#and the time when my mom gave my sister her old ipod touch and we found the song fuck you by lily allen on there. that was a big day

[jewfrogs]

man my parents understood their child when they gave me (6 or 7) an mp3 player and said here are songs. this is the music. and the playlist included feist 1234, the entire the sound of music soundtrack by rodgers & hammerstein, my chemical romance welcome to the black parade, tlc waterfalls, katrina and the waves walking on sunshine, the barenaked ladies holiday album “barenaked for the holidays”, the jackson 5 santa claus is coming to town, and countless they might be giants songs including the theme song to a show we did not watch once ever. and i treasured that

#my parents put in the WORK to make sure i grew up weird and unusual. and g-d bless them for that #other musical influences i grew up with: the showtunes radio my grandma always had on in her car (sirius xm on broadway baby!) #and the time when my mom gave my sister her old ipod touch and we found the song fuck you by lily allen on there. that was a big day #ribbits

[purplesurveys]

1274

Department One: Apparel And Jewelry

What are you wearing today?  Just a white duster dress. Very loungewear-y, hahaha. I didn’t feel like wearing shorts today.

What does your favorite shirt look like?  At the moment I’m obsessed with my Vante shirt. It’s fanmade but it was made tastefully; the designs aren’t too loud and I love the cute little shoutouts and tributes to his past paintings, so it had been a ridiculously easy decision for me to want to buy it.

What kind of underwear do you prefer wearing?  Eh I don’t really have a preference as long as I don’t find them uncomfy.

What are your favorite kind of jeans?  I’m definitely still stuck in my mom jeans phase. Idk man, I just love how they match nearly all kinds of tops.

What do the last pair of shoes you wore look like?  They were adidas sneakers. Not a big fan of chunky shoes but it’s an Ivy Park and it was on a big discount HAHAHA so I didn’t hesitate to get them.

How many shoes do you own?  A little more than 10. I love shoes and wanna collect them someday...just not today, hahaha.

How much jewelry do you own?  Not too big on jewelry; most, if not all the ones I wear are just borrowed from my mom since we share the same style anyway.

Do you own any real diamonds or other expensive jewelry?  Yeah, the ones I would borrow from my mom are pretty pricey.

Has anyone ever gave you jewelry as a present?  Yes, I received rings and necklaces from my ex. One of my aunts also gave me a necklace when I turned 7.

Do you like diamonds or gemstones better?  I just stick with diamonds...which is...also a gemstone too, if I’m not mistaken.

Silver or gold?  Silver.

Department Two: Electronics

Do you have a DVD player in your car?  Not in mine, but we do have one in the family car. I used to watch movies on there often but after one grueling road trip where my motion sickness acted up, I haven’t wanted to use it since.

If you have one, what does your camera/camcorder look like?  I just use the camera in my phone but back in the day I used to have a DSLR; that was when I thought I wanted to take up photography, heh. It was a Nikon D3100.

How much did it cost?  I’m not sure since my dad gave it to me as a present, but a quick search told me it would’ve cost him around P20,000 which issssss wow more expensive than I thought.

What kind of cellphone do you have?  I have an iPhone 8 with an LCD screen that’s deteriorating by the day HAHA. I really need to get a new phone.

How often do you send texts?  I text just for work purposes now, so it really depends on how busy my accounts are. Some days would require me to send out more texts than usual.

Do you have your own computer or does your family share?  I have my own laptop. My workplace also provided me with what’s supposed to be my work laptop, but they had it sent to me when I was already a couple of months into my job and all my needed files and programs were already in my personal laptop. Since I was too lazy to start everything all over again, I’ve never actually used the work laptop haha.

How many computers are in your house?  We have three laptops in total - my siblings and I each have our own. Kind of a necessity these days.

Do you still have a VCR?  I don’t think so.

How many DVDs do you own?  We probably have around 30-50 but most of them are movies from like the 2000s that we just haven’t thrown out. Personally, I have about five DVDs of old films like Gone with the Wind, Rebel Without A Cause, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, etc, and recently I’ve been buying BTS merch so DVDs are part of that mix too.

Does your car have a GPS?  No. I use Waze on my phone instead.

What kind of iPod/MP3 player do you have? Haven’t used an iPod in like a literal decade. I use Spotify for my music.

How many songs are on it?  Spotify doesn’t work that way since it’s technically a database of songs.

What size is your TV?  Never bothered to ask/check.

How many TVs are in your house?  Four. Living room, dining room, master bedroom, my brother’s room.

What video game systems do you have?  We have a PS3 and PS4. 

What about handhelds?  Switch. I believe my sister also still has her DSi stored somewhere.

How many video games do you have?  Probably somewhere around 50-60. My dad and brother are content with repeating their games lol.

Department Three: Home

What kind of shampoo do you use?  It’s a Dove variant but I’m just blanking out on the specific name/what it does.

Soap or shower gel?  Shower gel.

What does your comforter look like?  It’s pretty colorful and has geometric shapes and lines.

Does it match your pillows?  Yep, they come in a set.

What size is your bed?  Twin.

