#Ice Machines service in New Jersey

[fixice2]

Melting Away the Issues: Common Problems and Troubleshooting for Ice Machines

Ice makers are now an essential component of our daily life, whether they are found in restaurants, hotels, workplaces, or even our own homes. They keep our drinks chilled and energizing by giving us a constant supply of ice. Ice machines can, however, run into issues that hamper their efficiency and leave us in the cold, just like any other equipment. For trustworthy Ice Machines service in New Jersey, you can go through FixIce.com. They provide expert service to resolve your common problems. In this post, we will look at some of the frequent difficulties that ice makers encounter and offer troubleshooting advice to help you fix them. 

[harleyrrojar]

Cool Convenience: Finding the Best Ice Makers in Middlesex NJ

Ice Makers is your go-to destination for high-quality ice makers and restaurant supply solutions in Middlesex, New Jersey. As a proud offering from Automatic Ice Maker Co., this specialized store caters to the unique needs of restaurants, bars, and food establishments.

[thisislizheather]

2023 Resolutions Revisited

Above Photo: The view from Nubeluz, NYC

Time to revisit the resolutions that I made in 2023! This is definitely my favourite post of the year because I will forever love accountability. The best part about making resolutions is going back and seeing how they went in reality. Why are people so anti-resolution? My guess is because most of us think that resolutions are supposed to be serious and not at all fun. Well, news flash - I’m here to tell you that you’re allowed to make fun ones. Also I’m bringing back “news flash.”

Throughout the year, I kept making my seasonal lists (spring, summer, autumn, winter). I got really into making reels, Nathan did his second Tonight Show, I got to visit the abandoned City Hall subway station, I toured the gorgeous Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, went to a tulip farm in New Jersey, we celebrated my dad’s 100th birthday with a giant party and a family trip to Scotland, I saw a ton of shows on Broadway (Death of a Salesman, Moulin Rouge, Shucked, Pictures From Home, Bad Cinderella, Hamlet at Shakespeare in the Park, Six, The Shark is Broken). I started the Summer Saturdays series, as well as Fall Fridays. I saw the Lagerfeld costume exhibit at The Met, I got to see this incredible private rehearsal of a play with Michael McKean, I flew in a Harvard plane, I continued my domination of Halloween, Nathan had three pretty significant pieces written about him in The New York Times, I compiled my favourites of 2023, and I found my favourite summer photos as well as my favourite photos of the year. And here’s how my 2023 resolutions went.

Above Photo: Family in Edinburgh, Scotland

1. Read at least one book per season.

Spring: Keep Moving by Dick Van Dyke

Oh my god, that’s it. I read one book last year. Nobody tell my dad because that’s embarrassing as hell. That’s the worst I’ve ever done with my reading goals. Definitely aiming to better about that this year.

2. Take Baby Dog on an adventure at least twice a season.

Done! She went to Canada a total of three separate times this year, and I took her on Central Park walks each season. She also did her pet volunteering a few times and I also took her to the air field where my brother and I got to fly in those planes.

Above Photo: Baby Dog in Central Park, NYC

3. Try at least one new restaurant each month.

January: Carne Mare (such a beautiful space, it’s perfect for a special occasion, caviar mozzarella sticks were slightly overrated but everything else was good), Little Ruby’s Cafe (so great for lunch) & Bistro Eloise (had the best onion soup in all of NYC, that broth was unreal, escargots was fantastic)

Above Photo: Carne Mare, NYC

February: The Bar Room (the grilled chicken on top of their caesar salad was unparalleled), Nubeluz by Jose Andres at The Ritz-Carlton (everything was great, view is perfect), Golden Unicorn (suck city, don’t go) & Olio E Piu (so terrible, begging you to never go)

March: The now-closed Quality Eats (that short rib hash was great), Wayan (best dishes: the corn fritters, the spring rolls, the lamb kebabs and the chocolate chip cookie with cheddar ice cream) & The Grill (the MP pasta appetizer was the most incredible thing we ate - they used this crank-type machine table-side to make the broth for the pasta sauce out of MEAT BONES and I’m still thinking about it, other highlight was the gluten-free zucchini cornbread)

April: Hawksmoor (flashy and beautiful inside, but no real substance), Pete’s Tavern (space is great, food is fine and service was attentive but odd) & Figlia (best Italian in Astoria, by far)

Above Photo: Figlia in Astoria, Queens

May: Spirit Tree Estate Cidery (so wonderful, can’t wait to go again)

June: S& P (fine, absolutely nothing special) & Sojourn (the duck spring rolls are insanely good)

July: Superiority Burger (veggie burger was great, everything else was just average), Modern Bread and Bagel (the gluten free latkes and french toast sticks were unreal) & Rubirosa (great space, great food)

August: 111 by Modou in Glasgow (fantastic!)

September: Shukette (truly special), Margaritaville in Times Square (the key lime pie is legit here) & Shopsin’s (great chicken sandwich)

October: Beetle House (too fun) & Oscar Wilde (so seasonally perfect)

November: Kaia Wine Bar (insanely good birria tacos and a great happy hour)

Above Photo: Birria tacos at Kaia Wine Bar, NYC

December: Mel’s (good, but never need to go again)

4. Properly go on a date with Nathan at least once a month.

Did it! Some of the dates included: going to see Death of a Salesman on Broadway, which depressed us so much that we silently went home and immediately to sleep. He made me see Scream VI against my will, we got drinks at Sunken Harbor Club, went bowling in Astoria, had a night at Rec Room in Square One, saw Talk To Me in theatres, went to Shot of Art together, devoted each Sunday in October to horror movies, we saw The Shark is Broken AND LIFE WAS CHANGED FOREVER (we loved it) and then we went to Maryland for New Year’s Eve.

