#Hyoid Femur

[ironcladfoundry]

Ironclad 6: Trickery

Pages 122-125

[mineralsrocksandfossiltalks]

Fossil Friday: Mamenchisaurus

A fairly well known sauropod, Mamenchisaurus was discovered in 1952 in a highway construction site in China. It was named Mamenchisaurus constructus by C.C. Young. This holotype specimen consisted of five dorsal vertebrae, 30 caudal vertebrae, rib fragments, dorsal neural spines, and chevrons. Fourteen cervicals were preserved but none were complete. There were also chunks of a femur, a complete tibia, fibula, astralagus, metatarsals, phalanges, and claws.

A second species, M. houchuanensis, was described in 1972. Locals had first discovered the animal during the Chinese Revolution but ultimately they were abandoned and excavation didn't occur until 1957. It became the holotype of this species and it had an almost complete and articulated vertebral column including 19 elongated cervicals, 12 dorsals, four sacral, and 35 caudals.

A third species, M. sinocanadorum was found in 1987 in a different formation and basin from the other two. This specimen consisted of a left mandible, a right dentary, a vomer, a right pterygoid, a possible ectopterygoid, a right quadrate, parts of the second through fourth cervicals, and an intact left cervical rib. This was the first time a skull for the genus was found.

A fourth species M. youngi was described in 1996. This was a very complete holotype preserving all vertebrae from the head down to the 8th tail vertebra, the pectoral girdle, pelvic girdle, and material from all four limbs. A rare feat for a sauropod.

Finally, a fifth species M. jingyanensis, was described in 1998. The type specimen includes a partial scapula, a complete coracoid, forelimb material, a complete ischium, a relatively complete skull, and a hyoid bone.

The most exceptional part of the this genus lies in its neck of which almost half their total body length comes from. They have between 18 and 19 cervical vertebrae (for reference, humans only have 7 and a Diplodocus only had 15.) This makes it the animal with the longest neck. In fact, even though elasmosaurs (very long-necked plesiosaurs) had up to 76 cervicals in some cases, those cervicals were short and overall body length was only 39ft (11.88m) while Mamenchisaurus's neck alone was 31ft (9.3m) long.

Well, it has been a blast discussing sauropods this month. Next month, I will be out in the field so I will not be posting to this blog. However, if you want to keep up with me I will be doing livestreams on TikTok to show what paleontologists do out in the field. It's a treat that most people never get to experience so I do hope you come to see. I will try to film between 8 and 9am MST everyday so keep an eye out. Here is the link to my profile so you can check it out!

[habitual-creatures]

Kinda,,, it's better than social studies!! We r learning about the skeletal system!! :3

I know like every scientific name for every bone now basically!

- 💜 anon

NICE!

[ REGARDS, HABIT ]

STERNUM RIBS CERVICAL RIBS CERVICAL VERTEBRAE THORACIC VERTEBRAE LUMBAR VERTEBRAE SACRUM COCCYX OCCIPITAL BONE PARIETAL BONES FRONTAL BONE TEMPORAL BONES ETHMOID BONE SPHENOID BONE LACRIMAL BONES MAXILLAE NASAL BONES PALATINE BONES ZYGOMATIC BONES INFERIOR NASAL CONCHA MANDIBLE HYOID BONE VOMER MALLEUS INCUS STAPES CLAVICLE SCAPULA HUMERUS RADIUS ULNA CARPALS PHANAGES METACARPALS HIP BONES FEMUR TIBIA FIBULA PATELLA TARSALS PHALANGES METATARSALS

[normalslimeguy]

top five bones????

GOOD ONE

baculum

hyoid

coccyx

femur

pubis

[chounaifu]

@haerith asked: ❝ You said it wouldn't hurt. ❞

Teal has vanished behind his eyelids, arms stretched upwards to elongate and straighten his spine. If he were any more snake-like, the fiend would have already coiled in a dark, damp place to enjoy the lingering taste of rodent on his tongue. Instead he resorted to limbering himself after swinging a sledge hammer into the arm of his new marionette, content after hearing the way that bone had cracked beneath flesh.

