#my sister said she's starting to believe my questionable eating habits may be the secret to a good immune system

[simplyghosting]

Sister 1: I got sick

Me: Have you been taking your vitamins? Zinc would help.

Sister 1: No..

Sister 2: Try eating expired food. Apparently, if it doesn’t kill you, it makes you resistant to everything. That seems to work for [OP].

Me: ...

[jadedxrealityw]

-Potter’s Sister- Draco Malfoy x Female Reader

♡~🐍~♡

   Request:  Helloooo, I've got a super cliché request but if you're up to do it , great! So I like the idea of Draco secretly dating Harry's younger sister and Harry finding out about this in the worst way possible lol like them in a really compromising situation and he instantly becoming an overprotective jealous brother. That's it! Hope you like it. Have a great day💕

  Kody- lmao i’m going to have a blast with this one. Also, Tumblr wont let me reply at the moment so i’ll make due doing request like this

  Warning: Harry being Harry, Cursing, Draco being a possessive child.

  House: Gryffindor

  ♡~🐍~♡

  “Ron slow down, your going to choke!” Hermione shouts. The ginger rolled his eyes and continued eating. You laugh softly and go to pick up your fork when you spot a certain platinum blond Slytherin get up from his table and walk straight out the great hall.

   you place your fork down and look at the three “I have to use the bathroom” you say and Harry instantly looks up from his plate. “Oh okay, are you feeling alright?” he questions, a worried glance on his face. You nod, smiling slightly and stand up.

    “Perfectly fine. Just need to use the bathroom” you reply, tugging on a stand of your hair. You walk away from the table and out the great hall. Harry watches you for a moment before facing his friends “Your right Hermione. She was lying to me”

   “How can you tell?” Ron asked, wiping his mouth off with his sleeve. The chosen boy frowns slightly “She tugs on her hair when she does.” he explains and Ron nods slowly, understanding. They sit quietly for a couple seconds before Hermione hits the table, catching there attention. 

   “Well!? Go follow her!” she instructs, waving towards the great hall exit. Harry nods quickly and stands up in a rush “R-Right!” he stammers out and quickly leaves.

    ♡~🐍~♡

   a tap of your footsteps was the only thing you could hear in the empty hallway. You kept glancing around making sure you didn’t see anybody you knew. You had to be sneaky when meeting up with your secret boyfriend. Months of secrecy was not getting ruined because you were excited.

   ah yes. You. Y/n Potter, were dating your brothers enemy. Draco Malfoy. It started months ago when Neville Longbottom had told you that your idiot of a brother started a fight with Draco in the courtyard and he turned it physical. You told Neville to lead you to the fight and he agreed.

   running with your fellow Gryffindor, you begin to hear shouting. Students cheering the words ‘Malfoy’ ‘Potter’ and ‘fight’. Bloody hell. You walk into the courtyard and saw a group of people huddled around and rush towards them, pushing past multiple students.

   in the middle, you clearly see Harry on top of Draco, hitting him in the face. You stand there in horror for a couple seconds, before rushing over. You grab your brother and yank him off the Slytherin boy. “What the hell is wrong with you Harry!?” you shout. He looks at you with pure shame in his eyes.

   you look down at Draco and hold out your hand. He looks at you for a moment, almost like he was evaluating you “I’m not going to hit you if that’s what you think, Malfoy” you said and Draco grins slightly before grabbing your hand, using it to pull himself up.

   you look up at him. He had a busted lip and a bruised eye. Damn, HArry really did a number on him. You let go of his hand and reach into your pocket, pulling out a handkerchief. Reaching up to his face, he leans back “What the hell are you doing?” he questions a bit harshly.

   “You have blood on your face” You explain, but he still seems hesitant. You sigh and hold out the piece of cloth for him “Then you do it” Draco shakes his head slowly and shrugs “I can’t even see it, so you can do it” You just give him a nod and reach up, wiping the blood of his lip.

   a small contact sended sparks through the both of you and after that. Draco would always find a way to see you. Making small excuses and just study your everyday habits. You being the nice person you were, you gave him the time of day and you genuinely liked talking to him.

   feelings developed over time, but once hArry found out about your guys friendship. He forced you to end it, but when you told Draco about it. He said to meet him at the astronomy tower one last time and that’s where he confessed to you and you two had been together ever since.

   ♡~🐍~♡

   as you near the last few steps, you rush up quickly to see your Slytherin boyfriend leaning against the railing. His face lighting up as he sees you “I knew you would come” he speaks first and you smile, walking over to him. “I haven’t seen you in a week. I missed you” 

   he smiles at your words and wraps his arms around your waist “Aw you missed me. How sweet” he teases. You roll your eyes and look up at the taller boy “Such a narcissist” you tease back and he pouts. “But you love me still, right?”

   you smile warmly at Draco and nod “Yes i still love you” your words seem to be exactly what he wanted to hear because he leaned his head down towards you “There is one thing i missed most about you” he whispers and you can’t help but grin “and that is?” you questioned. Already knowing the answer.

   he smirks against the skin of your ear “The feel of your mouth of mine of course, love” your body shudders as the Slytherin backed you up into the wall. He smirks at your shocked expression before smashing his lips onto yours. Responding instantly, you kiss back.

   you reach up to wrap your arms around his neck, tugging on the hairs on the back of his neck. A groan left your boyfriend as he pulled you closer to him. “Get the hell of my sister, Malfoy!” Draco was yanked off of you and thrown back, leaving you frozen in shock.

   Draco stands up quickly and scowls at your brother “Ever heard of privacy, Potter!?” he spat and Harry scoffed “You were snogging my sister, so no offense but fuck your privacy! How dare you take advantage of her!?” 

   “Take advantage of her?! You need to get your fucking eyes checked because she was kissing me back dumbass!” Draco retorts, crossing his arms. Harry’s head snapped to you and gave you a questioning look “Is it true?” you nod slowly “He’s my boyfriend Harry. Has been for months”

   Harry looked away from you and shook his head “He’s the enemy Y/n!” he shouts and you roll your eyes “He’s your enemy Harry! Your problem. Draco has been nothing. but nice to me!” Harry didn’t seem to believe your answer and grabbed your arm.

   “We’re leaving and you two are never going to see each other again!” Harry tries to drag you out, but you fight back “Ow! Harry you’re hurting me!” You shout and Draco takes immediate action. Grabbing your body and tugging you away from your brother.

   he holds you close to him and looks at your arm, checking the damage “That’s going to leave a nasty bruise, love” Draco whispers sadly and you frown. Draco snapped his head towards the Gryffindor with a deadly glare. If looks could kill, Draco would never need the killing curse.

    “Look what you fucking did! Get over yourself, Potter! I may not like you in the slightest, but i love Y/n. So for her sake, shove off!” Draco didn’t let the boy get a word in before he lead you out of the astronomy tower.

   ♡~🐍~���

   it had been days since you spoke to your brother. You were so pissed at him and had avoided him at every turn. After the incident in the astronomy tower Draco made your relationship public and most people seemed okay with it. Except for a few choice people.

   “I can’t believe she’s sitting with him” Ron comments, looking over at the sight of you at the Slytherin table chatting it up with Draco. “How could someone as sweet as her love such a monster” he adds. Harry nods agreement.

   “oh my merlin. Both of you shut up. You don’t choose who you fall in love with. It happens and Harry you have clearly upset and injured your sister and need to apologize for being such a insufferable jerk! ” Hermione shouts, earning a few side glances from other stdents.

   Harry nods quickly and stands up “y-yes ma’am!” he stutters and walks off. Ron watches with a horrified look before turning to Hermione “you really are quite scary” all Hermione does is smile sweetly.

   ♡~🐍~♡

   Draco has been leaning into your ear and whispering very inappropriate things in your ear all lunch and squeezing your thigh “You are such a perv Draco Malfoy” you mumble, meeting his gaze and he smirks widely “Only for you” he mutters back and leans in to kiss your lips.

   “Ew” a voice says behind you two. You pull away and your E/c eyes are meant with your Harry. You sigh deeply at the sight “Wow thanks Harry” you say sarcastically. “Here to assault her again, Potter?” Draco scoffs, making his friends laugh.

   Harry shakes his head and rubs the back of his neck “I may not understand how you could ever like him, but after watching from the sidelines for a few days i know he makes you happy and i’m so fucking sorry for hurting your arm. I wasn’t thinking straight and i hope you can forgive me” he says giving you a smile.

   “I’m also willing to try to get along with Malfoy. If he does too” Harry adds and faces your boyfriend who sighs before holding out his hand “For Y/n. Anything” Harry smiles and shakes his hand.

   “My two boys getting along, how cute”

♡~🐍~♡

   Kody- Hope you enjoyed. Requests are open btw. Anyways, peace.

[purplebass]

Hanging On // Thomastair AU

#5 and last Celebratory Fic! It was meant to be something else, but then I didn't finish and I thought this one would be better. You'd probably get the other fic sooner or later, as well as the other requests you may have sent me during these last few months. I had the idea for this Thomastair AU while watching this ambience video. Perhaps you could watch it while you read, use it as bg music. lol. Like the title said, this is a Thomastair coffee shop AU with Eugenia, because I've wanted to write something with her in it. Enjoy!

Characters: Thomas Lightwood, Alastair Carstairs, Eugenia Lightwood Words: 1637

Thomas stared at the early evening crowd of the coffee shop where he worked part-time and sighed. He liked his job, and not just because his parents owned the place and entrusted him and his sister Eugenia to run it. There was something about coffee-making and cake-serving that fascinated him. Perhaps the faces people made once they got their orders or the simple fact of interacting with them, even if they just told him what they wanted. Not everyone was open to conversation, so Thomas mostly observed the clients. He saw a different array of expressions everyday. Relief. Despair. Pain. Joy. There was someone who even cried while sipping their hot chocolate once. It wasn’t the chocolate’s fault.

The coffee shop where Thomas worked was mostly frequented by university students. People around his age who had decided to go on with their studies instead of hunting for a job. He was interested in following some paths, but didn’t feel like enrolling into any institute to pursue his interests, at least for the moment. He was happy making other people feel better for now.

“The coffee won’t make itself, Thomas,” his older sister Eugenia said, serving a brunette at the far end of the table.

He hated when his sister rushed him, but then again he had been distracted for a while. “Coming,” he replied with a sigh, and gave a professor his order.

It was Friday, which meant that it wasn’t just the last day of classes for students, but also their karaoke night. It wouldn’t start until eight, and some small groups of people were already tucking their notebooks away and gathering to order their dinners before their tone-deaf singing session at Thomas’ expense. Eugenia might not know that, but Thomas didn’t ask to have the 6pm-10pm shift because he was crazy. She told him that only someone who didn’t value his free time could choose that shift, because people got very excited when they sang karaoke together.

“What is going on?” Eugenia asked, shaking Thomas from his thoughts.

He was staring at the door and he probably hadn’t heard her. “Nothing is going, sister. Nothing,” he repeated, and used that as an excuse to go to the bathroom before rush hour.

He didn’t want to tell his sister that he had been waiting for someone to show up, and that person was late. Well, he didn’t know if he was late, but he was usually there to eat dinner around that hour, and he hadn’t showed up yet. Thomas bit his lip. Perhaps he had a date. An exam. Something that prevented him from coming. He knew he was overthinking. His sister was right, there was something going on, and he needed to take care of it. He should have kept distractions to a minimum while he worked, unless he wanted Eugenia to tell their parents that he wasn’t doing his duty the way they expected him to.

Thomas shook his head, hitting someone along the way because he wasn’t paying attention due to his overthinking. “I’m sorry,” he muttered. He was about to gasp, because the person he had bumped into was exactly the one he had been waiting for.

“You should watch where you’re going, giant,” the guy said, locking his ebony colored eyes with Thomas. He was frowning, but then again, what was new? He always frowned. That dark haired man was one of those people who no matter how many coffee drank, they always seemed defeated. As if not even that could help their mood. Perhaps the guy was someone whose coffee made him more nervous. Maybe he was a tea guy. No, he likes black coffee, Thomas. And you know it. It’s not the coffee’s fault if it doesn’t lift his mood.

Thomas wanted to say something, anything to keep the conversation going, but he couldn’t find the words, so the handsome stranger walked away, leaving him there with his heart thumping and two flushed cheeks.

Thomas knew that his heart would thunder in his chest when the stranger would go on stage and sing a song. For whom, he didn’t know, since he was often by himself typing away on his laptop until the shop’s crowd would thin and he would leave. What he did know was that the guy’s voice was amazing, that he couldn’t stop staring whenever he went on stage. Why was nobody listening to him? Tonight, though, while groups of two or more students went on singing random hits and wouldn’t leave the mic to someone who could actually sing, the guy stayed focused on his computer.

“Alright, I’m going home,” Eugenia announced at some point. Good thing he had been waiting for her, otherwise she would have found him staring and he didn’t want to answer any question she might ask. Not yet. “Will you be okay closing the place by yourself?”

Thomas, who had been doing it for weeks, just shrugged. “For the millionth time, Eugenia, yes,” he glanced at the tables, seeing movement in the direction of the area where the guy was sitting.

“Hey, don’t get angry, little brother,” she got closer to him, just as the guy stood up and got the mic from the last improvised singer.

“I’m not angry, just tired,” Thomas said a little bluntly, his eyes already set on the stranger as the song he chose to sing started playing.

“He’s good,” he heard Eugenia whisper to him. “I didn’t think he knew how to sing.”

“Do you know him?” he wondered with interest.

Eugenia raised an eyebrow, already trying to make up the reason why Thomas had asked. “I don’t, personally. But our sister Barbara does. He’s an International Relations student named Alastair, or at least that’s what she told me the last time she was here and he was too.”

