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“Yeah, we like to get f*cked up and do f*cked up sh*t, you know what I mean?" 🔥 Happy Halloween y’all! ❤️‍🔥 we finally dressed up as the Devil’s Rejects this year and I got to be my fave final girl, Baby 🔥 also shoutout to Max for letting us abd*ct him so he could be our photographer 🤓 #devilsrejects #robzombie #babyfirefly #couplescostume #halloween2022 #otisdriftwood #horroricons (at Colorado Springs, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkZeLOYOoXA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Story time here on the feed ✨ ~ I initially got into typewriters because of my grandpa. He used his typewriter (not pictured) nearly every day until he passed in February of this year, and then he left it to me. I haven’t been able to bring myself to use it or learn more about it yet (grief is a s.o.b. y’all), so in the meantime it’ll stay in our dining room with his ashes. ~ After bringing the Royal one home I didn’t expect to spend a week photographing, recording, cleaning, and reading manuals about it online but I’m glad I did. The ribbon isn’t even in it yet and it’s already been such an inspiration to just own one of my own that dings! (& isn’t digital like the qwerkywriter in the back). Not to mention the fact that it was bought in 1965 in Raton, NM (where we travel through a lot), and it still has the Certificate of Guarantee, the card it came with, AND the key to the case. Needless to say, I can’t stop staring at it, and I may have to start my own typewriter collection (now that I have 3) so I can carry on my grandpa’s hobby. 👏🏻🔥 #keepingupwithaskillings #typewriter #royalsafari #typewriterpoetry #typewriterkeyboard #typewritercollection #blue #royalblue #vintage #tezzaapp #writersofinstagram #writer #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #basketballmike #typewriteraesthetic #aesthetic #ａｅｓｔｈｅｔｉｃ #safaritypewriter #englishmajor #collector #qwerkywriters #potd #instagood #shotoniphone #iphonography #iphone12promax #curtains #ikea #diyshoot (at Colorado Springs, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTxp9g2gxNb/?utm_medium=tumblr

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I tried a #booktok trend the other day & hung up my current/future reads so I’d have more side table space. All you need is any kind of durable string and some washers (or buttons in my case) and you’re good to go! Definitely recommend if you have more books than you do shelves or if you have a random patch of wall you want to cover. 👏🏻 #bookstagram #currentreads #keepingupwithaskillings #smallspaces #bookblog #booksbooksbooks #youloveme #carolinekepnes #midnightsun #janeeyre #toogoodtobetrue #carolalovering #stepheniemeyer #twilight #vines #tezzaapp #chuckpalahniuk #writing #writer #considerthis #advice #classics #lifehacks #tiktok #booklover #hangingbooks (at Colorado Springs, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTF_tT_L5TI/?utm_medium=tumblr

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Existing is Exhausting

When I initially sat down in front of my MacBook today, I wasn’t planning on writing a blog. In fact, I barely wanted to open WordPress to see the timestamp on the last thing I wrote because it feels like it’s been too long (see: Anyone). Then… I opened an old post. EXACTLY one year ago today, on June 18th 2020, I wrote a blog called The Great Pretender, where I told everyone that my outward…

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It’s been a bit, but I finally took down the puzzle so I could have more desk space. 😂 #1000piecepuzzle #theoffice #puzzlegram #puzzles #puzzletime #puzzlelover #timelapse #puzzlesofinstagram #aquariuspuzzle #hobbylobby #crafts #danidarkocrafts #creator #avidpuzzler #sorting #dwightschrute https://www.instagram.com/reel/CPow6w5neVy/?utm_medium=tumblr

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Apologies to my lactose intolerant & vegan peeps, but get ready for some cheese. 🧀 Many, many years ago, on my 18th birthday (lol), my bff of almost 10 years @vanhoghh gifted me a portrait of myself. Flash forward to this past winter, and I decided to do the same for her in my own style as a (very) belated grad/birthday present. 💗 This was my first time incorporating felt into an embroidery, and I couldn’t think of a better way than to try and capture how pretty Nicole is. I’m not gonna lie, shipping this was so hard (it hung on my wall for a bit), but living 900+ miles away from her is even harder. ☹️ I miss you all the damn time Nickel, and can’t wait until our next visit! 💗 #embroidery #longtermbesties #bestie #embroideryart #feltembroidery #portrait #limitededition #hoop #sewing #shapes #creative #bookstagram #hobbygram #danidarko #blackfabric #galaxies #bestfriendedits #artsandcrafts #artstagram #artistsoninstagram #flossing #embroideryfloss #handstitched #graduationgift #embroideredportrait #embroideryartist #loveyourself #collector #keepingupwithaskillings (at Colorado Springs, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/CPCL52BrIVR/?utm_medium=tumblr

