#adults should need a licence to adult

[gravygecko]

Y'all ever just name stuff as a kid and then get entirely disregarded because "oh they're just being creative"

No, David, "the bones" is not my imaginary friend, I have

Fibromyalgia

[aloeverawrites]

Me when I see bigoted ideas about kids in the media:

*quiet suppressed violence*

[what-does-the-moose-say]

Listing to a coworker talk about the new summer substitutes and jesus wept yeah bro I am never working day or evening shift during summer again. Only nightshifts now. Need to limit the foolery.

[writerswho]

Aizawa is a terrible teacher. I love Aizawa, but I love the fanon version of Aizawa. Even when he's a bad teacher in the fanfics, he's still better than the canon. But what made me realise what a crap teacher Aizawa is was Kalego. After watching Iruma-kun and starting to read the manga, I realised that Kalego, the uptight, grumpy, tired and kind of sadistic teacher who gives his students extra work just because he can, is everything Aizawa tries to be, but isn't. Because Kalego cares about his students in a way canon!Aizawa would never. Like, yeah, Aizawa would die for his students, but that is not due to the fact that his a good teacher. It is because he is a hero and that is what heroes do. While Kalego would also die protecting his students and even kill for them, he also pays attention to their needs as students. Half of the 1-A need help with their regular grades and the other half need help finding ways to use their quirks without hurting themselves. We all joke about Midoriya and his bone juice, but why does nobody think about giving that kid some extra help? Why didn't his homeroom teacher try to find a way for him to use his quirk without blowing himself? Or a way for Kamimari to use his quirk without frying his brain? Aizawa ignores de most basic things about his students' needs, like finding ways for them to use their quirks without damaging their bodies and health. Or the way Midoriya is around Bakugou, who tried to attack him on the first day and almost killed him on the second day. Kalego-sensei, on the other hand, took his time to make a personal notebook for each of his students and worried about finding ways to utilise their strengths regardless of how seemingly meaningless or nonsensical they may be and so many other things. Kalego-sensei cares about his class, about their growth and their future and is trying to find the best alternative for them. Everyone talks about what a bad teacher All Might is, but All Might is a rookie teacher with less than a year on the job (and nobody knows if he has a teacher's licence or not) while Aizawa is believed to be one of the oldest people on Nedzu's payroll. I am comparing Aizawa to Kalego because when I first saw Kallego, I thought he was the demon version of Aizawa. I now realise that if Aizawa were a third of the teacher that Kalego is, maybe these child soldiers would have a chance. When Iruma tried to do everything by himself/messed up, Kalego scolded him, obviously, but he made it clear that if Iruma had another problem, he could ask for help. Because Kalego is his teacher, and he's there to help him in any way he needs. But when Midoriya messed up/did everything by himself, well, they just yelled at him and made him feel guilty, and think that the solution isn't to ask for help or trust the adults next time, but to find a way not to get caught. Aizawa should spend a few days with Kalego and learn to be a real professional and a teacher who does what's best for the students.

[dannyphantom-zero]

Doctor Danny Chapter 6

Danny was surprised to say the least. The last time he even step foot in a place this fancy was at Vlad's dairy palace.

"Master Bruce is this way Master Todd"

Danny waited for Jason in the sitting room.

"Would you like tea Mr. Fenton"

Danny jolted, he had been so deep in his own thoughts.

"Yes, thank you-"

"Alfred is fine"

"Thank you Alfred"

"Pardon me for asking but what is your connection to the master?"

Danny squinted thinking about it as if it was the first time he was contemplating this. Well, it was the first time.

"The way I met him was a little... strange, but after that day he wouldn't leave me alone. Like a stalker"

Alfred chuckled.

Danny blushed, "I didn't mean that his is a stalker or anything! He's been a big help to me, I think. We're friends I guess you would say"

Jason walked up to the office. There was an air of tension and Jason wondered briefly if Bruce was fuming with anger on the other side.

Jason stepped in, closing the door behind him.

Bruce was sitting behind his desk with an unpleasant look on his face.

Jason wanted to make a wise crack but the air was too suffocating. You would think someone had died.

Bruce motioned for Jason to sit down, he came out from behind his desk and sat down across from Jason.

Bruce sighed before looking straight into Jason's eyes.

"Jason"

Jason didn't like his tone of voice.

"Are you gay?"

Jason paused and replayed the tape in his head. Did Bruce really just ask him that?

"W-why? Are you asking me that?" He had never been more confused.

"So you are gay?"

Jason suddenly felt hot.

"Maybe, in my defense some men just hit different"

Bruce made a face.

"Not literally, stop looking at me like that!"

"Some men, like that Doctor?"

Jason sighed and looked at the window nonchalantly.

"Yeah I guess."

Bruce nodded.

"So now that it's confirmed, there are some things you should know-"

"You are not giving me the talk in gay edition! I am an adult Bruce!"

"Does he like you back?"

Jason groaned.

"I really don't know. I don't even know if he's into men."

"Have you tried asking him"

"I'm not doing that"

Bruce wanted to scream. Why did his children always take the hard way.

Jason glanced at the clock on Bruce's wall and jumped up.

"Crap! I have to take Danny to the hospital!"

"This conversation-" before Bruce could finish Jason was already gone.

He sighed, "why do I even try?" He muttered into his hands.

He had even gotten to the important part yet, which would be Jason's vigilante identity.

"Do you like Master Todd?" Alfred asked as he sipped his tea.

"He's a great friend, he really is helpful when he wants to be"

Alfred shook his head elegantly.

"Forgive me, I meant romantically"

Danny almost dropped his tea. "Uh, I-I don't know. I've never considered"

Jason burst in at that exact moment and Danny's face went red.

"Your gonna be late if we don't go right now!" Jason almost shouted.

Danny jumped up, very flustered.

"Bye Alfred" Danny said as Jason grabbed Danny's hand and pulled him to the car.

Alfred smiled over his tea.

Jason hopped in the car and noticed that something was wrong with Danny. He was stiffer than a wooden board.

"Danny?"

A high pitched "what?" Came out that just made Danny even more embarrassed.

"Are you ok?"

Danny managed to breathe again

"Yea, just nervous about going to work I guess"

Jason nodded.

"Just be careful"

When Danny got into the hospital he noticed something strange. Everyone seemed to be staring at him and whispering to each other.

"Daniel! There you are my good friend " the hospitals general manager said clapping him on the back.

Danny made a face like he had just stepped on a fresh pile of dog shit. This guy hated him, and he called him Daniel.

If they were friends he would've to call him Danny. This was the guy who tried to suspend Danny licence and kept saying he was just going to be trouble for the hospital.

So why was he sucking up to him now?

"We have someone who needs to speak with you urgently"

Who could be so important, that even a dick like this guy would change his tune?

Well it didn't matter, Danny was pissed off now.

"Tell whoever it is to wait, my patients need me, make sure they don't bother me while I'm working"

"You don't have a choice brat, stop soaking up being the big hero and get your ass in that office."

Danny was about to stick up his middle finger and walk away when a voice rang out from down the hall.

"Doctor! I'm so glad I caught you!"

Danny looked past his disgruntled superior and his eyes instantly narrowed.

It was a prominent businessman with lots of rumors of having shady side businesses. Lex Luther.

"You have to excuse me sir but I'm working at the moment-"

"Of course, I don't mean to interrupt your work at all. If you can perhaps take the time to meet with me after your work hours have finished-"

Lex quickly waved off the thought his a graceful twist of his hand, "but you don't have too, you might be too exhausted. At least take my card. I have so much to talk about"

Danny took the card, resisting the urge to rip it up in front of the general manager out of spite.

Still, despite the rumors Lex Luther seemed fairly decent. Danny had no time to mull it over, he had patients to treat.

Danny carefully fixed a cast for little boy.

"There you go, all done"

The boy looked at Danny sadly, "can I be the first to sign it?" Danny asked.

The boy lit up, Danny was supposed to recommend that the cast stay clean and unsigned but hey, its an important tradition.

~Your incredibly strong, keep up that fighting spirit, love Doctor Danny~

The boy showed his mom who smiled and thanked the doctor. Danny just replied with, "it's my job"

Danny was half asleep by the time he walked out of the hospital.

"Hello" a smooth voice said in his ear. Danny whipped his head around his the person in the nose.

"Oh crap I'm sorry, are you ok?" Danny asked.

The person turned out to be Lex Luther.

"It's ok, it's my fault for being too close"

"Yeah but it could be bruised, I hope it's not broken" he said as he examined it.

After a few seconds Danny realized he asked for permission before touching him.

He quickly withdrew his hands.

"It's not broken, just bruised" Danny declared.

"Thank you, I see your off from work. Can I treat you to a meal?"

Danny smiled, "shouldn't I be saying that? I did bruise you"

Lex Luther shook his head, "no, I asked to meet with you. I should pay"

Danny caved.

