BinchWithMe

[jelloapocalypse]

Someone asked me a while ago if I still had a photo of the worst sink I had ever seen while apartment hunting in Los Angeles. I assumed I deleted it so I didn't answer the ask and now it's gone, but as it turns out, yes, I do still have a photo of it.

[wild-moss-art]

This is why I read the reddit comments

[awsydawnarts]

[quarterclever]

I love how the notes for this are just chock full of examples of the most batshit specific things people research for their fanfics. Truly a treasure trove.

[quarterclever]

Some of my favorites

[quarterclever]

And my absolute fav

[mal-studyblr]

hey quick PSA but “reading before bed to wind down” only works if you’re normal about books btw. if you aren’t you are going to end up awake at 2:52am after finishing the whole book just trust me on this one

[shewalksonstars]

Learn from my mistakes

[mutantrenegade]

You know Jones soda cap, as a tumblr user i can actually say i think I have.

[walerihq]

[sag-dab-sar-follows]

[plainclothesdisaster]

A Royal Pain in the Ass

Or, how Deadman meets the Ghost King

-

Boston Brand, against his better judgement, came to the House of Mystery when John Constantine called.

“Ghost Business” he said, unhelpfully, when Boston asked. And Boston, nobly, and stupidly, found himself in John’s parlor not long later.

John sits him down at a card table (well John sits, he floats) and begins explaining. John seems in good spirits, which is unsettling enough that Boston chooses not to comment on it. He’s only half listening to John’s preamble when a boy who looks like he just woke up shuffles by the parlor door.

No— not a boy— oh shit, he’s—

“Your Majesty!” Boston floats back, startled stiff. He blinks in disbelief. That aura is nonsensical as it is unmistakable— that boy, the rumpled teenager in John’s hallway, is the High King of Ghosts.

The king looks up at Boston and blinks, slowly. “Hmm?”

Deadman freezes. Even though the king appears to have the form of a teenage boy in mismatched pajamas, his presence saturates the room with power. Boston feels the pull of it, tugging at him like gravity. He has to actively keep himself steady above his chair.

“Oi Danny, bring us a tea, would you?” John snaps in the kid’s general direction. Deadman stifles a whimper, and thanks his lucky stars that the king didn’t vaporize John on the spot. Instead, the boy tilts his head in a lazy nod and shuffles off toward the kitchen.

Deadman might dissolve into a ball of pure nerves. John couldn’t be so witless to not know the Ghost King was under his roof. Unless— it’s possible the king was purposefully hiding. Powerful things tended to be good at disguising themselves when they wanted to. That seems more likely than the alternative— that John knowingly addressed the king like he had an active death wish.

Boston bites his tongue. Was that little outburst enough to reveal the king’s hidden identity? He doesn’t want to imagine what the king might do if he blew his cover.

“Something the matter, Boston?” John smirks, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

His eyes shift between Constantine and the door the king disappeared through. He really should warn John. As much as he likes to joke that John deserved to go to hell, he truly didn’t deserve to be the petty plaything of the King of the Infinite Realms for all eternity.

“John— you—“ is all he can manage to clip out before the boy reappears. He slips over to the table with three steaming mugs in hand.

He sets the teas down with a thunk and takes a seat next to John. Boston had heard the king could interact with the physical world in a way that ghosts like him couldn’t, but seeing it for himself makes him twist with jealousy. The third mug of tea on the table—the one Boston would not be able to pick up— is a taunting reminder.

“Thanks, mate.” John takes a long sip. The king lifts his mug as well, before his attention shifts, finally, to Deadman.

“So, you must be Boston?” The king pins him with green eyes that glow with all the power of the in between. “John told me all about you.”

“He did?” Boston’s eyes go wide. He looks to John, who gives half a shrug, and Boston confronts another horrible possibility.

John sold him out.

Ghosts aren’t supposed to hang around on the mortal plane, and Boston has certainly overstayed his welcome. It isn’t far out of character for John to lure Boston here just to hand him over. He’s an offering, or a trade of some kind, a bargaining chip for good favor with a very powerful entity. Either way it didn’t matter much now. The king was here to collect his truant ass for good, and he could dunk Deadman into the afterlife simple as swatting a fly. It’d be nearly impossible for Boston to get back.

Pure panic ices through him.

“I promise I’ve done nothing but try to help. I don’t belong in the afterlife, please— I—“ the pleas fall pathetically out of his lips, but he can’t bother to protect his pride now. He can’t go to the afterlife permanently. Not yet.

