#moral of the story: toxins are no good for you - that includes people

[raininginmyroom]

Countless cruelty soothed by doses of dopamine

Lashed out by a harsh tongue

But calm down with a soft touch

Took some time, but I learned that’s not love

A rare good word from you nearly worked

Until I snapped out of it and left for my own good

Because you might not, but I love me

The one thing we don’t have in common

[achraf4you]

FASTING IS A SHIELD

Ramadan fasting is one of the pillars of Islam, the true religion. Let us look from him at a description of his universal wisdom that the Messenger, peace be upon him, told it, and Allah Almighty gave him the collections of speech and supported him with revelation and protected him from slippage and aberration.

That is fasting, and the luminous and inclusive prophetic phrase: ( Fasting is a shield ) [Bukhari and Muslim].

Indeed, fasting is the greatest educational school that purifies the soul, purifies the heart, corrects behavior, develops virtues, and purifies vices, and all of this and more is included under the noble and enlightened prophetic phrase (fasting is shield).

And in the dictionary, Shield is: the jacket .. and all that is shielded from weapons and other things. And it is said: Fasting is a shield: a protection from desires.

I say: Fasting prevents the servant from all corruption. And protect him from every ugly and purify him from all evil, and from that:

1- It is shirld in the sense of a barrier and a protector from the desires of evil. The Prophet, peace be upon him, described it to the unmarried if he did not find a way to legal marriage, so he said: ( O young men, whoever among you can afford it, let him get married, for it is more effective in lowering the gaze and guarding chastity, and whoever cannot then he should fast, for it will be a restraint (wija') for him ) [agreed upon]. It is a shield in the sense of protection and a barrier from immorality.

2- Fasting is a shield in the sense of protection from bad manners, foolishness, ignorance, dignity and honorable morals. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: ( Fasting is a protection

for you, so when you are fasting, do not behave obscenely or foolishly, and if any oneargues with you or abuses you, say, I amfasting. I am fasting ) [Agreed upon].

3- Fasting is a shield from sins and a protection for the slave from going against the forbidden. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: ( If one does not eschew lies and false conduct, Allah has no need that he should abstain from his food and his drink ) [Al-Bukhari narrated].

4- Fasting is a shield for the servant, meaning that it prevents him from getting along with the fools, quarrels with the ignorant, the necessity of forgiveness and good manners. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: ( Fasting is a paradise, and if one of you’s fasting day is not crippled and not loud. If someone blames him or fights him, let him say that I am a man who is fasting .... ) [Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim].

5- Fasting is a shield for the servant in the sense of prevention and protection from everything that disgraces him in this world and insults him in the hereafter. Because he establishes his behavior, refines his character, purifies his heart, purifies himself, increases his faith, and thus his end is to deliver from the fire and win paradise .. It is one of the greatest protective fortresses of the Muslim from the destroyers. And the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:( Fasting is a shield and it is one of the fortresses of the believer, and every action is for its owner except fasting ) [Narrated by al-Tabarani and al-Albani said: good hadith]. And the Messenger of Allah, pezce be upon him, said: (Fasting is a garden and a strong fortress from the fire) [Narrated by Ahmad].

6- Fasting is a shield for the servant and a protection from fire. And this is the greatest goal of the pious: to escape from the fire and to move away from it.The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: ( Fasting is a shield against the Fire just like the shield of anyone of you against fighting ) [Narrated by Ahmed and Nasa'i].

7- Dr. Abdul Aziz Ismail says: "Fasting is used medically in many cases, and preventive in more cases, and that many religious orders have not shown us their wisdom, and they will appear with the advancement of science. It has been shown that fasting is medically beneficial in many cases, and it is the only treatment sometimes other".

Dr. Mac Fadon - who is one of the world’s doctors who has been interested in the study of fasting and its impact - says: “Every person needs fasting, even if he is not sick, because the toxins of food and medicine meet in the body, making him like the sick and overburdening him, so his activity decreases. If a person fasts, he will get rid of the burdens of these toxins, and feel an activity and strength not known to him before "(Islam Story website).

8- In Ramadan, signs of compassion prevail among people, which inspires psychological calm and a way out of the usual psychological worries. Fasting has positive effects on strengthening the will. And the well-known medical rule that affirms that prevention is better and more effective than treatment is fully applicable in the case of mental illnesses. It has been proven to us through observation and research in the field of psychiatry that people who have a balanced personality and have strong religious tendencies, and are committed to performing rituals Religion in their dealings is often less afflicted with mental disorders, and you find them more improved and more responsive to treatment when suffering from any mental illness (Dr. Lotfi El-Sherbiny - The Oasis of Reassured Soul website).

How great is the blessing of the prophetic utterance that combined the virtues, denied the vices, and qualified the fasting person for the highest homes. All this and others are expressed in a three-letter pronunciation. If you separate meanings, you will fill in the volumes.

🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋

🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋🕋

الصوم جُنَّةٌُ

صوم رمضان ركن من أركان الإسلام الدين الحنيف. لننظر منه إلى وصف من أوصاف حكمته الجامعة التي أخبر بها الرسول صلى الله عليه و سلم، و قد أعطاه الله تعالى جوامع الكلم و أيده بالوحي و عصمه من الزلل و الزيغ.

ذلكم هو الصوم، و العبارة النبوية الجامعة الحافلة النيّرة: ( الصوم جُنَّةٌُ ) [أخرجه البخاري و مسلم].

و الصوم حقا هو أعظم مدرسة تربوية تزكي النفس و تطهّ�� القلب و تقوّم السلوك و تنمّي الفضائل و تنقي الرذائل، و كل ذلك و أكثر منه ينطوي تحت العبارة النبوية الشريفة الجامعة النيّرة ( الصوم جُنَّةٌ ).

و في المعجم الجُنّةُ: السترة.. و كل ما وقى من سلاح و غيره. و يقال: الصوم جنة: وقاية من الشهوات.

أقول: الصوم حائل للعبد عن كل فساد. و وقاية له من كل قبيح و مطهر له من كل خبيث و من ذلك:

1- أنه جنة بمعنى حاجز و عاصم من الشهوات المردية. و قد وصفه النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم للأعزب إذا لم يجد سبيلا إلى النكاح الحلال فقال: ( يا معشر الشباب من استطاع منكم الباءة فليتزوج و من لم يستطع فعليه بالصوم فإنه له وجاء ) [متفق عليه]. فهو جنة بمعنى حماية و حاجز من الفحشاء و الفجور.

2- و الصوم جنة بمعنى الوقاية من سوء الخلق و السفه و الجهل و لزوم الوقار و مكارم الأخلاق. فقد قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم : ( الصِّيَامُ جُنَّةٌ إِذَا كَانَ أَحَدُكُمْ صَائِمًا فَلاَ يَرْفُثْ وَ لاَ يَجْهَلْ فَإِنِ امْرُؤٌ قَاتَلَهُ أَوْ شَاتَمَهُ فَلْيَقُلْ إِنِّي صَائِمٌ إِنِّي صَائِمٌ ‏ ) [متفق عليه].

3- و الصوم جنة من المعاصي و وقاية للعبد من مقارفة الحرام. قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم: ( من لم يدع قول الزور و العمل به فليس لله حاجة في أن يدع طعامه و شرابه ) [رواه البخاري].

4- و الصوم جنة للعبد بمعنى حاجز له من مجاراة السفهاء و مخاصمة الجهلاء و لزوم العفو و حسن الخلق. فقد قال النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم : ( و الصيام جنة، و إذا كان يوم صوم أحدكم فلا يرفث و لا يصخب. فإن سابّه أحد أو قاتله فليقل إني امرؤ صائم ) [رواه البخاري و مسلم].

5- و الصوم جنة للعبد بمعنى وقاية و حصن من كل ما يشينه في الدنيا و يهينه في الآخرة؛ لأنه يقوم سلوكه و يهذّب خلقه و يطهّر قلبه و يزّكي نفسه و يزيد إيمانه و يكون مآله بذلك النجاة من النار و الفوز بالجنة.. فهو من أعظم حصون المسلم الواقية من المهالك. و قد قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم: ( الصيام جنة و هو حصن من حصون المؤمن و كل عمل لصاحبه إلا الصيام. يقول الله الصيام لي و أنا أجزي به ) [رواه الطبراني و حسنه الألباني]. و قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم: ( الصيام جنة و حصن حصين من النار ) [رواه أحمد].

6- و الصيام جنة للعبد و وقاية من النار. و هذا أعظم أهداف المتقين: النجاة من النار و الزحزحة عنها. قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم: ( الصيام جنة من النار كجنة أحدكم من القتال ) [رواه أحمد و النسائي].

7- يقول د. عبد العزيز إسماعيل: إن الصيام يستعمل طبيًّا في حالات كثيرة، و وقائيًّا في حالات أكثر، و إن كثيرًا من الأوامر الدينية لم تظهر لنا حكمتها، ستظهر مع تقدم العلوم، فلقد ظهر أن الصيام يفيد طبيًّا في حالات كثيرة، و هو العلاج الوحيد في أحيان أخرى.

يقول الدكتور ماك فادون -و هو من الأطباء العالميين، الذين اهتموا بدراسة الصوم و أثره-: "إن كل إنسان يحتاج إلى الصوم، و إن لم يكن مريضًا؛ لأن سموم الأغذية و الأدوية تجتمع في الجسم، فتجعله كالمريض و تثقله؛ فيقل نشاطه.. فإذا صام الإنسان تخلص من أعباء هذه السموم، و شعر بنشاط و قوة لا عهد له بهما من قبل" (موقع قصة الإسلام).

8- في رمضان تعم مظاهر التراحم بين الناس مما يبعث على الهدوء النفسي و الخروج من دائرة الهموم النفسية المعتادة، و للصوم آثار إيجابية في تقوية الإرادة. و القاعدة الطبية المعروفة التي تؤكد أن الوقاية افضل و أجدى من العلاج تنطبق تماماً في حالة الأمراض النفسية ، فقد ثبت لنا من خلال الملاحظة و البحث في مجال الطب النفسي أن الأشخاص الذين يتمتعون بشخصية متزنة و لديهم وازع ديني قوى ، و يلتزمون بأداء العبادات و روح الدين في تعاملهم هم غالباً اقل اصابة بالاضطرابات النفسية ، و تجدهم اكثر تحسناً و استجابة للعلاج عند الإصابة بأي مرض نفسي (د / لطفى الشربينى - موقع واحة النفس المطمئنة).

فما أعظم بركة اللفظ النبوي الذي جمع الفضائل و نفى الرذائل و أهّل الصائم لأسمى المنازل. يعبر عن كل هذا و غيره بلفظ من ثلاثة أحرف لو فصلت معانية لملأت المجلدات.

[gothic-safari-clown]

The Mind’s Power Over the Body

Part 8: Acceptance

Story summary: They only ever had each other. It had been that way since high school, ever since Elianna transferred to dreary Arlen and took Jonathan under her wing. They go separate ways for college, and when they're reunited at Arkham Asylum professionally, Elianna comes to find that they've both changed during their time separated. Can she look past the promise of danger and stay by Jonathan's side as they slide further and further into the darkness while she grapples to come to terms with the truth about herself? Can she accept what needs to be done in order to hold onto the only person who holds any meaning in her life? This is a very self-indulgent AU that draws from several different canons of the DCU and ignoring others, starting in the Batman Begins Nolanverse. This will follow the plot of the movie, although the timeline has been very slightly tweaked.

Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four / Part Five / Part Six / Part Seven

Word count: 1986

Minutes after Jonathan left, Elianna was still staring at the wall, unable to think about anything other than the sudden and jarring conversation. She couldn't help but feel astounded that she had even agreed to what he was suggesting. Why would I do that? If she hadn't accepted his proposal, would he have gone along with the plan on his own? And what would have become of had she refused?

Her clock glared at her from its place mounted on the wall, reminding her that she didn't even have the distraction of a session to rush to. Damn it. Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork...

Finally forcing herself into action, El gathered all of her files and situated herself on the floor with them, playing music on her smartphone to help her focus. She ended up with papers stacked around her as she reorganized all of her files in an attempt to occupy her mind with something—anything—else. Honestly, there hadn't been anything wrong with the previous system in the first place, and now she was just surrounded by mess as she reshuffled the notes in each folio to justify her decision.

Two hours later, her office was spotless, and she had gone through at least three new filing systems. With nothing left to do for an hour, she found herself still sitting on the floor against her desk, desperately trying to unwind her conflicting feelings over the new situation.

She knew that she should care about the moral implications of her decision, but the more she thought, the more she realized that she just...didn't. Not for lack of trying. For God's sake, Scarecrow had gotten Jonathan to kill his granny when they were teenagers, and she hadn't even questioned it. The old woman did have it coming, just like she had thought earlier that morning, but did that way of thinking make her a bad person? She had never been one for philosophy.

And now, when the opportunity presented itself to exact horrible, torturous revenge on Victor Zsasz, she had taken it without even fully thinking through the consequences. She hadn't even been able to through her confusion. If it comes down to it, which seems likely, can I take a life the way that Jonathan did? Do I even want to?

Yes. She did. Each thing that she came to realize about herself sent El spiraling into a new set of questions. When had she become this person? Had she always been like this, keeping busy to avoid confronting that reality?

She couldn't tell how much time passed as she took inventory of herself until finally, another look at the clock told Elianna that her first session began in ten minutes; today, she had been scheduled a series of low profile patients to be seen in her office. Sighing, she finally lifted herself off the floor. She would have time to re-evaluate her life later. For now, she needed to get to work.

.xXx.

