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gurugirl · 11 months

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omg loved your blog. pls give me a lil spoiler of whats coming next

So... I've got a whole bunch of things coming. I looked through my drafts and documents and feel like this one is something I can share with you guys. I've got the story maybe halfway done and I've been working on it slowly for about 6 months. I don't know when I'll post it but you asked for a sneak peek for something so here's something to tide you over.

For context this is burlesque dancer!Y/n and rich CEO!Harry (this is a combination of requests I've received all in one story).

...

The sign read: 24-hour breakfast. $2.99 all-you-can-eat pancakes. The one she drove past every day.

She imagined slathering each stack with butter and syrup and surprising the staff when she went for seconds and thirds. Her stomach growled as she got into place behind the other girls and the music started. Bethany raised a brow at her when she heard it.

The routine was the same as the week before. They had a short break before they went back up and did another set. Y/n hadn’t been in such a good mood in weeks, knowing what was coming after the show. She was shaking with the anticipation of finally eating something of substance.

Like last week, the main dancers got to use the locker room first. Y/n and the others sat at the end of the bar and watched the guests leave as they chatted. They never got into anything too deep. Y/n wasn’t keen on telling the others about her situation. It was embarrassing. She was technically homeless and she was dirt broke. But Angelique had given them their checks and Y/n was more than happy to use it. She wouldn’t cash it that night because it was too late, but she planned on using her credit card to buy the $2.99 buffet pancakes. Maybe she’d splurge on eggs as well.

After showering and charging her phone she nearly skipped to her car. She parked strategically under a lamppost and noticed right away a man leaning on her front bumper.

“Excuse me?” She stopped halfway between the building and her car, ready to run back into the building if needed.

The man stood and she saw the chocolate curls of the British man she’d met the week before.

“Sorry! I thought I’d wait out here for you. I wanted to tell you that you did a great job in there,” he smiled kindly. That sweet smile, dimples and all.

Y/n let out the breath she’d been holding and finished walking toward her car. She figured she could trust Harry at this point.

“It’s okay. Just startled me a little to see someone leaning on my car. And, uh, thanks!”

She dug her keys out of her bag and walked next to Harry. He was taller than she thought. She hadn’t stood directly next to him before but now that he was only a few feet from her as she unlocked her car door she noticed it.

Harry pointed into her windshield, “I don’t mean to pry or anything, and you can tell me to fuck off if you want, but I noticed the blankets and pillows in the backseat. Is that… are you…?” Harry didn’t finish his sentence but Y/n knew what he was asking.

Normally she folded up the blankets and stuffed the pillows into the floorboards nicely but this morning she didn’t care. She’d been in such a good mood about the upcoming pancake dinner that she left it all strewn about.

She thought for a moment about how to answer. She looked down at her shoes and sighed, “Just temporary. It’s not a big deal,” she brushed it off.

Harry stayed quiet. But the longer he was silent the stranger it felt. Y/n looked back up at him and he was stoic. Deep in thought. Her stomach growled and she groaned. It was like if all the most embarrassing things in life could come out all at once in front of a handsome man it happened right then. She was hungry and homeless. That was the truth. And Harry was now aware of this fact.

Harry sighed and his face softened, “Look. I know it can get hard out here. But, let me buy you something to eat at least. I was hoping to chat with you anyway. Maybe we could just… I don’t know… get to know one another over a drink, or food. No pressure,” Harry was cautious. He knew he could be overstepping a little. But he probably felt it was necessary based on the circumstance he was now aware of.

Y/n shook her head, “That’s not necessary, Harry. I just got paid. I was going to buy myself something to eat. You really don’t need to…” The look on his face had her pausing her words. Harry’s brows were raised and the soft grin told her he wasn’t buying her I-don’t-need-your-help act.

“Fine. Then you buy yourself something to eat. Can I join you at least?”

And so that’s how she found herself at the dingy diner sitting across from Harry in a booth as she shoveled pancakes in her mouth. Harry ordered a coffee. Black.

Harry watched her for a bit as she scarfed down her first plate. Y/n tried to hold a conversation while eating but her body was on autopilot. She needed to eat. Harry could see that too.

When she finished the first plate she looked up at Harry. He was leaned back, comfortable in the booth with his arms crossed over his chest, an amused look on his face.

She licked her lips and sipped the orange juice before clearing her throat, “What?” She felt embarrassed. It was probably quite obvious to Harry what was going on.

“Nothing. Still hungry?” He smirked and leaned forward to the table, putting his forearms over the linoleum and clasped his hands together in front of him. He’d pushed his sleeves up to his elbows again and Y/n could make out the dark tattoos that went up one arm.

She breathed out a laugh at the question. Without a doubt, she was still hungry. She nodded, “I am. Yes. Is it okay if I grab another plate? Do… uh, do you want anything other than coffee?”

Harry shook his head and kept his eyes on hers, “I’m fine. I’ve eaten today. Go and get another plate, love. I’ll be right here.”

Y/n brought back another stack of pancakes with a handful of margarine butter packets and went to work to make her second plate as sugary, fattening, and calorific as possible.

“So, where are you from, Y/n?” Harry took a sip of his coffee, and Y/n saw him wince. She doubted the coffee was any good. Especially black. It was probably old and bitter and room temperature. But she appreciated that he was sitting with her and trying to fill the void of loneliness. Though she would have been fine to sit and eat her pancakes in silence.

“Bible belt. Nowhere,” she kept her eyes on her meal, drizzling the maple-flavored syrup over the top.

Harry laughed, “I see. Okay. So, why are you here in Nevada? Big dreams of becoming a famous dancer?”

Y/n shoved a forkful into her mouth and shook her head, putting her finger up as she chewed. Another sip of her orange juice and she finally responded, “No. I needed a change of scenery. I am a dancer. Well, I have a bachelor’s in dance. I’m not a professional or anything. It was sort of a whim, but a good one. There was nothing keeping me back home. What about you Harry? Where are you from? How did you get here?” She tried to change the subject from herself to him.

She ate while Harry told her his story. He was born in Manchester and got a business degree in London and then moved to California when he was in his mid-twenties after being offered a job at a private equity firm.

After a couple of years at the firm he and a close friend of his decided on opening up their own business, a startup. Which turned out to be quite profitable early on. Harry was a managing partner and owner of a wealth management group specifically for entertainment companies. Like burlesque clubs. Like Haute Baude. The owner, Richard, hired Harry as his wealth management agent years ago and they grew close.

Y/n knew next to nothing about the finance world so she just nodded and hummed along, “Wow. So, you’re doing well. A successful businessman,” she smiled and licked her fork clean.

Harry chuckled and tilted his head to the side, “I guess so. You’re impressive too, you know. It was brave to come out here all by yourself.”

There was a bit of quiet after he spoke those words. Y/n smiled down at her empty plate and then looked up at Harry. His coffee cup was empty.

“And you’re cute,” Harry spoke the words quietly but he kept his eyes on hers.

Y/n set her fork down and kept her eyes on the handsome man, squinting at him in question. She didn’t know how to respond. He hadn’t really been flirting with her, that she could tell, but she was aware of the way he was looking at her. How when she’d take a bite he’d watch her lips move and he kept licking his own lips.

“Sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that,” Harry said but he didn’t hide his smile well when he pulled his lips into his mouth, that reaction only drew his dimples in deeper and it made Y/n smile and laugh.

She shook her head and looked down. His eyes were getting to her. His intense gaze was alluring. Harry was charming and handsome. She didn’t know what his intentions were but he seemed nice at least.

When Harry remained quiet for a beat longer than was comfortable Y/n looked back up at him. She couldn’t help but smile back at his expression and she laughed, “It’s okay. You haven’t been obnoxious or anything. I just… I’m a mess and hearing that threw me off a bit.”

“What do you mean you’re a mess?” Harry asked.

“I mean, well, come on… you saw my car. And here I am buying $2.99 all-you-can-eat buffet pancakes at 2 am the moment I get a paycheck. I’m… down on my luck a little. But I think things are better now. For one, my tummy’s full,” Y/n smiled shyly. She hated that this successful man was privy to her misfortune, but he felt trustworthy.

Harry shook his head, “Not a mess. Just a victim of circumstance. Are you sleeping in your car tonight?” He raised his brows in question.

Y/n looked to the corner of the room and breathed out a huff of breath and pursed her lips as she nodded before looking back at Harry with a shrug, “Have nowhere else to go.”

#burlesque dancer!yn #rich!harry #ceo!harry #sugardaddy!harry #harry styles #harry styles smut #harry styles fic #harry x yn #harry x reader #harry x y/n #harry styles x reader #harry styles x yn #harry styles x y/n #sneak peek #coming soon(ish)#harry styles one shot #firstpost

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dreamersingingroses · 3 months

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Help Getting BL Manhwa Paljae Licensed

As per an initiative started on Reddit, I would like to ask you for help in regards to the potential licensing of the BL manhwa Paljae, Child of Winter.

I'm not kidding when I say this manhwa is a treat for the eyes.

With its Korean-inspired mythology and eery fantasy elements, Paljae is a beatiful story about a blind, powerful dosa (akin to a cultivator) who saves the life of a mysterious creature close to death that seems to be weakened by high temperatures and empowered by Winter season.

This is a mesmerizing manhwa both in artstyle and content. The exploration of human emotions, the blossoming of deep-rooted love and lifelong lessons are just the tip of this phenomenal story about two messed up beings finding companionship in each other.

I could sing praises about this story for hours and still it wouldn't be enough to express just how good it is. If this tiny summary has picked your interest, or if you're already acquainted with the story, please spare me five (5) more minutes!

See, as many of you know, the publishing house Seven Seas Entertainment opens a reader's survey every month to get suggestions from people about what their new licenses should be. From personal experience, I know getting a publisher's attention is hard (very much so), which means that this survey is a great opportunity to hopefully make them consider licensing this title.

As readers, we have the power to suggest what we're interested in buying, and we have to take this chance.

So without further ado, I propose we take this monthly surveys to get them to at least consider Paljae as a potential license.

A user on Reddit posted how you can help us by participating in the monthly surveys with instructions to do so: https://www.reddit.com/r/Paljae_ChildofWinter/s/KamfbYGn18

If you don't want to exit Tumblr right now, keep reading for my own summary of the post.

Whether you're familiar with Seven Seas or just want to give us a hand, if you're interested in reading Paljae, are already in love with it or just want to support the author, please consider taking Seven Seas Entertainment's monthly survey.

How can I help?

1. Once you click on the link, you'll be redirected to the FREE survey.

2. You will need to give them an email. This is only so they can make sure one person doesn't fill in multiple surveys. Your email won't be shared with their associates, and you won't be sent any emails either. I've been participating with other less wholesome suggestions for months, and it's alright.

3. You will have to answer a brief multiple-choice questionnaire about the formats you prefer to read manhwas, comics and the like.

4. Frequently, there will be a compulsory question about their new releases, so you may be prompted to choose the ones that pick your interest. Their covers and names will be included in a multiple-choice format, so have fun looking at them :)

5. There will be a question about which WEBTOON/WEBCOMIC you'd like to see licensed. This is where you can type Paljae, Child of Winter.

6. Finally, if you want to participate in their monthly raffle and win a paperback they published during the year prior, just enter your email in the last section. This is voluntary and won't affect the consideration of your answers.

