#vote on how this journey will take shape

[thefourchimes]

Don't Get Too Far Away, Tomorrow — Zombie Apocalypse Nancy POV Reader-Interactive AU

Check it out in Ao3!

Nancy just wanted to know what to do next. Jonathan just wanted to help his family. Robin just wanted to understand what was going on. Steve just wanted to make things right. Too bad a zombie apocalypse decided to crash and burn those plans to the ground with them in it. But maybe, just maybe…they’ll be able to figure it all out along the way.

(Moodboard made by @lumaxramblings!! thank you sm finnthony <333)

[anemoiashifts]

what your desired reality self wants you to know, pick an object reading !

𖡼𖤣𖥧𖡼𓋼𖤣𖥧𓋼𓍊

happy shifting september ! thank you to everyone who voted for this months reading ! i stated before the idea of doing a shifting reading that you guys can vote on at the top of every month & intend to post one of these on the first of every month ! if you’d like to vote for octobers, the poll is on my profile right now & will be available to vote through the week of this is posted.

as always, please do not force this message if it doesn’t resonate. there will be more readings to come ! ⋆.˚

✦

🐾 | sweater french bulldog °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

songs: about you by the 1975, stained glass by madison beer, chewing cotton wool by the japanese house.

the tldr of this reading waiting for new beginnings to take shape. when you think one journey has ended, another will arise. your dr self wants to remind you that shifting should not be the end goal. the progress you’ve made on your shifting journey is the first step of of a long, long path of lessons & leaning about how you operate.

the emotions that had risen for this reading were feelings of being overwhelmed, slow healing & lack of progress. this time — being “trapped” in your current reality — is not to punish you. it it not to keep you down but to prove to yourself you are capable of overcoming every obstacle that is thrown your way. take this time to be gentle with yourself & care for practice self soothing techniques accordingly. you cannot always control your circumstances; only how you react to them. improving mindset towards your situation & finding a way to balance energies amidst chaos will do you wonders. remember to stay grounded & grateful even when things seem bleak.

✦

🪻 | purple orchid °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

songs: art deco by lana del rey, to be human marina, holding onto you by twenty one pilots.

your gift to manifest your desires is within you. if you think you are incapable of manifesting, you are being urged to reflect on your past assumptions & look at what thoughts you have when going about life. however, something is blocking you from unleashing your inner gifts. you are denying yourself whatever that may be all while ignoring what needs attention in this moment, even if it’s separate from shifting. chances are there is a repressed creative side of you or an upbringing that has been taken from you due to circumstance.

to put this bluntly, you may be emotionally unstable & unsure of what you actually want. to provide clarity, sit down with your thoughts & journal or scrapbook (changes are, you are already doing so). mental clarity will come in the form of creation. remember, you create your own reality. you are not the projections & assumptions people have placed upon you. there is nothing wrong with you.

✦

🍆 | eggplant bartholomew bear °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

songs: no time to die by billie elish, watercolor eyes by lana del rey, illicit affairs by taylor swift,

you love hard. in partnerships, friendships, romantic relationships, family. some may even say you’re a little bit of a hopeless romantic. however, it feels like your mind & heart are at war constantly; logic vs emotion. the logical part tends to think “shifting isn’t real, I’ll never do it” while your heart is screaming at you that “shifting has to be real, there is so much life to be lived”. though, you cannot logic your way through shifting, you do not need to eliminate one voice & instead bring them together.

be warned, this is not an easy process & takes great emotional strength & patience with yourself as you find ways internally to satisfy both sides of yourself. i don’t have those answers but do not give into the temptation to be pulled into a daydream to cope with these conflicting beliefs. you are seemingly a smart person even if grades or test scores do not or have not shown that in the past. you have a unique way of going about both your current reality & every one you experience.

✦

thank you for reading. i hope this resonates ! 🫂🤍

[cosmerelists]

Cosmere Characters in Costco

The title says it all, really.

[Previously: Cosmere characters in Ikea]

1. Wayne & Marasi

Marasi: Wayne...is that another new hat? Wayne: Why yes, dearie. I'm now Egrid Sternsberger, a little old lady who simply must try one of those mini hamburgers! Marasi: ...I think they'll give you multiple samples if you just ask. You don't have to keep switching hats. Wayne: Now, where would be the fun in that?

2. Shallan, Veil, Radiant

Radiant: Now, remember--it requires a majority vote before we make any big impulse purchases. Shallan: This vodka bottle is the size of my torso and will therefore last a long time. Veil: That's a good reason. Radiant: ...I'll just get another cart.

3. Ham and Dockson

Ham: Hey, do you know where Kelsier went off to? For that matter, where's Vin? Dockson: [Points silently upwards, to where Vin & Kelsier crouch on top of those big, metal, Costco warehouse shelves, mistcloaks rippling] Dockson: They like to be high. Ham: W-We're inside! How is there a breeze?!

4. Lift & Wyndle

Lift: Man, that was great! Lift: I stole food from every one of those little stands and nobody caught me! Wyndle: Mistress, like I keep telling you, those stands are giving away the free samples! There was no need to-- Lift: I am the greatest thief of all time!

5. Painter and Yumi

Painter: Please let me get another cart. Yumi: I said we don't need another cart! Painter: Y-You've stacked the cart so high that people are afraid to come within six feet of us! Yumi: Who do you think you're talking to? I can go way higher than this! Painter: Yumi please

6. Adolin & Kaladin

Adolin: Ta-da! What do you think? Kaladin: About your...clothes? Adolin: Yeah! It's all from here! Adolin: I got shorts with lots of pockets, this colorful buttoned shirt, this big hat, these sunglasses--even these cool plastic shoes with holes for airflow AND these socks! Adolin: I am going to revolutionize fashion. Kaladin: ... Adolin: What? Even Wit liked it! Kaladin: I'll be going now. Adolin: Wait! I got a matching outfit for you too! Kaladin come baaaack!

7. Tress & Charlie

Tress: Wow, this one is amazing too! Tress: It's a bit bent and a bit stained, but you can really see that it's been on a journey. Tress: Oooh! This one's an interesting shape! I think it was for strawberries! Charlie: Man, and to think they just give all of these cardboard boxes away for free!

8. Navani & Rushu

Navani: That is...quite the tower of toilet paper. Rushu: How do you suppose they get the top ones down? Some kind of machine, presumably? Do you think it's stacked for space efficiency or is it meant to inspire awe, as well? Rushu: ...Should I take one from the bottom to see what happens? Navani: ...Just grab one of the ones with the bear on it, for now. Rushu: Later then?

