#also its thanks to dm I got to meet my husband so I own dm my life

[tamaharu]

can you do an aita post for haruhi "AItA for marrying a mutual friend that my gay best friend has been in love with since he was 14"

i dont know how funny this is going to be btw. tried to craft it into an actual post haruhi might make and. well haruhi is fundamentally very boring.

necessary context for this is a situation me and my friend reuben ramón came up with when we were both more into ouran: an unhappily married tamaharu go to their high school reunion where they meet up with everyone else, including kyoya and renge. tamaki and kyoya share some heated moments but also think Its Far Too Late For Any Of That... meanwhile haruhi fucks renge in a janitors closet and they break up. you can read some of the stuff i wrote about it here

r/relationship_advice

Posted by u/FHNatural 4 months ago

Feeling conflicted about my marriage of five years.

Me (27NB) and my husband (28M) met by chance in high school. We started dating during his last year of high school, and got married a little after I completed undergrad.

For the actual issue: I love my husband, but more and more frequently, I've felt as if I love him like I love a friend. Intimacy and basic affection between us seems off-putting, I've been spending more time away at work just to achieve solitude, and I just feel like I've grown into a person too different from who I was when we began dating. He clearly wants more. He's not demanding anything of me, but I know it upsets him to see me pulling away. Or, he wants kids, and that's something I've always been reluctant about.

We've spent so much of our lives together, and I'm sure that's coloring some of my opinion. I've never been the most adventurous, and I'm confused if I still love him, if I want to split but my own passiveness is holding me back, etc... I'd appreciate some outside perspective on this, but all of my friends are his friends as well, so.

TLDR; How do I deal with feeling like I've fallen out of love with my husband?

UPDATE: I want to start this update, four months after my original post, by thanking everyone who spoke with me through comments and DMs. Some of it was unhelpful, but for the most part I was pleased to find honest, sincere advice. Which makes me feel bad because I probably did the exact opposite of what I was advised to do. The full story of what happened is a bit long, so I'll do my best to summarize:

1. Was looking into both marriage and individual counseling, but was unable to find the time or courage to pursue further with husband.

2. Me and husband were invited to high school reunion with most/all of our mutual friends, including his best friend from middle school. Best friend has been in love with husband since they were fourteen, I was unaware until a little before we were married. This becomes relevant.

3. Re-encountered old friend from high school whom I had lost touch with, found our short connection to be more fulfilling than the one me and my husband had been sharing for some time.

4. Had an affair with said lost connection during the reunion. Husband found us.

5. On impulse, made it worse and handed over my ring. Went and stayed at her house for the night, felt horrible in the morning. He stayed at best friends house.

6. Had actual conversation about everything. Began official separation. I stayed at her house, he stayed at friends house. From what I can gather, this is around the time best friend spoke about his feelings for him, (ex-)husband reciprocated.

7. We're doing better! Things are still fairly uncomfortable, and I admit that I did not make good choices, but I think we're both going to come out on top of this. Again, I want to thank everyone for giving me such kind advice. Sorry, I didn't follow any of it. 😊

[blazingstarship]

Im looking at all you ygo dm selfshippers for getting me into dm again. I cant stop thinking about the series. But even back then when a friend asked me which character I liked or even selfshipped with. I didnt had feelings for a character and I couldnt pick one character.

Its the whole DM nerd patrol I like*, the kai.ba brothers, the ish.tar siblings just the whole gang. *Like as in ‘friendly like just liking platonic(?)…just the kind of ‘Oh they are cool/funny/nice’ etc.

You get my point.

[straighttohellbuddy]

i'd really like to hear about 5, 27, and 32 for the 35 fanfiction writer question game! if it isn't a game/i misinterpreted what you meant, i'm really sorry!

It is an ask game! Also I love you thank you!!

I'm putting this one first because I've wanted to talk about it for a while, and yeah it should probably be a post of it's own but here we go;

35. Ramble about any fic-related thing you want!

I think there's a real art to being able to write X Reader fics, and I think the more you write, the more nuance you develop in order to weave a story around the reader's characteristics to make it inclusive while also personal. i think there's a conversation to be had about inclusivity in the YouTube x Reader community, and while the heavy prevalence of NB!Reader fics is amazing, we still have to look at what other biases we're inserting into our works. descriptions of, or moments regarding, the reader's skin tone, size, hair, clothing choices, family, etc, should be considered carefully if you're looking to make this as accessible as possible for the wide variety of readers. i appreciate people who specify if they're writing a particular type of reader (chubby!reader, or short-haired!reader, etc) because it sets a precedent for the fic, but if you go in without that caveat and suddenly the reader is being described as tanned or with long wavy hair or something, that breaks the immersion and alienates the readers who don't fit this narrow description. uh, also this is just a small thing, but when writing NB!Readers, don't forget about AMAB nb folks existing and being taken into consideration in your writing.

like i said, there's an art to being able to write around describing the reader, while still making the story feel personal. we just have to think about if what we're writing would make sense if we were not ourselves, if that makes sense???

also just personally i'd like to see more diversity in the people chosen for the representations of the read in IG/SMAU posts.

5. What’s the fic you’re most proud of?

I actually don't have one definitive answer for this because I've been writing for a very long time so I have a few favourites for different reasons.

for this blog; once you say it out loud it can't be undone {Corpse Husband} | 17K. non-fatal hanahaki au ft. bes frend ethan gameplays. of course this is my favourite, have you read it? it's good!

Feelings are fair game for nine months out of the year, but God forbid you develop a crush during Hanahaki Season; three months of coughing up petals just because you’re in love with someone who doesn’t love you back? It’s a damn inconvenience. You haven’t had an active Hanahaki Season in the four years since you started YouTube, and you think that since you’re in quarantine, not going outside, not meeting new people, you’ll be fine this year too! Except that you start playing Among Us with a group of people you’ve never met before, friends of friends, including the elusive Corpse Husband, who’s kind, and funny, and may be flirting with you, but you’re not quite sure. The point is, you make friends with him not expecting much beyond a streaming buddy, but then you get talking more often, chatting and joking at all hours in DMs, and he’s calling you sweet nicknames on stream, and you wake up on the first day of your Season coughing up flower petals and cursing yourself for falling for a man who’s first name you don’t even know!

but also because i can and will plug my own shit

Reader Insert (also my Overall favourite rn); heard your name in every love song {Ben Hardy} | 72k. fwb-to-lovers, also the author clearly has an x-men hyperfixation. actor!reader.

When you’re twelve and you have a crush on your babysitter, your parents think it’s puppy love, think it’s cute, and you’ll forget about it soon enough. When you’re fifteen, and your former babysitter’s on TV in one of the UK’s most successful soap operas, and is still decidedly hot, all you can remember is the advice he’d given you, and how he’d let you win when playing videogames. When you’re nineteen and you score a supporting role in an X-Men film, the last thing you’d expected was to be acting opposite your former babysitter, and - as it turns out - romancing his character; he’s still decidedly handsome, and you’re definitely not a little kid anymore. He doesn’t even recognize you, and you know what? You’re glad.

OC Fic; Molotov Heart {Alex Summers} | 70k (ish). follows the sequel x-men trilogy and literally spans 20 years. ALSO CLEARLY THE AUTHOR HAS AN X-MEN HYPERFIXATION

Aoibheal Cassidy didn't hesitate to follow her big brother, Sean, when he's recruited by Charles and Erik, even if she's not technically a mutant (yet). By his side, she grows up as the youngest member of Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, but world won't wait for a girl to grow up, and her life is torn apart by war and disaster; things get worse before they get better. As the years pass, she realises she always ends up on Charles's team with Alex and Hank by her side, even if she's not the little girl they once knew.

and finally, purely canon fic: not from the absence of violence | Breaking Bad. 6.5k. au where jesse gets out of the business like he wants to in season 5, and comes home to find a teenage runaway living in his house.... actually its kind of a little bit of an oc fic but not the way my oc fics usually are.

Sometimes a family is one of the (former) best meth cooks in America, his two best friends who happen to be (former) meth dealers, a teenage runaway, and five million dollars. -- "...and the gentleness that comes, not from the absence of violence, but despite the abundance of it." - Richard Siken

27. What’s the nicest comment you’ve ever received?

I feel very very lucky and very blessed to receive such lovely and kind comments on the fics that I write, but I've got two that stand out the most in my mind, and it's the comments @bingusmode and @marvelsmurphy left on the aforementioned once you say it out loud it can't be undone {Corpse Husband},,,, literally i would die for both of them. i reread the comments on that fic every so often because everyone is so damn lovely, but i just grin like an idiot and turn into that picture of kermit hugging his phone whenever i read their comments specifically. i love you guys

32. Summarize a random fic of yours in 10 words or less.

for my upcoming fic that i posted those memes about a few days ago; 'god's perfect idiot {Wilbur Soot}'

light-hearted streamer joins smp; shocks everyone with capacity for angst

I loved this!! feel free to send in more!!

[lukneetoonz]

LITTLE GODDESS PART V

——————————————————————————

Summary: As a newer goddess you think back on how you got to where you are; in the throne room sitting next to your husband, the god of the dead.

Pairing: Hades!Aizawa x fem!reader, DadNyx!Izuku x fem!reader platonic, MomSelene!Uraraka x reader platonic.

Warnings: Make out 👀, mentions of drinking, mentions of blacking out, oh and in this I made Dabi a todoroki by making him ares so he's connected in that sense.

Word Count: 2,191

A/N: I feel like- shit that I've been MIA, but I really have had major struggles with my mental and physical health. I beg you, if you’re struggling with something mentally, reach out to someone. Even if you're scared please do, because it’s never easy to deal with it on your own. My dms are always open, and I don’t care if we never talked before, please don’t hesitate to dm me.

NO ARTWORK POSTED IS MY OWN AND IS FOUND ON PINTEREST

—————————————————————————-

Let’s retrace your steps, you went to the party, you talked to Denki, got your drink spilled on you, went to the bathroom, then- nothing. You remember nothing else. There was no way you could have got that drunk, right? Taking a bite out of the godly crepes that Aizawa made, you snuck a peak at him, blushing because he was perfect. Oh how lucky you were that he couldn’t hear your heartbeat or how it was rapidly beating against your chest. Maybe he did and was being polite and ignoring it….

“Is the headache any better Y/N?” Meeting Aizawa’s concerned eyes, you smiled softly and nodded. “Yes, thank you for the coffee and medicine. You’re a lifesaver.” Aizawa tsked at your proclamation, waving you off, “I’ve just had a few too many hangovers myself to know how much it sucks.” The corners of your lips quirked upward as you nodded, this felt so- natural… maybe a little too natural. “I can give you a ride home little goddess… if you’d like one”

Contemplating the king's words, you smiled and nodded, “I’d like that very much.”