Silence and serenity interrupted, Proton tilts his head back, teal revealed and narrowed, lips curved into a smile far too pleased for the deed he had done.

❝ Mmmmm and you trusted that? Man, aren't you a gullible little guy? ❞ His laughter pops and jumps, shoulders shrugged up for a split second before his hand snatched the weapon he had used off of the shelf. Proton turns around and brandishes it before him, a glimmer of pleasure in his eye.

❝ You did so good though, do you know how long it's been since I've used this one? Bravooooo! ❞ And he's laughing again, hand scrubbing his face as the hammer is dropped to the ground with a heavy clunk. He points to the cast on Kane's left arm, and snears.

❝ I let you off easy with a busted ulna. Insult me next time, it'll get worse, I'll go for the humerus, then every little carpal bone, then your femur. ♬ ❞ The fluorescent lights on the ceiling flicker and buzz, Proton crosses the room quickly, and is upon Kane, hand grasping his chin and tilting it up; the devil grins.

❝ All it takes to kill you is a lil break of the hyoid bone, ❞ Proton's voice drops, thumb pressing against his toy's throat, prodding near the trachia, ❝ this little thing hiding behind here-- ❞ he's mumbling, ❝ snap it and you'll die, crazy, it's the only thing keeping your head up. Don't make me give it a try. ❞

[whumpster-fire]

Let me see... out of the 206 bones in the body:

24 (11.6%) would probably not cause that much permanent damage from losing one but it'd still suck (ribs)

30 (14.6%) are likely to partially or fully disable one hand (wrist bones, metacarpals, phalanges in the thumb) in ways that may or may not be repairable. (everything's connected to everything in the hand)

24 (11.6%) are likely to mess up one non-thumb finger, which is still quality of life affecting.

6 (2.9%) are likely to partially or fully disable one arm. (long bones in arm)

8 (3.9%) are likely to partially or fully disable one leg and cause permanent mobility issues even after long, painful, and expensive surgery and physical therapy (femur, tibia, fibula, patella)

24 (11.6%) are likely to severely mess up one foot and may cause permanent mobility issues and/or chronic pain when trying to walk (tarsal and metatarsal bones. The foot doesn't need as much mobility as the hand but losing a whole bone could still mess something up)

28 (13.6%) are likely to mess up one toe, which could still result in long term pain or mobility impacts. (toe phalanges)

4 (1.9%) probably make one or both legs fully unusable and fuck up other important muscles or internal organs (pelvic bones)

4 (1.9%) probably make one arm unusable and also seriously fuck up the back/neck/chest (shoulder blades and collarbones) resulting in serious mobility issues.

1 (0.5%) might really mess up breathing (sternum)

6 (2.9%) would probably leave me partially or fully deaf in one ear (inner ear bones)

1 (0.5%) might mess with swallowing or speaking? (hyoid bone)

1 (0.5%) might do nothing or might be enjoy your chronic nosebleeds and congestion (vomer bone)

13 (6.3%) will cause serious facial disfigurement and make the nose, mouth, or one eye function poorly or not at all, will require major reconstructive surgery to fix (facial bones besides the vomer bone)

24 (11.6%) are vertebrae and deleting one may immediately render me paraplegic / quadraplegic or dead because without support the two halves of the spine get moved by muscles in a way that damages the spinal cord, best case scenario is major surgery to prevent this, with long recovery, long term or chronic pain, and reduced mobility

3 (1.5%) put a relatively small gap in the cranium but still probably require immediate invasive surgery to not be life threatening (sphenoid and ethmoid bones, inside the nose and between the eyes, I don't think you could even get an implant into those spaces without having to break something else important

