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lovelyladyabsinthewrites · 8 months

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Love Song for a Vampire Pt. 36

Pairing(s):Edward Cullen x Wolf!Reader, Jacob Black x Witch!OC

Warnings: underage smoking (non nicotine, non cannabis)

Words: 3242

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 37 Part 38 Part 39

The time was growing late where you should have been back home already preparing for bed. You couldn't leave the comfort of the forest though, not when you and Edward lay side by side, him listening as you described Dieufel's magic and Nadege taking over Bella's training. Soft grass tickling your bare arms and legs and the singing of evening birds swooping into the trees after a long day. Bugs kept away from you and Edward, probably thanks to whatever supernatural scent was embedded into you.

You also brought up that in just two days you'd be free of all academic obligation. That meant you could finally go on your long overdue date.

Edward smiles, turning onto his side to face you. "I've been thinking of all the things we can do. Can't seem to decide on just one though."

Laughing you follow suit and roll over to talk to him. The sun wasn't bright any longer, but just a few meager rays were enough to dance off of Edward's skin and illuminate the prism-like structure of Edward's skin and how it's almost blinding. Odd how vampires took on such a trait. "Yeah? What are some of your ideas?" All the while you covertly admire how handsome Edward is in daylight. Your fingers itch to touch his luminescent skin and feel it's coolness against your skin.

He watches the subtle twitch of your fingers as you restrain them from reaching out to him. That makes the corner of his lips curl. Boldly he grabs your hand as he replies "Well, I thought about maybe a movie but that's too cliche. Go-karting sounded like fun when I was researching what girls these days like to do on dates."

You snort, hiding your blush while Edward plays with your small fingers. "You sound old when you say things like that."

"I am old!" Edward chortles before shaking his head. He likes how soft your hands are. It really felt like you were made for him the way your hand easily melds into his grasp. Pale fingers weave themselves with your's offering a contrast in skin tone that mesmerizes both you and Edward. "Then I remember you telling me how the pack go cliff jumping. We could probably both appreciate a bit of fun adrenaline."

"What about the sun? If we go during the day people might see you light up like a disco ball." Oh you love his laugh and how it rumbles his whole body. You don't remember him laughing as much as he did when he was with you.

He acknowledges your concern though. "Unfortunately we'll have to go later in the day to avoid that." An apologetic tone laces his words. There were limits on what the two of you would be able to do together. You don't mind though. The most important thing was being with him and nurturing your bond.

An amusement park would be ideal since places like that have many different types of rides to enjoy. The downside was that anything like that would not be found near Forks. You'd have to travel outside of the city, possibly several hours out but thanks to Edward's driving, it wouldn't be a long drive. It would be a sight to see the vampire on a roller coaster. A picture would be necessary to show the others that Edward wasn't us stiff and brooding as they all thought he was. At least with you, he came to life.

"What would you like to do?" He asks you.

You think for a moment and shrub against the blades of grass. "I don't know. I've never been on a date before."

That was news to him. "Really? You and Embry-"

Instantly your upper body shoots up and your hand falls from his. "What're you talking about?" For some reason it made me defensive when Edward brought up Embry. Not like anything happened. It had only ever been a crush plus that one kiss several weeks ago.

Gauging your reaction, Edward makes sure to compose his sentences more delicately. "I'm sorry. Just. . . The way I've seen him look at you and his thoughts. . . I thought there was something between you two."

What had Embry been thinking while around Edward?

Evita was going to need to make more amulets to prevent Edward from reading anymore intimate thoughts.

You purse your lips and relax back down though there's now a frown pulling down your lips. He wasn't exactly wrong. "Nothing like that at least. I did used to have a crush on him a couple of years ago and I think he did too, but nothing came of it. We've just decided to stay friends. Other than that, no dates. This will be my first."

That seems to make him grin a little as he was tickled by that. "I'll make sure not to disappoint."

The next day was spent with you itching to get out of your summer school classes and Bella continuing her lessons with Nadege while Dieufel and Evita tag teamed on making the wards. Their energy was always spent after making just one and needing a recovery period of at least the rest of the day so they could get back at it the next. However, even after getting out of your lessons, you and Embry had patrol duty and couldn't stay at Sam's for long. Seth is assigned to your shift too but linked to his mind, you feel something off. Unsettled as he attempts to keep whatever secrets that were bothering deep inside of him under lock and key. Embry exchanged a look with you but you shook your head. It was something to discuss later. Right now they had to keep constant vigil. Like the Cullens had reminded them, time was of the essence. No one knew when the Volturi would learn of everything. Not exactly. So every minute counted. Edward, Esme and Rosalie also aided in security as they kept to the treetops. A good thing they didn't require sleep.

Spreading out in a tactical maneuver, your pad along as your eyes easily adjust to the darkening sky. Above you hear branches groan against the landing feet of Edward. A reassuring sound for you as you had broken apart from Embry and Seth. You could still hear them, both in your mind and outside. Random check-ins with one another. Nothing to note. All the anxiety over when the Volturi would arrive was starting to wear on you. You hadn't been able to sleep well to begin with thanks to Xiomara, but now it was damn right impossible to fall asleep right away. If you were lucky it took you about four hours to fall asleep meaning you were getting about three hours worth of genuine sleep. But you couldn't complain. You didn't want to as you felt Seth fretting over something he didn't want you to know about. Even Embry was wearing thin thanks to summer school and was running on exhausted fumes.

Thankfully the both of you would be free soon. It was just one more day then You could focus your energy completely on patrol. Unfortunately you'd had to explain the circumstances to your parents on the simplest level. You kept the major facts away from them like how the Volturi most likely wouldn't like that fact of the existence of your pack and that they most likely wanted to exterminate all of you. Nothing too big.

A twilight glow takes over the sky that gradually fades into indigo and then eventual blackness. If only you could check your phone just to see what time it actually was. You wouldn't know if you're shift was up until the voices of the others became vocal in your mind. The residual scent of magic still hung in the air, waking you up and providing enough energy to keep moving through the part of the forest that was densley packed with trees and foliage alike. It echoes in your bones and fills your lungs up with the sweetest spices that envigorate you.

Thinking about the witches made the time go by faster thankfully as your conversations started to lean towards Bella's involvement.

"I still can't wrap my head around that Bella Swan, the weak human girl, can actually use magic and help us." Embry snorts at the thought and Seth's mind hums in quiet agreement as he half pays attention to the conversation.

"Oh come on. Don't say that. You make it sound like she was completely useless to us before. Just because she's a human doesn't mean she should be disregarded. She has her own given strengths."You roll your eyes at him. Granted she was the one to instigate this whole mess but it had never been her intention.

There's an accusation in his words "When did you two become friends." You didn't appreciate his tone and though you couldn't see him, you stop dead in your tracks and glare toward the direction you scented him.

"We're not."You shrug to yourself knowing Embry wouldn't understand. Though the hackles on your neck are now standing at attention, literally ruffled by him.

Embry wasn't about ready to give up though. Whatever bone he was gnawing on, he refused to relinquish it. "Even if Edward still loves her?"

Finally Seth butts in. "Embry. . ."The last thing he wanted to hear was more arguing. You catch a glimpse of his memory of earlier that morning. Leah was there as well as their mother Sue. Mouths moved with no sound produced but even that bit of a picture quickly dissolved as Seth didn't want anyone to pry.

You feel the skin of your snout scrunch up into a snarl, your teeth showing and your tongue licking across them in agitation. "Why are you bringing this up? Is it so wrong that I don't mind Bella? Can I not just be pleasant toward her for the sake of it? Edward has nothing to do with it."Why was everyone ready to pit you against Bella when she had never really done anything hateful toward you?

In response, you could feel Embry's embarrassment and shame, maybe even a lick of jealousy too as he finally backs down and doesn't say another word much to the relief of both you and Seth. You didn't like fighting with Embry, it never felt right. But it didn't sit right with you what he said. Bella wasn't useless. She just didn't have the special abilities that the pack and vampires did. Well, technically she's had magic in her all this time, just no way of knowing how to wield it or that she could manifest it into something greater.