Above Photo: Nathan in Baltimore, Maryland

5. Every month, cook something I’ve never cooked before.

January: penne alla vodka (this recipe sucked, but I want to try it again) and lasagna soup (wonderful, definitely would make again)

February: greek chicken meatballs (hard pass, too bland)

March: chicken marsala (I’ve made this at least ten times since March, favourite recipe of the year) & tres leche cake (heavenly)

Above Photo: Tres leche cake

April: steak Diane (really, really good) & asparagus soup (phenomenal)

May: lemon almond pudding cake (pretty boring, wouldn’t make again) & a classic bread pudding (simple and great recipe)

June: strawberry cobbler bars (good, but nothing to make again) & this dark chocolate cake with this icing (unbelievably tasty)

Above Photo: Strawberry cobbler bars

July: nothing this month (I’ll blame it on traveling)

August: stuffed summer shells (so, so good) & homemade pizza (which I promise to shut up about after this post)

Above Photo: Stuffed summer shells

September: tomato tart (good, but a ready-made puff pastry would’ve tasted better here) & pecan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (meh, don’t need to make again) & pumpkin spice syrup for iced coffee (wow)

October: apple cider doughnut cookies (good!) & a coconut chicken tikka masala (good but I never need to do it again)

Above Photo: Apple cider doughnut cookies

November: a rice krispies pumpkin pie (hilarious)

Above Photo: Rice Krispies pumpkin pie

December: espresso martini cookies (good!) & a mushroom loaf (truly great) & chocolate pistachio shortbread cookies (the worst! I think I just messed up the recipe though so this is on me)

6. Go on a solo, alone trip.

Biggest regret on this whole list. I’ve wanted to do this for years, so I might just keep it on the 2024 list.

7. Have at least one advertiser on this site.

Not yet! But I’ll keep trying.

8. On the first of each month, try something new.

Jesus, these resolutions were lofty! Big nope on this one.

9. Buy a keyboard and start playing piano again.

Hahahah, not even kinda. Great idea in theory. I did play piano each time I visited my parent’s house, though, so that’s something. A pathetic something, but a something. Don’t worry, I won’t try to take a half point here.

10. Have my book in at least one bookstore by the end of the year. Even if I have to self-publish and then physically put it on a shelf myself.

Okay, truthfully I didn’t even remember this was a resolution, so I didn’t even submit it anywhere for at least half of the year. But this is exactly why I need to revisit my resolutions list at least once a month. (It’s not lame if that itself is one of my resolutions, yeah?)

One thing that I’m so happy that I kept doing throughout the year? My monthly roundup posts. They’re basically little monthly journal entries that make me realize how good I have it sometimes, and I’m so grateful that anyone wants to read them. Here are the links to the last twelve months of them: December 2023, November 2023, October 2023, September 2023, August 2023, July 2023, June 2023, May 2023, April 2023, March 2023, February 2023 & January 2023.

And here are all the best tweets posts from 2023 as well: January, February, the best Valentine tweets, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, the best Halloween tweets, November, December and the best Christmas tweets.

So if we’re keeping score (we are), I did 4/10 on my resolutions (dear god). But see the thing is - this was one of the best years I’ve had in a very long time, so that’s important to note. You can brutally fail at resolutions and still make some progress because this felt like a very full year with a lot of things that went in the right direction.

2024 resolutions coming tomorrow!

[scullysexual]

X-Files Rewatch Series; Episodes 1 - 12 Masterlist

Just a quick masterlist of all the ficlets in the rewatch series up to the latest episode I've watched (Fire) These links will direct you to Tumblr. For AO3, click here. These are also in collaboration with @burritoscully who is turning these into journals. They can all be found under her tag art journal and I would appreciate it if you were to have a look at them.

MASTERLIST BELOW THE CUT

For those new or who don't know, the rewatch series is a little thing I'm doing after each episode I watch. The concept behind it is that they are diary entries written by Scully and found years later by Mulder (hence why they're all old and dirty) They're written in 15 year old Dana's diary but with 29 year old Scully's voice.

01x01: The Pilot.

01x02: Lights In The Sky (Deep Throat)

01x03: Always Have Your Back (Squeeze)

01x04: I Want To Believe (Conduit)

01x05: A Life (The Jersey Devil)

01x06: You Don't Believe (Shadows)

01x07: Near Death By Fan (Ghost in the Machine)

01x08: We Are Not Who We Are (Ice)

01x10: I Didn't Order Room Service (Fallen Angel)

01x11: We're Just Little Girls (Eve)

01x12: Phoebe Green (Fire)

[fly-pow-bye]

See It Firsts for 3/5/2021

Almost every Friday, Cartoon Network puts up episodes that have yet to air on TV on their website, app, and On Demand services. These are called See It Firsts, and Cartoon Network decided to put up almost every episode they’re going to air in March, outside of one Total Dramarama episode (”Shock and AWWW”) and the just announced premiere of Elliot from Earth on March 29th.

Craig of the Creek:

Fan or Foe - When Elder Con comes to the Creek, Craig, Kelsey and JP each have a con experience they'll never forget.

New Jersey - After donning a brand new Jersey, JP is recruited by the Hockey Kids! The only way to get JP back is for Craig and Kelsey to hit the ice!

The Sunflower - Our Trio makes a new friend in the Creek, but when her pet befalls a tragic fate, Kelsey believes she knows how to help.

Craig World - Craig creates an amusement park in the Creek! But when things start to get stale, he vows to make it bigger and better, no matter what it takes!

Teen Titans Go:

Just a Little Patience…Yeah…Yeah - Robin tries to teach the other Titans to have patience.

Villains in a Van Getting Gelato - Four of the Titans' greatest villains reminisce about past incidents and recall how the Titans wronged them.

I Am Chair - During a stressful trip to the mall, Robin finds peace in a massage chair.

Bumgorf - When the Titans realize they have not seen Silkie for a long time, they take turns guessing what happened to him.

Total Dramarama:

Life of Pie - When Izzy, Jude and Owen accidentally bring a pizza to life they do everything they can to help him find a new purpose in life other than being eaten.

AbaracaDuncan - When a magic trick goes sideways, Duncan makes a great escape and Harold becomes the target of a Sorcerer Hunt!

School District 9 - When a career predicting machine tells Owen he has no skills to offer the world, Owen finds a way to prove the machine wrong in the most Owen way possible.

If one has a cable or satellite subscription, they can check them out. Stay tuned.

[onceuponaloonatic]

i feel so bad for not posting much because of school :( engineering really is rough :( anyway to attempt to make up for it, here’s a snippt of a samo draft of mine. keep in mind it’s pretty rough and at least two years old so i’m sorry it’s bad. i just wanted to post something and was like hey let’s post some samo content. also this isn’t nessicarly the beginning of the draft so if the timing and pacing seems weird i’m sorry. enjoy!

The cheers were ringing loudly in Momo’s ringing ears, sweat dripping down her back. Her heart was pounding rapidly and her legs were sore as she ran but she absolutely loved it. There was nothing like the adrenaline of a good game.

