#and i'm trying to keep it minimal by not debating until we know

[queer-book-character-tournament]

I understand what you’re trying to do with quality control, but it is starting to feel weird when you clearly have characters who a significant minority are voting up as queer and you’re questioning if the characters are queer enough.

I know that characters and people are two different cases, and I can quietly remove myself here, but I’m having a lot of fun when I’m not being ambushed with more arbitrary standards about what queer can and can’t look like, so I wanted to try an ask first.

I understand not wanting a character who isn’t explicitly queer to win, but it’s honestly upsetting to have my dash keep being interrupted with rules lawyering about what counts as queer and what doesn’t. Do you think you could maybe make note of the possible issues and just discuss them together if they win instead of discussing it every time another character turns up “questionable”? I’m otherwise really enjoying your tournament

I mean that is what I’m trying to do? Like there’s only two characters so far (out of 204 in the competition) who have been brought up after the polls went live, and like … four total posts I’ve made about it tops? Five, I guess, including this one. One asking for clarification on the question being asked in the first place, one kind of agreeing to that because again I haven’t read, and then one for each character saying it’s just something we will come back to as needed because there was some push back and I don’t really want to debate it before it’s even an actual issue as I can’t do anything during the first round anyway since it's already up. I don’t want the people pointing it out to feel ignored and for it to evolve into a discourse in the notes because it goes unaddressed. So I answered them on the second character same as the first to say let’s come back to this if it progresses past round one.

I’m questioning not if they’re “queer enough” though. We've got a wide variety of character from all over the gender/sexuality/romantic orientation spectrum. I'm not trying to gatekeep what counts as queerness. But when I do ask for quality control I am asking if it’s even canon at all that they are queer inside the text of the book. Not 'queer enough', just are they queer in canon, point blank. The rules did state canon is a requirement, but I can’t read every book submitted to check that. Sometimes I’ll know things aren’t correct, like in the ship tournament someone submitted Sam/Frodo (which is an example of what I mean. It’s not that they “aren’t queer enough” it’s that they just straight up are not stated to be queer, as much as we as fans might enjoy the idea that they are and there might be some subtext we can take from their devotion, it’s not in the pages so it does not count), but if I don’t know I have to pitch it towards you guys. And I let A Lot of characters in, so I won’t know a lot of them. For these two characters in particular I can’t make a judgement call on my own as I haven’t read the book, which is why it's getting talked about. (Although again, as I said, I'm really not trying to debate their eligibility at this time. If they win it'll be something to bring up before round two, but as of now we aren't debating it) I put up a list ahead of the polls of the characters submitted that I had already thinned out a bit with characters I knew didn't qualify and passed the question off to my followers to try and get all of that out of the way before the actual competition starts to avoid things like this, (because as you said, now that the competition is started people are voting for them, because people like these characters, so it's obviously not ideal for a debate to be breaking out now after it's up about their eligibility in the competition) but the polls are obvi getting more attention than a long list so I’m getting some new questions now.

I want everyone to be having fun, and i'm sorry if this is detracting from that for you, but again when it's characters I don't know that people are bringing up I have to actually ask about it or else it doesn't really seem fair

[noctomania]

Presidential debates

So I've done a minor amount of reading on debates because of the headline i read saying Trump was refusing any more debates with Harris. I went in to find out how many there usually are, or how many has been the most or the least (totally never found a definitive answer because rabbit holes). I ended up also reading some history that I thought I would share.

First of all, the debates are not mandatory though they have been a part of some electoral processes since the 1850s. The first broadcasted presidential election debates didn't happen until 1960s. Unless you count the 1956 proxy debate between First Lady E. Roosevelt & Sen. M.Smith of Maine. Not sure why that was a thing but I'm trying to keep myself from going down too many rabbit holes - as history has a tendency to do to me.

Couple of questions came to mind:

1- Why was it not til 1960 that the first presidential debate was?

2- Why aren't they mandatory?

1- While I don't have a conclusive answer that appeases me, there are some reasons I found. First being an obvious one: technology. It wasn't until 1920s that radio broadcasting debates that could reach the common person became a reality. But then what about the 40s years until the first? This also confuses me.

Of the sources I've found with my minimal dive, they all say first broadcast presidential debate. So perhaps there were presidential debates before then that just weren't so accessible and so have not been counted? Or the candidates just didn't try to have any because of the low viewership?

Though technology made the prospect of broadcasting debates seem more accessible, getting everyone fair treatment was a bit more of a beast.

In 1934 Congress passed the Communications Act under which sat Section 315 that dictates any broadcaster that may sponsor any candidate for election must provide equal opportunity to all candidates including minor party.

While on paper this may seem like the egalitarian option, it does make a digestible debate rather difficult. We have come a ways with technology, but you can only bend time so much. While sometimes there were only 2 candidates to account for, there were years where there could be 5 or more. in 1948 there were 6!

Balancing giving enough time for candidates to really drive their point home vs having enough for everyone to have their fair share is not easy even between just two and accounting for audience's schedules and attention spans.

However, sec 315 allows for Congress to vote to suspend the rule to allow for debates between just the two major parties. Which is what was done in 1960 for the debate between JFK and Nixon. Do with that what you will, not another rabbit hole I'm going down right now.

On to part 2.

2- I don't rightly know why debates aren't mandatory, but I have read a bit about the complications around debates - mainly around who dictates the rules and conversely who is paying for the platform. This is where I learned about the League of Women's Voters initial sponsorship of presidential debates in 1976 and then their withdrawal from sponsorship in 1988:

"The League of Women Voters is withdrawing its sponsorship of the presidential debate scheduled for mid-October because the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter," League President Nancy M. Neuman said today.

In response to that was the formation of the Commission on Presidential Debates in 1987, which is housed by previous members of the DNC and the RNC. The CPD sponsored the debates from 1988 until 2024. 36 years. 9 terms. 7 presidents.

However in 2024, sponsorship has been through CNN, ABC, and CBS, similar to the first broadcasted presidential debate in 1960 which was sponsored by NBC, ABC, and CBS. The decision to opt out of CPD sponsorship was agreed upon by the Dem and Rep parties when the CPD was criticized for making the debates too much of a spectacle, having a faulty timeline in relation to the elections, and for not enforcing rules unbiased.

Now the things I've learned generally speaking is:

1- debates are not mandatory.

2- there is legislation about debates despite them not being mandatory

3- presidential debates are still a relatively young practice

4- technology has played a heavy hand in how, when, where, why, and who runs and funds debates

With these things in mind, I want to conceptualize an alternative. Why? Because I feel that debates are so tense because they are truth. They are an exercise of someone's passion. If someone is merely performing, it becomes more obvious the more you see it repeated. When they are passionate about that which they speak they may recite the same speech but the passion will still be palpable. That is why candidates want to be able to travel across the country to have their own speeches unimpeded by any other candidates. However, that does not serve the public, it merely serves the candidates to be able to sell words and slogans.

What I envision is this:

All candidates may still raise money, but all funds raised must go into a pot that will be used by a 3rd party sponsor that would not be influenced by any party - major or minor - and that would be the campaign trails. No more individual campaign funds or trails, no more PACs or superPACs, no more CPD. I think there should be a multitude of debates that are traveled across the country especially to the neglected regions and broadcast on free accessible platforms like youtube in addition to TV and radio. I think the 3rd party sponsor could be like LWV again or built from the ground up but still a non-profit dedicated to the same principles of unbiased debates.

Ideally this would cut down on the influence of money on politicians as most of the money they use is for campaign trails and advertising. Forcing candidates to essentially raise funds for each other also cuts back on excessive mudslinging at least in regards to funding. The amount of time candidates spend taking jabs at one another about who got what money from where is exhausting and it's gotta stop. This would stop gap that immediately as the pool of money would be distributed evenly no matter who raised what. It would also stop fraud by preventing campaigns from lying about what funds would be used for what etc. It would be a clear cut answer of where all the money goes and how much was distributed to each candidate as all bookkeeping would be done by the non-profit and made public immediately.

It would be an exercise for each of the candidates to see how well they can manage a limited budget. Which is critical topic for any political candidate. If the sponsor pot runneth over abundantly then the excess of funds post election should be equally distributed to food banks and shelters in the locations of the debates as agreed upon by the sponsors. The president elect would then be able to utilize their monthly salary and expense allowance as well as their own savings which they would have kept separate from the campaign.

In regards to broadcasting, I also think that it needs to be ensured to be an entirely non-profit endeavor. No ads, no body should personally be making a dime off of this. There should be no frills. It shouldn't be a spectacle, it needs to be taken more seriously than a silly monday night football game. Any production around it should be a simple backdrop to the policies that the candidates are proposing.

While I understand this is an inherently competitive process, I think taking away some of the competition and instilling more cooperation would be a huge game changer in terms of who would want to run under those conditions as well as the after effect and the impact on audiences. Of course this is all a dream, but I like to dream sometimes.

[t0pidelaayy]

Hi there 😊 May I request something with Jigen and the reader with the prompts #61/Fluff “You’re family.”, #34/Fluff "Are you okay?", #27/Angst "It's okay to cry.", #8/Angst "Please stay.", and #35/Smut “Are you sure? Once we start, I might not be able to stop.” Imagine the reader has been distant after a certain mission or heist that reveals that who ambushed them was her father(exact image of Dutch Van Der Linde from Red Dead Redemption/2) and his new gang. The reader chooses to go after him alone which could have even upset Lupin(he could see her as a kid sis and is the only one to know about her past "family") to a certain degree. After she could have been rescued and lectured by everyone back at the safe house Jigen confronts her. Deep down the reader could have kept everyone in the dark due to not wanting to let anyone in again after what happened to her previous "family" though those walls seemed to crumble a bit around Jigen due to her feelings for him that she kept buried until now. Heavily inspired by Red Dead Redemption and RDR 2 to even where reader's father chooses to take his own life than have her kill him or be taken by the police just like how Dutch threw himself off the cliff in the first game(SPOILER!) And her "family" could be like the gang in RDR 2 where the reader only trusted some of her "family" and wouldn't shed tears if certain ones died(NOT SORRY MICHA BELL😒). Please and thank you so much! Sorry if it's long I got carried away lol 😁

Family Issues

Pairing: Daisuke Jigen x F! Reader

Genre: Angst to Fluff.

