#that house is not worth 150k

[roses-n-rads]

I fuckin hate the housing market

[wkdwtchoftheest]

The neighbor's house has a for sale sign in the front yard.

[zaynontour]

Even though I read plenty of fics and have been doing so since I first started in 2021, this is the first time I actually noted down the names of the fics as I read them this month. I’m so thankful to our fandom’s wonderful writers for sharing these with us and it is because I read so many that I wanted to start noting them down so I can remember them. I was debating posting the list but fics have always been a source of comfort for me and if you feel the same, maybe these can bring you some comfort too.

🎃 The Serpent and the Lion by louiseparker @louiseparker [212k]

Seventh year Hogwarts AU in which Harry Styles is an asshole Gryffindor jock with daddy issues, Louis is just trying to get through the year, and Liam, Zayn, and Niall rarely ever know what the hell is going on.

🎃 Tainted Saints And Velvet Vices by Toomanytears @toomanydreamers [126k]

A self-fulfilling Hogwarts AU in which Louis is new to seventh year and Harry is the resident devil-may-care Slytherin set to make his entire experience a living misery. Due to less than favourable circumstances they're forced to forge an unwilling, tentative relationship for their own survival. Repressed emotions, decidedly unromantic ballroom dancing, Triwizard Tournament tasks, creative jinxes and twilight flying above the Forbidden Forest ensue.

🎃 You Drive Me Round The Bend by TheCellarDoor [77k]

In which Louis is a spoilt rich kid who’s always on the phone while he drives and Harry is a struggling musician making his way down the mountain. It’s just a matter of time before they crash and burn.

🎃 but me, i'm not a gamble by orphan_account [33k]

A Posh & Becks AU in which Harry is a star on the stage and Louis is a star on the pitch, but they're both inexplicably terrible at articulating their feelings. In the end, it only takes a season's worth of failed matchmaking schemes, platonic dinner dates, road trip holidays, and one very convenient David Beckham cameo for them to figure it all out. And if Niall knew all along? Well, he at least has the decency not to be too smug about it.

🎃 The Lone Hydrangea by sarah_writes @lightwoodsmagic [77k]

The post Hogwarts AU where Harry's a florist, Louis' a muggle who edits fantasy books, and they both have no say in how quickly they fall for each other.

🎃 The Sunshine Stays by quickedween @becomeawendybird [15k]

It's three years after One Direction got back together, and Harry and Louis have just come off a world tour. They're enjoying a much more relaxed schedule the second time around, allowing themselves to bask in married life. Until, one day, Louis surprises Harry on vacation, and there are some surprising consequences.

🎃 House Of The Rising Sun by @itsmotivatingcara [100k]

Witch Harry/Vampire Louis. The Originals AU.

🎃 Something Like This by multicoloredme [150k]

After leaving his boyfriend, Louis is a little sore emotionally and is ready for a fresh start in a new city. When a coworker tells him about a couple friends looking for a new flatmate, he decides to go for it. Little does he know, that one of his new flatmates is the gorgeous, captivating guy he met at a party a few weeks ago. A New Girl/Grey’s Anatomy/Relief Next To Me inspired AU.

🎃 Say That You Can See Me (I'll Speak Up I Swear) by @coffeelouis [20k]

The liberal arts COLLEGE AU where Harry knows Louis as the best friend of the boy he has been hopelessly in love with for years now and Louis knows Harry as the boy he wished would look away from Zayn long enough to notice him.

🎃 Don't You Think It's Boring How People Talk? by wildestdreams @thelavendrhaze [80k]

A Gossip Girl AU where Louis is the king of the Upper East Side and Harry is the bad boy he loves to hate until a late-night limo ride changes everything.

🎃 Magical Soup by gloria_andrews @gloriaandrews [28k]

Slytherin prefect Louis Tomlinson's seventh year at Hogwarts takes an immediate turn for the worse when he's made to be potions partners with Harry Styles, Hufflepuff's resident heartthrob and class clown. Louis has always considered Styles to be a terrible show-off who coasts by on his charm and good looks, but the more they work together, the more he questions that idea. As term goes on, will Louis be able to admit to himself that he might actually like Harry Styles after all... and maybe, just maybe, as more than a friend?

🎃 King Of My Heart by wildestdreams @thelavendrhaze [80k]

A Red, White, and Royal Blue AU where Hollywood elite, Louis Tomlinson, finds himself falling for the closeted Prince of England.

🎃 And What If I Were You by @jacaranda-bloom [100k]

For Louis, will losing his sight give him the clarity to realise what is right in front of him?

For Harry, will losing the love of his life give him the strength to finally open his heart?

And can they find their way back, before they lose each other forever? A story of love. A story of loss. A story of fighting for each other, no matter the odds.

🎃 Tell me when you're ready (I'm waitin') by insufferablelovebirds [17k]

When Harry's love letters to his old crushes get sent accidentally, one recipient, Louis, offers to help him fake a relationship but it gets complicated when feelings get involved.

Or an au loosely based off to all the boys I've loved before.

Total Fics Read: 14

[sitp-recs]

Hi!!! I've been reading Faith Wood's new fic and it left me craving reading more "grffindors adopt draco". Do you have any recs about 8th year where harry & friends take draco under their wing out of pity/ necessity and learn to like him? Even better if it's because they realise draco is really odd and just as fucked up as everyone else by the war. Thanks!!!

Hi anon! Love this ask, I rarely follow WIPs but that new FW fic has been a really fun ride so far. Here are some fics off the top of my head:

Champion by shealwaysreads (T, 7k)

Harry thought his Eighth Year would be simple and easy. And it sort of is, though not in the ways he expected.

Slow Hands by eleventy7 (T, 10k)

Blood, shadows, and paper hearts. The Shadow hunts students, but Draco Malfoy most of all.

Find The Balance by lauren3210, Obliviate_Amores (M, 15k)

After Harry gives Draco his wand and goes back to using his own, they both start having trouble making them work. Finding out why is a lot simpler than fixing the problem.

Nice Things by aideomai (M, 22k)

The first thing that happened was Theodore Nott came back from France.

Reparo by amalin (E, 85k)

Voldemort's final defeat does not mean Harry Potter's troubles are over; far from it. In the aftermath of war, he returns to a Hogwarts that is fractured and divided, but this is no break that can be fixed with a spell. New owls, fading scars, surprising alliances—and along the way, the hardest task of all, to live with it.

At Your Service by Faith Wood (E, 95k)

Hogwarts students are in danger; Harry is determined to save them all. There's only one thing he knows for certain: Draco Malfoy is somehow involved.