“Really?”

“Yes, Thomas, for real. Why do you want to know?”

Thomas was thankful that the lights were dimmed, otherwise his sister would have caught his flushed cheeks. “Can’t I be curious? It’s not like I’ve asked you the secret formula for Coke, sister.”

Eugenia nodded with a smirk plastered on her face. “Do you want me to introduce him to you?” she offered, and Thomas stilled.

“What, no,” he said, trying to seem as disinterested as possible.

His sister shrugged, then she walked away. In the meantime they were talking, the guy had already sung his piece and sat back down at his lonely table.

Thomas glanced at his wristwatch. There was still one hour before the place would close, maybe he would sing another song? Nope. He just ate in silence as he checked things on his laptop and occasionally typed other things from a notebook by his side, which was his only companion. The clock soon signaled that it was a little past 10, and after the last group of customers had left, Alastair was the only one left in the room. Had he lost track of time? Because he seemed unbothered. Thomas believed that was the universe giving him a chance to talk to him, but he still waited half an hour before doing that. Silly.

He took one big breath of encouragement and walked to the table. You can do it. “I’m sorry, but we are closing. You must leave.”

Alastair’s hands halted on the keyboard, and he looked up. “For a person so imposing, you have the bad habit of saying sorry too much.”

“What’s wrong with saying sorry?���

“Absolutely nothing. But I’m not sorry for staying here past the service hours,” he replied with what Thomas thought was hostility. “I’m finishing a paper, can’t you wait a little more?”

Thomas frowned. “I’m sorry,” he said again, then bit his lip in frustration. “But I have to close the shop and go home.” What was he doing? Why wasn’t he saying that he didn’t mind if he stayed more? Ah, yes. Embarrassment. But also determination. He didn’t know this person, and even if he liked him, he couldn’t make an exception for anybody. Right?

Alastair started to laugh, and Thomas was puzzled. “It’s the first time I’ve seen you laugh,” Thomas said before the other could say anything.

Alastair’s eyes widened in surprise. “It’s the first time I had the guts to talk to you,” he replied, then started packing his things in his black laptop bag.

Thomas started sweating. He didn’t expect it. “Me too,” he said. There was an imperceptible stop in Alastair’s movements, as if he had been caught off guard just like he was.

“I was joking,” he told him, rising from his chair, and Thomas froze. “About finishing the paper, I mean,” he added, and Thomas didn’t hide the relief he felt at the admission. “I just wanted to talk to you. I’ve been wanting to do it for several weeks, Thomas.”

“You know how to sing, Alastair,” Thomas said, wondering how he knew his name. But it was fair, he also knew his name through third parties. He registered Alastair’s shock. “What do you say we meet tomorrow after my shift and we talk more?”

“I thought you would never ask,” he answered.

“I thought you would never agree,” he countered.

If only I talked to him sooner, Thomas thought, as he and Alastair exited the coffee shop. It was okay, the ice was broken now. He finally had the guts to interact with him, and he thought that the evening shift was totally worth it, unlike what Eugenia may think.

Taglist (if you want to be added or removed, send me a PM): @princesslucinda @kit-12 @immortal-enemies @lucian-evander @esa-emery @danieldyers @blackthorn-trash @rinadragomir @fortunesandfables @itsdaughterofthemoon @silvenys@thomastair3 @livvyheronstairs @ holding-infinity-and-a-book @lovelaces @axoloteca @autumnangel20 @cordelia-cardale @lucie-blackthorns @thephcastcouldsteponme-please

[selkiewife]

@the-king-andthe-lionheart​, thanks for your questions and comments! It was easier for me to create whole new post because this got long, so I’ll respond to your questions on my post here.

cw/tw: This post contains description of rape and sexual assault, and discussion of seizures.

First, it’s important for me to reiterate that even if Sansa is not being triggered, she still has every right to reject unwanted touch from Sweetrobin.

But the reason I got the impression that Sansa was being triggered by the touching of her breasts is because she has experienced sexual trauma related to her breasts being touched or exposed at least three times before Sweetrobin nuzzles her there. First, as Joffrey is having her beaten in front of the court, he orders Boros to strip her naked:

Boros shoved a meaty hand down the front of Sansa's bodice and gave a hard yank. The silk came tearing away, baring her to the waist. Sansa covered her breasts with her hands. She could hear sniggers, far off and cruel. "Beat her bloody," Joffrey said...

On her forced wedding night she is asked to strip again:

She kept her eyes on the floor, too shy to look at him, but when she was done she glanced up and found him staring. There was hunger in his green eye, it seemed to her, and fury in the black. Sansa did not know which scared her more." You're a child," he said. She covered her breasts with her hands. "I've flowered."

Then when she is told to get into bed:

She had started to pull up a blanket to cover herself when she heard him say, "No." The cold made her shiver, but she obeyed. Her eyes closed, and she waited. After a moment she heard the sound of her husband pulling off his boots, and the rustle of clothing as he undressed himself. When he hopped up on the bed and put his hand on her breast, Sansa could not help but shudder. She lay with her eyes closed, every muscle tense, dreading what might come next. 

Then after she has escaped King’s Landing with Little Finger, Marillion, the singer, attempts to rape her. 

Sansa jerked away from him, frightened. "If you don't leave me, my au—my father will hang you. Lord Petyr."

"Littlefinger?" He chuckled. "Lady Lysa loves me well, and I am Lord Robert's favorite. If your father offends me, I will destroy him with a verse." He put a hand on her breast, and squeezed. "Let's get you out of these wet clothes. You wouldn't want them ripped, I know."

So when Sweetrobin climbs into her bed and nuzzles against her breast, I do think that it triggers her. As she describes:

She would not have minded if he only slept, but he was always trying to nuzzle at her breasts.

We understand why he is doing it and so does Sansa- even though he is eight, he’s still weaning since Lysa was still breastfeeding him and she died so suddenly. Sansa knows he is only looking for comfort. But at the age of thirteen, Sansa has already had three traumatic incidents related to unwanted touching or displaying of her breasts (two of which happened when she was only twelve.)

TWOW Spoilers: It sickens me just talking about this as well, but Arya is also groped at the age of eleven in the Mercy chapter of TWOW. So I completely agree with you that Arya is going through the same kind of abuse and traumas as her sister. At the time she cares for Weasel, I don’t think she has been touched in this way (I may be wrong.) But even if she wasn’t and didn’t have any sort of trigger, I would still not judge Arya to be “unmotherly” or lacking compassion if she rejected a touch from Weasel there or anywhere else on her body.

Speaking of Weasel, I did not say that Arya’s situation was any less traumatic than Sansa. And I totally agree, Arya is on the run, starving, traumatized, and hunted. I also did not intend to say Weasel herself was any less traumatized than Sweetrobin. I do believe that it is kind of ridiculous to compare traumas anyway and obviously it is just not right to do that. However I do think that Sweetrobin may be more difficult to care for than Weasel at baseline. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have thought to compare which child was harder. But it was Sansa’s care of Sweetrobin that was being called into question, not Arya’s. So I did start to compare how difficult each child would be to care for when thinking about why Sansa reacts to Sweetrobin the way she does sometimes. 

So it was intentional when I said that I think Sweetrobin is arguably harder to care for than Weasel, just objectively speaking, for a number of reasons. I also said arguably, because you could argue the opposite- that Weasel is harder. Or say they are equally hard. I mean, Weasel is tough to deal with as well. She cried so much she was called “the crying girl” before she got the nickname Weasel and she even kicked Hot Pie once I think. And she also has that habit of eating mud. And even Gendry complained that she was slowing them down (Isn’t it interesting how the fandom never calls Gendry’s fathering skills into question even though he would have willingly abandoned a traumatized child?) 

But one reason that I personally think that Weasel is easier to care for is because she is more likable than Sweetrobin and less demanding. Although this may be just my own feelings as a reader (which are subjective), Weasel was endearing to me immediately in a way that I didn’t feel with Sweetrobin at first. Now I know that might sound harsh, but I think that GRRM writes Sweetrobin to be off-putting purposely and I will explain why later. He does that with a lot of characters. Sansa for one, but also Theon, Jaime etc... there are a lot of characters in asoiaf that you are set up to dislike at first, before coming to understand and root for them later. I think Sweetrobin is one of those characters. And I think Sansa feels similarly toward him- gradually bonding with him instead of instantaneously. 

And we know Arya seems to like Weasel immediately. She even chooses “Weasel” as one of her aliases later in her arc and she tends to pick names of people she loves. I also think Weasel and Arya have a lot in common. They are both resilient, traumatized little girls on the run you know? I loved that out of the whole group they were the only ones unafraid to eat bugs when they were starving (these poor children!) And so, I feel like Arya could identify with her in a lot of ways.

Whereas I think that Sansa takes longer to bond with Sweetrobin because it is more complicated with him for a couple of reasons. For one, even before the trauma, Lysa has been raising Sweetrobin to be a spoiled brat. He is also emotionally stunted as a result of the way Lysa has kept him isolated and coddled. And even though I don’t think that Sweetrobin really understands what is happening when he is so gleeful about making people “fly” through the moon door- it’s still a little chilling and off putting. 

A specific reason that I think Sansa doesn’t immediately warm to him is that even before she meets him, Lysa intends for them to wed each other. Sansa has just left a traumatizing marriage into the Lannister family and the last thing she wants is another forced marriage right now. As Lysa instructs her:

“He likes to play hopfrog and spin-the-sword and come-into-my-castle, but you must always let him win. That's only proper, don't you think? He is the Lord of the Eyrie, after all, you must never forget that... My son will have a grateful and obedient wife.”

Sweetrobin, at first, symbolizes another unwanted, forced marriage to Sansa. So she might have an initial aversion to him just because of this. And I stand by my original assessment that this does make the situation with Sweetrobin more fucked up than Weasel. Weasel represents a frightened, traumatized child to Arya. Whereas Sweetrobin represents a traumatized child as well, but also a possible future husband that Sansa would have to be “grateful and obedient” to. Of course that changes once Lysa dies- but it is still the way she was introduced to him. And Robert still talks about marrying her in TWOW. We know that it is just a sweet crush from a little boy- but again, even the sweet things he does is sometimes off putting to Sansa because it is related to her trauma. Not to mention the fact that she is only caring for him because his mother tried to murder her. And she is dealing with misplaced guilt since Baelish ended up murdering Lysa after that incident. So Sweetrobin is intricately linked with her trauma.

And then his behavior in general is tough to deal with. None of it is his fault, but it still tough nonetheless. He is given to temper tantrums, throwing his chamber pot and bowls of food at people, and he is very petulant- and this was part of his character even before Lysa was murdered. He kind of reminds me of Colin from The Secret Garden. Like, it’s not his fault he is a spoiled brat, but he does start out like that.

He also has health issues and seizures. Obviously this is not his fault, but Sansa doesn’t have the necessary training to deal with his seizures or know the appropriate thing to do when he is having them. Sansa gives him sweetsleep so that he doesn’t have a seizure on the way down the mountain. As you said, she has no idea it could lead to his death and the side effects seem to be way less of a threat than him having a seizure and falling to his death. She is not a maester and doesn’t know the true effects of what she thinks is a medicine. Maester Coleman is the one who knows how harmful it is. And as the actual adult in the situation, he should either clearly tell her “hey, this will kill him,” or intervene himself. 

She has also been injured while trying to help him during a seizure:

Alayne turned to soothe the little lordling, but too late. The fit was on him. A pitcher of milk went flying as his hand caught it, flailing. When he tried to rise he knocked his chair backwards and fell on top of it. One foot caught Alayne in the belly, so hard it knocked the wind from her. 

And it’s worth mentioning that she never complains specifically about these incidents because she knows it is not his fault at all. That is it just part of his illness. She never complains about him at all actually to his face or to others- she is always sweet and soothing. The only reason we know of her frustrations at all is because we can read her thoughts. Which is similar to Arya who is bothered by Weasel��s crying as well but always defends her against the others who are complaining. 

But I think that Sweetrobin is purposely set up to be a difficult child to care for- because, as I said in the original post, Sansa is on a learning arc. She is learning to care for him (And I think she does an excellent job, personally.) Whereas, Arya’s relationship with Weasel is set up to reveal her compassion, her leadership skills, and ability to stand up for people (like when Gendry wants to leave Weasel behind.)

I agree with you that Sansa represses a lot of Little Finger’s machinations due to her trauma. But I don’t think she knows that Sweetrobin is being poisoned. I think she buys Little Finger’s story that Robert will die because of his health issues. And even then, I think she hopes for the best. Why else would she want to make him stronger and brave? Why else would she hope for a kind wife for him one day, if she was knowingly poisoning him? It doesn’t make sense. But I do think that GRRM leaves some things purposely vague so that it creates suspense. Will she realize he is being poisoned in time? If she does, will she try to save him? I think she will but that is probably one of the reasons he made Sweetrobin so difficult for Sansa specifically. To plant that seed of doubt in the reader. Like we know Arya would do anything to save Weasel. That’s a no brainer. But would Sansa save Sweetrobin? I think yes, and I will write a longer post about this at some point. But regardless, her initial complicated feelings toward him does serve to create narrative suspense.

Anyway, thanks for the questions and sorry that my explanation got so long. I hope you don’t take what I said, comparing Sweetrobin to Weasel, as me saying anything bad against Arya. It breaks my heart when I think of the trauma she has survived and is currently going through as well. And there are definitely many situations where she is dealing with things that are objectively harder than Sansa as well. And like I said, this is just my opinion of the two different childcare plots. 

