).

and you can't say it's because of sm's internal drama at the beginning of the year, because sm has been treating exo and their promotions like a joke for a long time.

sm does not like exo. sm doesn't want exo to be bigger than sm.

[moemoemammon]

Following that "least favorite" request could we get their reactions to being to told that they're their favorite, but to not tell the other brothers so their feelings don't get hurt? Maybe because they relate to them the most or just get along really well. Thanks!

You're My Favorite! But Don't Tell the Others-

(Feat. GN!MC and the Demon Bros)

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Lucifer

There are no words to explain the overwhelming satisfaction ion Lucifer’s face after you tell him that. Of course, it’s only natural that he would be your favorite, all things considered.

The Avatar of Pride won’t ever forget this moment. He carefully considers your words and agrees not to tell anyone, as much as he’d love to bring it up, because he knows more than anyone what kind of chaos would ensue should the others (especially Mammon) find out.

But they can tell something’s up when the eldest has been heard humming all day. He moves about the house with even more grace than usual, and hasn’t scowled even once.

But the REAL shocker was when Mammon tried hiding a bill right as Lucifer walked in... and the eldest let him off with a warning. A WARNING! The brothers thought the Devildom must’ve frozen over, but you and he knew different.

“MC, I would like you to accompany me to Le Pluvier this afternoon, once you've finished your studies. I've already made reservations, so be sure to get ready on time. I've made sure to consider the things you might like to eat, so I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself. Don't be late." "...I'm grinning? I don't know what you're talking about."

Mammon

The gigantic grin on Mammon’s face is so bright, it could rival the sun. You’ve seriously made his day. No, his year. Actually, he’s pretty sure he could ride this high for the next millennia! There’s nothing in this world that could dampen his spirits right now! 

He feels like he just won big at the casino! Of course he’s your favorite! He WAS your first demon, and now he’s gone and claimed his rightful spot as your number one! Good luck trying to keep him from saying anything. Mammon’s gonna throw it around in everyone’s faces for as long as he can milk it.

And you thought he was clingy before, just wait till you see how he treats you after hearing that. Despite always calling you his ‘servant’ or his ‘human’, you’d  think your roles were reversed. Mammon spoils you every chance he gets, buying you clothes and trinkets, filling the spaces in your room with the things he knows you like, monopolizing you completely until nearly everything you own is a gift from him.

Your words also help soothe that jealousy of his a little. Only a little, though. It’s easier to watch you talk to other demons when he knows he’ll always be your first man.

“Didja really have to stay after class that long? I know you were talkin' to that demon that lent you a book, but you outta ask ME for stuff! Tch... you're lucky I'm in a good mood today! But I guess I don't have to worry about some low level demon like that, seein' as I'm your favorite!"

Levi

Wait wait wait....Come again? Did you seriously just say what he think you said..? That had to be a mistake! Some kind of...uh..verbal typo! Because there’s absolutely, positively, NO WAY in all of the nine layers that he could be your favorite demon. And yet you still insist that you’re telling the truth, and Levi feels like he’s died and gone to heaven. 

Red faced and stammering up a storm, Levi looks like he might die. Is it really okay for a shut-in otaku to feel this giddy? Seriously, he hasn’t felt like this since he got his hands on a signed copy of a Ruri Hana audio drama! No no, this definitely beats that!

You’ve managed to inflate his nearly nonexistent ego, and now he feels like there’s nothing he can’t do! Maybe he could even go to Majolish right now?? THAT’S how good he’s feeling!

Almost as bad as Mammon in keeping it a secret. He doesn’t tell anyone right away, but they’re suspicious when they notice how much time he’s spending out of his room. And then when he and Mammon get in another petty argument, he drops the bomb that he’s your favorite demon in the entire Devildom, and you can guess how things go from there.

“Uuuoooo...!!!!! I've decided..! Since I've got a serious stat buff, I'm going to open a booth at the next convention coming up..! I'll sell my Ruri-chan fan art and spread her influence all over the Devildom! I'd never have the guts to do it normally, but I feel like I could do anything right now! Y-you'll go too, won't you MC?"

