#for me: daily + weekly chores from when i was a kid

[eddiediaaz]

if you could mention your age and what were the chores in the tags that'd be fun too! i was talking about chores with someone and i'm curious to see how it was for people.

[whatspringdoestothecherrytrees]

The October Make-Over 🎃

Hello Girlies, this is my October Makeover - feel free to join me if you want! And to customize to whatever you’re working on! (And that could be rest and recovery too!) @mamabeatnik @anolderlove @2pretty @abeatingheart @alicedowntherabbithole-blog

Hyperfocus October: 🍁 🧠

Keep a running distractions notepad.

Put your phone in airplane mode +/- Do not Disturb.

Keep phone in a drawer/bag, different room, etc.

NO TEXTING BEFORE 5pm UNLESS CRITICAL/EMERGENCY (only exception is texting brother and spouse)

List your distractions. (For me: non-critical busywork tasks, email, depressive states, baby stuff, fighting, gossiping, thinking about my traumatic past lol, worrying about the future, finances and budgeting, low self esteem thoughts, having too many metaphorical “irons in the fire”, not exercising and then having lack of focus/energy/positive mood, Fear of success)

Action October: 🍁

Go live with that project you’ve been putting off. (For me it’s my music Youtube channel. Find an equivalent project for yourself! What are you afraid of doing but want to do? Is shame holding you back like it is for me?)

Remember: You will never be perfect to your standards! You just have to do it. Perfectionism is a form of fear.

Take action on that thing you’ve been complaining about/feeling trapped about. (For me: Actually hire a sitter to have actual date nights/mornings/etc! Rather than mentally complain that “you never get time with ur spouse anymore blah blah”.)

Accountability October:

Make a physical, visual workout tracker for the month to see your progress and consistency over time

Have Friday evening check-ins for a budget, calendar, admin

Zero gossiping!

Zero negativity! Say 3-5 positive/grateful things for every negative/critical thing you say.

Love October: Per Ed Mylett’s Power of One More concept.

Give your sweetie a hug, and then one more!

If you normally give them a greeting kiss, give them one more! Spend a minute hugging, then one more! etc.

Give them a compliment, and then one more!

Go on a weekly date night, and then a little extra time!

Nature October:

Leave the windows open at night!

Enjoy fall candles

Air duvets on balcony overnight

Eat outside as much as possible

Weekends October:

Pumpkin patch trip

Bonfire

Feed the homeless

Make cards for kids in the hospital

Actually go to church events (ie for me cookouts at least once)

Actually take a sabbath (i’d like to do zero chores! Cook/clean ahead). Give yourself the gift of a day completely off!

Make apple pies

Spending $$Sober October: 💵 🍁

NO AMAZON PURCHASES unless absolutely critical

Grocery budget: no fancy vegan foods like vegan cheese, burgers, brats, etc. You can do without that for just a month!

Grocery budget continued: Consider picking fresh wild flowers when possible instead of buying flowers! Or 5$ pretty carnations!

Create a financial goal: ie, house, car, laptop, iPad, 10k savings. Something not too big so it is still attainable. Mine: 10k in savings by January; $$ so I can get Thermage at dermatology!

October Fallcore Hard-Core mornings: Level up from the 5am club!

Get up an hour earlier than usual by the end of October: Wake up 15 minutes earlier each week. (Ie: week 1. 4:45a. Week2, 430a, etc.)

Morning ice bath (or cold plunge outside)

More time reading Bible/praying

Selfcare October:

Weekly clay face mask

Weekly steam/ice facial

(Daily skincare routine should go without saying! It does for me. Cleanser, Vit C + SPF am, retinol + moisturizer pm. If you’re not already doing this, you need to fix your life!)

Weekly epsom salt bath

Daily green juice

Weekly intensive journaling (for me: jordan peterson’s selfauthoring suite)

Fitness October:

30 days of Yoga (YT Yoga w Adriene)

Zone 2 cardio > 3x/week (for me - running, swimming)

Stretching afterwards, side splits (TLB on YT)

Pull-ups on Tuesday and Thursday

Weekend warrior: extra long run or swim

Inspire October:

Meditate daily > 15 minutes

Spend time riding your bike > 1x/month

Get rollerblades again! Skate > 1x/week

Let your mind wander for a few minutes daily!

Watch inspiring YT videos (for me, that’s Robin Sharma etc).

Read for pleasure/inspiration > 1x/week!

Grind October:

Get to work/school 30-60 minutes earlier than you usually do

Have at least one day per week where you work insane hours in person (ie big experiment, long project)

Lay out your work outfit the night before so mornings are a little easier.

Professional Goals October:

Have at least one major needle-moving goal accomplished this month in your school/work.

For me it’s:

Submit manuscript

Complete dissertation

Apply to defend dissertation

Defend dissertation

Complete scoping review

Complete meta data analysis

[progressivemother]

How I Stay Productive as a Working Housewife & Mother to Two

Everyone wants to be productive in their day and have a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment at the end of the day. Our society has made it seem that unless you are employed outside the home you are not a productive member of society. This is simply not true. Whether you work outside of the home, in the home, or only a homemaker, you deserve to feel happy and appreciated.

Everyone should be satisfied with and proud of their home. Dont get me wrong; that doesnt mean only cleaning the house. It's taking care of the yard, the vehicles, and the outside of the home. Of course, everyone has pets and kids to care for as well.

Here are my tips for staying on top of things whether you work outside of the home or in the home.

1. Keep a routine and a schedule

I have a daily routine and a schedule. Of course, everything is flexible if it's needed. I am not strict in everything I do. But if you schedule a routine, the house practically runs itself.

I have a cleaning binder with daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning routines. I used these when I worked outside of the home and I have kept it while working from home. I will admit, it is definitely easier while working from home. You need to find something that works for you and create your own binder if that is something that works for you.

We have a daily schedule that is usually consistent. We have one for the school year and one for the summer. What I've come to find works great for me is an app where I can keep my schedule and the kids' all in one space. This helps me keep track. The kids have Synch Up watches that I can add schedules to so they can keep up on their own things. I do have an app with my schedule and an app where I can list anything extra I need to do that isnt on the normal schedule such as what monthly cleaning I am going to do that day, when to start a birthday cake or what needs to be bought that wasnt in the grocery delivery.

2. Do some chores and set up some things the night before.

I like to do a few things the night before to make my day easier.

• Empty all of the trash

• Pick up all of the clutter and put things away

• Reset the kitchen

• Put clothes and washing pod in washer

• Prepare any food needed for next day whether defrosting or premaking crockpot meal.

• Prepare kids' meals that don't involve cooking.

• Prepare pets' food for next day and check pets' water.

• Set up kids' videos (we have education time every morning)

• Choose outfit and jewelry

• Fill water bottle

• Refill toilet paper, paper towels, & hand soaps

• Prepare the coffee for the next day. (Our coffee pot has a time that we can set for it to brew)

• Put the dishes in the dishwasher and preset to wash during the night

• Get anything ready for next day, such as bills, knitting and groceries to do while working. So for you, it might be a briefcase or a coffee mug. If you are able to take care of things while working in between customers or calls (whatever it is you do), then do that if it is allowed by your bosses.

3. Get up early and go to bed early

I wake up every morning at 4am to start my day. I do not start work until 7am. I work from home so I can do a lot before that time. I exercise, do a piano session, drink my coffee and eat breakfast, and lastly I do most of my daily cleaning and most of my weekly cleaning. The rest can be done on breaks including my monthly cleaning.

You do what works for you and what helps you feel the most productive. It’s not so much when you get up, it’s your attitude when you do. I take a few minutes to get my mind and attitude right before I start my day. Purpose to have a good attitude and purpose to be a productive person.

Going to bed at a good time the night before helps with this. I am in bed by 8:30pm after meditation. Meditation definitely helps me wind down and fall asleep quicker and helps me wake up in a better mood. This habit is something I have taught my kids.

4. Get dressed as early as possible

Whether you take a shower/bath the night before or in the morning, it is important that you get ready for the day as soon as you can. I usually take a bath the night before. Since I clean, I stay in my cleaning clothes or pajames until I am mostly finished. I get dressed around 10am in the morning. I just feel more productive when I'm dressed. I don't wear makeup so this does make things easier. I do understand with toddlers it's more difficult but I made it work. Just do your best.

5. Have a calendar

We have a month calendar and a week calendar for anything we have plans for such as birthday parties or gymnastics. I have the app and I have a physical magnetic calendar on the fridge.

The app is for me and the calendar on the fridge is for the family. Everyone has a colored marker for themselves. There are also colors for family things, friends things, and pets.

6. Meal prep

A time-saving hack every mom should be doing is meal planning. It saves money and it makes making the meals much easier on yourself. We also have a magnetic week calendar for the meals. I have an app where I keep track of the meals but I also write it down on a physical calendar on the fridge.

7. Choose a day to prepare for the week.

Every Thursday, I sit down and go over the schedule, bills, and meal plan for the week. I pay the bills due and shop for the groceries to be delivered on Fridays.

This doesn't take me longer than an hour. We don't usually have much planned. It's the same schedule every day. Work, school, etc.

But choose a day that fits you best and go over everything that needs to be taken care of for that week.

8. Be Organized

My husband always makes fun of me and says I'm crazy because of how organized I am. I have binders for everything. Birthdays, bills, cleaning, house projects, etc. I also have the house organized. But the thing is, keeping things minimal and having as little in the house as possible helps me keep everything in it's place. The kids are taught, "don't put it down, put it away". I make sure I use that mantra on myself as well.

9. Schedule breaks and time for yourself

Give yourself little times during the day to have a break. Grab a cup of coffee or a snack, go for a walk. Reward yourself for productive periods of time. You will be much more likely to finish a task after you have a break. Taking time for yourself doesn’t make you selfish. It makes you a happier and better mom. I do my exercise in the morning and my meditation and a bath in the evening.

10. Say "no"

This is so important for everyone who works from home, works outside of the home, or is a homemaker. There are times when saying "no" is just what you have to do. You have a schedule and most likely, so do your friends. Schedule time for friends. You have children and you have your husband that you also need to spend time with. Luckily, my friends and I understand this about each other. We are all working mothers who prefer spending time with family on the weekends. Sometimes, we will all get together on the weekends doing family things with friends but it's rare. Mostly, we will choose a time we have lunch break and eat lunch together or sit at the park talking. We get our social time in and we still are able to focus on our schedules and families.

11. Put your phone down and limit all media

We, as parents, need to learn to put our phones down to spend more time with our children and to stay productive. Think about it. We can sit on a phone and get distracted and before we know it, 30 minutes or an hour has gone by and we havent done anything.

In my house, we limit screen time for the kids and the parents. We also do not allow the news or politics in our home. We have realized that it is only distracting and toxic. It doesnt have any use to us, in this time, in our home.

12. Dont procrastinate

For me it is not helpful to continue to worry about how I feel and my struggles. There is a time and place for that. We can all get overwhelmed with our duties, our jobs, our kids, etc. We tend to just sit there in our thoughts and whine about how we don't want to do laundry or cook dinner. Just do it. Things just need to be done. If it doesn't get done, then later on, it will only be more overwhelming to us because there is more work to be done. I try to get things done as efficiently and joyfully as possible so that I can more energy for things that I actually want to do.

Times have changed alot since the early days of being a housewife. A wife and mother has many responsibilities, but they can be achieved with luck and planning. Creating a schedule that works for you and your family is the catalyst for success. Celebrate your wins and always do your best. Everyone has good days and bad days. Don't be afraid to ask for help or have your kids do chores. Do not worry about being perfect. You only need to do you best.

[toozmanykids]

Oh WOW. This was gorgeous. That leather jacket wrapped around her. SWOON!! All of this was so visceral and palpable. You truly transported us inside her body so we could experience each of her senses. So far this Illuminate AU set of stories is beautiful. Was this last Halloween? Is that what I saw? Bravo. Bravo!!!

I don't have any deciduous trees in my yard that change color or drop their leaves each autumn, but growing up in the Midwest, yardwork was definitely a big part of everyone's daily life.

I was never forced to do the yardwork as a chore when I was a kid - my mom actually enjoyed it. She found simple lawn mowing to be especially relaxing, a good workout, and very gratifying. She was never big into flowers aside from simple petunias or impatiens maybe planted at the base of the single light post on the yard, and the wild rabbits would eat them up quickly every year anyway. But she moved the lawn weekly, edging along the driveway and sidewalk, trimmed the hedges perfectly into one big rectangle in front of the door and four smaller spheres beside it lining the walkway up to the front door. Then she raked in the fall and used the snowblower or shovels to do the driveway and sidewalk, and then the same for our neighbors who were away in Florida every fall and winter ("Snow bunnies") so their house wouldn't look vacant.

