#but the PSA was roughly 3 different PSAs in one

[yanderespamton78]

Hnnnnghgghg after a good bit of struggle I managed to fall asleep for two hours In This Heat (~27°c I would guess) and I have already had a nightmare what is this bullshsit

Now I am simply sitting in my bed in the sweltering heat at 3 in the morning and I need a piss and I'm covered in sweat and I'm too shook to do anything about my discomfort

[monsterhugger]

vash plush scam alert

now that ppl are getting their vash plushes and ppl are looking for aftermarket ones just a PSA:

this site is fake.

when you search for the vash plush this will be one of the first results. it showed up less than a week ago as of writing this post. you'll find sites like this for a lot of anime merch with images pulled from official sites and/or etsy. they all have roughly this layout:

here's a fake chainsaw man merch site for comparison:

with the exception of pokemon i'm not aware of any anime that has its own (english-language) online merch store. nothing like this is to be trusted.

while we're here, if you REALLY want to spend the $100+ for an aftermarket plush and are okay with the practice of scalping, i'd be wary of ebay listings using only the promo images and/or this image:

i've found three listings from three different sellers in the last few minutes using this image

i don't know where it's from but i'd put money on none of these sellers being the origin of it. best case scenario the seller is waiting on their product and already trying to resell it which is shitty practice. more likely you're going to pay premium price for a knockoff or nothing.

this is currently the only legitimate site i'm aware of listing the vash plush:

they are a reseller and people have reported quality issues buying merchandise from there (eg. items came broken, months in shipping, bad customer service) but it's the only listing up at the moment i would actually trust. all that being said, vash is currently out of stock with no word from the manufacturer Ensky at the moment as to whether it will ever be back in stock.

[wistfulweaverwoman]

I have been marinating on something for the last day.

For roughly ten years I have been sharing my analysis of different aspects of THG books, but I started writing in depth character analysis before I ever joined the fandom. By nature of analysis they are subjective to comprehension, education, and personal experiences, however, I do my absolute best to keep them as unbiased as possible.

I understand that what I offer may not be what you've interpreted, and that's fine. We can discuss where we're each coming from, and agree to disagree if we don't come to an understanding. There are some things that I've shifted on over the years as I learn more about classic literature and symbolism, and even people pointing out text in a way that I never noticed. My mind continually seems to be blown by these books.

What's completely uncool is to not only tell me that my analysis is wrong, but that Susanne Collins wouldn't want me to interpret what I did, they way I did.

Motherfucking what now?? The two of you bffs? You discuss this over brunch??

So what's my beef? It stems from the kerfuffle from a few days ago where there was a bit of arguing over Katniss and whether she felt sexually aroused when Gale kissed her in 2. I did't know this was hotly debated issue till after. The person was complaining about Gale and so I offered some insight by linking my Gale analysis, (which I've already decided needs to be rewritten because there's things I'd like to add or provide further clarification on).

My analysis is metaphorical, specifically comparing THG to Dante's Comedies and how the series is Katniss's own journey through the seven hells to paradise through spiritual transformation.

They said they agreed with everything except Gale having sexual feelings for Katniss (weird take, but okay). I went on to explain that Gale represents the most base of men, and that that he's meant to provide contrast to the feelings she has for Peeta, which elevate above sexual desire to a more spiritual level. Specifically, the cave kiss, when Katniss first realizes that she does not want to lose the boy with the bread, mirrors the kiss in 2 with Gale, in which she realizes Peeta will never come back or she’ll never return and she’ll go to the Capitol to die, and he’ll die hating her… all while Gale is actively kissing her neck. And because nothing matters anymore she kisses him back:

“Gale’s touch and taste and heat remind me that at least my body’s still alive, and for the moment it’s a welcome feeling. I empty my mind and let the sensations run through my flesh, happy to lose myself.”

They then tell me that Katniss only feels arousal 2-3 times in the book (whereas I believe it's more, but they're feelings that aren't worth mentioning because those feelings aren't important, but there's hints in the narrative of her desire for Peeta, often in bed) and that what she felt while Gale was touching her wasn't arousal. I say let's agree to disagree, and then they @ me TWO more times to continue to tell me I'm wrong and the bit about SC. So they're blocked, which I have never done before, beside porn bots.

PSA for the folks that don't know this because they haven't experienced these yet:

There's a difference between sexual arousal from physical stimulation, being sexually attracted to a person, and being with someone you're in love with.

You can, in fact, be aroused by someone you're not at all attracted to, it's a physical response to stimuli. Even rape victims have felt sexual arousal, which is totally normal, though generally leaves them with a sense of shame and horror. So yes, Katniss was aroused, but not actually attracted to Gale. Again, this provides contrast to what she feels with Peeta!

"I kissed Peeta about a thousand times during those Games and after. But there was only one kiss that made me feel something stir deep inside. Only one that made me want more. But my head wound started bleeding and he made me lie down. This time, there is nothing but us to interrupt us. And after a few attempts, Peeta gives up on talking. The sensation inside me grows warmer and spreads out from my chest, down through my body, out along my arms and legs, to the tips of my being."

When she's referring to how she feels with Gale it's described physically and she uses the word "flesh". What she feels with Peeta is far far more than sexual arousal. She's not saying she's horny. Katniss feels this in her soul: "to the tips of my being".

You don't have to agree with me, but if you're going to come at me with half baked theories at least back it up with textual evidence, and not like throw some bullshit at me. Stop projecting your own shit on these characters and then calling it #cannon!!

[sarcasticsra]

PSA: if you wear a bra

You're probably wearing the wrong size. Most people are.

This is a screenshot of the bra company Pepper's size guide. Let's take a look at this, shall we?

Hmm, a 25-26" underbust and a 29-30" bust... sized as a 30A.

No. This is not how bra-sizing works. The band ought to match or be fairly close to the underbust measurement. It HAS to be, to provide any support and to be comfortable. Because, yes, bras can be quite comfortable! In the correct size. A band that is too big is going to ride up and shift and rub and move and be awful. A cup that is too small is going to squeeze your tissue into the band, making it feel tighter, and painful, because now your band is pressed into breast tissue.

Bra sizes are a ratio. The letter by itself is meaningless. There is no such thing as "an A cup" or "a D cup." Both A and D cups look vastly different on different bands. "Size DD+" as a bra size category is similar to a shoe store with a "size 6+" category, except worse, because shoe size really is generally only determined by one number. "DD+" being all the information you're going on to determine a bra size would be like answering the question, "How far away is that?" with, "Five." Minutes? Hours? Miles? Blocks? There's a whole range of things that could mean!

The letters correspond (roughly--people don't come in 2-inch increments) to inches of difference between the under and over bust measurement. So going back to our supposed "30A" up there... let's assume a 26" underbust and a 30" bust. 30 is 4 more inches than 26.

A: 1 inch, B: 2 inches, C: 3 inches, D: 4 inches.

Yes, that's correct. That person Pepper is trying to shove into a 30A should be wearing a 26D. A 30A bra would be for someone with a rough underbust measurement of 30 inches and a rough bust measurement of 31 inches. 1 inch difference. Whereas the 26D is for 26 under, 30 over. Notice how the 26D is actually a SMALLER total circumference than the 30A? Cup size scales with band size.

The reason this company pisses me off in particular is because if they wanted to be a niche "smaller boobs" bra company, there is a HUGE untapped market in people who need sub-32 bands. A few carry 30s and 28s but good luck if you need a 26 or 24. And they could help more people get into PROPERLY fitted bras, instead of tossing them into matrix sizes and pretending they're special.

I saw this on their website: "The industry designs for 36C. We design for AA, A, and B."

YOU CANNOT DESIGN FOR CUP SIZE INDEPENDENT OF BAND SIZE.

Also, the industry designs for fucking no one. The industry calls "A cups" small and "D cups" large, tosses out 32-40 in bands and A-DD in cup sizes and calls it good.

DD is five inches of difference between under bust and bust. 5 inches on a person with a 30-inch underbust is going to look MUCH different than 5 inches on a person with a 38-inch underbust. A circle with a total circumference of 43 inches is MUCH larger than a circle with a total circumference of 35 inches.

If you wear bras, and you want to make your life infinitely better, I beg, plead, urge you to go to abrathatfits.org and do the calculator. (Particularly if you've always been sized as an A or B cup, because those are actually very rare true sizes on any band.) The calculator actually takes into account 6 measurements, because for some people a leaning bust measurement is more important than a standing one. Believe the calculator. It will almost certainly give you a band size smaller than you expect and a cup size much larger than you expect. It's not perfect, so it's a good idea to try a cup larger and smaller, too, but it's generally very close. Try different sizes in the same bra--and NOT a t-shirt bra or any bra with molded/formed cups. almost no one properly fits those. Look for an unlined, seamed bra. Go by UK sizing, and stick to the UK brands. (Bare Necessities carries a bunch of them.) US bras are horribly inconsistent, especially in larger cup sizes. UK brands also generally have a far larger size range.

Any time you try on a bra, be sure to "scoop and swoop" to ensure ALL of the breast tissue fits into the cup. A big issue with ill-fitting bras is breast tissue that migrated to the armpit. You ever notice a little bulge on the side at the top of the band under your arm? There's a good chance that's actually displaced breast tissue.

Also check out The Irish Bra Lady on Instagram. She has tons of posts showing what properly fitted bras look like, in a wide range of sizes. If you're really in doubt about the size the calculator gives you, check her account first, she probably has a picture of someone in that size or close. It's helpful sometimes to see what it actually looks like.

Unfortunately, size is only one aspect of a well-fitting bra. Shape is equally important. Some bras have taller cups, some have shorter, which work better for different root sizes. There's fullness, is it mostly on the top or bottom? Even? Horizontally? Close set, wide set? Projected, shallow?

Go through all the resources at the abrathatfits subreddit. They have tons and tons of information to help determine your shape, what bras might work best for you, and the commenters are incredibly helpful if you need to make a post to ask a question.

I'm not going to lie, it took me probably 6-9 months to find a bra that fits? I have to buy mine from Poland. It was a bit of an ordeal.

But now? Now, I think about my bra exactly twice per day: once when I put it on in the morning and once when I take it off in the evening. I don't notice it. It doesn't shift. It doesn't poke. My straps aren't cutting into my shoulders or falling off them. I'm not constantly "reseating" my boobs. It turns out they stay put just fine if you give them a seat they actually fit into.

Finding a well-fitting bra is up there with medication and regular exercise in terms of its contribution to my quality of life. It's confusing, and there's a LOT, but it is SO fucking worth it.

You know that TIkTok trend question that's all, "if you HAD to start talking about one topic for 30+ minutes straight, what would you talk about?"

Yeah.

I will spend the rest of my life shouting all of this from the rooftops. Bras can be comfortable! It's actually true!

[bloatedandalone04]

Black Around The Edges - Part 8

Series Masterlist

PSA: strongly suggested to read the warnings before proceeding.

Part Eight <3 | Previous Part

July 18th, 1985 - Friday

8:02 PM

You and Nick had been living together for two days now, and to say you were overjoyed would be the understatement of the century. You couldn’t believe how perfect everything felt and how well you both adjusted to living with one another. Granted, he spent a lot of his time at your place back in Shadyside, but it was different when it was now considered both your homes. There was an unrelenting feeling of being wanted and needed, so much so that you could no longer handle living apart from one another.

  It was one of those days where you had to work, and Nick had to go to training, but your schedules didn’t line up. You had to work one to eight, while Nick had a late night training session and wouldn’t be home until ten at the earliest. 

  You were really proud of him. He only had a few weeks of training left (though, tonight could very well be his last night, so he’s told you) before he was able to officially join the police force, something he had been working so hard to be able to do. While you wished you had been there since the beginning, to truly be able to see how far he’s come, you were so grateful to be there to see how this chapter ends, and how the new one begins. 

  It was just after eight when you pushed open the doors of the hospital and stepped out into the chilled air. It was the middle of summer, though it felt like the beginning of fall. Something you noticed, however, was that it was cold during the evenings in Shadyside, and warm during the evenings in Sunnyvale. It was fitting and made sense. At least a little bit, anyways. 

  While you were walking back to your car in the dark parking lot, you nearly jumped out of your skin when you felt a hand grab your arm. “Help!” The man said, his grip on you tightening, making you drop your bag a few feet from where your car was. You tried to get a good look at the guy, but his frantic moves made it near impossible. Going off of his voice, you never met him before. “Please, hurry!”

  “What’s wrong?” You ask as he begins to pull you towards the back of the hospital. 

   “It’s my friend,” the stranger said. “He’s totally freaking out! I think he’s choking or something.”

  “What?” 

  “Hurry! Come on!” He pulled you along until the quivering figure of a man came into view. 

  “Oh, my God,” you say, rushing over to the man. 

  “Thank God you found someone,” another man said from beside the one choking.

  “What did he eat?” You ask as you reach out for the person.

  Suddenly, the man was no longer heaving and choking on air. No, he was now turned to you, a sinister look on his unfamiliar face. You back away, brows furrowed as the three men crowded around you.

  “What is this?” You tried to keep your voice calm, but you were quickly beginning to panic. 

  “Awh, little Shadysider wants to ask us something,” one says, his voice dripping with hate.

  These three were definitely from Sunnyvale. “I don’t live here,” you quickly say, your back hitting the brick wall. “I just work here.”

  “But you used to live here,” the one who faked choking says, his face inches from yours. “And just because you moved to our town, doesn’t make you one of us.”