5 (2.4%) just remove a major section of the cranium and are immediately life threatening and require massive reconstructive surgery, likely to cause brain damage or have other permanent effects, also may permanently mess up function of eyes, face, or jaw (frontal bone, parietal and temporal bones)

1 (0.5%) I'm pretty sure is just instant death (occipital bone. Losing this would be internal decapitation, the weight of your head and any neck muscles that are still connected to anything probably means brain stem go bye bye)

This is a horrible bet. This is at least a 75% chance of "will seriously mess up my life" consequences and nearly Russian Roulette level odds of paralysis or death, for "buy a house" money but not "no longer need to have a job" money. Hell no, you can have my bones when you pry them from my cold, dead flesh.

I saw this question posed on tiktok, but I think Tumblr would really enjoy it too.

If a fae creature offered to give one million dollars for a bone chosen at random, how many bones would you allow them to take?

Light clarifications; The fae is not the one choosing the bones. The bone is taken at random. Each bone, no matter the size or importance, is worth a full million dollars. You must also declare the exact number first, you can't go bone-by-bone. You either say 2 or you say 10, you can't work your way up to a higher number. The bones are removed instantaneously, and the money is given immediately as well. You will not get in government trouble for acquiring the money.

Tell me in the tags/replies how many bones you'd let the fae take. And as always, reblog for bigger sample size.

[biobosses]

A Few Interesting Facts About Bones:

1. Hyoid, the V-shaped bone situated at the base of the tongue, is the only bone in the body that is not connected to any other bone.

2. Femur (located in the upper thigh) is the longest bone, whereas the stapes (located in the ear) is the smallest bone in the human body.

femur-bone

Femur: the longest bone in the body (Image Source: Wikipedia.org)

▪️Although bones stop growing in length during puberty, their strength and density change throughout everyone’s life.

▪️The most commonly fractured bones in the human body are those in the arms, which account for almost half of all broken bones.

▪️The skeleton composes one-fifth of an average human’s body mass.

[nursingscience]

BONES

Total number of bones 206

The human body has 206 bones. These bones make up the skeleton, which provides support and structure for the body, as well as protecting vital organs and allowing movement.

Here's a breakdown of the 206 bones in the human body:

1. Skull - 22 bones

2. Auditory ossicles (bones in the ear) - 6 bones (3 in each ear)

3. Hyoid bone (in the neck) - 1 bone

4. Vertebral column (spine) - 26 bones

5. Thorax (chest) - 25 bones (including 24 ribs and sternum)

6. Shoulder girdle - 4 bones (2 clavicles and 2 scapulae)

7. Upper limbs (arms) - 60 bones (30 in each arm, including the humerus, ulna, radius, carpals, metacarpals, and phalanges)

8. Pelvic girdle (hip bones) - 2 bones

9. Lower limbs (legs) - 60 bones (30 in each leg, including the femur, patella, tibia, fibula, tarsals, metatarsals, and phalanges)

So in total, there are 206 bones in the human body.

[friedgoats]

I can't be the only one who thought this when she did that.

[ironcladfoundry]

Ironclad 6: Trickery

Page 24

[12u3ie]

May I donate some femurs and ribs to the bone market, alongside a whole skeleton, with the exception of the hyoid bone, distal phalanges and intermediate phalanges. I also have a gift for you, in the form of Australian Musgravite and an Australian pink diamond - anonkeyhere (Key anon/🔑 if you don't already have one)

Thank you for the bones! And the rocks, so pretty…

[partialbirthabortion]

what I have learned from my a+p gross anat hw is that my prof REALLY wants me to know mandible, hyoid, ulna and femur but NOTHING else

[lady-olive-oil]

Work Out: Chapter 8

A/N: FINALLY!!!! Good lord it took me 2 months to finish this chapter because if how long I wanted it ti be but hey it’s done!! I want to thank my tribe for helping me out with this and everything and you guys! My readers mean the world to me for all the love and support. As my Christmas gift to y’all, after 3,000 years later, here’s Chapter 8 of Work Out!!!!

