#heck i barely considered it that much until like. this year. Which is egg on my face.

[overthinkingtaleblr]

For Valentine's can you drae some good ole Papa and Gurtrude?

This ask was originally sent in 2020, so as an apology for taking So Dang Long, I did more than one picture.

Happy Valentines Day 2023!!!

I’ll be doing the recent asks as well, maybe not with this much effort but they’re getting done!! <3

[dxmichelle]

I am not normally one to throw a whole lot of personal stuff around on my blog, but I feel the need to rant. 

Some big-name grocery stores are paying hazard pay to their employees. $2/hr bonus for having to deal with the customers panic-buying all the eggs, meat, toilet paper, and pasta sauce (but not pasta? What’s all the sauce for???), restocking as much as they can, and dealing with the likelihood of catching COVID-19 just because they have to show up for work because it’s an essential business that can’t close.

That’s great! Now that the employees have to be there, of course, because I’m sure they’d all rather be home, but that their companies are acknowledging that they are what’s keeping the store afloat and are compensating them better for it. Even if it is a temporary boost in pay until the pandemic is over, I’m sure it will not go unnoticed by the team members.

Now. Having said that...

I think I’ve mentioned once before that I work at Walgreens. (If not, it’s no big secret *shrug*). Like any other grocery store and pharmacy, we are an essential retailer that can’t just close down in the face of a serious pandemic. We know the store has to stay open. We don’t expect it to close. Ever. I mean, we’re the only store in town open on Christmas all day. The world can end twice over and we’ll still be selling cigarettes and printing photo orders.

Some of what’s happened to other stores (read: grocery) has happened with us. My store in particular is out of toilet paper and paper towels, milk, eggs, sanitizer, etc. All those nice things that the panicking hoarders bought everyone out of within two weeks or so, they’re gone. They’ve been gone. And it’s near impossible to get it back in stock.

We’ve had customers give us shit because we don’t have any paper goods, cleaning supplies, disinfectant, masks, gloves, rubbing alcohol, heck - even the Tylenol is all gone. You know how much OTC pain medicine we keep on the shelves year-round? TONS. And it’s wiped clean. Even the generic Tylenol is out. It’s nuts. 

“Why are you still out of everything!? Don’t you guys receive trucks anymore?”

“When are you getting “[name that product]” in?”

“WHY DON’T YOU EVER HAVE TOILET PAPER?”

Okay, truth be told, we have been getting paper goods back in stock. By the third hour it’s been restocked to the floor, it’s gone again, and that’s with setting a harsh limit per customer. We’ll get maybe two bottles of hand sanitizer in a week. Clorox or Lysol wipes and disinfectant spray? Forget it.

The Tylenol is a recent addition to the “whoop, it’s gone!” club. We’ll probably restock just fine on it, but it might take a week or so. ...Or maybe it won’t. Who knows.

I can see exactly what comes in on each truck before it arrives. But I can’t tell the customers that in fear they’ll storm the truck or something before we’ve finished unloading it. 

“Our truck comes later this week. We can’t guarantee what’s going to be on it.”

Which is true, because essentially every distribution center is out of all the things people want. 

And because we are also a pharmacy, where the sick come to get the medicine to feel better, we are constantly in the line of fire for picking up whatever illness our customers drag through the front door. Doesn’t have to be COVID-19. People don’t know how to stay the fuck home when they’re ill.

You would think that all the Karens and the Susans who bought all the hand soap, sanitizer and face masks would have better sick etiquette, but nooo, they’re the ones not covering their mouth and nose and spreading their germs all over everyone and everything.

And don’t even get me started on how dirty money is.

So, being such a large and well-respected(?) retail pharmacy, what has Walgreens done for our employees in these troubling times of uncertainty and unease for their team members?

1. 2 weeks of paid sick pay but only if you’ve been confirmed to have COVID-19. And since testing is so readily available (HA), if you have flu-symptoms and choose to stay home and self-isolate, you can! But it comes out of either your PTO, or goes unpaid. 

And if your child is home because no school and you have no one to watch them? It’s fine to stay home, but you won’t get paid unless you pull PTO. If you have it.

2. Social distancing markers! There are tape lines on the floor for the checkout and pharmacy lines. Except that when you need the pharmacist for a consult and you’re at the window, or standing at the pharmacy/front checkout counter, it is impossible to stand 6ft away. What, am I supposed to let the customer throw the money at me? Am I supposed to ring out their purchases and fling the bag back at them? Let me tell you a secret: it doesn’t work.

3. Discouraged wearing of gloves and masks at the front register. Okay, I see the point behind these. Not that anyone has masks to wear, mind you, but they don’t prevent the catching of COVID-19. And wearing gloves just keeps the dirt and germs on the gloves, and keeps you from frequently washing your hands, which is what everyone recommends you doing anyhow. But...realistically. The checkout cashier doesn’t have the ability after every 2 transactions to go wash their hands. And sanitizer is really only so effective. Either way, it’s not stopping whoever wants to wear gloves from wearing them, so we have gloves up front to use. 

4. Sent care packages to help us clean, and reduced store hours. My store was open 8am-10pm. Now it’s 9am-9pm. That hour in each direction really doesn’t do a whole lot of difference. The idea is to clean, disinfect everything, and restock in the new time window that the store is now closed. Which is fine. But we don’t have anything to restock, our stockroom is BARE. And those care packages for the store to use? A case of toilet paper that I could have ordered myself when ordering supplies, a 6-pack of paper towels, two tubs of Clorox wipes, a box of 30 gloves. Oh yes, this will last a long time... We’ve also been given the go-ahead to expense any product off the shelf that we need to keep the store disinfected. 

...Expense what!? THE SHELVES ARE EMPTY.

---

To give my company some credit, they are very good at keeping us updated with what’s going on. There are usually message posts every/every other day, and I honestly do feel like they are trying to do well in a situation that is trying for just about everyone. 

Many team members have spoken up in comment forums with concerns, and they are doing what they can to address them.

Now, having said that....

(Remember that first paragraph about hazard pay? I know it was like a year ago up there at the top of the post)

Today, 3/22/20, Walgreens announced that they are giving their store and distribution team members a one-time bonus to show their appreciation for us. 

We, the team members ringing out all of our customers purchases while they cough and sneeze uncovered in our general direction, the pharmacy technicians and pharmacists dealing with angry and impatient patients because the lines are long and everyone’s trying to get early refills on their medications, on top of the usual crowd in for their regular pickup or just trying to drop off a new script. We the team members having to placate the customers by walking into an empty stockroom, look at the empty shelving for 10 seconds so we can then walk back out and assure them that “no, we really are out of face masks and rubbing alcohol”. 

We hourly team members fighting the fight on the front lines and praying to whoever we believe in that we don’t contract COVID-19 from anyone and everyone, will get a one-time bonus of $300 for full-timers, and $150 for part-time, at the end of APRIL.

Are. You. Serious?

I realize that it is better than them shrugging their shoulders and doing absolutely nothing. For many people, I’m sure it’ll be welcome. I can definitely use the $300, considering I lost all my hours at my second job and am going to probably be short in the upcoming months. 

But, as this is a bonus, it’ll probably be taxed to hell. I’ll probably really see only half of it. And when you break it down, it’s like a $.53 raise, for four weeks. But you have to wait four weeks to get it. 

We are just as vital as the grocery store down the street. The fact that Walgreens think that this will placate its worried employee-base is completely out of touch. But then again, the people making these decisions are probably doing so from the comfort of home and not in the stores super busy with customers standing on top of each other, and us while they grab the last can of soup and box of vinyl gloves available. 

For us fighting to keep everyone else happy and healthy, this is a slap in the face and a punch to the gut. 

If I am going to work every day, risking my health and the health of my family just so everyone else can pick up their essentials...and non-essentials, I should be compensated for it. Without us in the stores, no one is getting their good sad stare at the toilet paper aisle, ranting over the lack of Tylenol, or waiting in line for that flu shot they should have gotten at least 5-6 months ago.

Not to mention...you know...getting their medication. That’s important too.

It’s time Walgreens gave us the hazard pay we deserve. And conveniently enough, several days ago, someone started a petition in hopes that might happen.

So if you’ve made it to the end of my rant, and want to try and help out a frustrated shift manager, or any of the other thousands of store and DC employees who must feel extremely slighted right now, feel free to click and sign. There are already 45,000+ signatures. Every bit helps.

And if not? Maybe signal boost this post. It might wander onto the blog of another Walgreens employee just as frustrated as I am. Who knows.

Thanks for reading,  Michelle the disgruntled employee 

[robinskey]

Steve x Nancy’s Childhood Friend! Reader (pt 2)

Part One

A/N:  Yay! A second part! I considered rewriting this without bullet points but ultimately decided to leave it as-is. If you’d prefer a story format, let me know, and I can do that for the next part. :) Happy reading.

Warnings: Spoilers for the first two seasons.

After the Steve/Jonathan fight, you start to suspect there might be something between Jonathan and Nancy

She assures you that it’s nothing

And it’s not exactly the best time to investigate

Your friend is a little preoccupied right now

You know, dealing with her other best friend’s disappearance

Eventually

Everything more or less returns to normal

Before long, Nancy reconciles with Steve

Slowly, you start to adjust to the sight of your friend draped around Steve Harrington

And around the time you get used to it

They break up again

Not actually because of Jonathan

But because Steve’s an inconsiderate birdbrain

And also Nancy doesn’t love him

But you focus more on the first reason

Because it’s a great reason to egg his house again

Nancy begs you not to do it this time

She doesn’t give you a concrete reason why

She just says the situation is a lot more complicated than you know

“What’s complicated, Nance? Steve the Jerk is being a jerk.”

“Well, yeah, but…there are other reasons, too.”

“Like what? Your thing with Jonathan?”

“I don’t have a thing with Jonathan, Y/N.”

“You don’t have a thing with him yet, you mean.”

Nancy throws a pillow at your head

You’re able to dodge it

But you won’t be able to dodge all the chaos that’s coming your way

Just like you predicted, Nancy and Jonathan start spending a lot more time together after she ends things with Steve

Like, a lot more time together

You’ll go over to the Wheelers’ to hang out, and Karen will answer the door with a perplexed look on her face

“Nancy’s not here right now, Y/N. I think she’s with the Byers boy.”

“Oh, um…okay. Could you just let her know I stopped by?”

Nancy stops returning your calls

Finally, one day, you finally catch her at lunch

She and Jonathan are sitting in the back of the cafeteria, heads bent together, whispering about something

“Hey, Nance”

Her head snaps up, doe eyes glittering with apprehension

“Oh, hey, Y/N. What’s-what’s up?”

There are pictures spread out in front of them. Jonathan frantically sweeps them towards him with his arms.

“I, um…I was just going to ask if you wanted to hang out tonight”

Nancy’s gaze shifts to the dirty cafeteria tile as she slowly shakes her head 

“I’m sorry, Y/N. I can’t today. Jonathan and I have this…uh…science project due tomorrow.”

Having known Nancy Wheeler nearly all your life, you know when she’s lying

But you also know when there’s no way in heck she’s about to fess up

So you just sort of nod and pivot on your heel

As soon as you turn around, you lock eyes with the exact boy you never thought you’d catch staring at you

But the moment your gaze meets his, he looks away

You find yourself a dark corner of the cafeteria

Where you nibble on your ham sandwich

And try to convince yourself that it had just been a fluke

For the rest of the day, you’re lost in your ponderings

And by the time you realize the final bell has rung, the classroom is already empty

Unsurprisingly, you miss the bus

It’s a little chilly

But it’s not like you have any other choice

So you decide to walk

You’re barely off the school grounds when a black BMW 733i pulls up next to the sidewalk

You watch in shock as the passenger window rolls down to reveal Steve Harrington in the driver’s seat

“Hey, you’re Nancy’s friend, right? Need a ride?”

Goosebumps have started to form on your bare arms, and your lips feel a little numb, but you’re not that desperate

You yank one strap of your backpack up higher on your shoulder and march onward

“I promise I don’t bite. Come on, you’ve got a long walk ahead of you,” he continues, rolling the car along at a few miles per hour to keep up with your pace

“Not interested, Steve, but thanks for the offer”

There’s a grand pause, the only sounds coming from the crooning singer on Steve’s radio and the twinkling giggles of schoolgirls playing in a nearby yard

And then

“Please, Y/N?” 

Hearing your name tumble from King Steve’s lips gives you pause

“If I get in that car, and that’s a big IF,” you say, “you take me directly to my house without trying any funny business, you drop me off, and that’s it. I don’t owe you any favors or anything”

Steve shifts the car into park, unbuckles his seatbelt, and leans over as far as he can. He extends his arm, which is long enough for the tips of his fingers to make it out the window

You cross your arms over your chest, a deep frown creasing your face

“What is that?”

“It’s a handshake. A promise to not try any-what did you call it? ‘Funny business,’“ he says

You take a cautious step toward the vehicle, half-expecting Steve to yell “Psych!”, step on the gas pedal, and speed away. He doesn’t

“Come on, Y/N. If you stand out there much longer, you’re going to get frostbite, and I don’t think I have enough gas in this thing to drive you to the hospital”

You scoff-as if King Steve would waste his precious time making such a peasant received proper health care-but still grasp Steve’s outstretched hand with your own

Your inner thirteen-year-old is squealing over the fact that you’re basically holding hands with Steve Harrington

And you just freeze like that

Until Harrington goes, “Hello! Earth to Y/N!”

You drop his hand like a hot potato, whip open the car door, and hop into the front seat

And suddenly, you’re riding in Steve Harrington’s BMW

Get it together, Y/N. It’s just a ride home…

…with your best friend’s ex

“Pick whatever music you want,” he says

Your fingers hover over the knobs, itching to turn to a new station. But they’re all so shiny, so new-just like everything else in this dang car. You’ve never seen a teenage boy with such pristine possessions

Then again, the car probably wasn’t his to wreck-you were sure it was bought with Daddy’s money

For a while, you ride along in silence

Watching as the world whirs past

As he drives, Steve lightly taps the steering wheel to the beat of the music and hums along to the melody

It’s clear he’s trying to fill the void left by the lack of conversation

“So, um…how are you?” Steve asks in a bit of a sing-song voice

You peer at him out of the corner of your eye

You can tell he’s trying incredibly hard to act nonchalant

And it’s honestly disturbing

“Okay, okay. We don’t have to talk. That’s cool”

He stops speaking, but his noise-making will never cease

Steve cranks up the radio, and his light humming gradually evolves (devolves?) into belting out the lyrics to We Built This City

It’s utterly ridiculous, and you have to bite the inside of your cheek to keep from laughing

Seven minutes later, Steve finally pulls into your driveway

He doesn’t even have to ask which house is yours. When you wonder aloud how he remembered, he shrugs

“You’re Nancy’s best friend”

The mention of Nancy rubs a sensitive spot

Steve watches your carefree expression morph into a deep frown

“Hey, um-I know the bus is awful. Not that I’ve ever ridden the bus, of course-but I’ve heard the horror stories”

He pauses as your face contorts again into a squint of confusion. You clearly don’t know where he’s going with this

To be fair, he doesn’t, either

“What I’m trying to tell you, I guess-is that if you ever need a ride home again, or if you ever want me to pick you up in the morning, let me know”

You eye him suspiciously as you unbuckle your seatbelt

“What’s the catch?”