We Tumblerinas know that fandom makes impossible things come true, and wouldn't it be awesome if we could make this happen?

You can find the link for their monthly reader's survey in different places:

- At the end of their webpage, https://sevenseasentertainment.com/

It will look something like this:

- On Instagram, in their stories: https://www.instagram.com/sevenseasentertainment?igsh=MWpsZ2xuZ2xvdG8zaA==

It will look something like this:

- On Twitter/X/whatever (I know we don't talk 'bout X around here, but still), https://twitter.com/gomanga

The tweet will usually be posted the first week of every month.

- On the reddit post linked in this publication, https://www.reddit.com/r/Paljae_ChildofWinter/s/KamfbYGn18

[This user will update the link every month, so that you can access the newest version whenever you see this post.]

That being said, I am very thankful for your time and I hope you can spare a few minutes to make this a reality. Thank you very much!

#manhwa #bl manhwa #paljae #danmei #manhua #seven seas entertainment

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kindlespice · 4 months

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🍉 actual hiatus 🍉

hi hi! so... it's been a while! *checks notes* i have not posted since august... of last year x.x i've been lurking around a bit occasionally dropping likes here and there, but for the most part been entirely absent. i feel like it's wayyyy past time for me to check-in, let everybody know i'm okay and all that jazz. but i am declaring this an actual hiatus now

tl;dr

i lost the simblr itch, i thought "surely it will come back" but it never came back and now i'm hyperfixating on other things.

i'm gonna put specifics under a read more if anyone's that interested in what i've been doing, what i will be doing, where i'll be hanging out now, etc. but it's really nothing big or major--just interests changing.

⭐ my content + patreon

(since it's kinda important and i want everyone to be able to see this) i'm not deleting this account and i'm still keeping my content up both on patreon and sfs! you will still be able to download things for free!!! i will be deleting my patreon tier! even though it was basically a donation tier, i feel bad keeping it up knowing i'm consciously not making more sims content (or being really active in the community) for the foreseeable future i'll be reaching out to existing patrons and making a similar post over there as well about the tier change!

i also wanna say thank you to everyone who's ever followed, donated, liked, commented, messaged, lurked or just been sweet and kind to me ❤️! simblr will always have a special place in my heart, so i don't think i'll ever leave leave, but i owe it to you guys to let you know that i'm making the conscious decision to be inactive for some time.

as a closing statement, fk isr*el and i am absolutely 100% without a doubt full stop

AGAINST GENOCIDE AND FOR A 🍉 FREE PALESTINE 🍉

you should be too if you're any kind of decent human being :)

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⭐what will happen to my account?

nothing really. or at least nothing different from how it's been for the last year and some change XD like i said, i'm still keeping my blogs up, downloads won't move, etc. i am just committing to not actively posting content or really being on simblr that much. maybe i'll drop some likes or comments when the mood hits (like i have been), but not really much else. i guess if there's any questions about this i'll answer them since my active attention will be back on simblr for at least a few days while i clean some things up. i would like to do one last thing as a kind of parting gift at some point... i never did end up cleaning up my downloads page or organize the thumbs/sorting for my cc like i said i would so maybe i'll do that before it gets away from me again but i'm not making any promises

⭐why am i on hiatus?

nothing bad happened or anything, i just.... lost interest. I already wasn't really playing the game that much even when i was super active; i mostly just took pictures and did edits. but i just wasn't having as much fun as i used to, opening the game started feeling like a chore, i wasn't all that inspired to make content, etc. i've burnt out on simblr on many an occasion so i just took a break like i always do but it kept going...and going.......and going.........until i realized it had been FOREVER and i hadn't really felt the itch to create here during that time, it wasn't coming back, and i was having much more fun doing other stuff. the times i did consider coming back it was more bc i felt bad about not creating rather than any actual desire to create. so i had to think long and hard about whether or not i even really wanted to come back. and i flip-flopped for probably 6 months--trying to drum up creative projects and never committing--before coming to the conclusion that i think i just need to call it a hiatus XD

⭐what have i been up to?

annoying my family with boycott lists and making them buy alternatively :D bouncing back and forth between many different hyperfixations... i fell back down the skyrim rabbithole several times, genshin, stardew, acnh, made a million notion pages i'll never use--the usual suspects. BUT BG3! at one point i swore i was gonna come back end of july/early aug but then BG3 dropped early and it was over... i definitely did A LOT of heavy lurking here when the girlies were all posting GORGEOUS tavs omg... i spent a while getting ts3 up and running, even made a sideblog thinking "maybe i'll come back with ts3 content that would be cool!"... just to not end up playing and not using the sideblog and not coming back -.- 4LIENS were supposed to have a comeback like... 4 separate times and it just did not happen... i've been making a concerted effort to get back into drawing and art. i've been in a kind of... depression? slump? with it for years now; always feeling like it wasn't good enough, that i should be better since i'm so "gifted and talented", i should be monetizing it and not "wasting" all that skill, blah blah imposter syndrome blah blah getting frustrated when i'm not 100% perfect all the time blah blah feeling like a disappointment to my family blah blah... but i am HELLA sick and tired of having all this anxiety and fear surrounding something i used to love so much so i'm pushing through! i've been trying out lots of different mediums and actually using my sketchbooks and just generally trying to introduce more fun into the process and stop being so hard on myself all the time. i picked up crocheting for a bit. at this point i haven't touched it in so long i probably forgot how to do it but... maybe one day i'll make a blanket or smth I started journalling (relatively) regularly for a bit. i was feeling really down at several points throughout the year and i thought having daily entries would help combat the feeling like every day was just absolute shit. on the contrary, the majority of days are good--at worst mundane--the bad ones just tend to stick out more. trying to get back into reading again... i miss doing it for leisure and taking notes bc i want to and not because i have a 300 annotation school assignment :P and a whole bunch of other stuff probably but it's hard to remember every single thing that's been on my mind for 16 months lol

⭐what will i be doing / where can you find me now?

i'm hoping to start a webtoon/build up art socials in the new year as a part of my "reconnecting to art" process. i made some art socials @kbearie-art here and @/kbearie_art on insta, youtube, tiktok, and twitter; they're empty for now though bc i got scared the minute i made them and never posted anything -.- but i'll be real with you... twitter is a cesspool, and im not fond of tiktok so i think tumblr, insta and youtube will probably be where i'll dedicate my time i've been thinking about getting back into posting videos on youtube again just in general. in fact this thought was the final push for me to make this post bc i was like... if i post a video out of the blue with no word to simblr that would be fked up XD i play games all the time and i had such a fun time recording, learning to edit and stuff that i think i'd like to pursue that further. i wouldn't be doing sims related stuff though bc...well... i don't play anymore XD but other games ya know. my other youtube is kspice (the same place with my tutorials, speed edits, the acnh vid, etc.) if you'd be interested in that

and i guess that's pretty much it!

again, for at least the next couple of days i'll probably actively have my eyes on this post/simblr in general (and i am gonna clear out my inbox hopefully) so if you have questions i'd ask em quickly before i go back into hiding XD

thanks again, i love you guys, free palestine, and have a good new year! 🍉⭐💖

#now...#is it extra if i change my theme right before i leave for an indefinite period of time?#...#it's never stopped me before!#also i hate this knock-off twitter layout i wanna burn it all down #why can't i put a real line in my text posts anymore i--#i take it all back #the tumblr changes are the reason i'm on hiatus #>:|#kspice.text

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ktempestbradford · 1 year

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UPDATE: He's home and tweeting.

UPDATE: Ekpeki is on his way back to Nigeria.

This tweet says that he was denied entry to the US and was sent back yesterday. I don't think he's yet in Nigeria, which is why no one has heard from him so far.

Original Post

SFF Community, some of you may be aware of the situation regarding author and editor Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki. If not, the short version is that he flew into LAX on Thursday to attend the NAACP Image Awards Friday and has not been heard from since landing.

Obviously, people are concerned about this. Ekpeki is Nigerian, here on a famously fraught to acquire visa, and US CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) doesn't have the best reputation for treating brown people like humans.

CPB took his phone and that's probably why no one has been able to communicate with him. And some friends of his claim they contacted CPB and got confirmation he was detained by them, but no updates since. I've seen lots of people calling for action and contacting US electeds.

I don't think that will work. Unlike when Ekpeki got the visa, putting pressure on Congressbeings isn't likely to have an affect here because it may be that he technically broke the rules or at least ended up on the wrong side of not very well spelled out rules.

The "best" scenario is that CPB sent him back to Nigeria, though why he's been out of communication so long is a mystery to me. (If anyone has insight, please share.) Here's what may have happened, pieced together with what I'm seeing on Twitter.

Ekpeki initially got his visa to attend WorldCon in September. The B1/B2 visa is for business purposes and tourism and is valid for 2 years(?) but it doesn't mean you can stay in the US for those whole two years. It means you can come in and out for that time.

When you enter, you get a stamp telling you the date you must leave by, though you can leave before then. And as this article explains, sometimes the entry stamper will default to 6 months, as that's the longest, or specify a shorter timeframe.

After WorldCon, Ekpeki wanted to stay in the US to attend World Fantasy a few months after. Not a problem. At the time he indicated that he planned to stay the full 6 months, go back to Nigeria, then come back for ICFA. The timing of all this likely changed when he got the Image Award nomination.

Regardless, he went back to Nigeria for a week, I believe (this is fuzzy and my sources aren't good, so I welcome corrections) before coming back to the US. And this is where I think he made a mistake. Again I point to the article I linked above.

Twitter user DuertoD pointed out something called Visa Carouseling, where a person leaves the US for a short time to then come back and get another 6 month stamp. It's apparently not really allowed to do that. (He goes into a bit more detail here.)

The thing I don't know is whether this is stated anywhere in the documentation. As in, do they say you have to be gone for a certain period before coming back explicitly? Or is it one of those fuzzy things that are up to whoever is working the desk you get to that day?

At any rate, DuertoD also pointed out that Ekpeki said publicly he intended to stay the whole 6 months and also that he had to buy a return ticket he "wouldn’t need", meaning that when he entered the US the first time the US thought he was leaving on a certain date, yet he didn't.

I do not know the details of when that return flight was supposed to have been. From what I gather talking to folks, open-ended stays on this visa are not to the US gov't's liking.

Complicating this whole thing is that a group of trolls have been stalking and harassing Ekpeki for a while now and I know they were aware of him going out then coming back into the country. It's entirely possible they maliciously reported him.

It's entirely possible that CBP wouldn't have noticed or cared on a normal day, but did once they'd been alerted. Also entirely possible they wouldn't have cared if they'd been alerted if Ekpeki wasn't Black, or Nigerian. There's a whole constellation of annoying possibilities.

The reason I said that I don't think getting Congressbeings involved will help is that, in the end, CBP may be entirely within the law to have detained him over concerns of Visa Carouseling. And his rights, such as they are, are very limited from what I understand.

I've heard that there are some efforts by a lawyer to help out, and that may be why Ekpeki isn't already tweeting that he's been sent back to Nigeria (which would be a "best" case at this point… cuz being in CBP custody as a Black person is cause for concern).

In this case, it may end up being a sad but not tragic outcome for Ekpeki. Others who've been flagged for this have been barred from the US for a time, and maybe that will be the case for him.

Thinking to the future, I'd like to see SFF community entities do some work around this whole US visa process and how we can help writers and editors from marginalized groups and countries navigate this better. For now, I hope we find out soon that Oghenechovwe is okay.