Satan

You nearly made this man spit tea all over his book, and now he’s coughing and spluttering and trying to figure out what could’ve prompted what he’s taking as a confession. You.. do realize what you’re saying, don’t you? And you know the kind of effect your words have on him?

Satan isn’t the type that wears his heart on his sleeve, so you have to look for his subtle expressions to tell how he’s feeling. But there’s nothing subtle about the redness of his ears and how he’s begging you not to look at him right now. For the sake of his sanity, give him a minute to recoup.

When he does recover, he agrees to keep it a secret for obvious reasons. And it’s hard to tell that he’s in a good mood, other than the fact that he hasn’t tried to pull any pranks on Lucifer lately. But Asmo sees all, and literally hounds him into spilling the tea.

He tells him a lie of course, but now the other brothers are noticing just how happy he is. Satan's smiling way too much today, isn't he? And he didn't even get mad when Beel got whipped cream on his jacket! Well, not THAT mad, anyway.

"Haaah... everyone's been harassing me all day, claiming I'm smiling a lot. I'm sure I look the same as I always do, but I'll admit that I've been happy ever since you told me that this morning. Wait.. you did think I've been grinning too, do you? I have??"

Asmo

Asmo always jokes about being your favorite and announces it as if the two of you are married, but when you actually confirm that his longing for you isn’t one sided, he ends up smearing lip balm across his cheek in shock. Did you... really say that just now? He knew it all along, but hearing it like that is just...!

Ooooh, he’s so happy he can hardly contain himself! Asmo throws his arms around you, peppering your face in kisses until you feel sticky from lip balm, wipes your face clean, then marks it up all over again. Good luck getting rid of him, because he might never let go.

Immediately posts it to Devilgram. Did you really think he’d let such a momentous occasion go unannounced? You must not have been paying attention to the kind of person he is! Asmo would put you on a pedestal in front of the world like a precious jewel if he were able, but this’ll have to do. He won’t hide his love at all!

Of course, the others don’t take too kindly to it, not that he cares. He never leaves your side, pampers you like crazy, and has even attempted to get you to move into his room. Lucifer put an immediate stop to that, though. Boo...

“I just can't get enough of you, MC! Just being near you gets me so excited that I can hardly stand it! You'll take responsibility for what you're doing to me, won't you? And in exchange, I'll take my time showing you just how much I love you. After all, you're my favorite, too!"

Beel

Beel never has a problem with choking while he eats, and it comes as naturally as breathing. Unfortunately neither of that applies right now, since you just made him choke on a meatball sub.

He usually takes your words with quiet acceptance, but this might be the most emotion you've ever witness from the stoic demon. His eyes are wider than that time that laid on an entire gingerbread mansion, sparkling up with such deep emotion you wouldn't be surprised if he cried. Instead he softens up and immediately embraces you.

...And doesn't let go. Sandwich long forgotten, he's been carrying you around all day, and ignoring any questions or protests from his brothers. Also insists on feeding you throughout the day. The food tastes better when he can enjoy it with you, so why not just bring you everywhere?

When he isn't carrying you, he's following you around subconsciously, either close up against you like a protective wall, or just far enough that you're within his line of sight. As far as not telling anyone, he... tells Belphie immediately. It was an accident though, since there's not much he keeps from his twin.

"MC, I won a meal ticket for Godevil Chocolatier. Let's get something for dessert today. Ah, you can get as much as you want, too. I really want to see what things you choose. They might become my favorites."

Belphie

There's nothing in this world that can wake Belphegor from his sleep, unless he allows it. No loud noises, no amount of shaking or smacking, and not even dragging him around the house. But the moment you whisper that he's your favorite demon, the Avatar of Sloth is wide awake.

Hey, you're not just saying weird things to get a reaction, are you? Because if so, this is a new level of cruel. Yet you confirm that you mean it and swear him into secrecy, and Belphie tries his best not to show how happy he is. A smile keeps creeping up on his face that he struggles to force down. It's annoying...

