Listen. Make pasta and rice in the microwave. Use pre-made spice mixes. Buy frozen and canned foods because you know you’ll forget about the fresh ones. Shove some carrot sticks and lunch meat into your mouth and call it dinner. Roast some veggies with spices. Put cheese on your broccoli. Put an egg in your ramen. Eat a spoonful of hummus. Drink a bunch of cans of sparkling water. Put peanut butter in your instant noodles. Make taco filling ahead of time and eat it with salsa and potatoes. Put butter on your tortillas. Dip flatbread in spinach dip. Microwave some tv dinners. Stick your hot pockets in the oven. Eat an oatmeal cookie for breakfast. Do you hear me? Get some vitamins.

Man, sounds like i should try to get in legally

Seeking asylum is legal.

To dive into it a bit more: Pretend the US economy collapsed largely because of Canada’s repeated interference in US economy or the economy of neighboring countries that might have been functional trading partners. After taking resources from America over the course of decades, installing pro-Canada politicians in local and state governments, and possibly even aiding in the creation of these roving gangs, Canada withdraws humanitarian support. They say that America needs to support itself and its own people and that sure they might have done some things a very long time ago (It wasn’t) but now America needs to create a functional government of its own. One not filled by the corruption that they helped to create.

None of which helps with the roving gangs breaking into homes and killing people.

But, seeking asylum is, on paper, legal. In order to legally cross into Canada you need to fear for your safety or for the safety of your family and seek asylum. Well, there are roving gangs, abuse is rampant, and the police force is either functionally useless or in the pockets of these groups so, hey, you have that down!

But you need to move quickly because there are people who want to make this PERFECTLY LEGAL means of immigration illegal, in which case there are no other nearby countries that you could flee to. And the current Prime Minister keeps saying they’ll close the border entirely, threatens bringing in guns, and it becomes increasingly clear that the longer you wait, the more violent and unlikely it is that you’ll be able to find a home in Canada.

So you cross. Legally.

Canada takes you at gunpoint, strips your two year old of anything that you’ve given them, and deports you. Months pass, no word from your child. You hear reports, they could be dead, dying, adopted into a Canadian family, or sold to human (usually sex) traffickers. No one knows, because no one is keeping track of what happens to American kids. You try to reach out for help and you get told that you should have followed the law.

Which you did.

And they stole and possibly murdered your kid for anyway.

“they’re burning all the witches” 

ARTIST CREDIT

Your mental illness is lying to you.

You are not stupid. You are not ugly. You are not worthless. You are not weak. You are not a burden. Your mental illness is lying to you.

Fuck.

Also:

No you’re not bothering me. (Yes I’m serious.)

You’re not dumb.

You have great ideas.

Your smile isn’t ugly.

Neither is your laugh.

Yes people love you. No they’re not lying. Yes really.

YOU ARE NOT BOTHERING ME.

You don’t need to apologize, I actually AM very interested in our conversation.

YOU DON”T NEED TO APOLOGIZE FOR EXISTING.

in addition: yes i love you and your existence

Uhm… I really fucking needed to see this.

Yes, I am happy to hear from you.

You look nice today.

No, you aren’t being annoying.

Tell me more about the things you like, I’m interested in what you have to say.

If you changed your mind and can’t handle going out, we can hang out at home instead, I really don’t mind and I’m not mad at you.

Yes, I am really honestly happy that you’re here!

I think you’re pretty great actually.

Other people can see magic in you that you will sometimes overlook. Don’t you dare try to convince them they’re wrong just because you can’t see it yet.

side note: this doesn’t mean you have to automatically accept inconvenient quests from oracles insisting you’re the chosen one

they are literally just wizards looking for free labor

I don’t care. I’m going on an adventure!

not without unionizing and demanding a living wage you’re not

Wizard: you’re the chosen one

Me: not without healthcare I ain’t.

Wizard: There’s a dragon

Me: Pretty sure thats an OSHA violation

I have been waiting all of my life for a .gif set of this scene. This struck me so hard when I was younger.

Seriously. I didn’t quite understand as a kid because I too thought she was still so beautiful.

It’s so sad how cruel and shallow this world can be, and the horrible psychological damage they can inflict on people who had so much confidence and still possess potential for greatness.

Yet another example of how amazing this show was.