"I'll follow you in my car-"

"No need, I'll have my assistant drove your car, we'll ride together in mine"

Together? Why?

"Okay, wait- is that your car?"

It was a shiny black Lamborghini.

"Wow, you drive this around Gotham? You so brave. If I had a car like this it would be locked up in storage" Danny said his hands hovering over, but not touching.

Lex pit his hand over Danny's and pushed it on the car.

"It won't break if you touch it"

Danny's face felt hot all of the sudden.

"Y-yeah you're probably right" Danny said nervously as he moved his hand and opened the door. After he slid in Lex shut the door for him.

The car looked brand new on the inside too.

"This is so clean"

"I made sure it was before I came to the hospital. Doctors like things clean"

Danny laughed, "not all doctors are clean freaks, you should see my car. It's a wreck"

"Forgive me, I spoke without thinking"

Danny shook his head. "It's fine, just a little funny"

Danny didn't want to admit it but this lex guy was easy to get along with.

Once they were in the restaurant and seated Danny got his business face on.

"So, did you ean to meet with me to talk about sponsoring the hospital?"

"Not at all, I already sponsor the hospital, you could say I'm their biggest sponsor"

No he wasn't, Bruce Wayne was Gotham Generals biggest sponsor. But he could be the second biggest sponsor.

"So what did you want to meet me about?"

Lex Luther gave Danny a soft smile, "you, I want to sponsor you specifically. More specifically I'm interested in you"

Danny raised an eyebrow, "I'm not sure I understand"

"I like you and I want to start a relationship with you"

Danny wasn't sure he heard him correctly.

"Like dating? Why?"

Lex chuckled, "I wondered that myself, why I was so attracted to you. In the end I still don't have a reason. I just like you"

"D- I- I don't know anything about you-"

"Could you give me a chance?"

Danny was confused, when he spoke it sounded genuine, but his eyes were silent.

"Can I have some time to think about it?"

"Yes, of course"

They ate and discussed little things, some things Lex Luther's business had been doing and Danny's hectic hospital work.

Jason arrived at the hospital ready to pick up Danny when he saw Danny's car drove away, so he followed it.

When someone other than Danny got out Jason's mood darkened.

The man was thrown against the car hard.

"Where is he!" Jason demanded.

"What! Get away from me!" The guy said.

Jason pulled out a knife, "I won't ask again"

And that's how Jason found himself checking surveillance cameras to find what place they went to eat at.

He arrived just as Danny was walking out with a man.

"Danny, where do you live, I'll drive you home and have my driver bring your car in the morning."

"DON'T TELL HIM SHIT!" a voice hollered from across the parking lot.

Danny looked startled towards the sound, he squinted to get a better look at the person stalking angrily towards them.

"Jason?!"

Lex put an arm around Danny's shoulder and pulled him next to him.

"Who are you?!"

Jason sneered, "none of your business, come on Danny I explain on the way"

Danny made a move to go but Lex held him firmly next to him.

"Danny this man seems to have anger issues, I don't think it's safe for you to go with him"

Danny couldn't move out of lex's grip. Jason glared murderously.

"I'll be fine Mr. Luther, he's really not a bad person" Danny said as he pried off the arm.

This lex guy was strong.

"Call me lex" lex whispered in his ear. Jason had enough, he pulled Danny away from lex Luther and put him on his motorcycle.

"I promise I'll explain when we get to my place" Jason said.

Lex Luther called his associate from his burner phone, "put plan B on standby, we might need it after all"

Danny sat completely confused on Jason's couch. Jason was kneeling in front of him.

"Are you okay Danny? Did he hurt you?"

"No, he was really nice, I don't get what's making you so anxious"

Jason sighed, "Bruce has dealt with Lex Luther before, he's into some pretty sketchy business"

"That's right, I had him on my cork board as suspicious. I was going to get closer and get more information, but if it bothers you that much I can table it for now"

Jason sighed, "your gonna be the death of me" he muttered.

[yourgamemasterthewhiterabbit]

I'd like to illustrate a problem here for a second about documentation and having ID expire every 5 years or whenever you move, while disabled in Canada, or at least Ontario.

To renew ID you need 3 pieces of documentation, one for proof of citizenship/status/immigration etc, like your birth certificate or registration etc, one for proof of residence like personally addressed mail, a bank statement or bill...

And the third, which must be separate, which is "proof of identity" for which the following is accepted:

credit card

valid Ontario driver’s licence or temporary driver’s licence

valid Ontario Photo Card

Canadian Immigration Identification Card

Certificate of Canadian Citizenship (plastic card)

Certificate of Indian Status (paper or plastic card)

Confirmation of Permanent Residence (Imm 5292)

only if signature is shown

current employee ID card

current professional association licence

Old Age Security Card

Ontario motor vehicle permit (plate portion only)

passport (Canadian or foreign)

Permanent Resident Card

only if signature is shown

Record of Landing (Imm 1000)

student ID card

union card

I have crossed out the ones I can't get as a disabled single adult with no dependents who was born here, is not elderly, cannot drive etc... Your average single young disabled adult born and raised here.

The certificate of citizenship I could [have, previously] technically get, but as a natural born citizen other sources will insist my birth certificate should be enough and I should never need this... And they STOPPED ISSUING THE PLASTIC CARDS LISTED HERE AS VALID ID!

I can't get a credit card approved because of my income.

The passport I only ever got because when I was younger I could travel, and it wouldn't get money taken off my pension etc... But most people in my position won't have or maintain this, and indeed mine is still with someone I took a trip with in my 20's and is lost to me, and I have had no real reason to renew it or report it lost. I can't renew it without getting the info off the old one and I can't apply for a new one without already having valid id AND BEING ABLE TO FIND 2 PEOPLE TO VOUCH FOR ME... Which I don't have, frankly, and I am going to go out on a limb and say that when you are more or less house bound and an inconvenient disabled who people are prone to abusing it is quite common enough to not be able to find 2 people to vouch for you. You also need a guarantor and someone to take photos! And sign them! And why would you? Why would you maintain a passport when you can't even travel??? It isn't accessible to me anyway.

So most people in my position, which is a lot, will ONLY have the photo ID card as "proof of id" which you NEED to 1. renew your health card, 2. renew the photo card itself.

My problem with this is that technically you need a photo ID card that's still valid, to make your photo id card valid again. They technically are not allowed to use your health card as this kind of ID.

I am disabled and therefor often things are LONG expired by the time I have the ability to get them renewed, so in addition to all this, my health card and photo id expire at the same time every time now.

They wanted to have a photo id alternative to the driver's license to help with issues like this to begin with, but they haven't made it much better.

The next issue is it's the only government Id that's of any use to me and that I am encouraged to get but it costs 35$ because it's treated as optional, instead of it being free like your health card is... So actually your health card does cost 35$ to maintain... Because you need your photo id card to stay valid... So actually our "free" healthcare has an out of pocket cost of 7$ per year minimum. That's not a lot, but that's not free if that 35 every 5 years stops you from being able to have health coverage.

I want a form of government ID, that counts as proof of identity, for the purpose of renewing my very important health insurance card, that doesn't bloody expire all the fucking time.

Because you're actually supposed to renew your health card every time your address changes... And when you are poor and disabled you tend to either be stuck with your parents, or stuck moving constantly to escape abuse.

And just... Do you know, how many times, for how many months I have been effectively between health coverage, in a country with free healthcare, and thus unable to seek medical attention, because my id has expired and I did not have the physical energy to go get it renewed? And that shouldn't happen!

Technically, by their own laws/policy they should have turned me away to renew my id, which would have left me 100% fucked with no existing valid ID to use to get other ID. That shouldn't be able to happen to you every 5 years or every time you move, especially when you are disabled.

And they shouldn't charge 35$ for it, considering you need it to get your health card renewed at all, technically speaking. It should be FREE! Especially if you are disabled!

If I still physically had my last passport I might be able to keep renewing it without this bullshit headache, but I can't without my old one.

They should have never switched to health cards that expire, I don't care if they wanted photo id, it was fine before, this is bullshit. This makes healthcare potentially inaccessible to the disabled because they have put it behind these stupid hoops you have to jump every 5 years and when you move.

And do you know how many disabled people have memory and mobility issues???

This is stupid.

And the kick in the teeth is that once they have my photo taken they will randomly chose to use older photos they have on file, because clearly my appearance hasn't changed enough through my adult life for them to even care how old the photo is! Why does the photo id have to expire if the photo can be over 10 years old according to their own records!? Their whole excuse for them expiring is that your appearance and address need to be up to date!

For those of you who don't know because it might have been before your time... health cards used to be white with a red stripe and no photo or address and they never expired. You only needed a new one if it was lost or stolen and that was fine. You could memorize the number on it and not even carry your card like you do with your SIN.

And then they switched us to the new photo ones to make sure everyone would have photo ID

And then they decided health cards couldn't be photo id because they didn't want to manage who got health care and who could buy alcohol with the same system for whatever reasons, so they came out with the "photo id" that you are expected to have as an alternative to a drivers license if you don't drive...