_______

Warnings: Slightly dirty if ya squint, and tear jerky

Word count: 3,934

Tag Squad: @maddiestundentwritergaines​ | @themyscxiras​ | @designerwriterchic​ | @dc41896​ | @honeychicana​ | @crushed-pink-petals​ | @chaneajoyyy​ | @titty-teetee​ | @ljstraightnochaser​ | @mimigemrose​ | @fumbling-fanfics​ | @madamslayyy​ | @amelatonin​ | @screamingdrago​ | @breddiefrooks​ | @ellixthea​ | @uranoscope​

_____

Tuesday: (3 weeks later)

It had been some time but I finally managed to get through my classes; just needed to take my biology final to officially finish class. And speaking of one ending, the day I’d been longing for had finally come. The day I would finally be free. Mostly of my burdens; my insecurities, my sorrows and the never ending pain in my ass.

As I looked in the mirror to finally put the final touches on my outfit, I felt more confident than I ever have. This year really showed my strengths and weaknesses, and how I want to grow further into my life as an independent woman.

“Soon as I get home, I’ll make it up to you, baby I’ll do what I gotta do.” Using the bathroom acoustics to my advantage, I centered myself singing that verse as a reminder of the happiness I currently had, which immediately put me in a positive mindset. The pinstripe, black and white jumpsuit, made a statement more than anything. It was saying “I may be short but I’m fashionable.”

“Florian! You getting ready yet babe?�� Finishing my last curl, I fluffed it all out and decided to pull it into a low curly ponytail.

“Almost draga. All I’m wearing is a nice black dress shirt, slacks and those dress shoes you bought me for my birthday.”

Taking a glance at him, with a wolf whistle in tow, I was impressed. “Damn baby, you look good as hell.”

“Oh stop, I only look good when I’m next to you.”

“Boy, you do that on your own.” Applying my red lipstick, I winked at my reflection ready to turn heads and drop jaws.

“Ready to be free of his bullshit?” He offers his hand to me to hold, and I took it with pride.

“Baby, was born ready.”

The whole process was very tedious. It took a full year for this settlement to go through with the constant changes of his demands; my demands, who’s going to get what at the end of it all and how much money each of us get. Luckily have a great lawyers and support system with me, that kept me level headed through all of this. My dad knew how much of a gutter rat Jake could be, so he took over my case with open arms.

Jake’s lawyer was a high siddity blonde with a bad nose job. Needless to say she was one of the best according to my dad, because he’s heard that a few of his associates have trials against her. Georgia Augustine was her name, making men break character was her game. All I know is Mandy recommended her to him and we all know how that went down. Just sitting across from him made my stomach churn in disgust, with his dumbass face of his. With Florian by my side, I knew I was going to be ok and yet I had an inkling that Jake would try something.

“Now Miss Shaw, is it?” Georgia began, pushing up her glasses, and gave me a look that was irritable. As if she wanted to leave my presence, as to say I was the one irritating her. “It seems as though my client has a few demands as to how this divorce should go.”

“As does mine, Ms. Augustine.” Once my father stepped in, it was go time and he meant business. “My client came into the marriage with her own income from her business, which accumulated sales on it’s own. Your client asked her for support for a child that may not even be his.”

The look on both of their faces was priceless. It seems that his lawyer didn’t know about the little meeting we had a while back. How did my dad know that the baby Mandy had wasn’t Jake’s? Lets just say I have eyes and ears in high and low places. To the point where anything that goes on in the WWE, I will be informed one way or another even though I don’t work there anymore.

“As that is legible, my client doesn’t understand why he was in the wrong for asking her alimony to help raise the child. Regardless if the child is his or not.” Georgia was not backing down from the given statement and it made my stomach churn.