Summary: That night's heist went (successfully) wrong for our favorite gang. Y/N encounters her past in a tumultuous way and Jigen tries his best to comfort her during the aftermath.

Words: 2k

TW: Death, posible mixed pronouns because of mistranslations.

A/N: I'm sorry i took so long! I honestly don't have any idea about Red Dead Redemption (i did some research tho, just didn't understand a lot) and I wasn't feeling very inspired to write this one. This has been on my drafts for as long as two months and i wanted to finish it. I skipped the smut part bc i don't write that, but i hope this work it's, at least, enjoyable!

Enjoy! ✨ Requests are still open for anyone!

The journey to the safe hiding place was silent. No one dared to say a word, as if the prevailing tension was so easy to cut just by vibrating the vocal cords. There wasn't much to say either, maybe nothing honestly. Or maybe there was, but it wasn't known what exactly. Anyway, the men inside the fiat 500 waited for Y / N to confess the reason for her erratic actions in the middle of the robbery, why the rational and indifferent Y / N could not control her emotions at that moment, but her head was a lathe, and as much as they wanted to force an explanation from her throat, they knew she wouldn't be able to. Silence.

 Lupin should be happy to have escaped with the treasure that night, everything went according to plan until Y / N's derailment. And although they barely managed to keep what they have stolen, and escape in time, she could not help but think that that night could have ended in a tragedy.

 Jigen was consuming cigarette after cigarette, trying to minimize the nervous breakdown she was having at that precise moment, the ashes from the cig falling on his beard. The shooter was thinking about everything and nothing at the same time, filling the car's cigarette butt holder at maximum speed.

 And Y / N, meanwhile, looked at the window tiredly, while her feelings were getting more and more exhausted as she spent more time in the overwhelming silence of the car. Her head was pounding, and all the anguish, anger, panic, and adrenaline from the situation that happened was mixing in her brain, giving off thoughts she wasn't willing to even debate.

 All because he had to be there. All because the person they were robbing was him and his gang. All because her father was there.

 Perhaps if Lupin had known, he would have asked Goemon to accompany them instead of Y / N. He had a little knowledge about her friend's family situation, no more than what she had confessed to him. He never thought it would have the devastating effect that she was shown to have.

 The plan was going as expected. The gang knew they were at risk of being ambushed by another recurring gang in the area, and they had all defense methods covered to get out of the situation unscathed with the treasure in their hands. However, once surrounded from the shadows, being pointed from every possible angle in the place, an imposing voice spoke about Lupin's narcissistic speech. He made himself heard from every corner and echoed in Y / N's head.

 "Hello, daughter".

 At that moment, the young woman looked around her to make out, barely, faces as familiar as those of her relatives, but none as negatively significant as the individual above.

 Y / N turned to look at him, wide eyes fixing on the intense gaze of her father, the person she least wanted to see at that moment. Her figure curved inward slightly, leaving her normal intimidating aura behind by one that exuded fear and insecurity and doubt. A lot of it.

 He berated her for abandoning her, the fact that she had replaced her family with poor devils who had little to offer her, putting himself on a pedestal and ignoring the reasons for her daughter's flight. Y / N felt his gaze penetrate her from his hiding spot, and the moment she had the opportunity, she did not hesitate to separate from the group and run through the hail of bullets that was unleashed at that precise moment. She knew that if he made her come back to him he would play with a revolver at the back of her neck, and her instinct asked her to run as fast as she could to him. She wanted to finish it all forever, she would aim her revolver first.

 But she didn't count on Lupin and Jigen to let them get hold of her so easily, and they scattered to run after her partner with the newly acquired loot in tow.

 The incessant background noise did not persuade Y / N for a second in her resolve to murder her father. She chased him non-stop at a determined pace through every corner of the building, until they both reached the roof, and her father walked to the edge of the roof as she pointed her gun at him.

 "You know, this shouldn't have to end like this, my dear Y / N" he began, turning to look at her.

 "You made my life miserable" the strong wind blew between them, dulling the sound of the mess that was getting closer and closer to the two of them. "You took every measly ounce of freedom from me and stuck me in a group of people that you forced me to call 'family'. Of course this has to end like this" Y / N replied. Her pulse increased, her heart pounded, her adrenaline kept her steady even in the cold of the night.

 "We teach you everything you know, you are the thief that you are for us, for me"

 "I owe you absolutely nothing for it. You made me to be like this, I lost my childhood because of you and I am recovering what you took from me by exercising my right to freedom, as you are seeing me, although my concept differs from that of the law". She began to gently pull the trigger, signaling that this was his time to say his last words.

 And then, before falling backwards, towards the emptiness of the night, he enunciated with a malicious smile:

 "In that case, rather than giving you the pleasure of murdering me, I prefer to set you free. See you later, Y / N."

 Jigen was the first to pounce on the rooftop door, grabbing a stunned Y / N by her free arm. She kept aiming at nothing, stifling a cry of anger. She felt that she had lost to him after having fought so hard to be the one to end the whole thing, and not him. She tried to wriggle out of Jigen's tight grip, she wanted to see if there was a chance that he was still alive and, if so, to be able to dedicate each of the bullets in her weapon to each moment suffered, each day lost, and each latent trauma. It didn't take long for Lupin to arrive, and as they both dragged her back so they could escape, Y / N let out her screams and insults in a heartbreaking cry. There was no time to make her see reason, so the shooter carried her on her shoulder like a bag and run away from the screams of terror from the enemy gang, upon learning that their leader was no longer with them. 

. . .

 Goemon was waiting for the 3 thieves in an old house in the middle of the road to the city. He had soup ready for the rest, assuming they would need it. He overly underestimated the need to replenish power after such a hectic robbery.

 Y / N got out of the Fiat a few moments later than her friends, and walked slowly toward the hideout, hating the talk she knew would come later. Goemon looked somewhat puzzled at the tense atmosphere that was present and limited himself to serving the humble dinner to the rest. The silence continued until Jigen (finally) broke the dense ice.

 "Are you okay, Y / N?" She raised her head, puzzled by the question. She thought that he would scold her from the outset about what had happened. But she didn't want to answer, she didn't know how. To say that it was okay was to lie blatantly and that it was wrong, a no-brainer. Thank God Lupin was the one who, after a few seconds, answered for her.

 "Honestly, what do you think she'll answer, Jigen?" the thief commented and then took a spoonful from his soup bowl, while the gunman uncomfortably adjusted his fedora. "Or rather, what happened, Y / N?"

 Silence again. It was too much information to process, even for her, and explaining it to them without even knowing exactly what was going on in her head wasn't going to end well either.

 "Excuse me," the thief said, setting her bowl on the table and shifting her exhausted body in tow toward her designated room of hers. The three men looked at her, trying to figure out what was wrong with her. Lupin was the only one to speak before Y / N entered the room.

 "Before you go to sleep, I just want you to know that we do not want to reproach you, surely you have had your reasons to act the way you did. We are only worried, Y / N. If you need help, the 3 of us are here. Goodnight". And when she turned her head to look at them, Lupin managed a small smile, which Y / N returned weakly, entering her room and gently closing the door, leaving the man in the fedora hat much more intrigued and concerned than before.

. . .

 After midnight, the moon illuminated every gloomy corner of the abandoned house, and Y / N's mind continued to fight the prevailing need for sleep that her body demanded of him. Few sobs escaped her eyes that night, being that her crying was as silent as the environment that surrounded her, and the little noise that there was was that of the strong and stormy wind filtering through the worn walls.

 Jigen, who smoked thoughtfully for a long time in front of the house, decided to go in to sleep once he considered that the freezing temperature of the wind was too much to bear. He shared the small room with Y / N; He did not have the initiative to enter when he thought that  she might still be awake, he would not know what to do to comfort her in case she was crying, and he hesitated to go to sleep on the worn out sofa bed. But his back ached just looking at it, and he cautiously chose to enter the room.

 "Are you still up?" he asked in a low voice, to which a tired Y / N emerged from the sheets, sitting up on the bed.

 "I hope that answers your question."

 Jigen knew he wouldn't be able to sleep with a clear conscience if he didn't even try to relax her. Yes, he can sleep perfectly well knowing that his crimes are condemned almost everywhere, but he was not a monster, and as much as he denied it as if his life of it depended, he had a soft spot for her.

 The man slowly approached Y / N's bed, and sat on the edge of it while he set his hat on the frame of the bed. He cleared his throat a little, and trying to sound as understanding as possible, he asked again:

 "Are you okay, Y / N?"

 "No." She answered softly, lowering her head a little.

 "Would you explain why to me? I promise not to tell anyone if that is what makes you feel bad." Jigen offered, cracking a small smile to offer her a confident figure. However, Y / N looked him in the eye, and simply burst into tears before she could say a word.

 "Hey hey hey, eeerhm, come here." He said opening his arms so that she entered his embrace. The young woman did not hesitate for a moment to sink into the gunman's chest, and she wept inconsolably, venting again.

 "Listen to me" Jigen whispered as he subtly stroked Y / N's back. "You don't have to explain to me now if you don't want to. But I want you to know that if you need a shoulder to cry on, count on me." He gulped nervously, hoping he was doing enough to help.

 Y / N nodded slightly, while she wiped her tears with her shirt sleeve.

 A few minutes passed in silence, when she whispered "I love you" to him. Jigen hugged her even tighter, and after a few moments, he had the strength to open up and answer "me too".

[the-ghost-king]

Schizophrenic Nico, here's why I think it's possible:

I want to start off by saying these are just my thoughts, there is no one way to be schizophrenic or to have schizophrenia. It's also important to note that many of the schizophrenic symptoms overlap with other mental illnesses/nuerodivergences like ADHD, Autism, Depression, and OCD which I know many people who head canon Nico as having. I'm not arguing schizophrenic Nico is more correct, more canon, or more right, but to explain some thoughts on why I think it's possible/very likely he does so I can use this for future reference in various thing.