“No catch”

When you hear this, your arms instantly return to their criss-cross position across your chest

“What?” he asks. His free hand runs through his infamous dark locks. “You said no funny business”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d actually listen”

“I’m a much better listener than you might think, Y/N”

You gaze at him for several long seconds

It’s certainly suspicious that he’s being so nice to you

But honestly, if it gets you off that stupid bus, you don’t care

“Fine,” you huff, popping open the passenger door and hopping out

You sling your bag across your shoulder and look back at Steve

“Be here at 7:30 tomorrow morning-not a minute later”

You can tell he’s surprised by the way his pupils suddenly dilate, then contract

But he doesn’t say anything-just raises his hand in a mock-salute

“Aye aye, Captain”

You watch as the BMW speeds off

Trying to ignore the pit forming in the bottom of your stomach

What have you done?

Tag list: @irreplaceable-ecstasy

If you want to be added to the tag list for this series/my writing in general, leave a reply or send me a message! Thanks again for reading. <3

[edorazzi]

Well, here we are again! Twitter said yes to a review post for a Miraculous magazine that suddenly showed up in my local area. ‘Tis the season after all, and by that I mean someone bought it for me as a joke birthday gift and I was way too happy about that.

I’ve done previous reviews of the Miraculous Christmas calendar, Easter egg set, superhero fashion dolls and action figures, so let’s dive into the unknown world of merchandising yet again!

(As always, if you enjoy my posts, please consider checking out my Twitter page or supporting me on Patreon for lots of bonus content!)

4 FREE GIFTS! PACKED WITH ACTIVITIES! MEET THE KWAMIS! PRANKS & LOLS! CUT-OUT MEMES! FANGIRL ALERT! NAIL ART! 100% OFFICIAL! I’m overwhelmed! It feels like I’m having a seizure just from the packaging!!! 

I should preface this by saying I haven’t bought a magazine like this in years. Possibly ever. I read things like the Beano, Animals & You and the odd Disney Princess zine when I was a kid but I have no idea what to expect from a free-gift-packed kiddie magazine in 2019. If the outside is anything to go by we’re in for a wild ride.

I’m noticing that it says “Miraculous #20″ on the back. Does this mean I’ve missed 19 previous issues? I’m genuinely a little upset by that. My local area is a complete dry zone for Miraculous so I haven’t had the chance to pick these up.

First step: let’s separate everything out and get a look at these freeeee giftssss. Except they aren’t free, because this magazine was like £3.99. This does seem to be the current trend - it’s kinda rare to see any kids’ zines without the excess packaging crammed with ‘free’ stuff. Is it really too expensive to just produce the magazine? Probably, in this economy.

Chat Noir is revealed on the cover! He was on the back of the plastic jacket, but it’s still nice to see the kids as a front-cover duo. Apparently we’re going to learn to draw Pollen, too, which sounds fun. I’m actually liking the look of the gifts as well, but we’ll get into those in a minute.

This hairbrush............. is adorable. Oh my god. It’s pretty cheap and flimsy but it functions the way it’s supposed to, and the Ladybug design has been taken into account in a better way than “it’s red/black, that counts” (lest we forget the UTTER BULLSHIT of the Christmas calendar, and YES I’m still mad about that). I don’t know how well I expect the outer sticker to last, but if it can take a bit of wear and tear this would be an adorable little travel brush. Nicely done, lads!

These nail stickers? Also adorable. They remind me of the kiddie makeup sets I had when I was little, back in the early 00s when plastic stick-on nails and decals were all the rage. Are they still a thing? That’s nice to know.

There are 13 designs (that I can count) - a Queen Bee mask, Chat Noir pawprint cake, macaron, cupcake, heart-print cookie, Ladybug stud, flower, lightning bolt, love heart, Marinette heart, bee, fox tail and star. The majority are directly related to the show and that makes them feel special. No Carapace though? :(

I’ve put a little Marinette heart on my furthest finger. At the time of typing this up (about a day later) it’s still firmly in place. I haven’t really knocked it around, granted, but it’s not flimsy enough to fall off after five minutes either. It’s also really cute to look at. Guess I’m still a decal-loving 2004 girl at heart......

These stickers though!!! Wow! They’re those holographic and slightly-puffy kind and they feel like pretty good quality, and the designs are so cute! I can’t fault these, they’re absolutely adorable. I immediately want to stick them everywhere.

So I’ve stuck them everywhere. I’m especially proud of the light switch pun. My room looks GREAT.

I saved these “mystery stickers” for last because I’m weak for the thrill of mystery bags, and there wasn’t anything on the packaging to indicate what kind of designs to expect. And OH!!!! OH, IT’S MY BOY!!!! Look at him!!!! 

I made jokes with the Christmas calendar about all the Chat Noir items being stolen ahead of time, but that’s definitely NOT the case with this magazine. I have been SPOILED with the presence of my cat son.

These stickers are similar to the sticker sheet (and the Chillin’ Out design is reprinted), but they’re puffier and non-holographic. I’m deeply allured by the “decorate your phone or tablet” suggestion on the packet, but I’m going to see how the previous stickers withstand the wear-and-tear of my laptop lid before adding any more. If I damage these beautiful Adrien stickers I’ll be devastated.

Those are our free gifts! They’re actually very fun and cute, I’m really happy with them! I guess now it’s time to get into the magazine itself...........

I genuinely almost forgot the magazine was the main part of this package. I figured I was done, but we’ve barely even started! Here’s a splash page of the kwami. Kwami with a capital K? Kwamis? I still feel like it should be singular-lower-case-k-kwami. I’ve never been happy about this “miraculouses” business either.

But is that--

It IS!!!! It’s Nino!!! 

I guess this is the new flavour of Miraculous tie-ins. Now they’ve broadened out to a full team we’re seeing a lot more of Adrien alongside the girls, and Nino is the elusive hero who shows up once in a blue moon. At least this time his name isn’t in the title of the gotdam show.......

Anyway, I can see I’m supposed to draw my “fave Kwami”. Better get to it.

Felix just wants a break. Just one break. But not in this magazine.

Speaking of seeing more of Adrien (and, tragically, less of Nino), this is the kind of splash page I want to see! Both kids are here! The banner themed with Marinette’s signature flowers is a nice touch too; that’s associated with her arts ‘n’ crafts in the show already and it makes sense to apply it to the creative portion of this magazine too.

I LOVE the promotion of Chat Noir nails as something the little girls buying this magazine will definitely want to try. I’d expect them to do Marinette vs Ladybug nails, but instead we get a boyish option! Hell yeah!

I’m a little confused by the Queen Bee masks apparently going on the Chat Noir nails though. I guess they’re friends? Is this secret AdriChlo confirmation? Watch out, Marinette, Kagami’s not the one to be worried about.

SURE WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE SOME TURTLE STICKERS FOR AN ALL-BOYS THEME BUT I GUESS NOT HUH

Next up is a short merch catalogue (why would you put the big bold arrow pointing right to the underoos.....). Would those Chat Noir socks come in my size? Asking for me.

Then there’s......... this page. FANGIRL ALERT. God. It’s like the Ladyblog, if only the Ladyblog ever gave a heck about reporting what Chat Noir’s up to.

THE SPELL WAS BROKEN AND THE FANDOM IMPLODED WITH JOY.

I really have to wonder what age range this is meant for. Do kids know what a “fandom” is? Do little girls consider themselves “fangirls”? I guess most kids have enough internet access to figure it out these days (all the hashtags and LOLs and memes speak volumes), but I can’t imagine being young enough to fit the target range of this magazine while also knowing these terms. I dunno.

(Also, the definition of ‘implosion’ is ‘an instance of something collapsing violently inwards’, so I’m not sure that’s the word they’re looking for. Unless the return to the status quo in Dark Cupid and the continuing stagnation of the love square was enough to make people quit in frustration? Probably.)

I’m filling it in, of course. Because I must.

I gave up on the pre-approved ratings system pretty much right away, but I think this is an accurate rating of my LadyNoir opinions. 

I might be kinda cynical about it here, but I am actually pretty fond of how this magazine sells Ladybug and Chat Noir as a couple. The show’s portraying it as very onesided lately, with Chat pining over Ladybug who has absolutely no interest in him (Glaciator was a TERRIBLE episode and I’m still hurting from it), but reading this zine I’d guess they were already dating. It’s cheesy, but in a nice way.

I have to laugh at “the most amazing thing about this super duo is that they always look out for and protect each other” though. Chat’s usually pretty focused on LB, sure, but there are endless instances of LB using Chat as cannon fodder and just generally abandoning him to get mauled by akuma while she carries out her personal private plan to save the day. Maybe we’re just focusing on the better-written episodes, huh?

Moving ahead. I’ve been dreading this page since reading “Plaggs Pranks & LOLs” on the back of the packaging. I feel hatred in my very bones just looking at it.

I like that there’s ONE instance of the term “ladybird” in the joke column. This is a UK-based magazine and that IS the word we tend to use over here - “ladybug” is an Americanism - but it’s like they’re worried kids could have got to the middle of this magazine about a superhero named Ladybug and then not understand the bug jokes. Maybe whoever was writing this page slipped up?

OH NOOOOO. MARINETTE, NOOOOOOOOOO.

THIS IS WHY FELIX GOT RID OF YOU, PLAGG. THESE ARE ADRIEN’S PROBLEMS NOW.

(mmm whatcha saaaaay)

I mean........... YEAH, I guess, but we absolutely did see Plagg destroy Felix with an entire shelf of heavy books. I guess he’s nicer with Adrien. It’s all fun and games until someone has a nervous breakdown in the library.

I do love the concept of Tikki getting glitter-bombed by Plagg through the mail. She just curiously opens up the little letter which got slipped into Marinette’s purse, and-- WOOSH. One entire wall of Mari’s room is glittery except for a little Tikki-shaped silhouette. 

Next up is a two-page comic which is absolutely adorable! Look at those little chibis! The warm and soft colour palette! This is nicer than most of the official Miraculous comic book art I’ve seen, I hope they keep giving this artist work.

Nino’s here too (and he looks great!), and I like the touch of Marinette and Adrien playing as each other’s superhero characters. Adrien even wins the match, though I guess there’s something to be said about Ladybug beating Chat Noir (again)...... 

It does raise the question yet again of where this tie-in merchandise is coming from! They’ve had action figures, a movie, music video features, now an arcade game... Who’s getting the royalties here? Who’s profiting? Is this how Fu can afford to buy all those rare ingredients for the magic potions?

Over the page we have an activity to Design your Secret Lair! Right away I love the Marinette theme of the page, the soft pink and flowers, and the drawing space looking like a page in a binder with marker tabs and everything.

I have to design my secret lair, of course: 

What do you think? I’m very creative. I’ll need an adult to send in the drawing of my hideout but I think I’ve really got a shot at those unicorn headphones.

Now we’re on to puzzles and character pages. I don’t know what ol’ Gabe is doing trying to meet a 13 year old girl in the dead of night without telling anyone, you’d think if he’s got that much free time on his hands he could be spending it with his son.

I don’t know how those points in Ladybug’s power profile are awarded or what they mean, but you can tell this is a fan magazine. Official sources would have put her at a 10.

Standard House of Villains page! Most of these were good episodes but I’m deeply offended Riposte isn’t on here. Maybe her motives weren’t dramatic and cartoonish enough to be up in the ranks with Glaciator and Gorizilla?

“Cat Noir’s dad is also the evil Hawk Moth”, huh? I mean that’s not WRONG, but is it really something to put in his power profile when Adrien doesn’t even know yet??? Feels like we’re kinda jumping the gun on the poor boy. What if he picks up this magazine?

Apparently he’s one point weaker than Ladybug (seriously???), two points faster, equally as agile, one point less skilled and two points less cool. Despite all those lesses he still comes out at an equal 9, which is a relief! These kids are a team, putting either of them below the other would have been a big no.

I did the colouring page too, naturally. Je suis un artiste.

Now we’ve got a page fresh from the Ladyblog, a Miraculous quiz! Not a lot of excitement, but it’s nice to see Alya getting her own section.

I like that the qualifications of “you could be Ladybug herself!” are knowing what city Marinette lives in and what school she goes to. Well done, Mari! You’re doing your best!!!

TEACHER I AM SO HUNGRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

I gotta say, I’m not so sure about decorating donuts with fondant. I’ve never tried it so I could be wrong, but it feels like rolled icing instead of frosting(?) would be too heavy for an entire donut. The texture is totally different.

I mean I guess if you’re going to load your kids up on sugar you might as well go all the way. They’re going to look like they’ve eaten something horrible with all that black fondant, but they’ll have fun. Adrien would love these.

WHERE’S NINO. THIS IS JUST UNFAIR. You’ll have four out of five heroes, then a double of Marinette and Tikki? Maybe this just goes to show how little memorable dialogue Carapace has.

Though if “Spots On!” is Marinette’s dialogue and not Ladybug’s, why are the other transformation phrases attributed to Rena Rouge and Queen Bee instead of Alya and Chloé? Surely they could have picked something better for Marinette to justify having her on this list twice instead of Nino.

The next page brings us one of those flowchart quizzes! And ouch, yet again the absence of the other heroes is obvious. I can understand not including Chloé here since she’s technically not a “friendly” character yet, but no Nino? Alya and Marinette are close friends, but Adrien doesn’t really hang out with them without Nino around. Having the three of them together just seems strange.

I do like the little fashion page! They’re all cute and affordable and easy to find on the high street here. I’d love to see how other issues of this magazine are structured; is there a different fashion spot every time? Styles to channel each individual hero would be adorable.

Moving on to a tutorial for a Ladybug notebook! I would have made this, but I didn’t have the time nor a notebook to stick it to.

Between this and the donuts, it seems weird that these designs are based on, like... an actual beetle, eyes and antennae and all. Shouldn’t it be Ladybug’s symbol? These come across more like “fun animals” arts ‘n’ crafts instead of themed after Miraculous specifically. I think if I made this (or decorated the donuts) I’d miss out the head and match the spot pattern to Ladybug’s symbol. 

The hidden message design is adorable though. I can see this being a craft kids are super proud of.

Another activity page! I didn’t have a go at these but they’re pretty standard. It’s cute that the coded message designs are the same as the stickers and nail decals!

Also, apparently Ladybug’s ‘secret’ is “LB mask + heart + CN mask”, which was (somehow) stolen by Volpina. Is that the secret Hawk Moth was talking about earlier in the magazine? Is he blackmailing Ladybug with revealing she has a crush on Chat Noir? How did Volpina ‘steal’ this secret? Is LadyNoir finally reciprocated???? THIS IS A WHOLE EPISODE IN ITSELF, I NEED ANSWERS--

Next page we have an ad for another girly magazine (Quizzes! LOLs! Celebs! Cringes! Puzzles!). I think I’ll pass, no matter how appealing that giant microphone pen is. 

And a “Miraculous Identity” quiz! Tikki’s apparently super fickle with her wielders, three seasons of relentlessly praising Marinette and now she’s telling us we’re the Chosen Ones. You can’t fool me with those big ol’ eyes.

My inner superhero is Marvellous Fox, by the way. Though yet again I’m noticing we don’t have turtle options...................

And on the back cover... the memes. Oh, sweet lord, the memes. They’re hashtag-SoRelatable! And I can cut them out to keep! Oh boy!!!

Is this what kids do when they have limited internet access? Cut fresh memes out of magazines and carry them around? I need to know.

That’s a very sinister Ladybug at the bottom of the page though. What’s-- What’s she going to do to me if I don’t cut out and keep these memes. Ladybug what are you going to do if I d--

Well that brings us to the end of the magazine! And yet again I’m surprised by how much time it takes to just put a bunch of photos together and write about them.

This is a neat little magazine all in all! The ‘free gifts’ are pretty nice, there’s a fair amount of content and the whole thing is pretty cute for young fans of the show. I could see myself buying this again - if it ever shows up on shelves, Miraculous is so scarce around here that I fully expect it to disappear again after this one issue - just for the free junk, but it would be interesting to see how they’d structure different issues too!

I notice we never did get that promised tutorial on how to draw Pollen; the one advertised on the cover. Was the “draw your favourite Kwami” activity supposed to cover that? I’m not sure that really counts.