"In my opinion, Mr. Zsasz is as much a danger to himself as to others, and prison is probably not the best environment for his rehabilitation," Jonathan spoke into the mounted microphone on the stand with steady resilience. It was getting difficult for him to ignore Scarecrow, who had become practically giddy from the anticipation of getting to "play" with the newest batch of the toxin. He was almost exploding, insisting that Elianna would finally give in to her dark side.

Both Jonathan and Scarecrow had known that it was there for a long time. Jonathan had had his suspicions when he had told her about Scarecrow for the first time, and she had accepted it, and they had been confirmed after Granny's "accident," when she had helped them cover it up and had stuck around to boot.

At a glance, someone less close to the situation would say it was denial (which she was good at, apparently), but she had no qualms talking about it when the topic came up; she simply didn't care about most things that she should. She had somehow managed to convince everyone else—including herself—that she did, and that was the part that mattered.

The trial ended quickly after Jonathan's testimony. Falcone had already paid off the judge to rule in favor of whatever Jonathan said, and the rest was just formality. As such, he had already filled out all of the appropriate paperwork for the admission and transferred the deranged man to his care.

Finally, it was over, and Jonathan was on his way to the parking lot to make it back to the asylum when he was stopped by the most irritatingly incorruptible person on the planet.

"Doctor Crane," Rachel Dawes's voice rang through the courthouse lobby. Unable to ignore her, Jonathan paused to look at her, barely breaking his gait, suddenly needing to focus extra hard on keeping Scarecrow under control; he hated her as much as Jonathan did, possibly more.

"Miss Dawes," he acknowledged, having nothing else to say. That was passable as polite, wasn't it?

"You think a man who butchered people for the mob and attacked an innocent woman doesn't belong in jail?" Right to the point with this one, always so straightforward. Ambitious. If she would only take advantage of the ample opportunities that the city provided, she might even be able to make something of herself. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have the drive.

We don't need her sniffing around, Jonny. Let me take care of this now.

Not a chance, keep quiet.

"I would hardly have testified to that otherwise, would I?" Politeness be damned, the insufferable woman could chalk it up to a bad day if she wanted, just as long as she didn't notice the distaste rolling off of him in waves.

"This is the third of Falcone's thugs you've had declared insane and moved to your asylum, and the fourth time you've done so for Zsasz individually." Dear Lord, was she implying that he was corrupt? In Gotham? Never. Impossible.

"It isn't my fault if our security officers have yet to discover his means of escape. As for the rest, the work offered by organized crime must have an attraction to the insane." There, a safely noncommittal answer, and one that held basis in fact too. He turned to leave, having just about reached his limit with the conversation.

"Or the corrupt," Dawes's heels clicked on the floor as she took a few steps after him before he stopped in his tracks again. So she wasn't implying anything, just outright accusing him. Jonathan ignored Scarecrow's outraged (and far from empty) threats and caught sight of Dawes's boss in his periphery. A little childish perhaps, resorting to involving her higher-ups, but at this point, he was willing to shoot himself in the foot to avoid continuing this tiresome discussion. Interrogation, more like.

"Mister Finch," the suited man looked at the sound of his name. "I think you should check with Miss Dawes here just what implications your office has authorized her to make." That captured his attention; Finch's brows raised as he aimed a pointed look in the direction of the woman in question. "If any." That should do it.

I'm gonna get our hands on that one. Pick her brain and spit in it.

There's something we can agree on.

.xXx.

As desperate as Elianna had been for any kind of distraction earlier, each of her sessions had been more boring than the last. She was still of the opinion that people with simple anxiety disorders didn't belong in an asylum; she had half a mind to sign them all out and send them back into the world. But until she learned more, she had to operate under the assumption that they had each been admitted for a worthwhile reason; but the second she was shown any sign of real-world competence, she would sign all of them out to keep them from taking up any more space. God, what's wrong with me today?

Before she could ponder on her behavior any further, a knock on her door signaled Jonathan's return, and she let him in quickly.

"So it's...you did it then?" She asked, still unsure of how to address the situation.

"He'll be transferred back in by tomorrow."

It was done. At this point, all she could do was trust in the combined efforts of Jonathan and Scarecrow to keep her safe with some...foolproof evil plan. No matter how much she tried, she hadn't been able to bring herself to feel guilty for wanting revenge; she couldn't help feeling justification in her decision, and it was clearly justified in Jonathan's as well, and really who else mattered in this scenario? Zsasz? Certainly not.

"Okay. Well, are you alright? You seem tense." Jonathan rolled his eyes to the ceiling and shook his head.

"Everything is fine, just this...tedious woman from the DA's office tried to give me some trouble, but it's taken care of. I, ah," he checked the time on the clock, "I just need to go finish some paperwork, and then we can go back home and talk about this some more."

"Sounds good. I'm almost done here myself; when I'm finished, do you want some help?" She offered, and he seemed almost grateful for it.

"If you don't mind, I wouldn't say no."

"M'kay, then I'll see you later. Oh, wait, actually," Jonathan looked at her expectantly, unsure of what exactly she was bringing to his attention. "How often would you say security looks at the footage from our offices?" Good god that made him worry. What now?

"...Can I ask why you want to know?" She looked embarrassed, and any ideas he had had of her doing something that might incriminate them went out the window. Dear God, what now?

"I...may have been sitting on the floor for a long time today." She said sheepishly, and Jonathan pinched his eyes closed briefly before casting his gaze up, fully exasperated by the fact that she had found that important enough to bring it up right then. "And I'm a little embarrassed about it." Scarecrow, on the other hand, found it hilarious whenever El caused him even the slightest bit of undue stress.

"It's fine; they really only review the footage from sessions. I doubt anyone will even know." Elianna seemed relieved and nodded, a tiny smile at the corners of her mouth. "You still sit on the floor when you're worked up?"

"It helps me think," came the defensive response, and Jonathan gave her a look that said that he would tease her about it later, and finally turned to go.

Jonathan left her office for the second time that day. Only this time, she had finally realized that her conflicted feelings from before were due entirely to outside influence. For as long as she could remember, she had found it impossible to feel truly concerned about the things that mainstream society seemed to want her to be. Why should she try to force herself into a box that she didn't fit in? She could at least try to keep her mind open to revenge.

Elianna's hesitant resignation to her anticipation for revenge began to chase away any confused reservations that she had had before and gradually replaced them with a hazy excitement bubbling under the surface.

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Were I to have an insane and unrealistic amount of power over at Marvel I’d re-organize the Spider-Man relevant trades. I share the belief that the hurdle to new readers isn’t so much that there is a long history so much as a history spread all over the place. Wanting to read Spider-Man isn’t simple even if you do have the time and patience to read 50 years worth of comics. You need to know WHICH comics and WHAT ORDER to read them in. And the latter has a multiple choice answer!

This is part of why USM was so strong in it’s early days. 1 title, no satellites, no spin-offs. All you needed to do was pick up issue #1 or trade volume 1 and read sequentially from there. Not just easy to follow but easy to catch up and thus allow readership to grow.

Thus I propose that we simply organize the Spider-Man brand into a series of sequential trades. Functionally these will be like the Deadpool Classic trades, but with multiple trades following the various characters of the Spider-Verse. Want to read just about Peter Parker, you pick up his trades. But want to read just about Miles or Venom? The trades will have you covered going across their respective histories in the in-universe reading order.

In other words you need not worry about whether story arc A in ASM happens before story arc B in Spec and where Guest appearance C fits in. The trades would sort it all out for you. You’d just pick up any volume and read cover to cover, with tiny subplot pages and text inserted where relevant to clarify things. E.g. if there were 2 three part stories happening at the same time, you don’t want to interrupt that, so you’d just print one then have some text saying ‘the following three issues take place during the events of the ASM #X-Z’.

Additionally, in order to not make things unnecessarily confusing I’d omit retroactive stories like Untold Tales of Spider-Man, Symbiote Spider-Man, etc from these trades. My rationale is that not only would these spoil certain things but more significantly as time goes by people will inevitably write more retroactive stories meaning the trades would need to be constantly amended.

Instead I’d simply make a ‘Companion’ trade series reprinting such stories in publication order with a few notes explaining where they take place relative to the original issues. E.g. you’d pick up ‘Peter Parker: Spider-Man Classic Companion Volume 1’ and before you read Untold Tales of Spider-Man #1 a note would inform you it happens after ASM #3 or whatever.

So what would these trade series be exactly?

Something like this:

1.       Peter Parker: Spider-Man Classic: Simply every Peter Parker appearance or relevant comic book. ASM, Spec, New Avengers, Secret Wars, guest appearances, everything!

2.       Mary Jane Classic: Same thing for Mary Jane, albeit to save some time we could simply reprint the MJ relevant pages from various comics as there would be little need to reprint a whole Spidey adventure she just cameos in. The info text could simply give you context for each appearance before we got to meatier stories. I’d employ this method for all of the following whenever relevant.

3.       Black Cat Classic: Obviously this would include her solo minis but also and team appearances like in Heroes for Hire.

4.       Daily Bugle Classic: It occurred to me there were several stories focussing upon a lot of the supporting cast that didn’t feature Spider-Man himself. That aside people love the supporting cast so I figured some trades chronicling their exploits would make sense. For this trade series it’d focus upon J. Jonah Jameson first and foremost but also Betty Brant, Joe Robertson, Ben Urich, etc

5.       The Many Loves of Spider-Man Classic: Same idea but with the Spidey girlfriends who don’t have that many appearances to their name. The main focus would be Gwen Stacy because for good or ill she’s a character who people are interested in. But you could also throw in appearances from Deb Whitman, Carlie, etc.

6.       Spider-Man’s Tangled Web: TBH I couldn’t figure out a good name for this one, but essentially this would be about Peter’s friends who aren’t superheroes, Bugle employees or girlfriends of his. This would include Flash Thompson (pre-Venom), Liz Allan, Randy Robertson, possibly Glory Grant although she’d also fit in with the Bugle trades I guess. Throw in the Tangled web issues and your good to go!

7.       Clone Classic: As you might expect this would chronicles Ben Reilly and Kaine’s exploits, but also for good measure ALL the clearly clone related stories. So we’re talking appearances involving Miles Warren and Gwen’s clone too. Although I guess the latter could fit in ‘the Many Loves of Spider-Man’ trades.

8.       Spider-Man’s Amazing Friends Classic: All of the superhero friends Spider-Man has who are closely associated with him and have had off and on titles over the years. Prowler, Silver Sable, Rocket Racer, Sandman (when he reformed), Jackpot, Alpha, Will O’ Wisp, etc

9.       Goblins Classic: I thought of doing a trade purely about the Osborns but this seemed more logical. It’d cover every appearance of the Goblin related characters. We’re talking Norman Osborn, Harry Osborn, Bart Hamilton, Roderick Kingsley, Ned Leeds, Jason Macendale, Phil Urich, Green Goblin V, Hobgoblin from Bendis’ Secret War, Gabriel+Sarah Stacy, Lily Hollister and whoever else will become a Goblin

10.   Doctor Octopus Classic: Speaks for itself, and yeah it’d include his clones from Superior onwards too.

11.   Symbiotes Classic: I thought of having this be about all the symbiotes OTHER than Venom and Carnage but having 3 sets of trades for symbiotes seemed ridiculous. This would cover every symbiote (Venom, Carnage, Hybrid, Scream, Toxin, Mania, Sleeper, etc) along with major hosts of theirs. Eddie Brock, Cletus Kasady, Mac Gargan, Flash Thompson, Andi Benton, etc

12.   Sinister Six Classic. Maybe you couldn’t call these guys A-listers strictly speaking but these would be the real famous Spider-Man villains who haen’t already been mentioned. We’re talking the Vultures, Electros, Kravens, Mysterios, Chameleon, all the really classic costumed Spidey bad guys you could think of with the exception of some of the folks I’m gonna name below

13.   The Many Foes of Spider-Man Classic: This would chiefly chronicle the stories about the characters from Deadly/Lethal/Superior Foes of Spider-Man, most importantly Boomerang, Beetle and Shocker

14.   Spider Women Classic: All the 616 centric Spider Ladies. Jessica Drew, Julia Carpenter, Mattie Franklin, Cindy Moon, Anya Corazon, maybe even throw Madame Web in there for good measure. I think it makes sense to consolidate them together into a trade series as their publication histories meant they were usually passing the baton onto one another.

15.   Miles Morales: Spider-Man Classic: Guess who this is about. Obviously this would include his appearances in Champions, Avengers, etc

16.   Gwen Stacy: Ghost Spider Classic: Every Spider-Gwen/Ghost Spider/Earh-65 Gwen appearanceD

17.   Spider-Ham Classic: You get the picture. Although I’d also add in versions of Spider-Ham that are from different Earths as well

18.   Spider-Man 2099 Classic: We’re actually already doing these in real life, but I’d want them to include every version of Miguel too and brief appearances across other titles

19.   Ultimate Spider-Man Classic: Obviously the same deal for Ultimate Peter Parker, but I’d also include Ultimate Jessica Drew as well

20.   Web of Spider-Verse: A trade series that reprints in publication order every other AU Spider-People out there. All the What Ifs, the Earth X stuff, House of M, X-Men: Forever, 1602, Noir, India, Peni Parker, Fairy Tales and of course Web Warriors

21.   Spider-Girl Classic: We’re already doing this one too. Just wish it’d come out faster!

22.   Spider-Man: Japan Classic: ALL the Japanese Spider-Man stories. Every appearance of Supaidaman from Spider-Verse and beyond. Every appearance of Spider-Man J, Mangaverse Spider-Man, Spidey Fake Red and most controversially Spider-Man: The Manga (deffo gonna have to put a mature readers disclaimer on those ones.

[mnetruinedmylife]

MJ3 Clones

Based upon a tumblr post that I can no longer find (the link is dead)

https://callmeawota.tumblr.com/post/85499142124/what-if-prison-hope-was-just-a-prison-full-of

What if in Majisuka Gakuen 3, Prison Hope is just a dumping ground for out-of-control government clones of the MG1-5 cast?