The day he asked me for money for the child, I wanted to ring his neck so hard to make his dumbass pass out. But nonetheless, I made sure I kept it calm cool and collected. My dad proceeded with the rest of my demands.

“Well, your client violated the first court order that my client issued at the first hearing. He wasn’t supposed to ask my client for any form of payment for anything, while he did and forgot the agreement.”

I’m elated I went with my gut to have my dad as my lawyer because he's hitting all the points and not letting Jake breath.

My dad smirked in triumphant. “With that being said, let’s go talk to the judge and reach the final verdict.”

Well gathered in the hallway to await our case being called to have this all be over with.

“You won’t win, Geneva. You won't have anything left by the time I’m done with you.” Jake spoke with venom in his voice as his teeth clenched like a piranha. Florian places himself in between us and sneered down at him.

“They one thing preventing me from beating your ass into the ground right now, is the fact that we’re in a court house. Watch what you say to my lady.”

“Or what? You gonna punch me again?”

This time Florian was ya eye level with him. “I’m going to do far worse than that to you.”

“Case number 7861090, proceed.” As the bailiff called out to us, my nerves vanished and I put on a brave face to get this over with.

Walking into the room, it was quiet and serene making it all better to focus. What seemed like hours, were a mere few minutes. The judge had granted our divorce legal and we could live on for the world to see, as two separate individuals. Jake gave me one last annoyed look before leaving with his lawyer.

The tears racked through my body as Florian and I walked out of the courthouse. He held me close to his warm body, letting me release my tears of triumph. I was finally free, and I felt liberated.

“It’s all over Geneva. It’s all over, you’re safe now love. You’ve got me.” His reassuring voice soothed my tears.

Leaning up on my toes, in my red bottoms, I kissed him gently, pouring out every ounce of love I had for him into this one kiss. Once he kissed me back, my whole body froze and shivered in delight.

Once the kiss broke, I rested my head on his. “And you have me. Let’s go home, I could use a nap after all this.”

“We can after I take you to lunch. You have earned it my love.” Kissing my head, I smiled gently and gave him a nod.

“Lunch then a nap. I'm pretty sure I’ll be up studying till midnight then go back at it tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a plan. Almost done baby girl, almost done.”

My support system was always there, It was just what I needed to come back down the earth. Now it’s time to crush the rest of the week.

Wednesday Night:

Don’t ever procrastinate when studying to take exams or major tests. Because that’s what I’m doing right now and it’s not helping. Trying to remember the names of the bones in the human body, is harder than I thought.

“There's tibia, the femur and uh shit why can’t I get this?” Groaning in agony and frustration, I gripped my head. The intense pressure of everything piling up at once, caused me to study the night before.

My exam was tomorrow morning, bright and early at 9 am, in a cold ass room full of 30 plus students. This is the last test I have to take to be a certified personal trainer and I couldn’t be more nervous.

“Patella, calcaneus, cuboid and fibula. You got this G, just focus. Now in the upper body it’s the humerus; occipital bone, sternum, scapula, hyoid bone, clavicle and the ethmoid bone.”

I could sense another presence in the room, not taking my focus off the millions of notecards places in front of me. “If you plan on helping me studying Munteanu, then I’d suggest you walk on your cuboid and your metatarsal, and sit on your firm as down.”

“There isn’t a scientific name for ass?” I could hear his smile in his statement.

“Nah. If there was id say it a lot, trust me. What’s up with you? Why aren’t you getting ready for your night out with the boys?” Arching a brow, I bit into a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich.

“I decides not to go. Told the boys I wanted to help my wonderful lady, who is studying for her exam.”

“Flo, you didn’t have to do that. I honestly would’ve done fine by myself.”

Grabbing my flash cards, sitting on the couch behind me, Florian cleared his throat as he began giving me the definition of the words.

“I want to help my lady, be more successful than she already is. Besides, you’re getting this degree and we’re all going to celebrate. For each one you get right, you get a kiss in the place of my choice. Are you ready?”