If you got this far, thanks for joining me on this Miraculous journey! We’ll meet again whenever I get another piece of weird ML merch to cover. Bien joué!

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Two Hundred Eleven: Random Laughter ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: A Light Amongst Shadows ] [ AO3 Link ]

It...really confused him at first. They could be doing just about anything, and she would just...laugh. Typically it came out of nowhere - a complete and utter silence...interrupted by a giggle.

For a time, he thought maybe he was doing something that just...made her laugh. But then there was once where he was literally just sitting and reading, Hinata working on some random knitting project...and it happened! She suddenly brought a hand to her mouth and just...giggled. The house was silent. He wasn’t moving.

...what was so funny about knitting, he had to wonder.

She could be doing anything. Watering her flowers, doing dishes, folding laundry. And then bam, she’d break into a chuckle!

It drove him nuts for a while. What the heck was so funny?!

“Hinata…”

“W-what?” Wiping a tear, she turns to him, trying to catch her breath from another random burst of merriment.

“What the hell is so funny?”

“Oh, well...it’s sort of a long story…”

“I’ve got nothing else to do.”

“I was just...thinking of this mission Kiba-kun and Shino-kun went on with me once...and Kiba, he -” A pause as giggles escape. “He w-woke up...in his sleeping bag...and a caterpillar had started crawling up his n-n-nose!” With that, she’s gone again, dissolving into a howl of laughter.

...what?

Sasuke just stares at her incredulously as she tries to rein in her amusement. “...uh...okay. What made you think of that?”

“Oh, I don’t know...it just came to me.”

“It just...came to you. You didn’t see a caterpillar in the backyard, or...hear from Kiba lately?”

“No...stuff like that just...pops into my head sometimes! You don’t...you don’t do that?”

“Uh...no.” Maybe because he doesn’t have all together too many funny memories to pull from…

“Aww...well, that’s just...a thing I do, I guess.” Another few giggles.

“I was...so confused for so long about that…”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I thought maybe you were laughing at something I’d done.”

“Oh, n-no! Well…” A short snort. “...I guess I might remember funny things about you sometimes.”

“...when am I ever funny?”

“To be fair...I don’t think you usually mean to be,” Hinata admits, smiling sheepishly.

“...all right, give me an example.”

A moment to think. “There was this one time...you were trying to cut some kind of...vegetable? I can’t remember. And when you went to cut it, it...it just…!” A hand tries to stifle her laugh. “It went f-flying! All the way across the kitchen! And you just...you stared at it. And your face...it was like it had insulted your ancestors! I’d never seen you make that face before, and it cracked me up!”

Sasuke thinks for a moment as Hinata struggles to keep calm in the background. That...doesn’t ring any bells, but then again...he doesn’t have much reason to commit that to memory. “Why do you remember that kind of stuff?”

“I don’t know...I just do. I laughed so hard at you trying to cut that thing, I got lightheaded! I guess I just...hang onto things that make me laugh.”

“You’ve never done that during a mission, have you?” Seems like a good way to blow one’s cover...

She considers that a moment. “...not that I can remember? But I’m in a different mindset when I’m working. But if my mind can start wandering when it’s quiet, and I’m just sort of...spacing out, it just...goes to things like that sometimes. I can’t tell you why.”

A dark brow perks. “...well, all right then.”

“I still can’t believe you don’t d-do that…”

“I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone doing that. Random memories, sure...but enough to bring you back to laughing out of the blue?”

Hinata’s expression turns sheepish again. “...is it weird?”

Not bothering to stop a snort, he draws her to his side with an arm. “Yes, it’s weird.” Ignoring her pouting wriggling to get free, he gives the crown of her head a kiss. “But I like your weird, remember?”

That gets her to still. “...I guess that’s true.”

“You guess?”

She doesn’t reply verbally, instead just sticking her tongue out at him.

Giving a mock deadpan look, he pinches her nose between his knuckles and watches her eep in surprise. “Don’t be rude.”

“Sasuke, that hurts!” she whines, tone muffled as though with a cold and hands slapping at him lightly in reprimand.

“I’m barely even touching you…”

From then on, he occasionally asks what it is that makes her laugh whenever it happens. Most of her answers are from her younger years...before the pair of them really ever knew each other. Stories with her teammates, or Sakura and Ino...a few about Naruto. Every so often there’s some from family, even the stoic Neji.

...in a way...he’s a little envious. So much of his life was spent in so dark a place, with such a serious focus on his goals, things like this never happened. Or if they did...he wasn’t paying attention. He couldn’t pay attention.

It makes him realize just how much he missed.

And yet, in another, it’s a view into Hinata’s past he’d never get, otherwise. Each little snippet tells him something new about her, or her friends, or her family. He can almost picture most of them, Hinata telling each tale with sprinkles of giggles in between her words. They almost become a bit cathartic for him. Little peeks into her life before it became so intertwined with his.

And then...Sasuke gets one of his own.

They’re working on dinner one evening, the pair of them splitting the work, like always. Hinata’s had a craving for ramen, so they’re trying to make some from scratch. As Sasuke works on the noodles, Hinata begins peeling the hard boiled eggs in the sink, giving them a gentle squeeze to crack the shell and remove it.

She’s marked the ones she cooked earlier in the carton with little marker marks on the tops of the shell. And as she gets into a rhythm...she doesn’t notice that she’s actually grabbed a blank egg. The first squeeze, to her disappointment, doesn’t crack it. So, she tries harder. And...a little harder. Until, lips pursed with annoyance, she decides to give it a slap on the counter.

...raw egg splatters everywhere.

Turning at her gasp of surprise, Sasuke looks Hinata up and down. Her jaw is dropped in shock, eyes wide, her front speckled with egg. It’s all over the counter, dripping down the cupboard doors and pooling on the floor.

They both just...stare at it for a moment.

...and then Sasuke bursts into a deep belly laugh.

Looking at him, Hinata watches as Sasuke leans back against a clear part of the counter, noodles temporarily abandoned as he drowns in mirth.

“Did...did you really just…?” he tries to ask, wiping at his eyes.

Puffing up indignantly, she stutters, “I-I just…! I thought it was -?”

He cuts her off with another laugh, a hand coming up to rest over his face. Gods, when was the last time he laughed this hard? “...oh man...you’re a mess.”

“N-no joke!”

“Here...you go, uh...clean yourself up. I’ll handle this.”

“But -?”

“Go. It’s fine, really. I can handle it until you get back.”

Turning a bit sheepish, she does as asked, mumbling about investing in an apron.

Wiping up the aftermath, Sasuke gives one last chuckle to himself. This might just be the first of his new stockpile to laugh at later.

                                                            .oOo.

     More random fluff, which honestly? Is one of my favorite things to write x3 Even if making this as long as I like to try to keep this was a little hard, haha~ I try to keep an average of about 1200 words...and overall I'm actually at about 1450, woo!      Though, on that note, just a heads up for the upcoming SasuHina month (which, yes, I'll be doing and posting to these accounts on both AO3 and Tumblr): those entries will likely be a LOT shorter. I'm going to TRY to do both my dailies, and those...and I'd rather focus on keeping my average word count for this project. So if the SHM entries are short, apologies...it's just gonna be a lot to juggle during my free time in addition to the RP I like to do, and other fic projects I've got going on another account / blog!      Buuut yeah, now that that's out of the way: a slightly early entry, woo! And yeah, some simple fluff. I've always HC'd Hinata as a major daydreamer, so...having her thoughts wander and make her randomly laugh is EXACTLY what I picture her doing, haha - so I knew just what to write. Poor Sasuke doesn't have as many happy memories to draw from...but with Hinata, he's going to finally make some n_n      Anyway, since I'm a lil early, off to another project I go for the night! Thanks for reading~

[pedanticat]

Thoughts and realizations on MLP season 1 and 2

With MLP ending I’ve decided to start watching the series from the beginning. Before I started watching season 3, I wanted to talk about and point out all the things I find interesting about the show early in its early years, things I didn’t realize the first time around, questions I never really thought of until rewatching the first two seasons and how things are different in the show now compared to season one and two.

It’s kind of weird how we don’t see more Luna and Twilight interactions since Twilight helped Luna reconnect with her subjects and how to fit in with modern Equestria. By the end of Luna Eclipse, Luna and Twilight become friends, but not only do we never really see the two interact with each other that much after the episode, there’s also that weird scene in the season 3 premiere in which Luna doesn’t seem to think Twilight is up to task at the Crystal Empire.

I never really realized how weird it was for Luna to not show up again till season 2. Like, the second episode of the series ends with the revelation that the villain was actually Princess Celestia sister, yet she doesn’t make another appearance till season 2.

Luna punishing herself for her actions in Do Princess Dream of Magic Sheep make zero sense when you consider the fact that the whole point of Luna Eclipse was that she wanted to be forgiven by the ponies of Equestria and be friends with them

It’s never explained what Luna did as Nightmare Night or how long she was Nightmare Night. Like she’s regarded as this terrible villain according to myth, but it’s never really explained what terrible things she did. All we know that in the show, Luna grew jealous of Celestia, became Nightmare Moon and was then banished to the moon.

Pinkie Pie Pinkie sense really isn’t utilized that often and is barely even referenced. Like with Pinkie Pie having her own version of spider sense you think the writers would utilize it more, but they don’t. Like there have been numerous times in the show in which Pinkie Pie Pinkie sense would have come in handy but they didn’t since the writers seem to have forgotten about it for the most part.

Despite being capable of speech just like ponies, Cows and Sheep are treated like farm animals even though creatures like Buffalos and Yaks have their own culture

We have no idea what’s the deal with Donkey’s and mules are. Like its never really explained if they are from another country like Zebra’s or if they’ve always been part of Equestria. You got to imagine that Donkey’s would feel jealous of ponies since they don’t seem to have any magic at all and are just plain. Plus, a mule is a combination of a horse and donkey, so it honestly would be interesting to see an interspecies relationship between a horse and donkey on screen.

It's interesting how the Everfree forest became less of a threat as the series went on. Early on its regarded as this scary and dangerous episode but then in season 8, you see the Mane Six and Starlight planning a camping trip in the forest

I find it very weird how despite saving Equestria twice by the end of season 2, barely anyone seems to recognize the heroes of Equestria. In Suite and Elite, you would think the fancy ponies of Canterlot would recognize that Rarity is one of the six ponies that helped saved Equestria from Nightmare Moon and Discord. Like, you would think that the ponies who saved Equestria would be very famous and recognizable yet there have only been a few moments in the series in which a pony will recognize them for that. Rainbow Dash and Rarity seem to be more well known for their respected careers in later seasons than their aid in saving Equestria. This is made even weirder since every time Spike steps foot in the crystal empire, all the ponies treat him like a celebrity due to saving their empire twice. I’m not saying that the mane six need to be treated like celebrities but just like how everyone knows who Kim Possible is because of her exploits, you would think every pony in Equestria would know who the Mane Six are.

The fact that Twilight wasn’t revealed to have a brother until the season 2 finale is comes out of nowhere. I mean yeah, the show goes on later to introduce siblings of other members of the mane six without any notice and other shows have pulled the same thing, but the fact that they never revealed that the main character had a sibling until till the end of the second season is just bizarre.

With the final season approaching, I still can’t believe we don’t nothing about Zebra culture. Like Zecora haven’t talked about her homeland, her homeland hasn’t been shown, why she decided to leave her home is unknown and we haven’t even seen another Zebra at all.

On the topic of Zecora, not only did she get the short end of the stick since the original plan of her becoming a second mentor to Twilight was scrapped, but we also never really see her and Apple Bloom interact anymore. Like the show set up this plot line of Zecora teaching Applebloom how to make potions and such yet that haven’t been referenced since season 4 I believe. Heck, in the season 6 episode, On Your Mark, why didn’t Applebloom just hang out with Zecora and practice potion making when the other CMC was doing their own thing?  

There are some episodes that are much better then I remember them being such as Stare Master, A Dog and Pony Show, The Best Night Ever, Cutie Pox and Hearts and Hooves Day.

For all the worldbuilding that has been done in the show, I find it weird how we haven’t gotten to learn or see more of Buffalos, Diamond Dogs, Minotaur’s or Bat Ponies in the series. Heck, why don’t we see any members from those species attending the school of Friendship?

It's kind of a shame that we don’t really see Spike interact with other members of the Mane six beside Twilight and Rarity. Yeah, there’s some interaction between Spike and other members in the first two seasons but even then, you see him interact with Twilight and Rarity the most. I know one interaction I really enjoy is his and Pinkie and you would think one interaction that would have stayed prominent would be Spike and Fluttershy considering hoe Fluttershy fawned over Spike in the series premiere.

I know the reason Luna wasn’t at the Grand Galloping Gala in season 1 was that she works night’s but this ends up being contradicted when there have been several instances after the season one finale in which we see Luna at night.  I suppose she could be taking a short break but still

It's funny how Celestia was seen as this very incredible powerful character early on but after being defeated by Chrysalis it just started this trend of her and all the other princesses beside Twilight almost always being useless whenever a villain tries taking over/destroying Equestria.

Speaking of uselessness, don’t even get me started on the Royal Guards. Despite being around since season 1, they have never been useful in any situation besides the apprehension of Cozy Glow in the season 8 finale. Heck, they weren’t even around during the Storm King invasion for some reason. Jim Miller, the supervising director of the show, answered my question about why they are never helpful in times of crisis with him explaining that if the guards were competent then the Mane Six wouldn’t be needed which I don’t agree with. You can still have the guards be competent and help out and still have the main characters be the ones to save the day. You see this in stories involving superheroes in which cops and firefighters are competent and helpful while the superhero deals with the major crisis.

Sweetie Belle living situation is confusing and has never really been cleared up. We know she goes to school in Ponyville and she seems to normally live with her parents, so does that mean Rarity parents live in Ponyville? Also, Rarity parents are the only parents of a member of the mane six that haven’t been focused on that much which I think is a shame. Hopefully, they’ll get a moment in the spotlight in the final season

The show can’t seem to figure out what the Wonderbolts. It switches between them being fliers who perform air shows to a military branch that, like the royal guards, are useless during times of crisis or when danger is happening

I find it hard to believe that no one knows anything about Spike origin even though someone must have found the egg, documented it with it then being used for Twilight entrance exam for some reason. Surely Twilight could have asked Twilight where Spike was found at as an egg

In Heartwarming Eve, it seems to be confirmed that the planet Equestria is on is called earth

[thebrotherscupheadandmugman]

Santa Cup, That’s Me!

Happy Holidays! This wasn’t supposed to be half as long as it turned out to be, and I got the idea literally Christmas Eve and have been working on it since. Sorry it’s late, but way better late than never!!

When I originally started writing this, it was going to take place in the current year this blog is in, 1935, but since it’s so long and elaborate, we’ll consider this the Christmas special of my rewriting, placing it in 1934. 

I also hid a few Easter Eggs here and there. See how many you can find! On that note, always keep in mind that none of the characters (except for Sue, Logan, and Tick and Tock,) belong to me, and that Reblogs > Likes! 

Cuphead and Mugman were nestled quietly in their beds, eagerly awaiting the dawn of Christmas Morning. Cuphead always had trouble sleeping Christmas Eve, and this time was no different. He’d begged both Mugman and Santa for an electric train set, and he was almost certain he was getting one!! The boy tossed and turned in his bed, trying to sleep,but not being able to. 

Suddenly, Cuphead heard something clop clop clopping on the roof. The child shot straight up out of his head as he listened closely to the sounds. Clop clop clop. Jingle jingle jingle. There was only one way these sounds could be coming from the roof above his head. Santa.  “Mugs!!” Cuphead whispered, jumping out of bed and over to shake his brother awake. “Mugs, Mugs, wake up! Santa’s here! Wake up wake up!” “Cuphead?” Mugman mumbled with a sleepy sort of snort.  “Mugman wake up, wake up!! Santa’s here! Santa’s here!! We should catch him and say thanks!!” 

