#when I don't have to use the buses its not bad

[disabled-dragoon]

Messaging all my lecturers to see if I can charge my chair during classes so I don't die before I can go home

[moonastro]

groom persona chart

moon in the house

what is a groom persona chart? this chart exhibits qualities that your husband will have and possible placements that can be seen in their chart. it is simply a chart all about your spouse in a woman's chart. the asteroid groom can be identified using the code 5129.

as the moon represents ones feelings, emotions, intuition and deep thoughts, in the GPC the moon can give insight of emotional characteristics the fs may have, how they deal with their emotions and a bit about their early childhood years.

reminder: this is my interpretation from observations and first hand experiences, so don't take this to heart.

moon in the 1st house: fs can spend a lot of time alone and may enjoy it, they dont take it as a negative, its somewhat of a good thing for them. but can switch emotions rather fast without any hesitation. like can turn from happy to sad to angry to happy again in like 5 minutes??? they may reflect a lot on why is it the way that they feel what they feel. are born problem solvers so spouse may not hold grudges as such when upset, he actually could apologise first just to get it out of their head. and as they love to be in charge they like to take the lead and fix the problem between them and the people they have problems with. can easily become agitated when sad or emotionally vulnerable, so sadness can turn into anger because they may view being sad or emotional to be weak. spouse may have had an independent childhood, growing up could have had to learn things by themselves and figure things out alone.

spouse can have natal moon in aries, 1st house, fire sign, fire house, fire degree.

moon in the 2nd house: the spouse may act quite dominant and can get quite dramatic when emotional. like almost narcissistic also. can blame themselves to be the victim when they are not and blaming everything on their spouse. lots of shouting when upset. spouse can get upset as they feel sorry for themselves. can take action before listening and figuring out what the problem is so when upset can pick the nearest thing they are closest to that they can start a riot with. when the fs gets upset they may hold their grudge and pretend as if everything is fine in order not to make the native feel bad. the fs can also have an emotional attachment to an item in their home or something that they possess, and can get VERY upset when touched or moved. when sad fs can get clingy to the native and may not approach the problem to fix it but rather think of the problem and worry. the fs childhood could have been a nostalgic one, full of good meals, full of singing and music, lots of dancing and gifts being handed to them.

spouse can have natal moon in taurus, 2nd house, earth sign, earth house, earth degree.

moon in the 3rd house: fs is a bit immature at times when it comes to their emotional stability. they can act almost whiney and even throw tantrums when they get upset. also i noticed that with natives that have this placement, their fs don't communicate with them effectively or don't talk at all when angry or upset with their partner, like they will stay nonchalant until the native apologises first or they own up to their wrongs. quite stubborn actually with their speech. spouse can give subtle signs that they are upset so people can acknowledge that they are feeling that way, for example they can subtly say 'oh i feel a bit bad' and then the conversation goes off from there. when anxious or feeling uneasy, the fs can jitter a lot and constantly move and never rest, if their mind is not at ease and so is their body. the fs childhood could have been full of short travels and full of excitement, may have went on holidays quite a lot and travelling on bikes, cars, buses and so on.

spouse can have natal moon in gemini, 3rd house, air sign, air house, air degree.

moon in the 4th house: spouse can be very sensitive to some topics (check sign to get a better insight for example if in cancer can get emotional when people talk about their family bad or good). perhaps fs also lives farther away from their family. spouse is attentive and listens very well, engages in peoples opinions and what others have to say, resemble a rather calm and comforting presence. are caring without a doubt. spouse can have a mother instinct and solve problems for other people who are emotionally upset however when they are in that state they just let it happen and dont think much of it. can have a pure heart and may be sensitive to their surroundings that other people, can also get overwhelmed quite easily because of this. spouse worries about the ones that they love and care about, they genuinely will worry about them. spouse may have had a family oriented childhood, full of tradition and heritage, lots of family around them all of the time. spouse possibly has a great bond with their mother figure.

spouse can have natal moon in cancer, 4th house, water sign, water house, water degree.

moon in the 5th house: the fs can impose an emotional breakout response relating to their childhood. so if the fs had to go through a certain situation throughout their childhood, the way they felt and how they acted will carry out into adulthood hence marriage life also. however, can act content or happy even when feeling down, can almost mask their true feelings. when sad can act like 'i am upset why dont you care about me' mindset if that makes sense. they honestly love the attention when sad so they can shed a tear even if it is not serious and can just be a bit dramatic about the whole situation. they can repeat themselves a lot in order to get some attention. when upset they turn to their hobbies and fun stuff that they can do to make themselves feel better if its art, music, dancing, acting, sport etc. spouse may have had a fun and nostalgic childhood, full of outdoor play and full of playing around with other kids.

spouse can have natal moon in leo, 5th house, fire sign, fire house, fire degree.

moon in the 6th house: spouse can become aware of their surroundings when upset which can make them become agitated and sensitive. they feel like the whole room knows how they are feeling when upset or feeling in a state of vulnerability. they do love to cling to people when upset, they dont really like being alone when upset. spouse may critically think of a situation that made them feel off and try to figure out where it went wrong in hope to not let it happen again. (however you cant avoid certain emotions). they want everything perfect so they try to control their emotional state. can think of how their emotions affect their day to day life and sometimes may overthink how being for example upset may impact their work or life. spouse may like to clean when upset or just tidy up their space, the definition of a cleaner environment make your mind at ease. spouse may have had a practical and busy childhood, full of ground rules and routine based childhood. by routine based this could mean that they had a schedule for example had to go to piano lessons every Monday and Wednesday and such.

spouse can have natal moon in virgo, 6th house, earth sign, earth house, earth degree.

moon in the 7th house: this placement in the natives chart can mean getting split or divorced when sad or emotionally vulnerable which can also mean that the spouse can make situations worse than they are and is the one to leave the situation without any context. can turn to legal matters as well and can just take things too far when emotional. when upset can seek advice from good peers or people they are close to, as hearing advice can strengthen their opinion or weaken it. also with this placement i have noticed that they actually express how they feel to other people except the person that they are upset with, they talk it out with others and then come back to the person that they had something going on to sort it out. they just love to have opinions and options.

spouse can have natal moon in libra, 7th house, air sign, air house, air degree.

moon in the 8th house: spouse can keep their true feelings to themselves most of the time, may not tell the truth of how they feel and may lie that they are fine or ok even though they may not be. can have a personal agenda- a side of them that you may not now until later on into the marriage. when upset fs can get vulgar with their language without thinking that they are doing it. could really turn from beauty to beast when upset. 18+ fs can crave sexual intercourse when upset in a way to make up with the native, its almost like an unhealthy coping mechanism because they may not have any other way to make themselves feel better so they can also use it as a distraction to the pain they are feeling. (sorry that went very deep and detailed). on the other hand spouse can numb their emotions also and don't even acknowledge them. but can also turn to practising their spiritual themes such as meditation, some yoga, talking to their ancestors, deep breaths and so forth. the fs childhood may have been altering to their youth, so they may experienced situations that children dont usually experience at such a young age.