But they wanted money, so they charge 35$ every five years and make you pray to their monument of bureaucracy to get it.

Anyway fuck this my ability to make medical appointments shouldn't expire in a country with free healthcare. If they had a problem with people using each other's health cards before and messing up records, they should have made it easier to get your own health card, and not harder. And yes they should have made it so anyone even an illegal immigrant or someone who lost all their ID in a fire could walk into a clinic and still get basic care.

Not this bullshit song and dance.

So gee, if I fail to renew online just before these card expire you will hear me rant about this bullshit again in 5 years.

They could at LEAST give you a disability id card that never expires that you can use for shit like accessing the food bank or for proof of identity etc... Maybe even then it would be easy to have discount programs for anyone on a disability pension, maybe any groceries that are deemed basic necessities enough could be partially or fully subsidized without extra applications and headaches?

But no it's like they want to make healthcare inaccessible for the people who need it the most.

[thelightsandtheroses]

Call It What You Want: Prologue - my reputation’s never been worse

Pairing: Frankies Morales x female reader ( Tom Davis’ half sister, no physical descriptors), Summary: Tom Davis’ younger half-sister never expected to move back to Florida, but eight months after her brother’s untimely death and in the wake of her, in hindsight, ill-advised marriage ending, here she is. Frankie Morales is trying to get it together after his relapse on returning to Florida led to the breakdown of his relationship. His priorities now are finding his own place so he doesn’t need to sleep on Pope’s couch, maintaining sobriety, spending more time with his daughter and getting his pilot’s licence back. So when the two of them end up sharing an apartment, it seems like the ideal solution. However, things are never that simple, are they?

Chapter Warnings: Minors DNI (18+), language, discussions of drug abuse and addiction including a non-detailed reference to an overdose, allusions to emotional abuse, discussions of death, PTSD, canon typical violence, do I need to warn for mentions of Tom (it’s post-movie though!)

| Series List | Masterlist | Next

Frankie

Pope’s couch is uncomfortable at best, agonising at worst. Frankie pulls himself up, grabbing his phone and scrolling through the various missed notifications.

For the last six months, Pope was in Australia and so when Frankie had started crashing at his, he could at least pretend he was an almost functional adult as he housesat for him. Pope recently came home though and now Frankie is back to being a glorified couch surfer.

It’s been eight months since he and his friends - no, not friends, they are more than that, brothers -  returned from South America with nothing but a dead body and a shitload of bad memories to unpack.

Frankie thought his life was a mess before then, he’d been so fucking stupid.

Rock bottom, it turned out, wasn’t his licence being suspended, wasn’t crashing into the Andes, or every damned moment of that trip. The way to rock bottom was found in a plastic bag, was the way that left him wondering if it would genuinely better if he’d been the one coming back in a body bag. The way to rock bottom was bloody noses, lost licences and ruined relationships. It was his friends having to stay up with him through withdrawals and rages and being so fucking pathetic. That wasn’t the moment though.

It turned out rock bottom was the exact moment where after ODing on his bathroom floor at 2am, his ex told him she wasn’t sure he should see his daughter until he could show her he was sober, that their kid deserved better. It tore a hole in him worse than any bullet could.

That was then though.

Now Frankie has a six month chip in his wallet, if nothing else. He is sure he knows what his friends really think about him - Frankie is the friend they have to worry about, the one who is couch surfing and working shitty jobs until his suspension ends and he can reapply for his pilot licence. He sees it in the way Will watches him wordlessly at a bar, like he is being scrutinised with each drink, just in case. Drink isn’t his problem though. Never has been.

He is different now. He just needs a fresh start.

Frankie’s daughter, his pilot’s licence, these were things he keeps working for. To keep his ghosts at bay. He could do it for her surely. He is getting better, he hasn’t touched that stuff in months, he earned that chip, he can do this.

Pope walks into the kitchen and nods at him. “Morning.”

“Hey man,” Frankie says, yawning as he stands up. “You heading to work?”

“Yeah, you?”

“Nope. I’m seeing Gabby later and then I have work in the afternoon.”

“Say hi to the kiddo for me. How’s she doing?”

“She’s great.”

“Damn,” Santiago says, a smile on his face.

“I’m looking at an apartment this morning too. Then I can get out your hair-”

“You can stay as long as you like. I mean that.”

”Pope, I appreciate it, you know I do. But I can’t fucking live on that couch much longer.” He doesn’t say it, but he’s pretty sure his back can’t take too many nights of this.

“Okay,” Pope puts his hands up in mock defeat. Frankie knows it’s only partly genuine, his best friend surely must be sick of him living in his home as a constant third wheel.  In fairness, it’s not stopped Pope, he’s out of the apartment most weekends now anyway. He’s never talked about how things ended with Yovanna but that tells Frankie all he needs to know.

“How’s the hunt going then?” Pope asks conversationally.

 Frankie sighs. “The place I saw yesterday was the best, but it’s - I’d need a roommate and that - that’s a whole other mess.”

Pope hummed thoughtfully.

“I’ll figure it out, it’s my mess. See you at Benny’s fight later?”

“Absolutely. Coffee’s in the pot!”

Benny’s fight nights are still a fixed date in Frankie’s weeks. To be fair, his whole schedule now is more fluid than ever, the only unmovable things being his limited time with his daughter and the regular check-ins with his sponsor.

The fight itself ends fairly quickly; Benny wins, which Frankie expected, since they got back from South America, Benny has thrown himself into his training. The group move to a nearby bar to celebrate the win - Will says it’s because it’s easier to talk there and catch up, but Frankie’s pretty sure it’s because it’s closer to his girlfriend’s house. That’s another change over recent months; while Frankie’s relationship fell apart, Will reconnected with his former fiancé, Cora. It seems different this time though and Frankie notices the way Will’s cautiously looking over at the bar where she’s getting her drink.

Benny’s cheek is swollen but he grins through it. Normally he’d want to talk about the fight, but between him and Pope somehow the conversation has moved on to Frankie’s apartment hunt and the disastrous one he toured today.

“It can’t have been that bad. We’ve had worse digs on the job, surely.”

“No, that place would have been right up there,” Frankie says, shaking his head. The apartment had met his budget, but it hardly met the definition of apartment. There was no way he could have Gabby there.

“What about that place you viewed yesterday, Fish?” Benny asks cheerfully, one arm leaning against the booth and the other clutching a beer. “You said it looked good, why don’t you go for that one?.”

“No, it was great. It’s just I’d need a roommate to make the rent work,” he says flatly. “And I need a place of my own so I can start having Gabby over more, Melissa doesn’t want me to have her stay over until I have my own place and I don’t know, but I can’t just have some random person with that, so I don’t know what the hell to do.”

“Fuck,” Benny says suddenly, a smile on his face. “I do.”

“What are you talking about?”

“We all know someone who is looking to get out of their current place and you know them, and it - it’d be perfect for you both. I am a fucking genius!”

Frankie can’t think of anybody who would meet that criteria but Benny looks so pleased with himself that for a desperate second, he wants to believe there is a solution. He needs to get off Pope’s couch.

“Who?” he asks slowly.

Benny just points. Will’s girlfriend, Cora, is walking over to them with a familiar face in her shadow.

“Tom’s sister?” Will exclaims in a low voice. “I don’t know about that, Benny”

It’s Will’s comment that does it.  The unspoken assumption that Frankie can’t handle having a roommate, let alone Tom’s little sister being his roommate which definitely sounds like a bad idea. Frankie is barely over South America anyway, why have his home haunted by Tom’s ghosts?  Besides, he doesn’t really know her. All he knows that she is -was?- younger than Tom, his half-sister from their father’s second or third marriage and she was married to some surgeon up in New York before she moved back.

“Is she looking for a place then?” Frankie asks, as though this is a serious option he is considering

Benny nods in response and calls her name so she joins them. Frankie notices that Will and Pope are looking at the three of them with unreadable expressions, Frankie swears there is a slight smile on Pope’s face though.

“So you know how you told me you were looking for your own place -”  Benny began cheerfully.

“Which I can’t afford right now, which sucks because I think Molly is really sick of me. She’s been nice, but it’s getting very awkward.” Tom’s sister has been back in town for a few months; she’d turned up with Will and Benny when they returned from a fight in New York.  Frankie doesn’t know the full story, just that Will had dropped her off at Molly’s and since then both the Millers have made of an effort to bring her to events and check in on her.

“Exactly,” Benny says, “I’m an actual genius. You see, Frankie found a place, right, and it’s great but he needs a roommate and you said to me and Will yesterday that you needed to not be living in Molly’s place ‘like yesterday’ so this, this sounds like a plan, right?“

“I don’t know,” she says, looking at Frankie apologetically, “I mean - I can’t live on your couch.”

“She’d get her own room and everything, right, Fish? It’s all legit. Neither of you want to go on Craigslist or whatever website you’d use for that now, but both of you at least know each other.”