:readmore:

Aizawa tried his best not to blush at your smile that was directed towards him, “I-you can wear one of my shirts and sweatpants if it’s more comfortable? I don’t have any female clothes… I apologise” Why was it that finding out he had no female clothes made you happy? Maybe it’s because of the hint behind it, that he has no female clothes because there are no females over at his house. Shaking your head, you smiled at him, “It’s fine, it’s not your fault. But I could use a jacket or sweatshirt… it’s rather chilly here”

Chuckling, Aizawa nodded and leaned on his palm looking at you, “This is the underworld… Plus I may be friends with Hizashi but I don’t think I could handle him around so much to help bring sun here.” Giggling You smiled at the man, goosebumps running over your skin as a shiver went down your spine. “I rather favor the moon myself” Bottom lip pulled between your teeth as you blushed at your own comment about your mother, thinking how you probably sounded silly. But, amidst Your self doubt, the ravenette laughed, almost a sparkle in his eye. “I think that’s a rather biased opinion, wouldn’t you agree?”

Laughing, you blushed as you nodded, “I think I should be allowed the bias, wouldn’t you agree?” Aizawa shrugged slightly, a teasing look in his eyes as both elbows laid in front of him, letting him lean forward, “You don’t see my favouring Titans now do you? And I am the son of two of them.”

A giggle left your lips as you brought the warm coffee up to your lips and took a sip, “Hmm… touché”. Aizawa sighed in content before slightly frowning as he remembered you can’t stay here… you have a life beyond this place. You didn’t belong being trapped here with him. You deserved so much more in his eyes. Noticing his cold, yet warm stare, you tilted your head as you met his eyes. “Shouta?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, he blushed slightly before coughing to try and cover up his embarrassment, “I- sorry… I was just daydreaming I guess.” Cracking a slight smile, you could see his teeth that were just begging to be shown on full display, but of course they never were. The thought alone of being able to make shouta smile like that, made your heart warm in funny ways. They always did say that god's feel stronger emotions than any other being.

They love faster. They love harder. But they also fight harsher. They also hold grudges the longest. And they also feel the worst of pains. Sighing, you just finished your coffee before a shiver ran down your spine. “Ah, that’s right, you need something warmer” Blushing at his own forgetful mind, shouta walked until he was out of the kitchen and rummaging through his closet for something warm.

*•*

Being left alone gave you more time to look around and appreciate every little detail of the king's house. Taking in the details you started thinking of what it would be like to live in such a house, to dance around on the marble floors. To have x amount of bedrooms to choose from. To sit in the study with the king himself while reading a book that can’t even be found anymore…

“I got you a crew neck sweater of mi- Y/N?” You jumped slightly as you didn’t even hear him coming, blushing you moved to cover your face. “Oh gods- I’m sorry! I was lost in thought.” Smiling at your flustered face, Aizawa moved to stand in front of you, grabbing your wrists gently to tear your hands away from your beautiful face. “Don’t Apologize little goddess, wasn’t I just the one spacing out?”

Peeking up at him, you automatically loosened up from his soft look and touch. Nodding softly to agree, because you couldn’t trust your voice to be straight. There was something so peaceful about the silence that surrounded the both of you, it was so quiet that all that filled the air was your own breaths. In such a trance, neither of you noticed how close your faces had got, not until your lips feathered against each other.

Eyes now only focusing on the temptation of kissing the king's lips, to taste him, to devour him. Your rational side flew out the window as you stood straighter and finally gave into your desires. Shouta wasted no time kissing you back, large hands cupping your cheeks as your own gripped onto his robe. If there was any plus side to how gods feel, it was that they wasted no time in showing the passion you were bound to create.

His teeth grazed your bottom lip, almost asking if he could explore you more, and how could you say no to a king? Lips parting, your tongues moved one another as shouta got more dominant with his movements. Hands moved from your face to cup your ass and place you on the counter, your legs spreading to let him be as close to your body as possible. The simple motion was graciously accepted by the man as he held your waist to hold your body against his. Breaking away slightly for air, you both panted as you stared at each other, almost as if you were both giving the other an out if they didn’t want to do this.

Neither of you spoke as Aizawa dipped down once more to capture your lips in a much slower, but much sweeter embrace. Your hands crept up to cup his jaw, just holding him there as this kiss spilled more feelings then the one before. No longer did you need that sweater as your body was hotter than it ever was, not to mention how the Male in front of you was warm and welcoming. Against his better judgment, Aizawa pulled away once again, letting his eyes close as he rested his forehead on your own, lips grazing your nose in a loving manner.

Taking this time, you observed the man up close for the first time, taken away with how truly beautiful he was. Fingers gently brushing the scar that rested on his cheek bone, mouth forming into a frown as you thought about what could have happened. Almost like reading your mind, his deep voice broke the silence, “I got it from the war… There's many more where that came from, but that’s the price for how we live today.”

Dark eyes finally opening to meet your own that were full of warmth and comfort, Aizawa merely moved to hug you close as his head nuzzled itself into your shoulder. Something so soft coming from the one they deemed the scariest god, was truly surprising, but you didn’t let it sway your motions as you hugged him back, one hand finding itself in his hair. “I hope you don’t think of me as a man who does this with just anyone… I would very much like to take you out tonight if you’d all-”

“I would love to Shouta… a-and I don’t. Think like that I mean… I hope you don’t think I’m a goddess who just kisses men whenever she wants.” Your voice Interrupting his own, but it wasn’t unwanted. As soon as your voice disappeared from the air, Aizawa was already answering. “I don’t. I think rather highly of you little goddess. Higher than most.”

Smiling at his comment, you moved your head so you could press your lips to his temple softly. Leaning your head on his, you let your eyes close to enjoy this moment, wanting to bask in all its glory before it inevitably had to end.

*•*

As you thought, the moment wasn’t meant to last forever. Interrupted by a loud bang that represented a door being kicked down, followed by a loud, “I AM HERE FOR FAMILY LUNCH!”. Groaning, Aizawa quickly picked you up off the counter and placed you back onto your own two feet. It would have seemed rude if he hadn’t quickly placed the sweater on your figure and stood in front of you, wanting to hide you from his annoying brother.

Trying your best to stay hidden behind the dark haired man, you both could hear the loud stomps coming towards you. Quickly thinking, Aizawa turned around to face you, giving you an apologetic look as he did, “Trust me I’m saving us both from a lot of trouble” and before you could respond, lips met your forehead in a rushed kiss and you were suddenly back at your house. Of course he fizzed you back… come to think of it, you could have also done that this morning… oh well you made out with him because you had a dumb moment.

Back in the underworld, blonde tufts came into view and Aizawa gave him a bored expression, “and you barged into my house, because?”. Toshinori just laughed before ruffling Aizawas hair, “Older brother, have you forgotten what day it is? Rei sent me just to pick you up since we all know you like to skip or show up late. So for now I’m your chauffeur for family lunches!” With his eye twitching, Aizawa knew he wasn’t getting out of this. Grumbling, he walked past his brother and quickly changed into a more casual outfit of a black turtleneck and dark grey dress pants.

Without even stopping for toshinori, Aizawa walked past him just mumbling about how no one has boundaries or respect. The blonde merely laughed before walking with him to the car, but of course not mentioning the heels he saw next to his brother's front door.

The drive was nothing but quiet and longer than it seemed. Aizawa had no intention of making small talk with his brother, since he had rudely interrupted his morning. His morning with the goddess that seemed to have latched onto his heart, with no intention of letting go, not that he minded. As they arrived at the glorious manner of the golden royals of Olympus, they were greeted with a yelling Touya- no Dabi now since he wanted to separate himself from his father as much as he could.

Eyebrows furrowing, Aizawa could See Natsou already with a glass of wine, laughing at how his father tried dodging his brother's angry attacks. Shouto on the other hand, was making deadly knives and giving them to his brother to help him. Fuyumi was trying to stop them both as rei just smoked a cigarette on the side, looking at the men with an unamused expression. Fuyumi quickly thought of a plan to stop the god of war, aka her brother, from killing her father. Of course she was able to stop them since she was the goddess of war, her brother's counterpart.

Once it was all calmed, the brothers got out of the car, preparing themselves for an interesting family lunch.

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Taglist; @present-mel

@maya-ngpirit

@a-match-into-themoon

@nhievyenne

@negansnumberonewifie

@darkqueenhyde

@minfani

@creolemimi

@lhcartoonist

@fairy-inthegarden

@taylor----wonderland

@the-british-koala

@leeeah-loooser

@vinaios

@astralvante

[cicici03]

Just Listen- Chapter 1

Hi everyone,

So this is my first time writing my on imagines and/ or series. I want to thank @l-auteuse​ for telling me that I should just write this bad puppy out. I’m just going give a warning. I am very horrible at seeing some  my grammatical mistakes because I talk fast and do not stop. So if you see any please dm me or just politely leave a nice message! Plus I am going to make sure that my grammatical mistakes will gradually lower over the time of this writing journey. With that, I hope you enjoy!

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“No that is not how the papers should be Angelo” shouted Cierra while on the phone. While rubbing his eyes from sleep, Trevante looked at his wife which he has been married to for five years. While watching her pace back and forth with her assistant Angelo on the phone, Trevante just smiles to himself.

Looking at her skin that is deep like rich coco with a hint of golden on her cheeks. With her sweatpants and sports bra showing off her tone midriff. With his eyes landing on the one thing that made him feel a little pain in his lower region: her backside.

While Cierra was rummaging through her bag for some papers, Trevante creeped behind her and gave a little slap on the backside. Cierra snatched her head around and coldly stated “Tre, not right now! I am looking for something important for this new deal with the producers. So, can you just please leave me alone!”. Tre looked at his wife with much disgusted with her attitude.

Cierra is a very successful screenwriter in Hollywood. She has built her company, Ebonixs, to be something that all producers come to sought out new ideas and something that is to help diversify Hollywood.

Cierra been working on this company since she been married to Tre: he knew that. He was there for her through the thick and thin. Now that she has finally reached the top, he felt like the family was second to her job.

After that exchange between the two, Tre walk downstairs to the kitchen to fix breakfast. As he was taking out the ingredients, he heard little footsteps run down to the kitchen. “Is somebody there” Trevante playful asking.

The little footsteps automatically stop, and everything went silent. “Well I must be hearing things” Tre stated while cracking the eggs into the bowl. While whisking the eggs, the little footsteps where running again. This time the little footsteps ran full force ahead for Tre. Quickly, turn a rounded and catch the little person into his arms.

Plopping kisses all over the little person cheeks and tickling her, Trevante morning start to light back up. “Daddy, stop. I am going to pee on myself.” screamed Amya, the youngest out of their three kids, at the top of her lungs. Amaya came five years ago at Tre and Cierra’s wedding. With her wild hair all over the place, Tre put her down and went to refrigerator to get her milk.

“Well Amya that is what happen to kids who try to scare their dad.” said Trevante while handing her milk to her. The little girl giggled at her dad while running to the table to sit down where her coloring book was left at from last night.