9. Rock & Skar

Rock: I love this place! All the food is sized for a while squad! Rock: Look at this! It's a cooked chicken the size of my HEAD! Skar: I found a rack of ribs that would take two men to carry! Rock: Tonight's stew will be a true wonder.

10. Nale and Szeth

Nale: And here is what I wanted to show you--this icon of justice. Szeth: ...A hotdog the size of my forearm? Nale: Yes. Nale: Do you understand what I am trying to teach you? Szeth: Hotdogs are...justice? Nale: This one is. Nale: The owner declared that the price would remain in stone, and that no change would be permitted while he yet lived. Nale: Lack of change? An enduring ruling? A man willing to stake his life on it? Nale: It is a hotdog of justice indeed, Szeth.

[silverflameataraxia]

I hate how SJM constantly has to dismiss Nesta's trauma and Nesta's feelings in favor of making Feyre into the ultimate victim.

In Nesta's own book, we got two paragraphs dedicated to years of physical and emotional abuse that Nesta suffered at the hands of her grandmamma. More time is spent in her own book of talking about how she "failed" Feyre by "letting" her hunt. I have no doubt that Feyre hunting at fourteen was traumatic, but in no way shape or form is that more traumatic than Nesta being beaten as a girl as young as seven (if not younger).

More time is spent talking about Feyre's torture UTM and her trauma response than is spent talking about Nesta's torture and violation in the Cauldron.

Even when Nesta is the one traumatized, depressed, and suicidal, rather than having her spend the money the IC owed her for her help in the war, SJM has to make Nesta mooch off of Feyre to make Feyre the ultimate victim of Nesta's suffering.

Nesta's depressed, but yet Feyre is the victim because Nesta owes her, or because Nesta does what she wants, even if it kills Feyre, or because Nesta's actions embarrass Feyre, or because Nesta only visits Feyre a few times a month (not like Feyre ever deigns to visit her). Feyre wants to play the victim because Nesta visits Amren more frequently than her and because Nesta actually opens up a little bit to Amren and not her.

When Cassian hurts Nesta's feeling by saying everybody hates her, him and Feyre make Feyre into the victim by talking about how awful her childhood was because her mother didn't want anything to do with her and instead made sure that Feyre knew that Nesta was hers. Considering their mother sounds like an emotionally abusive individual, I would think that would be a good thing for Feyre. Nesta took the brunt of that abuse too. But no. Nesta has to say that their mother treated Feyre even worse than her. I doubt that. I highly doubt that.

Then when the IC hurt Nesta's feelings by voting on whether or not to tell her that she's this badass who can create magical weapons, SJM just has to have Nesta lash out and tell Feyre the truth, thus hurting Feyre's feelings. Then Cassian completely dismisses Nesta's hurt feelings and takes her on a hike to punish her for hurting Feyre's feelings. He's a complete and total jerk to her for almost an entire week, not giving two hoots about her, even after finding out she's suicidal.

When Nesta almost sacrifices herself to save her friends in the Blood Rite, Feyre has to become the ultimate victim, once again, by almost dying, thus taking the focus off of Nesta and her sacrifice and the fact that the first females to participate in the Blood Rite just won the whole thing.

I'm sure Feyre will turn out to be the ultimate victim of the IC threatening Nesta with punishment or execution. Or maybe, because of the IC's treatment of her, Nesta will leave to go off on her Starborn journey alone and the narrative will be all about how Feyre's hurt that Nesta left, and how Nesta should be grateful that Feyre stopped her punishment  or that they only threatened her or that she should be happy to live in the cage that is the Night Court because Feyre, Feyre, Feyre.

[jovialmoonprincess]

AU: Journey to Redemption (Part 4)

First Part. / The Winter Ball / Champagne Problems / Frost and Thorns

Coriolanus Snow x Fem!reader 

Summary: Y/N, a young idealist in Panem, dreams of making a difference in a post-war society. As the winner of the prestigious Plinth Prize is about to be announced, a mysterious woman unveils a grim fate for Coriolanus Snow, Y/N's nemesis. Offered a chance to alter destiny, Y/N must navigate her conflicting emotions and intervene in pivotal moments to prevent Snow's descent into darkness. The story unfolds against the backdrop of complex relationships, past connections, and the challenges of a changing world, as Y/N grapples with the responsibility of shaping an unexpected destiny and challenging the very fabric of fate.

Warning(s): None, enemy to lovers, back in time, destiny, Snow being in love, Snow being Snow, THIS ONE IS SO SHORT SORRY

A/N: I'm on Wattpad now too, click here to read and vote there: WATTPAD

Frost and Thorns

Y/N observed the white rose with meticulous attention. The thorns, now trimmed, led her to contemplate how long it would take for that flower to wither completely. She had just returned to her apartment after the ball, immersed in palpable fear. Everything she had experienced that night seemed like an illusion, a theatrical representation of something she could barely comprehend. Unraveling the mysteries of Snow became a complex and increasingly frightening task.

The fear that enveloped her was not just personal; it was the apprehension of falling into the enchanting webs of young Snow and, thereby, living a life of misfortune in a country on the brink of ruin. Y/N felt the urgent need to document her feelings, a kind of emotional testament. The notebook, once forgotten on the shelf, became her confidant, a repository for her most intimate thoughts.

With the pen touching the paper, Y/N sought not only to understand the complexity of her emotions but also to leave a trail in case something unimaginable happened. Her younger siblings, Orion and Aria, would be the recipients of her words, and she wanted them to know, even in her absence, the events that surrounded her.

The responsibility of teaching her siblings about the treacherous nature of the Hunger Games and the cunning of the Capitol rested on Y/N. Despite their creative souls, Orion and Aria needed to understand the dangerous game society forced them to play. The analogy of the Capitol as a snake, to be handled with caution, was part of the legacy Y/N tried to impart.

Her thoughts turned to her mother, a figure who, after the death of her father, seemed to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. She performed her maternal duties with excellence, cooking, caring, and ensuring the well-being of her children. However, Y/N perceived a spirit once free, now contained, as if her mother were constantly immersed in dark thoughts. The vision of the Capitol seemed obscured by veiled conformity, a resignation to an inescapable reality.

The Academy, with its weekday study routine, represented a necessary escape for Y/N. Weekends were sacred, a time to return home and witness the rapid growth of Orion and Aria, an experience that, for her, was simultaneously beautiful and distressing.