“Vaguely, “ they both say.

“She’s Tom’s sister, Fish, c’mon. It’s the perfect solution for you both!” Benny exclaims. Idiot had probably got hit in the head one too many times in tonight’s fight.

Frankie nods slowly. Maybe Benny is on to something; Melissa would definitely be more likely to let Gabby around if his roommate is someone she vaguely knows and isn’t some stranger from the internet.

“I don’t want to be an inconvenience. You guys have been so nice since I moved back. I’m sure you’ve got people lined up for it already.”

“I don’t.”

“Oh. Well, what does it look like?”

What is happening? Is Frankie actually going to do this? He is barely in control of his actions as he opens the listing on his phone and shows it to her, immediately conscious of his cracked screen protector and chipped phone case. The case said online it was indestructible, but Frankie isn’t so sure about that anymore - it might not be Frankie proof anyway.

“Can you send me this? I - I - I’ll think about it.”

Frankie nods, knowing this was a polite refusal. That was fine, he’d find a place. He is getting it together. He’ll find a way.

You

The coffee shop is in that perfect lull before lunch and after the morning rush where you could finally catch your breath. You take a sip of your flat white and sigh.

The past few months have passed in a whirlwind. One moment you were living in New York with Nate, working to build an academic career and now - now you are in Florida, working in a coffee shop and bookstore, while living in your dead brother’s ex-wife’s spare room. If that doesn’t make you feel strange enough, earlier today you realised that your third most contacted person on your phone is now your divorce lawyer.

It isn’t all bad. You know you made the right decision to leave when you did. You know the trajectory you were on was unhealthy. Besides, ever since you’d come back to Florida, Will and Benny have been there for you and have tried to invite you into their lives. You get the sense it was as much as an attempt to honour your brother as it was about you. You don’t mind though. You don’t exactly have a thriving social life - you’ve been lucky that a former friend, Danny, had helped you out. He worked at the music studio across from this store and had told you about the vacancy, had even spoken to the owner for you. Former friend wasn’t quite the right word - you were best friends when you were younger, had even gone to the same college together but then you met Nate and you lost Danny along the way - trying to keep him in your life was too hard with Nate’s insecurities.

In the end you lost all your friends over the years.   

In the wake of leaving Nate, you had no idea what to do or where to go. The Millers and Molly had helped you in those initial weeks when you kept wondering if you had overreacted, if you should take his calls and try and work it out. It wasn’t that bad after all, was it? It wasn’t like he’d hit you. Not really.

If you’re honest, Will and Benny Miller have been truer brothers to you in the past three months than your own brother had been in years. 

You don’t blame Tom for the distance between you; you’re been raised apart and then you’d both been such different people. When you found out he was dead, you had looked at his contact on your mobile phone and realised it had been months since either of you texted each other. Your last phone calls were stilted, awkward. You didn’t know him and he didn’t know you.

You still can’t quite believe he’s gone. Maybe because he wasn’t such a big part of your daily life, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect that one day in the future you’ll bump into him again, have an awkward family dinner or something.  It doesn’t help that you get the sense that his friends, that Molly even, are not telling you everything.

Your phone sounds and you pull it out of your jeans’ pocket.

Frankie - Hi, don’t worry about what Benny said last night. There’s no pressure either way.

That’s unexpected. Benny’s suggestion last night had been unexpected too, but whether it was the extra beers you drank at the fight or the overriding sense you need to get out of Molly’s spare room, it hadn’t sounded too crazy. Maybe Frankie doesn’t want to live with his old army buddy’s baby sister though, you can’t blame him for that. You quickly type out a response.

You - Same to you.

Your colleague, Ella, walks over from the children’s book section. Ella’s younger than you but you get on well, she’s become one of your only friends in Florida, along with Danny. She’s better at latte art than you too which is frustrating, but hey, your book knowledge is better. It should be with your past jobs, the career path you had thought you wanted.

Ella pours herself a coffee and raises her cup to you. “Lunch is going to be crazy with all this rain, I think.”

“Really?”

“Maybe.” You look back down at your phone, thinking over the previous evening.

“New guy?” Ella asks excitedly, “Are you on the apps at last?”

“No, no. You know I mentioned my brother’s friends who I’ve been hanging out with more?”

“No, sweetie, you can’t hook up with one of them. You need an uncomplicated rebound. No, I forbid it!”

”Ella!”

“It’s not your fault, you’ve been out of the game for a while. I get it, your only other friends are like Molly’s divorced friends and they’re all like middle-aged but -”

“Ella, it’s not that. One of them, he’s looking for a roommate and I can’t stay at Molly’s forever. She made a very subtle comment about how late I got in last night and that it woke her up. I feel like a teenager sneaking in every time I walk in the house. I’m too old for this.e”

“I - I agree you need to move out, but like, who is this guy?”

“His name’s Frankie, he served with my brother.”You look at the online listing for the apartment again. It looks surprisingly well proportioned, bland but clean. Its location is closer to your work than Molly’s too. The price doesn’t look that unreasonable if you’re sharing. Maybe it isn’t a crazy idea. It might be better than chancing things with a random online listing.

”You haven’t mentioned him before. Do you know his surname? I’m looking him up.” Ella has her phone out immediately.

“I don’t remember.” You don’t even know your brother and his friends why call him Catfish, or Fish. You’re not actually sure you want to know that one.

“Don’t worry. Is he friends with your hot friend, the MMA dude? I’ll look on his profile for any Frankies,” Ella says cheerfully. You smirk at the description of Benny - he came in to get a cup of coffee once and Ella’s found ways to bring him up numerous times since then.

“Uh, I can’t find him. That’s not good. Who’s not on Instagram?”

“Some people don’t like social media,” you say.

“But why? He could be a killer. He could be one of those crazy people who, I don’t know, dissolves human bodies in the bathtub.”

“How many people do you know of who - never mind, you need to stop watching true crime documentaries.”

“It’s a self-preservation tactic.”

“If you’re serious about this idea you should probably know his surname and whether he’s a serial killer, or I don’t know, if he microwaves fish.”

Before you can reply, a customer walks in and the two of you stop your conversation. Ella takes over the coffee order, to your delight, and you think about her advice.

Ella’s right. You probably need a better sense of who Frankie is first, even if this does feel like a plan, and he was one of your brother’s friends so that has to mean he’s not that bad, right? There’s a part of you that just wants to jump. You are pretty desperate now to move out of Molly’s.

You quickly type out another message.

You - I am interested in the apartment if it’s still available. Can we talk it through in person first?

Your phone beeps minutes later

Frankie - Sure. When are you thinking?

You can’t help smiling.

[sharpth1ng]

hey again!! thank you for answering my ask, and for the clarification! i figured you probably had it all sorted out because you're a grown adult and seem to know your stuff but i still said something anyways just in case haha

i should have been more clear with my original ask but i myself still find all this stuff quite confusing so thats my bad sorry 😞 basically it has nothing to do with the labour of printing or if the company publishes it or not, it’s because fan fiction is already grey area, it’s ok when no one is making money off it. as soon as at any point someone makes any money off it, like these printing companies, or commissioning someone on etsy, or even just going somewhere local to get the pages printed, it now becomes illegal - fanworks infringe on the creator's intellectual property and you need a licencing agreement if it's not public domain etc blah blah blah you get it lol

as soon as the word "pay" comes in, it's illegal - you can't pay for anything, even if you are the one that wrote the fanfic (which fucking sucks). but your merch and stuff is completely fine because the references are based on your original writing, like theyre not gonna be like "how dare you sell this tshirt with a bloody B on it thats illegal!!" bcs that whole thing is entirely unique to your work and has no ties to the original property 👍

but thats just my understanding of it, and the specifications of it can get really confusing!! same thing happens with fanart too, technically you aren't allowed to sell fanart - that's why people often only sell it irl at cons to avoid copyright strikes. but then again there is people selling fanart on redbubble and in fanzines etc so like, i honestly don't know how that side of it works as well?? i think its under a different law since it’s a transformative work maybe...??

its all very confusing i wish clarification was more clear 😭 but you sound like you've looked into it and know what you're doing so thats fantastic, and i'm glad to hear. thank you again for answering so quickly i dont mean to be a bother. ur a talented writer and i loved debaser, keep it up 😊

Yeah no problem! I do appreciate the effort to give a heads up. And like to be fair I’ve done my research but I’m not a copyright lawyer or a legal scholar and the law on this stuff is very confusing to me.

In terms of the fanart stuff my understanding is that it is illegal to sell but for the most part fan Artist are too small for copyright holders to go after, it’s just not really a thing that’s done for the most part. There’s even a number of situations where selling fanart led to those artists being directly employed by the copyright holders. I think it’s very rare for fan artists to get sued for copy right and the only examples I know of are from Disney.