“Oh, I know what you’ve done.” The king’s lips curl into a smile, hinting at sharp teeth. Deadman considers dissolving. “Honestly, I’m surprised that you, weak as you are, have done as much good as you have.”

“I—what?”

The king sips his tea. “You only do possession? Really? I guess you have to make do with what you’ve got.”

“I’m not sure I—“ Boston frowns. John’s shoulders shake, holding back laughter. “It’s not funny, con man, that’s the King of Ghosts.”

John nods, perfunctory. “That he is.”

Deadman blanches. “What’s he doing in your house?”

The king smirks. “It’s technically sorta my house, at least when it’s in the Infinite Realms.”

“What?!” Boston hisses, and Constantine does let out a chuckle then.

Constantine leans back in his chair. “Relax. Danny helped me with a demon problem in Gotham. He’s staying here for a while.”

“I helped you?” the king side eyes Constantine, grinning. John raises his hands in a gesture of concession.

“Danny?” Deadman practically squeaks, and oh god, did he just call the king by his first name?

“At your service.” The king- Danny- nods with a mock salute.

Boston opens and closes his mouth, as if that might help make sense of what the hell is going on. “So you’re… not here to drag me back to the afterlife?”

“Nope,” Danny replies, popping the p.

Boston puts a hand to his face, mortified, a whirlwind of anxiety still swirling. It seems John still was finding new ways to try to give him an aneurysm.

“I meant it when I said you’ve done good work,” the king continues. “You help people. I can’t say the same for most ghosts who try to make a life outside the realms.”

Boston sinks closer to the table, sitting beside them as much as he’s capable. He lets the warmth of the king’s approval sink into his chest, as well as the relief.

Boston will berate John for the panic he caused later. For now, he’s just glad to have gotten a royal get out of jail free card.

“Ah, we talked too much, your tea’s gone a bit cold.” Danny nods at Boston’s cup, and Boston bites back a bitter retort. But there’s no mocking edge to Danny’s face, only a kindness, and a familiar conspiratorial bend.

Boston can see why he and John get along.

He reaches for the cup, just to humor his king, and—

His fingers close around the mug, solid, real. He can feel the lingering warmth of the tea, the weight of the cup in his hand. Slowly, he lifts it to his lips to sip. It tastes bitter, and sweet.

He looks up at Danny in shock.

“How?” he whispers.

Danny shrugs. “Ghosts have an easier time interacting with the physical world when they’re around me.”

Boston might cry.

Danny just smiles. “You’re welcome. Oh, and also—“

Danny points over his shoulder to a door on the far wall. The wood of the door is so dark it’s nearly purple. Boston knew it hadn’t been there before, because now that it’s here he can’t ignore it. It pulls at him even stronger than the king does.

“That’s yours,” the king explains. “The House of Mystery agreed to let it stay here so you can have easier passage back and forth to the Realms. It’s not good for you to stay away for so long.”

Deadman understands the weight of this gift innately. But he can’t help the trepidation that tickles at the thought of willingly leaving the living world, even if it isn’t permanently.

“Thanks. I think.” he says finally.

“It’s nothing.” Danny smiles.

John grins, utterly too pleased with himself. “Oh don’t look so glum Deadman, you’re still the number one ghost in my heart.”

“Fuck you Johnny.”

John just laughs, and so does the king, and Boston, despite himself, joins them.

The door, his door, lingers, an open invitation. He’ll leave that journey for later.

For now, he sips his tea, and smiles.

[ultimatespider]

the pros of reading ao3 fics in public is that their layout is so clean and simple that people would think you’re reading some academic researches when you’re in fact reading a 50k fic. the cons is that you need to control your face all the fucking time

[fuckyeahisawthat]

An additional feature: the layout is clean and simple BUT anyone familiar with AO3 will immediately recognize it. Pro or con? You decide.

[lynati]

If they know it enough to recognize it on sight, they probably aren’t going to be judging me about it.

[geardrops]

they were also at the devil’s sacrament

[lizclimo]

[lizclimo]

[kaijufluffs]

She's being so big and brave.

[kaijufluffs]

The long awaited sequel.

[fuckmarrykillpolls]

so my sister's dog is named communist gun, but we call him red. right? and every once in a while when she wants him to jump on someone she goes "red scare!" and recently ive been trying to get him to jump on people when i go "mccarthyism!" but it's not working yet

[fuckmarrykillpolls]

oh this is absolutely the wrong blog. please ignore

[dat-physics-gal]

i literally couldn't ignore this if i tried

[hands-you-a-lemon]

Hands you a lemon

[ultimatespider]

the pros of reading ao3 fics in public is that their layout is so clean and simple that people would think you’re reading some academic researches when you’re in fact reading a 50k fic. the cons is that you need to control your face all the fucking time

[fuckyeahisawthat]

An additional feature: the layout is clean and simple BUT anyone familiar with AO3 will immediately recognize it. Pro or con? You decide.

