#jokes aside one of the awesome things about being an adult is getting to buy Toys for yourself like this

[baalzebufo]

really though if you want motivation to walk or do mild exercise the VB has been so good for me. turns out I need silly fake motivation instead of just 'it makes you feel better' and 'exercising is good for you'. no, I need to be told 'theres a little animal in there who needs you to go on walks to thrive' and im like... god... I have no choice then...

[destinyc1020]

I see what Tom is saying about his future as spider-man like he loves the character and loves playing him and isn’t ready to say goodbye but also part of him feels like it might be time to step aside and let the next person have their shot at it, I think he just feels like nwh was such a amazing experience working with the other 2 Spider-Man’s and it finished in a way that it could be a nice wrap to his spidey. I think if they offer more though he will definitely do more if he feels the story is right anyway, if they want to take it in a weird direction then he might not. But also him joking about maybe he will buy a new house and need the pay check like he isn’t already a millionaire and could already afford a new house haha, I can only imagine how much he will make once nwh has finished at the box office depending on how many back end profit points he negotiated but still he’s gonna walk away with a fair bit, even if he never makes another spidey movie he still has lots of other projects that bring him money including uncharted which is a big budget movie and the money he already has haha. He only said not long ago he would love to buy a apartment complex and rent them out cheap cause he doesn’t need the money now he’s joking about needing to do more spidey films for the pay check if he wants to buy a new house lol he’s so random sometimes. I just can’t wait for marvel and Sony to make a announcement so we know for sure if we are getting more, and if we do I hope z and Jacob are still involved

Yea, I really loved the way that Sony did NWH honestly. It was perfect imo. They cleaned up some of the things some fans have kind of complained about in this MCU's version of Spider-man (ie. Peter not really "struggling", Peter not making his own suit, Peter basically being Tony's "trust fund kid" and having everything handed to him like some Iron Boy Jr. lol, lack of character development with most of the side characters, kind of kiddish vibe with the newer Spider-man franchise, etc), and I loved how they brought back the old characters from the older spidey franchises 😃, and really kind of left things up in the air in a way that it could really go either way!

I LOVED that! 😃 Totally loved seeing Tobey and Andrew again (that was historic! 😁👏🏾), and I actually LOVED the ending because it showed Peter growing up and having to sort of start over again and be an adult, he's gonna struggle now lol, make his own suit, and maybe (just maybe!) we might just get a new Spider-man film without Avengers or mentors lol 😆 😂 🤣

Anyway, with the success of NWH, I'm not surprised that Tom probably wouldn't be too sad about leaving the franchise like this with a bang. Honestly, it's waaay better to leave a franchise on top, with ppl LOVING you, rather than leaving a franchise when ppl are like: "Ugh... another one??", or, "Him again?" 🙄

So I can kind of see Tom's slight hesitation in wanting to continue on. Right now, Tom has put on the Spider-Man suit more than any other actor. He might just be kind of tired and wanting a bit of a break right now? 🤷🏾‍♀️ I mean, it's understandable.

With that said, I have absolutely ZERO doubt that Sony WILL be making another Spider-man movie hahaha 😆 🤣 😂 😜 😄

When, exactly? I have no clue. 🤷🏾‍♀️ But there's no way they're gonna stop now lol.

I think Tom is simply thinking out loud, and is probably still in negotiations. He's doing the right thing in keeping things up in the air imo.

Also, there's nothing wrong with him having other goals in life, and wanting to own even more property or real estate, etc. If he's smart, he'll do like his gf bestie and invest in some property or side gigs to get some multiple streams of income coming in. You can NEVER go wrong with that! 😃👌🏾

I see he already signed up with a Prada campaign, which is awesome! 👏🏾 So he's def learning well from Z (and Law), and I think at the end of the day, he just wants to do things that he feels happy and accomplished about, and that bring him joy! Whether that's making more Spider-man movies, having a family, buying more real estate, or just being a carpenter lol. 😂 He's rich, so can essentially DO IT ALL lol. 😄

At the end of the day, he has tons of options. For the past 6 years he's been working non-stop in this role, and so he might just feel like he's coming to a crossroads in his life where he might want to do some new things. At the same time, I'm sure he'd LOVE to do more spidey movies! 😃

He's just thinking out loud guys lol... No need to read TOO much into every single little thing. Ppl are complex....We can want to do many different things in life. It doesn't necessarily mean that we're contradicting ourselves. 😊

[supercorpkid]

Let’s talk about Kara.

Supercorp, Kara Danvers x Daughter!Reader, Lena Luthor x Daughter!Reader

Word count: 2150.

It’s been two weeks since you’ve been back home from your ‘nearly death’ experience and things are almost back to normal. Almost.

You realize now you look a lot like Kara, and you’re not thinking about looks, but how things affect you. After Lena’s assassination attempt you went days having panic attacks, nightmares, having to sleep with your moms because you were scared, and developing mechanisms to get through the night. When you were shot with kryptonite, on the other hand, that didn’t happen. And now, after you almost died, things got rough at first, but you’re back to your normal life. Sure, you have to use a cast on your leg to justify your limping, and your powers are making a slow return, but you’re back at school again.

Lena has also gone back to work by now. It was a long period of not stepping foot on L Corp and things have not completely fallen apart, but they were very close to it when she came back. But Kara, well, let’s talk about Kara. She faced a lot of near death experiences, but none have affected her like you almost dying.

“Hello, my child, light of my days, star of my nights.” Kara says when you walk in the living room in the afternoon.

“You’re such a weirdo.” You make your way to the couch to sit next to her, she wraps you in a hug and you laugh. “What’s up with the Shakespearean talk?”

“Oh, you know, just want to make sure you know you’re the reason I exist.”

“I really am not. Grandmother Alura and grandfather Zor-El are.” You say with a smile still dangling on your lips and Kara smiles too, tightening the embrace. “Momma, ouch. Still don’t have all the superpowers, remember?”

“Sorry.” Kara kisses the top of your head a few times. “What do you want to do today? Should we do a Harry Potter marathon?”

You look at her expectantly face, and you give her a soft smile. You have tests you haven’t studied for, you have to catch up in almost every single subject from school, and you certainly can’t waste time re-watching a movie you’ve seen a bunch of times already. But you just take one look at her face, and you change your mind.

“Sounds awesome.” She matches your smile and soon enough you’re both wrapped up in blankets, eating snacks and reciting some lines from the movies you both know so well.

You should talk to her. It’s been weeks. She can’t go on like this. She picks you up from school every day, so you never have to walk alone (she makes Lena drive you there in the morning before work). She spends all afternoon practically glued to you, and she hasn’t slept in her own bed ever since you were back from the DEO. It doesn’t matter how many times you assure her that you’re fine. It doesn’t matter how many times Lena bribes her with hugs and kisses and other stuff, she doesn’t leave your bed.

All of her other responsibilities were tossed aside. No more CatCo, no more Supergirl calls, no more going out to buy food, no more anything. Kara is either inside of the house in her sweatpants, or with you when you need to be out of the house.

You can see Lena’s worried about her, but you know she is also still worried about you, so she hasn’t said anything to Kara yet. You don’t know what to do. You love your momma, you love having her with you all the time, that’s really not the problem. The problem is that you know this isn’t healthy. You were once obsessed with keeping Lena safe and that did you no good.

But Kara looks unhappy and worried, and your heart squeezes in your chest every time you look at her and think about telling her this has to stop. You look at her gasping next to you when Cedric dies, four movies into the marathon, and you can’t bring yourself to do it.

But the feeling grows bigger. It stirs you inside. When she lays next to you on your bed, and you watch Lena leaving for another night of sleeping alone, it grows a little more. When you see her eating cereal with chocolate syrup, because there’s no more milk and she doesn’t want to go out to buy more, it grows a bit more. When you have to go to school half an hour earlier than your usual time, because Lena has a meeting and she can’t be late, it grows more. This can’t go on any longer. You have to say something.

“Hello, my fellow Hufflepuff companion, shall we remain doing our marathon?” Kara asks and you roll your eyes, before sitting in front of her on the couch.

“Maybe.” You hold her hands and she looks at you furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. “There’s something we need to talk about first.”

“Oooh. Am I in trouble?” She asks, making you laugh.

“Momma, I think it’s time for you to go back to work.” You say turning your face back to serious. “I’m fine.”

“I know you are.” Kara says, but her face says otherwise. “But we’re having so much fun here together, aren’t we?”

“We are. But you can’t stay home in your sweatpants and ugly socks for the rest of your life. Even I know that.”

“Uh.” She grunts. “But work is so boring and you’re so cool!” She pulls you in for a hug. “Besides, your mom’s a billionaire. She can pay for everything.”

“Yeah, but you’re an adult and you need to go back to functioning like one.” You hug her tight. “I’m not saying you have to get out there now, I just want you to know that I’m ok, and I’ll be fine when you do decide to go back.”

“Ok mommy, I got it.” She jokes and you roll your eyes while smiling. “You know what I’ve noticed? You only call me mommy when things are bad. Like when you’re scared or something.”

"That’s not true!” You try to defend yourself, but you know it is pretty much how it works.

“It is true.” Kara whispers and kisses your head again. “I like how you say mommy, I just don’t like that it’s always in scary situations.”

“Ok.” You let go of her and look in her eyes. “Can we make popcorn and watch Harry Potter, mommy?”

“YESSSSSS!” Kara cheers, clapping her hands and then raising them in a celebratory move. “I’ll make the popcorn and you put the movie. And I’ll be right back, my baby.”

Kara comes back with so much popcorn, you could feed an entire movie theater. You two get comfortable on the couch with lots of cushions and blankets and continue the marathon you started on the day before.

“Hi, my loves.” Lena walks in the living room after work and looks at you and Kara wrapped up in each other while sobbing. “Why are you two crying?”

“Dobby died.” Kara points at the TV and Lena chuckles a little. “It’s a real tragedy, ok?”

“I’m sure it is.” She says ironically. “Then I have something to make your days slightly better.”

“I doubt it, we had a pretty decent day.” You say and she shows you a box of donuts. You untangle yourself from Kara and stand up right away. “Oh wow, I stand incorrect. Thanks mommy!”

“Hey! I’m mommy! Stop throwing it around like it means nothing!” Kara complains pretending to be upset and you grab one donut from the box.

“Here mommy, have a donut.” You give Kara the donut, then grab another one from the box and offer it to Lena. “Here mommy, you can have one too.”

“Stop it!” Kara grabs you from behind making you sit back on the couch. She starts tickling you, making you laugh.

“Wait, why can’t I be mommy?” Lena asks sitting on your other side. She tickles you too. “I’m mommy!”

“You are not!” Kara replies, and her hands don’t stop. “You never once were mommy!”

“Exactly! I deserve more now.” Lena stops tickling you and she protects you from Kara’s hands making her stop. “Tell her, babygirl. Tell her I’m mommy and I’ll buy you more donuts.”

“You!” Kara hisses pointing at Lena. “Come on kid, tell her I’m mommy and I’ll buy you all the food your heart might desire.”

“What the hell?”

“Oh yeah, she’s being Shakespearean.” You look back at Lena. “Well? Aren’t you going to increase your payment?”

“You’re a mercenary.” She jokes and kisses your cheek. “I’ll go shower while you two finish the movie and then we can have dinner?”

“Sure, mommy.” You say making Lena chuckle and Kara complain.

“Hey! I promised you any food your heart desires!”

“Yeah, but you don’t have any money right now.” You point at your head. “Smart.”

“You know what? You just ruined mommy for me.” She pouts.

“Sorry, mommy.”

“God, you’re so freaking cute.” Kara’s pout is immediately gone and she grabs your face and smiles. “No, you didn’t. You can never ruin anything.”

On Monday morning when you walk in the kitchen you see Kara on her work clothes. You smile at her knowing what that means, and you can see Lena is also excited that she’s going back to work. She doesn’t seem excited herself, but you know she’s making an effort, so you’re really proud of her.

In the evening, you hear when she comes back from work, so you put the TV on mute and look back at the door. She throws her shoes to the side, along with her coat and purse, unties her hair and makes her way towards you while unbuttoning a couple of buttons on her shirt.

“Hey! How was your day?” You ask and she throws herself on the same couch you’re in, placing her head on your lap.

“I think half of my problem with today was putting on real pants.” She mutters and you give a soft giggle in response.

“Right. And the other half?”

“I didn’t get to hang out with you all afternoon.” She complains and you smile, playing with her hair.

“You’ll get used to it.” You tell her making her grunt.

“Why aren’t all people as nice as you are? Or fun? Or cool?”

“Or smart.” Lena adds, throwing herself on the chair in front of you and you turn to look at her, surprised you didn’t hear her coming. “God, I wish I could fire everyone in that building and hire you instead. Everyone was particularly stupid today.”

“As much as I am flattered, please don’t fire Aly. I like her.”

“Should we all just quit our jobs and stay home forever?” Kara says calling Lena with her hand. Lena goes to the couch you’re both in, and lays next to Kara, placing her head on your lap, too. You look down giving them a smile.

“I don’t have a job.” You’re still playing with Kara’s hair, and Lena grabs your other hand so you can do the same with her.