She smirked as she got the ball under her control. This was the best part. Make quick work of the left over defenders, line up the shot, and shoot. Her leg moved in a practiced motion as she aimed for the top left corner of the goal. She poured everything in her veins to her foot as it connected with the ball, launching it into the air. She held her breath, following the ball with her eyes. Excitement spiked within her as the ball flew past the goal keeper into the goal. She did it. Again.

A wide grin broke out on her face as her teammates wrapped her up in a huge hug and the crowd went absolutely wild. She lived for these moments.

Before she knew it, the ref was blowing his whistle and everyone was screaming. If she listened closely she could hear her name being chanted. She loved it. She was wrapped up in a huge team hug as the dangerously dark clouds started pouring rain. She didn’t care, she was too excited and too in the moment for anything to ruin it.  She received hugs from her teammates and shook hands with the other team and finally she found her second favorite person on the universe waiting for her.

“Saki!” Momo grinned, opening her arms for a the little girl standing next to her coach. ���Mama!” Saki ran forward and Momo lifted her, her legs still aching. “Mama Mama you won!” “That’s right princess,” Momo grinned, kissing Saki’s cheek. She could hear the tell tale signs of camera clicks and she knew she was going to be all over the sports news tomorrow but she didn’t care. She had her little girl in her arms and another victory under her belt. She felt invincible. If only her other half was here too.

Momo grinned at the thought of her wife. Victory meant sex and she had missed sex so much. Between her wife’s pregnancy hormones and her practice schedule Momo hadn’t been able to get lucky in weeks. She was craving sex so bad. She and Sana had made a deal a long time ago that every game won meant one round, and tournaments where they were separate were the best case scenario for Momo because when she got home she was allowed to chose whenever she wanted to cash her rounds in.

“Mama your the best,” Saki grinned. “Aren’t I Sak?” Momo kissed her baby’s cheeks again, having to avoid the team colors painted on her daughter’s face.

Momo and her teammates lingered on the field with Saki in her arms until they were all kicked out. Momo giggled with her teammates as they retreated into the locker room and she changed herself and Saki out of their matching soccer jerseys. Momo felt better to be in casual clothes, even if sweat and rain was still clinging to her skin. Saki was wide awake, excited for the team dinner they had planned.

“Have fun baby?” “It was super fun Mama,” Saki grinned, Momo pulling Saki’s shirt over her head.

“Can you go play with Auntie Seulgi while I call Mommy?” “Can you tell her I love her?” “Of course I will baby girl.” Momo grinned, kissing Saki’s cheek before waving over at her teammate who smiled and scooped the five year old up into her embrace. Momo pushed the door to the locker room open and found a secluded spot and quickly dialed her wife.

“Satang,” Momo cooed when the person on the other side picked up.

“Hi Momoring,” Sama muttered, her voice heavy with sleep. “How was the match?” “We won!” Momo smiled widely.

“That’s great! How’s Saki?” “She’s having the time of her life, we are going to dinner later and then resting for the next match.” Momo muttered. “How are things there? Is Mina driving you crazy?” “No, she’s just protective, she hasn’t let me touch anything.” Momo could hear a slight whine in her wife’s voice. “I’m pregnant not dying.” “Well you are seven months along, and we’ve had scares twice now, Mina is just doing what’s best for you.” “You don’t understand, she literally flips her shit whenever I get off the couch like I’m going to go into labor any second.” Momo could tell Sana rolled her eyes after her statement.

“Hm well if you want I can send her a threatening text.” “Mina’s not afraid of you,” Sana giggled. “I know, hey baby?” Momo sighed, changing the topic quickly.

“Hm?” Sana hummed sleep still heavy in her voice.

“I miss you.” “I miss you too.” Sana responded. “But the tournament is only another week, we’ll see each other soon.” “I know… I just… I love you a lot.” “I love you too you big nerd.” Sana muttered enduringly, followed by a low hiss.

“What’s wrong?” Momo asked panicked.

“Nothing, your child just kicked me, again.”

“She’s showing her love.” Momo smiled at the thought. “She can do it in a way that doesn’t involve literally kicking my insides.” Momo heard the sarcasm dripping from her wife’s tone. “Fuck she did it again, you little brat.” “She misses me,” Momo muttered. “You hear that baby girl Mama misses you too.” “Yeah yeah whatever Momo.” “Saki says she loves you.” Sana added.

“Tell her I love her too, and make sure she goes to bed sometime before the sun comes up.” “We’re great parents aren’t we?” “The best,” Sana responded. “Go have dinner with your friends, tomorrow is an off day right? I’ll face time you then okay?” “Okay,” Momo smiled. “I love you Satang.” Momo muttered in Japanese. “I love you too Momoring.” Sana responded in their native tongue. “Talk to you tomorrow?” “Talk to you tomorrow.” Momo grinned and pulled the phone away from her ear.

She practically skipped back to the locker room and collected her child before following the team to a celebratory dinner. She was offered multiple drinks, but she turned them down, instead opting for soda, going as far as letting Saki have her own soda with her kids meal. After dinner Saki basically crashed from being around so many people and sugar high and Momo tucked her into the hotel bed before going over to the bathroom and running a cold bath, getting some ice from the machine down the hall from her room and resting her sore muscles in an ice bath. She cursed herself at first, but once it set in she felt so much better. After drying off she climbed into bed with her five year old, who was cuddled with her favorite dog plushie Mr. Joonie Jr, named after her favorite Aunt’s stuffed dog. Momo nodded at how messy Saki was sleeping before giving her one more kiss and laying next to her, letting a wave of sleep wash over her.

xx

The next morning, Saki woke her up with her dog plushie tucked under her left arm and her head on Momo’s chest. Momo woke up with a smile, her muscles aching, but significantly less than they should. She kissed Saki’s cheek before letting her pick out what she wanted for breakfast and ordering it for room service while her and Saki got ready for the day. After dressing Saki in a nice sundress (the weather was warmer than it should be in October but what did Momo expect from the US) and herself in a simple pair of ripped jeans and a tee shirt, they found their breakfast waiting for them at the door. Saki practically consumed her waffles, smiling at how much spoiling her Mama had been giving her on this trip. They then went to visit some monuments, Momo staying off her feet the most she could, she had a game tomorrow and she wasn’t about to ruin herself sightseeing. Saki had fun, and they had lunch at a nice seafood place before returning to their temporary home so they could call Sana. Their call was surprisingly short, Sana citing that she had some work to do on her laptop after letting the two rant about their trip.