  The tallest one hummed. “No, it does not,”

  “I-I-”

  “I-I- shut up. You don’t deserve a single good thing that’s happened to you,” the man muttered, his eyes staring into yours. You felt your body begin to shake and fear-induced tears fill your eyes. “You’re nothing. Just another worthless, pathetic Shadyside piece of shit. Just like your brother.”

  You didn’t even have time to let out a surprised sob at his words before his fist collided with the left side of your face, your head turning in the opposite direction due to the hard impact. 

  You could’ve sworn you heard a bone crack as the man grabbed your shoulders and roughly slammed you back into the wall, bits and pieces of brick falling to the ground before you, too, were thrown to it. 

  It was a blur after that. All you could remember was hit after hit, kick after punch before the metallic taste of blood filled your mouth and your eyes blurred completely.

-

11:21 PM

“I gotta say, Nick,” James said as the two walked towards the doors of the gym. “You’ve made some real progress in the half year I’ve been training you.”

  “Thanks, man,” Nick smiled as he threw his bag over his shoulder. “You were a great trainer. Great friend.”

  James grinned, placing his hand on the younger man’s shoulder as they exited the gym. “Your old man would’ve been proud of you, kid,”

  Nick, less happy about the mention of his dad, just nodded and forced out another smile. “Thank you,”

  “You got any plans after this?”

  “No,” Nick says, putting his bag in the passenger side of his car. “I was supposed to get drinks with my brother but I haven’t heard from him all day. Think I’ll just call it an early night.”

  “Ah,” James smirked as he opened the driver’s side door of his own car that was parked beside Nick’s. “An early night with Y/n?”

  Nick laughed. “No, she’s probably tired,” he said. “She worked today.”

  “I see,” James nodded, giving his former trainee one last smile. “Have a good night, kid. You’re going to be good at this.”

  Giving him a tight lipped smile, Nick nodded. “Goodnight,”

  He watched as James got in his car and drove away before getting in his own. He sat there for a while, the weight of the constant training and fighting finally lifting from his shoulders.

  Finally, finally, it was done.

  Finally, he could start his life with you and plan a future for the two of you.

  His eyes trail up to the polaroid he had stuck to the sun visor. It was of you, your middle finger sticking up as you gave an obviously annoyed face at the camera.  It was probably his favorite picture of you ever. It was taken many months ago, when he was bugging you while you were getting ready for a date night, and he had only recently put it there. The photo instantly made him smile, his body aching to return home and return to you. 

  You were off work now, and had been for hours. Were you waiting up for him? He knew you were. You’d told him many times now that you have trouble falling asleep without him next to you, and he’d never admit it, but he was the same way. 

  Keeping the visor down, he started the car and began the journey back to Sunnyvale, and back to you.

-

11:56 PM

You were emotionless as you sat on Nick’s side of the bed, the one closest to the door. Your legs were crossed, your back to the door as a silent tear slipped down your face. With your fingers holding the comforter in a death grip, you kept your eyes glued to the floor on the other side of the bed, the events that took place a few hours prior replaying over and over again in your head. 

  Your hair was wet and dripping onto one of Nick’s sweatshirts you put on. You were numb and didn’t feel the cold water as it dripped onto your bare legs that were covered in purple bruises and scratch marks.

  The sight you were met with when you returned home was horrifying. Looking in the mirror, you stared at the beaten and battered face that once looked like you. Both your eyes were surrounded by purple bruises, black lining each edge. Your lip was split and bleeding onto your chin, and your nose was covered in a dried red. Your lower gums ached, and you knew it was from when your teeth sank into your lip, cutting it deep as your chin hit the ground. The most prominent mark was the dark bruise on your left cheek. 

  Your body wasn’t any better. Blood, bruises and cuts littered your legs and arms, your stomach being the new home to many large spots of purple and blue. 

  The shower was one of the most painful experiences of your life, and every minute that passed made you feel like you were reliving the attack you faced not too long before. It stung, and your tears made your eyes ache even more than they already did. The red mixing with the clear water was something you’ve never seen before and it looked like something straight out of a murder documentary. 

  You had never been more thankful for your studies than you were right now. Having knowledge on injuries and how to treat them saved you from getting any infected wounds. At least for now.

  You were sure you were all out of tears when you dressed yourself in Nick’s shirt and boyshorts, covering your upper half from your view completely as it looked worse than your lower half. 

  When you crawled over and planted your body on Nick’s side of the large bed, you felt numb. Maybe it was because you were staying completely still and letting the scene play over and over again. You didn’t feel a thing, with the exception of a tear falling every once in a while. 

  You had considered putting sweatpants on and covering your face with makeup, but what good would that do? Your eyes were swollen, and the makeup would surely infect your wounds. 

  After attempting to put cream and alcohol on your various cuts, you stopped once the pain became too much. So now, you’re just waiting to face your boyfriend.

  What would he say? 

  You had very little time to think about it as the second he entered your mind, you heard the sound of the door closing. The door to the bedroom opened from behind you, but you couldn’t even bring yourself to tense up at the sound. Part of you, however, wondered if it was one, or all three, of the guys coming back to finish the job.

  “Hey,” you hear Nick’s familiar voice and instantly tear up. But, you wouldn’t cry. You can’t. “I didn’t know if you’d still be up.”

  You were scared to test your voice out. Since the men left you to pick yourself up piece by piece, and since you stopped screaming, you remained silent. Your throat felt like it was on fire and your entire mouth ached with every grind of your teeth. “Yeah,” you winced at the pain that shot down your throat and held back a cry. Your voice was hoarse and barely audible, and immediately Nick knew something had happened. 

  Something was wrong. “Babe?” You blinked away your tears at the nickname, your heart pounding as you felt him inch closer to you. “Baby, what’s going on? What happened-”

  When the side of your face came into view, Nick stopped in his tracks, his bag falling from his shoulder at the sight of you. At the sound of his audible intake of breath, you turn your head towards him and watch as his eyes widen more than before. 

  His eyes were looking over your entire figure, to your swollen and beaten face, to your scratched up legs. He didn’t want to know what was hiding under the shirt you took from him. “Holy shit, Y/n,” he didn’t know what to say or how to react. 

  What the fuck happened?

  It was like you read his thoughts as your grip on the comforter tightened. “There were these three guys, at the hospital,” your voice broke at every other word, making you sound as pathetic as you knew you looked. “They lied. They said he was-he was choking. I just wanted to help. I just wanted to help him.” Your voice was all over the place, the pitch going from quiet to barely audible. 

  Nick’s eyes darkened at your words. “Three guys?” He didn’t need you to confirm your words. You were enough proof. 

  “I just wanted to help,”

  Nick stepped towards you, then immediately away from you when his eyes caught sight of the fingerprints that were wrapped around your neck, each finger formed side by side. 

  His ears were ringing, his face hot as he looked at his pure and fragile girlfriend, covered in the markings of three men. How the fuck could this have happened? When? The gym he trained at was a quick ten minute drive from the hospital, and his heart fell at the very real fact that he was ten minutes away from you when you were being attacked. 

  What kind of boyfriend was he?

  “Fuck,” he muttered angrily, not at all knowing how to handle the situation. He was quickly losing control, and what a sight it was to see.

  You had never seen him so conflicted, so livid, during the seven months you’ve known him. You could tell that he was blaming himself, something that wasn’t fair. He had no idea that this would happen to you, and he should not blame himself for other people’s actions. “Nick,” you say quietly. 

  “Who did it?” He asked, his voice strained and angry.

  Your hands were aching to reach out to him, to calm him down. An hour ago, you wanted to be alone, to never face another person ever again and to never show your boyfriend your beaten and bruised body. Now, all you wanted was for him to hold you and heal your body with his warmth and the love he radiated for you. 

  “I don’t know,” you whimpered. “It was dark and they were so close. I’ve never seen them before.”

  “If you saw them again, do you think you’d recognise them?”

  “Maybe, I don’t know. Nick, please,” you nearly sobbed, making him stop asking questions and stare at you, torn between wrapping his arms around you and going back to the hellhole that was Shadyside and killing the worthless scums that did this to you. “Please, just…come here.”

  That made him choose the first option, though the second was still on his to do list. Slowly, he kneeled on the bed, letting you make the first move by wrapping your arms around his neck, pulling his body on top of yours. 

  It hurt, a painful jolt shooting up your body at the feeling of him pressing against your wounds, but you didn’t care. You couldn’t hurt anymore than you already did. 

  As the night went on, you talked about what happened a bit more, but not to the point of Nick being able to figure out who it was. 

  Sleep finds you easily. The nightmares, too. You were reliving the attack on repeat in your sleep, but nothing could wake you up from it. Maybe it’ll help you paint the full picture of what really happened, instead of the bits and pieces you could hardly remember. 

  Nick, however, couldn’t fall asleep if you paid him. He was wide awake, his eyes burning a hole in the ceiling as he let your even breaths calm his racing heart. In all honesty, he was livid beyond control. He was holding on to everything he had in him to keep him grounded and from going out and searching for whoever it was that marked you up like this.

  After his last night of training, he felt like a winner. He accomplished something he had been working towards for years now, and he wanted nothing more than to share his victory with you. Now, he felt like the biggest failure in the entire world. 

  Of course, the cowards had to do it in Shadyside. Because how dare they taint this town’s reputation. Nick knew that your attackers had to have been from Shadyside. You’d mentioned how they told you how inferior you were to them, and that was all he needed to know. 

  Nick also knew that he needed to find the fuckers, but how would he do that when he had no clue where to even start? Sunnyvale was full of pricks who had their heads stuck so far up their own asses, it’d take him forever to narrow it down. 

  The only positive thing that came out of this was that he could now put his combat training to good use once he did find out who your attackers were.

-

July 19th, 1985

10:35 AM

Your bruises had darkened over the duration of the night, and your eyes could barely open due to how swollen and puffy they were. 

  In other words, you looked like death itself. 

  Today was the seventh anniversary of the Camp Nightwing massacre, and seven years since you lost your brother. 

  It was a tough day for both you and Nick, but at least you had each other, right?

  “I don’t want you going today,” Nick said from his spot in the doorway to the bathroom. He leaned against the frame, his arms crossed as he watched you attempt to put more cream on your face. 

  You didn’t face him, nor meet his eyes in the large mirror that took up a decent amount of space on the wall. “I have to go,” you murmur, not being able to speak in your usual pitch. 

  “Y/n,” Nick said, frustration lacing his voice as he crossed his left leg over his right. “You were nearly killed last night. There are three psychos out there, walking around without a care in the fucking world. Is this really worth going back to that town?” 

  “I’d have to go back, anyway,” you say, purposely dodging his question. You, too, were questioning whether or not you’d ever feel safe going to Shadyside by yourself again after last night. Blinking back the tears from the sting you felt when you applied an antiseptic cream to the gash on your lip, you point out the obvious. “I work there.”

  “Yeah, I know,” your boyfriend muttered, shaking his head as he gave up on trying to get you to meet his eyes through the mirror. “Maybe that should change, too.”

  You shake your head, dropping the container of cream into the basket full of skincare products. Placing your hands flat against the marbled counter, you look yourself in the eye, your shoulders tensing as you take a deep breath. “I can’t be scared of everything that happens to me, not again,” you mumbled. After Tommy died, you were terrified to leave the house and scared of every single person who wasn’t either your mom or dad. You refused to be that scared, defenseless little girl again. “I won’t.”

  Nick sighed, his hand coming up to tug on his dark hair. “I wasn’t there for you,”

  That makes you turn around, your eyes wide at his words. “Do not blame yourself because of me,”

  “It’s not because of you, God,” he grunted. “It’s because of me. I’m the one who wanted you to move here, I’m the reason they targeted you.”

  “And I agreed,” you move over to him, grabbing his hands and placing them on your waist, hiding the wince from the feeling of his hands against your bruised body. 

  “It may not be my fault, but it sure as hell isn’t yours, either,” he sighed, his thumb gently massaging your clothed hip. In the daytime, he had a clearer view of all you endured last night, and he didn’t want to see what you looked like outside in the sun. Your hair was tied up, your finger covered neck on full display, making Nick’s heart burn with hatred. 

  “I know that,” you assure him, gripping the back of his head and bringing it down so it was close to yours. You press a kiss to his forehead, your lip quivering at the painful action. “I also know that today is a hard day for you, too. Tommy did try to….you know. I understand if you don’t want to come with me.”

  “Like hell I don’t,” Nick muttered, shaking his head and moving away from you to get dressed. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”

  You smile to yourself at his words, watching as he rummages around in his bag for suitable clothing. You hadn’t unpacked everything yet, so your clothing, as well as his, were still tucked away in bags and boxes. Truthfully, you’d rather stay home and unpack every single box that scattered the entire floor of the apartment than go back to the town you no longer felt comfortable in.

  For twenty one years, nothing had happened to you, physically. Sure, you lost Tommy, but that was emotionally. You had never been assaulted before, and who says this will be the last time? If you were to stay in Sunnyvale and never leave it, you’d be unharmed and untouched. Who would ruin the reputation just to go for round two with you?

  You were scared of the answer, but you didn’t show it as you slipped on a black, sleeveless dress. Since your legs would be seen, you decided that was enough to have on display, so you chose to wear your grey cardigan to hide the hand marks on your arms. You’d have to put up with the heat that came with summer.  

  On the drive to Shadyside, you fill with dread when you realise you’ll see your parents, and they will completely freak out when they see the state of your entire body.

  Your hair was pinned back, the necklace from Tommy sitting on your upper chest. You had very little makeup on, only a smidge of blush on to add some natural color to your purple cheeks. You would’ve done a full face, suck up the pain and get it over with, but removing the makeup later on was a task you refused to do.