Around midnight (or so you guess) you hear the voices of the others coming to take over for the rest of the night. Jared, Colin and Paul could already be heard padding through the trees.Glad that you could finally return home, you make a pitstop after you switch back to your human skin and slip on your shorts and tank top. You stumble into Sam's occupied backyard. There are two tents already set up, one for Nadege and Evita and the other for Diuefel though the later is the only one still awake. He's sitting outside the flap of his tent, from his lips is what looks like a cigarette but it smells sweet and calms you. Like herbs and not the sickening fumes of nicotine.

He notices you and smiles softly. "Welcome back. Hard day?"

"Not really. Just tedious." When he pats the spot next to him, you take it. "What is that?"

Pulling the small stick out of his mouth, you notice that the paper is black and not white. "It's a special blend of herbs that help me go to sleep. Even though I'm beyond exhausted I still have difficulties going to bed. Even when I was little it takes me hours to really fall asleep. Annoying but this helps." Dieufel hands it to you. "Try it."

Since it wasn't toxic like nicotine you gingerly take it between your forefinger and thumb, lifting it to your lips. You felt naughty but even sniffing the smoke that twirled from it's lit end has your muscles relaxing.

"Inhale very slowly." Dieufel instructs, watching you carefully. Even though you do as he said, you're still hacking up a lung. Not used to anything other than oxygen circulating in your lungs. You're basically tossing back the herbal smoke at him as your eyes water, throat up in flames. He pats your back and reaches into his tent for a bottle of water. Again he warns you to drink slowly.

You wheeze out that you're okay and hand the bottle back to Dieufel. "S-Sorry."

He chuckles. "Don't worry about it. Not your fault. It happens to everyone their first time." Returning the smoke back to his lips, he expertly inhales, holds it in then leisurely lets it go. Even though you weren't successful, you were still feeling a bit of a soothing effect that has your eyelids growing heavy and you have to lean back on your hands in order to keep yourself up.

"How'd you guys do today?" Voice still raw, at least you were capable of speech once again.

Rolling his neck to produce a nice 'pop', Dieufel groans. "Evita got sick when making her's. She's not used to using so much magic. I was only able to make one as even I am growing weary. But Bella, I don't know how she does it. She's able to take in so much information, absorb and utilize it appropriately. It took me two years before I could successfully conjure flames to light candles. Bella did it in a second after her lesson."

"How long until she's ready to make a ward?"

His grimace was enough of a response to you but he goes on to say "I don't know. Hopefully she'll surprise us. But. . . something like that is complicated. You see how it wipes us out each time. And the refractory period becomes longer. A spell like that is similar to weaving. You twine different spells together for a ward. In order for it to stick, the threads can't risk being unraveled. If it unravels at the wrong time, it could mean calamity to Forks."

From one of his pockets he pulls out the ward he had made today. The carvings that were magically etched into, he explained, were actually the spells woven together. No wonder it felt alive in your palms, warm and buzzing with energy.

He sadly regards it in your palm. "If we had older witches, they would have been done in a faster manner. We're young though, our magic not as strong."

"You guys don't know any other witches that are older?"

Shaking his head, Dieufel takes another drag from his smoke. "Not one that can travel easily. Plus witches tend to scatter themselves in the wind. It's dangerous to have a coven of witches. All that magic concentrated into one place? Any monster could descend on them with no trouble at all. Even with wards erected, there can be leaks if you're not absolutely careful. One leak will be the doom of the entire coven. I'm not going to lie, I feel uneasy with all of us being here. That's how Nadege and I were able to find Evita so easily from the sky."

"Why haven't we been attacked then?" You ask.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Lowly chuckling to not wake up the girl's in the tent next to him. "Could be because of the Cullens. Even other supernatural creatures try to stay away from vampires."

You were unable to stop the flow of questions coming out of you. Curiosity encouraging you. "What other things are out there? Witches, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters. . ."

His smile turns sympathetic. As if you didn't already know the world was actually a more dangerous place to live in since vampires existed. Now the possibilities were vast and endless. "Lets see. . . There's ghouls, you definitely never want to encounter them. A pain to kill. Ghosts certainly. Zombies, in a way. Wraiths. Sea people. Necromancers."

All that was missing were aliens which Dieufel could neither confirm nor deny since he'd never personally seen one.

Noting the subtle fear on your features, he attempts to reassure. "Not all of them are evil. Just like with vampires, there are good ones.Those who resist their thirst for blood and flesh. They still have their humanity."

You glance up at the stars. "Then. . . is it possible that there might be some good members of the Volturi? Those who we can talk sense into."

"If they are then they remain silent. Likely they have no real power and are just as helpless." Finally he's down to the stub of his smoke and Dieufel deposits it into a homemade clay ashtray. "It will not do us any good worrying about what is out of our control. We both need rest. Best if you head home."

That was the best idea you'd heard all day.

You drag your exhausted body home, taking care not to make too much noise as you go in through your bedroom door. Easier. The front door had obnoxious, creaking hinges that no amount of WD40 could fix. Tired, burning eyes barely manage to pick out your pajamas from a small heap near your bed. You let your body fall atop of your mattress face first.

"(y/n)! Please wait!"

You'd been dreading talking to Embry after the brief spat last night. No longer angry, you just didn't want things to grow awkward. Feet halting, your hands fly up to your backpack straps and grip them tightly; an anxiety soother. "Em. . ."

Equally nervous about confrontation with you, Embry hurries with his words before he lost his courage "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I said. I had no right and it wasn't fair of me. I'm. . . I-It's still hard for me to really let you go. . . I get jealous. But I'm working on it, I promise."

Demeanor softening, your lips turn up in an understanding smile. "No, it's okay. Embry. I appreciate the apology. And I get it. I'd probably feel the same way as you if you were the one to imprint on someone." Before your feelings had transgressed to those of romantic, you were best friends first and foremost.

Embry's face brightens and a blinding grin shines. There was nothing more that needed to be said about it.

Once backpacks were dropped off at your place, you and Embry hustle through the woods but stop when you pass by the Black residence. Gloom weighs heavy in your chest, remembering getting into a fight with Jacob over you revealing his imprinting to Bella. Bella needed to know but at the cost of your relationship with him? "Do you think Jake will forgive me?"

"Of course he will." Embry immediately replies with ease. He misses when it was just the four of you guys, back to simpler times where the four of you would spend hours outside in the woods at the back of Jacob's house. "Let him blow off steam. You know how stubborn he is. Give it time. Maybe Sam will let him back to patrol as long as he behaves himself."

One could only hope so as both of you continue to stare longingly at the back of Jacob's house.

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#reader insert #reader insert fanfiction #twilight reader insert #twilight fandom #twilight fanfiction #twilight saga #twilight #edward cullen x you #edward cullen x reader #edward cullen fanfiction #edward cullen fanfic #edward cullen

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cr1mson5returns · 7 months

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I fell down a sudden and spiky rabbit hole wondering where exactly in my home state of Kansas the fictional town of Smallville is supposed to be. I checked the DC Wiki for comic book information and got nothing. Kinda pissed me off, because I didn't want to have to randomly assign a plot of land to Smallville. But when I checked the Smallville Wiki (TV series Smallville, that is), I found out that the show gave it the zip code which corresponds to Chase, KS. Chase is in Rice County, which is a few hours west of Wichita on the highways, putting it pretty solidly in South Central Kansas.