After ending the call, Saki took a long nap while Momo figured out what they were going to do for dinner. She decided to have room service one more time, too lazy to go out again. They ate an early dinner and afterwards they went down to the hotel pool to mess around for a while before going back to their hotel and taking a bubble bath together. Saki fell asleep halfway through watching Moana and Momo fell asleep right after, being sure to set her alarm for the game tomorrow.

As she fell asleep, she had a bad feeling in her gut, but she couldn’t quite place what it was about.

xx

Momo didn’t check her phone between morning practice and her pre game warm up. Saki had been extra tired and she had to take her back to the hotel to nap, leaving her bag in the locker room in their short break. After dressing Saki up in her little cheerleader outfit (adding a touch of zombie makeup because their game was on the day before Halloween and the team had coordinated this thing where Saki could go around asking them for candy because she wasn’t going to have time to go trick or treating tomorrow) she returned to the field to run their pre game warm up. She had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, she hadn’t been able to call or text Sana all day and it made her feel terrible. But she tried to get it out of her head and focus on the game.

Kick off came and the other team was playing extremely aggressive and Momo didn’t like it. Her team was able to hold them off, but the other team didn’t make things easy. She was shoved and had a large bruise forming on her lower back from where she had been “accidentally kicked” and it only served to make her angry. By half time she was practically fuming, and the fact she hadn’t been able to talk to Sana wasn’t helping in the slightest.

Their coach had a rule about checking their phones during half time, he said it was too distracting and they needed to keep focused, but he made an exception just once for Momo, feeling sympathetic to her situation. Saki gave her a message to rely to Sana again, and Momo knew Saki wasn’t having fun watching her Mama get thrown around like a rag doll, at least, more than normal.

Momo jogged to the locked room and noticed she had a lot of missed calls from Sana. She went through them, noting a few from Mina too. It could be nothing, but Momo fear the worst. She called Sana first, and was surprised when Mina answered her wife’s phone.

“Minatozaki Hirai Momo!” Mina screamed once she answered. “What the hell is wrong with you?” “What is wrong with you why are you screaming at me?”

“Have you seen my texts?”

“No I’ve been extremely busy today.”

“So did you like not check your phone this morning?” “I had to get up at six am no.” “Bitch Sana’s water broke last night.” Momo’s heart speed up and it wasn’t because of her exhaustion from running for the past hour.

“Ha ha very funny-”

“I’m not kidding.” “What the fuck she’s not due until January, it’s October.” “I took her to the hospital last night, they said there’s nothing they can try she has to have the baby soon, and since she’s Sana she’s being stubborn and refusing to get a c section. She got an epidural at least, but she’s been in there for like nearly eighteen hours and the baby still hasn’t been born.” Mina sighed.

“Fuck fuck shit okay is she okay did the doctors say the baby is going to be okay?” “They said they can’t know for sure until she’s born, but looking at some preliminary ultrasounds she has a chance of being okay, her brain and heart are pretty much developed.” Mina sighed. “They said their biggest concern is size and her lungs.” “I’m in the middle of a game Mina…” Momo muttered, tears welling up in her eyes. “What do I do?” “Get your ass on the first plane over her Hirai.”  Mina hissed. “Soccer is important but not missing the birth of your child important." “Y-Your right, I’ll go tell my coach, I’ll be there as quick as I can, keep me updated.” Momo whispered. “I will.” Mina responded before Momo hung up on her. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and she felt like she was getting crushed with anxiety. She ran as quick as she could to her coach, knowing she looked crazy. “I need to go,” She told the man.

“Why?” “Sana’s in labor, I- fuck I need to go to her." “No Hirai,” Her coach looked her in the eyes. “We need to win this game or we’re out of the tournament, we’re in the semi finals and your our star player you can’t just leave." “I can’t miss the birth of my second child please.” Momo practically begged. “My decision is final Hirai, go drink some water and re tie your cleats and get back on the field.” “Please.” Momo dropped to her knees, tears clinging to the corner of her eyes.

“No,” The man hissed. “Go do your job Momo.” Momo wiped her tears and kicked the dirt hard before being sent onto the field. She put on a tough face, but in her mind she was freaking out.

Needless to say, she was unfocused for the rest of the match. Her mind was solely on her wife and nowhere near the crowded stadium. They ended up in a 1 to 1 draw, but they lost in the shoot out. It was their coach’s fault for expecting anything from Momo, she concluded. Once the match was over she grabbed Saki and her bag and practically sprinted out of the stadium, hailing a cab before Saki could even ask what was going on. She changed out of her cleats on the ride to the airport and didn’t even bother to change out of her uniform before sprinting to the hotel room and packing at light speed, paying the cab extra to wait downstairs. Saki watched confused as Momo dragged her downstairs, checking out of the hotel as fast as she could and back into the cab and straight to the airport and onto the first flight home she could get. Momo knew she was in desperate need of a shower and a change of clothes but she was too panicked at the moment to do anything about it, staring at her phone every five seconds for updates. Once they boarded the place, Saki fell asleep on top of her and Sana begrudgingly turned her phone into airplane mode before take off, she hoped to god she didn’t miss anything during the flight.

xx

Momo was too late. She was too fucking late and she hated herself. By the time she landed and got her and Saki in her car and on their way to the airport Mina had already texted long ago announcing the birth. Her texts stopped after, and Momo assumed the worst as she broke nearly every law getting to the hospital. She terrified the receptionist into telling her her wife’s room number before dragging her tired child to the room. She nearly cried when she found Sana sleeping with a tiny pink bundle beside her. She put Saki on the bed next to her mommy before looking at her new baby. She was asleep and connected to countless machines but she was breathing and Momo felt so relived.

“Momoring?” Momo was startled when she heard Sana’s sleepy voice. Momo turned to Sana with tears on her cheeks. “I’m so sorry, I tried to leave sooner. My coach was being a jerk. I’m so sorry, I’m here now,” Momo put her hand on Sana’s cheek. “How did it go? Is she okay? Mina stopped texting me after she said she was born.” “Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her throat but the doctors were able to get it off before it caused any permanent damage, sorry for the scare.” Sana muttered sleepily. “She’s way too small and needs to spend time in an incubator, but she’s as healthy as a nine week early baby can be.”