I nodded in triumph, with a sweet blush, and anxiousness. This went on for the next 2-3 hours, filled with dirty and sweet kisses left and right until Florian got a little handsy and had me straddle his lap.

“F-Florian. Baby- oh my god. Ok I gotta study.” The noise I made was a combination of a giggle and a heated moan.

“Nuh uh. You’ve studied long enough, and it’s time for a more physical test.” His lips ghosted across my neck, causing shivers to rack through my body.

“More physical test? Bring it on baby.” My voice betrayed me once again, as I felt his lips trailing down my torso.

“Oh I plan to.” The wicked smirk etched on his face only proved that I would be in a whole lot of pain soon.

And sweet delicious pain it was.

Thursday: test day

Seconds turned to minutes; minutes turned to hours and hours turned into built up anxiousness. Anybody that knows me, knows I hate the waiting game and his tedious it is.

It was around 6pm the very same day, laptop on my lap, my left leg was shaking and my nerves were shot. Florian was playing Mortal Kombat 12, next to me, with Michael through his headset.

“Baby girl, it'll all be alright. You’ll receive good news.” During the break, he kissed my head reassuring me.

“You and me both, tell Mike I said hi. I’m gonna get some snacks.” Heading towards the kitchen, I practiced my breathing.

All my years of working and going to school, trying to provide for myself, I couldn’t help but think about how much my life will change. After I get a better more stable paying job once I graduate, my life will go back on track.

I grabbed a bowl of fruit I had sliced earlier, from the fridge, then felt something was off. Reaching for my phone buzzing in my back pocket, I saw a notification stating ‘Final grades posted. Congrats to everyone!’ As the label.

The nerves got the best of me. As I quickly opened the update: gasped out loud and screamed joyously!

“Uh babe..” I called out the Florian.

“Yeah?”

“I passed my test.” I ran toward the living room, forgetting about the fruit bowl on the counter, and showed him my phone. “I passed my tests.”

“Hold on Mike. My baby girl is official!” He actually paused the game to hug and console me.

“I’m so proud of you.”

I couldn't help but cry against his shoulder.

“Thank you. Thank you for believing in me.”

“I knew you could do it. We should celebrate.”

“How about dinner with the crew? I could use the company after studying the last few weeks and dealing with this divorce.” Sniffling gently I heard Mike yelling over the mic through Florian’s headset.

“Invite me too, cuz!”

Picking up the headset I answered him back. “You already know Mike. Let’s go call the boys, Flo.”

“Sounds good. Luckily Sandro and Masias are still in town.”

“Thank you my love.”

Friday Night: Family and Friends Bonding Dinner

Food, fun and laughter. All the special ingredients to bring a family together, to increase a bond and make the stress go away.

Even though my parents had already met Florian’s, it was as if they met for the first time whenever they were around each other. If they were in town, of course that’s when I knew Florian would be with his folks for a bit, since whenever I had work to do.

Earlier today, Florian and I managed to finish writing the last few verses on 2 songs I was putting on my album, that’s coming up. This album is my gift to my daughter and how I want my legacy to skyrocket from here alone. Worth the help of my tribe I knew it would be a hit.

The kitchen reminded me of my childhood times. My mother had made her signature dish, roasted garlic chicken and potatoes. Enough to feed an army, but in this case about nearly 20 people in her dining room. One by one they all shared something they loved and how proud they are of me. Florian’s parents, along with my own, made me tear up the most.

“My sweet Genevieve.” My dad began with a tender smile. I was always a daddy’s girl even though I was close to both parents, the bond I have with my dad is like no other. “We all have watched you grow into the successful woman you are today. We are so very proud of you and know you’re going to do great things in the future.”

Smiling as best as I could, I nodded and sniffled.

Then it was my mother’s turn to speak. “We all know how hard you’ve been working so, your father and I episode like to send you and Florian on a trip wherever you’d like to go.”