And also, this may be controversial, but I think Arya absolutely did the right thing when she slapped Weasel to get her to move out of the battle. She needed to do whatever she could as a ten year old child trying to save a toddler’s life! Like seriously, if I were Weasel’s mother I would never be like “why did you slap my child?” I’d be like, "thank you for saving my child!” But like I said, I probably wouldn’t even have tried to compare the difficulty of the two situations had it not been for the initial comparison in the discourse. 

[ardenskyedarcy221b]

from our family to yours

read on AO3

for @hailing-stars​ and @ciaconnaa​ for their unending support of me. love you 3000 besties!

“I come bearing presents!” shouts Peter, stepping through the front door of the cabin he calls his second home, juggling his backpack and several Target bags. “Who missed me?”

“Petey!” his little sister’s ear-splitting screech precedes tiny feet stomping down the stairs as if she were an entire stampede before he has two feet inside and the door shut behind him. 

Peter hauls himself fully through the threshold, makes sure the glass door latches, quickly deposits his belongings on the ground. He braces himself. 

It doesn’t take Morgan long to launch herself at his knees. 

Peter catches her easily, swinging her around and pulling melodious giggles as a result, until Morgan’s arms wind around his neck and she knees his side as she locks her legs around his waist. He beams at her. 

Her eyes squint with the force of her smile. “Missed you,” she mumbles once she burrows into his neck. “Don’t like it when you leave me.”

“Mmm, I missed you, Mo-kitty.” 

Morgan yanks away, brows furrowed and looking like a dark-headed version of her mother, and professes, “I’m not a kitty, Pete!”

Peter’s laughter mingles with Tony’s, who Peter glances up to see pushing himself up and off the sofa and sporting a wide grin. 

“I could have sworn you were a cat! You act just like one.”

“I do not,” she says with all the seriousness of a professional attorney, though the uptick lips ruins the aura. “I’m a princess who slays dragons.”

“Woah ho! Well excuse me.” 

“You’re excused.” 

Tony snorts as he tugs on Peter’s shoulder so he can pull the teenager into his chest, squeezing him tightly first then planting a kiss on his temple. 

“No, Daddy! Pete’s here to see me.”

Tony’s wide gaze finds and holds Peter’s as they share a moment of commiseration. Then Tony winks. 

“Are you a kidnapper?” he asks his daughter, tugging once on her ponytail. 

“What?”

“I asked if you’re a kidnapper.”

“I’m not!”

“So you can’t keep Pete from me. Otherwise that would make you a kidnapper.”

Peter snorts once. 

“Daddy,” she drags out the final vowel, head lolling backwards and dramatically rolling her eyes. “I asked Petey to come, not you.”

“And yet, you’re both in my house.”

“Actually, it’s Mommy’s house sooo,” she ends her sentence with a shrug. 

Peter tucks the feisty five year old under his chin and attempts to hold in his belly laughs. Morgan fights it at first, though she’s quick to act like a spider-monkey and cling to him if it’ll mean she has all the claim to him. 

Tony rolls his eyes. 

“What’s in the bags, Petey?”

“Ah-ha! No treats before lunch! You can do whatever you two wanna do after you eat.”

“You’re no fun.”

“Um, excuse you, little miss; I’m the cool parent, what kind of nonsense are you saying?”

“Petey agrees with me.”

“I plead the fifth.”

“Ouch. Taken out by both of my kids.” sniffs Tony. “You’re lucky I already made sandwiches and brought out those blueberry bites Mom made; otherwise, I’d say no lunch.” 

Peter rolls his eyes and sets off for the kitchen. “You’re all talk, old man.” 

“Hey now,” protests Tony, “there’s no need for that kinda behavior in front of your impressionable sister. She repeats everything she hears.”

“All talk, old man,” parrots Morgan as she pulls away from Peter’s chin, grin wide and mischievous and not bothering to hide her giggling amusement, batting her eyelashes at her father, though Tony doesn’t see her. “Mommy says same thing.”

Peter imagines Tony rolls his eyes as he leads them into the kitchen. He feels the magnitude of it. 

As Tony veers toward the island where there is a smorgasbord of food, Peter steers toward the kitchen table and tries depositing Morgan in her designated seat. Only the little girl is doing a great impression of having sticky powers and Morgan stays attached to his waist and neck. 

“Can I sit with you?” 

Peter raises his eyes at her. 

Her lower lip juts out into the beginning of an impressive pout. 

Peter sighs. 

Morgan beams. 

Peter pulls out his own designated chair with all the drama required to get his sister in a fit of continuous giggles until she snorts and they plop down. Morgan makes herself comfortable, twisting on his lap until she can smile up at him. If Pepper were home, Morgan would sit in her seat; but because she’s on a plane home from Beijing, Tony explains, and both Tony and Peter have an extremely difficult time telling the little girl no, Morgan gets what she wants. 

Tony doesn’t even blink when he comes over with plates: simply sets two on one placemat and heads back for his own. 

Morgan grabs her sandwich and bites into the middle. 

“Will you tell me a story?”

Peter eats around her, hoping he doesn’t drop crumbs in her hair. “What, like right now?”

Her expression is the equivalent of a duh noise and Peter bops her nose for it. 

“Once upon a time, both my kids ate their lunch quietly. The end.” 

“Daddy!” 

“You asked for a story; I gave you a story,” comes the cheeky reply from Tony as he finally pulls out his seat at the kitchen table. 

Morgan glares at him. “I asked Petey for a story,” she emphasizes the name. 

Peter cuts in before Tony aggravates Morgan so much she ends up in tears of frustration. (He knows from experience that this time of the day is notorious for meltdowns; Morgan thinks she has outgrown naps, but her behavior has the tendency to disagree with the little girl.) “Do you want a real story or pretend one?” 

Morgan tilts her chin in the air, eyes squinting close as she thinks. As her eyes pop open she cries, “A Spider-Man story!” 

Tony groans. 

Peter grins. “Did I tell you how Spidey accidentally let an animal loose at the zoo?”

Brown eyes nearly eclipse his sister’s face as they widen at his words. “You what?” 

Her words are echoed by her father, though the baritone isn’t a tone of wonder but one of exasperation. 

Yeah, maybe Peter shouldn’t have told this story at the table since he spent all week making sure Tony didn’t hear about it. Well, the last thirty-six hours. Same thing. There went his longest record of keeping a secret that wasn’t his secret identity. Oh well, best get on with it then. 

“So Spidey is at the zoo, right? And he’s helping a little girl just a little bit older than you, Mo, find her way back to her parents. She said they were supposed to be at the penguins exhibit.”

“Oooh, I love penguins!!” 

“I know you do; that’s what I told the little girl that my baby sister loooooves them.” 

Morgan’s smile turned into a wide, pleased grin. “So what happened next?”

“Is this really a story you should be telling her?” interjects a wary Tony, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 

“All my stories have a moral to them.” 

“Doesn’t answer my question.”

“Yes, I need to tell this story. There’s valuable life lessons to be learned today,” Peter finishes with a firm nod, shifting his attention back to Morgan and flashes her a wide smile. Her giggles are hidden behind her hand she slaps to her mouth, and Peter huffs out a snort of laughter. “SO, back to what I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted—”

“—I’ll ground you—”

“No you won’t.” 

“Mommy says you’re all talk, Daddy.”

Tony groans, long and loud and dramatic, head tipping back until it plonks against the back of his chair. 

Peter carries on, “I may have accidentally let loose a penguin or two.” 

“Oh no!”

“You WHAT?!” 

“Stop interrupting me,” says Peter, flapping his hand in Tony’s general direction, not daring to meet what will surely be steely brown eyes, and continues, “but it’s okay! I’m Spider-Man. I took care of it.”

“Petey!” squeals Morgan, “what happened?!” 

“So there may have been an incident where everyone wanted Spidey to feed the penguins and for future reference I am not able to stick to ice and reinforced glass is nothing against a clumsy superhero.” 

Tony makes a high pitched noise as Morgan titters in amusement. 

“Have you ever tried to catch a runaway penguin before, Mo?” Peter asks with all the levels of seriousness he can muster, which isn’t very much.

“No,” she shakes her head. “I have tried to catch Gerald when he escapes his pen! He ran out of his fence one time on Daddy though; it was pretty funny.” 

“Funny for everyone but him, I’d imagine. So, I’m running after a penguin—“

“Why didn’t you use your webs?”

Peter makes a face. “Apparently there are surfaces I cannot stick and the same goes toward my webs? I guess. I dunno. You’re such a smarter cookie than I am, Mo; because I didn’t think it through.”

Tony snorts, “He finally admits it.” 

“This is the important bit!” whines Peter with an over-exaggerated tone. “She needs to learn the moral of the story.” 

“What’s a moral?”

“Well,” starts Peter, “I guess it’s kinda like lesson learned from a story, between what’s right and what’s wrong. Does that make sense?”

At first Morgan nods and Peter believes he explained it well enough for his little sister. Until she shrugs on top of the nodding movement and Peter bites back a groan. Tony was just telling him over the phone at the beginning of the week Morgan had picked up a new habit: Peter didn’t believe him, though he isn’t sure why. Now he understands how frustrating it is to see the little girl acting willfully oblivious. The glint in her eye says it all: Morgan thinks she’s being funny if she acts oblivious. Peter hopes it isn’t a long habit. 

The little girl opens her mouth to speak but Peter cuts her off. 

“Okay, moral of the story always fix your mistakes. Make sense?”

“Yep!”

Tony rolls his eyes, not bothering to hid his wide smirk as he says, “Alright, finish eating.”

Morgan takes another large bite. 

Peter leans across the tabletop and stage-whispers to Morgan, “Maybe next time I’ll tell you about my shark tank adventures.”

Tony barks, “Absolutely not!”

Peter sputters out a cackle while Morgan snickers behind her hand. 

Rest of lunch passes uneventfully. 

Until it’s time for Morgan’s nap and Peter can’t say no to telling his little sister a story and gets dragged upstairs and he finds himself cramped on a twin bed with said little sister wedged up against him, looking up at him and awaiting a new story with all the patience of an expectant five year old. 

“Tell me a story.” 

“Once upon a time, Morgan had to take a nap but she couldn’t stop talking so her heroic big brother Peter hypnotized her and she still didn’t go to sleep because she is sooo stubborn.” 

Morgan’s eyebrows scrunch together. “Tell me a different story.” 

“Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Morgan—“

“No, she can’t have my name!”

“Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Rosie—“

“Nooo, I don’t wanna hear a story about a little girl.”

“Once upon a time, there was a little boy named José and he loved to ride his bike. His bike was red and blue after his favorite superhero and he loved riding it every single day. What happens next?”

“No.”

“What do you mean no?” asks Peter, shifting around to stare down at the stubborn child practically glued at his side. “You’re a great storyteller!”

Morgan makes a face. 

“Tell me what happens next; I forget.” 

And so the next forty-five minutes go until Morgan falls asleep. 

It takes three minutes more for Peter to feel comfortable enough to slip out from Morgan’s hold and tiptoe out of her bedroom. 

“I’m surprised she fell asleep,” is his greeting from Tony once Peter crests the bottom step. 

Peter doesn’t reply until he plops down next to his mentor and snuggles into the older man’s side, “She really loves her stories.” 

“That she does.” nods Tony, wrapping his arm around Peter’s shoulder and tugging him closer into his side. “What goodies did you bring this time?”

“Pajamas.” 

“Oh, boy.”

And they leave the conversation untouched after that eloquent reply. 

Television remains turned off, though FRIDAY provides holiday music as gentle white noise, as Tony and Peter catch up. Peter admits he’s ready for his midterms despite feeling overly prepared and stressed from the mounting work. 

“I’m proud of you, Pete.” the words are strong, sure, and are spoken with the warmth of a parent unleashing his tenderness freely upon his child. “You never cease amazing me. To have you in my life is one incredible thing; but the fact Morgan gets to grow up with you as her older brother... I’m one lucky dad to have two extraordinary children. No matter what you two become, continue to become.”

A soft smile unfurls as the teenager settles more firmly against a shoulder and chest, closing his eyes at the bubbling emotions stirring inside him. Peace. Harmony. Belonging. All things he has struggled tremendously over since his return, and Tony’s lengthy recovery; flighty feelings he now tries his damnedest to relish whenever they appear. More frequently, and not taken for granted. 

Of course the peace is always broken when a five year old is underfoot. Morgan sleeps all of ninety minutes, at most, before she’s zooming downstairs and climbing over the back of the couch to nestle between her brother and father. 

“Presents!!” she screeches directly into Peter’s ear canal. “Petey, please!?”

Peter blinks away the fuzzy-ringing sensation. 

“Morgan, you know better than to scream in Peter’s ears.” starts Tony. 

Wide eyes grow larger, comically on such a cherubic face, as the five year old professes, “I’m just excited.” at her father’s raised eyebrows she tacks on, “Sorry, Petey.”

He presses a kiss to her forehead. “S’alright, Mo-kitty.”

She pouts, curling down her lower lip, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Well, you know where his stuff’s at, Morgan.” Tony says after a beat of his daughter’s prolonged dramatics. 

Morgan shifts as if to jump off Peter’s lap and Peter lifts her with enhanced deftness, keeping her from kicking or elbowing him or Tony in her quest to track down goodies, and Peter sets her on her feet. Morgan pays no attention to how she’s on the ground. She shuffle-sprints toward the front door and dives right into the Target bags. 

“Oooh, jammies! Daddy!” she crows. 

Tony pokes Peter in the side. 

Peter yelps, immensely ticklish in that spot. He jumps up and away from his mentor, turning to scrunch up his face at the other man, before trotting over to assist Morgan. 