“You can quit school. Lena can teach you, and then you can teach me!”

“That sounds like an excellent idea.” Lena agrees, throwing her arms around Kara. “It can be just the three of us forever.”

“Please, don’t encourage this kind of nonsense.” You poke Lena’s cheek. “You know momma doesn’t need much to go completely nuts.”

“Hey!” Kara complains sticking her tongue out at you.

“I’m really proud of you, momma.” You stroke her cheek lightly and her face lights up when she hears that. “I know it wasn’t easy going back to work and wearing real pants. But the only way we can move on and forget all the nightmare we lived, is if we all make an effort to have our lives back.” You see Lena smiling, like you’re so smart she can’t believe it. “I get that it is easier hiding ourselves here in our little world, but the real world out there needs you. They need Supergirl saving them. They need Kara telling them the truth. I wouldn’t want to take that away from them.”

“Oh my God.” Kara wipes her tears and gets up from your lap to look at you. “What did I do to deserve such a great daughter?”

“I know, right?” Lena also wipes away some tears and you smile at her reaction.

“I love you mommy.” You kiss Kara’s forehead, and she kisses yours in return. “I love you mom.” You bend so you can also kiss Lena’s forehead.

“We love you kid. We really love you.” Kara says hugging you, and awkwardly Lena wraps her arms around both of your waists and smiles. “Rao, I love this family.”

You breathe relieved when you feel that finally things will go back to normal. It’s about time.

[trvncyz]

Jujutsu Kaisen characters during Ramzan || random headcanons|| part 2

note: before i start, i would like to clear out that these are just some things which happen in my house and may differ from your culture. this is just how i would imagine the jjk characters to behave during ramzan. hope you enjoy! this is part 2 and is a continuation to this post. feel free to add more in the reblogs.

-5/10/2021

part 1- nobara, itadori, megumi, gojo

part 2- inumaki, panda, maki, yuta, nanami

Inumaki Toge

before i start writing about him , i want you to know that i've been obsessed with him recently. he's such a cute little baby!!!!!

toge, megumi, yuta, nanami and noritoshi are all similar during ramzan.

they're all really chill during ramzan, never willingly missing out on fasts.

now coming back to toge, he starts ramzan very excitedly and is really good for the month.

no pranks, no swearing even in onigiri ingredients.

he prays on time, 5 times a day.

he doesnt attend taraweeh though. just prays at home smh

onigiri for iftar. oh and, he helps his mom set out the table

now, i imagine toge as someone who would fast regularly for a few days but then fall sick from low blood pressure or something of that sort. (me)

he's forced to leave a few of his fasts so that his body can recover. i can imagine him being all pouty, arms crossed, not looking at anyone because he wasn't allowed to fast.

"no inumaki, i'm not going to wake you up for sehri. you won't be fasting tomorrow."

"OKAKA"

oh and sometimes if he uses his cursed speech too much his throat starts bleeding and that automatically causes his fast to b r e a k.

it takes him a while to register what's happening when awoken for sehri.

he and yuta bought a drone and they tried it for the first time on Eid. He vlogged the whole thing for his youtube channel.

2. Maki Zenin

very grumpy while fasting

the type to not talk to you while fasting because it will cause her mouth to dry up.

i dont know why but i imagine her someone who cooks the iftar for everyone. people who complain about the iftar being too less get boinked on the head itadori

she might come off as a cold heartless bitch but i think she can be quite caring and loving to people she cares for.

like in the evening when the iftar is done, she goes around making everyone drink enough water so that they dont get dehydrated. especially inumaki since he's a baby

if someone accidentally misses sehri, she doesn't let them fast the next day because they "might fall sick."

hates it when she herself falls sick or gets her period. her mood becomes tenfold worse.

she doesn't practice much while fasting because yeah... try fasting daily and then try to do anything, forget physical activities.

oh this isnt ramzan related but she takes off her glasses for wudhu, performs her namaz and forgets where she's kept them.

first to wake up on eid. she might not show it but she's excited alright?

she has the best eid outfit and i stand by that.

switches out her glasses for contacts for a day because nobara insisted.

nobara takes lots of her pictures on eid but maki doesnt let her post any

puts her differences aside and wishes mai "eid mubarak" but thats about it.

3. Yuta Okkotsu

the perfect boy squad

wakes everyone for sehri and is very patient with them. isnt he just awesome?

helps out in the kitchen though he might not be very good at it. its the thought that counts

recitation everyday!!

Often he finds himself humming songs (subconsciously) and then he's just "No, No, it's ramzan!!" and then shuts up.

"why do all artists release such good songs during ramzan. this is a hate activity."

has to try everything served for iftar. he'll eat a little of everything.

nanami tells him to eat more because he's more on the lean side and if he doesn't eat enough, he might fall sick like toge.

while fasting, he often gets tired but never shows it.

one day, he was a bit late for sehri. He got immensely nervous and drank too much water. that made him feel super uncomfortable and uneasy. bottomline, he threw up. homie missed a fast smh.

i can just imagine him taking out the seed of his dates before hand. its like a little game he plays with himself. how neatly can you take out the seed of the date without actually splitting it?

not ramzan related but he spends time with megumi just talking. i feel like he and megumi have a very cute brothers relationship and yuta is someone megumi trusts and respects a lot.

they dont want to backbitch but they sit together and complain about how annoying gojo is.

they go to taraweeh together.

he has a canon sister and like megumi, he cooks for her when she's not fasting

i can imagine him totally adorable on eid. his white kurta and a big wide smile SO ADORABLE

he had been saving money for a while to buy a drone. he finally had enough to buy it but toge decided to pitch in last minute and they bought one of a higher quality.

he sometimes makes halal jokes which are stupid but funny. (like these) (on a side note, YAQOOB IS SO CUTE!!!! HE GIVES OFF IMMACULATE YUTA VIBES)

yasha your favouritism is showing-

i need to shut up about him.

4. Nanami Kento

he's the dad abbu

he's very strict during ramzan. no music. no tv. nothing.

has a strict daily routine that he follows. it's not like he's going to sleep in to reduce the fasting pressure and all. if he normally started his day at 7, ramzan would be no different.

very diligently balances prayers and work. like he goes to work everyday but he still has enough to pray and stuff.

27 day taraweeh with megumi and yuta

always has a tasbeeh on him. (reminds me of my nani pls-)

eats the same thing for sehri everyday (this is basically canon so)

throws a mini tantrum when iftar is a bit different. like okay mr grumpy, you havent eaten or drank anything in the past like 16 hours. shut up and eat?

makes sure that gojo doesn't skip his fast. wakes him up drags him out of bed for sehri on time everyday.

one day gojo was chanting la haula wala quwwata and nanami just went "don't repeat it too many times, you'll disappear." [the way i said this to my father and he didnt even understand]

makes sure the kids eat enough during iftar. doesnt want anyone to get sick.

if one of the students fall sick, he makes sure they eat enough and takes their medicines on time. he's so caring i'm melting

he's the type pf person who eats a little bit, drinks some water, performs his maghrib namaz and then eats.

he has to keep gojo in check. confiscates his phone and blocks websites and stuff lol. he doesnt trust gojo and i dont either tbh

helps out in the kitchen!!!!!!

he wont you let you eat till you say grace. it's "ittedekimasu" in japanese right?

severe headaches and stiffness in ramzan but doesn't show it at all. let's nothing come in between him and his fasts.

takes pictures of his iftar everyday for a 30-day day challenge

doesn't get the hype for eid but buys himself an expensive gold sherwani anyways.

EIDI!!!!

gives everyone lots of eidi because he's well paid and wants the children to be happy.

5. Panda

he's a panda

he doesn't fast

he can cry tho

----

@krezin this is for you!

the way i belted this out with zero motivation. plus ramzan's almost over and i wanted to put this out before that. part 3 with the other adults/kyoto gang?

[lesserfandomappreciation]

Pregnant s/o (Rsat7d)

Merlin

Bless this idiot, it’s going to take him a minute to understand what his s/o has said. S/o will be in the living room curled up with a book or working in their office with a couple of nerves after having told a seemingly indifferent Merlin the news. Then they hear quickly approaching footsteps. And a slamming door. “You’re pregnant?!”

It’s 4:00pm. They told this moron first thing in the morning. Telling him anything when he’s in the library is pointless. 

He’s trying very cool to stay calm about this and seem enthused. Really, he is. It’s just all his anxieties and insecurities he pretends to not have are suddenly at his throat. He hasn’t a clue what to do. Send help.

All of the nervous maniac energy composing Merlin is transferred into a transformation none of the F7 thought they’d live to witness. The young, reckless lightning idiot becoming a responsible adult. Who mother hens people. And reminds them about medication. And food. And gets them to sit down while he takes care of everything for them. Hans is proud, the others are concerned. 

Some of this new-found need to mother-hen in a valid attempt to avoid overthinking whether or not he will be a good father is used to come up with useful spells. By first trimester’s end s/o has a small stack of spells to use when needed. The “cold pad” and “hot pad” spells are wonderful. The usefulness of the “vomit into a portable void” spell is debatable.

Jokes aside Merlin is worried about being a good father. This is a man with a lot of insecurities who worries about his own self worth- the idea that his child could dislike him haunts him. A lot of comfort is needed to chase away this fear. 

He is very protective about them and will deal with any threat with lightning. The house spiders quake in fear.

Arthur

His s/o could tell him at multiple points for many awesome reactions, but the best way is if they tell him in the middle of training. His standard “showing off because bae is watching” show is cut short as Arthur’s eyes widen. His sword, Excalibur, hits the ground with a thud. Next thing s/o knows, they’re in the air being spun in a straight-out-of-Disney twirl by an excited Arthur. 

All of F7 knows by day’s end. He’s telling everybody with a massive grin on his face and 0 shame. 

Arthur is a family man waiting to happen. Pull this idea out of my dead hands if you want, but you cannot convince me that this man hasn’t dreamt of having a loving partner and some tinies to spoil rotten with stories. He’s either been waiting to bring up the idea with them or the s/o is well-aware. 

Every single tiny milestone is met by the sweet puppy Arthur embodies. He’s just so happy and supportive, it’s kind of adorable. His s/o mentions the baby kicking their bladder and suddenly there’s a prince up against their belly desperately wanting to feel the baby kick too. 

One thing s/o is going to have to watch out for is expectations. Arthur’s parents seemed to have had a lot of those for him, and he’s probably internalized a lot of them too. It’s going to have to be up to his s/o to remind them that putting that many expectations on any person is a bad thing. The baby is going to be awesome. But let them be awesome on their own terms. 

Wants to carry them everywhere when their feet start to hurt. What if they get hurt going up the stairs? He’s strong, let him carry them for a bit dang it!

Jack

Jack is really a wild card here. Personally I see him being really connected to his own family, being a self-made prince who has worked hard to make sure his living family lives comfortably. On the other hand, this is a baby. A new person. That’s half him and half s/o. Wow. Wow.

Drops anything he is holding. Stunned still. It’s taking all of his processing power to debate the aforementioned two points on his conflicting views. S/o is going to be able to wave a hand in front of his eyes and have no response.

Make some tea. Read a book. Give him a hot minute to think. 

Out of the princes (besides Hans) Jack is going to be one of the few to really sit down with s/o and talk about what this means for them. He wants the kid, no worries there, but having a kid is a huge undertaking for anyone. How do they want to raise the child? Where (if his s/o is royalty too for example, which kingdom should they raise them in?) should they set up their life? Is Jack 2 an acceptable name? Is any jewel-related name acceptable? 

Jack’s s/o wins the pregnancy lotto in terms of access to feel-good supplies. Jack, the man, the prince, has facial masks in what appears to be a medieval-renaissance-inspired fantasy realm. From France. How he achieved this is a damned mystery. His whole bathroom is probably lined with the nicest creams and moisturizers money can buy. Jack’s not going to let his partner who is pregnant skip out on self-care. Absolutely not.

Jack is surprisingly good with helping his partner out emotionally at this time. He recognizes feelings and responds pretty well to them, so during the pregnancy and afterwards he is very supportive to their emotional needs. This is a very happy, but intense time and he is 100% there for them, through every high and every low.

Hans

Do not - I repeat - do not tell him when he is in the kitchen. Anything he’s cooking is going to burn, get stuck to the ceiling or is otherwise rendered inedible. Actually, any of those cute “bun in the oven” related announcements are not going to work on him. He’s going to be more upset at the concept of someone not cleaning his oven or risking burning a perfectly innocent loaf than anything else.  

He does, eventually, figure out that this was meant to tell him that the love of his life is pregnant and he’s very happy, but food safety is no joke. 

Hans’ reaction depends entirely on s/o’s reaction. How are they feeling about all this? As one of the only two emotionally intelligent people in the F7 (the other being Jack) he’s very responsive to his partner on this. Any fears or concerns they have are going to be his top priority. Though, once told that they are happy about, Hans lets out his own happiness and shows just how over the moon he is about this. 