  When the car came to a stop outside the gates of the Shadyside cemetery, Nick looked over at you, allowing you to move at your own pace. After looking at the gates for a few seconds, your hand reaches for the handle. “Hey,” Nick says, refraining from grabbing your hand in case it triggered something in you. Instead, he leaned over just slightly when you turned to face him. “I love you.”

  You smile at him, looking away quickly. God, you were a mess right now, with no control over your emotions. Despite saying the three words to him countless times now, you couldn’t bring yourself to say them now.

  It wasn’t that you don’t love him, you do with everything you had in you, it was just that you weren’t in the right state or mind space to feel the love that radiates from him. You weren’t yourself.

  And Nick knew that, so he wasn’t mad when you squeezed his hand before getting out of the car, waiting for him from the outside. He knew you needed to hear that you weren’t alone, and that you were loved. He didn’t need you to say it back when it was you who needed to hear it.

  He joined you a few seconds later, his hand on the small of your back as you walked through the rows of headstones. As soon as your crying mother saw you, she moved away from your father and her hands were covering her mouth. “Y/n! Oh, my God,” she cried, more tears falling from her eyes as you finally reached her. “What happened to you?”

  You shake your head at her tear stained face as you dad stood behind her. “It’s nothing, mom,” you tried to brush off her questions, your fingers wrapping around her wrists when her hands reached up to caress the sides of your face. “We’re not here for me.”

  “What happened?” She asked again, this time more sternly. Your dad glared at Nick, his eyes burning a hole in his head as he avoided eye contact. He already felt guilty enough, he did not need to have your dad on his case, too. 

  Knowing you weren’t going to win this one, you sighed. “I was attacked last night, at the hospital,” 

  Your mother gasped, her hands covering her mouth once again as your dad stepped forward. “Where the hell were you when this happened?” He asked Nick, making him look up and glare at the older man. You moved in front of your boyfriend, in an attempt to shield him from your father, but really, who were you kidding? Nick was a lot taller, and wider, than you.

  “Dad, stop it, it wasn’t his fault,” you defend Nick, pushing against your dad’s chest when he stepped closer to you. At your quiet and hoarse voice, he looked back down at you, his eyes softening. “It wasn’t his fault.”

  “Oh, sweetheart,” he said before wrapping his arms around you, your mother joined in, hugging you as well. 

  From over the top of your head, your father made eye contact with Nick. “I hope you find the son of a bitch who did this,” 

  “I will,” Nick said back, his tone promising enough to make your dad nod before he and your mother stepped away from you and Tommy’s headstone came into view.

  “We’ve already talked to him,” your mom said, her voice sad and quiet as she held onto your dad’s hand. “You can say something now, honey.”

  You nod, taking the flowers from Nick’s hand and crouching down so you were eye level with the headstone. “Hi,” you say as you place the flowers on the ground next to the ones your parents brought. “Recognise me?” You tried to joke, but your broken voice mixed with the sharp inhale you took at the sting in your lip made it humorless. 

  Nick looked away, his eyes raking up the rows as a way to give you at least a bit of privacy. Really, he was going over all the ways he could kill a man in his head.

  A few minutes pass before you stand up, your arm wrapping around his middle while his gently rests over your shoulders. He kissed the side of your head as you brought your free hand up to wipe away the salty tear that fell from your eye and into the cut on your cheek. 

  “I hope I’m not too late,” you hear Beth’s soft voice from behind you. When you turn around, her small smile is wiped clean as she looks at your face. Before she could even ask what happened, you step towards her and wrap your arms around her frame. Caught off guard, she hands the single flower she was holding to your mother before returning the hug. One hand presses your head against her shoulder while the other wraps around your middle. 

  When she felt your tears begin to dampen her sleeve, she glanced at Nick, her eyes accusing and cold. He could only imagine all the insults she was throwing his way in her head, and for once, he agreed with every single one.

-

October 17th, 1985

7:46 PM

With time, you were able to move on from that night and grow from it. 

  Sure, you still had nightmares every once in a while, but you weren’t scared anymore.

  Still, that didn’t stop Nick from dropping you off and picking you up from work, which sometimes screwed up his own work schedule. You felt guilty, but no matter how many times you told him that you’d be fine, that you’d come straight home, Nick brushed you off. He was still so angry about what happened, and he wasn’t lying when he said he wasn’t going to let you out of his sight.

  It had been four months since that night, and your physical appearance was nearly back to normal. You had a scar on your lower lip that would be with you for the rest of your life, and a few others that were hardly noticeable, but other than that you looked as good as new. 

  It was nearing the end of your shift, the dreaded one to eight, and Nick was waiting for you right outside the doors. He was currently going against the three “no parking” signs, but he also couldn’t bring himself to care. For years, everyone referred to him as “future police chief Nick Goode” and, therefore, held him at a higher level than most. Who would go up against him?

  It was as if someone heard him ask that, as a second later, he got his answer. “Hello, officer,” Nick closed his eyes at the all too familiar voice, and suddenly he regretted leaving his window down. “Funny seeing you here.”

  Nick rolled his eyes, opening the door and getting out of the car. He refused to be at a position in which Beth was towering over him. “Why’s that?” He asked as he crossed his arms and leaned against the car. 

  “Well, you know,” she trailed off, pointing towards the hospital with her thumb. “Seeing as what you couldn’t stop from happening last time. It’s just funny to see you actually looking out for her, like you should’ve been that night.”

  Nick tensed up at that. Fuck, he hated Beth.

  But, he refused to let her words get to him. He wasted enough of his time on her. “Beth,” he said it like he was scolding a child, and he took pride in the way she glared at him. “Don’t start now. I thought we had a good thing going here.”

  She scoffed. “As if,” she muttered. “We were good until I saw what you did to my best friend’s face.”

  Nick narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

  “I find it funny that the second Y/n moved to Sunnyvale, she got her face beat in,” she said. “What? You had to take her back to your town to get your way with her? You couldn’t make a mess of her in her hometown?” 

  She was unbelievable. Of course Beth thought it was Nick who had assaulted you back in July. She was probably waiting for the next bad thing to happen, just so she could twist it around and pin it on him. “Beth, you have no idea what you’re talking about,” he glanced behind her then quickly took his eyes off the doors to the hospital as he said his next words, “I think it’s time we stop acting like this towards each other. It’s not fair to Y/n.”

  “I know it’s not,” Beth rolled her eyes.

  “What are you doing here, anyway?”

  “Looking out for my best friend,” she stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Nick’s eyes flickered back towards the building, his brows raising in amusement when she continued. “Unlike you, I won’t let anything bad happen to her again, especially because of you.”

  Nick slumped further against the car, his arms staying crossed over the blue button up that was his work shirt. “So, you’re saying that what happened to her was my fault?”

  “Are you stupid? Of course it’s your fault,” she seethed. “You’re the one who made her leave this town. Nothing bad like that ever happened to her before she met you. You’re like this dark cloud that constantly fucks up her life and I’m tired of sitting back and watching you ruin her. You don’t deserve her and you never did.”

  “Is that right?” Beth’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head at those words, not because they came from Nick, but because they came from you. 

  She turned around instantly, her words getting caught in her throat at the sight of you. You mimicked Nick’s stance, your arms crossing over your chest. “Y/n, I-”

  “Shut up,” you cut her off. “For once, shut up.”

  Beth shook her head, her hand reaching out to you, but you pulled away and walked past her.

  “God, Beth,” you said, frustrated and fed up beyond words. “I thought we were making progress here. Why do you have to involve yourself in everything, huh? You know what? I don’t even care anymore. I’m so done.” Bumping your shoulder into hers, you walk around the front of Nick’s car, making your boyfriend stand up straight as he knew you wanted to leave as soon as possible.

  “Y/n, wait,”

  “Do me a favor and stay the fuck away from us,” you say, opening the passenger side door and getting in. Nick shook his head, a laugh escaping his lips before he could stop it. 

  Beth glared at him through teary eyes. “You knew she was right there!”

  Nick shrugged, opening the door. “Maybe try shutting the fuck up next time,”

-

8:23 PM

The drive home was brutal. You were so mad and so humiliated at your former friend, and decided that enough was enough. And Nick, after spending the entire drive listening to you go on about how upset you were, and watching you cry over her, he supported your decision completely. 

  “God, Nick, I’m so sorry,” you say once he stopped the car in front of the apartment building. Your hands grip the sides of his face, angry and embarrassed tears still slipping from your eyes. 

  “Hey,” he said quietly, using his thumbs to wipe away your tears. “It’s okay. It’s over now.”

  “I’m so embarrassed,” you whimpered, pressing a tear tasting kiss to his lips before hiding your face in the crook of his neck. 

  “Y/n,” he sighed, his hand cradling the back of your head. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

  “I do,” you mumbled. “I let her talk to you like that for months.”

  “You know I couldn’t care less about what Beth thinks,”

  “I know,” your voice was muffled, but he still understood you as clear as day. “I wish I was as strong as you.”

  “Hey,” Nick said again, moving your head so he could look you in the eye. “Don’t let her make you feel weak. You’re so strong, Y/n. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. You’re only twenty one and you’ve been through enough bad shit to last a lifetime. And you’re a hell of a lot stronger than me.”

  You gave him a look, the tears stopping their descent and leaving your cheeks damp. “That’s not true,” you mumbled. “But thank you.”

  The look on your face mixed with the hurt you felt made Nick’s heart pump quicker, the urge to rid Beth from your life once and for all overpowering all rational thoughts. “Hey, I gotta head back to the station for a bit,” he said, making your brows furrow. “Kapinski’s orders. He wants me to go over this case with him.”

  “Oh,” you say, wiping your face with the palm of your hand. “Okay. I’ll wait up for you.”

  “Okay,” Nick pressed a kiss to your forehead. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Are you going to be okay by yourself?”

  “Yes,” you teased, bumping your fist with his in the way you’ve seen him do plenty of times with James. “I’m stronger than I look.”

  Nick laughed at your hand movement. “I know you are,” he said quietly. “I’ll see you soon. I love you.”

  You press a final kiss to his cheek before reaching back and grabbing your bag from the backseat. “I love you,”

  He watched you until you were safe inside the building before starting the car again and beginning the journey to the new and improved Shadyside Mall.

-

11:57 PM

“Fuck sake, I’m coming!” John yelled as he walked through the apartment. The pounding on the door didn’t let up until he swung it open, his eyes rolling at the girl on the other side of the frame. “What do you want, Beth?”

  “I’m sorry,” she murmured, running her hands up his chest before placing them at the base of his throat. “I miss you. I miss us.”

  “Beth, I told you I was done playing this game with you,” John muttered, gripping her wrists. “Breaking up then getting back together three times was enough for me.”

  “Shh,” she hushed him, putting her index finger on his lips. “I need a distraction. I fucked up with Y/n again tonight, and she hates me. Please, I need you to take my mind off it.”

  John sighed. “What was it this time?”

  Beth shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Please, baby,” she whispered. “Distract me.”

  With a grunt, John gently pulled Beth into the apartment. “Careful,” he mumbled, guiding her around the various nails and screws that littered the recently dug up floor. “Cam and I are still renovating this dump.”

  Beth let John lead her to his room, her eyes lingering on a nearby hammer for a bit too long before she was pulled into his room and pushed onto his bed.

[messenger-of-stupidity]

PSA

TW: Transphobes, homophobia, cursing

HI AND WELCOME TO AN EPISODE OF ME NOT BEING THE BIGGEST DUMBASS ON THE INTERNET DESPITE MY USER!!

So we all know that the internet is full of stupidity. My point of existence is to deliver the nice stupidity to other people. But there are other messengers of stupidity, but they take the negative stupidity and feel the inane urge to deliver it to people who didn’t ask. 

There are (sadly) lots of people who like to waste their pathetic lives trying to make others miserable. 

SO HERE’S SOME FACTS AND REASONING ABOUT WHY THE FUCKING IDIOTS ARE MORE STUPID THAN THEY REALIZE!! (because I like making fun of the world’s shitstains.)

1) If you are located in the US and you start to cyberbully (Here’s the definition of that for the oblivious: the use of electronic communication to bully a person) there are laws against bullying. Breaking a law results in punishment. Every state except Alaska and Wisconsin includes an explicit reference to cyberbullying in their anti-bullying laws. So if you live in the US and wish to cyberbully someone, than just know that you can be caught and face repercussions. And don’t think going anon can save you. It’s scarily easy to figure out who’s operating under anon. Source 1 Source 2 (Because I actually cite my sources instead of spewing nonsense like the bigots.) 