As funny as it’d be to tell everyone the news, he's good at keeping secrets. Instead, you've noticed that he's been sleeping a little less that before. When he does take one of his hundreds of naps, he finds some way to be closer to you. He's even been seen sleepwalking to your exact location somehow-

It's hard for him to believe that you're not teasing, though. How could HE be your favorite demon here? Belphie doesn't do anything special to win you over, yet after everything he put you through, you like him enough to deep him your favorite?

"You're weird, MC. I mean... me? I won't deny that I'm really happy though, but I guess I'm in disbelief. You should spoil me even more until I believe you. Lend me your lap for a few hours, okay?" "...I wonder what Lucifer would think if I told him, heheh."

[bitchfitch]

Copper artfight resource

big soft boy. if a cup of spicy hot chocolate was a massive apex predator/ obligate carnivore.

mikely stabbed him the first time they met and he fell in love Instantly.

an excerpt:

Death crept through the lavish halls of a rich man's home. Old cracked paint flaked beside sun faded tapestries and over well worn wood floors. The raged leather soles of of his boots softly thumping along with the creaking of old wood that accompanied his every step. He found the room easily, following the sound of a fading cough and short not quite gasping breaths that failed to draw enough air. 

He ducked through the door and the dying man greeted him with age hazed eyes and a broad grin.

"Copper!" his exclamation carried joy even if his lungs couldn't support more than a creaking whisper, "Bastard, it's so good to see you again," he stopped to catch his breath, his eyes closing as he did so,

"And you as well," Copper returned the smile as he sat in the chair beside the bed, "But to be honest I'm a touch surprised, both that you can see anything through those cataracts, and that you would… Appreciate my presence," 

The rich man chuckled, "Not many people have hair that color, even fewer are as tall as you. I may not be able to see much, but I can still see that,"

"I suppose you're right," Copper huffs with a hand going to his dark red mess of a mane "Still, you must remember the terms of our deal and what my presence means for you now?"

"I do," he nods, "I'm going to die tonight, going to see Min again," 

"Min?"

"My wife," he smiles as he speaks of her even as his words become more labored, "That quill you gave me, I wrote a letter to the girl I had fallen in love with when we were young. I didn't know she couldn't read, so she had to get someone else to read it to her, but when she'd heard what I wrote she came all the way into the valley to slap me and call me an idiot," he laughs, "Told me we should've eloped when we were both still fresh, before she'd found another man to call her own,

I'd not even thought that she'd have gone on like that. It made sense, she could have, and did, do so much better than me. But luck of lucks saw that husband of hers dead not long after. I felt bad for being so happy, but I couldn't stop smiling when she and I married,

That quill- You, gave me the happiest life I could have imagined. I'm glad to pay my end of the deal now, because it means I get to see her again,"

"It's a rare treat to find someone with no regrets, thank you for your story," Copper smiles softly, genuine and warm,

"Oh, I've got regrets," the rich man say "Many, but I don't care to dwell on them, not now… or… Well, one, there's one,"

"Hmm?"

"Min and I, we had a fight right before… She was so mad at me last time I saw her. Do you think she still is?"

"I don't know, but you will have plenty of time to make it up to her soon,"

"Yeah, yeah that's true… It's close now is it?"

"Moments if I had to guess," Copper shrugs, "The clot in your lung is migrating and will soon block off blood flow to the area completely. After that happens you won't be able to get enough air and will… fall asleep, then you will suffocate over a few minutes. It won't be the most pleasant of deaths, but it won't hurt badly," he simplified things greatly, not caring for the slight inaccuracies so long as they helped keep the rich man calm and peaceful in these final moments.

"Any final requests?" Copper cocks his head,

"I think… yeah, I think I want to be alone for this. Thank you," 

"Of course. Rest well then, and may your sleep bring great growth" Copper stood from his seat, the blessing leaving him without thought as the rich man closed his eyes a smile still tugging on his old, withered face.