While going back and fixing up the rest of the food, Amya and Tre heard footsteps and arguing coming down the stairs. Both looked at each other smiling and started to shake their heads. “Jakob you are so annoying. My friend does not want your ugly self!” exclaimed Mia finally entering the kitchen with Jakob on her heels. “Dad tell you daughter, that everybody says I look like you! If I am ugly then that means she is calling you ugly too.” Jakob uttered to his dad while sitting by Amaya.

“Y’all both need to stop! Plus, Mi-Mi why you always doing the men of the house wrong!” laughed Tre while giving a kiss to the forehead to Mia. “Daddy, I am only disrespecting the person who only have one hair for a mustache.” quickly stated back to her father. All Trevante could do was laughed. While giving everyone their plates, Trevante finally looked at his watch to see the time: 6:42.

“You guys need to go and eat so yall won’t be late for school.” stated Trevante while rushing to clean up the dishes. While back upstairs, Cierra was about to get ready to walk out the door. “Cierra, you really need to take a break from work. That is why I am here as Vice President and mostly your friend to tell you when you need to take off.” Logan advised her friend.

Logan been friends with Cierra since their middle school days. They became closer after Logan’s parents died, and Cierra’s parents brought her into their family. Logan knew that her friend was the definition of a hard-working, black women. With that, Logan could also see how Trevante was started to become frustrated with Cierra about working.

“Why do I need to take a break Logan. To please Trevante?” she questioned while putting on her classic Louboutin heels. “He should be the main person that understands why I work this hard. I am doing something for all black actors and actress all over Hollywood. I do not need this morning!” exclaimed Cierra while walking downstairs to the kitchen.

“Well just think about its Cierra. You really think you got it all together, but you do not. Trevante is really getting tired of it, and he could be gone before your eyes.” muttered Logan, hoping the friend did not hear the last part.

However, Cierra heard it loud and clear, which led Cierra to dogging her friend with questions. “Logan, what you mean by that? Have Tre said anything to you?” Cierra spluttered to Logan before getting to kitchen. “Cierra, you know I got to see if Ariah is up. I love you a bunch sugar lump!” Logan hurrying to get off the phone due to igniting a flame in the Rhodes’s household.

“Mom you finally are downstairs! Can you please tell your daughter to give me her friends number?” Jakob looked at his mom for assistance. Still baffled from the conversation with Logan, Cierra did not answer Jakob question.

With a couple seconds going by and Cierra rumbling through the refrigerator, Jakob turned back to his food defeat and crying angry tears at his mom. Mia looked at her brother with much sadness and pat him on his hand. Mia finally looked at her dad for help, and she never saw so much anger on his face ever since the incident with the golf cart.

“Cierra, did you not hear what Jakob said?” Trevante scowled with much demand in his voice. Everybody except Amya, who was in her own world, looked at Cierra. “Isn’t time for the kids to go to school.” Cierra grabbing her lunch she packed and heading to the garage.

Trevante look at his watch that read, 7:15, which made him curse under his breath. “Everybody put on their uniforms and finish getting ready. While the kids, rushed up the stairs, Trevante ran to the garage to catch up to Cierra.

Before Cierra could back out in her Telsa, she looked up and saw a furious Trevante walking towards her. Yanking the door open, Trevante gave a piece of his mind. “What the fuck was that Cierra. You are really pissing me off! It is one thing to be angry with me and punishing me, but it is a different situation when you bring the kids in to it!” Tre seethed with every word coming out his mouth.

It made him even angrier, when looking at the woman he has been with since he was sixteen years old: on her phone texting. It was not her regular phone, it was the phone that ruin birthdays, vacations, and date nights: her work phone. Tre snatch the phone out of her hand and read what she was sending.

                                                           January 17, 7:00 a.m.

Mike:

When are you going be at work? Has the hubby got you lock away again?

Cierra:

Haha very funny, he does not, and I should be there soon! I can not wait to see you again!☺️

Mike:

I can not wait to see you! You make my week exciting! 🤪

Cierra:

You do too! Make me wish I reconsider

“First of all, who the hell is Mike, and tell me how you were going to finish that text.” Trevante looking at his wife, who had a nonchalant look, with tears in his eyes. “Can you give me my phone back.” Cierra asked while not daring to look into her husband’s eyes. “Cierra look at me!” Trevante bang on the roof of the car. “Answer the damn questions!” screamed Trevante with tears coming down his eyes.

Cierra finally looked up and saw her husband face, but out of her peripheral, she saw the kids in their school uniforms looking at their parents in shock: especially their father. “Tre, the kids are here.” mumbled Cierra trying to not it makes obvious.

“Amaya, I know you did not potty like you should. Jakob, I know you forgot to grab your football uniform for picture day. Mia, I know you forgot to grab your P.E clothes.” Trevante recited to the kids while looking at his wife with sadness. That led the kids to scrambled off to get those important items.

Cierra looked at the clock, 7:45, needing to get to work for her meeting. “I need my phone.” Cierra looking at the bikes hanging on the racks in the garage. Trevante back away from the car, which brought Cierra to look up at him. With all the force he had, Tre threw it to the ground looking directly in Cierra eyes.

Walking back to the car, Trevante handed the phone back to her. “I hope you and Mike have a great meeting and I hope what you are reconsidering is a new office space. Not reconsidering, this marriage and your kids.”  Tre whispered in her ear. With making sure all her limbs were in the car, Trevante slammed the door, which made the car shook a little.

Cierra looked at him with much surprise and shock by the force. Trevante turn his back towards his wife and went into the house. While the garage door raised up, Cierra was left in her thoughts. With not one being about the situation that happen at hand.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

[mackenzieparker]

ok lets do this one more time, yeah? for real this time. this is it. my name is nika (she/hers, est). i like to write and hang out cool communities like this and for the last first time, i have brought a brand new muse to y’all. below you’ll find all the details on a ms. mackenzie “mack” rae parker, plucky country gal and badass babe. please love me and her and smash that like button or send me a dm (discord ichoosenikachu#4859 )  to plot.

( tw: drunk driver, death, sexism )

B A C K S T O R Y →

meet mackenzie rae parker, born august 17, 1989 in grove, oklahoma. mack (as she’s gone by since she was a kid and it won’t be changing anytime soon) was born to two loving parents Steven and Margaret Parker, the youngest daughter of three boys: morgan, matthew, and merritt. yes, her parents did have a thing for m names--and no, it didn’t help her momma remember her name any better, like they told their kids growing up. 

Maggie and Steve loved their daughter--their whole family, really--to bits and pieces. It had been Maggie’s dream to have a little girl when the couple first got together and when they had first received the ultrasound, well, they were overjoyed. When Mackenzie came into the world, there was cause for joyous celebration and laughter. Everyone was happy the Parker’s finally had a little pink bundle of joy. 

Little Mackenzie’s personality was--well, let’s just say she had never been one to shy away from an exciting situation. Her brothers’ had taught her early on that life wouldn’t always be easy so she had to be tough enough to take it head on. In fact, they made it a point to remind her whenever they had a chance. Buts she was also their little sister, and fiercely protective of her. And while it annoyed Mack to no end, she adored her brothers endlessly. 

Mack may not have been the strongest Parker in the household, but next to her Momma she was the wittiest. Her comebacks were always sharp and as she grew up, she honed her sarcastic, dry wit in addition to her own athletic talent.

Mack loved her Momma. In fact, if she had to pick favorites her Momma would have won every time. It wasn’t that she didn’t like her father. Her father was a good man--he was a local mechanic at Grove Automotive, always greeted everyone with a smile and cared deeply for his family. But Mack and him were never as close as she was with her momma. Maggie understood her daughter’s firey nature but compassionate heart and saw the way it warred within her--especially after she’d gotten into a fight with one of her brothers. 

( tw: drunk driving & death ) When Mack was twelve, though--tragedy struck. Maggie was on her back from work after parent teacher conferences; she was the local kindergarten teacher at Grove Elementary, when a drunk drive t-boned her car and Maggie was killed on impact. thankfully (if one can say that in this situation) no one else was in the car. but suddenly the Parker family had lost its matriarch and Mack, the one person who might have been able to understand her. 

She had always grown up as a tomboy--a fact that even her momma, a woman who had been raised in South Carolina to rather traditional parents couldn’t stamp out of her. But even so, after Maggie Parker passed on, Mack became even more of one, almost shunning all that was feminine away from her, as if any reminder of her mother would be the end of her as she knew it. And, for her, it might have been. It was no secret she had been the closest to Maggie--and her death hit her the hardest. Mack got rid of all her dresses, all her skirts, anything that reminded her of her mother--save for the small box of photos and momentos she kept heavily hidden under her bed. On her worst days, she’d pull the box out and talk to the photo of her Momma--it was the only time the blonde ever outwardly expressed emotions, specifically crying. 

To distract herself from the grief, Mack threw herself into everything she could in high school--archery, debate, robotics club, anything to keep her mind off of the encroaching cloud that now lived around her heart. It was in Robotics club, though, she learned she had a real knack for using her hands. She had learned early on about cars and the like--her father’s occupation and brothers’ fascination with the thing gave her unparalleled access to a number of cars being torn apart and rebuilt from the ground up. But Mack--Mack was always more excited about what flew above their heads than right next to them. A junior in high school, she had made the choice that she wanted to be an engineer--one who would eventually design an entire new fleet of Boeing Jets for commercial use. She had only ever flown on a jet once--to see her grandparents after her momma’s passing--but it had been the only thing to give her relief from her sadness that day. It’s where her love affair with aviation began. 

Mack graduated top of her class (nerd, her brothers would always joke) and soon found herself enrolled in the University of Oklahoma’s prized engineering program (boomer sooner!). Of course, she wanted to stay close to home--one, to keep the costs down but two, leaving her family felt wrong, even six years later. And for the most part, Mack loved it. She got involved in all sorts of things--engineering clubs, intramural sports, and even, yes, a sorority. It went against all the things she hated in relation to femininity, but her mother had spoken so highly of her experiences in the organization, and Mack felt a pull to join her. To her surprise, she didn’t hate it--and it was with those women she really started to learn about feminism. 

You see, when Mack would go home, all the women in town would ask her about if she was seeing a boy. Mack had never understood why it mattered so much if she had a boyfriend or not--she was getting her degree in mechanical engineering, wasn’t that a tad bit more impressive than whatever guy she might be seeing? But soon, it occurred to her that the women in town would never understand anything other than her finding her future husband at school. The fact shocked her, considering it had never occurred to her in the slightest that she’d ever go to school to get a husband in the first place. After the shock worn down, it enraged her and made her work harder. Because now, she was getting disparaging comments from the folks back home and the men in her internships and co-ops. Women can’t build things--they’ll break a nail. Why are you in pants? Your legs would look better in a skirt. Mack had never been one to bit her tongue, and on more than one occasion was able to test out what her brothers’ had taught her growing up. No one was going to tell Mack what she could or could not do. And certainly not because of her gender. 