Hans is a great guy. He really is. He’s also an unapologetic mom-friend whose knee-jerk reaction to someone he cares about going through stuff is to feed them. Unless his s/o puts their foot down hard (which they aren’t because hell-o growing people is hungry business) Hans is going to live in his kitchen. Great in that he’s willing to cook up their weirdest cravings even if he does judge them on it. Bad in that s/o might accidentally wind up feeling lonely because he’s over-focused on feeding/caring for them to actually be around them. One good conversation though and that’s nipped in the bud quick.

Loves his friends. Truly. Really. Has seen his friends do some truly stupid things. He’s not above standing behind his s/o and giving any member of the F7 the side-eye something fierce if they be acting up around his partner. 

Average

Average is an idiot. I don’t mean that insultingly, I’m just stating facts. This man could not pick up a subtle hint if it punched him in the face and rummaged his pockets for common sense. Unless his s/o tells him point blank to the face, he’s not going to get it. Cute messages/hints do not work on the man. Just tell him. Even then it’s going to take a second. 

Average’s reaction is really hard to pin down. During the events of the movie I do not see him having an s/o, at least not one he has a good relationship with and by the end of the movie all his potential character growth that could lead him to having a partner is implied to happen as he breaks his new-found curse. Growth that could lead his personality in several different directions. For the sake of not having to write down every single possibility I’m going to go ahead and say that he’s shocked. 

Regardless of personality growth I can say he’s going to be very demanding of everyone else around them. His partner, the love of his life, deserves only the very best. Now that they are with child he has to make sure they have the best for them and for his heir! None of this subpar stuff. They’re royalty, they deserve the best. If he’s not stopped the nursery is going to cost more than the GDP of a small country. 

He’s a little lost on a lot of pregnancy stuff really. Average isn’t an emotionally intelligent person, so he’s not great with comfort. He doesn’t do well with making runs for food (great at getting servants to fetch the strangest food combinations though), or with massaging, or with a lot of the physically demanding parts. The thing is? He knows. He knows that he’s lost on this. And it worries him. If he can’t do much now, how is he supposed to be a great father when the kid does show up? It’ll take some picking away at his walls, but eventually his s/o can talk to him on this and help him through it. They’re a team. They will get through this together. 

Don’t let him name the kid. “Superior” is not a good name for a child.

[hamliet]

I think your blog is one of the best out there. Maybe becuase of this , maybe because of your awesome takes... I find it hard being in the fandom. And I wanted to share this very unpopular opinion. The more it goes on the more I wonder : how did Enji turned into this? Most of all in fandom tends to justify touya because he’s the result of Enji’s abuse. However Enji isn’t a natural born abuser. I’ve read and saw plenty: he has not manias of control. He accept easily his wife to leave him (he wanted to build an house for her and since Shoto’s accident he hadn’t forced himself on her). He wanted an heir, true and he was more neglecting (which is a form of abuse). But many time were found evidences in studies neglecting parents have issues of their own. Which can be found in their original family and / or society (if no mental illnesses are implied).

This made me wonder. I love Japanese culture , novels and society. And one of the most recurrent theme , especially some decades ago, is the high pressure people are exposed. It was and sometimes still is a nichilist model in which you die or fly and sometime you can’t hope to Rise once again when you fail. For example the concept of “you need to go at a go prek to get in a good university and find a good job” is often depict and put to extreme in many media. This inspire even books in which families are up for anything to push their children and they are under great pressure. Since Enji seems a not so bad man per se, has no mental illnesses , the only thing left is his immense obsession that must come from something. And the fact that in society a man must be successful... I think here it is.

The fact he can’t express his feeling correctly for the most of MHA , neither he can’t read them at the point of being perceived “with no compassion at all” comply the stereotype of the father with way too high standard , this can’t come from nothing. It’s not hard unreasonable thinking he was most likely pressured as much when younger , and that broke him at some point (which is a recursive theme in many others novels). This doesn’t justify him, but it might explain why he ended up like this.

But while everyone seems to be able to... forgive dabi , justifying his doings becuase of how he was raised while condamning 100% Enji. However the lingering theme of my hero’s villains is that they aren’t a monster , they’re turned into one; and society played a huge role. I don’t stand for Enji’s actions (who would) but ultimately? If all villains were broken by society at some point (being AFO the only exception for now) why can’t be him too? Broken by a society that demands from heroes to be perfect , to never be weak, even through total desperation? Society even made a joke of all might who gave his life entirely and part of his organs for Japan. Rather than only condemning Enji for his doings , much like is doing with Dabi, the spotlight should be society again.

He did wrong. Terribly wrong. and now everyone is ready to crucify him. But how society taught him better ? How society perceive heroes as humans , how far they can be weak and fails and not be blamed? Like father , like son. Touya is the result of his family , I think it should be considerated Enji was the product of a corrupted society. Which never correct itself , never tries to change... they just discard heroes and villains alike just for not being “perfect”.

Hi! Aw, thank you for your kind words <3

So, I’ll break this down a bit, because I think this discussion needs a lot of nuance. I agree society affected Enji, but I don’t quite think that a victim of society is remotely comparable to being a victim of parental abuse.

To start with, I fundamentally disagree with the notion that abusers are born, and hence don’t buy that Enji is somehow different (or better) because he wasn’t born that way.

To note, I talking specifically about physical/emotional/spiritual domestic abuse, not about sexual abuse (and I don’t wanna talk about that because it’s not relevant here, so no one send me asks about it, thanks).

Abuse is a description of an action and its affects. I’ll quote @linkspooky’s meta on Hawks last week: abuser is not a bad word, it’s not just something that bad people do. It’s an unhealthy relationship dynamic that even good people, even sympathetic people can participate in. It’d be great if we could just do a genetic test and determine if someone is an abuser (actually it wouldn’t be great; it’d be dystopian and terrifying), but that’s not how people work.

However, “abuser” is seen as a bad word, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing (nuance/abuse is horrific and takes such a toll on people that I’m glad it is given serious weight in some respects, although imo it’s overemphasized in fandom places and underemphasized in real life) and I’m not getting into good/bad/pluses/minuses of linguistic connotations here.

Hence, I would actually categorize what Rei did to Shouto as abuse, and I do think the story indicates she was neglectful towards her other children. However, I have never labeled her an “abuser” because of the negative connotation as is clear she is not a repeat offender and Shouto doesn’t even blame her--he blames Enji, and I don’t think that’s an incorrect assessment either. It’s complicated. Abuse victims can be abusers at the same time as they are victims (ask many a kid of an abusive dad what their mom was like; at best if they didn’t intervene it’s usually neglectful and often people go no contact with both parents). People we love and care for can participate in abuse.

Mental illness is also complex in its relationship to abuse. Mentally ill people are far more likely to be victims of abuse than perpetrators, and  mental illness doesn’t make someone predisposed to being a bad person. Mental illness does affect how I see Rei’s actions, because she was clearly out of her mind at the moment she burned Shouto’s face; at the same time, mental illness doesn’t erase harm done even if the person can’t be held super culpable. Enji on the other hand was not mentally ill in the same way; he was able to think logically and separate right from wrong even within society (because society clearly still views beating your kids as bad).

It’s actually not really accurate to say that Endeavor didn’t try to control Rei and just let her go--he put her in the institution to keep her away from Shouto, which may have been motivated of course by trying to protect Shouto, but was more likely “trying to protect his masterpiece.” Rei instantly regretted what she had done; Enji didn’t show regret until after Kamino. Also, Shouto himself views it as taking their mother away, not as protecting him. In fact, he sees it as removing his protector and leaving him with just the abusive dad. Plus, Rei’s doctors probably wouldn’t have let him see her. So I absolutely do think Enji is a control freak.

For Enjii, there’s no indication of prior trauma besides just not getting what he wanted. But, as you say, I do think Enji was absolutely a product of society--culturally, though I’m not qualified to comment on that, and within the manga’s own framing of that culture. However, while Enji is a product of society, he is not framed with the child framing that is present around Touya; hence, why he’s not a victim in the same sense. He was an adult when he started doing bad things, capable of reason, as far as we know and there’s no indication this isn’t the case. He was ~20 when Dabi was born, so that means he was looking for a quirk marriage at the very latest by 19. That’s like starting your career as an administrative assistant and being pissed you’re not CEO like, a year after starting! That implies that he had a sense of entitlement at a very young age, entitled to the point of believing kids were not full people but instead extensions of himself to ignore, beat up, and cast aside as he pleased. Every aspect of Enji’s personality screams of toxic masculinity as well.

Also, almost every person who has ever done something wrong (and those who haven’t!) is a product of their environment as well as of their genetics, but I wouldn’t classify everyone as a victim--even though technically I suppose they would be, but the connotations are just not particularly fitting--and I wouldn’t call Enji one. Enji might be a product of society, but his kids are victims of a deliberate choice he had to be a terrible parent. Society sucks, but we don’t choose it and it doesn’t choose us in the same sense a parent chooses to treat their kids a particular way.  So, rather than saying Enji’s a victim of society, I think it’s more of society reaping what they’ve sown in terms of their #1 being revealed as a mass abuser; it’s karmic.

So to return to his character and Enji is also a representation of toxic masculinity--that is why for me personally, his crying this chapter  actually resonated. Like, I think it was well-framed in that his victims didn’t feel sorry for him and he cried before he knew they were coming, and while I get that people think he has no right to cry (as Rei and Natsuo said!). I see why people interpret that as manipulative, and while I absolutely think it was self-pitying, I also personally see it as human and realistic, and perhaps as a slight chipping away of the toxic masculinity that he embodies. We’ll see. I’m still no fan but that was the first moment in his redemption arc that struck me as sincere.

[bakukirikami]

I'd like to request all the angsty headcanons please

GOD ok this ask is over a week old but im finally ready 2 deliver

under the cut bc this is literally 2k of bakukirikami angst hc’s

bakugou

not rlly super angsty but he’s rlly touch sensitive

mainly bc of the sludge villain which. makes sense

the first time kiri and kami swings an arm over his shoulder he flinches To The Max and they’re shocked bc angry baku just jumped away from them

though it’s good for the beginning of their relationship bc it helps them realise and understand it

they both ask him first if they can hug him and tbh for the first few seconds baku doesn’t know what to do

eventually he hugs them back and Gosh it’s such a good feeling

he feels a little calmer and he just relaxes and shit he feels gr88

he doesn’t even mind if he tells anyone else abt hugging them bc he’s just so glad that he feels safe being held by someone

tbh it’s not easy to overcome something like that? esp for baku, he’s so used to having control that the sludge villain really hit him hard.

the first time they share a bed together baku’s in the middle although he’s the tallest.

he’s been so long without proper touch and kiri and kami really just wanna make him feel loved

at first it’s Too Much Touch and he feels really trapped but his bf’s really did some research abt touch sensitivity and they figured out how to calm him down

he sleeps really well when he’s in the middle bc he knows that he’s literally surrounded by love

he’s the last of the three to wake up in the morning and when he does he can just hear kiri and kami whispering about how much they love him so he buries his head in his pillow and kicks them both so they don’t see him smiling and blushing

eventually after a REALLY LONG TIME he does end up trusting 1a so he doesn’t really mind if they know about his touch sensitivity

there’s nothing wrong with it ofc he’s not any less of a hero it’s just another part of him

but if anyone from another class/in general mocks him about his flinching he will try to explode him and it takes kiri and kami 43 tries to get him to calm down

he finds it really irritating ofc bc he wasn’t always touch sensitive! fuckin sludge villain

when he goes home to visit his family he brings kiri and kami home to meet them

mitsuki hasn’t seen baku in ages so her first instinct is to hug him which is p normal for a mom imo

he flinches for a second and then he realises this is my mom she literally has baby soft skin she can’t hurt me before he relaxes

she still notices his flinching bc she’s his fuckin mom so she asks kiri about it later bc he seems like a good lad

kami overhears and helps explain

later when they’re trying to go to sleep they tell baku and he just shrugs bc he doesn’t mind. he’s getting used to it now

sidenote bakugou’s family fucking love kiri and kami

when he finds out ragdoll lost her quirk he gets a few nightmares about losing his own quirk

makes sense tbh bc the majority of his confidence and arrogance stemmed from his Super Awesome Quirk

usually ends up with him waking up really sweaty and holes in his blankets from uncontrolled explosions during his sleep

he goes to the bathroom to cool off and he stares at his reflection a lot and constantly reminds himself that he’s not going to lose his quirk he’s not he’s not he’s not

what happened to ragdoll isn’t going to happen to him he’s okay

when/if kiri and kami find out they’re shocked again bc they’re not used to insecure bakugou

however they do reassure him a lot that he’s not going to lose his quirk

they remind him a lot that nightmares don’t make you weak at all

he doesn’t usually say anything but if he does it’s usually just “yeah, yeah, yeah, i know.”