And guys.....as a bitch who was born and raised in South Central Kansas, you have to know that we're some characters out here. I can't speak for Rice County, never lived there, but there's this hilarious smattering of accents scattered about the south central part of the state. Some people have that flat Midwestern/Wichita way of speaking, where you can almost pretend they're not Midwestern if they didn't unironically say "lemme just squeeze by ya" so much. But other people have that Rural Kansas drawl that isn't quite as Southern as you can hear the closer you get to the Ozarks, and despite that you'd still be able to pick them out in a crowded room because they sound a touch out of place amongst everybody else. They say "color" like "collar" and talk about "y'all down on Green Street" and they warsh their clothes while they're drawling some pictures. And that's just the way we talk, don't even get me started on the very rigidly Baptist morality and the tense feelings about whether we should even root for the Kansas City Chiefs since they're Missouri's team, anyway.

Armed with this knowledge and context, I present to all of you: Clark Kent who hauled hay in severe thunderstorm warnings as a teenager because fuck, it had to get done somehow and half the time the National Weather Service was just being cautious. Clark who learned to drive at age 12 on the farm and the county sheriff saw fit not to ticket him when he was 14 and took Pa's truck into town to pick up some last-minute ingredients for a birthday cake at the store. Clark who went to Wichita State for a journalism degree and thought Wichita was a big city and complained about the stupid ass layout of the streets between clearly historic districts and newer developments. Clark who got on a domestic flight at Eisenhower Intercontinental Airport and took off for Metropolis intent on getting out of Bumfuck Nowhere. Clark who comes back to Smallville when it's all too much because the city's great, and Lois and Jimmy and everyone else are just as great, but Kansas has the most beautiful full moon nights and not as much light pollution on the horizon, and he can fly through the Flint Hills and pretend he's a kid again and things aren't so noisy and weird and terrifying.

#i do love my home state but i do also have complicated feelings about it #i think a lot of us who grow up here want to leave forever someday #but then many of us never do and it's not because we're stuck #it's because we found beauty here #kansas #smallville #clark kent #superman #superfamily #cr1mson's thoughts

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porterdavis · 5 days

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Well, I'm not much at dancing...

What a Young Man Should Know, 1933. A checklist for becoming a proper man.

This was published in the March 1933 issue of Harper’s Magazine.

The writer, Robert Littell, details the abilities, skills, accomplishments, and extra-curricular proficiencies that every man should have if they are to become a self-sufficient and well-rounded human being, ready for life, and eventually, marriage and raising their own children. The learning starts from a very young age.

Here is the (short) list:

1. He should know how to swim at least a mile, dive creditably, and not feel panicky under water. He should be able also to revive those less skilful than himself by rolling them on a barrel and pumping their helpless arms.

2. He should be able to drive an automobile well. And he should not be altogether helpless when a car breaks down. He must know how to change a tire and offer some sort of diagnosis when the engine sputters and dies.

3. He ought to know how to clean, load, and shoot a revolver or a rifle.

4. As for self-defense, a man should certainly be able to take care of himself in a scrap. He need not learn jujitsu — old-fashioned boxing will be enough.

5. He ought to know the rudiments of camping, how to build a fire, how to chop wood, how to take a cinder out of his eye, how to deal with a severed artery, how to doctor himself for ordinary ailments.

6. He should also be able to take care of other people in emergencies, to apply first aid, set a broken bone, revive a drunk or a victim of gas, deal with a fainting fit, administer the right emetic or antidote for a case of poisoning.

7. And he should be able to feed himself, to cook, not only because some day he may need to, but because cooking is one of the fine arts, and a source of infinite pleasure. He should be able to scramble eggs, brew coffee, broil a steak, dress a salad, carve a chicken, and produce, on occasion, one first-class dish, such as onion soup. The more he can do, in these days of the delicatessen store and the kitchenette, the better. It is not effeminate, it is not beyond him, and the best chefs are all men.

8. He should know how to use paint brushes, a saw, a hammer, and other common tools.

9. He should also have a beautiful and distinguished handwriting. But the bulk of his writing, particularly if he is a professional man who has much of it to do, should be done on a typewriter, capable of turning out three thousand words an hour.

10. He should play one outdoor game well, and have a workable smattering of several more. An American who cannot throw and catch a ball seems pathetic and grotesque.

11. The bicycle has gone, yet every young man should know how to ride one.

12. He should also be able to skate, sail a boat, and handle a canoe passably.

13. Fishing is a specialty, like chess.

14. Walking is a noble but neglected sport. Americans “hike” once in a long while but seldom walk.

15. He should know a great deal about animals and how to take care of them.

16. He should know how to ride a horse.

17. He should learn how to stay in a saddle with pleasure to himself and a minimum of annoyance to his mount.

18. He should learn how to dance.

19. He should know to play at least one card game.

20. He must have knowledge of how to tip naturally, justly, without fear and without reproach.

21. On the matter of alcohol, he should learn his capacity and stick within its limits; he should know something about the different kinds of drink, and which drinks produce chaos within him when mixed.

22. Where s:x is concerned, nature clearly intended us to make many mistakes in her hope that some of them would be productive.

23. He should know the rudiments of gambling. But gambling might be placed on the same plane as drink — the less use one has for it the better.

24. Higher than almost any other accomplishment on the list is knowing music. There is no reason why any young man who is not absolutely tone-deaf should not learn how to play one musical instrument well enough for it to be a self-resource and a tolerable pleasure to others.

25. A civilized man should know how to read. The ability to read, or rather the habit of reading, is very rare even among intelligent people, and has to be taught and kept up if it is not to become rusty.

26. He should have knowledge of at least one foreign language. French or German preferably both. German children learn an amazingly good brand of English without ever crossing their borders. Why can’t we? For one thing, we don’t really want to. Yet we should. An American who knows only English is blind in one eye.

27. He should know to travel well, efficiently, without fuss or complaint.

28. A young man should be able to express himself clearly before a crowd of strangers, without shyness, muddle, or a pathetic resort to “so much has been said and well said” or “I did not expect to be called on.”

29. The American adult can get to his feet, propose a toast, introduce a stranger, voice a civic protest, heckle a windbag politician, and give utterance to an unembarrassed thought.

30. A a man should command the elementary tool of written language, and be able to put simple things on paper in clear words.

31. He should have a good workable understanding of the structure of business, investments, and banks.

32. Let every educated man, as a necessary part of his education, be thrown into the muddy stream of American industry and see what it is like to swim alone on daily wages.

33. He should before reaching twenty-two have done something because he wanted to, whether other people wanted him to do it or not.

34. He should not acquire property unless he needs it. Insensitiveness to his personal property, unless of course it is extraordinarily beautiful, is a desirable skill for any man to have; It must be learned and worked at.

35. Unusual though this young man may be, he should not seem so. Is not a parent’s basic ambition for his child that he be very different from other people, yet manage to seem almost exactly like them?

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bumblebeerror · 1 year

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It’s been on my mind today but I need you to know.

Hitting 25 has been one of the best things to ever happen to me.

I don’t say this lightly - I lost my father who I loved dearly at age 18, I grew up a bit above the poverty line and now only *just* live above it. I’ve been treated for severe mental illness and learning disabilities since I was a child, starting at 6 years old. I have a physical disability and chronic pain. I have had some bad fuckin times, I’ve been through my share, and I’ll go through more I’m sure.

But I can tell you I feel so much better mentally at age 25, unable to stand for more than an hour or so without severe pain, on a consistent schedule of prescribed pain pills, discovering just how hard I was masking some pretty serious autism, struggling with my ADHD meds being less effective, and only leaving the house three total times a week because I’m immunocompromised than I was at age 13 when “all my problems were school”.

Because at age 10, nobody close to me had ever died before. At age 11, I had never lived in a new place before. At age 12, I had never felt so cold and empty and tired. I’d never endured my peers teasing me for crying about a death in my family. At age 13 I had never felt like I wanted to die before then, like the world was on fire, like it was ending. At age 14 I hadn’t known what it felt like to have period cramps so bad my mother sent me to school with a muscle relaxer and still had to pick me up by lunch, to have this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach that being a girl was a lie and I was a liar. At age 15 I’d never had people remind me so viciously that I wasn’t like them, I’d never felt so throughly upset by the idea of one more person calling me she. At age 16 I’d never had my heart broken before, I’d never dealt with a friend turning on me completely. At age 17, I’d never had my family feel so broken. At age 18, I’d been petrified of the idea of my father dying, and he did. At age 19, I’d never actually thought about how I would kill myself before. At 20, I’d never gotten drunk before. At 21, I’d never gone inside a bar.

