"Getting into this hobby is actually super cheap and easy!!!! First, start with a section of land and a house that you own and can mess up at your discretion"
The original inspiration for this is that I've looked up a lot of basic woodworking stuff multiple times to try and make better and better tortoise enclosures, and ended up in this trap every time lmao
the secret is that people who have a garage with a table saw are constantly looking for reasons to justify that use of space and money. so if you find somebody with a table saw and ask if you can use it, you're actually doing them a huge favor by justifying the saw continuing to take up space. "of course I need a table saw. what if somebody needs to upgrade a turtle enclosue."
My horse (sewing machine) has got colic (an internal knot) and requires veterinary medicine (screwdriver) in the form of exploratory surgery (removing plate) accompanied by anaesthesia (being unplugged.)
But it’s always interesting to remember that this is a very heavy-duty, highly powered power tool - a motor designed for punching and dancing - which generations of people, often women, have fully expected to repair and maintain in their own homes. There’s a large constellation of confidence, mechanical knowledge, repair experience and problem-solving ability embodied in the practice of keeping a domestic sewing machine, and it’s largely invisible to people who don’t know.
Some lots are so big they have bus services specifially inside it. The lots are broken into sections and buses go around to their sections at a set amount of times before the start of something and drive people to the main building.
The societies of lost people inside The Lot would probably operate something like that to locate and pick up new arrivals and bring them over to one of the major settlements.
Danny: *minding his buisness in the mall, and sipping on a cup of ectoplasm*
M'ari, walks up to him curiously: What are you drinking?
Danny, taken off gaurd by the random child: Uhh...
M'ari: Because it kinda looks like Uncle Jason's blood. Are you a vampire?
Danny: Yes.
M'ari: Oh. Did you get permission to drink that blood? If not that means you're a bad guy.
Danny: I got permission, only weird fruitloops don't get permission.
M'ari, nods seriously: That's good, cause then I'd have had to beat you up. And I like your star hoodie, and I wouldn't want to accidentally ruin it.
Danny: You a hero then?
M'ari: No, Daddy and Mommy are heros though, and that means I'll be a hero one day too.
Danny: Got your whole life figured out huh kid?
M'ari: *proudly nods*
Danny: So where are-
M'ari: Is your skin sparkly because you're a vampire?
Danny: Sparkly?
M'ari: Yeah! It looks like snow when its in the morning and its all glittery.
Danny, snorts: No thats because I have use ice powers.
M'ari: Really?!
Danny: *crouches down and puts his drink down. He holds out his palm, and it starts glowing blue before a glittering blue ice sculpture in the shape if a star materializes in his hand, followed by small ice droplets that turned it into a necklace.*
M'ari: Pretty!
Danny: Tell ya what, you tell me how to contact your parents to come get you, and you can have it.
M'ari: I know Daddy's phone number!
Danny: That'll work.
*one phone call with a panicked father later*
Dick: M'ari!
M'ari: Hi Daddy! Look the Mall Vampire made me a necklace! Hey will it melt?
Danny: Not unless I will it to kid.
Dick: You scared the stars out of me Princess! I turned around and you were just gone! You can't do that!
M'ari: But I was bored, and you walk away from Uncle Tim when you're bored.
Dick: Ah well thats different-
Danny: *snorts but tries to cover it by taking a sip of his drink*
Dick: Thank you for holding her attention long enough to contact me.
M'ari: The Mall Vampire is cool! He knows more about the stars and planets than Mommy does.
Dick: Mall Vampire?
Danny: *smiles at him, showing off his sharper canines*
Dick, pales: Right! Well Granpa is waiting for us M'ari! Thanks for the help sir, goodbye.
M'ari: By Mr. Mall Vampire. *waves excitedly over Dick's back*
Danny: *lazily waves back*
Bonus
???: Sorry I'm late I was- why do you have that look on your face?
Danny: What look?
???: The look that means "I know something others don't know and its going to be hilarious".
Danny: Its nothing bad, just had an interesting conversation with a really eccentric kid is all. It was funny, in hindsight.
???: Uhuh, sure. *squints suspiciously at him*
Danny: Anyway, forget about that, let's get the supplies I need before we go to dinner.