“Wait seriously?” I was dumbfounded and in shock.

“Yes seriously. Think of it as a graduation trip, you’ve earned it and we’re so proud of you.” With that I hugged both my parents tightly, with so much love and joy.

Once it was all said and done, I knew I had to give a speech. Even though I am not the best at public speaking, I had to give it my best. I tried to dry my crocodile tears as best as I could, but to no avail they came back with a force.

“This dinner means a lot to me.” I began as I stood to make a toast with all those around me. “It’s been a journey and I’m so blessed to have you all around me, as an encouraging force in my life.”

I let the tears fall, hearing my tribe of loving people around me try to console me, I felt the love and acceptance. Florian had reached for my hand, caressing the back of it with his thumb.

“I just appreciate you all so much, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to have in my life. Salude.” Raising my wine glass to toast to them all.

Cynthia, Destiny, John and Ryan were also a little teary eyed when it came to my speech. They have been there for me through it all, and have never made me question their loyalty.

“Congratulations Geneva. You’re gonna do amazing things.” Florca and my mother both had placed a sweet kiss upon my cheeks, reminding me that I had a great foundation.

Florian‘s infamous smile made me full all warm inside, as he gestured to the group. “Now, let’s eat!”

I knew this was the man I was going to marry someday. It was only a matter of time before our new lives started. I was ready to begin a new life with him.

Saturday: Remembrance

July, 12th, 2017, was the day I lost my new light in the world. I never felt so much pain and agony in my life, that I have vowed from that day forward I would love and cherish any child I have. A few times in the past couple of years, mainly around her birthday and Christmas, I come to her grave sight and place daffodils down upon the base of the headstone.

“Hi Delaney, It’s mommy. Um..” I sniffled gently, trying to hold it together as I touched the letters on the dark grey stone. Florian was right there next to me, kneeling down. He has been the only man I’ve brought to see my daughter, I don’t trust anyone else but him.

“I brought you, your flowers for the month you would’ve been born and a new friend.”

I looked at Florian, nodding gently for him to go ahead, he placed the red and yellow flowers next to mine.

“Delaney Marie Shaw. Words can not express how much you mean to me even though I never got to officially meet you. The way your mother speaks so highly of you is amazing and I know you’d be proud of her at such a young age.”

The love Florian has for me is unmatched. Whether I’m upset or feeling down, he manages it to make the moment better. He single handedly knows how to turn any moment a grand one, and I am the one who is truly blessed.

Gently rubbing the stone, I sighed with a sniffle. “You know, you’re the greatest moment I have ever had in my life. When I met Florian my whole life changed and I knew he’d be there to take care of me, when I needed to move on from your father.”

“Every now and then, I look up at the stars and ask for advice. I keep you close to my heart, my precious baby girl. I love you forever and always.”

Helping me stand back up again, Florian kisses my cheek softly and hugged me close. “I want to thank you for giving me the honor to do this with you.”

“You’re more than welcome Florian. I couldn’t have thought of anyone better to do this with.”

“I will never leave you my love. My promise to Delaney is to never let you fall.” Before heading to the car, I glanced back at the headstone one last time, smiling with peaceful reassurance.

“I think she’d like that. She’d like that very much my love. Now let’s go home and get warmed up with some chili.”

Sunday: Graduation Day

The day has finally come. My bachelors and doctoral degrees finally become mine and mine alone. All these years of finally having something of my own, it doesn’t even seem real yet it is.

After taking pictures with everyone in my cap and gown; having rehearsals for 2 ½ hours and practicing how I was going to walk, I was running my speech through my head. You see, I was one of the few to do a farewell speech seeing as though I am one of 300 students graduating to it. There was about 3 of us giving one: welcome speech, intro speech for our speakers and farewell.

“You’re gonna do great sis. Everyone knows you will do wonderful.” I kept reassuring myself as I sat on the stage, looking over the crowd of so many warm faces full of love for their loved one's.