For the most part fanart sold is illegal, but it’s similar to torrenting content where its not really enforced so people do it anyways, and often at a pretty large scale. The stuff on red bubble and in fanzines is also illegal as far as I know, it doesn’t count as transformative.

Honestly I think it’s very unlikely that anyone printing my work would get targeted like that, mostly because this fandom is small and I’m even smaller. I only have a little over 1000 followers here and while that’s more followers than I’ve ever had before in my life it’s pretty much microscopic on the internet. Beyond that there’s less than a handful of printed copies as far as I’m aware.

Honeslty I have a lot of issues with copyright law- obviously it needs to apply to things like generative AI which is essentially a very environmentally damaging collage machine, but in terms of fanart and fanfiction I really don’t see how it could be construed as taking away profit from copyright holders.

People for the most part only read my work because they were already into scream, and a number of people have even told me my work got them to watch scream so if anything I’ve created profit for them. Fandom is the reason these original works have the legacy they do, and fanworks are a massive part of that because you can only consume the original content so many times before you get bored.

Beyond that we wouldn’t have some of our most highly acclaimed cultural works if copyright law had existed hundreds of years ago. Like, Shakespeare would have been fucked.

Alright lmao rant over. Tl;dr I’m doing my best to do this all in a legal way, but it’s good for folks to be aware that there may be an issue with the legality of printing my work even if they aren’t paying me. I think it’s unlikely any of you will face repercussions because this fandom is miniscule but if you’re worried maybe don’t post on Tumblr- but feel free to dm me or post in my discord 👍

[smallestflowtree]

SO more detail on the AU I mentioned yesterday which I am calling the Pavel girls AU for now, maybe a better name later if I think of one but knowing me I probably won't

Disclaimer: I LOVE HODARI I am just putting him back in the toy box for a bit so I can play with Leta instead for a while. Ok? Ok

Further disclaimer: I know we don't know much in canon about Leta so I'm veering probably quite far into OC territory here but it's okay I've given myself permission, this is my version of her and everyone else is obviously free to do as they wish, plenty of AU/OC space for everyone

Hodari finds Najuma first. He throws her clear of the cave-in; Leta finds her, frees her, takes her back to Kilima to get help, but by the time she returns with the other villagers it's too late.

Leaving Leta and Najuma.

Leta never considers going home. She's the inventor, so she makes Najuma her prosthetic leg fairly early on.

I like babies/children and I think there should be more of them so I wanted to add another Pavel child to this AU; my first thought was that Leta could be pregnant (early-on and maybe not know herself yet) when Hodari dies but the more I thought about it the more outright cruel it seemed, like that would be A LOT and I felt like I was being unnecessarily horrible to her. Also I liked the idea of the second child being a bit younger than that. So INSTEAD maybe about three years after the accident some kind of travelling merchant is visiting Kilima and runs into Leta in town, and invites himself round to see her later that evening; and she's lonely, and what's the harm? Najuma's asleep. And Leta works hard and she deserves a bit of fun and attention. Then a couple of weeks later once he's long gone she realises, oops. I like accidental pregnancy stories. Sorry Leta.

Anyway this is Saleni Pavel, she's five! She likes swimming and butterflies and telling long meandering stories that go on about five minutes too long. She definitely owns shoes and, if pressed, could tell you where at least one of them is. Her favourite person in the whole world is her big sister and she can very nearly do a handstand and wait, she'll show you. Wait. One more minute. She's going to do it this time. Okay let her try again

(sidenote: I do think of the Majiri as being overall quite sex-positive and we know they are polyamorous but it is interesting that all the children we see, and all the adults as far as we know, were born in (monogamous) wedlock. So I wonder who would be judgemental and who wouldn't)

Leta is a miner, but she's also an inventor and I think especially with two children it would make more sense for her to do more inventing, which would keep her closer to home more of the time. She's friends with Zeki so he could help her with licencing and selling her inventions. I think she'd go into the mines enough to get the materials she needs, and maybe enough to sell locally, but not as her primary means of supporting her family, and larger parts of the mines would be abandoned.

So bringing us to Najuma. Who would similarly not be allowed in the mines - it's not safe, especially when parts of it aren't checked/maintained. And there's no need - she's better off in every way as her mother's apprentice. But I think she'd feel just as drawn to them because of her father's death and wanting to continue his legacy.

And I like to think about Najuma as a big sister. How she'd feel about the fact that at least she knew her father, but that means she knows how it felt to lose him, which Saleni can't, and is that better or worse? And being fiercely protective of her but also having to look after her and getting frustrated and fed up, and also maybe frustrated because Saleni can run and swim and do things she can't with a prosthetic, but it isn't her fault, and teenage angst, and so forth, while also loving her to pieces and if you look at her wrong she will FIGHT YOU. You know, sibling stuff.

Leta in general I see as outgoing, friendly, and generally well-liked; not always as cautious as she should be with a tendency to rush in; rather hot-headed. Loses track of time when she's working on something. Very loyal and loves her daughters to distraction but they are also the people who drive her craziest.

That all I’m going to say today but I have MANY MORE THOUGHTS for other posts, including how I would add all this into the game and what I would change to make it all work and quests and schedules and all kinds of things, and if anyone cares at all then PLEASE reply or message me or something because I need. To get all the thoughts out. I can’t stop thinking about this AU help

[fluffykitteninabox]

UA's child soldiers

I forgot to put this on the other post, but it's fine because I don't have a joke here, I just want to talk about this:

YES! Yes Momo you're supposed to run! You're just teenagers for fuck's sake, you shouldn't be there in the first place.

Midnight made the right decision and told the kids to run.

Classes 1A and 1B aren't heroes, they're child soldiers. Just because they went to school and weren't isolated and trained by the government like Hawks was, doesn't make them that much different.

They were still brought here to fight a war. The adults, their teachers and mentors that they look up to, made the conscious decision to bring them here to fight a war.

I don't care that they placed them far back, they still brought kids to an active battlefield.

This isn't the first time btw, this keeps happening. During the Overhaul arc the heroes brought kids in the Shie Hassaikai raid too. Aizawa only told his students to back down if the league of villains shows up. But honestly that's very stupid of him. How did he expect this to go??

lov *shows up*:

aizawa: Oh wait a minute timeout! Ok kids, now as we said, you have to evacuate!

deku, uravity, froppy and red riot: yes mr aizawa!

deku, uravity, froppy and red riot *leave*:

aizawa: ok we're good now, you may continue the fight!!

obviously it doesn't work that way because that would be stupid, so the kids stayed and fought anyway!!

Same thing happens here. Adults made the irrational and moronic decision to bring kids to the fight telling them to stay back and not engage, while fully knowing that that's almost impossible because fights (especially of this massive scale) rarely go as planned, so the kids will most likely be forced to engage either way.

Also before anyone makes the "it's a shonen so the protagonists have to be there" argument..yes I know that. I'm asking for either this blatant exploitation of children to be addressed in the story or hori should find a better in universe excuse to force the protagonists to join the fight. In the first few arcs that's how it worked.

USJ and Forest training: the villains attack first so the kids have to defend themselves. (Don't have to think much for this one, it's the classic easy way out of having to find a better explanation. It's not bad, it works just fine. No need to fix it if it's not broken I say.)

Stain and Kamino: the kids go to join the fight on their own and that is seen as a reckless stupid decision. The adults reprimand them for putting themselves in danger. (works as great as the first explanation and is also a great way to mix things up a bit.)

So the heroes used to know this very important lesson apparently. But flash forward a couple of arcs later and suddenly the have some very conveniently selective amnesia! Now it's ok to drag literal children to their death by making them fight a war.

You wanna know why it's ok now while it wasn't before??

It's because they got their stupid licenses!!!

That's right! The adults only cared about this issue when it affected them. Now that the kids have a license, they're technically not their responsibility anymore. If they chose to fight it's their own decision. They're not being supervised anymore, they don't have to ask permission. So technically if they die during battle, legally the adults that put them in that position cannot be blamed.

And the worst part is that these kids got encouraged to get their licence earlier than average. The UA teachers already knew this specific group of kids had a tendency to make reckless decisions and starting/joining fights when it wasn't their place to do that..

and instead of teaching them to not do that, they pushed them to get legal certification early so they technically wouldn't be responsible if any of them died or got seriously injured!

ok I'm not saying that they did this on purpose....but if they didn't think of this when they were pushing their students to get their licence then that's awfully neglectful of them and they're bad teachers.

I don't know, seems pretty sus to me..

[squarebracket-trickster]

Hello! It's still Blorbo Blursday in my time zone, so have an ask.

Your blorbos are organising prom at high school. Who is doing what job (selling tickets, looking after the money, decorations, DJing, etc.)?

It's still Blursday in my time zone for like another 7 hours don't worry.

oh gosh, okay. So my blorbos for my current project are very different ages and I don't want to age them down/up for this because it would change their dynamic. So I am just going to assume Ieuan and Wulfrith are adults helping out their young relatives and Matilde is the clingy little sibling the other characters have to supervise until her parents pick her up.