“thanks dumbasses”

his dreams usually rotate between hero dreams and fluffy dreams abt his bf’s so the first time he has a nightmare he’s super pissed off bc! He’s strong he shouldn’t be getting nightmares

kami and kiri are Best Bfs they buy baku all might merch when he’s feeling Bad

kirishima

right so listen up kiri’s rlly insecure about his quirk in general so like after baku got kidnapped he really beat himself up about it like A LOT A LOT

his updated hero costume has sleeves from a few of the scars he gave himself during that time

bc of his quirk he rlly doesn’t need armour or anything so everything when they tell him he can upgrade he goes

“fuck i need to hide these scars”, thus, sleeves

during the hero license exam arc kami’s confused bc why the fuck would kirishima, whos ((pretty much)) made of steel need s l e E V E S

kami doesn’t question it tho bc who the fuck is he to judge. kami’s costume is literally just a cool jacket and pants w/ lightning bolts

baku (and everyone else) doesn’t really notice bc theyre used to kiri’s Extra As Fuck costume

anyway eventually bakugou and kaminari are going to end up seeing his scars, whether on purpose or not

when kiri explains baku’s first reaction is just anger bc not only does he think he’s the reason for all might’s end, but he’s thinks that it’s his fault kiri hurt himself

its no one’s fault of but neither of them know what to say but they just both hold kiri really tightly and at that moment, that’s all he needs

DOESN’T LIKE TALKING ABT HIS FEELINGS BC HE DOESN’T WANT TO BURDEN HIS PALS

sunshine kid needs to stop bottling things up blease kiri

spends half of his time in class overthinking about things

he wants to make everyone happy and please everyone but kiri u can’t do that you gotta make yourself happy first

after he, baku and kami get together he talks a lot abt his insecurities and he feels so liberated honestly its a good feel u go kiri 👏👏

they’ll be in bakugou’s room watching a movie and as soon as the credits start rollin he exhales and sits up straight and just Starts Talking

bakugou and kami don’t interrupt them, they just let him talk and as soon as he’s done kami cuddles him and drowns him in blankets

baku does His Thing but kiri still knows he cares so he smiles really fondly at baku which makes him blush bc kiri has the nicest smile!

eventually kami will make bakugou cuddle w/ them

they all sleep a lot better that night.

(kiri’s in the middle)

used to get a lot of shit @ middle school during The Edgy Phase

filed his teeth in anger

vowed to be the nicest person he could be

he doesn’t like thinking about it a lot but he definitely thinks it made him a stronger and better person

got mocked a lot abt his quirk bc it wasn’t “flashy enough” ://

this is already canon but he cried when meeting tetsu for obvious reasons

STILL CANON but best bros w/ tetsu

he talks to tetsu abt their quirks a lot

tetsu is a Comfort Buddy

initially tetsu doesn’t rlly understand why kiri is upset about the lack of originality of his quirk, but once he does understand he’s very comforting

of the two, people say tetsu’s quirk is more unique because he’s transforming his body from flesh into steel, whereas kiri’s is flesh into harder flesh

(this is p much why tetsu initially has difficulty understanding)

tetsu reassures kiri a lot tho and in the end they always feel a lot better about their quirks

once or twice tetsu mentions it to kami and bakugou

out of the blue they’ll randomly compliment kiri and his quirk and he’s super happy

they never say anything to kiri about tetsu but kami and baku are really grateful that he told them

forever upset that he won’t meet crimson riot

kaminari

mmmMMMKAY maya has some angsty kami hc’s here in case u havent seen them yet but ITS MY TURN NOW

super pissed off bc of how he always gets called stupid and dumb!

yes he doesn’t have the best grades but can you stick a knife in a toaster without dying? no? didn’t think so

whenever anyone is a dick about his intelligence he gets really pissed and starts shooting tiny sparks out of his body

when he came to UA he did that a lot less tho

but he does it most often around jirou

(at UA its usually her being a dick)

once she pushed him a lot and he nearly did fry her

kiri had to calm him down and hold him back

when he was little and figuring out his quirk he accidentally fried his favourite book and he cried for ages

got yelled at by teachers as a kid by teachers for accidentally short circuiting the building

bc of this he doesn’t like loud shouting a lot

he Will Flinch

especially when he goes to UA and when all might teaches

nothing wrong w/ all might ofc but his voice is really loud i’d flinch too

like he knows all might’s not going to hurt him but fuck it sounds like he is

after a while all might is the only loud adult voice he can deal with

he doesn’t really want the teachers to know bc its sorta a sensitive topic

when/if kiri and bakugou find out they won’t force him to tell anyone, they’ll just help him cope with it and comfort him

scars on his limbs from not knowing how to use his quirk as a kiddo

constantly terrified of losing control over his quirk and hurting ppl he cares about

idk i think that’s already canon but it’s important bc !! he actually likes the people at UA and he doesn’t want to hurt him

craves affection and attention all the time

he doesn’t need to be the center of attention at all, he just wants to be noticed and would rather not blend it

it’s not like he would go out of his way to stand out though, he just wants to be liked for who he is

it helps him a lot w/ his self confidence since he’s so used to him and his quirk being shoved aside (a result of the backlash of overusing his quirk) 

will cover up his pain or hurt with a joke because he like other people seeing him helpless

always stressed on how to be a better hero

runs his hands through his hair a lot

on bad days he’ll pull at his hair

bakugou and kirishima can tell whenever he’s feeling more upset because they’ll notice random strands of his hair floating around

a short attention span

it contributes to his “bad grades” and he hates himself for it

literally when he figured out just how short it was he electrocuted a couple trees because he was so pissed off

his parents gave him a really old record player for his dorm at UA but it broke when kiri and bakugou were having an arm wrestle in his room

dunno why they arm wrestling in his room BUT THEY WERE

he’s upset for ages bc that’s what reminded him of home

tries every possible way to fix it

he’s not even upset with kiri or bakugou he’s just. Empty

kiri and even bakugou apologise a lot and they actually feel awful for ages

at some point they buy him another one

ofc they know they can’t replace the other one but what else can you do

can’t go a day without someone insulting his hero costume

cries when he can’t buy a new video game and starts shooting sparks if someone else in 1a has it but he doesn’t

he gets really insecure about his body randomly, especially when he compares himself to bakugou and kirishima

but he wouldn’t mind being a little stronger but boi gets distracted all the time

but its obviously different bc ofc baku and kiri use their whole body to fight, but kami doesn’t need to do that

that being said, he doesn’t really want to be Super Buff either

[waywardmoeyy]

Shattered Like Glass (Part 2)

Dean x Reader

Word Count: 2000+

Warnings: swearing, violence, drinking, drugging, attempted kidnapping.

Part 1

Sam glanced up at the clock on the motel wall. 12:34am. Where the hell was Y/N? He heard Dean’s door slam a while back, but you never returned. Weird.

He stood from the chair he had plopped himself into an hour or so before and walked over to the window. He peered into the parking lot. The pavement was drenched. When did it start raining? He spotted the Impala parked right where Dean left it.

“What the hell?” He was sure it was you who slammed Dean’s door. If you weren’t in Dean’s room ripping him a new one, then you would have taken Baby. He decided to walk over to Dean’s room to make sure.

Sam knocked on the door to Dean’s room and waited a moment. Nothing. He knocked again.

“Come to yell at me again—“ Dean huffed as he peered up at his giant brother. “Oh, hey,” he mumbled as he moved from the door, leaving an unspoken invitation for Sam to enter. “Are you here to yell at me now?” Dean plunged back into the large chair he had obviously been sitting in for a while, judging by the newly emptied beer bottles on the table beside it.

“Um, no Dean. I’m just—“

“Trying to hear my side? You are such a saint, Sam.” Dean snapped sarcastically. He popped open another beer and kicked his legs up onto the coffee table in front of him. “I’m sure she gave you quite a story when she got back. Look, I didn’t mean anything by it and I certainly didn’t mean to hurt her. She’s a tough chick anyway.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “Dean, Y/N never came back,” Sam explained, his voice thick with annoyance and worry.

Dean slammed his beer down on the side table beside him, causing some of it to splash out. “What the hell are you talking about Sammy? She left over an hour ago.” Dean growled.

“Yeah, but she never came back to our room.” Sam mocked, reminding his brother that he was the one who separated them. “I thought I would check to see if she was still here.” Sam peered out Dean’s window, checking for any movement. “It’s raining, Dean. I’m sure she hasn’t gone far. But we need to go find her.” Sam commanded.

“Like I said, she’s a tough chick. I’m sure she’s fine.” Dean’s expression was cold. His emerald eyes darkened.

“Dean, I don’t know what is up your ass today, but this is Y/N we are talking about. She is practically family!” Sam grabbed the doorknob. “Plus, women about her age are going missing, remember?” he snapped.

Dean’s stomach sank. Shit. Sam was right. For all they knew these women could be dead in a ditch somewhere or worse, being tortured by some Djinn or demon. Dean shot up out of his chair, snatched his jacket off the coat rack, and rushed to the door.

**

You threw down another shot and slammed the small glass onto the counter. The bartender grinned as he poured you another. Was he trying to get you drunk? You didn’t really care as long as Dean Winchester wasn’t involved. You downed the shot quickly. Then, you swiveled the bar stool around to take in your surroundings.

A tall, muscular man approached you from one of the booths near the front window. His dark, auburn hair was spiked in the front and his tattered leather jacket was torn on one sleeve. He looked like he had seen better days, but he was hot and that’s what mattered.

He took a seat next to you. “What was his name?” he asked in a low, raspy voice. He turned to you, his light amber eyes shining under the dim bar lights.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to talk about it,” you snapped. Your Y/C/E eyes flicked his direction.

“It’s okay, darlin’. How about I buy you another drink?” His eyebrow lifted and he turned, motioning to the bartender.

The bartender nodded to the man, “You got it, Jacob.”

“What the hell, why not?” you muttered as you turned back towards the bar. The bartender slipped another drink in front of you in a new glass, taking the old one away.

“What’s your name, pretty thang?” Jacob asked, his light southern drawl making you shiver.

You grinned and chuckled. “Y/N.” You leaned your head far back, downing your drink.

“Well, Y/N, what do you say we blow this joint? Maybe find something a little more… stimulating?” His hand grazed your denim covered thigh. You breath shuttered, then your mind went back to Dean. Fuck him.

You leaned into Jacob’s arm, now feeling a strong buzz, “That sounds awesome,” you slurred. His arm glided to your hip as you stood from the barstool. Jacob threw some cash onto the counter and you both made your way to the door. The room began to spin wildly. Man, your buzz must have been worse than you thought.

The rain freckled your face as you and Jacob made your way to the alleyway beside the bar. He pulled you by the hand as you stumbled into the darkness. Then, in a second, his hands were firm against your arms. You winced as your back slammed into the cold, wet brick wall. His lips were quickly on yours, dancing forcefully and erratically. Your head continued to spin as you struggled to keep your footing. Pulling away, you gasped for air. You glanced up at Jacob, who smirked down at you.

“What’s the matter, darlin’?” He chuckled as his eyes flicked to black.

Shit. Shit Shit. Demon!

You flailed your arms against the monster, trying to scream. His laugh echoed through your head as panic raced through you.

“Get. Off. Me!” you commanded. He grunted as your fist clocked him in the jaw. He stumbled deeper into the darkness and without thinking, you made a break for the road. Thank god Dean taught you how to punch.

Dean.

Your mind struggled to focus as you galloped to the road. Suddenly, a car rushed by you, honking and swerving as it barely missed you. You continued down the bike lane as the rain drenched your clothes. The cold wind wisped around you making you shiver. Damn it. Why did you have to prove a point? You could have just gone back to your room with Sam and mindlessly drank in the safety of the motel. But no, you had to go get drunk at a bar with demons. Moron.

You huffed as you slowed your pace, your head still spinning like a top. Another car approached, the headlights blinding you as it slowed beside you. Panic set in as you imagined being dragged into the back seat by more demons. You picked up your pace again.

“Y/N!” you heard a low voice call. A small part of you relaxed as you realized it wasn’t Jacob. The voice was familiar. Very familiar. You turned to see Sam sprinting towards you. Dean rushed out of the driver’s seat of the Impala, leaving the door open as he followed his brother towards you.

You trembled as you sank to your knees. Relief rushed over you at the sight of the brothers coming to your rescue. Sam wrapped his arm around you as he attempted to catch your fall. Dean quickly moved in, shoving his brother aside and picking you up into his arms. “Come on,” he grunted. He carried you back to the Impala. Sam jumped into the driver seat as Dean slid into the back, never letting you go.

You shivered against Dean’s hard chest. His warmth radiated over your rain soaked body. You sighed, letting the fact that you were safe again sink in.

**

You quickly stripped off your wet clothes and changed into sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Your hands gripped the bathroom sink as you glared at your reflection. Shit, that was a close one. You had been so stupid! Letting your guard down and drinking at a bar in an unknown town, alone? Dumb.

You shoved the door to the bathroom open and walked into the main room of the motel room. Dean and Sam’s gaze seared through you. You knew they were pissed. Well, Dean was even more pissed. He would never forgive you for this. This was what he had trained you not to do. Ever.

“Better?” Sam asked sweetly. Your eyes lifted to his as you nodded. Your gaze shot back down to your bare toes. There was no way you were going to look at Dean now. He was probably scowling at you. You could feel it.

You made your way to the bed, sat on the edge, and pulled your knees to your chest. You kept you gaze low, not sure if it was out of fear or embarrassment, or both.

“Y/N…” Dean growled. You reluctantly looked up at the hunter. His expression was cold, sad. “Y/N, I’m so sorry.”

