#the last time i went was literally over a year ago

[billybutcherrtrash]

Happy Anniversary

CW: Addiction

Just a little thing I thought of after them forgetting his birthday.

You’d left the cupcake on his desk with a small post it that said “Happy Anniversary.” and a small heart as your signature. You’d just left it at that. Sitting at your desk you went about your work, almost forgetting the gesture until you noticed him sitting across from you at exactly 8AM. You pretended not to notice his brown eyes noticing the cupcake and his perfect hands lifting the post it. You could see his confusion as he looked around trying to place what day it was and what the note meant. Finally his eyes met yours and you offered a small smile.

“What’s this?” Spencer asked, smiling back.

At first you thought he might be kidding, but you could read his literal uncertainty. “Wait…you really don’t know?”

“No…? What anniversary?”

Getting up, you walked over and sat on the corner of his desk. He gazed up at you, anticipating your answer.

“I will give you a clue. It’s the eighteenth anniversary of something.”

“Eighteen…eighteen…no, we met 20 years ago…eighteen…” He glanced at the calendar staring at the date. His expression changed when realization hit him. “Oh…oh! Wow. I guess I did forget.”

“Happy eighteen years of sobriety.” You said softly.

“Thank you, Y/N. I never would have thought anyone would remember that.”

“I’m good with dates. Especially important ones.”

He stood up and stepped closer, hugging you gently. “It really means a lot. Truly.”

You hugged him back, smiling up at him. Maybe the hug was lasting a little too long, but neither of you seemed to mind. Finally he stepped back, shifting a little more awkwardly.

“Speaking of dates…” Spencer said.

“Yes”. You answered without a second thought.

“Really?”

“Yeah…I’ll go on a date with you.” You smiled widely.

“Okay…awesome…tonight?”

You smiled a little wider than expected and nodded. “Yes. Sounds good.”

Both of you sat back down at your desks as the others began to file in. Morgan noticed the cupcake sitting on Spencer’s desk.

“What’s the occasion, pretty boy? Did we miss your birthday again?” He asked.

“No, no, just a little gesture from a friend”. Reid shook his head, glancing back at you.

“Okay, well tell your friend to bring extra next time.” Morgan joked as he sat down.

The two of you just looked at each other and smiled.

[swiftiephobe]

desperately need to go to the hairdresser but i really really don't want to 😭

[welcometogrouchland]

(ID in alt) I literally said I was gonna post this month's ago and then never had the wherewithal to describe it and so I didn't Lmao (said with pain). But since I'm thinking of opening my commissions I figured I should remind ppl that I. Yknow. Can draw.

Lots of Steph here (I had major art block making all of these and my brain worms for her kept me going) + some sprinkles of stephcass for Cass nation to enjoy!

[moregraceful]

max and i are closing in on launching [redacted sports rpf charity fest] and i am once again pondering how do i write "experience with writing form emails and manipulating google forms in ways no one has dreamed of" in a cover letter without saying "i did it for the rpf grind"...like there's no way unless everyone in this microsoft teams meeting gets really cool about a bunch of stuff really quickly. you know

[eddie-rifff]

i also think it is time to put my chris squire sweat rag in a shadow box. its my most prized possession ..and it has been in a tote bag in various closets for over 10 years. not entirely sure how to display it within the box tho (as in how to fold it, or maybe leave it kind of crumpled for comedic effect?) but ill probably put the ticket associated with that show in with it. some kinda fish-related art in the background perhaps

[fearthedietcoke]

One day I will have a partner who is so in love with me that I’ll never feel undesirable again. I promise myself that I will never stay with someone who makes me feel second place (again).

At the end of the day, that’s all I want.

(I know this is a dramatic and unnecessary post but it’s just been a rough few weeks and I just want to wallow in sadness for just like 10 minutes)

[supercool-here]

hold your horses

My sister sent me this text a few minutes ago. This is my dream ok? And it came true

[slippery-minghus]

oh no. i feel like if i do not consume an entire load of bread in the very near future i will simply cease to exist.

[steviescrystals]

SO fucking sick of my nose piercing being infected for no reason literally what am i doing wrong!!!

[falllpoutboy]

the black female experience is so crazy like. we’re supposed to be perfect all the time except when we’re unjustly vilified then we’re evil and we suffered through microaggressions from literally everyone since birth to the day we die like nobody got our back except us

[basicallyjustmuggleremuslupin]

As tumblr fucked up my tags, here a few corrections:

"the" incident (in the 2. tag)

so called "chaos day" (in the 18. tag)

to "protest" and drink alcohol (in the 4. to last tag)

[pinkandrainyclouds]

Quick question, is it normal to feel this much rage towards one’s boss or should I seek help?