“Oh thank god.” Momo sighed in relief. “I’m so sorry.” “I know you are.” Sana muttered. “And her birthday is today by the way, so where’s her gift huh Mama?” “It’s in my suitcase in the trunk.” Momo giggled at her wife. “I’ll get it later.” “I was joking.” “I know, but I still got her a gift from Seattle.” Momo kissed Sana’s forehead. “She’s beautiful.” “I know she is,” Sana smiled. “She was also a nearly twenty four hour labor.” “I’m sorry baby that sounds so rough.” Momo sighed. “Are you okay?” “I’m sore as hell.” Sana complained. “But besides that I’m fine.” “That’s good,” Momo kissed Sana’s forehead. “I wished I could have been here, I’m sure it was magical." “It was stressful, I hated it. I’m never doing it again.” “I know,” Momo kissed Sana’s forehead once more. “What’s her name?” “Haven’t named her yet. I was waiting for you.” “Sana,” Momo muttered with tears in her eyes. “Thank you.” “Yeah I know, but hurry up with her name you need to go finish her birth certificate.”

“I’m naming her?” “Yes I can’t come up with names.” “Okay, um, Nico?" “After your grandmother? Sounds good, go finish the paperwork before that pushy nurse comes back."

“I’m sorry again baby.” “I know you are, just know that I love you and I know this isn’t your fault.” Sana answered.

“I love you too.” Momo sobbed, looking at their precious angel. “Nico-ya,” Momo whispered to the baby. She felt both happy and a bit sad at the same time.

[fixice2]

Ensuring Smooth Operation with Ice Machine Repair in NJ, NY, and CT

In the bustling food and beverage industry of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, a dependable ice machine is the heartbeat of countless businesses, from restaurants and cafes to hotels and catering services. However, when these vital appliances encounter glitches or breakdowns, it can disrupt operations, compromise food safety, and diminish customer satisfaction. Enter FixIce – your trusted partner in ensuring smooth operation through expert ice machine repair services across the tri-state area. At FixIce, we recognize the pivotal role that ice machines play in the daily operations of businesses large and small. Whether it's for keeping beverages refreshingly chilled or preserving perishable goods, a malfunctioning ice machine can quickly escalate into a logistical nightmare. That's why our team of seasoned technicians is dedicated to delivering prompt and proficient repairs, getting your ice machine back in working order swiftly and efficiently. To know more visit us at - https://www.fixice.com/ice-maker-service

[icemachineclearance]

Ice Machine Rentals Made Easy: You’re Guide to Finding the Best Option in NJ

This guide will help you locate the best Ice Machine Rentals in Staten Island that satisfies your particular needs. Ensure to examine your demands, look into rental providers, compare terms and prices, take into account the kind and characteristics of the machine, assess the service and maintenance, look for flexibility, read the contract thoroughly, and prepare in advance. For your events or commercial operations in New Jersey, you can guarantee a consistent supply of ice by renting a dependable ice machine. Read more!

[fixice2]

Ice Machine Electrical Issues: A Comprehensive Troubleshooting Guide

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Aircraft De-Icing System Market Outlook 2021: Big Things are Happening

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Major Highlights of TOC:

Chapter One: Market Overview

1.1. Introduction

1.2. Scope/Objective of the Study Chapter Two: Executive Summary

2.1. Introduction Chapter Three: Market Dynamics

3.1. Introduction

3.2. Market Drivers, Trends, Challenges, Opportunities Chapter Four: Market Factor Analysis

4.1. Porters Five Forces

4.2. Supply/Value Chain

4.3. PESTEL analysis

4.4. Market Entropy

4.5. Impact Analysis — Post COVID-19

…………

Chapter Nine: Methodology and Data Source

Key questions answered

· Influential trends or factors that is booming demand and restraints in the market.

· What is the market concentration? Is it fragmented or highly concentrated?

· Global Aircraft De-Icing System Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Investment Opportunities, and Strategic Recommendations)

· Market share analysis of the top industry players ….

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Advance Market Analytics is Global leaders of Market Research Industry provides the quantified B2B research to Fortune 500 companies on high growth emerging opportunities which will impact more than 80% of worldwide companies’ revenues.

Our Analyst is tracking high growth study with detailed statistical and in-depth analysis of market trends & dynamics that provide a complete overview of the industry. We follow an extensive research methodology coupled with critical insights related industry factors and market forces to generate the best value for our clients. We Provides reliable primary and secondary data sources, our analysts and consultants derive informative and usable data suited for our clients business needs. The research study enable clients to meet varied market objectives a from global footprint expansion to supply chain optimization and from competitor profiling to M&As. Contact Us:

Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager) AMA Research & Media LLP Unit №429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJ New Jersey USA — 08837 Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218 sales@advancemarketanalytics.com Connect with us at LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

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In February of 2017 I had the great pleasure of addressing the Grant MacEwan University English Department with a keynote speech titled “Your Voice is Valid.”

This speech was all about Mary Sues, fandom, and marginalized voices, and is a direct response to the negative reactions that media texts receive when they announce a protagonist that is deemed to be a "Mary Sue".

In the intervening years I think the message of my talk has become even more vital to creators, so I thought I’d record a  new video of the speech to share with a wider audience.

 If you liked this video, you can find more of my writing advice on my website.

Read the full speech on Wattpad, or below:

(Text may not match the video exactly as I did alter some of the phrasing.)

*

My friends, I have a declaration to make. A promise. A vow, if you will. And it is this:

If I hear one more basement-dwelling troll call the lead female protagonist of a genre film a ‘Mary Sue’ one more time, I’m going to scream.

I’m sure you’ve all seen this all before. A major science fiction, fantasy, video game, novel, or comic franchise or publisher announces a new title. Said new title features a lead protagonist who is female, or a person of color, or is not able-bodied, or is non-neurotypical, or is LGBTQA+.

It might be the new Iron Man or Spider-man, who are both young black teenagers in the comics now, or the Lt. Michael Burnham of Star Trek: Discovery, or the new Ms. Marvel, a Muslim girl. It could be Jyn Erso, the female lead of the latest Star Wars film or Chirrut, her blind companion. It could be the deaf FBI Director Gordon Cole from Twin Peaks or Clint Barton from Fraction and Aja’s Hawkeye graphic novel series. It could be Sara, of Dragon Age fame or Samantha Traynor from Mass Effect, both lesbians, or Dorian also from Dragon Age, who is both a person of color and flamboyantly queer. Maybe it’s Lt. Stamets and Dr. Hugh Culber, played by Anthony Rapp of (best known for his time as Mark in Rent) and Wilson Cruz, both open out gay men playing openly out gay men in a romantic relationship in Star Trek Discovery. It could be Captain Christopher Pike, from both the original Star Trek series and the reboot film, who uses a wheelchair and assistive devices to communicate. Or maybe it’s Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, fights with a prosthetic arm in the comics, or Iron Man, whose suit serves as Tony Stark’s ego-tastic pacemaker.