Do you or your parents like to decorate the house with various things or is it plain?  My mom puts considerable effort in decorating the house but it’s nothing overboard that it feels tacky. There’s enough decor in enough spaces.

Does the furniture in your house match?  Sure. I imagine my mom would be very irritated if she felt something was uncoordinated at home.

What does your couch look like?  It’s a gray L-shaped couch. Gabie broke a portion of the couch’s springs when it had only spent its like first two weeks at home but surprisingly my mom has not noticed it yet; probably because she barely sits on that side.

How many does your dining room/kitchen table seat?  It has six chairs, though since we’re five one of the chairs is almost always unoccupied.

Do you have any fancy china?  No, my mom isn’t the type to collect those.

Do you have outside furniture?  Yeah we have a table and chairs up on the rooftop, if they count.

What do your curtains look like?  My siblings and I have pull-down blinds. The other rooms have these pulled-back gold curtains that’s accompanied by white sheers.

Department Four: Grocery

What kind of bread do you get?  Sliced white bread, always. Sometimes my mom will pick up pan de sal, but she gets those from a certain bakery and no longer the grocery.

What is your favorite kind of cake?  CHEEEEEEEEEESECAAAAAAAKE.

Do you get a lot of sweets from the grocery store?  Eh, nah. Not a big fan of sweets.

What kind of soda is your favorite?  Don’t like soda.

Do you drink juice? What kind?  I can take it or leave it. I wouldn’t buy it for myself.

What is your favorite chewing gum?  Doesn’t matter to me. The flavors last for only like a minute anyway.

Do you usually get candy from the check-out aisle?  Nah. Those are far more accessible so who knows who could’ve touched or tampered with them. Plus, I mentioned I don’t like sweets.

What is your favorite soup?  Miso or cream of mushroom.

Have you ever had soup when you were sick?  No. I don’t enjoy hot beverages/liquids very much so I doubt I would feel comfort from soup when I’m sick.

What are your favorite canned vegetables?  Not sure if it’s a cultural difference thing but canned vegetables kind of sound gross and I don’t think I’ve encountered those (I actually had to look it up lol). My parents always buy fruits and veggies as is.

What do you eat for breakfast?  Fried rice is a constant but my mom switches up the set of viands every time. Some of the meals she serves would be hotdogs, eggs (either scrambled, omelette, fried, or sunny-side up), corned beef, dried fish, hashbrowns, luncheon meat, tapa, and Vienna sausages. Poptarts or toaster strudels?  Poptarts. I’ve never had toaster strudel and I’m honestly not sure what that is.

What salad dressing do you prefer?  Spicy mayo.

Ketchup, mayonnaise, or mustard?  MAYONNAISE. I can live without the other two.

What kind of cookie do you like best?  I only ever eat chocolate chip.

What kind of snacks do you get at the grocery store?  Salted egg chips or Pringles. Not a big fan of snacks either. This survey is making me realize I’m way more into full meals than anything else.

Do you get the meat from the deli?  Er, we don’t have delis here. Too fancy a concept lmao. If we have them, they are most likely in those extremely upscale, boujee neighborhoods.

What is your favorite frozen dinner?  I mean my dad buys frozen meat, fish, etc, but the frozen dinner sets that I see in American culture, which I’m guessing is what’s being referred to in this question, are not common here.

Do you prefer frozen dinners to actual cooking?  I honestly can’t imagine how it’s filling, but then again I’ve never tried it. Personally, food made from scratch is still the best.

What is your favorite kind of pasta?  Fettuccine.

Do you eat meat? And if not, do you eat vegetarian meat?  Yes, I eat meat. I get vegan options if they’re accessible and affordable, but those choices are hard to come by here.

What is your favorite fruit?  Avocado is really the only one I’ll give a pass to. Everything else tastes horrible.

What about vegetable?  Broccoli, bell peppers, green beans.

Department Five: Health And Beauty

What kind of makeup do you normally use?  None. If I absolutely have to put on makeup, I will begrudgingly put on foundation, maybe some eyeliner, and lip gloss. And they will all most likely be borrowed from my sister.

Do you wear more makeup on special events?  Not necessarily.

What is your favorite makeup brand?  I wouldn’t be the right person to ask because I would just say none of them.

Do you use any acne products?  Mmm no, I just splash water on my face, really. I actually got into a conversation about skincare with my co-workers yesterday and besides the usual shocked experessions I get when people find out I don’t use products, they recommended I at least get moisturizer and sunscreen. Idk, let’s see but historically it’s been hard to convince me to invest in skincare haha.

What kind of perfume do you use?  I have one of Beyoncé’s perfumes, Heat Rush. I don’t actually know if that’s still in production but it’s been my staple for like a decade or so now.

Have you ever been on a diet?  No. I never really had to be on one.

What products do you use in your hair?  Shampoo and conditioner.

How often do you brush your hair?  Only when I have to leave the house or have an important virtual work meeting.

What do you take when you have an upset stomach?  Nothing. The toilet usually solves that for me lol.

Do you take any prescription medicine? Nope.