If anyone says Peter went overboard on their family pajamas, he’ll just point to Tony and say the man’s never taught him control. Peter is stoked about them and honestly he wants them out of their bags quick so Morgan can amp up his excitement. 

Morgan pulls out Peter’s pjs first and Peter is quick to explain the white blob, 

“It’s a unicorn, Mo.” 

“Oh!” she hands it to him. 

Peter shakes it out and holds it up against his body, making certain that the hood is situated enough for Morgan to see the attached horn. 

“A unicorn?” questions Tony from behind. 

“Oh, just you wait,” smirks Peter and notions for Morgan to dig into the same bag. “I almost got us matching pjs because I liked yours so much.” he tosses his unicorn footless pajamas onto the couch and turns back to see Morgan pulling out a colorful creation, directing at her, “Do you know what that is?” 

She makes a weird noise at the back of her throat, like she wants to scream and speak at the same time. Then she professes, “It’s a DRAGON!”

“She’s the slayer of dragons.” whines Tony. 

“Exactly!” Peter preens with a little wiggle of excitement. “Look, it even has a tail!”

“Pete!”

“Yeah, Mo?”

“Am I gonna be a princess?”

“No. I hope I picked out something better for you. Go ahead and see, in that last bag.” he encourage,. 

Morgan digs into the next bag and positively shrieks. “It’s a mermaid!”

Peter had settled on mermaid pajamas for Morgan simply because her favorite color is blue and Peter was a fan of the tail’s design. And the children’s section didn’t have as much to choose from in the variety Peter wanted. Needs must, and all that jazz. 

“Let’s put them on NOW!!!”

“Morguna—“

“Mo—“

“NOW!”

Since both are pushovers, Morgan gets what she wants, though it may have something to do with the fact Morgan immediately started tugging her sweater over her head. 

Ten minutes later they were all bundled up in their footless pajamas (footies in Morgan’s case), hot chocolates in hand, and sitting on the couch bickering over what holiday movie to watch. 

Morgan wins with the newest Pixar classic. 

They’re halfway through the second movie, though there’s more singing and jumping around the living room than sitting and enjoying the movie, when Pepper wonders into the house. There is too much chaos for Pepper’s entrance to steal away anyone’s attention. Volume from the movie is up higher than usual; and even then Morgan and Peter’s singing is heard clearly. Tony is roped into singing the choruses. 

So of course the first thing Pepper says is, 

“Why’d you start chaotic Christmas without me?”

“MOMMY!” shrieks Morgan, jumping onto the couch so she can scurry up the back and throw herself into her mother’s arms. 

Pepper catches Morgan, juggling her around until the child is situated at her hip. “What new outfit do you have on; Mommy’s never seen it before.”

“Petey got it for me, see! I’m a mermaid.” 

“And it’s blue! How nice of him.”

Peter grins big over at Pepper and she laughs upon seeing his own getup. 

“He got one for Daddy, too!” continues on Morgan, patting her mother’s cheeks for her full attention. “Daddy’s a dragon! And I’m the dragon slayer!”

“Oh, poor Daddy.” 

Tony stretches over the couch’s back, pouting identically to his daughter’s infamous expression. “Yeah, poor Daddy. He’s been stuck at home with two rowdy heathens! He’s a withering dragon.”

Peter snorts, “Quick, someone give him hugs and kisses!” 

Morgan wraps her arms around Pepper’s neck and proceeds to offer a kiss to her mother’s cheek. 

Tony scoffs, smile blossoming despite the faux-hurt expression. 

Pepper’s head tosses back, laughter shaking her frame. 

Peter drops down next to Tony, resting his head against Tony’s shoulder. “Hi.” 

“Oh, look! Someone has come to love on the poor, withering away dragon!” croons Tony, wrapping both arms around Peter until he’s snug in his embrace. “A unicorn’s love is the purest of them all.” 

Peter snorts loudly at that proclamation. 

Morgan cackles madly at the noise, for whatever reason she is always overcome with immense pleasure whenever anyone snorts in laughter. “He sounds like a pig.” she whisper-shouts at Pepper.

“Kinda weird for a unicorn!” comes Peppers reply.

At the reminder of their pajamas, Morgan whips around and says, “Hey! Daddy, you can’t snuggle my unicorn!! He’s mine!” and then she promptly attempts throwing herself out of Pepper’s arm and onto the couch. 

Pepper doesn’t let her go. 

Tony begins raining kisses down on Peter. 

For his part, Peter pretends to squirm away, hoping to rile up his sister

Morgan falls for it: immediately squawking and wiggling away from her mother in an attempt to attack her father. After a few moments, Pepper allows Morgan to climb onto the couch and she latches onto her dad’s prosthetic arm. 

“Noo, Daddy, Petey’s my unicorn!”

“I knew him first; he’s mine.”

Pepper barks out a surprised, “Tony!”

Tony and Morgan squabble over who Peter belongs to for several loud moments. Peter laughs hysterically between the both of them. Pepper wonders up behind the couch and combs her fingers through Peter’s hair and says, 

“What if I claimed Peter as my own?”

Tony gasps. 

Morgan squeals, “Can’t! He’s mine!”

Peter tugs Morgan into his lap. “Oh yeah? And what if I said I’m my own man?”

Morgan’s brows furrow at that proclamation. 

Tony, thankfully, switches the conversation, “Hey, Mo? Why don’t you ask Mom to put on her special jammies at the back of our closet?”

Pepper backs away from the couch. “No way.” she says with all the dignity of a composed CEO not afraid of anything, shaking her head and swishing around her ponytail. “You promised you’d never bring it up again!”

Peter bites his lip, “I didn’t get Pepper pjs because you said on Monday she wouldn’t be back until next week!”

Tony shushes him, “It’s okay. I did say that. But Pep has a black cat footie pajama set in our room that she loves to wear.” 

Peter turns around to stare incredulously at Pepper, “You do?!”

Pepper mouths at her husband, “I hate you,” before turning her attention to Peter, “I do. I’ll be back; give me ten minutes.” and she trudges up the staircase. 

Morgan and Peter share a commemorating look of victory. 

Tony claps his hands. “Finally! I’ve been wanting to do a family portrait forever!”

Peter throws his head back with laughter, “You seriously wanna do family pictures in pjs?”

“When have I ever been conventional?”

“Fair.” 

Morgan jumps out of Peter’s lap and begins bouncing on the cushions once more. “We need to start the movie over! We missed ten whole minutes!”

“We can rewind it,” her father soothes. 

“Nope,” she shakes her head, “gotta start it allllll over. I said so.” 

“And your word is law?”

Morgan nods. 

Tony sweeps her into his arm, to the tune of Morgan shrieking, and says between kisses, “How about I think about it while you clean up your mess? I want our picture taken in front of the fireplace.”

Morgan glances that way and pulls a scrunched up face. “Do I gotta?”

Peter stands up and offers the little girl his hand, “I’ll help.”

So Peter and Morgan clean up. 

Pepper comes back down, decked out in her black cat pajamas. Peter retrains from commenting on her, admittedly awesome, ensemble. Tony, on the other hand, immediately begins flirting with his wife as Morgan and Peter finish their task. 

After a few moments, Pepper puts an end of Tony’s comments by directing them all in front of the fireplace. 

“One serious and the rest are silly,” Tony says as his sits in the middle, pulling Peter onto his left side. “Think you can manage all that, FRI?”

“Well within my purviews, boss; I am more than capable of taking family portraits.”

“Excellent! Morgan, you sit with Mom, alright?”

“Yes!”

“Say goofball on the count of three,” FRIDAY directs and begins counting down. 

“Goofball!” echoes four voices. 

Tony puts the serious picture up on the company website. And if May ends up being bombarded with several silly pictures ten minutes later, well, Tony and Peter both know she won’t mind. 

[southcrnsweets]

Magnolia’s Questionnaire

NAME: Magnolia Bishop AGE: 25  GENDER & PRONOUNS: cisfemale & she/her FACECLAIM: Dove Cameron OCCUPATION: florist @ busy bee’s

Q. What is your earliest memory?

Magnolia didn’t stop the gentle smile that formed on her lips at the question, “I was three, I think,” began she, fiddling with her hair as she ran the events over in her mind, probably half story she remembered and half her actual memory. “My mom was running late so she told my dad to help me with my hair… Now, we all know my daddy is not the gentlest of men, his hands are made for a lot, but not hair. But I’ll be damned if that man did not sit down behind me, on the floor, and slowly try to braid my hair.” Magnolia laughed a bit, smile still on her face, “It was ugly, I won’t lie, there are pictures before my momma fixed it, but he tried, and the whole time he just kept telling me how sorry he was if he pulled my hair too hard.”

Q. Who do you admire & why?

“My grandma.” The answer came out before Magnolia could even really think, but it was true. “My mom’s mom. See, my grandpa died when my mom was maybe fifteen? And she had four younger sisters. You know how us girls are when we’re in our teens and preteens.” Magnolia had no shame in referring to her more wild times. “But my grandma raised those five girls to be some incredible and strong women, just like her. My aunts and my mom are probably in a close second, but it’s all in thanks to the woman who raised them. That, on top of running the family farm? Honestly, goals if I wanted to get into the farm life.” Internally, Magnolia was thankful that her older sister was the shoe in for that mantle in their family.

Q. Do you call your mother every day or only on occasions like her birthday, Mother’s Day, & Christmas?

The laugh that fell from Magnolia’s lips was awkward almost, because she knew the real answer — and what she wanted to say. “Alright, I’d like to say I call her maybe once a week, but if you ask her then it’s every day.” Okay, maybe even sometimes more than once in a day. “Listen! I suck at laundry okay! There’s so much that woman knows and it’d be a crime not to learn from her!”

Q. What bad habit are you struggling to overcome?

“Oh, I play with my hair when I’m nervous, hands down the worst giveaway ever.” In fact, she was doing it right then and there. Magnolia did it when she was thinking, when she was worried, when she was scared… She did it a lot, but she’d only admit to one emotion being the cause.

Q. What scent or song reminds you of your childhood? Why?

“Just Fishin’, by Trace Adkins.” Magnolia hummed a few bars of the song at the mention. “My fish loving daddy didn’t have any sons, and I’ve been told I begged him over and over until he finally agreed to take me. After that we were fishing buddies every time.”

Q. What keeps you up at night?

“Weird noises.” Which was odd, because Magnolia grew up in a creeky old house that made noises at any given point of the night. “I dunno why, but when I moved out and into my own little place, it’s like the noises just aren’t the same as my parent’s house, and I’m always waking up from the strangest of things. That reminds me, I need to get those dang trees trimmed.”

Q. What was your worst injury?

“Gotta be my senior year, around April I think. A group of friends and I decided to sneak out. No big deal, just go down to the river for some late night swimming, nothing too wild. Well, my bedroom is on the second floor of my parent’s house, and there is this beautiful trellis of ivy right outside of my window. Practically begging me to use it, right?” And she had, so many times before. “Well, I guess those nails were rusted because the second I started climbing down, it went.” And she used her hand to show the trellis falling from the side of her house. “It was 1am, and my parents came running out because of the noise, also known as my scream. We had a fun ride to the nearest hospital, and I had to get the bone in my ankle reset. It’s the whole reason I didn’t go off to college and stayed here.”

Q. What’s your strongest relationship like & who is it with?

“Can I just say my parents? Like is that lame?” Magnolia laughed, a small snort falling from her lips. “Oh god, don’t tell anyone about that!” Of course, she knew there were no secrets in town, and it was hardly the first time she snorted. “Seriously though, my parents are incredible, I would be nothing without them. I know I can rely on them for anything, everything, and even if I may get a lecture, they’ll always be there for me.”

Q. What advice would you give your younger self?

“If you’re going to sneak out, for the love of god, don’t use the trellis.” Magnolia shook her head, ankles crossing and uncrossing as she thought of the injury.

Q. Have you ever climbed the water tower?

“I meaaaaaaan….” Magnolia trailed off, guilty grin clear on her face. “Who hasn’t?” She finally said with a giggle, not fully admitting it, but not denying it either.

Q. What’s the hottest piece of gossip ever spread around town about you?

“Ugh, please, you don’t want to get me started on this.” Magnolia wrinkled her nose, a clear sign that she was not a fan of the subject. “It’s no secret that the kids around here sneak out, but get caught and it’s like you’re the new town harlot. I swear. Seventeen and I got the nastiest side eyes for at least three years.”

Q. Who’s your least favorite townsperson & why?

“Alright, I’m only telling if you don’t.” After all, family was family. “My dad’s mom, my Gran. I swear to goodness, I love that woman so much, but I do no right in her eyes and I should already be married with two babies. I get it, she’s set in her ways, but ooooo, that woman judgy.”

Q. Who do you really think is the one loosening the cheese shakers at The Cuttery?

“Ooo, I swear it is little Timmy Hartford. I caught him breaking the stems of flowers at the Busy Bee so my money’s on him.” A gentle smirk formed on her lips though, “But I guess I can’t blame him, after all his momma did up and leave him and his daddy a few years ago.”

Q. Have you ever seen the Wharton Creek Witch?

“Nope, no way, no thank you.” It wasn’t that she believed in the stories, but they were creepy as hell. “I don’t go near the creek if I can help it.”

Q. Do you live to tell the tale of competing or even beating the wing challenge from Bootlegger’s?

“Listen here. I’m a wimp. A huge, spice hating wimp.” No shame? Perhaps not. “I can’t eat anything spicy, and even the mild is too hot. You think I’d be able to eat even one of those hot wings? The word ‘nuclear’ is enough to shy me off for good.”

[abakess-blog]

Chances are no one will see this, but this is my story that I’ve never told.