I am using the term schizophrenia as a catchall for all "types" of schizophrenia, but not for schizoaffective disorder which I would say Nico probably doesn't have.

Children born in the winter/those who were "sickly" as babies are more likely to develop schizophrenia. It may also be possible if your mother was sick while pregnant with you, or having a father who was significantly older when he had you.

A stressful life, especially trauma, are more likely to develop schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. It likely has something to do with excessive dopamine production, but it may also have something to do with the same genes that control the sleep-wake cycle. Schizophrenia is more common with other mental illnesses or with other nuerodivergences or developmental delays.

Common symptoms include:

Hallucinations

Delusions

Disorganized thinking

lack of motivation

slow movement

change in sleep patterns

poor grooming or hygiene

changes in body language and emotions

less interest in social activities

Now what does this mean for Nico, and why do I think it's likely he has Schizophrenia?

Let's start with Nico's childhood, "children born in the winter/those who were "sickly" as babies are more likely to develop schizophrenia". Although Rick proposed two birthdays for Nico, the fandom generally accepted the January date more fully. We also know that Nico is described as small when he was younger, smallness is common in children who grow up sickly, but it is also common in children who's mother was ill while pregnant with them. We obviously don't know if Nico was sick as a kid, or if Maria was sick while pregnant with him, but again being born in the winter makes these things more likely, as well as consideration for the time period Nico grew up in and the larger variety of illnesses going around at the time. (He is vaccinated against some things though).

Trauma and Nico... do I really have to go into super detail on this one? He spent his childhood growing up in a fascist country that was extremely racist/anti-Semitic/homophobic/etc, his mom died when he was a child- in front of him, his father intentionally gave him amnesia, his sister died when he was a child, he then proceeded to become homeless living/spending lots of time with Minos who verbally (and possibly physically) abused him, becoming aware of his past memories, becoming aware of the fact that many people hated him because of his father and because they thought he was joining the other side (therefore, he was "bad"), he fought in many battles as a child, fought monsters alone, was often faced with life or death situations, went to Tartarus alone (where the goddess of misery told him he was "perfect"), was trapped in a hostage situation with little/no air for a long time while people debated whether or not to save him, was outed against his will, was freed only to travel again fighting monsters and then win a battle, was eventually made to quest with Apollo despite still having lots of healing to do in ToN. So stressful life? Fuck yeah, that doesn't being to cover it.

Genetic factors, obviously nothing here is confirmed so I'm speculating a little bit again, but the common idea in regards to Hades children through the series is that they are "bad". Mental illnesses have been stigmatized for hundreds, if not thousands of years, and often mentally ill people were made out to be weird/bad/etc. It's more than possible there is some sort of genetic factor taking place, also "having a father who was significantly older when he had you". Although I doubt godly genes work the same as mortal ones (trust me I have lots of thoughts on how god genetics/DNA work, but that's not the point right now), I think Hades being the oldest out of all his brothers and having a reputation for having "questionable" children says something... We have no information on Maria's family history at all.

As for schizophrenia often occurring with other mental illnesses and/or neurodivergences: Nico canonically is implied to have either ADHD and/or Autism, and is canonically stated to have PTSD. I think most people would agree that saying Nico has or has had depression isn't a stretch in the slightest.

So canonically we can all agree Nico has severe trauma and coinciding mental health issues/neurodivergences, so out of 4 possible issues I’ve first presented we guaranteeably have two. If I wanted to stretch this a little I would give myself a half point for him being born in the winter and a half point for the aspect of Hades genetics but I won’t do that.

On top of that schizophrenia usually appears during teenage and young adult years in people who receive diagnosis; most people live with mental illness for a few months or a few years in some cases before they're able to receive a diagnosis. Nico being 15 (16 by the end of ToN/shortly following the end of ToN) is about the age that schizophrenia would start to make an appearance. It's also more likely to be found in men, with men also noticing the appearance of schizophrenia appearing early in their lives, and experiencing more negative symptoms in comparison to the higher commonality of affective symptoms in women. That's a really complicated explanation to basically say there's 3 more things that would make Nico having schizophrenia make more sense.

Alright, let’s go back to the list of symptoms I provided:

Hallucinations

Delusions

Disorganized thinking

lack of motivation

slow movement

change in sleep patterns

poor grooming or hygiene

changes in body language and emotions/behavior

less interest in social activities

Once again, some of these are not solely related to schizophrenia and can be the result of other mental health issues, I’m just going to go down the list and add in some moments from the books in which Nico shows some of these traits/behaviors.

Delusions/Hallucinations (more later)

Our best chances for understanding Nico's thought process is in Blood of Olympus where he has a P.O.V... Sometimes Nico's thoughts do derail, or sometimes they get a little confusing, but not always, and when talking to others he is consistent and aware of what he's saying, as well as blunt. Anything "off" about his thought patterns to me just seems like ADHD..

Dietary changes (whether or not you think he has an eating disorder) are behavioral changes (I personally think Nico has AFRID)

Within House of Hades Nico's poor sleep patterns are constantly referenced, and I'll give him a pass on poor hygiene because he's in the middle of a quest but still..

I have extremely complicated feelings on what Will says here, it's possible Nico is an extremely unreliable narrator (unlikely, it seems many people are bothered by him and only maybe a handful aren't), I've also thought at many points this was Rick trying to backtrack some stuff with Nico because he realized he'd made his story a little too harsh for a kids book, it could also be Will's trauma kicking in and that happening... I'm not counting it as full proof about Nico disliking social interactions, but Nico does try to leave even after this conversation and isn't convinced to stay until the last chapter, so maybe there's something to be said about people's dislike of him for being a Hades kid- but I think it's fair to say Nico also dislikes people at least some because he doesn't have interest in trying to befriend anyone either, and is quick to assume all people dislike him (paranoia/low self esteem/and some other possible stuff). There's lots of discussions to be had about this quote and other similar ones, and I don't think a broad brush approach of "Nico good everyone else bad" is accurate it's more, "Nico is good but he fails to try and you have to work on your own mental health everyone won just go to you, and also people dislike Nico for silly reasons and need to get over themselves and make an effort too". (I'm extremely oversimplifying my thoughts and feelings to keep it brief.)

More on delusions and hallucinations:

Now I want to state that lots of schizophrenia symptoms share a lot of commonalities with ADHD and with depression, so although I might include some moments you think are just ADHD/depression I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with you but they could also be schizophrenia or coexisting mental health issues/divergences. I also went through the DSM-5 for schizophrenia (the DSM-5 is just this big book with lists and it’s how doctors diagnose any mental health issue/divergence), I also looked through the DSM-IV (an older book from before DSM-5 which is no longer really used) and the differences between the diagnosis was fairly minimal but they quit categorizing types of schizophrenia and instead rely more on a couple of word descriptions that seem more in line with a spectrum rather than a checkable box.

In order to receive a schizophrenia diagnosis, two (or more) of the following, each present for a significant portion of time during a 1-month period (or less if successfully treated), and at least one of these symptoms must be (1), (2), or (3):

Delusions

Hallucinations

Disorganized speech (frequent derailment or incoherence)

Grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior

Negative symptoms (i.e., diminished emotional expression or avolition).

It’s important to note that only one of these need to be checked off/true if the patient has voices which narrate their actions/behaviors/thoughts or if the person has more than one voice conversing with each other.

Nico deals with auditory hallucinations (2), he believes the voice belongs to Bob, his titan friend he left in Tartarus:

However this isn’t and immediate diagnosis because Bob’s voice doesn’t talk to another voice(s) in Nico’s head, and we don’t know if Nico has voices running commentary on his behaviors/thoughts.

The reason I state we are unaware if Nico has commentary isn’t because Nico hasn’t said anything, but because many people with schizophrenia before their diagnosis believe the narrative voices are just their thoughts and are a normal internal monologue- usually patients don’t realize anything is wrong until the voices start providing commentary on their actions so instead of “washing the dishes now” the voice(s) might say “wash the dishes now, you’re so lazy you can’t do anything, idiot” during a period of psychosis which may help them acknowledge that the voice(s) isn’t the way most people experience internal voice(s). It is very possible Nico is unaware he is experiencing narrative thoughts and simply assumes that his experience is something most people have, but I won’t use this to argue my point because it’s not confirmation of anything.

Returning now to Bob, Nico knows he is hearing Bob’s voice but he believes Bob is calling to him from Tartarus. Now, Nico says the voices are calling to him from Tartarus but there’s no confirmation of this anywhere… What I think is happening is Nico has a guilty conscience. He feels bad for “using” Bob to get out of Tartarus and various other things, so he feels bad that he is still down there. However, we don’t really know if Bob is calling to him or if Bob is able to do that- what I personally think is happening here is Nico’s brain is convincing Nico that Bob needs him because Nico is upset with himself for not helping Bob more, but also because Nico has never “sat still” before without a quest. Nico has also always felt the want to be needed/important...

It very well could be a delusion.

Schizophrenic patients often experience delusions which make them think they are destined for greatness, or that they have some divine/high force calling out to them for help that only they can provide. It’s an extremely common thing in individuals who experience delusions, and is in fact one of the most common delusions experienced. So although Bob could really be calling out to Nico, I don’t think he is, it doesn’t entirely make sense and there’s lots of little things which point to it being not entirely real- like the fact that nobody else knows about it? Or how absolutely sure Nico is that he need to return to Tartarus? It seems like a mixture of PTSD, delusions, and trauma response (returning to the trauma), working against him. I’ll say delusion is very likely (1).

Using these two factors alone there’s sufficient evidence for diagnosis, but let’s keep going just to see.

For disorganized speech (3) this isn’t something Nico seems to struggle with, and even if he did “derailing” could be ADHD or Autism, so I don’t think this symptom pertains to him.