From Ashes by Caedes12 (E, 150k)

When Draco comes back for eighth year, he starts an unexpected friendship with Hermione Granger. Between his new friendship and his parents kicking him out of the house, Draco's life starts down a new path.

Things Worth Knowing by Femme and noeon (E, 164k)

After the Battle, Harry thinks he's left Hogwarts for good, but Minerva insists that all students return for an Eighth Year if they wish to sit for NEWTs in the spring, and Harry needs those NEWTs to go into the Aurors. Draco's just grateful not to be in Azkaban. Or the Manor. He's hoping he can steer clear of Potter this year and grapple with his own problems. Unfortunately for him, Potter appears to be one of those problems.

[drarryspecificrecs]

2023.08 ~ Top 10 longest fics posted on AO3

1. Good Intentions by Gloworm13 [E, 382k]

►Harry never expected a conversation over returning Draco's wand. [...] Harry can't cope, especially when his group of peers is sent back to Hogwarts to finish their interrupted Seventh Year. And Draco Malfoy is wholly unprepared for facing the love of his life every fucking day now that he knows.

2. About Everything We Fucked Up and Tried to Fix by @zoooooey0610 [E, 246k]

►The time is the Dark Middle Ages, even with Voldemort defeated, the Wizarding world is still a place where Omegas are seen as properties. Couldn’t sleep, Harry came across ‘The Slytherin Wall of Sluts’ that changed the rest of his life, but the cog wheel of destiny may have started to move long before that. Twelve years later, he was confronted with the presents of destiny, and struggled to deal with the mess. However, every step he took seemed to be another mistake.

3. Cut From the Sky by @mallstars [E, 150k]

►"I'm stuck in a time loop, reliving November 2nd. This is the 111th time I've lived through today." Draco stilled. His moody eyes, the tension in his hands where he gripped onto his umbrella, the careful mask of blankness flickering over his face — everything about him was so difficult and so very dear to Harry. "Ah," said Draco, "and?"

4. After the Rain Falls by @shinigami714 [E, 95k]

►After the events of the war, all Harry wants to do is forget. For everything to return to normal. But things never were normal for him, and the war left many marks on him not so easily forgotten. When he receives a surprising offer to return to Hogwarts in a continuing education program, Harry jumps at the chance, and despite his best efforts to deal with his problems alone, discovers along the way that quite often, two minds are greater than one.

5. guard dog by chrismare [?, 63k]

►The first thing Draco ever loved was the Manor. Not the house- it was too big, too quiet, too cold- but the grounds that surrounded it. He grew up on stinging soles, running barefoot through his own little world. One of the house elves had cleaned the tiny cuts on his feet once and told him that he'd get used to it, that he'd grow calluses and it would stop hurting. It never really did.

6. Dating Draco Malfoy by @queenofthyme [M, 60k]

►Draco Malfoy is dating his way through Harry Potter’s endless pool of ex-boyfriends. With the help of Harry’s expert dating advice, he just might find exactly who he’s looking for...

7. Snogging Lessons by Revolocard [T, 58k]

►Harry Potter thought the hardest part about being the Chosen One would be preparing to fight Voldemort. He didn't expect it might actually be missing out on all the normal teenaged stuff. Now in sixth year, Harry feels like an outsider, too worried about being the subject of another Witch Weekly article to try to take part. When he and Draco Malfoy land in a semester's worth of detention, Draco is delighted and horrified to discover the Boy Who Lived is not only a virgin, he doesn't even know how to snog. Secret snogging lessons. It's not like it's anything more than just catching Harry up a bit. What could go wrong?

8. That Marriage Contract by Umeko [E, 54k]

►What happens when the forced marriage and male pregnancy trope combine to spring a surprise on the Boy Who Lived and his arch-rival turned unwitting fiancé? And they all have two dearly departed grandfathers to thank for the mess.

9. Terrible People by @wolfpants [E, 52k] --- ART by @getawayfox

►What happens when Harry and Draco end up on the same Muggle gay cruise? They certainly didn't plan for it to happen (but their friends might have). They're stuck with each other for a week, they might as well make the most of it, right? Featuring a holiday-long game of Truth or Dare, a very ill-judged FWB proposition, decades-long pining, lots of gin, and a small pair of green swimming trunks.

10. and i ignite by @pixiedunhoff [M, 51k]

►Draco Malfoy loves attention - and the Muggle world has given it to him in spades. Through a surprising and humbling series of events, Draco has achieved tremendous success in the music industry. He has recouped his fortune, earned legions of adoring fans, and gets loads of attention. Over the years, it has still never been quite enough… Until the subject of his more sizzling songs abruptly barges back into his life, demanding answers.

—

※ Word count: 1k ~ 10k

※ Word count: 10k ~ 40k

The Best and Worst of Times after the War (aka A Tale of Two Soldiers) by WriterwithaWindow [M, 11k]

chasing embers by ryyss [M, 29k]

Firestarter by Justlikewriting [M, 22k]

For each time I see you, things change a little bit by Writelikethat [M, 10k]

i think i might be gay by @stvrlvghtwrites [T, 10k]

Just Nice Things by wodnica [E, 31k]

No One Likes a Mad Woman by @thomasbrodiesandwich [T, 17k]

only the brave by slytheringoddess945 [T, 10k]

Possibly, perhaps be my boyfriend? by @23ster [G, 16k]

Seek, And Ye Shall Find by @nami-writes [T, 14k]

The Switch by @ashiiblack [M, 11k]

Take Me Back (To The Night We Met) by @onelatenight-longago [T, 12k]

What’s Mine is Yours by @fluxweeed [E, 17k]

—

Ongoing Fest/Exchange

※ Fics would be listed elsewhere.

HD Wireless 2023 | @hd-wireless

HP Bodice Ripper Fest 2023 | @hp-bodiceripper

HP Law of Attraction Fest | @hp-lawofattraction-fest

[cicaklah]

get ready for my thoughts on yaoi UBI

So I’ve kvetched about UBI in the tags for long enough someone finally asked me what I was going on about so here we go! 

I will start with some caveats: 

I am British, and so I can only speak about the British specifics.

I have for the past twelve years worked as a professional health economist, and health economics is based on social welfare theory (specifically growing out of Arrow’s work in the 1960s and Sen’s work in the 80s/90s). I literally could talk forever about this, but I won’t. If you want to know more, read the pretty good wikipedia article on welfare economics.

But fundamental to welfare economics is two things: if we make a great big change, do the benefits outweigh the costs? And does the change make a fundamental change for good? (aka cost-benefit analysis and pareto efficiency).