spouse can have natal moon in scorpio, 8th house, water sign, water house, water degree.

moon in the 9th house: fs can acknowledge the problem before the emotions come up. they have a talent for preventing situations where it can cause them pain or discomfort. spouse usually seeks to study and making themselves feel better by taking care of their mind and spirit which usually preserves to meditation, yoga, journaling and such. spouse may love to acknowledge their feelings and try to help them overcome it if negative. they accept the emotion and move on with their day. fs may also love to study beyond the obvious and may memorise how certain emotions arise. when in a vulnerable emotional state, spouse can flee the situation and have time to themselves. spouse may have had a free childhood, where they were able to express themselves freely without any restrictions. spouse could have also moved a lot from place to place.

spouse can have natal moon in sagittarius, 9th house, fire sign, fire house, fire degree.

moon in the 10th house: usually the fs are not expressive when emotional, in fact you will rarely see them portray any emotion at all. are strict and will not back down when it an argument, are very stubborn with their views and opinions. you will absolutely not be able to budge their mindset. are a hard worker though, will stick to their role to earn money. the fs may also like to bond over the traditional, vintage and aged things such as history, traditions perhaps even about their childhood. spouse can think themselves as mature when it comes to handling their emotional state, they think that they are in the right all the time so can also mean that they wont apologise even if they are in the wrong. the fs may be more mature than the native even can signify them being a lot older than the native as well. the fs childhood could have been full of strict rules, isolation, labour and lots of discipline.

spouse can have natal moon in capricorn, 10th house, earth sign, earth house, earth degree.

moon in the 11th house: for this placement, the spouse may like to detach and forget about situations that can deem themselves as emotionally hard. they can also hold an attitude of 'its not even that sad get over it' type of thing. but somehow they also enjoy to talk things out with other people before setting things right with the person they had an issue with. spouse may enjoy social company to distract themselves from hardships that they go through emotionally, it can numb them in a sense. so spouse can go to friends house, hang out with mates, play a sport with their group, go to a bar and so on to spend time away from their head. spouse may had a routine based childhood where there was lots of determination and structure within the household. spouse could have been the black sheep of the family, always the odd one out.

spouse can have natal moon in aquarius, 11th house, air sign, air house, air degree.

moon in the 12th house: the spouse can give others and themselves space when things get unsettling. they prefer themselves to distance themselves especially to able them to cool off or perhaps not worsen the situation. they dont like to make a fuss instead choose to sort things out by themselves as apposed to not make it a burden for everyone else. spouse can feel things VERY deeply, and the thing with this placement also is that they cant just rub it off their shoulder as easy, it takes a long time for them to really get back on track from an emotional output. spouse can turn to addictive behaviours when upset in order to make themselves feel better this doesn't have to be substance abuse (but could) it can also be other addictive behaviours such as biting nails, biting lip and such. fs may have had an isolated childhood, perhaps parents weren't present or spouse liked alone time in general. spouse also could have been in the presence of addiction within the household in their childhood years.

spouse can have natal moon in pisces 12th house, water sign, water house, water degree.

thank you for reading and have a lovely day <33

[seeminglydark]

Idk if this means anything to you but I'm a comic artist who's had a hard time doing art for a few years. The first four was because of life hardship and lack of time/chronic pain, but now lately I've had time but a mental block. I'm creeping up on 30 and felt bad about myself for "missing out" on my opportunity to be a comic artist. It was really validating to see you post about being 41 (correct me if I'm wrong) especially since you have such wonderful comics that I've been following for a while now. It makes me feel less like I'm wasting my time putting my things in order when I "should" be drawing.

Hopefully this doesn't come across as offensive or anything. It was just comforting and validating. Anyway, big fan! Love your characters a whole lot and hope you have a good day!

Dear Anon

I am 41 years old. I have wanted to make comics my entire life. before my dad got sick, and my childhood kinda fell apart, all i did was draw. after that, i used the stories in my head to cope. life moved on. i was convinced not to accept a partial scholarship to an art school in California. life got hard. i worked at a hotel, and after i escaped an abusive relationship at 22 i hitchhiked/bused far far away to start over. i tried to make comics again, but i had to survive, and so i got another job doing the only thing i knew how to do, hotels. and i worked. and worked. and life got harder and times got heavier and i didn't get time to draw and i worked double hours, 15 to 17 hours a day. and i went four years without drawing a single thing.

i kept working myself into the ground. i was 29 now. i picked up a pen again and drew a red haired boy. he had a hard life and no love and no friends. his problems were on the outside, for everyone to see. he ran away but his problems went with him.

i was 32. surely i was too old now. my time to be an artist was gone. i had no school. no hope. i was so far behind the younger gen i saw online. i cried. all the time. i wrote stories in my email drafts while i worked shifts. i stayed up late trying to learn how to draw again. i cried some more. the boy grew. i called him Fiach. worthy. a raven. later i renamed him Avery. he was like a bird, he had wings, he was my hope. i started writing some friends for him. the people i wished i had around me.

i started finding time and space. i got a new job, something where i was lucky enough to set my own hours. for the first time i had a partner who believed in me. things were hard. but i was drawing now. and that helped.

i went on a road trip and i started drawing pages of an unnamed story on 6 by 8 paper in a sketchbook. i drew 20 of them. 'what could i call this?' i thought. Nothing Seems as Dark...no says my partner. Seemingly Dark. he made me a logo. i was 35. i bought an ipad, i cant do this on paper, its too much story i have too much to say. so i learned how to draw digitally by tracing my own trad art pages.

I spoke to my dad for the last time on June 17th, fathers day that year. he said 'you're good. i'm proud. and you're gonna do amazing things. none of this is your fault. and we will speak again soon.' i didn't know id never hear his voice again. he died a week later.

i turned 36. i kept trying. i'm old, i don't understand the internet. how can i share this?

i stumbled across Lore Olympus. i was introduced to webcomics. id read comics online before but the thought never occurred to me. i opened an account on Tapas. and then i stared at it. what if no one likes it. what if its bad. my art isn't good. i should wait til i'm better. but will i ever really be better? or will i always believe that tomorrow is better? do it now. if even one person gets something out of this story, this story about a boy who is you, a boy who looking for hope, a boy who might make it, then that is enough isn't it.

June 17th 2018 i launched Seemingly Dark.

SD's five year anniversary is in a week. 0ver 700 pages. leaps and bounds in progress with my skills. a printed comic under my belt as of monday. i was always a storyteller. but i was always an artist too.

I am 41 years old, dear anon. I did not truly embark on this journey til i was 35. life got in the way. even now, chronic illness gets in the way. but its worth it. its never ever too late. i believe in you the way my dad believed in me. i reset my life again and again. but I was always an artist. and if thats who you are, and who you want to be, even if things dont go the way you wished they could, you're an artist too.

im 41 years old. i speak about my age, even though i often feel too old to belong in spaces, cuz really, in this case age is just a number. take care of yourself. do what you need to do. and little by little, when your able, carve out your space until it becomes more of a habit. sometimes i think about all the years i lost not drawing or creating. but there's a lot of factors that make me believe had i made my story then, it wouldn't be the story it is now, i needed to live a bit. i needed to find myself. i know this was long, but i just wanted you to see i also had to put my life in order, and getting notes like this reminds me it wasnt at all a waste. im glad i could offer you some comfort. thats honestly the best compliment i could ever receive.