Mack eventually graduated college--though deeply in debt thanks to all those added fees for science labs #thanksUofOklahoma--but realized that going back home would never be realistic for her. So, she packed up her truck, Betsy, and headed west. Originally, she had meant to go to Seattle or Portland--that’s where Boeing was, that’s where her dream landed. But something about Charming, CA caught her eye--and she found herself intrigued. Plus, it sure didn’t hurt that no one seemed to care when she applied to work as a mechanic in their autoshop. Now she’s been here about 8 years and she hasn’t grown sick of it yet. She still has dreams of working for Boeing, but as she grows more comfortable in Charming, they seem to be slipping to the wayside. 

Mack’s vibe is...well, she’s a loyal friend, a good listener and kind, though not sunshine and rainbows. Growing up without her mom really changed her--she still had a compassionate heart but it’s not as obvious as it once was. She’s still sassy, sarcastic and witty, but she is friendly as well. Smart too--and a bit of a nerd, loves herself some comics and documentaries. all around, she’s genuinely a good egg, just a little...rough around the edges at times. 

H E A D C A N O N S →

Mack never, ever goes by Mackenzie. In fact, you’ll never know its her full name unless she drops her ID. The only person you’ll ever hear call her that is her father--or brothers--when something is wrong. 

Her favorite food is chicken cordon bleu. She knows it sounds fancy but literally, her favorite is the one where you buy it frozen and pop it in the oven. She is a simple gal, truly. 

Her favorite shoes are her various pairs of converse, although for work she can be seen wearing docs so she doesn’t get oil all over her shoes. 

Betsy, her truck, is very special to her--she takes extra good care of it. She’s a 1967 Chevy C10 Pickup in a robin’s egg blue color--and her pride and joy.

Even though she loves her truck no matter what, the woman has worked on enough bikes for the various motorcycle clubs around town to know that if she had even gotten enough money--she’d get herself a nice bike. Flying down the road on open asphalt? Doesn’t get better than that. 

Mack loves classic rock. Like love loves it--but also the women of the 90′s like Alanis Morisette, Liz Phair, The Cranberries--she loves a good women rock group. 

P L O T S →

friends

exes

situationships/flirtationships

fwb

slowburn

coworkers

any connections to the motorcycle gang

literally i suck at listing plots out, just hit me up and i’ll be EXCITED TO PLOT!

[madforskating]

Out of the darkness and into the sun: my coming-out story

On Thursday, October 11, I decided to share a little secret. Yep, I like both boys and girls! That’s all! Thanks for coming! I wish it was that simple for everyone. Growing up homeschooled in the middle of nowhere, I didn’t know many other kids, other than my baby cousins. I watched plenty of sappy romantic comedy movies with my mom to understand the concept of straight romantic love: it was something beautiful that I would probably want when I was older. I learned about the birds and the bees when I was 11, reading one of those big fancy science books, and was, to be honest, a little disappointed to find out that was how it all worked. I understood it was necessary for the world to go round, but it just didn’t seem romantic to me, and my mom told me it’d make sense when I was 30. My first crush happened at 12, on a 20-year-old male figure skater – mostly because of his beaming personality and warm smile, which I interpreted as “cute”. It was an innocent, normal case of childish sheep’s eyes. But things got very complicated soon after. I started to notice the very beautiful female skaters. At first I called them my “girl crushes” – the word straight girls use for pretty females they admire, even though they don’t intend on dating them. But as I grew older and hormones kicked in, I definitely knew something was up. I knew that there were gay people in the world, but I couldn’t call myself a lesbian if I still liked guys, right? I had never even heard the word bisexual until I was 13, and at the time I thought it meant someone who dressed as both genders 🙈 When I discovered its correct meaning, I thought, “Wait, is that me?” But I didn’t know for sure. First of all, I am not strongly attracted to men. I definitely think some men are handsome, sweet husband material, but I don’t have that overwhelming sexual attraction to them. On the other hand, there are a few ladies I definitely see as sexy, but I’ve never dated a girl before and I’m not sure how far I would go. A bi friend of mine recently explained that bisexual just means you’re attracted to both males and females, and at this age it’s perfectly normal (and advisable!) not to be interested in “the facts of life” yet. I might grow into it, like Mama always said, or I might be biromantic – attracted to both sexes and craving a close relationship like a marriage, but not necessarily a sexual relationship. As of now, I honestly don’t know, and I’m okay with that. I’m just going to take this one day at a time. I started strongly suspecting I was bi in March of this year, and I admitted it to myself during the summer. One of my sweet Twitter friends, who has been openly gay for many years, called it “coming out to yourself”. It was a bit of a shock to me; I had always seen LGBT people as a group I accepted, but didn’t belong to. But once I had figured out where I stood, I could start my journey of telling others. A huge factor in my coming out story is a Twitter friend I met several months ago. She was in her early 20s, but she was finally starting to accept she was bi. I told her something like, “it’s something I’ve wondered about myself tbh” and after a while I started to tell her my story. After I had told her, I decided I would tell my straight friends soon. I was sitting on it for a while, trying to come up with the best time to casually bring it up. But then I saw that National Coming Out Day was coming up and I thought on a whim, “No better time than the present!” Was I scared? YES! But I reminded myself of all the people who inspired me – Eric Radford, my first LGBT role model; Adam Rippon, who represented both the Stars and Stripes and the rainbow with style this Olympics; Karina Manta, a Team USA ice dancer who came out as bisexual less than two weeks ago; and all the people – heterosexual or otherwise – who are just fearlessly themselves. And I want to be one of those people who share their whole self with the world. In the words of John Legend, “I give you all of me.” My mom has always been my biggest supporter. She has practically raised me on her own, homeschooled me for over a decade, and been there through every problem I’ve ever had in my life. Since she knows literally everything about me and we talk all the time, it really wasn’t the big scary conversation I imagined it would be. She said she guessed there had been something going on for a while, and I’d tell her when I was ready. I’m still trying to explain all the details, but so far so good. After we talked, I logged onto Twitter to come out to my online friends. Many of them were utterly shocked because I had never even hinted at being bi. I hadn’t even told my very closest friends – girls I chat with on a daily basis about literally EVERYTHING. It wasn’t that I was afraid to tell them; I just wanted to make sure I was 100% bi before I shouted it from the rooftops. They all accepted me so warmly, I cannot even describe it. Twitter people I know only casually were quick to give me a “good for you!” or “you’re so brave to share your story, of course we will support you!”. One of the most beautiful things about the figure skating community is how LGBT-friendly they are. This is how the rest of the world should be. I was a bit worried that one of my friends, who is a devout Christian, wouldn’t understand. I even sent her a long dm trying to explain what it all meant. And she replied, “I’m not gonna lie…I am a little shocked. But this doesn’t change how I feel about you. I still love you like a sister and I’ll always be one of your best friends!” That was one of the most satisfying moments in this little journey. So far, I’ve gotten nothing but positive feedback. I know there will be haters – there always are – but I am proud of who I am, and I have an army of people who support me. The truth is, many young LGBT people can’t just tell their parents without fear or disapproval or even disownment, and the public is another story altogether. I feel so blessed to have a mom who understands that a person is so much more than a sexual orientation. To all of you who are not in a position where you can come out yet, hold on. I don’t know if y’all are religious, but I believe God made us exactly the way He wanted us to be for a reason. I’m also thankful I can’t say I ever experienced the “long years in the closet” most people describe. I’ve heard so many people who know they are LGBT from as young as 5 years old, and don’t come out until adulthood. Since I didn’t even know I was bi until I was a teen and didn’t confirm it until earlier this year, there were honestly only a few months where I felt like I couldn’t share that part of me, as well as about two years where I was just plain confused. It’s pretty hard to hide something in a closet when you don’t even know what you’re trying to put in there. For me, it’s not really “coming out”, it’s “making a discovery and sharing it with the world”. I haven’t told my whole family, like my more traditional grandparents. And that’s okay with me. I’m not in a rush to tell everyone. If I’m in a serious relationship with a woman and I’m bringing her to meet the in-laws, then of course I’ll tell them. But while I’m young and single, I don’t see why they need to know about it. It’s not because I’m ashamed of who I am; it’s because it’s really none of their business 😉 Right now, telling my mom is enough. And that’s it. I’m out, I’m proud, I’m happy. This is not the only thing that makes me who I am. I am a writer, a student, a crazy figure skating fan, an artist, and just a girl who is about to celebrate her 16th birthday next month. I’m just glad I will be able to start my dating life knowing exactly where I stand, and I hope to eventually meet that special someone who takes my breath away. This was a long and probably very confusing post, so feel free to ask questions if you’re unclear on anything! Love you guys! 😘

[mommysites884]

Reviews On Blk Dating App

BlackPeopleMeet review will help you knowing some important criteria, including features, pros, cons and more Read our experts and customers reviews, compare with other dating sites and apps or find an alternative. For Black & Interracial Dating. Elite Singles doesn’t share its membership demographics, but we’re willing to bet it has a sizable African-American following. As a general dating site and app, Elite Singles supports a diverse crowd of singles with different backgrounds and values — but very similar life goals.

Reviews On Blk Dating App Reviews

Blk Dating App Online

Lia & Fahad

Zoosk inactive profiles. On the whole, the process of online dating is a great thing.

Singles dress up their bios with pithy zingers in an attempt to match with other bae-less individuals. Sometimes this pairing leads to an awkward exchange. Or, if both parties skip the coy act, it leads to a pre-first date.

Plenty of Fish Online Dating Women Not to Date List updated their profile picture. April 10, 2017 If you have had a bad experience with an individual on the Plenty of Fish online dating site, please JOIN THE YOUTUBE GROUP and add their user name and help guys everywhere out. Why online dating is good. It’s interesting how, with certain patterns, you can make a great online dating profile.I spoke with Whitney Perry, the founder of the Single Online Dating Guide, who shared a great analogy.If you are wearing a dress that has zippers up the side, you can show what the dress looks like in a different way to different people by zipping it up a bit. What to say online dating first message examples. Online dating to do the job. Your credit can never be overlooked when paying for your dream date. And you can always share what you have to offer – be it a good job, professional skills, bank balance or kids. Because dating is meant to be fun. Never online date on an office computer: Keep your personal life and your office life separate. Remember you company will have access to anything you do on their equipment. Don’t get seduced in online “shopping”: Beware of juggling too many people at the same time. While it’s perfectly okay to go slowly and initially see more than one. Dating can be expensive, and no guy wants to break the bank and go to fancy. Online dating do not date list.

As a black woman, however, trying to find love online isn't so simple. I've hit a few road blocks.

You see, it's an established fact that dating for black women is terrible. On dating apps, which were created to increase the chance of finding love, prejudice abounds.

OkCupid data shows that 82 percent of non-black men are prejudice against black women in some form, and I've found that to be true. My non-black friends typically receive right swipes from every Tom, Dick and Harry. Meanwhile, I can only guarantee matches with the Jamals and Akeems of the online dating world.

It's no secret Bumble and the like are largely used by non-black romance-seekers, therefore my chances of finding the one, if I want a black husband, are slim. This trend also makes BlackPeopleMeet, SoulSwipe and BAE (Before Anyone Else), a new dating app specifically made for people of color, absolutely necessary.