And generally, the audience cheers at this announcement. Yay for diversity! Yay for representation! Yay for working to make the worlds we consume look more like the world we live in! Yay!

But there’s a certain segment of the fan population that does not celebrate.

I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about.

This certain brand of fan-person gets all up in arms on social media. They whine. They complain. They say that it’s not appropriate to change the gender, race, orientation, or physical abilities of a fictional creation, or just protest their inclusion to begin with. They decry the erosion of creativity in service of neo-liberalism, overreaching political-correctness, and femi-nazis. (Sorry, sorry – the femi-“alt-right”).

It’s not realistic. “Women can’t survive in space,” they say, “It’s just a fact.” (That is a direct quote, by the way.) “Superheroes can’t be black,” they say. “Video game characters shouldn’t have a sexual orientation,” unless – it seems - that sexual orientation is straight and the game serves to support a male gaze ogling at half-dressed pixilated prostitutes.

“And strong female characters have to wear boob armor. It’s just natural,” they say.

These fan persons predict the end of civilization because things are no longer being done the way they’ve always been done. “There’s nothing wrong with the system,” they say. “So don’t you dare change it.”

And to enforce this opinion, to ensure that it’s really, really clear just how much contempt this certain segment of the fan population holds for any lead protagonist that isn’t a white, heterosexual, able-bodied, neurotypical, cismale, they do everything they can to tear down them down.

They do this by calling that character a ‘Mary Sue.’

When fan fiction author Paula Smith first used the term ‘Mary Sue’ in her 1973 story A Trekkie’s Tale, she was making a commentary on the frequent appearance of original characters in Star Trek fan fiction. Now, I’m going to hazard that most of these characters existed as a masturbatory avatar – wanna bone Spock? (And, um, you know, let’s face it who didn’t?) They you write a story where a character representing you gets to bone Spock.

And if they weren’t a sexual fantasy, then they were an adventure fantasy. Wanna be an officer on the Enterprise? Well, it’s the flagship of the Starfleet, so you better be good enough to get there. Chekov was the youngest navigator in Starfleet history, Uhura is the most tonally sensitive officer in linguistics, and Jim Kirk’s genius burned like a magnesium flare – your self-representative character would have to keep up to earn thier place on that bridge. This led to a slew of hyper sexualized, physically idealized, and unrealistically competent author-based characters populating the fan fiction of the time.

But inserting a trumped-up version of yourself into a narrative wasn’t invented in the 1970s. Aeneas was totally Virgil’s Mary Sue in his Iliad knock off. Dante was such a fanboy of the The Bible that he wrote himself into an adventure exploring it. Robin Hood’s merry men and King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table kept growing in number and characteristics with each retelling. Even painters have inserted themselves into commissioned pictures for centuries.

This isn’t new. This is not a recent human impulse.

But what Paula Smith and the Mary Sue-writing fan ficcers didn’t know at the time was that they were crystallizing what it means to be an engaged consumer of media texts, instead of just a passive one. They had isolated and labelled what it means to be so affected by a story, to love it so much that this same love bubbles up out of you and you have to do something about it, either in play, or in art. For example: in pretending to be a ninja turtle on the play ground, or in trying to recreate the perfect version of a star fleet uniform to wear, or in creating art and making comics depicting your favorite moments or further adventures of the characters you love, or writing stories that encompass missing moments from the narratives.

‘Mary Sues’ are, at their center, a celebration of putting oneself and one’s own heart, and one’s own enjoyment of a media text, first.

Before I talk about why this certain segment of the fan population deploys the term ‘Mary Sue’ the way it does, let’s take a closer look at this impulse for participatory play.

Here’s the sixty four thousand dollar question: where do ‘Mary Sues’ come from?

I’d like you take a moment to think back at the sorts of games you enjoyed when you were about seven years old. Think back. Picture yourself outside, playing with your siblings, or the neighbour’s kids or you cousins. What are you doing? Playing ball games, chase games, and probably something with a narrative? Are you Power Rangers? Are you flying to Neverland with Peter Pan? Are you fighting Dementors and Death Eaters at Hogwarts? Are you the newest members of One Direction, are you Jem and the Holograms or the Misfits? Are you running around collecting Pokémon back before running around and collecting Pokémon IRL was a thing?

That, guys, gals and non-binary pals, is where Mary Sues come from. That’s it. It’s as easy as that.

As a child you didn’t know that modern literary tradition pooh-poohs self-analogous characters, or that realism was required for depth of character. All you knew was that you wanted to be a part of that story, right.  If you wanted to be a train with Thomas and Friends, then you were a train. If you wanted to be a magic pony from Equestria, you were a pony. Or, you know, if you were trying to appease two friends at once, then you were a pony-train.

Self-insert in childhood games teach kids the concept of elastic play, and this essential ability to imagine oneself in skins that are not one’s own, and to stretch and reshape narratives is what breeds creativity and storytelling. It shapes compassion.

Now, think of your early stories. As a child we all told and wrote stories about doing what, to us, were mundane everyday things - like getting ice cream with the fictional characters we know and love.

My friend’s three year old tells his father bed time stories about going on walks through Home Hardware with his friends, the anthropomorphized versions of the local taco food truck and the commuter train his dad takes to work every morning. He doesn’t recognize the difference between real and fictional people (or for him, in this case, the stand-ins that are the figures that loom large in his life right now as a three year old obsessed with massive machines). When you ask him to tell you a story, he talks about these fictions as if they’re real. And he does not hesitate to insert himself into the tale. “I did this. I did that. We went there and then had this for lunch.” He is present in all his own stories because, at this age, he understands the world only from his limited personal POV.

As we grow up, we do learn to differentiate between fantasy and reality. But, I posit that we never truly loose that “me too!” mentality. We see something amazing happening on the screen, or on the page, or on a playing field, and we want to be there, a part of it.