You get the picture.

Your teen years suck because you’ve never done so much shit, and on top of the terrifying experience of doing it all for the first time, you also have all your peers picking at you for doing it wrong the first time. Your teen years suck because they are chaotic and new and stressful and you don’t know how to handle them yet. You’re not supposed to know yet.

Hitting 25 was the realization that I wasn’t going to just up and die, that now I have to actually plan. I have to do taxes, and that I actually know how to. That I have to care for my pets and I know how to. That I have to drive to work and do my job and I know how to.

25 was what made me realize that I had things I was supposed to be around for. People and pets who relied on me, who loved me and needed me and wanted me.

That I can have a panic attack and know that I’m having one. That something can piss me off and I know I can take a moment before I respond. The awareness that I do not have to do everything for the first time all the time anymore, that I know stuff, that I’ve been around the block and can use those tools is INVALUABLE. The fact that I can look at my intrusive thoughts and, if I truly wanted to, CHOOSE to indulge them? That I can sit here and be the cat that doesn’t wish to go to the vet and the concerned cat owner?

It changes everything.

It was the realization that I am the one punishing myself. That I can and should respect myself as a person because it means I can respect more deeply the care that other people have for me. It sounds so stupid when I explain it but it’s absolutely a whole different ball game.

The fact that I think the only thing that could severely tank my mental health is if I were to become homeless in winter or actively abused or something similar should speak volumes to you what I mean when I say that not having to do everything for the first time all the time is a huge mental weight off you.

I promise. It will feel better when you are 25. I promise that even if it isn’t fixed, it will be easier. And if I’m wrong when you hit 25, you can come yell at me about it. Probably I’ll still be here.

#bumble rumbles #mental health

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odinsblog · 3 months

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Hoo boy 🤯

One of my aunts had children much later in life (auntie is almost 60 and has a daughter who is 12) and I stopped by yesterday just to say hi, and I walked into WW3

Like I’m just sitting there, minding my own business and being a good nephew 😇 when out of nowhere, my 12yr old cousin just blurts out, “Odin please tell her that 12 isn’t too young to be on birth control!”

Like, JFC. Are you … are you being serious rn??

I’m positive that the slow motion side eye I gave her was fucking severe enough to kill

Me: Well y’all, I’ll be right back

*me to myself: I have no intention of ever returning to this quadrant of the universe in the foreseeable future*

My auntie: No Odin, don’t go anywhere. You two are about the same age. I’d love to hear your thoughts—(again, my little cuz’n is 12, I’m almost 40, I’m a cis/het Black man, both my parents are Black, the 12yr old identifies as “biracial” and as “bi” period, and how tf am I anywhere close to being helpful? My ex gave me a cactus plant bc she knew I could never successfully grow plants in my house, and she said a cactus was a safe plant for me. And then I killed it!! I don’t even have any children! How am I remotely qualified? Why are I here??)

Auntie: Well, Odin??

Me, to myself: *Okay. No escape routes handy. Try to say something intelligent, and don’t cuss*

Me: *ahem* So talk to us. Why are you sO determined to get on birth control, and why NOW? Is there a boy? Has your mother met him yet? Please talk to us. This is a no-judgement zone, okay?? *staring intently at my aunt*

Yes, there is a boy. Yes, she’s “in love” 🙄

And by now the absolute gravity of the situation is dawning on me, and I’m starting to forgive my aunt for not letting me escape from their family convo. She was, apparently, taken by surprise as much as I was. She didn’t know about any of this, and she needed a buffer to compose herself, and I guess it was me that day

It’s such a long ass story

Anyway, after what seemed like hours of listening to the 12yr old wax on about how mature she believes she is, my aunt actually said, “I’m glad that you felt you could trust me with this,” and I think I almost fainted. Was definitely not expecting auntie to be so calm about it (sn: she’s an old, Black Pentecostal church lady auntie, so anything other than extreme anger + slut shaming is wayyy off brand here - hopefully it was genuine and not just something she said just bc EYE was present)

Then auntie asked her daughter to step outside so that the adults could talk (lol, I almost thought she meant someone else other than me and I nearly left the room with the 12yr old)

Here’s where the problem comes in: my immediate reaction was, if the kid truly thinks she’s in love + has clearly considered having sex, then put her on the pill or some other birth control immediately. But Auntie thinks it’s too early bc she doesn’t think her daughter is emotionally ready for sex, and not mature enough either (my 12yr old cuz’n thinks that if she takes a birth control pill on Monday, then she can have sex on Tuesday. I was stunned at how difficult it was to disabuse her of this notion - which apparently is “common knowledge” amongst her peers)

My aunt thinks putting her daughter on birth control would be encouraging a child to engage in intercourse, but I kept trying to drive home the fact that she IS going to have sex anyway, with or without contraception, and with or without auntie’s consent—that’s just a matter of fact, like taxes and physics and gravity

I kept saying, “just be glad she came to you beforehand, or at all, because now you have a chance to act and to protect her”

But then we found out about the boy. He’s a fucking mess, and almost 4yrs older than her

My aunt is leaning towards something like, “If she can demonstrate that she’s ready and mature enough, then maybe I’ll let her go on the pill when she turns 13 or 14,” and I’m like, what happens if SHE doesn’t wait until then?? Nobody can watch her 24/7/365 and if she’s determined to have sex, then she absolutely will

…I honestly do not know what the right answer is here, but I think I’m right?

And young Black girls “falling in love” and having babies with the first guy who is halfway nice to them, before they graduate high school, is already a thing™ in Pentecostal churches. I’m like, auntie what you have here isn’t a setback—this is a golden opportunity to help break a cycle

I know I’m old af, but kids seem to grow up so damn fast nowadays. At 12 all I wanted to do was play basketball, read comic books, and hang out with my friends. Don’t get me wrong, I liked girls and I knew they existed, but SEX? “Sex” was that blurry thing that you occasionally saw on the cable channels you couldn’t afford, as you were flipping through the channels to get to the X-Men cartoons. And I understand that I’m extremely slow here. After all, I was a Pentecostal church boy who took a “purity oath” and was a virgin until I was 25yrs old

Idk how parents deal with this kind of shit. I always thought that one day I would make a great parent, but every time I hear about the problems some of my family encounter with their children, it just chips away at that belief of me being “good parent” material. Lmao, my confidence that I would be a good parent USED to be bigger than Plymouth Rock, but now it’s about the size of a pebble

#a post about me

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chaos-and-ink · 18 days

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15 questions for 15 friends

Ahhh thxs for the tag @lavenderpanic :D

1. are you named after anyone? Nah, I have the most boring and generic name ever. I absolutely hate it. My chosen name I'm not really named after anyone but I do share it with one of my favourite characters so I got that going for me.

2. when was the last time you cried? Like 4 hours ago while driving and listening to music and thinking about the person I love. It was weird to have a happy cry but it felt really nice.

3. do you have kids? Oh god, no. I have a dog. I want some cats. I honestly don't have patience for kids and I don't really see myself having any, they scare me lmaoooo.

4. what sports do you play/have you played? I did karate for 3 years. I also absolutely love badminton, I was amazing at it and won several tournaments in my PE classes lmao. Also volleyball. Never played soccer but I always wanted too. Unfortunately, sports just aren't great for me anymore but I really wish I could play again, I miss them.

5. do you use sarcasm? Not really, I don't think? My humor has been described as reallllly dry though. So like sarcasm but with less heat lmao.