If I have any of the details or legal stuff wrong, please let me know! I want to spread good information and will update this post accordingly.

ALSO NOTE: The trolls I mentioned have been all up in the twitter replies and may come here as well. Do Not Engage With Them. They find harassing and provoking people fun and exciting. Block or ignore.

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petitmonde · 1 year

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Meet ugly

A set of dialogue prompts and scenarios for meet ugly, because who doesn't need chaos in their lives? Send in a prompt and/or scenario + a ship. Feel free to share and use.

I'd like to thank @missjanjie and @sweetlikesunflowersandhoney for their help.

Dialogue prompts

1. "Is that my car?"

2. "Oh, so that was you?"

3. "Please never contact me again"

4. "You shouldn't be in here"

5. "Who the hell are you?"

6. "So listen, I met the worst bitch ever on my way to work"

7. "Can you shut up? At least for ten minutes"

8. "You could say sorry"

9. "Just don't puke on my carpet"

10. "I don't even know you"

11. "I didn't ask for your life story"

12. "I didn't sign up for this"

13. "Okay, rule number one, don't talk to me"

14. "That fucking hurt"

15. "Did your parents hate you when they named you that?"

16. "That is the ugliest dress I've ever seen"

17. "I think I just spilled coffee all over our new boss"

18. "I'm pretty sure my date is hitting on your date"

19. "Wait, this isn't my apartment?"

20. "If you kick my seat one more time, I'm cutting off your legs."

21. "Get out"

22. "Well here's the thing, I don't care"

23. "I'm going to call the cops"

24. "It's loaded"

25. "Shit, I thought you weren't home"

26. "It's been six months and you still don't know their name?"

27. "I think you got the wrong number"

28. "Put your clothes back on"

29. "What the hell is wrong with you? Don't answer that, I already know"

30. "When I see that bitch again"

31. "I don't have a death wish"

32. "I am not getting in that car with you"

33. "Why does this kind of thing always happen to me?"

34. "Okay, for the last fucking time"

35. "Didn't you hear me?"

36. "Get a grip, get a life and get over it"

37. "I am not going to entertain drama, chaos, confusion and madness"

38. "I'm not bothered, not at all"

39. "I knew she was a clown from the jump"

40. "I'm not finished talking to you"

41. "I pity you for the face that you have"

42. "Here, let me buy you a new one"

43. "I don't want it anymore"

44. "You're getting blood all over me"

45. "You will be hearing from my lawyer"

46. "Well, you can go fuck yourself"

47. "Did you ever work in porn?"

48. "Who invited you?"

49. "This sounds like a scam"

50. "$800? I don't have that kind of money"

Scenarios

A. A and B have an appointment at the same clinic after their partner cheated on them, without knowing the other person is their side piece.

B. A server spills a milkshake on a customer's fancy new shirt, and is entirely unapologetic about it.

C. A and B match on Tinder and they quickly realise the other person is insane and unmatch. They then meet again on a blind date.

D. They've waged a passive aggressive war against eachother for years for being 'that annoying neighbour' by leaving notes in the laundry room without actually having met.

E. They're both hospitalised in the same room, and absolutely everything their new roommate does is annoying. And their family and friends are even worse.

F. It's the worst day ever already, and in comes an idiot who thinks it's cute to be overly friendly.

G. A is gleefully eating something B had been looking forward to all week – and it was the last one!

H. A stole B's cat accidentally, but now it's been over a year, so whose cat is it really.

I. A suddenly having to become a babysitter for a very drunk B, a complete stranger.

J. A and B have been tricked into babysitting the same pair of chaotic twins.

K. A finds B wildly attractive, and has had a crush on them for a good while, however during their first conversation, A blanks and insults B.

L. Just your ordinary everyday traffic accident between a car and a bike.

M. A drunkenly texts B, thinking they're A's ex, and now B won't stop teasing them about it.

N. On a skiing trip, A walks into what they think is their own lodge, only to find that the bed they're sleeping in belongs to B, who very much doesn't appreciate waking up to being spooned by a stranger.

O. A is the sole reason they're desperately trying to survive an avalanche.

P. A's dog messes up B's date, but is refusing to pay for a new pair of pants.

Q. A's sibling fucks over B, and when B comes over to slap some sense into them, they end up slapping A.

R. A gets an angry phone call from B, cussing out someone with a name that's similar to theirs. At first they wanted to hang up, but now A just really wants to hear how that person fucked up.

S. A is a stand-in for B's partner in a reality TV show, and is doing their damnedest at messing them up since B was dismissive of them when they met. Revenge isn't always cold, bitch.

T. They're sharing an Uber from a club, and holy shit, A is bleeding all over the place, so B has no option but to help to avoid paying a cleaning fee.

U. A works at an amusement park as a mascot in a suit. B lives to torment the mascots, and now that there aren't kids around, A is ready to let them have it.

V. A is running late, and only notices their shirt is inside out in the elevator. They try to put it on right but they get stuck with their shirt half off. B is the shocked neighbour who finds A like that.

W. A has brought in flowers to work to welcome the new hire, who happens to be extremely allergic to said flowers.

X. Someone keeps stealing A's food from the fridge, and having had enough, A poisons their food with an inordinate amount of chili peppers. Now to wait for the screams of B come lunchtime.

Y. If A doesn't shut up about their ex anytime soon, B is going to blow a gasket and tell them to get a life. They're in public for fucks sake, have your mental breakdown somewhere else.

Z. A has talked mad shit about B at length, not realising they'd be their next opponent in their next match. Now it's personal.

#prompt list #writing #meet ugly #writerblr #dialogue prompts

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jasper-book-stash · 29 days

Text

March 2024 Reading Wrap Up

I got bronchitis and my period at the same time in March, and then spilled tea on my computer, so March was a very stressful time for me. Regardless, I managed to read 10 books! And honestly, overall, this is one of the better months - the lowest I've ranked a book is 6/10, which is damn good considering the absolute bullshit I usually read.

Religious Text

None applicable.

1/10 - Why Did They Publish This?

None applicable.

2/10 - Trash

None applicable.

3/10 - Meh

None applicable.

4 to 6/10 - Mid-Tier

Tomb Sweeping | Alexandra Chang

I read this book while sick. And boy howdy, did that make it a weird experience. I get what it was going for, but it really wasn't my vibe. It just felt like everything was...unfinished. Which was the point, I suppose, but it was still annoying.

7 to 8/10 - Good With Caveats

What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality | Daniel A Helminiak

This is a very short book compared to my usual reads, topping at 152 pages. And I appreciate a book that gets straight to the point and analyzes the historical context around various works, particularly religious works. Good job. My only complaint is some editing issues.

Born to Love, Cursed to Feel | Samantha King

This was a poetry collection and was the only other book I read while sick, and boy howdy did I have a time of it. I spent most of the reading just...putting post-it notes in and nodding along to the lines. It was a surprisingly good book, considering I found it in the back alley version of a book store.

Southern Cunning: Folkloric Witchcraft in the American South | Aaron Oberon

Look. This is not a 101 book. It's not a 102 book. It's not even a 201 book. It simply is. And as much as I enjoyed it and enjoyed reading it, the fact that I spent most of my reading time fixing the editing means that I cannot, in good faith, put this any higher than an 8 out of 10. Dear Aaron Oberon, if you ever read this, PLEASE give me access to the original file so I can fix your punctuation and spelling mistakes. Sincerely, a fellow Southerner.

9/10 - Very Very Good

Snow White with the Red Hair, volumes 21-23 | Sorata Akiduki

I am still so fucking feral over this series. I love them so fucking much. I want them all to be happy but I also like seeing their shenanigans. Unfortunately, though we're at 26 published volumes, we've reached the end of the ones in Missouri Evergreen that I may access. I'll either have to wait and hope that someone gets them, or I'll have to bite the bullet and buy them myself.

Not Pounded By Anything: Six Platonic Tales Of Non-Sexual Encounters | Chuck Tingle

This is my first expedition into the erotic Tingleverse after reading some pieces of the horror Tingleverse in Straight and Camp Damascus. And I really, really like this book. It's 77 pages and is such an easy read. Godspeed, you glorious bastard.

10/10 - Unironically Recommend To Everyone

Well, everyone who's into the genre these fall under, at least.

Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft, tenth edition | Janet Burroway

I found this in the free section of a bookstore in the middle of nowhere, and let me tell you, it is now marked up one side and down the other with highlighter, because I needed it. There are so many good parts of this book that it's genuinely one I would recommend to people who are trying to figure out why their writing feels flat.

Sacred Gender: Create Trans and Nonbinary Spiritual Connections | Ariana Serpentine

First, I want to congratulate the author on what is possibly the coolest name ever.

Second, if you're an occultist, polytheist, witch, magic practitioner, or in any other way affiliated with things beyond or within mortal ken...get this book. It's making me rethink a lot of my own experiences with my craft and my religion, but in a good way.

#jasper post #books #bookblr #authors #reading wrap up #2024 #march 2024

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sovonight · 9 months

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hi sovo ;u; I hope it's okay if I ask you a shop question! So um, I'm lower on money than I've ever been and I'm too burnt out to do commissions for ppl due to personal stuff, but I feel like... if I made one charm or one sticker for a particularly huge fandom/movie that's out right now, and if I put it up as preorder and sold at least 20 keychains then I'd be able to pay my bills this month. but I've never sold physical merch before and I'm a little nervous to try it haha :'D

Would you recommend I try making an Etsy since it seems to have a large enough audience, or do you think I should try making my own website/shop? I'm definitely not ready to consistently sell things as a steady job yet, I thought I'd try literally just one single keychain or one sticker sheet (I already learned how to make those, thankfully) in order to pay my rent this month bc I've only got about a hundred dollars to my name sdflkfssdf;; and if it goes well then maybe I can try it again.