So we sort ourselves into Hogwarts Houses. We choose hockey teams to love, and we wear their jerseys.  We buy ball caps from our favorite breweries. We line up for hours to be the first to watch a new release or to buy a certain smartphone. We collect stamps and baseball cards and first editions of Jane Austen and Dan Brown. We want to be a part of it. Our capitalist, consumer society tells us to prove our love with our dollars, and we do it.

And for fan creators, we want to be a part of it so badly that we’re willing to make more of it. Not for profit, but for sheer love. And for the early writers, the newbies, the blossoming beginners, Mary Sues are where they generally start. Because those are the sorts of stories they’ve been telling yourselves for years already.

But as we get older, as we consume more media texts and find more things to adore, we begin to notice a dearth of representation – you’re not pony trains in our minds any more. We have a better idea of what we look like. And we don’t see it. The glorious fantasy diversity of our childhoods is stripped away, narratives are codified by the mainstream media texts we consume, and people stop looking like us.

I’m reminded of a story I read on Tumblr, of a young black author living in Africa – whose name, I’m afraid, I wasn’t able to find when I went back to look for it, so my apologies to her. The story is about the first time she tried to write a fairytale in elementary school. She made her protagonist a little white girl, and when she was asked why she hadn’t chosen to make the protagonist back, this author realized that it hadn’t even occurred to her that she was allowed make her lead black. Even though she was surrounded by people of color, the adventures, and romance, and magic in everything she consumed only happened to the white folks. She did not know she was allowed to make people like her the heroes because she had never seen it.

This is not natural. This is nurture, not nature. This is learned behavior. And this is hegemony.

No child grows up believing they don’t have place in the story. This is something were are taught. And this is something that we are taught by the media texts we consume.

I do want to pause and make a point here. There isn’t anything fundamentally wrong with writing a narrative from the heterosexual, able bodied, neurotypical, white cismale POV in and of itself. I think we all have stories that we know and love that feature that particular flavor of protagonist. And people from that community deserve to tell their stories as much as folks from any other community.

The problem comes from a reality where when it’s the only narrative. The default narrative. The factory setting. When people who don’t see themselves reflected in the narrative nonetheless feel obligated to write such stories, instead of their own. When they are told and taught that it is the only story worth telling. ‎

There’s this really great essay by Ika Willis, and it’s called “. And I think it’s the one – one of the most important pieces of writing not only on Mary Sues, but on the dire need for representation in general.

In the essay, Willis talks about Mary Sues – beyond being masturbatory adventure avatars for young people just coming into their own sexuality, or avatars to go on adventures with – but as voice avatars. Mary Sues, when wielded with self-awareness, deliberateness, and precision, can force a wedge into the narrative, crack it open, and provide a space for marginalized identities and voices in a media-text that otherwise silences and ignores them.

This is done one of two ways. First: by jamming in a diverse Mary Sue, and making the characters and the world acknowledge and work with that diversity. Or, second: by co-opting a pre-existing character and overlaying a new identity on them while retaining their essential characterization. For example, by writing a story where Bilbo Baggins is non-binary, but still thinking that adventures are messy, dirty things. Or making Sherlock Holmes deaf, but still perfectly capable of solving all the crimes. Or making James Potter Indian, so that the Dursleys prejudiced against Harry not only for his magic, but also for his skin color. Or making Ariel the mermaid wrestle with severe body dysphoria, or Commander Sheppard suffer from severe PTSD.

I like to call this voice avatar Mary Sue a ‘Meta-Sue’, because when authors have evolved enough in their storytelling abilities to consciously deploy Mary Sues as a deliberate trope, they’re doing so on a self-aware, meta-textual level.

So that is where Mary Sues comes from.

But what is a Mary Sue? How can you point at a character and say, “Yes, that is – definitively – a Mary Sue”.

Mary Sues can generally be characterized as:

-Too perfect, or unrealistically skilled. They shouldn’t be able to do all the things they do, or know all the things they know, as easily as they do or know them. For reasons of the plot expedience, they learn too fast, and are able to perform feats that other characters in their world who have studied or trained longer and harder find difficult. For example, Neo in The Matrix.

-They are the black hole of every plot – every major quest or goal of the pre-existing characters warps to include or be about them; every character wants to befriend them, or romance them, or sleep with them, and every villain wants to possess them, or kill them, or sleep with them. This makes sense, as why write a character into the world if you’re not going to have something very important happen to them? So, for example, like Neo in The Matrix.

-A Mary Sue, because it’s usually written by a neophyte author who’s been taught that characters need flaws, has some sort of melodramatic, angsty tragic back-story that, while on the surface seems to motivate them into action, because of lack of experience in creating a follow-through of emotional motivation, doesn’t actually affect their mental health or ability to trust or be happy or in love. For example, like the emotional arc of Neo in The Matrix.

– A Mary Sue saves the day. This goes back to that impulse to be the center of the story. Like Neo in The Matrix.

-And lastly, Mary Sues come from outside the group. They’re from the ‘real world’, like you and I, or have somehow discovered the hero’s secret identity and must be folded into the team, or are a new recruit, or are a sort of previously undiscovered stand-alone Chosen One. Like, for example, Neo in The Matrix.

Now, as I’ve said, there’s actually nothing inherently wrong with writing a Mary Sue. Neo is a Mary Sue, but The Matrix is still a really engaging and well written film. And simply by virtue of the fact that an individual with ingrained cultural foundations is writing a story, that story is inherently rooted in that writer’s lived life and experiences. As much as a writer may try to either highlight or downplay it, each character and story they create has some of themselves in it. The first impulse of storytelling is to talk about oneself. We write about ourselves, only the more we write, the more skilled we become at disguising the sliver of us-ness in a character, folding it into something different and unique. We, as storytellers, as humans, empathize with protagonists and fictional characters constantly – we love putting our feet into other people’s shoes. It’s how we understand and engage with the world.

And we as writers tap into our own emotions in order to describe them on the page. We take slices of our lives – our experiences, our memories, our friend’s verbal tics or hand gestures, aunt Brenda’s way of making tea, Uncle Rudy’s way having a pipe after dinner, that time Grannie got lost at the zoo – and we weave them together into a golem that we call a character, which comes to life with a bit of literary magic. I mean, allow me to be sparklingly reductionist for a second, but in the most basic sense, every character is a Mary Sue.

It’s just a matter of whether the writer has evolved to the point  in their craft that they’ve learned to animate that golem with the sliver of self-ness hidden deep enough that it is unrecognizable as self-ness, but still recognizable as human-ness.