The other thing you need to know about me is that I don’t like activists very much, because they never have to show their working, and my entire professional life is showing my working, and critiquing other people’s working. We all have ideas mate, show me the plan! I love a plan! and this isn't coming from anything but personal experience; I have been to talks by UBI activists before, including ones by economists, but I have never had the case made to me that UBI would be either cost-beneficial OR approach pareto efficient. In fact, it usually reminds me of arguments that are based on some other imaginary world, and then I get so annoyed I want to scream. 

In the early 2010s when I was first starting working as an economist, I was asked to build a model to see whether switching a disability benefit from government administered to individual administration would be cost-effective. Essentially, if you were newly in a wheelchair and you needed a ramp building up to your house, would it be better for the government to organise a contractor, or for you to be given a cash transfer and organise it yourself? The answer was that it wasn’t, but anyone who has ever had to hire a builder could have told you that, and the government didn’t have to pay my firm £30,000 to make that decision. But that is what UBI essentially is; a cash transfer where you get cash and the government gets to enjoy less responsibility.

There are 37.5 million people of working age in England. (Nearly) every single working person gets what's called a tax free allowance, where the government doesn’t claim income tax on the first £12,570. (Once you make over £120k, your allowance starts to decrease, and you lose it entirely at I think £150k)

Let’s assume that instead of just not claiming tax on this amount, the government switched to making that £12,570 your UBI. That is £471,375,000,000 just for England - just under half a trillion pounds. In cash, or nearest as in our modern economy. And not one off - Every year. 

Okay, let's say that the country does have a spare half a trillion a year (in cash) lying around. What is the benefit to switching from tax free allowance to UBI? Well, let's assume that no one stops working, so there would be the tax receipts from the 20% income tax on the £12,570, and that’s just a shade under £100 million. Not bad.

But if you’ve seen a UBI post, you will know that people like the idea because they will be able to work less. Which probably means that UBI will need to be paid for in some other way. Perhaps by cutting existing benefits. The universal credit cost is around £100 billion. So we’re still £300 billion short, and honestly, you wouldn’t cut all of universal credit anyway, probably only the unemployment benefits, but I’m not digging into the maths on that tonight. 

But, look, I am sympathetic. I am a welfarist. I genuinely believe that the economy is not just money, that welfare is happiness, it is utility, it is all the stuff that makes life worth living, and it is the responsibility of the government to maximise the welfare/happiness/utility/quality of life of the country through efficient use of taxation and other sources of money. So people give the government money and it spends it on goods and services and then people get utility, and then they spend their own money to get more utility, and ultimately we can gain intangible things that are incredibly valuable. 

But the problem is that cash is cash, cold and hard and very real. I don’t know how unlimited spare time translates into half a trillion real pound coins. I wouldn’t know how to build a model that complex and uncertain, especially as this all assumes that you can live on 12k a year, and that whatever replaces progressive taxation is equally progressive. I haven’t even touched on how having a convoluted welfare state insures it somewhat against being entirely destroyed after a change in political opinions, aka what I call the daily mail test. You think the narrative about people on welfare is bad now? But also, how would you deal with people who didn’t manage their UBI money well? What happens if there is a personal crisis?

The more I look at it, the more the existing system is actually remarkably good value for money. Individualism is expensive. Collective decision making and spending is just cheaper. 

Ultimately I don’t see the additional benefit of UBI, requiring a pie in the sky change, when it is far, far, far more cost effective to strengthen the existing regime across the board; taxation law, social safety net, childcare, working laws, education and health - all systems that are already in place, and have a thousand times higher likelihood to be pareto optimal and cost effective than trying to find half a trillion pounds of cash round the back of the sofa, while torching 150 years of progress so middle class people can write their book without having to have a job. If I was conspiracy minded I would say that UBI feels like a psy-op, trying to shut down old fashioned progress in favour of ripping it all out and starting again.

Ultimately, that is my real annoyance. It is far, far, far cheaper for the government to provide you with your new ramp for your house, and that is done through politics, but not fun moonshot politics, the hard shit that isn’t sexy.

[transit-fag]

I hope I'm not causing unnecessary discourse and I don't intend this as disingenuous. Do you think the case older folks for whom their home is their primary, or in some cases sole major, asset in preparation for retirement is or should be a major concern when discussing the housing market.

This isn't to imply that this is a correct way to organize society but is it a real issue in all of this?

The way I look at it is that even with a reasonable housing market, a single family house is worth roughly 150k to 200k, which should be enough for someone to live comfortably given there are affordable transit means and they still have access to cheap housing

[woman-of-many-fandoms]

Honestly though, it must be so weird to work with some people for a few years of your life and for years, decades, later people are shipping you with your co worker.

I'm obviously all for shipping fictional characters, but this is the actors job. Where they get a paycheck. They are literally being paid to act like found family.

Like imagine you worked in an office with some people for 3 years in 2004-2007 and in 2030 people are making clips of you and how in love you look while eating lunch with Carol or saying hi as you both arrived in the parking lot.

I've seen this in pretty much every fandom I've been in. Star Trek, good omens, X men, Marvel. I do not think RDJ has any emotional attachment to Chris Evens or that Shanter really cared about and enjoyed spending time with Nimoy. I'm positive for David Tennant, Good Omens is just his next job and Michael Sheen only likes it because it made him much more well known in the acting world and it'll be easier to get his next gig. Yes Pine and Quinto look like they are actual friends outside of the movies but that is an exception.

Anyway, just my thoughts since I just saw a post of some Trek actors in I'm assuming the late 80s or 90s and people were saying 'how could he not be bi saying stuff like this'. Money, the answer is always money.

edit: OK let me address some of what is in the comments. Do actors say they are friends, sure, and if you want to take that at face value then you are right, they are friends. I personally don't think it counts if you are being paid to do so. And before anyone says anything, no not directly. But they have a whole 'image' to uphold that their income is tied to.

I don't know much about the entertainment industry and don't know why people would want that life but it's .... well, different, is the nice way to say it. My sister's career is considered part of the entertainment industry though she is behind the scenes. (And, side note, even being behind the scenes I've still found photoshopped images someone made of her in her in sexy lingerie ... )

TBF we don't talk that often but I've heard some stories (apparently Bill Nye is more then a bit of a jerk behind closed doors) She's lived in Hollywood 12 years now and there is the face people put out in the public and who they truly are. Yes, we all have a self that we hide (I'm autistic so I know all about masking) but it seems that is pushed to extremes.