Changes in behavior (4), seem to all be explainable via depression and/or PTSD- he has begun to express emotion again in Tower of Nero upon learning of Jason’s death he is said to be upset by Will and he walks off to be alone, seems like depression to me. Emotional/Behavior changes from schizophrenia tend to relate more to bipolar disorder rather than a depressive disorder, so I would say if Nico has schizophrenia he probably doesn’t have emotional or behavioral changes from it. If he did he might have some catatonic behavior, but this seems to be clearing up some in Tower of Nero so I’m not super sure on that, maybe during bad periods of psychosis behavioral changes occur, but I would lean more towards this isn’t a symptom Nico personally deals with. Negative symptoms (5) tie into this same idea, it’s possible it’s schizophrenia, but it’s more likely PTSD or depression at work.

So why do I care so much about the possibility of Nico being schizophrenic?

I feel like canonically/fanonically making Nico schizophrenic does a few things, firstly schizophrenic rep in media is extremely extremely awful- can you think off the top of your head of a schizophrenic character who isn't from a horror film/a murder/a villain in their own story? Maybe, but personally I can only think of one which is Charlie from Perks of Being a Wallflower- and even then? That's not canon, it's only implied- and it might not even be true

Schizophrenic media representation always paints schizophrenic people as bad, scary, and evil, and although the horror genre is extremely well known for being super ableist, transphobic, racist, homophobic, and misogynistic (just the final cherry on top) having one of the first- if not the first openly confirmed schizophrenic characters in children's media not only be someone who has lots of character development, and isn't a stereotype, but also be someone people have grown up with, cared for, and sympathized with- would be extremely monumental.

People with schizophrenia and other related disorders aren't something to be scared of or to think of as bad, and often times they're more bothered by whatever they're experiencing than you are.

I don't have schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder or anything like that, but I have various undiagnosed mental health issues which often lead to me questioning reality, or having to set aside time to convince myself that no there isn't a man living in my wall... Having a character have to question those things, work through those feelings, and learn to trust themselves and care for themselves even with those difficulties would be really great to see in media, not just for people with schizophrenia but also for people with similar/related disorders who might share symptoms see parts of their own struggles in a good, educative way.

I have to finish this in two parts because tumblr keeps breaking because there's too many words in my post lmao (2nd part here)

[hazzoranstories]

Draco Malfoy x Jade Calmanie Smut| Business Man

Includes: Oral sex (male received), vaginal sex, choking, nudity, and harsh language

Jade is a character I created for this one-shot. You can still make this a Draco x reader if you want to.

________________________________________________________________________________

"I don't know what to do, Gin. I haven't seen him all day," Jade told her best friend Ginny on the other end of the phone line.

"You sure he isn't just avoiding you?" She asked, and Jade scoffed.

"Thanks, Ginny, that really helps," she mocked, and Ginny chuckled. "No, ever since he's gotten promoted, he's been too worried about keeping his title to do anything else. But, you know how fast the Auror department moves, Gin," Ginny sighed and muttered a 'yeah.'

"Look, why don't you go in there and talk to him about it. That's what I did with Harry when he got the position as head Auror. He did the same thing," the Weasley said, and Jade debated her advice, tapping her fingers on her burning thigh.

"Yeah, but do I care to remind you what happened after that?"

"We got in a fight, and he refused to put out for a week," Ginny admitted in defeat, and Jade giggled under her breath.

"Exactly," The brunette argued.

"Stop being a coward and do something! I don't care what it is, but I'm not your couple therapist anymore," Ginny snapped, and Jade huffed.

"Fine. But you know eventually, you'll come crawling back to your job like you have the last seven times," Jade teased.

"Shut up," the red-head growled, and Jade greeted her goodbye. "Oh, and use protection!" Ginny yelled as Jade was about to hang up. She rolled her eyes and hung up. Jade stood up from the black leather couch in her and Draco's living room and made her way to Draco's office. She stared at the dark oak door when she got there before forcing her hand to open the door slowly. She knocked softly and peeked her head through the opening.

She saw Draco at his desk writing a letter to someone with his eagle feather quill. Parts of his blonde hair had fallen in front of his face, but he didn't seem to have noticed and continued writing. The veins in his hands were exfoliated in the dim light which reflected off his white button-up shirt. He was tapping his foot in perfect patterns, his freshly shined black shoes making minimal noise.

"Good morning, darling. What do you need?" He asked, his voice crisp and short. He hadn't looked up once since Jade entered the room.

"Erm — it's eight in the afternoon, Draco," Jade furrowed my eyebrows as she took a few steps inside.

"Oh, well, anyway, what do you need?" He repeated, and she shrugged.

"I don't need anything. I just wanted to check on you," she said, placing her hands at the end of his black desk.

"I'm doing fine, darling. You don't need to fret anymore," he rushed and scribbled some words on his piece of parchment.

"You sure?"

"Yes," he mumbled. Jade licked her full lips and walked around the desk until she stood behind Draco's chair.

"You do realize that you haven't been out of this room in," Jade grabbed Draco's left hand, which wasn't writing, and looked at his watch. "13 hours," she stated, and Draco yanked his wrist away from his girlfriend's grasp. He didn't respond, merely continued writing. Jade huffed and rested her hands on his shoulders.

He tried to shrug them off, but Jade leaned him back slightly and ran them down his chest. She bent down and began nibbling at the spot behind his ear. She soothed the sore skin with tender kisses before returning to biting. "Jade," Draco hissed and tried to get back to his letter, only for Jade to tug at his hair.

Her kisses and bites moved down to his neck, but she tilted his head over to begin her work on his cutting jawline. Draco knew he should push her away and continue his work, but he couldn't get himself to do it. All he could do was tense and try desperately to hold back a gulp. Jade's hands roamed further down to Draco's trousers, and they hovered over his belt buckle.

"May I?" Jade whispered, biting at Draco's ear. Draco glanced behind him and looked at his beautiful girlfriend. Jade took a step back as he swiveled his chair around to face her. She raised an eyebrow and bit her lip to conceal a smirk.

What surprised her was when Draco held up his index finger and gestured her over. Jade went back over to him and straddled his lap across the chair. "Just so we're clear. If this delays me by any time that it'll negatively affect my job in any way. You know what you'll get coming. Understood?" he said, his voice raspy and so harsh that his teeth clenched together.

"Of course," Jade replied, matching his character of tone perfectly. Her hand grazed against his throat before going to his hair and yanking his head back, causing a loud grunt to escape his mouth. She kissed his adam's apple before unclutching his head and slipping off the chair. She got on her knees and undid his belt.

It clattered when it hit the floor, and his pants were soon to follow. The couple stared at each other as Jade brought down Draco's boxers. Draco exhaled in relief as his cock sprang free onto his stomach. Jade began stroking it with her right hand, her newly painted nails glowing against the lamplight. Before he could process anything different, Jade had put his throbbing tip in between her lips. The blonde threw his head back and groaned quietly.

Being satisfied with her boyfriend's reaction, Jade picked up her pace of bobbing her head and stroking the parts she couldn't fit in her mouth. Draco couldn't resist the temptation of grabbing her hair as his sounds of pleasure continued. "Shit," he whispered as Jade forced herself to go deeper. He was practically pulling out Jade's hair by the time she pulled away to breathe. Draco's cock twitched in her hands just before she let it fall onto his thigh.

She stood again and watched Draco catching his breathe with a small smirk. When Draco's eyes finally went to her, Jade trailed her hands up both her thighs until they were under the short black dress she was wearing. Draco watched as she pulled her knickers down her frame until they were on the floor and pushed aside. He bit his lip as she returned to straddling his lap.

Her dripping folds pressed against his sensitive tip, and they both moaned. Jade brought herself up and picked up Draco's cock, lining herself up. Draco grabbed Jade's chin and made her look into his consuming eyes as she cautiously lowered herself onto him until their hips made contact again. Draco grabbed onto her hips, and Jade gripped onto the arm of the chair. Her jaw dropped, and she whimpered while listening to Draco's heavy breathing.

Jade only had to adjust for a few moments before she began grinding against his hips. Draco's hold on her hips tightened, and they both moaned in euphoria. While gentle curses fell from Draco's lips, Jade picked up the pace until she was bouncing up and down. Her hand clutching the armrest moved to Draco's chest. She scratched at it.

"Fuck, baby," Jade whispered in Draco's ear. Draco assisted her attempt to bring pleasure by bringing his hips up the moment she hit hers, causing her to take more of him. As they quickened their pace, they both felt a burning sensation running through their abdomens. Draco's cock began twitching inside Jade, and Jade's fingers found Draco's hair again as she trembled over him.

"I'm gonna cum," Draco hissed, and Jade nodded in agreement. Draco's voice went up an octave as he pulled out of his girlfriend, and his hot cum erupted from his red tip onto his chiseled stomach. His hand found Jade's heat, where he helped her reach her high. When she did a minute later, her entire body shook, and Draco's fingers were glossed with her juices.

When both were down from their orgasms, Jade collapsed onto her boyfriend. Her cheek rested on his shoulder as they both panted loudly. "Now, will you finally get out of this room?" Jade asked through catching her breath.

Draco nodded. "After that? Hell yeah."

[teaboot]

Hey I just wanted to ask you something I don't know if its personal so maybe I'll start with me, my psychiatrist told me that I have asperger's syndrome and like my mom keeps asking me like what does that means because I think she sees people with autism as stupid and I'm at the top of my class so she feels like it's a mistake, I personally go mute for months sometimes except for like oral tests, and idk I forget about having a body and so I hit onto walls when I'm focused on something but *

"...*is not so exaggerated like I'm pretty functional I just forget that there are walls and doors and that I can't just transport me to the other room or so,I mean I feel like I'm just trying to find what my "weird or autistic" traits are to justify the diagnosis,I didn't asked my psychiatrist to elaborate on that and so I was wondering, what would you say that your autistic traits are?Also just in case,I know that autistic people can be hella smart and I think that you are really wise I admire you"

Thank you so much, that's very sweet of you to say!