2) If you don’t believe that being transgender exists, there is legitimate scientific proof that it does. Dr. Julie Bakker from the University of Liège, Belgium, and her colleagues from the Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria at the VU University Medical Center conducted a study on the brains of transgender and cis individuals. You see, brains have specific gender patterns that are unique to men and unique to women. After collecting data, doing brain scans, ect. they discovered that the brain patterns of transgender individuals related to their desired gender. In layman’s terms, their brains are literally similar to the gender they identify as, regardless of their biological birth sex. Source

3) If part of your argument in defense of this is me “pushing my liberal agenda”, first off that’s a weak ass argument. Government can go fuck itself I literally don’t care. So I’m not going to waste my time, breath, or energy pushing some political agenda. Also during a survey of conservatives and liberals, the more education one had the more likely they were to be liberal. Also conservatives are more likely to not hold empathy for other people. Serial killers are also known to hold less empathy for other people. So if you wanna shout proudly that you have a similar mindset to a serial killer, be my guest. Typically a stupid thing to do, just saying.  “Highly educated adults – particularly those who have attended graduate school – are far more likely than those with less education to take predominantly liberal positions across a range of political values. And these differences have increased over the past two decades.More than half of those with postgraduate experience (54%) have either consistently liberal political values (31%) or mostly liberal values (23%), based on an analysis of their opinions about the role and performance of government, social issues, the environment and other topics. Fewer than half as many postgrads – roughly 12% of the public in 2015– have either consistently conservative (10%) or mostly conservative (14%) values. About one-in-five (22%) express a mix of liberal and conservative opinions.“ Source “According to Hasson et al. [28, p. 1450], “liberals often attribute external causes to people’s plight (e.g., perceive unjust social practices and structures as causes of poverty) and feel more sympathy toward them, while conservatives attribute internal causes (e.g., perceive laziness and drug use as causes of poverty) and feel less sympathy.” There are also important ideological differences. On the one hand, liberals may be more empathetic and compassionate toward the suffering of others because they tend to emphasize “fairness and equality” and “justice” [29, p. 656]. On the other hand, conservatives may be less empathetic and compassionate because they are more concerned with “order and traditionalism” and “ingroup loyalty, respect for authority, and purity” [29, p. 656].“ Source

4) If you’re going on anon to spread hate, then you already know you’re wrong. (r/confidentally-incorrect anyone?) Why else would you not say it outright? Are you so ashamed of your incorrect opinion? Then why spread it? Do you just like the misinformation? 

5) Before you try to flex your “free speech” rights on me or anyone else, let me tell you something.  The amendment rights ONLY apply to protect you from the government. Tumblr is a private space and not government run, therefore your amendment rights don’t fucking exist here. Even in public, government owned spaces there are still limitations. (Ex. You can’t incite panic. That’s not a protected right. You can’t slander *knowingly spread damaging incorrect information* someone’s name, nor use libel *<-- written slander*) Source

6) How does who another person love have anything to do with you? If you’re so concerned about the children (*Important to say that the kids literally do not give a shit. They just see two people kissing or holding hands and move on with their lives. They don’t get as hung up about it as you do.*) then you need to apply the same thing to heteronormative relationships. Despite the phrasing, Homosexual literally just is there to explain who you’re attracted to. Kids aren’t going to be learning the nuances of gay sex or something.  I mean honestly, why are you thinking about gay sex so much? You wanna admit that you’re gay, you can. There are safe spaces here. Same thing when thinking about what someone has hidden under the fabric of their clothes. 

Now, as much as my OCD brain hates it, that’s all. I can’t end on a factor of five. (*Watch me have a panic attack about this later*) I know that the people this actually needs to reach won’t read it, but maybe when an anon enters an ask box to spew this bullshit you can just link them here or use one of these points against them. I don’t know. I just woke up pissed off today and decided that this is one of the problems I’ll tackle with this rage. 

[amovrpropre]

It’s become alarmingly clear that people in the US don’t know their rights under FMLA (Federal Medical Leave Act) and it’s honestly so important to know in case you or one of your family members needs to go out of work for a medically related reason. That being said, as a person who’s worked FMLA for the last 3 years, I’m about to break this down for you in the most basic way.

Save this to your likes or find a way to reference this because trust me, you never know when you’re going to need it and when you do, understanding FMLA is going to be the last thing you’re going to want to think about.

Let’s start with what it does for you and how it works. FMLA specifically protects your job, so your employer can’t fire you or change your position or pay you less when you return from leave. You get 12 weeks of entitlement a year. The year can be counted in different ways so it’s important to check what your employer does. It can be 12 weeks beginning January 1st every year, or 12 weeks from the first absence you report.

There are 3 elibility requirements:

You have to work 1250 hours within the last year of you requesting your leave (that’s roughly 25 hours a week)

You need to work for your employer for a year

You need to have 50 employees working for your employer within a 75 mile radius (think of a McDonalds or a Subway - small staff at one location but there’s tons in that radius so you qualify)

You can take leave for serious health conditions for not just yourself, but others in your family, specifically: parents, parent in-laws, spouses, or your child. This can also sometimes cover grandparents or siblings if they were or you were a parental figure in your life.

You can take FMLA 3 different ways:

Continuously

Intermittently: you’re still going to work regularly but maybe leaving for an apointment or you’re having an episode (meaning your sickness has made it so you can’t go to work)

Reduced: your physician has said you can work only a part of what you typically would in a week (doing 30 hours instead of 40 a week)

Finally, you’ll need a medical certification signed by the treating physician. This seems pretty obvious but honestly this is how people get denied the most. Your employer will have a specific amount of time they require you to get this form in by or your leave will be closed. Every employer is different but the standard is roughly 18 days.

It’s important to know that on top of FMLA, some states and employers offer additional coverage that can sometimes be less strict that FMLA so do your research there as well and make sure no one fucks you over. This has been a PSA. Feel free to reach out if you have questions too, I’m more than happy to help!

[concerningwolves]

PSA: Ask Guidelines Update

tl;dr: I know that the word limit on asks seems to have vanished on the app but please please don’t use this new freedom to send me an essay’s worth of questions. I don’t have the spoons or time to answer them all.

I’ve noticed in the last 4-6 months that asks have gotten way longer, plus the ability to send photos and use funky formatting. This is very cool for the most part – I can send people cute animal pics now to cheer them up! But you know what isn’t cool? The influx of people using this freedom to send very long, densely-packed asks for advice.

I didn’t mind too much at first, but it’s gotten particularly hard to manage the inbox lately. True, my life is back in a chaotic and difficult period again, but having a bunch of asks that are basically just five different (mostly) unrelated questions really doesn’t help. I’ve deleted the asks that violate my existing guidelines and a few others that would’ve been answered by my FAQ/searching the directory tags, but the rest have given me pause. They don’t technically violate my guidelines – but that’s because until recently, it wouldn’t have been possible to send such long asks! So I didn’t want to just delete them, but at the same time, answering them has been A Challenge. (Hence my long hiatus from answering asks).

To clarify: I don’t mind if someone has 2-3 questions branching off a particular topic, but using one ask to send a bunch of questions on unrelated stuff isn’t okay. Asks like these demand more of my time and spoons than I can reasonably give. They also make my inbox an overwhelming place – and then nobody gets their answers, because it becomes A Difficult Task instead of something I do for enjoyment and to help people.

From this point forwards, asks that cram in multiple unrelated questions will get deleted. I get that you want answers, but it isn’t fair on me or others to clog up the askbox with hefty demands on my time and energy. There’s a high chance that you could find what you want to know from a search of my blog (I’ve been doing this for roughly three years now, after all!). 

Now I’m off to update the ask guidelines.

[ahiddenpath]

My Current Thoughts on Writing Fanfics

I’m so glad I’ve had this bloggity since 2012, because I can see how much my approach to writing has changed!  I wanted to touch base on where I am now, plus answer the most common questions I receive about writing fanfics beneath the cut.

Obligatory disclaimer: I’m a hobbyist writer, this is meant to be taken as opinion/reflection, not advice, different approaches work for different people, annnnd also check out my digimon fanfics (FFN and AO3).

How do I develop a regular writing habit?

I’d start by setting aside 15 minutes a day to write.  Don’t focus on word count- writing x number of words can be intimidating, but most people can sit for 15 minutes and get something down.  If you’re writing on a computer, turn off the internet and place your phone out of reach

Gradually increase the session length.

Never worry about the quality of your writing while you’re drafting.  That’s what editing and subsequent drafts are for.  I have a post on utilizing successive drafts to combat writing paralysis here, but the tl;dr is that the pressure to write a perfect story in the first draft often turns writing into an agonizing trial instead of creative play.

Your first draft is bad, period, at least compared to what it will be.  In the kindest way possible, get over it.  Your value as a writer- or as a human!- isn’t tied into your questionable first draft.  Please explore your story in the earliest stages with enthusiasm, not criticism!  You’re going to make it so much better by the time you’re finished!

How do you write so much?

See, here’s one of the biggest changes in my mindset compared to my early days as ahiddenpath.  I used to think that doing all of this writing was like... extra credit, like a stretch goal I pushed myself to achieve.  

I learned in therapy starting in 2018 that the reason I keep writing is because I have to.  I have general anxiety disorder, and my brain...  Have you seen an old-timey cartoon with a boiler?  They are drawn swollen, metal distorting with steam pressure, rivets groaning and popping free.  That’s how I feel if I don’t write.  Don’t ask me why or how, but writing is like turning a valve to release the pressure.

(Quick PSA- my therapist calls creative outlets “coping skills.”  If you feel like you have boiler brain, make time for your hobbies, no matter how tired you are.)

For me, writing is challenging play.  Although I’m often conveying messages that matter to me or exploring ideas I want to work through, and I try to make the best product I can...  I don’t take it seriously, and I don’t sweat over it.  I’m here to wander, play, and take care of myself.

So basically, I think the recipe for producing lots of writing is: regularity/habit (do it every day, even for just a little while), minimizing distractions, separating the processes of drafting and editing, turning off criticism in the early stages of drafting, and writing for yourself and your own needs.

 Do you feel embarrassed about writing fanfic?

Nope.  I write for my mental health/because it’s fun, period.  However, I also don’t tell people IRL that I write fanfic!  But I’m a private person (I don’t tell people IRL that I’m asexual, for example, and I only tell them I have anxiety if I freeze up in front of them).

Do you feel embarrassed about writing OCs/fakemon?

Hahahaha!  Look, I know there are lots of people who won’t read OCs and fakemon.  I know there are probably people who wish I would stick to more canon stuff (both in terms of OCs and my strong preference for AUs).

But I’m here to write what I want, and while it makes me happy when people read and enjoy my work...  It’s no skin off my back if they don’t.  I already fulfilled my goal of taking care of myself.

Don’t you want to get published and make money for your writing?

No, not at this time.  For everyone who has said that I have the writing skill to be published, thank you so very much.  That’s so kind, and I truly appreciate it!

But...  The United States has the enormous capitalistic attitude problem that endeavors are only worthwhile if they generate capital.  I can’t even begin to tell you how damaging this concept is- literally, I’m not equipped with the sociopolitical educational background.  

Sometimes I think I’d like to become a published novelist?  But sometimes I recall that I have a dope research gig, and I wanna play around with writing in my free time.

To be clear, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t pursue your creative career dreams!!!  And, who knows, maybe some day I’ll get tired of research and want to try swapping to the hobby/skill I’ve spent so much time refining.  Just...  Never stop doing something fun and harmless you enjoy because “it doesn’t make money.”  

I’m not gonna sit here acting like I know what the purpose of life is, but I think having fun and meeting your needs is pivotal.

Okay, so how can I support my favorite fandom content creators?

Bless you, f’real.  The easiest way is to comment on their stuff.  For meta writers, leave comments, engage, ask questions.  For fanfiction writers, leave reviews.  I have so many lovely folks who chat with me over Tumblr or discord after reading my stuff, which is so great.  But it’s hard to find those sweet messages later.  I can always click on reviews any time I need a little positive reinforcement/boost.  So, even if you’re going to talk to the writer later...  Leave that review!

If the content producer uses social media, reblog their stuff to give them more exposure.  Likes are for you, so you can find a post later.  Reblogs are for the creators, so other people can see their work.

Things like fanart, fanfic of fanfic, cosplays, and other... fan content of fan content make our year, I promise!  We love that so stinkin’ much!

Some fan content producers have a ko-fi and/or a patreon, so sometimes there are monetary ways to show appreciation.

If you’re intimated by a content producer, please remember that we are all massive dorkasauruses.  I absolutely guarantee it.

How do you have so many ideas?!

Ah, I have a Future Projects page on my blog- I don’t think pages work on mobile.

But here’s the secret: ideas are the easy part.  They are literally a dime a dozen.  Heck, there are AU generators!  Just pick characters out of a hat and use an AU generator and bam, you’re off!  And even then, you don’t need a real idea to start writing!  I launched Four Years on the thought of, “hahaha, wouldn’t it be a mess if the Chosen went to college together?!”

We’re writing fanfic; we’re here to play.  There’s no need to crush yourself with the expectation that you must write the next hit thriller plot.

In my opinion, the much better question is: how do you manage your projects such that you complete them?

So, uh, how do you manage your projects?

I’ve established that I write fanfic to play and to take care of myself, but I do want to grow as a writer along the way.  And the best way to learn how to craft narratives is to practice completing them.  If you launch stories over and over and only write roughly 1/4 to 1/3 of the way through the story...  All you’re practicing is how to start a story.

When I first started writing as ahiddenpath, I did exactly zero planning (see the Four Years reference above).  I ended up with longfics stretching as long as 400K+ words- that’s over six novels (based on the average adult fiction novel length)!!!!!  It is so daunting to work on longfics, because you feel like the ending is nowhere to be seen.

SO most of my pointers circle around always writing towards your ending, even before you start!

-Decide what you want to say with your story before you start writing.

First, “what you want to say” doesn’t have to be a big, grand theme.  It can be as big as “how the trauma of their adventures impacted them after” or as small as “I think these dorks would have a good time at laser tag.” 

I’m not talking about a detailed outline (in fact, I personally hate outlines).  Just know what your story is about and make sure what you write points to it.  If you can make the structure of your story mimic your theme, even better!  But no worries if that doesn’t work out, it’s not always possible.

-Write linearly

The best way to keep moving along in your story is just to... keep writing it in order.  This helps achieve regular updates, and prevents you from potentially “losing” material if you change your mind about the plot before reaching the bit you wrote already.  This happened to me so frequently that I stopped writing ahead of myself.  If I have an idea, I write it down, but I don’t draft future scenes.  In my experience, they often never see the light of day.