It was all never my job, but I guess I was out there with her helping out often enough as I was growing up that it still feels part of my childhood. Actually the only thing I don't remember specifically having experience doing was the hedge trimming. I vaguely remember using the manual hedge trimmers, but I can't say I ever remember using the big electric hedge trimmers. Huh.

Sorry to ramble on here, but you really transported me back to memories of racking leaves, and how much yard work as a whole was part of life in the Midwest.

And where I'm bringing my kids up now, we don't get snow. It rains all winter, come Spring and summer we're pulling all the weeds that grew up through the mulch during the rainy season. I'm thinking about it now, and we desperately need to add a nice thick layer of mulch again this summer, and definitely need to get those weeds dealt with in the backyard. Since we won't have rain again until likely November, those weeds are just a fire hazard. And fire season seems to start earlier these past several years. Hot winds from inland can send a spark anywhere it wants to go. Gotta have a go bag packed. Our friends were able to get their daughter, mother in-law, dog and 3 chickens out of the house and into the car in under 10 minutes once they smelled smoke. The police were driving through the neighborhood with a megaphone to evacuate as they were getting into the car. The fireman saved their entire neighborhood that day, 40 houses. PHEW!

WOW - I sure went off on a tangent there and didn't I?? Sorry about that. But it is amazing how different landscapes shape lives.

𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as abuse, gore, blood, violence, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: Your marriage is marred in misery with no escape in sight... until he shows up at your door. (Part of the Illuminate AU)

Characters: Adam Warlock

Note: I hope ya'll like this one. I know it's a new and not so popular character.

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me <3

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!)

I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖

The bin crashes down into the shrapnel of plastic and trash littered across the kitchen tile. Shane kicks an empty yogurt cup as you stare down in futility as the mess. If he didn't insist on the cheap bags, they would tear so easily but you're not stupid enough to say so.

"I work all fucking day and come home and you want me to take out the goddamn trash! Now look!" 

You gulp, batting your eyes at him, paralysed in fear. You can't make your body move. You should grab a new bag and clean it all up, insist that he go sit down and you'll do the work. He doesn't give you a chance for all that as he lunges at you.

You step back on your heel with a squeak, caught around your neck as he spins and swings you around with him. He hooks a foot around yours, bringing you easily to your feet, bending you over the stinking potato skins as your arms shake. You fight to keep him from mashing your face into the garbage.

"And where's dinner? What am I supposed to eat? Maybe you should swallow this all up and you'll realise the sort of bullshit I gotta come home to," he snarls, "stupid fucking bitch."

“I’m s-sorry,” you croak, throat scraping as you try to swallow a sob, “I’ll… I’ll clean this up–”

“Damn right you will,” he barks and jerks you as he rips his grip from your neck, “useless…”

He kicks a plastic tray at you before he stomps off, leaving you to stare at the mess. You sit back on your heels, quivering, and exhale slowly. You shift and reach behind you, opening the cupboard under the sink to retrieve a new bag.

You peel it open and gather up the garbage, piece by piece, focusing on the task as you ignore the odor and the occasional moisture that smears on your hand. As you get it tied up, you stand, choking on your tears as they spill out unstemmed. 

You sneak out the back door and carry the bag around the side of the house. You keep your chin down, hoping your neighbours don’t witness your despair. You come up to the gray bin and lift the lid, shoving the bag inside and letting it close with a thunk.

You grab the handles and wheel it away from the siding, the large container rattling as you force it along the uneven grass and onto the walkway. The wheels bounce on the cracks in the pavement and you stop to pull open the white picket fence, paint flaking away beneath your touch.

You continue on and guide the bin to the curb, letting it rest there as you sniffle and try to shake away the last of your weeping. You can’t go back inside like this. If he sees you crying, it will only make him angrier. 

You look across the street at the other houses; they’re all nicer than the rundown rental you share with Shane. Where the leaves are strewn in a layered carpet across the mulch of your lawn, the others have the autumnal canopy neatly raked into piles. When you asked for him to grab the rake, his answer was especially bruising. So you’ll see if you can’t get to it tomorrow.

You sigh and turn on your heel, squeaking as you nearly collide with another. You didn’t hear or see the man approach. There was no shadow in his approach, no footsteps scuffing to warn you. You press yourself to the bin as you look up at him. Your chest compresses under some unseen force as the air is forced from your lungs.

You try to apologise for your carelessness but your lips can only form the singular stutter, ‘s-sorry’ as your voice is trapped in your breathless throat. You stare at the man. It’s almost as if he had been waiting for you to turn around.

The leather jacket, the patch sewn on the left-side of his chest, the cool confidence of his posture, they all assure you of who he is. Of the danger he carries with him. You blink up dumb, waving in front of your chest as you try to eke out a single noise, pleading with him not to be angry.

His pale blue eyes twinkle as his smiles, a soft crinkle beside his eyes as the dimming night limns his long face. If Shane saw you standing here with this man, of any, he would lose his mind. You have to get back inside. You have to get away from this stranger.

“No sorry,” he says, his voice rocky but not unkind, “I am in your way.”

He slowly steps aside, retreating as he goes to rest his hand on the post of the white picket gate. He waits expectantly, waving you within as his smooth, deliberate movements fill you with dread. There is a carelessness in him which betrays fearlessness. You will never know what it’s like to not be hounded by inexorable dread. It both irks you and scares you.

You make yourself move. You cross the sidewalk and enter through the open gate, as he looms over you. His gaze is hot on you, clinging and suffocating. Your heart hammers with adrenaline. If there is anyone you fear more than Shane, it is these men and their black leather shadows.

“Have a good night,” he says as he pulls the gate shut between you, “I hope whatever makes you sad does not keep you awake…”

You can breathe again. You gulp in air and fold your hands in front of you. You turn to the man and nearly gasp. There’s something eerie in how he lurks, in how he is both draped in shadow but shines among it.

“Good night,” is all you can get out.

“No moon,” he says as he draws his hand away from the wooden post, “it will be a good night for rest.”

He puts his hands in the deep pockets of his leather jacket. His breath fogs around him, billowing over his shoulders as he strides through it. You watch his silhouette as he departs, his footsteps make no noise and the night seems to close in around him until you can see him no longer.

You shudder and hug yourself as you back up. You turn, fighting a tugging that tries to keep you outside. You head back between the house and the fence as a chill creeps up your spine. 

Your stomach pits as a sudden desolation overwhelms you. You feel hollow and heavy, as if you could collapse right there. You can’t, you have to make dinner. You won’t get much sleep if Shane goes hungry.

🌑

Shane leaves at the usual time. His shifts at the factory are your only escape. They don’t always feel like that as you spend the hours worrying about his return. About what mistake he’ll find when he gets home. So your time is spent still keeping him happy, though you’ve never managed that.

Along with the endless list of chores come those thoughts. Those regrets and questions of how it ended up like this. On when he started to hate you. On when you decided to accept that.

You pull on one of his flannel shirts and a pair of jeans. You dig out some gardening gloves from the shed and take the rake with you as you put your mind to clearing the lawn. The autumnal air is crisp but fresh. It’s almost refreshing.

You come out to the front of the house, starting at the walkway, clearing it of the leaves, brushing them onto the grass. From there, you drag the teeth of the rake away, pushing the growing pile towards the corner of the fence. 

Sweat beads on your forehead and dampens beneath the layers of clothing. You huff out a thick hot breath into the cold air. The briskness sneaks down the back of your collar and chills you.

���The winter is close,” the statement startles you from your work.

You plant the rake and grip the handle, facing the figure outside the fence. It’s the same man. Your lips part but you can’t say a word.

“Can you feel it?” He asks.

Your jaw chatters. His eyes fall to your lips as you try to hide it. He steps forward and sets his hands on the points of the fence, leaning in.

“It’s colder when you are alone…” he says.

You furrow your brows and shake your head, “I am not…”

You look back at the house and he chuckles. You turn back to him and bring your other hand to the wooden rake handle. He considers the leaves on the ground with interest. He pushes himself straight. He seems taller than before.

“Are you not?” He asks cryptically. “This is a lot of work for only one.”

You shrug, unsure how to answer.

“I can help.”

Your mouth is dry and your tongue is sticky. You make yourself talk.

“I don’t know you…”

“Adam,” he says pointedly, “my name is Adam. Tell me your name, then we will know each other.”

You speak before you think. As if you didn’t have a choice. Even if reluctance needles at the back of your mind, knowing that Shane would not want you to speak to this man, your name tumbles out as if you owe it to the stranger. Adam.

“Beautiful,” he remarks as he nears the fence, reaching over to the clasp, “let me help.”

“N-no,” you drag the rake with you and catch the gate as he lifts the latch, “please–”

“You must rest,” he shows his palm in a strange gesture, sweeping it in front of you, “you are dizzy and feel unwell. You need to sit down.”

Silver stars speckle in your vision and you feel the world shift under your feet. You look down and clutch the rake tight, feeling as if you might fall over. You let go of the fence and take a step back as you touch your forehead.

“I am… lightheaded,” you admit, confused at how suddenly it come upon you.

He pushes the gate inward and enters. He shuts it with a gentle metal clink and grips the rake above your hand. You recoil, letting him have it as your limbs grow heavy. He leans the tool against the fence and turns to you again.

“Please,” he puts a hand on your arm, the contact filling your head with smoke, “sit down, bunny.” He ushers you to the front steps and helps you sit there. He braces your shoulders and bends over you, “you will not move until I bid.”

You look at him, confused but comforted by his touch. You nod. He pulls his hands away, caressing your cheek before he stands straight. You shiver and hug yourself.

He lingers as his zipper cuts in the air. He shrugs the jacket off his shoulders and swings it around you, the smell of leather surrounding you. He tugs it snug around you and retreats. You can’t help put pull it tighter as another scent tickles your nose; him.

His boots mulch across the leaves and grass and he grabs the rake. He resumes your work, easily heaping up the clutter, the steady scrape of the tines easing you. You look up and watch him. He is unbothered by the cold despite the thin cotton of his black tee shirt. His muscles tauten beneath the fabric as he works.

You feel sleepy as the pale sky blurs around his stark figure. You’re hypnotised by his steady motions, his easy strength. A strand of his golden hair falls forward as he focuses on the ground, gathering up the leaves with diligent care. Your lashes cling to each other and your eyelids itch. 

You hug the jacket closer and dip your nose behind the collar. The weight of fatigue settles over you and coaxes your eyes shut. The rake continues to scrape in your ears even as you sink down into oblivion.

🌒

You wake to blackness. Dark lines trim the corners of the room as slowly your vision lifts to a dull gray. The night stares in through the windows, frosted with the slow creep of winter. The wind howls and rattles the pane in the frame. The cold looms outside like a spectre but does not enter.

You are warmer. Too warm. Your body heat enshrines you beneath the quilt pulled to your chin. Despite your want to escape from the stolid cocoon, you do not move. A languid weight keeps you at peace despite your discomfort.

You’ve never felt like this, so calm. There’s a dull tapping at your skull that tells you to worry, to be afraid, but it’s quickly smothered and forgotten. Why should you be? You are home and safe in bed.

You let your eyes close and hum. You just want to sleep, to slip away and never wake up. You drift, mind skewing as if you’re floating on a tide. Then it swells and crashes over you with the dark growl that seeps in through the wall.

Your breath hitches and your lashes snap open. Your ears itch as you listen, trying to hear through the plaster. There are soft, muted murmurs but nothing discernible. You quiver as you hang in the limbo; do you stay or get up?

Slowly, you bring your hands up and pull the quilt away from your face, peeling it with effort past your chest. Cool air sweeps over you, urging you to nestle back beneath the patchwork. You hear it again, like a beast it grits deep through the air, gravelly and harsh.

Sitting up is difficult. That same dizziness blurs your mind. You squeeze your eyelids shut and bid away the echoing auras. When you look again, the world is steady. You stand without reaching for the lamp. You wade through the darkness like quicksand, each step impeded by unseen bounds.

At the door, you wait, hand on the knob, brass cold to the touch. You inhale and taste the air wafting in around the frame. It’s sharp and frigid. 

You turn the knob and lift the door on its hinges. You peek down the hall, it’s dark but for the orange flicker glowing from down the hall. That house, the place you call home, the walls you could etch from memory, is suddenly strange and sinister.

You let go of the door and tiptoe out, the voices drawing you in. The conversation garbled in your fuzzy ears. It isn’t until you get closer that you can make out the words. That you recognise the familiar tones.

“What.. are you… waiting for?” Shane’s words are interspersed with moist gulps and groans.

A snicker, short and stony. There’s little humour in the laughter. Adam replies, “justice.”

“You…criminals are all the same,” Shane utters through laborious breaths, “bunch… freaks… like you… should leave… this town.”