[thedigitalbard]

I created this art as a gift for my friend Diya. This is his son, Magdy and his cat whose story I shared here.

Right now, Diya is separated from his family in Gaza and has been for over a year. His family is facing the second winter since they were displaced from their home. The winters in Gaza are harsh. People are taking shelter in flimsy tents, that don't protect them from the wind and rain. The rain brings with it flooding that destroys everything. Diseases are spreading with no access to proper sanitation and medical care. When they went to receive polio vaccinations, they witnessed an IOF attack on the taxi in front of them.

The last donation was 6 hours ago, and there have only been 4 donations in the 24 hours. We need to help Diya reach his short-term goal of 30% so he can help his family purchase winter supplies that they need to survive. It is already November. There is literally no time to waste. His family has suffered through so much already. Please stand by them and do everything you can to support them. Share this post and donate. With your help we can reach the goal!

This campaign is vetted by association here. It is also #55 on the Gaza Vetters List by @/gazavetters.

$6,732 / $9,000 (short term goal)

Tagging for reach (please dm me to be removed)

@girlinafairytale @heliopixels @appsa @buttercuparry @turian

@neptunerings @sylvianritual @a-shade-of-blue @anneemay @2spirit-0spoons

@comrademango @hussyknee @jinnazah @khanger @lesbianmaxevans

@paper-mario-wiki @the-bastard-king @zigcarnivorous @an-elegant-void @acepumpkinpatrick

@heydreamchild @fading-event-608 @determinate-negation @jezior0 @autisticmudkip

@imjustheretotrytohelp @apocalyptic-dancehall @monstermashpotato @socalgal @mangocheesecakes

@commissions4aid-international @postanagramgenerator @omegaversereloaded @kyra45-helping-others @toiletpotato

@rhubarbspring @ankle-beez @tortiefrancis @halorvic

[madigoround]

I’m literally just venting below to get it out of my head feel free to ignore

[niennanir]

Listen to your elders

So last week I posted abut the importance of downloading your fic. And then three days later AO3 went down for 24 hours. No one was more weirded out by this than I was. But while y’all were acting like the library at Alexandria was on fire I was reading my download fic and editing chapter eight of Buck, Rogers, and the 21st Century. And also thinking about what I could do to be helpful when the crisis was actually over.

So first off, I’m going to repeat that if you’re going to bookmark a fic, you really need to also download the fic and back it up in a safe place. I just do it automatically now and it’s a good habit to get into.

But let’s talk about some other scenarios. Last October I lost power for over a week after hurricane Ian. Apart from not having internet or A/C I did find plenty to do, I collect books so I had plenty to read, but maybe, unlike me, your favorite comfort reads aren’t sitting on a bookshelf. So let’s do something about that, shall we?

In olden times many long years ago around 1995 we printed off a lot of fic. It was mostly SOP to print a fic you planned to reread and stick it in a three ring binder. And that’s totally valid today too, but you can also make a very nice paperback with a minimum amount of skill and materials.

Let’s start with the download; Go to Ao3 and select your fic, we’ll be working with one of mine. This method works best with one shots, long fic tends to need a more complicated approach. Get yourself an HTML download

Open up the HTML download and select all then copy paste into any word processor. Set the page to landscape and two columns, then change the font to something you find easy to read, this is your book, no judgement. This is all you have to do for layout but I like to play a little bit. I move all the meta, summary, notes to the end and pick out a fun font for the title: 

No time like the present to do a quick proofread. Congratulations, you’ve just created your first typeset. On to the fun part.

Now you’re going to need some materials:  8.5x11in paper ruler one sheet of 12x12 medium card stock (60-80lb) scissors pencil pen or fine tip marker sheet of wax paper white glue two binder clips 2 heavy books or 1 brick butter knife

You’ll also need a printer, if you’re in the US there is almost a 100% chance your local library has a printer you can use if you don’t have your own. None of these materials are expensive and you can literally use cheap copy paper and Elmers glue.

Print your text block, one page per side. Fold the first page in half so that the blank side is inside and the printed side out:

use the butter knife to crease the edge. Repeat on all the sheets. When you’ve finished, stack them up with the raw edge on the left and the folded edge on the right. I used standard copy paper, because you’re only printing on one side there’s no bleed to worry about. Take the text block and line everything up. Use the binder clips to hold the raw edge in place.

Wrap the text block in the wax paper so that the raw edge and binder clips are facing out. I’m going to use my home built book press but you don’t need one, a brick or a couple of books or anything else heavy will work fine.