For years, mainstream western media has featured characters that were primarily heterosexual, able bodied, neurotypical, white cismales. And, regrettably, because of that, this flavor of human is now assumed to be the default for a character. When people from other communities speak up requesting other flavours, for characters for whom the imbedded sliver of humanity remains just as poignant and relatable, but the outer shell is of a different variety, this is when that certain segment of the fan population looses their cool.

That certain segment of the fan population has been telling us for years that if we don’t like what we see on TV or in video games, or in books, or comics, or on the stage, that we should just go make our own stuff. And now we are.

“Make your own stuff,” they say, and then follow it up with: “What’s with all this political correctness gone wild? Uhg. This stuff is all just Mary Sue garbage.”

Well, yes. Of course it is. That’s the point.

But why are they saying it like that?

Because they mean it in a derogatory sense.

They don’t mean it in the way that Paula Smith meant it – a little bit belittling but mostly fun; a bemused celebration of why we love putting ourselves into the stories and worlds we enjoy. They don’t mean it the way that Willis means it – a deliberate and knowing way to shove the previously marginalized into the center. They don’t even mean it the way that I mean it in my own work - as a tool for carefully deconstructing and discussing character and narrative with a character and from within a narrative.

When a certain segment of the fan population talks about ‘Mary Sue’, they mean to weaponize it. To make it a stand-in for the worse thing that a character can be: bland, predictable, and too-perfect. Which, granted, many Mary Sues are. But not all of them. And a character doesn’t have to be a Mary Sue to be done badly, either.

When this certain segment of the fan population says ‘Mary Sue’, they’re trying to shame the creators for deviating from the norm - the white, the heterosexual, the able bodied, the neurotypical, the straight cismale.

When this certain segment of the population says ‘Mary Sue,’ what they’re really saying is: “I don’t believe people like this are interesting enough to be the lead character in a story.”

When this certain segment of the population says ‘Mary Sue,’ what they’re really saying is: “I don’t think there’s any need to listen to that voice. They’re not interesting enough.”

When this certain segment of the population says ‘Mary Sue,’ what they’re really saying is: “This character is not what I am used to a.k.a. not like me, and I’m gonna whine about it.”

When this certain segment of the population says ‘Mary Sue,’ what they’re really saying is: “Even though kids from all over the world, from many different cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds have had to grow up learning to identify with characters who don’t look or think like them, identifying with characters who don’t look or think like me is hard and I don’t wanna.”

When this certain segment of the population says ‘Mary Sue,’ what they’re really saying is: ”Even though I’ve grown up in a position of privilege and power, and even though publishing and producing diverse stories with diverse casts doesn’t actually cut into the proportionate representation that I receive, and never will, I am nonetheless scared that I’ll never see people like me in media texts ever again.”

When this certain segment of the population says ‘Mary Sue,’ what they’re really saying is: “Considering my fellow human beings as fellow human beings worthy of having stories about them and their own experiences, in their own voices, is hard and I don’t wanna do it.”

When this certain segment of the population says ‘Mary Sue,’ what they’re really saying is: “I only want stories about me.”

They call leads ‘Mary Sues’ so people will stop writing them and instead write… well, their version of a ‘Mary Sue.’ The character that is representative of their lived experiences, their power and masturbatory fantasies, their physical appearance, their sexual awakenings, their cultural identity, their voice, their kind of narratives.

Missing, of course, that the point of revisionist and inclusive narratives aren’t to shove out previous incarnations, but to coexist alongside them. It’s not taking away one entrée and offering only another – it’s building a buffet.

Okay, so who actually cares if these trolls call these diverse characters Mary Sues?

Well, unfortunately, because this certain segment of the population have traditionally been the group most listened-to by the mainstream media creators and the big money, their opinions have power. (Never mind that they’re not actually the biggest group of consumers anymore, nor no longer the most vocal.)

So, this is where you come in.

You have the power to take the Mary Sue from the edge of the narrative and into the centre. And you do can do this by normalizing it. Think back to that author who didn’t think little black girls were allowed to be the heroes of fairy tales. Now imagine how much different her inner world, her imagination might have been at the stage when she was first learning to understand her own self-worth, if she had seen faces like hers on the television, in comics, in games, and on the written page every day of her life.

And not just one or two heroes, but a broad spectrum of characters that run the gamut from hero to villain, from fragile to powerful, from straight to gay, and every other kind of intersectional identity.

You have the power to give children the ability to see themselves.

Multi-faceted representation normalizes the marginalized.

And if you have the privilege to be part of the passing member of the mainstream, then weaponize your privilege. Refuse to work with publishers, or websites, or conventions that don’t also support diverse creators. Put diverse characters in your work, and do so thoughtfully and with the input of the people from the community you are portraying. And if you’re given the opportunity to submit or speak at an event, offer to share the microphone.

The first thing I did when actor Burn Gorman got a Twitter account was to Tweet him  my thanks for saving the world in Pacific Rim while on a cane. As someone who isn’t as mobile as the heroes I see in action films - who knows for a fact that when the zombie apocalypse comes I will not be a-able to outrun the monsters – it meant so much to me that his character was not only an integral and vital member of the team who cancelled the apocalypse, but also that not once in the film did someone call him a cripple, or tell him he couldn’t participate because of his disability, or leave him behind.

Diversity matters.

Not because it’s a trendy hashtag, or a way to sell media texts to a locked-down niche market, but because every single human being deserves to be told that they have a voice worth listening to; a life worth celebrating and showcasing in a narrative; a reality worth acknowledging and accepting and protecting; emotions that are worth exploring and validating; intelligence that is worth investing in and listening to; and a capacity to love that is worth adoring.

White, heterosexual, neurotypical, able-bodied cismales are not the only people on the planet who are human.

And you have a right to tell your story your way.

Calling something a ‘Mary Sue’ in order to dismiss it out of hand, as an excuse to hate something before even seeing it, is how the trolls bury your Narrative and your Identity.  We are storytellers, all of us. Every person in this room. Whether your wheel house is in fiction, or academia, or narrative non-fiction, we impart knowledge and offer experience through the written word, through the telling of tales, through leading a reader from one thought to another.

And we none of deserve to be shouted down, talked over, or dismissed. No one can tell you that your story isn’t worth telling. Of course it is. It’s yours.

And don’t let anyone call your characters, or your work, or you a ’Mary Sue’ in the derogatory sense ever again. Or I am going to scream.