TL;dR I was 35 when i sat down and seriously started making comics, because life always got in the way and so did my confidence. i always feared being too old. im 41 now, still going strong.

[goth-pod]

Goth-Pod Ep 5: Gotham Troubles

Welcome Back! Listening to you send ins, Juda Boone talks about things by Gothamites, for Gothamites!

[goth-pod is a fictional in-universe podcast based on the DC comics universe. Juda Boone is an original fictional character, not based on any real person or known comic book character.]

Transcript under the cut

Hello everyone and welcome to Goth-Pods special trials and troubles episode! I’m an indie theater’s take on the ghost of Christmas Present- and your host, Juda Boone. 

We're looking at your submitted trademark Gotham problems. So without my usual ramblings, lets get to business

—

For our first submission username Trekkle brought up a good debate: Subway vs Bus: The Subway is safer, since buses can get hit during rogue attacks, but if you're stuck underground there's a chance of a killer croc attack and also the birds ride the roof. 

Fantastic points, Trekkle! Thank you for writing in. I don't know exactly what you mean by the birds riding the roof, though. Do you mean Robin? Because I have been on the tram while a fight was happening between Robin and The Penguin on top. Of course, I missed most of it because I had my headphones in. Noise cancellation has its pros and cons in Gotham.  

There’s no set answer on this one, I don’t think. You kind of have to pay attention to what Rouges are active the way you pay attention to the weather. Cloudy with a 70% chance of a Riddler scheme? Maybe take the Buses, since they’re not connected to a maze-like system like  the subways are. But maybe it's sweater weather with a possible freeze-over because Victor Fries broke out two nights ago and is due for a showy return. Then an underground bunker with cushy seats doesn’t sound too bad.

—

From Clexx we have: I'm new to Gotham (full ride scholarship, thank you Mr. Wayne): Why does everyone hate Superman? I tried to get answers from a friend and they called Superman a Homewrecker. Is there an infidelity scandal around Superman I don’t know about??

Oh wow. First of all, congratulations on the scholarship! I'm assuming you're attending Gotham U? Just be sure you get a proper Rogue-proof gas mask. Yes there is a difference. It’ll probably be covered in your Orientation though, so onto the main question. 

To the Homewrecker comment.. oh I didn’t think it’d come to this. Okay, there's this thing in Gotham. Clexx, have you ever heard of Bruceman? Ask your friend about it, they’ll probably love to explain more. Basically it is a Real-Person based Ship on Gotham’s two protectors, Bruce Wayne and Batman. One watching over the day, the other the night. 

This is another Topic that might take all episodes to explain, so to keep it short: People see Superman and Batman’s relationship- professional, platonic, romantic, or however they define it- as a threat to Bruceman, the number one Gotham Ship. Godspeed if you get between our beloved prettyboy himbo and our odd night-stalking cryptid. 

—

From Allison: My cousin is visiting and I want to show them why I stay in Gotham. Where can we go for 1) a low level rogue attack (for Bat sighting), and 2) where can we go for a Wayne sighting. (They think Dick Grayson is hotter then Brucie [eye-rolling emoji])

For the first one, I think any part of our public transport system will do, as we discussed before. The tricky part is knowing when it’s going to be low-level or if your cousin will be joining you in a shelter-in-place lockdown.

For a Wayne sighting, unfortunately it’s harder to say these days. Bruce Wayne has made several statements on how he’s spending less time at the company in order to focus on bonding with his new son, Jason. I hate to disappoint, but right now might not be the time for celebrity sight-seeing. Maybe take a day trip to Bludhaven! Your cousin might enjoy the chance to convince you instead. 

Thank you all for writing in and for joining us on this special episode! If we didn’t get to your submission, head over to our socials to see if we replied there. I’m Juda, you’re listening to Goth-Pod

Until then, Newcomers, visiting cousins, locals on the bus, Stay safe, Gotham.

[bisonaari]

So!! How is Finland going so far for me?

If you've talked to me in the past days you've probably heard all of this so I'm sorry in advance, you can skip the post hahaha !

First of all: the temperature is the same as in Canada HAHAHA. Sure it's currently a bit colder, but nothing that would be unusual in winter in Canada. So we've been perfectly ok with our usual winter clothes!

We had troubles locating our airbnb when we arrived. But we've been helped by @katinkulta and @taidotonheiluja and everything went ok in the end! I have to admit that because of the stress, the lack of sleep, the fact that I don't speak finnish and the travel time, the first two days I REALLY wanted to just go back home hahaha. But I'm better don't worry. I'm just an anxious bean

The day after that, I've been helped by Elsa again (my saviour) and she went grocery shopping with me and my partner, so we finally got food! (I don't eat a lot when I'm stressed, but my partner is, surprisingly enough, a normal human being who needs to eat. Weird)

Elsa is absolutely lovely and I really adore her company. She's as much fun as she is on the internet! A blessing to have her as a friend <3

The day after that was UMK! We met with Elsa again and with @teal-skull to have breakfast together before the rehearsal started. WHY IS EVERY MUTUAL I MEET SO FREAKING NICE??? This will apply to every single person mentionned in this post because everyone is a sweetheart seriously!

This is also the moment where I realized that I just could… throw a "puhutko englantia" when speaking to employees at stores YES I KNOW IT TOOK ME TWO DAYS BUT I AM VERY DUMB WHEN I'M ANXIOUS OK so I did that and WOW SURPRISE!! The employees said yes and switched to english!! INCREDIBLE, RIGHT. Urgh I'm so dumb hahaha

The UMK rehearsal was incredibly fun, I've seen almost all the artists that I wanted to see in Finland good I can now leave and never come back (that's a lie). But like KUUMAA, Benjamin, Käärijä (with JUKKA !!! ON STAGE!! IN FRONT OF ME), Erika Vikman, Pilvi Hämäläinen (she counts ok), and all the UMK contestants were people who I wanted to see live so bad, and now it's done I'm super happy. I've seen Cha Cha Cha live!!!!

After the rehearsal we met with @omppupiiras @formulalakana and @smimon to go get food together <3 What is funny is that no one knew what the others looked like, but I'm so easily recognisable that we were able to find each other anyway lol

I'm so thankful for everyone that I've met so far. Also other friends that manifested in dms to help me if I needed it! Like @because-its-eurovision for example <3

Some things that surprised my partner and I in Finland so far:

I've said it to a lot of people but the trains are so silent??? Like in Québec, you can hear the metro a few minutes before you can actually see it arrived. Here we've been JUMPSCARED by sudden trains we didn't hear arrive???