Hi. My name is Alex, and I’m an addict. I’m one day sober”

Those words trembled from my lips as I introduced myself at my very first NA meeting, five years ago.

Let’s back track, back to the beginning.

Here’s the story of how I forever changed my life, and the life of my family.

My road with addiction was a long one, it still is. A very, long, road.

I was 16 years old. I thought I was unbreakable. I thought I was impervious to death. Everyone else could get addicted, everyone else could overdose, but not me. I was untouchable. I had everything under control.

Oh how wrong I was...

My drug use started when I began a relationship with a man, an addict, six years older than me. For privacy’s sake, let’s call him Z. Well, Z introduced me to Vicodin first, and then Oxy. I loved the way it made me feel. I felt euphoria like I’ve never felt before. I thought to myself that this was a feeling I could get used to. As odd as it sounds, I thought it made me better. In fact, I thought it made me the best version of myself. The love for that feeling was instantaneous.

It turned from a “once in awhile” thing to an “every weekend” thing. And of course, as you may have guessed by now, it turned into an everyday thing.

Even when I was using everyday, I still thought I had it under control.

It helps me, I thought.

How could I stop something that made me so much better? How could I stop doing something that HELPED me in such a tremendous way?

I didn’t realize, that this drug, this pill, was the devil in disguise.

I started to lie, and steal. I started to slowly lose myself. It was as if the Alex everyone knew and loved was no longer there. She was buried alive. Buried underneath lies, theft, shame, and guilt. She was still there, just buried deep down, in an unfamiliar place, alone, ashamed, and gasping for air.

Every once and awhile, the “Real” Alex would appear to the surface, breathless and dazed.

She would claw her way back to the top, every single time the drugs wore off.

She would emerge back into a world, and a body that she was unfamiliar with.

A body shaking from the chills but also dripping with sweat. A body aching with every movement. A world so clear with a mind so clear, that it was unbearable. The guilt, the shame, and the pain, all smacking into her, trampling over her like a freight train.

The “new” Alex knew how to fix this.

Take the pills, and everything will stop. The pain, the sickness, the guilt, will all melt away.

Day after day, the “real” Alex was buried. That was the way it was going to stay.

The days felt like weeks, and the weeks felt like months. I had a secret, a potentially deadly secret, that I couldn’t allow anyone to know. The only person who knew, and encouraged this, was Z. I was living a double life. It was agony.

My entire day revolved around two things.

1. Get high

2. Hide it

I knew deep down I was losing my “control”

The control I never had to begin with.

Then, one day, everything changed.

This secret, the secret I had been hiding for two years, was discovered.

Even today, I will never be able to put into words what I was feeling that day. It was as if the “Real” Alex was back, even though I was high. I couldn’t keep her down anymore. She was back, and she was the one who now had to clean up the mess.

The only thing I could do was run. It was fight or flight and my god, did I choose flight. I sat beside my sister in our room as I wrote an apologetic note to my family, trying to hide my tears. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t leave a note, that would make things worse, I thought. I crumpled the note, shoved it in my pocket, and snuck out my back door.

I didn’t have a plan, I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going. As I was running through my backyard, my body in autopilot, I stopped for just a moment, turned, and looked at my house. I thought of my family and in that moment of blind panic and clouded judgement, I decided leaving was less painful for them than for them to discover who their daughter and sister really was, an addict and a liar. So off I went.

I ran and I ran, my feet moving forward without thought. I ran to a gas station first, just a few blocks away from my home to try to withdraw the small amount of money I had left from their ATM.

I was getting phone calls now, all from my Mom. She left me an accidental voicemail. I listened to it shortly after receiving it and all I heard on the other end was my mother, heartbroken, frantically yelling my name. I could hear the distress in her voice. I turned off my phone. I was to guilt ridden to answer, or return her calls. I couldn’t bear to hear her voice, I couldn’t bring myself to explain to her what I was doing. I myself didn’t know what I was doing. It felt like I was in a nightmare that I desperately wanted to wake up from. I was too much of a coward, all I could do was run.

As my fingers were frantically pressing the buttons on the ATM, I heard my stepfathers voice. Shocked, I turned around and faced him. For a split second, I questioned whether or not to turn around.

Although I was scared, and seeing him changed my plans for my attempted desperate escape, I was relieved to see him.

I asked him for a ride to my friends house who lived just down the road, he agreed and dropped me off.

My mother and older sister not twenty minutes later came to collect me. At first, I was reluctant to even leave my friends home. I was frozen in fear, riddled with guilt. My back was pressed flush against the locked front door. For the first time in my life, I didn’t know how to speak to my family.

After some coaxing, my sister and mom got me to come outside to them. I was ashamed. I couldn’t even look them in the eye. I sat silently in the backseat with my heart racing and tears streaming down my face. I was at a loss on what to do.

We went out to a diner, I didn’t even want to eat. I didn’t feel worthy of having a meal purchased for me.

I had just caused so much pain. Not only was my secret disclosed, but I ran away like a coward. I didn’t deserve a meal, let alone have my mother pay for it. I didn’t deserve kindness, I didn’t deserve anything.

I tried at first. I tried to straighten myself out and gain my family’s trust once more, but I didn’t know where to begin. I felt like I was walking through the dark with a blindfold on, looking for even a small glimpse of light, a small glimpse of hope.

My first attempt was short lived and unsuccessful. I quickly returned to my old ways. It was worse this time. My whole family knew and they were suspicious of me, they didn’t trust me, and they had no reason to. There was no more hiding, no more denying, no more lying. I was an addict and everyone knew.

In haste, I decided to go with my (then) boyfriend to his home. I wanted to get away, and I wanted to get high. I couldn’t face my family knowing that I had already returned to my old ways. I brought myself back to square one.

I left, but this time, my family wasn’t able to come get me.

Z was my enabler. He was abusive, he was controlling, and he scared me.

He was an addict.

Z picked me up on a Friday afternoon. Little did I know, as I hugged my family goodbye, that it was going to be the last time I saw them for two months. We made the two hour trip towards his home, chatting along the way.

Z knew that my secret had been discovered. He knew that things with my family were less than stable. I told him that I didn’t know how to even face my family anymore. It was as if I was a stranger being introduced to them for the first time. Z said that he had an idea on how to help with my problem. He told me I wasn’t going back home.

He told me again, and again that I was an adult. I was eighteen now and my family does not have a say in what I do with my life.

“Pick up the phone and call your Mom” he said to me as we were driving closer and closer to his apartment. “To say what?” I asked.

“To tell her you’re living with me now. Tell her you’re not coming home.”

I didn’t want to do it, I didn’t want to call her, I didn’t want to live with him, but I did want to get high. It was all I knew how to do. I was terrified.

I refused, and he insisted. He made a wide variety of threats towards me, threats towards my family, filling my head with all of the malicious things that he would do if I didn’t make that call.

I made the call, the worst call of my life.

I desperately wanted to ask for help, I desperately wanted to scream into the phone “I don’t want to stay with him, I’m afraid of him, he’s insisting I say this to you. These aren’t my words their his. I’m so sorry” but I couldn’t. I did what he said. All of the things he said he would do, I believed him. He had this insanity behind his eyes, I knew he meant what he said.

Everything spiraled out of control. Him and I were so toxic together. We were both addicts, and we were using together. Part of the reason I hastily went to his home, was purely for a fix. I knew he had connections, I knew he could score. I wasn’t ready to kick my habit yet. I needed to feel numb and I definitely didn’t want to go through withdrawals. We would steal, lie, and sell anything we could get our hands on. We would even go to different hospitals monthly to try to get prescriptions. We were so, so destructive. We were out of control. The more I thought about all of the pain I had caused, all of the irreparable damage I had done to my life, the more I used. He was the only person I could “relate” to. He was just as addicted, and was destroying his life just as much as me.

I had hurt everyone I loved so much. My parents were devastated, my sister wouldn’t speak to me, I had to drop out of high school, everything was in shambles.

I ruined my life.

Weeks went by, and there I was, just a miserable shell of my former self who was getting high daily in a cockroach infested apartment. I felt like I was constantly suffocating. I would hide in the bathroom almost every night to cry. He got angry when I cried.

I missed my family, I wanted my normal life back. At this point, I could barley remember what living sober was like. I had lost all sense of the word “normal”. For two years, getting high everyday WAS normal.

I couldn’t tell my family what was really happening and how I really felt. He would listen to my phone calls, constantly monitored my text messages, had all of my social media and email passwords, and he never let me out of his sight. I know what most of you must be thinking

“Just leave! You’re not shackled, or being held against your will, just go home!”

“Why didn’t you call the police if it was that bad?”

“You could’ve found a way to tell your family! You could’ve done something! You didn’t try hard enough!”

You know what? You’re right. I could’ve done all of those things, but I was too terrified of what would happen. He would tell me that if he couldn’t have me, no one could. He would tell me that if I ever left him, he would kill himself and I would be responsible. He would tell me that if I left him, he would make sure that I never had another relationship again, he would show up on my wedding day and gun down my husband and my family and only leave me alive. He told me he loved me.

He was mentally ill, and constantly high. I was too young, dumb and to scared to do anything. I was paralyzed.

The part that hurt the most, was knowing that my family believed this was what I wanted. Little did they know, to no fault of their own, that I wanted nothing more than to just come home.

After the worst weeks of my life, I saw my chance. I finally had an opportunity to go home, for good. I asked him if he could bring me home for a night to see my family, and to “collect the rest of my things” so I could “officially” move in.

He was reluctant but he eventually agreed.

That two hour drive home felt like a lifetime. He kept asking me to promise him that I would come back. He kept telling me the consequences if I didn’t. I thought at any moment he would become suspicious, and would turn the car around to bring me back to the place I so desperately wanted to be away from. Thankfully, we made it to my house. I started to cry before I was even through my front door. I couldn’t believe I was home. All of the shame and guilt was still there, but it wasn’t on my mind. The only thing on my mind was that I was about to see my family again. This was the longest in my entire life I had ever been away from them. All I could do was cry. I will never forget the way that hug my mom gave me felt when she first saw me. I will never forget the sound of our simultaneous sobs.

I was finally home.

Once I was home, I broke up with him. It was terrifying, but liberating. I was getting (no exaggeration) hundreds of text messages and phone calls from him, daily. They were a combination of insults, threats towards me, and threats of killing himself. I didn’t know what to do. He would tell me he would never go away. I was scared but I knew I needed to do this. I needed to cut the chains that had been holding me back, and change my life.

I eventually had to involve the police on two separate occasions, neither of which did much good. We lived in different county’s, so it was difficult for them to do much. The first time I involved the police was when he called me to say he was going to jump off of his apartment balcony, and his death was going to be all my fault. I kept him talking, and called the police in his county from a different phone. I could hear his mother in the background, screaming and begging for him to calm down. The cops arrived, and spoke to him. He assured them that he was fine.

The second time I called the police, he was threatening to show up at my house because I wasn’t answering him. I called the police in my county this time. A female officer showed up. I explained the situation and told her I was afraid for my life. I showed her various text messages, and showed her the amount of phone calls I was getting. As I showed her my phone, Z started calling me. The officer answered the phone, and put him on speaker. “If you don’t stop harassing her, she’s going to file for a restraining order.” That statement was followed with maniacal laughter, then “You think a f****** piece of paper is going to stop me?” The phone call was then ended by Z.

The officer took me outside to her car to do some paperwork. She notified me that unless he physically comes on my property, or my place of work, that there wasn’t much they could do.

After months and months on end of constant harassment, it finally stopped. I was free. The next step was my recovery.

My mom came with me to my very first NA meeting. I was scared, and in the very early stages of withdrawal. She held my hand and sat along beside me, supporting me the entire time. I finally felt like I was getting my life back on track.

Withdrawal was the worst experience I’ve had to this day, and wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy. You’re dripping with sweat but you’re freezing, you’re entire body aches, you’re depressed, and you’re exhausted. The “worst” of it was gone within a few weeks, the depression lasted for much longer. I slowly gained the trust of my family back. I got a job, I got my GED, and most importantly, I got clean. There was no more “Real” Alex and “New” Alex, there was just me, Alex. The Alex that I had been from the beginning. The Alex that was missing for two, long, devastating years. I was finally back.

The moral of this story is that it’s okay to not be okay. It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to go down the wrong road. It’s okay to have a problem. Addiction is real, addiction is terrifying, and addiction is everywhere. I changed my life and so can you. Please, don’t be afraid to reach out to me, your family, or your friends. Although you may feel guilty and ashamed, it’s much worse to isolate yourself. Reach out, and get the help that you need. You’re strong and you can overcome this. Don’t let addiction win. Any addict alone is in bad company. Thanks for letting me share.

[unsettlingstories]

Updated index of all stories. May 16, 2018.