Honestly, I'm sort of in a similar situation- My parents' reaction was to say, "you're too smart to be autistic" or, "Everyone of ~your intelligence~ is a little weird in the head, anyways", and then. Expect me to live up to all the positive stereotypes without ever getting bogged down by the negative realities?

This might not be very helpful at all of me to say, but as an adult who grew up in a rather unpleasant environment, there really isn't much help for a number of things except getting old and independant enough to move out, and then just accepting that their perception of reality isn't open to negotiation. You can try debating it, or meeting them on common ground with scientific basis, but in my case....

....well. There's just some things I now know not to talk about at family gatherings.

I'm sorry, I know that's probably not very helpful or heartening to hear. 

As for my personal grab bag of symptoms? I tend to hyperfocus on personal projects. When I'm really invested in an art piece, I often forget to eat or sleep or drink, and the only way I've learned to snap out of that is that if my hands are shaking or I'm falling over a lot, I probably need to eat something and lay down for a while, because otherwise- and yeah, not the healthiest motivator- otherwise I might start fucking up my hard work.

I also get overwhelmed by overlapping noises- if two people are talking at once, even if one is on a radio or TV show, I can't hear either of them and it stresses the shit out of me. White noise, like in malls or assemblies, also tends to burn my energy pretty fast.

Things like leaf blowers, people whistling indoors, and emergency sirens are physically painful. Repetitive noises like a bouncing rubber ball, sniffling, dogs licking things, and low-frequency vibrations from massage chairs, earthquakes, distant bass music, and some fluorescent lighting systems are impossible to ignore, which ranges from irritating to distressing, depending on my headspace du jour.

I hate bland food with a passion. It tends to make me nauseaus. I like lots of spice, lots of sugar, lots of sour and hot and acidic. I love strong flavours, and if I'm cooking for friends and family I often have to remind myself to tone down the seasonings for them.

Some textures make me genuinely ill, too- most types of meat, fat, and other animal bits result in.... Bad times for all. Polyester towels suck ass. Microfiber cloth. Thick cotton knit material. Any fabric covering my forearms. Thin, elastic denim. Vinyl. Polar fleece.

On the flip side, I looooove woven cotton blankets. Cotton sheets, cotton bedding- cold, heavy duvets are good, too. Acrylic, so long as it doesn't get damp. I have.... Perhaps a little bit of a problem here, as I do... Maybe, possibly, get a little impulsive with buying rugs, throws, and blankets when I come across one that feels right.

All my cups and bowls are handmade out of clay. I'm OK with smooth ceramics, but stoneware feels happy in my hands. I think of it as a treat, like packing a bit of chocolate with my lunch, or eating a whole bag of popcorn by myself. Again, I.... May go a little overboard when I come across A nice-feeling piece of dishware.

Basically, from what I understand, a lot of folks on the spectrum are under and over stimulated by various sensory inputs.

Me, I gravitate towards taste, inertia, tactile sensation, temperature, and dark lighting, while I find myself avoiding, limiting, or minimizing sound, light, color, oral texture, and smell.

As for more stereotyped behaviors, I find organizing things such as legal documents, filing cabinets, paint swatches, hardware, coins, stones, or colors to be very soothing and almost meditative. I go through special interests fairly often, and have been 'into' things like animals, insects, natural history, and art since before I could walk. I can't explain why they're such alluring subjects, they just make me happy.

I didn't realize until recently that I do stim, as well- I rock, sway, growl, swish water around, hang upside-down, rotate my thumbs, rub fabric, twirl coins, and flex my hands. I also (rarely) seem compelled to jump up and down in circles very fast when I'm particularly excited, or flap my arms against my sides like a penguin.

When I'm overstimulated, I go.... I'm not sure if you could call it 'nonverbal'. I get the feeling I COULD speak, it's just.... Overwhelmingly difficult. Usually I find a dark space or a corner away from people, put a coat or something over my head, cover my ears, close my eyes... Sometimes deliberate eye contact is hard, or I can't say more than one or two words at a time, or I find myself relying more on a hum or a grunt to communicate that I'm listening.

It... Probably all sounds weird to a neurotypical who may be reading, but I'm perfectly happy with myself as I am. I wouldn't change it if I could, except perhaps to minimize some of the more irritating things.

Mostly, my biggest peeve is being treated like a cool new pet or accessory. "Oh, this is my person with Autism- they're great at cleaning, you should get one!"- yeah, that can fuck right off. I'm right here, I can hear you, I'm a person. A little respect goes a long way.

But, whoops, here I've gone on a ramble- you want the best advice I have, though? Become comfortable with the person you are. Accept and seek out what things bring you happiness. Don't get hung up on the negatives. Love your experience, if you can, and don't worry about validating anything- you are who you are, and the words we use to explain ourselves fall so, so short when faced with the complexity of our individual existence.

The way I see it, the day before your diagnosis is the same as today, you just have one more tool to understand yourself with. The decision of how and if you choose to explain this to those around you is entirely yours to decide! 

I know this kind of went off the rail of your question. My answers are a little limited. I hope I could help anyways! Good luck!!

[lastsonlost]

A step-by-step handbook for destroying a man's life with lie.

INTRODUCTION

A s women, we have been oppressed by men's physical advantages over us since the beginning of humankind.

But now, in today's modern societies, the tables are finally turning.

Especially with the advent of the Internet and social media, and the economy's transition from

manufacturing to information, women are leveraging their natural advantages (e.g., social skills, emotional intelligence, and communication) to gain power.

You've probably utilized these advantages to some degree already, in one form or another. For example, as a child in school, I recall the boys using physical strength and aggression (e.g., punching) to bully girls. That was their power. Girls, on the other hand, used communication and accusation (e.g., spreading rumors) to undermine boys. This is our power!

The purpose of this handbook is to be a resource:

a collection of tools and techniques that have proven

powerful in women's struggle against patriarchy. I did not invent these methods; I only describe them. Be advised, however, that the methods outlined in this handbook were chosen for their utility, or their ability to achieve results, rather than for their legal or ethical merit. In other words, the information presented herein does not purport to be legally or ethically sound. What is considered to be "right" or "legal" often changes with time, tl1e prevailing culture, and the evolution of law.

This handbook is a work of free speech. How the content is used, misused, or not used is at the sole discretion of the reader, and I (as the author) retain no responsibility. Similarly, I'm publishing this book under the pseudonym of Angela Confidential to protect from backlash.

Enjoy!

Just a little sample of what's in this book.........

CHAPTER 1

THE DAMN FUNDAMENTALS

Let's begin with some introductions. We have three key friends, or fundamentals, that make it possible to destroy a man now (DAMN). To DAMN well, it's important to know them well.

Our first ally is Allison Allegation. Allegation an be so simple, effective, and easy to employ that it's elegant. An allegation is a claim, usually without proof, that someone has done something illegal or wrong. A claim, at minimum, requires nothing more than an assertion.

For example, if I yell from a roof top that the world is flat, I have successfully made a claim. Similarly, identifying wrongdoing requires only observation, recollection, or a minimal amount of imagination. From lying to murder, any behavior that you've heard of, seen, experienced, or can think of that violates an ethical or a legal standard can suffice for an allegation.

However, it's the last part of what constitutes an allegation that makes it uniquely useful: no evidence is required.

This independence from proof allows you to make an allegation about any man doing anything without being encumbered by a need for facts.

But how can something as intangible as the spoken word, without evidence, have enough merit or power to DAMN? Admittedly, if left completely on her own, Allison Allegation has relatively little power.

That's where our other two friends, Mary Media and Arthur Authority, assist.

Mary Media, our second ally, encompasses just about any means of communication. Media can be as elementary as whispers of gossip, although nowadays the term most often refers to mass communication platforms such as television, the Internet, or mainstream media networks. Of course, it also includes social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, which you will soon see are especially well suited to DAMN.

So how does Mary Media help Allison Allegation?

Well, interestingly, they help each other. You've probably heard the philosophical question, "If a tree falls in the woods, and no one hears it, did it make a sound?"

Although the answer to that question is still debated, it's certain that if an allegation is made and no one knows about it, it has no power. Fortunately, however, the opposite is also true:

the more people who know about an allegation, the more powerful it becomes.

Thankfully for Allison Allegation and for our purposes, the modern mainstream media excel at spreading information far and wide. They do it to make money-lots of money-from advertisers. Yet advertisers need more than just a way to reach people; they also need a way to get people to pay attention to their advertisements (and ultimately buy products).

This is where media content comes in. Media content can be videos, website posts, "breaking news," and so on anything that garners interest. And it's no secret that scandal attracts people's interest especially well. "Sex sells," as the saying goes, and so does violence, injustice, misconduct, and anything else outrageous. That's why scandalous content in mainstream media has increased over the years. That's also why Mary Media helps Allison Allegation: scandalous allegations attract people's interest, interested people watch advertisements, advertisements sell products, and it all makes Mary Media money.

However, fascinatingly, while the mainstream media profit from proliferating allegations, they bear little responsibility for doing it! Apparently, as long as the media mention that the scandal is an "allegation," they are relatively safe from legal repercussions.

This is because, in free-speech societies, people can voice opinions and unsubstantiated claims. Further, the media can always attest that they are not making the allegation; rather, they are just reporting it.

But, in truth, the media actually do help "make" the allegation by how they report it. You probably know that how you say something can convey greater meaning than what you say. For example, I could say, "I'm happy," but ifl scream it angrily, people are much more likely to believe I'm upset. With that in mind, try listening carefully to how mainstream media say the word "allegation" when reporting a story. Either they say it in a positive tone, as though it's something good, or they say it quickly, as though it's insignificant. They also use the word "allegation" or "alleged" instead of using terms such as "unsubstantiated claim" or "accusation without proof" to deemphasize that evidence is lacking. Even more cleverly, after the media make an allegation popular by broadcasting it far and wide, they then circle back later and broadcast how "so many" people are talking about it.