Cuphead dragged his brother out of bed, and pulled him downstairs and down to the Christmas Tree, hoping to catch Santa before he climbed back up the Chimney.

But alas, it seemed the brothers just barely missed him. Cuphead couldn’t help but peak under the Christmas tree and...no train. Talk about disappointing, but Cuphead was still going to thank Santa if he could! “Maybe we can catch him outside!”

The brothers rushed outside, just to see--

There he was. Santa Claus. In the flesh and fur coat. Cuphead never thought he’d see the real Santa! Usually it was just Brineybeard or some other old geezer posing as Santa. The boys could hardly contain themselves.  “SANTA!!” Cuphead shouted. “Ho ho?!” As Santa turned around, his foot slipped on the snowy roof, and he quickly fell off and onto the ground with a loud thud before Cuphead could say ‘thank you!’ The brothers gasped, terribly frightened at what had just happened. “SANTA!!” They both cried, rushing over to his body. “Cuphead, he’s not moving!!”  “Golly, Mugs!! What are we gonna do?!” “We just killed Santa!! No, worse!! We just ruined Christmas for every other kid!!” Cuphead was on the verge tears.”

Cuphead grabbed his brother’s cheeks and looked him right in the eyes.  “There’s only one thing we can do. Hide the body and take his place.” “I-- Cuphead we can’t just--” “Do ya really wanna go ta prison fer th’rest of yer life because we literally killed the Santa Claus?” “No, not really...” Mugman mumbled as he began to consider it. He didn’t particularly want to think about how to hide the body of St. Nick, but what choice did he have?

Mugman eventually sighed. “Fine! But we need to deliver these presents first!!” “Gimme a boost, let’s get up to the sleigh and we’ll look at the list!” “Right!” Mugman nodded, lifting his little brother onto his shoulders, so that the younger could reach the roof with his hand and climb up. “Cup, help me up!” Without another word, Cuphead planted his straw in the snow, to have something to keep him from slipping himself, and grabbed his brother’s hand and pulled him up.  “Let’s get to th’sleigh!” The brothers quickly and carefully crawled up the snowy roof and climbed into Santa’s red sleigh. “How does this work?” Asked Cuphead. Mugman looked around in the sleigh and unrolled a long list of names and addresses of citizens on Inkwell.  “It looks like this is his nice list.” Cuphead opened up the large red sack of gifts behind the seat, only to reveal more sacks of gifts, each in a different colored bag.  “All these bags are different!” “Looks like it’s color coated. How did he do that?” Mugman pondered quietly.

“Alright, here’s the plan! If we split up and cover more ground, we can get all of Isle One done in no time!” Mugman decided.  “How?! We can’t carry all these to the houses outside of the village on foot! They’re too far away!” “I didn’t say we’d be walking.” “Mug! Are you nuts?! We don’t know how to drive this thing!!” “I mean we’ll use our Aeroplanes!” Mugman reasoned. “You start off at the main village and get the residents in town, Like Clara Candlewick and Billy Baker! I’ll take care of the spread-out houses, like Mac and Honey Crisp, and Carrie Blossom!” “Gotchya! I’ll take the big sack in my plane! You just take what you need inta yours!” “Perfect! Let’s save Christmas for Inkwell!”

So the brothers made quick work and took over for St. Nick. Clad in their scarves, earmuffs, and goggles, they flew around above Isle one, landing on the rooftops of each house, and delivering the presents to the folks inside as quietly as they could. Cuphead would often find a bunch of houses close together, and jumped from rooftop to rooftop to deliver each set of gifts. Meanwhile Mugman would have to be careful and quick, since each house was so isolated from the next, if they even had a house at all. He was rather surprised Cagney celebrated Christmas, much less wrote a letter to Santa at all.

“Isle Two next?” Cuphead asked. “Yeah. Thankfully very few people actually live there outside of who we already know, so this should be quick and easy.” Mugman informed, reading over the list as he sat in his grounded plane. “Heck, Wally and Djimmi’s names are under the same address for some reason, so that’s one less stop than we’d already have to make!” “Swell! We should do Wally’s house last, our planes would prolly wake him up.” “Good thinking, Cup! Let’s make tracks!” With that, the ceramic duo were off again, quietly creeping about the isle and delivering all the gifts to good girls and boys within the closed carnival.

That was until the boys hit a roadblock at the Warbles’ house. As the two somehow managed to sneak past a sleeping Wally and climb down the chimney, the brothers fell right into a net, and tumbled out with a loud clink and a poof of soot and ash. “Cuphead, what did you do?!” Mugman coughed, trying to maintain a whisper. “I didn’ do nothin’!” Cuphead hacked. “Somethin’ grabbed me!” The two struggled to break free of the fishnet they were entangled in, pushing and kicking against the ropes in attempts to break free. Mugman hadn’t thought to grab his Charge Shot, so he couldn’t use that to break the ropes, all he had was the Peashooter, which were too small to rely on now. “Cups, did you bring the Lobbers?” “I-I think I left it in my bag at home! But I have the Roundabouts!” “You’ll hit me with that before you break the nets!” 

With all the ruckus and coughing from nearby, a little chick began to stir and open his eyes. Santa came. And he fell right into his trap.  “Puphead! Wake up!” The chick whispered, shaking the wooden boy next to him awake. Puphead slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes with a sleepy yawn. 

As the smoke cleared, and the porcelain brothers were revealed to be the ones caught in Junior’s trap, Puphead and Junior were shocked to see that it hadn’t been Santa after all, yet they did have a blue-green bag of gifts with them. “What’re you two twit’s doin’ here?! You tryin’ ta steal our Christmas presents?! Is dat it?!” Junior accused, marching over to the brothers. “Wuh-oh.” “Busted!” Mugman turned his head to look at Junior. “N-no! You’ve got it all wrong, we--” “Ooh, my dad was right about yous two!! Just wait until I tell him! Then you’ll really be sorry!!” The chick took a deep breath as Puphead covered his ears, knowing that he would scream for Wally. “No, no, Junior wait!!” “Junior! Stop! We’re tryin’ ta help Santa!!” Junior paused at that. “Wuffor?” He toyed. “He, erm, hurt himself! He twisted his ankle on a piece of firewood sticking out by our chimney, and he can’t climb down chimneys no more! So we’re helping him in our Aeroplanes until he can climb again!” Cuphead lied. “Just let us out, we still got Isle Three ta do!!” “Uh huh...And why should I believe you?” Puphead tugged on Junior’s arm at his suspicion, fully believing the story. “What is it? You believe dis crap?” Puphead nodded, and pointed to the sack in the net that the brothers had. “What the toys dey stole?!” Puphead shook his head and pointed to the fireplace. Junior’s eyes widened. “I...Gosh Puphead, yer right! Dere’s no way they could have taken the gifts before setting off the trap!”  “Junior, untie us, please! We need to hurry up and get started on Isle Three before morning comes!!” Mugman pleaded, looking at his watch. “It’s already almost 11:30! We only have 30 minutes to get the whole entire city!!”  “What?” Junior questioned, already starting to open the net. “Ya think dat da whole city’s gonna just get up at midnight ta open presents?” “No...” Mugman answered, “but someone might!” "Man, you two really are dumb! Ain’ no one gonna get up at midnight ta open gifts, most people’ll be asleep still! I’d say dat the earliest kids are gon’ wake up is at least tree AM. Ya twits still gots time!” “Yeah, but not much! Do ya even know how many people live in th’big city?!” Cuphead pointed out.

Puphead grabbed both of Junior’s shoulders as the brothers were released, and looked at his friend with pleading eyes. Junior turned his head at the touch, and looked the puppet in the eyes for a few moments before he sighed. “Yer right. Tree ‘n a half hours ain’t enough time fer just th’ two ah yas ta cover the entire city.” Junior placed his hands on his hips and puffed up his chest. “But maybe da four of us can make it!” He proclaimed valiantly. “Hot dawg, you’ll really help, Junior?!” Mugman cried. “On one condition! Ya leave dat sack ‘ere fer me ta examine!” “Deal!” The brothers said. “I’ll get my nest! Puphead, yer with me!” Puphead jumped up and down excitedly. 

With the presents unbagged and two new recruits by their side, the four Christmas heroes quickly flew into the city and began their work once again. Apartments, homes, and more, the children were quick to break in and leave their gifts and fill their stockings. Forkington Silverson, Tick and Tock Clocke, Sue Zanshwane, Toby J. Sodor, no house was missed, and no child was forgotten. Every name on the list was crossed out with each house, one by one, and little by little, each house was visited and gifted. 

After what felt like hours of work, the four went back to the carnival and landed. “Junior, you guys got Nancy Nightingale?” “Yup!” “Cup, you went through every apartment in Sally Stageplay’s apartment complex!” “It wasn’t as complicated as the name made it sound!” Mugman snorted at that. “Anybody happen to get Logan Rhythm or Debbie Doll?” “I got Logan!” Cuphead exclaimed, raising his hand, “Puphead n’ I got Debbie!” Mugman crossed off two more names. “Guys! We did it! That’s everyone on Inkwell before two AM!”  “Yahoo!!” Cuphead cheered as Puphead jumped in excitement. “Great. Merry Christmas.” Junior grumbled, trying not to appear as happy as he was feeling. “Puphead, ‘m tired, let’s go home!” Puphead nodded, and walked walked back to Wally’s house with Junior as he waved the brothers good night. “Merry Christmas Junior!” Mugman called. “Merry Christmas Puphead!” 

Cuphead sighed, with a visible breath and turned to his brother.  “Mugsy, ‘m tired too. We should go home and sleep before we wake Elder Kettle.” Mugman was surprised that his little brother was choosing to go to sleep over opening presents on Christmas Morning. Cuphead had to have been really tired to make a decision like that!  “Yeah, we will. I’m freezing anyway. I feel like there’s frozen milk in my straw at this point. Just let me double check to make sure we didn’t miss anyone. “What? Why?” Cuphead asked, already crawling back into his Aeroplane. “You just said we got everyone!” “Santa always checks his list twice! The song Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town says so!” “Wasn’t that written last year?” Cuphead grumbled, before something in Mugman’s plane caught his attention. The giant red sack of toys didn’t look so empty...

As if on cue, Mugman’s straw popped out of his head to form a shivering exclamation point. “Cuphead, we missed someone! A little girl named Evelyn Etting in the village!” “There’s another bag in there! It’s gotta be fer her family!” “Let’s shake a leg!” The brothers cried, hopping into their Aeroplanes and flying as close to the village as possible. 

Unfortunately for them, it began to snow, so they’d have to go into the town and get on the roof by foot due to dangerous weather conditions. The brothers ran as they rushed to her house, Mugman worried about not being able to find a way up to the roof or inside the house. “Look Mug! A ladder!” Cuphead motioned with his whole hand. “It leads up to th’roof!” “That’s swell!” The brothers quickly climbed the ladder of the green house, carefully crossed the roof, and dropped down the chimney with the purple bag of gifts. There was quite a lot to unload, but one the ceramic duo was finished, they each had one cookie and a shared glass of milk, then crawled back out the red bricked chimney.

“Oh Golly! That was a lot.” Cuphead sighed, stretching his back as he stood on the chimney.  “Cuphead, get off the chimney before you fall and shatter yourself.” Mugman scolded. “Golly Mugs! Look at the town from up here! The snow makes it look so nifty!” “Cup. We need to get home before Elder Kettle realizes we’re gone.” “Wait a minute, Mug! We took Santa’s place, right? There’s somethin’ we still gotta say before we go home!” “What? ‘Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night?’ Cuphead, there’s at least five Jewish kids in our school that don’t celebrate Christmas, you’ll just be annoying them if you wake them up for that.” “Maybe, but we can say somethin’ else so that the Jewish don’ feel left out!” “Cuphead, let’s just get off the--” Mugman’s left foot suddenly sank into the snow, causing him to wobble and lift his right foot in the air as he lost his balance. Cuphead, however, didn’t notice, but instead put his left hand up to his mouth as he took a deep breath and cried,

The clock tower chimed with two loud BONGs, and the screen soon faded to the Kettle’s front lawn.

Aeroplanes abandoned for the time being, the two brothers returned home, having forgotten what started this mess in the first place, until Cuphead suddenly remembered. “Mugs! Santa!! Whadda we do about him?!” “Oh no, you’re right!” The brothers began sprinting to where the body once was, but instead of Santa’s motionless carcass, they only found an imprint in the snow of what once was there. “What the-- where’d he go?!” “Cuphead, look!” Mugman jabbed his little brother with his elbow and pointed to the roof with two fingers.

Just as Cuphead looked up, Santa was there, alive and well as if nothing ever happened. He flicked the reigns, and his reindeer galloped off and away, flying overhead as he left Inkwell Isle.

“On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer, and Vixen! On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen!”  “Woah!” The brothers both gasped. “Oh ho ho ho! Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good night!”

The brothers stood for a moment, before Cuphead suddenly sneezed, not a single drop of milk leaving his head, despite the sudden motion. “Bless you.” “Mugs, did we just get used by Santa?” “I don’t think so. I think he was just knocked out and we took it upon ourselves to help.” “Hitchiew!”  “Bless you. We’d better get inside before we catch a cold.” “Fine.” Cuphead sniffled.

The brothers stepped inside, and were welcomed with a completely different scene than what they had left with. There had been twice as many gifts than before, and their Christmas tree was bigger, brighter, and prettier than ever.  “Wowza...” The brothers both gasped.  “Mugman, look!” Cuphead motioned to a letter in the middle of the tree. Mugman grabbed it and opened it, holding it low enough for Cuphead to read as well. “What’s it say?!”

“Dear Cuphead and Mugman,

You two gave me quite the scare when you suddenly showed up outside. I certainly didn’t expect you to leave the house when you saw the presents.” As Mugman read the note, the voice of Santa himself could be heard, as if he was speaking directly to the brothers.

“I thoroughly appreciate you wanting to thank me for what I do every year, Cuphead, but as always, your actions do not match well with your good intentions. Oh, but don’t worry. It’ll take a little more than just a silly old fall to make jolly old Saint Nick take the big sleep. Thank you so much for putting the rest of Inkwell’s needs before trying to get yourselves out of trouble, boys. Santa’s little helpers not only put Junior Warbles higher up on the nice list, but also made him begin to understand the true meaning of Christmas. 

As thanks, I left you boys extra gifts this year, some perhaps against your grandfather’s wishes. Cuphead, the large red box under this note is for you. After tonight, you’ve certainly been a good enough boy to have earned this: be careful not to spill! Mugman, the round one in blue is yours. I hope you think back to this night whenever you listen to it. 

Never stop striving to do the right thing, regardless of what you fear. Always remember to learn from your mistakes, and do what you believe in. 

Merry Christmas to you both.

Signed,” “Mr. C.”

The brothers looked at each other for a few moments as the heard the floorboards above them creak. Somehow, they must have woken Elder Kettle up. Panicked, the brothers scrambled to kick the snow off their boots, and hide their scarves and earmuffs under the couches. Just as they could hear the stairs creak with their grandfather’s presence, the boys looked at each other and flipped the other’s straw upside down to hide the frozen milk on the other end.  “Boys?” “Elder Kettle, Santa came!” “Have you any idea what the time is?!” “We’re sorry, Elder Kettle, we didn’t wanna wake you.” “Yeah! Mug an’ I were just curious ta see if he came! We were gonna letchya sleep in a little longer!” Cuphead added before he paused, and grabbed his left wrist. “...But since yer up, can we open presents now?!”  “Good gosh, Cuphead.” Mugman sighed, putting a hand on his face. 