__________________________________________________________

The story begins the way it ends – in a dreary ramshackle pub sandwiched between two concrete buildings.

Two people sit on opposite sides of the tattered booth couches, a middle aged man with peppered hair in a grey suit, and a young woman with in bob haircut and a pair of wiry spectacles. The man appears friendly, fingers strumming on the splintered wooden tables, sipping on piss-poor beer in a questionably murky mug, while the woman eyes the stack of papers in front of her dubiously.

“That’s it?” she asks, skimming through the sheet in front of her, “You’ll give me thirty million yen for some skin and blood samples?”

“That’s all there is to it Maeda-san,” the man replies smoothly, “Just sign the contract and we’ll have a team come to collect the samples at your convenience, and the money will be deposited in your account on that very day.”

Now Maeda Atsuko may be a former yankee-delinquent, and she might not have been the most studious student in her schooling career, but she definitely isn’t stupid. There has got to be more to this than what they’re telling her, and that’s not even counting what they could possibly be planning to do with her DNA samples. News articles about scientific research looking at what caused all of the random abilities that started popping up in people about thirty or so years ago flash through her mind. Abilities like Black’s super speed, Gekikara’s endurance and Torigoya’s psychic hypnosis.

Atsuko never thought she had an ability, because in her mind, super strength has always been associated with lifting trucks and buildings, and she definitely cannot do that. Then that news article came out about some big scandal where a medical company was found to be experimenting on people with abilities, trying to replicate them. In particular the story was focused on a girl who had augmented strength, nothing flashy like the movies and TV shows, just strong enough to have a weird discrepancy between her muscle-mass and the amount of power she could exert. The realisation hits Atsuko like a train – a girl her size probably shouldn’t be able to hit as hard, or get up after taking so many hits like she does. She cuts back on the cage fighting, and the bodyguard jobs after that. No need to be flashing ‘I’m a powered person!’ sign with neon lights over her head. Apparently that didn’t work out too well because there’s a supposed government agent sitting across from her trying to get her DNA samples.

“And what exactly are you going to do with the samples?”

“I’m afraid that’s classified Maeda-san. You needn’t worry yourself over trivialities like that. Rest assured that whatever happens won’t be your responsibility at all.”

Long story short, there isn’t a single good thing that can come from giving this shady (potentially non-government, because who is this cheap-beer-drinking guy think he’s fooling?) organisation her DNA.

But it’s not like she has much of a choice.

As it turns out, being arrested and charged for assault doesn’t do much for job prospects. Particularly when there’s been a colourful history of violence and delinquency before that. So no matter how hard she studied, Atsuko never quite managed to land that job as a nurse. Casual retail work, and odd cash-in-hand jobs barely manage to keep her afloat all these years, but now…a hand subconsciously ghosts down to her stomach…she’s not feeding one anymore.

The choice isn’t difficult to make.

________________________________________________________________

Atsuko assumes that they’re using her DNA to study and replicate abilities.

She’s dead wrong.

This company has decidedly bigger aspirations.

________________________________________________________________

Project Beginnings and Subject MA#071091 Alias: Atsuko| Parent DNA: Maeda Atsuko |

Time Stamp Nineteen Hundred Hours. Subject MA#071091 is a success.

“Congratulations everyone!”

Time Stamp Zero Eight Fifteen Hours. Subject MA#071091 is refusing to cooperate. Possible solutions:

a. immediate termination (not recommended, last resort only)

b. behavioural observation and adjustment (recommended, more funding required)

c. obedience training* see service dog manual for more details (recommendation pending)

d. memory implantation (theoretical only, much more funding required)

Time Stamp Zero Zero Zero Five Hours. Subject MA#071091 has escaped facility.

“This program is an abomination! Human cloning is illegal!”

Time Stamp Zero Zero Thirty-Nine Hours. Subject MA#071091 retrieved with mild damage. Losses include: five injured personnel, and two casualties.  

“Senator think of what we can do with a project like this! We could remove all personnel from the field, drop war casualties to zero. These girls are good-for-nothing delinquents, but they’ve shown they could do one thing: fight. So why not use that for the good of the country?”

Time Stamp Fifteen Twenty-Six. Petition to the senate is a success. Funding for project expansion acquired.

“There’s an eccentric millionaire willing to work with us. She owns a private prison on some remote mountain. It’d be the perfect place for that behavioural observation and adjustment facility we’ve been discussing.”

Time Stamp Seventeen Thirty-Three Hours. Memory Alteration Project is a success.

“We finally got our hands on those samples from that warehouse massacre a few years back. Begin working on all viable subjects.”

Time Stamp Zero Five Hundred Hours. Subject MA#071091 has escaped Prison Facility.

“Try adding sunshine and rainbows. Happy thoughts. Make it happy to be here.”

Time Stamp Ten Zero Fifty-Seven Hours. Subject MA#071091 retrieved with major damage. Losses include three injured personnel, and zero casualties.

“Get rid of the guns, we’ve been allocated a portion of the budget for Tasers. The clones are expensive, don’t damage them!”

Time Stamp Sixteen Thirty Hours. Non-fatal toxin-releasing braces are a success. Implementing security device on all subjects.

“According to the psychologists’ report the bracelets appear to be having a negative effect on the subjects’ overall morale.”

Time Stamp Thirteen Eighteen. Multiple riots in the last three days. Damages still to be calculated.

“It’s chaos out there sir. We had to activate nearly two dozen bracelets to stop them from killing each other. They just get violent when we throw them together for too long.”

Time Stamp Thirteen Forty-Two. Subject MA#071091 missing from head count. Last accounted for before the riots started.

“If they like fighting so much, give them an enemy to focus on.”

Time Stamp Twenty Hundred Hours. Subject MA#071091 retrieved with poison damage by subjects SM#110386, KY#150791, and OY#171088. Cannibal Initiative is a success.

“I want a tracker put on this one and someone get the psychologists in here now! It’s the tenth riot this week!”

Time Stamp Eleven Twenty-One. Teamwork Initiative implemented. All subjects divided into multiple teams to encourage cooperation and reduce rioting. Observations pending.

“Sir it’s that Maeda clone—

“—if you tell me it’s escaped again, so help me…”

“…uh…It’s escaped again.”

Time Stamp Zero One Hundred Hours. Subject MA#71091 terminated.

________________________________________________________________

Subject MJ#080397 Alias: Nobunaga | Parent DNA: Matsui Jurina [Center] |

Verdict: Great Success* | Sentience: Self-Aware | Status: Locked-down, constant visual monitoring required, termination pending|

Subject MJ#080397 was originally the most successful cloning experiment completed to date. The fighting prowess had been greatly improved compared to the original, and attitude adjustments were able to successfully stamp out all of the unwanted aspects of the original’s personality, such as arrogance and impatience. However, as time went by and re-evaluations have been completed, it’s revealed that the subject retains the original’s stubbornness and noble streak, and will not be cowed into compliance. The subject is supremely dangerous and must be kept separate from the general population to prevent it from organising the rest of the clones into a resistance.

The Mind-Wipe protocol has been deemed a failure, as the subject continues to be non-compliant even when confused and disorientated from the lack of memories, which exponentially quickens in its recall after each mind-wipe.  

*Note: Great Success was the initial verdict after the subject proved to be superior to original in combat, however the status was revoked after the subject’s repeated disobedience and failure to comply with orders.

_______________________________________________________

Subject KY#110296 Alias: Peace | Parent DNA: Kizaki Yuria [Magic]|

Verdict: Success | Sentience: Almost-Aware| Status: Closely monitored, bi-weekly check-in|

Subject KY#110296, self-named Peace, is one of the more successful clones created in the project. The original’s fighting prowess has been replicated successfully, reports do indicate that it may even be slightly improved, barring the preference for trickery, which seems to have been a trait nurtured by the original’s environment and upbringing. After several failures, it was discovered that the clone responds positively to parental encouragement. After negotiating with the contractor, several memories were implanted into Peace to create the illusion that she is the daughter of the prison warden. The results were an extreme success with exponential improvement in emotional, mental and physical states. 

Notes: Due to the subject’s psychological requirements, it needs to be kept partially aware under false pretenses of being the prison warden’s daughter. If the truth, or simply the falsehood of being the prison warden’s daughter is revealed, it may have detrimental affects on the clone’s effectiveness.

 ____________________________________________________________

Subject IA#031295 Alias: Annin | Parent DNA: Iriyama Anna [Yoga]|

Verdict: Great Success | Sentience: Semi-Aware | Status: Closely monitored, fortnightly check-in|

Subject IA#031295 has been deemed an extreme success. Its fighting prowess has been recorded as a vast improvement upon the originals. However, the special ability that the original possesses has not been able to be successfully replicated in any clone. Researchers speculate that Yoga’s so-called distraction ability was nothing more than exaggerated tales.

The subject is generally compliant and well behaved, however it has been noted to be asking certain questions in recent weeks. Close monitoring must be kept upon the subject to ensure that it does not become aware.

Notes: The subject has developed a sadistic streak, monitor to ensure that it does not become a liability.

 ________________________________________________________

Subject SH#300394 Alias: Paru | Parents DNA: Shimazaki Haruka [Salt] & Maeda Atsuko [Maeda]|

Verdict: Moderate Success |Sentience: Completely Unaware* |Status: Constant monitor, visual confirmation at all times |

With the failure of Subject MA#71091 attributed to mostly too much willpower inherited from the original (Maeda), researches have decided to create a clone using the spliced DNA of Maeda and a more apathetic parent. This resulted in the creation of Subject SHMA#300394.

Subject SHMA#300394 must be kept under the Mind-Wipe protocol at all times. While replicating Salt’s fighting prowess is still a work in progress, the subject has been deemed a considerable success, and is the most powerful clone created to date. The subject is however, not deemed a complete success, as it is wilful, and has developed all of Maeda’s passion, and none of Salt’s apathy, and thus far had been kept sedated, or mind-wiped in order to be kept pliant.  

*Note: Ensure that subject remains UNAWARE. Subject is impossible to control when approaching any status beyond ‘unaware’.

 _________________________________________________________)

Subject KR#120295 Alias: Nanashi | Parent DNA: Kawaei Rina [Bakamono] |

Verdict: Failure | Sentience: Unaware | Status: Monitored remotely, annual check-in |

Subject KR#120295 or ‘Nanashi’ is a complete failure in every way, barring physical health. Replication of the original’s fighting prowess and super strength ability could not be achieved. It’s been deduced that the parent’s fighting capability was likely due to environmental factors, such as trauma in her life that is thus far mostly unknown.  Trial and error of introducing trauma to the subject early in its life cycle resulted in a clone that is too anxious and frail to be of any use in combat.  

[thetaboochristian]

Christians And Cannabis... Always At Odds?

I’m a Christian who uses Cannabis, and I’m sure that’s a pretty Taboo statement to make (within the Church community that is), but let me clarify. I’m NOT saying it’s ok to blaze up and get blasted for recreational purposes, and if you are getting super high as a Christian you better have an extreme medical necessity/justification for it. However, for more typical medical uses as well as occasional, responsible recreation, reasonable dosages that DON’T make you a drooling vegetable stuck to the couch or DON’T make you feel like the toaster is an alien spy from outer space plotting to assassinate you, you may be surprised to see what the Bible says that at least implies that it’s ok. Also, I’m talking about using high CBD cannabis with low levels of THC (I believe that is suitable for Christians). I believe that Christians should never use high THC weed or THC extracts unless they have a true medical necessity for it and have a high tolerance and/or have some medical reason why an abundance of CBD will worsen their condition rather than help it.

Yes, there are verses in the Bible that say we should remain sober, and verses that condemn drunkenness, but you really need to look at the specifics, the circumstances and the full meaning in the original Greek and Hebrew in order to fully understand what it really means beyond taking it at face value that “sober means sober, all the time, end of story.”

I will also address the whole issue of pharmakia and “witchcraft” that the Bible mentions, and I’ll explain what that really means as well. Pharmakia being listed as witchcraft doesn’t mean that it’s always witchcraft in God’s eyes when someone takes any drug at any time for any reason, like some Christians try to portray.

The reality is, you need to look at WHY the Bible says what it says and take into account the culture and limited scientific knowledge of the time.

I will address the witchcraft issue first. At the time that the Bible was written, witches used drugs to alter their consciousness in order to connect with the spirit world and perform divination, communing with demons, etc. The most accurate definition for “Pharmakia” is “the use of drugs for magical purposes.” However, some other biblical dictionaries simply say “the use of drugs” or “the use of pharmaceuticals” which is a GROSS and EGREGIOUS error! Using drugs for the purposes of performing witchcraft through the aid of the drug is what is witchcraft, not simply the use of the drug itself.

I will say however that if someone who was not going to be performing any kind of magic/witchcraft took a dosage of any drug that was high enough to connect their consciousness to the spirit world, and if there was no medical necessity for that high of a dosage, then I do believe it would be a sin simply because they’d be exposing themselves to have their minds manipulated by demons and they’d have no medical necessity for it. Any time that someone is in a psychedelic state, they are open to have demons appear to them, talk to them, implant crazy thoughts into their heads, try to deceive them in some way, etc. The demons can appear as they truly look or they can appear masqueraded as some kind, loving, peaceful “entity.” 

There is a difference between what I mentioned above and using a light to medium dose of CBD, THC, alcohol or most other drugs for the purpose of relaxing and de-stressing after a long, hard day or doing it just on occasion for the sheer enjoyment of it, even if you are already having a good day with no real problems. There are a few reasons for this, but the first is that low to medium doses of any kind of drug (besides psychedelics and hard stimulants like meth or bath salts, etc) do not open your mind up to encounter demons or be manipulated by them. If it does occur, it’s barely... it’s just a tiny bit of mental noise coming from the other side that’s easily ignored.