I’m told people often write the bit of the story they most want to write first?  If you have a single scene that you’re really longing to write, but you don’t know how to get there/don’t want to write the rest...  May I suggest that you... don’t write the rest?  If your scene works as a oneshot, write that oneshot!  Don’t torture yourself with a lot of writing you don’t want to do.  Most often, people end up forcing their way through 1-4 chapters, then stalling before ever reaching the Good Bit. 

A moment of silence for all of the unwritten Good Bits out there.  Now, some Enya.

If you can’t reduce Good Bit setup to a oneshot, reduce as much as possible.  I think that sometimes, people underestimate the incredible advantages of writing fanfiction?  Everyone knows your characters already, and maybe even the setting, if you keep it canon.  You can cut out the setup and dive right into what you want to do with the characters! 

-Think about the structure of your story before you start

Considering the structure of your story is a fantastic way to estimate how long it will be/ensure that there is an ending in sight from the start.  For example, in Voices, I covered a single school year in Japan, writing a diary entry for a different Chosen every day, so I knew that I would write the story for roughly a year.  After August had one chapter per Chosen, so each child could help Taichi deal with his post Adventure trauma in their own way, plus an opening and closing chapter.  My Tri story, Tri: Integrity Lens, is written and posted in installments covering each Tri movie.

It’s fine if no particular structure strikes you.  I could see forced structure turning into a gimmick, you know?  But if it naturally works out, it’s a great way to have a solid idea of how much story is ahead of you before you start, and where the story will end.  And being cognizant of how and when a story ends from chapter one yields a tighter, shorter fic, one that you’re more likely to complete.

-Consider writing in batches/sections before posting

So lately, I’ve been experimenting with how I deliver fanfic updates.  I mentioned that my Tri fic follows the Tri movies.  Each movie is covered with a few 3,000-6,000 word updates that I post every other week.  I cover an entire movie before posting any of it, and then I plan to take a break in between movies to work on either the next movie or a different fic.

AND THIS IS SO GREAT!  Having large chunks of my story written is such a fantastic way to do things!  I keep thinking of little details I can add/things I should mention and noticing inconsistencies I can fix before posting.  Giving myself a larger picture and time to mull over it by spreading out updates is making a huge difference for me.

Plus, giving yourself little breaks between installments can help keep you fresh and motivated, while leaving your audience waiting at a nice, natural stopping point.  Plus, this way they know that you haven’t just... up an vanished or dropped a story.  You’re just taking an announced break.

How do you plan stories?

I believe I mentioned hating outlines.  I personally respond best to “structured freedom.”  I focus on things like: what are my themes/what do I want to say, how will the characters grow or regress, how is this story structured or formatted, what is the overall tone and mood.  Other than that, I keep things fluid...  Which is why it’s so important for me to enforce some kind of ending point before I begin.

Basically, for me, too much planning = a boring slog where I can’t inject the moods and ideas of the day into my work without derailing meticulous plans.  Too little planning = longfic hell.  I’m guessing that everyone has to decide for themselves where they land on this continuum!  Exploration is vital.

Okay, I am out of steam for today.  If you have any other writing/fanfic questions you’d like answered, please let me know!  Here are some other resources I’ve made.

-Combating writing paralysis with successive drafts

-Dishing with an artist

-Tips for Fanfic Authors

-More Tips for Fanfic Authors

-Tips for Winning Nanowrimo

-Resources/Advice for Digimon Adventure Fanfic Writers

[beinghumcn]

Was that [NATASHA NEGOVANLIS]? Oh no no, that was just [MIRCALLA “CARMILLA” KARNSTEIN], a [CANON CHARACTER] from [CARMILLA]. They are [THREE-HUNDRED-FORTY-ONE] years old and [ARE] aware that they are not actually from Washington DC. Too bad they can’t stray from this city for long.

to use a gif where u can see her face or to use a gif that’s slapstick......... the answer was obvious.

how long has your character been here

roughly a month and a half !

what is your character's job

night shift archivist........ using the excuse that dc is magic and therefore an mlis is totally not required.

where has your character been pulled from in their fandom

towards the end of season two when :\ she still thinks mattie’s dead and no one cares :\ of course, i’m gonna go ahead and hc that the events of s3 have happened and she just... does not remember them bc #magic but... cannot promise the same for the movie because i Do Not Know How to watch it and... we like to pretend she’s still a vampire... which technically was stopped in s3 but shhhhhhh

has any magic affected your character

some memories have been wiped, but that’s about it!

and any other information you might find useful for us and the other members to know!!

triggers: very very brief mention of necrophilia, brief mention of imprisonment, murder, manipulation, abuse, mention of blood (brief but significant), very brief mention of war

not too much is known about her super early life. she was born in styria as mircalla karnstein to a super wealthy father ( and super emotionally unavailable who only saw her as convenient when she was old enough to be used as a bargaining chip ) and... who knows about her mother? ( whenever i refer to her mother throughout the rest of the intro, it’s not her birth mother -- just a psa! )

anyway, she was murdered at a ball, as one is. but it was all good! because her new ‘mother’ found her and resurrected her as a vampire ( for her own nefarious purposes, of course ). however, before she was able to be of any true use to her mother, her undead body was graverobbed by the necrophiliac man she was engaged to marry before her death. he kept her in a literal dungeon. which is so romantic (/s). however, sucks for him! her powers grew stronger and she managed to break free and murder his entire family so he would die sad and alone <3 romance <3

after that ordeal, she was put to work as a lure by her mother. every twenty years, they would return to styria and carmilla -- who would have some different name at that point, but one that was probably an obvious anagram -- would pretend there’d been a carriage accident or abandonment or something. she’d grow close to the girl ( sometimes seduction being involved, leaving it open to have the events of the novella have happened... minus the death ), the girl would grow weak of mind, then she’d hand the girl off to her mother to go away to some certain doom. 

also... because i love her... i want to add that, during this entire time, she had a best friend and sister of sorts ( another woman changed by her mother ) named matska ( ‘mattie’ ) who was much older than her, but humored her more idealistic views. like... man... mattie was really looking forward to killing this guy for no reason, but he’s a sensitive poet, guess she’ll find someone else :\ ( aka i just... needed to mention this legend... )

the game changed when carmilla was enlisted to lure in a girl named ell. unfortunately, she actually fell in love with her :\ their close bond was real :\ she made plans for them to escape to the usa before her mother could find them... but her mother found out about it and revealed carmilla’s vampiric nature to ell. ell, horrified, led carmilla’s mother to where they planned to meet up. and her punishment for her disobedience was, like, the best parenting ever (/s):

she watched ell get dragged away to her doom, then was sealed alive in a coffin full of blood <3 mother of the year <3

she was exhumed towards the end of wwii with all of the explosives unearthing various graves. she was found by her mother again in 1955 and her mother just didn’t have the heart to reinter her, so she was put back to work ( but at least she got to watch the moon landing with the legend mattie <3 ).

this time, she tried to ruin opportunities when she could and, instead of get close to the girl, drive her away. 

i don’t want to get too into the laura (web version) stuff because my love does not hinge on the ship, ja feel? but since she does have some memories of that, it’s important to mention!! she was assigned to go pretend to be a college student and lure various girls and, more specifically, roommates for her mother. laura was an intended target, then she showed carmilla genuine kindness and carmilla was like ‘well. guess i’ve gotta ruin an opportunity #forlove. mother’s gonna hate it but :\’

as a side-note, even though she Does Not Know This from where im pulling her in her canon, it is probably important to note that she found out her mother was actually a goddess! same! the goddess innana! spoiler: and of course you can set an angry malicious goddess free with a hug <3 but yk what fun fact: one of my first critiques over the finale was laura just..... talking for minutes on end without a heart..... but someone looked it up and apparently you can keep functioning for four minutes without a heart so?? get it girls!! also i think in the movie it turns out ell is like... evil?? but we’re ignoring that until i find a way to watch it bc <3 she doesn’t rmr it anyway <3

also some fun + relevant tidbits + hcs:

can shapeshift into a black panther. alexa, play ‘black cat’ by janet jackson. also love some pyrokinesis and potential sonic scream and invulnerability to sunlight. also love the basics of super strength and speed. also love still having to live off of human blood. also love not turning people into vampires with bites like genuinely love that otherwise there’d be a whole army. ~ she’s not like other girls vampires ~

if u cant tell im ignoring the ending ma’am she’s a vampire. apparently the movie turns her back into a vampire which we love but i... don’t have a way to watch it so i’m just going off of what i read.

another big gay. gonna start a club w bismuth.

has canonically seen many vampire movies, including the twilight movies (in which she called edward a ‘sparkly twerp’).

also canonically probably has light knowledge of the harry potter and doctor who franchises bc of laura. very hip with pop culture in spite of being over 300yrs old.

taught herself ancient sumerian because she wanted to read the epic of gilgamesh. love that for her.

inxp (leans te, but not enough for a for sure), 4w5, scorpio sun scorpio moon. affably evil <3

[stateweeder8-blog]

Hifu Skin firm

vaginal tightening Up In Uk.

Content

claim So lengthy Cellulite In just 8 Weeks! charm guru Kate Shapland Shares Revolutionary recommendations.

exists An Age limitation For This type Of surgery?

Air Liquide In The Uk.

What Is Hifu Treatment For Face?

pearly Whites lightening therapy.

Once the light beams get to the pertinent midsts of the skin, they will certainly converge, developing little and also unnoticeable 'mini openings' within the skin. Our non-surgical Vaginal Tightening therapy utilizing the revolutionary FemiWand ® technology. The FemiWand ® makes use of High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound that has an enduring record of method for clinical applications.

say So long Cellulite In simply 8 Weeks! charm guru Kate Shapland Shares Revolutionary recommendations.

Is it bad to have Cellulite at 14?

It is completely normal! Most of the time it occurs around the hips thighs and bum and is caused by fat deposits under the skin pushing up towards the surface, creating an uneven or dimpled appearance.

This week I have another session on my stomach location, It does require time, however it does function. Had the fat freeze in December and also i am so pleased with the results, I've decreased 2 outfit sizes. I'm currently a dimension 16 and also have actually booked in for an additional 8 applicators, i can not fault this business whatsoever! the only unfavorable responses i have is that it made me go to the commode so typically but that's reasonable as my body was just getting rid of the waste. I previously had an instance of the guy boobs so I got a cryolipolysis treatment to reduce these. I'm pleasantly shocked by the results as well as I have practically no fat in that area anymore.

having my second treatment of cryo done, have seen a big difference after my very first treatment on my tummy. my skin does feel tighter but i haven't seen any results yet as it does take 6-8 weeks to see outcomes so i am captivated to see what results i obtain. came in for hifu face lift last month and determined to obtain my jaw location and neck done too after talking to the professional. i was a little bit afraid initially as i do not like uncomfortable treatments but it was not painful it just really felt awkward in certain areas.

exists An Age limitation For This type Of surgical Procedure?

When I was called for my consultation, they attempted to market me a program of 3 treatments. I was skeptical about the treatment so declined on the basis I would see if I obtained any kind of outcomes initially. When I asked what the success rate was for this treatment, the person informing me concerning the therapy she stated she didn't have any numbers as well as Outcomes vary from person to person.

really happy with my facelift therapy, would advise to anybody as well as would certainly suggest going for the full works as it is absolutely worth it. I have seen outcomes after 3 months and also my face looks amazing, i am extremely pleased.

Why do men not get cellulite?

“Men, on the other hand, have much stronger connective tissue and much less subcutaneous fat, so they normally do not develop cellulite”, Georgios adds.

Air Liquide In The Uk.

The treatment i had opted for was the superficial treatment, so just waiting for outcomes. I have my fourth session of ultrasound reserved for next week and also I am really happy with the price at which my double chin is beginning to lower in size. The car park is a little bit aggravating though as no person clarified originally that there was no free car parking offered outside however when I called, a wonderful girl offered me instructions to a close-by car park. fantastic solution and also team member, prices are economical and worth the cash. I would extremely recommend this treatment if you have any type of interest in the tightening up of your girl bits.

Does cupping help cellulite?

Do cellulite cups really work? A small study in 2014 found that dry cupping therapy is an effective treatment for cellulite as it stimulates lymph drainage and micro circulation. The results indicated that applying the therapy 10 times on each leg for this duration was 'efficient and safe for decreasing' cellulite.

What Is Hifu Treatment For Face?

The focus of the thermal power is specific as well as aids control the contraction of the muscles and also strength to curb the invasiveness. The process guarantees results and comfort for every individual as well as takes the quickest time feasible to go back to the normal regimen. The therapy is additionally appropriate for those with various other vaginal issues, including genital prolapse, endometriosis, pelvic leisure and pelvic discomfort. There are no contraindications for FemiLift if you are taking the contraceptive pill, have a contraceptive implant or have formerly had a hysterectomy. FDA authorized given that 2014 for the therapy of post-menopausal vaginal degeneration with dyspareunia which leaves numerous ladies incapable to have intercourse as a result of dryness and also pain on penetration. The FemiLift CO2 laser provides power roughly 0.5 mm deep into the genital skin as well as develops small, white, ablated dots of damaged cells on the mucosal cells inside the genital canal. The FemiWand is a nine-minute therapy, boosting genital muscle strength as well as tightness - and also the results can last for greater than TWO years.