Elder Kettle sighed. “I suppose. Since we’re all already up!” He smiled as he continued climbing down the stairs. “Yaay!!” The brothers immediately grabbed the gifts that Santa mentioned in his note, and quickly tore off the paper. Since Mugman’s was so much smaller, it hadn’t taken him long at all to open the record. “What’d ya get, Mugsy?!” Mugman turned the vinyl over in his hand, and read the title out loud. “Santa Claus, That’s Me!...” “Well then, shall we listen to it?” Elder Kettle offered, holding his hand out for the record. Mugman gave his grandpa a smile and nodded as he handed the song to him. Elder Kettle quickly shuffled over to the record player, and put on the song. 

A string followed by jingling bells filled the room, accompanied by Cuphead tearing open the large gift. “Way up above me is The ice and snow where the eyes of no one may see With my dear little men And my wonderful shop Little ole Santa Claus, that’s me!

I’m building my toys For girls and boys A labor of love is mine.  And I’m more than repaid For visits I’ve made When children’s eyes dance and shine!  As time rolls along  With a very old song At work I am always found. For I’m busy each day But in a wonderful way But when Christmas time comes round, 

Then away I go Over the ice and snow To finish my trip before the day is dawning. I’ll carry my pretty toys For all the girls and boys To make them gay and happy Christmas morning!”

Mugman smiled at the song, just as Cuphead had finally unwrapped his present. “An electric train set!!” Cuphead squealed with joy. The child was so thrilled that he hugged the package with small milky tears in his eyes. He’s wanted one of these for years, but Elder Kettle always thought they were dangerous. Elder Kettle was about to scold the boy, and tell him that they’ll have to return it, but seeing his grandson with tears of joy made him choose otherwise. He didn’t have the heart to tell Cuphead he couldn’t have something that made him so happy on Christmas. “I’d better not find that thing left on, young man!”  “Yes! Of course, Elder Kettle!!” Cuphead beamed as he giggled with pure joy. 

The brothers continued opening their gifts, as the snow jingled as it fell down outside. As the picture was zooming away from the Kettle’s house, it soon circled to black, as the cursive words ‘Happy Holidays’ wrote themselves in gold on the screen, before finally fading to black.

[heloflor]

Little rant about Fluttershy in “Sounds of Silence”

So, I suppose by the time I finish writting this, some people will already air reviews about the episode, but I still wanna complain talk about this (especially considering that apparently some peope like my opinion ?). Watching the names shown at the beggining of the episode, apparently the person who made “Sounds of Silence” is a famous person who never wrote an MLP episode before. But, without sounding mean, you can feel it with the way that person wrote Fluttershy.

Note : this is just a personnal opinion and if you disagree with me it’s completely fine. Also I saw the episode before it aired on Discovery Family so it’s possible for me to be wrong about one or two details because it’s been a little while now.

So, to put it simple there are two things that bother me in the way Fluttershy was written :

First off, her fears. Now, I know Fluttershy is the most coward of the mane 6 but thing is, she truly grew over the last few years. And the thing is, she lived worse than what happens in this episode, making her fears rather odd. I mean :

- When she sees the shield at the beggining, she’s immediately terrified at the thought of the Niriks, while in the past she had to confront other creatures who seemed way more dangerous. Heck, in the finale, (Spoiler warning for the end of that paragraph !) she literally says that she would never call the other creatures “monsters” and she clearly wasn’t afraid of them so why would she be so afraid now ? (I insist on the “so” because her being scared isn’t that much of a surprise, it’s mostly how much she is that is weird)

- Her being so scared of going into the forest. I swear when I saw that I was like “Fluttershy, buddy, you went into the most random and dangerous forest in Equestria like a dozens of times, including one in season 1 in which you were alone and got attacked by a giant monster. And you once went back in it to find the CMCs. And your house is literally next to said-forest. So why are you so scared of the Kirins’ forest ? Because creatures way less scary and dangerous for you than that gigantic hydra may live in it ? Really ?”...I think this easily sums up my point.

- Her being so fearful of Autumn Blaze. Alright, I can agree, she has her reasons to be scared when fire is all around her, I give her that. However, considering Applejack tells her that there’s nothing to fear and considering that the Kirin went back to her original form, I’m kind of surprised about Fluttershy still looking nervous. But honestly I think this comes from two things : me spending the entire episode wondering why is Fluttershy so afraid of everything; and the fact that Fluttershy is implied to go to Chaosville (honestly why is it called “ville” when it’s just one house with just rocks and a mailman pony floating around) at least every two weeks (switching who hosts the tea party) and was shown to cool down a marshmallow by using a mini-volcano while being at the ceiling of the weirdest house she could find. So here I think it’s more of a personnal opinion : after seeing Fluttershy go through a lot of shit and having a god of Chaos as husbando best friend, it just feels weird to see her scared of everything like that.

Secondly, my biggest issue with the episode : her anger. Thing is, here, Fluttershy just randomly snaps, and it’s weird :

- The first moment she snaps, when Applejack isn’t listening to her about the shortcut, is actually understandable. Though, maybe it’s just me but I remember Fluttershy having more patience than that, with the only exception being her brother.

- But what bothers me the most is the second time, when they talk about what to do for the Kirins. Thing is, it just feels completely forced. Seriously, there are three other instances in which the two had a disagreement :

  -“Bats”, in which Fluttershy still had her strongly shy nature and didn’t raise her voice, though the others still listened to her. Also, to Applejack’s point of view, her entire farm was in danger so it’s no surprise to see her get so mad about it.

  - “Viva Las Pegasus”, in which it was again personnal for Applejack, considering her conflicts with the Flim Flam bros; and again Fluttershy didn’t have to raise her voice and all she did was going her way until Applejack actually accepts to listen to her (and then she goes full awesome sarcasm...Fluttershy is best pony !)

  - The comic book issue 48, the first one of the “Chaos Theory” arc with Accord. Now, this arc may be my least favorite of the “more than two books” stories but I will admit that I just love its premise, moslty because of Fluttershy and Applejack. In short, the mane...8? (mane 6 + Spike + Starlight) go to see an event about special stars appearing every 100 years or something but then Discord suddenly appears, starts doing shit, is called out by the group, goes away and then later on the group finds an eggs which turns into Accord, the total opposite of Discord (and I swear Accord may say he has all of Discord’s memories but he clearly doesn’t share his emotions because most of the time he talks to Twilight, who Discord seems to still despise, and he barely interacts with Fluttershy while acting like he simply doesn’t care about her !). But thing is, in this first book, Applejack is the first one to get mad at Discord, and seconds later Fluttershy comes and defends him. Then, when he’s gone, Fluttershy is still shown to try convicing random people that Discord is a good person, only to have Applejack criticizing him. And once Accord appears, Applejack is the happiest while Fluttershy looks heartbroken when she says his name (the pic of her when she says “Accord, huh ?...okay...”). So again, there’s a conflict between Fluttershy and Applejack without having Fluttershy shouting (and then (spoilers) the conflict is sadly forgotten for the rest of the book until just one of the last pages when we see both mares interact with Discord on pics next to each other, probably made to do the parallel between them) 

But suddenly, we have Fluttershy getting mad extremely easy just for the sake of having the two argue so the Kirins can try putting them in the Stream of Silence...I mean, sure, she’s worried about the animals in the forest, but that’s not a reason for her of all ponies to suddenly shout, especially after going on other missions that always made the group think of alternative solutions. And speaking of this, one last thing that annoys me in this scene is that, to be honest, I really though that when Applejack gets back, she would have found Fluttershy silent like the kirins; and that makes me think that, because of her getting so mad about how the kirins needs to stay silent, having Fluttershy be so scared of ending up in the Stream kind of makes her look like a hypocrite because she’s afraid of living in silence but at the same time claims that another species as sentient as her should.

So here’s my little rant about how best pony wasn’t being best pony. Though, on a lighter note, I still enjoyed the episode. The kirins have a great design and Autumn Blaze is a really great addition to the cast and I really hope we will see her again someday ! Seriously, she’s like Pinkie Pie but with a more “nowadays’ young adults” voice (I swear the moment the she talks about Phantom of the Opera, her tone of voice makes me think of young adult with expressions like “freaking half mask” or “another dude”; by the way because of that I can’t help laughing because her voice sounds so natural and yet she says stuff that sounds so weird in a supposed kid show !). Also, Applejack felt in character in this episode and, probably thanks to that, I’m glad most of the focus was on her. Also, although it wasn’t made in the best way, when you think of it, it’s the first map mission in which Fluttershy is the one in the wrong or who only helps a little in the problem (in season 5, she was the one who learnt thanks to the animals and Twilight only helped getting people’s attention; and in season 6, again, animals told her what was happening and she knew that she needed the bro’s help), so it’s interesting to have that little change. And lastly, about the episode, let’s not forget the song, probably my favorite of the season...although when you have like 6 songs in a season, it’s rather easy to pick one...  

[calorieworkouts]

`Intermittent Fasting Helped Me Lose 90 Pounds`

Growing up, I was an active kid-but that does not mean I was healthy and balanced. I had not been always overweight, yet I was what I 'd call thick, which made me seriously struggle with body picture.

I 'd eat conventional southerly cornbread and also beverage sweet tea (as well as choosing convenience food in between), yet I really felt like my way of life worked well adequate for me-until I got a rare (yet short-term) ailment that harmed the nerves in my leg. My problem made it difficult to stroll, a lot less exercise.

The extra pounds loaded on quickly after that-add in the fact that I had 2 children during that time duration, and at 25 years of ages as well as 220 pounds, I barely acknowledged my body.

My turning point came someday when I searched in the mirror and also really stated aloud, 'Woman, what the heck are you doing to on your own?'

It's not simply that I really did not acknowledge myself in the mirror-it's that I really did not really feel like myself, either. I'm a professional dancer, so I couldn't move the means I wanted to or do half of things I used to-and the truth that I was accountable for my own inadequate health made it even worse.

One of the very first understandings I had when I decided to slim down was that I was going to have to ditch the concept of the diet pyramid (ends up that carb-based home cooking has to do with as much from healthy and balanced as you can get).

I begun by cutting out quickly food-which meant food preparation much more at home.

I dropped Starbucks, too, in addition to any type of sweets, rather, I concentrated on actual, entire foods-chicken, veggies, entire grains. I also removed soda and also focused primarily on water (making an exception for the occasional mimosa).

After a few months of that, I stopped drinking alcohol, in addition to dairy products, as well as soon after that, I began intermittent fasting (a.k.a., consuming during a specific eight-hour period, as well as fasting for the staying 16 hrs). Currently, I comply with a vegan and dairy-free diet-here's what a common day of consuming resemble for me:

Morning: Considering that I'm not eating, I'll normally simply have water, Arbone fizz sticks, or tea.

Meal 1: I damage my rapid at noon with a healthy protein healthy smoothie bowl or avocado salute with poached eggs.

Snack: Hardboiled eggs with cajun flavoring sprayed ahead is a go-to.

Meal 2: I'll have something like black bean patties as well as steamed vegetables.

Snack: Peanut butter and also apple slices-I normally begin not eating at 8 p.m. each night.

After changing my diet regimen, I additionally uncovered my very first physical fitness crush: cycling.

Spin course was best for me because the room was dark, so nobody can see me. Being so obese, I really felt means much more comfy resting on a bike in a dark space where I didn't actually have to move, simply pedal.

At initially, it was hard enough just to do that (I would certainly also fake transforming the knob when the teacher informed us to include resistance). However, when I kept coming back week after week, I began to see my body transform as I obtained stronger.

Over the following few years, I uncovered a lot more team physical fitness classes I loved-dancing, yoga exercise, barre, and kettlebells, just to name a few-and understood I had a passion for fitness. I chose to start instructing my own classes at a regional gym.

Even though I was eating best and also working out, slimming down still really did not come conveniently.

My weight loss had not been fast-I was going down pounds gradually yet very gradually. Dealing with this was the hardest part, and also looking for the motivation to keep going when my perseverance was using thin was so difficult.

But the a lot more I worked out and also consumed right, the far better I felt, as well as I lastly understood that I didn't have to lose five pounds a week to be boosting my wellness (and also actually, it was probably better that I had not been!). It took me 3 years, yet by 2015, I had shed 90 pounds.

I was also surprised to find that the area I 'd once been deathly terrified of-the gym-had become my satisfied place! Ultimately, I got my individual training qualification as well as began operating in health clubs full time. I also met my husband at a gym!

Still, I'll never forget how it really felt being that young, obese girl who made love by the gym and also really did not understand anything concerning nutrition. I always check out for others that are really feeling that very same way as well as attempt to be an assistance system for them. My life's mission is to aid individuals rely on themselves as well as their goals, like I learned to believe in myself.

Oh, and I still have wonderful tea as well as cornbread sometimes-you can take the lady out of Mississippi, yet you can't take the tasty Southern food away from the girl. It's simply that now it's the occasional splurge instead of my common dinner.

[singlemanmedia]

Azula’s lazy days

A short, quck fic dedicated to @salixj I have to say I hadn’t written in about an year (I believe) so this felt really good.

Habits are a simple, yet important thing. One of those which seem to dictate your life, yet do so in an invisible way. Good habits will elevate you and make your life a wonder. Bad habits will destroy your life. There is one thing about good habits though – do it in moderation. Working hard is good, working sixteen hours a day is bad, moderation is needed. Unfortunately Azula never really grasped the notion of moderation, the woman operated on the dichotomy of “overkill” or “don't bother”.

Which is why she – in her early thirties now – was being driven bonkers by not having anything to do. There were plans to be made, people to be blackmailed, councilmen to be investigated and she was sure that a certain General T'sao had grown an unhealthy obsession with chicken leading to a bizarre incident on a ship with which she wanted nothing to do with, but her job required action. The doctors were clear – collapsing from overexertion is not normal, especially at her age. She was to take a week off and find herself something to do outside of work.

The sixteen hours workday, her doctors announced with Zuko nodding next to them, was a thing she'd have to put in the past. After her seven day “vacation” was over she'd have to go to an eight hour workday and find something “relaxing” to do with the rest of her time. Which would be difficult since she had no idea what that “relaxing” thing was. The last time she was wasting time leisurely was before she was a teenager.  

The first day was a pain, the second they even more so. The third day she felt like she'd have a nervous breakdown if she didn't do anything, so she did the only relaxing thing she could find in the recesses of her mind. She explored the old palace tunnels and hidden rooms. She remembered scouring them as a child from top to bottom. There was the memory of them, but it was starting to fade.

The day was spent climbing rocks, going through hidden doors and illuminating tunnels long forgotten. She hadn't had that much fun, since she was eight. So she did the same thing on day four.

Day five had a twist. She had found a tunnel to one of those storerooms royalty use to store old objects given by visitors that no one planned to use, but couldn't throw away, because it'd look bad. The room was dark and damp, though she recognized some items in it. After a while she actually found something she remembered seeing - a giant golden egg on pedestal, given to Zuko some ten years or so ago by people who looked like they haven't seen civilization in the last few hundred years.

There was something weird about the egg. No one could feel it in the grand hallways when receptions were going or in the brightly illuminated-by-seven-fireplaces central rooms, but there was warmth coming from the egg. A small, barely detectable warmth. This object tucked in darkness had heat radiating from it.

It was weird. Azula neared the object and placed her hand on it. It truly was warm. In this cold, damp room this thing was warm. Why? She didn't know. What if she transferred some heat into it? Not like she had anything better to do.

It didn't feel like she was warming the object, but rather that the egg was absorbing the heat. At this point, she decided that she could be excused some mischief so she stepped a few steps back and firebended at the egg. The object absorbed the fire.