This ties in to the definition of “sober” in the original Greek. There are a few places where the consumption of alcohol itself is forbidden, but that was only to the Nazarites like Samson and John the Baptist. Even Jesus drank wine and was accused of being a drunkard, though He really wasn't. The point is, most of the time in the original Greek and Hebrew, the word “sober” actually means “sober-minded” or “able to think clearly and reasonably.” It is true that when you are drunk or significantly high on something you can’t think or speak properly, though the Bible makes a medical exception for allowing non-sobriety when it’s really necessary for extreme medical conditions. The reason why it is so important to remain “sober-minded” is because the devil will almost always try to mess with people’s minds when they take something psychoactive, including alcohol. What most laypeople who are not educated in pharmacology do not understand however, is that there is a certain dosage range for every drug that will give your body a buzz but NOT intoxicate your mind. It is possible with virtually every drug to have physical effects from it but have a sober mind. It is having a sober mind that is most important here so that you can think and speak normally in any circumstance, and so you can withstand attacks from the devil and his minions.  

Now, I’m NOT telling people to break the law, I’m simply referring to what is legal to do in your area, or what the morals and ethics of it would be if no drug laws existed at all. I believe that it was NO ACCIDENT that God made psychoactive plants and their psychoactive chemical constituents. Even though the Bible rarely mentions the use of psychoactive or medicinal herbs (psychoactive herbs always have some medicinal uses BTW), what the Bible says about alcohol can transfer over easily to any other natural substance. 

While the Bible does condemn the overindulgence of alcohol, it DOES OK larger amounts of alcohol when used to ease suffering in a person who’s on their death bed, in severe pain, or suffering some kind of tragedy. Moderate quantities of alcohol are listed as being ok for “lifting the spirits” of a depressed individual as well as for celebrations like weddings, special occasion feasts, etc. The Bible finally says that light doses of alcohol are acceptable for regular everyday use at meals (at least it was acceptable at that time when wine was usually the only clean thing to drink or clean water was scarce). 

I just honestly, 100% firmly believe that when God created high CBD and high THC varieties of Cannabis, He knew exactly what He was doing and designed them that way intentionally. While God certainly did not intend for them to be smoked, He knew how it would affect people when they did inhale it, and He did know that one day people would smoke or vaporize it for medical and recreational purposes, and God knew how the plant would affect the people who used it that way too, not just from eating it or applying it topically.

I believe that God designed Cannabis to be frightening as the dosage gets higher, because that was God’s way of minimizing abuse of the plant, though many people nowadays have figured out how to ignore that built in warning and keep on pushing to outrageous heights anyway. I do not condone that, I think it’s foolish and I do believe that God is not ok with it. However, I do believe that God is ok with medical use of Cannabis (high THC or high CBD kind, depending on the specific needs and conditions), though I believe that God does not want or like people smoking it (though He understands when and why people do choose that method of consumption). I believe that God is NOT opposed to non-e-liquid vaporization as long as it is done in reasonable frequencies that do not cause major lung issues. I believe that God is only ok with e-liquid vaping for people who are trying to transition off of smoking or need some in a pinch and can't bring a dry herb or resin vape with them wherever they need to go. I say this because e-liquid vaping still has a good bit of carcinogens in it while dry herb/resin vaping that is convection (not conduction which is burning on a hot coil) is virtually free of any carcinogens, toxins or harmful byproducts. I believe that people who need constant medical administration of cannabinoids as medicine should use edibles because even the safe type of vaping will cause lung problems if done more than a few times per day.

What I said about God designing psychoactive plants to intentionally be the way they are and contain built in defense mechanisms (AKA scary or uncomfortable side effects as the dose increases) I believe it applies to ALL plants, not just marijuana or hemp. I believe it applies to magic mushrooms (I prefer to call them Psilocybin Mushrooms because magic is evil), datura (AKA Devil’s Trumpet), belladonna, Opium, Calamus, Frankincense, Myrrh, Peyote Cactus, the list goes on and on. I believe that God intended all of them to feel the way they do when ingested (different effects at different dosage levels) and that each of them has their own pros and cons, each having their own medicinal uses and safe dosage limits.

It is the responsibility of each individual person to research any drug they plan to take, learn how it works inside the body, the pros and cons, the medical benefits and risks, etc. I believe that God will hold each person accountable for how they use each substance they ingest (whether natural or man-made) but I believe that God intended for everyone to have the freedom to choose what they put into their body, NOT to have to have the government decide for them what they are allowed to consume, when, where and why... that should be between each individual and God. An individual may know better than their government and/or their doctor what drug is best suited to their needs and they should not have that freedom taken away from them. If they are irresponsible and get hurt or die because of using a drug inappropriately then they also ought to have the freedom to experience the logical and rightful consequences of their actions. Either way, everyone should be free to decide what they take, how much, when and why... then God will be the judge. End of story!

I hope this has given you a pretty clear picture of what I believe about drugs from a health, spiritual and freedom standpoint. I hope that you will consider the truth of what I’ve presented to you today, no matter how Taboo it may appear.

Until next time,

“Luke Davidson” (Pen Name)

Author of The Taboo Christian

[kandyhannon4-blog]

Medical Marijuana Comes towards The Colorado Town

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[vnmblast]

                                    LISTEN UP, BITCHCAKES

BASICS. Given / Birth Name : Jessica Miriam Drew Nickname / Preferred Name : Jess Alias(es) : Spider - Woman Birthdate / Age : December 7th 1931 / 88 Place of Birth : London, England Current Location : Hell’s Kitchen, New York Gender Identity : Cis Female Sexual / Romantic Orientation : Pan pan pan pan pan all around. Her standards : low. Sexuality : mysterious. Romantic inclination : sad. Ethnicity / Race / Cultural Heritage: Indian, Greek Cypriot  Marital Status : Single Occupation : Private Investigator + Back up Avenger Religious Beliefs : None. 

CHARACTERISTICS. Height : 5′10″ Weight : 150 lbs Body Type / Build : Athletic. She’s all legs and core and could probably kick a hole through you if given the chance. Lady is, as the recently incarcerated might say, thicker than a bowl of oatmeal. Eye Color : Green Hair Color / Texture : Dark brown shoulder length hair. It’s thick. Makes summer months uncomfortable and winter a delight. Has been known to wear a wig with her spandex. To keep things interesting. Recognizable Features / Scars : Her entire body is littered with scarring but nothing that could be picked out of a lineup. Speech Patterns / Accent : Absolutely no discernible accent. When she was younger, yes, there was a definite British twang. That Spy Life ^ TM taught her to blend in well though, so her speech patterns drift towards whichever area she lives. Right now it’s New York and ... you can hear it. Languages Spoken : A lot. Hindi, Greek, English, French, Spanish, Mandarin, Russian. Don’t piss her off she will literally drag you and all your ancestors in every last one of them. Powers / Skills / Abilities : You know ... typical metahuman stuff. Superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, agility, healing, endurance and durability. She can generate bioelectric currents at her fingertips that can range from an annoying shock to lethal ( venom blasts ). Lady can not nor will ever stop sticking to walls. If you are her friend, there will be footprints on your ceiling. Poison / Toxins have mild effects on her at first exposure - but her body tends to nullify them pretty quick. Yes, that does include alcohol. Annnd last on the ‘metahuman’ list : she secretes pheromones. It’s not great. Results in people either taking an extreme liking to her or H A T I N G her. The later being more common.

Non - power - wise she’s fan - tastic at hand to hand combat in various styles. She was trained thoroughly in the art of espionage, intel gathering, covert operations and wise cracking. Knows her way around weaponry. Typical stuff. Sunday brunch stuff.

Overall Health : Excellent so long as you never look at an x-ray of hers ever.

RELATIONSHIPS. Order of Birth : First Number of Siblings : 0 Father’s Status + Relationship : Jyotish “Jonathan” Drew, deceased. A geneticist recruited by HYDRA for his works in creating radioactive resistance in spiders ( thought to be applicable in human genome, never tested prior to Jessica ). He was a quiet immigrant from Bombay ( now Mumbai ) and friend of Edgar Wyndham. Though he reported to the organization, they lived as a family near Wundagore Mountain in central Europe. His work with radioactive materials resulted in Jessica’s initial radiation sickness / deteriorating state when reaching toddler age --- he exposed his pregnant wife to near lethal levels of uranium. Mother’s Status + Relationship : Merriam Drew, UNKNOWN. ( Hello, Ophelia. ) Not much is currently known about her, and all records Jess could find indicate she was a mild mannered house wife. Kind, perhaps to a fault. Everything she knows about Merriam comes from an old physician’s file, it’s how she knows they have the same eyes. The file is currently locked up in her apartment. Sibling Status + Relationship : N / A Loyalty / Affiliation : Who is this ..... loyalty. Where’s her number, Jess just wants to talk.

PERSONALITY. MBTI : INFP Hobbies : --- fighting off existential crises on friday nights ya’ll holla atcha girl. Fixes old motorcycles. Binges a lot of Netflix. She’s a huuuuuuuuuge Foodie.   Bad Habits : Fidgets, has a tendency of lashing out + pushing people away, keeps everything surface, all ‘yas girl’ and star wars references. Three Positive Traits : Knows where all the good places to eat are in any city at any given time / season. She’s resilient, able to take way too many punches in her personal and professional life. And she sees good in literally everyone. No one, to her, is hopeless. Don’t take her jabs as anything more than face value, she’s empathetic to a Fault. My girl here Cares. Three Negative Traits : Struggles hard with un - diagnosed Depression. Her pride, and sometimes her own thoughts, have convinced her not to seek treatment. Do not be like Jessica Drew, take care of your mental state. Paranoia is a big factor in her day by day life. Was that a weird looking tree or is she about to get drop kicked by some experimental AIM pet again. Disregard for personal safety. She’s a self - sacrifice - r. When in a Good headspace, she thinks through a situation with clear intent and plan. When not, it becomes a Hail Mary Every Time.  Moral Alignment : Neutral Good

ASSOCIATIONS. One Song : make me feel One Quote / Piece of Art :  “ from even the greatest of horrors irony is seldom absent. ” One Fear : rejection ! but with pizazz. One Strength : pop culture extraordinaire One Object : her motorcycle One Place : the beach One Food : no, all food One Scent : lemon One Lucky Charm : novelty deodorant stick called webpits

BIOGRAPHY BREAK DOWN.

born to a dumb - smart guy and his kind of complacent wife ( different times ). one of jon’s experiments shot an eXpErImEnTaL bEaM of radiated spider dna through merriam’s very pregnant torso. turns out, human dna doesn’t like that. jessica suffered the effects of radiation poisoning well into her eighth year of life when she experienced a sudden rapid breakdown of tissue. as a last ditch attempt to save her life, her father injected a serum of irradiated spider goop ( we only use the Best technical terms in this house ) that fundamentally altered her dna.

fight uranium with more uranium, just like grandma used to.

surprising exactly no one : she was still dying faster than the magic drug. this is where her entire history with HYDRA begins :  Wyndham. wyndham was a fellow geneticist, you see, and really loved the idea of cryostasis ( heading the project himself ). he took jess’ case and allowed her body time to properly heal itself to the tune of thirty years.

it’s really disconcerting falling asleep a child and waking up a teenager. has zero perks.

in a truly fucked up move to uncover how jessica’s father altered her physiology, she was put through a battery of tests / training. they even went so far as to fabricate a boy they thought she’d care for. suffice to say, after an emotionally exhaustive day, jess discovered she could lightly fry people with her fingertips ... and that is apparently her new normal. mr. boyfriend died by her hand. she ran away.

fury found her.

she worked with SHIELD then didn’t. it’s a long story, maybe she’ll get into it one day.

“retired” to san fran where she started “masked hero” work with a PI business on the side.

now she’s in new york, still doing the masked hero gig and PI work but with cheaper real estate. 

you may think i’m over-exaggerating about jessica being That Foodie but i’m telling you now she is eating in practically every background panel she’s ever been in and we Support her high metabolism.

[survivingsusac]

How I Became Pudding

So my high school friend (we’ll call her Bina) got back in my life about a year ago when we had dinner and talked a little about our different auto immune disorders. I’ve got Susac’s, she’s got Sjogren’s.

So my body attacks its’ own tiny blood vessels in the eyes and brain (ears are currently spared from torture) and Bina’s body attacks its’ own glands that produce tears and saliva (this can include the lacrimal, parotid, submandibular and sublingual glands).

Long story short this month we’ve gone on a date to Apple Hill, she accompanied me to physical therapy, and she got me the coolest thing in recent history.

My first ever professional massage!

So let’s talk about lymphatic massage.

The lymphatic system runs throughout the body and uses lymphatic fluid to carry white bloods cells to rid your body of toxins and wastes. I think of it as like a mobile mopping service for your whole body. You may be familiar with your lymph nodes because they are known for being swollen when your body is fighting an infection. They swell because they are producing a ton of white blood cells (macrophages) to set the body straight as it fights infection.

Ricky, my own personal masseuse (I MEAN LIKE WHAT!?!?!?), explains to me that lymphatic massage is different from typical massage. Typically massages target muscles. Lymphatic massage targets the skin and blood vessels in your entire body using light rhythmic pressure. So essentially picture a masseuse petting their client’s whole body in a specific way with the intent to promote healing.

The massage itself.

First Ricky let me pick an aromatherapy scent. I chose eucalyptus. Then he began with my back. Ricky started by drawing all of the lymph fluid in my back up toward my neck. This is the goal destination for lymphatic fluid, because ultimately the fluid travels through lymphatic vessels to the lymph nodes and is filtered. Macrophages (white blood cells) demolish any bacteria and viruses as lymph fluid just saunters and takes its time through the lymph node. Then the clean fluid enters one of the two subclavian lymphatic ducts to reenter the circulatory system.