Dish drying cabinets my beloved. How did I live before you??? This is SO useful holy shit

The food is so expensive ;A; I was expecting it to be more expensive, but not by that much hahaha. I guess we're gonna eat a lot of pasta during our trip hahaha

I love how pedestrian friendly the city is (I've only been in Tampere so far). The sidewalks are double the size I'm used to in Montréal! You can walk to anywhere, there are tons of trams and buses, this is fantastic (I'm too anxious to take the tram and the bus though lol)

See you in a while for another update!!

[solarwynd]

My problem with Muse is that I don't feel like it's a Jimin's album, maybe because Face was too personal, and I loved it so much, I loved all the songs. Muse has already 2 songs I don't like that much, so I'm worried,I'm not saying they're bad, but Face songs are better in my opinion. Even the video of SGMB is not good like SMF or LC, and I know it's not a MV but it's a pre release single and it's normal to compare the song to SMF. It's useless to lie, Smeraldo sales are bad and I think one reason is the fact that not everyone loves the song, and many people don't like to support something they don't like. SMF has an amazing choreo, his vocals are insane, the mv is beautiful….if SMF is a 10, SGMB is a 6. I watched SMF mv, dance practice and live performance a lot, but I only watched Smeraldo 10 times maybe, because it's only cute and I don't like to watch cute things again and again

For like the 100th time. MUSE is not out yet. You cannot rate an album you only have heard 2 songs off of. And yes as some of yall have made very clear 2/7 for MUSE already not being that great to yall and FACE being 5/5 means that FACE is better. PhD level mathematics 👍🏾

But it’s crazy to say that MUSE doesn’t seem like it’s Jimin’s album just because once again yall have a set vision of what you THINK Jimin’s style is and MUSE isn’t what you’re used to from him. Jimin said it would be a happier album that’s what yall are getting. If y’all don’t like happier brighter songs, that’s a preference problem not a Jimin problem.

And comparing SMF to SGMB which are polar opposites on purpose does not make sense to me. It’s apples to buses. Of course SGMB is not gonna meet your expectations in that case. On the sales, people don’t have to support something they don’t like, no one said y’all had to, but a song that has low sales and not being universally liked don’t always go hand in hand. CTT had more sales than SGMB and a lot of pjms groan about it constantly too. The sales being low are just circumstantial to me in this case.

Again If MUSE comes out and y’all don’t like any of the tracks on it then that’s different. But you cannot go into MUSE already set on comparing it to FACE when the intentions and sound Jimin is going for will be different cause you’re already predetermining your disappointment. I adore FACE. Fantastic debut album from Jimin. I wasn’t in love with SMF the first time I heard it. That’s 1 song out of 4 knowing the album only had 3 other full songs on there. Didn’t stop my excitement. Cause I know that I’m not gonna love every song Jimin puts out. But that’s where that ends and I move on. Go into that album judging it on its own merits and not by a FACE’s tethered checklist.

[nokkiart]

I’m so glad that you had a lovely time in Tokyo!! Bring me in your suitcase next time? /j <3

What’s your advice for travelling on your own???

This is probably going to be a long one, so I apologize in advance 😅 Here's some advice that has helped me on my solo trips to Korea and Japan:

• Do research on where you're going. See what's allowed in the country (especially if you're bringing medications). Read up on other people's travel experiences in that country. Know what kind of transportation you'll need to use there and how to access it (trains, buses, taxis, rental cars). Make sure you have a bit of an idea of what to expect when you get there, so culture shock won't hit you hard.

• Have foreign currency *before* you leave. Chances are you'll need it as soon as you land at your destination.

• Make sure you have a power adapter/wall charger in case they have different outlets. A back up phone charger and pocket wifi is also a must!

• Find points of interest that you might enjoy visiting and make a private Google map with all those places marked. Then if you're in an area that happens to have a lot of your interests in it, you can tackle them all at once. This was my map for Tokyo! I made two separate lists; one for places I wanted to visit, and one for restaurants I wanted to try.

Unfortunately I didn't get to visit all of these because my trip was only 5 days. But it gave me a good idea of areas I could go to hit multiple points of interest!

• Make sure all your legal documents are valid. Passports, visas, licenses, etc. Make sure you know what documents you need to enter that country. Also bring a photocopy of those documents just in case something happens to the original.

• Get travel insurance. It's cheap and easy to get. And if something goes wrong, you'll be completely covered to be flown back home.

• Do what you can to keep yourself safe. You can buy personal safety items or read up on self defensive measures to take while traveling. I have this little siren doorstop, so if anyone tries to come into my hotel room, it not only blocks the door from opening but also emits a 120db siren to scare anyone off.

And it works *very well*. I nearly deafened myself when testing it XD

• Always be alert and aware of your surroundings. Tourists are easy targets for pickpockets because we're so distracted by everything (especially in big, tourist heavy cities).

• Never tell anyone that you're traveling alone. Book your hotel room for 2 people (its the same price as single rooms anyway). And give your hotel info to someone back home that you trust so they can know where you'll be.

• Trust your gut instinct too. If you're getting bad vibes off someone, just walk away and distance yourself from them.

• Don't be afraid to try new things! New foods, music, dancing, shows, festivals, etc. Just get out there and see things you've never seen before!

• This is kinda a personal preference one, but *avoid* tourist spots. So many people line up to take the same pics in the same tourist trap locations, waiting hours just for nothing. Instead, speak to locals and do things they recommend! Or just wander around and see what you stumble across. Touristy areas tend to have more expensive prices for everything anyway, so you'll save money going elsewhere! XD

• Allow your plans to change based on what you personally feel like doing in that moment. Don't force yourself to stick to a travel itinerary.

• Bring snacks just in case your tum craves something familiar. I usually stick to granola bars or Biscoffs since they last a while.

• If you're going somewhere that has a different language, learn the basics in that language. Knowing how to say "hello", "yes", "no", and "thank you" will help you so much! And locals tend to love seeing tourists put an effort into trying to communicate with them in their language.

• Also be patient. There will be times when there will be confusion between you and other people. That's just what happens when two different cultures meet. But don't get mad. Try calmly working thru the confusion and see if you can figure something out.

• On that same note, BE KIND. You are a guest in someone else's home. You have no right to demand things to be a specific way. Respect their rules, even if it doesn't make sense to you. Be grateful that you have this amazing opportunity that so many others may never have.

Solo traveling can be pretty intimidating. But if you plan and prepare everything well before you leave, your trip will be so much more enjoyable!

Let me know if you have any other questions about solo traveling! I want you guys to have safe and fun trips too!! ^^

[elizaellwrites]

I've been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (+ some of its friends) for five years now, and it's so ingrained in my behavior to adapt to my condition that I don't realize it until I try to explain my daily life to other people. At this point, I can't imagine what it's like for those without these types of problems to consider...

An example: talking to my university's accessibility office:

How does it impact your ability to travel between classes?

Well, I can't really take the available buses, because they're too full to guarantee a chair, and I can't stand on a moving vehicle because it stresses my joints too much. Walking is fine, but the quick changes between classes can cause me to rush. I'm often winded when I reach my class, but it's still doable for me.

How about with stairs?

Usually, they're okay, but on some days I just take the elevator because it's a better option for pain and stability.

What about in class? Do you have any difficulty taking notes, concentrating, or remembering things you need to?