Well now Azula was interested, this was fascinating, so she walked to the other side of the room and decided to stress-test this thing. Firebend at it until it breaks. It's not like anyone would care if she destroyed this room. Heck “everything burned in a fire” is the excuse multiple firelord had used to clear places like this.

Thirty minutes later the object actually cracked. At that point Azula's curiosity was mimicing that of her eight year old self. What could make this egg warm from inside? What absorbed the fire? Was it just magical mumbo-jumbo material? As she stepped towards the egg the few cracks started to push from the inside, as if something was popping out of it. It was a slow and nonthreatening push.

Then a giant lizard head appeared out of the cracks. Azula was watching in stunned silence. She had some reflexes built-in for emergency cases, but nothing for this. She watched for awhile as a giant lizard-baby made its way through the shell. As the small creature was finally coming out it started to veer downards as the part of his body outside of the egg was big enough to tumble him...it?...down on the floor.

Which was when Azula's reflexes kicked in and she grabbed the baby-lizard. It was twice the size of her arm and the moment she held it, it started to snuggle at her. If Azula was a cautious person, she'd probably leave it and scream for the guards, but cautious people do not challenge the Avatar during an eclipse. No, she just sat there and observed the lizard snuggling up to her. Then the lizard gave a small puff of fire with a satisfied murmur.

It was a dragon. A big smile spread on Azula's face. It was an actual dragon. She found a dragon! She had to look for more eggs like that, there were probably a few in other store rooms.

For a moment she wondered – would the doctor consider “dragon breeding” a relaxing hobby? In the next moment she decided she didn't care.

[rhetoricalrogue]

Ayurnamat - The philosophy that there is no point in worrying about events that cannot be changed for an OC of your choice!

Thanks for the ask! I decided to use my less developed Fallout Gal, Samantha Greene for this one. Prompt is from the Word and Pairing prompt list.

“How far is it to this settlement?” Sam asked, adjusting her backpack. The contents shifted around, metal clinking against glass as she did so.

“Map says about ten more miles this way.” MacCready raised his eyebrow and gestured towards her backpack. “Probably would have been a lot easier to get there if you weren’t carrying all that junk.”

“Sure, I’ll help.” He flicked the brim of the cap she wore with his finger. “Getting my hat back will lighten the load.”

Sam stuck her tongue out at him. “No way. I won it fair and square. You know the rules.”

“Yeah, yeah. Best kill of the day gets to wear the hat. How the hel–heck was I supposed to know that you’d snipe a supermutant right in the mini-nuke?”

“It was a great shot.” She nudged him in the arm. “Come on, admit it. You were impressed with the explosion that took out the other two that were with him.”

“It was a lucky shot,” he groused. “But yeah, that explosion was pretty dang cool.”

Sam laughed. “Which means your hat is my hat for another…” she trailed off and MacCready’s hand instantly went towards his rifle, thinking that she had spied a threat. “Oh no.”

“What is it?” Instinct had him crouching down behind the twisted remains of a long-dead tree, but he watched as Sam shrugged her pack off and blindly climbed over a massive fallen trunk.

“No.” Sam pulled up the map on her Pip-Boy and quickly turned around in a circle, as if she were trying to get her bearings. “No.”

“What is it?” He watched as the first tear fell down her cheek, leaving a smudge of grime in its wake as it slid down her chin. “It’s just a bunch of stupid dead trees.”

“No they’re not,” she hissed. “These were my trees.”

“What?”

Sam carefully sat down on the largest fallen trunk. “Before the bombs fell, I worked in a firm that defended environmental rights. When big companies wanted to build new sites or new businesses wanted to come in, it was part of my job to make sure that they didn’t hurt the environment.” Sam gestured around them. “Some company wanted to create a landfill to dump their toxic waste here. These trees were centuries old; I had to protect them from being cut down.”

“What did you do?”

“I wrote letters to my state representatives. I called, faxed, made visits where I sat in lobbies for hours waiting on face to face visits where I was either ignored completely or only given five minutes of time to state my case. I wasn’t getting anywhere because the company I was fighting had their hands in most people’s wallets, but I managed to finally break through on an old, barely used historical loophole pertaining to land rights.”

MacCready sat next to her. “Bet that ticked off a bunch of people.”

She nodded. “I could never confirm it, but I always had a feeling that it was why Nate kept getting crap deployments. They figured I’d move with him instead of staying behind with the firm.” She wiped at her face. “They didn’t think that I’d be stubborn.”

“Then they underestimated you.”

“Yeah, they did.” Sam took a shaky breath. “I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues.”

“Be kinda freaky if they did.”

She let out a short huff of laughter. “That was a book quote.”

“Must have missed that one.”

Sam’s eyebrow raised. “The Lorax?”

“Can’t say I’ve heard of it.”

She groaned. “You know Shakespeare and you can make puns with Thoreau, but you draw a blank on Doctor Seuss? Mac, we’re seriously going to have to infiltrate a library and get you acquainted with Green Eggs and Ham.”

He made a face. “Sounds like this guy was familiar with expired Cram.” He saw that while she was teasing him, her body language still said that she was upset. “So, you saved the trees.”

“I saved the trees.” Sam ran her fingers across the bark near her knee. “Fat load of good that did, they still fell.”

“Yeah, because a big bomb blew them away, not because some crappy little landfill got their way. You couldn’t do a thing against the bombs dropping, but you stopped a toxic dump in its tracks. It sounds like it was hard to do, but despite the odds, you won.”

Sam looked at him. “Well, when you put it that way, I guess you’re right.”

“I know I’m right. You’re tough as nails, Boss. You didn’t lose that fighting spirit after taking a two hundred year nap, that’s for sure.”

“I don’t know if I should be flattered or smack you.”

“Take the compliment, Samantha.” MacCready seemed to realize that he had used her actual name instead of his usual nicknames for her and he turned his head as if to hide the sudden blush that pinked his cheeks. “Anyway, are we gonna get a move on, or are we gonna just sit here until dark? I’d like to get to this settlement before nightfall and have an actual bed to sleep on, you know.”

“Okay, okay. Let’s get going.” With one last pat to the tree she’d been sitting on, Sam stood up. MacCready was right: she had fought for these trees and won. While she couldn’t have done a thing about the nuclear blast, she still had that same stubborn streak that had seen her through all the long nights of researching obscure law and building an ironclad case. The past may be dead, but there were still so many fights to be fought in her future. “I’m betting if we make good time, we may make it in time for supper.”

“You’re giving these people a big benefit of the doubt here. They may not have anything to share.” Before she could pick her pack up, MacCready looped one strap over his shoulder. “Here, I guess I could carry your set-up materials for a little while.”

“You don’t have to, I can…”

“You can carry my empty pack instead. Knowing you, you’re gonna fill it up with everything we pass along in those ten miles.”

Sam laughed, but took his much lighter bag. “Thank you.” She took off his cap and handed it to him. “Here, if you’re playing pack mule, the least I can do is give you back your cap.”

“Nah, keep it. Rules are rules: you won it fair and square.” He shoved it back on her head, making sure to push the brim far over her eyes. “Besides, it looks cuter on you than it does on me.”

It was Sam’s turn to blush. “Why Robert, I do believe that you were flirting with me.”

At least she wasn’t the only one with bright red cheeks. “Just take the damn compliment already, why don’t you?” he said gruffly, marching ahead of her.

“You keep that up and I may try to figure out a way to snag your coat.”

MacCready shook his head. “No way, Boss. The hat is negotiable, but I draw the line at the coat.”

Sam laughed, but lengthened her stride to keep up with him. He may have said his duster was off limits, but she considered it a challenge to be won.

[beyondthetemples-ooc]

Saw a tag game that was “unconventional tags”, and I was going to reblog but I wound up having TOO MANY tags per prompt! 

So out of sheer curiosity, I’m going to share what The Entire Selection of Tags with “chocolate”, “kill”, “done”, “try”, “stop”, and “why” is in this post! (Be warned: There are MANY and I only remember the context for about a quarter of these. I was able to dig up 92 tags for “why” alone. But I’m rather curious and analytical, so of course I’d tag a lot of Why’s...... anyways! Here goes! It is LONG.)

Lots of personal considerations, a hefty dose of OC and Titans-related fandom tags, 

Chocolate:

#(but like... chocolate AND cherries....~<33333 )

#I wonder if I could use gluten-free oreos (i.e. ''''chocolate sandwich cookies'''') as the crust instead.... ooooh i'm gonna try that!!

#but I've never had to buy anything and try to sell it besides... like. Malley's Chocolate Bars and other such candy bar fundraisers.

#i was at work for 12 hours but then I got home and went ''FUCK IT'' and ate some chocolate cake and a bagel with eggs???

#Dove will bring her a cup of tea or hot chocolate and sit with her for awhile. Maybe talk through some things with her.

#PB+chocolate can be either GREAT or /awful/ depending on the brand.

#Dark chocolate is more of a Dry and Astringent Texture thing for me.

#It's as essential in my plot ideas as chocolate is in hot chocolate. Just can't possibly make it without it.

#anyways: Peanut butter + chocolate is good. I like the fancy hazelnut spreads with peanut butter swirls.

#Mint+chocolate is good as Andes mints but bad as peppermint patties. Again; it depends on the brand. LOVE it in ice cream!

#i'm suddenly reminded that i bought myself an entire whole-ass chocolate silk pie Because I Wanted It SO BAD

Kill:

#nice to know the life skills i learned at chipotle haven't left me. 8FFFFF

#And I've always obsessively cataloged knowledge of canon. so when I found out all of Raven's half-siblings were killed (or their mothers)?

#Kary has a fairly good Innate sense of direction. but she had to develope a Real Skill for it when she was living feral.

#not the ''i'm gonna kill my favorite protagonist'' part but like. the emotional Twist there

#Anyways any and all Shakespeare except Midsummer Night's Dream bored me to hell. To Kill a Mockingbird INFURIATED me.

#SECONDING The Great Gatsby. I also really hated the ending of To Kill a Mockingbird. The story itself was good but that ending?

#Well I guess he GOT TO KILL HIM AFTER ALL now DIDN'T he

#''DON'T KILL IT I'LL GET IT OUTSIDE IT'S OKAY''

#kill mary-sue witch hunt culture! KILL IT DEAD

#it's Ten Percent Luck and Twenty percent skill if you're referencing the song I think you are but i see your point

#I have a 0.07 skill level when it comes to Playing By Ear and chords. But this is LOVELY so far even if it IS simplified

#it's okay you can say Kill la Kill

#excuse me as I kill my throat from gasp-laughing too harsadddnamfwje

#it wasn't until i literally shouted at a doctor that I was going to kill myself if they couldn't help me that someone actually DID SOMETHING

#you could never kill me in a way that matters

#he's also the only one who Actually tried to kill the Joker. so.......

#did you know bugs feel A Jolt of Pain when you kill them? I don't know what the heck the science-y anatomical cause of that is

#kill the idea that yelling/screaming is Normal and Healthy! Because it's not! It's absolutely NOT.

#But yeah! There's no better way to learn a skill than looking to the people who have already mastered the skills you want to learn.

#''Are you really willing to kill the next George Floyd; the next Breonna Taylor; the next Tamir Rice?''

#those herbs DON'T KILL VIRUSES like alcohol does!!

#''what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'' yeah but it leaves you with Serious Vulnerabilities that you have to spend your

#''Lots of villains.'' ''I will KILL YOU boy!'' GODS

Done:

#for me/aries it's much more the ''i want to fix it then and there and then it's done'' but really I don't play the blame game.

#seriously they've done SO MANY studies on creative hobbies and there are generations of stories from people who've had them

#so really nothing gets DONE about the diagnosis? but he gets Super Curious and reads a TON of articles and studies and books about it

#But let's take stock of how many times I've already done this shall we?~

#nicely done though??

#I can Never Get ENough of writers who've done as much off-novel characterization as Neil and Sir Terry have done with Good Omens

#That was REALLY well done as far as a Mind Games sort of horror story goes

#You shouldn't expect people who have Done a Lot of Growth and Shown a Lot of Potnetial to ForeveR Hide and Eradicate Their Past.

#this webcomic isn't my style personally but it IS really well done and I recommend it to anyone who likes the above things!

#with the tags out of the way: THAT'S BECAUSE 9/!! was PLAYED to THEIR BENEFIT (or: possibly even done by the govt themselves)

#and they pay shit and work us to the bone because they won't staff. But this post is... PROOF that it can be done BETTER.

#''i was born on the way home from the gym and then I will be able to get it done before the end of the day''

#!!! This made ms so HAPPY to see! Pink's speech patterns being recognized and analyzed was... not something i'd ever done before?

#I have to have some things done before my executive dysfunction will let me engage in other tasks or else I get like.... gridlocked?

#kpop fans get things DONE don't DOUBT them

#I have a LOT of trouble recalling when something was Done First or Subsequently. And I absolutely CAN NOT remember dates.

#It's human to need help sometimes and with all you've done for your loved ones

#and once THAT'S done I should be able to post the chapter!!! Which... given that I'm not absolutely mentally exhausted from work anymore

#I can't IMAGINE what I'd have done if I suddenly lost ALL of them and had to fight on alone.......................

#AHHH the idea of Damian adopting a rabbit! And Raven petting it! (house bunny because I refuse to condone illegal wildlife theft)

#they've done it! they've broken my fanfics down to the bare essentials!

#to do so when I see people like this. I'm done letting people back me into a corner and forcing me to cower.

#and between all the reading I've done on humanized superheroes and this show: I know that's basically my favorite trope.

#Enrichment Done Right!!

#Teaching done RIGHT!

#I'll admit: I'm curious to see how Gabriel and Kami actually describe their relationship? Because when it's built up properly and done RIGHT

#okay so I've done some research and this seems to be ACcepted on reddit but Hotly Debated everywhere else

#and it wasn't until Last Year and my sister that I trusted with it was a cosmetologist-- after I'd done SO MUCH work on healing from abuse

#It was the first forest that ever opened its heart to me. The only one that has done so as thoroughly....

#I have written like three quarter-done sex scenes but always drop off it before I get ot the Really Porny Parts because No Interest

#seriously they've done SO MANY studies on creative hobbies and there are generations of stories from people who've had them

#But let's take stock of how many times I've already done this shall we?~

#nicely done though??

#the things she had ACTUALLY said or done to me. Telling them the way she hurt me.

#have you... have you never done that???

#...hmmm... I like the Battle Cry idea. I don't know what my own creaming sounds like though. I've never... done that.

#I can Never Get ENough of writers who've done as much off-novel characterization as Neil and Sir Terry have done with Good Omens

#i scored 33-actually-34 though. the ones i missed were the mother-daughters-grandmothers one-- which I still think it Done Wrong

#can confirm that you Do Get Way More Done when you're well-rested.

#nimue's not driving but she's already so done with it

#it could probably only be done When Angry.

Try:

#i went wild with google translate and ecosia and every search engine i could find TRYING to TRANSLATE ''cotorrito''

#If we're going to take on these forces of arrogance and bigotry: We have to stand UNITED. TOGETHER!

#poetry

#country

#pastry

#And for some reason everyone fucking LOVES it. I know it was an instrumental step in my poetry as it is NOW

#but I know that in poetry after a rhyme happens then te next line is Likely to start a new thought.

#''you're a deep thinker of deep thoughts a reader of poetry and a HEAVY user of your notes app.

#take this quite literally. because the one time i did try asking my STEPmother what was wrong she wound up screaming at me.

#I don't usually watch tiktoks but the comments convinced me to give this one a try and yes. this one Deserved It.

#my mother and I driving around country backroads trying to avoid the highways at midnight on July 4th

#I was going to try buying a gift card but i think that would be cheating a legit business owner out of money and I'm not about that.