To start with, this non-invasive genital therapy approach is painless as well as calls for no downtime. Besides, it just takes 20 minutes, thus do not interfere with your normal life. As said earlier, this is a non-invasive vagina firm approach. The technique is well made to restore and repair vaginal walls without needing to utilize numbing or anesthetic creams. Numerous clinical as well as analytical looks into have actually been done on this innovation. It is accredited secure as well as authorized for usage in medical practice. A study by the US National Institute of Wellness in December 2015 verified that the treatment is risk-free, effective and also non-evasive, and has a positive enduring impact on skin laxity.

It has actually been simply over a month given that I had the femiwand treatment. I was truly hoping that the treatment would certainly have remedied the damages of being obese etc. i had a therapy at the new clinic in birmingham, i should say it is a charming clinic and it is a bonus offer that they have vehicle parking on site. the facility itself is spick-and-span as well as neat as well as all personnel are well specialist. i was supplied a beverage on arrival as well as was provided the wifi password and if i desired any type of magazines. I had the fat freezing therapy at the Bham facility, and i have to claim it went well. It had not been uncomfortable in any way and also i had an extremely pleasant experience.

The ultrasound procedure focuses the thermal power on the superficial muscular aponeurotic system of the vaginal cells. This leads to tightening of the muscular tissues which in turn tightens up the muscle.

teeth lightening therapy.

Many customers report no pain and need no downtime after the treatment. Therapies are scheduled at 4 or six-week periods, and also the majority of clients see take advantage of one or two therapies. The treatment is proper for healthy females over the age of 30 that are trying to find vaginal renewal. Clients who are breastfeeding or expectant are not recommended for the therapy. We suggest customers to wait at the very least 3 months after a normal giving birth prior to having the FemiWand ® treatment. The sole function of this procedure is to boost the lifestyle. Females who succeed in recovering their vaginal area tightness have a tendency to be extra positive and also have admirable self-esteem.

Various other long-lasting results of the treatment include tightening up as well as restoration of vaginal cells. Clients should have the desire for a tighter, much more youthful-looking vaginal area to get FemiWand ® . Because every lady's body is different, your aesthetician will talk about the ideal number of therapies to fit your needs as well as objectives. Vaginal tightening with FemiWand ® requires no downtime, as well as clients can return to normal life quickly adhering to the treatment. FemiWand ® is the ideal choice to considerable, intrusive surgery to bring back the youthful appearance as well as feature of the vagina. FemiWand ® is a 20-minute treatment that can be carried out on your lunch break.

This is since the PSA blood test is not specific to prostate cancer cells.

Increased PSA levels additionally can't inform a medical professional whether a man has dangerous prostate cancer cells or otherwise.

This aids the specialist target the cancer so that less of the healthy and balanced cells is damaged.

The probe likewise makes use of ultrasound to produce images of the prostate while your cosmetic surgeon is treating it.

It can likewise be duplicated needs to your cancer repeat, and also it does not exclude various other therapies if needed such as radiotherapy or surgical procedure.

Your PSA level can additionally be raised by various other, non-cancerous conditions.

Sonablate is a state-of-the art, non-invasive clinical device that damages tissue in the prostate utilizing concentrated ultrasound.

The risk of side effects over a ten-year duration are unidentified however are anticipated to be better by the nature of the treatment as there is less damages to the prostate and bordering organs and also tissue.

On the various other hand, tightening the vaginal area aids sexually energetic ladies to enjoy their bed room matters with their other halves. Also if vaginal area looseness is seldom spoken about, it is a critical condition that can make ladies really feel unfortunate, disappointed, embarrassed, and awkward with their bodies.

excellent facility

I had the surface and also the muscle treatment done as I have had 2 youngsters sen differ from leak. I did not experience any discomfort or pain as well as I am expecting feelin results ideally this therapy will assist me as well as tighten up things up! I had the femiwand treatment done yesterday at the Manchester center as well as was instantly put at simplicity by the doctor. The areas i had actually done are now looking very glowing and also I'm very satisfied with the outcomes, I will certainly for sure be returning in for an additional treatment. Aftercare therapy was offered and its been 2 days and im feeling good. I had actually undertaken the treatment for the femi wand genital therapy, and also it was slightly unpleasant. However the specialist was extremely gentle and offered me with a lot of aftercare guidance as well as was extremely pleasant and inviting.

Extra recently, HIFU has been effectively used for cosmetic therapies consisting of skin laxity. Use cellulite treatments to schedule a vaginal tightening assessment. A female expert will get in touch to discuss your needs. The ultrasound is flawlessly secure, as well as unlike lasers can exceed the surface of the genital cells to intensify the impacts of the therapy. A PRIVATE cosmetics clinic has been ordered to remove an advert promoting its vaginal rejuvenation treatment after the UK's advertising and marketing watchdog deemed it "misleading" and "irresponsible".

Why does my stomach look like it has cellulite?

Cellulite most definitely occurs when you gain weight — in women, it tends to be most noticeable in the areas where women are prone to gain the most weight (the stomach, thighs, and backside) — and when that body fat grows, it enlarges and pushes against the connective fibers under your skin.

The locations I had them on were a little bruised for a couple of days however quickly cleaned up. It's not a magic stick and also I really did not end up being design slim overnight, so any individual who thinks that is what will certainly take place will be dissatisfied. My transformation is going along fantastic and I would certainly reccomend vivo facility. Had the Cryolipolysis therapy therefore far the outcome is impressive I have actually dropped a pants dimension most definitely suggest this therapy. My companion enjoys i more than happy would very advise this therapy if you've had kids or suffer from leak. i purchased additional applicators for the location as well as made a decision to have a couple of sessions done. I didn't inform my close friends and individuals that knew me, remarkably everybody was discovering I was trimming.

What is the best cellulite cream?

Best Overall: Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Cream. Best Splurge: Augustinus Bader The Body Cream. Best for Arms: Revision Skincare BodiFirm. Best for Legs: Body Merry Cellulite Defense Gel-Cream. Best for Stomach: Glytone Slim Design Cellulite Day Cream. More items•

The registered nurse was charming but no prior to photos were taken ... so even if I did buy a course, there's no other way of recognizing it's worked !! She told me that the treatment would not firm my skin whatsoever regardless of the advert on wowcher stating it would certainly !! The treatment lasted half an hour, wasn't particularly unpleasant yet I am not holding my breath for any type of results. The exact same 'sales representative' then attempted to offer me some cream prior to I left. Also aggressive and not enough understanding about their treatments or success rates. The therapy has been established with the very same innovation that has actually been properly made use of in non-surgical renovations. Merely, this involves releasing several ultrasound beams into the skin.

my spouse has additionally observed a difference in that location and enjoys with what he has actually seen. i would certainly have a secound therapy to tighten up the area slightly a lot more. I have had a HIFU treatment with Vivo Clinic as well as have actually had fantastic results.

[galakzee]

psa for any of you out there with a mental illness, whether you’re undiagnosed, just starting treatment, or in remission: take the time to check in with yourself. ask yourself the important questions. negative thoughts can sneak up out of nowhere. it’s extremely important to step back for a moment and ask yourself:

how do i feel?

why do i feel this way?

what can i do to stop feeling this way (i.e. mindfulness, meditation, a hands-on activity, talking to a trusted friend, family member, or therapist, etc etc)?

because trust me, no matter how many good days you have, there will still be a few bad days. i am roughly 3 years and 1 month removed from spending six very intensive months in outpatient psychiatric care. and today i had a bad day. but you know what? if i learned anything from that time, it’s that you always need to have a few coping strategies ready for when a bad day or moment pops up. as soon as i recognized that i was feeling bad and thinking negative thoughts about myself, i laid down on my bed and put on a guided meditation from youtube. that’s one thing that works for me. build yourself a toolbox by testing different strategies and finding what works for you. 

because i know even 10, 20 years down the road, even when i will no longer need antidepressants, i might still have a bad day. and on those days, just like today, i’ll go into my toolbox and take a moment to reflect on my mental health. you are worth it. your mental and physical wellbeing come first.

[marypoppinswasmyfatherbitches]

Oh my goodness, I didnt see the link to your fanfic account! I am dumb. So ignore my previous ask and instead answer this one for the meme. 13, 3, 14, 1 and 2 for Happiness goes on? (I shall leave reviews on your beautiful fanfic soon I promise, they are good.)

(Hiii, sooo…this whole reply is late because I actually typed up ALL OF THIS last night, and then accidentally “x”-ed out of my browser and lost it all, because I am very very stupid. And then was too tired to retype it up before going to sleep. I hope I remember roughly everything, and apologies for that mistake.)

Oh! Haha! Alright then! Thank you! Don’t feel dumb at all for not realizing which AO3 account is mine or for your previous ask(which for others who are curious, said: “1 - 5 for all your fics! Just talk about your favs!”). I was prepared to choose 3 fics (including “Happiness Goes On” since that’s definitely the one I’m most proud of, so I guess that’s closest to a “favorite” right?), and go through the first 5 questions for each, though I won’t lie and say it wouldn’t have taken some time to answer.

BUUUT…since you said to scrap that first ask, I’ll answer these individual ones for “Happiness Goes On.” And your compliment and promise for a future review means SO goddamn much, thank you sincerely.

(WARNING / REMINDER: This is about my fic that deals with the subject of child molestation, and I do reference that a little bit in this reply. Don’t read further if it makes you uncomfortable, which I entirely understand and respect.)

**********

13: What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

HA! Well, American Pie obviously, for a majority of it. While brainstorming / writing / editing the epilogue? A lotta Billy Joel. ;)

The idea to use American Pie bounced into my brain when it came on the radio at the thrift shop where I volunteer, one of the rare times my own music speaker battery died. Usually a disaster, because our store radio is pretty crappy, but the sound quality wasn’t too bad that day, and I rediscovered how much I love that song and ‘Why isn’t this on my ipod again?’. Listening to the lyrics, I realized how much some of them fit the Guardians in general, and this story specifically, which I have Gamora mentally note in the fic. I was sitting and casually chatting with the manager while also thinking, ‘Google what year this came out when you get home, but I’m sure it’s the 70′s. Peter would know it, and it could be the Zune. I think it could work.’ I’m proud that I was able to reference the song so many times without actually naming it by title, but I assume most readers knew what it was, it’s just that famous. (I also couldn’t resist the light-hearted joke, later when things calmed down, of Gamora saying “This…is the longest song…I have ever heard.” and Peter smiling without even looking at her and giving a cheeky “I know.”)

In terms of using Billy Joel for the epilogue, I’m just a Billy Joel fanatic. The use of him for this story began just from the We Didn’t Start the Fire joke toward Rocket at the bar (I thought it was clever, Peter!), and later on I saw how The Longest Time fit romantically for Starmora, and some of the lyrics matched the healing themes of the overall story, and I thought ‘Maybe they’ve been playing BIlly Joel since that night; maybe that can be the joke.’ Why shouldn’t his Greatest Hits albums (at least) be on the Zune? I struggled a lot over what song should be the final one Gamora comments on before they switch artists to appease the group. I never specify which romantic Billy Joel song Peter and Gamora slow danced to during their “date night” in that six-week summary, but I like to imagine it was Just the Way You Are. I considered Keeping the Faith or Vienna for the final one, but I thought they deserved something more fun and naughty to analyze this time, so Only the Good Die Young it is. :D

In conclusion, I listened to The Longest Time, and the entire An Innocent Man studio album, a lot (as if I needed an excuse).3: What’s your favorite line of narration?

The portion in italics is my favorite line, but I’m including the entire sentence for context purposes: “She would need to grow used to him viewing Yondu as a caring parent who was extraordinarily protective of his boy, and would have hunted down this pervert to whistle a glowing arrow through her skull.”14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?

Ohh geez, wow, that one is tough. I don’t know if it’s accurate to say this story was intended to educate, but just to explore the idea with fictional characters. I have no expertise on the subject, and would never claim such, or talk down to those who do. I didn’t intend to create a PSA. I suppose all of the “lessons” for Peter (if they can be called that) I hope all readers already know and agree on (basically a collection of “it wasn’t your fault” and “this doesn’t define you” and “trauma isn’t a competition, someone else suffering worse doesn’t invalidate your experience” and “you should feel comfortable talking about anything without judgement or shame” etc.).

Slightly lesser scale messages, there’s also reminders about the importance of communication, trusting each other, letting the other person speak in an argument, not letting one’s jealousy/instincts/bad mood interfere with fairness, not running away from a fight or staying angry, respecting boundaries and privacy, all that healthy relationship jazz that these two are still figuring out. 1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

This post is already very long, and I could probably talk for hours about the decision-making process for many scenes (of my GotG fics, this took the longest to write and publish, over 2 months), so I’ll try to condense this to a few bullet points that probably don’t fit the “inspired” criteria.

- It was originally going to be in two parts, 4 scenes each, when I thought the epilogue would be much shorter. But as the lil’ wrap-up got longer (because we needed a fluffy conclusion, dammit!), I decided to make it a separate “chapter.”

- I think the concept probably started as one of those strange, angsty “what if?” scenarios I make up in my head at night that I still can’t believe I created into a full-fledged work. I liked the idea of Peter and Gamora having this conversation and her comforting him, but I knew if I was really going to throw it out there for other fans, it had be more balanced with happier moments, too. I just know I was always going to make the offender a woman - both because it would lead to the misunderstanding that she was a past consensual hook-up when Peter was an adult to spark some irritation and jealousy in Gamora, and because it’s realistically different from other sexual assault stories, since women can be pedophiles and child predators too, and they’re just as horrible. :(

- The fanfic idea of “Gamora accidentally starts a fire while trying to cook, and Peter falsely accuses and lashes out at Rocket” was in my head before, but there were two key differences. 1) It was the entire plot, not a light-hearted subplot in the shadows of something bigger, 2) Meredith’s letter was either fully or partially burnt as a result of the fire. By the end Gamora was going to confess it was her fault, that she was trying to surprise Peter by cooking spaghetti, and he would apologize both to her and to Rocket for losing his temper and getting so angry. I hated that idea later and found it too sad (he’s already lost the Walkman and second cassette tape, why would I want him to lose even more from his mother?), and in “Spark My Memory” (the Christmas fic I wrote for “12 Days of Starmora”) the Guardians put his mother’s letter in the photo album gift for Peter, completely safe and unharmed. I like to keep all my fanfics canon-compliant and non-contradictory from each other, so the letter is fine, no burning it.