You sighed deeply as your muscled tensed. You shook your head, not wanting to start another argument. But he should be sorry. If he had used his words like an adult and talked to you when something was bothering him, none of this would have happened. But no, he was Dean freaking Winchester.

“Y/N, tell us what happened.” Sam’s voice was soft, understanding. He stood and crossed his arms lightly over his broad chest.

You cleared your throat, your buzz still humming in your head. “After I walked out,” you snapped your gaze to Dean again, “I walked to the bar. I got there right as it started to rain, so I decided I would stay for a while. I had a few drinks before-“ You paused, your stomach starting to turn, “before he walked up to me.”

“He? Who was he?” Dean snapped. He stood from his chair as if he was about to pounce on someone.

“Jacob,” you answered.

Sam stepped toward you. “He’s the one who as chasing you?”

You nodded. “He approached me at the bar and bought me a drink. The bartender knew him— the bartender. He was the one who poured the drink. Jacob never touched it. He must have slipped something into it before handing it to me. After that, I felt really dizzy.” Of course the one time to go to a bar alone in a new town, you are drugged by demons.

“Did Jacob try to take you somewhere?” Sam asked, his brow furrowed with concern.

“Well, we both went out to the alley and he kissed me. I mean, he was kind of forceful about it, but I didn’t think much of it until I realized I was drugged. Then, I looked up at him and his eyes went black. That’s when I punched him and ran.”

Dean flinched, when smirked, “You punched him? That’s my girl.”

“Shut up Dean,” you snarled, reminding him that you were still mad as hell.

“Demons.” Sam muttered. “I knew this whole thing stank.”

“No pun intended,” you joked. Sam chuckled.

Dean snapped his gaze back to you, his eyes widening. “Wait, the son of a bitch kissed you?”

You shuttered, remembering the force of the demon’s body on yours. “Yeah, so?” you snapped back, trying to minimize the whole situation in your head.

“Son of a bitch.” Dean grumbled again.

“A little jealous?” Sam joked, laughing.

“Shut up, Sammy.” Dean barked. “Y/N, you’re staying in my room with me until we figure this all out. Sammy, figure out who this Jacob fellow is and try to get all the information you can about the bartender. What was the name of the bar?” his fiery gaze turned to you.

“Hell’s Gate,” you murmured.

“Great, get hunting, nerd.” Dean ordered. “Now, grab your stuff, Y/N. You’re staying with me.” He was out the door before you could protest.

Part 3

[darklingichor]

Gilmore Girls Season Two, Episodes 8 & 9

It would be nice to watch one episode of this show where someone I regularly see doesn't set my teeth on edge. I grew up watching weekly TV and it is possible to have conflict between recurring characters where you don't want to put one into a medically induced coma, so they can grow a new personality.

So I can see why I didn't remember much about this episode. Three things that were awesome: Mia, Luke giving Lorelei a pep talk, the development of the painting.

The rest is annoying.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with flights between friends. If everyone was always skipping through meadows it would be stupid. However, as I've said before, I have a problem with conflicts that come about because people don't open their damned mouths. As fast and as often as Lorelei talks, she couldn't say to Sookie “Mia selling this place scares me because this is where Rory and I started out” ? I know that sometimes friends pick fights with each other when they are stressed but in my experience, once you get into your 30s and have friends that have known each other, long enough you can tell that's what happening. There have been numerous times when my best friend or I have started a conversation where one of us is just geared up for a fight. My friend let's me get about ten words in before she says “You're acting weird, tell me what's wrong.” I can be a little more blunt saying something along the lines of “What are you pissed off about?” She has two kids so once I turned the mom tables on her and said: “Use your words”.

Basically a blind cat could see that Lorelei was being an ass and it had nothing to do with Sookie. I have a hard time buying that Sookie wouldn't see it. Why did there need a fight in the first place? Was the script too short? Lorelei could have been freaked out and been a little quiet with Sookie and it would have had the same effect. Luke could have just as easily asked how Lorelei was doing with the business stuff, and they could have had the same heart-to-heart. Lorelei could have come to Sookie and explained why she was being so weird, and they could have had a similar moment. The script must have been two minutes too short.

The town turning on Luke... Yep, officially dislike Jess. Also, not too happy with the rest of the town. I'm a little biased here. I grew up in a small town, while there were no town meetings where everyone got together to decide who to treat badly, there were certain people who were just routinely shit upon. It usually had to do with what last name you had. Two families in particular were sort of singled out as “bad news”. The weird part? Everyone in town (except for a very very small number of people) were in some way related to those two families, hell, those two families were related to each other. It always seemed crazy to me... But then I was one of those few people not related to anyone in town maybe it made sense if you had an inside track?

Anyway, I get where the town is coming from, sort of. Jess is a pain in the ass, but he is doing minor mischief. Star's Hollow should count themselves lucky that they aren't a bigger town because Jess is the type to match his mayhem to the town. In a bigger place, there just might have been a dead animal outside the store instead of a chalk outline.

I did love Rory telling him off. I don't really get why Rory would find the prank funny. I mean, she likes the town, right? And while her and her mom do like seeing Star's Hollow residents be quirky she's never really shown any love of chaos. I mean, yeah, Jess is being the G rated version of Loki, but he's still making a lot of people unhappy. I would think that that alone would annoy Rory.

Also, the vibe I got was that he did the whole prank as a way to get Rory's attention... What's the thought process?

“How do I impress the pretty girl who reads a lot? Talk to her about books? Movies? Just talk to her in general? Nah, too common. I know! Dead body chalk outline and police tape! That's not freakishly odd and totally not an idea I should seek therapy for!”

Then again, I also don't get the thought process of “How do I fix the fact that I made the whole town turn on my uncle? I'll fix the toaster, now we're square!”

Jess is both weird and annoying.

I did like the interaction between Emily and Mia. It is weird because I see both sides. I totally get why Emily would be upset that Mia didn't send her home, but on the other hand I get why Mia didn't. Mia didn't send her home because she couldn't have.

Think about it. A sixteen-year-old turns up with a baby, asking for a job, she has steel and determination in her eyes. If you tell her no, you can tell she's not going to give up. She'll just move on to a place that would hire her and maybe that wouldn't be a place where she and her baby would be safe. If you give her a job and a place to stay and then try to make her go home. You can't be sure that she'll actually go home or stay home, that leaves the pair of them in the same iffy situation. Mia knew that Lorelei and Rory would be safe with her, so she took them in.

Not saying Emily should be happy about it, but as always she is looking at how Lorelei leaving impacted her and Richard, not anyone else. She has never talked to Lorelei, asked what her thinking was, the why of it all. It is just all about Emily. That is annoying. But I do like that she seems to be taking small steps forward.

All in all a fairly forgettable episode.

Episode 8. Don't really know why I forgot this one as I really liked it. I loved the ice cream machine bit. I loved that Lorelei named it and called a bunch of relatives. She should have just donated it to Luke's! Even if he didn't need it he would have taken it. Made it into a planter or something.

I feel sorry for Paris for a number of reasons but this episode highlights one. She's laser focused on college, so much so that she's not getting the most out of her education. The assignment of interpreting Romeo and Juliet in a new way is a great one! It allows for the students to really look at and analyze the play, think about the themes consider which are universal and which were products of the time and culture it was written in. This allows for creative thinking and the development of the ability to think about and use what one is learning. But poor Paris is only worried about the grade and so afraid of taking risks that she will only go with what is standard. I speak from experience here, college will melt your brain until you learn how to think.

The teachers are worried because Rory doesn't socialize? I would think they would also be worried that Paris can't think beyond the rigid boundaries of what is written on a page. This school is supposed to prep the kids for college, right? They aren't doing anything differently than the public schools of the early 2000s (aside from the one rogue teacher, I guess).

I kinda like the fact that Paris ended up being Romeo. If they had used a more modern setting that could have been the plan from the start and the whole Tristian drama could have been avoided. I mean, they could have reinterpreted the whole “forbidden love” thing as a lesbian relationship or with the idea that Romeo might be a DFAB trans guy. It would have highlighted society's issues with non hetero, non binary identities. Hell, if they wanted to go deep they could have figured out a way to address the “LGBTQ+ people don't get happy endings” trope that is obvious in a lot of media.

That would have been interesting as Paris and Rory would have had to work together to make this believable and maybe come out of it with a better idea of each other's perspectives.

Speaking of perspective, it was a throw away joke but I liked that Lane's mom watched and came up with a different take on Romeo and Juliet. In my view, R&J is many things, but a love story it is not! What kind of great love story ends in teen suicide? Sure, I thought of it as a love story when I was younger as do a lot of teenagers. I think this makes a point about the play. Teenagers do dumb things out of emotion (adults do too, but that's a whole other line of thought). This doesn't mean that teens are dumb just that they are feeling things so intensely, probably because it is the first time they have felt these emotions that they do stuff that is not well-thought-out. Add parental pressure to that and you have a powder keg. I think R&J is more about how overly controlling parents can push their kids into dangerous situations. Also, to look at the play in a way that might not have been Shakespeare's intent, it could also be seen as a parable detailing why 14 year olds might not be ready for marriage, arranged or otherwise.

Anyway, the little “love triangle” between Christian, Rory, and Dean in this episode was less interesting. First off, I get that Rory is a pretty girl but why is she like catnip to all the boys? Are there really no other nice girls in Chilton or Star's Hollow? The way all the guys flock to and fight over her, you'd think she was dating a sparkly vampire.

Secondly, am I the only one who sees a lot of similarity between Tristian and Jess? Is that why Tristian had to go? Because he was redundant? It is sort of like Christopher and Max. They both could play the same role so one of them had to be cut. The writers needed to compare notes because I feel like there were a few “Oops, we wrote another doppelganger” discussions.

Thirdly, why is Rory still getting the blame for her and Dean's break up? The whole practice fight between Lorelei and Rory just highlights that Lorelei is sort of mean when it comes to this plot line. Dean told Rory he loved her and then got pissed and broke up with her because she didn't feel comfortable saying it back. How does this make Dean the victim? Just because one person is ready for the L word doesn't mean that the other person is, and that doesn't make the latter person bad. Acting like an ass and breaking up with someone you “love” because you didn't hear what you wanted to hear when you wanted to hear it makes that person a jerk.

This seems sort of like the whole “friend zone” myth. A dude decided he wants to date someone but that person doesn't want to date him therefore it is the other person's fault because the dude wants to date them, so they should date the dude! He's decided that he is the right guy for this person, so it must be true. The other person is just a bitch.

Dean loves Rory and is ready to say it, therefore Rory must love Dean and be ready too. He's reached this point so, goddammit, she needs to be at this point too. After all Dean decides how emotions work.

Dean is a teenager (and did something dumb out of emotion) so I can sort of forgive him for not fully empathizing and acting out of hurt feelings. It is the fact that Lorelei keeps sticking up for the dude who was trying to emotionally manipulate her daughter that gets to me. That was part of the “rage trilogy” from last season that made me annoyed at Lorelei because she was all “See it from his side” which is totally valid except for the fact that his side was to act like a brat who didn't get the ice cream he wanted *right then*.

Uge!

Okay on to somewhat happier things. Lorelei's date. That was cute and funny, how she was all proud of being a casual dater and I even liked a lot of jokes Luke made about how old the guy was. It was also really cute how Sookie tried to explain Luke to her. But Luke was being snarkier than necessary. I mean Lorelei is firmly set on her course of sailing that river in Egypt, so she's not going to ask him out right now. I get him being jealous, but he could, you know *ask her out*. I get why he doesn't, I mean what if she says no? But if what Sookie said is supposed to be true, that he's upset because it seems like Lorelei would date anyone but him, how can he be pissed at her when he's never asked? I guess that's why Luke limits it to taking pot shots and then being grouchy(ier) because he realizes he's sulking? Oddly I don't mind this sort of stuff when it involves Luke and Lorelei but when the same stupid jealousy stuff comes up with Rory and Dean, it bugs me. Maybe because as pouty as Luke gets he doesn't act like he owns Lorelei? Don't know really. Luke is likable, Dean is not. Might be as simple as that.

A forgettable episode followed by a pretty good one. Episode 8 didn't have Jess and despite revolving around Rory's love life Dean was less irritating than Tristian. Nothing has pissed me off horribly yet. So far, so good.

[allenmendezsr]

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[hustlemeanokay]

I wanted to deviate from the “parents are horrible” rhetoric for a moment, since that’s been running wild on Tumblr for awhile now. And I wanted to talk about something a lot of people don’t really think about - but yet post about all the time. 

I see so many posts that are like “when I have kids ---” blah blah blah and so many of them completely miss the mark. Yes, we all want to give our kids the things we never had. It’s very idealistic and naive to think that you’ll never punish your kids or that you’ll never have those kinds of “oppressive rules” (ie: a bedtime). And so many people are completely missing the best part of being a parent. 

Being sneaky. More below the cut because this turned into a freaking essay. 