One by one everyone’s name was called to receive their case that holds their diploma, cause everyone knows we don’t actually get the diploma till it comes in the mail. As soon as it was my turn, I felt the nerves kick in as I shook hands with the dean and the faculty of the school.

“Genevieve Leona Shaw.” My name was announced by dean McIntosh, and I knew which section my family was in, cheering me on like a raging fire. He gave me the ok to deliver my speech after the president of the school had spoken.

“I could not believe we finally made it here, you guys.” I began my speech, wiping my tears that fell from my eyes. Seeing all my classmates, that were in my nursing program, in the front row with our matching caps that said ‘eaRNed It’ in various decorations.

“These last few years have been amazing and heartwarming. I couldn’t believe after all our hard work and determination, we made it to this day. Graduation day, our day.” I found my family, smiling at me with so much love and admiration. I knew I would be just fine with this new venture in my life going forward.

“Now without further ado, turn your tassels from right to left, cause class of 2019 we did it!” just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, a gang of balloons fell from the ceiling along with confetti. For someone who has a fear of public speaking, the speech wasn’t so bad after all. Marching out with my classmates I signaled towards my family to meet me out by the south stairs in the front.

Good thing I had brought my flats because my feet were hurting in these heels. Taking pictures with my fellow Deltas and a couple of AKA’s, never felt so real to finally be done with this program. Mike had met me at the location first so he was able to take the pictures for me. Donnie, Leilani and Luca were crying again as soon as they got to me again. Giving me hugs and kisses and the celebratory sibling picture.

“There she is! There’s my hardworking queen, I am so proud of you.” Florian picked me up and spun me around in complete bliss and happiness. I knew I was going to cry because I felt the tears fall down my rosy cheeks.

Receiving hugs from all my friends and family meant the world to me, even from Florian’s family too. Masias and Sandro gave me the type of hugs that you’d sway people from side to side. Made me feel like I gained 2 more brothers.

“So Miss Graduate, what are you going to do now?” Cynthia asked as she and Destiny linked their arms with me to take pictures.

“Well I am going to put my album out,with an interview coming up with the Breakfast Club and maybe even grow my personal trainer business.” I sighed with glee then a thought appeared. “Also I do know for a fact that somebody is getting married this weekend. So we are gonna live it up in Vegas and then get you hitched in Hawaii.” I smirked towards Cynthia who was blushing mad at me.

“So with that being said, tonight we party!” Going into these new moments with the people I love, was all I needed in this life. Especially since I am finally free of a burden that wouldn’t let me thrive. Now, I can soar without regret or remorse.

[mattbegins]

What’s your favorite bone! Mines the hyoid:) also this is kinda morbid but do you have a favorite mode of murder you use in your writings? Something you learned about and went “oh yes I’ll have to use that”

The hyoid is my favorite too!! the femur is a close second ngl. One thing I find particularly interesting about the hyoid is that it’s not fully ossified in people under 20 (only 7% of under 20s have a fully ossified hyoid) so is more flexible and therefore fractures often can’t be detected in cases of manual strangulation. That’s just so weird. But it also makes the bone(s) that much cooler to me.

I don’t know if I have a favorite mode of murder to write exactly but I will say I think the most common ones I end up going for are drownings and gunshot wounds. The murderers in my fics may get a little creative with their presentation like fancy knives and buckets of wine but mainly it’s the basic blood loss and asphyxia for mine.

[anthropologist-on-the-loose]

Question: The human bone jungle gym thingy - Can I contribute only *some* bones? Because I still have my heart set on a spring loaded lead casket filled with glitter. The future archaeologists can figure out why only my left femur, hyoid, and 6 of my carpal bones from each hand ended up in a bone puzzle, while the rest of my body was buried is somewhere else.

Yes, your skull can be one of the joints where all the other bones connect