Further, they support people who make allegations by promoting them as courageous for "coming forward." These tactics get even more people interested and encourage others to make similar claims. Finally, the media then cite the increasing number of allegations and growing public outrage (that they helped create) as being "too numerous to be ignored" or as "evidence" of truth.

In a court of law, a man is considered innocent until proven guilty, but in the court of media-managed public opinion, a man "serially accused" of a scandal is guilty until proven innocent. In this way, an allegation does not require evidence to DAMN because, through media manipulation, it becomes its own evidence.

Thousands-even millions-of people can become organized against one man.

Likewise, the "evidence" and public perception of guilt created by Allison Allegation and Mary Media's synergy can become so prominent and powerful that our third ally, Arthur Authority, has a duty to step in.

And it's authority that really helps us put the "destroy" in DAMN!

Authority is defined as any person or organization that has the power to control, direct, punish, and so on, which is exactly the kind of power we need to DAMN. Examples include police, judges, bosses, human resource departments, boards of directors, teachers, professors, university councils, licensing and regulatory agencies, and so on. Ultimately, it's authority that plays the final role in condemning a man.

So what do we need to know about authority to DAMN? Well, to begin, it's important to understand that Arthur Authority is an artifact of patriarchy and chivalry. As "Daddy Knight," he takes pride in his role as guardian and savior, especially of the weak, mistreated, violated, and so on.

He strives to be the hero who saves the damsel in distress. In other words, authority caters to victims, and nothing gets Arthur Authority's attention more than a call to action to save victims.

To be considered a victim, or a damsel in distress, authority first needs to perceive you as weak. Surprisingly, a great illustration of this is how authorities usually relate to men in distress. Can you imagine what typically happens when a man walks into a police precinct and requests a restraining order against a woman?

Officers roll their eyes, and immediate dis-

belief ensues. T his is because they simply do not perceive a man to be weaker than a woman, and for that reason, they are unwilling to provide assistance. In contrast, in patriarchal societies, women are perceived as weak by default, and therefore deserving of help and protection in the eyes of authorities.

Second, for the weak to attain victim status, authorities also need to perceive them as harmed or violated.

In other words, authorities require a credible claim that a legal or an ethical standard has been broken in order to take action (because it's their duty to enforce standards).

As we now know, we can look to Allison Allegation to make the claim and to Mary Media to make it credible. Nevertheless, it's still important to emphasize that authority is most likely to help us DAMN in instances that entail an apparent violation of specific laws or codes of conduct-the more egregious, the better.

Examples are numerous, including rape, sexual harassment, discrimination, physical assault, child abuse, substance abuse, and dishonesty in its many forms (e.g., lying, cheating, fraud, etc.).

Also-and this works surprisingly well-keep in mind that with the media's help, allegations against authorities can be used to motivate authority to take action!

Just about any widespread allegation about an authority being remiss, ineffectual, or negligent in its "guardian and savior" role will suffice. For instance, a televised allegation about a company ignoring sexual harassment in the workplace is enough to motivate the company's human resources department to hunt the accused man and anyone who failed to report his scandalous behavior to HR!

Once authorities decree that there is a victim of a violation, they can take punitive actions against the perpetrator (i.e., "destroy" a man).

Punitive actions usually entail substantial loss, such as termination of employment/loss of income, loss of education or certification (e.g., dismissal from school or revocation of credentials), loss of social status or good reputation (e.g., public shame and humiliation), loss of financial savings (e.g., payment for legal settlements), and loss of freedom (e.g., imprisonment). In addition, the combined actions of Allison Allegation, Mary Media, and Arthur Authority generally result in ongoing loss or the loss of future opportunities. In this way, a man is truly damned.

With a smeared reputation or record of alleged misconduct, no one will want to be associated with him, no one will want to employ him, no one will want to help him, and no one will even believe him.

Further, the subsequent long-term stress frequently results in loss of physical and mental health.

When I say these methods can destroy a man, I genuinely mean it.

Moreover, these methods actually do destroy men, even powerful ones. There is no better testimony to how effective Allison Allegation, Mary Media, and Arthur Authority can be than the growing number of men they've destroyed (regardless of allegations being true or false).

Complete source

[bobasheebaby]

Babymoon- Lucky Number 7?: Crimson Rain chapter 9

Pairing: Bastien x Liza; Buttons

Word count: 1,299

Warnings: Liza’s nerves, fluff

Summary: Bastien takes Liza to the beach to try to help her relax. (Takes place mid September when Liza is 7.5 months pregnant.)

A/N: thanks @sirbeepsalot for being a sounding board and putting up with me. After you’ve all been thoroughly destroyed by both Beeps and I today with dark deliciousness here is your weekly dose of healing fluff. Now to work on next weeks but MoE is demanding dark Liam. Oh boy.

Series warnings: talks of pregnancy loss, fear of pregnancy loss, anxiety, depression. Set within Crimson Rain but pulling the major pregnancy drama from the main series. All the fluff and angst with minimal mobster drama.

Let me know if you want to be added or removed from the taglist.

Disclaimer: I own my OC’s, the rest I’m simply borrowing from PB for a bit.

Liza frowned into the bathroom mirror as she finished styling her black locks, her hand gently grazing the top of her bump. Can’t wait until you’re born and I can go back to bright colors. She smiled as Bastien’s arms slipped around her waist, hands gently cupping her stomach. He rested his chin on her shoulder, steely grey eyes locking on hazel in the mirror. “I have a surprise for you.”

Liza laughed shaking her head. “What’s with you and your surprises?” She turned in his embrace, her hands resting on his shoulders, her large bump keeping her from pulling him too close. “Care to tell me what it is?”

“I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”

“If you expect me to drag my big as a house self out of this house for an extended period of time you need to tell me what the surprise is.”

Bastien chuckled at her adorable pout. “First, you’re not ‘as big as a house’, you’re gorgeous.” Liza rolled her hazel eyes. “Second, I planned on making you wait a little bit, but I always planned on telling you.” He kissed her nose making her giggle.

“Then tell me.”

Bastien ran his hands around her waist, placing them on her stomach. “I was thinking, since we didn’t really get a honeymoon and I know you’ve been stressed over this pregnancy that I’d take you to the beach so you can relax.”

Liza’s face broke out into a broad smile. “Just you and me?” He nodded. “Can we bring Butt?” Buttons trotted into the bathroom bumping Liza’s leg with his nose at the call of his name.

“If that will make you happy.”

“It would, thank you.” She pressed her lips to his in a sweet kiss. “Come on Butt, we gotta get ready for the beach!”

*

Liza rolled down the windows of the car as they neared the salt marshes. She inhaled a deep breath of the salty ocean air, feeling some of her anxiousness slipping away just with that one breath of ocean air. Buttons whined from his restrained position in the backseat. “Okay Butt, I’ll roll down your window too.” Buttons happily stretched his neck as close to the window as possible. He sniffed the air, his tail happily beating the leather seats like a drum. She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply once more, peace washing over her. Thump. Thump. Thump. Liza giggled as the kicks kept time with Buttons tail hitting the seat. “Someone likes the salt air. Sage is kicking up a storm over here.”

Bastien quickly glanced over at Liza, her head leaning back against the headrest, eyes still closed, her hand resting on her bump. He pulled his eyes off of her back to the road before them, smiling as he saw the worry wash away from her features. “Maybe she’s just dancing to the music Butt is making with his tail.”

Liza laughed, the sound lighter and more free than it sounded in months as it filtered through the air. “Maybe. I still think she likes the ocean.”

“Well we can bring her next year.”

“I’d like that. Her and Butt playing in the sand. It’d be nice.”

She’s making plans. Bastien reached his hand over  giving hers a soft squeeze. He debated if he should mention it.

“I’m still scared.” Her soft voice broke through his thoughts. “I’m just trying to be cautiously optimistic.” She opened her eyes, turning her head to look at him. “I’m still terrified something will happen in the eleventh hour, but I’m trying to not let that fear swallow me up alive, I’m trying to let it go.” She squeezed his hand back. “Just the salt air is helping, so thank you.”

“I’m glad.” He gave her hand one last squeeze before drawing his hand back to the steering wheel.

Liza drew her gaze back to the window, watching the different beach houses as they whirled past. Soon they pulled up to a small bungalow nestled close to the sea. “It’s not that far a walk down to the water from here, I didn’t want anything to be too overwhelming for you.”

She reached out taking hold of his hand. “It’s perfect.” Buttons whined from the back seat. “Okay Butt, we’ll let you out to stretch your legs and go potty.”

*

Liza stared out at the water, the surf gently breaking over her feet, hair fanning out behind her in the breeze. She slowly closed her eyes, tilting her face up towards the fading sun. Just a few hours at the beach, and she already felt so much of the anxiety she felt melting away. The beach really is my happy place. Smile graced her lips as she heard Buttons barking as he bounded down the beach. He circled her legs, happily splashing in the surf. “Thank you for this. I don’t know how you knew I needed it.”

“How’d you know I was here?”

“Buttons, I knew you wouldn’t let him wander out too far on his own.”

“Very true.” He wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling his face into her neck. “So you’re enjoying yourself.”

“Yes. But I have one complaint.”

“Hmmm, and what’s that?”

“I can’t bend down to collect shells.” Bastien threw his head back as he let out a loud laugh. “Hey, it’s not funny! You know how much I like beachcombing!”

*

Liza leaned back in her beach chair, allowing the peace to wash over her as she listened to the waves lap at the beach and felt the sun's rays beat down on her exposed skin. She wiggled her toes in the sand as she tugged her top down ensuring her round belly was covered. She raised her head, lowering her sunglasses, raking her eyes over Bastien’s sculpted torso as he walked over. “Good idea, show those off while you still can.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your abs, they’re ridiculous, in the best way possible, but I mean…” She carefully studied his taut stomach. “Yup, already lost an ab.” She carefully counted again. “Maybe two.”

“Yea okay.” Bastien replied shaking his head at her silliness. At least she’s feeling more relaxed.

“No, I’m serious! You lost one right here.” She gently poked his stomach with her finger. “You’re totally getting your dad bod.”