I'm also not quite sure how to price things? if I made a 3.5 inch acrylic charm with the little star shaped keychains like from Vograce, do people normally price those at $15 when they sell them? should I also account for shipping? I've also umm never shipped merch before and I'm so worried about somehow messing it up sldfjsf like I don't know what kind of envelopes I have to get or if I should even use my own address bc I'm so nervous about my personal info being out there, but I don't know if it's worth paying for a PO box if I'm so low on money already. if you have any tips on anything whatsoever, I would appreciate any feedback if you're not busy. But if you don't want to answer please don't worry about it ;u; anyway thank you so much for reading this I really appreciate you! ❤

no prob! here are my thoughts:

pros/cons of etsy:

apparently if you're new to selling on etsy, there's a probationary period where etsy withholds your profits for 3 months. i don't know anything about it personally since it started in 2020, but it seems that funds are only released when your shipped orders are scanned at the post office. i think i also remember hearing about other cases where payments aren't released at all for 3 months--and etsy customer service has a reputation of being difficult to get a hold of if you have a problem as a seller, so if etsy made a mistake with your shop, it may take even more months to resolve. since you have preorders in mind, i would hold off on etsy unless you can pay out of pocket.

etsy can drive traffic towards your listing for you (if you choose the right keywords--it's more difficult to be discovered just randomly if you don't).

they have high fees (for a $15 charm they'd take $1.88 in fees, which is 12.5%).

people may be cautious to buy from a shop that has no reviews yet, but many customers are protected by etsy's purchase protection and can be refunded at no cost to you if their order gets lost in the mail (provided that you ship with a tracking number and meet other criteria).

etsy will strongly recommend that you offer free shipping; ignore them. i don't think i've ever bought fanmerch with free shipping in my life, and their advice isn't geared towards sellers like us.

preorders don't work very well with etsy's system--iirc you're not supposed to do them (even though people still do, of course) but the main reason i remember is that the max processing time etsy lets you set per product (as in, the time between the customer purchasing the listing and you shipping it out) is 6 weeks. that means that the time you allow for customers to place their preorders, the time it takes for you to order and receive the merch, and the time it takes for you to ship out orders, all need to add up a max of 6 weeks, which was personally a difficult timeline for me to meet when making keychains. ofc, it's possible to extend the processing time, but going over the processing time may make it possible for customers to leave reviews/open cases early before you're even ready to ship out their orders, which could affect the reputation of your shop.

pros/cons of not etsy:

if you're not going with etsy, i've heard people recommend bigcartel, since it doesn't require a subscription like shopify or other places do. bigcartel's free plan is limited, but it should work for what you're looking for. another alternative might be ko-fi--i've heard that ko-fi shops aren't ideal for shipping out a large amount of orders, but since you're targeting just 20 i think it should be manageable.

ofc, you'll have to drive all your traffic yourself, so consider if you have enough of a following in your target fandom, or how you should go about getting your post noticed by your target fandom.

unlike etsy, shipping isn't auto-calculated, so i'd probably set a flat rate (in the US i'd expect $5). flat rates might make calculating your taxes just a little bit more complicated; in california at least, you have to pay taxes on the difference between the shipping you charge your customers and the shipping you actually pay to the post office, so iirc you either refund the extra shipping to the customer or hand it all over in taxes.

pricing:

yes, the standard price for ~3" acrylic keychains is $15, though i've also seen people go up to $16 or $17, especially on etsy where the fees are high.

shipping should be a separate cost, either auto-calculated for you (if you're on etsy/shopify) or a flat rate that you set based on shipping rates for your country, so in the end a customer might pay $15 + $5 = $20 in total.

unless most of your prospective customers are international, i'd recommend against shipping internationally to avoid dealing with customs forms, especially since you already have a lot of info to take in.

you can ship everything in a regular bubble mailer, though if you're just shipping stickers not keychains, a flat envelope should work fine. when shipping packages, you'll need to know the weight of each package, but you can just go by an estimate. a 3" acrylic keychain weighs about 1 oz (it weighs less than that, but they don't accept decimals) so i just multiply based on how many keychains are in an order. for usps at least, shipping is the same rate up until 10 oz iirc, so you don't need to weigh it super accurately. you could also always just go into the post office and have them weigh and label everything for you.

po box:

if regular PO box rates in your area are too high, you can also consider using a virtual po box; they go for about $10 per month at their most basic plans. if you're not expecting to get any mail redirected back to you, you should be able to just buy a month's subscription when you're ready to ship things out.

words of caution:

you probably already know this, but large fandoms can often be oversaturated by merch, so just choosing a large fandom might not be enough to guarantee a sale--you might have to stand out by, say, choosing a character who's in demand but doesn't have much fanmerch, having a funny meme concept, or having such a unique/attractive style that people can't help but want your fanmerch in particular. if you haven't already, i'd recommend looking around the market and seeing what's out there and decide why a buyer should choose your merch over anyone else's. though honestly, depending on your fandom, it could also not be this serious and not warrant much research--it all depends!

even if the preorder process works out and you get the funds to place the order, the manufacturer could always mess up on your order, which could lead to delays in your fulfillment and at worst, more expenses if you need to pay to get them remade. if it's easier to get sticker sheets made (like if you make them yourself/locally instead of ordering from overseas) they might be a safer choice of merch to make. ofc, i don't generally see sticker sheets up for preorder so you'd probably have to order them out of pocket and hope they sell, and you'll probably have to sell more of them than you would of keychains to get the same amount of profit. i don't know the whole situation, so i can't say anything definite about the risks/rewards between choosing to sell keychains and choosing to sell stickers.

#sovo answers #hope this helps!

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el-ly-sha-give-no-f · 2 years

Text

Camera and Blessing

“

AUTHOR NOTE: hello, FINALLY I HAVE THE URGE AND ENERGY TO POST, I’ve been doing better now, so like I said before I've been working on father!reader imagine, so here's the first one, Wolff reader, Enjoy! let me know if anything wrong, enjoy and NO repost or COPY my work okay?! love you guys and have a great day! <3

WARNING: yelling? arguing? but flufffffffffffffffff

PAIR: Wolff!reader x Lewis Hamilton

PRONOUNCE: she/her

WORDS: idk

-----

Hi, Im y/n Viss Wolff, and yes daughter of the famous Toto Wolff, Im working with F1 as a Mercedes Photographer and my dad's Social Manager. Yeah, I’m actually not into the F1 world, I like Photography! I mean look at it! they're so peaceful. At first when I told my dad that I want to become a Photographer, he kinda doesn't like it.

I ask him why, first, it is because I need to travel and explore outside of the country, that means I have to go alone and it's dangerous then i’m gonna be away from my family, second of all, he said I need to become his Legacy, but I said that I’m not into racing, I was pissed off at that time but he still insisted.

After how many months I begged him, only God know, he finally gave up, he let me become a photographer but on two conditions, that I become Mercedes's special photographer and his social manager. I don’t care, at least I reach my dream work

The first year when I’m part of the Mercedes team, it's was the hardest year of my life, a stressful and depressing year. My dad and Susie have been helping me with a bunch of stuff, the other Social Manager helped me too and other people around the paddock give me a lot of motivation. Oh, by I mean people around the paddock including 'Lewis Hamilton'. When I met him for the first time, I was starstruck, I was so excited to meet him earlier that day, I know I said Im am not into F1 but, what did you expect when your dad talk about him almost every day, of course, I have a little crush on him.

But all of that happened 3 years ago. My feeling toward him become growing.

By that means I have been working with dad for 3 years, it's getting better now. They had my back since then and Im very happy that I live around awesome people.

Right now, I’m at Mercedes paddock , preparing my Canon camera that i bought it myself 2 years ago. I know Mercedes already prepared a camera for me but I don’t want to share it with other photographer cause I’m afraid that they’re gonna delete my works accidently or not.

But I don’t know what happen with my lense today, I’ve been wiping it for almost 6 minutes. I’m glad that today activities ir I can say “work” is not much. Just take some picture, handle my dad’s interview and edit some of my pic then send it to Mercedes Social Media Handlers. That’s it. Like usual.

I heard someone footsteps walking toward me, I look up from my camera lense, It’s Lewis walking toward me, he’s wearing Mercedes official T-shirt. I saw him him smiling at me I reply with my smile back. He gives me a tight hug. His hugs is my favourite thing in this world well other than “foods”. We pull away from the hug.

“Hi Darling, how are you?” He greet me

“Hey Lewis, not much, just preparing my camera right now, as you can see on this table, It’s a mess, I don’t know why my lense suddenly became blurry when I want to used it earlier” I hand the lense to him and he take the lense from my hand and take a look with it.

“well I don’t know much about camera, I’m not a camera nerd like yo-” I smack his arm as I give him a death stare, he raise his arm surrender “I’m joking, well lady, this is your sign to buy a new lense” he suggest made me laugh.

“In your dream Lewis Hamilton, I think it’s just because I don’t wipe it properly but I’ve been wiping it for 6 minutes straight, besides, this lense is my favourite lense cause’ my dad bought it for me as my birthday present last year and I use it since then, kinda hard to replace it with other”

“oh you’re very loyal to this one eh?” Loyal not just for the lense but for our love if you want to know.

“yeah, yeah, kinda like that” I reply

-we talk for a while-

“well Lewis, I think you need to go” I said to him

“why? you want me to leave you?” what the fuck are you doing Y/n. “wait no no, not like that, you still not changing into your into your race suit yet and I know my dad not gonna be happy about it, especially 30 minutes before racing” I rumble

“ He He He, his not gonna be mad at me, besides-” he wrap his arm around my neck “I want to meet my bestfriend before the racing start”.

ouch, that hurt. “bestfriend”. Not me hoping for him to call me his lover.

Like I said my feeling for him is growing, I mean three years! who doesn’t... I’m afraid my dad gonna be mad if I date his ‘Top Driver’, my dad has been teasing about this before but I keep denied it maybe he react is a good react. Well, maybe one day Y/n.

“LEWIS! we need you right now” my thought was interrupted by someone voice calling for Lewis. I see him nodding to the staff.

“I guess, this is it, goodluck for today, and don’t worry about your camera lense, I think you just need to wipe it little bit more” he suggest

“well earlier, you said you’re not one of a camera nerdy like me, I’ve been your friend for three years! I don’t know you’re an camera expert Lewis” I joke

“whatever you said nerd” I smack his arm again, he remove his arm around my neck and looking at me, “I’ll see you after race” he said and he kiss me on the cheek, even though it’s an a quick cheek kiss but it is enough to make me blushing. I look him and see him smiling before, he turn back and walk away.

I’m standing still, blushing, God Damn that smile.

I’m so gonna tell this to Susie! I pack my stuff not worrying about my lense anymore. I put all of my stuff in my backpack and run to find Susie.

Turns out, I bumping into dad instead of Susie.

“hey you,little miss! why so rushing?” He ask me

“nothing” I reply and laugh, I’m ready to go and find Susie again, I turn around and start to walking when I feel someone hand pulling my arm and I turn around. It’s not my normal dad, instead it’s my serious dad. I sigh. This old man.

“what happened?” he ask me again.

“what do you mean what happened? nothing happened” I answer.

“I’m your dad and your shit doesn’t work for mr kid so don’t lie, I know you for the whole of my life, and we made a promise before, no secret between us , no secret between father and daughter” He remind me.

“you done?”

he nod.

“Well” I smile and doze out while I’m thinking about what happened earlier.

I feel soft smack on my head, and I return to the present, this time it’s not only Toto but Susie too.

“ouch, what was that for” I ask, rubbing the spot where my dad smack me.

“I ask you to explain, not dozing out!”

“okay okay, but since when you’re here?” I ask Susie

“since earlier” she wiggle her eyebrow

“kay kay fine Lewis...” I see my father tense up and raise his eyebrow, “he kissed me-” I got cut off

“WHAT?!!” well here, I heard two types of “what” one is the fuss “what” and one is the excited “what”. But both of them caught everyone around us attention

“SHHHHHHHHHH” I put both of my hand on their mouth, they look around and look at me back, both of them remove my hand from their mouth, one harshly and one softly we all can guess who.

“No Y/n!” I look at Susie who already looking at Toto.

“what do you mean no?!” Susie ask his husband

“cmon his my driver”

“and?” I confuse

“if you guys together, yours relationship will distract him!” he state

“dad what? what about the tease before about me and Lewis?, when I close with Lewis, how come it’s not an issues and it’s never distract him before?”

“that’s different you guys are friend not dating” he’s argue

“what’s the different, he still your driver, not that one day if I date him suddenly he’ll move to Haas team” I argue back

“stop it y/n! you never discuss with me before you do anything that you want to do”

“what’s the connection with this situation?! this is nonsense!”

“y/n listen-” I cut him this time

“no you listen!, I’m not a child anymore dad, if this whole problem relate with my career path to you you are insane, you always remind me before, past is past! What’s up with you changing your mind?”