What makes this even more powerful is that Paige Monroe (Calendar Girl) is voiced by Sela Ward, a real-life model and actress who was infamously turned out of the Hollywood system for being ‘too old’.  In 1995, even though she was a three years younger than Pierce Brosnan (then-Bond), she was turned down for a role in James Bond because "What we really want is Sela, but Sela ten years ago”.  In response she made a documentary, The Changing Face of Beauty, about American obsession with youth and its effect on women.  Then this episode came afterwards.

This wasn’t just a general message episode, this was a specific attack on the sexist Hollywod system by somebody who had been one of its victims.

happy bday arin!! still love the guy

Animal crossing grumps!

if you an adult learn to take sex criticism. Y'all be 26 giving out wack head cause you refused to listen in ya freshmen year of college that you not suppose to bite it like that. You 28 still just sticking dry penis in a dry hole saying “oh..you tight” NOT AROUSED!!!

if someone says ow during sex you stop and ask! Don’t keep going!!

If you finished first that’s fine!!! It’s normal!! But don’t just leave that person hanging!!

You cum in a person after they asked you not too but it was an accident guess who paying $50 for plan b?? YOU!!!

if you looking at this putting genders on it then it’s ya fault lol cause this is the most gender neutral post

shoutouts to all my pokemon ruby fans who’ve never experienced the joy of the heavy rain music because oh my god the drought music is horrifying

just for comparison if you’ve never heard the other weather theme before, here you go

why does Sapphire’s match the sort of sound that Hoenn’s music usually has

but Ruby’s sounds like a gen 1 Lavender Town creepypasta

what the hell is this honestly 

ORAS did a really good job of keeping the Drought theme ominous as all hell imo

Someone remixed the two and honestly

it is awesome and ominous af

depressed kids in the media: I don’t wanna go to therapy! I don’t need help! I’m not some specimen for you to dissect!

me, rollin up to my therapist’s office and collapsing in relief: what is UP my homeboy I fuckin missed you,, hope ur ready to hear some Bull Shit that fuckin happened to me this week

families of depressed kids in media: okay sweetie we’ve researched depression for ten hours straight and signed you up for therapy and re-arranged your school schedule to be less stressful

actual parents of depressed kids: look i get you’re sad but someones gotta do the goddamn dishes stop being lazy get up. why didn’t you go to school today, what’s wrong with you, you’re such a burden on this family.

Therapists in the media: *understanding head tilt*

My real live therapist whom I adore: Natalie, that is the DUMBEST thing I’ve ever heard.

Therapists in Media: Lets do some art therapy and be really quiet while we talk about your feelings :)))))) also I’m prescribing you 500 different medicines

My therapist Brian who I love to death: Jack, I think your first problem is you stay up too late looking at memes, so let’s try taking a nap

My real life therapist: Okay, before we start, I found this hilarious video I know you’d love.

Therapist in media: serious face the whole time

My therapist: *laughs awkwardly*

therapists in media: refined, cultured, poised, “I’m afraid I haven’t [heard of the nerdy thing their patient just referenced]”

my old therapist derek, from across the reception area, seeing me for the first time after the summer of 2015: HEY DID YOU SEE AGE OF ULTRON?? IT SUCKED, RIGHT???

my current therapist ian, in our very first appointment: do you like star wars? anxiety is like the force, it can consume you, or you can learn to keep it in balance… you’re my padawan now

Actual things my therapist has told me:

“You’re bassicly a glorified sad lizard.” (It makes sense with context)

“Damn girl you need to get your shit together.”

“Go home and cry. Stop drinking in bathtubs. Eat something that isn’t bleach or memes.”

I’ll add more tomorrow after I see her again.

Me: so this is what’s going on with me

My therapist:

my therapist one time was writing in her notebook as i was talking about my dad and she said “can i show you what i’ve drawn?”

it was a thought bubble that said “crazy af”

“I’m not letting you become a cryptid until after you get your degree”

Black Characters and Blushing

I’m glad you’ve asked. It bothers me how often I’ve heard “Black people don’t blush” which only seems to be another way to dehumanize Black people (and defeminize Black women) for not possessing this base human reaction, even if it’s not always notably visible.

Everybody blushes. Or rather, can blush. It’s the physical act of blood rushing to the face, ears, and other areas of the body; how visible the output doesn’t dictate whether one blushes or not.