Bastien laughed as he plopped in the sand next to her.

“Hey watch it!” She brushed sand off her legs.

“That was already there and you know it.”

“Sure. Just like you really know you’re getting a dad bod.”

“I am not. I'm glad you’re enjoying yourself though.”

“I am. This was a great idea.” She leaned back closing her eyes.

*

Liza and Bastien walked barefoot down the beach hand in hand, Buttons running at their feet, happily bouncing in the sand, sand flying up and battering their legs. “He seems to like the beach as much as you.”

Liza smiled, her eyes scanning the abandoned beach. “It is my happy place.” Her free hand ran over her bump. “She’s a lot more active too. Maybe it’s because I’m a bit calmer, or maybe it’s her happy place too.”

Bastien stopped walking, pulling her to face him. He brushed the hair back from her face. “You going to be okay when we get home?”

“I think I’ll be okay. I mean I’m still scared, I will be until I hold her in my arms, but I always have an incredibly thoughtful husband who made me a beach in a jar to take home with only the shells that I deemed perfect.”

“Oh? And who would that be?”

Liza smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling as her eyes sparkled. “You, you big goof!” She took a deep breath as she looked around one last time. “Okay. Let’s go home.”

Feedback fuels me, please like, comment reblog or send an ask. Feel free to scream, I promise I can take it.

Masterlist can be found in my bio.

Taglist will be reblogged.

[bmongmong]

Chapter 3 - New Emotions

Blue pill or red pill - Jungkook

Description: You're a young girl, who's a little bit introverted and afraid to be under everybody's eyes. You only have your best friend, but it's ok for you. You don't want to be popular and believe in minimal things. One day you meet a guy. Or two?

Jungkook x Reader

The imagines I used are not mine Credit to the owners

Y/n pov

Another week has passed and it seems like me, Rosé and Jungkook have become a great trio.

As I walk towards school I receive a message from Rosé:

Rosé:

Y/n sorry but today I won't come to school. I feel very sick ☹

That's ok I guess. If she's ill, she needs some rest and-WHAT?! OH MY GOD, I'LL BE ALONE!! WHO'S GOING TO PROTECT ME?! I BET EVERYONE WILL LOOK AT ME. WHAT IF THOSE BULLIES COME TO ME BECAUSE SHE'S NOT WITH ME?! Ok y/n. You have to calm down.

I feel my heart pounding very fast and the palms of my hands sweating. This weird sensation is pervading all parts of my body. From my feet to my head. I feel my legs strangely weak, but somehow I can walk without any problems.

I find myself at the entrance of my class. I take a deep breath, but I cannot move. I just want to run away from here. I feel really pathetic right now. I'm all grown up and I can't even go to school by myself, without my friend. Then...

"Are you going to go in or stay here all day?" I turn around and it's Jungwook.

I don't answer, I just look away and try to find an excuse, but it seems like my lips are sewn. Nothing comes out, a part form little indescribable noises.

"Move" he says scoffing and entering the class.

I just stand there, embarrassed of what just happened. I'm still not used to people talking to me, except if it's Rosé or Jungkook. That's right. The good twin. We talk a lot actually and I feel comfortable around him. Of course, there are still lots of things that we both don't know about each other, but I think that now, I can really consider him a friend of mine.

As I'm thinking about the people I know, still on the edge of the door, I hear a voice speaking to me:

"Y/n don't pay attention to him" it's Jungkook. For some reasons I feel calm now. My legs are no longer shaking and my mind is free from bad thoughts. He then continues:

"Come on, let's go inside together!" as he smiles, he grabs my hand and drags me inside. At that very moment, I felt like I died for a couple of seconds and then I resurrected. But then I realize that it was just my heart skipping a beat, or maybe two or three.

Now I'm seated at my spot, still thinking about the two Jeons. Wow, they're really different. The kind one, Jungkook, can make my heart flutter with just a single move, while the other one, Jungwook, is just a bully. As I find myself drawing on the desk, still thinking about those two boys, I hear a voice talking to me. To my surprise is Jimin:

"Y/n. Since today Rosé won't come at school, why don't you stay with us?" as he invites me, I see his hands pointing at him and the two brothers. I nod in response and I see Jungkook smiling. I guess it's not going to be that bad, but wait. How does he know about Rosé?

"Umh...Jimin...sorry for bothering" I say at a very low voice "How do you know about Rosé?"

"Oh didn't she tell you?" he asks surprised and I shake my head. Then I see him blushing a bit and smiling "she texted me this morning. She said, she didn't feel well. And she asked me to take care of you"

My heart melts. Rosé. I really can do noting without you. I feel my eyes a bit teary, thinking about her love towards me. She's like a second mum to me.

In order to not leave me alone, Jungkook sat beside me, at Rosé's spot. I honestly felt a bit better. During the lesson me and him would write on the desk to have some fun. He then helped me with a math problem I couldn't solve. As he leaned close to me, I felt my heart popping out of my chest. His face was so close and once he noticed he quickly turned away blushing.

During other classes I kept scolding myself. Too much is happening in my life. But as I think about Jungkook I start smiling. As much as I want to be emotionless, I really like the feeling when I'm close to him. I guess I'll just allow this new emotion. But what type of feeling is this? Friendship? I honestly don't know, but for sure I know it's not the same emotion I feel when I'm with Rosé.

By now I've known Jungkook for a couple of weeks, or maybe three.

I think I'm too strict to myself.

As another lesson ends I can see Jungwook walking towards us and talking:

"Can you two stop being all lovely dovely? It's honestly annoying"

Me and Jungkook look at each other and start blushing. Then the kind guy next to me talks back to his brother:

"We're not...like...just stop it Jungwook" I feel him nervous. He's kinda transmitting me his anxiety.

As I look at the two twins, I notice their little diversities. For example, Jungkook has a little spot under his lower lip, and I actually find this cute. Then I notice that he also has pretty long hair. Not as long as Jungwook's, but they're pretty long too. Regard the bad guy, I notice the many tattoos on his arm. They're so many!! But it's kinda attractive. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING Y/N?! SERIOUSLY STOP!!

As I'm internally debating with myself, Jungwook gets closer to my face. He's just a few inches away from me. WHAT IS HE DOING? I'm seriously about to explode. I'm feeling too many emotions. My body doesn't know how to react to this. It's actually a mix of excitement and anxiety.

"Stop acting so innocent y/n" the bad boy says as he stares into my eyes. Honestly, his gaze is so piercing. I feel like he can see my soul sailing inside my body.

Now I can hear all my classmates whispering. Jungkook notices how uncomfortable I look and he pushes away his brother saying:

"Leave her alone" he's not nervous. He rather seems calm and serious.

As the gangster walks away, I notice a group of girls looking at me. I know Jungwook is pretty famous, but I didn't expect such reactions.

"Y/n just ignore that" I hear Jimin saying as he handles me a bottle of fresh water. "Calm down, I'll talk to him later"

I guess Rosé told Jimin that I'm easily conditioned. I'm talking about my emotions. Now I feel nervous, I'm afraid Jimin will tell everybody about this.

"Don't worry y/n" this one says "I won't tell anybody" he says winking at me.

I blush a little and look away. He then continues:

"But I need to ask you a favour"

"What is it Jimin?" I ask curious, still flustered, due to what happened.

"Rosé. Convince her to go out with me"

I just nod and he leaves. So I was right!! Jimin has feelings for her! Yess, I'm so happy. Wow my mood is like a roller coaster. At first I feel nervous and scared, then right after I feel very happy. So many mood swings.

Then I feel a hand on my shoulder. I flinch a bit, not expecting this type of skin ship, and turn around to face Jungkook, who's now talking to me:

"Y/n are you alright?" he asks. I can see that he's trying to look calm, but he's actually nervous.

"Yes, I think. Thank you Jungkook....for saving me earlier ahah..." I say a bit awkward.

"Don't worry. Even though he's tough, I know him really well and I know how to handle this type of situations" he seems a bit sad as he says this. "Do you need something?"

"O-Oh don't worry, I'll just go and get some fresh hair" I say and quickly stand up, leaving the room.

Now I'm walking down the empty hallway and stop at some point, leaning on the wall. I need some support since I feel my whole body trembling and shaking. As I turn around I see those girls that were looking at me earlier.

"So you're y/n? never heard of you" one of them says as the others start laughing at her lame joke. I'm just embarrassed and look down. I mean, that's what I wanted, not to be known. As I play with my fingernails due to nervousness, I feel one of those girls, grabbing my hair and making me fall on the ground. I put my hand in my hair to prevent her from pulling my hair even more, but she's really strong and eventually ends up pulling them a lot.

"How pathetic!" she says scoffing "I feel pity for you" and they start laughing.

I'm about to cry. I feel alone and helpless. I feel like I'm about to throw up all of my emotions. They're too many. And too heavy to handle. I feel my heart breaking into pieces as they keep making fun of me and pulling my hair. That's it. The end of a movie, where the main character gets beaten up and ends up dying alone. That's what I thought, until...

"Leave her alone" it's a male voice. He seems bossy and steady.

"Jungwook. What are you doing here?" one of those girls asks him "we just wanted to make sure she would never disturb you again. We saw what happened earlier"

"How many times do I have to tell you girls, that I will never date one of you? Now leave her alone and go away. And if I see you bothering her again, something bad will happen" he says threatening. Wow, he' really scary.

As I see those girls going away, I look up and see Jungwook looking at me from above.

His body looks so good. He has really long and muscular legs and wide shoulders. I see his black belt hugging his tiny waist and his tattoos moving in sync with his muscles as he cracks his fingers.

"Stand up" he orders me.

I'm so scared right now. I feel like I could die, if I don't listen to this man. I quickly stand up facing him, but my eyes are looking away.

"Look at me" he says.

I just widen my eyes and tense up my body. I'm sweating again, I can feel the heat invading my body. He then repeats himself and I obey. As I look at him I feel kinda hypnotized. Like if my life was an actual movie and I'm just an actress, who's acting.