“We own this town,” Adam says, “there would be nothing but dirt if it wasn’t for us freaks.”

A hork and the wet splat of spit on the floor jolts you. You stop just before the doorway, shuddering as you hesitate and look back down the hall. You can go back to bed and hide. If you do, you might wake up and realise it’s all just a rotten nightmare.

“Come on, bunny,” Adam calls to you.

You spin back, finding yourself still alone with only the lip of the wall between you and the flickering amber light. You put your hand on the plaster and your other on your chest. He cannot mean you.

“I hear you,” he says evenly, “we’ve been waiting for you.”

You put your foot out and slowly reveal yourself. You turn and face the room from the doorway. You see the single taper burning on the mantel and the tall shadow beside it. Adam lurks with his straight-shoulder but slack posture. 

There is another, in one of the wooden chairs from the dining set, slumped and held up by knotted leather belts. You can see only the back of Shane’s oily black hair. You come forward, eager but terrified to see more of him. 

His right eye is swollen shut, a cut weeping beneath, and his lips dribble blood down his chin. He leans forward, kept upright only by his bounds. His breathing is rickety and shallow. He looks at you with his left eye and grunts.

“...bitch…” he mutters under his breath, “slut…I always… knew…”

“Ah ah ah,” Adam tuts and makes himself taller. Shane flinches and swallows loudly, choking on his split and blood, “you mustn’t value your tongue very much.”

Adam reveals a long dagger, the orange glint of the candle reflecting off of it. It’s unlike anything you’ve seen before. The metal is both dark and gleaming, a perfectly forged fuller down the middle of the blade.

You turn as you stand transfixed by the sight of your husband. Only then do you notice the scarlet leaking down the front of the wooden armrest, staining deep the veins of the wood. There are three fingers remaining on his right, and one less on his left hand. You cup your mouth behind your hand, catching a scream before it can erupt.

“Shhhhhh,” Adam hushes as he presses himself to your back, “I only had a sampling…”

“What have you done?” You whisper as you gape at the ruin of the man before you. His clothing is shredded so that it reveals the long gashes on his chest and the slices down his thighs. “Why…”

“The strong should protect the weak, not harm them,” he bends and nuzzles your hair, “but more, the weak are not helpless.”

“I don’t understand…” your eyes sting as Shane clenches his jaw and glares at you. How often you saw that same glimmer in him. That sheer hatred that made you wonder if he ever loved you.

“You understand,” Adam’s hand trails down your arm and he pulls you around. He presses the handle of the dagger against your palm and closes your fingers around it, “you know exactly what must be done.”

“Please, I can’t…” you whimper, “you… you hurt him. You’ve…” you look at Shane again, “how could you?”

“I could have cut his heart out by now,” Adam sneers, “but I do not own that.” He squeezes your hand, “it is not mine to take.”

“What…”

“I know what he does. He will not stop. Not until you are dead,” Adam insists as he raises the dagger, his hand still around yours, “or he is.”

He drags you towards Shane and aims the tip of the blade at the slouched man’s chest. He holds it there as you shake, whining as you try to free yourself. His strength is unbending and unbroken. He puts a hand on your back, gripping you tight as he keeps the dagger steady.

“I cannot free you, you must do it yourself…”

You close your eyes. This must be why the townsfolk whisper of the men in leather. Why they scatter at the sight of them. Murderers! Monsters!

“Please–”

“He has made you weak,” Adam purrs into your hair, “I have come to make you strong.”

“No–”

“Yes, you must,” he growls along the rim of your ear, “remember all he has inflicted on you. The names he’s put upon you; bitch, slut, useless, nothing…” he hisses as his hand crawls up to your neck, “how he broke your nose on your wedding night.” 

Your heart races, pounding in your ribs. How could he know that?

“How he put your hand on the lit burner when you forgot to buy milk,” he continues, your shaky grasp tightening as your tears crest and fall free. 

“Or how just the other day, he would have rubbed your nose in garbage like an incontinent mutt–”

“Stop!” You cry out, “stop! How do you know–”

“I know a beast when I see one,” Adam turns his head, his cheek against your temple, “I know a rabid one should be put down before it can maul again.”

“But… but… I love him,” you sniffle.

“Do you?” He lets his hand fall away from yours but you don’t rescind your reach, you don’t move the dagger away from Shane, “does he love you?”

You know he does not. He never did. You were only ever the stupid girl who fell for him. You realised too late what he really was and now you were trapped for life. 

You would be miserable with him until the day you died. Not because he loves you, but because he loves to hurt you.

The tip sinks through the flesh without resistance. You're stunned as you do not stop yourself from letting it further, from pushing it through the layers of fat and muscles, leaning into it until you can’t force it any deeper. You watch the steel bury into him as blood spurts out around your hand and sprays up your sleeve. 

Shane does not scream. He cannot as you pierce his heart. His head falls forward and his body goes limp. You keep a hold of the hilt and jerk it as try to wrench it even deeper.

Your hand is slick with his blood and slips off. You raise a fist instead and hit his lifeless shoulder. You hit him again on the head, another strike to his stomach, and a kick for good measure.

You bring your hands up and look at your blood stained hand, your other palm streaked with flecks of his death. You heave and try to scream but you cannot. You collapse to your knees and keel over onto your elbows. 

You should cry but you cannot. Your tears evaporate as grief eludes you. It should hurt. Why doesn’t it hurt? You’re not sad, but you’re not happy. No, you are free.

The floorboards creak and you raise your head as Adam kneels beside you. He touches your chin as his other arm slings around you. He pulls you to him and presses his lips to your temple.

“They will find him,” he caresses your cheek as he speaks, “but they cannot take you if you are with me.”

“Take me?” You ask dumbly.

“They will call you murderer, they will lock you up,” he coos, “I will keep you safe, bunny.” He dips his hand back down and nudges your chin up. He looks down at you, eyes shining silver in the candlelight, “I will keep you happy.”

[numbuh-7-knd]

Reoccurring Fish dreams

warning for long post, mentions of fish death, animal abandonment/negect, ect. mostly within the setting of a dream, no real animals were harmed in the making of this post.

So IRL I haven't kept fish in years, the last fish I had was a betta in high school. but I grew up with aquariums, when I was a little kid my dad had a big freshwater aquarium, my aunt had a giant 50-gallon aquarium with a red ear slider turtle in it, for a while I had a good-sized aquarium with African dwarf frogs in it, and I had several bettas in tanks I now realize were much too small for them. Plus, some hermit crabs in a terrarium for a few years.

It was pretty abrupt going from always having fish and seeing my aunt's turtle on at least a weekly basis, to not having any, since I moved out of my childhood home at 19 after the last betta had died, and by then my aunt had rehomed her turtle. (my dad's tank was also long gone by that point, and had been since I was like 8)

As a result my brain still, to this day, is not used to not seeing and caring for aquariums and small mammals/pets on a daily or weekly basis, since for years I cared for my bettas, as well as various small pets ranging from the hermit crabs to helping my aunt with her rabbit (and the hamster that one time, and the guineapig, and the frogs before they died, and the turtle, and that time she had a snake for a few weeks before she found it a home) Nowadays it's just me and my cat (and my mom, we still live together because it's easier to help each other with our various disabilities that way).

It's really weird even more than half a decade removed from small animal/fish/amphibian care, and my brain is convinced that I'm forgetting a very important chore, hence the reoccurring dreams of fish tanks of various sizes with dead fish, starving fish, dirty water, larger tanks where an ecosystem has formed with new fish apparently born in there since I last checked and the fish eating each other, ect ect. Oh, and last night's dream really hit it home by having a side story where I was distracted from apparently just realizing that my home was filled with abandoned aquariums, to realize that I also had a rabbit just wandering around my apartment, which I had apparently adopted at some point and forgotten about, however apparently dream me is more of a slob then irl me, because the rabbit was completely fine and even refused the perfectly good lettuce I offered it, apparently full. I also apparently had a fenced in yard filled with plants and vegetables probably inspired by the small vegetable garden I'm growing irl, although the 'fence' is just a little garden fence less than a foot high and the whole garden is probably only 4x8 feet in size. the dream version was much bigger and included a gate in order to leave, as well as a nearby field of flowers and a river, neither of which actually exist near my house, so idk what that was about, however the yard was connected to the house/apartment via a door with a pet flap thing, so I guess that might answer the question of how the rabbit was still well fed despite me having forgotten about it's existence, apparently.

There were also moments where I apparently forgot what species the "rabbit" was supposed to be, as it shifted to be a chinchilla a couple times, as well as just being an amorphous small, furred mammal. I swear at one point it was purple, did my brain completely forget what rabbits were/looked like.

There was even a side plot of finding a random dog/puppy, and then walking it around my neighborhood (which at that point had completely ceased resembling where I live irl) asking if anyone knew who's dog it was. eventually I apparently brought the dog to the animal shelter, and specifically asked that if they couldn't find it's owner to let me know and I'd adopt it.

It was really long winded and weird, as those dreams often are. At this point I think the only way I can rid myself of these dreams is to get a small pet again or fish, since my brain is trying to remind me to care for pets I don't even have.

[brandons85]

I don't know what I'm doing.

So here I am sitting in front of my computer. Thinking about how my life has turned out so far. Kind of depressed and kind of motivated to try to get it back on track. This will most likely be a brain dump of where I am, where I want to be, and regret along the way.

I need to add reminders on my phone to do this more often. But I really don't know how the reminders on an iPhone work. I sit here thinking and smirking in my head that I a 37 year old straight male. Sounds like one of those voice over bloggers you see in the movies.

I always even now at my age feel like the little brother that is so clueless about life and helpless about what to do in any situation.

So as to where I am in life. I am separated from my wife. We have been for about a year now. I made mistakes as did she. But I feel like hers sleeping with another man is a little worse than I having feelings for someone else. I live in an apartment closer to work and she (and the kids) lives with her boyfriend. I am scared to go through the divorce process. Because A: I have no money for any sort of legal aid, and B: I don't want this to get messy. So I just stay in this rut I'm in and I have no one to talk to about this.

Where I want to be in life. I want to own my own home and property. that is my ultimate goal in this life. I want a place to call my own. I need to start working more but it seems like the more money I make the more things just come up that needs it. I want to be debt free or as close to it as possible. I know there are programs out there that say they work. But I have a hard time with managing my own money. I really need someone I can trust that can tell me what I need to do and when to do it. I feel like I need a life manager as funny as that sounds. My anxiety and depression feed off each other and just causes a whirlpool effect on me that drains my soul. In turn draining me to want to do just the bare minimum. I love my job but I let everyone else's negative emotions feed into me and brings me down.

As to trying to rectify this life of mine. I am going to try to do this everyday.

Wake at a normal time (well as normal for someone whom works night shift)

Do daily chores (wash a load of dishes, do or put away laundry, clean one room a day.)

Work more hours.

Get my health back on track (recently diagnosed as a diabetic)

Work out either walking in the mornings after work or visiting the gym at work after shift.

A weekly budget so I can see exactly where my money goes even though I know the majority of extra goes straight into my stomach.

[clouds-rambles]

hey hey! could you possibly do just some random headcanons for klee , qiqi , and diona with the reader as a older sister/brother? if so then thanks!

omg yes of course. Klee banner rerun when so I can complete the family?

Pairings; (Platonic, Separate) Klee, Qiqi, and Diona x reader

Warning(s); cute sibling shit be warned, alcohol mention on diona’s

Keep reading under the cut!

Klee

Being an elder sibling to Klee definitely is a task to behold, especially since your mother isn’t here and your sister had been joint entrusted to you and the knights of Favonius

The best way for the knights to describe you is a ‘pain in the ass’ at least severity and a ‘instigator of chaos’ at worse. How are you supposed to say no to your cute baby sister?

Whenever Klee is in confinement you’ll always find a way to sneak in with a few snacks and some toys. The two of you can sit in that room for hours playing with the model horses

Sometimes when Klee is upset she’ll do practically anything to find you, which isn’t limited to breaking out of the knights headquarters and roaming town just to latch onto you

You’ll pick her up without much word and ask her questions as you go about your chores for the day

While both you and Klee had been granted visions you can’t help but pale in comparison to your younger siblings antics. The only way of showing yourself these days is wrapping Klee’s bombs in the power of your vision so they don’t hurt anyone

On days you’re tasked with looking after Klee you’ll often find yourselves somewhere deep in Mondstat causing general trouble for camps of hilichurls and the odd ruin guard

Full of childish wonder Klee loves to run headfirst into fights often with no regard of either of your lives.

In all fairness she’s a kid and you really don’t want to ruin her childish wonder with harsh reality's of death and major injury

About once a week Klee will ask you to make an extra meal for a picnic and the two of your make a trip to the camp at the foot of Dragonspine peak

Klee loves dropping in on the alchemist as much as she loves dropping in on you. And you’re pretty sure you see Albedo’s eyes light up when he sees Klee

Klee loves trying to help you cook, like most kids do, you’ll get her to wear her cute lil apron and you’ll give her something messy to do with her hands. 