I've seen her act like many people's best friends (house parties and giving favors and gifts that I question) and promoting their good name in public then she'll tell me in private some horrible things that person has done to others and how it's just how it works. She house/cat sat for a guy (and sent me views from his balcony, my god it was nice) who I think a lot of people would recognize from TV but their relationship was built on respect for each other careers.

Sure, you can tell me not to base the examples off my sisters stories and, ok fair. But I'd also want to point out - the part of RDJ buying evens a car, I did some math. He has 300 million net worth according to google. I have a salary, not net worth (or a negative one cause of student loans I guess), but it is the equivalent of me buying my co worker a $32 gift assuming the car was 150k. I met a guy who performed in Vegas shows and told me how they've had dinner with (I honestly don't remember if it was Penn or Teller) at their house with their spouses. And private chats ... doesn't really tell me much.

I'm currently seeing a bunch of clips of the main actors for the new Wicked movie saying how each other changed each others lives and it just comes off as more acting to promote the movie to me.

And even with Pine and Quinto , I only gave that one a pass because they said knew each other and got along before being in Trek and even then, eh..

Again, just how I interpret things. I know friend can mean different things to different people and a lot of what I see I don't interpret as friend, I see it as networking. I would absolutely be 'friends' with someone if it helped me make and maintain my multi millions .

[bridenore]

HD longer fics recs : 150k to 200k words

Here are a few recs for fics ranging between 150k and 200k words. You can see my recs for fics that have more than 200k here.

Posted in alphabetical, order as always.

All I Want For Christmas (Is For You To Stop Talking) by @femmequixogtic and @noeeon [162k]

The Niffler’s Garden is the most prestigious wizarding nursery school in England and has been for the last century or more. Harry Potter’s boys are both enrolled as pupils at the Garden. When he volunteers to assist with the Yule pageant, he has no idea that he’ll be working closely with another parent, Draco Malfoy. Although they haven’t seen each other much since their own school days, Harry faults Malfoy for not being a hands-on dad to little Scorpius. Will the intense weeks of preparation fan the fires of enmity or something else entirely?

Warnings: Background discussion of divorce, coming out, parenting, very brief mention of difficult pregnancy.

Away Childish Things by @letteredlettered​ [153k]

Harry gets de-aged.  Malfoy has to help him.

Bond by AnnaFugazzi [173k]

Yet another one of those Harry And Draco Are Forced To Be Together By Something Beyond Their Control And Then Stuff Happens Leading To Twoo Wuv stories. Because every HD writer has to write at least one

The Copper Cauldron by Newshound [150k+]

Draco thought his life had ended after being imprisoned in Azkaban. It  will take the love of the man he regards as his greatest enemy, the faith of his most trusted confidante, and the hope imparted by a beloved  child to convince him that his life has truly just begun.

Freedom to be by @quicksilvermaid [169k]

Harry Potter is the Boy Who Lived.

12 years after the war, he’s become the Boy Who Lived For Everyone Else. He has the perfect wife. The perfect house. The perfect job. The perfect friends.

Only nothing feels perfect.

Until one day he stumbles across a club called Release and begins a journey of self-discovery that takes him to a very different place.

Finite Incantatum by Alysian Fields [153k]

What should have happened after ‘Half Blood Prince’! It’s the autumn after Dumbledore’s death, the Death Eaters are steadily gaining power, and Harry and his friends are desperate to find the remaining Horcruxes. But then Draco Malfoy arrives at Grimmauld Place, traumatised, starved and drained of all his magical ability. It falls to Harry to show the Slytherin how to adapt to his new way of life, never guessing that Draco has a few things to teach him in return.

The Sleeping Beauty Curse by who_la_hoop [152k]

When Draco Malfoy falls into a cursed sleep and can only be woken – at least, according to the Daily Prophet, that impeccable source of truth – by ‘true love’s kiss’, Harry Potter knows there’s no way on earth he’s the answer to this particular riddle. Is he …?

Temptation on the Warfront by alizarincrims0n [180k]

Draco Malfoy is forced into hiding with the Golden Trio and dragged into their search for horcruxes. What ensues is a journey of redemption, unexpected friendships and an unwanted, turbulent romance with Harry Potter. Warnings for swearing, sexual content, and dark themes.

There Is Always the Moon by @firethesound [159k]

Draco’s life after the war is everything he wanted it to be: it’s simple, and quiet, and predictable, and safe. But when a mysterious curse shatters the peace he’d worked so hard to build, there’s only one person he can trust to help him. After all, Harry Potter has saved his life before. Now Draco has to believe that Potter will be able to do it one more time.

Things Worth Knowing by @femmequixotic and @noeeon [164k]

After the Battle, Harry thinks he’s left Hogwarts for good, but Minerva insists that all students return for an Eighth Year if they wish to sit for NEWTs in the spring, and Harry needs those NEWTs to go into the Aurors. Draco’s just grateful not to be in Azkaban. Or the Manor. He’s hoping he can steer clear of Potter this year and grapple with his own problems. Unfortunately for him, Potter appears to be one of those problems. And that’s not even addressing the fact that Potter’s got serious issues of his own, which Draco realises as he’s forced to share an Eighth Year dormitory room and several classes with the Gryffindor Git. If only they can make it through the year without killing each other, it should be all right, shouldn’t it?

A Thousand Beautiful Things by geoviki [104k]

Draco Malfoy struggles with changed fortunes, shifted alliances, an ugly war, and an unusual spell, with the help of a concerned professor, an insightful house-elf, and an unexpected Gryffindor friend.

Delicate Sound of Thunder by geoviki [61k]

Draco Malfoy has always known that happily ever after is only true for fairy tales.  When someone threatens to expose his wartime past, he risks his life to protect his secrets, but learns he’s not the only one with something to hide. The sequel to A Thousand Beautiful Things.

I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I did!

[yletylyf]

Fic Writer Wrapped- 2023 Edition

I did this in 2022 and 2021, and am revving it back up for my own personal interest in tracking these things. Tagging anyone reading this if you want to participate!

Like in previous years, this is about fic published on ao3 in 2023 (not amount of words written in 2023, which I don't keep track of).

How many stories did you complete?

I completed one longfic (more than 100k words), eight medium fics (between 15k and 100k), and forty-two short fics (under 15k). Just like last year, I continue to have considerable lag between writing and publishing. The longfic and some of the medium fics were mostly written in 2022, but published and finished this year.

What is your total word count for the year?

547,416 words

What fandoms did you write in this year?