Isolde, Henry, Uthman, and Alan are close enough in age I can just say they're all on the prom-committee.

Okay...

Isolde is micromanaging. everything. Like, planning parties is her thing. She knows exactly what needs to be done to make it go smoothly and she does not trust these layabouts to understand her vision. (worst part is, she's right and the prom would have been a disaster had she not planned for every possible lull in the entertainment and unforeseen circumstance under the sun).

Matilde is her little assistant who Isolde uses to convey messages to the others, and also as a consultant on what colour the décor should be. Matilde takes her job as messenger very seriously (she bosses everyone around and Isolde lets her.)

Alan sells the tickets and looks after the money. His main responsibility is keeping his boyfriend's pesky little hands out of the cash box. He was chosen for the job because he is the only one who knows Uthman well enough to know his tricks.

Uthman got stuck hanging decorations. Isolde trusts him with nothing else. She barely trusts him with that. But he's good at climbing so that's a plus. Isolde sends Matilde to give him a new instruction about every two minutes to keep him busy. Uthman is ready to punch both of them. He doesn't care the Matilde is a child.

Ieuan is the only one with a licence so Isolde sent him to pick up the supplies. He is happy to do this because it means he is alone and unbothered. Isolde can't yell at him for not getting back on time if his phone is off.

Wulfrith is the DJ. He has such DJ/sound guy energy. Isolde, Uthman, and Matilde also call him over about every ten minutes when they need help lifting something heavy.

Henry is helping Alan with the tickets and money (i.e. showing him memes). Every time Isolde catches them snickering at something she marches over with another task for Henry to do. Every time she turns around he is back with Alan. When she asks if he did what she asked, annoyingly, he has. Isolde is stunned because there is no way someone would do that so fast. She thinks Henry's being an ass but, in truth, he just finds it cute when she's irritated.

[legendaryprofessorwisteria]

Sam Borigard again, well I took your advice. And it appears to be legitimate. Had it inspected with a sylh scope and it ain't no zoroark's illusion. It's a genuine reshiram. I spoke to her (Identifies as female) and she wants to retire from battle but her trainer does not.

So they felt a amicable break would be beneficial and she agrees to the trade. As for her trainer he is a ex-champion but they are participating in the WCT. She did lit the pants on fire of someone but thanks to that I found out they were cloaning keys and we're planning on stealing my stock and selling to my rival!

She likes me for being honest with her and treating my customers with honesty. And looks forward to working with me as a companion and employee. She's prover her strength being able to gently carry a ar with her wings or talons.

What is odd about her is she has a galaran accent. Are those pokemon spotted there or is there something I am missing?

By the way the licencing is not a problem the pokemon ethics committee have given my business a A+ rating for how well the employee pokemon are taken care of. An my bank account has more than enough to pay for any of her wants and needs.

Dag nab it I will remodel my home with vaulted ceilings and double doors so she can come and go as much as she pleases in my mansion. Since my son has moved to Orre on an humanitarian mission I can turn his room into her new nest. With a bit of fireproofing and double doors on the balcony so she can take off on a morning flight.

I will only put her in a ball when legally required to and will have to start getting a butcher's subscrt so she has the finest cuts of meat her sharp fangs can wrap themselves around. Hoo wee! Imma make she she is one happy dragon!

It's wonderful to see such enthusiasm! However, I'm afraid a license isn't something you can skip out on regardless of enthusiasm, simply because that's a legal requirement specifically regarding Legendary and Mythical Pokemon - but given your description of your situation, it sounds like you won't have a difficult time with getting one - and temporary exceptions for trades exist, so you'll be fine during the interim period. The licensing process will also help you figure out the minutiae of working with and caring for her, and ensuring that you start off on the right foot regarding her staying with you.

As long as she has an outdoor place, she most likely won't need a lot of indoor space that can fit her - most Pokemon prefer to be outside when it's weather they're comfortable in, though Reshiram can voice her own opinions of the situation, unusually among Pokemon. While on the topic of her voice...Reshiram are native to Unova, but it's not unreasonable that she could have been born or simply spent significant time in Galar, or merely with a Galar native, and picked up the accent. I will note that, even if she doesn't like it, you'll likely want to make at least some portion of her diet commercial Pokemon food - while plain meat and treats are great, there's a chance they may not provide the exact balance of nutrition she needs.

It sounds like she and you are getting along well, which is fantastic! Adult Legendaries, especially non-battlers, often have a hard time switching Trainers should the need arise simply because the pool of potentials is so very small. It sounds like the two of you are going to do great!

[thecandywrites]

Monster March 2023 Day 19- Mermaid Part 1

Something Special

Ok, so this has a lot I need to explain about myself before you read the story itself, which I will put under the cut.

But know that this will be taggged with trigger warnings for suicide, self harm, depression, mental breakdowns, nervous breakdowns, etc. And I will do that to keep you- the readers safe. Because you should take control of the media you consume and I do not want any of this to trigger anyone who is sensitive to such subjects or are uncomfortable with any of it. And if this does not sound like your kind of story or something you're not up for or comfortable reading. By all means, move on and find another that will give you the entertainment you are now doubt looking for. No hard feelings, happy and safe readings everyone.

Otherwise, thanks to @borealwrites for their Monster March 2023 prompt list, you're a life saver. And I mean that in a very literal sense.

So about the story itself. For MerMay a few years ago, a concept I had and then ran with was micro-mermaids. Mermaids that are as big as your fingers. And having a mom and sisters who keep aquariums, mutliple ones too. And while most them have been fresh water, my mom did keep a brackish tank for a while. We were always too poor to do salt water. But growing up with and around those, I know how niche it can be and how much joy and fun and relaxing it can be to just...sit there and watch these little jewles swim around. I'm very partial to guppies myself.

So imagine a world, where micromermaids are treated like venemous snakes are, you have to have special licencing and special certifications to even buy and own one. And so combine that with the aquarium industry, you would have to have special licensing and special certifications to buy, own and especially breed them. But not all breeders are good and responsible ones. I think we've all seen the horrors of the puppy mill industry. So there's a splash of that in here too.

Ok, so what you should know before you really read the story, is- I was totally the ugly duckling, turned beautiful swan type. But I didn't turn into a "beautiful swan" until senior year of high school - of which I graduated early from. So I grew up - the public school system, being largely ignored and being invisible and keeping my head down and blending in with the walls.

However, that was only one aspect of my life. Because that was my school life, in every other aspect, I was very much the "special kid" . Who is now an adult, with severe anxiety, a perfectionist complex, depression, suicidal thoughts and tendancies and someone who was lucky enough to get the intervention I needed and the help I needed through a psyche ward, Intensive Outpatient Psychotherapy and a 6 month Dialetical Behavioral Therapy. since my hopefully last- attempt 8 years ago.

And it didn't help that my dad was a narcissistic perfectionist (ex air-force) and a minister, who only gave love and affection when I performed said perfection to his standards. It meant that I very much was under the microscope to the congregation and always expected to set an example and be "picture perfect", the perfect kid, the perfect student, the perfect daughter to help with the family's "reputation" of being "the perfect family". And of course, purposefully, intentionally kept niave and ignorant to "preserve my purity". And all that fucking stupid bullshit. And I was unlucky in that when I was growing up, and dealing with deteriorating mental health, with a father figure like that, I was- I kid you not- "not allowed" to have mental health issures, because that would "tarnish the family's name and reputation". So I learned to mask at a very early age. And my mask has since, fallen, shattered, a few times over. And I've learned to simply remake it over and over as many times as I've needed to.

But what I've learned over the decades since- is that it is ok to not be ok. And you absolutely should have a support system, and personal boundaries, and autonomy and be given respect and dignity because you're a human being. And if the mask slips and or if the mask falls and shatters, it's not the end of the world. We just try again. And build from scratch if we have to.

And for those that can not fathom ever having these thoughts, I want to give you an illustration to help you wrap your head around this.

No one "earns" the right to be depressed or suicidal. It's like a new phone with those pre-installed apps that you can NEVER uninstall. That will give you push notifications- those notifications being 'you're worthless, you're a monster, you're a burden, you're better off dead, this is never going to stop, this is insufferable, you can't take this, just quit, just end it all, once and for all'- all the time. For those of us who have depression and especially suicidal thoughts and tendancies, we do not choose this. This is just our "factory settings" period.

Now with therapy and perhaps some anti-depressants, especially the right ones, they can either slow down the frequency of the "push notifications" from every 5 seconds to maybe ever five to fifteen minutes or even only a few times a day, if you're really lucky. And they can help you ignore the push notifications that intrude into anything and everything you do. And they can help you swipe them away when they do come up instead of clicking on the notification and staring into all the ugliness and internal darkness and see the laundry list of everything that's wrong that is causing us pain and anguish and guilt and suffering. Or worse yet, see the notification and fantasize about it or worse- agree with it. And then doing something that can not be undone.