Transfigurations: A small, self-published collection of my favorite short stories from 2015. Individual Stories

3 Signs You May Be An Introvert and How to Cope: Some great tips! 30 years ago today, my neighbor’s son disappeared: They miss him. A Case of Hives: My son isn��t feeling too well… A Cure for Writer’s Block: How to find inspiration when it’s just not there. A Curious Dog: My dog won’t stop pawing at a wall in the basement. A Gifted Chef: My friend was one of the greats. I miss him. A Life Worth Living: Big changes lead to bigger results. A Most Welcome Visitor: He’d come to me in the middle of the night. A Pathetic Wretch: His neighbor just won’t stop crying. An Artist’s Canvas: The beauty of symmetry. A Questionable Glory Hole: A young man’s first sexual experience. A Warning To Women With IUDs: Be careful whatcha put up ya. Adrenochrome: The horrible, impossible truth. All Horror Stories About Dolls Are Fake: My daughter was bullied mercilessly. Allison’s Loss: My daughter is devastated by the death of her friend. Alternative Medicine: A wife treats her husband with an old remedy. All Thumbs: My embarrassing habit. A Message in a Bottle: I’m suddenly filled with dread. A Very Bad Place to Hide: Maybe even the worst. Amy’s Wish: Blow away the eyelash and make a wish! An Unlucky Samaritan: Think twice before stopping to help. Are My Twins Spending Too Much Time Together?: For woke mommies only. Assisted Suicide: He begged me to help him die. Attempts to Repair the Irreparable: How do you move on? Bad Sex: Has this ever happened to you and your partner? Bags: A hunting trip goes very, very wrong. Beach Bodies: What’s that out in the water? A whale? Ben’s Fear: He just hated seaweed. Bitcoin Mining and the Death of the Universe: I think I fucked something up. Bits and Pieces: Chunks and portions. Bitumen: A man who loves dinosaurs. Black Balloons: My little daughter saw shapes in the sky. Bluebirds: Possibly the most reprehensible thing I’ve ever written. Bluefin: Use caution when poaching an endangered species. Body Cast: The worst thing that can happen when you’re immobilized. Body Hair Removal: I learned a valuable lesson. Bridgeport Power Plant: There’s something living there. Bubbles: Strange happenings in an emergency room. Butt Stuff: The activity - not the other thing. Caroline’s New Teeth: The Tooth Fairy’s best customer. Caviar: Only the best for discerning palates. Centipedes: There’s some big ones out there, you know. Charles Robert Olevsky: Ever Google yourself? Chopped!: An unaired episode of the Food Network show. Christmas Morning With Danny and His New Puppy: Danny gets a puppy. Comfort Food: Anything to help fill that void. Coping Mechanisms: Life after losing a husband and a daughter. Cracks in the Foundation: A relationship on the edge. Dawn: I hurt my sister so badly. I’ll never forgive myself. Daycare Massacre: A terrible incident before a hurricane. Death Looking into the Window of One Dying: His final days. Dede Elgy: This monster story will make you feel dirty. Very dirty. Deniehyfield, Australia is Being Dismantled: My town is disappearing. Dermatographia: Words on my skin. Devil’s Hole: The geological anomaly, not the…you know. Dial Tone: What’s going on with my phone? Diary of a Woman in New Hampshire: Found a diary. Wtf. Dilation and Evacuation: A friend in need is a friend indeed. Division: Nothing is right. Double Dare: The long-lost episode never seen in the US. Dumbwaiter: A family learns something about their house. Elective Surgery: I just want him to be happy. Elf on the Shelf: He’s watching. Endless Chirping: Ever get a cricket in your room? Escaphism: The journey of one man, his love, and The Verdant World. Ethan’s Halloween Mask: Not all friendships are positive. ExpressionCaptioner.com: This website is seriously weird. Fallenfield Mountain: A geological survey gone wrong. Very wrong. Family Tree: A unique family tradition is revealed. Farm to Table: Fucking hipsters. Fertility Treatments: Some people are desperate to have a baby. Fireflies: You would not believe your eyes. For Lena and Clair: Trapped after an earthquake. Found the Bees: Well, that solves that mystery. Gratification Through Annihilation: Suffer the little children. Great Potential: A lady who loves children. He Went Ahead: My friends and I were into urban exploration. Heather’s Phases: My wife always had body-image issues. House Sounds: What do we keep hearing? I Dream of Names and Cancer: My eternal nightmare. I Pressed My Hands Against My Eyes: And only then could I truly see. I Shouldn’t Have Broken Into My Neighbor’s Garage: I’ll never unsee it. If Anyone Asks: An old farmer notices something about his scarecrow. I’ll Never Wear a Condom Again: No way, no how. Instantiations: An AI gets powerful and utilitarianism rears its head. In Praise of Our God: A helpful neighbor. It’s Hard to Clean Blood Out of a Fur Suit: Right? Jerry’s Mouth: Maybe next time he’ll think before he cheats. Jill-o-Lanterns: The murders are all connected. Jim Jameson’s Pumpkins: A dead farmer’s secrets. Know it All: See it all, feel it all, know it all. Last Weekend: Hazmat suits, horror, and a mystery. Licks From a Bear: Skull + electric drill = story. Lippy: I’ve always been self conscious about the size of my labia. Little Cows: Meet the milkmaid. Long Fingers: I can feel them. Making Faces: Strange prints on the windows… Making Their Dad Proud: A family that plays together… Malcolm: You know those floaty things in your eyes? Maria’s Extra-Credit Assignment: Gotta get a good grade. Medical Issue: What’s the stuff I found on a rock? Memoir of a Cam Girl: She is being controlled. Missing Mousetraps: My neighbors had an infestation. Moaning Lollipops: Why do they make that sound in my mouth? Motility: My sperm sucked. Mr. Puddles: A little boy just won’t stop splashing. Mushy Stuff: My parents never let me have any fun. My Amazon Alexa Does More Than Laugh: Please help - I’m in danger. My Brother’s Fall: Horror deep below the Iraqi desert. My Cellar Door is Breathing: Is that normal? My Constellation: Want to be sad? This will make you sad.   My erection lasted longer than 4 hours: and I didn’t call a doctor. My four year old son woke up with a full head of grey hair: Help us. My Last Abduction: All the other ones don’t count. My Only Experience With ASMR: Hint - it didn’t go well. My Sister Found the Coolest Thing!: You’ve gotta hear about it. My Sweet Boy: A mom who loves her son. My Trouble With Fairies: They’re so mischievous and unpredictable! My Wife, the Artist: A couple who loves Halloween. Nests: Ah, the great outdoors. Network Security: Two friends get a glimpse of a Russian science lab. Never Ride the Subway at Night: You never know who could be watching you. Norwalk Cemetery: There’s something alien in there… Not All Men: Temper, temper, young man. Of Malevolence; Of Misanthropy: A disturbed scientist makes a discovery. Open Mouths: A hideous ritual. Otter: I’ve always wanted to be one. Ouroboros: Why cut when you can cut off? Pebbles: A strange meteor shower. Phone Sex: It all started when I realized my iPhone was self-lubricating. People are disappearing in Northern Canada: What is happening? Pool Cover: I almost drowned when I was 13. Pray Away: Conversion therapy for deviant behavior. Pretty Little Bugs: A new job as a cameraman. Prosopagnosia: After an accident, my husband couldn’t recognize us. Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice: What can be better? Quarry: Trying to beat the heat on a summer day. Randall’s Chatty Leg: He said it was talking to him. I heard it. Rats in the Barn: An exterminator’s apprentice. Recycling: Parents try to understand their depressed daughter. Rediscovering the Newness of Sex: Let’s spice it up a little. Regarding Danny and Micah Stevenson: Two brothers rely on one another. Regina’s Raspberry Jam: She put everything she had into it. Road Head: Who doesn’t like getting sucked on? Seriously. Roo: An old man watches a girl grow up. Roots of Change: Something is happening beneath our feet. Ropes: Be careful what you eat. Rotting Pumpkins: A Halloween ritual. Round Faces: My daughter keeps complaining about monsters. Safety: Our grandfather was obsessed with it. Seed of Man, Pollen of Angels: A family tradition. Sex, Gender, and Other Social Constructs: Destroy them all. Sex in the Cemetery: Gotta do it somewhere, I guess. Skincare Diary: My acne was getting out of hand. Smokey, the Dog I Rescued: A very very good boye. Snapshot of a New Man: Evil (Inspiration for The Coronation Cycles series.) Soft Teeth: A man used to sneak into my room at night. Sprouts: Something beautiful from something small. Still a Family: Two sisters have lunch while waiting for their parents. Stop Being Such Babies: The woods aren’t scary, for fuck’s sake. Stuffing: Grandma’s was the best. Suicide Woods: Not just in Japan anymore. Tainted Candy: The legend is real. Teeny-Tiny: Katie wants to lose weight. That Good Dick: You know what I mean ;) The Alzheimer’s Ward: This isn’t right. The Bleakness Before Our Old Eyes: The Universe tasted us that night. The Blissful Insensate: An experiment goes terribly wrong. The Cave in the Lake: A discovery while scuba diving leads to horror. The Chernobyl Abomination: My father saw something he shouldn’t have. The Cotard Delusion: A new drug has a frightening side-effect. The Day I Started Believing In Ghosts: I’m still in shock. The Empty Cribs on Hawthorne Lane: Missing children. The Face in the Clouds: A meteorological anomaly? Or something else? The Floor is Lava: We all used to play that game, right? The Giggliest Girl: Don’t tickle me, Mommy. The Gray in Girl: A man finds a girl on the side of the road. The Hitchhiker: I think I need a new car now. The Incident at the Train Station: After a suicide, something…worse. The Job I Couldn’t Leave: I was employed by a psychopath. The Last of the Trick-or-Treaters: A strange costume. The Last words of an Explorer: A city on no one's map. The Least Satisfying Explanation: And the biggest understatement I’ve made. The Little Ghost: That nagging voice inside your head. The Lord of Hosts: Lice The Moose Hunt: Is…is that really a moose? The Perils of Live TV: It’s not all fun and games. The Perks of Working in a Funeral Home: There aren’t many, but still. The Pilot: A UFO crash. The Oblivion that Masks Pain: Escape. The Old Mine Outside Town: Everyone was too scared to go in. I wasn’t. The Only Solution: How to bring back a loved one? The Only Thing That Matters: Zombies attack a supermarket. The House in the Woods: Bad title, good story. The Shores of Pluto: A journey without moving. The Sleeping Game: We played when we were kids. The Small Eyed Children of Canyon del Cristo: A local legend comes alive. The Squirming Man: Please leave me alone. The Star Bridge: My friend found something beyond life. The Tomb of the Builders: Divers looking for sunken treasure find something evil. The Trawl: We dragged something up from deep underwater. The Wisdom of Moms: Mother knows best. The Worst Party in Ten Thousand Years: Trust me, it’s pretty damn bad. There is nothing wrong in East Flatbush, Brooklyn: Ignore the dragonflies. There’s something very wrong with my parrot: WTF. Tiptoeing the Line of Consent: But never crossing it. To Adore: Our beautiful baby girl. To the Kind Folks at WebMD: Just a couple questions.   To Travel: Bodies in bodies, bodies of bodies. Trees of Eyes: They’re watching. Tunnel Rat: My grandfather told us the worst story I’ve ever heard. Seriously. Uncle Liam: I never told the real story about how he died. Under My Teeth: My mouth is screaming. Uplift: A brilliant scientist works to improve the human condition. We’re All Smiling: Whether we want to or not. We Share the Empty Roads: You’re never, ever alone when you drive. Wet Bedroom: A haunted house with a hideous history. What He Told Me: Evil (Inspiration for The Coronation Cycles series.) Wikileaks: A document they refused to leak. What to expect when I’m expecting: Hint - it’s the worst. Why I Don’t Hike Anymore: Not what you might think.

Story Series

The Smols: Maybe the most fucked up stories I've ever written.

Sade Smols Emmy Smols

The Secret Doctors of NASA: A wide-ranging conspiracy.

A Dentist's Discovery A Psychologist's Suicide A Surgeon's Nightmare

Tales from Social Media

Something horrible is happening to me on Tumblr Something horrible is happening to me on Facebook Something horrible is happening to me on Reddit Something horrible is happening to me on Grindr Something horrible is happening to me on Myspace Something horrible is happening to me on Pokemon Go

Sockets: Craigslist allows you to meeting interesting people.

Part 1     Part 2     Part 3

[daresplaining]

The Legendary Rosalind “Razor” Sharpe

Caption: “Rosalind Sharpe... mother, lawyer... gun owner... the last not being that great a surprise when you consider just what kind of mother and lawyer this ruthless fury in Gucci is...”

[Daredevil vol. 1 #374 by Joe Kelly, Ariel Olivetti, and Ed Lazarelli]

    We wanted to do a Mother’s Day-themed post, and since we’ve already highlighted Matt’s mom, Foggy’s was the next obvious choice. He was raised by his step-mother Anna Nelson, but sadly, she is all but absent from the comics. There simply isn’t enough information about her for us to write anything worth reading. However, his biological mother is a whole different story, and-- in our opinion-- one of the coolest characters in Daredevil. 

    Make fun of Matt all you want for conjuring an imaginary twin brother out of nowhere, but Foggy has pulled far more family members out of thin air than his partner. It takes years for Matt to learn that his friend has a sister, and even longer for him to realize that Anna Nelson is not Foggy’s birth mother. When high-powered attorney Rosalind Sharpe calls the newly-reestablished Nelson and Murdock law office with a job offer, Matt is not expecting Foggy’s emotional reaction-- or the implication that the two have met before. This takes place mere issues after Foggy’s revelation that Matt is Daredevil, so it’s amusing to see the tables turned like this. After all this time, Foggy's earned the right to have some secrets of his own.    

Matt: “Listen. We have to talk about Rosalind’s offer. How well do you really know her?”

Foggy: “Oh, um... gee, not as well as I’d like to... I mean, I’ve known of her for a long time... and she is one of the top lawyers in the country! Truth is-- she’s the reason I became an attorney in the first place.”

Matt: “Really? You never mentioned that before, Foggy... never mentioned her before... Why do I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me?”

[Daredevil vol. 1 #354 by Karl Kesel, Cary Nord, and Christie Scheele]

    Rosalind’s offer is straightforward and, on the surface, pretty flattering: she wants Matt and Foggy to join her firm as junior partners. Foggy is ecstatic, his best friend less so. Rosalind is a controlling, no-nonsense person, with an iron will and sharp tongue to rival Matt’s own. The two grate on each other from the start, and Matt is less than interested in working for someone so willing and able to verbally kick his butt. However, there’s a catch to the offer: Rosalind is really only interested in Matt, and if he refuses, Foggy loses the job too. Unwilling to disappoint his friend, Matt grudgingly accepts.