Now we’re gonna switch from our little science detour back to the massage experience. Ricky laid warm moist towels all over my back to encourage my circulation. Being warm is the best feeling ever for me right now so I was super pleased with this part of the experience. All that magicallness was covered by a sheet to keep it toasty while he massaged my arms individually and then my legs, where my feet got wrapped in warm towels. So amazing. I felt like pudding at this point.

But I had to pull through my puddingness to flip myself over so he could massage my shoulders and neck This was hands down my favorite part. “Go ahead and just do this the rest of the night, Ricky.”

He didn’t though. He had a mission to complete. He massaged my stomach. This reminded me of the colon massage my pelvic floor physical therapist taught me. As he did this I pictured each of the organs he was reaching. A lot of intestines, some kidney, ascending and descending colon. Ricky told me that in some people he can actually feel the inflamed lymph nodes. He couldn’t feel mine though. Which, yes, is good! But honestly it kinda disappointed me because I wanted to feel them, haha!

Yeah, I’m a nerd.

We Talked About Some Personal Stuff

So obvs I’m made of words. And Ricky and I get to talking while he works. He used to be an electrician but he found that he kept getting laid off. So he, like me, found that life took him a totally different direction and he started school for massage. His current job is his first position and he was hired six years ago before he even finished his school program. Ricky asked me if I walk the way I do because I’ve had a stroke. I explain what my deal is. Turns out Ricky had a stroke three years ago. It didn’t affect his body in the ways you commonly see (unilateral paralysis of the arm and leg). He said this was good because he loves what he does, making people feel better through massage. I can relate; it’s why I turned to diagnostic medical sonography. Rather, he had very slowed speech and had to go to speech therapy for a while.

GUYS. ALL THERAPIES ARE AMAZING. DE-STIGMATIZE THERAPY

How it made me feel

I felt ultra-relaxed the rest of the night. And even at physical therapy with Jerzy the next day patients were talking about my walk looking great and Jerzy mentioned extra-improved flexibility in my legs. I may or may not become obsessed with ways to increase my lymphatic activity myself.

Moral.

‘Cuz you know I tend to wrap up with a moral of the story.

Try new things. Lymphatic Massage was new for me, and I found the experience completely fascinating and beneficial in a couple ways. Plus I thoroughly enjoyed being turned into pudding. And covered repeatedly in warm, moist towels.

Bina has encouraged me to reach out to Dr. Walks His Cat to see if the combination Botox, physical therapy with Jerzy, and lymphatic massage is something he can support as a three pronged treatment approach for me. Mayyyyyyybe then my insurance will be willing to be convinced to even cover repeated lymphatic massages! A girl can dream, eh?

Surviving Susac,

Aurora

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Top 10 Recommended Carnage Stories (pre-Absolute Carnage)

In honour of Absolute Carnage’s beginning I present you with the best Carnage stories if you want to get into and have fun with the character.

My picks here are intentionally excluding anything from Donny Cates’ era partially because his work isn’t finished yet and partially because my hope is this list will act as a primer for people who want to test the waters with Carnage and see if Cates’ current work is worth their time.

This list isn’t ranked at all and nor is it a list of stories that are essential to understanding Carnage’s broad chronology. Like if you read these on their own there will be gaps that will make you wonder how we got from A to B.

Rather this list is intended to give you a general idea of who Carnage is, the types of stories he has or can be used in and what are among the best stories from the character’s POV.

1.       Carnage Origin (ASM #344-345, 359-363)

There are some writing issues with this arc in relation to the F4’s use in the story. However if you put that aside and just focus strictly upon Carnage himself, in many ways this first Carnage story gives you everything you need to know about the character.

We learn most of Cletus Kasady’s backstory, where his symbiote came from, his general philosophy towards life and the dramatic hook he presents as an antagonist.

That is to say what is someone was an unrepentant psychopath...and then  got superpowers. Specifically the same powers as Spider-Man’s then most physically intimidating and scariest enemy...but taken up to 11.

Are there deep psychological layers to Carnage?

Absolutely not.

But that is very much the point.

He’s chaos and death wrapped in black and blood and complete with Freddy Krueger humour and a taste for Metalhead anarchy.

The art is simply stunning, the action is top notch, Carnage’s various abilities and ferocity is expertly sold to readers and just to hammer the seriousness of the situation home, Spidey needs backup from his most dangerous enemy to even hope to bring down Kasady.

So whilst unfortunately not perfect, it is a perfect introduction to the character.

Honourable Mention: Maximum Carnage

I do not recommend you read this if you are new to Carnage, Spider-Man or comics in general. Maximum Carnage is enjoyable to certain fans but for most is something of an endurance test.

However it must be mentioned as it is undoubtedly Carnage’s most famous story. It doesn’t really give us anything new for his character beyond introducing his on and off again girlfriend Shriek and his ‘kids’ Doppelganger, Carrion, Demogoblin, etc. These characters intermittently show up in Carnage’s lore.

The whole story is a series of repetitive action set pieces...for 14 issues!

If you aren’t brave enough to check this out then perhaps consider reading synopses of it or watching recap videos online (RNS does a good one), just so you know the broadstrokes of the story as it is relevant to future Carnage history and Absolute Carnage is it’s spiritual successor.

2.       The Mortal Past (ASM Annual 1994)

Arguably the best written Carnage story within the pages of Spider-Man.

The art is very reminiscent of Mark Bagley, co-creator of Carnage, so visually Carnage looks and ‘moves’ in character.

However the general story, whilst not redeeming Carnage at all, does give us a little more about his past and explores his philosophy from a different angle.

What helps this story is that while it is a Carnage story, the emotional weight of the story is carried by his former childhood friend, allowing for Carnage to neither sell out on his core concept of being a simple killing machine, but also giving the readers something to connect to beyond Spidey and Carnage fighting.

3.       Carnage: Mind Bomb #1

Many Carnage fanatics argue this obscure one shot is Carnage’s ‘Killing Joke’. In a sense they are right as this story is the deepest exploration of who Kasady is and why he is the way he is.

We learn little about his past (beyond a few more early warning signs from his childhood) but this is Warren Ellis’ point. The story is oddly meta as it presents us with a psychiatrist who is looking to unravel the layers of Kasady’s mind, only to learn there really aren’t any.

He is simple. That is the point. He simply sees society and life as a joke, a big lie and that savagery lies beneath the surface. He illustrates this by driving his doctor utterly mad.

This story works because though it takes place in a superhero universe and features a super villain, there is no hero here. There are barely any good guys to speak of.

Rather this issue is in effect a horror comic, the first time Carnage was ever used in this way. This is reflected in the art work, which is definitely R-rated and depicts Carnage very differently. He’s essentially solid red and leaner, more skeletal even.

A good way to look at this story is as “What if Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhees sat down and explained to you why they kill people’

Gory and not for the faint of heart, but this issue is the best story you will ever read that spells out for you who Carnage is and why, from his POV, he does what he does.

4.       Web of Carnage (Sen #3, ASM #410, No Adj #67, Spec #233)

Carnage appeared a few times in the Clone Saga but this is his best outing. In general this is one of the more fun and enjoyable Clone Saga/Ben Reilly stories. But as a Carnage story it’s unique as it focuses much more upon the symbiote than Kasady.

The premise is simple yet effective. The Carnage symbiote bonds to Spider-Man/Ben Reilly and he must resist it’s attempts to control him or tempt him to violence, which includes urging him to murder Peter Parker!

The meat of the story is in parts 3-4 when we see Ben’s internal struggle against the symbiote. Visually, the art is not consistent because of different artists, but they are all decent-great and the design for Spider-Carnage is so iconic it was adopted for the finale of the Spider-Man 1994 cartoon series.

A simple yet fun story!

5.       Carnage: It’s a Wonderful Life #1

I recommend this tentatively.

This is because it technically speaking covers much the same ground as Mind Bomb but isn’t as good. I suppose if you read this first you wouldn’t get that impression.

Nevertheless, It’s a Wonderful Life is an even longer and more literal look inside Carnage’s head. Psychedelic, twisted, macabre and full of dark humour the story just about pulls off it’s horror premise. It feels like something out of a 1990s Dark Horse comic.

The one thing that this issue has over Mind Bomb is that it makes an astute observation about Carnage’s core philosophy I don’t dare spoil.

Honourable Mention: Venom vs. Carnage #1-4

This story is in general pretty fun but doesn’t give you much of anything new for Carnage beyond him teaming up with Venom and the introduction of his spwan Toxin, who is a pretty cool character in his own right.

More significantly it was the first major time Clayton Crain drew symbiotes and he’d go on to have one of the most memorable visual takes on them ever.

6.       Family Feud  (Carnage #1-5, by Zeb Wells)

I’m not fond of most of Wells work and have issues with this era for Spider-Man. But when looked at as a Carnage story first and foremost, this series marks an important point in the character’s history.

At the time Venom had transitioned into a more heroic figure meaning Carnage, much as he was back when he was created, was pushed as the face of evil symbiotes within the Marvel universe. To that end he began to have a string of his own mini-series just like Venom had in the 1990s.

In many ways this mini-series is playing cleanup, returning the Carnage symbiote and Kasady to Earth after their presumed death in New Avengers #1. The series however also seeks to build a foundation from which future stories can be told and to that end reintroduces Shriek and Doppelganger too, sets up Carnage’s daughter Scorn.

It does all this pretty effectively to my recollection and has great art by Crain to sell everything.

7.       Carnage U.S.A. #1-5

Zeb Wells in this story tells a story that could have been an event crossover but mercifully was not.

He and Crain return to deliver arguably the most ambitious Carnage story up until then, involving him infecting a whole town with his symbiote.

This again feels very much like a Dark Horse horror comic at times but still contains superhero elements and tones a plenty, finding a decent balance between the two.

Wells continues to world build by reintroducing many of the other Venom spawns (Carnage’s ‘siblings’) and uses them to great effect along with Agent Venom Flash Thompson who meets Carnage for the first time in this story.

Carnage himself is just very on point with his twisted plan and machinations, with this tale being among his more memorable villainous feats.

8.       Deadpool vs. Carnage #1-4

Have you ever seen a Road Runner cartoon? Have you ever seen parodies of Road Runner cartoons by late night animated shows where they use dark humour to make the antics more bloody and violent?

That is essentially what this mini-series is. It’s two wisecracking, red and black clad over the top characters going at it in wacky and violent shenanigans.

However there is also poignantly some stuff in the story that even makes Carnage question his life philosophy in one of the most oddly clever takedowns of his character ever.

9.       AXIS: Carnage #1-3

This story has it’s issues, in particular with who it’s villain is, but that’s more a problem for Spidey and Venom history.

As for Carnage himself this story comes recommended for it’s sheer novelty.

It’s Carnage...but as a...good guy?

The premise of the AXIS event was that certain heroes and villains were ‘inverted’ so that they went from good to bad and vice versa.

The wrinkle in this though is that Kasady is still Kasady. He’s still violent, insane, wisecracking and has a warped sense of morality, it’s just that now he finally has  a sense of morality. He is sincerely trying to do good he’s just not all that aware his methods are somewhat counterproductive and extreme.

10.   The One That Got Away, World Tour, What Dwells Beneath, (Carnage #1-16 by Gerry Conway)

Mind Bomb and It’s a Wonderful life were the first Carnage comics to embrace the use of the character for horror, but Conway’s Carnage picked the ball and ran with it.

Conway said he was in essence doing Tomb of Dracula with Carnage and it shows.

The series revolves around Carnage but the real main characters are the anti-Carnage taskforce assembled to put him down, giving us grounded relatable characters to connect to whilst we follow Carnage’s slaughter. There is a surprising swerve in the story where the story goes from a simple slasher movie style horror into full on Lovecraftian style horror which propels the consequent arcs of the series. The ending is rather rushed and weak I must admit, but the ride getting there is arguably the best crafted Carnage story ever.

[fumpkins]

From the death cap to the alcohol inky: seven poisonous mushrooms you definitely don’t want to eat

Victims of death cap mushrooms can experience liver and kidney failure. (Zoonar GMBH/Alamy/)

This story originally featured on Field & Stream.

There is a commonsense rule about wild mushrooms that all outdoorsmen should heed: Avoid them. There are about 10,000 species of fungi out there, of which only a small number will kill you. From that vantage, the odds sound OK. Thing is, with the exception of a few easily identifiable species, it’s hard to tell the lethal from the good. And mushrooms have never been known for being forgiving. Often, as in the case of the aptly named death cap (Amanita phalloides), they look like a hundred other mushrooms, some of which are delicious. But do you really want to roll those dice?

Got a friend who “knows” mushrooms? Great! Just remember that you’re trusting this person with your life and that experts get poisoned, too. Regularly. I wouldn’t roll those dice either.

Here are some mushrooms you definitely want to avoid.

Death cap (above)

The death cap is included in every “most dangerous” list of mushrooms because it accounts for more than half of all known poisonings. Half a small one can kill an adult man. This genus of fungi is native to Europe but is increasingly showing up in North America.

Death caps look like any common small, white mushroom. The poison is amanitin, which is a particularly nasty cocktail of eight other toxins found in amino acids. Famous people who may have died from eating death caps include the Roman emperor Claudis (54 A.D.) and Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI in 1740. Unlike some other mushrooms, death caps are equally deadly cooked, raw, frozen, or dried.

What happens if you eat one?

Symptoms occur 6 to 24 hours after eating and include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Typically—and this is the really dangerous part—you might feel alright for awhile after this, which leads to many patients being discharged from hospitals, sometimes with fatal results. The pain comes back, along with jaundice, convulsions, coma, and death. The liver and kidneys—necessary organs to your continued existence—fail. Recovery can take place in one to two weeks, but you never really get over it.