The door to the rich man's room shut with a light thud as Copper drifted down the halls, a heavy sigh falling from his lips. He rarely visited the dying, usually he only came to the deceased caught between their death's and their afterlives to guide them across, and this was why. He knew where the clot was, it would only take a moment and a little bit of concentration to break it up enough that the rich man's body would be able to handle it on it's own. Sure, doing so would probably only buy him a few more bed bound days, a week maybe, but healers can rarely be trusted to leave the sick and dying to the whims of nature and he was no different. 

He wandered through the empty halls decorated with treasures that, do to a single deal made half a century ago, would soon be his, and found his way into a shrine room. Shelves upon shelves of precious jewls and metals, fine fabrics and sculptures filled the room. Though the alter beneath the stained glass window held only sea glass and shells that glittered from around a poorly made tapestry that depicted a stormy ocean.

The threads were too loose in some places too tight in others and there were places where it was clear the weaver ran out of one color and had attempted to dye more only for it to come out just wrong enough to be noticed. It was clearly made by inexperienced hands and now stood displayed still in it's loom in the place of honor on this shrine. Pride in its existence radiated from it and that made it stunning despite it's flaws. 

Distantly, he felt the rich man die, quietly and peacefully.

One of Copper's aspects would guide him across and later while Copper slept he'd dream of the conversation that aspect and the rich man would have, and he would dream of the conversations his other, near innumerable, aspects would have, and have had, and have been having with every other human who has crossed into his domain since he last slept. Then he would wake, and forget almost everything said during those conversations as they meld together into a messy but beautiful tapestry. All the threads visible and traceable in their places but ultimately he saw it not for the individuals, but the grander thing they made together.

He picked at the stones and shells scattered on one of the shelves, his dulled claws scraping against the rough surface. He should probably go find someone to deal with the body…

The soft creaking protest of a floor board that no longer fit in it's place being tread on called from behind him. Copper turned, curious to who or what would be intruding on this moment, but he was left slack jawed with a greeting trapped behind his lips as he saw the man.

Surrounded by gold and silver and precious gems that glittered in the low moonlight that flowed through the windows, this man outshone them all. He was tall for a human, coming up to just below Copper's collar bones, with broad, strong looking shoulders. His sharp features highlighted by the silver light caressing his warm tan skin and haloed by that same light echoing through the broken strands of bleach blonde hair that fell from his neat bun to frame his narrow face.

Light agitation turned to wonder and awesrrucked silence as Copper struggled for a second to find words, but once again those words died when he met the man's eyes, they were probably a deep brown but the low light turned them onyx. His gaze was sturdy, not cold or calculating, not bored. Determined but practiced.

The strange, beutiful, human man wore the expression of a butcher or a slaughterer, he did not draw perverse pleasure or joy from what came next. He was so obviously merely doing a job as he moved faster than Copper's confusion addled mind could react to that that alone struck more fear into Copper's core than if the man were hissing and snapping with rage.

The ice hot cut of an iron blade dug past the flesh between his ribs and into his chest even as he recoiled. On pure instinct he growled an awful rumbling sound that made the butcher- the hunter, flinch as Copper managed to stumble away, nearly falling to one knee as his own lung struggled to inflate. He could feel his magic burning along the wound as it tried, and failed to pull it closed. His hand going to his bloodied side in a vain attempt of staunching the flow. 

The hunter advanced, cautious and silent, his blade, slicked with Copper's own viscous black blood, raised as he followed the retreating god.

Copper hissed as his back collided with a shelf, cornered he pulled his attentions together just enough to attempt to teleport away, only to feel his magic jolt painfully within him as it failed completely.

The hunter advanced, already readying another swing.

In that moment Copper forced himself to focus on the warm summer night air, on the flickering candles and the heat of the hunter's body, most seals could be overpowered, he just needs to rush it hard enough. 

Heat leaves the room, the hunter stumbles with a pained gasp as the heat leaves him too. Copper doesn't see if the hunter falls because the seal gives as he uses all of that stolen energy to burst against it.

He drops to his knees on the cold stone floor of the cave he calls home. His blood singing through magic seared veins, his hands shaking as he braces one against the floor below him as his world swims, both from blood loss and the disorientation that always came with pushing his power that hard,

He struggles with his wound, gasping with effort as his magic finally starts working again. The wound tieing itself closed beneath his palm, a thick black scar forming as he comes down from the mountain top high of fearing for his life for the very first time since before the advent of this universe.