Sometimes. My hand can cramp up if I'm taking a lot of notes, and if I'm having a bad day, it's very difficult to concentrate on what's going on. I can miss things during lectures on occasion, but I just go back through the material, check lecture notes online, or ask my professor after class to fill in the blank. I just do my best to write everything down, because I can be forgetful. It's worked so far.

Are there any environmental issues that bother you, like loud sounds or brightness?

There's usually not too much noise in class that bothers me outside something falling on the floor- like a metal water bottle. I'm pretty light sensitive, but my doctor told me to limit sunglasses use because it will train my brain to rely on them. So, I just deal with it unless it's absolutely necessary.

How often are you having these bad days happening when it's difficult to move due to pain, keeping your balance, a migraine, etc.? Beside getting to lectures, how can this impact your assignments?

It depends, but it can be multiple times a week, once a week, or more spread out. I wish I could be more specific. Some days, I can't go to class at all, others, I can do partial days. It really depends. Sometimes, because I'm especially light-sensitive with a migraine, I can't really do all my homework, because most of it is online. If it's an assignment due the next day, and I have a migraine, I just can't do it.

So, we can look at helping you with mobility by making sure your classes are closer together and closer to the first floor, more flexibility with assignments and attendance, as well as giving you software during classes to make it easier for you to get the information you need by recording the lectures and taking notes for you.

Me: What?

[littlelillycatsworld]

nothing funnier to me than my group of friends running through this city dressed as maids. shouting at eachother in different languages like a really fucked up game of Marco polo, while trying to get to the bus station to collect 2 of my friends and their little groups (different buses) then to the train station to collect the other one. (Korean, Japanese, Thai, and Spanish but like really bad Spanish my friend has a streak on Duolingo or something girl put the phone down and focus)

my friends being the ones who helped with the MV for today

why don't we just use my managers car you might be wondering. well thats because he's got a stack of paper work to fill out before the end of the day and he keeps looking at me like its my fault he has to do it (I don't think It is but at this point I'm too afraid to ask)

my brothers car can't be used because he's got my siblings and I'm not able to legally drive yet (stupid test) my girlfriends car is back in Korea and her parents are out getting lunch at a restaurant or something.

I've made It to the bus station and let me tell you, you get some weird looks when your dressed like this and running in new rocks (the boots) I think I'd have died from embarrassment if I didn't have 4 others dressed the same way

[suratan-zir]

long rant, very personal

nothing new honestly, I know y'all are sick of hearing the same lame story over and over again

sorry

You know how sometimes certain sounds, images or even smells can evoke some nostalgic memories from the past? It happens to everyone, right? To me, it doesn't matter if these flashbacks good or bad, it means I'm screwed either way. It's even worse when the memories are happy, because so many things are gone forever and there is no going back.

Recently I've been playing sims, and they were listening to the radio. I forgot that a long time ago I put some of my favorite songs in one of the folders, so the "Pop" station in the game has some real songs along with Simlish ones. I haven't listened to some of those songs in years.

Then that one song started playing, and an entire part of my life flashed before my eyes. I listened to that song a lot while on the road, during my weekly travels from my hometown in Donetsk oblast (where I was born and lived 'till I was 16) to Donetsk city, where my grandmother and other relatives lived, and where I attended some courses before the uni. I also listened to it on the road to another town, where my other grandma and my best girl friend lived, so I visited her every long holiday.

Why all these boring details are significant in any way?

Both intercity bus stations in Donetsk, which used to be my destination, no longer exist. "Zapadnyi" and "Pulitovskyi" they were called. "Zapadnyi" was located near the airport, so it was completely destroyed in battles for Donetsk airport back when russia first invaded us, in 2014. It wasn't even fully finished before being destroyed.

No buses or passengers there anymore.

"Pulitovskyi" station was not that far too, russian militants even blew up the bridge connecting the station with the city. To be honest, even when I lived in Donetsk, I no longer visited that part of the city, it was just too sad.

I know that it's not important on a surface level, all these places are just decorations, it's not the end of the world. But our memories, our lives consist of such decorations, random places on the map. When everything around falls apart and changes so suddenly, it feels weird and disorienting, most of the time I try to avoid direct contact with these changes, but I can't control my memory.

Fast forward to today, I will probably never be able to return to the city that I used to love so much. And my grandma no longer lives in Donetsk, she's "russian" now, along with brainwashing that often comes with such status. You already know it if you for some reason read my posts. She thinks that russia and putin are saving and liberating us here in Ukraine. I no longer call her "grandma" or call her at all, I have her blocked on my phone, our chat deleted. Funny enough, my ex friend also lives in russia now. Or so she was the last time I checked.

My other grandma from the town in Donetsk oblast left the country and is a refugee now. I have so many great memories of that town, if the russians will advance further in the Donbas (which they are trying to do) the town will become another Bakhmut, Vuhledar, etc. This is Mar'inka now, very close to the aforementioned town:

(and yes, this is a russian tank firing at a house, or what's left of it)

There was a town, now it's a lifeless desert.

I don't have that many memories, because I never had too much going on in my life. I know, it's embarrassing. Not only have I never been to other countries, I haven't even traveled much in Ukraine. My whole life until 2021 was in the Donbas region. Even my vacations were there, we didn't have money to travel. Every summer we would go to the Azov sea, which is now completely under the control of russia. What I wouldn't give to be once again on the shore of that godforsaken sea, even though I can now afford something better. I remember its smell and miss it so much. I was 18 when russia first came to my home to tear it apart. I couldn't live normally, I couldn't plan anything, I couldn't even buy furniture for my apartment because I only dreamt about leaving, and it was impossible to bring anything big with us through all the military posts from Donetsk. Years later, when we thought we are about to finally start living, traveling, enjoying everything that was taken from us for so long… yeah, you know the story.

Now life suddenly seems so short, it's passing by and I'm helpless to change anything. I'm so sick of living through this shit. Sick of the russians stealing my youth, my life, our lives, poisoning our memories, ruining everything around us.

I swear, I held it together before that fucking song started playing. I probably shouldn't post this, I have to at least disable reblogging, it's too embarrassing.

[yureipunk]

no bc actually i hate the way american cities (and im sure other countries too, but im speaking from an american pov) were BULLDOZED for cars. you HAVE to have a car in many cities in america. its just not walkable, and therefore not accessible. cities CAN be compact too, they just DONT do it.

if cities were actually for people like they were in the past, it would raise how accessible it is by like, a mile!!!! im not even joking!!!!

THIS is New York City, USA (Columbus Circle) in the 1920's. it had public transit, it was walkable easily (sidewalks, road, etc.), AND it STILL had areas where you could travel by 'car'.