I really committed to the multi-fandom bit. I also discovered an addiction to cdramas. I wrote in Harry Potter, Tolkien, The Grisha Trilogy, Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen, Emma - Jane Austen, Twilight, the Locked Tomb, House of the Dragon, 陈情令 The Untamed, 山河令 Word of Honor, 苍兰诀 Love Between Fairy and Devil, 莲花楼 Mysterious Lotus Casebook, 无量 Wúliàng, and 长月烬明 Till the End of the Moon.

Did you write more, less, or roughly about what you expected?

This year's published word count borrows from many projects that were written in 2022, probably about 150k words' worth. Even subtracting that, I wrote a lot more than I expected. Because I didn't write a long fic this year (123k of Rainbow of Chaos's total of 130k words was written in 2022), I felt like I was unproductive compared to previous years. But I actually I wrote a lot!

What’s your favorite story of the year?

To catch a fox (Grisha verse, the Darkling/Nikolai). I had a blast writing this, it felt like it wrote itself, and I think the fic is so much fun, I still enjoy re-reading it, and I'm really happy about how many other people liked it as well!

What is your most underappreciated story of the year?

This question gets harder and harder to answer every year, because the more deliberately niche I write the happier I am when I get a single comment and feel that is more than sufficient appreciation. I guess if I had to pick one, it's my Aredhel/Celegorm fic, because imo this ship deserves to be more popular than it is!

Biggest fanfic-related disappointment of 2023?

I was riding the high of discovering the Darkling/Nikolai ship after watching the TV show Shadow and Bone in March. A good friend left a prompt that I loved, in an event called Fandom Orienteer, which had a several-month-long writing period and then a posting window in August. I bit off more than I could chew when I started writing Palace in the Dark, found my ideas too plotty, and did not finish in time to post a completed story in August. By the time I actually finished over Thanksgiving, not only did I miss being part of the event, I had lost almost all my WIP readers (except my friends from the darkolai server, shout out to you, you are the best!). It's fine, the fic is finished and complete on my profile, and readers will slowly find it. But I was disappointed in not being able to finish in July for the event and when the momentum from the show was hotter.

Biggest fanfic-related surprise of 2023?

I'm surprised by how many multi-fandom exchanges I did. I was only dipping my toe into them in 2022 and was not sure the whole thing really suited me. I wrote almost forty exchange fics this year, and got some amazing gift fics in exchange, and it's been really fun.

Something you look forward to working on in 2024?

I think I'll work on more villain-centric fic for MDZS, and also hopefully write more new-to-me fandoms for exchanges.

[wttcsms]

with the limited time i have to work on writing, there are just certain fics that i like more than others lol, and it'll show bc you'll actually see that i put thought and care into the writing and the overall story telling & i just wanted to share some of the fics i've been working on that i personally feel like will showcase my most thoughtful writing:

of course, daylight is at the top of the list. probably going to be the longest piece i write (at least 150k words upon completion), there was just a lot of time spent in figuring out the themes and characterization and handling tough conversations & it is something i am most proud of.

the royal au war general x scholar's daughter concept is most likely going to be given to nanami & i really love the juxtaposition of their roles in the relationship. so we have the hardened war general who just wants peace and solitude, and we have this lovely young woman and she is trying to figure out her standing in this world, and she's incredibly intelligent and insightful but there's an underlying naïveté due to her youth (compared to the general) & there's a lot of push and pull b because she is certain that he is what she wants and he has these ideas of being "moral" and "doing the just thing" which is trying to put a stop to her advances, but it's hard because he is in need of this companionship, she (reader) is the sweetest thing, the gentlest/most healing presence in his life, so is it really worth destroying her hopes and dreams and his sanity all in some "noble" attempt for her to find someone "better"?

similarly, soldier honorably discharged and struggling to acclimate to civilian life. this touches much more on trauma and grief; how grief doesn't go away entirely, and how past experiences still impact our lives well down the road into the future but how it doesn't have to be our worst defining trait. i've discussed a scene that i really love with a friend, and it's essentially how on the battlefield, this soldier knows that you don't leave your comrade behind. and it's an innocent scene where you (the mother of his children) are calling your kids to get out of the backyard and come inside the house, and the youngest daughter trips and falls, shouts out "wait for me!" but her older sister turns around, looks at her, and then continues onwards to back home. and the soldier (this is well into the future, so some people would assume "oh he should be over his trauma, over his memories on the battlefield) raises his voice inside the house for one of the first times ever. and he's staring at his daughter, and is like "why would you do that, why would you leave her behind, you don’t leave her behind"

[itsbeenclaireified]

The first part of my many days in Chicago was last weekend. Overall it went well? But also we needed 15 participants to show up to our study and only 14 did. Flash forward to this week of a lot of wheeling and dealing and scraping together a rationale that might blow up in my face when we submit to the FDA, but we’re back up to 15 again.

I think my rationale is sound, and at the very least is worth gambling the $150k+ it would take to schedule an additional test day. But damn, I had to take a hot shower and remind myself that this is literally just a job and it doesn’t mean anything. There are things that are more important to me: friends, family, my cozy house, etc

Anyway here are some photos from my room, I picked a hotel a little further out and it was so beautiful and restful. Which is what you need on a business trip, where you spend 12+ hours running around, and then I could just rest and read for a bit before the sun went down.

Also I witnessed a wedding from my room and that was sort of hilarious to just like peeping out my room and realize what I was seeing hahaha

The next leg of the trip is a long one and I’m not looking forward to being away from Trixie. But my sister is watching her and staying at my house and it’ll be fine. And when the testing is done I will be free again.

[upsettingandunfortunateclasshate]

I have a bit of insight into our council, into the deepest, darkest parts of commissioning... and let me tell you, there int the fucking money for flood defences. You've more chance of plaiting piss than getting a tenner out of the council.

There are loads of reasons why. Government spending up north especially in a city like ours is virtualy fuck all. Also labour & lib dems have pissed money away. Also loads of em are paid far too much. It's a proper gravy train.

But housing & care is huge. Houses in hull cost 80k to 150k - so a lot less than the national average. When it comes to paying for your care when you're old (the council take your home and flog it to pay for your care), we have very few self funders cos their homes only pay for a year or twos worth of care. So the council steps in and pays for the rest until you die - and they want you to die quickly.

Compare that to affluent cities like York, houses there are worth 200k to millions, so they can afford to pay for much more of their own care. But also wealthy people generally have good pensions and provisions, so they have less needs. They're healthier for longer. Many can afford private care homes. So their council has more money, and less of it goes out on care.

Whereas in hull, a huge chunk of our budget goes on care -

Also hull is a working class city with shitloads of poverty, so people are iller, and iller for longer, and have much more complex health needs than wealthy people who've lived good, comfortable, well fed, warm, safe lives.