Brian Gerrard created BAE in April 2015 (along with his brother Justin and friend Jordan Kunzika) after seeing the racial disparities in digital dating. Scarred from their own letdowns, they wanted to stack the odds in favor of black singles.

Because of a few failed rounds of my own with Plenty of Fish, I'm averse to finding a boo online. Still, I downloaded the app to see if I had a better chance of snagging an eligible suitor.

As I expected, matching was easy.

The 'find a bae' formula? Spot a fine guy and swipe right. Sprawled across my bed, I signed up via my Facebook profile and the app automatically plugged in four profile pics. I don't know how BAE knew to use my super-cute selfies, but I wasn't complaining.

Basic stats like the city I live in, my age and occupation were also automatically filled in. I skipped over the whole 'witty bio' thing, then got back into the groove and browsed through my colorful options.

I was looking for medium brown-skinned cuties who were at least 5-foot-10 and had decent jobs. I'm also a sucker for well-lit photos and a smile. If you can't even find good lighting, a date with me certainly can't save you.

After I swiped on a few fellas I thought would be entertaining, it didn't take long for the match notifications to start rolling in. There were also a few non-people of color profiles, like one from a Channing Tatum lookalike I swiped right on. But, mostly I stuck to swiping right on black men.

Silver singles dating site cost. Altogether, I racked up 28 matches over two days. Not too shabby.

But, the messages were still awkward.

There I was, poised to reply to 28 matches I'd gotten based on mindless right-swiping.

I wasn't necessarily shocked at the amount of replies, though, because connecting with black men online is truly as simple as the click of a button. The problem boils down to interest beyond superficial physical attraction, like a connection based on chemistry and correctly spelled words.

Reviews On Blk Dating App Reviews

Most conversations started off as casual small talk, but quickly became banal. The worst of them revealed just how awkward and unfunny men can be toward women they don't know.

Don't get me wrong, some standout guys were pleasantly sweet. But, the fact is, I just don't enjoy inorganic interactions. I prefer reading a person's vibes IRL, striking up an easy exchange over Jameson shots or meeting in the pasta aisle at Whole Foods.

Additionally, men tend to be way more predatory behind the safety of a computer screen, which completely turns me off to digital dating.

Ultimately, I want to find bae offline.

While I love the fact that black women have tailored dating options with this app, it's just not my thing.

Online dating, as an idea, is cool. Even Twitter can double as a dating site if you play your DMs right. But, the cheesy lines about how gorgeous I am and the guy who spelled 'together' as '2gether' reaffirmed my deep disdain for finding a mate online.

If I have to weed out f*ckboy BS, I prefer to do it in person. However, if I ever venture back to the Internet for a date, I'll stick to the kind (like BAE) with less racial bias.

Blk Dating App Online

Overview

BLK is a newcomer in the world of online dating, which aims at creating a friendly and genuine community for black women and men to connect based on kindred interests and likes. The community of black is full of different characters, and the BLK was designed with this thing in mind. You can take advantage of this dating app to get in touch with like-minded people and find your connections.

Since its launch and introduction on the market, the BLK dating app has evolved and grown its user base, which is elite to black singles living in Canada and the United States. Thanks to its stringent registration procedure, you are certain that the majority of its users are authentic and have quite genuine intentions for using the app.

You were wondering how does BLK work? Just like most other dating apps available out there on the market, all you need to do is to swipe right if you like someone or swipe left if you don’t like it. You can even tweak settings for what and who you’re looking for. If your interest is to meet black singles, then it’s definitely the right choice to find your connection and start chatting with other like-minded singles. For that, all you have to do is to BLK app download today to explore who’s around you and looking for matches like you. One thing is certain that BLK experience will be great for you if you would like to meet and connect with black singles near you.

[electricitytrick]

character ask thing (for all three girls if you're up for it!): 3, 14, 15, 21, 23, 28

aaaaa thank you so much for asking, friendo!!

3. Biggest regret?

oh man this is p easy. listen, Valdis has been more or less consciously working on her guilt and feelings of failure regarding the deaths of her brother and his family, but she still has ways to go on that front. but she’s not as consumed by guilt anymore.

Des on the other hand has convinced herself that it was right to kill her lover (who had a wife and a small child, but upon finding out about her husband’s infidelity the wife killed herself) but somewhere in the back of her mind Des regrets that more than anything. 

Frida’s simultaenously very YOLO and All The Regrets, but her biggest regret is def drinking that potion of heroes that aged her 42 years and tldr made her pretty insane

14. Most heroic thing they have ever done?

Valdis and her party killed a god. I feel like I need to put that out there. but idk she’s not very heroic otherwise. I mean, she’s gotten some pretty badass HDYWTDTs but most of the stuff she does isn’t glorious, it’s gritty and dirty and done out of necessity. tbh I’m not even sure what heroic means. like, is it supposed to be glorious?? idk one of my fave memories is when the party was in the underdark on an invisible bridge that suddenly started disappearing, and Valdis held onto everyone with her amazing strength and kept them from falling. that is, until the bridge disappeared and they all fell.

Des isn’t super heroic either, and since the campaign she’s gonna be in hasn’t started yet, I think I’ll just say that her heroic deeds are yet to come (she did kill one evil knight boss in the last campaign she was in tho)

Frida isn’t a hero either. the biggest win she’s got is killing a rat swarm by herself. I think story-wise drinking that potion of heroes or whatever its name was was pretty heroic, but it didn’t turn out too well for her so.

15. Most despicable thing they have ever done?

um, Valdis once tortured a duergar for information. she pushed knives under his fingernails and in the end cut off his ear. Good Times.

Des is an assassin. before she got her moral compass in order she used to kill people just for the sake of money. so I suppose that valuing money and personal gain over human (and other humanoid) lives is pretty despicable.

idk I suppose I gotta mention Frida’s drug addiction here, even though that’s now in the past. I haven’t thought of the exact things she’s done for drugs, but I imagine some have been pretty despicable, although I think Frida can mainly just be pathetic at worst.

21. How did they become an adventurer?

Valdis initially became a mercenary because she was good at it and liked traveling, and then she got swiped into all this end-of-the-world-ish stuff and now she’s too attached to her party to stop running with them

Des…… idk yet. right now she’s just an assassin for hire. I think my dm will have some motivation for adventuring planned for her. for now I think Des could become an adventurer because it’s a good way to see the world, get rich and stay a step ahead of some people she doesn’t wanna see. she also rly likes the idea of making the world a better place, so that’s plenty of reasons actually.

Frida ended up as an adventurer partially on accident, really. she, too, was mercenary to begin with, albeit not a very good one, and she’s just tried to keep on the move and earn enough money to pay for her addiction. her party was initially looking for a place to settle down and form a mercenary guild, but it seems they’ve become traveling mercenaries and adventurers now

23. Thoughts on death?

Valdis has seen so much death, especially that of loved ones, lately that her stance on death has changed, I think. death used to be something that happens to everyone sooner or later and it’s useless to try to avoid it, but now, especially when she’s recently discovered that dead people don’t necessarily have to stay dead, death’s become…… a thief, I guess, that takes what’s not theirs and gives nothing back. a lot of people have died around Valdis before their time lately, and it’s starting to piss her off. tldr; I imagine that if Valdis ever gets a chance to meet the Raven Queen, she’ll be angry at her. (stop taking people that matter to her gdi)

as an assassin Des thinks death is a solution. I also think she tends to think of herself as immortal, or maybe unkillable is the best word. overall Des has like. a flippant attitude towards death. how could she not when she can just dish out death?? I think that if anyone needs a chat with the RQ, it’s Des.

as for Frida, it’s really amazing how someone so eager to play with their own life can fear death so much. Frida wanted to be a healer to begin with, and she’s kind of obsessed with keeping people alive. at the same time she’s terrified about her own situation because she’s a young girl in an old woman’s body and she’s scared of the day she dies of old age.

28. What do they do between quests?

I imagine Valdis taking care of her armor and weapons a lot in her freetime. she enjoys reading to some extent when she’s feeling like it, likes exploring and hanging out with her friends (she’s not super big on unfamiliar people)

Des cares about her weapons, too, and I think she’d be rly into shopping. she also likes spending time with people and basically just chilling and doing nothing much.

Frida likes crafts, like crocheting. she’d enjoy hanging out with people, too, but there aren’t any people in her party who she’d want to hang out with atm.

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

Inside the online communities where straight guys help other straight guys get off

May is National Masturbation Month, and we're celebrating with Feeling Yourself, a series exploring the finer points of self-pleasure.

B, a 23-year-old man who identifies as straight, really likes looking at dicks. 

Although he isn't romantically or sexually attracted to cis men, B says his fascination to "strictly penises" began when he started watching porn in high school. 

"For a very long time I just brushed it aside and ignored it," B told Mashable through a Reddit DM. To maintain anonymity, he asked to only be referred to as one of his initials. "It wasn't till around the middle of college that I discovered there were communities online filled with people like me that had very similar attractions." 

That's when B found r/jobuds, a NSFW subreddit for "mostly straight guys who happen to like jerking off with others." 

B had his first sexual experience with another man after connecting on a spinoff subreddit, r/jobudsmeetup. After messaging each other for about a week, they met up at the other man's empty apartment. B was so nervous, it took him "a little while" to be comfortable enough to even get an erection. While they settled down on the other man's couch after a few drinks, B grappled with his own sexuality, wondering if he was gay despite his relationships with women. The two eventually slid off their pants and began masturbating side-by-side.

"We would take turns choosing clips of porn to watch, but we were very much doing our own thing for the first 30-ish minutes," B said. Then, the other man reached over and began stroking B. "I was surprised at first, but then I realized I was supposed to return the favor so I did. That lasted for 10 or 12 minutes, we both orgasmed, I got dressed, said 'thanks' and left." 

SEE ALSO: 10 different but equally enjoyable kinds of masturbation sessions

They fell out of touch, but B tried it again about a year later. This time, he made a post seeking a partner and "certainly achieved an erection much quicker" when he and another man met up. B says the mutual masturbation lasted longer than his first time, and he was more comfortable with the notion of jerking off another man. He notes that after they both finished, they ended up chatting for a bit afterwards — a much less awkward conclusion than his first r/jobuds meetup. 

"It felt more right this time around," B reflected on the experience. "Maybe I had a better connection with my partner or maybe I was just more turned on ... maybe I had just changed a bit." 

Neither encounter turned into anything longterm, and contact fizzled out after a few weeks. But while B recently posted in r/jobudsmeetup under the name u/abc_throwawayx, seeking another man to get off with, he doesn't see himself going as far as having sex with another guy. Not every r/jobud experience is like B's — some users prefer to limit the mutual jerking off to video calls or live texting instead of in-person meetups.

"It stops at the base though," B said, while describing the parameters of his attraction to penises. "It's really like this sort of primal attraction just to male sexual organs." 