Fly agaric

While a fly agaric mushroom probably won’t kill you, it will make you very confused. (Paweł Kubicki on Unsplash/)

This is the one you see in fairytale books with a bright red cap and white spots. The “fly” part derives from the fact that people used to put these in milk as a way to trap and kill flies. This one has ibotenic acid and muscimol, which act on the central nervous system.

What happens if you eat one?

Eat one of these and you may be in for a wild ride that includes delirium, manic behavior, delusions, and convulsions. You may feel drunk and perceive small objects as very large. The symptoms appear in as little as 30 minutes and last up to 4 hours. The only treatment is moral support, since anything else may worsen the reaction. Reassure the victim that the poisoning is merely temporary.

False morel

Morel foragers should pay special attention to the <i>Gyromitra esculenta</i> or false morel. (Alexander Romanov/Alamy/)

This mushroom looks like the human brain, not a morel. And yet it’s commonly mistaken for a morel. It can be fatal if eaten raw but is a particular delicacy in parts of Scandinavia and Eastern Europe when properly cooked. The culprit here is gyromitrin and MMH, which is produced when the mushroom is partially heated. MMH is also used as a propellant for rockets and is not a good thing to ingest.

What happens if you eat one?

Symptoms appear 7 to 10 hours after eating, at which point nausea and vomiting set in, followed by abdominal pain and diarrhea. In severe cases, you die from liver damage.

Autumn skullcap

Confusing an autumn skullcap with an edible mushroom can be a deadly mistake. (Peter Pearsall/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/)

As a rule of thumb, avoid anything with “skullcap” in the name. These grow worldwide, from the Arctic to Australia, on dead wood. They may be confused with some edible mushrooms, such as honey fungus.

What happens if you eat one?

The toxic agent here is the same amanitin found in the death cap. Hold onto your liver.

Alcohol inky

On its own, the alcohol inky isn’t harmful. But if you drink alcohol with it, you’ll start to feel the effects. (Miriam Heppell/Alamy/)

The alcohol inky—a wonderful name for a mushroom—is a member of the inky cap family, several of which have a great distinction. They’re fine by themselves and absolute living hell if you have booze with them. This is because they contain coprine, an amino acid that interacts with alcohol.

What happens if you eat one?

Strictly speaking, coprine is not poisonous. What it does, however, when taken with alcohol, is exacerbate the worst symptoms of alcohol intoxication. These include flushing of the face and neck, headache, and sometimes nausea. Further, it leaves your body susceptible to alcohol poisoning. In other words, you could eat an alcohol inky cap without booze, be fine, have a drink a few days afterward, and get seriously sick. The reaction starts between 30 minutes to two hours after eating. Your pulse speeds up, you get flushed, have a headache, feel weak and dizzy, then barf. Fortunately, recovery takes place spontaneously a few hours later.

Deadly webcap

The deadly webcap can cause irreversible kidney failure, requiring victims to get a transplant or go on dialysis. (Universal Images Group North America LLC/DeAgostini/Alamy/)

Deadly webcap is a good name for this one, which is native to North America and Europe and is especially fond of subalpine forests in, for example, Mount Rainier National Park.

What happens if you eat one?

If you’re a fan of kidney or liver failure, this is the way to go. It wasn’t known to be dangerous until 1972, when four people in Finland ate it, two of whom experienced “permanent” kidney failure. Seven years later, three people in Scotland mistook it for a chanterelle. Two of them required liver transplants. Nicholas Evans, who wrote The Horse Whisperer, his wife, and two family members were poisoned in 2008 when they mistook deadly webcap for ceps, an edible mushroom. All four victims eventually received kidney transplants, including his wife, who had only eaten three mouthfuls.

Ergot or spurred rye

It’s a parasite, so doubly dangerous. (Wildlife GMBH/Alamy/)

This fungus is a parasite that grows on rye and other grasses. People never willingly eat it but rather eat bread made with infected grain. In a 1976 article in Science Magazine, author, LR Caporael theorized that an outbreak of ergotism caused by Claviceps purpurea may have been the cause of the strange behavior that led to the execution of 20 men and women in the 1692 Salem witch trials. Those accused of witchcraft all had similar symptoms, including manic melancholia, psychosis, and delirium. Further, the author notes a weather period at the time that would have been conducive to the production of a lot of ergot on rye grown in the area’s lowlands.

What happens if you eat one?

It doesn’t hurt rye much, but it can do a number on humans, leading to cramps, spasms, diarrhea, hallucinations, and gangrene. Historically, the fungus has been implicated in epidemics that caused thousands of fatalities. In 1951, in a small town in France, people who bought bread from the local bakery developed burning sensations in their limbs, began to hallucinate that they could fly, and one boy even tried to strangle his mother. Although it was never proven, spurred rye is thought to have been the cause.

New post published on: https://www.livescience.tech/2020/03/12/from-the-death-cap-to-the-alcohol-inky-seven-poisonous-mushrooms-you-definitely-dont-want-to-eat/

[richincolor]

Woohoo! Miles Morales released today! (See our review here.) There are also quite a few other titles with a book birthday.

Miles Morales by Jason Reynolds Marvel Press

“Everyone gets mad at hustlers, especially if you’re on the victim side of the hustle. And Miles knew hustling was in his veins.” Miles Morales is just your average teenager. Dinner every Sunday with his parents, chilling out playing old-school video games with his best friend, Ganke, crushing on brainy, beautiful poet Alicia. He’s even got a scholarship spot at the prestigious Brooklyn Visions Academy. Oh yeah, and he’s Spider Man.

But lately, Miles’s spidey-sense has been on the fritz. When a misunderstanding leads to his suspension from school, Miles begins to question his abilities. After all, his dad and uncle were Brooklyn jack-boys with criminal records. Maybe kids like Miles aren’t meant to be superheroes. Maybe Miles should take his dad’s advice and focus on saving himself.

As Miles tries to get his school life back on track, he can’t shake the vivid nightmares that continue to haunt him. Nor can he avoid the relentless buzz of his spidey-sense every day in history class, amidst his teacher’s lectures on the historical “benefits” of slavery and the importance of the modern-day prison system. But after his scholarship is threatened, Miles uncovers a chilling plot, one that puts his friends, his neighborhood, and himself at risk.

It’s time for Miles to suit up.

Solo by Kwame Alexander, Mary Rand Hess Blink See review here

Solo, a YA novel in poetic verse, tells the story of seventeen-year-old Blade Morrison, whose life is bombarded with scathing tabloids and a father struggling with just about every addiction under the sun—including a desperate desire to make a comeback. Haunted by memories of his mother and his family’s ruin, Blade’s only hope is in the forbidden love of his girlfriend. But when he discovers a deeply protected family secret, Blade sets out on a journey across the globe that will change everything he thought to be true.

When I am Through with You by Stephanie Kuehn Dutton Books for Young Readers

“This isn’t meant to be a confession. Not in any spiritual sense of the word. Yes, I’m in jail at the moment. I imagine I’ll be here for a long time, considering. But I’m not writing this down for absolution and I’m not seeking forgiveness, not even from myself. Because I’m not sorry for what I did to Rose. I’m just not. Not for any of it.”

Ben Gibson is many things, but he’s not sorry and he’s not a liar. He will tell you exactly about what happened on what started as a simple school camping trip in the mountains. About who lived and who died. About who killed and who had the best of intentions. But he’s going to tell you in his own time. Because after what happened on that mountain, time is the one thing he has plenty of.

Genius: The Con (Genius #2) by Leopoldo Gout Feiwel & Friends

Three teen geniuses from diverse backgrounds must work together to stop a vicious warlord, protect their families, and save the world in this fast-paced sequel to Genius: The Game.

ON THE RUN!

Tunde: This fourteen-year-old self-taught engineering genius from Nigeria is in a race against time to save his village from a ruthless warlord.

Painted Wolf: This mysterious sixteen-year-old activist blogger and strategist from China is searching for a way to rescue her father from the corruption he’s inadvertently been caught up in.

Rex: This sixteen-year-old Mexican-American has proven himself to be one of the best programmers in the world, only to be falsely accused of stealing billions of government secrets for the terrorist hacking group Terminal.

Pursued by the police, the FBI, and most dangerous of all, Kiran Biswas, visionary CEO and evil mastermind, three teen geniuses have to move fast and stay low as they race to find a missing brother, stop a vicious warlord, and save the world in Genius: The Con by Leopoldo Gout.

Blight by Alexandra Duncan Greenwillow Books

When an agribusiness facility producing genetically engineered food releases a deadly toxin into the environment, seventeen-year-old Tempest Torres races to deliver the cure before time runs out.

From the author of the acclaimed American Booksellers Association’s Indies Introduce pick Salvage, which was called “Brilliant, feminist science fiction” by Stephanie Perkins, the internationally bestselling author of Anna and the French Kiss. This stand-alone action-adventure story is perfect for fans of Oryx and Crake and The House of the Scorpion.

Seventeen-year-old Tempest Torres has lived on the AgraStar farm north of Atlanta, Georgia, since she was found outside its gates at the age of five. Now she’s part of the security force guarding the fence and watching for scavengers—people who would rather steal genetically engineered food from the Company than work for it. When a group of such rebels accidentally sets off an explosion in the research compound, it releases into the air a blight that kills every living thing in its path—including humans. With blight-resistant seeds in her pocket, Tempest teams up with a scavenger boy named Alder and runs for help. But when they finally arrive at AgraStar headquarters, they discover that there’s an even bigger plot behind the blight—and it’s up to them to stop it from happening again.

Inspired by current environmental issues, specifically the genetic adjustment of seeds to resist blight and the risks of not allowing natural seed diversity, this is an action-adventure story that is Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake meets Nancy Farmer’s House of the Scorpion.

Follow Your Heart by Tasha Nathan Lorimer

Nisha has always been a good Tamil daughter. She tries to keep her grades up so she can meet her parents’ high expectations of her. They want her to become a doctor or an engineer, and of course she is not allowed to be in a romantic relationship while she is still a teenager. Nisha has discovered that what she really loves to do is write. As she devotes more of her time and attention to her creative writing class, she also finds that who she really loves is her classmate Todd. How can Nisha get her parents to understand that she needs to live her own life? And when she has to choose between her dreams of life on her own terms and being with Todd, how can Nisha decide where her true feelings lie?

[titleknown]

A Sampling Of The Members Of The Game Bosses Union:

King of Spikes: You know those bosses that’re the king of minor mooks, like King Moblin or Goomboss? Yeah, this guy is that for death spikes. Complete with crown and pompous mustache and buffoonish; blustering personality. And he has ultimate control of his “subjects,” and wants to ultimately cover the world in spikes. There’s a reason he’s considered creepy and unsettling by everyone despite his demeanor

Cephimani Prime is, you know those head-n-hands bosses that’re just a giant head and hands, usually mechanical or inorganic in some way? Like Gholdan from Zelda, Wham Bam Rock from Kirby, Andross from Star Fox, ect?

Well, Cephimani Prime is the first of those from across the multiverse, skeletal in the way machines without a covering tend to be, at once a machine that’s at once incredibly advanced, but also shockingly simple to produce, designed to work with simple technologies in innovative ways to produce the base for any number of impressive fighting machines.

It’s not the strongest at its base level, in fact it has several glaring weak points unarmored, but it almost always comes armored in whatever advanced-level tech the surrounding area has to offer.

It’s constantly getting destroyed, but also constantly getting rebuilt, as its basic blueprints are scattered all across the multiverse, and even may have been the ones the creators of those others ripped off (Whether consciously or unconsciously) there.

Tho, weirdly, nobody really knows who first designed it, and the fact that each instance somehow seems to share memories has some unsettling implications, despite its robotically obsequieous personality…

Thelemas Rotas comes from a world where a structure called The Wheel of Fate keeps creating these random magical events, that always seem to come in a cycle of rise and ruin but with lots of little things randomly shifted. One Queen from an ancient kingdom decided to find out why, running her kingdom ragged to try and find the reason why; ultimately  and found out about the wheel. And became stockholm syndromed to it. And ultimately fused to it, despite a group of her most loyal soldiers and court members trying to stop her in the end. And then she kept coming back, reincarnating in different bodies that slowly grew aware of their previous incarnations and their connection to the wheel and their destiny to keep it going, doing so with its dread powers and the armies of monsters coming from that age’s zeitgeist to her, until one group of prophecy-breaking heroes went to break the wheel,

But that is for another story. As of now, she wanders the multiverse as a monster-for-hire, commanding biological abomination sand using the random powers of her wheel, both changing to fit the zeitgeists of the places she goes. She beautiful but cruel and is deeply haughty and conceited about her metaphysical role in things, even when she barely applies to the world she’s on, even if she has little relevance to, going bonkers and stabby and resorting to wildly dangrous shit when her plans begin to fall apart, with snow-white hair and porcelain pale skin, usually wearing a wildly-overdesigned but strangely memorable outfit. Her god-monster form is suspended across a gigantic Wheel Of Fortune with various occult symbols on it, her eyes constantly changing colors like card suits and her body flickering through space like a Jacob’s Ladder monster.

Cosmos Ophiuschus is a magically powerful model of the planets in an ancient kingdom repurposed by an invading despot into a war machine, which they kept around despite her defeat because of its usefulness, and it stayed around even after the empire fell. She looks like a serpent with a body made of spheres, with a head of fire representing the sun and the sheres making up the rest of her body being based on planets, with them each granting it a power based on the planet, IE Mercury creates speedy meteor shots, Venus emits poison gas, Saturn shoots buzzsaw rings, Jupiter creates storms, ect.