Y/N had never feared her own death, but perhaps this absence of fear destined her for a mission that others would avoid. However, she hoped this mission would not be in vain. Her persistent determination was driven by the need to reunite with the mysterious woman, to understand the dark details that eluded her comprehension. The devastating vision of Snow haunted her, but without the context and order of events, the truth remained elusive.

Who was the girl confined in the visions? Why did Sejanus not emerge in her premonitions, and why did Coryo's gaze seem devoid of life? The need to unravel these key moments became an incessant quest, an infinite puzzle challenging her mind. Was it possible to find the answers before it was too late? Uncertainty hung in the air, and Y/N, immersed in these mysteries, was determined to uncover the hidden truths before time caught up with her.

Several days had passed since the reaping. Y/N, sitting on the couch, absorbed in a book for a few hours, decided to take a break and turn on the television. She soon realized that the first act of the Hunger Games was about to begin. Still reeling from recent events, she felt unfocused, as if she were out of tune with reality. The luxurious apartment, all the comforts provided by the Capitol, now seemed like a tangible reminder of her submission to the system. However, she knew she shouldn't complain, as, in a way, she believed that the State and the Academy had an obligation to provide uniforms, food, and accommodations.

As she watched the screen, she witnessed many people being confined in a cage, with a girl in a colorful dress and a boy in red standing out. As the camera zoomed in, she identified Coriolanus and the girl, the same one seen in her vision, being kissed by Coryo through a cell. The scene clicked, and a wave of understanding hit her, bringing tears to her eyes. If the vision was real, the information about Coriolanus becoming a dictator would also be real. Absorbed in her thoughts, she decided to call Tigris, certain that her friend would share her shock.

"Hello? Tigris?"

"Y/N!! I was about to call you."

"Are you watching the Games?"

"Absolutely. Did you see the reaping? Everyone is talking about it."

"I don't like watching the reaping," Y/N admitted, having given up on following this event years ago. It was not something pleasant to witness.

"Y/N," Tigris seemed a bit cautious, "Coryo's tribute is the girl from District 12, Lucy Gray. She's from a circus family. She put a snake in the mayor's daughter's dress, and after that, he attacked her, but she put on a show. LITERALLY, she started singing and dancing, and now the Capitol can't take their eyes off her."

It was a lot of information to process. Y/N wanted to know more.

"Wow. And how did Coriolanus end up in a cage?"

"I don't know, but yesterday, I encouraged him to get close to her. She must be confused, scared, and angry. It seems like her name was deliberately placed there."

Y/N approached the TV slowly. She noticed the rose behind her ear, the same rose resting on her nightstand. Coryo and Lucy Gray seemed like an odd couple. It would be a funny scene if they weren't in a monkey cage.

"For sure," replied Y/N, ending the conversation. She said goodbye to Tigris and returned to her thoughtful book. Her stomach was churning; fear for Panem's future haunted her, and the sight of Coryo so close to another girl stirred a strange feeling. Holding hands, smiling, it was a strange scene for her, even though she was used to seeing the boy being friendly with everyone. Something about Lucy Gray made her feel a flutter in her stomach. Her disposition, beauty, irreverence, friendliness, courage, and the ability to capture young Snow's attention.

A week later, Y/N found Sejanus in the academy corridor and sat beside him.

"How's the mentoring going?" she asked, her interest genuine, knowing that mentoring for the Hunger Games was not something Sejanus embraced with enthusiasm.

"Not very well."

"Why?" she inquired, aware that there was more behind Sejanus's downcast expression.

"Marcus... he was my classmate before I came here. We weren't exactly friends, but we weren't enemies either. One day, I caught my finger in the door, and he grabbed snow from the window sill to try to reduce the swelling. He didn't even ask the teacher; he just went and did it. And now I'm his mentor. And he's going to win. Anyone would be happy with him."

Y/N was speechless in the face of the emotional burden Sejanus shared. Acting on instinct, she hugged him, seeking to offer some comfort in the face of the distress they shared. Two minutes passed, and the hug seemed to alleviate some of the tension in Sejanus.

"Sejanus, we need to end the Games. We need to free Panem," Y/N whispered, paranoid that someone might overhear. "All of this is madness."

"I know. What are we doing? Putting children in an arena to kill each other? It's wrong in so many ways. Animals protect the young of their species, don't they? We do too. We try to protect the children! It's part of us as human beings. Who really wants to do this? It's not natural!" Sejanus vented, and for the first time in a month, Y/N felt the urge to just listen. Normally, it was she who freaked out about this. She felt lighter. "It's cruelty. It goes against everything I believe is right in the world. I can't be part of this."

"Don't do anything you might regret later, Sejanus. We're few against many. We need a plan, something smart. We have to think calmly. Don't be impulsive. Don't put yourself in danger. The Capitol is treacherous." Y/N spoke as if she were uttering a small prayer for Sejanus to absorb every word. It was advice she repeated to herself as a motto.

"Y/N..." Sejanus began. There was no time to finish the sentence because Coriolanus interrupted the conversation.

"Satyria is waiting for us for the seminar, Sejanus," said a stern Snow, noticing the proximity between Sejanus and Y/N. "Hurry up." Coryo didn't even look into Y/N's eyes. He seemed resentful.

The tension in the air revealed the complicated dynamic between the three. The unspoken words echoed through the academy corridors, and Y/N knew that, in the face of uncertainties and imminent dangers, her decisions would shape the fate of Panem.

"JERK." Y/N was furious about how the boy had treated her earlier. "Snow always falls on top of everything. Maybe it's time for him to fall, stumble, and hit his face on the ground to learn not to be so arrogant." Y/N murmured to herself, lying on her bed, replaying the morning scene.

_____________________________

Hi guys, I'm finally on vacation from college. I will be able to update here more frequently. I will post the next chapter when we reach 60 likes on the fic. And also thanks for the votes <3 I KNOW THIS ONE IS SHORT SORRY I will compensate in the next with a lot of FLUFF.

Taglist: @shari-berri@h-l-vlovesvintage@tea-bobba@daenerysqueenofhearts @commanderfreethatdust @glxzillx

TAGLIST AND REQUESTS ARE OPEN!!!!!

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Colin Wright

Published: Nov 16, 2024

In August 2021, I sat in my bed reflecting on the shifting political landscape in America. I had always considered myself part of the Left but found myself increasingly alienated and baffled by the positions many self-proclaimed progressives were adopting. Instead of championing free speech, they disparaged it as a threat to democracy and minorities. Rather than valuing character and merit over skin color, they promoted racist “equity” initiatives that prioritize race over the individual. And instead of upholding science and truth, they embraced absurd pseudoscience about the biology of sex for political purposes.