Copper slumps against the water-carved wall of his home, his head falling back against it with a deep buzz running beneath his skin, and he Laughs, deep and hearty and Alive in a way he has not felt in centuries.

---

A day passed, and Copper's wound still ached every time he bent wrong, sending a pang through his chest as his heart picked up at the memory that accompanied it. Truly, he could only go a few moments without thinking of the death dealing adonis that had, very litteraly, struck him to his very heart. He needed to find the man again, to see if a second meeting would make his blood race the way the first had.

Perhaps he would even find out why he'd been attacked, but if Copper was being honest with himself, he didn't care to know. The Hunter was a mystery, and like many mysteries, he was one that could be enjoyed as is, and did not need unraveling quite yet. Still, Copper couldn't wait around for fate to bless him with a second chance meeting. He needed to find The Hunter on his own, and that meant doing a little investigating.

The moment Copper had had time to rest he laid in his bed and let his consciousness drift to the aspect that could interact with the grand tapestry. The Hunter had not hesitated for even a moment, had not flinched at spilling blood, and so there was no denying that he was experienced. That, perhaps, killing was something that either came easy to him or that he was very well practiced in the art of it.

The hunter was young, maybe mid twenties to early thirties, which narrowed his search, and the location narrowed it further. That valley was a hard month long trek through ice capped mountains from the next nearest settlement. The Hunter probably lived and prowled within its confines.

Copper focused on the last ten years worth of threads from that area that ended in white knots, the tragic, violent deaths. This would be where he found what he would need.

Going by date he gently tugged the ends through the weave so that he could examine them closer. He was careful to not pull anything more than an hours worth at a time, dreading upsetting the careful balance of the fabric and the places of the souls that he examined within it. It took a few tries, a few years worth of deaths until he found the first one that he could catch a glimpse of The Hunter from. 

And oh how Copper dreaded what he saw. Five years before he'd met the man, an older boy, maybe sixteen with sharp, fearful and wild, onyx eyes and short, jagged ink black hair cried with blood stained hands, one still holding a blade, the same one Copper would become familiar with, it was still slick with the red of human blood as the boy stumbled back against the wall as the man he'd just killed gasped his last breath.

Copper found the conversation he'd had with that spirit, a man who'd heard screaming from within a home. He'd gone to help only to be found by the Chief's boy before he could find the source of the screams. Copper had reassured him, had praised him for his bravery, had not paid enough attention. He'd guided the kind man to his afterlife while the chief's boy who would become The Hunter silently wept beside the man's body, struggling against the tears as someone called out for him. 

Tucking the tread back into place with one hand and pulling another free with the other. He grimaced when he realized it was merely a visitor's thread. Someone from Copper's own home universe who'd come into this one for one reason or another only to find their end here.

The visitor's soul had not been theirs to keep stored away amongst those of their creations and so had already been returned home. Where it would have dissipated into the background energy to eventually become the fuel for something new. No life was stored in this thread, it was merely a place holder.

Copper found more threads like that in his search, nearly twenty pale threads all from the last few years lined side by side. Tragic human deaths surrounding them but none of those human deaths involved The Hunter. That was odd, very few places in his tapestry looked so strange and knotted, and most patches that did were of wars and disasters not… whatever this was.

If he had been tangible in that moment he would've been nipping at his claws as he tried to piece together what something so strange could mean. But no answers came to him.

He found the next, and most recent, human victim of The Hunter, a man now, still too young, but undeniably a man by Copper's math, cold and stoney eyed, tangled bleached hair and a badly bruised and swelling jaw. Copper would have been surprised if The Hunter didn't have a few cracked or missing teeth from the injury, the mandible itself might be broken, a serious wound that needs setting and cleaning imeaditly. Copper's mind supplied him with the diagnosis without him meaning to think of it, so focused was he on that wrecked face and the lack of answers it presented that his mind tried to give him what few answers it could, even if those answers were worthless.