#i refuse to give her a tag of her own. i know she Contributed^tm and technically it's not 'bad' poetry but I'm just not a fan personally

#is what I consider to be MY WORST POEM. It even got published in a goddamn poetry collection! What the FUCK.

#actually put your body into starvation mode. And what does the body do when it's starving? TRY DESPERATELY to HOLD ON

#~!America is the Best Country Ever!~ NO ''BEST'' ANYTHING would allow ANY human being to be treated like THAT!

#But the idea is to try finding those things and explore them. Make it fun! MAke it spooky! Make it exciting! Make it startling!

#i'd also have to try finding a time to watch it when someone else in the family isn't already monopolizing the TV....

#(because i'd.... really love to try holding and playing one of these of my own someday.)

#about living a monk-like life? i'd give it a goddamn try if i got literally ANY paid vacation time and had the money to fly to tibet...)

#.....from certain pizza places? I would try it.

#so like. Too LAte ot try it at THIS job

#Not just in stories either; do actually try it someday

#In this country it's basically Impossible to become ANY kind of politician without being am illionaire. Like it's Literally IMPOSSIBLE.

#Like... the thrift store industry is BOOMING right now because a lot of us are Too Poor to Buy Anything Else.

#''bitch TRY it i DARE you''

#sometimes you gotta get it out somehow and a journal entry just doesn't cut it

#i actually only know two lines out of the refrain of that song. But damn if I'm not going to try LEARNING it someday

#i've heard d+ shuts down accounts if you try logging in from new devices (such as my laptop) lately

#...huh. I haven't found a lot of country music before the 90's so I don't know how I feel about this.

#but i definitely agree with the Reasons People ''Hate Country Music Today''.

#(but also The country music style of singing feels like someone is using a cheese grater on my brain. I just... don't enjoy that;;)

#(''lyrics'' referring to the 90s/00s country music I know of. and know i can't stand.)

#(tagged as such because ONE DAY I really REALLY want to try my hand at a Big Gorgeous Absolutely Breathtaking Fish Tank!)

#Oooh I'm definitely going to incorporate that ''try not to leave the room'' when cleaning thing!

#i wish my stories could do that? someday. Someday maybe.... I'll try one of these days.

#Sigh... the Artistry of this crew.

#i can't believe i'm living in the most ragged-on state in the more ragged-on COUNTRY of the entire internet.

#most of the time the people who have the easiest time contacting spirits didn't try or ask for it. The spirits just kinda.... Found Them

#He has the skills necessary to cook. Just not... the Sense of Taste. He has the Artistry part down! Just not the Accuracy.

#((and i have to try REALLY HARD to get an image of what it Looks Like. except in very Rare and Special Moments.

#I'm not usually one for visuals but this quick animation is GORGEOUS and I can't tell you how TEMPTED I've been to try recreating it.

#and Leyla as a kid just wants to TRY STUFF

#i saw amy's shoulders sparkling and i was like! ''i LOVE that. i'd love to try some fairy-goth myself someday''

#Neurochemistry stuff!!

#why is his reaction so aNGRY honestly that was a REAL ACCOMPLISHMENT and some serious artistry she pulled off!

#try swarming a stun deck with THIS on the field. o.o

#tell me what i can tag this because it's absolutely fucking ABYSSMAL of our country to ALLOW this and absolutely FUCK anyone who says

#i'm gonna...... try that popcon one though

#(because my job has me outside in it for at least 3 hours a day no matter what medical history i try to show them)

#might have to try this....

#i'm gonna Try to sleep but i know my hyperficating nexus-steeped mind isn't gonna quiet down very quickly 8O

#for the record i did TRY using the Boolean Operator  syntax with ''low'' blood pressure in quotes. but it STILL gave me articles

#Raven: immediately Exhausts Herself to Hell to Try Undoing It

#yes i'm going to overanalyze and try understand every accusation of Ohio on my dashboard. why do you ask?

#i'm gonna... Try Wearing Make-Up!

#is it weird that i use almistry when drawing my ocs' hands?

#a little piece of her childhood home and her ancestry when the rest of the world and its people died.

#She might be a little embarrassed to share her poetry with people? I think she's pretty good at writing pretty words

#Or... if you feel so inclined: poetry you've written yourself?

Stop:

#but BY ALL the GODS can we STOP mocking and hating the people who DO have all these grand and lofty ambitions?

#stop blaming millennials for our shitty circumstances challenge.

#note to self: stop frekaing FORGETTING to schedule with a GE again!!! fuck's sake!

#stop being elitist because something's Different. it has its merits and it's not meant to be an International Film-Festival Masterpiece.

#(i did a Lot of stupid things at that house actually. there was a reason i stopped working with raphael......)

#except once i got the add diagnosis my teacher stopped commenting on my doodling.

#that cloak was the PERFECT compromise. It kept me a Little Warmer without getting too hot AND did a great job of stopping the too-cold wind~

#we stopped going to the daycare.. (And i know that because i got it for my 5th birthday. i was ENAMORED IMMEDIATELY)

#i've always read it the same way and didn't notice Why Everyone Stopped Liking Her but that also brought that particular Change to light...

#but on the other hand she Literally Accidentally Stopped Time... (And i have this... headcanon? let's call it a headcanon

#for something like stopping the end of  the world: Who (at least: who among HEROES) WOULDN'T put that to use?

#my all-time FAVORITE that I will NEVER skip a song from is Evanescence. HAs been for like 15 years now and that's not stopping.

#i don't foresee this rambling stopping for another 3 days tbh

#creepy guys try to follow you off your stop and get your number no matter how many times (with increasing ferocity) you tell them no.

#but can this fandom stop acting like pink intentionally hurt everyone for like 7 seconds???

#also if you're as powerful as zee it probably comes second-nature so why WOULDN'T you throw it around to stop an argument?

#it's an even split on how many people are willing to stop and talk to you. about one in ten will just outright ignore you if you say Hi

#why not stop at home and drop him off first? why send him into freaking SPACE???

#Don't stop believing. Don't stop moving forward. Don't let depression drag you down.

#do nothing but yell at you and tell you to calm down or shut up or Stop Being Yourself.

#i'm gonna stop before i suffocate on silent laughter but Wow This Is Good

#i can't tell you how many doctors i've been to that literally told me to stop crying when i Became Distressed from relating my symptoms...

#which i don't appreciate! brain stop calling me a wuss

#how do you... Stop Doing That?

#Stop Erasing Raven's Strengths!! Stop making her a stereotypical sitcom caricature! LET RAVEN BE SASSY

#Can people PLEASE stop equating the two things that don't necessarily (or often) go hand in hand?

#they're ALREADY filthy rich just stop fucking catering to them???

#and whenever I went to the bus stop for those mornings: I cawed to him. And rather than flying away as soon as he saw me

#Petition to make the fandom stop forgetting that Blue has a FIERCE side TOO

#i wish this freaking show would stop goddamn KILLING PEOPLE

#i can't stop giggling at that last gif though. oh my stars that's Great

#i... don't want to tag him ''bakura'' anymore because STOP GIVING HIM RYOU'S IDENTITY but at the same time... what ELSE do you call him??

#night-terrors/flashbacks / whatever? She will literally stop herself from sleeping.

#sorry i've made so many posts about this; I just! I can't stop HYPERFIXATING on this ONE DETAIL.

#like I was the kid who'd CRY when someone ripped wings off flies or legs off spiders. ''Stop it that HURTS!''

#but i tend to stop in the middle of books i'm not invested in. which is happening more and more often.

#She'll stop immediately and be like ''okay! let's talk about something else than!!''

#(a terrified telepath is twice as dangerous when she's unconscious and Can't Stop It. She knows that. So when she's having bouts of

#oh STOP it that was sweet!

#i mean you can't stop kids from seeing EVERYTHING. But we should at least be TRYING to protect them. You know?

#trying to help me figure out how to cope. basically everyone was like ''there's no way you don't notice three hours passing stop lying''

#oh my GOD I'm LAUGHING there are tEARS IN MY EYES I just!! I'm DEFINITELY imagining them and I can't STOP LAUGHING OKAY

#How do you stop looking back?

#(And then the night my spirit guide told me to stop LETTING myself be defined by her and that I can rise above my past and my parents...)

#but BY ALL the GODS can we STOP mocking and hating the people who DO have all these grand and lofty ambitions?

#Don't stop believing. Don't stop moving forward. Don't let depression drag you down.

#Stop Erasing Raven's Strengths!! Stop making her a stereotypical sitcom caricature! LET RAVEN BE SASSY

#There's SO MUCH in the Society6 store and all of it is GORGEOUS. I had to physically hold my hands to my chest to stop myself

#How do you.... Stop Needing the Sugar to Function though? I've tried like 4 adhd meds and they all have Awful Side Effects for me. :c

#for the record: salem was really more of just a stop on a field trip across literary and/or historical sites of New England

#can the universe STOP pointing me towards MORE triggers?  P l e a s e ? ?? ?????

#My heart wouldn't stop pounding and I was legitimately QUAKING even after I sat down. Luckily that manager was Compassionate

#until somebody told me to stop probably

#but i can't stop questioning myself. probably because Questioning Myself and Rigorously Guarding My Mind is the only reason I...

#EXCUSE you holy HECK that was!!! I WAS BREATHLESS AND COULDN'T STOP READING?

#Not Being Violent isn't the same as Doing Absolutely Nothing To Stop Shit in the world

#can we stop saying All Sugar Is Bad now? (it doesn't increase insulin resistance until you've consistently eaten A TON of it!)

#i will literally run into a room to stop someone from killing a spider in my vicinity. Cup and paper in hand

#now if they'd stop taking digs at fans who prefer the old show maybe that would actually MEAN something.

#and I'm LEARNING how to talk back to them (''stop talking ABOUT yourself and start talking TO yourself'')

#and do you know what happened to me in Honors English? My teacher literally told me to stop writing so much and stop thinking so hard

#(i will NEver Stop Tagging Change Your Mind as Spoilers by the way because BASCIALLY THE FINALE)

#and i think my eyes are broken because i can't stop tearing up. heck

#...i'm starting to think i should stop using my Anti Fascism tag. just ot be safe

#He doesn't even need to forgive her. But at the very least... can we stop villainizing the one who is the very reason Earth still lives?

#i'm Venting but also Suggestions on Actual Techniques that can make them fucking STOP would be appreciated

[topicprinter]

I Don’t Know What Happened to Outdoor Voices, But I Can GuessComing out of Parsons school of design, Tyler Haney had an idea for an activewear brand more about fun than performance. The young entrepreneur scraped together a design, started Outdoor Voices, made a few samples, got into some trade shows and even got a couple small orders. Before she knew it, J Crew came in with a huge order of 11,000 units to feature the brand in their “Discover” series in 2014.That’s pretty much a dream start to a brand. Now you’ve got a whole bunch of free exposure through J.Crew, and a bunch of cash on hand. Since then, the company has raised $64 million in funding and expanded massively.But, over the past couple years there have been a couple examples of high-profile people coming on board, then quietly getting the heck away (J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler joined as chairman of the board in 2017, but stepped down in 2019--ex-Under Armour and Nike executive Pamela Cartless joined as COO and left after five months). The last round of funding was a down round, and this past month Tyler was replaced as CEO, then left the company altogether. Apparently, the company is doing 40M in sales a year, and losing 2M a month (more details here).How did we get here? How is a 40M revenue clothing company that has a great brand (including good attendance on community events like fun-runs etc.) losing 2M a month? It makes you wonder why they have 300 employees. It also makes you wonder why they have 11 brick and mortar stores, and what kind of ad spend they’re doing (not to mention how high the customer acquisition costs are on that ad spend).The decisions that would lead here don’t make any sense, unless you have some wonky incentives going on.Enter the “Billion or Bust Deathpact.”How Does Billion or Bust Happen?Tyler Haney (co-founder) now owns ~10% of the company in (and on this last bit i’m guessing, no info on share type) non-preferred equity. She probably took some money off of the table in one of the rounds (given how much she raised), maybe a million-ish dollars, as a nest egg (this is also a guess, and I hope it’s true).Now, the rest of the company (outside of an employee equity pool and maybe an early common equity friends and family round of some kind) is probably owned in preferred equity by investors. The investors probably also control the board.What does this do to incentive structure?From the VCs perspective, this company needs to scale massively or it’s not a needle mover in their portfolio. VCs invested in the company at a valuation it would have to earn post-hoc, and if the company continues to be a middling earning business it is roughly equivalent to not existing in the VC’s portfolio. The VC’s incentive is to have the company shoot for the moon, run at a loss, and go billion or bust. In the payout profile most of these portfolios, the majority of companies don’t work out at all, and the few that do need to work out huge to carry the bad investments that are in the nature of high risk startup equity.This means you’re encouraged to spend and build toward that big win, which often means you create unnecessary fixed costs (like employees) and become willing to push the CAC into near-unprofitable -- or even unprofitable (bonobos quote?) -- unit economics, in order to hit growth targets from your investors. You may even find yourself watering down your brand, and creating more generic products to reach a broader audience (a la Bonobos or Nasty Gal), because your initial, loyal, fan base isn’t a big enough market segment to satisfy your investors’ desired outcome. You’ve turned what could be a profitable business serving a loyal community into a business that is losing 2 million dollars a month, without much runway for that left in the bank, and running out of affordable growth opportunities.Founder IncentivesThis makes sense from the VC’s incentive structure (this thing being profitable and throwing off a couple million a year is not what they signed up for-- they are willing to risk the company’s existence for a shot at a billion dollar exit one day).But, as long as the founder is CEO, why would they run the company to the ground trying to achieve the growth the investors want? If you’re running just a $10M annual revenue business that you own 50% yourself with 20% margins, you could be clearing $1M/year in dividends-- even with no growth.Well it’s too late for that. Your company is now 70-90% (let’s say) owned by investors who, also:Control the board (can hire or fire you)Have no interest in dividending out cash (they are trying to optimize chance of big payout)Would get the majority of dividended cash, even if there were any (they own the equity)Will also get all the money from an exit, unless you exit above the valuation they invested atLet’s talk about #4 for a second. If they have preferred equity, any profits from a sale go to them until either they’ve recouped their initial investment, or even made a fixed return.For the founder, now, the only way for you to make money outside of your salary at the company is to exit at a valuation higher than the valuations your investors invested in. And, investors tend to invest in private companies at valuations that would require massive growth to retain in public markets (and often even in private acquisitions). Your incentive to look for a big high valuation exit is now even stronger (and at an even higher valuation) than the investors’ incentive-- and it’s going to take a wild shot at some extreme growth to get there.For someone with a profitable new ecommerce startup that’s getting some traction, your company could be a mid-sized profitable independent business that makes you a lot of money. The first round you just signed, and are bragging to your friends about, might actually just be a billion or bust deathpact that leads to your business’ survival and profitability into a coinflip on mass adoption. All of a sudden it makes sense for you as an individual decision-maker for the business, based on your incentive structure, to break your unit economics and start spending more than you make.This, obviously, will make you reliant on then raising a next round (functionally pre-committing you to sell more equity), but it also means that instead of being forced to find low-cost CAC avenues or raise LTV before you have money to scale, you’re more likely to just pump money into your existing channels because you’re optimizing for hitting your goals, you have the money to do it, and you know your rough conversions from dollars to acquisitions there. Often the easiest place to pour money into acquisitions is paid social, and paid social is especially attractive to companies with VCs on their board because you have such detailed stats on your conversions.This raises CAC as you go from your “low hanging fruit” audience to your “I guess this is technically profitable” audience to your “I’ll lose money to sell to them and figure out a way to raise LTV later” audience, until, eventually, the proverbial “tree” is stripped bare and you haven’t planted any others in your orchard, because you could afford to get to the top of this one. Oops.But if the VC/Ecommerce death pact is creating businesses that take good brands and ideas, then mess up the incentive structure so that the CEO/Founder is incentivized to run the business to the ground, disregard profitability, and raise money in an endless and desperate bid to become massive and have a super high valuation exit, that also creates an opportunity. Specifically, it creates an opportunity for PE firms who can buy in, replace the leadership, clean up the company’s unit economics and balance sheet, then come off as the “adults” in the room (even though the founder’s “mismanagement” of the company may have been the rational strategy given the incentives laid out before them). In this case that PE firm is Interluxe, and that PE leadership replacement is Cliff Moskowitz (the new CEO of Outdoor Voices). I don’t know if Interluxe makes a habit of targeting this specific kind of VC/Ecommerce Deathpact Loss Spiral, or even if that was their intent here, but I do think it’d be a damn good business and there are plenty of opportunities.Know the Path You’re Going DownI don’t know if Tyler Haney saw where this path was leading when she took her first $1 Million from General Catalyst and started spending aggressively to hit growth targets, running at a loss that would take her right back to the next funding roundAnd if she did, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. If this is the path you want to take, take it. Just be aware of what path you’re taking, and think deeply about what you want.Switching your risk exposure to “Billion or Bust” can work out (Dollar Shave Club comes to mind). What I fear is ecommerce entrepreneurs out there not fully considering the alternatives, or what VC money can do to your incentives. Tyler Haney is a talented entrepreneur, with enough grit and drive to get her startup off the ground to some solid traction before even taking any investment, and I think really could have done this either way she wanted to.Someone offering to invest in your business feels really good. As an entrepreneur, the personal and public validation that provides for a vision that most of the time lives only in your own head is an alm to some of the most persistent negative emotions of self doubt and insecurity that haunt an entrepreneurial lifestyle (not to mention the practical concern of unstable income).But, unlike some of the tech industries that have made VC huge over the last 30 years, ecommerce is almost never a winner take all market the way social networks, as an example, are--and it might not make sense to run a huge loss at a ridiculous valuation, burning tens of millions of dollars for a chance at glory. If you have 0.1% of the global clothing market (for example) you’re doing over a billion dollars of revenue a year.There are of course many shades to investment and growth, and I don’t want to pretend this is a binary choice. Middle of the road funding can also work out. YC incubated ecommerce brands (like FREY) often go down this road without losing sight of their original brand promise, or running their business to the ground. In general, a second generation of ecommerce companies, in part thanks to VC’s being more reticent on ecommerce after lackluster exits like Bonobos, are doing a better job prioritizing profitability and sustainable growth (Buck Mason comes to mind).Does this mean you should never raise money if you’re an ecommerce brand? No not at all. It just means you should know what you’re signing up for, and there are a few general principles I would want to keep in mind. And, at the end of the day, it’s your company; do what you want with it.But, I’ve been studying the space a bit for a new company I’m starting with a friend, and thinking a lot about ecommerce ( /r/meritstore if curious).Here are some take-away principles we’ve identified that I think may be generally applicable:Be the company your biggest fans think you are: by way of example, my business partners’ girlfriend used to spend 100s of dollars a year on Outdoor Voices, and has stopped (before any of this drama went down). She’d found their designs had begun to lack creativity and felt generic, which makes sense given they were trying to appeal to a wider audience. They stopped doing what she loved, and they never asked what it was she loved about them. For your brand, the people who love your brand already are the ones who know what you’re doing right. Which brings me to my next point:Your existing customers matter more than your new customers: you would do well to make sure you keep doing what makes your early fans love you. If you don’t know what that is, ask them. If you do know what that is, ask them anyway to be sure. You should have a constant, intense level of engagement with existing customers. If being an existing customer of your brand isn’t awesome, new customers won’t have a reason to stick around even if you get them in the door. Solving this first makes every new customer you acquire much more valuable in the long term. This leads to the next idea:Growing well is better than growing fast: create your own content, foster your own community, don’t rely completely on paid advertising. To quote a new-gen ecommerce founder, “I’d rather have a billion-dollar company 25 years from now than a billion-dollar valuation five years from now.” (Maggie Winter of AYR, from this article). Badass.Profitability matters: don’t break your unit economics without knowing how they’re going to un-break later. It’s easy (especially if you have a few million dollars of VC money burning a hole in your bank account) to fall into a trap of “we need to get the exposure and get them in the door, and we can figure out how to raise LTV later.” But, sometimes you don’t figure that out, and then you’re in real trouble.Investing time in “investment for investment’s sake,” is a bad investment: if you’re doing the work to find investment, be conscious of how much, from whom, and why. Don’t take it for validation. Know what it’s uses are. Don’t do it because it’s “just what people do” when their startup is doing well. Make sure whoever is investing in your company shares your vision for its future, which will align your incentives.If you have any thoughts on this stuff, let me know. I’m having a great time learning about the space, and there’s a lot more to learn.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I hope some of my thinking on this was helpful, here are a couple articles I read when making this, many of them different reporting on the Outdoor Voices situation.FastcompanyEntrepreneur.comBusiness Insider Outdoor Voices Annoucement 1Business Insider Outdoor Voices Annoucement 2BizJournalsRetailDiveTechCrunchGQ