She’ll ask to help when you’re making bread so, unless the bread is a gift to someone, you’ll give her enough dough to make a roll and after its baked she’ll happily eat the roll for lunch. Jean tells you that she’ll come into her office telling her all about how Klee had made the bread

You swear you can feel your heart skip a beat. How is your baby sister allowed to be so adorable?

Qiqi

While you truly weren’t the one who found Qiqi, it was Baizhu who came into the pharmacy one day with a small child in his arms

After much quizzing along the lines of ‘Did you just kidnap a child!?’ ‘Put that child back where it came from, or so help me’ Baizhu just explains how he found Qiqi. A zombie!? That’s possible!?

Being a ever present figure in Qiqi’s life she doesn’t ever forget you, you love to see her little eyes widen in delight when she sees you 

You’re always more than happy to accompany her on her trips to find herbs, it’s almost scary how Qiqi seems to know the location of every Liyue native plant and ore. 

Sometimes the two of you will sit on the roof of Bubu Pharmacy and watch the finches fly about 

Sometimes you’ll find Qiqi getting upset about how she can’t reach or do something that she had given orders to herself to do. So, if you can pick her up and let her get the item, or if you both can’t get it you’ll say the command words “I love you most” which make her previous orders nul and void

Qiqi tries her best to remember as many thing about you as she can, she truly loves you and often thanks the archons for giving her such a great sibling

When Qiqi introduces you as her sibling it makes your heart weep. You love that kid so much that seeing her call you anything close to family can, and has, made you cry

Although Qiqi does technically live with Baizhu she often spends most nights with you, opting to the nice bed you have set up for her and an hour or so of fairy tales to tell her

If you wake up after Qiqi in the mornings you’ll often find her snuggled between your arms, while she may dislike the heat greatly Qiqi cannot help but feel protected when she sleeps in your arms

Sometimes you’ll also join Qiqi while she’s exercising around Liyue Harbour. You can’t help but feel like a proud mama whenever you see her going about her daily chores and activities

Diona

Not long after Diona left for Mondstat you had decided to follow. While your father may have been distraught at your sisters departure he is in fact a grown man, and you refuse to leave your little sister alone, no matter how safe the streets of Mondstat are

You’re careful to not drink around your sister, you know how she feels towards your dad, and in all honesty you feel much of the same. But about once a week you like to meet up with friends and share a pint, or three. Diona often mentions it back handily the next day but she’s cute so she gets away with it

No matter how much Diona hates her job as a bartender you can’t argue with the fact that she makes the best mixes no matter how hard she tries not to, seeing her fume to you after another concoction of hers turned into a success is so funny to you

In all fairness your sister is very much independent, so much so it makes you wonder if you should have stayed with your dad. But on Diona’s days off she loves to walk about town with you perched on your shoulders as you go about the daily chores

As much as Diona refuses to see your father you often write him letters to see how he’s doing. While being an alcoholic was what drove you apart, you’re still concerned about his health. The last thing you want is the death of your father on your hands so close to the death of your mother

Diona doesn’t remember your mother much, but she can guess much. Driving your father to alcoholism upon her death must have meant she was a pillar for the family. The face you pull at the mention of your mother means she must have been a great one. Diona has never asked how she passed, she doesn’t think you or your father have the heart to tell her

While the two of you have moved out of Springvale indefinitely the weekly practice of hunting for the weeks meat is a tradition by no means dropped. The thrill of the hunt is exhilarating to the both of you and defiantly puts both your feline genes to the test

Sometimes if Diona has a particularly bad nightmare she’ll wake you up, no matter the time of the night, just so she can sit with you and get her mind of the nightmare. And when your sister falls asleep in your arms? Well you’ve got to put her back to bed. What a cutie

[bulletnotestudies]

✨ how to deal with failure: a brief guide for the completely done and utterly fed up student ✨

first of all, recognise - and i don’t mean just read, internalise it - that failing is okay. you’re not dumb, you’re not unworthy of taking the class, you might’ve not even necessarily had the wrong approach; you did, however, in any case, have bad luck. and that can be changed. it absolutely can be changed and you do have the time to adjust your studying so you can make up for the misstep. it’s gon be okay buttercup <3

1. vent to a friend/sb you’re close with

i personally attacked my bestie, talked to a few other ppl, and it helped get some of the frustration out. it’s also important you learn to speak to yourself how you would to a friend - you certainly wouldn’t tell them they’re a failure and won’t come back from this, would you? what you actively tell yourself shapes your subconscious thoughts.

2. catch up on the self care you’ve neglected when studying

get a long shower to wash the exam off, eat your meals slowly, get enough sleep (!), clean your room (unburden The Chair™ - srsly, do your laundry - and vacuum, change your bedsheets perhaps?)

3. make a study plan for the retake

be sure to make it realistic and flexible so you don’t end up inducing more stress (helpful posts: 1 2 3 4 (not mine)), try to finish all the topics at least 3 days before the exam so you can spend the last days refreshing your knowledge and preparing mentally instead of cramming.

4. reflect (critically) on your studying so far

is there anything you can do to get more out of your time? quality over quantity is super important when it comes to revision; try implementing more active recall into your study sessions (some posts you can consult on this topic: 1 2 3 (not mine), what is active recall?) and spacing them out more; try to avoid cramming as it increases your stress levels and isn’t as affective with committing information to memory. also, if you asses you could use some help, reach out! ask a friend, get in touch with your professor, seek advice online… getting help = showing readiness for improvement = mature and very welcome!

5. schedule self-care time

when you’re making your study plan, remember to also think of your mental and physical health ● you can space out little acts of self care throughout the week (i.e. take a bubble bath every sunday, schedule a weekly video call with your best friend, allot time to spend with your s/o, do a quick workout every day,…) ● or have a ‘mental health day’ for a whole day each week (i.e. on saturdays, only do things you enjoy - spend the day reading/drawing/binging netflix/baking/…); i personally like to space my self care throughout the week and go for a walk with my best friend every two weeks or so. i’m not kidding, schedule your ‘me’ time into your planner. write. it. down.

6. sleep

i’ve mentioned it already but it’s so important it deserves it’s own bullet point - remember to also take good care of your brain. it is, after all, the organ working the hardest here. a whole day of studying, doing chores, talking to people, etc. has your synapses firing away like crazy, so sleeping is vital for them to recover and come back stronger the next day. give them time to cool down, process the information you’ve gathered throughout the day and store it somewhere you can access it later. seriously. an important note here: there isn’t a single amount of sleep that is optimal for everyone - some people work best on 6 hours of sleep, some can’t go on less than 9. dedicate yourself to figuring out what works best for you and learn to plan your wake up time. ● option no. 1: get into the habit of going to sleep and waking up every. day. at. the. same. time. - a good routine is even more vital in these times when time doesn’t even matter bc we literally don’t go anywhere ever. ● option no. 2: if your uni/work schedule doesn’t allow you to establish a daily routine, try using sleepyti.me to calculate when you should wake up to feel most refreshed :)

hopefully these points can serve as a base/reference for your academic rebound <3 i wrote them up after straight up skipping the grieving-this-is-unfair phase of failure and just being left with a slightly-pissed-but-definitely-fed-up-with-this-class feeling. it dawned on me that i surely can’t be the only one facing this, so i decided to share this and hopefully help you guys out as well:) keep in mind: your worth has zero correlation with your grades, you’re a bad bitch and will not stop bc life tried to knock u down - here’s a quote i like: when life knocks you down, calmly get back up and very politely say, “you hit like a bitch”. after that, u can follow these steps and flourish x

[journalsbydee]

Navigating post-natal depression as a woman of colour

Having been a mum to 2 boys, nothing exceeded the joy of finding out that l was expecting a baby girl. Intombikayise (daddy's little girl) we would fondly call her.

The pregnancy certainly wasn't a great one as l experienced severe symptoms such as a heightened sense of smell, nausea and hypersalivation. I struggled with doing laundry and cooking due to the smells associated with washing powder and onions. I carried with me a container everywhere l went, for spitting saliva. Despite all the struggles associated with my pregnancy, l still found joy in knowing that l was expecting a girl child.

Fast forward to the 1st of April, we gladly welcomed our little girl. Our hearts were so full of joy. The nursing staff were really amazing to us and they offered help whenever l needed it.

Once l was home, transitioning to a new routine was the hardest. l found myself struggling to adjust. I felt like all my freedom had been taken away. Moreover,after helping me out for a while, my husband had to go back to his workplace which was a bit far from home, which meant that he would be away from home for a month. There was no other way of doing it. He needed to go to work in order to help pay our bills. Also, l had since stopped working and we had to rely on one salary.

My daughter struggled to sleep at night. She would cry the whole night and sleep at 5am everyday. 7am, l would have to wake up and prepare my boys and drop them off to school. This meant that l had to wake the baby up at a time she had started to sleep.

The struggle continued. With sleep deprivation and no support, l began to feel that l wasn't coping. I lost motivation for anything. I started having temper. I withdrew from people that l knew and stopped doing the things l loved like taking care of myself and just cleaning the house. I felt sad all the time. I battled taking good care of my little one. I got to a point were l felt like l was forgetting a lot. I was too exhausted and did not like myself due to the body changes that resulted to pregnancy and giving birth. I felt misunderstood and perceived as one who did not like people yet no-one could see what l was going through. Surely our world can become a better place if we judged less.

It felt great when my husband was around but as soon as he left, l went back to my dark shell. I was engulfed with sadness and felt a sense of emptiness.

I was never diagnosed with Post-natal depression but due to my background in nursing l understood what l was going through. I feared seeking psychological help because l did not want to take any mental health tablets or to be taken away from my kids.

After some few months, l moved to a different city and there started to make friends. I started to open up to a few ladies around me some of which happened to have babies like me, and together we started going out weekly for breakfast, kids playdates and other exciting activities. Connecting with my sisters and my family members from far places, telephonically and through social media, helped a great deal. Some offered to take care of my kids so l could get some time off. I owe my life to all these powerful women.

I also started creating digital products and selling them online. I got involved in church activities and my social circle started growing. Dedicated time for personal, meaningful devotions and prayers. Read the bible and found solace in knowing about His unconditional love for me.

It was at this point that the meaning of self-care started to make sense. Every evening when my little girl slept, l would take a warm bath alone, away from the noise and that worked wonders. During the day, l napped while she slept instead of doing my daily chores. I felt more relaxed and revitalised. My mood started to improve. Gradually, I became emotionally available to my children and husband.

Since then, l feel more happier. I have come to understand that overworking yourself can never make you a great mum. Listening to your body is so important. If you feel burnt out, pause a little bit and take a break from your routine. Creating time for yourself as a mum should never be regarded as being selfish. It's either you take a break from your busy life or you will be broken emotionally and mentally and you won't be of good use to anybody even to yourself.

I write this as a woman of colour,who comes from an African background were traditionally, as a black woman, you are praised for being able to juggle across your role of parenting,career, wife and doing domestic duties without anyone helping you. The expectation for you to deliver your role is extremely high.Nothing much is spoken about post- natal depression, the effects of burning out and the significance of self-care for women. In my mind, l used to think that post-natal depression does not exist. According to statistics 1 in 5 women experiences anxiety and depression during pregnancy and after.

I think its high time that narrative changes. To the modern african woman of today, start prioritising your mental well-being for the betterment of your family. Seek professional help if need arises.

You can strategically plan your self-care activities without interfering with your family programs. Do not deprive yourself of the things you enjoy doing. Strive for creating a balanced lifestyle.Once in a while take yourself for a massage, catch up with your girl friend/s or you could enjoy a 5minute alone time just sipping your favourite drink. Accepting to be helped is also vital. Watch your favourite TV show. Eat healthy. Exercise. The list is endless.

[writebecauseyoucannotbreathe]

Ultimate Ship Meme: Azulaang

Rate the Ship -  

Awful | Ew | No pics pls | I’m not comfortable | Alright | I like it! | Got Pics? | Let’s do it! | Why is this not getting more attention?! | The OTP to rule all other OTPs

How long will they last? - Until I say so. I can see them being together after death as spirits.

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - Ooooh boy. Azula struggles to understand friendship. I think she'd fall in love fast and hard but take the longest to realize. Aang wouldn't let himself get attached at first because Azula is unapologetic and one of the things I like about Azulaang is how it would push Aang to deals with the nitty gritty gray, not in a The Fire Nation was right all along way but in how even Kyoshi and Roku's conflict resolution let to disagreements. I think it would take Aang longer to fall in but once they reach a semblance of common ground he'd be well aware he's falling in love and would enjoy the ride.