Ronald Reagan’s famous quote, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me,” resonated deeply with me. This sentiment seemed pervasive among those criticizing what was being called the “regressive left,” now often termed “wokeness.” I thought there must be a way to visually represent this feeling of political estrangement from the Left. I opened PowerPoint and started experimenting.

As I doodled, my thoughts and feelings begin to take visual shape. The illustration depicted the political ground shifting beneath my feet, with the Left becoming increasingly extreme and pulling the political “center” to the left. This made my views appear to shift rightward, even though my views had not changed at all. It was an illusion of sorts, and it perfectly captured my feelings. On August 6, 2021, I tweeted it with the caption, “My political journey in a nutshell.”

It went “viral” by normal Twitter standards, amassing a couple thousand retweets. I posted it several more times over the next few months. Then, on April 28, 2022, while I was out for a walk, I checked my Twitter notifications and was shocked by what I saw:

Elon Musk, the most-followed account on Twitter, had shared my meme. It exploded in popularity, amassing hundreds of thousands of retweets and over a million likes. The comments were overwhelmingly positive, with the majority conveying how perfectly it summed up their own feelings and experiences. And the commentary didn’t stay on Twitter. That day at the gym, I saw my meme featured on the news. The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro discussed it on his show. CNN’s Michael Smerconish ran a lengthy segment about it and encouraged viewers to create their own stick figure political political spectrum drawings. It was everywhere.

I even appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight to discuss the meme. Conversely, left-wing pundits expressed their disapproval through angry tweets and op-eds attempting to debunk it. The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent called it a “silly chart” that has been “brutally debunked.” His colleague Philip Bump described it as “simply wrong” and an “obvious exaggeration.” NBC News published an article calling it a “very bad meme” that “shows how out of touch he is with political reality.”

This confusion, whether genuine or performative, from the left prompted me to write an explanation of what I believe the meme depicts and my reasons for creating it. I sent it to the Wall Street Journal, and they published it. The heart of my essay is as follows:

I created the cartoon to help sort out my feelings of increasing political alienation from the left. I’m a lifelong Democrat. I turned 18 in 2003 and have never voted for a Republican. But over the past decade, and especially the past five years, I’ve watched my party distance itself from the values and principles I hold dear. People on the left once viewed free speech as sacrosanct and championed speaking truth to power. Now they disparage open expression as a danger to democracy and minorities. The aspiration of judging individuals by the content of their character rather than by the color of their skin has given way to identity politics and “equity” initiatives that prioritize group interests over individual rights. Women’s rights, previously understood as relating to their oppression on the basis of sex, is now viewed by the left through the lens of gender identity, which gives priority to men who declare themselves to be women. Today’s progressive can’t even tell you what a woman is. The right may be inconsistent in its support of free speech, individual rights and women’s rights, but the left is consistent in its opposition to all three.

I concluded my essay with a warning—one that the Democrats should have taken seriously but evidently did not.

I hope many on the left will resist the urge to debunk or dismiss my cartoon and instead use it as an opportunity to understand why so many people feel it describes their experience. Something has happened over the past decade to make many liberals feel politically homeless, and a lack of curiosity about why is a recipe for not only political failure but social strife.

Needless to say, Democrats did not heed my warning, and their incuriousness about the reasons behind the meme’s virality led to the “political failure” I predicted, with Donald Trump securing a landslide victory for the Republicans, running on the exact issues I outlined in my article.

Yesterday, Financial Times columnist John Burn-Murdoch reported on data from the US General Social Survey, which indicated that although my “graphic was mocked at the time…recent events”—i.e., the election—“suggest it may have a grain of truth to it.” Far from containing just a “grain of truth,” the data seem to fully corroborate my meme in granular detail.

Burn-Murdoch notes, “The data shows Democrats taking a sharp turn leftward on social issues over the past decade. This has distanced them from the median voter, just as Wright’s cartoon depicted...This suggests that Trump’s election radicalised the left, not the right."

[ Source: John Burn-Murdoch ]

If the similarities between the above graphs and my political meme are not immediately obvious, below is the figure reoriented and superimposed on my meme to match the years. In fact, it appears that the only inaccuracy in my meme stems from my underestimating the left’s ideological extremism!

Burn-Murdoch concludes: “Whether or not progressives are ready to accept it, the evidence all points in one direction. America’s moderate voters have not deserted the Democrats; the party has pushed them away.”

Democrats: I told you so; but you refused to listen. And instead of facing reality, many of you are now fleeing to Bluesky to ratchet the seals on your echo chamber a few notches tighter. Do you truly believe that will assist you in understanding the average American voter?

It won’t.

Here’s a final warning: If you do not fully reject woke ideology and return to common sense, you will continue to lose—and you will deserve to lose.

--

2024 Update:

This is how you end up with far-left intersectional nutjobs cheering on far-right Islamist nutjobs.

[sepdet]

To nobody's surprise (except followers of the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party), this excerpt is chilling:

In May 2020, Fred attended a meeting with Trump at the White House alongside several health advocates, as well as Trump’s former Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and Brett Giroir, the former assistant secretary for health. At first, things were going well.

[CW: extreme ableism and gratuitous cat photos below the cut. The latter is in no way meant to make light of the former.]

“The meeting I had assumed would be a quick handshake hello with Donald had turned into a 45-minute discussion in the Oval Office,” Fred wrote. “Donald seemed engaged, especially when several people in our group spoke about the heart-wrenching and expensive efforts they’d made to care for their profoundly disabled family members, who were constantly in and out of the hospital and living with complex arrays of challenges.”

After the meeting concluded, however, Trump called his nephew back in to speak with him.

“I thought he had been touched by what the doctor and advocates in the meeting had just shared about their journey with their patients and their own family members,” Fred wrote. “But I was wrong.”

He recalled his uncle’s words to him: “‘Those people …’ Donald said, trailing off. ‘The shape they’re in, all the expenses, maybe those kinds of people should just die.’” Fred wrote that he hadn’t known how to respond to the former president’s comment, so he quickly left

But Trump’s callous, inhuman attitude toward Americans with disabilities did not end there. Fred recounted a later interaction with his uncle, where he had called the former president to ask for help buoying the fund that supported his son’s care.

Fred wrote that his uncle didn’t seem convinced. “‘I don’t know,’ he finally said, letting out a sigh. ‘He doesn’t recognize you. Maybe you should just let him die and move down to Florida.’

“Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised to hear Donald say that. It wasn’t far off from what he’d said that day in the Oval Office after our meeting with the advocates. Only that time, it was other people’s children who should die. This time, it was my son,” Fred wrote.