[lynati]

If they know it enough to recognize it on sight, they probably aren’t going to be judging me about it.

[geardrops]

they were also at the devil’s sacrament

[the-sweaty-toothed-mad-woman]

today’s the only day you can reblog this

“There Will Come Soft Rains”, Ray Bradbury

[curator-on-ao3]

I had to read this story in fourth grade.

Still messes me up to this day.

[preserving-tiktok]

[sunderwight]

everybody in the notes like:

[made-in-manetheren]

This is the single best video of a loon I've ever seen. Do you people realize how rare it is to see them that close? How rare it is to see them in that shallow of water? Incredible catch.

[preserving-tiktok]

[sunderwight]

everybody in the notes like:

[made-in-manetheren]

This is the single best video of a loon I've ever seen. Do you people realize how rare it is to see them that close? How rare it is to see them in that shallow of water? Incredible catch.

[dredsina]

Ive said this before but swear the biggest skill to learn as an adult is how to resist high-pressure sales tactics. You do NOT have to answer questions with anything other than "Sorry I'm not interested." No matter how nice they are or no matter how many follow up questions they ask or even how agitated they get when you stand your ground. Just keep saying I'm not interested. Don't answer their questions. Don't give them an opening to try to push back on your reasons. Be a fucking brick wall of I'm not interested.

[sweaterkittensahoy]

When we bought our car, I told Sean to let me handle it. I walked in and said "We have X for a down payment and cannot pay more than Y in monthly payments." My Y number had some leeway, but I didn't mention that.

First thing the sales guy did after I laid down the rules was turn to Sean and go, "What's your number?" And Sean said. "Oh, no, you negotiate with Gayle."

So, strike one for the sales guy. Could not divide and conquer us by implying THE MAN would not surprised at what I laid down.

Sales guy then had to confer with his manager and left us at his desk for several minutes. I have a vague recollection (this was 16 years ago) of Sean and I amusing ourselves doing bits about the other people there to look at cars. I am sure we did not give off the stressed or nervous energy they were hoping for.

Guy comes back. His first offer is fifty dollars a month more than I told him we could pay. I looked at him and said "I gave you our upper limit."

"Well, but what's another 50 bucks a month?"

"Something I can't afford."

He didn't know what to do with my open and unashamed admittal that I had a budget because my money was finite.

He went back to talk to the manager again.

It took two more rounds of "I told you what I can afford" before he finally came back 20 bucks under what I'd stated as my max.

The trick to resisting high-stress sales tactics is doing the math at home, knowing exactly what you can afford, and then walking into the room and stating that number minus 15%. Then refusing to budge from that number. Never, ever, meet then where they want. Always meet them where you want. Because at the end of the day, you can walk away and go somewhere else and say "I told the people at Z what my terms were, and they refused to work with me. Here are my terms. Meet them, and you make a sale today."

[kineticpenguin]

At the risk of sounding anti-intellectual, I think that college should be free and also not a requirement for employment outside of highly specialized career fields

[kineticpenguin]

At the risk of sounding like an effete intellectual, I do actually think you should be allowed to just take college courses indefinitely

[yourunderwaterskies]

technically you can, if you don't care about degrees.

Free Harvard courses. Free Courses from Stanford. Free Courses from MIT. Free courses from Yale. Free courses from Princeton.

Free courses on Coursera.

Free Courses on EDx Free Courses on Alison

For paid, there's The Great Courses+/Wonderium. 20$ a month for unlimited courses.

When searching, the phrases you're looking for are Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), or you can do a general search of say, "free online college courses." Oh, and so you don't get surprised like I did, have an avoid: Hillsdale College is a conservative Christian site and not a valid MOOC place. Sign up with them and you will get things like THIS IS WHY THE LEFT IS TURNING YOUR KIDS TRANS AND GAY in your inbox.

[aloeverawrites]

@yourunderwaterskies I wanted to say thank you so much for adding these links, seriously, they've been life-changingly helpful to me-

And I also wanted to mention that humanitarian organisations have free courses too, like the Red Cross on international humanitarian law.

Humanity in War

Learn more about the Red Cross International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Program to train policy professionals, government officials, academics,

Kaya

Kaya is a free humanitarian learning platform which offers hundreds of training opportunities across a range of key topics, including the hu