“y/n when I say no, It’s a no, can you please just listen to me”

“okay you both, stop it, three of us currently at public, it will get media attention! why don’t you guys continue discuss this at home tonight?” Susie try to remind and calm us, almost forgot that Susie here with us too.

“well here the things, we’ve not even together yet but I’m glad this all happen, cause’ at least I already know how you’ll reacted, whatever you said, handle your interview yourself today” with that I walk of from Mercedes Paddock and start to take some of pics.

-[RACE START/RACE END!!!!]-

Lewis did a really great job! P1! word can’t even describe how happy I am for him, despite what happened earlier. I’ll try to ignore it.

I make my way to Lewis, I call his name and he turn around, I see him smiling and coming towards me, his smile always light my mood up,it’s just, beautiful.

he give me a tight hug and I hug him back.

“congratulation on your win Lewis, I’m so proud of you! you deserve this!” I congrats him excitedly

“thank you so much y/n, this is for you and the team, without you guys I- I don’t know what will happen” he confess

we pull away from the hug.

“y/n actually-” someone call him and he turn to look at the Mercedes staff

“Lewis we need you at the podium!” he nod and turn to look at me again.

“I need to go, duty call, see you later love” he kiss my forehead before he walk and go behind the stage.

I smile and walking to the in front of the stage, me and the team cheering when Lewis standing on the podium, and I take a couple pictures of him holding his trophy with my camera, after that I see my dad looking at me, don’t want to argue again, I look at Lewis currently soak with champagne , I smile before walking back to the paddock.

--------------- TIME SKIP!

Me,dad and Susie arrive home, I look at watch on my wrist currently showing solid 10pm. Jack probably already sleep, it’s passed his bedtime, I miss him so much, even though we don’t share the same blood, but I treat him as one. Despite my mother don’t want to take care of me, she’s long gone, gone from mine and dad’s life. I walking to go to my room tiredly.

“y/n” I heard dad calling my name softly, enough to make me tears falling from my eyes, I stop walking, and slowly turn to look at him.

I wipe my tears, before I ask him

“what?” trying to control my tone

“I leave you guys alone, I’m gonna see Jack and Kate(jack babysitter)” she said and walk out from the living room and go to Jack’s bedroom.

My dad standing in front of me and start talking again.

“first, i just want to say sorry, it’s never been my attention to hurt you or your feeling or anything at all, as your dad, I know i’m not the want who will choose your decision, your career or who you will going to date, I am so sorry y/n”

“when I saw you and Lewis talking at the paddock earlier, I can see he’s the one for you, he’s the one that can make you happy in the future and he’s the one that can take care of you besides me” he continue

“I know my reason to why you can’t date Lewis is nonsense, like you said earlier, I’m just afraid that you will be far away from me,it’s not because it will distract Lewis no its not, I know I have Susie and Jack, but losing you is one of a thing that I’m not ready to face it yet, I realize i was wrong”

It’s makes me tears up more after I heard what came out from my father mouth, I hug him and continue crying on his shoulder, I feel he rub my back softly.

“Dad, it’s okay, you’re not going to lose me, I am your forever daughter, I’ll never gone from your life, I promise you, I will be with you forever, please remember that, and you don’t have to apologise, I also was wrong, I overreacted and I’m sorry too”

“its okay sweetheart, it was nobody fault, remember what I said, past is past” he remind me

“past is past”I mumble quietly.

“Please never leave me to handling my own interview again, it was stressful” he said and i laugh.

------------------

after that happened we never fight after that and Lewis confess his feeling for me and I told him that I feel the same, my dad already warn him, if he ever makes me cry or hurt my feeling just know what will happen to him. Yeah typical dad things.

END!

=======================================

what do you guys think is it okay? let me know, i have one more fics, daniel ricciardo x reader, prepare! hope you guys safe and healthy, and thank you for those who have been waiting for me to post a new one shot I appreciate it and I’m sorry for making you guys waiting, I love you guys.bye

-elly

#lewis hamilton imagine #fomula one #fomula one imagine #f1 one shot #f1 x reader #lewis hamilton #toto wolff #toto wolff x reader #mercedes amg f1

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transbodydreams · 2 years

Text

Things transwomen should think about before they start transitioning - clothes edition!

Okay, I'm a month into committing to transitioning, and one of the first things I've had to deal with is building a brand new wardrobe. I had a handful of feminine items, but nothing that was practical and nowhere NEAR enough to actually have something to wear every day! It's been really hit or miss so far - I do now have enough cute, wearable clothes that I could wear something different every day for a week, but that included buying at least as much stuff that didn't fit, was poorly made, or turned out to look terrible on me. I've had to entirely relearn how to shop for clothes and wade through a ton of confusing, contradictory information about sizes, fabrics, styles, and all of the things that make women's clothing so much more fun (and infuriating) than men's. These are a few of the key lessons I've learned that I wanted to share - hopefully someone will see this and not make at least some of the mistakes I made? 😏

Trying to build an entirely new woman's wardrobe all at once is f*cking expensive! Women's clothes cost more than men's in general, and bigger sizes cost more than smaller sizes - sometimes a LOT more, since often the sale prices you see online only apply to the smallest sizes. As a man I could walk into Old Navy or someplace like it and pick up a couple pairs of pants, 2-3 shirts, and some underwear for less than $75, but the equivalent women's basics at a will cost you anywhere from $100 to $200, even if you're shopping at a discount chain like Marshall's. You'll find better deals online, but still expect everyday clothes to cost you at least 25% more for even the most simple items, and don't even get me started on the cost of a really nice dress!

Set a budget and plan your purchases based on what you need, not just what you want. You need to start with basic FUNCTIONAL items like practical, wearable underwear (hose, panties, bras. etc.), season appropriate tops, leggings, skirts, dresses, and if winter's coming, don't forget sweaters and outerwear!

You really do need to know ALL of your measurements before trying to buy clothes - don't guess, you'll get it wrong! There are lots of online resources that tell you what and how to measure. Get yourself a measuring tape and write it all down! Oh, and good luck trying to figure out what a listed "bust" measurement means for a top or dress - does it mean underbust or chest or overbust or bust, because those are all different names for two different measurements 😒

You're going to want to throw out all of your boy clothes, but remember that some female things are just not going to fit you yet, no matter how badly you want them too. Pants are a good example, especially fitted jeans. Unless you're really lucky or you plan on wearing a padded girdle all the time, you probably don't have the butt or hips yet to make most women's jeans work. If you already have some men's slim-fit stretch jeans, for example, very few people will notice the difference from women's low waisted jeans (other than the fly going the wrong way) and they'll look better on you. Plus, some men's items can be repurposed to be worn in a more feminine way, so resist the urge to burn them all!

If you're only wearing your fem clothes at home you can afford to be a little impractical, but if you intend to start wearing them in public remember that you'll need practical stuff that you can wear to do mundane things like grocery shopping or going to work. Don't be that girl in the bodycon mini-dress and 6" platform heels in the produce section!

If there's someplace you feel comfortable going in person, you really should start by trying some things on in a store to get a sense of how things fit and what will work on your body vs what you WISH would work on your body. Online ordering is private and safe and awesome, but there's no telling if what you buy will fit or work for you. If you take the time to try on a bunch of things on for real first, at least you'll have a basic idea of what might work and what definitely won't.

Think about what you want your personal style to be, and try to be realistic about it. Much more than men's clothes, women's clothes are really designed for very specific body types, and no matter how much you wish you could pull off a look, you need to figure out what actually works for your body now. Are you thin enough or young enough to carry off that super cute ultra-stylish street and clubwear, or is it just going to make you look old and fat? Do you really have the hips and butt to pull off those booty shorts? Think about all the times you saw someone dressing inappropriately for their age or body type and cringed, and don't be that person. If your goal is to look good in those styles then figure out what you need to do for it to work for you, but don't waste all of your money buying things that don't look good now and won't fit when you achieve the body you're working toward. Patience, woman! You'll get there!

All that said, if you really feel great wearing things that aren't necessarily "right" for your body, then f*ck anyone who tries to judge you for it. You be you, girl!

Just because it says it's a size 12 doesn't mean it actually IS a size 12. Women's sizes vary a LOT depending on what brand you're buying or where you're buying it from, especially if they only use small/medium/large etc instead of numerical sizes. Find a store or brand that fits you consistently and use that as your gold standard. that way if you buy something from a different brand or store you can get a sense of whether their items are going to trend bigger or smaller.

Finally, a word about wish.com. Someone suggested this site, which is basically the Chinese version of Amazon, as a place to get some stuff really inexpensively, but it is definitely a buyer beware situation. The prices are jaw droppingly low, it's true (seriously, you can find just about anything for under $5!), but it's REALLY hit or miss, like you should expect at least a third of what you buy to be unusable. The sizes are all over the map - some items don't list a size chart at all, and in general everything is a size or two smaller than you would expect it to be, except when it's not. Plus, a lot of the less expensive stuff they have is really poor quality, and their shipping times and costs are RIDICULOUS! I ordered a bunch of cute summery things and not only did the shipping cost more than the items, it's taken so long for them to get here that it's now too cold for me to wear them anywhere except around the apartment with the heat on full blast! I love the site and will probably keep using it (who could resist getting 3 dresses, two tops, two pairs of heels, 2 pairs of leggings, and a couple of cute bras and panties for under $100, even including the exorbitant shipping and the likelihood that at least 4 of those items will be unwearable?) but do your homework and at least read the product info and reviews before purchasing! And remember, it's really easy to get a refund on wish, and given that they only ask you to return items that cost more than $25, all that cheap stuff is basically free to try if you're willing to wait 4-8 weeks for it!

#mtf trans #trans #cute outfit #things I wish I'd known before I started transitioning #transgender #transitioning tips

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cazort · 4 months

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Ugh. Awful day. Six months ago my wife and I bought a washing machine and chose to buy a Speed Queen, which was much more expensive than most other brands, because it had a top-notch reputation and long warranty and we just didn't want to have to deal with breakdowns. This was a tough choice that we did not make lightly. Buying a house was a huge financial burden and my finances are now tighter than they've been in years, and the amount of money at stake matters. We were hoping to buy stability and leave us with one fewer thing to worry about during a stressful life transition.

Well a few days ago, it broke after 6 months, which is irritating enough, but the company has been hellish to deal with. They keep over-promising and under-delivering. Tuesday they said a local service company would reach out to schedule an appointment within 48 hours. Over 72 hours went by with no call. I called again today and the system said the wait time was 1 hour 6 minutes. This is literally the longest wait time I have ever had from any company. I put my number in the queue and they called me back...1 hour 50 minutes later.

The rep was barely helpful. She did not seem to understand the gravity or magnitude of the situation and spoke as if what happened to me was business-as-usual, rather than a rare, once-in-a-blue moon occurence that the company wanted to bend over backwards to fix. She tried calling the contractor and couldn't reach them. She did switch the ticket to a different contractor, who called me back later that afternoon, so now I have an appointment set up for next Thursday.

But I'm upset. I'm upset that I paid over twice the price for what I thought would be a premium product unlikely to break, and with a commitment to outstanding service, and instead I got a company that provides the longest hold times I have ever seen in my life, repeatedly makes promises it fails to deliver on, and reps that have no authority to escalate the issue or do anything to right the situation.