How was their first kiss? - Let's see my fanfics. In Blue it was awkward. In Weightless it was sweet. In Smut it was horny and hate filled. In canon I think their first kiss would be very passionate and then they snap back to reality and Aang would evade while Azula denies so they wouldn't talk about it but they'd for sure be thinking about the kiss.

Wedding:

Who proposed? - Technically Azula. As soon as Aang hears about a Fire Nation wedding, either his friends or he learns about Ozai and Ursa's wedding, his mind would be set on a wedding. He wouldn't say anything but he'd squirrel away relevant wedding information like he'd hear a song and go "I want that instrument to play at my wedding." But Azula would have her life planned out by other people and there'd be a set date where Ozai now Zuko are supposed to comb through suitor requests (it was probably Ursa's role. If she's there she'd talk to Azula directly instead of Lo and Li. I don't think Lo and Li are high enough rank to determine the suitor but I think it would be customary/expected for their input to be asked). Azula would tell Aang something along the lines of "I should be wed." and he'd agree and then Azula will spend an abnormally long time wondering if he married her because he liked her or because it's his duty until she asks him while he's discussing potential baby room colors pre wedding.

Who is the best man/men? - Sokka and Toph. Azula was going to pick Momo but he made a better flower girl. Yes she did this to annoy Zuko (and because Toph didnt want to wear the bridesmaid outfit) it's okay though Fire Lord Zuko was the guest of honor.

Who is the braid’s maid(s)? - Katara, Suki, Mai, Ty Lee. Mai pretends she hates the outfit but she's secretly pleased.

Who did the most planning? - Aang did the most thinking but Azula did the most planning.

Who stressed the most? - Externally Aang. Internally Azula.

How fancy was the ceremony? -

Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.

100% Azula's fault. Aang has no clue what Fire Nation weddings are supposed to be like.

Aang: Wow I can't believe all weddings in your Nation are this big.

Azula: They're not. It's because I'm Royalty and you're the Avatar.

Though I hc that Aang wants to get married in all the different Nations and Azula secretly wants to experience a small wedding so they get married 3 more times with one of them being a very small Air Nation wedding.

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - Hmmm I'm not sure. On one hand, Ozai redemption. On the other hand, Ozai death.

Sex:

Who is on top? - Aang. Azula thinks she wants to be on top but she'd rather be pampered and Aang is more comfortable communicating and attending to needs. Aang has no strong preference either way and they do switch but this is their usual dynamic.

Who is the one to instigate things? - Azula but she denies it.

How healthy is their sex life? -

Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now

I think it's up to the reader's preference but I can see them being very private (Azula) and naturally talented (Aang) to the point where they assume every couple has sex daily. Hc that Aang and Suki talk about sex freely (ex: When I do __ should I __ or do girls prefer ___? I can never tell with Azula. Why do guys do ___ after ____ ? I've tried asking Sokka but he doesn't give me a straight answer.) Much to the fear of Sokka and Azula.

How kinky are they? -

Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head

Again up to the reader. They both like learning new things and are prodigies so I think they'd end up reading about things to try in bed (Azula) and would try things out to see what they like (Aang) until they learn what they and each other generally like/dislike.

How long do they normally last? - 

Does the Avatar State remove your refractory period? >;3c

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - No. Aang likes overstimulating.

How rough are they in bed? -

Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it.

Neither can dirty talk. Azula is rougher. Aang likes to take it slow. She sets the pace in the beginning but he decides when it ends.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? -

No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory.

Azula refuses to cuddle in public but in return they cuddle all night.

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - hc them having twin boys at first with one firebender and one airbender because poetry. But Azula really wants a girl so they have a third child she is an airbender with Aang's charm and knack for getting in trouble and Azula's ruthlessness. Amon kidnaps her and instead of easily escaping (Aang's genes) she instead viciously mocks him the way only a preteen can (Azula's genes.) It's traumatic enough for Amon even before the parents show up. Then Aang wants another one and Azula wants another firebender so they do the do and surprise triplets! (maybe it has to do with ejaculatimg in the Avatar State lol) So 6 in total and lets say its 3 boys 3 girls with 3 airbenders 3 firebenders.

How many children will they adopt? - None. Azula is wary of motherhood and I know people like to hc Aang as adopting and while I can see him acting as a father figure to several kids I think he'd greatly prefer biological kids especially airbenders. It's a flaw that was barely touched upon and def not handled well in Legend of Korra.

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - Servants or Aang. After a kid or two Azula would be comfortable enough to change the diapers but it would still be mostly Aang.

Who is the stricter parent? - Depends on the kid. Aang is more lenient with airbenders and Azula with firebenders or girls. I can see Azula being strict with training & studies but not with sharing whereas Aang would have less rules but they'd be more heavily enforced (ex: no airgliding without supervision until you've mastered the safety course)

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Azula. She's pretty lenient with the term dangerous esp. when it comes to firebending as long as basic safety measures are applied (ex: you can pracrice lightning as long as it's not pointed towards yourself aka dont be Zuzu) but Aang is of the mindset "How are you gonna learn airbending without dangerous stunts?" And after the first few incidents she started stepping in.

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - Azula but Aang cooks them.

Who is the more loved parent? - Appa

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? Azula. When Aang attends the teachers shower him and his kids with compliments ("You're doing so well teaching your kids the values of the Air Nomads. It must be so hard being The Last Airbender"). They do the same with Azula but unlike Aang she sees through it and manages to get an accurate assessment of how their kids are doing.

Who cried the most at graduation? - Aang was more happy than sad. Azula cried before and after.

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Aang. He is a notorious lawbreaker. Azula would bail the kids and she could do so quicker than Aang in a few cases because of her connections but she'd be mad so their kids would rather call Aang or break themselves out.

Cooking: 

Who does the most cooking? - Tied. Aang at first but then Azula wants to learn and after Aang teaches her since she has less experience she finds more enjoyment in cooking.

Who is the most picky in their food choice? - 

Technically Aang since he's a vegetarian. Azula hasn't tried as many foods and she's used to not making a fuss at the family dinner table to the point of which Aang notices.

Who does the grocery shopping? - Both. Aang has a better eye for vegetables/fruits and Azula is better with prices (it's not about the cost it's about the value).

How often do they bake desserts? - Aang bakes them when he can/weekly. They're fruit based so if Azula doesn't want dessert he gives it to Momo or flings it at a target.

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? - Gee I wonder. Aang eats salad Azula eats meat.

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Aang but Azula tends to figures it out. Azula is more likely to plan a dinner but she wouldn't make it a surprise.

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Aang but Azula is a close second. It would be a tie if it wasn't for the bathhouse.

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidently while cooking? - Accidentally? Aang. On purpose? Azula.

Who cleans the room? - Servants or Aang.

Chores: 

Who is really against chores? - Azula hates cleaning up but she's neater.

Who cleans up after the pets? - Aang.

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - Aang.

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - Azula.

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Aang.

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Azula. In the Fire Nation Palace Aang has taken to chatting with Azula in the Royal Spa while he feeds her (and mostly himself) cherries.

Misc:

Who takes the dog Appa out for a walk? - Aang

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - Never. Once they like the room they like the room. If its an event they'll go to a different location for it or leave the Air Temple as is.

What are their goals for the relationship? -

To stay together.

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? -

Aang slept for a hundred years so I'll give it to him.

Who plays the most pranks? - Tie. They've both pulled elaborate pranks as kids.

[fabricated-misslieness]

Thanks for answering my previous request! Can you do some fluff domestic headcanon for reaper , mccree , genji and soldier 76? also you dont have to but if you want you can add that reader is a childfree? (and im really enjoying your blog 👍)

Genji, McCree, Reaper, and Soldier x gender neutral reader

Thank you for fulfilling my Overwatch craving~

Unlike the other fandoms, I tend to crave Overwatch most for the least amount of time but also most often.

Set post-Overwatch Disbandment, pre-Overwatch Recall.

Requested: Yes

Genji Shimada | Grocery Shopping

(So in terms of the fandom, they’re divided between whether Genji can still taste or not. I’m going with no taste, so thanks to this Great Big Story video)

Grocery shopping with Genji was a mundane task. It was part of the weekly chores ever since you moved in together.

“(y/n), no.” He slapped your hand away as you reached out for a falsely advertised snack.

The good thing about it was that Genji grounded you into reality, thanks to his lack of taste buds. He reminds you not to fall for advertisements and actually pick out vegetables instead of plain avoiding them. Sometimes he called you a child because of your dislike of vegetables.

He’s one to talk, though. He doesn’t like doing chores, even if they’d been integrated into his daily life. He nagged about them sometimes.

“Aww, man. Fine.” You’d pout at him, but he’d grown desensitised by that look by now.

Though, he wasn’t used to doing chores at all, being part of a rich crime family, a crime-fighting organization and all that. Then again, that was no excuse, seeing as they’d been living together for quite a while now.

Anyway, even if he helped you stay on track, he himself would stray off as well. Usually you’d lose him for a few minutes, which gives you the opportunity to sneak in some interestingly advertised items, and return with a couple of containers with new spices or some that you were running low off. 

Spices were the only things that Genji could taste now, since you didn’t need taste buds to ‘taste’ them. It’s a little weird at the start to see him eat cereal drowned with stuff like amchur powder or sumac but eventually, you grew accustomed to it.

“Ey, ey, ey, back on track, Genji.” Luckily you’d caught him by the back of the hoodie just in time when his eye caught onto a spice he wanted to try.

Genji rolled his eyes under the mask, but he knew he shouldn’t go off wasting your guys’ money.

Thankfully it was only you two living together, so you didn’t have to buy as much to feed like, a family or something. Kids weren’t really your thing, and neither were they his. Sure they’re… adorable, but that’d seem troublesome. Far too troublesome for any of your childish asses.

If you asked Genji to go grocery shopping or even just go into the Overwatch common area kitchen 6 years ago, he would 100% say no. He was jealous of others, they could eat anything and they could savour them, but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t get all that jealous, he’d just be disappointed.

However, he’s grown used to it now. He only just found out about spices the first time you went grocery shopping together.

You made him hold onto the cart with you for good measure, although he was sure to sneak off somewhere else while you weren’t looking. Which he did only a few minutes later.

You wondered if he was a leach kid, then remembered they probably didn’t have those in japan.

When he came back, he luckily only had three containers in hand.

You eyed him up with an accusatory look, you could sense his pout even when you couldn’t see it. “Sorry.” Genji sheepishly said, though he always said that and still continued to do it consistently every trip.

You huffed with feigned anger. You weren’t angry at all, but it was funny to see him shy like that.

“Alright, I’ll strike you a deal.” The feigned anger went away, your cheeky smile took its place. 

Genji perked up, he knew what was happening but he played along. “Mhm?”

”Hold my hand and I won’t be angry.”

Genji pretended to think for a while, nodding after a too small amount of time. “Deal.” He took your hand, intertwining your fingers together.

“Now, stick with me.”

 

Jesse McCree | Laundry

Ever since he came back to his old sweetheart’s farm, he’d been living there with them. He called it his base of operations, but really, it was his home.

He was sad to know that his old folk had passed away while he was gone, but he was glad that you were still there and you hadn’t stopped loving him, even when he’d left with Ashe.

Ever since he came back, you’d lived together.

You had your parents’ farm to uphold, with your old folk still working there too. They welcomed him with open arms and invited him to stay.

Your old folk couldn’t work much though. Both of them still had the determination in them to work but their old bodies forbid them from doing more than 3 hours under the harsh sun. They were happy to have more helping hands.

His ‘base of operations’ needed to be maintained, which prevented him from going out bounty hunting much, but he was fond of domestic life.

Ever since you two were children he wanted a domestic life with you and then Ashe came and swept away his dreams, turning them into other ones.

Since he was still getting used to farm life again, he was given much lighter tasks. Tasks that would be in any other household, specifically households from outside New Mexico. He had to get used to the harsh sun again.

You were resting against the railing of the back porch, admiring the farm as best you could with the sun shining in your eyes.

Out of the corner of your eye, you caught Jesse hanging up the laundry.

Other places outside of your farm area probably had those fancy laundry machines, but you didn’t. The sun was harsh but it was good for drying your clothes along with herbs.

It looks like he had a lot of clothes left to go.

Should you go help? Your tasks for the afternoon were done, then again you had a lot more to do in a few hours.

Eh, why not? This was the love of your life that you were helping.

“Hey, love.”

He perked up to look at you, still putting up a shirt. “Well hey, darling.”

“Need any help?” You didn’t wait for a response, grabbing a pair of clothespins and a shirt.

“Much appreciated.” Jesse pressed a kiss against your cheek as thanks, going back to his work. You initiated chit chat as you hung up the clothes, giving each other cheek kisses sometimes.