It sounds off but hear me out - the absolute best part of being a parent is turning into a stealth 100 bad-ass. From day 1 you turn into a master of trickery, you really do. Don’t believe me. Fucking peek-a-boo. Then, tooth fairy! And the biggest, longest lasting one... Santa Clause. My own father (I’m 35...) will still try to tell me “uh, no... see... Santa’s real”. At this point, it’s a joke but think about that. That’s, for him, a thirty five year old bold faced lie. I’m not talking about the whole psychological bru-ha-ha about how Santa is used as some malicious tool to keep kids in line. No, I’m talking about that Christmas morning surprise. The “holy shit! someone straight up broke into our house and left us presents!”. That’s the sneakiness I’m talking about. The same kind of sneakiness that goes on whenever you just do something nice for someone and then be all “me? oh, it wasn’t me” but it was you and you are 100% enjoying yourself because you didn’t do it for the praise or the recognition, you did it because it was nice. 

And so many people are missing this key point to parenting. It’s not just Santa either, we do this kind of shit all the time. My daughter’s 15 and she loves Peace Teas (like - it’s a problem...) and those suckers are a buck a pop and she can plow through them like the antidote if allowed. We aren’t made of money but we routinely get them for her, nonchalantly put them in the fridge and when she sees them she’s like “omg! you got me some peace teas?!” and we both will be like “no idea what you’re talking about”. Because it’s awesome. She knows we’re lying our asses off but it doesn’t matter - because it’s also teaching her to just do nice things for people not because you want them to thank you or because you want someone to necessarily notice, just do straight up... nice things for someone for no damn reason. 

And then, even better, you get to plan out future sneakiness. For example - my daughter knows full well that if she lives with us after she’s 18 and she’s not going to school (even during the summer). She’ll be expected to have a job because she’ll be expected to pay rent. She already knows that once she gets her car (which we’ll be getting her because it’s insane to expect a sixteen year old to be able to afford a vehicle - it won’t be new but it won’t be a complete piece of crap either), but once she gets it, she’ll have to either pay to put gas in it and pay the insurance on it or earn it by like... watcher her brother or... doing out of role chores - etc. Now - she thinks that this is just us being people like her paying for her car, sorta. What she doesn’t know, or hasn’t figured out, is that this will actually teach her about bills. Not responsibilities because those aren’t just bills but she’ll start to learn about how much things actually cost (because let’s face it - teenagers, most of them, don’t have a damn clue). But back to the rent thing - she’ll be expected to pay rent. Not like a thousand bucks or anything crazy, but like... I don’t know, three or four hundred a month. Because food, electricity, and water all cost money. I’m not talking about mortgage or anything because that’d be paid whether she was there or not. But here’s the thing... that money she pays us? It’ll go into an account that’s for her. So when she does leave - say... she lives with us from age 18 to 22, not unheard of and not impossible either - that’s five years. Say she doesn’t go to college, but goes to trade school or something or she just works during the summer or whatever - or she wants a part time job. Whichever the cast may be, she could easily have paid us about ten grand during those five years. And ya know what? When she wants to move out? Guess what she’ll be getting from us? That ten grand. It’s some sneaky ass shit but it’s got a very good reason behind it. She’ll learn about paying rent (or mortgage for later) etc. She’ll learn about that responsibility but at the same time, I won’t expect her to save any money because come on, saving money is hard as hell mainly because it’s optional - but paying rent? Not so optional. So, we’ll save the money for her. 

Because to me - aside from the sneakiness of it - that’s part of it. I believe that part of being a parent is giving your kid the best shot they can have. You don’t have to be rich to do it - you don’t have to even have money be involved. But you shouldn’t just raise them until they’re 18 and be like “good luck!” No - you should give them their absolute best shot as they go out into the world. Buy them that car - it doesn’t have to be new hell, it just has to be reliable and relatively safe, do whatever you can to help pay for their college or pay for it outright - whatever the case may be. Give them that jump start. They will have earned it if you do it right. And part of doing it right is not letting them know that they’ll have this windfall because then they won’t do shit because they’re still young and why should they be responsible if they know their parents are going to just foot the bill for their first apartment or whatever. Offer to be that co-signer if you can, help them navigate the waters of the adult world because you’ve been in them, up to your freaking eye-balls and they haven’t. They shouldn’t have any idea how to adult. Because they aren’t one, the never have been. You’ve been an adult for awhile and you know like... what’s wrong with the washer when it makes a thumping noise and tries to run away on its own - you know that lining a bowl with foil and then pouring hot grease in there is ten million times easier than washing it out of a pan and you so know not to put it down the drain and why. You know how to find contact information for everything under the sun, even oddly invisible phone numbers for Amazon customer service. You know so much stuff simply because you’ve been there, lived through it - maybe your parents helped you or maybe they didn’t, it doesn’t matter. Because, again, you should give your kid their best shot. Lend your kids your experience, lend them your age when they have to deal with landlords or bankers or anyone who is treating them lesser simply because they’re younger. Lend them your knowledge of all the little things that no one ever thinks about when they leave home. And don’t do all of this stuff from 18, start when they’re younger. Teach your kids, both sons and daughters, how to cook, how to do laundry, how to clean. Give. Them. Their. Best. Shot. 

[consulting-celiac-in-the-tardis]

11 Things People with Fibromyalgia Do That Seem High Maintenance But Really Aren't

New blog post! When you have fibromyalgia, life can be a little...unique. Simple activities or chores that other people do without a single thought can turn into major challenges, especially during a fibromyalgia flare-up. And it's easy to feel self-conscious or guilty for making seemly "high maintenance" requests that actually help us survive and thrive with chronic illness.

That's why I thought it was past time for me to write a sister post to my popular, "11 Things People with Celiac Disease Do That Seem 'High Maintenance' But Actually Aren't." So whether you have fibromyalgia and need a reminder that your "high maintenance" requests are 100% warranted and normal, or you don't have fibro and need help understanding what living with fibromyalgia is like, keep reading to learn 11 things fibromyalgia warriors do that seem high maintenance but really aren't!

1. Always traveling with a personal pillow, heat pack and other chronically awesome secret weapons.

'Cause when your neck, back and other muscles like to randomly freak out, making sure that you have a comfy pillow that won't leave a kink in your neck is a traveling MUST. Meanwhile, heat packs are ideal secret weapons for knotted muscles from hours sitting in a plane or car. In fact, when I'm going on long road trips, I'll even bring my heat pack and leave it on the inner car dash to heat up in the sun. If your car doesn't have heated seats to help your back during long travel days, that sun-heated heat pack can make a big difference!

2. Needing a realllly good bed.

I wish I could be that kinda girl who can fall asleep on a sofa, sleeping bag or very hard bed and wake up feeling like a well-rested Sleeping Beauty the next day. But at least in my experience, fibromyalgia sets HIGH standards when it comes to acceptable sleep conditions. Plus, since people with fibromyalgia already have a harder time falling asleep and sleeping deeply, having a comfy bed that makes the process a little easier is even more important. (And I promise: we - meaning everybody with fibromyalgia - are a whoooole lot happier and in a lot less pain when we have a good night's sleep on our side! So helping us sleep well is basically one of the BEST gifts you can ever give a fibromyalgia warrior!)

3. Wearing comfortable, supportive shoes 24/7.

Sure, there are plenty of fashionistas with fibromyalgia out there who wear high heels regardless of any discomfort. But since fibromyalgia already involves full-body muscle aches and pain, understand that we may err more on the side of comfort than chic.

4. Sticking to a routine.

Living with a chronic illness like fibromyalgia feels kinda like trying to put together an advanced jigsaw puzzle when all the pieces are hidden throughout your house. Life is full of trial and error, and figuring out what foods, activities and exercises make you feel good or trigger a flare-up. And once we figure out a routine that keeps our muscles relaxed, our mind clear and our body relatively happy...we like to stick to that routine! Now, I know that sometimes my semi-rigid schedule of stretching before bed or drinking a certain amount of water every day can frustrate my more spontaneous friends and family. However, I'm just doing what I need to do for my body to function relatively well. And if you have fibromyalgia and sometimes feel "rude" or guilty for sticking to a schedule...know that you aren't doing anything wrong and you aren't alone. Plus, the people who really matter in your life will make the effort to understand your chronically quirky schedule and find a happy compromise that makes them, you (and your body) pretty dang happy!

5. Sleeping in, taking naps and/or going to bed early.

My mom also has fibromyalgia, and all while I was growing up, I remember hearing her apologize for sleeping in so late on the weekends or having to go to bed so early. Now that I'm out in the real world and trying to "adult" as someone with fibromyalgia, I often find myself saying the same thing to friends who want to go out for late-night drinks or meet up for an early morning study party.

But the fact is when you have fibromyalgia, you don't sleep as well as the average person...so we need to sneak in extra sleep whenever and however we can. 

6. Following a specific diet.

After I received my celiac disease diagnosis and went gluten free, one of the biggest surprises was how eating gluten free helped my fibromyalgia pain - and my mom's, after she went gluten free was well. More and more research is connecting a gluten free diet with relief from fibromyalgia pain, however. Plus, around 70 percent of fibromyalgia warriors struggle with irritable bowel syndrome or other digestive problems. Obviously, everyone is different and everyone - including people with fibromyalgia - thrives on a different diet. Plus, there are countless different suggestions and studies out there about what people with chronic pain "should" and "shouldn't" eat. What I hope more people realize, though, is that fibromyalgia affects much more than just our joints and muscles. It can also affect what we eat and how certain foods make us feel.

So when we say we "can't" eat something because it will make us feel bad or worsen our joint pain, we're just being honest and doing the best we can to fuel a happy, healthy bod!

7. Taking it exxxxxtra easy when a cold front comes through.

For some people, a cold front may involve nothing more than grabbing an extra sweater before they leave for work. In many people with fibromyalgia, though, cold weather - and just big weather changes in general - can trigger a major spike in our pain and fatigue. So, no, we aren't just being a "baby" when we're shivering in four layers of clothing. When people with fibromyalgia get chilled, they seem to have a harder time warming up again! And on that same note, yes, we may need some extra sleep and downtime and pain killers when the temperature drops. On the plus side, though, our joints may tell us about an incoming cold front waaaaay sooner than the local news. Just call us your personal weatherman!

8. Regularly canceling plans.

I get it. It's suuuuuper annoying when we cancel plans on the regular. But we don't do it because we're flighty or we take people's time for granted. A lot of the time, we just never know when our body is going to have a flare-up...especially since it can freak out after we do something we've done hundreds of times with no problem.

And trust us. We soooooo appreciate the friends and family who show us a little extra grace when we have to reschedule something yet again.

9. Asking people to avoid wearing allll the perfume.

Fun fact: increased light, touch and smell sensitivity are all common in people with fibromyalgia. So when it comes to perfume, we typically think less is more!

10. Constantly fidgeting and changing positions.

Spending hours sitting or standing in the exact same position is almost guaranteed to trigger a muscle knot or flare up...so I'm constantly moving. And I know many people with fibromyalgia do the same.

11. Asking for help with suuuuuper simple chores.

Of course, there are always chores that people don't like. (And if you actually enjoy scrubbing bathrooms, please let me in on your secret!). However, when you are living with chronic pain, there are some really simple chores that are waaaaay harder than people might expect. For example, scrubbing the shower often throws my neck and shoulder muscles totally out of whack.

So if we ask for a helping hand with something small like vacuuming or going out to buy groceries...know we're doing our best.

The Bottom Line

I like to joke to my boyfriend that I'm suuuper low maintenance...except when it comes to my sleep and my food! All laughs aside, though, having a chronic illness like fibromyalgia means that your life looks a little different than the average person...and that's totally OK. Because at the end of the day, every person has the same goal: to enjoy a decently healthy, happy life. And if your chronic illness means you need to make a few special requests to do that...the people who really get you will be happy to help! What's one "high maintenance" thing you do because of your chronic illness? Tell me in the comments! via Blogger https://ift.tt/2u89IWB

[vivianrhopper85]

Toronto’s Culinary Scene: Interview with Chris Watton (The Sidekick)

Leslieville has really come into its own as a community thanks to super hero small businesses like The Sidekick – a coffee and comics café bringing freshly brewed high-quality coffee, great reads, and a welcoming atmosphere to it’s east end stomping and coffee grounds.

It’s warm and inviting to comic super fans, and those who are looking for a space to sip on coffee, get some work done, read, or meet with friends – something that owner, artist, barista, and comic aficionado Chris Watton prides herself on – a shop that she always wished existed both growing up, and as an adult. Located at 1374 Queen Street East, come on by to discover your newest favourite super hero, purchase some memorabilia for that perfect gift, or just hang out and see what’s playing on the VHS at the back. The Sidekick opened three years ago, and like most heroes it arrived in the neighbourhood as the only comic shop and café, just in the nick of time.

What inspired you to open a comic book themed café?

Growing up, my local café was a sanctuary to escape- a place of good conversation, a space to take a minute and tackle a new book, a creative jump-start for sketching, and so much more! My afternoons and evenings spent there are some of my coziest and most vibrant memories. I was as dedicated to my visits to that hub as I was to my weekly trip to my hometown's comic shops to pick up Wednesday new releases. However, those trips were often peppered with bad experiences, awkward encounters, and dismissive staffers. I often wished that I could have the coffee and good vibes of my favourite café spot along with the books I would trek out to pick up.