This is New York City, USA (Columbus Circle) today. no public transit (unless you count taxis, but that is NOT comparable to buses/etc.), barely any sidewalk, little specific places where you can (legally) walk, and overall is catered more towards cars than people.

the less walkable space there is, the less wheelchair accessible space there is, the less crutches, walkers, etc. accessible space there is.

even if you don't care about that, its less space for able-bodied people, too. not everyone can drive, not everyone can afford a car, not everyone can afford to have a taxi everyday. what do those people get? nothing. no space to walk, if you do, its so narrow and inaccessible that its more of a joke than anything.

and also, the problem itself isn't the cars, its more so the dependency ON them. because cars are a very helpful mode of transportation! its why they exist! but when you're using a car for a 8 minute trip because you CANNOT and DO NOT have the option to walk, that's when it becomes a problem. (ofc there is exceptions, but not my point)

im sure you can imagine why its bad, bc 1, no accessibility, 2 more co2 in the air, and 3 (if you are STILL looking for a reason) is not having the freedom to choose what mode of transportation to use.

[for more concise ranting, ill link some yt vids!

Why City Design is Important (and Why I Hate Houston) (link)

America Always Gets This Wrong (when building transit) (link)

The Dumbest Excuse for Bad Cities (link)

i honestly CANNOT recommend this channel enough, btw.]

(small sidenote, i am not at all the master of this subject, so if i do have any facts wrong, feel free to correct me)

@wolf-loverboy, @mogai-sunflowers (might find this interesting idk)

[nicistrying]

Monday 31st July

Dropped my car at the garage this morning for its MOT. Had to get the bus home which was really anxiety inducing, not sure why? Like I've had bad experiences on buses but they were all years ago and never made me actually physically anxious getting back on one. Idk anyway I was already v nervous and on edge worrying about the car after Matt's failed its MOT a few weeks ago and we had to get rid of it 😅 I was just so scared of having no car between 2 of us who kinda really need cars lol. So I lost most of the day to just solidly worrying about that but I did get some stuff done while I was at home - ordered some gifts for people, did some bits around the house, got my work stuff ready and lunch prepped for tomorrow. Had pasta w broccoli and cheese for lunch which was such nice comfort food.

The garage called and said my car is fine, needs a few bits done asap but they don't have the parts to do it now and it passed its MOT so I went straight down to get it and felt much much better once I was driving myself back home in my own car lol. Now to get 3 new tyres and new brakes 😅😅

Had a little stretch and did a nice leg workout when I got home - had been wanting to work out all day but was too on edge waiting for the phone to ring. So felt great to let all the tension and stress out. I did some glute exercises first - 3x16 each of hip thrusts, deadlifts and reverse lunges with my kettlebell, followed by 25 mins on the indoor bike. I worked up a good sweat and listened to the Barbie soundtrack for most of it bc I'm absolutely obsessed. Like I cannot get enough of I'm Just Ken

Anyway it was a good workout. Maggie just chilled outside in the rain the whole time like a weirdo.

Showered, had veggie curry for dinner, and now we're cuddling watching TV until it's time to pick Matt up from work.

[cerberus253]

Soo.. not wanting to bother or stress you.. but, what if hsi wu ended up falling inlove with a mortal? Maybe a afro person or someone who is originally from spain?

And honestly, something i think he would find it funny is how some words are in spanish, and especially how buses are called busetas.

(Which in brazil, a lot of people joke about it cause in the portugues dicionary, the word sounds similar to "buceta" which is a way to refer to the private part of a female and also used as a curse word and insult.)

And maybe we can imagine and create some headcanons of how their dynamics of the mortal s/o and hsi wu would be like?

(Also, don't over-work yourself, drink water and rest, have your own time and you can answer this whenever you want or not, and please, i hope i didn't annoy you ;-;)

Although I do believe the Demon Sorcerers are asexual and demiromantic, I'll entertain the idea in the "What If..." universe.

Even in this world, they’d be manipulative, cruel, sadistic, and objectifying. Out of the Eight (Nine if you include Drago), I think Hsi Wu (Sky), Tchang Zu (Thunder), and possibly Xiao Fung (Wind) would be the most likely candidates for gaining at least romantic, even sensual, relationships with humans (Drago included, and he may even have a desire for a sexual relationship, too, but he’s also mostly demiromantic to me).

Gonna repeat this from a previous ask about Hsi Wu to start this:

Hsi Wu is cheeky, mischievous, crafty, manipulative, and a bully he can also be patient and/or sadistic when needed.

I will also be repeating stuff from a similar previous ask, but I’ll shorten it and say it’s a repeat because, even though the previous S/O was a different species, it does not mean he’d act completely different for another. Repeats are similar, but not exact.

Headcannons (SFW)

Going straight to the language bit, it appears that all the Demon Sorcerers know, at least, Chinese (originated there) and English (spends the most time interacting with). Depending on their kingdom locations, they most likely know an additional language. English and Chinese are very different languages, but since Hsi Wu knows English, he's already at a good start with learning any of the Traditional Romance languages, and then possibly Latin. So, he can be taught, and maybe because magic, he'd be able to learn it rather quickly.

Hsi Wu's kingdom was in the Eastern US. The one in Spain was Dai Gui. Now, I know Dai Gui is considered the “caveman” of the siblings, but even he knows Spanish. Hsi Wu, upon learning Spanish, will use it front and towards him in insults when he can. Dai Gui does not like this. Not only can Hsi Wu insult him in English and Chinese, but now Spanish.

(repeat) Hsi Wu would totally keep his human S/O in a human-sized birdcage in his room, eventually upgrading it to a larger, more complex, and fancy looking cage with plants, flowers, rooms, things to climb and hang on, etc. It's not only to keep a protective eye on them, but a protective chamber from jealous eyes harmful hands.

(repeat) Although treasured dearly, being doted on, given gifts, and romantic passion are earned by being a good boy/girl and doing what their told or pleasing him enough. They could ask for the finest foods, apparel, and entertainment, but for freedom outside the castle/Tower is a strict no. The only time it would happen is if the S/O is heavily guarded and/or Hsi Wu himself is with them.

(repeat) When it comes to being let out to roam the Tower and its hanging gardens, it's only if Hsi Wu trusts them enough and/or they beg in such a pitiful yet beautiful way that he kind of feels bad for letting his treasure rot away in a cage.

(repeat) Like I said in a previous post, Hsi Wu's Tower would be decorated and colorful, but spacious enough for him and large flying creatures to fly around without fearing of running into things. Same thing internally, especially within his quarters, where his favorite trinkets and decor, which are mostly if not all from his human S/O, are placed. Any materials the S/O needs, Hsi Wu will have a subordinate fetch it for them.

(repeat) Hsi Wu doesn't need to wear a lot of things because it impacts his flight, but in placement of that, he makes his S/O wear beautiful and fancy pieces. Not only jewelry, but cloth and fibers as well. He loves to look and stare at them, knowing that nobody will ever have anything as exquisite! One can find paintings around the Tower of them, decorated, lounging, and looking seductively fierce with demonic make-up on, like a hulijing ("fox spirit"; Japanese- kitsune). Lucky people can look and be jealous, but not a single one can touch!