Jesse loved these moments, where he could just be with you in your farm, the farm that he’d visited various times in his childhood, the farm you’ve spent your entire life in. He loved hearing you talk and just, you in general.

Talking with your folk was a hassle, inevitably, in every conversation, they would bring up the ‘children’ talk.

They wanted children to continue in your family legacy, non-blood related or not. They were afraid the farm that had been passed on generation to generation would be surrendered to somebody none of you even knew, just like what happened with Jesse’s family farm.

With no children to inherit the farm and no relatives willing to take it up, it was sold. The new owners weren’t exactly careless with it, but they were adamant on keeping it even with Jesse’s arrival.

Your old folk weren’t comfortable with some stranger in their farm.

The thing was, you didn’t want children, the two of you were already thirty. Jesse was fine with that, but your folk weren’t. Sometimes arguments about children with them reduced you to tears and sobs, but Jesse was always there to comfort you afterwards.

More often than not at dinner you’d be arguing, so he cherished the moments where you seemed to be happy.

“Something on your mind, Jesse?”

You startled him out of his thoughts. “No, it’s just.. I love you.”

You were taken aback from the statement. You knew you loved each other, it wasn’t the first time you’d said it since he came back but you didn’t expect him to say it out of nowhere.

“I love you too.” A fond smile graced your lips, which made you irresistible to kiss for him.

He leaned forward, capturing your lips in a soft and short kiss.

“You sure something ain’t botherin’ you?” You laughed after pulling away.

“Never been better, darlin’.”

 

Gabriel Reyes | Cooking

Cooking dinner was one of the only things you’d be able to do together. He was always at work, sometimes until the next morning, so it was something you yearned for while he was gone.

Gabriel was a good cook under good instructions. Alone, there was a chance he could burn something but 9/10 times it was fine. Most of the time he’d cook for you as consolation for being gone, but he’d already done that yesterday so you offered to help.

He accepted the offer with a smile, pressing a light kiss to your temple.

Since today he wanted to cook for you, he decided to do the main stuff and have you as his little helper.

Granted, you were a perfectly good cook, but today was consolation.

Every time he asked for a spice, as you reached over to hand it to him, he’d share a short kiss and turn back to the cooking.

It reminded you of those athletic couples that would spot each other while doing sit ups and kiss every time the one on their back got to the top. It was cheesy, mostly cringy, but doing something like it actually felt really sweet.

“Chili powder?” Hands reaching out, a small kiss, back to cooking. It was cute.

Finally, the only thing you had two do was wait. You were having his famous enchiladas tonight, so they were in the oven baking. Usually he would wing the time, which meant checking every few minutes.

According to him, “It is ready when the edges are crispy.”

You trapped him against the counter while you kissed. It was nothing lustful, just sweet kisses. He wouldn’t let you kiss him for more than five minutes, though, since you had to check the oven… party pooper.

“(y/n).” He pulled back, not letting you kiss him again. “Enchiladas.”

You sighed, going to check on it again. All you wanted was his kisses, then again you were hungry too. How did he even know that five minutes had passed every time?

“Still need to cook for longer.” You said, standing back up. He raised an eyebrow at you, giving you a look that basically said, ‘Don’t be lying to me just for more kisses.’

“I promise.” You huffed out a laugh, trapping him against the counter and your lips again.

Gabriel tended to cook more than you two could eat, even when there were only two mouths to feed. Neither of you wanted children, both of you being well over the recommended age for that.

Another five minutes passed and he pulled back again, but this time you went back in.

“(y/n).” He protested between kisses. “You don’t want our--” The next kiss lasted for longer, yet Gabriel wouldn’t pull back. When you pulled back for air, he frowned at you.

You didn’t let it phase you, though. Your cheeky smile got him to smile back. He shook his head at you, pushing you back lightly. “Go check.”

You followed his order, checking the oven.

“They’re not ready.”

“(y/n)...”

“Okay, they’re ready.”

 

Jack Morrison | Washing Dishes

Usually you’d take turns washing the dishes, along with cooking meals. But today, you decided you should clean the dishes together. Throughout the past week, he’d been caught up with his work, meaning you didn’t see each other much.

On Monday, he’d gotten pretty injured, which got you worried already, but the next day he continued on with his work, even with the injury.

He apologized over dinner, which you cooked alone, he came when you were just finishing with the cooking. The apology was accepted over the promise of spending time together.

Holding onto that promise, you started with the dishes.

He’d soap them up, you’d wash it off and put it on the dish rack. It seemed simple, there were just two of you. You were both well over the age for children and Jack’s work wouldn’t exactly work with having children either, but the fact that neither of you wanted any was another reason.

The cutlery was done, the only thing to clean now was the pot.

You sat and admired him as he cleaned, emphasis on him rather than the cleaning part. He looked beautiful, look past all the scars and the wrinkles and he’s a handsome old man.

You laughed at the name, old man. It dawned on you that you were also old, making you laugh again. Jack perked up at your laughs, raising an eyebrow at you.

“We’re old.” You said, a bashful smile on your face.

“Oh, do I know all about that.” Jack joked. “Wrinkles, white hair…”

You nodded, twirling a strand of your hair. “There.” Jack said, putting the pot on your side of the sink. He moved to leave, but you pulled him back by the wrist.

“Just where do you think you’re going, old man?” You laughed at the small joke.

“I don’t know, to bed? Old men need their sleep. Speaking of old people, you should wrap this up.” Jack leaned against the counter beside you.

You nodded, hastily cleaning the pot and setting it aside to dry.

Instead of moving towards your bedroom, you trapped him against the counter, surprising him. He raised a brow at you.

“We haven’t kissed in a few days.”

Jack let out a small laugh, “If that’s what you want...” He leaned in, capturing your lips with his own.

The kiss was short, fulfilling your longing.

You rested your foreheads against each other, gazing into each other’s eyes.

“I love you.” You breathed out at the same time. The statement brought a smile onto your lips. You leaned in for another kiss, a longer one.

You loved to live with each other, wake up next to each other, do your routines with each other, cook for one another, go to sleep next to each other. You loved him and he loved you.

[centeris2]

Shillings and Halloween

(repost so it shows up in the tags) Thanks to Jade @pandoriasbox​ for documenting dailys in detail and helping with numbers, and thanks to Abbie Starwatcher for the Starstable Database.

Disclaimer: this is not about star coins or star coin only items like the horse, this is solely about shilling costs of event items available in the shop. When I say ‘event items’ I am referring to new items that can be purchased with shillings.

TL;DR - This year’s Halloween was great, but the shillings cost for the outfits was too much and should match up better to what can realistically be earned during an event’s duration.

So the Positive Things: Halloween was excellent this year, chef kisses all around. I would have liked a slightly higher spawn rate for the falling items and Galloper Thompson, but overall? The event was wonderful, I hope it comes back next year so I can see what I missed. I could have a whole post about the things I liked about it, but that’s not what this is.

And now to the title and point: The Shillings.

Events are designed to get people online every day. This is achieved by giving people attainable rewards to work for. You don’t have to spend hours grinding golden pumpkins and waiting for soul shard tornados; if you get on for a bit every day and do the 5 quick golden pumpkins and the soul shard races, you will be able to get the trade in items within the event time. But the new sets in the shop this Halloween were well outside the realm of “realistically attainable”. It was not possible to earn enough shillings by doing the event activities, races, chores, and dailys every day, something that takes 4 or more hours. Doing every daily for a week will net you 27,904 shillings, meaning you can earn 55,808 shillings during the two week event, but the items in the shop were 147,000 shillings. You need over 5 weeks of getting on for 3 - 5 hours every day to get enough shillings to buy the sets. If a game is going to add new event items for sale with the in-game currency, it needs to be something a player could feasibly get in that event time frame. That just makes sense to me, I don’t know how else to say that other than look at the numbers. If it takes you 5 and a half weeks of constant work to get the items in an event that only lasts two weeks then it should be changed. Here are a few options:

The event lasts longer (still expects a player to dedicate possibly hundreds of hours on an event for a month or more, not realistic, especially for kids in school and people with jobs)

Lower item prices

Release fewer items, limit it to only one set instead of two

Make shillings easier to reliably obtain (no chance or luck involved)

Make it easier to save up money so you can save up for events, most likely by removing or increasing the shilling cap. (Nothing killed me more than getting that “you’ve hit shilling limit!” and losing shillings to the void for no good reason, and planning out my dailys to make sure I hit the 10k cap exactly so I wouldn’t waste a single shilling trying to get those 10k items.)

I’m not saying I want it to be easy or asking for free stuff, I want it to be possible without driving yourself crazy. People will work for things unless it’s something practically impossible to earn, you just have to give them the opportunity.

[Main point over, beyond this is personal experience, numbers, and comparing to past events, so you can stop here if you don’t care about the details! I’ll be sending this to SSO, but if you agree or have your own thoughts, be sure to send them to SSO! The more feedback they get, the more likely they are to change things.]

I say “practically” because I actually did it. I sold saved up items (dig rewards, items from previous events, etc), woke up at 5:30am for the first champ and stayed online until the last champ at 11pm, and did everything I could to get shillings. If I hadn’t been as lucky in champs or with high score rewards I would not have been able to do it. You shouldn’t have to spend 10 - 18 hours a day for almost two weeks getting lucky in order to get enough in-game currency to buy the event items. What I did was an outlier and not something SSO should expect players to do. I spent easily over 150 hours in game over the span of two weeks, took part in over 120 champs, got lucky with 8 - 12 daily high scores a day, and was graced by the universe with some weekly high scores and a monthly high score. I am not a good example of what the average sso player is like.

Now for Numbers! Weekly shilling earnings from dailys = 27,904 (average 3,986 a day)

Halloween: 147,000 shillings total for the new sets 1 new clothing set = 44,000 shillings 1 new tack set without accessories = 26,000 shillings 1 new tack set with leg wraps and saddlebag = 29,500 1 full matching clothing and tack set = 73,500

Additional ways of earning (and ‘storing’) shillings: - Championships can earn you 0 to 8,500 shillings in a day (0 if you don’t enter or fail every champ you enter, 8,500 if you win first in all 17 champs and sell the ribbons). That’s 0 to 59,500 shillings a week. Not viable for busy servers or lower level players. - Daily high scores pay 100 shillings per race, weekly high scores 500, and monthly 1500. I’m not about to count how many high score races there are but it can make a lot. Not reliable for lower level players or busy servers. - Archaeology will get you shillings so long as you dig something, but that can be as little as 2 shillings (1 for the dig, 1 selling the item). In Epona you can find 4 gold digs a day. The trade in value has a huge range, between like 355 and 2,000 shillings. You can dig in Epona and Dino all day, but after the first or second pass the dig spawns drop in value and unless you are trying to get that last couple hundred shillings it probably won’t be worth your time (especially if you’ve already spent hours doing dailys). Not an option for people who haven’t finished archaeology (Epona is far superior to Dino), but very handy you have it.

How does Halloween compare to other events? Things have gradually been getting more expensive, but usually there is one set, or a month or more to get it (Winter Village), or it returns without new items (Cloud Kingdom. Came twice in two months as well). What makes this Halloween different is the sheer amount vs the time frame. For more math, the entire Caramel and Cream set, including the accessory leg wraps and saddle bags, is 91,777 shillings. It’s a lot, but you can make that much in a little over 3 weeks, well within the time frame of the event. Personally I think it should be a little lower, the saddle bag being 9,999 shillings seems like way too much for a statless item (and not even a new model).

For those curious - Star Coins The Halloween event had plenty of star coin only items that people could buy, and there are always people who will spend the star coins for the new outfit rather than work for it. SSO provided plenty of opportunities for people to spend star coins. They didn’t need to include the clothes and tack in the shop in the “for whales only” category. New Horse - 950 star coins New Pet - 350 star coins Each new tack set was 260 star coins (295 including matching leg wraps and saddle bag) Will-o’-whiskers clothes: 440 Crimson Count clothes: 520 Full Will-o’-whiskers clothes+tack: 735 star coins Full Crimson Count clothes+tack: 815 New Masks were 25 star coins per mask And then all the previous items, like the previous horses, pets, outfits, and powders.

If you read all the way wow. I’m impressed. I wish I had something to give you but I am VERY tired. I don’t really have a good way to wrap this up in a beautiful Conclusion, since I made my point way earlier, so celebrate getting here with this:

[a-mythical-lady]

Books and me.

14 years ago

(Age: 7)

It was bedtime and maa had just made my bed when I heard the front door open. Papa was home from work and I could hear bhai running to see papa and tell him random stuff. I bet papa listened to everything, despite being tired. After that, he came to my room, "Look what I got you" he said, and extended a book to me. I was confused as he had never brought me a book before. It was a book called Panchatantra. A story of an old rishi who gives life lessons to his five shishyas at the gurukul through stories about nature and animals. I was excited about getting my first book and begrudgingly, maa let me stay up later than usual. That night, sprawled on my bed, I was entranced and fascinated by all the different stories and scenes and talking animals. The next morning, I woke up by myself and finished the entire book by noon.