This time, Fred hit back, he wrote. “‘No, Donald,’ I said. ‘He does recognize me.’”

Oop, there it is: Donald Trump, eugenicist.

Childless cat lady reaction:

You can't imagine what it was like going through the pandemic as a medically vulnerable person, watching the President encouraging people to drop precautions against spreading a deadly disease. He forced me to self-isolate even more, because I couldn't enter any building without encountering unmasked people before there was a vaccine. "Childless cat lady?!" Fuck you, Vance, that cat was my life support when Trump threw us under the bus.

Which reminds me, I need to order the next $6000 injection I've had to take since COViD plus arthritis turned my immune system into a hit squad against my own organs.

Trump would tell my father, who pays my medical bills, to let me die.

And I'm keenly aware how lucky I am to have family to support me, unlike all the people like me who did die.

@pumpkin-belly passed away peacefully in my lap in May. I spent more on an elderly cat’s medical bills than a billionaire was willing to spend on his own great-nephew. That bighearted orange fluffball was worth infinitely more than the orange carbuncle running for president.

Whom I don't trust not to follow through with his notions of eugenics if he is reelected.

Avenge Pumpkin. Defend disabled people. Vote blue. (Please)

[cavernstudio]

Hello! It’s cavernstudio after two weeks of hiatus! So for our most recent chapter, me and faberown wanted to try experimenting with the premise of a voting element in our collaborated fanfic called

“Choose your own tune”

Throughout the chapters, our protagonist Kaede Akamatsu will face important choices where you (the reader) get to vote on which path Kaede chooses to take in the story!

Here is how it works. At certain points of the story, Kaede will be presented with multiple options (tunes) that will determine her next move. Each tune represents a unique direction Kaede will fix up.

Your votes will not only influence the story, but also shape Kaede’s relationships with other characters and affect the overall outcome of the plot.

Look out for voting prompts throughout the chapters and cast your vote to help guide Kaede on her journey! We’d really appreciate your participation!

[rubberizer92]

🇵🇱✨ In the dazzling Rubbery Christmas Club, Łukasz from Poland takes center stage! 🎉🌟 Draped in festive allure, Łukasz's attire is a celebration of Poland's Christmas charm and the rubberized revolution. Witness the magic unfold and cast your votes to support Łukasz's journey towards triumph! 🚀💖🗳️

How to Vote: 🔵 Instagram: Like, comment, and share Łukasz's festive post. Boost Yes votes in our Instagram stories, and subtract No votes to elevate Poland's Christmas charm in the competition!

🔵 Tumblr & X: Like, reblog, and share the festive enchantment! Your engagement shapes the destiny of OBEY Season 19!

Vote, embrace the magic, and let Poland shine in the Rubbery Christmas Club! 🌈🎄 #OBEYseason19 #PolishMagic

[imthepunchlord]

What do you think of the idea in many miraculous fanfictions that the kwamis are the progenitors to folklore and mythological monsters (like a bat kwami being the progenitor to vampires, a wolf kwami being the progenitor to werewolves, etc)?

I personally like the idea that kwamis and miraculous had some influence to mythology and folklore and how it came to be, but they're not the answer to everything. This way, it does show they had some influence through history, but also establishes that there's other magic out there and not everything is miraculous exclusive. And you shouldn't want everything to be originating from miraculouses, cause the world is big, and there's a lot of myths and folklore out there, and in ancient times, these singular jewelry pieces could only travel so far and so quickly. Unless they go a route of there being multiple types of one animal (which I think would be too much), then there's not enough for an explanation for a variety of myths that pop up.

Also, the miraculous won't match with everything, like take Pig. Assuming Pig represents all pigs, boars, and hogs, well, this doesn't represent everything about pigs in mythology. Boars in Greek, the Celts, and in Europe in general represents warriors, hunting, battles, and aggression. Pigs also represent gluttony, laziness, and animals for slaughter; how does the Pig Miraculous work off of this? Pigs in China are also known to be symbols of wealth and prosperity, how does the canon miraculous work off of that? Or can Gift be more broad in what sort of gift is given? Or does Pig have more powers to offer to work off this? But, that would clash with Pig representing Jubilation so can't work off the aggression of boars.

Another example is Snake, who strictly works off Ouroboros in terms of power, but snakes are tied to much more than that. Snakes are heavily tied to dragons through the Chinese dragons, the Naga in both India and Thailand, Greek Python and Hydra, and Norse Jormungandr and Nidhogg to name a few. Snakes are tied to creation myths and rain, guardianship and vindication, life and death, healing and evil, all themes of duality; ect.. The Snake Miraculous doesn't work off all of that. It's just Ouroboros that it works off of, which is a theme that pops up around the world, but it's not the only one for snakes.

So, no, I wouldn't vote that miraculous are the answers to every bit of folklore and myth tied to animals. I'd go they had some influence though in shaping views.

Also offers a good reason on why miraculous were made, cause there was other magic out there, magic that humanity couldn't face and deal with, so miraculous were a means to combat against what endangered them.

It also leaves it nicely open to what myths and icons you think are tied to miraculous and what exists outside of miraculous, which I think it's more fun for the fans to speculate and headcanon and not confirm too many through history and largely stick to mythical figures, like Robin Hood could've been a Deer given deer are tied to archery and are swift and elusive.

Another example could be Sun Wukong. You could count Sun Wukong as a powerful being that exists outside miraculous and he and Xuppu could've been friends or rivals or both, or you could roll with Thomas' claim that he was a miraculous user, @nobodyfamousposts told me once they had an idea that Miraculous world's version of The Journey West was Tripitaka traveling to gather up scattered miraculouses, and the characters we see were the hero names, and the interactions seen came from Tripitaka and the kwamis.

So, that would be my ideal.

[spiritual-entries]

The Gods in Hades II - Returning Help

Need a hand Zagreus? No wait Melinoë?

Doesn’t matter which of Hades’s kids need a hand! These gods have appeared in both Hades and Hades II to provide boons to add you on your journey…whichever journey that may be. Let’s learn about some of the returning gods in Hades II!

Seeing as most of these deities have a lot of myths under their belt, I have opted to remove the “Myths” section as it would take too long to list every single myth they’re referenced in. 