Now, although Hsi Wu personally prefers Chinese clothing, upon seeing the bright and colorful apparel, he thought it'd be more fitting for his S/O to be in their traditional wear. I honestly think Hsi Wu would overall love any colorful clothing, like [South]East Asian (Chinese, Vietnamese, Laos), the three that you mentioned (Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian), and others like Argentinian, Bolivian, Ecuadorian, Guyana... heck, anything in South American by the looks of traditional clothing. Polish, Swiss, Austrian, Azerbaijan, and Czechia for some other European ones. Indian looks pretty as well!

So yeah, the prettiest clothing for his S/O, as well as make-up and jewelry. However, because Hsi Wu wouldn't be too keen on them getting to dirty or injured, so he'd probably want them to be wearing it just about all the time (they are still an object to him, after all), as long as it doesn't outshine himself. Yes, I know we see Hsi Wu in just a cloth in the show, but I'm pretty sure he wore other stuff for different occasions back in the day.

(repeat) Hsi Wu's bathing pool is huge with glistening water and soaps of tropical smells. He would prefer to bathe with his S/O, with them usually washing him, and then maybe him doing the same if he wants to. Of course they feel pleasure from each others' touch, especially the S/O. If female, the S/O would definitely enjoy Hsi Wu squeezing the warm, flesh filed stress balls called breasts.

(repeat) Hsi Wu is never passionate for too long and will eventually go to playing around with them, pinning them against the pool edge to express his dominating presence against their fragile human body.

(repeat) Hsi Wu almost always sleeps with his S/O, very much like how we sleep with toys and body pillows. Their warm body is perfect for cuddling and wrapping his cold-blooded wings around, really enveloping his entirely around them like a cocoon.

Apparently, because you asked, darker skinned people absorb heat more than light skinned people, therefore their body temperature is higher. Because Hsi Wu is a cold-blooded lizard demon, he would prefer this over any other skin color. However, heat rash and other heat related skin responses are also increased. Hopefully magic and science together can easily prevent, or lessen the likelihood, of this from happening!

(repeat) Hsi Wu knows about kissing, but why it became a thing is beyond him, but he gets they do it to show affection. Obviously he never sat and watched people do this, nor have ever practiced, so his first kiss was very awkward. Really he just smashed his mouth against his S/O's, almost breaking their nose. Since he's willing to do this on occasions, the S/O would give him lessens. Lots and lots of lessons~ Even suggesting the tongue kind~

"Ugh, kissing with our tongues?! That's disgusting!... DO IT AGAIN."

Playing with his ears while doing so will lead to him biting, lips or tongue. Of course the S/O is into that, ya know, as long as nothing is being bite off.

(repeat) He may be serious and more patronizing to his S/O in public, because image to humans and his siblings, but behind closed doors is where the affection is really shown. Hugging, cuddling, nuzzling, kissing, making out, etc is done rather aggressively and normally ends up with them falling over onto the ground or Hsi Wu's nest. Is this what true love feels like? Damn, no wonder humans go crazy over this stuff!

I'm unsure if Hsi Wu would let his S/O study magic, because there's a possibility they may use it against him, but then they could defend themselves if he wasn't there, so what to do?? Well, he needs to at least teach them flying, or levitation magic (god forbid you try to convince Tso Lan to do that favor), so they could fly together! When that happens, he'll give them flight lessons. If the S/O is knowledgeable and skilled enough, they could trick him into doing the areal mating dance some birds do, just to fluster him XD

Although Hsi Wu foes have sensitive ears, he does enjoy music; it’s just that high pitched and loud AF notes hurts his ear holes. Anyway, he’d probably want his S/O to be able to sing, and if they can’t, he’ll find someone to teach them how. Dancing can be nice, too (refer back to that other Hsi Wu post about the owl-human hybrid for the types of dancing), but singing is more to his liking. He can’t do it himself, but he loves a great singing voice 👌

Headcannons (NSFW)

Now, depending on if they have the ability to sexually reproduce, they can get sexually aroused, but it’s very low. They do not have the desire to have sex, but if they are doing foreplay, or are in the middle of “doing it,” they’ll eventually get aroused. Some may take longer than others, and some may need very specific foreplay to get there.

Yes, Hsi Wu would find it funny that common words (“busetas”) in one language (Spanish) sound like something inappropriate (buceta) in another (Portuguese). I can see him using it more like an insult than trying to be sexy, especially since it’s “bus” to “woman parts.” “I can’t wait to get into that bus of yours” XD

Wait. English has the meme “bussy” to mean “pussy.” Hang on… no, it would still be a joke to him.

Hsi Wu wasn't on-board with anything sexual at first, but grew into it eventually because it's fun to Do It with someone you genuinely love, not just to 'get your rocks off,' which he sees as pathetic and weak. Like, really, all your species' emotional decisions center around sex? Damn, that's dumb and not something an amazing Demon Sorcerer would do. We're above that!

(repeat) Like I said, it takes a lot of convincing to get a Demon Sorcerer to have sex. Hsi Wu would eventually be convinced with foreplay, usually the begging and submissive kind. Like, one can start off with exposing and splaying themself out, maybe touching him, obviously signalling what they want, but that's not gonna convince Hsi Wu to do anything; he'll only verbally tease them to do better than that.

"Let's see how much you really want me, hm?~" Work, baby. Work. The S/O will need to show how much they want him by getting him sexually aroused. Once that eventually happens (begging, moaning, cooing, any pitiful noise really), Hsi Wu will pin them down and get aggressively, and playfully, dirty with them, both physically and verbally~ Sweet Nothings, kisses, licking, biting, scratching, bondage, choking, overstimulating, etc. Although the S/O was the one to be "on top" first, Hsi Wu was only letting them. Now that he's ready to go, they have to relinquish that power whether they like it or not!

(repeat) Bondage. He's into bondage, especially the hanging kind. He's put them up in embarrassing and exposing poses, and will physically tease them unil they cry and beg to be touched and pleasured.

If the S/O is female: BOOBS. BOOBIES. BREASTS. MAMMARIES. They are soft, warm, squishy, and relaxing for both parties! Alternatives for these Fun Flesh Sacs are butts, love handles (called that for a reason), hips, and thighs! Hsi Wu WILL squish them, he WILL enjoy it, and he WILL leave scratch marks from him claws piercing into them too much!

(repeat) Nicknames include: "my [mortal flesh] toy," "Dolly," "Pretty Little [Song]Bird," "darling," "plaything," "honey," and "miscreant," "scoundrel," "harlot," etc.

Connecting back to the singing voice of his S/O, if they can sing, he’d love attempting to run those chords dry with their seductive moaning, really making them a temporary mute afterwords XD

Now, when doing foreplay with him, once can touch and rub against him, but are not allowed to get penetrated. That's HIS responsibility/job. Maybe he'll let his S/O do the job for him if he's too lazy and just wants to watch them struggle, moaning and whining as they gyrate on him with that desperate, blushing, lolling face of theirs~ <3

[wool-f]

Travelling Solo As a Young Woman: the do's and don't's

If you follow my Instagram, you'll know I spent a little bit of time abroad this year, following the sun from Australia all the way to Europe, just like every other Aussie from the east coast.

This wasn't the first time I've travelled, but it was the first time I did some of it completely solo without the comfort or fall back of a group tour or friends to meet up with.