The next thing I know, I'm collecting comics and storybooks and getting addicted to them. Piling up tinkle comics, Archie's and Amar Chitra Katha was my only goal. Every train journey to my native place involved dragging papa to the railway station bookstore and getting myself a comic book for the train ride. I begged my parents to subscribe to storybooks along with the daily morning newspaper, and they relented after a lot of coaxing. Then, every Monday morning I'd wait eagerly for the newspaper boy to deliver my weekly dose of happiness with books of chacha Choudary, chandamama, and champak. Soon, this became an obsession that even my parents started noticing. Maa began hiding my copies of storybooks during the exams and giving them back only after all my exams were done. I began pestering papa to get me more and more books every day. Sometimes he would get me a double digest edition of tinkle and I'd be ecstatic and over the moon. It's amazing how something so small and silly used to make me so happy. I'd re-read the same books once I'd gone through my entire stash of new books. Out of desperation, I'd read anything I could lay my hands on. In school, we used to get all our term textbooks a month before the reopening of a new academic year and my English textbooks fell prey to this obsession of mine. I'd know all the lessons and stories by heart before the school year started. I think that was one of the reasons for the nerd label I got in school. I even started reading stories from the Bible, borrowing storybooks from another girl in my neighborhood. Little did I know that this was only the beginning.

10 years ago

(Age: 11)

One fine summer afternoon, bhai was busy watching tv in the living room and maa and papa were at work. We had free rein on the tv as it was the summer holidays and I had free rein on my books. I was lazing around in my room and started searching the entire house for something new to read. And finally, I found a book among bhai's things. It was probably a gift. It wasn't a comic book or a usual storybook. This one was an actual book. A novel. And it had no pictures. I was skeptical but boredom got the best of me and I decided to read a few pages to pass the time. It was a hardy boys book, written by Franklin W Dixon. After reading a few pages, my 11-year-old brain almost exploded with fascination. The style of writing, the mystery, the suspense of the entire book drew me in completely and I knew then, this was a turning point in my life where books are concerned. I felt almost grown-up. And so I read the 200 page novel with wide eyes and a bursting heart in 3 hours, without even getting up to pee. I went and told bhai about the new book I read. He laughed it off. I told maa and papa when they came back from work. "That's good beta", they said. I was disappointed that they didn't feel the same exhilaration that I did. Papa still got my books whenever I asked him. For the second time, I found myself collecting and piling up books. All of the hardy boys and Nancy drew collections. Once again, I was entranced, trapped yet alive like never before in a whole new world.

After that, a multitude of options lay before me. I dived headfirst into reading mystery and moved onto classics written by Charles Dickens, The Bronté sisters, Mary Shelly, and even a dash of Shakespeare. I fell in love with David Copperfield, Oliver twist, treasure island, Jane Eyre and Frankenstein.

But eventually, buying books so often became a chore and at the pace I was reading, with one book hardly lasting a day, we couldn't afford to buy as many books. So, then one day, maa and I set out on a goose chase all over the city looking for libraries where I could borrow books from. At last, we found an old government library inside an even older building that looked almost haunted. And as we bravely stepped into the barely holding up building, we only found old uncles reading newspapers and gossiping. Thankfully, there was a rack of English fiction. Just one single rack. Although mildly disappointed, I was determined to make do with that. I got myself a membership plan and my reading palette had its first taste of Indian authors. That one rack had a fair collection of young adult books, standalone contemporary novels which sated my hunger for quite some time. While other people gushed over my habit of reading books, my parents were a little concerned. But as I started writing my own speeches in school, improved in my speaking skills, I'm sure they were convinced and over time, I think they accepted this obsession of mine. Or at the very least, were forced to.

6 years ago.

(Age: 15)

My love for reading only grew and now I had a book beside me during breakfast, lunch, and dinner which my parents barely tolerated. I even started planting a book in every corner of my house for easy access, under the coffee table, by my bed, on my study table. While kids my age sneaked mobile phones under their pillows, I sneaked in books to read.

After a few years, I finally met a kindred spirit with a shared love for reading. He was older than me and introduced me to books by Dan Brown. I listened with rapt attention to the plot of the book and I immediately knew that my days of reading hardy boys and young adult books were over. It's crazy how transitioning between genres and different types of books made me feel older and mature over the years. Few pages into the Da Vinci code and I fell, hook, line, and sinker. I finished the entire 500-page book in a day. Back then, I was pretty adamant about having my own copies of books and collecting them, which I guess stemmed from my childhood obsession with collecting comics. Soon, I'd exhausted the books at the old library and had no other option but to trade in my precious books for second-hand books at a wholesale book store very far away from home. Because they were at a secondhand rate, I could now afford more books and although the pages were worn out and yellowed, I was happy. The already folded pages, notes in the corners of some pages jotted down by the previous owner made me feel oddly connected and attached.

Present-day

(Age: 21)

As I grew up and left my teenage years behind, life and boards got in my way and there were gaps when I couldn't read no matter how hard I tried. But once I found my way back to books. I knew what I was missing and knew that I would never stop reading again. I still read books by Dan Brown, Sydney Sheldon, and Nora Roberts. I found quite a few talented Indian authors. Books by Durjoy Dutta and Ravinder Singh made me fall in love with contemporary romance and light humor. I've moved on to reading books on my phone now. I miss turning pages of an actual book, but on the bright side, I get to read countless books anytime and anywhere I want. I've explored many genres over the years, murder and crime thrillers, romance, contemporary, dark fiction, and comedy, and read them accordingly when the mood strikes.

If there's one thing that has been a constant through my childhood, it has been books. Reading is a huge part of my life and very close to my heart. Words and writing mean so much to me. Books have been my solace, my safe place, my companions as I grew up, my fantasy land, and my hiding place all rolled into one. I've cried, loved, smiled, and laughed with books and I can't describe how utterly grateful I am to maa and papa for getting me my first book when I was just 7 and letting me explore my love for reading.

Although, there's one thing I'd like to admit. There's this one genre that I've never read - non-fiction and strangely, I'm still very skeptical about it. But you never know, over time I might come to like that as well!

MAJ

[currentfandomkick]

Miraculous and the Batboys - Week 3

So i am back(ish) and I bring the Update. Editting is for those with patience and time that i lack. ao3 link HERE

--

A weekend dodging Gina was… eventful. Even moreso when celebrating ‘No More Gabriel Brand’ time was cut short by a barrage of akuma.

All weekend.

Marinette is convinced the man has too much free time.

She would admit (ONLY when no one else was around) that having someone else checking info during battles was nice. Out of the visiting bats, she had come to rank them from least to most irksome: Red Robin (most helpful), Nightwing (helpful), Red Hood (… he was slightly less annoying—he seems to understand she is the leader of the team) then Robin (who can’t get that she knows what she’s doing, AND hurts the minions more than necessary).

Okay, maybe she’s holding a grudge from when they first met (Tikki enjoyed reminding her of that new found habit—grudge holding) but you don’t go around calling a bunch of magic jewelry powered superheroes incompetent before finding out what they’re fighting and how they have to fight!

And yes, this is a hill she will die on.

Chloe and Adrien are in full agreement, well, Queen Bee and Chat Noir are.

“Are you sure we can’t just…” Chat gestured with his eyes to where Robin was perched at the edge, “just a little?”

Marinette didn’t answer him. She turned to Queen Bee. “You need to influence chaton less.”

“Never.”

--

Tim almost collapsed when he saw Marinette on her own. Why?

Because he was Certain that he saw a, a red thing—creature? Poke something out of her purse.

Red was Ladybug’s color. Yep. She’s. Yep—mini Red Robin hard since he’s pretty sure she’s avoiding someone too.

She was too—he knew for a fact she’s avoiding Gina excellently (either hiding at the hotel with Chloe, the teashop or one Adrien Agreste and his… legal cousin but Tim is certain there is something off about that with the Holy Doopleganger Batman! Vibe he got from checking out the pair’s apartment. He now had a fun thing to look into when he’s bored and tired of Hawkmoth Shenanigans).

She’s also… yep. Dodging a bunch of teens he’s certain are her classmates.

And… Damnit demon spawn!

--

Marinette managed to disentangle herself from class parkour (miraculous training as civvies) when she got a text from Damian.

Apparently he wanted to ask how she was handling the whole… Thing with Bustier and Lila.

She wonders if he’s dealt with bullying too, and was looking for advice. She was certain hers was crap, but she did say she’d be around so…

She met up with Damian not too far from the park at a café, nothing fancy, and waited for him to start once they’d placed their orders.

“I know it is a personal matter and not my place to ask, however I would like to know how you have managed to endure the repugnant behavior of our teacher and the harlot.”

Marinette forgot she should think before responding.

“Pretty sure whores and sex workers are paid. She’s more con artist for attention than anything else.”

She missed Damian’s response as the waiter put down their drinks and raised an eyebrow at them.

“Remember the girl that framed me a while back and tried to expel me the first Scarlet Moth round?”

“Ah.” The waiter turned to Damian then. “Don’t insult whore by putting them in with that, well, work and I see my boss so I can’t say what I want again, but we both know what she is, and whores are no where near that level. Politicians, most, whores? No.”

Marinette snorted into her drink as they left.

“And to answer your question, well, I don’t really have a choice.”

Damian narrowed his eyes at that.

Marinette could feel his eyes on her, but couldn’t meet their gaze with this topic. (It still hurt, even though it’s a been years since it began.)

“Lila had everyone charmed or uncertain if she was lying until two weeks ago. Bustier said I had to be a good example and class representative putting that above everything else in my life. Even though everyone knows I’ve been helping run three different businesses on top of handling my program and own business and clientele, and help take care of Fu with a few other small business kids. Nothing could come before the class’s harmony—nothing.”

Marinette took a small bite of her pastry.

“So I saw someone who could force her to listen or have to deal with actively and knowingly violating anti-akuma laws—something she’s only managed to narrowly avoid since, well,” Marinette gestured to herself. “I got tired of constant akumas in class and managed to convince the school board as my last act as class rep to require daily and weekly mental health checks and mitigate potential akuma triggers during weekly checks, daily being more ‘answer these questions honestly’ for stress levels. The system flags major changes, and the students affected see one of the counselors immediately to find ways around what’s bothering them.”

Marinette missed Damian staring at her for that, or how his mouth opened ever so slightly.

“When I stepped down, everyone noticed I wasn’t comfortable alone with Bustier, so it became a rule to stop it whenever they could. The other classes are field specialty and ours is the only one for people doing more than one program or close to.”

Marinette looked up at that with a  smile. “Fashion is my official program, but since I do so much business outside of school, I kept having to take classes to help out early on. I never enrolled in the program officially like Chloe did, but the school has me credited as able to graduate with both programs, so until they can justify opening another multi-program class, I’m not allowed to transfer out of the class and stay in Dupont.”

Her eyes hardened when she said, “And I’m not letting a liar and a Bustier be the reason I left the only school that’s willing to go as far as they have for me program-wise—especially not when I only have a year left.”

Damian nodded at that, deciding he’d have to sic Drake on the harlot either way… perhaps Todd and Gina too. He was feeling spiteful.

--

Marinette decided that when she meets Hawkmoth, she is not only punching him in the face, she is going to do, she doesn’t know exactly what (Tikki has a few ideas that Marinette is certain involve torture) but it will hurt.

Why?

Third akuma on a Sunday. THIRD! What is this man not doing that he was before? She wants to know since whoever freed up his time is on her list now.

Robin was being less annoying (re: tracking the akuma and leaving the minions less battered than usual) while Red Robin was helping the police evacuate affected areas with Nightwing. Somehow Red Hood got it in his head to stick with Chat for “on the job training” her team is trained asshole and she is debating how far she should go when they finish off Hawkmoth for good.

--

Monday was… interesting. The emancipation was approved—Adrien Agreste legally required no legal guardian.

When Gabriel tried to fire Gorilla, well, Adrien pointed out Gorilla had been in Adrien’s employ this whole time as mother hired and paid him from her accounts. Which transferred to Adrien when she was declared dead.

Marinette dreaded the akuma Hawkmoth might cook up using Gabriel. How he wasn’t akumatized again was anyone’s guess.

Class was…

“So last night Damiboo said—“

Marinette put her head on her desk, and decided to raise an eyebrow at a… for some reason ill-looking Damian.

“Is it because you guys share a name?”

Damian blinked.

Adrien turned around then. “Or because someone has commitment issues.”

Marinette squinted at Adrien because… “What?”

Nino sighed. “Adrien is on another MatchMaker spree.”