The woman The Hunter had killed had sat silent and glaring at The Hunter who silently watched her die,  his blade dripping with her blood. She'd not spoken a word to Copper. Fuming as she stormed through the gate without any guidance from him.

He wished he had insisted on actually speaking to her, on finding the answers. The iron eyed Hunter was a far cry from that sobbing boy, and yet they shared a thread.

More visitors, more tragedy, and no more answers came from the grand tapestry. 

He needed to return to that valley, surely if tragedy struck this often they'd welcome a healer? Even if they didn't, the Oracle made her home at the very center, and while Copper tried to avoid his sister's emissaries, The Oracle would be able to tell him what he needed if all else failed. Besides, her daughter was such a cute little thing, it would be a joy to hold a chubby baby again. Would the daughter still be a baby? maybe she was toddling about already, having her first little prophecies as she explored the world she would be entrusted to protect.

Oh Copper couldn't wait to visit.

[sometimesrosy]

Rosy, heavy question. I am 26 yo, currently employed and became a full member (I don’t know the term? I want to say that the company can’t just terminate my contract legally) this month. I work 9am to 4:30pm or 1pm to 8pm, and sometimes work saturdays. I studied translation and, while i don’t want to work exactly in that area, I do want to do something related to languages, but currently I��m a receptionist at a vet clinic. I live with my boyfriend, we’re renting a house together and have been looking to buy one, but everything is super inflated in our town. I have been feeling pretty unhappy with my professional life and have been sending out CVs to a lot of places, but I’ve only been called to one interview, which I thought would be my turning point, but it turns out the work schedule was worse and overall conditions weren’t good. I have worked as a teacher before, at a study center, which has closed in the meantime. I am starting to become really disappointed in myself by the lack of interviews I’ve been called to. I feel sadder and sadder each day I have to go to work at 1pm, because I can’t be productive in the morning since I’m wallowing in my despair and can’t be with my bf or family to lift me up just with their presence as I’m working the entire afternoon. I want to change my life, but I’m scared. Should I quit my current minimum wage job and try to teach and tutor classes online? There are some good websites that apparently pay well, but it’s not a full term job, I’m not even sure if there’s a contract. If, in the meantime, we find a house to buy, bank may not give us the money because of that. Both being full members at where we each work is what allows us to relax a little when it comes to buying houses. But I’m just so disappointed! I’ve even looked at jobs outside my country but that would be an even harder decision as it means leaving my whole life behind, so I’m trying not to look at those. I’ve been looking and looking and nothing comes my way, I’ve been trying to set up plans but I feel more and more tired. I’ve already had depression and was medicated for it, I don’t want to go through all of that again. What can/should I do?

26yo professional life crisis here! Just wanted to add that, I feel like my life isn’t going anywhere? And it isn’t just my career? I feel like you grasped it from my original ask but, even buying a house is proving to be impossible since everything’s inflated and, once something that we can afford comes along, someone else gets it because they can offer more money. I feel like my life isn’t moving forward in any way, and what do I feel like I can change? My work situation, but it’s being really hard. So yes, I feel stuck since I can’t change anything in my life, and when I feel like my life isn’t moving forward I start getting intrusive depressive thoughts.

+++

I feel like you're just being incredibly hard on yourself.

You've got a couple of real stumbling blocks, your job not being great, and no affordably houses to buy. BUT, I've got to say, you are really young.

You've got your whole life ahead of you and you have the time to wait for something that works for you. I get that you don't love your job. OK. Figure out what job you really want and start taking the steps to get there.

And by steps, I don't mean "be a different person," I mean, do research, check into education, talk to people in the field, read up on it, volunteer, apply for programs, or whatever it is you need to get where you need to go.

You might be panicking that you're not moving faster in your life, but you're ahead of a lot of people. You have a partner you love and a home where you're secure. You're thinking of the future and plans together.

You are actually FINE.

AND you have the security and time to change the things you don't love about your life. It's okay if it's not moving how you want. Keep looking for a job you want. Keep looking for a house.