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I’ve been thinking about getting back into my review blog again for the sake of keeping up with my writing & multimedia knowledge if anyone’s interested! 🤓😈 #writer #bookreviews #ifthereviewfits #blogs #wordpress #bookstagram #blogger #creator #reviews #booksbooksbooks #bookstagrammer #hobbygram #writing #englishmajor #englishmajorhustle #creative #booklover #bookcollector https://www.instagram.com/reel/CO_1baMH_zj/?utm_medium=tumblr

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QOTD: have you read a @chuckpalahniuk book yet?? Most of the time when I talk about this amazing author, I get surprised responses to the fact that he’s responsible for *shhh* Fight Club. 🤫 They usually say something along the lines of, “I didn’t know that was a book!” and then end up either loving it or hating it. The book itself comes with nasty descriptions, but then again, ALL of Chuck’s books do. He’s purposefully nasty & has a way about his writing that is just... well, *chef’s kiss*. So much so that I dedicated an entire blog site to him, MET him and couldn’t speak a word, and I own almost every single book of his (there’s around 30). Plus, whenever I’m talking to my bff @thecosmickoala, she knows “Chuck,” means Palahniuk. 😂💗 In other words, he’s amazing, and y’all should go pick up a Palahniuk book today! I’d recommend starting with Invisible Monsters Remix, Fight Club, or his modern day ‘1984’ called ‘Adjustment Day’ first. Then you’ll also be able to get a gist of what exactly transgressive fiction is, since he’s only one of seven authors in the genre. 😏 👉🏻 If you’re curious about my blog, it’s called If The Review Fits! It’s in my bio 🥰 #chuckpalahniuk #appreciationpost #bookmarks #books #bookstagram #keepingupwithaskillings #macbook #collector #transgressivefiction (at Colorado Springs, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/CO_dQGJLst5/?utm_medium=tumblr

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If You're a Writer...

If You’re a Writer…

I keep waiting for the day that I want nothing but to sit in front of my computer for hours on end so I can build up my story of Madeline MacCarthy and Alexander Woods (see: Chapter One: Commute Home).

Me, 2020

If you’re a writer, you’d know the stereotypical display of writers in movies or shows. Most of the time, they portray writers as these people who always have a pen and notebook with…

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The Great Pretender

I mentioned on my Instagram that I’m taking a hiatus from writing due to my inability to stay away from being passive aggressive, but my world has just been too heavy lately.

The past few weeks I’ve felt as though someone was controlling what I do or say. I’d continue to push through my hobbies, find escape through television, or I’d spend hours on social media either fighting with…

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Reflections

As with every new year, I get the urge to suddenly write, and generally create. However, with the apt title of “Reflections,” I’m not just going to cover the usual content of the past year, but rather the moment I realized that my life, and my mindset, was going to dramatically shift into a new realm of what I thought possible. Also, due to procrastination and an ongoing quarantine filled with…

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Way back in 2013, when my husband and I first got together, he introduced me to Fight Club, which led to an almost immediate obsession with the man behind it: Charles (Chuck) Michael Palahniuk. As someone who’s obsessed with psychological movies with crazy twists, it was only natural that I wanted to find out more about the author. So, I looked a little more into him and bought my first novel: Diary – which follows a young artist who “finds herself in pawn in a larger conspiracy that threatens to cost hundreds of lives.” Needless to say, the book itself was enough to follow through with my research on him, which all started with:

Where does he get his ideas? What genre is he writing for?

So, after finding the answers to these, Chuck quickly became a staple in my life. I started researching everything about him and it wasn’t long before I learned that the man behind all of the novels was actually a pretty great guy. For his novels, he gets his ideas from actual people and situations in his life. Then, he actually gives credit where credit is due and acknowledges where he got his information from. Luckily, all of his ideas fall under the transgressive fiction genre because they’re not for the faint of heart.

Including Chuck, there are only 6 other authors in the entire genre, and Chuck quickly made his way into the same genre as his idol Bret Easton Ellis. Now, the primary idea behind transgressive fiction is to break societal norms and push against them. The narrators aren’t usual people, they don’t have filters, and Chuck creates plots that are twisted enough that you want to keep going. Well, with the introduction of Fight Club 2 (his first graphic novel), the group that religiously followed him quickly became known as “Chuckleheads,” and I’m honored to be a part of them.

To refrain from sounding a like a creep, meeting him became one of my bucket list goals. After diving into the world of Chuck, I decided that I had to meet the man behind the mass amounts of transgressive fiction on my shelves. So, after building up quite a collection of his books (22/25), following his web-page, and finding an event going on in Denver on Facebook, my husband and I finally got to meet him.