“ah. Who are the victims?”

“Not touching it dudette, not touching it.”

Marinette snorted. “It’s not like he’s going to match anyone with well,” Marinette gestured at herself.

“Your infamous army.”

“They are not an army.”

“How many ‘relatives’?” Nino used air quotes.

Marinette narrowed her eyes. “Well under a hundred thousand, so not an army.”

“I am counting the fans.”

Marinette scoffed. “They do not count.”

“They do, and I’m pretty sure Adrien’s fan girl army is applicable.”

“Okay, just because they made up titles and help out during akuma evacs does not make them an army—they’d need weapons training, clear chain of command, coded strategies—”

“And the fact you know this only proves my point, you have an army.”

“Who has an army?” Chloe asked as she walked over.

“Marinette.”

“I do not!”

“You do,” Chloe agreed. “Kim!” the boy looked over at that. “Marinette’s ‘family’ is a small army.”

“I, yes?” Kim’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Any one that picked her up had how many knives on them when we were kids?”

Damian turned to her with a suspicious eye.

She blushed. “Nonna’s friends.”

Damian nodded slowly.

Marinette wondered if the earth could just… swallow her up now.

--

The rest of the week was in a similar vein. Constant attacks, the batboys helping, her class being weirdly fixated on her family (they aren’t violent, just… prepared.)

Her gymnastics classes were a godsend, and her instructor was checking up on her more than usual, but that might be her more or less running her own classes and lessons as she worked out her routine, music choice, and requirements for her teammates and partners for her routines on trapeze.

Tim was around more. He got it in his head that she needed “guidance” (and okay, she does) on how to conduct corruption investigations into the whole company’s practices and staff.

Then there was Damian being… distant? She was busy but they weren’t talking as much as they were at first and fine, whatever, she got it. She’s not someone he wants to be around…. It happens.

It just… hurts a little is all.

At least she had Adrien and less secrets there. He was fixated on Damian having “commitment issues” and she thinks he’s trying to set him up with someone (Chloe maybe? Why else would he be this focused…. It’d be interesting explaining she’s pretty sure Chloe like girls better than boys and that Damian isn’t her type. At a later date—she’s too busy to now).

Then she had chores and was called in for a hearing on Bustier which was… interesting…. (her duties weren’t too bad for class president. she wasn’t making lesson plans or anything. The role model and forgiving everyone for hurting her and being told to let Lila walk all over her for years was not okay at all, but any teacher would have said that, right?)

Oh and Gina was now convinced Marinette needed protection and now semi-stalking her (Jason was weirdly close to Jason now and talking to him a lot). So random Grandma Attacks when she wanted to draw in Peace.

Lord Murder was her best stress buddy, and Gina is now well acquainted her. She was also given Gina’s Seal of Approval to take over her house for the purposes of keeping Lord Murder and staying there once her current tenants were out (no seeing it until then… unfortunately. She did get dimensions for cat things though. she may browse a bit obsessively… only a bit.)

--

Tim froze when he ran into Jason with Civilian Chat Noir. And a giant man (Gorilla). At their base. Playing videogames.

“Hey Tim, this is Adrien, Adrien, Tim. Adrien is your mini’s buddy and this is the guy that keeps the harpies away, Gorilla—yes he refuses to tell me his real name—and they’re family now. B can suck it.”

Adrien waved at him before turning back to the game. “I have no idea why he keeps saying that.”

Tim took a deep breath. Apparently adopting strays was just another Bat-thing. “So its nurture, not nature.”

Damian came out, sighed when he saw the group still there, and took a drink into his room while saying. “I did not adopt him.”

Adrien looked back at him then. “You have too many commitment issues to. Don’t worry, though, I’m good at destroying pesky problems like that.”

Tim blinked at that.

Damian sighed as they had this conversation too often now. At school and apparently, his home now. “I am not going to—”

“That’s just your fear talking—we both know that.” Adrien spoke like he was talking to a petulant child. “Why don’t you text your friends and see what they think since I already know the answer and you need more convincing.”

Damian narrowed his eyes. “Jon thinks you are annoying.”

“I’m a delight.” Adrien turned back to his game then.

Jason grinned proudly next to him. A bit too much like a proud parent for Tim’s comfort. (He may also be realizing his keep-his-mini-from-Damian-dating may end up in vain thanks to one Adrien Agreste(?))

--

Dick sent Bruce exactly (1) update: You are a grandpa now—Jason has a blond cat-hero son who can’t dodge.

Bruce may have had a small heart attack as now he has a magic grandson that he never met, apparently controls raw destruction, and is deeply traumatized. (It was the grandpa part that freaked him out—the rest is par for the course as Batman. He’s a Grandpa Alfred—he’s too young for his children to pull a him and adopt tiny traumatized children and train them into (heroes) vigilantes. Alfred stop laughing, he’s being serious!)

-------------

HEY so thanks for patience with the updates as life is Extra Hell now between puppy training when i'm finally home and work being Extra Hell with longer shifts and more to do during.

And before anyone asks about the peacock!marinette thing, look at the two series I have going with Bronywn as those are ongoing as my stress writes.

Any preferences for next update? Open to ideas as my mind is too stressed to do more than work off a prompt of some kind for the time being, and next to none of this story has been planned so far, so ideas are very welcome to keep it moving forward.

--

@worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @littleredrobinhoodlum @northernbluetongue @kceedraws @pirats-pizzacanninibles @theatreandcomicfreak @daminett4life @catthhay @weird-pale-blonde-person @amayakans @chocolatecatstheron @tired-butterfly @multplelifes @yin-390 @area51qt @toodaloo-kangaroo @bzz75 @ilovefluffbutsmutisalsogreat @freshbark @soup-served-chilling @daminett4life @smolplantmum @karategirl119 @goblinwhoships @melicmusicmagic @maribat-is-lifeblood @spartanxhunterx @maribat-is-lifeblood @toodaloo-kangaroo

[raviposting]

♥️ Family headcanon for a Marvel character of your choice

asdfjkl I couldn’t choose so I’m just going to go with: all of the MCU family members, if I missed anyone no I didn’t <3 

Every year without fail, May & Peter go to Uncle Ben’s grave. They pack his favorite lunch and sit there and swap stories about him. After Far From Home, May goes to the grave alone, but MJ walks up and sits down next to her, and she talks to May about different stories that Peter has told her about Uncle Ben. 

Scott has weekly dinners with Cassie, Maggie, and Jim ever since he’s been able to be home. They start hinting that he can bring his partner to dinner but Maggie and Jim have COMPLETELY different ideas of who he’s dating so when they drop hints Scott is just “????” every time 

Jim: “You can really....woo...a partner by bringing them to dinner.” Maggie: “They may fly up with joy over it - oh that wasn’t a good pun.” Scott: :D “Huh?” Cassie: “They want you to bring your boyfriend and girlfriend to dinner, Dad.” Scott: “Oh!” Jim & Maggie: “I’m sorry his what.” 

They have dinner though, and they have a fantastic time (even when Paxton makes the joke that Scott loves him so much that he just had to find another Jimmy). 

Carol comes back every Christmas to spend time with Monica & Maria, even when she’s ages away on another planet. She hasn’t missed a single Christmas, and Monica and Maria video call her on the daily. 

Monica’s also kept Carol’s jacket. It’s her prized possession and Carol keeps telling her she’ll get her a new one but Monica insists that no no, this is the one she wants and that’s that. <3 

Maria and Carol couldn’t get married at the time, but Maria proposed to Carol on one Christmas anyway. They wear their rings on a necklace, and Monica got a slightly different ring as well, because Maria said that with this marriage it included Monica because she was their daughter. They all wear it and tend to hold onto it when they’re in need of comfort. 

The Iron Fam!!!! Tony leaves recordings for every member of the fam - Morgan, Peter, Hartley, Happy, Rhodey, Pepper, Bruce, everyone who he considered family. He even left one for Nebula, which she saw him make when they were stranded together, but still appreciated. They all watch his goodbyes before the funeral, because it’s easier, and Rhodey wraps his arms around whoever needs comfort at the time. <3 

Peter/Hartley/Morgan are out and about one day because they wanted to take her to the carnival. She runs up to get cotton candy and the vendor tells her that she needs her parents there, so Morgan goes “My brothers are here, is that okay?” Peter and Hartley have been bickering the entire time but the second they hear that they’re just. Emotional af. Peter buys her cotton candy and Hartley gets her a funnel cake with extra toppings. 

I’m going to throw this one back to a pre-Black Panther movie headcanon, but Shuri would always be pulling pranks on T’Challa. He’d always yell for Ramonda and Ramonda would try to scold her, but Shuri would just be busting up laughing and Ramonda wouldn’t be able to hide her smile if Shuri showed her a video clip of the prank (to T’Challa’s absolute indignance). 

T’Chaka once told Shuri he needed to talk to her about the pranks and T’Challa left all smug thinking that yes, finally, Shuri was going to get in trouble lmao, but T’Chaka was like “Listen, daughter, you need to mount multiple clips next time, once he falls in this clip we completely lose him in the video!” (Years later, T’Challa admits that fine, they were totally all hilarious.)

Nebula and Gamora are VERY snarky about intergalaxy parties that the Guardians go to. They’re usually in the corner sharing food and being snarky and sarcastic about literally everyone else in the party. 

One time they and the other Guardians got into a dance battle with some aliens from across the way. Nebula breakdanced and Gamora did the robot, Drax did some interpretive dance, Groot wiggled around a bit, Rocket did.....something, Mantis is a shockingly good dancer, Thor definitely rocked out for a bit. Peter was dancing but complained the entire time because the one time he didn’t have a camera-device around they were all dancing. They won the dance battle and Nebula said, “I will never do that again.” 

Thor and Loki are Tragique(TM). Whenever Loki is skipping around time and space he’ll see Thor almost all the time, and if we’re in 2012+ Avengers age Thor is usually torn between going “Brother!!!! :)” and then going “BROTHER >:(” It confuses Loki when he ends up in a different version of 2023 and his brother swoops him up in a big hug and starts sobbing. He even tries to stab Thor and Thor just. Is talking about how happy he is to see him and he keeps touching Loki’s hair to make sure he’s real and Loki has the very bad feeling that something good probably hasn’t happened for Thor to act like this. 

Read this as poly or not but either way, Clint/Laura/Natasha are fantastic. They all have such an organized way of raising the kids and Laura DEFINITELY made a chore wheel. It’s so incredibly detailed that she can time when Clint & Natasha come back from missions almost to the exact day, so they’ll come back and she’ll be like “Perfect! It’s your time to take out the garbage. :) “ 

Headcanon meme || Send me a symbol + character(s)

[bananonbinary]

Lol thinking about how my chore load as a kid was obviously fucked up but also i only just this minute realized how fucking stupid and unnecessary it was too???? Like my sister and i were basically doing all the housework but also. It wasnt even housework that normal adults do more than a few times a month or weekly at most?

my sister and i had two chore sets that we switched off each week.

one had to vaccuum and dust the entire living room, dining room, and hallway every day. Like, THOROUGH vaccuum and dust, where you move furniture and shit out of the way. Teeny tiny little 10yo shoving chairs and tables around to vaccuum under every. single. day. Who the hell even vaccuums every day what the fuck dust doesnt even build up that fast. thats such a waste of electricity.

The other had to deep clean the kitchen: dishes (which, our dishwasher broke and he couldnt be bothered to replace it for years and years, so that shit was by hand), sweeping, wiping down the counters, stove, and table, AGAIN moving heavy ass shit around to clean underneath, like the stand mixer that definitely couldnt have even gotten anything under it, and then move on to do the same to the bathroom. Ive never met anyone who cleans their bathroom daily what the FUCK.

THEN on weekends we had the same chores as on weekdays but ALSO swapped who had to clean out and vaccuum the car, AND we both had to do a deep clean of our bedrooms. No adult in the world does all that shit every day or even every week why would you think a fucking 10yo should?? when the fuck was i supposed to do homework or god forbid, see a friend????

And then my dad would grade that shit and give us like a performance review every goddamn week where we just had to stand there while he berated us for missing a day or w/e. ostensibly we’d get an allowance based on how well we kept on top of it and i hear you saying “gee sky, an allowance? Mustve been nice to be rich” but hed hold it over us and i never got more than like 40 cents at most because of how much he’d dock for all the “mistakes.” it wasnt vague either like he had a fucking rubric and went down the list telling us what a shit job we did and how a real employer would fire us. thats why theres child labor laws asshole. I was a young teenager at this point like i just stopped asking for any money ever because its genuinely so fucking traumatic to have a designated weekly time where your dad has a fucking spreadsheet of what a fuck up you were that week.

that was like some count olaf shit show me a single adult that does that many chores after they get home from work each day what the hell.