*3 Hours Later*
Tim: Why is M'ari running around talking about a Mall Vampire?
Kori: Dick lost her in the mall earlier today, and the person who found her was humoring her questions.
Tim: And Dick is freaking out because...?
Kori, huffing: The man was "extremely pale with glittery skin and dark hair" and he just happened to have sharp teeth, so Dick's freaking out about it.
Tim: Seriously?
Kori, fondly: Honestly, that man.
Barbra: Hey guys, sorry for arrivaving late, it took a while to find the right paint-
M'ari, squeals: Mall Vampire!
Danny: Hey kid.
Barbra: What?
Danny: This is the eccentric kid I told you about.
Barbra: Oh. Well uh, this is Danny, the cousin I told you abour. He's only in Gotham for a few months for a few art shows hes particpating in, so he's going to be staying with me.
Dick, paling: What?
Danny: Sorry for any inconvenience I might cause, but I look forward to getting to know you all. *smiles 'innocently', showing off his sharp teeth once more*
Danny: *minding his buisness in the mall, and sipping on a cup of ectoplasm*
M'ari, walks up to him curiously: What are you drinking?
Danny, taken off gaurd by the random child: Uhh...
Mar'i: Because it kinda looks like Uncle Jason's blood. Are you a vampire?
Danny: Yes.
Mar'i: Oh. Did you get permission to drink that blood? If not that means you're a bad guy.
Danny: I got permission, only weird fruitloops don't get permission.
Mar'i, nods seriously: That's good, cause then I'd have had to beat you up. And I like your star hoodie, and I wouldn't want to accidentally ruin it.
Danny: You a hero then?
Mar'i: No, Daddy and Mommy are heros though, and that means I'll be a hero one day too.
Danny: Got your whole life figured out huh kid?
Mar'i: *proudly nods*
Danny: So where are-
Mar'i: Is your skin sparkly because you're a vampire?
Danny: Sparkly?
Mar'i: Yeah! It looks like snow when its in the morning and its all glittery.
Danny, snorts: No thats because I have use ice powers.
Mar'i: Really?!
Danny: *crouches down and puts his drink down. He holds out his palm, and it starts glowing blue before a glittering blue ice sculpture in the shape if a star materializes in his hand, followed by small ice droplets that turned it into a necklace.*
Mar'i: Pretty!
Danny: Tell ya what, you tell me how to contact your parents to come get you, and you can have it.
Mar'i: I know Daddy's phone number!
Danny: That'll work.
*one phone call with a panicked father later*
Dick: Mar'i!
Mar'ii: Hi Daddy! Look the Mall Vampire made me a necklace! Hey will it melt?
Danny: Not unless I will it to kid.
Dick: You scared the stars out of me Princess! I turned around and you were just gone! You can't do that!
Mar'i: But I was bored, and you walk away from Uncle Tim when you're bored.
Dick: Ah well thats different-
Danny: *snorts but tries to cover it by taking a sip of his drink*
Dick: Thank you for holding her attention long enough to contact me.
Mar'i: The Mall Vampire is cool! He knows more about the stars and planets than Mommy does.
Dick: Mall Vampire?
Danny: *smiles at him, showing off his sharper canines*
Dick, pales: Right! Well Granpa is waiting for us Mar'i! Thanks for the help sir, goodbye.
Mar'i: By Mr. Mall Vampire. *waves excitedly over Dick's back*
Danny: *lazily waves back*
Bonus
???: Sorry I'm late I was- why do you have that look on your face?
Danny: What look?
???: The look that means "I know something others don't know and its going to be hilarious".
Danny: Its nothing bad, just had an interesting conversation with a really eccentric kid is all. It was funny, in hindsight.
???: Uhuh, sure. *squints suspiciously at him*
Danny: Anyway, forget about that, let's get the supplies I need before we go to dinner.
*3 Hours Later*
Tim: Why is Mar'i running around talking about a Mall Vampire?
Kori: Dick lost her in the mall earlier today, and the person who found her was humoring her questions.
Tim: And Dick is freaking out because...?