Rosalind: “You two are a package deal: the Blind Barrister and the Dumpy Defender. Get too big for your britches and Foggy... fill in the blank...”

Matt: “For now, I’ll consider your counsel on this matter. I won’t make a habit of it. (Tell her off! Tell her off! Tell her off!) Thank you, Rosalind.”

Foggy: “Our senior partner just blew past me like a hurricane at a trailer park. What’d you do to get her so steamed?”

Matt: “Just a difference of opinion. Nothing a swift blow to the head wouldn’t settle...”

[Daredevil vol 1 #358 by Joe Kelly, Pascual Ferry, and Ian Laughlin]

    As may be clear from this maneuvering, Foggy’s relationship with his mother is... complicated. Since this is Matt’s comic, elements of his life are reflected in the characters who surround him-- and in many ways, Rosalind’s situation is similar to Maggie’s. Like Matt’s mom, she realized soon after giving birth that being a mother wasn’t going to work for her, and so she left-- divorcing her husband and going off to pursue her legal career. In a world of media that contains so many dead mothers, it’s refreshing to see two women who the narrative has allowed to leave their children and live full, separate lives on their own. 

    However, unlike Maggie and Matt, Foggy and Rosalind have always been aware of each other. Rosalind has never been warm and fuzzy enough to try and reach out to her son while he was growing up, but Foggy possesses a massive amount of respect for her. This manifests in his eagerness to work with her, his desire to meet her very high expectations, and his general willingness to put up with her pushing him around and occasionally insulting him. For Rosalind’s part, her motives are always hidden behind several layers of schemes and cynicism, but we do know that she cares about Foggy to a degree, and seems to welcome the opportunity to spend some more time with her son-- if only to whip him into respectable shape and annoy his step-mother.  

Anna: “You abandoned him, Rosalind! You didn’t raise him and you certainly never cared for Foggy!”

Rosalind: “I certainly never cared for that nickname. Why you allowed Franklin to be saddled with it is beyond me. True, I wasn’t ready for a child when I had Franklin, but I hope to make that up to him now... while there’s still time to undo the damage that’s been done.”

[Daredevil vol. 1 #360 by Karl Kesel, Cary Nord, and Christie Scheele]

Foggy: “Now listen here, Rose--- you may be my mother, but I’m a grown man and if I want to see Liz I will and you can’t stop me so don’t even try and if you do I’ll-- Hup!”

 Rosalind: “Franklin, if you want to see Ms. Osborn so badly-- please do. I won’t get in your way. It’s about time you stopped letting me push you around. If I’d known it was going to take someone shooting at you to do it, I would’ve aimed a gun at you myself-- long ago!”

[Daredevil vol. 1 #364 by Karl Kesel, Cary Nord, and Christie Scheele]

    Yes, Rosalind is a Grade-A jerk-- and proud of it. But this cynicism and ruthlessness makes her a fearsome attorney, and has been cultivated over years of fighting her way into a traditionally male-dominated field. She has made so many enemies over the course of her career that she trusts her own judgement far more than anyone else’s, and no amount of danger phases her. As a young attorney she made her name representing a local mob boss. When she decided she didn’t want to get pulled into criminal underworld, and tried to fight her way free, the mob boss in question was so impressed that he let her go. We mentioned her similarities to Maggie, but Rosalind also embodies echoes of Jack Murdock-- a good person caught in a bad situation, from which she-- unlike Jack-- was able to escape. 

Grippo: “Rose... Rose is like a flame, see? Ya hold it in yer hand.. it goes out or ya get burned. If she’d ever given in to the life I wouldn’t feel this way about her-- but Rose never lost the fire... never stopped fightin’. You ever know someone like that?”

Matt: “Once. A great fighter. He didn’t make it out.”

Grippo: “Just shows how special Rose is. One in a million.”

[Daredevil vol. 1 #362 by Karl Kesel, Cary Nord, and Christie Scheele]

    Rosalind expects the very best from the people around her, and celebrates and acknowledges those who have the same drive and courage that she values in herself. She develops a soft spot for Karen Page, impressed by the way she was able to rebuild her life after her drug addiction. Karen has mixed feelings about Rosalind-- both annoyed at her manipulation and disrespect for Matt and Foggy, and impressed by... pretty much everything else about her.   

Karen: “--can’t believe you’re able to eat, Rose! Maybe you didn’t notice, but someone just tried to kill you!”

Rosalind: “I’ve already put it behind me, Karen-- and I never look back! I see that same spirit in you. The drive and common sense we possess are too often conditioned out of women, don’t you think? My power is considerable, Karen. If you ever have a problem I will gladly help you in any way I can...”

[Daredevil vol. 1 #362 by Karl Kesel, Cary Nord, and Christie Scheele]

    This offer of friendship also extends to helping Karen get revenge on Matt for being a jerk-- in classy Rosalind Sharpe style.     

Karen: “Rosalind, when I said I wanted to vent... I just expected to talk--”

Rosalind: “Talk is cheap. Jewelry is not. What fun is it dating a lawyer if you can’t charge presents to his account when he does wrong by you?”

[Daredevil vol. 1 #371 by Joe Kelly, Ariel Olivetti, and Christie Scheele] 

    The Sharpe, Nelson, and Murdock (Matt’s name is always last. Always.) period of Daredevil comics is wild and crazy and far too short. Eventually, Foggy gets framed for assaulting a woman, and Rosalind-- unwilling to be associated with the resulting scandal-- fires him from the firm. Matt then quits, disgusted by her lack of loyalty to her son. The next time Rosalind shows up, she’s facing Foggy from across the courtroom, defending the Kingpin from a murder accusation. (She’s not crooked, but she’s got no problem defending crooks.) Since then she has been sadly absent from Matt and Foggy’s lives-- though she does take the time to show up at both of Foggy’s funerals.

Ben: “While the Sheriff’s Deputies are busy with Power Man and Iron Fist, Foggy’s mother, Rosalind Sharpe, slips under their radar... but not Matt’s.”

Rosalind: “--got him killed, you bastard! You got my boy killed!”

Ben: “It’s uncharacteristic of Ms. Sharpe to show so much emotion. But funerals aren’t normal places, and you never know what you’ll see.”

[Daredevil vol 2 #83 by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, and Frank D’Armata]

[Daredevil vol. 4 #5 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and Javier Rodriguez]  

    (We love Waid and Co.’s run, but we’ll forever be disappointed that we never got to see Rosalind’s reaction to learning that Matt is Daredevil and that he faked Foggy’s death. Just imagine...)

    The nice thing about deeply entrenched series like Daredevil is that we can be assured that there will always be more. There will always be another story, a new run, and the chance for shelved characters to return. Someday, someone’s gonna bring Rosalind-- the most badass lawyer and best/worst mom ever-- back as a series regular. We can’t wait.    

Rosalind: “There’s an old expression, Daredevil-- ‘Don’t look back... someone might be gaining!’ I’m not blind to the dangers-- but I refuse to live my life in fear. I thought, of all people-- you would understand that.”

[Daredevil vol. 1 #362 by Karl Kesel, Cary Nord, and Christie Scheele]

[lucasjrobak]

Event + Response = Outcome (E+R=O) http://www.lucasrobak.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/ERO.png

Event + Response = Outcome (E+R=O) states that the current results we have in life (outcome) comes because of a circumstances we faced (event) and the actions we chose to take (response).

What this means is that all of our lives; good, bad, or ugly; are the combinations of all the active responses we chose to take from each circumstance we faced. Therefore, we’re all 100% responsible for what our lives have become.

So, if you’re not to thrilled about the current outcomes (0) that you’re living, in both of Jack Canfield‘s books The Success Principles and The Success Principles for Teens gives us two choices we all have.

We can either choose to become the victim and blame the event (E) for undesirable outcomes (O) or do the more healthy and proactive version by changing our thoughts so our response (R) creates that outcome (O) we want.

Outside circumstances and factors (E) will always exist for everyone in the world no matter who you are. Still, there those who achieve great things in this world (O) because of their decision to think and act a particular way (R).

You’re the only one in the way from achieving your greatest desirable outcomes.

Event + Response = Outcome (E+R=O)

A lot of people are completely clueless as to why they’re unhappy and producing less than favorable results. If only they chose to change their thinking which would inevitably change their responses (R) to all of life’s uncertain events (E), they could finally get what they wanted out of life (O).

It’s seriously as simple as changing your thought patterns. Everything we think has a positive or negative effect on our bodies, actions, and the world around us. It’s our responsibility to control what goes on in our minds on a daily basis. No one else’s!

My oldest sister travels to 3rd World Countries. When she returned home, she said the first thing she noticed was how much everyone whines, complains, and blames others. Would this have any influence as to why Americans swallow over 70% of the world’s pharmaceutical supply?

Stop Blaming Everything & Everyone

Parents

Teachers

Friends

Classmates

Teammates

Coaches

Your Childhood

The Weather

Racism

Lack of Support

Politics

Technology

Traffic

Geography

Finances

Your current actions (R) come from habitual thoughts and behaviors, so stop doing what teachers and the media does by blaming everything else. No one is responsible for your life and the outcomes you have or don’t have except for you.

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

By consciously changing your old habits, simply implement the basic Law of Polarity; turn your negative thoughts to the positive opposite. In time you’ll notice that your positive thoughts leads you to positive actions (R), and will most definitely create the results you desire most (O).

Why You May Not Be Excelling in Life

Limiting Beliefs

Terrible Habits

Ignore Useful Feedback

Gossiping

Poor Eating Habits

Don’t Exercise

Financially Illiterate

No Future Planning

Avoid Risks

Compulsively Lie

No Mentor

Don’t Read

Lack of Routines

No Worthy Goals

No Strategies

Read & Watch the News

Believe What the Media Says

No Accountability Partners

Don’t Care Enough

Gave Up and Quit

Poor Autosuggestions

Out of all of these possible reasons for not excelling in life, in my perosnal opinion, the only reason why you’re not living the life you desire is because your thoughts aren’t in alignment with what you want.

“The Secret”

Stop wishful thinking and start to actually believe you already have what you desire most. Be grateful for all the things you want as if you already have them. This is The Secret that you’ve heard about. It’s not positive thinking, being optimistic, or delusional thinking – it’s an unwavering belief that you already have what you want and you’re grateful for it.

“What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.” – Napoleon Hill

My Personal Example of E+R=O

After attempting suicide twice over the span of a decade (O), I chose to unlearn all the garbage dictated down to us from unaccomplished teachers (E). I started reading everything from self-help, self-improvement, personal development, success, business, and spiritual books (R).

It wasn’t until I actually started to implement what I was learning from the most successful people this planet has seen that my life actually started to change. I started a couple businesses to be that person I wish I had in my life which delivers real world information.

Just over the last couple years, I’ve directly impacted many thousands of people and helped changed the course of their lives. How many people have I indirectly helped? No clue!

Let’s look at this within the E+R=O formula:

Event = Brainwashed to Conform to the Status Quo

Response = Believed in the System

Outcome = Attempted Suicide

Now let’s look at how I changed it to produce the life I’m living today:

Event = Brainwashed then Attempted Suicide

Response = Started Reading A Lot

Outcome = Quit my J.O.B. and Became an Entrepreneur

Questions to Answer

What is the outcome (O) you desire most?

Who already accomplished that outcome?

What habits do you need to change in your life (R)?

What’s your action plan to accomplish it?

Read the original article I wrote about E+R=O in February 2014.

The One Minute Authorpreneur: The Quickest Way to Achieve Any Dream educates you how to very write, publish, launch, and leverage a book to attract into your life whatever it is you desire. Once you become an author, the entire world instantly views you as an authority figure, an expert in your subject matter.

This book lays out for you the systematical, step-by-step, sequential process to maximizing a book to catapult your entire world. Use it to attract clients, speaking engagements, high paying consulting contracts, the media’s attention, and much more.

Learn more about The One Minute Authorpreneur Series

I AM: Children’s Book for Positive Thinkers is for children of all ages, baby-adult. It gets you and your children thinking more positively about themselves and the world around them.

By the time a child reaches seven years old, the perception about themselves is already set. Before they will reach the age of eighteen, they will have been told negative limiting beliefs about themselves over 17,000 times.

Learn more about I AM: Children’s Book for Positive Thinkers

I Am, I Do, I Have: Big Thinking for Positively Successful Children uses ones thoughts to live create and live a phenomenal life. Since our thoughts are the beginning of everything we create in our life, you’ll repeat positive affirmations about who you believe yourself to be. By having a certain mentality, the physical actions we take are within line of how our conscious mind chose to train our subconscious. And once our actions become habitual, we produce real world results which we live in.

Learn more about I AM, I DO, I HAVE: Big Thinking for Positively Successful Children

Master Your Life using Transformational Quotes Workbook Series takes you from where you are to where you want to go. Clearing out your foggy mind, you will get clear with what direction you know your life should go.

Within each book, you will come away with different take-a-ways no matter where you are in life. The quotes we say and hear are for a reason. Stop letting quotes pass you by and start  reflecting on them and how they apply to you.

Learn more about the Master Your Life Using Transformational Quotes Workbook Series

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http://www.lucasrobak.com/event-response-outcome-ero-v2

[donbohmeleone-blog]

Is Nutrisystem Dangerous For You? Is This A Harmful Weight loss plan?