As a 29-year-old, I have heard everything from the horror stories to the fairytales about why you should solo travel, and I'm here to tell you, it IS worth it.

I won't blabber on about how amazing it is and what a great time I had, because travelling is obviously one of my passions and I know how travellers can sound droning on and on about how good their most recent trip was.

That being said, it was amazing - but it wasn't without its downsides.

I'll start off with the negative aspects of solo travelling and end with the great ones.

First of all, it is scary - no matter how old you are. Particularly if you don't like being by yourself or you're not used to it. The first two days I was solo I definitely needed the me-time, but after that I was fully thrown into the deep end of introducing myself and meeting new people. For me this wasn't an issue - I am a generally friendly person and enjoy meeting new people, so I would just go right up to people and chat or make conversation with the people in my hostel rooms. This is obviously very specific to hostel situations, but the most important thing to remember is that if you are solo travelling and staying in and out of hostels, you are all there to meet new people and the other people staying there are most likely in the same situation as you or are expecting people to come and talk.

The other fear factor is for women and queer identifying people - being alone can be scary and often a threat to your safety. On this front I would say there are a few things that you can do to avoid getting into a bad situation.

The first one is ALWAYS trust your intuition !!!!! I cannot scream this enough. There will be times when you just know the vibes are off, trust those moments and get yourself to a safer environment or away from the people making you feel that way.

The second one is to be very selective of who you tell that you're travelling solo, particularly when you meet new people. One of my favourite ways to avoid the question of "are you alone" is to say I'm on my way to meet my friends, or that we are doing different activities that day and that we're meeting later. This gives the impression that people are waiting to hear from you that are immediately accessible should something go wrong.

The second tip I have for anyone looking to travel solo is to PACK LIGHT!! I didn't take my own advice and let me tell you, two months of dragging around 22kgs was DRAINING.

I would also recommend to get a backpack bag if you can - like a hiking bag. I'm travelling again in May and I will be investing in a bag that I can carry. Particularly in Europe, the stairs are abundant and everywhere. The roll-wheel suitcases are so irritating to pull around and if you have bad luck like me and many other people I met this year, the wheels can't take cobblestones and WILL break.

The third tip I have is to really think wisely about your itinerary. Make sure your travel days aren't ridiculously long because you didn't take into account train or plane transfer times. Also take night buses if you can in between locations - I did this in Turkiye between Olympos, Cappadocia and Istanbul and I'll be doing it again the next time I travel. Overnight buses save you a load of cash in flight fees and also a night's accomodation that you wouldn't be using. Plus it cuts out a travel day and you can enjoy more time in your destinations!

My last tip is to have fun. There will be people who put you down, think solo travel is stupid or try to dissuade you from going on the trip of a life time. I have heard all the shit that can be said when it comes to solo travelling from family members, acquaintances and people who don't even know me - I ignored it all and have had multiple amazing trips. So many of my life long friends have been made from travelling and I have learnt so much about myself along the way.

I think everyone should solo travel at least once in their life, we are all better people for it.

If you have any questions about solo travel that you think I can answer, please feel free to message me! Or let me know where you've been solo travelling or where your next destination is! There is nothing I love to chat about more than travelling.

Love you all, I'll be back here on a more consistent basis from here on out.

Chat to you all in the next one!

Love always,

G xx

[foster-the-world]

Good and Bad News

In good news I was able to find multiple field trips which are free for Title 1 schools. Buses are provided by the city so as long as the trip is free the kids can go. The Intrepid and the national math museum are also offering free pizza lunch for our school. I also got a huge discount for the Bio bus to come to the school. They will offer presentations for six groups of thirty kids.

In bad news I haven't found funding for the Ballet Hispanico program. The school has had a partnership with the program for over a decade. Normally the PTA pays. Our fund raising has greatly decreased so we don't have the money this year. I started looking for grants in June but haven't had any luck. Actually I found a bunch but I should have applied in December. Now I need to email Ballet Hispanico and see what they will do for half the money - which is all we can afford. Will see what they say. I'll start in December for next year.

Learning Spanish is slow going with the girls. I'll teach them a saying that they've learned previously. Two seconds later they don't know it. Its a little maddening but of course I'm trying not to show it. Also trying to remember that they forgot reading rules a thousand times and then all the sudden were reading chapter books with ease. Hopefully, this is the same concept.

They start an after school art class today.

Drop off didn't go great with baby boy. First off we were dummies who let him on the slide - which happened to be wet. Then he was reaching out for us looking sad when we left. His teacher was with him. I think its better for him if we leave quickly. However, all of the other parents were staying so that probably made us leaving hard for him. Tmrw I guess I'll stay longer. I know other parents don't like it but I'm hoping it will soon switch to door drop off. I think that will be better for him. Anyway drop of anxiety is not my concern for him. He'll be fine with that soon. Its the behavior afterwards that I have to worry about.

[amazing-spiderling]

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art; 25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

17. There should be more of this type of fic/art:

So, my last two major fandoms/ships were pretty different, right? Otasune from Metal Gear Solid and Spideypool from various mixed Marvel media. The MGS fandom (when I was an active part of things) was kind of like the wild west because we'd go YEARS between games, and each installment wasn't guaranteed to have YOUR blorbos in it, so with such long droughts of canon content to go on, AUs were extremely common. Spideypool arrived at the same destination via a different route. With SO MUCH content for a popular ship, it was the weird AUs that stood out from the crowd.

These days, I'm most active in the Daredevil fandom, which is a comfortable size... but maybe its *too* comfortable. XD I just mean that there's so much (great) fic that is made up of lost moments/in between scenes and other canon compliant or "step to the left" of canon storylines that it kind of makes me wish people would get weird about it. Weirder, anyway. I know it's a fine line to straddle, and a lot of people get touchy about what writers choose to change, but I don't think my opinions about that are as set in stone as they are for other people. Besides my squicks, I read whatever is well written.

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

I'll be real, I find fandom complaints to be tedious a lot of the time because a lot of them boil down to people who don't like X making a case for why X is objectively bad, and I think more people need to realize that you just don't have to like everything, sometimes it's for a different audience. So if I start reading a post or something that looks like it's going that way, I just scroll by.

I guess to that end, I'm kind of tired of people being so angry about the current comics run. It sure is making some choices, I'll give you that. But at least it's doing something different. (And I'll be honest, I've seen some specific complaints where I've thought, "you're actually wrong about this specific thing, because you've made a mistake about who is speaking in this moment bc you are seeing the page out of context" but bothering to correct people just doesn't seem worth it when people have made up their minds, y'know?)

Maybe it's because I love a fucked up AU that I'm like "Haha if two Daredevils were on a mountain and one of them went to hell would that be fucked up or what?" or maybe it's because I'm a bit jaded by reading comics for three decades that I'm of the mindset that comic runs (and canon for that matter) are like buses. ("If the one here now isn't taking you where you need to be, another will be along in a little while.") I'm personally having fun with the run and even if there's stuff I would have chosen to do differently, I can't be bothered to expend the energy outright hating something when I can use half of that to find things to like about it. Meh!