And I still don't know what is going to happen on Thursday. Will the contractor show up? Will they be able to fix it then and there, or will I have to wait days or weeks for a replacement part? Am I going to need to drag our laundry to the laundromat and incur additional costs doing so?

I have already filed a BBB complaint. I would like a partial rebate of the price I paid, because the value I have received is not worth what I paid for. I also am talking about my experience online.

Speed Queen has a top-tier reputation. They are a brand mainly used by laundromats, supposedly made to handle a heavy volume of use and last for many years. But the way they have treated me as a customer makes me feel like I've been cheated and would have done better buying a cheaper brand available at any box store.

I'm a reasonable person. I don't expect top-tier service if I buy a cheap, low-end product. I can even forgive mediocre service. But paying premium prices and then getting unspeakably bad service is just unconscionable to me.

If they had told me it might take a week to get contacted, I would be annoyed but it wouldn't be as bad as saying I would expect a call in a certain time frame and then have that call not come. And I might feel better if they did what most companies do, which is to at least apologize profusely and tell me they are really concerned with what is going on and escalate the situation. Like earlier this week I called my bank about something they messed up and the woman was like "Yeah you are right, the interface is actually really bad. I get why you are upset. We really need to improve that."

Like sometimes that's literally all it takes. Someone saying "Wow, we really messed up. I'm really sorry that sucks so much."

But no I didn't even get that.

And of course if this happens to me I'm gonna talk about it everywhere. So right now I am warning people about Speed Queen. They may have an amazing reputation but my experience with them so far has been awful.

#speed queen #washer #washing machine #home appliances #customer service

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neon-dynasty · 1 year

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Gathering Friends

I collect Planeswalker cards. Ever since I opened Sarkhan Vol in a Shards of Alara draft, I've been in love with the card type. It's like calling in a favor from a friend, except instead of getting a ride to the airport, you get dragons.

Look at that card! It may not seem special now, but imagine seeing something like this for the first time. The curved art border, the transparent rules box, the character literally popping out of the frame. It was unlike anything ever seen in the game before, at least outside of joke sets. The introduction of Planeswalkers in Lorwyn was probably the biggest impact on Magic: The Gathering in the franchise's history.

The rules for my collection started off simple: 1) Every printing of every Planeswalker card 2) If there's a premium and a non-premium version of the card, only the non-premium version counts

Then they got a little more complicated as new ways of getting Planeswalker cards came about: 3) Prerelease promos that are identical in every way to their main set counterparts don't count (this would go on to exclude promo pack cards with the foil symbol stamped on the image, as well as reprints with the little symbol on the bottom left of the card) 4) Cards given out as prizes don't count 4b) Heroes of the Realm cards DEFINITELY don't count 5) Lottery cards don't count (1/30 Collector Booster, serialized, other assorted nonsense)

Then came the big one: 6) Special foil treatments do count, so long as they have different collector numbers

That last rule was tough to decide on, because it walked back the lottery stipulation for the foil etched cards in Kamigawa Neon Dynasty. However, the textured foil cards in Double Masters 2022 were different enough from their main set counterparts that it felt right. It's also a very expensive category. As it stands, I can't afford to collect all of those, but we'll see what the future brings.

I'm currently pretty far behind with the collection, missing around 91 out of the 687 currently available Planeswalker cards (excluding 18 cards that land outside of the rules, of which I do own 7). It's mostly a bunch of inexpensive cards, less than ten dollars each, so it's doable. I'm thinking of buying everything worth less than five bucks in one go, and then completing the rest set by set. The last (and only) time I had a complete collection was during Amonkhet, so I'm in no rush.

It's definitely a first world problem, but damn if they don't print FAR too many cards these days. I love collecting these things, but because I don't let it get in the way of my real life, the backlog builds up. It's especially annoying because there are three or more different versions of each Planeswalker card in each set nowadays. I rarely feel the thrill of opening one in a pack anymore, because it's only one of a dozen or more mythic rare cards I need from the set. Phyrexia: All Will Be One is certainly an outlier, but I added thirty-five rows to my spreadsheet in anticipation of the set's release.

One interesting thing about the way the game is now, rotating out of Standard doesn't affect the price of cards very much after a few months. Prices stabilize much more quickly than they used to, and they don't drop as drastically anymore. I no longer feel like I should wait until rotation to clear the backlog a bit.

As a final note, I recently discovered the existence of this card:

It's a prize for Japanese store tournaments. It doesn't count toward the collection (though I do have the other three alternate art promos in this series), but I want it very badly. I've been trying to figure out how to scrounge up a couple hundred bucks to get this card, and feeling ridiculous because there's no excuse for spending that much money on a Magic card, especially one I'll never play.

I enjoy collecting these things, even during times when I'm not actively playing the game with friends. It maintains my connection to the hobby, and gives me a reason to keep up with the story and the game mechanics. On the flip side, sometimes I feel trapped by what can seem like a monumental endeavor. I often wish I could divert the attention I spend on this elsewhere.

In the end, though, Planeswalkers are the reason I still play one of my favorite games in the world. If I hadn't started this collection, I would certainly have moved on from Magic years ago. For something that brings me so much joy, I'm glad I've been able to stick with it for all this time.

#mtg #magic the gathering #planeswalkers

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annunnaki7 · 1 year

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ARE DISSABLED PEOPLE LAZY? COULD REALLY DO BETTER IF THEY TRIED HARDER? This is an example of an average bad week, like 6/10 bad on mental health and 5/10 on the physical level. Oh yea it gets so much worst! Read this and tell me how I could have improved.

MAY 2023

Sat 29.04.23

-Asthma bad all night. I coughed myself awake so often I didn't get any deep sleep.

-Fibromyalgia not happy about this, and is flaring up on its way to STOPPING FLARING up instead! 🤬 Joy! So now going to pee has extra general pain added to it.

- Allergies & Sinus bad. My nose runs non stop. Used 1/2 roll of toilet paper blowing my nose just today. And no, I don't like waisting things. Throwing meds at it.

-Managed to work with my carer, sorting paperwork. I can't help with much else anymore. I don't have the hand strength to cut a carrot. That's annoying as taking away from my autonomy.

Sun 30.04.23

- Allergies & Sinus still bad with non stop daily headaches, with migraine sometimes.

-Fibromyralgia flare. Pain feels like I feel down badement cement stairs or when I had major surgery on day 3 with 5 days hospital stay. I'm in too much pain to eat. Exhaustion worst than Covid & Pneumonia!

-Asthma bad. I have to rest for 1 minute every 10-15 meters I walk. Going to the loo takes 5 breaks.

- Urinary incontinence dissability related not happy about so many breaks to get TO the loo. I need buy more trousers! (I used 3 in one day twice this week)

- I'm in so much exhaustion & pain I can't even face watching TV. Strong painkillers increased. I'm not happy. I was hoping to decrease them this week!

Mon 01.05.23

-Migraine.

-Sinus inflamed for past 4 weeks. Related to but not only cause of migraine. I'm a migraine sufferer.

-Fibromyalgia medium flare. Hands hurt as well as eveywere else. A plate is heavy to lift. I can't stab potatoes to zap them in microwave by myself.

-Hayfever slightly improving.

-If I didn't have a carer coming to help me with a wash, I don't know how I would cope.She helped more today. She's so nice. People don't appreciate them enough.

-Concerned how I'll make hospital appointment of Thursday. And got builders in tomorrow.

Tuesday 02.05.23

-Migraine at night.

-All body pain bad. Been worst before though.

-Builders poped in to say they'll be back tomorrow. And no neither owner nor estate agents told them about all the work needing doing.

- This is in fact my comparativly, the "best day" to date. I can't sit in a chair re pain. And I have a high pain threshold. Had major surgery and got up by myself the next day when everyone else did on the 3rd day with help. Nurses said it was shocking to see me trot - carefully - about.

- Hospital appointment of tomorrow changed for latter on. It's not a vital one.

-District Nurse popped in to assess if I need to worry re swealing in legs. I'll have to go to the specialist clinic after all.

-Blood Pressure still high & Pulse going nuts. Say hi to all types of allergies as a possible cause! I take the strongest anti histamin, plus 6 over the counter allergy tablets daily. Yep, the specialist doctors advised that. It stop skin for literally falling off and other horror stories!

Wed 03.05.23

-Vomited blood all night (5hrs of hurling on off) from ulcer, blood clots included! Yuck! 3rd time in 1 month.

-Day Migraine following as haven't been able to drink much

-Im past normal exhausted as part of Fibromyalgia. It feels like I did a 14hr shift and haven't slep the next 2 nights. (Yes, I've done that in the past. Joy of nursing & midwifery whilst having dissabilities)

- Spoke to GP, meds increased. I don't want another endoscopy. Don't see what else it will tell us. It's costly to the NHS, I'm going to be in so much pain for at least 2 weeks after due to dissability, not the test. Urinary incontinence will be a pain. I'm not even for resuscitation (DNR) anyways.

-Not hungry. Disordered eating means it will kick in if I can't eat at all today. Gods even cake don't sound appealing!

- Builders back. Same thing, back tomorrow instead. But now they got the list of job.

-District Nurse decided I need compression stockings! My severe eczema might not like the extra heat in summer! & Scratchy material.

-Migraine afternoon - nightime.

-Did eat eventually. Yea me!

Thursday 04.05.23

-Food helped with migraine & dissorted eating.

- Pain and extreme exhaustion same. I can't hold a plate of food.

- Severe anxiety started in afternoon after flat owner demanding I get the garden clean that night. Message was passed to me by builder at around 4.40pm. to be done by tomorrow morning. Oh yea, I'm dissabled with poor balance, walks some 15-20 meter with 2 stick, uses wheelchair otherwise. And it would get dark even if I miraculously find someone for, ... work that's not urgent! And oh yes, there's no place to eat at the kitchen table due to building work. Like that's not a priority after builders leave rather than garden. Also. Thunder and rain so bad, I though thunder had struck nearby.

-Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) few times last night (originates from past child abuse) but attacks due to the way the flat owner and estates agent treats me.

Friday 05.05.23

-Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) exacerbated since around 2am started with the stress.

- Headaches back

- Severe anxiety rising progressively

- C-PTSD flash back early morning. Good thing I know how to manage it.

- I ate with carer, yea! Well she made me eat.

Saturday 06.05.23

-Anxiety still high

-C-PTSD same high during day, not typical of abuse. Definitely flat owner & Estates Agent related.

Sunday 07.05.23

- Actively managing the mental health side of things.

- Bad Heaches day time

- Friend brought me yummy KFC. Could only eat a tiny bit. Oh great, that's Dissordered Eating not happy with all the stress!

- Migrainy headach lasted 2-3 hrs. Resolved with management.

-Asthma attack in evening for over 2hrs. Was so rough couldn't do lung capacity measurement until finally calmed down.

- I won't be able to finish my KFC now. I'm pissed off. I'm so tired of juggling several deseases. It wouldn't be so bad of people acted like human being.

So. Do you still think I'm leisurely lying around having a relaxing time as a dissabled person?

Did you realise that it takes managing one thing after another everyday?

So everyone can do better of they "really wanted"? I really wanted to not loose my mortgage and dog. It's my dog I missed the most, not even one of my things. From a Midwife I became homeless. From working 16hrs or work followed by Union Rep work (IE talking to staff, not official meetings before you quote the law) I'm now not able to eat independently at times, or wash alone now. I'm still acting? Have a good, lazy life? You want to swap?