6. what’s the first thing you notice about people? How they move/their presence lol. I don't even know how to describe it. But like, just how a person moves in an environment.

7. what’s your eye color? Boring brown lolll. My eyes are definitely the thing I hate the most about my appearance.

8. scary movies or happy endings comedies? I'm absolutely awful at scary movies. I literally get such paranoia and hallucinations and I think I once triggered myself into a psychotic episode because of a PG13 'scary' movie. And it lasted for a week so likeeeee.. comedies 100%

9. any talents? My joints are my only talents lmao. Bending my thumbs to my forearms. Bending my elbows and knees backwards. Folding my arms backwards in front of me. popping my joints continuously. Subluxing my hips and shoulders on command.... thats it lmao.

10. where were you born? Chongqing, China.

11. what are your hobbies? So ill lately I kinda forget I have hobbies sometimes. I like to draw when I can. I love making stickers and prints and stuff. I like doing crafts and activities and stuff. I also like to write but I've been in a huge slump as of lately. I love reading too but also haven't been able to concentrate long enough to do that :/ I used to write and make music too.

12. do you have any pets? I have two dogs! A Welsh Terrier and a Poodle x Old English Sheep Dog. Love them both.

13. how tall are you? 5'1. (155cm) Though I might be taller if my bones knew how to stack correctly.

14. favorite subject in school? Biomedical science is my biggest passion. Especially diagnostic and treatment aspects. I loooooovveeee human body science and my favourite thing is learning about all the things that go wrong in it, why they go wrong in it, and how it can be managed. I read textbooks for fun lmao. If I weren't chronically ill and disabled I would absolutely go into the medical field. I remember doing gel electrophoresis tests and cadaver labs and dissections and stuff and it was just ugh. I loved all of it so much I wish I could've gone farther in it.

15. dream job? I'd loved to have been a primary care physician/family doctor or to work in the ER. Realistically, I really want to illustrate medical textbooks or infographics and stuff for hospitals or medical facilities.

Gently tagging @bucky-boychik-barnes and @ace-bucket

#chaos #just me rambling a ton about myself #tag game #questions

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subliminalbo · 5 months

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10 Years of Subliminalbo

Candice Swanepoel: Mindless Supermodel on Tour Annotated [ 1 ]

Originally published November 26th, 2013

Hundreds of young women were gathering at a Victoria's Secret in Pasadena [ 2 ] where Candice Swanepoel was promoting a new lingerie line, Obedience by Victoria [ 3 ]. Many only showed up to get an autograph and a picture with the supermodel, but a select few were chosen to join Candice in a private meeting after the event [ 4 ].

Once the fifteen chosen girls followed Candice into the room, each one received their very own Obedience bra which Candice ordered them to put on [ 5 ]. When all of the girls had returned from the fitting rooms, they found that Candice had stripped down into her underwear and was waiting to greet them in her own pair of Obedience by Victoria lingerie. Then she began her demonstration. The girls listened intently to Candice's every word as she went over the usual stuff: how the bra gave enough lift to create the illusion of larger breasts, but didn't sacrifice the comfort that every bra needs [ 6 ]. How all the designs, for example her's with black and white polka-dots [ 7 ], were cute and flirty but sexy and mature all at once. And how the bra kept a woman mindless, blank, submissive [ 8 ].

"Each bra comes with its own unique identification card [ 9 ]," Candice spoke promptly, professionally, as if she were reading from a script [ 10 ]. "And the holder of that id card controls the wearer of the bra. As long as I'm wearing Obedience by Victoria, I have no control of my own. However, since I have your cards, I do have control over all of you. Does that make sense? [ 11 ]"

"Yes, Mistress Candice," the girls replied [ 12 ].

"Good," Candice smiled as she looked upon an audience of blank faces. "The bra was assembled in America with materials produced in Pakistan [ 13 ]. Utilizing research that is only legal in Yugoslavia [ 14 ], Victoria's Secret has created a bra that is truly a first of its kind, and a look into the future of the industry. Please refrain from wearing Obedience by Victoria for more than four hours; prolonged use may cause memory loss, catatonia, loss of motor control, and irregular increase in sex drive. If you experience any of these symptoms, remove the bra immediately and consult a physician for you could be experiencing early signs of mind control poisoning. Ask your doctor before use [ 15 ].

"Now, my girls, [ 16 ]" Candice took a breath.

"Yes, Mistress Candice?"

"You're all going to go home, and you're going to find another girl. It could be your sister, your friend, your mother, your cousin, it doesn't matter. You're going to find another girl and you're going to make sure she gets a bra just like yours [ 17 ]."

"Yes, Mistress Candice. We will obey."

"Good. We want every woman in America to experience Obedience by Victoria with us."

"Yes, Mistress Candice. They will submit."

Mindless, the women left the mall and headed home, all thinking about their mission [ 18 ].

Candice boarded the fastest plane out of LA, en route to Milwaukee [ 19 ] where the next Victoria's Secret on the tour was located. On the plane she received a call. "Yes," she spoke quietly into the receiver. "I fitted them all with the bras...Yes, the effect was instantaneous...Of course I'm still wearing mine...Yes, I do nothing but think of you when I'm wearing it...Yes, I will do anything...Yes...Anything for you, Master. [ 20 ]"

[ 1 ]. Mindless Supermodel Model on Tour created a lot of problems for me. It was originally meant to be a series of shorts where we see Candice in different little mind control vignettes, but the idea of a mind controlling lingerie brand was too broad to just bury in a random one shot, so I kept writing about it. I pretty quickly moved to writing fictional characters after this short, but Obedience by Victoria remained an important bit of lore for several years until I just said fuck it and swapped out Victoria's Secret for Fleur-de-lis, creating ersatz versions of the Victoria's Secret models that I'd previously written about. You can read a much, much better version of this story here as Obedience By Fleur #1.

[ 2 ]. Before Romero, I liked to set these stories in completely random cities that I've never been to.

[ 3 ]. Fun with brand name parodies. I thought Obedience By Victoria was so clever for some reason.

[ 4 ]. In my "just writing a quick caption to establish context for the manip" era, these stories start so abruptly. It feels really weird to just jump into something without any groundwork.

[ 5 ]. They aren't even mind controlled yet lmao

[ 6 ]. Incredibly painful to read a 19 year old kid write about women's underwear like he knows what he's talking about.

[ 7 ]. I used to go out of my way to place the story in the manip somehow, but this proved incredibly limiting. At some point I stopped letting the manips tell the stories and today I rarely reference imagery from the manips.

[ 8 ]. This is supposed to be a "murder, arson, jaywalking" joke, but the bit doesn't land because I spread it out over three long sentences instead of one list.

[ 9 ]. Huh

[ 10 ]. Because she's under mind control, you see. Totally unreasonable to suspect that a person pitching a new product for their company would be reading from a script.

[ 11 ]. Weirdly insecure for a mindless drone.

[ 12 ]. Nitpicking myself here but I don't think "replied" is the word choice I would use for fifteen mind controlled girls speaking in unison today.

[ 13 ]. I wonder if this was researched or if I just picked completely random countries. I'm guessing the latter.

[ 14 ]. Oof, most of the jokes in my early stuff just don't land. I've always been better at the melodrama.

[ 15 ]. Pretty good bit.

[ 16 ]. I would also probably not have her say "my girls" if I were writing this today. Just reads weird to me.

[ 17 ]. Not the first instance of serial recruitment in my writing at this point (the sequel to that Fleur-de-lis chapter that I posted the other night has it), but the first that I like.

[ 18 ]. Are they mindless or are they thinking? Just a weird transition paragraph that exists to remind the reader one more time that there's mind control in this story.