Cornell University psychology professor Ritch Savin-Williams unpacks the delicate nuances of sexuality in his 2017 book Mostly Straight: Sexual Fluidity Among Men, noting that the 40 young men he interviewed for the book didn't quite fit in the labels of straight/bisexual/gay, and were reluctant to confine themselves to one of the "Big Three" categories.

Savin-Williams had subjects watch porn of women masturbating and of men masturbating, measuring attraction based on the subjects' dilated pupils. He says the men who identify as "mostly straight" had relationships with strictly women, but in some cases, were aroused by seeing a penis. 

"They're just very erotically turned on by penises," Savin-Williams explained in a phone call. "Somehow in their development, the penis became an object of great fascination [and] arousal."

He doubts that the men he profiled are closeted or in denial about their attractions, and he emphasizes the spectrum of sexuality. Granted, his study was tiny and more anecdotal than based on clinical trials. Also, not all of the self-identified straight men on r/jobuds may experience attraction the way B does. Arousal is incredibly complex, Savin-Williams says, and can't be explained by a simple psychological theory. But people are becoming more open to admitting their sexual fluidity. A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services poll conducted between 2011 and 2013 found that 6 percent of men 18 to 24 reported they were mostly attracted to the opposite sex, while 87 percent said they were only attracted to the opposite sex.

For B, being able to get lost in a fantasy is what makes mutual masturbation so appealing. He feels like "everyone fantasizes a little bit" when they're engaging in any sort of sexual activity, but he has more license to when he's masturbating with another man than when he's having sex with female partners because he isn't focused on the other person's orgasm.

"Things are more geared toward each other's bodies and working towards pleasuring each other," B said. When he's engaging in mutual masturbation, the "combined fantasy" allows for more space to explore roleplay and kinks. "We'll often obsess a bit over the porn we're watching and really let ourselves get lost in the fantasy that it's presenting. It's much more cooperative."

But coming to terms with those desires can be a struggle. Savin-Williams notes that since the confines of traditional masculinity hold men back from pursuing new experiences, they have difficulty expressing their wants to potential partners. 

"They can't tolerate telling anyone or acting on them, but they still have them in their fantasy worlds," he explains. 

Where else is there for someone to anonymously seek out fulfilling sexual experiences without meeting in person than in niche internet communities? B says r/jobuds may seem like a "hive of scum and terrible people," but it still provided somewhere for him to explore without being slapped with unwanted labels. 

Having a dedicated, moderated space to do so is a "great tool in growing or confusing times," said r/NSFWskype mod xluckis4losersx. In a (SFW) Skype call, he said the subreddit sees many first-time posters looking to feel out the boundaries of their sexuality.

"Whether or not that's true, or playing into some sort of fantasy, there are people who use [r/NSFWskype] to experiment," xluckis4losersx said, referring to the self-identified straight men seeking out other men to masturbate with like on r/jobuds. "To be able to take this baby step forward instead of jumping to Grindr or in-person encounters, it's certainly a great tool to explore themselves safely."

Safety is key, especially when experimenting with anything sexual. While mutual masturbation over a video chat holds its own risks, like catfishing or blackmail, there's little chance of any physical danger in these meetups. B says he keeps an eye out for "negative behavior traits," as he's heard horror stories of no-strings-attached hook ups that ended up getting obsessed. But xluckis4losersx remarked that the added anonymity of Skype sessions where participants can obscure their face or show just their genitals, unlike during in-person experiences, may make people feel more at ease discussing consent. 

"If anonymity makes you more comfortable to lay yourself out and say these are my boundaries, that's great!" he said. 

At the end of the day, someone's sexual identity is nobody's business but their own. While internet drama curator KeemStar set off a heated debate earlier this week when he insisted on Twitter that "No straight man in the history of mankind was bi curious," and claimed that men who had experimented couldn't possibly be straight, Savin-Williams says sexuality is more complicated than the black and white categories we automatically put people into. He says that younger generations are much less likely to confine themselves to labels, and compared to their parents' generations, self-identified straight millennials are more likely to approach attraction to someone of the same gender as "very unlikely, but not impossible."

"Contrasted with previous generations, young people today are more confident, connected, introspective, and open to change," Savin-Williams wrote in a Time essay. During the call with Mashable, he said he and his husband were mindblown that sexual fluidity is so much more "ho hum" now — he credits pop culture for normalizing it through ads, entertainment, and celebrity relationships. 

Although society still has a long way to go in terms of accepting the sexual fluidity displayed in r/jobuds and r/NSFWskype into the mainstream, Savin-Williams believes Gen Z will lead the way.

"I have great hope that these guys will be much better off in the sense of allowing themselves to explore the full range [of attraction] that they have," he raved. "I think the millennials are going to be shocked." 

And for B, having a platform to facilitate same-sex mutual masturbation wasn't necessarily a life-changing revelation — he still considers himself straight, not bisexual — but it did put him at ease with his body.

"It really just made me comfortable with my own sexuality," B said. "It helped define the borders of my sexuality a lot."

WATCH: 'Therapeutic' NSFW workshop lets you decorate your own bespoke sex toys

[beesandbooks1]

D&D Series #15: When it’s time to end your character

Hello dungeon bees and welcome to what is my last D&D related post in a while. Due to recent stuff going on in the greater TTRPG and D&D communities, as well as the hiatus my own game is taking, I’m just not feeling very connected to this series anymore sadly. But for this last post I’d like to talk about the warning signs that your character–PC or NPC–is not suited for your campaign anymore.

How to tell your NPC is too powerful

As a DM, one of the most fun parts of planning for a session is creating powerful NPCs. Sometimes you’re creating them as potential antagonists, sometimes you’re putting them together to help the players in a coming encounter, other times you’re just creating them for fun and you’ll mention them but let it slide if the players don’t interact with them. An important thing to consider, though, is how powerful your NPCs are–especially in context of an encounter. Combat takes a while the more characters have turns. Already as the DM you are playing the turns of all your antagonists and enemies, and the players each get their one turn (or a couple more depending on animal companions and spells). It can be super frustrating as a player to sit through five to ten attacks on the DM’s behalf.

If you find that your NPC has a ridiculous amount of actions, bonus actions, and free actions on their turns you should consider toning things down a little. While a difficult encounter may leave the players thankful for the NPC’s help, they won’t be as pleased if they never even get to engage in the combat because your all powerful NPC took first initiative, nerfed the enemy, and finished the encounter in the first round. You may be excited to play this NPC to its full potential but unless your players will also get a lot of interesting turns in combat, it’s an unfair round.

What to do if your player has a powerful PC

For any bees new to the dungeons, there’s an idea for character creation called “min maxing.” This is essentially maximizing your character for full combat potential, making them very overpowered especially for their level, fellow party members, and the enemies they may face. Supposedly there are DMs out there who appreciate min maxing because they drive combat heavy campaigns and want the PCs to actually be able to stand up against the enemies, but I’ve yet to meet one. I have however met many a min maxing player. These players tend to be DMs themselves, people who know the rules well enough to figure out how to maneuver through them and create ridiculous characters. They make every leveling decision based on power, with no consideration to the roleplay reasons behind multi-classing or taking feats. They’re the kind of person who introduces a first level rogue and informs you that in about five levels they’ll be taking a level in Warlock.

It can be difficult to work with a min maxer for a few reasons. Number one is that people tend to be very proud of their characters. If that player is lucky with their rolls, they may just be excited to have a character that’s good at things. Excited players, players who consider reasons for their characters to be good at so many things–making a several centuries old elf, or coming up with a backstory that explains their many talents–are great players to have. They make their characters interesting as well as powerful. But min maxers who create PCs mostly good for combat are frustrating. “It’s what my character would do,” is the resounding cry from them as you tiredly ask for the millionth time why they’re messing with the NPC they just met, why they’re abandoning their party for the fifth time, and why they need to make this particular encounter about themselves.

If you check out any DM thread online (Twitter, Reddit, etc.) you’ll eventually find a discussion of how people have dealt with these types of players. In my case, I ended a campaign in the face of a min maxing player because I didn’t have the energy to invest in convincing him over and over again that no his character couldn’t do that. My husband had to deal with a min maxer during his first and only campaign as DM, and was constantly arguing with the player at the table because said player wanted to be an assassin, a charismatic ladies man, have a tragic backstory, be unapologetically ambitious, become a Warlock through a constructed discovery of a magical book, be more powerful than all the NPCs when we were level three, be the face of the party and also the arrogant one, and about twenty million other things.

There aren’t a lot of graceful ways to deal with this player and this PC. If you have a friendly relationship with the player, you can try as DM to have a private conversation about the way the PC is negatively impacting the campaign. You can also put your foot down with certain things the player may say or do, explaining that that’s not how things are going to work in your world and your campaign. Other times, you have to create in game reasons for their character to be defeated, pitting them against equally overpowered enemies and hoping this time you actually kill them off. Or you can nip the whole thing in the bud and tell that player to remake their character or get out.

What to do if you’re the player with an overpowered PC

Hey, it happens sometimes. You’re having a good rolling day and suddenly your character’s lowest ability score is a fifteen. You roll really well for a few sessions and now you’ve got a ton of gold and items you didn’t anticipate having. Combat is starting and as you look over your inventory and your character sheet, you realize you could totally do something nuts…and defeat the enemy in a single round. It’s not a crime to have a super cool character who’s good at things. What you do with your PC, though, is what matters.

When you find that your PC is good at a lot of things, start talking to the rest of the party. Maybe you’ve got an unusually high charisma score for a fighter, and you want to use it, but you’ve got two charisma based characters already in the party. If you take over all the charisma skill checks just because you can, you might isolate these players and make them feel like they never get to use the skill they’re good at. You have to find a balance. Nobody is saying you can’t have fun and utilize skills that are unusual for your class, but you also have to make sure you don’t turn the whole game into a one person show.

I’ve played in campaigns before where the party was just so large that there were some players and PCs who naturally took the spotlight. In one game, myself and another player knew the game the best and thus shared a lot of table time; this was also because half the other players weren’t engaged at all, so let us do whatever and showed interest only when the game shifted to something they liked. Another time, our DM told one of the players that he really only liked his character and was building the majority of the campaign around him, begging him to stay when the player decided he didn’t like the inequality created around his character and wanted to leave. In this case, it was the DM who created an unfair campaign centered around one character and none of the players were satisfied, leading to us leaving one by one.

In the role of a character, you can make choices that throw the spotlight to other players. Maybe you’re having an interaction with an NPC and you know that a quieter PC happens to have a lot of knowledge on the topic at hand. Just because you have high charisma, or are really excited about this conversation, or really like this NPC doesn’t mean you need to dominate the conversation. Have your character turn to the other PC and bring up their expertise. Engage with them, draw the player out, and share the spotlight.