#Dissability Awareness #Discrimination #Ableism #disableism #health management

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lovejosephquinn · 1 year

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Warning: DV Mention...

Okay story time based on my mood, I figured it out. This is really personal shit so if you aren't interested please keep scrolling, it's a shit thing for me to talk about even years on, it haunts me in my sleep still and I just need to get it out.

So about 8 years ago I suffered a really shitty physical and mentally abusive relationship, for almost 2 years I went out of my head thinking and believing that I was the problem.

It started off as mental abuse, something I've always been against but got myself into. It started off well, but people grew concerned when I was literally being bought expensive things for no reason at all and taken out at least 2 nights a week, controlled on what I wore, what I ate and what I did with my friends.

He got kicked out of his mum's house and I took him into MY parents house without even asking, keeping him there for the week as I didn't want to see him go without. I didn't know where he lived, he lied to me about that for a year and a half, then I found out when he lied about the address he had on his ID which he left over at mine by accident, he made excuses but he eventually took me there. It took me a year to even meet his mum. She never knew I existed.

So all of this time I was getting cheated on by my ex boyfriend with several different women, one who he eventually had a 6 month affair on, then when I caught him out he told me that I was insane. It sent me mental always looking through his phone (which I have never done with any other previous relationship) just to see if there was something else I could find.

Eventually it became physically abusive. The first night it happened was after a night out with him and his friend, we were walking back to my house and because I wouldn't have sex with him out in a public area, he dragged me into a dark alley and made me do it. When I cried after he pushed me into a thorn bush right next to us and took a picture of my scratched up arms, posting it on social media, making out that I fell in it myself and when my mum questioned me, he didn't let me answer, he told her I was way too drunk and again, fell in.

It got worse. He got me pregnant, I found out when I was about 13 weeks and although I wanted to keep it since I'm against termination, he threatened that he would take it out of me himself if I didn't do something about it, punched my stomach and I miscarried.

I seeked help. I was diagnosed with severe anxiety and offered medication but I declined, because I knew I was stronger than that. I ended up lying to him constantly, not telling him where I was because I didn't want him to kick off. Sleeping with other people when I was with him just so I could feel something happy at the time. I broke another person's heart because of him.

He went on holiday with his friends and I couldn't get a hold of him one night, his friend answered his phone eventually and another girl was in bed with him. I overdosed that night. He told me good and that I'm not worthy of being alive.

He still proceeded to buy me everything, call me a gold digger and psychopath to his friends yet he was the one doing all this. I'm not materialistic in any way, shape or form. My parents and friends hated him, one of my friends AND my stepdad once tried to swing for him when he upset me but yet I'd always stick up for him because I loved him...

I'd had enough eventually. Going back and fourth, up and down and in constant circles of depression and anxiety and fed up of it all. I ended things for good after almost 2 years of it. I got out. Which I'm glad I did because I don't think I'd of been here much longer.

My point is, was that I saw him today when I was out, randomly for the first time in years and to tell you the truth, my stomach felt sick to the core. I was shaking, cold sweats and every memory of what happened to me when I was only the mere age of 20 struck through me.

I'm better now anxiety wise, a lot better than I was anyway.

But I still have awful panic attacks that lead to me not being able to breathe and being sick, I still get nightmares where I wake up in a sweat. I still am afraid to this day.

(Sorry to offload all of this.)

#personal post #sorry lol

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incarnateirony · 8 months

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For those of you who have been following the Startup Business Drama and Vacation Man, I've got a convo behind the cut for you. Bearing in mind this man came banging at my door at 130 AM to prove how Here For Me he is after fucking off for upwards of 3 weeks at a critical time period without doing any of his promises beforehand. Like literally I pretended not to hear it because, holy shit dude, it's 130 AM, it's not my fault you can't manage your life. But he knocked until the cops showed up asking what was going on.

(Vacation Boy) — Today at 4:19 PM I agree we need to talk about several things yes. I figured I would come by either Sunday or Monday night after we have both had a few days to calm down and be pain free. I'm in excruciating pain and exhausted from this trip myself and I got back to the house that was completely wrecked. I've got at least a week's worth of trash I got to deal with and a pile of their laundry that's as big as I am just to start was before I can even do my own. I even took a muscle relaxer myself last night and it did absolutely nothing for me.

EXPY P2P — Today at 4:25 PM I honestly do not prefer in person discussion. And that stands with or without awkward conversations. My brain does not assemble thoughts well in person, everything gets lost, I become frustrated even at myself, and it causes manic spirals of anger. There is a reason I am fighting so hard for chat, not voice jobs, even if will accept voice jobs. It is a legitimate disability I do not think people understand. It's not just exhausting by nature of talking costing energy, which it does, but of a neurodiverse issue and the methods my brain functions at, which is why half the time I just. Stare or have long responses or just sit there sorting through things visually, and I inevitably lose what I've said or haven't covered yet, whereas text allows the ability to track back what has and hasn't been said. Or why the longer even calm conversations go the more my voice escalates in either volume, pitch, or speed.

EXPY P2P — Today at 4:34 PM In the time you were gone, I lost one of our leading plants, by the way. In the timeline no longer being "take 1-2 extra weeks" to "move it ahead a week, actually", broken stem girl strangled herself without time to repair. In attempting to stretch, the stem rupture broke out of the stem while the stem itself hardened to the point even attempted surgical cut of the damaged tissue was too late for the impaction. It is to some extent my fault by not attempting to clone her, but I also did not have a clone tray, and that too would have caused a developmental delay, so either way was a roll of the dice. This was on the list of reasons, beyond optimizing canopy coverage for yield, I wanted to give them 1-2 more weeks (recovering from past issues, and her stem recovery, as well as the resurrected plant.) This was an avoidable loss, but I was essentially in a corner, and needing to figure out where my minimum 6 weeks would fit without overcosting Sarah without Gen, who only came back post-flip. Just like all the stuff David tried to price gouge me on at 3x new market rate now being offered, also months late, in the final hour, after all the costs, and struggle, and saves from damages, because asking it earlier was too uncomfortable. If it comes in AT ALL, that NEEDS to go into the grow op IMMEDIATELY, not a branch off, not a learning pet project, into actually being equipped to do this properly. Mark, I need you to understand, the plants need what they need. They need them when they need them, not when it's most convenient for us. We can not simply whip schedules around over and over and demand they meet them, we cannot wait extra weeks to give them the bare minimum, we can not demand peak performance without giving them even essential conditions. If I say "hey here's a ten dollar fan I can't buy", don't go "ok do that" and sit with a thumb up your ass and wait until I get one only for it to come without a cord, only to find you have fans laying all over your house the whole time. If I say it's time consuming to manually train the plant canopies nonstop because they readjust for light, don't tell me "I forgot to get you the thing you asked for, for two months." If I say, I just took critical fall damage with my setup, don't tell me you still forgot the goddamn power strip. When I say I need grow bins when the plants are 4 weeks old, don't show up with them at 6-7 weeks and pikachu face that their roots are too big, the vegetables you are demanding on an insane schedule are literally moving faster than you are, per your request and by my skill. You can't expect me and the plants to run olympic triathalons on a timeline crunch while you stand there Forgetting Stuff or holding on to save 10 bucks yourself just so I can buy it on my pocket change too late too. These are easy things to prioritize, many of which had easy, even free answers to you. The reason the bastards are doing Great is because people paid 60$ to get me the dirt that would have been 24$ to get pickup at walmart independence supercenter. The reason they can have the HPS to themselves dedicated in a space is because John and Noiz collectively put in over $100 to add lights that should have been added months ago but I refused to put more weight on Sarah and spent my days recreating the sun moving for them.

EXPY P2P — Today at 4:42 PM

At this point we are pretty much surrendered to this continuing as a small scale operation that barely self floats through past the holidays until we can work past debts, restrictions, the fraud my old rental agency pulled et al, and if we manage to be out of here before that, we've pulled out a miracle. I am mutually job hunting all day while house hunting for independent rentals all day and yes, contacting them over and over and over as needed. You got offended when I pointed out you've lived with David for years and are out of touch with rental reality. And then you asked if you might have to call more than once, so god far be it from me to assume you went the extra mile and looked for options yourself knowing I'm busy being a horticulturist, a chemist, an engineer, and a goddamn wizard full time while training plants because of Stuff You Forgot. And what about moving costs? Deposit? Where is all this money coming from???? September 20? Unsold plants? Because I communicated what the sped up bloom period would be like, and you sped it up in your head faster than that, to essentially make impossible promises to Sarah in my name, and I told her no, no that's not right, no. NOIZ has been in on this like two weeks and already has displayed a clearer understanding of grow cycles and timelines than you have because they are actually listening, so I've been messaging them, as investors, to make educated decisions on timelines. You, meanwhile, say getting a job you want to [checks notes] throw seeds outside in early October. In the midwest. With a photoperiod strain. After the equinox. At onset winter. You don't even need to be a weed wizard to see why that was None Thoughts, Head Empty. Then, instead of offering to invest up in the business, so I could send you overstock we get in bulk, plan A Grow Of Your Own. All months late. Like okay, lesson one my guy, most plants don't grow in snow.

I am able to do this now because John also prioritized buying other things, like the trellis net I asked for since we start, which has dramatically streamlined my work.

When John saw the setup I had, he was shocked the plants were even alive much less several of them being the size of plants given twice as long to vegetate.

EXPY P2P — Today at 4:51 PM here is another grower with 12 week old, pre-bloom plants about 2 1/2 feet tall, or topped in the same strain to make the spread out version. They had extra leaves from their age but otherwise, I don't know if you notice, this was why I was asking 1-2 weeks extra. To let them get here. By 8-9 weeks, not 12. I did this on next to nothing, and essentially alone.

The neighbor commented on the dirt quality, asked if thats why I used for the ones in tent. I said no, we used timberline bc it was cheaper off the top. He shit his pants. The entire point of choosing dirt over hydroponics is to NOT force a 90 day timeline, to NOT have plants start dying after that point, to BE able to give them extra time, to TAKE the extra few weeks to double or triple your results. I had also been topping the plants when I was told I could have 1-2 extra weeks. Then, I was basically forced into abandoning that, so the topping never had chance to take, and they're going to have minimal returns from that. The plants can not time travel.

I have been still working to my last breath during the day. Sometimes literally, and knocking myself out on CO2 to try to make these plants give us more than 3-4 ounces a plant, because the hundred times I explained timelines, square meter canopies or equivalent light coverage, the differences in yield with comparison to professional growers with high end equipped rigs, et all flew in one ear and out the other, largely because someone planted "90 day grow" in your head when I told you "about 3 months, maybe 4", not 90 days, because I'm not functionally retarded, and I knew the benefit in getting 110 day plants I could push to 100 day plants, that were suddenly committed to being 90 day plants, and then 85 day plants, and I got driven to near insanity trying to make demands and deadlines and flipped the switch before I got other people committing to keeping my ass covered while I got this stable. I might not have been pushed into making this decision if, for example, Gen came around a week earlier than she did, but I was staring down Sarah having to pay september AND a chunk of october to move, before the move fell in. And we conceded I may need to sit. And I can't unflip what's been flipped already, it doesn't work like that. What had once been you saying "oh I can swipe a card for a week or two of the final month if needed" became "I quit my job and NEED money by now." Every term and condition of this has been changed on me. I say "september 20-something" for the earliest, you start promising Sarah Sept 20, not 20-something, that she won't have to pay XYZ, etc, and that is simply Not Fucking True nor did anyone say anything that would have implied that if you were listening at all. "Harvest by Sept 20-something" that goes all the way to Sept 29 = "Able to sell and move by Sept 20" to you HOW? When I was talking about extending 1-2 weeks, and you said yes, and that being 1-2 week Oct? September 20 COMES IN WHERE BEYOND FANTASY, MY GUY? 6-8 WEEK BLOOM, MY GUY.