This can be troublesome when the spheres are cracked by attacking enemies, and thusly can no longer be used until she goes to heal. And she can heal, via the magic of the planets that make it up, as well as having the ability to shift those planets to the abilities of any planets it might encounter in any other solar system, with related abilities.

She’s about animal intelligence; and in general is not a very smart noodle, but it does always show up wherever its services might be called upon, including Union meetings, and the most likely theory is that it is compelled by the music of the spheres…

Boss Benkei was once a great gangleader robber-king of a world-spanning crime empire who fell deeply in love with a former rival-turned-partner, a man by the name of Moto. Moto was cursed to death after they killed the wrpmg, and he became a little… off after that. Now the might of his empire is focused on creating “power-ups”, items with the ability to enhance (Whether temporarily or permanently) the subject’s abilities, and has their production and use by his legions as the main focus of his operations, renting them out to those who can afford it.

His ultimate goal is to produce the one thing that can bring a person back from not just death, but a state beyond death with which Moto was sent. He looks like a beautiful; muscular middle-eastern man, with a boisterously dour personality. He only uses a permanently-shining super-sharp sword of bronze his main weapon/casting implement, because ultimately with his power-ups that’s all he needs.

Nobody really has any idea where The Bulleteer comes from, or even what gender they are, all they know is that they’re eerie, a slender figure in a red leather suit with a long flowing cape; a bullet-shaped helmet and the ability of flight, speed and to control “bullets”. Well they call them bullets, they’re more like glowing, living spheres. They do not consider morality much, only challenge, and mainly exist to challenge people in the art of racing and bullet-dodging.

Xerex, The Mirror Machine, is essentially a giant ancient technolgy mirror/copy-machine on legs who can copy from reflections of anything in its viscinity, and Mimess; the humanoid beetle with a very soft exoskeleton who can alter her physiology to mimic any being in her viscinity via a complex system involving a large array of senses, even electromagnetic sensitivity.

Xerex is very pompous, being made as “The Ultimate Weapon” of a decadent empire, while Mimess has an explosive finicky temper due to being insecure about her own physical fragility due to the same malleable anatomy that allows her her powers. That, and the fact their powers overlap, means they can’t stand each other…

Hookhead is just a giant asshole fish, bane of fisherman and swimming beast alike. A huge mean mixture between alligator gar and some kind of coelocanth with pblack scales, this thing’s been mutated by decades of pollution in his home stream into a vicious thing that practically oozes a rainbow of pollution and toxins, with the ability to control it thanks to the likely psionic powers gained from the place in his brain altered thanks to the massive goddamn hook in his brain.And, to clarify as his creator, yes he was concieved as an idea for a fishing-game-y boss, as well as one for @pettamapossum’s special-interest-cult-classic Finny And The Seven Waters.

Shin Rung is one of the greatest living masters of Ryuken Martial Arts, it is said this red-bearded bald-headed old man once defeated death itself after he was betrayed and murdered by a student of his, and as a reward; his hands and feet are invincible; even as they constantly bleed.

His weapon of choice is as unorthodox as it is deadly, namely a ladder made entirely of blades, from the rails to the rungs, razor sharp and utilizable in thousands of different ways; and that is before the ki attacks through it are used. It is far too heavy for most people to pick up even if they could touch its razor-sharp blades, but to see Shin Rung use it, one would think it is light as fog on a lighthouse-beam.

He fights not for money or for power; but only for self improvement and to one day find a worthy opponent. It is said that in training under him; the final test is to land but a single blow on him. Almost none have succeeded...

\\*Edge Hellblood 666: Antichrist Primadonna*//

The 666th attempt at cloning Satan from a vial of his blood and a single feather, who escaped in a conflagration of blood and fire five whole minutes after his vat was opened, this charmer is what one would call a lord high edgelord.

His left horn is a tiny nub while his right is massive on his head in a way that recalls a waxing moon, he has five wings that form a pentagram-like shape on his back, his hair streams like rainbow glitching VHS footage, his left eye is white while his right eye is black, his claws are bright silver and he is as beautiful as he is pretentious. Which is very.

He’s very much petulant; picky but bombastic in his plans and in his lifestyle, working to “strike back at a world that rejected him,” despite the fact that honestly he has endured far less hardship than a lot of the beings under his employ. Though as much as he rants and raves at the failures of his employees, he’s quite good to them, providing them many favors and second chances; and even what little sympathy/emotional support a stunted being like him can for their hardships. Basically think Bowser/Skeletor meets Sephiroth and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what working with him is like.

In addition to the powerful magical and occult potential and knowlege he has as a clone of Satan, he can command demons and dark spirits. Granted, they do not respect him at all and say they are simply “humoring” him, but they do still follow orders.

He also has a pet called Wormy, who looks like a pitch black bug-eyed tsuchinoko with a bright red apple-like growth coming out of the top of his head. Wormy is actually the 616th attempt at cloning Satan, and if you know your tropes you can probably guess he’s far more evil/powerful than Hellblood…

A curiously concealed knight whose armor looks like a neon sign, complete with blank spaces in between the tubes despite being fully three-dimensional, the enigmatically bombastic Neon Knight travels around working for whoever will hire her, with abilities usually based around the flashy neon/city-lights aestetic and Holy damage and lairs (Which she’d developed some clever tricks for quickly gussying-up) based on a lit-up city at night. She’s generally morally good but usually ends up either easily mislead or working for the good guys who happen to be on the wrong side of a “hero”.

Her most distinctive ability is her Neon Lance, which she uses while riding her neon-looking horse/motorcycle-hybrid to dash quickly into foes; once it’s clear the fight is getting serious. When asked about the reasons for her work, she simply says “I’m on a mission from god…”

These characters and members of the Union; collected here from multiple posts with a few new ones, are all free to use as long as I, Thomas F. Johnson, am credited as their creator. One of these days Imma have to draw ‘em, tho y’all can feel free in the meantime…

[howtoloseweightfastsafely]

Part 2 of 4: Solution To Overcoming Your Mental Barriers and Cultivating A Winner's Mentality

Part II:

Moving on, I feel compelled to share this next short piece, because it concerns a topic that is near and dear to my heart: depression and low self-esteem.

This essay of sorts was actually written to a friend of a friend who has been struggling with his own depression, low confidence, and feeling "stuck" for lack of a better word.

Also, this man, Chris, is not exactly dealing with the best of circumstances.

He is a young, 18-year-old man just out of high school, coming from a single-family home in gang-heavy Camden, NJ (one of the deadliest and most under-served cities in the U.S.)

The good thing is he is on the right path and has entered college as of September 2013. And from what my friend tells me (she was his high school mentor), he is a very smart, kind, and caring young man.

Chris wrote my friend, Melissa, an email telling her how life has been very tough, he's sad all the time, has trouble finding true friends at school, and that he feels like he's stuck with "no way out".

My friend then asked for some guidance from me, as I've dealt with many of the same exact issues myself in the past.

Here's what I said, and here's what I think anyone can apply to their life, whether depressed, just feeling down, out of luck, or feeling "not good enough" or "not worthy" or "defeated" or who think it's "too hard", or whatever it is keeping them from their goals, desires, and dreams:

 "I know how you must feel, but it's not true that things won't get better. They always do. It just takes longer for some.

But that's never a reason to give up.

And I know it's hard to see now, but there's a good side to this, as there is with everything in life.

In this case, the good side is you're getting stronger every single day that you push through the struggles, hard feelings and negative thoughts.

You get so strong that by the time you overcome this (it always happens), you're a machine and nothing fazes you.

You will see amazing things come into your life and you will start doing amazing things.

And while everyone else is doubting themselves when the going gets tough...you'll laugh and get through difficulties like a walk in the park.

Because you've already done the hard work. You've seen the living hell on the bottom and you still fought it and made it out.

You've developed a massive level of inner strength and confidence, whether you realize it or not.

And when you bring this strength to anything in life, whether its writing music, starting a business, getting lean, or doing whatever you want in life...you'll see that it's much easier for you than anyone else.

You've already done the much harder work of battling depression, and you're winning. Keep this with you when your mind keeps filling with negativity and self-hatred. As real as it feels, every single second you fight it, you get better, smarter and stronger.

Here's a fun little exercise: think about anything and everything you want, no matter how insane it sounds. And write it down. If you want ten million dollars or a threesome with some gorgeous models or you want to buy your own island, or be famous, or have a 3 car garage with a Mercedes, Ferrari, and Aston Martin...or if all you want is to be happy every day, write it all down.

And understand that you can have it ALL. And you will.

When the time comes that you realize your true strength and potential, you'll see a miraculous transformation where you go after all your goals and desires...without letting anything stop you.

You'll rip shit up and destroy the competition, and you'll do it better and faster than anyone else.

So as bad as it looks now, just keep looking up. Keep on searching and striving for more.

A lot of people are stuck in depressive, hellish situations, and it definitely sucks, but there is ALWAYS a way out. Don't give up.

Also, there are little things you can do every day to start feeling better.

You see, every day is a chance to have an amazing life and do amazing things. Even more so, every day is a chance to help someone else or do a simple little thing to brighten someone's day.

The thing about life that most people don't tell you is...to build self-esteem and to feel better, you have to:

1) Do esteem-able things

2) "Fake it til you make it"

Remember that you're the shit and you have an amazing personality. You have so much to give to others.

So much so that it'll make them smile and laugh and love their life...and after you do this, you'll see the rewards and happiness come back to you tenfold.

To be clear, you don't have to anything above and beyond to reap the benefits.

A simple smile or hello or just holding open the door could mean the world to someone.

While you're in your own dark spot, someone else could be in the same spot too. And you never know if you saying "hi" or smiling to them was the 1st nice thing someone said to them all week.

That simple little gesture could make someone's day, week or month. You just never know. So give a little bit back whenever you can. And when you see the joy it brings them, you'll slowly but surely feel better too."

Moral of the story: NEVER give up. Keep pushing, keep working, and keeping reaching to be the best you can be. And one day you'll get it. And then you'll move on to even bigger and better things. Most importantly, keep helping others. Give all that you can through love and kindness, and you will reap the rewards tenfold. Challenge yourself and greatness will come. It isn't always easy, that's for sure, but it is definitely worth it.

 Interested in losing weight? Then click below to see the exact steps I took to lose weight and keep it off for good...

Read the previous article about "Part 1 of 4: Solution To Overcoming Your Mental Barriers and Cultivating A Winner's Mentality"

Read the next article about "Part 3 of 4: Solution To Overcoming Your Mental Barriers and Cultivating A Winner's Mentality"

Moving forward, there are several other articles/topics I'll share so you can lose weight even faster, and feel great doing it.

Below is a list of these topics and you can use this Table of Contents to jump to the part that interests you the most.

Topic 1: How I Lost 30 Pounds In 90 Days - And How You Can Too

Topic 2: How I Lost Weight By Not Following The Mainstream Media And Health Guru's Advice - Why The Health Industry Is Broken And How We Can Fix It

Topic 3: The #1 Ridiculous Diet Myth Pushed By 95% Of Doctors And "experts" That Is Keeping You From The Body Of Your Dreams

Topic 4: The Dangers of Low-Carb and Other "No Calorie Counting" Diets

Topic 5: Why Red Meat May Be Good For You And Eggs Won't Kill You

Topic 6: Two Critical Hormones That Are Quietly Making Americans Sicker and Heavier Than Ever Before

Topic 7: Everything Popular Is Wrong: The Real Key To Long-Term Weight Loss

Topic 8: Why That New Miracle Diet Isn't So Much of a Miracle After All (And Why You're Guaranteed To Hate Yourself On It Sooner or Later)

Topic 9: A Nutrition Crash Course To Build A Healthy Body and Happy Mind

Topic 10: How Much You Really Need To Eat For Steady Fat Loss (The Truth About Calories and Macronutrients)

Topic 11: The Easy Way To Determining Your Calorie Intake

Topic 12: Calculating A Weight Loss Deficit

Topic 13: How To Determine Your Optimal "Macros" (And How The Skinny On The 3-Phase Extreme Fat Loss Formula)

Topic 14: Two Dangerous "Invisible Thorn" Foods Masquerading as "Heart Healthy Super Nutrients"

Topic 15: The Truth About Whole Grains And Beans: What Traditional Cultures Know About These So-called "Healthy Foods" That Most Americans Don't

Topic 16: The Inflammation-Reducing, Immune-Fortifying Secret of All Long-Living Cultures (This 3-Step Process Can Reduce Chronic Pain and Heal Your Gut in Less Than 24 Hours)

Topic 17: The Foolproof Immune-enhancing Plan That Cleanses And Purifies Your Body, While "patching Up" Holes, Gaps, And Inefficiencies In Your Digestive System (And How To Do It Without Wasting $10+ Per "meal" On Ridiculous Juice Cleanses)

Topic 18: The Great Soy Myth (and The Truth About Soy in Eastern Asia)

Topic 19: How Chemicals In Food Make Us Fat (Plus 10 Banned Chemicals Still in the U.S. Food Supply)

Topic 20: 10 Banned Chemicals Still in the U.S. Food Supply

Topic 21: How To Protect Yourself Against Chronic Inflammation (What Time Magazine Calls A "Secret Killer")

Topic 22: The Truth About Buying Organic: Secrets The Health Food Industry Doesn't Want You To Know

Topic 23: Choosing High Quality Foods

Topic 24: A Recipe For Rapid Aging: The "Hidden" Compounds Stealing Your Youth, Minute by Minute

Topic 25: 7 Steps To Reduce AGEs and Slow Aging

Topic 26: The 10-second Trick That Can Slash Your Risk Of Cardiovascular Mortality By 37% (Most Traditional Cultures Have Done This For Centuries, But The Pharmaceutical Industry Would Be Up In Arms If More Modern-day Americans Knew About It)