So basically working class people are more expensive to care for when they're old, which means hulls care needs are far greater than those of cities with some or a lot of wealth.

This is why home ownership and privatised care is a complete load of shite and should be abolished in about an hour's time.

It's also why successive governments have thought 'fuck hull' in the same way they openly thought 'fuck liverpool'. We're too much of a drain. So we aren't getting 2bn to improve our flood defences, they're gonna let it rot like they have done historically.

[heatherfield]

Walk Me Home | A “Headless” Fic Chapter Thirty-Five

Story summary: Brom and Matilda find their relationship status is more complicated than ever after the explosive reveal of a year’s worth of secrets. How do they navigate their way forward when they struggle to know what’s true? And yet, to their friends, some things couldn’t be more obvious. (Explores what happens in between the climax of the finale and the epilogue of “Headless: A Sleepy Hollow Story”.)

Chapter summary:  After making sure the Babes don't burn the Bishops' house down to make breakfast, Brom helps Matilda at The Drugstore where tension continues to build.

Chapter Characters/Pairings: Brom and Matilda, Matilda’s parents, the Babes, Judy...

Rating: Teen

Author’s note:  🥰🥰🥰 Also, 150K WORDS?! How did that happen?!?!?!

Link: AO3.org

[stark-at-heart]

Untitled, a Love Story

AKA the Steve and Tony origin story prequel to "Worlds Apart" A/N: I don't have many followers here, and of the followers I have I imagine only a handful are actually still active here, and likely an even smaller percentage would be interested in this post. This is great, genuinely. It's been a long while since I've really written any fanfiction. I had oodles of both time and inspiration as a university student. Now as a Proper Adult with a regular nine to five in STEM that tends to drain all my brainpower, I feel my time get segmented out into impossibly small pieces. I can only designate so much to every hobby. I have no idea how anyone with children ever manages to do anything at all. Anyway, I've had this particular story living in my head rent free for over a decade now. Several years ago I outlined the entire thing. While I, so far, have a wordcount of 52k or so, I estimate I have another 150k to go, if I keep the same wordcount-to-scene-number ratio that I have so far. I've no desire to post this on AO3 until it is done and also beta read. But by the same token, it's difficult to work on something (incredibly slowly, for years) while sharing it with no one. :( So I give it to you, tumblr. Unfinished, unpolished. Maybe someone will read what is there so far and enjoy it. Maybe not. But at least I've popped a bit of it out into the universe. I'll post it in chunks. Here's the first piece.

February, 1990

Tony Stark had a certain approach-avoidance conflict going on with the mansion on Long Island that she had always called home. On the one hand, it was a beautiful mansion on Long Island and she had always called it home and it was filled with all the technology she could ever possibly want to play with down in the basement which she had affectionately dubbed her “lab”. On the other hand, her parents lived there and frequently wanted to interact with her while she was there. Said interactions often consisted of long conversations about her various failings. If her mother was deciding to get on her back it was that she wasn’t nurturing her musical talents, or following along with everything she had learned through years and years of forced cotillion, or attempting to find herself a “nice young man”. If it was her father, it could be any of the above with the added fun bonus of not doing well enough in school, not doing enough for the family company, causing embarrassments by having the audacity to occasionally go to parties while at university, dressing too little like “a proper young lady” (her mom complained about that, too)—really, with her father, the list could go on and on and on and on.

To avoid the unpleasantness of going home for MIT’s reading week, at least for a blissful few hours, while also getting the benefits of going home for MIT’s reading week, Tony had decided that the element of surprise was the best route. She hadn’t told them she was coming. There was no way either of her parents had kept track of when her school was or wasn’t on break, outside of the major holidays that they would expect her back home for (to schmooze at the various company holiday parties they always threw, of course). So when she drove up to the mansion on Long Island, Tony had hope that her plan would work, at least for the afternoon. She briefly entertained the idea of bringing a microwave and a mini fridge and seeing how long she could hide in her basement lab before they noticed she was there, but quickly dismissed the idea. It might be worth it to avoid her father, but it would also break her mother’s heart, and Tony tried not to be cruel.

Selfish, sure. Smartass, always. Bitchy, of course. But never cruel.

The taxi dropped her off in front of the house’s large, u-shaped drive-up paved with dark red brick. She got out, grabbing her duffel bag out of the trunk, way overpaid on her fare, and carefully tip-toed to the door. The doors were oak, and massive, as befitted the great red brick facade with fancy white columns that one would indeed expect on an American Colonial. She reached in her pocket for her keys. Swore. She dropped her navy blue duffel, stuffed full, and entirely haphazardly, with clothes and various loose nuts and bolts, and rummaged through it. Swore again.

She was not going to ring the doorbell. That would defeat the purpose of arriving quietly, as a surprise, so that she could steal into the lab for a precious few uninterrupted hours before the inevitable “rag on Tony” show began. Huffing, Tony picked her duffel bag back up and slung it over her shoulder before slinking around to the back garden. She had to vault over the small iron garden fence to get there since the gate was locked, but once she made it over she headed in a bee line to the kitchen door. This door was a door she could safely knock on and know that her parents weren’t ever going to be the ones to answer it.

She’d barely removed her hand from the door knocker when the small white door was flung open, revealing the only person Tony ever really wanted to see at the mansion.

“Jarvis!” she exclaimed as the tall, lanky older man smiled down at her.

“Why Miss Stark,” Jarvis said in that lovely, light English accent of his that Tony always found comforting. “What a pleasant surprise.” Tony snorted.

“As if you don’t have the MIT academic calendar stuck on the fridge,” she said, walking into the kitchen through the open door as Jarvis stepped politely to the side. As he closed the door behind him, Tony glanced over to said fridge which, sure enough, had the calendar attached via magnet. Today was circled with a big red marker.

“Well, I simply can’t surprise Ana with extra plates at the table at the last minute, can I?” Jarvis spoke, as if he didn’t do that with regularity what with her father always bringing around business partners unexpectedly.

“Of course not,” Tony agreed diplomatically. She shifted her duffel bag onto her other shoulder. “Hey Jay, I was hoping to get some work done in the lab for a bit. Got a big government contract for some research I’ve been doing into nanotech, miniaturization and all that. So… I was never here?”

“What’s that? I think I may have heard something. Ah, it must have been the wind. Silly me,” Jarvis said with another conspiratorial smile before simply walking away and leaving her to her own devices. Tony grinned fondly, then raced on tip-toes down to her basement retreat. She had a contract with the US Air Force to work on.