Kori, huffing: The man was "extremely pale with glittery skin and dark hair" and he just happened to have sharp teeth, so Dick's freaking out about it.
Tim: Seriously?
Kori, fondly: Honestly, that man.
Barbra: Hey guys, sorry for arrivaving late, it took a while to find the right paint-
Mar'i, squeals: Mall Vampire!
Danny: Hey kid.
Barbra: What?
Danny: This is the eccentric kid I told you about.
Barbra: Oh. Well uh, this is Danny, the cousin I told you abour. He's only in Gotham for a few months for a few art shows hes particpating in, so he's going to be staying with me.
Dick, paling: What?
Danny: Sorry for any inconvenience I might cause, but I look forward to getting to know you all. *smiles 'innocently', showing off his sharp teeth once more*
Names mean different things to ghosts and demons, though humans rarely understand the difference.
To a demon, a true name is a vulnerability. It is a chain, a handle, a weapon. In the wrong hands, it becomes power over them.
Ghosts are different.
They do not abandon their old names out of fear. They leave them behind because they no longer fit. A ghost sheds an old identity the same way a snake sheds its skin—not to hide, but because it has outgrown it. The name they choose after death is not a disguise. It is a declaration. It is who they have become.
A ghost’s old name is not forbidden. It simply isn’t theirs anymore.
So if someone knows it, there are only two possibilities. Either they are someone the ghost trusted enough to share a piece of a life that no longer exists… or they learned it by violating that trust and insist on using a name that the ghost has already laid to rest.
One is an act of intimacy.
The other is an act of disrespect.
Too bad the Justice League never learned the difference before they stood before the Ghost King and called him by the name of a dead boy.
When I was diagnosed at age sixteen, after having one period in the eighth grade and then never again till a medically induced one my junior year of high school - my uterine lining measured in centimeters because it was so thick, my mother turned to me in the car. She was upset. Literal tears in her eyes. And she told me her friend had PCOS, but was still able to have kids. That this was still a possibility for me if I did injections and fertility treatments, etc. My mom had never asked me if I wanted kids, she just assumed.
My first conversation about PCOS with my new endocrine/OBGYN was about weight management and how that could improve my fertility when I eventually wanted kids. It wasn't asked what my goals were for my health or if I wanted kids, just assumed.
I was a hormonal, depressed mess. I hated my body. My body dysmorphia was so bad that I cloistered myself away from so much. I wore hoodies and jeans in the 90°F, 80% humidity summers. This was considered fine. I was given metformin and birth control pills and told this was all that could be done. That PCOS wouldn't affect my life until I wanted to be pregnant. I wasn't asked if I wanted to be pregnant, just assumed.
I don't know how many PCOS groups I joined on my early 20s hoping to find community and commonality for body dysmorphia and symptom management, only to be bombarded with fertility treatments and tips and 'inspirational conception' anecdotes. They never asked if I was attempting to conceive, just assumed.
It's a problem. It's been a problem. And thank god I learned to speak up and find medical professionals that would help me with *MY* goals. I shouldn't have had to, someone should have recognized the needs of that sixteen y.o. and protected her, but I can only hope the conversation changes as awareness increases.
I once found original, omegaverse BL at a Barnes & Noble. Multiple series of omegaverse BL, in fact.
I had a fun time joking about it with my mom, telling her "Omegaverse? In the wild? It's likelier than you think!"
I also joked about it "breaching containment," to which she said that it had breached containment a long time ago.
My brother, thankfully, doesn't know much beyond it being based on bad wolf psychology. I say thankfully because... it would really not be his thing.
Fun fact, the closest thing to alpha and beta dynamics that actually exist in actual wolves are parent-child relationships. And the original study purporting these pack dynamics was not only flawed (being done on captive wolves in a space too small for them), but the original author himself has debunked it. Not that many people are listening, sadly.
Which makes it actually a pretty apt metaphor for the manosphere fools, just not in the way they think.
--
TBH, if we were going to compare the bad wolf science to actual humans, prison would be the natural comparison, not The Default State of Real Manly Men in their Natural Habitat or whatthefuckever.
And yes, I find it very funny that this poor scientist was the one trying to debunk his own old work.
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