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I Don’t Know What Happened With Outdoor Voices, But I Can GuessComing out of Parsons school of design, Tyler Haney had an idea for an activewear brand more about fun than performance. The young entrepreneur scraped together a design, started Outdoor Voices, made a few samples, got into some trade shows and even got a couple small orders. Before she knew it, J Crew came in with a huge order of 11,000 units to feature the brand in their “Discover” series in 2014.That’s pretty much a dream start to a brand. Now you’ve got a whole bunch of free exposure through J.Crew, and a bunch of cash on hand. Since then, the company has raised $64 million in funding and expanded massively.But, over the past couple years there have been a couple examples of high-profile people coming on board, then quietly getting the heck away (J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler joined as chairman of the board in 2017, but stepped down in 2019--ex-Under Armour and Nike executive Pamela Cartless joined as COO and left after five months). The last round of funding was a down round, and this past month Tyler was replaced as CEO, then left the company altogether. Apparently, the company is doing 40M in sales a year, and losing 2M a month (more details here).How did we get here? How is a 40M revenue clothing company that has a great brand (including good attendance on community events like fun-runs etc.) losing 2M a month? It makes you wonder why they have 300 employees. It also makes you wonder why they have 11 brick and mortar stores, and what kind of ad spend they’re doing (not to mention how high the customer acquisition costs are on that ad spend).The decisions that would lead here don’t make any sense, unless you have some wonky incentives going on.Enter the “Billion or Bust Deathpact.”How Does Billion or Bust Happen?Tyler Haney (co-founder) now owns ~10% of the company in (and on this last bit i’m guessing, no info on share type) non-preferred equity. She probably took some money off of the table in one of the rounds (given how much she raised), maybe a million-ish dollars, as a nest egg (this is also a guess, and I hope it’s true).Now, the rest of the company (outside of an employee equity pool and maybe an early common equity friends and family round of some kind) is probably owned in preferred equity by investors. The investors probably also control the board.What does this do to incentive structure?From the VCs perspective, this company needs to scale massively or it’s not a needle mover in their portfolio. VCs invested in the company at a valuation it would have to earn post-hoc, and if the company continues to be a middling earning business it is roughly equivalent to not existing in the VC’s portfolio. The VC’s incentive is to have the company shoot for the moon, run at a loss, and go billion or bust. In the payout profile most of these portfolios, the majority of companies don’t work out at all, and the few that do need to work out huge to carry the bad investments that are in the nature of high risk startup equity.This means you’re encouraged to spend and build toward that big win, which often means you create unnecessary fixed costs (like employees) and become willing to push the CAC into near-unprofitable -- or even unprofitable (bonobos quote?) -- unit economics, in order to hit growth targets from your investors. You may even find yourself watering down your brand, and creating more generic products to reach a broader audience (a la Bonobos or Nasty Gal), because your initial, loyal, fan base isn’t a big enough market segment to satisfy your investors’ desired outcome. You’ve turned what could be a profitable business serving a loyal community into a business that is losing 2 million dollars a month, without much runway for that left in the bank, and running out of affordable growth opportunities.Founder IncentivesThis makes sense from the VC’s incentive structure (this thing being profitable and throwing off a couple million a year is not what they signed up for-- they are willing to risk the company’s existence for a shot at a billion dollar exit one day).But, as long as the founder is CEO, why would they run the company to the ground trying to achieve the growth the investors want? If you’re running just a $10M annual revenue business that you own 50% yourself with 20% margins, you could be clearing $1M/year in dividends-- even with no growth.Well it’s too late for that. Your company is now 70-90% (let’s say) owned by investors who, also:Control the board (can hire or fire you)Have no interest in dividending out cash (they are trying to optimize chance of big payout)Would get the majority of dividended cash, even if there were any (they own the equity)Will also get all the money from an exit, unless you exit above the valuation they invested atLet’s talk about #4 for a second. If they have preferred equity, any profits from a sale go to them until either they’ve recouped their initial investment, or even made a fixed return.For the founder, now, the only way for you to make money outside of your salary at the company is to exit at a valuation higher than the valuations your investors invested in. And, investors tend to invest in private companies at valuations that would require massive growth to retain in public markets (and often even in private acquisitions). Your incentive to look for a big high valuation exit is now even stronger (and at an even higher valuation) than the investors’ incentive-- and it’s going to take a wild shot at some extreme growth to get there.For someone with a profitable new ecommerce startup that’s getting some traction, your company could be a mid-sized profitable independent business that makes you a lot of money. The first round you just signed, and are bragging to your friends about, might actually just be a billion or bust deathpact that leads to your business’ survival and profitability into a coinflip on mass adoption. All of a sudden it makes sense for you as an individual decision-maker for the business, based on your incentive structure, to break your unit economics and start spending more than you make.This, obviously, will make you reliant on then raising a next round (functionally pre-committing you to sell more equity), but it also means that instead of being forced to find low-cost CAC avenues or raise LTV before you have money to scale, you’re more likely to just pump money into your existing channels because you’re optimizing for hitting your goals, you have the money to do it, and you know your rough conversions from dollars to acquisitions there. Often the easiest place to pour money into acquisitions is paid social, and paid social is especially attractive to companies with VCs on their board because you have such detailed stats on your conversions.This raises CAC as you go from your “low hanging fruit” audience to your “I guess this is technically profitable” audience to your “I’ll lose money to sell to them and figure out a way to raise LTV later” audience, until, eventually, the proverbial “tree” is stripped bare and you haven’t planted any others in your orchard, because you could afford to get to the top of this one.But if the VC/Ecommerce death pact is creating businesses that take good brands and ideas, then mess up the incentive structure so that the CEO/Founder is incentivized to run the business to the ground, disregard profitability, and raise money in an endless and desperate bid to become massive and have a super high valuation exit, that also creates an opportunity. Specifically, it creates an opportunity for PE firms who can buy in, replace the leadership, clean up the company’s unit economics and balance sheet, then come off as the “adults” in the room (even though the founder’s “mismanagement” of the company may have been the rational strategy given the incentives laid out before them). In this case that PE firm is Interluxe, and that PE leadership replacement is Cliff Moskowitz (the new CEO of Outdoor Voices). I don’t know if Interluxe makes a habit of targeting this specific kind of VC/Ecommerce Deathpact Loss Spiral, or even if that was their intent here, but I do think it’d be a damn good business and there are plenty of opportunities.Know the Path You’re Going DownI don’t know if Tyler Haney saw where this path was leading when she took her first $1 Million from General Catalyst and started spending aggressively to hit growth targets, running at a loss that would take her right back to the next funding roundAnd if she did, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. If this is the path you want to take, take it. Just be aware of what path you’re taking, and think deeply about what you want.Switching your risk exposure to “Billion or Bust” can work out (Dollar Shave Club comes to mind). What I fear is ecommerce entrepreneurs out there not fully considering the alternatives, or what VC money can do to your incentives. Tyler Haney is a talented entrepreneur, with enough grit and drive to get her startup off the ground to some solid traction before even taking any investment, and I think really could have done this either way she wanted to.Someone offering to invest in your business feels really good. As an entrepreneur, the personal and public validation that provides for a vision that most of the time lives only in your own head is an alm to some of the most persistent negative emotions of self doubt and insecurity that haunt an entrepreneurial lifestyle (not to mention the practical concern of unstable income).But, unlike some of the tech industries that have made VC huge over the last 30 years, ecommerce is almost never a winner take all market the way social networks, as an example, are--and it might not make sense to run a huge loss at a ridiculous valuation, burning tens of millions of dollars for a chance at glory. If you have 0.1% of the global clothing market (for example) you’re doing over a billion dollars of revenue a year.There are of course many shades to investment and growth, and I don’t want to pretend this is a binary choice. Middle of the road funding can also work out. YC incubated ecommerce brands (like FREY) often go down this road without losing sight of their original brand promise, or running their business to the ground. In general, a second generation of ecommerce companies, in part thanks to VC’s being more reticent on ecommerce after lackluster exits like Bonobos, are doing a better job prioritizing profitability and sustainable growth (Buck Mason comes to mind).Does this mean you should never raise money if you’re an ecommerce brand? No not at all. It just means you should know what you’re signing up for, and there are a few general principles I would want to keep in mind. And, at the end of the day, it’s your company; do what you want with it.But, I’ve been studying the space a bit for a new company I’m starting with a friend, and thinking a lot about ecommerce (join us on Reddit if curious). Here are some take-away principles we’ve identified that I think may be generally applicable:Be the company your biggest fans think you are: by way of example, my business partners’ girlfriend used to spend 100s of dollars a year on Outdoor Voices, and has stopped (before any of this drama went down). She’d found their designs had begun to lack creativity and felt generic, which makes sense given they were trying to appeal to a wider audience. They stopped doing what she loved, and they never asked what it was she loved about them. For your brand, the people who love your brand already are the ones who know what you’re doing right. Which brings me to my next point:Your existing customers matter more than your new customers: you would do well to make sure you keep doing what makes your early fans love you. If you don’t know what that is, ask them. If you do know what that is, ask them anyway to be sure. You should have a constant, intense level of engagement with existing customers. If being an existing customer of your brand isn’t awesome, new customers won’t have a reason to stick around even if you get them in the door. Solving this first makes every new customer you acquire much more valuable in the long term. This leads to the next idea:Growing well is better than growing fast: create your own content, foster your own community, don’t rely completely on paid advertising. To quote a new-gen ecommerce founder, “I’d rather have a billion-dollar company 25 years from now than a billion-dollar valuation five years from now.” (Maggie Winter of AYR, from this article). Badass.Profitability matters: don’t break your unit economics without knowing how they’re going to un-break later. It’s easy (especially if you have a few million dollars of VC money burning a hole in your bank account) to fall into a trap of “we need to get the exposure and get them in the door, and we can figure out how to raise LTV later.” But, sometimes you don’t figure that out, and then you’re in real trouble.Investing time in “investment for investment’s sake,” is a bad investment: if you’re doing the work to find investment, be conscious of how much, from whom, and why. Don’t take it for validation. Know what it’s uses are. Don’t do it because it’s “just what people do” when their startup is doing well. Make sure whoever is investing in your company shares your vision for its future, which will align your incentives.If you have any thoughts on this stuff, let me know. I’m having a great time learning about the space, and there’s a lot more to learn.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I hope some of my thinking on this was helpful, here are a couple articles I read when making this, many of them different reporting on the Outdoor Voices situation.FastcompanyEntrepreneur.comBusiness Insider Outdoor Voices Annoucement 1Business Insider Outdoor Voices Annoucement 2BizJournalsRetailDiveTechCrunchGQ