Yet “Gamora started a fire cooking” still seemed fun to me, as I like the idea that she’s so badass and skilled and intelligent, but failed at something so domestic and simple. Kinda cute. I was so excited to insert it into this, because I think it worked on multiple levels. It’s a driving force for the plot (the reason the team go to the restaurant and they stumble upon that particular waitress), the reason Gamora was already in a bad mood during her fight with Peter, it could be used as a metaphor/comparison for Peter’s anxiety and Gamora’s guilt, it was something for the Guardians to put at a higher priority to tease and mock Gamora for while oblivious to the main story, something for Peter to just break down into giggles over once they changed the subject (because he earned a good laugh after that heartbreaking and vulnerable childhood trauma story), an excuse to give Rocket so many funny lines, an overall silly and sitcommy-style subplot to fall back on, and a sweet “victory!” for Gamora to have (sort of?) conquered by the epilogue. ^_^2: What scene did you first put down?

This is easy. I’ve written all but one (8 out of 9) of my fanfics in order, except for “Just Like Everybody Else.” So ya, I wrote the opening scene first, Baby Groot’s magic trick lesson and Peter’s oh-so-cruel “can only be seen once” deception. I needed to ease readers (and myself) into the angst and heavy shit to follow, and that cute idea had also been in the back of my mind for a while. ^_^

**********

PHEW, OKAY, ALL RE-TYPED! Thank you again SO MUCH for the lovely ask and wonderful questions, your actual interest and curiosity thrilled me! You see I wasn’t kidding about the incessant babbling. :P

Thank you also for the kudos you left on AO3, and take care!~

[pooma-bible]

Do you crave for being rich? How good is it worth?

⭐

First of all, abide by what Paul said:

• 1Th 5:18 “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”.

I know that this sounds crazy. How can we rejoice and give thanks to the Creator amid this terrible situation?

Well, if the person who died believed in Christ, this day is worthy of feast for the reasons below:

• Psa 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”.

• Rev 14:13 “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”.

• 2Ti 4:6-8 “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

If the person didn’t believe in Christ, thank Jesus for the time that He allowed you to be a special part in the life of that person, and also for the other people that are still in your life:

• Psa 68:19 “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.”.

Don’t stay with the fools who lose time regretting for the dead:

• Prov 14:7 “Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.”.

• Pro 9:6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

• Pro 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

• Eph 5:14 “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”

I know that the loss of a dear friend is painful. Nevertheless, there is no time to lose. Many people are dying for not knowing Jesus (perhaps some of your relatives who are still alive and can be called for being accountable for their life in the court of Christ – Rom 14:10; 2Cor 5:10). Although the pain is grievous, the best option is to follow the piece of advice written in Psalms 126:5,6:

• Psa 126:5,6 “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”.

Follow this and have a joyful day reaping all goodness and mercy that you sowed, believing wherein Paul said:

• Rom 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”.

You can be asking: but why the Creator is so angry when people focus on richness? One of the reasons can be seen below:

• Haggai 1:3-5 “Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?" Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, "Consider your ways!”.

See that people start to occupy themselves with their selfish ambitions.

But the problem don’t stop there!

Second: wealth can fill the heart with proud, bitterness:

• Proverbs 18:23 “The poor man utters supplications, But the rich man answers roughly.”.

• Proverbs 28:11 “The rich man is wise in his own eyes, But the poor who has understanding sees through him.”.

• Ezekiel 28:5-7 “By your great wisdom, by your trade You have increased your riches And your heart is lifted up because of your riches. Therefore so says the Lord Jehovah: Because you have set your heart as the heart of gods, behold, therefore I will bring awesome strangers of the nations. And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and they shall defile your brightness.”.

Third: wealth induces people to make acceptance of people:

• James 2:1-7 “My brothers, do not have the faith of our Lord Christ, the Lord of glory, with respecter of faces. For if there comes a gold-fingered man in fancy clothing into your assembly, and if there also comes in a poor man in shabby clothing, and if you have respect to him who has the fancy clothing and say to him, You sit here in a good place, and say to the poor, You stand there, or sit here under my footstool; did you not make a difference among yourselves and became judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He has promised to those who love Him? But you dishonored the poor one. Do not rich men oppress you and draw you before the judgment seats? Do they not blaspheme that worthy Name by which you are called?”.

Fourth: wealth can corrupt someone:

• Isaiah 1:23 “Your rulers are rebels And companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe And chases after rewards. They do not defend the orphan, Nor does the widow's plea come before them.”

Fifth: wealth abets bad demeanor:

• Micah 6:12 “For the rich men of the city are full of violence, Her residents speak lies, And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.”.

Sixth: wealth eggs on many people retain the good from those who have right to it (for instance, their employees):

• Leviticus 19:13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning.”.

• Job 20:17-20 “He does not look at the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and curds. He returns what he has attained And cannot swallow it; As to the riches of his trading, He cannot even enjoy them. For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; He has seized a house which he has not built. Because he knew no quiet within him, He does not retain anything he desires.”.

• Jeremiah 22:13 “Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness And his upper rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor's services without pay And does not give him his wages,”.

• Malachi 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me," says the LORD of hosts.”.

• James 5:1-6 “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.”.

Seventh: The individuals above arrive to the point of demanding that people pay their debts, even if they go to bankrupt and, perhaps, they need to beg for food or become a homeless (of course, in this case, they attract the judgment to themselves):

• Deuteronomy 24:12-15 “If he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge. When the sun goes down you shall surely return the pledge to him, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it will be righteousness for you before the LORD your God. You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns.”.

• Proverbs 22:16 “He who oppresses the poor to make more for himself or who gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.”.

Eighth: wealth engrosses people’s attention so much that they end up dallying on selfish activities:

• Matthew 13:22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”.

• Mark 4:19 “but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”.

• Luke 8:14 “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”.

• Luke 16:19-21,25 “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores … But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony”.

Ninth: wealth precludes people of being free to run after Jesus and His Kingdom:

• Matthew 19:21-22 “Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.”.

• Mark 10:21-22 “Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.”.

• Luke 18:22-23 “When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.”.

Tenth: wealth leads people to think that they can be independent of the Creator and follow their ways:

• Deuteronomy 32:15 “Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; filled with food, they became heavy and sleek. They abandoned the God who made them and rejected the Rock their Savior.”.

• Nehemiah 9:25-26 “They captured fortified cities and a fertile land They took possession of houses full of every good thing, Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, Fruit trees in abundance So they ate, were filled and grew fat, And reveled in Your great goodness. "But they became disobedient and rebelled against You, And cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets who had admonished them So that they might return to You, And they committed great blasphemies.”

• Hosea 13:6 “As they had their pasture, they became satisfied, And being satisfied, their heart became proud; Therefore they forgot Me.”.

Eleventh: the worst is that many people end up serving the money instead of domineering it.

• Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”.

• Luke 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”.

Twelfth: not to mention that many people sell, unduly, their soul to Ha-Satan:

• Matthew 4:9-10 “and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only’”.

And no wonder! The trust of the rich is his wealth:

• Proverbs 18:11 “A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own imagination.”.

Now it’s easy to figure out the verse below:

• Proverbs 15:6 “Great wealth is in the house of the righteous, But trouble is in the income of the wicked.”

Can you believe: It's better to be poor with Christ than rich with Ha-Satan:

• Luke 6:20-26 “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.”.

Hence Agur asked:

• Proverbs 30:8-9 “Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, That I not be full and deny You and say, "Who is the LORD?" Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God.”.

It is not in vain that one of the characteristics of the good bishop is to be unstinting:

• 1Timothy 3:3 “not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.”.

In virtue of all of this:

• Proverbs 23:4 “Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it.”.

Don’t forget that you can be called by Jesus to account for yourself at any moment:

• Luke 12:13-21 “Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.””

Focus on making the Creator joyful and to you will be conceded a good day to enjoy of all your work (see Nehemiah 8:10; Ecc 5:19):

• 1 Timothy 6:17 “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.”.

[faeshiftersmore-archive]

A quick PSA about Tumblr

All right I never thought I’d do this, but I feel a need to say a few things about tumblr. Mainly because I’ve seen multiple people either get pushed away from tumblr or end up feeling bad because of the discourse on it or other negative things. 

First point do I enjoy tumblr for certain things? Yes. The friends I’ve made here, the RP, the writing, the information that get’s shared, the random posts about cool stuff that makes me want to get into a new fandom is all awesome.

Second point. Tumblr... doesn’t matter. It doesn’t. We FEEL like it does because of how much time we spend on it. Some of the people we meet on here DO matter. Tumblr itself though, and the various discourses on it does not matter.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/284508/united-states-social-network-penetration/

Lowest penetration of leading social networks.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/274773/global-penetration-of-selected-social-media-sites/

Not even listed on the global list.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/265773/market-share-of-the-most-popular-social-media-websites-in-the-us/

Not even 1.5%

Now I know what you are going to say, but lots of people use tumblr right? Well...

https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/

First of all, not compared to other popular websites. Second of all it’s less then 800 million. It is estimated 794 million users.

http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

As of right now there are roughly 7.6 billion people on this planet. 

http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/

Over 3 billion people use the internet. 

http://www.alcula.com/calculators/finance/percentage-calculator/

20.6% of people online. Now we all know there is a lot of porn on tumblr, and there are the people like me who normally stay out of big discussions. There are also people who don’t see the discussions, don’t know about them, and are perfectly content to stay relaxed and looking at happy puppies and fan fiction or what ever else. So the odds are that number should be less then 10-15% as far as people that are actually watching any kind of discourse. 

That’s not even getting into numbers as to how many people actually participate. How much noise any one or two or five particular people make. How much effort any one small group or clique puts into trying to make their voice the loudest regardless of if it’s right or not. The separate things discussed because there are a lot of different communities on here, or anything else.  All of which drops that number down even lower.

My point? Tumblr seems more important then it is. So please people. Stop getting pissed off and allowing tumblr to make you feel really upset. Enjoy the good stuff, and if you need to get pissed off go look at the news. There’s already enough bad stuff out there to get pissed off about without browsing through tumblr.

[sigma7]

give him the stick DON’T give him the stick

The good news: the Fenslerfilms versions of the classic GI Joe PSAs have been converted to HD!

The bad news: some Wikipedia buzzkill has decided that the exhaustive description of the PSAs on the Fenslerfilm Wikipedia page is just not encyclopedic-enough to retain on the page itself.  It’s relegated to the history of the page, but just to insure the survival of these laser-precise summaries, I’m including them below.  Given a year for each, I could not write better summaries.

 #1: You're Not My Friend A young boy gets lost at a carnival while checking out a shooting tent. He bumps into Alpine, who confuses the boy with, "Mi mi mi mi," noises, in a send-up of the poor animation of characters' speaking mouths. Alpine quickly adds, "Naw, I'm just kiddin' with ya." The boy's friends return and ask, "Hey man, who's that weird dude you're talking to, bro?" The boy awkwardly says to Alpine, "My friends are here, oh cool, s-s-see you later." Alpine's face then strains as he appears to fart.

#2: Blanco Nino Some children are playing football. One of them is tackled roughly to the ground. He discovers that his nose is bleeding and asks for someone to take him to the hospital. Another kid turns to him and says "you sure about that?" Footloose shadows over the boys and says authoritatively, "Nice catch, blanco niño, but too bad your ass got saaaacked!" After which Footloose appears, through video editing techniques, to tackle the boy.

#3: Body Massage Two boys on bikes stop in front of a downed live wire on the road. One suggests that they "launch" over it. Roadblock approaches and asks, "Who wants a body massage?" He casts the wire away as he sings softly to himself in a Barry White-style baritone ("Mr. Body Massage Machine...GO!"). One of the boys then asks "Eeeeeh, what the hell?" Roadblock proudly responds, "Body massage!"

#4: Fire On Your Sleeve Two boys are camping. While putting more logs on the campfire, one says, "Speaking of logs, I'm going to take the Cosby Kids down to the river," then one of the boy's sleeves catches fire. Spirit runs in speaking in a Native Indian language (sampled from Brocket 99). He wraps the boy in a blanket and rolls him on the ground for an excessively long time. Spirit lectures the boy again in his strange language. The other boy asks, "You didn't take anything out of our tent, did ya?" Spirit gives an answer (once again in vernacular) and gives a slight nod.

#5: Ice Three boys race onto a frozen lake, the first one crying, "Last one there's a penis pump!", while the other two attempt to catch up, shouting, "That's not fair!" over each other (a theme which continues throughout this PSA). The first boy slides on the ice ("Holy cow, I'm totally going so fast. Aw, fuck!") and then slips, cracking the ice. While the other two attempt to walk out to rescue the boy, Snow Job approaches on skis. The two boys ask for help, but Snow Job launches a foul-mouthed tirade at them in a Cockney accent. When the children reach out with a stick, Snow Job approves ("Give him the stick."), then immediately contradicts himself ("Don't give him the stick!"). When they look at him and reply simultaneously ("We're sorry," and "Do you know my dad?"). Snow Job then sings a loud "Oh" to an A note in a bass-baritone voice.