However, the day I wrote this , was actually my 8th year anniversary of my last failed suicide attempt. And while I'm happy to be alive now. And I've had many wonderful experiences since then that I absolutely would have missed out on had I been successful.

When and if you decide to read this- you'll see, a lot of that, in this. And that's why this story is tagged with so many trigger warnings.

But what made this anniversary the hardest year yet- was Labor Day of 2022 my cousin, on my dad's side, successfully committed suicide. And now I have all of this survivor's guilt because me and my immediate family were never close with my dad's side of the family. She was my age. Her daughters are my daughter's age. And everything I thought I had dealt with and I thought I had healed and fixed with all my therapy and right medications since- came back up and reared it's ugly head. And I've been struggling ever since and this March has been the hardest since in the last 8 years.

That's why I launched myself into Kinktober last year and now Monster March. Because for me, this is part of my own therapy. And a way to create a world where everything is fine, and nothing hurts. Where I have control in times when I feel like my personal life is out of control, and it's just hit, after hit, after hit. Because in the last two years alone, I've lost 16 people in my personal close friends and family circle. My cousin and my grandfather died less than a month apart. One death, I had seen coming and had prepred myself for, the other took me by surprise and threw me off so bad I'm still reeling.

So this is my chance to make something new and beautiful and helpful and comforting and something that others who may be struggling with this, can have something that they connect with get sympathy and empathy and hopefully seek the help they need. Before they do something that can not be undone.

So, now, with all of that in mind and the forwarning, here's the story.

Monster March Day 19- Merperson- Micro-mermaid. 

Something Special

Part 1

Your whole life was spent in a huge community tank. With species of all kinds sharing the tank. And while families more or less had their own “homes”. All the kids tended to stay together and play in the various areas that were meant to keep the kids entertained while the parents, who were always live bearers, always seemed to continuously be popping out new babies. And at a certain point, all the kids went to a huge school in the large community tank. And while most could live just about anywhere, there was a sense of segregation. The guppy micros tended to stay together in their own schools, the neon tetra micros tended to school together, the mollies, and oscars and angels and of course the discus, being the largest micros of the tank. And in your opinion, the most cliquey. However, the older you got, the more separated the sexes of the same age got to be. It started just as the two groups were starting to mature. And of course, that’s when the schooling became more rigorous and more intense that all the girls and all the boys simply stayed in “dorms” at the school itself. The boys on one side and the girls on the other and by that point, it was your school mates in your own “grades” that became more or less like your sisters. The dorms themselves were large hunks of rocks that had holes and paths all throughout. It was like one big piece of swiss cheese. And each girl tended to keep to the different “bunks” that were these naturally occurring caves, fixed up to be little bunks where one could find solitude- to a degree, depending on how many other bunks were throughout. 

And the few times the two sexes could see each other in the large hallways there was always some gawking done on both sides. While siblings were the only ones allowed to approach each other. However, that wasn’t to say there weren’t some secret tunnels being dug on both sides when sexually mature and horny teenagers were concerned. 

However, all through school, you noticed that the teachers and mentors always seemed to single out the prettiest of the girls and say ‘oh she’s going to go for sure’ to each other when they would eat together while everyone else ate their various meals. And when you tried to ask about it, the teachers would deny ever saying anything. But the girls who were singled out, seemed to spend much more time with the mentors than in the classes with the teachers. And even they would not say anything about it. But always seemed to be more and more detached to the others emotionally and if anything, have a bit of a superiority complex because they had been singled out as “special”, “especially spoiled brats” was more of a fitting title. 

Most of you just wanted to get through school so you could go back home. And be with your home communities again and finally get a chance to get on with the rest of your lives. 

However, days before graduation, when most of you were looking forward to going back home, suddenly news seemed to spread through the school- all those “special” students who were going to be ‘go’ were all called out of class. And it was as if all the girls who were in that category- blew a breath of relief and seemed to say their quick goodbyes before going with the mentors to wherever they were supposed to go- to. 

And then, to your shock, all of you could hear crying in the hallways as you all instinctively swam towards the door to look out and see what was happening. The girls who were previously told they were “so special” all of their school careers were sobbing in the hallways. 

“What is going on? Why are they crying in the hallway?” You asked the teacher. 

“Oh, the poor dear.” Mrs. Coolie tsked with a shake of her head.  

“Ok, girls, girls, please, sit down.” She instructed as she swam to get everyone back into their seats. 

“Now, let me explain what’s going on…” She began before the mentors were back. 

“I need all of the guppy micros.” Mrs. Dalma insisted before you and the other guppies around you seemed to gulp nervously and began to collect your things. 

“Leave your things, I need you all to come with me right now!” Mrs. Dalma, the most intimidating of the mentors, snapped before all of you immediately dropped them and quickly swam to her before you got into the hallway and away from where all the other girls were sobbing into each other’s shoulders in a small room. 

“Into here.” Mrs. Dalma insisted before a special door opened to reveal a small room, made of plexiglass all around. And many humans were on the other side. 

“Into the room!” Mrs. Dalma practically barked and then pushed all of you into it then made you all “stand” apart while the humans looked more closely at all of you individually. 

Now while you all were used to the various humans, who you all knew and recognized who fed you and cared for you. These were different humans and you did not like the way they were looking at you and the others. But Mrs. Dalma was going down the line, showing you off like you were some…pedigree pet! 

And that’s when all of it began to make sense. The owner of the tank was selling off their better “stock” in their tank. 

When it was your turn, she had you spread your fins to show them off, before you were directed to swim across the box. And then brace your hands down on the floor while you had your fins spread out from the side and suddenly everyone crowded around the box and took pictures and then the lights shut off and then a special light was directed at you and when they did that, your body lit up in a way you had never known it could. And that’s when a bidding war broke out over you among all of them. Apparently something about the pattern on your body and fins was something they liked and wanted. And if it wasn’t for Mrs. Dalma actually holding your fins out like a sheet or blanket, you wanted to shrink in on yourself. The pattern was something you had never seen before, and neither had the others apparently. 

“Keep straight and keep your fins out.” Mrs. Dalma ordered through her smile of gritted teeth as she held your fins up and then had the others do the same so you wouldn’t “tire out”. 

Your whole life you were used to being seen as nothing special, just a regular dark guppy micro with a nonsensical pattern on your body, fins and tail. To you- in normal lights, your coloring wasn’t all that different than the others, you didn’t feel that your beauty exceeded any others the way the “special” girls always seemed to point out. If anything, you were the opposite! They were “classically” beautiful with bright, bold, and beautiful colors. If anything, you were dark and in your opinion, rather drab, except for this blob of dots on you. And you were content with that. But several people where now acting like you were the prettiest girl in the whole tank! 

What was this madness?

No wonder the others were crying, they must have realized why all of you were separated as kids. Kept single, kept virgin. Kept practically in the dark about all of this, like fish kept in a tank at seafood restaurant, you all seemed to serve a single purpose, to be raised up to be sold off like any other fish, whether to go onto a plate or into another tank- the feeling was the same. 

All your dreams of going back home and ever seeing your family again were dashed to pieces in only a few minutes. With one bang of the gavel, you were sold off, as were most of the others before Mrs. Dalma got the “news”. 

“Ok, girls, go back to class, get your things, go back to your bunks, pack up, you’ll get a chance to say goodbye to your families, but you’ll be leaving right after.” She informed you as the door was opened and suddenly huge guards were put into the tank to personally escort you and the others after they put special vests over your chests. All while the other kinds of girls were given the exact same treatment. And now all of you were crying as you picked up your books and only got to tell the others that you were sold off and leaving the tank and at least got to say goodbye to the others in the class before you went to your bunks with your guards while the guards themselves seemed to have bags of their own to put all of your stuff into for you. 

But just as you and the others who were about to leave, you were nearly attacked by the “special” girls who were suddenly so angry and rageful at you for “stealing” this from them. How they had spent their entire lives preparing themselves for this. But all because- the lighting was bad or some other reason that was not their fault, they weren’t chosen. And the guards were there to keep them from actually touching you. And to keep you from actually trying to trade places with them. But they were quickly put into nets of their own and separated from the others to “cool down” before others came over to give them a second look. And with a single nod- suddenly they were chosen again, granted not by who they originally thought they would be, but with being chosen, suddenly they were as sweet as sweet weed again and happy to get into the nets with their things and get out of the tank. 

You were put into a net and then all at once, without any warning, your blood was taken, then you were given injections all over your body. And a huge one right at the end of your tail before your tail fin. You could remember the “special” girls would routinely get out of class and come back sore and bandaged up. And had been on a special regimen of shots and medicine over the course of the last two weeks, now you were getting it all done in all one go. And your whole body hurt even when the others assured you they had given you something for the pain of the injections. If anything it took the initial sting out of them but you felt the ache of them in your whole body and you felt sick and ended up throwing up before you were cleaned and then put in fresh water that didn’t smell anything like your old tank. 