[ 19 ]. What even is this tour? Surely there are Victoria's Secrets between Pasadena and Milwaukee lmao

[ 20 ]. This is a Metal Gear Solid reference and it's fucking stupid

#subliminalbo #inside hypnoball

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caffeinated-beverage · 6 months

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CanLiet headcanons please 🙂😊💖✨️

1.what size bed does your muse typically prefer to sleep on? (ex. twin, full, queen, etc)

2. does your muse find it easier to sleep in a warmer room or a cooler room?

3. is your muse typical about where they sleep or can they fall asleep just about anywhere?

4. what position does your muse usually sleep in?

5. does your muse tend to prefer firmer mattresses or plushier ones?

6. does your muse snore? do they sleep talk or make any other sounds in their sleep?

7. is your muse a still or active sleeper? do they move around a lot in their sleep?

8. does your muse typically prefer sleeping by themselves or do they prefer the comfort of having another person in the room with them?

9. does your muse like sharing a bed, or do they prefer to have their own space?

10. how many pillows does your muse sleep with? are they comfortable with just one or do they like to be cozy?

11. what type of blanket does your muse prefer (standard blanket, quilt, comforter, weighted blanket, etc)?

12. how long does it typically take for your muse to fall asleep?

13. how often does your muse dream? are they mostly pleasant or is their sleep more likely to be filled with nightmares?

14. does your muse take any sleeping aids (ex. pills, melatonin supplements, etc)?

15. how many hours of sleep does your muse typically get?

16. does your muse wake up in the middle of the night often or can they sleep through the night?

17. does your muse like to take naps during the day? how often and for how long?

18. does your muse have insomnia? have they ever experienced insomnia? to what degree of severity?

19. has your muse ever been diagnosed with any sleep disorders?

21. does your muse wear a sleep mask?

22. is your muse sensitive to light while they sleep, or do they not mind it?

23. does your muse prefer to sleep in complete silence or hear some kind of background noise?

24. does your muse listen to music while falling asleep?

25. are their any conditions in where your muse absolutely cannot fall asleep (ex. bug in the room, temperature, smell, etc)?

26. does your muse have any odd or atypical sleeping habits?

27. what does your muse typically like to wear to bed? does it depend on the season/weather outside?

28. does your muse tend to wake up with bedhead?

30. how long does it typically take your muse to wake up in the morning? can they make it by without coffee or do they need caffeine?

31. does your muse wake up hungry or do they need some time to feel hungry?

32. what is your muse's mood like when they wake up? are they grumpy, cheerful, confused, etc?

33. when sharing a bed with someone else, is your muse a cuddler?

34. has your muse ever cried themselves to sleep?

35. where was the weirdest place your muse has fallen asleep?

36. has your muse ever fallen asleep or been extremely tired in a situation where it isn't safe to be (ex. while driving)?

I’M VERY SORRY FOR RESPONDING SO LATE things came up and i got distracted! im very sorry for this! but, here they are, i hope u like them!

1.what size bed does your muse typically prefer to sleep on? (ex. twin, full, queen, etc) Their bed is two full-size beds pushed together to make a super mega jumbo monster-size bed, made of two different mattresses; a medium-firm mattress for Liet and his back problems, and a medium-soft mattress for Matty.

2. does your muse find it easier to sleep in a warmer room or a cooler room? Matty prefers to sleep in a warm room. Liet prefers to have the fan on max cooling, while also being wrapped up in a blanket burrito. Also, I feel I should add that Liet's feet are perpetually freezing, and he puts his ice-feet on Matthew's legs when sleeping :/

3. is your muse typical about where they sleep or can they fall asleep just about anywhere? Liet, yes, a little bit; but, his sleeping spots are not *all* just in his bed. His sleeping spots are also in the car, on the sofa, in his chair at the meetings, and in his hammock in the yard (though, it has to be warm and sun-shining for this). He also might fall asleep sunbathing occasionally, though.

4. what position does your muse usually sleep in? Liet like to curl up wrapped in nice, thick, blankets. Sometimes, he wants to be spooned. And, he prefers to be the little spoon. But, most of the time, Liet drifts off while resting on Matty’s chest. Matty likes to sprawl out, and also likes to hold Liet in his sleep.

5. does your muse tend to prefer firmer mattresses or plushier ones? Liet prefers medium-firm mattresses for his back problems, and Matty prefers medium-soft mattresses

6. does your muse snore? do they sleep talk or make any other sounds in their sleep? Matthew doesn’t really do any of that, but Liet on the other hand. Liet tends to talk in his sleep a lot, and often even whimpers, yells, and cries a bit. He also drools on his pillow, but like, it’s a more normal amount of drool, so Matty isn’t annoyed.

7. is your muse a still or active sleeper? do they move around a lot in their sleep? During normal dreams, no; they would be mostly just staying still and cuddling. But when Liet has a nightmare, it’s like he gets in a full-blown brawl with the blankets!

8. does your muse typically prefer sleeping by themselves or do they prefer the comfort of having another person in the room with them? Either way, Liet still has really really really bad nightmares, but having someone comfortable like Matthew there with him makes him feel a bit better. And, Matty also likes sharing a bed with Liet, even if he does have TERRIBLE, terrible, terrible, nightmares often.

9. does your muse like sharing a bed, or do they prefer to have their own space? Again, Matty doesn’t mind sharing his bed with Liet. And, Liet doesn’t mind sharing a bed with Matty. And again, either way, liet still has reallyyyyyy bad bad bad nightmares often times, but Matty makes him feel a bit better about them.

10. how many pillows does your muse sleep with? are they comfortable with just one or do they like to be cozy? They both love pillows.

11. what type of blanket does your muse prefer (standard blanket, quilt, comforter, weighted blanket, etc)? Liet has a plush weighted blanket. It is colored in mossy green, and reminds slightly of moss. It looks kinda like this (see image below), but thicker because it is weighted.

Though, while Liet absolutely LOVES his comfort moss (weighted) blanket, the one downside is that, when he is having a nightmare that causes him to struggle around a lot, he tends to get trapped underneath it in his sleep!

12. how long does it typically take for your muse to fall asleep? For Liet, it doesn’t actually take long at all! But for Matthew, he will be scrolling the internet for a couple hours at least with Liet already snoozing on his chest, before he falls asleep too.

13. how often does your muse dream? are they mostly pleasant or is their sleep more likely to be filled with nightmares? Well, as you know by now, Liet has bad bad BAD nightmares. Matthew on the other hand, has some really weird Alice-In-Wonderland-esque dreams.

14. does your muse take any sleeping aids (ex. pills, melatonin supplements, etc)? No, not really.

15. how many hours of sleep does your muse typically get? Um.. I don’t know.. If Liet is working still during night, he probably won’t sleep at all. But, often times when he does sleep, he doesn’t sleep well at all 🙁Matthew gets around 7-4 hours of sleep.

16. does your muse wake up in the middle of the night often or can they sleep through the night? Well, usually, Matthew sleeps well until morning, but Liet wakes up in the middle of the night really often, and in a PANIC too. 🙁

17. does your muse like to take naps during the day? how often and for how long? If Liet has a chance to nap and also feels like napping, then maybe, but only maybe. Matthew, on the other hand, naps quite often!

18. does your muse have insomnia? have they ever experienced insomnia? to what degree of severity? No, but they’ve had it before. Liet doesn’t have insomnia, he just suffers severe nightmares. 🙁

19. has your muse ever been diagnosed with any sleep disorders? Well, if it counts, Liet is diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety disorder and PTSD. And, most of his really really REAllY bad nightmares, come from PTSD. They’re PTSD nightmares. 🙁

20. does your muse have any pre-bedtime rituals or routines (like facial care, meditation, shower, medications, etc)? do they have any pre-bedtime activities like reading, playing video games, going on their phone, etc? Well yes, of course. Liet takes some mental health medicines, and then likes to have a scorching hot bath before bed, brush his teeth, clean his face, tie up his curly hair, use the toilet, and watch Matthew scroll on his phone for a little bit before falling asleep.