And part of the problem you're having is that you're beating yourself up for not overcoming these hurdles that actually have nothing to do with you. You can't control the housing market. And you can't control how people respond to your job applications. So you feel bad because you're not immediately improving your life and end up feeling WORSE because you waste time and energy on how you're not in control of things that aren't in your control.

Learning to have patience for the process of things is an important skill. Also giving yourself the grace to not always be charging ahead and winning challenges and being on top of everything.

You don't HAVE to have it all figured out and taken care of. You can absolutely just relax and enjoy the time you do have now.

In fact, I'm going to ask that you schedule in an hour of self care rest and healing time every day you have to go to work at 1. I want you to set aside a whole hour to do something that recharges you, without ANY guilt at all. For me, that's reading in bed with a healthy snack and coffee. But it might be watching a show or talking on the phone or doing a mani pedi or making cupcakes or writing in your journal or listening to your favorite album.

It's okay to be where you are, even if you want to be farther along. Everything takes time.

[riseofthecommonwoodpile]

i feel this is kinda nerd shit so i should briefly (over)explain (mostly because it's a very big L for crypto losers). so essentially, before now, anyone making money off crypto trading (or just NFTs specifically) was in this kinda...grey area in terms of regulation and taxation, and the anonymized nature of cryptocurrency means that most people were straight up not reporting that money as earnings (or NFTs as assets), especially not if it was never converted back into non-cryptocurrency. this meant that, if you were dealing in crypto, you could (and i'm HUGELY over-simplifying) dodge the vast majority of regulations and requirements (and taxes) that someone making a similar amount of money in USD would deal with. after this new regulation, if you receive US $10,000 or more in cryptocurrency, you must now report it to the IRS as a cash asset, and if you don't, that is a felony.

So this is very funny, to me, for two reasons. One is that now, if a crypto-bro wants to not commit a felony, they have to un-anonymize their wallet, so they can no longer trade as an anon. They would be trading under their name (assuming they're trading $10,000 or more, per year i believe if i read right). This defeats some of the major uses of cryptocurrency, especially as it was being used to launder money, and it means your identity on the blockchain would now become knowledge people would have access to, and track all future and past trades you have made on the blockchain.

the second and funnier thing is what this does to NFTs. a cash asset is any asset which can be easily converted into cash within three months. according to this new regulation, you available cash assets would now include your NFTs (assuming they're valuable enough etc. etc.), and you would be expected to borrow and pay obligations based off of that information. so if a collector came to make good on their loan to you, they would be considering your NFT as a cash asset that can be used to pay them, but of course *selling NFTs is a fucking scam*. They're *not* cash assets, because outside of very specific circumstances, those $50,000 NFTs are not bought up again for the same or higher value.

many (it's hard to know exactly how many, but this exact thing i'm about to describe has been documented a bunch of times in this space) NFTs have their values inflated purely through insider trading, in a scam that goes (in its simplest form) something like: person 1 makes an NFT, and person 1 sells the NFT to person 2 for a very high amount of crypto, some amount of which is given back to person 2 in another, altered form so as to not be traceable as just trading money back and forth. this causes the NFT to become "worth" that amount of money that was paid for it (this is also how most of the real world art market works too!). Do this to like 5 of an artist's NFTs, and suddenly it looks like that artist's work is worth X amount of money, despite no one having actually *paid* that much for it really, but now that the value of their work appears to be high, it can be sold to rubes for that high amount for real now.

which is all a way to say that, if you are said rube, and you just bought a shitty picture of a monkey smoking a joint for $75,000, that is now considered cash you can access within three months when it comes to paying debtors (or anything else that involves how much cash and assets you have on hand, including how much you pay in taxes), even though, if you tried to sell it, no one would buy it for that much. so people will be expecting you to have money you do not actually have the ability to access. Not only that, but you would have had to un-anonymize you wallet's identity on the blockchain to buy the monkey, so everyone knows who the rube is.

it owns ok? it owns. fuck this is a terrible explanation. i'm bad at explaining econ shit and probably got 50 things wrong go away

*guys selling and trading NFTs* what the fuck, the IRS is making me report my digital assets as assets! that's insane! since when are there regulations on sales of securities!