He gets closer to my face and asks me:

"Did they hurt you?"

I look away and shake my head. I'm too embarrassed to look at him, but he grabs my chin with his fingers and turns my head to his. I feel my heart in my throat and I can hear every beat. My breath gets heavy and I feel a drop of sweat slowly going down from my neck to my chest. It goes really slow and it actually gives me thrills.

I see him scoffing and asking at a really low voice:

"Why you?"

Is he referring to me? Did I do or say something wrong? Am I going to die?

I see him getting closer and closer and I instinctively shout my eyes. But then I hear Jimin:

"Y/n are you ok? We heard some noises so we came to check"

What is he doing here? And he's with Jungkook!!

As the boy that's holding my chin hears Jimin and Jungkook arriving, he lets go of me and steps away snorting. I'm actually relieved that nothing happened. I couldn't stand another scandal. Then I hear Jungkook voice:

"Y/n! Did he hurt you?" he says concerned.

"No, not at all. He actually helped me..."

As I finish explaining them what happened, I see Jungkook's face changing expression. He looks disappointed. Don't know why.

As we go back to the classroom, I feel a mix of emotions, but I cannot distinguish them. It feels so strange. I try to feel sad, but I can't. Then I try to feel angry, but the anger doesn't come out. It's really really weird.

Now that all classes ended, I stand up and make my way to leave the room, but I hear Jungkook voice from behind calling my name:

"Y/n!" he says. I can feel the tension building up. "I-I wondered if I-I could walk you home..." he says rubbing the back of his head.

My head feels peace after that question. I know I can go home safely with him. I nod and smile brightly and I see his face lighting up.

As we walk down the street I see him a bit nervous. I'm too shy to ask if there's something wrong. But I guess that's what good friends do, so I decide to question him. But before I could say something, he speaks:

"Y/n...do you like him?" I see him blushing.

"Umh? Who?" I'm a bit confused. Who is he talking about?

"My brother..." he says almost whispering.

"WHAT?! Of course no!! I'm just grateful that he helped me earlier, but there's nothing more!" I shout instinctively and nervously.

I see his face muscles relaxing and his big smile appears.

"Good to know"

That smile makes me blush so hard, that I have to look away so that he doesn't see my red face. But I guess he noticed it anyway as I can hear him giggle.

Now we're in front of my house.

"Goodbye Jungkook! Thanks for taking me home. See you tomorrow!" I say turning around, but before I could walk away he grabs my wrist and I freeze.

"Y/n..." he says with his calm voice. I don't turn around. I just can't move my body. I feel his hand tightening the grip on my wrist and in just a blink I feel Jungkook back hugging me.

After a couple of seconds he lets go and I hear him stuttering:

"I-I'm sorry y-y/n! I-I didn't m-mean to..." as he says so I turn around as see him looking at the ground. It doesn't look like he's regretting his decision. I think he's daydreaming right now, like he's here in front of me, but his mind is on another dimension.

He's actually handsome. I don't know what I'm doing, but I think I'm looking at him under another prospective. Not as my classmate. Nether as my friend. Could it be...? No way, I'm not that type of girl that dreams these sort of things.

I just want to nod and get inside, but instead I say:

"Don't worry" and my body starts moving on its own and does something I would have never expected.

I'm hugging him. As I hug him I start to panic inside. WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU Y/N?! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN THINKING? I HAVE ALREADY ALLOWED MYSELF TO HAVE A NEW FRIEND, BUT THIS TIME I'M NOT ALLOWING THIS!!!

Then I slowly let go and look at him smiling. He seems surprised but he shows me his bunny smile right after. I don't want him to see me flustered and nervous, so I just keep smiling. Then I greet him, still smiling, and go inside. After closing the door behind me, I look through the window and see him going away.

Then my smile disappears and I just...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I scream as loud as I can.

"What's wrong y/n?!" my mum is running to me worried. She keeps asking me and shaking me, but I'm frozen. I have to admit it, that scream helped me. I feel so much lighter now.

As both my mum and dad are shaking me, I smile at the memory of a few moments ago. As I smile I realize. I'm doomed.

[doberbutts]

if i'm not mistaken you have experience with traveling and sleeping in your car, right? could you tell about some of the things you took into consideration when deciding to do that? i'm planning on making a trip across states sometime in the next several months, and trying to do it as cheaply as possible.

I did this last year from Maryland to Ohio, and also from Maryland to Vermont. During the Ohio trip, I spent the better part of the week living in my car. The Vermont trip was much less time spent in the car because I was staying at Hotel Boyfriend. I cannot drive for more than 3 or so hours before I faint, so for these long trips I ended up having to make several stops and that significantly slowed my progress, creating the necessity of learning how to live out of a car. Having experienced it short term, I can say that I feel fairly prepared for any situation that would require me to live out of my car long term as there was a lot that I hashed out between both trips on what I did and did not find an acceptable tradeoff on hotel vs car.

First things first: parking. In a lot of places, to combat homelessness, you actually aren’t allowed to just park and sleep in parking lots and such anymore. As a result you either need to get really creative on where you leave your car (or risk being towed or having the cops called and knock on your window while you’re sleeping) or you need to figure out where the safe places to park actually are. My car was mostly parked in the lot of rest stops or truck stops at night either near the outbuilding or right under a light for safety. Note: I also had Creed with me, and he is a very good deterrent and also “someone’s approaching the car” alarm, so I was also able to park and sleep just about anywhere and feel very safe. I debated parking behind a Walmart a few times but didn’t want to risk a disgruntled employee calling the cops and me being told to move. Don’t try hotel parking lots. You will be towed. Most make you pay for that shit nowadays.

Second: bathrooms! This is the other reason I hung out near rest/truck stops, access to running water and a (relatively) clean toilet. Some rest stops also have showers or some other way to wash yourself if you’re a stinky motherfucker. You want to find a spot that you can readily access these things or somewhere you can enter looking somewhat like a slob with minimal judgement. It’s been suggested to me that some rec centers and gyms will let you in if you show up super early, but I haven’t tried it yet.

Third: sleeping! Find somewhere you feel relatively safe or take your dog(s) with you or both, have a good back-up plan if things go bad, LOCK YOUR FUCKING DOORS WHILE YOU SLEEP, and you should be golden. I personally find car seats super uncomfortable to sleep on so what I did was purchase the thickest dog bed I could find, put human bed memory foam on top of it, and pull a fitted sheet around it, then laid my back seats flat and slept on it back there. It actually was a really decent, if somewhat truncated, mattress that afforded me a decent night’s sleep. I also had Creed’s wire crate folded under it and flipped upside down to serve as a makeshift springboard and I can tell you that I have never slept better in a car. Not even those air mattresses can compare to that. I had my fleece blankets and bathrobes as covers, my regular bed pillows as my pillows, and used a thin sheet to cover my back windows so that I could sleep without the street lights disturbing me.

Fourth: balancing air vs bugs vs rain! This is something I ran into on the Vermont trip- I’d balanced this with bugspray and a popped sunroof in Ohio but then in Vermont Thor decided he hated me and sent various thunderstorms and sadly I must report that bugspray does not protect you from rain. I later went out and purchased anti-bug screens for my windows and a portable sun screen to go over my car that, in theory, should somewhat protect me from downpours. It also will let me sleep in the car without pressure cooking as I’ll be able to have my windows all the way down and the worst of the sun reflected off my car- so we will be hot but we won’t die.

Fifth: electricity! Have a good backup plan for when your electronics because you no longer can charge things overnight without risking that your car battery will not be alive the next morning. Another reason for me to hang out near rest stops- no one minds if I use their sockets for a few hours until my phone is charged. Carry one of those portable batteries, it’s saved my ass more times than I can count.

Sixth: food! You can’t cook without a kitchen, you can’t store anything except nonperishables without a fridge, and if you think you can live on PBJs and stale chips for a few weeks while also driving around or being physically active you’ve got another thing coming. Find somewhere you can easily either purchase or make food and keep a case of bottled water in your car. You’ll need it. If you know how to start a fire and you’re somewhere fires are allowed, purchase food that you can cook but only enough that will last 10ish hours because you’ll have no where cold to store it. You can increase how long your food will last if you buy a cooler and ice but, ice gets pricey especially in the summer and depending where you go there’s no guarantee you’ll find a cheap steady supply of it. Otherwise find the nearest place you can get to for decent, filling food that won’t cost you a fortune, and factor that into your trip costs.

Seventh: car trouble! AAA or some other rescue service is a MUST because if something CAN go bad, it will, as evidenced by the Vermont trip in which I drove up there one way and then did a combination of hitchhiking and rental cars in order to get back home because my car was very, very dead on the side of a mountain in Vermont. A trip that was going to cost me a total of $200 ended up costing me $7000 (and remember I don’t make more than $12k/year) which completely destroyed my savings and my inheritance and I am still paying off and will be for the next 2.5 years. You guys want to know why I don’t have a second dog and haven’t taken more trips? You’re looking at the reason right here. I’m not saying plan for something major to happen and go more than 40x your original budget but you probably don’t want to hitchhike 500 miles back home like I did. I mean, I’m still alive and the other person was not an ax murderer and we’re actually FB friends now but still, that should probably be avoided.

Eighth: dogs! If you’re taking your dogs, you’re going to need to balance what they need too. Food, potty, and travel costs are all a thing, and just like car trouble can get you in some serious financial dire straits, so can a sudden health problem with a dog. Especially because you will be away from your regular vet and you may not know where to find the closest DECENT vet in the area. Creed is a road warrior and really likes this camping in the car thing but he also doesn’t really like being cooped up long term, so we had to find places where I could walk or run him and also know my car would still be there by the time we got back. That’s frequently easier said than done. Also, if you have a BSL breed, expect to not be welcomed when walking around with the dog. You’re a stranger with a scary dog. Suck it up and find somewhere you don’t make people uncomfortable.

That’s all I can think of right now, but I’m sure I’ll remember some others tomorrow morning. Cheers.