Contents

‷⇢Zeus ‷⇢Poseidon ‷⇢Artemis ‷⇢Aphrodite ‷⇢Hermes ‷⇢Demeter ‷⇢Chaos

King Zeus

➤King of the Gods ➤Olympian god of the sky, weather, lightening, thunder, law & order, justice, moral conduct, destiny & fate, kingship

Zeus is the king of the gods. Youngest child of Chronos and Rhea. He was the only god to escape his father Chronos and returned to save his siblings. He was depicted as a regal, mature man with a sturdy figure and dark beard. He is usually depicted with his attributes which were a lightning bolt, a royal sceptre and an eagle.

Attributes

Lightening Bolt

Clouds

Scepter

Throne

Wreath of Olive Leaves

Aegis

Offerings

rainwater

Photos or art of storms

eagle & bull figurines

scales of Justice

Listening to the sound of rain 

Vote in elections(!!!)

Be in a leadership position

Poseidon

➤King of the Sea ➤Olympian god of the sea, earthquakes, floods, droughts, storms, sources of fresh water, horses 

King of the sea, Poseidon rules over earthquakes, floods, droughts, stroms, sources of fresh water, and horses as well. One of Zeus’s siblings as a child of Chronos and Rhea. He was depicted as a mature man with a sturdy build and dark beard holding a trident (a three-pronged fisherman's spear).

Attributes

Trident

Wreath of celery leaves

billowing cloak

boulder with sea creatures

Offerings

seawater

sand

toy horses/toy fish

seashells

go on a trip to your nearest body of water

go swimming

learn how to ride a horse

Artemis

➤Olympian god of wild animals & hunting, wilderness, child delivery & nursing infants, girls, chastity, maiden dance & song, disease, plague & sudden death, archery

Artemis, goddess of huning, wild animals, and wilderness. She is the twin to Apollon, born as the children of Zeus and Leto. Artemis and Apollon act as the gods of sudden death with Artmeis targeting girls and women, and Apollon targeting boys and men. The twins were also both the protectors of girls and boys up until the age of marriage. Artemis was usually depicted as a girl or young maiden with a hunting bow and quiver of arrows.

Attributes

golden bow & arrows

Quiver

hunting spears

knee-length dress

animal pelts

hunting boots

deer

wild beast

lyre

torches

Offerings

moon shaped objects

deer antlers

wildflowers

feathers

physical activity

dancing

enjoying nature

Aphrodite

➤Olympian god of love, procreation, beauty, seduction, pleasure, happiness, war

Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty but! also a goddess of war. There are many different stories about her birth, but is mostly commonly known as a child of Ouranos. She was depicted as a beautiful woman typically dedicated nude, often accompanied by the winged godling Eros (Love). 

Attributes

dove

apple

myrtle-wreath

flower

scallop shell

mirror

Offerings

perfume

scented lotions

seashells

self care // self love (!!)

spend some time at the sea

stand up for yourself and what you believe in

Hermes

➤Messenger of the Gods ➤Psychopomp ➤Olympian god of heraldry, omens, animal husbandry, rustic poetry & animal fables, trade, travel, boundaries, thievery & cunning, wit, language & education, the dead, athletic contests & gymnasiums, astrology & astronomy

Hermes is the god of a lot of things… astronomy, theft, language, athletics. He is the personal messenger to Zeus, King of the gods. Hermes was depicted as either a handsome and athletic, beardless youth or as an older, bearded man, with winged boots and a herald's wand.

Attributes

caduceus

Talaria

Petasos

lyre

Offerings

dice

travel tickets

currency

foreign foods

working out

learn a new language

engage in harmless pranks 

Demeter

➤Olympian god of agriculture, harvest, grains, milling, bread, horticulture, pig farming, fertility, the blessed afterlife, motherhood

Daughter of Chronos and Rhea, sister to Zeus, Demeter is the goddess of agriculture and harvest. Known to be the provider of food generally. She rules over the Mystery Cults which promised all members the path to Elysium in the afterlife. Demeter was depicted as a mature woman, often wearing a crown and bearing sheafs of wheat or a cornucopia (horn of plenty), and a torch.

Attributes

wheat ears

torch

Cornucopia

lotus staff

radiate crown

winged drakon chariot

Offerings

flour

fresh fruit

flowers

farming // gardening

learn to take care of plants

buy from local farmers

learn to cook

Chaos

➤Primordial goddess of fate & the chasm of air, mother of birds

Chaos (Khaos) was the first primordial god to emerge during creations. The word khaos means "gap" or "chasm" being the space between heaven and earth. She is the lower atmosphere, creating the air in which we breathe. Chaos is the mother of all sky related (or misty elements) deities; Eerebos (mists of the Underworld), Nyx (night), Aither (mists of Heaven), & Hemera (day)

Offerings

feathers

divination

practice using the element of air

honor her children

spend some time outside

References

Most Gods

All gods

[cookinguptales]

wwdits tarot: judgement

Just one card left after this one!

I set up a poll here for people to vote on which tarot deck I use for readings this weekend. I’ll be busy Friday night, but people can still get started sending me requests while I’m out.

This is a card that I’ve been waiting on for a long time now — XX. Judgement.

There’s only one last member of the main cast left, isn’t there? :')

Judgement is a card that, like I’ve said before, people often mistake for Justice. But if Justice is about getting what you deserve (good, bad, or indifferent) then Judgement is about your life finally coming full circle. It’s about your own internal judgement, deciding what you want your life to be, but it’s also in a sense a divine final judgment. It’s the time when all of your decisions can finally be seen as a complete whole, and when you will see your life for what it’s always been meant to be.

It’s that moment when everything finally lines up, you know? When you look inside and have a revelation and suddenly you know exactly who you are and who you’ve always been. It’s realizing who and what you’re meant to be.

Basically, Judgement is all about looking within, gathering up all of the puzzle pieces you’ve been painstakingly collecting throughout the years, and finally putting them together into a cohesive whole. It’s being able to see the picture that they create. It’s self-knowledge, but it’s also finally understanding what you need to do in order to grow.

It’s a card about making life-changing decisions, but ones that will finally let you realize your full potential.

I think it suits my favorite character in the whole show, to be honest. I think we’re seeing him on that journey now, and I’m so excited to see where he finally ends up.

It’s been a delight to watch Guillermo de la Cruz grow from a nebbish, ineffectual, pathetic little familiar into the slayer he is today. It’s like he’d convinced himself that he would only ever be on the outside looking in until someone more powerful than him deigned to invite him in. But then he realized that he had power all his own. He didn’t have to wait for anyone to give him permission to exist. No one had to give him anything.

He could just take it himself.

Whether it’s tearing through an entire theater of vampires, beating the shit out of his former master, or deciding to earn his fangs his own way, Guillermo has finally learned that while he wants to live in the shadows, that doesn’t mean that he has to be content living in somebody else’s.