On February 16, 2019, my husband and I decided that meeting Chuck would make the perfect Valentine’s Day date. Over the past six years, we’d usually just go out to eat, or maybe make a day of it, but this year, we got to meet our idol. Chuck is not only a staple in my life, but he’s also a staple in my husbands. So, we woke up earlier than usual and went to I Want More Comics in Thornton, CO. They were celebrating their 10-year anniversary by having Chuck and other artists in their store. Which, I’m not entirely sure how they managed to get him there, but I’m extremely glad they did.

Now, Thornton is anywhere from an hour to two hours away from where we reside depending on traffic, so we couldn’t have gotten there right when it started with my husband being on night-shift, so we arrived a little later. Luckily, they had a system going. When you walked in, you got a ticket stub with numbers on it and they called 10 people to stand in line at a time. So, by arriving a little late, we managed to get a measly two-three hour wait time. Although, I guess it’s only measly depending on the event you’ve signed up for. Needless to say, those two-three hours were filled with anxiety, and we managed to go eat lunch and buy stuff for my reading nook from a nearby Target.

  After the wait was over, we nervously got in line to meet him. Obviously, in my excitement, I had to document almost every step with photos:

While in line, I thought about all the things I wanted to say to him. How he’s become such a huge inspiration to me, how I dedicated an entire blog to his works, and how I was a writer as well, but when I finally got up to him, I was star-struck. So star-struck that I could barely speak. We got up to him, shook his hand, introduced ourselves, and he signed quite a bit. There was so much going through my head that I just didn’t know what to say to him. Everything that I rehearsed in my head ended up completely disappearing. THE Chuck Palahniuk was standing in front of me, and I actually shook his hand.

Luckily, I brought something to give to him  – my digital drawing of an Archerized Chuck.

With the drawing, also came his birthday the following week. So, I asked him, “Isn’t your birthday next week?” like a total creep and finally gave him the drawing. It was pretty cool because he said he’d set it in his office, where all his other fan-art is, but what was cooler was how casual he was about me knowing his birthday. All he said was, “ya know what, it sure is” and took the drawing. If a year ago, anyone told that my drawing would end up in the hands of Chuck himself, I would’ve said they were crazy, so the very idea that it actually ended up with him is pretty amazing.

During the whole debacle of my mind going completely blank, he signed a few books, my laptop cover, and gave us two of his infamous severed arms (pictured below).

Then, after the long wait, the signings, and the awkward discussion, we got to take photos with him. Now, when you take photos with Chuck, they’re not the usual “stand here, say cheese” kind of photos. Chuck makes the whole thing an experience and he poses you in a very particular way. Well, for my photo (that was at the beginning of this), I chose the choke pose, where he was supposed to “choke” me in a photo. However, with Chuck being as ripped as he is, instead of pretending to choke me, he accidentally cut off my airway a little. So, I literally got choked by Chuck. For my husbands stance, he chose the fighter pose, where they pretended to fight. Chuck posed him to a point where his feet were aligned in the specific way he wanted, and he had my husband flex and look at the camera.

After we left I Want More Comics and Chuck, I was still reeling. I couldn’t shut up the entire way home and I immediately edited and posted all of the photos, told all of my friends about it, and frankly I still can’t believe it happened. Now, I’m not sure what else happened that day, but I’m pretty sure we ended the night with Red Robin burgers and ended up back home playing video games. Needless to say, this was the best Valentine’s Day we’ve ever had, and my new goal is to meet him again so I can actually pick his brain like I wanted to initially. To me, Chuck is an enigma. His works are mind-bending, full of twists, and 100% totally original, one can only hope that one day I can finally sit down with him over a cup of coffee after I publish my own novel.

    Getting to meet Chuck was one of the best days of my life next to meeting Dance Gavin Dance (read about that here), and it wouldn’t have been possible without our big move to Colorado back in 2016. 

Meeting Chuck Palahniuk Way back in 2013, when my husband and I first got together, he introduced me to 

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Book: Maddy & Alexander

Book: Maddy & Alexander

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You Can Keep Up With Me On These Sites

You Can Keep Up With Me On These Sites

Blogs:

AllBee There For You – A psychology-based advice blog on real situations. 

Keeping Up With A Skillings – My personal blog on all of my projects and posts about my life.

Etsy:

Danielle Skillings Art – You can purchase all of my art here!

Instagram:

@allbeethereforyou – An IG platform for my advice blog.

@themeowseveltclan – An IG specifically for our animals.

@keepingupwithaskillings – My…

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Not Enough Time

To anyone who’ll read this,

I’m sitting here next to my bookcase full of unread books, looking up and down at it while the inevitable looms in the back of my mind. It’s no wonder I have anxiety. There’s not enough time.

Not enough time to play all of the video games all the way through, finish all of the puzzles that surround my room, to finish writing that book that’s in my drafts, or to read…