It was a relief when she shut the door to the basement behind her and beheld her hidden oasis. MIT had plenty of tools, but her father had tools he’d made himself—tools that Tony could use right about now, as she was trying to take microchips down to the nanometer level. Miniaturization—it was the way of the future all right. Fortunately, her father rarely came down to the makeshift lab. He had plenty of labs, after all, at his actual company, and he usually spent his time there, away from the mansion. Unless he knew Tony was home and could be pestered, she assumed, since he was there often enough for that specific purpose.

Tony didn’t waste any time, knowing there was only so long she would get away with hiding down there. She gathered the materials and tools that she needed, headed to a bench, and went to work, blasting AC/DC out of the boombox in the corner. At some point, she made coffee from the banged up little coffee maker by the futon. She switched to working off the futon, then back to the bench, then to the futon again. She had no idea how much time had passed when she heard a creak on the stairs.

Internally, she sighed and braced herself. She’d been hoping for longer. She could have been down there for hours or days, she was still hoping for more time to herself, more time to work on her tech without critique. Inevitably her father was going to walk down those stairs and criticize her attire (combat boots, artfully ripped, high waisted jean shorts that had cost way more than the unripped ones, an AC/DC tank top that, all right fine, was looking a little worse for wear, and hair that was held up in a disaster of waves that could maybe be called a ponytail). When he was done with that, he’d start nit-picking her tech. If she was particularly unlucky, he’d move on from that to her (lack of) character.

“Hey, Howard, sorry to interrupt, but—” Tony looked up—and woah, yeah, that was definitely not her father. Coming down the stairs was a man who could have passed for one of Michelangelo’s sculptures. His body was human perfection personified. He had bright blue eyes and golden hair. He also bore a striking resemblance to someone, but Tony couldn’t put her finger on it. Some lesser known Hollywood star, maybe? Her father hadn’t ever given up that studio, after all. 

Whoever he was, he was drop dead gorgeous. And in her basement. And they were alone. And despite how many fantastic filthy fantasies filled Tony’s mind in those fractions of seconds, Tony was not keen on living them out—because she was alone in a basement with a man who was three times her size and as far as she knew only Jarvis (and maybe Ana) was home, and like hell he’d be any use in a fight against this dude. She grabbed the nearest dangerous thing to her hand—a blowtorch. She pointed it at him with one hand and shut her boombox off with the other. She might need Jarvis to hear her scream. He could at least call 911, if nothing else.

“Stay there,” she warned him. He blinked, looking at her in confusion.

“Oh, you must be Tony,” the 6’2” Adonis said with a kind smile. “I’m Steve.”

“Oh, well, gee, now I know your name that makes the fact that you’re intruding in my house all fine. Shall I break out the tea and biscuits?” Tony asked sarcastically. “The fuck are you doing here? How did you get in?”

“I—your father didn’t tell you?” Steve asked.

“You have two minutes to live, fill it with words,” Tony warned, brandishing the blowtorch.

“I thought Howard would have told you. I—” Tony turned on the blowtorch. Steve put up his hands in a gesture of surrender. Tony would have been glad, except she was fairly certain the giant of a man was humoring her. Even Tony wasn’t entirely clear on how she’d take down the behemoth with a blowtorch alone. “—woah! Take it easy! I’m Steve Rogers! Your father’s putting me up for a while.”

“Dad doesn’t take charity cases,” Tony said. Her mother did, but that was entirely another story, and he hadn’t said Maria had been putting him up. “Who. Are. You?”

“We knew each other back in the day,” Steve said. “We were in the army together. Well, I guess, strictly speaking Howard wasn’t in the army, he was in the Strategic Scientific Reserve only, but—”

“Ok, soldier, I’m supposed to believe a guy who can’t be more than a couple of years older than me worked with my father in the second world war? Uh-uh. Try again,” Tony snapped. This whole conversation was ridiculous. Who did he think he was trying to fool?

“Look, I know how it sounds,” Steve said, his tone placating. “But I really don’t have a better explanation. I—my plane went down. I was on the ice for years and when your father found me—well, I was still alive. His team revived me.”

My plane went down.

“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me, you think you’re goddamn Captain America?” Tony complained. Why was this her life? Why did the 6’2” blonde Adonis have to be completely off his rocker? And why did he have to be in her basement? “Ok, I am calling the cops and they will take you back to whatever loony bin you escaped from.”

“If you had the ability to call the cops, I believe you would have already done so,” Steve pointed out. He came down the stairs the rest of the way, and stood aside. “But I won’t stop you from it, if you feel that threatened, ma’am.”

“Oh yeah, I’m really going to fall for that one,” Tony said. After all, her only means of exit was past the potential psychopath/serial killer/rapist. The man gave her a look. Tony didn’t like that look. There was all kinds of exasperation in that look, the kind of exasperation she usually only got from parents or teachers or Rhodey.

“Ok, how about we try this, ma’am,” Steve said, and the ma’am felt so condescending to Tony she could spit. “I’ll walk back up the stairs. You feel free to follow behind. And from there, you can get to a phone.”

Tony wasn’t sure she liked this scenario, mainly because the psycho was suggesting it. Here in the lab, she had plenty of frightening tools at her disposal, and heavy things she could hurl at him. She had steel desks in between herself and him. If she went upstairs, there would be nothing but open hardwood floor—a much better playing field for him.

“You feel free to go upstairs,” Tony said, brandishing the blowtorch in his direction. “Get out.”

“All right,” Steve said, raising his hands again, his palms open and visible. “All right. I’ll go up. But Tony, honest to God, I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the truth, and I’d never hurt you. You’re Howard’s daughter. It wasn’t my intention to scare you.” He sounded very sincere. Too sincere. It raised Tony’s hackles and freaked her out more than anything else. She narrowed her eyes.

“Out!” Tony ordered. She hurled a screwdriver at him. He blocked it expertly with his forearm, to her surprise, and started to head up the stairs just as the door opened.

“Ah!” said her father, appearing at the top of the stairs to the basement, “I thought I heard voices. What are you doing down here, Steve?” He peered into the lab, suddenly noticing Tony. His eyes narrowed. “Tony, what are you doing down here? Why aren’t you at school?” His tone was dangerous. It expected all sorts of things. Have you been kicked out, Tony? What are you hiding from, Tony? What mischief are you up to in my lab, Tony? (Never mind that he never used this lab.) Tony had just about had it with today.

“It’s reading week. And I was working on a nanotech development for the US Air Force when this bumbling escapee from the psych ward wandered down here,” Tony said.

