Arts&Farts

Tollymore Forest Park

1. The FBI's Famous Cases & Criminals archive (fbi.gov/history/famous-cases) has detailed breakdowns of real fraud cases, Ponzi schemes, and confidence operations. The language they use is clinical and precise, which is perfect for getting the procedural details right.

2. The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network publishes annual reports on the most common fraud tactics in the US. Great for understanding how modern scams actually work and what makes people fall for them.

3. The Smithsonian's American Art Museum has a free digital collection of forgery case studies. If your character forges documents or art, this is gold.

4. Court Listener (courtlistener.com) is a free legal database where you can read actual court transcripts from fraud trials. Want to know how a real con artist talks under oath? This is where you find out.

5. The Internet Archive's collection of old newspaper crime sections. Search for "confidence man" or "swindle" in papers from the 1920s through 1960s and you'll find incredible real stories that would feel too dramatic for fiction.

Bonus: The Psychology of Fraud section on the Association for Psychological Science website has accessible articles about why people trust, how deception works cognitively, and what makes someone a convincing liar. Essential reading if you want your con artist characters to feel psychologically real.

I realize everyone's having trouble recently, but I really can't stand to see my girlfriend suffer.

My girlfriend, June, has been struggling with housing for several years now, ever since she left her abusive mother behind. I would take her into my home in a heartbeat, but we have no space and aren't able to upgrade to a bigger place without a huge blow to our finances.

June has repeatedly proven herself to be a quiet roommate, but she is physically disabled. She is currently using a wheelchair and I'd prefer to find her someplace on the first floor. She recieves SSI and can take care of her own groceries and pay rent up to $600 a month after bills. She cannot drive, and Ubers to doctor appointments and the like would not be possible on her own dime. She likes cats, reptiles, and is becoming more comfortable with dogs.

From June:

"I need some amount of space to myself, someone willing to help me do laundry depending on if the machine is down a flight of stairs, someone willing to take me to get groceries and other places I need to go to, someone willing to help me with small tasks, someone who is willing to be patient and kind to me. I don't need help with restroom stuff but might need to be (gently) reminded to brush my teeth and wash my hair. I keep to myself for the most part and try to keep quiet but I do like talking and having some social interactions, I don't mind hanging out from time to time, I like to drink on occasion and am very into mixology. I'm happy to help cover some amount for groceries, especially once I start getting EBT, and my cap for rent is $600 with everything included. Lower would be nice, but I also understand that people renting out rooms usually need the money and might not be able to bring the price down for me. I have a wheelchair. I can't stand or walk for long amounts of time. I have a hard time going down stairs and pretty much can't if there isn't a railing. And I can't wheel myself around because it hurts a little too much. I will be looking into getting a caregiver, so hopefully helping me with basically everything won't be a permanent thing."

In two weeks, she is expected to leave her current home. I have been trying alongside her to find a new place, and we thought we had one down, but the prospects of being their long is not looking strong.

The last post lost traction and I've only gotten a single small donation in the past few weeks or so.

My name is Sylvan, I'm 30 years old, and I've been on tumblr since I was 13 years old baybee. Over the years, I've developed fibromyalgia and the cartilage in my knees are being ground to dust, so I needed to get a wheelchair that could get up and down hills. I got a Fold and Go after being jerked around by my insurance and the hospital that was supposed to fit me with a wheelchair, but, unfortunately, that money had to come out of my own pocket.

I've paid off half the payments for the chair already thanks to tumblr and SSDI, but at the rate I'm paying it off, it'll be 15 months at the time of writing before I'm in the clear. We've had a lot of stuff break recently, but while I have found a job, I have no idea when I am supposed to start (and it's only part time for now). I could really use some help with paying this off, because we have a lot of bills and not a lot of spending money.

1,815/3,313.98

Paypal: [Link]

Cashapp and Venmo: strawbebbynya

Anything helps!