Matthew takes a shower, combs his hair, washes his face, brushes his teeth, uses the toilet, and then gets into bed to scroll his phone for a while while Liet rests on his chest and watches.

21. does your muse wear a sleep mask? No

22. is your muse sensitive to light while they sleep, or do they not mind it? I wouldn’t say so– though, Liet sometimes drapes an arm over his face to subconsciously block a little extra light from his eyelids.

23. does your muse prefer to sleep in complete silence or hear some kind of background noise? Liet likes a bit of white noises. Not to be cheesy or anything, but by “white noises”, I mean the sound of Matthew’s breathing & heartbeat. Matthew likes ASMR.

24. does your muse listen to music while falling asleep? No, neither of them do this. Matthew may occasionally listen to ASMR, though.

25. are their any conditions in where your muse absolutely cannot fall asleep (ex. bug in the room, temperature, smell, etc)? Liet cannot and will not sleep if he sees a roach or spider in the room, or if it has any heavy smell.

26. does your muse have any odd or atypical sleeping habits? Liet puts his ice-feet on Matthew’s legs, drools, talks, yells, yelps, cries, and fights with the blankets. And, Matthew is a hugger.

27. what does your muse typically like to wear to bed? does it depend on the season/weather outside? Pajamas. It depends on the season, but generally, Liet likes long-sleeved but loose and airy and cool pajamas, and Matthew likes warm pajamas.

28. does your muse tend to wake up with bedhead? YES. Liet especially.

29. does your muse have any routines they follow when they wake up (like makeup, facial care, stretching, shower, medications, etc)? do they have any activities they like to do immediately after waking up? Liet uses the toilet, brushes his teeth, washes his face, puts on his blobfish slippers Matthew gave him as a joke present on his birthday once (it’s ok, he gave him plenty of real, non-joke presents too), and goes to the kitchen to get breakfast. Most mornings, Liet just doesn’t feel like fighting with his hair though :/

Matthew also uses the toilet, brushes his teeth, washes his face, and goes to the kitchen to get breakfast. Except, he doesn’t wear funky blobfish slippers, and he also fixes his hair.

30. how long does it typically take your muse to wake up in the morning? can they make it by without coffee or do they need caffeine? NO.

31. does your muse wake up hungry or do they need some time to feel hungry?Yes. They both wake up hungry.

32. what is your muse's mood like when they wake up? are they grumpy, cheerful, confused, etc? Liet is just tired, but not grouchy. Matthew is a bit disoriented when he first wakes up.

33. when sharing a bed with someone else, is your muse a cuddler? YES.

34. has your muse ever cried themselves to sleep? Liet?? HELL YES. Matthew?? Sometimes.

35. where was the weirdest place your muse has fallen asleep? Liet fell asleep lying on a bed of moss while watching clouds once. Matthew fell asleep while playing the violin once; yes, WHILE he was playing the violin. Bro drifted off while drawing the bow across the strings.

36. has your muse ever fallen asleep or been extremely tired in a situation where it isn't safe to be (ex. while driving)? Tolys definitely fell asleep while floating in water, with some tiny little bait fish nibbling his toes & fingers. At least a few times. Luckily, he did not drown, but it scared the shit out of Mattie to see him snoozing while floating in the water.

#hetalia #hws #aph #hws lithuania #aph lithuania #hws canada #aph canada

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changingplumbob · 2 months

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hii!! 11-14 for the story questions

Hooray a chance to talk!!! And I actually really wanted to do these 4! Thank you Lori 😁 I'm throwing in a cut just because I write long answers, don't want to be cluttering dashboards.

11) Why have you decided to tell this story? Are there any messages or meanings within it?

It was about 6 months of me playing my rotations before I had the thought to record what was happening in story format. I was actually sticking with households and wanted to be able to look back and see how far they'd come, so I decided to start writing and taking screenshots. I've always liked creative writing throughout my life, but have been reluctant to share it, there's so much talent out there. I enjoyed writing about my sims so wanted to share it, mainly so I could talk to people about my sims because I have such fun playing.

Messages or meanings... I try to write most of my sims as being accepting. There's a lot of hate and bigotry in our world, and I like writing a world where there is minimal prejudice. Samir will never have to face sims distrusting him simply because he is of Arab descent. Devin will never face discrimination in casting simply because she is married to a woman. Joey will never have his job performance questioned simply because he has hearing loss.

I do write a few mean and narrow minded sims but they are few and far between. They are mainly there to add some realism but I want my sims to feel safe being who they are. So messages... judge someone for their character, not something that they have no control over (ethnicity, sexuality, gender, disability).

12) Do you actually play the game or do you just use it as a storytelling medium?

I LOVE playing! I preordered Sims 4! However, patience is not my strong suit. The longest I've played one household lasted from the teens in a household growing to YA and having a baby... I was the master of making a household, playing for a few in game weeks, then getting bored. Rotational play is great for me as it helps me stay invested, plus I love to micro manage.

I do consider that I'm playing my game and just recording what happens for the most part, Reece and Samir are the only ones I think of as me crafting a story. Apart from them I play pretty unplanned.

13) From basic planning to a finished post, how long does that take you?

I like to play, take screenshots, then write for those before returning to the game for another round of playing. Let me check some dates... The next households first part screenshots were taken on Jan 28th and I finished playing the household on Feb 3rd. Looks like I created the word document on Jan 28th and it was last edited on Feb 4th.

So 8 days to play and write the chapter. I'd guess another day to finish queuing the posts (I also do these as I go). But that is probably one of the faster ones. This latest one I've done has taken me over 2 weeks, yes I was away for a portion of that, and I've still not finished the writing. I'm currently unemployed so I have the time to spend on it. When I find a new job I imagine average creation time will double or triple.

Drafts from the past take about 3 minutes as it's just me getting a screenshot of whatever weirdness is happening and putting it in a post. Lookbooks can take several hours to string together, or less than 1 if I'm not providing new outfits. Build or Reno posts take maybe half an hour to put together, providing I took the screenshots I need. This post took me an hour to write because I'm having an IBS flare up and thinking deeply.

14) Do you have any regrets about your story so far? if you could go back in time, how would you fix these?

I am not a big one for regret in real life. I was for a long time but now I try to see the past as "things happened, I did the best I could in the circumstances with my resources and what I knew".

I do somewhat regret putting my earlier writing straight on Twitter with no copy to my hard drive because all that story is essentially lost to the black hole of the internet. BUT that's taught me to keep records of what I'm doing.

Story regrets... nope. I've sat here for 5 minutes and cannot think of one. I do feel sad about making all of Marta's family dead but I don't regret that choice. What I have done with my sims are things that made sense for the characters.

#dag dag or tag tag #Let the world have more compassion #Player first writer second #Some writing takes ages #Some writing almost writes itself #I'm not one for regrets

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rabbitcruiser · 2 months

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Pi Day

Pi Day is on March 14, and any day that combines fun, education, and pie is a day worth celebrating! Pi, also known by the Greek letter “π,” is a constant value used in math that represents the ratio of a circumference of a circle to its diameter, which is just about 3.14….15…9265359… (and so on). Not only that, but the fourteenth of March is also Albert Einstein’s birthday, so all together it’s nothing short of a mathematician’s delight.

When is Pi Day 2024?

The beautiful constant pi (π) is celebrated by mathematicians around the world on National Pi Day on March 14.

History of Pi Day

To learn about pi, we need to go back a few thousand years and learn about this elusive number. The value of pi was first calculated by Archimedes of Syracuse (287–212 BC), one of the greatest mathematicians of the ancient world.

However, it was first baptized with the Greek letter as its name when William Oughtred called it as such in his works dating back to 1647, later embraced by the scientific community when Leonhard Euler used the symbol in 1737.

But how did Pi Day end up in a country-wide phenomenon? For that, we need to travel to the Exploratorium in 1988 San Francisco, where it was thought up by physicist Larry Shaw.