Once the text block is anchored down, take off he binder clips and get out the glue.

You can use a brush but you don’t need one, smear some glue on that raw edge.

Go make a margarita, watch The Mandalorian, call your mother. Don’t come back for at least an hour

In an hour smear some more glue on there and shift your brick forward so that the whole book is covered. This keeps the paper from warping. While glue part 2 is drying we’ll do the cover. Get out your 12x12 cardstock

Mark the cardstock off at 8.5 inches and cut it. Measure in 5.5 inches from the left and put in a score line with the butter knife (the back edge not the sharp edge)

Carefully fold the score line, this is your front cover. You have some options for the cover title, you can use a cutting machine like a cricut if you have one, you can print out a title on the computer and use carbon paper to transfer the text to the cardstock. I was in a mood so I just freehanded that beoch. Pencil first then in pen.

Take your text block out from under your brick. Line it up against the score mark and mark the second score on the other side of the spine

Fold the score and glue the textblock into the cover at the spine. Once the glue dries up mark the back cover with the pencil and then trim the back cover to fit with your scissors.

Voila:

I’m going to put this baby on the shelf next to the Silmarillion.

The whole process, not counting drying time, took less than an hour.

If you want to make a book of a longer fic, I recommend Renegade Publishing, they have a ton of resources for fan-binders. 

[fuiru]

A 44 year old man goes to a K-Pop Concert

I promised you a report on the K-pop concert that I, a 44-year-old accountant, went to a couple of weeks ago with my wife and daughter in Toronto. So here it is.

The band we saw were Ateez. They're my daughter's favourite band and my wife's second favourite. I know most of my mutuals are similarly aged like me and may not be familiar with them so let me give you a brief primer on Ateez.

Imagine the most attractive eight men you can think of, just unfathomably beautiful specimens of aesthetic perfection, and make them sing songs that somehow combine the subjects of 'dancing like nobody is watching' with 'we live in a dystopian hellscape that we must all work together to overthrow'. Give them an ongoing music video story lore that literally nobody - not even the band themselves - understand, so that online discussion of their visual motifs looks more like the fevered rantings of a conspiracy theorist, complete with speculation about alternate realities and time being a Moebius strip. There is also a giant sand timer, for some reason.

That's Ateez. That's what you need to know.

Now, K-pop concerts are very different to the gigs I've been going to for the last 28 (!) years. There's no support act, for a start. Also the band perform for like, three hours, with breaks for costume changes and interpretive dance. Furthermore, hanging above everything is the constant looming threat of mandatory military service.

So this being my first such concert, I wasn't sure what to expect. What happened was difficult to explain, but I will try as I am already six paragraphs into this write-up and I'm too invested to stop now. Here goes:

In his Wicked + Divine comics series, Kieron Gillen places modern pop icons as deities, feeding upon and gaining strength from the worship of their fans at the altar of musical performance. I thought I understood that metaphor. I thought I understood it AS a metaphor. I was wrong, because that night Ateez WERE Gods with a capital G and we were their worshippers, a crowd emanating adoration (in the religious and non-religious senses), bestowing strength upon them and gaining their strength in return.

If that sounds weird, it probably is. But as pointed out above, I have lived over four decades and never yet experienced anything like the overwhelming passion of that crowd, the utter abandon with which they conveyed their love for the band.

"But Fuiru, what of the actual music?" you ask. Thinking back, there was a moment in one of their songs - I can't remember which - where I watched the stage, and the people around me, taking it in, and I thought, "Man, I just love Music". But that doesn't answer your question, sorry.

Ateez's music is bloody great. As a tiresome indie/rock/metal kid I'm resisting the urge to add the usual tiresome indie/rock/metal caveat of "...for pop music" because honestly that does it a disservice. They have some genuinely amazing songs. Halazia is an absolute fucking masterpiece that descends into furious hardcore breakbeat. Bouncy is a big, brash racket that somehow is also a perfect pop song. Utopia, Wonderland, and Guerrilla are similarly superb. The obligatory boy band slow number is represented by Dancing Like Butterfly Wings which will make you cry because you will forever associate it with your twelve year old daughter being pointed to and waved at by her favourite Ateez member (Seonghwa) because of her Seonghwa-branded lightstick.

That might just be me, though.

So in summary: being a 44 year old dad at his first K-pop concert rules and you should endeavour to partake in the experience if the opportunity arises.

Finally, for any Atiny reading this: my bias would be San or Seonghwa but my wife and daughter said they were taken so it’s Mingi. My concert outfit (designed and created by my offspring) reflects this.