I love the way he’s finally started to put together pieces of his own power and personality to understand the strength that’s always been his for the taking. I love that he’s starting to trip over these self-reflections and revelations, and every one of them brings him closer to being the creature that he's always had inside of him.

Will that be a vampire? A slayer? A combination of the two? Something wholly outside that binary?

I don’t know yet, and I don’t think Guillermo does either.

Either way, though, I think that this whole series, we’ve seen him approaching his final Judgement. I think he’s going to find in himself something awesome and terrible, cruel and beautifully kind. He’s finally going to find out what shape his power wants to take, and how he can use it best to serve his own needs. He’s going to figure out who he wants to be, and who that person will be to those he loves.

He’s going to figure out how to become a person that he loves.

He’s finding his final form, in other words, or at least the kind of form he might be frozen in for a little taste of eternity.

Everyone in this show grows and changes and learns about themselves to some degree, but no one has had a change more radical or welcome than Guillermo has. No one else has realized that they’ve been living a lie for their entire lives, and that they were just too afraid to leave the cocoon they’d been hiding in for all this time. No one else has seriously started on their road to full self-actualization.

There’s a kind of potential in Guillermo that all of them are just starting to get their minds around, and I’m not sure anyone’s been more surprised by it than him. But he’s starting to become more comfortable with his own power and potential and whatever Judgement he will reach, and he’s going to make sure the rest of them become comfortable with it, too.

One way or another.

Now. Onto the card itself.

The scene on the RSW version of Judgement is a largely Biblical one, and you know how I feel about that. We see here an angel trumpeting the Final Judgement and the dead rising from their graves to greet him.

Guillermo, too, is calling the undead to him — but they might be a little less happy to see him.

My immediate first thought is that imagery of him swinging down from the rafters in the Theatre, and everyone looking up to see who'd just swooped into their midst.

I love that for him — this idea that, in the end, no one had to invite him to this get-together. He made his own goddamn entrance, and he's here in this world to stay.

So maybe that's what I want here, too. Guillermo swooping down into the vampiric world, blood and ash on the ground, and the vampires (and other supernatural creatures) looking up to receive him. Some, like Nandor and the rest of their housemates, are welcoming him. Others are looking at him with fear and resentment. But none of them can turn him away.

Not anymore.

wwdits tarot masterpost

[sw33t-oubliette]

REASONS YOU SHOULD VOTE DEATH TO THE MECHANISMS FOR @crysongz [YES IM AWARE IT HASNT STARTED YET . YES I DONT CARE]

the mechs all chose to die/were happy with their deaths . jonny died laughing . tim chose to steal that gunship . drumbot chose to throw himself back into space . ashes chose to burn down that planet . raphaella chose to go into that black hole . ivy died choosing to save those books [that meant so much to her] . marius chose to check on the octokittens . toy soldier chose to stop pretending .

they all knew they were gonna die when they chose to do that . ["And it's hard to play so much with time without learning the shape of your own end. We know where we will be when we start to slow and choose to follow nastya into the dark"]

hell even nastya chose how she went out

they died [permanent time] the way their immortality started

POINTLESS IGNOABLE DEATHS THE LOT OF THEM . BUT WHO THATS REALLY LIVED CAN BOAST OTHERWISE ?! THANK YOU FOR JOINING US ON OUR JOURNEY !!

the ending takes a whole part from laid in blood from once upon a time (in space) [THEIR FIRST EVER ALBUM ......] and changes it a little bit to fit them

crying . screaming .

WE'VE LIVED SO LONG TOGETHER PERHAPS IT IS ONLY FITTING WE DIE ALONE.

the song that comes right after is drunk space pirate [the shift of tone is SO funny tbh]

and in drunk space pirate . "your humble first mate!" "first ma-" "Wait , What??!!!" "i know what i said.!"

bplease lol .do it for almost-immortal gay storytelling space pirates and the people their stories are about everywhere around the galaxy

[damazcuz]

but are you good at drawing hands and feet?

Hey blanket disclaimer that I'm a little sleep deprived right now and might be reading things wrongly. I don't mean to pick on you or anything and I'm halfway sure this isn't the angle you were trying to approach from so like. Don't take this as a personal sword slash to the chest and you're on fire, but I don't like the phrasing in relation to my post overall. I said I love doing it and that's all that I need. It's something I enjoy drawing. It's got some cool shapes and it's fun to figure out. I don't like framing hobbies and things that I enjoy as like... "Things I'm good at" (and therefore maybe I'm good enough to make it a side hustle, and I can turn a profit) vs "things I'm bad at" (and therefore I shouldn't do them as there's no incentive.) Again I'm pretty sure this isn't the angle you're approaching from, I just think that this is the capitalist societal pressure behind the angle you might be coming from which is still "are you good enough to actually do it (and profit) or bad enough you shouldn't." I think if they surveyed everyone in the world and had them vote and rank every artist ever based on how well they drew hands and I was named dead last, worst at drawing them ever, I would be like oh no! Anyway! And I'd still enjoy doing it because it's fun and I like to draw them. They got shapes cousin.

Again I'm very tired and possibly completely misreading tone and intention and it's hard to tell online (and still hard to tell in person) but I think we'll all be happier if we create things even when we fucking suck at them, you gotta go out there and make some reeeeeeeal stinkers. Just some real dogshit art sometimes. Do it for yourself and enjoy the process and the journey. :) But yeah I'm alright at em I think. They look good.

[grison-in-space]

I watched No Child Left Behind rolling out in sixth grade, right as I moved to a new state and became a middle schooler. My teachers talked to me about it and about how badly it was changing things all the way up through graduation in 2008. Not just one or two teachers, either; I can think of a dozen or so teachers who had a frank conversation with me (and often other students) about the catastrophe of NCLB at some point over the years. And it was never the burned out, tired teachers who were explaining what they thought was going on to me, either. It was the ones who were passionate about teaching and who wanted us to know about the world. I was a firmly upper middle class kid, in retrospect, so I had access to a school district with good teachers and mostly not too much burnout. Maybe that was why so many of them talked to me about things over the years.

It actually hung over me as I came into my first presidential election where I could vote: I had spent a decade talking with all my best teachers about legislation that shaped half of my whole life and all of my future. I was so excited to get to try to help do something about it. And you know, I thought we had for a little while, but it just kept getting worse, and then Trump hit and yeah. It was 2001 all over again, except now I was old enough to see the playbook clearly.