While fairness has its part, I think blushing and how visible it is has a lot to do with the individual (some folks have better blood flow) + the undertones within their skin.

I’m going to steal my undertones chart from the Skin Tone Guide here:

As shown above cool skin colors have undertones that mostly fall under red/pink shades.

I’ve seen dark cool-skinned people with naturally rosy cheeks. I can only imagine when they blush, those reddish undertones are emphasized or brightened.

On the other hand, warm skin is usually in the golden, orange spectrum. Not so much reds. Still that doesn’t mean red coloring doesn’t appear on dark warm skin tones.

I have warm medium skin with golden orange undertones, and I definitely get flushed from extrinsic factors, such as if I exercise hard (I turn a berry-red coloring), plus the winter cold pinkens my nose like Rudolph.

I’ve also had friends call me out on blushing, but I can’t tell you exactly how that looks for I’ve never checked a mirror at the time, though I imagine it’s like a slight tinting or an enrichment of the undertones in the skin, brightening them, paired with a “coral to dark red” reddening.

In general, though, it can be redundant to constantly refer to blushing to show shyness or embarrassment with characters of any skin tone. It seems blushing is one of those things that happen more often in stories than daily life. Kinda like green eyes.

For variety, also consider these indicators: 

~Pages from the Emotion Thesaurus, seriously every writer should buy this book 10/10 would recommend.~

To reiterate; dark (cool) skin with red/pink undertones might show blushing more notably than warm skin, as an enhancement of those reddish undertones. 

Dark (warm) skin without red undertones, more “richening” of the undertones with pink to dark reddish coloring as an influence, likely depending on how harshly they’re blushing.

In any case; if you’re describing the blushing from the character’s perspective, it makes more sense to focus on heat and sensation.

Followers, any personal experiences or thoughts?

~Mod Colette

PSA

theres a new product by verzion called “hum” that allows your parents to track your car and places you go, if your parents are controlling like mine please check under your steering wheel to make sure that they havent installed this

here is what it looks like installed:

you can read more about it here, and here- this excerpt sums up what information Hum will send: 

“a car’s owner will be able to get notified on their phone when the vehicle leaves a pre-determined area or drives faster than a set speed… [Hum] will enable location tracking and a driving log, which measures travel times, engine idle times, and average speeds.” 

People in abusive relationships, please check your cars.

DO NOT TRY TO UNPLUG IT BY YOURSELF!

To add to this nightmare, I’ve just heard of a thing called ForceField where people get to monitor and block internet sites that you’re going on if they don’t approve.

It tells the user what sites/apps you’re going on, for how long you’re on them, and WHERE YOU ARE ON AN UPDATING MAP.

So you know if you’re in an abusive household and use sites like tumblr to escape and talk to friends, you could be cut off from that.

They say “it’s not spyware” but it sure sounds controlling and creepy to me.

signalboost

God. Fuck. That’s scary.

Life 360 is another tracker. My parents have used it on me, not allowing me to delete it from my phone, and sometimes even demanding selfies to prove I was where the map said. (As if I’d go anywhere without my phone)

SpectorPro is another one. Afaik it can’t track location, but it takes screenshots roughly every 20sec to allow the installer to watch a video of your computer activity. It also tracks all keystrokes, so passwords aren’t safe, and records any website you visit + the duration. It’s incredibly creepy and a huge violation of privacy, and was one of the cornerstones of my abuse as a kid.

even if you’re not in an abusive relationship/family, please spread this because you might have just saved someone’s life

same energy

Reminder for myself

Consider supporting me on Patreon or Commissioning me

From Kasia Babis.

To this day, I’ll never truly understand why cat callers exist 🤷🏻‍♀️. It’s like they have some distorted perception of reality where saying things rooted from their primal instincts to a stranger is APPARENTLY OK. Luckily, I barely deal with it as much after leaving NY, but what always irked the fcuk out of me is when the cat caller gets aggressive after you reject their comments. Like ok bish, PLZ CHECK YOSELF B4 YOU WRECK YOSELF B/C NO👏🏻ONE👏🏻ASKED👏🏻U👏🏻TO👏🏻SAY👏🏻SHIT👏🏻😤. Don’t get mad at me over what you started ✌🏻.