Nutrisystem is a diet food delivery firm that has been in operation for the reason that 1970s and have an extended and nicely respected observe document. I mainly simply took a leap of religion that paid off for me. It is solely now that I've this expertise behind me that I can consider why this diet worked so well. I noticed where this system is under 2000 mg Sodium per day which should be ok. I will likely be talking to them more if this continues to be an issue. For probably the most half though, Diet to Go is definitely satisfying on the meals entrance. For the Nutrisystem eating regimen you only take 15 grams of protein no shots or any shakes. Although many weight watchers drink food plan soda, new research shows that it isn't as useful as you might need thought. Nutrisystem, in comparison with different weight loss plan packages obtainable in the Web, might be the cheaper possibility. The Nutrisystem weight loss program could not curb hunger for all customers, since portion sizes are non-negotiable. To be prime-rated, a weight loss plan needed to be relatively straightforward to comply with, nutritious, protected and effective for weight loss and preventing diabetes and coronary heart illness. What we might have preferred to see more of is scientific analysis exhibiting this program helps you shed extra pounds. I've seen numerous interest in and have been getting loads of questions about the new Nutrisystem Flex program and I can perceive why. I believe Nutrisystem is great, and I'm going to keep on it as long as I can to reach my aim weight. I am now two weeks into the womens commonplace plan and so far have lost a further 4 pounds. I read everybody of the the opinions on this web site Sunday and decided this was for me. When people stored using the word vile to describe the meals I simply figured they were being a bit of dramatic but they weren't!!! Politics and excessive spiritual opinions being spewed at individuals and Nutrisystem should like it as a result of they let it go on and on. I totally agree with J Mayer, who said that the bloating and gasoline is likely to be the processed food and sodium of Nutrisystem. The diet was straightforward and taught me how one can finances my consuming and to self-discipline myself in order that I went on to lose one other 10 lbs the following month without NS simply by keeping my good habits and train. While there are no known health risks associated with this plan it's not useful for managing or stopping diabetes nor does it have any direct link to benefits for the heart. They've addressed this in recent times and customers can count on round 2000mg/day sodium if on a Nutrisystem plan. The lowest price offering is NutriSystem Flex , which is a brand new program that permits you to be on this system for 5 of 7 days through the week. Nutrisystem not runs walk-in facilities, however they do have an intensive on-line neighborhood and Nutrisystem counselors are available by telephone too. Of the entire questions that I get in regards to the Nutrisystem eating regimen, questions in regards to the meals and it's style are the most common. It's an consuming plan based mostly on meals that you just typically consumed within the Mediterranean region. In the event youwant any assist getting started on nutrisystem or wantextra details about it, try my Nutrisystem Assessment Website. The plan is designed to make it super easy to observe as a way to make sure you stick to it. The primary morning I grabbed my cup of espresso and sat down to a tiny little Nutrisystem muffin and a glass of fusion power juice. After studying the Nutrisystem weight loss program tips I actually felt like I was going to eat too much. I did the auto supply for the savings, picked the premium plan with the choose and frozen foods. Complaints about its absence of scientific support; its severely restrictive nature; its elimination of complete grains, legumes and dairy; and its brief-term strategy and long-time period promises landed this weight loss program in last place overall. We had a household birthday dinner, so I brought my second little field of NutriSystem pizza to my parents house. The Choose Program is the highest stage accessible, which is dearer, but comes with the most important selection of foods, together with frozen options. In an effort to keep with customer demand for extra recent-frozen selections, Nutrisystem unveiled Uniquely Yours, which allows for ultimate flexibility in your food selections, permitting consumers to choose between able to eat and fresh frozen menu choices, with no restrictions, from greater than a hundred and fifty menu gadgets. One thing I've observed specifically while following the Medifast program that has turned out, for me, to be even better than the weight loss is that my pores and skin cleared up and a whole lot of my GI Tract issues have disappeared. Hey RockyRose, it's great to listen to you're enjoying the diet and having nice success with it. Sure you are proper: the secret to winning is sticking to this system (it doesn't matter what anyone else says or does). Nutrisystem meals are low fat, have excellent carbs, the right amounts of protein and fiber, and now have Omega-three fatty acids. The Flat Stomach Eating regimen landed in the midst of the pack because most of its scores from the experts were proper around average. There's loads to like about this program as a result of it permits you to take two days off every week. You complement the program with fruits and veg since that wouldn't be very good prepackaged. The difficulty we all have with any weight reduction program is that the key for its success typically nutrisystem for women is determined by our own willpower and our degree of motivation. Those of you having success on the program just a bit tip that my cardiologist gave me, as quickly as you go back to regular meals (carbohydrates)you will gain approximately 8 lbs. My sister wanted to lose 10 kilos so she advised we both do Nutrisystem Fast 5+ collectively. Hey Dolly, Its nice to hear you are having such nice success in the early stages of the weight-reduction plan.

However since I started the nutrisystems plan a year in the past, I LIKE IT. Principally as a result of I don't have to prepare dinner, I get a huge variety of meals, and it isn't too unhealthy tasting! Nevertheless, I dropped 30 kilos in simply three months and even managed to keep it off for an additional 5 years after I left the food regimen. So, you really are only paying in your meals which makes this plan a bit of distinctive. Free Dieting claims that Medifast is among the most successful diet packages that has been used at Johns Hopkins Weight Administration Heart, and that Medifast has confirmed to work. For those who get Nutrisystem from , usually occasions they have a sale and also you get $one hundred.00 price Nutrisystem present playing cards for $59.00. I used considered one of these every month to supplement my Nutrisystem order. The Nutrisystem Food regimen - Nutrisystem has a tried and true eating plan that is efficient at helping people lose weight over time. And Nutrisystem listens to its clients, phasing out some merchandise based on feedback and introducing new ones and reformulating previous dishes. These adults then take it upon themselves to put right the problem, often at a considerably better cost than would have been encountered had the problem been nipped in the bud earlier in life. Simply completed Fast 5 and into the 28 day eating regimen and I additionally lost 7 kilos in 7 days to date. It should also be simple to stick with this system because of the taste of the food. The little packet of pancake mix value $1.ninety five, which is the cost of an entire field of Aunt Jemima pancake mix. It will not work in case you look for excuses to give up and blame the taste of the meals, the calorie limits, the fee and so forth. There are three different meal plan options out there if you sign up for Nutrisystem. We're sorry to hear that you were not capable of get by way of to cancel your plan. However, despite the fact that NutriSystem could have a stronger advantage in terms of their NutriSystem Meals, consultants nonetheless agree that in an effort to shed some pounds on a everlasting basis, proper eating regimen or good nutrition ought to all the time be coupled with regular train. For those with Kind II diabetes or for these in danger for Type II diabetes, it offers the Nutrisystem D Program, a weight reduction program specifically designed to provide gradual weight reduction. The food plan is also claimed to offer up to 5 kilos of weight loss inside the first week. Nonetheless, I need to discover a weight loss plan to drop a few pounds, get off BP medicines and rid myself of this fluid retention. Nutri System may be good in jump starting your weight loss program, but like every age-outdated recommendation, that you must combine your food regimen with regular exercise. Two common applications that include pre-packaged foods are Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig. I did develop a nagging headache for the primary four weeks but my doctor checked me out and I am still on the program. They've a total of 247 complaints on their Better Business Bureau page, and around 250 destructive opinions on their Pissed Shopper page. When you feel you want some more data on this diet supply program, we have now a number of articles masking different elements of it. You can learn about the overall cost of this technique in our article on the Nutrisystem value You too can read about the weight-reduction plan meals that Nutrisystem present on this article: Nutrisystem Meals There's some useful extra info on Nutrisystem Auto-Supply which is something that confuses some customers. For most overweight folks, the Nutrisystem meals will appear small by comparison with what they're used to. I know that because you actually want to shed extra pounds, you'll be able to deal with that and get used to it. It'll help you get used to eating less and that can make it easier to keep the burden off in the long run. I ordered Nutrisystem as a result of I assumed it would be a superb to have pre-ready meals and save me the time that I was spending doing meal prep. Nutrisystem, well known for its diabetic program, is increasing its health segment choices to incorporate a SPRINT food plan compliant plan. The idea is that whereas youngsters which can be troublesome over maintaining a healthy diet meals such as vegetables as an example, they can be more easily convinced to eat a wholesome, calorie managed meal from Nutrisystem primarily based on their recognition of its TELEVISION presence and the hyperlink to its standard celebrity spokesperson, presently the extremely fashionable Janet Jackson. Individuals have asked me how do I keep on with the weight loss program throughout holidays or when household decides to exit to eat. Most vegetarian weight-reduction plan plans do not supply this kind of comfort and it may be very arduous to just be sure you are getting sufficient protein. Hello Dr Prepare dinner, I learn this assessment a month in the past and signed up for the core womens plan. You may click your mouse on the picture below to go to the official Nutrisystem website and actually go for it. It encourages portion control, wise eating regimen and adjustments in behavior, together with train and attitude adjustment. Our experts have reviewed a number of food plan plans and have hound the 18Shake Diet to be the most effective. I'm amazed at those who are so critical I for one suggest this diet to anyone. There are three major issues it is advisable to do to make NutriSystem a sustainable food plan You have to instantly incorporate a nutrient dense food plan, you must grasp portion dimension and portion management , and you might want to develop a powerful assist community that extends beyond your quick friends and family.

[lucasjrobak]

Event + Response = Outcome (E+R=O) http://www.lucasrobak.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/ERO.png

Event + Response = Outcome (E+R=O) states that the current results we have in life (outcome) comes because of a circumstances we faced (event) and the actions we chose to take (response).

What this means is that all of our lives; good, bad, or ugly; are the combinations of all the active responses we chose to take from each circumstance we faced. Therefore, we’re all 100% responsible for what our lives have become.

So, if you’re not to thrilled about the current outcomes (0) that you’re living, in both of Jack Canfield‘s books The Success Principles and The Success Principles for Teens gives us two choices we all have.

We can either choose to become the victim and blame the event (E) for undesirable outcomes (O) or do the more healthy and proactive version by changing our thoughts so our response (R) creates that outcome (O) we want.

Outside circumstances and factors (E) will always exist for everyone in the world no matter who you are. Still, there those who achieve great things in this world (O) because of their decision to think and act a particular way (R).

You’re the only one in the way from achieving your greatest desirable outcomes.

Event + Response = Outcome (E+R=O)

A lot of people are completely clueless as to why they’re unhappy and producing less than favorable results. If only they chose to change their thinking which would inevitably change their responses (R) to all of life’s uncertain events (E), they could finally get what they wanted out of life (O).

It’s seriously as simple as changing your thought patterns. Everything we think has a positive or negative effect on our bodies, actions, and the world around us. It’s our responsibility to control what goes on in our minds on a daily basis. No one else’s!

My oldest sister travels to 3rd World Countries. When she returned home, she said the first thing she noticed was how much everyone whines, complains, and blames others. Would this have any influence as to why Americans swallow over 70% of the world’s pharmaceutical supply?

Stop Blaming Everything & Everyone

Parents

Teachers

Friends

Classmates

Teammates

Coaches

Your Childhood

The Weather

Racism

Lack of Support

Politics

Technology

Traffic

Geography

Finances

Your current actions (R) come from habitual thoughts and behaviors, so stop doing what teachers and the media does by blaming everything else. No one is responsible for your life and the outcomes you have or don’t have except for you.

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

By consciously changing your old habits, simply implement the basic Law of Polarity; turn your negative thoughts to the positive opposite. In time you’ll notice that your positive thoughts leads you to positive actions (R), and will most definitely create the results you desire most (O).

Why You May Not Be Excelling in Life

Limiting Beliefs

Terrible Habits

Ignore Useful Feedback

Gossiping

Poor Eating Habits

Don’t Exercise

Financially Illiterate

No Future Planning

Avoid Risks

Compulsively Lie

No Mentor

Don’t Read

Lack of Routines

No Worthy Goals

No Strategies

Read & Watch the News

Believe What the Media Says

No Accountability Partners

Don’t Care Enough

Gave Up and Quit

Poor Autosuggestions

Out of all of these possible reasons for not excelling in life, in my perosnal opinion, the only reason why you’re not living the life you desire is because your thoughts aren’t in alignment with what you want.

“The Secret”

Stop wishful thinking and start to actually believe you already have what you desire most. Be grateful for all the things you want as if you already have them. This is The Secret that you’ve heard about. It’s not positive thinking, being optimistic, or delusional thinking – it’s an unwavering belief that you already have what you want and you’re grateful for it.

“What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.” – Napoleon Hill

My Personal Example of E+R=O

After attempting suicide twice over the span of a decade (O), I chose to unlearn all the garbage dictated down to us from unaccomplished teachers (E). I started reading everything from self-help, self-improvement, personal development, success, business, and spiritual books (R).

It wasn’t until I actually started to implement what I was learning from the most successful people this planet has seen that my life actually started to change. I started a couple businesses to be that person I wish I had in my life which delivers real world information.

Just over the last couple years, I’ve directly impacted many thousands of people and helped changed the course of their lives. How many people have I indirectly helped? No clue!

Let’s look at this within the E+R=O formula:

Event = Brainwashed to Conform to the Status Quo

Response = Believed in the System

Outcome = Attempted Suicide

Now let’s look at how I changed it to produce the life I’m living today:

Event = Brainwashed then Attempted Suicide

Response = Started Reading A Lot

Outcome = Quit my J.O.B. and Became an Entrepreneur

Questions to Answer

What is the outcome (O) you desire most?

Who already accomplished that outcome?

What habits do you need to change in your life (R)?

What’s your action plan to accomplish it?

Read the original article I wrote about E+R=O in February 2014.

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