When I moved to Toronto, I opened a Pull List (A list of comics people know they’ll be buying every month. Increasingly more comic shops are offering Pull List programs and will set aside particular issues for regular clients who don’t want to miss any issues) at a comic shop here, where picking up my books and interacting with staff became a weekly highlight. We would chat on the fire escape about comics, movies, and everything in between. Then we would go in search of a decent cup of coffee. Again, I found myself longing for both in the same social and creative space. Whenever I was frustrated with school, work, or anything in between, I would imagine a future in which such a place existed.

In a way, The Sidekick was something I wanted for so long, that I hardly remember NOT wanting it.

Tell me about how you got started in the food industry and why you decided to pursue a career in the business?

I have about nine years of café experience ranging from coffee bars to bigger shops that prepare food on-site. Being a barista has always clicked with me and preparing a great cup of coffee or espresso drink for someone is an extremely gratifying experience.

Has comic book culture changed since your own childhood? How has it evolved in Toronto?

I'm a child of 90's comics, so when I first started reading comics Image had just been formed, Spawn was big, and every hero was fighting demons or getting cybernetic enhancements. Grunge in comics was alive and thriving!

While there are still some great hyperviolent grit-dark titles in comics and the Image imprint is still a mark of exciting new creator-owned comics, much has changed in the industry. There are so many new publishing houses to choose from, all showcasing their own range of unique titles and voices! Also, independent and self-published titles are huge in Toronto and a variety of cities. Events like Toronto Comics and Arts Festival (TCAF) and Canzine are just a few examples of great festivals in Toronto dedicated to showing off small press comics, and the push for diversity in storytelling has exploded! It's such a great time to be involved in such a vibrant medium. Because Toronto is a hub, I get to meet more creators than I ever dreamed I would, and showcase their work while providing a great work/meet space.

How do you make sure that your café is both accessible and interesting for comic newbies and die-hard comic fans?

At The Sidekick we take both old-school and new approaches to comics retail. We host a smattering of single issue comics released every Wednesday and offer a Pull List subscription box to regulars who have monthly titles that they wish to follow. That's the classic comics game!

Outside of that, we put a focus on our Best Selling and Staff Recommended Reads, as well as boast a vast selection of all ages books for new readers. All staff at the shop are responsible for suggestions on the monthly orders as well as staying up-to-date on current titles so that we will all be ready to make a new suggestion based on a customer's preferences. By staying in touch with some of our favourite creators over social media, we can provide early insight into titles that are coming or are only available through the creators themselves.

The Sidekick also offers a Weekly Pull Podcast on iTunes, pod bean, and Google Play where we break down the week's releases. All the episodes are sorted by date and recorded Tuesday night to keep it as current as possible.

What advice can you offer to budding entrepreneurs who want to open their own business/café /restaurant?

Be ready for your venture to take over your life. No matter what it is, going independent will eat all your other pursuits, defy your expectations, and change the way you experience the world around you. It's easy to get lost in the day-to-day operations, but never forget what made you take on your project and the passion that fueled it. Mark your progress, celebrate your accomplishments, be grateful to the people around you, and never stop trying to make things better than they were yesterday.

What have been the biggest challenges of opening The Sidekick and running it for three years? What have been the biggest successes?

There are so many challenges to opening a small business that no one tells you about! From renovating a space, to keeping your bookkeeping on track, to staying stocked up and current with your offerings, it's a marathon you run every day of the week. The biggest challenge is seeing the bigger picture and remembering that there was a time when you wanted what you currently have more than anything else. It's harnessing that feeling and staying positive and motivated that is a big challenge I think for everyone, no matter the job.

The Sidekick has exceeded my expectations in so many ways. We are in a thriving community filled with lovely people and regulars of all types, and it's so amazing to see such a diverse range of readers enjoying the space, picking up books, playing games, and crunching out some work. As I mentioned, I have met some of my favourite creators and been able to preview books and review/edit new material, which is always a flattering and exciting request.

Also, last year I purchased a 5kg coffee roaster and now oversee not just the brewing process, but also the sourcing of green coffee and roasting itself, which is a great new challenge and joy. I have wanted to be able to curate every possible aspect of our coffee program, and now I am able to ensure quality at every point in the process from sourcing green coffee straight through to your cup.

What are your favourite items on The Sidekick menu?

I really appreciate a damn fine cup of coffee, so brewing a rotating selection of fresh-roasted single origin coffees in a classic pour-over style allows me to make that happen for even the smallest bar orders.

Our special thing is The Sidekick (which we joke is our "double-double"). It's two double shots of espresso with an equal ratio of steamed milk- so a little 8oz drink with a big kick! It'll get you where you must go.

Businesses have started to tap into adults wanting to have more fun with their food, drink, and spare time. How does The Sidekick tap into adults better tuning in to their inner child and foodie?

We put just as much love into the space as we do our selection of offerings at The Sidekick. We have a variety of music playlists according to weather and desired vibe, as well as a pile of board games and a reader bin of comics for patrons to enjoy. There is also a small VHS player at the back of the shop, so campy classic movies are always playing in the background. Basically, we try to encapsulate all the geeky things we love every day of the week in the hopes that we can build the escapist paradise we want to see in the world.

The Sidekick is essentially several businesses in one, how do you balance the demands of the café and the shop?

I juggle my varying jobs to the best of my ability every day, based on order cycles and the needs of the business. I've always been nerdy about both coffee and comics, so staying on top of trends and new and exciting offerings on both sides was always a part of my life- but now it is also my job! I want The Sidekick to be the best it can be, and that drives me to be constantly making sure our books are stocked, our coffees are on point, and that I'm always planning something new.

Why did you decided to partner with Desmond & Beatrice and Tori's Bakeshop?

I am lucky to be partnered with equally passionate people running great kitchens with awesome selections of wholesale offerings for cafés like mine. I make sure to have a smattering of different pastries from savoury to sweet, regular to vegan, to suit all tastes and food allergies. Thank the lovely kitchen wizards who make that happen!

What upcoming events/projects at The Sidekick are you most excited about?

We are currently trying a Comedy Night at The Sidekick the last Thursday of every month and bringing in local breweries to run beer tastings alongside, so we are excited to see how that goes. There are a couple of signings for local writers/artists with new comics out this year. We have a pay-what-you-can Tarot Card Reader who will be sitting in on the Saturday before Halloween to do readings for patrons, and we also participate in Halloween Free Comic Day, and encourage trick-or-treaters to visit our decked-out space for candy and free comics! We may also host a pumpkin carving night. I am also planning a Teapot Painting in November, so that kids and adults can get on crafting early Christmas gifts.

I'm open to hosting events in our space and encourage people to e-mail me to pitch their ideas. We are a creative community hub and we hope that we can foster a good environment for people to get together and enjoy that familiar coziness or try something new.

Can you name your all-time favourite comic book, hero, villain, and anti-hero?

My favourite running comic series is Hellboy, hero is Spider-Man, villain is Clayface, and anti-hero is Spawn. Come by to check out my favourite new comics anytime!

SMVLKV

from News And Tip About Real Estate https://jamiesarner.com/toronto-life/2018/09/chris-watton-sidekick/

[jimdsmith34]

5 Ways Adults See Their Best Memories Turn Into Nightmares

I’ve talked before about how, despite what adults tell you, your teens are not the best years of your life. There are some pretty awesome things that happen during that period, but your enjoyment of them has nothing to do with a lack of bills or not having to support a family. That’s what an adult says when they’re fed up with the stress of their own lives and projecting it onto yours. It’s short-sighted and idiotic. Suck it, mom.

It has everything to do with the little milestones that represent growing chunks of freedom. They are, in essence, rites of passage that mean you’re putting your teenage years behind you. You’re escaping. When they happen, you’ll mentally log those as some of the funnest times in your life. Then, when you get older, you’ll flip through your skull’s Dewey Decimal System, pull up those memories … and be absolutely goddamn horrified when you picture your own kids doing seemingly insignificant things like …

#5. Getting Their First Job

Why It’s Important:

Aside from just straight up giving your parents the finger and moving out of the house, getting your first job is the ultimate transition from adolescence into adulthood. If you work a night shift, curfew is more flexible. You likely have your own car, or will soon be buying one, so you’re not dependent on mom or dad’s level of sobriety in order to drive you places. If parents are the ones buying your clothes and entertainment, they likely have a say in what you get, so a job frees you up from all of that. It’s your money. You’ll buy a katana if you want to, goddammit.

In the general public’s idea of “adulthood,” the word “job” is more important than “age.” And it should be. I have 40-year-old relatives rotting away in prison right now because smoking foils and stealing shit was more important to them than seeing their kids graduate high school. Those people aren’t adults. The adults in their families are the kids who figured out this one basic financial formula: “Work for the shit I need. Save for the shit I want. Oh, and don’t fuck with meth.”

Don’t vape, either. It makes you look like a twat.

Why It Scares The Shit Out Of Parents:

Up until this point, the only real authority figures in your lives have been parents and teachers. Cops don’t really count unless you’re a sociopath, and even then, there’s not a lot they can do to punish minors. But when you make that transition into the working world, you have a brand-new set of second parents in the form of supervisors and managers. And as adults, we know that most of those are clinical assholes.

We’re not so much concerned about the way they treat you as humans. We know from experience that your life is going to be like that Harry Potter scene where they’re trapped in that vault and all of the treasure starts reproducing. Except instead of gold and silver goblets, it’s an unceasing explosion of assholes. An asshole geyser, if you will. We’re more worried that you’re still in the process of learning how to be a socially functioning human, and we don’t want some power-tripping dickhead influencing how you perceive and treat the rest of the world.

We’ve had our own jobs as teenagers, and we know that there are employees who steal and get away with it. We don’t want them teaching you how to do that, because if you get caught, you’re screwed. And even if you don’t get caught, you’re a piece of shit. We know that there are bosses who can easily make you think that the correct way to manage is to scream, curse, and throw tantrums. Or on the other end of that spectrum are managers who let employees get away with things that would get their asses fired in a more serious “adult” job.

“… the FUCK outta here!”

No, it’s not that we’re afraid of how they’ll treat you. We’re afraid of what they could turn you into. Seventeen years of hard work teaching you the right thing can be undone with a single dose of the unfiltered world. I’ve seen it happen. And yeah, I know that not all kids are precious little angels just waiting to be corrupted by the cruel, remorseless world. But the more rebellious, anti-authority kids tend to learn a lot quicker when they come to work in a bad mood, tell their boss to go fuck himself, and then watch their work history collapse for the next five years. That’s a whole new set of fears, because if that kid has already started paying for his or her first car and then loses their job … congratulations, parents! You just added a new car payment to your budget.

Oh, and speaking of cars …

#4. Driving A Car On Their Own For The First Time

Why It’s Important:

It’s a car. Come on. You just spent the last few months in driver’s ed, learning all of the rules that everyone ignores the second they start driving on their own. You spent the (in my state) 40 hours of mandatory driving with a parent in the passenger seat. Not all at once. That would be silly. You’re silly. Stop being silly.

You sillyass.

Every little imperfection has been pointed out while we held your hand through the process. You’ve sat through dozens of lectures from teachers, parents, aunts, and uncles — and if you’re crazy rich, that sweet talking car from Knight Rider — explaining how the world is full of bad drivers, and you should always be looking out for “the other guy.” Always wear your seat belt. Never, ever, eeeever drink and drive. Don’t even take a chance with your cellphone. Just turn that shit off. If you try to merge while eating an egg salad sandwich, your face will fall off.

Those are deviled eggs, dipshit. Those are fine.

Finally, all of that bullshit is over with. It’s time to grab the keys, put on your awesome NASCAR helmet with flames painted down the sides, and hit the open road. No more lectures. No more, “How many times have I told you to HIT THE FUCKING BRAKES when you turn a corner?!” Eat me, Grandma. This is my world, now.

Why It Scares The Shit Out Of Parents:

The most obvious reason is that you are piloting a machine that will end you before you even have time to shit your pants. I don’t know a single person who doesn’t know someone who died in a car accident. The not-so-obvious reason, unfortunately, is one of trust. Both of you and everyone else in the entire world. Sorry, but I’m going to get all real up in your shorts for a minute. That’s a thing kids say, right?

The truth is that we’ve seen you at your dumbest. If my oldest son is reading this, understand that I’m not calling you dumb as an individual. I’m talking in a blanket sense. Ask any adult you want about whether or not they considered themselves smart and worldly as a teenager, and they’ll laugh you out of the room. “Oh Christ, no. I was dumb as owl shit.” One time I jumped from the top of a two-story barn into a snow drift that was only two feet deep because I thought it would be fluffy and soft. It was not. My brother once wondered if hairspray would still ignite if it was dry, and set a girl’s head on fire. Neither of those statements are jokes.

It makes me feel better to remember it like this.

We’ve seen the dumb shit you do, and we shudder when we think about the stuff we haven’t seen. The idea that you could space out for even a few seconds while driving a car sends us into a blind panic. Then add on top of that the idiocy of every other person who exists outside of your windshield. People blowing through red lights at full speed. Drunk drivers. Little kids sprinting out into the street to chase down a ball. In my part of the country, we have suicidal deer as big as ponies.