“Tony, turn the blowtorch off,” Howard said sharply. Tony realized that it was still on and that she had been gesturing a tad wildly. She, for once, complied with her father’s wishes and set the instrument down. “This is Captain Steven Rogers, Tony, so I’d like you to go against your nature and show a bit of respect.” Tony felt a hot prickle of irritation at the insult.

“Well maybe I would have if I’d had any idea someone else was living here, but what the hell am I supposed to think when some random dude shows up in the lab claiming to be Captain America? And what the hell, Dad, why didn’t you tell me you successfully rose someone from unplanned cryosleep?” Because, really, if she ever wanted to hear from her father, it would have been to hear that Captain America had been miraculously revived.

And really—holy shit, Captain America had been miraculously revived from unplanned cryosleep. And he was in her basement. And she’d tried to fend him off with a blowtorch. And thrown a screwdriver at him. Well, as far as first impressions went, she’d definitely done worse.

“I did. I called you on three separate occasions and left messages on your machine. You never returned my calls,” Howard said, looking on her with disapproval. That was nothing new. What was new was frowny face over there giving her a nearly identical look, and that she would not stand for. She scowled right back at both of them.

“Maybe if you had left something more substantial in those messages than ‘call me’, I would have,” Tony argued. Howard just sighed.

“It is polite to return calls regardless of the reasons made for making them, Tony,” he said. Tony hated that he was right, hated that Captain fucking America was looking at her with the same damn expression her father always had, hated that this was how she’d met a childhood hero—by feeling threatened, then doing the threatening, then being scolded into next week by her father. God, she could use a drink. Or something stronger. And she’d only been home—she glanced at her watch—four hours.

Well, at least that was longer than the previous record of five minutes.

She looked up at the man who was apparently actually Captain America. Had weirder things happened? Tony didn’t think so. Well, maybe the creation of Captain America himself was weirder, arguably. But Tony had certainly never experienced something weirder. He was like a bona fide time traveller. A gorgeous, 6’2”, blonde, chiseled Adonis who time travelled.

These thoughts would be more pleasant and more interesting if her father weren’t still in the room and glaring at her. And if the Captain didn’t look clearly like he already completely disapproved of all of her.

“Steve, we’re just about to start dinner in a few minutes, if you’d like to follow me,” Howard said pleasantly. He gave Tony a once over over his shoulder as he turned to go. “Clean up first, Tony. And for God’s sake, put on something made for a woman.” Ah, there it was—the attire jab. That it hadn’t been the first words out of his mouth was a change. Personally, she thought what she was wearing was perfectly feminine. She was female, therefore her clothes were feminine. That was how it worked, right? And her bracelet, ever present, was as feminine as feminine could be, with its delicate silver chain and all the little charms around the edge. Fuming at the utter injustice of her plight, Tony emerged from the basement and went straight to her room. She would change. Oh, she would change all right.

[ghoulhusband]

i’m going to bed early (well not early but early for me) but before i do i was thinking about the 2000 cap entry fee to vegas and how much i love mods that make everything worth a very, very small amount of money. because the mojave economy being absolutely fucking wrecked is something that i don’t think gets touched on enough. sure, you as the player are making money hand over fist in the base game, but everyone else is so, so broke in all the small towns you visit along the way. good armor for a whole town is a 1000 cap investment according to chet, who’s pretty obviously exaggerating, but say he’s right?

that means the bighorner hides, the most valuable thing these people have (aside from water,) AFTER being processed into leather, which is an huge amount of labor hours, is worth 111 caps, if we use the 9 npcs in game.

but say you used a higher number, like how many people there probably would be in a really really small town. 45-60 people, let’s say. 22-17 caps per armor. and the credit check to get into vegas—not even to have a good time, to be able to afford everything, but just to get in—is 2000 caps. now sure, maybe the people in goodsprings have more caps saved away, but this is one of their main exports. they maybe have two or three times that much money lying around, if they’re lucky. if we can extrapolate that to the other towns (which are honestly probably worse off because most of them aren’t producing anything anywhere near as valuable as food, water and leather,) that means that in most of the mojave, the people actually doing the labor have between 17% and .09% of the money needed to get into vegas, depending on how big we inflate the number of people in each town.

so if no one has much money, then the towns are probably operating on the barter system, and then it’s 5 caps for x thing if you really have to pay. which is great for them in theory, i’m very pro bartering, but there’s a lot of resources in the area they’re clearly not benefitting from. where are they going? well, quite a lot of the ncr soldiers, even with the shitty caps to paper money conversion rate, have enough money to pass the credit check. they take their paycheck and they hit the strip. now maybe they get a special exemption, but i’m inclined to think they don’t, because that makes no sense. house is in it to make money, he wouldn’t make an exception for most of his customer base. so if the average soldier in the ncr saves their money, they’re making upwards of $5k per paycheck (ncr dollars are worth about 40% the face value of caps.)

that’s SO crunchy. like i’ve thought about this before because it’s a key part of the narrative, but i never sat down and did the math before. like if we use 2k caps as a sort of middle class line, just to do some real world comparison, let’s say that 2k caps savings makes you middle class, which is about consistent with real world usd figures, then you probably make about 60k caps per year (that’s the median middle class salary per person in the u.s. right now.) so all these people from the ncr are making $150k a year in ncr dollars.

if the ncr dollar ever became worth 100% of the face value of a cap, the average person in the ncr (who aren’t part of the prison labor system, or the other exploited classes in the imperial hub, which is a separate point,) are equal in wealth to upper middle class people from the u.s., today, by our scale. now, maybe that number is skewed because only the middle class ncr citizens can make it to new vegas. totally possible. that still means the foot soldiers of an occupying army are making an insane amount of money compared to their real world counterparts (in the u.s. enlisted soldiers make between $24k-43k.) while the average person from the mojave has between 17 and 333 dollars in the bank account. those are really specific numbers but you know what i mean. if you have under $1k in savings in the real world you’re in economic jeopardy. much less if you have $17. if we extrapolate yearly income from those numbers, the people with the largest amount of money saved (333 caps or thereabouts) are making 10,200 caps per year. which is below the severe poverty line in the real world. the person with $17 would be making about 566 caps per year. vs. 150k. the ncr is just destroying the fucking economy and house is so complicit in that. it’s such a killer detail that the amount of money that’s being extracted from the region is astronomically high compared to the living costs of every day people, and the only one who’s really seeing any of that money without tons of strings attached is house. who can’t fucking use any of it for anything beyond exerting more control over the region and finding the platinum chip. see: he spent 812,545 caps looking for it in one year alone.