Shaw linked March 14 with the first digits of pi (3.14) in order to organize a special day to bond the Exploratorium staff together, where he offered fruit pies and tea to everyone starting at 1:59 pm, the following three digits of the value. A few years later, after Larry’s daughter, Sara, remarked that the special date was also the birthday of Albert Einstein, they started celebrating the life of the world-famous scientist.

Pi Day became an annual Exploratorium tradition that still goes on today, and it didn’t take long for the idea to grow exponentially, hitting a peak on March 12, 2009, when the U.S Congress declared it a national holiday.

Now, celebrated by math geeks all around the circumference of the world, Pi Day became a pop culture phenomenon, with several places partaking in the activities, antics, observations and all the pie eating they can.

Pi Day timeline

March 14, 1988

The Inception

Larry Shaw celebrates Pi Day for the first time.

March 12, 2009

It’s Official

The U.S Congress declared March 14 National Pi Day.

March 14, 2015

Super Pi Day

The first ten digits of pi were achieved on 9:26:53 a.m. (3/14/15/92653)

August 19, 2017

Legacy That Lives

Larry Shaw passes away as Pi Day leaves its mark on pop culture.

Traditions of the day

Pi Day gives math enthusiasts the opportunity to celebrate their love for numbers and the enigma that is the infinite pi.

Since 1988, the day has been celebrated at the San Francisco Exploratorium. The first celebration was organized by Larry Shaw, who worked as a physicist at the center. The staff participated by marching around the exploratorium and consuming fruit pies. This tradition has lived on since. Math lovers talk about math, host get-togethers, and have pi recital competitions. In schools, teachers arrange scavenger hunts, pie bake sales, and even Pi Day workouts to stimulate more interest in learning and practicing mathematics. Those folks who work in food marketing also love to get involved, so keep your eyes peeled for some discounts, deals, and freebies on pies, it’s going to be an extra tasty day.

By the Numbers

14th – of March is also Albert Einstein’s birthday

31.4 million – the world record held by Emma Haruka Iwao for calculating the most accurate value of pi.

4 – the number of months it took Emma Haruka Iwao to calculate the most accurate value of pi.

70,000 – the number of decimal places of pi memorized by Rajveer Meena in 2015.

10 – the number of hours it took Rajveer Meena to make the world record.

3.125 – the original number used for pi by the Babylonians.

22.4 trillion – the number of digits calculated by Swiss scientist Peter Trueb, using a computer.

24 – the number of hard drives on the computer used by Peter Trueb for calculating pi.

700,000 – the number of years it will take to recite the 22 trillion digits of pi.

15,000 – the number of digits of pi memorized by Mark Umile in the U.S.

Pi Day FAQs

Why is pi important?

Pi is very important for calculations in math, engineering, construction, physics and space exploration. Many often consider pi the most important number in all of mathematics.

Which pie should I bake for Pi Day?

Any you’d like. We do not play favorites when pie is concerned. Pies are really simple to make and can be made with several sweet or savory fillings. Apple Pie, Chicken Pot Pie, Pizza pie, be our guest!

Are there any places that give Pi Day deals?

Check restaurants, supermarkets and bakeries over on the Internet for special Pi Day deals. Places like Whole Foods, Boston Market and several pizza chains across the country have special day-long sales.

Pi Day Activities

Enjoy pie of course: Pi is a homophone of pie: the 2 words are pronounced similarly, but are spelled differently and mean different things. Celebrate Pi Day by eating lots of pie! Pizza, cherry, apple, you name it!

Throw a potluck party: Everyone loves to show off their family pie recipe. Make it a potluck and everyone will be inclined to bring their favorite pie to Pi Day, whether it's a pizza pie, a pot pie, a savory pie, or a sweet pie. Make a playlist that features songs like "I Like Pie, I Like Cake" and "American Pie.”

Try making a new pie: Ever tried to make a pie before? Now's your chance to bake your very own. Not into the sweet stuff? Don't worry, there are various savory pie recipes out there so that everyone can enjoy the warm buttery flakiness that comes with a fresh baked pie.

5 Facts About Pi

People compete in memorizing it: Rajveer Meena has the record for memorizing the most decimal places of pi at 70,000.

It’s used as stress tests for computers: Computing pi is a kind of “digital cardiogram” for computers.

A Givenchy men’s cologne is named pi: So you can smell like pi too if you are the intellectual and visionary kind.

It has other names: Pi can also be named “Archimedes’ constant,” or “Ludolph’s number.

It has been used by heroes: Spock foils the evil computer by having it calculate pi’s value in Star Trek’s episode “Wolf in the Fold”

Why We Love Pi Day

Pi is infinitely cool: Pi (π) is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter — and amazingly for all circles of any size, pi will always be the same. Pi is an "irrational number," meaning its exact value is completely unknown. Scientists have calculated billions of digits starting with 3.14159265358979323…, but no recognizable pattern ever emerges. We could continue on and on until infinity and we'd still have no idea what digit might emerge next.

Pi sounds like pie: If you are a nerd that likes pies this holiday is pretty much the best combination of the most interesting things in life: pie and mathematics. And of course that means that in order to celebrate abstract mathematical items that are somewhat irrational the obvious solution is to incorporate pie into the holiday.

Pi links mathematics to the real world: Maybe when you were in math class, you stared off into space wondering why on earth 'logs' or 'proofs' mattered so much. Pi is the answer, well at least, one of the things that links math back to real world uses. Because pi is linked to circles it is also linked to cycles, things like calculating waves, ebb and flow, the oceans tides, electromagnetic waves and much more. In addition, many natural world phenomena can also be calculated with pi — like the shape of rivers, the disc of the sun, the spiral of DNA and even the pupil of an eye.

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usafphantom2 · 8 months

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Sweden now considers sending Gripen fighters to Ukraine

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 09/13/2023 - 12:00 in Military, War Zones

Sweden is currently considering the option of providing JAS39 Gripen fighters to Ukraine as a potential donation.

This was reported by the SVT agency, citing the Swedish radio station Ekot as the source. The government is expected to issue instructions to its armed forces, possibly as early as September 14, 2023, to assess the implications of the transfer of these aircraft.

The main considerations for Sweden include understanding how this transfer can impact its defense capabilities and the schedule for the acquisition of replacement fighters for its air force. The government is particularly interested in assessing the effects on Sweden's defense capabilities and the speed at which new Gripen fighters can be acquired.

The Swedish Armed Forces are expected to present their assessment in November, after which the government will make a decision on the potential transfer of fighters to Ukraine.

Although Ukrainian pilots allegedly tested Swedish JAS39 Gripen fighters in August, Swedish authorities previously declared that there were no plans to transfer these jets to Ukraine. However, the Swedish opposition called for such a transfer on the condition that Ukraine join NATO.

Magdalena Andersson emphasized the strategic importance of strengthening Ukraine's air defense to prevent Russian advances, stating that a JAS39 Gripen fighter could be a valuable resource for Ukraine.

However, the Swedish Social Democratic Party urged the government to carry out an in-depth analysis of the impact on Sweden's defense, the necessary training for Ukrainian pilots and the logistics involved in the delivery of the aircraft.

Currently, the Swedish Air Force operates 94 Gripen aircraft, including 70 of version C and 24 of version D. Sweden ordered a total of 204 aircraft, 98 currently in use by the Swedish Air Force, 32 used and dismantled, 28 leased to the Czech Republic and Hungary, 12 sold to Thailand, 4 used as a flying laboratory and 4 lost in accidents. In addition, 2 aircraft were preserved in museums.

To keep about 30 aircraft deactivated, the A/B version will serve as a platform for upgrading to the E/F version. Sweden intends to maintain a fleet of 60 E version aircraft in its air force.

Tags: Military AviationFlygvapnet - Swedish Air ForceJAS39 GripenWar Zones - Russia/Ukraine

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Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Daytona Airshow and FIDAE. He has work published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work throughout the world of aviation.