So it’s not just that we’ve seen you at your worst, and we’re hoping you can shed that while behind the wheel. We’re thinking about all of the accidents or near misses that we’ve seen as adults with decades of experience under our belts, and it’s still hard. And that’s not a dick joke.

#3. Staying With Friends While Their Parents Are Gone

Why It’s Important:

Of all the things on this list, this is the one I remember the most fondly. The first time I was allowed to spend the weekend with my friends and no adults around was incredible. A group of about ten of us decided to go on a camping trip at the end of the school year. The ones who were old enough to drive picked up the rest, so it was two trucks, which meant a whole shitload of us rode in the bed. The second we pulled away from the last house, we all transformed into raw teenage boys, cursing out the kind of insults at each other which in retrospect make me die a little inside. Teenage boys are weird.

Along the way, the drivers decided to race. So at barely sunrise, we were throwing donuts at each other, going 90 side-by-side on the highway. Again, with most of the guys sitting or standing loose in the beds of pickup trucks.

When we got to the campsite, we unloaded all of our fishing poles, food, tents, blankets, pillows, beer … oh, and guns. Probably 20 of them, ranging from run-of-the-mill 12-gauge shotguns to .45 autos to an AK-47 or two. By sundown, every one of us was drunk as shit, firing weapons and throwing unspent bullets into the campfire. Nobody remembered to bring water, so when we ran out of beer, we had to just drink the melted ice from the dirty-ass coolers. It was freedom at its purest.

Just move the fish aside. There’s water underneath.

Why It Scares The Shit Out Of Parents:

HOLY FUCKBALLS, HOW DID NONE OF US DIE?!

OK, my personal illustration of dumbassery aside, there are legitimately more subtle reasons this scares parents. Take away the camping, the guns, the booze, and the race that gave 20 middle fingers to Death himself, and we still have stuff to worry about.

All of the fun stuff that we tell our kids not to do … those are the things they’re going to immediately dive into the second we’re out of sight. I’ve accepted that there’s a pretty good chance my kids, like most kids, will eventually experiment with drugs. But when they do, I hope to god it’s just pot and not something that was made in some redneck’s bathtub. Our state (like most states) has a fairly bad problem with prescription drug abuse. About one in five teenagers will try them at some point, and they are super easy to get. In fact, they’re much, much easier to get on the streets than they are from a doctor. My kids are smart, but not so smart that I trust them to know how much Vicodin is safe to take versus their body weight, metabolism, personal resistances to pain killers, and whether or not they’re allergic to the medication in the first place.

“Just grab a handful. They’re healthy.”

When we’re talking about that shit, we’re far beyond a night of giggling and eating Twinkies. We’re talking about highly addictive medication that can kill your ass if you go overboard. But enough about drugs. That’s probably just the paranoid addict in me talking.

We still worry about what liberties they’re going to take when we’re not around. Simple things like staying out after curfew. In a small town, it’s not that big a deal, but in a larger city, you might as well be painting a neon bullseye on their asses, along with a sign that says, “Please beat the shit out of me and take my wallet. I am the dumping grounds for your drunken 3 a.m. rage!” Hell, even in a small town, pull up a website that shows the locations of sexual predators in your area, and tell me that doesn’t make you want to teach them some Deadpool shit.

But as a parent, you just have to finally learn to let go and give them a little slack. It’s just really hard to trust someone who has to be reminded on a daily basis to brush their teeth. It’s even harder to trust the strangers in a town whom you regularly fantasize about being on fire.

source http://allofbeer.com/5-ways-adults-see-their-best-memories-turn-into-nightmares/ from All of Beer http://allofbeer.blogspot.com/2018/01/5-ways-adults-see-their-best-memories.html

[allofbeercom]

5 Ways Adults See Their Best Memories Turn Into Nightmares

I’ve talked before about how, despite what adults tell you, your teens are not the best years of your life. There are some pretty awesome things that happen during that period, but your enjoyment of them has nothing to do with a lack of bills or not having to support a family. That’s what an adult says when they’re fed up with the stress of their own lives and projecting it onto yours. It’s short-sighted and idiotic. Suck it, mom.

It has everything to do with the little milestones that represent growing chunks of freedom. They are, in essence, rites of passage that mean you’re putting your teenage years behind you. You’re escaping. When they happen, you’ll mentally log those as some of the funnest times in your life. Then, when you get older, you’ll flip through your skull’s Dewey Decimal System, pull up those memories … and be absolutely goddamn horrified when you picture your own kids doing seemingly insignificant things like …

#5. Getting Their First Job

Why It’s Important:

Aside from just straight up giving your parents the finger and moving out of the house, getting your first job is the ultimate transition from adolescence into adulthood. If you work a night shift, curfew is more flexible. You likely have your own car, or will soon be buying one, so you’re not dependent on mom or dad’s level of sobriety in order to drive you places. If parents are the ones buying your clothes and entertainment, they likely have a say in what you get, so a job frees you up from all of that. It’s your money. You’ll buy a katana if you want to, goddammit.

In the general public’s idea of “adulthood,” the word “job” is more important than “age.” And it should be. I have 40-year-old relatives rotting away in prison right now because smoking foils and stealing shit was more important to them than seeing their kids graduate high school. Those people aren’t adults. The adults in their families are the kids who figured out this one basic financial formula: “Work for the shit I need. Save for the shit I want. Oh, and don’t fuck with meth.”

Don’t vape, either. It makes you look like a twat.

Why It Scares The Shit Out Of Parents:

Up until this point, the only real authority figures in your lives have been parents and teachers. Cops don’t really count unless you’re a sociopath, and even then, there’s not a lot they can do to punish minors. But when you make that transition into the working world, you have a brand-new set of second parents in the form of supervisors and managers. And as adults, we know that most of those are clinical assholes.

We’re not so much concerned about the way they treat you as humans. We know from experience that your life is going to be like that Harry Potter scene where they’re trapped in that vault and all of the treasure starts reproducing. Except instead of gold and silver goblets, it’s an unceasing explosion of assholes. An asshole geyser, if you will. We’re more worried that you’re still in the process of learning how to be a socially functioning human, and we don’t want some power-tripping dickhead influencing how you perceive and treat the rest of the world.

We’ve had our own jobs as teenagers, and we know that there are employees who steal and get away with it. We don’t want them teaching you how to do that, because if you get caught, you’re screwed. And even if you don’t get caught, you’re a piece of shit. We know that there are bosses who can easily make you think that the correct way to manage is to scream, curse, and throw tantrums. Or on the other end of that spectrum are managers who let employees get away with things that would get their asses fired in a more serious “adult” job.

“… the FUCK outta here!”

No, it’s not that we’re afraid of how they’ll treat you. We’re afraid of what they could turn you into. Seventeen years of hard work teaching you the right thing can be undone with a single dose of the unfiltered world. I’ve seen it happen. And yeah, I know that not all kids are precious little angels just waiting to be corrupted by the cruel, remorseless world. But the more rebellious, anti-authority kids tend to learn a lot quicker when they come to work in a bad mood, tell their boss to go fuck himself, and then watch their work history collapse for the next five years. That’s a whole new set of fears, because if that kid has already started paying for his or her first car and then loses their job … congratulations, parents! You just added a new car payment to your budget.

Oh, and speaking of cars …

#4. Driving A Car On Their Own For The First Time

Why It’s Important:

It’s a car. Come on. You just spent the last few months in driver’s ed, learning all of the rules that everyone ignores the second they start driving on their own. You spent the (in my state) 40 hours of mandatory driving with a parent in the passenger seat. Not all at once. That would be silly. You’re silly. Stop being silly.

You sillyass.

Every little imperfection has been pointed out while we held your hand through the process. You’ve sat through dozens of lectures from teachers, parents, aunts, and uncles — and if you’re crazy rich, that sweet talking car from Knight Rider — explaining how the world is full of bad drivers, and you should always be looking out for “the other guy.” Always wear your seat belt. Never, ever, eeeever drink and drive. Don’t even take a chance with your cellphone. Just turn that shit off. If you try to merge while eating an egg salad sandwich, your face will fall off.

Those are deviled eggs, dipshit. Those are fine.

Finally, all of that bullshit is over with. It’s time to grab the keys, put on your awesome NASCAR helmet with flames painted down the sides, and hit the open road. No more lectures. No more, “How many times have I told you to HIT THE FUCKING BRAKES when you turn a corner?!” Eat me, Grandma. This is my world, now.

Why It Scares The Shit Out Of Parents:

The most obvious reason is that you are piloting a machine that will end you before you even have time to shit your pants. I don’t know a single person who doesn’t know someone who died in a car accident. The not-so-obvious reason, unfortunately, is one of trust. Both of you and everyone else in the entire world. Sorry, but I’m going to get all real up in your shorts for a minute. That’s a thing kids say, right?

The truth is that we’ve seen you at your dumbest. If my oldest son is reading this, understand that I’m not calling you dumb as an individual. I’m talking in a blanket sense. Ask any adult you want about whether or not they considered themselves smart and worldly as a teenager, and they’ll laugh you out of the room. “Oh Christ, no. I was dumb as owl shit.” One time I jumped from the top of a two-story barn into a snow drift that was only two feet deep because I thought it would be fluffy and soft. It was not. My brother once wondered if hairspray would still ignite if it was dry, and set a girl’s head on fire. Neither of those statements are jokes.

It makes me feel better to remember it like this.

We’ve seen the dumb shit you do, and we shudder when we think about the stuff we haven’t seen. The idea that you could space out for even a few seconds while driving a car sends us into a blind panic. Then add on top of that the idiocy of every other person who exists outside of your windshield. People blowing through red lights at full speed. Drunk drivers. Little kids sprinting out into the street to chase down a ball. In my part of the country, we have suicidal deer as big as ponies.

So it’s not just that we’ve seen you at your worst, and we’re hoping you can shed that while behind the wheel. We’re thinking about all of the accidents or near misses that we’ve seen as adults with decades of experience under our belts, and it’s still hard. And that’s not a dick joke.

#3. Staying With Friends While Their Parents Are Gone

Why It’s Important:

Of all the things on this list, this is the one I remember the most fondly. The first time I was allowed to spend the weekend with my friends and no adults around was incredible. A group of about ten of us decided to go on a camping trip at the end of the school year. The ones who were old enough to drive picked up the rest, so it was two trucks, which meant a whole shitload of us rode in the bed. The second we pulled away from the last house, we all transformed into raw teenage boys, cursing out the kind of insults at each other which in retrospect make me die a little inside. Teenage boys are weird.

Along the way, the drivers decided to race. So at barely sunrise, we were throwing donuts at each other, going 90 side-by-side on the highway. Again, with most of the guys sitting or standing loose in the beds of pickup trucks.

When we got to the campsite, we unloaded all of our fishing poles, food, tents, blankets, pillows, beer … oh, and guns. Probably 20 of them, ranging from run-of-the-mill 12-gauge shotguns to .45 autos to an AK-47 or two. By sundown, every one of us was drunk as shit, firing weapons and throwing unspent bullets into the campfire. Nobody remembered to bring water, so when we ran out of beer, we had to just drink the melted ice from the dirty-ass coolers. It was freedom at its purest.

Just move the fish aside. There’s water underneath.

Why It Scares The Shit Out Of Parents:

HOLY FUCKBALLS, HOW DID NONE OF US DIE?!

OK, my personal illustration of dumbassery aside, there are legitimately more subtle reasons this scares parents. Take away the camping, the guns, the booze, and the race that gave 20 middle fingers to Death himself, and we still have stuff to worry about.

All of the fun stuff that we tell our kids not to do … those are the things they’re going to immediately dive into the second we’re out of sight. I’ve accepted that there’s a pretty good chance my kids, like most kids, will eventually experiment with drugs. But when they do, I hope to god it’s just pot and not something that was made in some redneck’s bathtub. Our state (like most states) has a fairly bad problem with prescription drug abuse. About one in five teenagers will try them at some point, and they are super easy to get. In fact, they’re much, much easier to get on the streets than they are from a doctor. My kids are smart, but not so smart that I trust them to know how much Vicodin is safe to take versus their body weight, metabolism, personal resistances to pain killers, and whether or not they’re allergic to the medication in the first place.

“Just grab a handful. They’re healthy.”

When we’re talking about that shit, we’re far beyond a night of giggling and eating Twinkies. We’re talking about highly addictive medication that can kill your ass if you go overboard. But enough about drugs. That’s probably just the paranoid addict in me talking.

We still worry about what liberties they’re going to take when we’re not around. Simple things like staying out after curfew. In a small town, it’s not that big a deal, but in a larger city, you might as well be painting a neon bullseye on their asses, along with a sign that says, “Please beat the shit out of me and take my wallet. I am the dumping grounds for your drunken 3 a.m. rage!” Hell, even in a small town, pull up a website that shows the locations of sexual predators in your area, and tell me that doesn’t make you want to teach them some Deadpool shit.

But as a parent, you just have to finally learn to let go and give them a little slack. It’s just really hard to trust someone who has to be reminded on a daily basis to brush their teeth. It’s even harder to trust the strangers in a town whom you regularly fantasize about being on fire.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/5-ways-adults-see-their-best-memories-turn-into-nightmares/