Topic 27: How To Clean Up Your Liver and Vital Organs

Topic 28: The Simple Detox 'Cheat Sheet': How To Easily and Properly Cleanse, Nourish, and Rid Your Body of Dangerous Toxins (and Build a Lean Well-Oiled "Machine" in the Process)

Topic 29: How To Deal With the "Stress Hormone" Before It Deals With You

Topic 30: 7 Common Sense Ways to Have Uncommon Peace of Mind (or How To Stop Your "Stress Hormone" In Its Tracks)

Topic 31: How To Sleep Like A Baby (And Wake Up Feeling Like A Boss)

Topic 32: The 8-step Formula That Finally "fixes" Years Of Poor Sleep, Including Trouble Falling Asleep, Staying Asleep, And Waking Up Rested (If You Ever Find Yourself Hitting The Snooze Every Morning Or Dozing Off At Work, These Steps Will Change Your Life Forever)

Topic 33: For Even Better Leg Up And/or See Faster Results In Fixing Years Of Poor Sleep, Including Trouble Falling Asleep, Staying Asleep, And Waking Up Rested, Do The Following:

Topic 34: Solution To Overcoming Your Mental Barriers and Cultivating A Winner's Mentality

Topic 35: Part 1 of 4: Solution To Overcoming Your Mental Barriers and Cultivating A Winner's Mentality

Topic 36: Part 2 of 4: Solution To Overcoming Your Mental Barriers and Cultivating A Winner's Mentality

Topic 37: Part 3 of 4: Solution To Overcoming Your Mental Barriers and Cultivating A Winner's Mentality

Topic 38: Part 4 of 4: Solution To Overcoming Your Mental Barriers and Cultivating A Winner's Mentality

Topic 39: How To Beat Your Mental Roadblocks And Why It Can Be The Difference Between A Happy, Satisfying Life And A Sad, Fearful Existence (These Strategies Will Reduce Stress, Increase Productivity And Show You How To Fulfill All Your Dreams)

Topic 40: Maximum Fat Loss in Minimum Time: The Body Type Solution To Quick, Lasting Results

Topic 41: If You Want Maximum Results In Minimum Time You're Going To Have To Work Out (And Workout Hard, At That)

Topic 42: Food Planning For Maximum Fat Loss In Minimum Time

Topic 43: How To Lose Weight Fast If You're in Chronic Pain

Topic 44: Nutrition Basics for Fast Pain Relief (and Weight Loss)

Topic 45: How To Track Results (And Not Fall Into the Trap That Ruins 95% of Well-Thought Out Diets)

Topic 46: Advanced Fat Loss - Calorie Cycling, Carb Cycling and Intermittent Fasting

Topic 47: Advanced Fat Loss - Part I: Calorie Cycling

Topic 48: Advanced Fat Loss - Part II: Carb Cycling

Topic 49: Advanced Fat Loss - Part III: Intermittent Fasting

Topic 50: Putting It All Together

Learn more by visiting our website here: invigoratenow.com

[katyinthemiddle]

Realizations and Mishaps From My Adulthood: Growing Up Stinks.

Quick story time. And this one is embarrassing… I kind of hate myself for sharing it but it was too funny and candid not to.

SO, Bryan and I moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth area and bought a house!

(YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Naturally, there are several (million) things that need to be fixed/updated, including but not limited to, a whole new AC system! Which, if you’ve ever lived in Texas during the summertime, is beyond a necessity. It’s freaking hot as hell here. The lowest our house temperature has been is 81 degrees ( I shit you not).  

(BOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

The first few days I tried to convince myself it was like a huge sauna and I was releasing all the toxins from my body. It was healthy! But then I felt like dying from the heat and ran to buy a temporary window unit so I could at least sleep at night.

After trying to call multiple AC repair companies with no luck ( why is it so difficult?!?) we finally got a guy to come out. We knew from the initial inspection it wasn’t going to good, so we were bracing ourselves. Like most people, I know absolutely nothing about AC units.

(Except this AC unit, of course. Dimples of a true god. A true god, I tell you!)

When the dude came out to inspect everything, I just let Bryan walk him around since I don’t even know how to get to attic. There is nothing up there but spiders and dust, both which I just don’t need in my life, so no point in knowing where it is anyway. While Bryan walked the dude around, I stayed in the kitchen cause naturally, that is where the fridge is. And no, not because of food, but because I can stand with the door open and cool myself off. There are times in life where you need to make sacrifices in order to survive and this was one of them. They had been scoping out different places around the house for maybe 10 minutes. Since I could hear them crawling around in the attic space above, I decided that it was finally okay to fart.

Let me take a step back. So first, everyone farts. You can shut your mouth if you think you’re too good for farts. You aren’t. No one is. Second, I had just got home from work and inevitably having to hold in these farts ALL DAY LONG like every other classy working person.

(This is the truest thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life.)

Out of politeness, I wasn’t about to stink out the poor man trying to help us fix our heated deathtrap of a house. So I graciously awaited for him to leave the kitchen before I polluted it. I won’t even defend myself on these decisions. It was my house, my life and my story. If I want it to be about farts, you  sure as hell better believe it will be.

So I let out a day’s build up worth of farts in the kitchen and IMMEDIATELY I know I need to warn Bryan. I grab my phone and send him the following text message:

“Hey, don’t bring that guy back in to the kitchen. I farted and it’s really bad.”

 I pat myself on the back for being a decent human being and go about opening my mail.

5 minutes later, Bryan swiftly comes walking into the kitchen and says in a loud whisper, “ You freaking idiot! The AC guy had my phone in his hand using the flashlight since his wasn’t powerful enough. Those messages popped up and he definitely saw them.”

Now in most situations, any normal person would have been humiliated. And truthfully, I probably should have been. For some reason though, I started hysterically laughing. There was NO WAY he didn’t know who that text was from. Even if he didn’t know my name was Kate, he could have put it together to know exactly who that message was from. On cue, the AC dude appears in the kitchen a minute later. Just my luck! I run to the pantry and pretend to be looking for something while laughing like a fucking comic book villain. Cause I am a child apparently. For some reason, I could not stop. I was laughing so hard I was crying at this point. Which when I think of it is really creepy considering I was in a closet pantry shifting around random cans and bags of rice while chuckling uncontrollably.

After a few awkward seconds, I hear the AC dude go, “ So, if you guys wanna sit down I can go over pricing with you.” Logically, this makes me audibly laugh even harder. I try to calm myself and slowly come out of the pantry and make my way across the kitchen to the table. One of the hardest things in life is trying to contain your dignity when you have the giggles during a very inappropriate time. I kept trying to hold in the laughs, but I could feel them squeak out making a teapot sound every couple seconds. I’m sure my face was red at this point and to make it even more awkward, I couldn’t bring myself to look the poor man in the eyes.  I felt like a disrespectful teenager trying not to laugh in class during a sex talk. It was even more embarrassing than farting up the kitchen and having the stranger across from me know about it without even smelling it.

(Seriously felt like Bill Hader on an SNL episode trying not to lose it)

Needless to say, he confirms it’ll be $8,000 for a whole new system and let me tell you, the giggles were gone at that point.

Luckily, the guy was nice enough not to make me feel any dumber about a mortifying situation. He let it pass without confronting it at all and for that, I am still very thankful.

Moral of the story is, just let it rip and don’t tell anyone. At least then, they might think it was someone else or maybe themselves. Also, AC units are insanely expensive.

 We are still anxiously awaiting the day when our new AC will be installed so we can NOT feel like we live on the sun. Until then,  I’ll just continue to endure the heat and humility. Because I’m sure the guy already warned his installation crew about the smelly, weird girl who laughs in closets.

Touché, sir. Touché.

(One day soon…..one day.)

[rwby-fan-theories]

qrow will die from tyrians venom that he was infected with

I think its quite likely that tyrions scorpion tail in it was venomous ( note poison and venom are two different things

http://insects.about.com/od/insects101/f/venomous-or-poisonous.htm

Venomous Organisms Inject Venom Into Other Organisms

Poisonous Organisms Deliver Toxins When Touched or Eaten

 ) iven how his eyes changed into purple and the purple stuff that came out of his tail. (coincidentally the most dangerous/venomous scorpion in the world is called the deathstalker scorpion which is the name of a type of scorpion grimm in rwby. and tyrian works for salem  owlcation.com/stem/The-Most-Dangerous-Scorpions-in-the-World

The Deathstalker scorpion has a dangerous sounding name, and no wonder, because it is definitely one of the most dangerous scorpions in the world. Its venom is highly toxic, and if stung, the victim will likely never forget the excruciating pain it delivers.

The symptoms of a Deathstalker sting include an increased heartbeat, high blood pressure, and even convulsions and coma. It may even cause death to small children or unhealthy adults.

It is not advisable to have these scorpions as pets. The reason why is because these scorpions are very aggressive, and become very agitated when confined in a small cage.

It is highly advised to seek medical attention if somebody gets stung by these scorpions.

It is sometimes very hard to identify them, because their color varies depending on where they live. They usually are yellow or green, and due to their elastic-like appearance, it has been pointed out that they look almost like toys.”

its mentioned that the deathstalker scorpions have an elastic appearance and remember how tyrians scorpion tail began to stretch as if it was made of rubber or elastic  Ithink that was a reference to the deathstalker scorpions elastic appearance.

and tyriians poison will likely not only cause qrow alot of pain and put him into a coma but it will kill him due to one a lack of proper medical attention or 2. because of him being unhealthy due to his alcoholism since it mentioned that the poison can cause death in unhealthy adults

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathstalker#Description

and deathstalker venom powerful mixture of neurotoxins (and neurotoxins act by some mechanism leading to either the disruption or destruction of necessary components within the nervous system. this would of course explain why  tyrian would use that poison on ruby since its a powerful mixture of neurotoxins that can keep ruby from moving around since  The nervous system is the part of an animal’s body that coordinates its actions and transmits signals to and from different parts of its body  (just because something is poisonous/venomous to kill one type of human being doesnt make it venomous for another . ( plus its possible that tyrian can control the dosage of venom)

or it 

http://ula-star.tumblr.com/post/155409604541/rwby-confessions-hero-dreamer-one-thing-many

“, it could have been one of those situations where he poisons her and threatens that she will die unless she comes with him. You know that kinda thing.”

and  it fits that he will die since in a sense he would have only died because ruby got involved when she could do nothing. qrow died because she tried to play the hero. so when ruby realizes that she will end up being effected greatly . and hurt by it . and it fits since qrow was rubys mentor 

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MentorOccupationalHazard

the mentor always dies to cause their student to grow etc  

(heck its possible that the effects of the venom will last a while to the point where he would end up dying a few episodes later   ion the last episode of volume 4 ) heck we dont know in which episode qrows death from the venom will occur since they do split the episodes between the groups so there might be  entire episodes where we dont see team rnjr or only a bit. qrows death will be slow and he will go under the symptoms of scorpion vvenom  (and if the claim that  qrow will appear in   season finale isnt a lie  to make it so that we expected qrow to survive the poison to make his death more surprising ( after all the creators saying so on whether a character will appear when people have suspicions that he is going to die shouldn’t be trusted after all the personcould be trying to lull us into security to  make his death more shocking (or there wont be that much focus on team rnjr and the focus will only spread for rnjr for a couple days ( since its quite possible that for each of their arcs team rnjr , yang, weiss, and blake its quite possible that the times we see them are at different times and dates like for rnjr etc) like imagine 

I think qrow will die due to tyrians venom he got with he will eventually die from  the venom he got hit with in rwby volume 4 episode 7 

I mean its considered bad luck to kill a crow which is represented by qrow so it fits that when tyrian layed a fatal blow on qrow that qould kill him he would have bad luck and lose his tail

http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/othermagicspells/p/The-Magic-Of-Crows-And-Ravens.htm

http://redwhiteblakeyellow.tumblr.com/post/155088623065/hold-up-ive-been-confident-that-qrow-wasnt

“

Qrow and Raven are meant to represent Odin’s pet ravens that acted as his eyes to watch over the world with. Qrow’s emblem even looks like an eye.”

qrow embodies  the left eye )

“Throughout the series so far, Qrow has been watching over Team RNJR, taking the role of being a watchful eye over them.

And I can’t help but think, that maybe we misinterpreted a line from Tyrian. A line that we thought was a threat to Ruby. We were all relieved when that threat didn’t come true. But… what if it meant something entirely different. What if, Ruby does lose an eye.

It’s just not the eye we were expecting her to lose…

̵̗̱͕̬̰E̲̭̟ ͚͎̠̼̪̺Y ̴̳͚̜̥E̘̤̬͠ ͉̞̦ ͚ ̹̺͙͖̭F̜̼͓͈ ͍̱̬̰̘O̦ ͔͉Ṟ̹̭ ̦̱̟̗̼̦̙ ̧̜̯̳̱̺̟ ̢̰͍͕A̹̣ ҉͈̳͍̰̰N ̸̘̟̝̪̝̬̮ ̜̹̮͕͉̀ ̴E͓̝͘ͅ Y̤͖̦ ͓͙ͅE͖̻̦

  but that would be like the perfect plot twistTyrian made such a deal about EYE FOR AN EYE yet he didn’t achieve that at allyet the phrase sounded so forboding so maybe he did get that eye. it was just a different eye

“

qrow embodies the left eye

and remember cinder lost her left eye

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crow_and_the_Snake

in the tale ancient times the fable is found only in Greek sources and concerns a crow in search of food that finds a snake asleep in the sun. But when the crow seizes her, the snake kills it with her sting. The story’s moral is that good fortune may not be all that it seems.[2] An alternative fable concerning a raven and a scorpion is included as a poem by Archias of Mytilene in the Greek Anthology.[3] The story is much the same but the moral drawn is that the biter shall be bit.  the crow died because of venom so it will fit for tyrians venom to cause qrows death