Here's the thing, though. 2000 was the year I turned 10. One of the first political things I can remember is stomping out, with some confusion, on parades for John McCain's first bid in the primaries, and being asked with big grade school civics class magazine panels which primary hopefuls were the ones I liked best.

I'm that kid that was raised with this bullshit, too. And I wasn't the only bright kid out there asking questions and making conclusions, either. Not in the slightest. I've gone on to be an instructor myself, at the college level. Tell you the truth, I've had those conversations with my students, too. I tell them when things happen that impact them that I think are unjust. When I'm asked for my honest opinion, I try to give it.

There's always fresh teachers to be fed into the mill. If there's anything I know about teachers, there's always going to be people idealistic enough about education to sign up to be drowned in over work and paid dog shit in exchange for getting to help people through the transcendent journey of learning. It's an honorable and important job, but you're always going to be stretched out and underpaid, the expectation that you have a husband with a presumably more comfortable salary keeping your wages low and your expensive education credentials high. It takes chips off people. Eventually you stop bleeding, one way and another.

But the chips--those chips, they get tucked into the minds of children all the same. Children grow up and they observe; they learn; they think. By and large, I don't think my generation is any more credulous than anyone's... no thanks to NCLB! But that outcome is the legacy of a whole lot of people who cared a lot about the world telling a kid what they thought, even in the face of a scary, unsteady time. Those adults are why things aren't worse. Bless them and their service, no matter how long it lasted.

I was today years old. That is disgusting.

No Child Left Behind is one of the worst things to ever be incentivized in schools. It was signed into law when I was 14. Reading Rainbow was my show as a kid. LeVar Burton played a big part in why I became an avid reader to date. The joy of it. It's an adventure around the globe and through different time periods without stepping on a plane or time machine.

Children parrot behavior. In grade school, I always wanted to read the same amount of books as my teachers (50 books) and managed to double that each year. Before No Child Left Behind, book fairs and Scholastic catalogs were a serious matter like your grandma's Fingerhut catalogs. Libraries were (and still are) a wonderland.

Reading comprehension and proficiency in schools has been declining for decades. A crisis. The joy of books isn't pushed anymore and I'm always saddened by it. It's one of the reasons why I post my book reviews and recommendations on here, as well as posts from others to encourage reading and (novel) writing. Kids will parrot your behavior while the education system sadly fails to return as that example.

[hobbymommy]

New Year.

There’s always something uniquely refreshing about the first month of the year. It’s like a moment of pause, a soft cleanse, as if the universe is offering us a fresh slate. An opportunity to write a new chapter in the story of our lives. To begin again. Some would jokingly say it's a "free trial month" which is pretty funny but also a bit true. Who doesn't feel like they’re testing out new habits before committing to them long-term?

While I’m not typically one for New Year’s resolutions, I’ve come to appreciate the gentle pull to reassess, realign, and set intentions for the year ahead. It’s less about making resolutions I might abandon in a few weeks, and more about consciously choosing the direction I want to go in, even if some of those choices are things I’ve carried with me for a while.

So, as I reflect on the past and look forward to what’s ahead, here are a few plans and goals that I’ve set for myself—some old, some new, but all meaningful! <3

Have a healthy relationship with God and the people around me. This has been on my list for a while, but if I’m being honest, I’ve neglected it a bit in recent years. Life gets busy, and sometimes it’s easy to forget to prioritize what matters most. This year, I’m making it a priority to create more space for prayer and reflection. I want to be more intentional about prioritizing the people who matter most in my life.

I want to reunite with people I’ve encountered in the past who have helped me evolve into the person I am today. To forgive, start fresh, and let go of any lingering negativity. This goal is an old one for me. I’m not angry or holding any grudges against anyone from my past. Instead, I want to reconnect with those who have shaped who I am. Whether it’s friends I’ve lost touch with, relatives who may not always see eye-to-eye with me (or relatives who voted for the wrong person haha, I kid!), or even acquaintances whose paths have crossed mine. I want to bury any traces of resentment and embrace the people who have been part of my journey.

Surround myself with people who can lead me to the direction of my dreams and at the same time make new friends. For someone who can easily drain her social battery, this one’s a bit challenging! 😂 I love connecting with people, but I also need my downtime to recharge. This year, I’m focusing on being more intentional with the people I surround myself with. Those who inspire me, challenge me, and support my growth. At the same time, I’m open to making new friends, but I’ll be mindful of my energy, making sure I nurture quality connections over quantity.

Have more courage to pursue my dreams no matter how absurd they are. This year, I want to push past any doubts and take bold steps toward my dreams, no matter how unconventional or absurd they might seem. *crossed fingers*

Less buying stuff, more adventures and collecting moments. The first part is definitely a challenge for me... kaya I decided intentional buying nalang hehehe! 😂 Kidding aside, this year, the focus is on collecting experiences instead of accumulating more stuff. Less impulse buys, more spontaneous adventures. We’re cutting back on buying toys (because honestly, the house is overflowing! I’ve already donated some of them, though). Instead of adding to the toy pile, we’re putting our energy into creating real moments together—fewer toys, more trips, more quality time, and more memories that’ll last way longer than any gadget or plastic toy ever could.

Find an unwavering time to learn new things, try something different, and acquire more skills. This goal is an old favorite, and it’s always evolving. Over the past few years, I’ve made some good progress...like learning to cook some pretty decent meals! Not gourmet, but hey, at least they’re edible haha! And my family loves it. *Rai pats herself on the back

This year, I’m kicking things off with something new: archery! I tried it on the very first day of the year, and now I’m completely hooked. Thanks to Reddit and YouTube University, I’m diving deep into all things archery.

Cultivate in me a thankful heart. Taking time to notice the small blessings, appreciating the beauty of everyday moments, and fostering an attitude of gratitude.

Lastly, I’m making health a priority. Taking care of myself means taking good care of my family. For me, it is no longer just about appearance, it’s about how I feel, how strong I feel, and having the energy to keep up with the busy days ahead. I want to feel my best. I'm also being more mindful of the meals I prepare for my family. It’s not just about feeding them, but nourishing them with food that fuels our bodies and helps us thrive. It’s a lifestyle change I want to make for myself and my loved ones.

These are just a few of my goals. Of course, I won’t lay all my hopes and dreams on a platter and serve them up for everyone to feast on. Some things are best kept under wraps, right? 😉 But I hope these goals also inspire you to take steps toward becoming the best version of yourself.

Looking ahead, I’m excited to take these steps with intention and a bit of heart. Here’s to facing new challenges, growing along the way, and making this year the most meaningful one yet!