At some point you decided you "only want an average yield", while ignoring what I said was needed to get there, and reading bare minimum sellers information without context, while giving sub-minimum conditions, lighting, dirt, and grow time all at once.

You say, "I appreciate your work" but that truly means nothing to me if you haven't absorbed what that work is, or what you're demanding, or what I'm communicating to achieve it at all, while setting expectations in your own head about what it will look like how much and how fast. I'm sitting here doing algebra about ppfd and umols and CO2 and absorbable moles in a day to try to push timelines without losing further results beyond the conditions and timelines already forced on them. I had literally ad nauseam in the chat gone over how to get sq meter canopies with 1-2 weeks and before THAT got rug pulled on me got an Uh Huh Go Ahead and then suddenly it got Backwardsed into 1 or 2 weeks LESS, when bloom simply doesn't work like that, which I also explained ad nauseam.

I literally resurrected a different plant from the dead. It could have had 2 weeks to catch up to the others. It will not.

And somewhere between there you started trying to charge me black market rates for groceries that I wouldn't have needed help with if I hadn't been trying to buy shit for the plants on my own well past my investment bar to begin with, just like Sarah, while expecting Sarah to pay more. And then I'm sorry, yes, outright either lying to either us or yourself about the car, and then bouncing when your own words on record, or your own failure to google what I found in five seconds to the same town you drove not just 97.4 miles around that weekend, but at least 50 before that calculating your gas tank capacity and the trip useage to get there. When really it boils down to something you said from the jump "I feel like I deserve this." Just like you feel like you deserve a fuckton of money without meeting the $500 bar, or doing the accounting, or the licensing, or any of it, or deserve Sarah buying more stuff, or deserve to quit your job while I'm ready to jump into working full time alongside this just to stabilize myself now that my whole livelong day isn't set to keeping these plants together. And I pass out at a semi sane midnight hour and have you come banging at my door at 130 AM until the cops show up because you didn't consider time, or that I wasn't replying to the messages, or that I might need human functions like sleep sometimes, just to prove something about you being here, weeks too late, after I pulled everyone else in to cover the stuff I was short to keep this whole operation from going in the toilet because you wanted a vacation that you justified and showed me the long, long list of seals and fluids your car had needed not since last year, but since 2019 at least and like, my guy, you not having your priorities together before isn't our cost to eat. I dare you to do the math on your chipotle drives and costs since 2019. On your 400/mo rent, 1500/mo base income and +500 work going... somewhere.

EXPY P2P — Today at 5:33 PM Then yeah, I hear "oh well no mail since a week ago" "??? the other 10 days?" "IDK David-" ? wasn't told to keep an eye out or to file all mail? That's like, bare minimum dude, that's not even work for you. There's a lot of refusal of bare minimum. If there will be a CEO of this company, at this rate, it will be John. John acted like a CEO. He took a look at my setup, what I was accomplishing with essentially nothing, and asked "what do you need?" without delay, without me bitching. Not "What can you give me how soon?" It all arrived next day in the mail. Not weeks or months later. Well most specifically he said "Holy shit your wires that's sooooo not safe. Oh my god wait holy shit you're actually pulling it off somehow. Oh my god. What do you need."

(Vacation Boy) — Today at 5:56 PM Yes David was told to look for mail addressed to you. In fact David was told twice. After I took you home the first night he met you he and I talked in detail about our friendship and the operation as it stood then, and again the day that I left.

Nothing has arrived here that's had your name on it other than the last mail I brought you before I left. David has confirmed that he has not thrown out or sent back anything with your name on it the entire time that he was here.

EXPY P2P — Today at 6:02 PM Okay. That is good. But we need a come to jesus talk about the rest, my guy. Because I have been in no way vague about plant timelines, requirements, cycles, lighting, et al, but it became increasingly clear in the last ~ETA 3 weeks that nothing has sunk in. I in fact explained these things in loops so many times I felt like I was being obnoxious about it.

(Vacation Boy) — Today at 6:04 PM I agree. We will have that conversation sooner rather than later.

EXPY P2P — Today at 6:05 PM I will not be forced to hold this conversation in person without regards to my neurodiverse limitations to leverage the conversation into your benefit. It can be had here. All the information stays on page where you can read it again and again and again without losing or forgetting anything.

(Vacation Boy) — Today at 6:07 PM Ok fine. But you will not be guaranteed to get a response from me before tomorrow night. I have already told you why.

EXPY P2P — Today at 6:07 PM That is fine. But my points are there. That is another benefit of messages. They can and will stay there, and they do not disappear, or get forgotten. We're having that conversation. You can have it as slow as you want. These points that have been spoken will not disappear, even if we take it to in person where I can't sort out my thoughts, they still exist. But if I say one last thing here today: For all of your thought about your own 10-15 hour a week work life balance, I beg you to consider how you would view a boss that treated you with the conditions, equipment, and expectations you put on me before, and during, vanishing on vacation. John has been now calling me almost daily while working carrying around 100 lb equipment on his 40 hour hard labor workweek to check in on if anything new has come up and been needed, or how to help. The only reason he was not doing this prior was because I wasn't complaining and, well, he was working full time. Keep in mind, if we had gotten a place, and he had moved in, he didn't come in asking for money, he made a contingency on having a job lined up and ready to not put a drain on a young business, not just running here to quit his, despite his own creeping disabilities. So again, remove the perception from being defending yourself. Pretend these demands or lack of listening had come from some other boss or CEO, since that's what you said you were going to be, and put the hats on you to handle. How would you interpret this supervisor and how would you feel?

Zero. Dead plants. That would be the Average Yield in the conditions and timeline I was given. Other people rescuing this made the Average Yield maybe 3-4 oz a plant. I am trying to do the same plant wizardry that kept them alive at all to make them half a pound a plant, but you know I hate overpromising. The average yield with what I was left with, and all the delays to even get power strips or clippy fans or other things laying around for free, would be Zero. I need you to wrap your head around that before this conversation moves any further.

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Fascinating that in that entire brick, he could spring forward to go "well I DID do the bare minimum about the mail, exactly" but needs even MORE delay of time to figure out how to make excuses for the other bullshit.

And that shit at the start? What is he bitching about? Who is he accusing of trashing the house that bad while he was out of town? The owner that hasn't been there half the time? Throwing in a load of laundry for them when he gets to rent an entire 1500 sq foot house for 400/mo utilities included, since said owner is only in town a few weeks a year? Who made all the piles of trash? The fucking cats?

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is-the-rat-vid-cute · 2 years

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hey! i've been considering getting rats for a while now, but i'm a high school who makes next to no money at mcdonalds. how much would you recommend i save before getting some rats? how much should i set aside for medical emergencies, food, a good cage, etc.

i don't mind spending a decent amount on them for whatever, i just need to know how long i'll have to wait aha

The cost definitely depends on where you live. I live in a more expensive part of the US, so I can expect to spend around $200-400 for a neuter and $70-80 on a checkup for example. But I know other folks who live in less expensive areas would be looking at around $100 for a neuter and $50 for a checkup. My recommendation would be to call or email a few vets nearby, and ask some questions about pricing. I personally save up this much for each rat since my income isn’t always consistent:

1x surgery, including neuter or spay

3x checkup

2x URI

1x euthanasia (with cremation if desired)

I try to have at least enough to cover those expenses before I get another pair of rats. This is assuming you’re getting rats from a breeder and don’t have exceptionally bad luck — if you get a rat from a feeder bin, pet store, or shelter, I’d recommend saving a bit more for your vet fund since they’ll be more prone to health issues. If the vets in your area won’t tell you their prices, I’d personally recommend a vet fund of around $500-1000 per rat, depending on the cost of living in your area. You don’t have to have all of this up front, but I’d at least recommend having a few hundred dollars in case you run into an emergency as soon as you get them. Some folks with more stable jobs will put a specific amount of money each month aside for the vet fund, which is also an option if you’re confident you’ll have steady income for a while.

The good news is that the vet fund will be your biggest expense, upkeep for rats actually isn’t too expensive. If you have a pair, you can get a 20lb bag of Oxbow from Chewy for $50 and that’ll last you 7-8 months if stored properly, since rats will generally eat 15-20g each per day. It’s a big cost up front but definitely worth it in my experience. If you don’t have that money up front, you can also get 3lb bags for around $12 from Chewy, which would last about a month for a pair of rats.

If you’re looking to save money on bedding, I highly recommend the big bags of kiln-dried pine shavings that farm stores often have. Tractor Supply Co in the US has bags for around $7 that last a month or two. Aspen is similar, I get bags from TSC for $15 each and that usually lasts about a month.

Lastly, bin cages are great inexpensive options for a pair of rats. If you want to buy a cage, you’d probably want to budget around $150 (again depending on your area), but bin cages can be made for much cheaper. You just need 1/2 inch hardware cloth (around $20 at Home Depot), a plastic storage tote (I recommend at least 50-75g for 2 rats, probably also around $20-30), and some zip ties ($10-15 for a big pack). There are some tutorials on how to make bin cages here and here. If you don’t want to DIY something, I highly recommend looking at used cages on places like Craigslist and FB Marketplace, though if you’re a minor (or even if not tbh) I’d recommend bringing a trusted adult with you since people on there can be sketch sometimes. Critter Nation cages are great but expensive, you could also get a rabbit or Guinea pig cage, but you’d need to put hardware cloth over the bars if they’re any wider than 1/2 inch to prevent escapes.

As someone who’s also not in a super financially stable place right now, I like to have around 6 months of food and bedding on hand when I can, just for my own peace of mind. But honestly making sure you have a big enough vet fund is the most important thing in my opinion — especially since rats live such short lives, health emergencies can often come out of nowhere. A cage is the biggest one-time purchase, and food and bedding costs can be under $20 a month if you’re smart about it. But vet bills are something that are a lot harder to come up with, and it definitely is worth it to be prepared in that regard.

I also want to mention since you said you’re a high schooler — please make sure your parents are on board. I’ve seen many minors get pets and then have their parents be unwilling to drive them to the vet or help out with necessary care, so I feel obligated to mention it. If you can’t drive, make sure you have a solid backup plan for vet or supply trips, whether that’s an Uber, public transport, or getting a ride from a parent or friend. And make sure that you have a plan for the rats when you move to your next stage of life — whether that’s going to college or trade school or otherwise moving out, it’s worth it to consider if the rats will still be around by then and what you’ll do with them at that point, whether that’s rehoming or finding a way to bring them with you.

Hopefully this helped a bit — unfortunately a lot of the costs do depend on your area a lot but I commend you for making sure you’re financially prepared ahead of time. Many people don’t realize how expensive rat vet bills can be, but having a good fund set up for them ahead of time will save you so much stress and heartache. Let me know if you have any other questions!

#rat care #asks #not ratings #informational posts #financial #rats on a budget

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