Another thing to do is talk to your fellow players about their characters. If you have a lot of stuff you can do during combat, it can be tempting to go ahead and end an encounter on your turn. But maybe you know that another player just discovered something fun they can do on their turn, and they want to try it out. You could roleplay, explain that something about the encounter has thrown your PC off their rhythm, so they don’t go all in like they usually do and the round continues. Now you’ve not only allowed another player to engage in the fun of combat, but you’ve also created an interesting roleplay moment that the DM and the party can pick up on, and bring up afterwards. Maybe this is the start of a new character arc for you, even!

Final Thoughts

Everybody plays differently, and sometimes there will be campaigns and groups where a min maxed PC or NPC are useful to have around. Ultimately, though, it will always be more interesting if powerful PCs and NPCs are powerful for in game reasons. Instead of being powerful because the player figured out what three feats and multi-class level would benefit them most, a PC that’s powerful because they had a major moment of character development that came with tangible rewards is interesting. As a DM, feel free to reward players for moments of growth and development in this way so they feel rewarded. As a player, make sure you check yourself before moving forward with a power move. Does it really make sense that your character suddenly develops an interest and ability to utilize magic? Or did you just get tired of having to be creative in magical based combat and decide you wanted some spell slots too?

It can be difficult when others don’t share your excitement over some new powerful character you’ve created. But D&D is at the end of the day a cooperative roleplay game, you’re not playing it alone. You have the power to realize how overpowered your character is and to adjust in the moment to make sure you share the spotlight.

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TL;DR Looking for advice on how I find cash investors (or just the investors themselves if they’re here haha) to go in with me on buying an adult resort in the Caribbean that’s my favorite place in the world (I’m the female half of a 30s couple). Friends and family money isn’t an option, nor is bank financing because of the nature of the place. I’m thinking something like a $100,000 investment from each of a group of people, but not sure how to find like-minded people with the cash. The resort is currently running profitably and ripe for profit-increasing upgrades; their prospectus claims 17% a year ROI before tech upgrades that would improve margin. I have the hospitality experience and passion for the place to do it.I've been running a small boutique hotel in Philadelphia for a couple of years and hitting it out of the park (average 90% occupancy at above market rates). My husband and I spend some time every year in the Caribbean, and there's a resort for sale that I would like to get together with a couple of people to buy. It's an adult hotel that's got a loyal clientele, good business assets, 17% ROI, fully compliant with local laws, amazing long term staff; owner is retiring due to health problems.This is a place where you can park your money, make 17%/year, and have an awesome full service vacation spot to relax or party whenever you want.I cannot overstate how much I love staying at this place. I want to own it so I can be there whenever I want; looking for other people who'll feel the same. :)There are 26 rooms, a restaurant, small nightclub, pool, huge oversize jacuzzi grotto, incredibly maintained mature garden and landscaping, and it’s a block from the beach, with lots of other small restaurants and bars within short walking distance (and is in a gated community with excellent maintenance and security). It also has all of the gorgeous companionship a person (or couple) could ever want. Clientele is mostly male, but there are always some couples, and as a woman, I absolutely love it there (the atmosphere is one of mutual respect and enjoyment). 30 minutes from the small international airport, 10-15 minutes from the nearby small city with good tourist activities.I've been going for 5 years and I've seen them make a lot of upgrades to the facilities in that time, but I think there are a couple of technology-based improvements that could seriously improve profitability.Here's my idea:- 10 people put $100,000 each towards the purchase price (hotel is running profitably now)- My husband and I design a plan for tech-based upgrades that increase profitability (we have solid experience doing this with our hotel in Philadelphia)- We form a US company to own the assets, including the legal company in the country where the hotel is based- We meet there a couple of times a year for awesomely decadent owners meetingsI’m really excited about this idea, but sort of at a loss as to how I go about soliciting investment. We’re in PA, which is fairly conservative, so I don’t feel like I can approach our current business contacts or former investors in our more traditional projects. If you’ve ever raised money for something that might raise eyebrows, I’d be grateful if you’re willing to talk. Alternatively, if you have the cash and this idea "hooks" you, send me a DM! I've never solicited investment on reddit before, but I think my like-minded entrepreneurs who'll be into this are lurking on this sub. :)NB 17% ROI is the amount claimed by the resort in its for sale prospectus, and not something we've verified. We would assume an investor trip to the hotel as a group to look at books, verify numbers, do assessments and other due diligence before moving ahead. That being said, every time we've been there, it's been packed. We always have great conversations with other guests, get stock tips, talk travel and good times, and most people we meet there are returning guests like us.​EDIT: Thanks to commenters who've mentioned the need to legal advice re: SEC stuff - we have a lawyer on retainer already for our other company and are aware of the need to get things like this checked out by a competent lawyer before moving ahead to avoid pesky things like jail and crippling fines.

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Logan Merwin: The T1 Boy Behind the 'Fueled By Insulin' Race Truck

New Post has been published on http://type2diabetestreatment.net/diabetes-mellitus/logan-merwin-the-t1-boy-behind-the-fueled-by-insulin-race-truck/

Logan Merwin: The T1 Boy Behind the 'Fueled By Insulin' Race Truck

Since he was just a toddler, 10-year-old Logan Merwin in Connecticut has had a love for cars that's evolved from playing with Hot Wheels toy cars to big dreams of monster truck racing when he grows up. Given that he's been living with type 1 since just 17 months old so it's all he's ever known, Logan is channeling his passion into making a difference through diabetes awareness and advocacy.

Quite literally, Logan is "Fueled By Insulin" and is the inspiration behind a very cool diabetes-themed racing truck dubbed "New England's First Type 1 Awareness Racing Truck." He's made the New England news recently, with truck driver and team owner Tony Lafo Racing and their sponsor American Sign Motorsports taking Logan's story to heart and creating the Fueled By Insulin campaign to support the beloved Children With Diabetes organization. Longtime racer Lafo is taking this cool diabetes-themed #82 Ford F-150 Pro-Truck to races all around the New England, most recently on April 29 and this coming weekend on May 7.

Very cool, and it happens to coincide with the month of May, when America revs up its engines to mark NASCAR racing season. Coincidentally, but unconnected to Logan's story, the JDRF has a new initiative on that front: T1D, Motorcraft, and Me, that makes this an especially timely of story to share.

Today, we're thrilled to share an interview with Logan's devoted D-Mom Samantha, all about the awesome stuff they've got going on these days.

Talking Insulin and Trucks with D-Mom Samantha Merwin

DM) Hi Samantha, of course we're going to ask you to start by sharing Logan’s diagnosis story...

SM) Logan was diagnosed July 11, 2008, and is now 10 years old, and next summer we’re planning great things for his 10-year dia-versary in 2018.

As a baby, he was always playful with us, energetic and ready to start his day. He had his 15-month pediatrician check and had been sick right afterwards for days. He recovered, but a couple of weeks later at 16 months we noticed that he was eating less and drinking more. He was filling diapers constantly and withdrawn. Over the course of a couple more weeks he stopped eating anything but small snacks. We still thought it was one of those kid’s phases but grew more anxious when we were at a birthday party and he wouldn't play or connect with the kids; he just kept drinking and hanging around us. We called the pediatricians office 3 days later because when he started sleeping several hours later every morning, we knew something was wrong -- as he was always like he is now, jumps up ready to start his day. We asked for an appointment later that week but thankfully they recognized the symptoms and called us back to come in that same night. They were literally waiting for us, whisked us in, pricked his finger and sent us to the children’s hospital. We caught it early as he wasn't in DKA yet, his blood sugar was in the higher 500's so we didn't have to get admitted.

What a scary transition to have to make...

Yes, we went back and forth for a few days getting educated on what we would now have to do to keep him alive. Those first three months were a rough road until we put him on a pump. He hated the shots and it was mentally draining on all of us to do them.

Anyone else in the family with diabetes?

No one else in my family has it, but my husband’s brother was diagnosed with type 1 when he was in college, in his early 20's.

Did that create a special bond between Logan and his uncle, and how is your brother-in-law doing these days with his T1D?

I wish they lived closer so we could have free, safe babysitting! We have no relatives within close geography here. When they see each other during our annual visits to Chicago, they definitely have their own conversations about type 1 and they definitely do test together.

Well, it seems you're creating an extended online family with your blogging. Can you share the story behind the Elbow Bump Kid blog?

Logan was trying to think of a catchy fundraising name or slogan when he started fundraising for CWD in 2016, and he decided on elbowbumpchallenge, which turned into elbowbumpkid -- since he bumped the most elbows EVER at the FFL events! Pretty funny, but he's known for it in school as well. They usually shake hands when entering the classroom and Logan has been elbow bumping instead every year. Here's our very first blog post, about the origin of the elbow bump.

We understand Logan's also a runner, doing 5K and 10K events. How did he get started with that?

Logan wouldn't play team sports until second grade and his favorite part of soccer, etc., was always the running. We had a running club at school that year and he loved it. That started his love for running. I wish we had more time in the day to have him practice more; we rarely have time for more than a mile after school.

Does diabetes get in the way when he’s running?

Well, since he was diagnosed as a baby, he has never known a life outside of T1D.

His diabetes does slow him down with running occasionally but mostly it's the combo of the asthma. We really have to prep well for both diseases or it's disastrous, as we have experienced! He did a great job in the Disney 5K running for JDRF in January, and he's looking forward to practicing to run the 5K for JDRF and the 10K for Children With Diabetes in January 2018.

And how did he first develop such a love for cars and racing?

He’s always been into cars in some form, he used to sleep with a Hot Wheel in his hand when he was 2 -- it was a little gold car. When we lost power during Hurricane Sandy for days, we piled Hot Wheels outside our house and let him race them down our walkway. He was into monster trucks and classic cars for a while as well. While the Hot Wheels phase died down for a bit, it came back in full force over the past year. For a school project last year, he pulled the town tax records on cars listed registered in town, then sat in center of town recording cars that drove by to see if it matched with town records.

He also decided last year that he was saving to buy a Lamborghini when he's 18, so as he gets money he goes to the bank (with whatever he doesn't spend) and deposits it. He's pretty dedicated to that. We ran into a dealer when we were in London and he was able to get a pic or two up close!

That’s too funny! Any plans to go into racing when he gets older?

Since he was around 4, Logan decided he was going to be a monster truck driver on the weekends when he grows up. His main job will be running the hotel he plans on building and working at his bank. Or as a coin inspector for one of the federal mints. He can't decide... then again, he’s 10. But it's always something involved with cars on the weekends. Who knows with this kid, anything is possible!

Anyone particular in the racing or running communities who's been an inspiration to Logan?

When Logan was little, my friend Jen sent him a video of NASCAR driver Ryan Reed, who we had never heard of prior to that. He has looked up to him since as a role model. He also met IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball at Friends For Life in 2016 so he has multiple role models that he follows related to racing cars. On running, he recently met Diathlete Gavin Griffiths while we were on spring break in London and has enjoyed following him on social media and reading his stories.

We are really lucky as he has had opportunities through FFL and otherwise to meet amazing role models in sports and life. He really feels like he can do anything and won't be limited when he grows up thanks to these experiences.