After that ordeal, you were put in a plastic tub on the outside of your home tank while the guards continued to collect all that the buyer chose. Your parents and other siblings though, soon got to come and say goodbye, but from inside the tank itself. But because of the distance, neither of you could hear or touch the other. 

‘What is happening?’ You signed to your parents. 

‘You are a very special girl. You were bought by another owner of another tank. You will get to choose a mate in life and have a home of your own now.’ Your father signed back with a brave smile while your mother was trying to smile through her tears as she held onto your little siblings in her arms while her pregnant belly was still full of future siblings. 

Your brothers from the boy’s side of the tank were even escorted over to you to say their goodbyes and while you went to the same school, you could barely recognize them as being your brothers for as little as you saw or even got the chance to socialize with them. 

All of them were saying that this was ‘a good thing’, that you were ‘lucky’. That you were ‘going onto a better life’. 

But you couldn’t feel that way. You didn’t feel lucky, you felt cursed. 

You just sat at the bottom of the container, wrapped in your blanket because the water that had been put in here was cold and your body hurt and the blanket was the closest thing to comfort you had while you glared at the bits of your tail and fins that stuck out beyond the blanket and resented them because you still didn’t know what it was about them made you so “special” in the first place. 

Three dots in a splotch and a pattern that showed up under a special purplish-blue light. Three dots that touched each other, somehow made you “so special” that you had armed guards to escort you and suddenly get the “special attention” that all the other “special” girls got earlier in their lives. And you were given a stack of books to “help you catch up” on the “special lessons” that you apparently hadn’t gotten in school that the special girls had already gotten and knew. But you ignored the stack of books and simply tried to commit to memory every face of each family member you had because you knew you would never get to see them again. 

[chamomile-coated-cat]

I know a lot of adults question whether they should get an autism diagnosis with problems like the govt. trying to make it mandatory to be on our licences and not being allowed gender affirming care, but it's adults also need to be thinking about whether we want to get that diagnosis for our children as well.

I wasn't given the choice to get a diagnosis. I was in my junior year of highschool and my mother didn't tell me what was going on, she just said she was taking me to a psychiatrist and told me to talk to them. Next thing I know, I'm being told I have autism (which my mother apparently assumed since I was a kid and never told me). I was 17 and didn't have a choice. There was no benefit to me for getting a diagnosis, it was too late for me to get any help in school for it. All I get is the discrimination that everyone else is afraid of, because I didn't have a choice.

If you're thinking it might benefit your child to get a diagnosis, you should talk with your child about it. Let them know what it would mean for them to get a diagnosis, both good and bad, and let them decide if they want it.

[r0hitdhiman]

What disqualifies you from being a foster parent in Birmingham?

You may be eligible if you fulfil several statutory and practical requirements to become a foster parent in Birmingham. These specifications could, for instance, state:

Age: The minimum age for non-permanent parents is 21.

Health: Foster parents must look after their physical and mental well-being.

Criminal history Foster parents are not allowed to have a history of violent or child-abusive crimes on their record.

Housing: Parents should select a location that meets specific safety and health requirements rather than staying with their children.

Income: Temporary parents should be paid regularly to support themselves and the developing child.

Along with fingerprinting and the child abuse and neglect registry, background checks for foster parents include individual investigations.

Foster parents must regularly attend meetings and workshops to maintain their licences.

Because every case is unique, the agencies licencing and monitoring foster care placements decide whether a person should be disqualified from serving as a foster parent in Birmingham.

Children may be placed in foster care from birth to 18. In England, Scotland, and Wales, young people can stay with their former foster parents until they reach age of 21. Young people in Northern Ireland can stay in foster homes while enrolled in training, employment, or an academy. Each fostering agency must identify foster parents from various backgrounds to meet the needs of nearby children in care. There are various types of foster care.

Two-fifths of the children in care, aged 11 to 15, are in foster care. Many family fostering programmes prioritise finding foster parents for teenagers. Other fostering services allow foster parents to care for children with specific learning disabilities, young parents and their children, siblings, and asylum seekers without parents.

Inquire about the people in need of care as you fill out an application.

Every child has fits of rage in which they scream, kick, punch, or throw things.

Whether it was planned with non-permanent parents, other family members, or people outside the home, the hostility can occasionally seem overwhelming and insane.

As foster families, we must recognise that numerous kids have experienced severe neglect, abuse, or harm. Their fear of the unknown might have had an impact on their behaviour.

Because they do not know how to react to boundaries, predictability, and a loving and safe environment, many of our kids frequently act out to restore the chaos, rage, and unpredictability to which they have grown accustomed. However, our superb therapeutic approach and support will assist you in overcoming obstacles.

As a foster parent, you will learn to recognise the kids based on their behaviour and look at their history.

Some children's behaviours may appear out of nowhere due to memories, scents, or locations they are familiar with.

It's essential to give our kids a chance to identify their problems. You should gently approach them even if they wait to open up immediately and persist until they do. We will be there for you at every stage, even though we understand that reaching you may take some work.

After such traumatic early experiences, it is normal and acceptable for kids to feel upset and angry. We all experience it occasionally, but children frequently exhibit emotional instability compared to adults. Children may take time to open up to their foster parents because they must first get to know and trust them. Because they haven't had the best up to this point, it can be challenging for our youth to trust adults.

The best fostering birmingham, Fostering Families, was started by committed professionals to improve children's lives. Our mission is to provide foster care that is as appropriate, knowledgeable, and considerate of the local authorities and children as humanly possible. Our fostering services are used by management in Birmingham, the South East, the Midlands, the North West, and the North East of England. Due to the increased demand for foster parents, local governments frequently find that more children need foster homes than they can accommodate.

[unexaltedonewhoisnotking]

I’m 10-almost-11 years old. I’m with my classmates outside the hall at school, waiting for our ‘graduation ceremony’ from primary school to start. A member of the ancillary staff comes across us and asks why we aren’t in class; one or two people explain that we’re graduating today. She looks at me, brow furrowed deeply. “Even you?”

I’m… I don’t remember how old - somewhere around that same time. It’s summer. I’m at the beach with friends, some my age and some a year or two younger. We meet some other kids and start hanging out with them. When we talk about our ages they express doubt at mine. My friends insist it’s a joke and won’t allow me to tell the truth. They claim I’m two or three years younger than I really am.

I’m 12. It’s another summer. My friend, half a year older, won’t go swimming. Why not? “You’ll understand when you’re older,” she says. This is far from the only time people my age have given me that line. At least this time, when I learn about the truth almost a year later, it turns out to make sense to make it about ageing - most of the time it’s just about knowing more.

I’m 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. I’m in secondary school. My classmates have a running-joke conspiracy theory that I’m actually a year or two younger than them, and I got bumped up a couple years because I’m so smart. I don’t mind that, actually - it’s only a joke, not a genuine belief, and a core part of it still relies on acknowledging that I’m on their level.

I’m 17 years old. I’m overseas checking out a couple universities to apply to. Some of my family is there with me. Everybody addresses my sister, four years younger, as the prospective student before I tell them it’s me.

I’m 18. My parents and I are getting our first doses of the covid vaccine. Someone stops me at the door, saying that they’re only giving to adults at the moment and I should wait back here. They appear doubtful even when my parents confirm I’m not lying.

It’s months later. I’m still 18. We’re getting our second doses. The same thing happens again, beat for beat.

I’m 18-almost-19. I’ve procrastinated getting my driver’s licence and the pandemic pushed things back further. I get in the car for my first lesson. The instructor is surprised that I’m old enough to have a permit. “You’re sixteen?” “Eighteen, actually.” Now he’s even more stunned.

I’m 20. Plans had changed and I wound up staying home and attending uni here. It’s the first day of my third year. I join a line of other students outside the BCS office. The first thing the nearest person says, after I greet them and ask if they’re also getting lab manuals,is an exclamation of, “Aw, you’re so cute!” in the tone typically used for puppies and babies. You know I’m an adult; I’m at university with you, buying a book for a class.

I’m still 20. It’s only been a couple of months since that last incident. My sister is buying a watch, my mum and I are with her. Two of the ladies working at the store begin complimenting their hair and they talk about having dyed it. “What about you, small one?” the first lady asks me. I’ve never dyed my hair. I tell her that. She mentions how nice and curly it is, and my mum steps in to mention it used to be pin straight. I explain, “Yeah, it was really curly when I was little, then it straightened out. It only started getting curly like this again around the middle of secondary school.” I’m deliberate with that phrasing, after the ‘small one’ line: secondary school is behind me. The ladies are surprised. The hint doesn’t work to prevent them from saying something. “But you look like you’re still in school!”

I’m so tired of it. I get it: I’m short, I have a high pitched voice, I’m quiet. But why, why, why do you need to lie about my age. Why do you need to talk to a university student like an infant. Why do you need to address someone as ‘small one’ when speaking directly to them?

/rant