#6: Kids Fry Two children are wakened by a smoke alarm. They approach the door, but Barbecue arrives at the window, letting out a series of vocoded noises. He opens his palm toward one of the kids and releases an energy pulse, disintegrating the child. The other boy looks at Barbecue in bewilderment, then succumbs to the same fate.

#7: Porkchop Sandwiches Two boys are in a kitchen. Their dubbed voices make them sound like they are mentally challenged. One of the boys turns on the stove and puts a frying pan on it. The other boy, who is standing in the doorway to the kitchen eating an apple, says to him, "You don't know how to cook anything." The boy standing in front of the stove says "Yeah I do." The flame from the burner ignites curtains which are hanging near the stove, causing the boy who turned it on to start stuttering in panic. Blowtorch runs in, shouting "porkchop sandwiches!" This line is one of the most frequently quoted by fans, and Fensler has until recently sold T-shirts sporting the phrase. He arrives at the kitchen door and in a panic-ridden voice orders the children: "Oh shit, get the fuck out of here! What are you doing? Go, get the fuck out of here, you stupid idiot! Fuck, we're all dead! Get the fuck out!" His panicked tone of voice contrasts oddly with his calm body language. Outside, he tells them, "My God, did that smell good!" prompting a stream of gibberish from one of the boys. One of the boys says something along the lines of, "Detector no go and you tell me, do things, I done runnin'..." This is met with Blowtorch's staring toward the camera, followed by a closeup of that same stare.

#8: Slip A boy is standing on the edge of a cliff, and his friend runs off toward the woods shouting, "Mom, Dad, come here! You gotta see this! This is so cool—" The cliff edge the boy is standing on then gives way, and the boy falls into the sea, screaming, "Shiiiiii-(t)" as the cliff crumbles beneath him. The PSA cuts off abruptly at this point, lasting only nine seconds in total.

#9: Belch Kids playing baseball get into a heated argument over whether a runner is safe or out. Cutter (apparently drunk) arrives and challenges one of the boys to what is apparently a belching contest (represented by the voice-actors as a lengthy vocal fry vocalization). The boy initially demurs, suggesting a different kid as an alternative participant. Cutter refuses, explaining: "Because I already had him. That's right, kids, I already had him." The boy reluctantly agrees to play, and after about 32 seconds of "uhhhhhh" belching-noises from both, the boy cannot do it anymore and concedes defeat, but Cutter continues in a trance-like state for another 40 seconds until the PSA ends, with an excessively long final note, lasting about 20 seconds, on the chorus of "G. I. Joooooooooooooe..."

#10: Bus Rider A boy and a girl high on medicine cabinet drugs and/or possibly alcohol go into the kitchen to get some more, with the boy saying, "Yeah, we should totally hit it again but I get first dibs on it." Doc appears in the window singing a dancehall song. The boy joins him in a bizarre high-pitched voice until it ends. Doc repeats an approximation of "Sunshine dey yah, a time fi di bus ride," in nearly indecipherable patois. Based on the song "Fun Time Deh Ya" by Night Rider.

#11: There's No Retard In Team Kids playing soccer accost their goalkeeper for failing to stop a shot ("There's no retard in team!"). Flint approaches and gives the kids a bewildering account of the day's international news. The news is as follows, "Damage to the base is said to be heavy and the Israeli jets are reported to have made it back to their headquarters." The team scores and while celebrating Flint returns and his news report continues: "A 49-year-old unidentified man went berserk last night, opening fire with a 12-gauge shotgun in a crowded downtown restaurant... Fighting broke out overnight between rival factions along the Israeli-Syrian border. Initial reports claim the Israeli fighters bombed a guerrilla base, kill—" with the "G.I. Joe" chorus ending, cutting Flint off in mid-sentence. The news announcements were sampled from "Segue (II)" off New Power Generation's 1995 album Exodus (Track 15). The same samples were also used on Megadeth's "The Scorpion" from the 2004 album The System Has Failed, the Spin Doctors' "What Time Is It," Chamillionaire's song "The Morning News," off his 2007 album, Ultimate Victory, and Jonathan Coulton's song "Shop Vac." The announcements can also be heard in Cowboy Bebop's "Session 5: Ballad of Fallen Angels", playing on a radio in the background during Annie's store scene; the video game Grand Theft Auto's in-game radio station "Head Radio"; the Sega Dreamcast game Shenmue 2, during the music track "Gifts"; in the background of episode 1 of Californication; and in the game Fahrenheit, where it can be faintly heard among static on a restaurant's radio. This also played in a radio news report in the movie "XIII".

#12: Car Accident While riding bikes without lights or reflectors, two boys narrowly avoid an accident with Dusty's jeep. He crashes and runs over to the boys with helicopter noises in the background, bellowing a butch version of the "Game Over" theme from Sega Rally Championship ("Game Over Yeaaahhhhhh!") to the boys.

#13: Pink Purse A boy talking in ebonics jumps a gap at a building site and a sound effect plays, presumably because the pit shown is far too wide for a child to jump across without supernatural assistance. Before completing the gap, he tells his companion "It's just eee threasy (three easy) steps, just flip it, stick it, and see you later bye!" The young girl is hesitant to do the same. He exhorts her to try, telling her "You better bring it." Lady Jaye approaches and asks them, "Kids? Did you happen to see a pink... um, I wanna say, vinyl purse around here somewhere? ...I'm just dying to get my cigarettes." The boy reels back, protesting that he hasn't seen any purse, but the scene slows down in the middle of his sentence in order to poke fun at the low quality of inbetweening in the spot, showing a loss of volume in the boy's head in different frames. The girl responds in a peculiar manner; she appears to slow down time to the point where her animation frames (four in total) are played for several seconds each. On the last frame, she lets out a surprising "Bah!" sound. The film ends with a shot of Lady Jaye smiling nervously.

#14: Motorcycle A boy named Eric is being talked to by a stranger off-screen, who is attempting to give important life advice to the boy. He talks at breakneck speed, and when Eric fails to pay attention, the man drives off, annoyed. The monologue is as follows: "Now you listen to me, Eric. You don't blow your money on those comic books, you understand? They don't do you a damned bit of good, and the nude mags, you're gonna be inheriting mine when you're 16 anyway. Now look, the junk food and the candy just rots your teeth, gives you bad breath, and the girls run like hell. Stay the hell away from buying any rock TV shirts, or hip hop gear, or anything like that. Arcade games—pick out one that you can do, okay? ONE that you can do as opposed to a whole bunch of them that you don't know what the hell you're doing. Techno music just puts a hole in your brain an... are, are you listening to me? Look at me when I'm talking to you!" At this point, the man drives away and Wild Bill approaches on a motorcycle. He treats Eric and Eric's friend to a confusing, tone-deaf and completely non sequitur rendition of Arlo Guthrie's Motorcycle Song. Perhaps the most confusing aspect is that Eric's friend appears to morph after the stranger drives away. He was clearly an Eric clone, but takes on a much darker complexion and different clothes by the time Wild Bill arrives. This friend later attests that he's "about to putdapressabutdawutdawiddaman." Wild Bill continues to sing when Eric shrugs his shoulders saying that he doesn't know what he's doing, but gets cut off by him singing "I just wanna ride my motorcy..." then pauses for a second to say the remaining "...cle."

#15: Help Computer A boy approaches a dog to pet it saying, "Aw, hell no, what's up, dog?", but the dog reacts violently, causing the boy to back away. Mutt arrives and says, "Hey kid, I'm a computer! Stop all the downloadin'!" as the boy steps back from the dog. The dog leaves. Mutt puts his hands on the boy's shoulders and asks him to, "Help computer." The boy explains, "I don't know much about computers, other than, other than the one we got at my house, and my mom put a couple of games on there and I play 'em." Mutt, either annoyed by this or so angered that his software malfunctions, replies with a garbled robotic message from the NBC series NewsRadio.[19] The sound byte is specifically from season 3, episode 24 entitled "Space". It is the sound that Dave's artificially intelligent chair makes when it is being shut down against its will.

#16: Swimming Two kids are swimming in a lake (one splashing the other shouting "You like it, you love it, you need it!") but a thunderstorm develops. One kid gets out but the other stays in. Deep Six rises from the water, surprising the boy who's still in the water (shouting an exaggerated "Oh yosh!") and shepherds him onto land. The boys are terrified as Deep Six's protection suit gives him muffled speech so it is impossible to understand what he is saying. One of the boys asks, "Are you in the Army?" Lightning strikes the water and the second boy says, "If I had been in that water... dead." Deep Six continues to lecture the boys in his muffled tone, and one boy responds with some lightning fast dialogue which sounds something like "It's really cold out here...bye!"

#17: Australian Kids who are playing truant hang around an abandoned refrigerator. Recondo (with an Australian accent) is keeping tabs on them. He says, "I'm glad you guys... skipped the class today. We're havin' fun, aren't we?" One of the kids replies, "I wanna play videogames." He responds, "We had a good conversation, heh heh heh. You, you're the ringleader," followed by a burst of maniacal gibberish. As he puts one of the children in the refrigerator he exclaims, "Go'n, get in that fridge there, boy!" and "They don't understand! We gotta sneak back in the school." One other kid expresses a desire to get in the fridge, too. Recondo's chuckling ends the PSA.

#18: Pimp A blind boy and his friends are out walking in the country. The blind boy (with the help of his white cane) is acting like a stereotypical pimp to the annoyance of his friends, who tell him, "Brian, you ain't no pimp, dude!" The blind boy, looking for his money, says "Where's mah money?" A blonde girl speaks up and says "That's my money." Brian then replies; "Man you're just a Jealous motherfucker!", possibly since he is a pimp. Spirit approaches them, speaking in the same Native American language used in PSA04, also sampled from Brocket 99. The blind boy finds a cat in a hollow log. The girl then says that "it's such a wonderful experience here with the Indian."

#19: Fire Alarm Starts with the scene of a house on fire. A boy challenges a boy to push a fire alarm saying, "Bet you won't touch that button, bitch." He tries to do so, but Barbecue approaches them, making the same noises he makes in "Kids Fry," stops the boy from pushing the button, and pops off his helmet. He says (with a slight Upper-Midwestern accent) "Hey guys. Ah, you know it's funny, these people, they go to sleep, they think everything's fine, everything's good... They wake up the next day and they're on fire."

#20: Dockside Bars Two boys have a race through a park. One takes a nearby bicycle to cheat, while the other catches up, saying, "Hey, what the fuck? No way! Suck my dust, bitch!" Shipwreck stops them both, says, "I believe I knew your mother, son," and asks if his name happens to be Johnny. He then asks a series of questions implying that he is the boy's long-lost father. In the end, he asks "Does your mother still hang out at dockside bars?" The boy is bewildered, but Shipwreck follows up with his next question; "Johnny, do you play baseball?" The line of questioning used by Shipwreck is reminiscent of Captain Oveur's questioning of a child passenger in the comedy film Airplane!.

#21: Water Skiing A child is waterskiing. She quickly falls off. Scarlett approaches and the child enthusiastically says, "My turn! My turn! My turn!". She then takes off on the water skis. Scarlett watches on and hums a tune, which develops into a scat singing improvisation session.

#22: Mr. LaFitte Some kids are skateboarding in a roller park with sound effects from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Gung-Ho approaches with a girl he calls Susie. He acts with a flamboyant homosexual stereotype telling the girl, "Susie, don't forget your sandwiches!" The boys approach him and he says "Oh, you boys look so lovely in your little outfits." The Yellow Helmeted kid says "Hey! Whats up Miss, uhh..Mister LaFitte?" The Red Helmeted Kid says "Hey.. Watch me Ollie!", referring to a skating move. GungHo then says "I just want to eat you up!" Yellow Helmet Kid then says "Love the tattoo, Mr.LaFitte." GungHo places his hands onto his hips and says "Look at all your different colored hats!" (The Gung Ho character's name is Ettienne R. LaFitte)

#23: Anime This PSA is entirely in Japanese. Kids are making a treehouse. One of them falls but Quick Kick arrives just in time to catch him. A nonsensical conversation in Japanese takes place, which consists mainly of stereotypical phrases from a Japanese-language learning course ("What time is it?", "Please wait while I change my clothes", "Nice to meet you", "How are you?", "Please call me in two or three days.") and has no relevance (when translated) to the incidents in the PSA. The closing chorus is sung in Japanese ("Jii waratashi fuzukuru!"). The timing, music, and ending are all parodies of classic anime.

#24: Buzz Lightyear Three boys are on a boat. One makes an insult about the other's mother ("I fuckin' haxxord your mom's ass last night"). The insulted boy replies with "You might want to put a vest on", and then proceeds to knock the insultee (who is not wearing a lifejacket) off the boat with the sail. The third boy then says "Orange vests are for pussies", clearly in a tone mocking a previous (unheard) conversation with the drowning boy, while wearing an orange vest himself. Deep Six arrives in a submersible boat and drags the boy to safety. Deep Six, still speaking in an unintelligible muffled falsetto through his diving mask, tries to lecture the boys. One of them asks, "Hey, aren't you Buzz Lightyear?", and another whispers "I love your movies." Deep Six gets noticeably angry about this comparison and shouts in his muffled voice.

#25: Fuckin' Old School A girl turns to a boy and says "fuckin' old school". The boy in turn faints but it is edited to appear as if he is break dancing within a large group of children. A chiptunes instrumental plays throughout alongside sporadic crowd reactions. Airtight appears in an extreme close-up, and says (over the music) "Damn... these beats are so fresh... sssssssnap!"