Let’s talk about race-truck driver Tony Lafo and the fundraising support…

I'm sure you listened to Stacey Simms' Diabetes Connections podcast, and what I said there is true about how we met Tony Lafo, driver and owner of Fueled By Insulin – it really was that simple!

He was a mystery donor to Logan's random JDRF campaign pushes over the years, as I always post them in our town Facebook group once a year when I want to make a goal. We didn't have an email or address for him until this year when for some reason the website had his email listed, so I could send a personal thank you. A few weeks later, I had posted a fundraiser Logan was doing at a local supermarket and Tony reached out to us to discuss the race truck partnership.

We brought it to Jeff (Hitchcock) and Laura (Billetdeaux) of CWD, and here we are, days from the first race on April 29. He's SUCH a nice guy and his whole crew has been so nice to Logan. He's been stopping down most Tuesdays and either playing Hot Wheels with at least one of them or sweeping their floors while they work on the truck. He doesn't know any other type 1's other than Logan, and he would prefer to help somebody local than send off a check somewhere. When he's not racing he's a full-time Fire Service Volunteer.

How cool! What’s the fundraising commitment?

Tony Lafo Racing, LLC, will help raise awareness by featuring the CWD logo on the #82 Ford F-150 Pro-Truck, as well as the Hauler and T-shirts and will donate 10% of race winnings to Logan's fundraising efforts during 2017 -- with a minimum pledge of $1,000.

What kind of challenges are you facing as Logan trains?

Logan isn't out of school until mid-June so his running right now is a running club on Thursdays and whatever we can do on weekends. We plan to do a practice 5K each month starting in May to gear up for January, slow and steady at first. My biggest challenge is figuring out the minimum I have to carry with me, his supplies weighed me down a lot. When we practice locally, I usually just toss the bag down somewhere but having it on me the whole time was a lot of weight (EpiPens, inhaler, smarties, juice, Dexcom, meter, and so on). We have been concentrating on the fundraising part right now, planning events to fundraise to meet his goals.

What else does this amazing kid have planned?

He will definitely take his advocacy to the next level, sooner rather than later. Right now he's focused on fundraising and raising awareness for type 1 where he can. I suspect in future years, he will be involved with advocating to ensure everyone has access to basic supplies. We have had a lot of conversations, once he realized that not everyone can afford insulin or a Dexcom. It's an ongoing conversation and if I felt there was a good opportunity for him to get involved in a couple of years, I'd present it to him and let him decide. We always make him feel comfortable that no matter what happens, he will have access to his Dexcom and insulin, but he's aware of the challenges and concerned for others. He's a very active kid and can't imagine not having his Dexcom to help manage his care.

Your family seems very supportive of so many different D-Community orgs. Can you tell us about those connections?

We have been touched by so many nonprofits over the almost 9 years with type 1. We have a love for JDRF and do the run every year; Logan loves the pen pal program from Beyond Type 1, and I love their ongoing constant articles and communication. I really feel like they have connected the larger diabetes community.

Regarding the CWD Friends for Life conference, I knew about the event for years but didn't sign up until 2015 as we were starting to experience our 7-year itch. I was looking for something different to help rejuvenate us and not free-fall into burnout. CWD does a great job with these events, bringing children and families together in a safe environment where they bond and have fun while learning. As parents there are a ton of sessions for us on everything you can imagine from learning about new technology to support groups. So we both loved it our first year. Logan even had a bunch of people sing happy dia-versary to him on his 7-year date. When returning to the event in 2016, Logan was inspired to write a speech to ask other kids to help CWD and bring awareness to the need for fundraising for the event. He loves being around "his people," especially the teenagers and young adults with T1D. He's inspired by them and can't wait to help at a CWD event when he's older like them!

And you're involved with the #WeAreNotWaiting movement too, right?

Yes, there are so many other nonprofits we adore and I hate leaving anyone out, like Nightscout Foundation, where we have access for the nurse at school to view Logan's blood sugars when he's there to help keep him safe. While we have to narrow our financial/fundraising focus to make an impact, we will support the organizations that help Logan and other T1 kids wherever we can, whenever we can. Logan always says that while JDRF funds for a cure, so many other nonprofits like CWD help kids in their lives every day until there's a cure. So we focus on both aspects -- fundraising for a cure and helping kids live full and healthy lives with the disease.

Thanks so much for sharing your family's story, Samantha! Can't wait to see what the future has in store for Logan, and we'll definitely be on lookout for that cool race truck!

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Type 2 Diabetes Diet Diabetes Destroyer Reviews Original Article

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Small But Mighty: Pump Wear, Inc. (Win Your Choice of Pump Gear!)

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Small But Mighty: Pump Wear, Inc. (Win Your Choice of Pump Gear!)

I met Julie DeFruscio years ago — her daughter, Nikki, and I were actually JDRF Children's Congress delegates the same year — and I'm excited to feature her as our latest diabetes entrepreneur! Our Small But Mighty series showcases small "homegrown" companies focused on making living with diabetes a little easier. Julie lives in Upstate New York with her husband and three kids (Adam, Patrick and Nikki), who all three have type 1 diabetes.

Julie previously worked for over 20 years as an accounting manager and sales rep for a company called GMAC Mortgage. Then ten years ago, she and her best friend Dawn Juneau launched Pump Wear, Inc. Since then, the company has expanded its line of pump paks (similar to fanny-packs) to include styles and sizes for both children and adults, plus they also offer clothing, medic alert jewelry, and supply carry bags.

Read on to find out how Julie got started and some of her "trade secrets." Plus don't miss the special giveaway at the end of this post!

DM) What exactly inspired you to build a company around gear for insulin pumps?

JD) Pump Wear Inc. was created with the sole intent to provide my then 3-year-old daughter with fun, creative ways to wear her insulin pump. We also wanted to provide other families with a place they could go and have fun looking at all the cool ways to wear a pump.

Dawn, my co-founder, and I have been best friends for over 25 years. When Nikki was diagnosed, she was there for me. One night we were searching the Internet for ways for Nikki to wear her pump and we couldn't find anything that was not very medical-looking. So we thought, 'why don't we create something?' And we did! I think our company was really born out of emotion and the driving force to have fun products for children and adults who wear a pump. Dawn and I are in tune with each other and it works.

How did you go about launching your company? Is it your full-time gig now?

Our company was really set up with passion. We got this idea and just went for it. We started out with six products: the Floral, Heart and Skateboard T-shirts with pockets on front and back, and the matching Pump Paks. We had our website up and running within four months of Nikki going on the pump. Our big goal was to give our kids a fun way to wear their pumps so that they would feel good about themselves.

When we started our company, Dawn and I basically did everything our selves. We worked with a graphic designer to come up with our pictures and then created a website and started searching for production venues.

Both Dawn and I worked other full-time jobs during the creation of Pump Wear. I just went full time (at Pump Wear) three years ago and Dawn is still employed at GE. When you are small, you really have to have another avenue to bring in income because all of our funds and proceeds have gone back into the business.

Your featured product are your Pump Paks, like fanny packs but designed specifically to fit a pump. Why not just use an existing fanny pack?

When Nikki first went on the pump, I was having a friend's mom put pockets on the back of my daughters T-shirts so that she could still wear all her cute clothes. They worked great, so we came up with designs and started producing them. After that we tried finding some kind of case to put the pump in when she wasn't wearing her T-shirt and could not find anything that was not black or white and medical-looking. We decided to create our own case and put fun, cute pictures on them that every child would love, and adults too!

Why is the C missing in Pump Pak?

We just wanted to have it stand out, and thought by spelling it different you would know when you had an original.

Your company is also involved in a lot of diabetes advocacy projects. Can you tell us what you've been working on lately?

Currently we're celebrating our 5th "Free Family Diabetes Weekend." For the past five years, every May, we've invited families to come to the Double H Ranch in Lake Luzerene for a wonderful free weekend. Families apply themselves or others recommend them through out the year. We choose the families in October and notify them just before Christmas. The families enjoy lots of fun activities, and the chance to meet other families and to bond. This year, we will have over 100 people at the family weekend.

We are also promoting our "Wall of Change," which is a campaign to raise funds for the Diabetes Research Institute in Florida. It's easy: people form the number of years they have had diabetes with their spare change, then they take a picture, send us the picture and they send the Diabetes Research Foundation the coins. We say we're 'funding a cure one dime at a time.'

We are also in the process of finalizing another fundraising effort with The Diabetes Research Foundation that we'll announce later.

Your youngest child, Nikki, was diagnosed first, and then your two oldest children were diagnosed close together, but years later. How did your family adjust from one CWD to three?

As a parent, I think our kids take the lead from us, so as devastating as it was when Adam was diagnosed, we tried to put on a positive face and attitude. Everyone has something they have to deal with and diabetes just happens to be ours. By the time Patrick was diagnosed, diabetes was and is the norm in our house. It's there and we believe in trying to see the positive in everything, like I would not have met all these great people if it were not for diabetes! It's hard, but you've got to do what you have to do.

What advice do you have for other parents of CWDs?

The best advice I could give is to allow your child to be a child and recognize that things will not be perfect, but with a positive attitude and a good relationship with your child you can achieve amazing things and your child can live a long and healthy life.

Do your children wear your products? Which ones are their favorites?

Yes, our children wear our products, and it varies. Nikki wears most of them. Her favorites are the Arm Pump Bands, and she used to love the double ups, but now is resorting more and more to the pump waist band. The boys are fans of the Zipps and Softy Paks and the Arm Pump Bands. The Pump Pillow was actually done for Adam.

What has been the biggest obstacle in running your own small business?

Manufacturing is by far the biggest obstacle. It has literally taken years to find the perfect mix of being able to provide a large line of quality products made here in the U.S., which is considerably more costly than producing items overseas. We like keeping the manufacturing here, and really work hard to try to keep the cost reasonable.

What advice do you have for people thinking about launching their own small D-business?

Love what you are doing because you will be doing a lot of it! We have a passion for this business and we live and breath it, but it's that very passion that makes running our business fun and I don't think of it as work. Which is a good thing because we spend lots and lots of hours doing it.

Thank you, Julie!

;

A DMProducts Giveaway

Want one of your own Pump Paks or one of PumpWear Inc.'s other amazing products? This week, we'll be selecting three winners, who can choose from their choice of pump cases, clothing, awareness T-shirts, and more. The Frio, waterproof items and medical alerts are not included.

As always, entering for your chance to win is as easy as leaving a comment.

Here's what to do:

1. Post your comment below and include the codeword "DMProducts" somewhere in the comment (beginning, end, in parenthesis, in bold, whatever). That will let us know that you would like to be entered in the giveaway. You can still leave a comment without entering, but if you want to be considered to win the contest, please remember to include "DMProducts."

2. This week, you have until Friday, Apr. 13, at 5pm PST to enter. A valid email address is required to win.

3. The winner will be chosen using Random.org.

4. The winner will be announced on Facebook and Twitter on Monday, Apr. 16, so make sure you're following us! We like to feature our winners in upcoming blog posts, too.

This contest is open to anyone living in the United States. Best of luck!

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

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