Department Six: Movies, Music, And Books

What is your favorite movie of all time?  It’s been Two for the Road for a solid nine years and it doesn’t look like anything’s on its way to dethroning it anytime soon.

What genre of movie do like best?  Drama. The more realistic it is, the better.

What was the last movie you watched?  It’s a Korean film called Be With You. I liked it and I cried waterfalls, but the ending was so rushed it was kind of disappointing.

What was the last movie you purchased?  I don’t buy movies. If I wanted to see a film I’ll check if Netflix has it, then if they don’t I just try to scour one of those illegal movie streaming sites that always happen to have thousands of pornographic ads hahaha.

What is your all time favorite band? Paramore. Do you still buy CDs?  Only from artists I’m an extremely huge fan of. Right now that would be BTS, so I’m catching up on all the albums they’ve released in the last eight years.

What was the last CD you bought?  I got the Butter album set, if that counts. If it doesn’t, the last full-length album I purchased was Dark & Wild.

What was the last song you listened to?  I think it was Permission To Dance.

What is your favorite book?  I haven’t found it yet.

Do you even like reading?  I used to love it a lot more, to the point that back in grade school I was known as always having a book in my hand. I just don’t know where that passion went.

How often do you read?  Nearly never. I mean...I do read fanfics, I guess; but I won’t count those.

Department Seven: Sports And Fitness

Do you own a bike/scooter/skateboard/etc.?  We do have a bike at home, but that doesn’t mean I know how to ride it. We don’t have the other two.

How old were you when you learned to ride a bike w/o training wheels?  I still don’t know how to last on a bike without training wheels heheh.

Have you ever been camping?  Nah.

How often do you work out?  Nope but at work my boss just started another fitness challenge, so I’ll probably have to get back on working out soon just because I would want to accomplish the challenge.

Are you in good shape?  Sure, I think so. I’m not like fit fit because I neveeer exercise haha, but I also don’t make it a point to constantly eat unhealthy foods or have an unhealthy lifestyle to the point that it affects my body.

Do you go to a gym?  I do not. I thought of getting a membership at the start of the year but I’m glad I didn’t push through with it because all the gyms are still closed anyway.

Have you ever been fishing?  No. Idk if it’s my kind of pastime or not.

Have you ever been on a boat?  Yeah. My country has like 7000 islands so I was bound to get on a boat at some point in my life haha.

Can you play golf?  Never seemed interesting to me so no. Even on Wii Sports I barely picked golf.

Ever rode on a golf cart?  Yeah, in resorts where we had to ride them to be taken to our room.

Would you ever go hunting?  That’s an easy no.

What is your favorite sport?  Pro wrestling or table tennis.

Ever played on a sports team?  No, my school didn’t have a table tennis varsity.

Department Eight: Toys

What was your favorite toy as a child?  Cash registers because I liked the buttons. Also Play-Doh sets that had those contraptions that would squirt out the clay in various shapes.

Do you still play with toys?  Well, no.

Do you collect any toys?  I don’t, but I’m not opposed to start buying Funko Pop figurines of people or characters I’m interested in.

Did you ever have building blocks?  Sure, but I was never creative enough for them.

Did you play with dolls?  No.

Barbies or Bratz? Which were better?  BRATZZZZZZ

What is your favorite board game?  Scrabble.

Do you like to do arts and crafts?  Hell no.

Do you think that kids now have it better than when you were young? For sure, but isn’t that kind of the goal?

#survey #surveys

[midnightswithdearkatytspb]

Everything’s Gonna Be Alright

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OFC Stark

Rating: PG

Warning(s): Mentions of Character Death, Fluff & Angst

Word Count: 2,235

Info: I entered @littledarlinhavefaithinme Sebastian Stan Summer Song Writing Challenge. I choose to do it based off of Lullaby by Shawn Mullins. So I loosely and I mean loosely based it off the song, where she grew up with Tony, and Bucky does quote my favorite line of the song at the end. Also big thanks to @coffeebucko for making my moodboard!

Synopsis: Bruce snaps everyone back into existence and Thanos is gone. 5 years have passed and many things have changed for Remedy Stark, she’s an older sister, her dads gotten married to her mother figure and she isn't sure where she fits in it all.

Remedy Stark was born at the tail end of the ’80s, her father couldn't tell her much about how she was born but he could tell her about her mother and the story of how she was brought to him. Remedy could recount the story of being dropped off at her dad, Tony’s front doorstep by her mothers grieving friend. How Tony took one look at six-year-old her and cursed under his breath.

Remedy started showing her mutant abilities just a few months after she had moved in with her father. Tony had been working with some tools when he cut his finger open, feeling bad Remedy walked over grabbed her father's finger and kissed it. After telling him it was all better Tony looked down to find it healed with not even a scar left behind. That night they sat at the breakfast nook where Tony made Remedy promise she would keep her powers to them, and she did till she fixed Uncle Rhodey’s broken arm.

Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Bono, Mariah Carey, 2Pac, Elon Musk, Madonna, Michael J. Fox, Kevin Costner, Liv Tyler, Whitney Houston, Richard Branson, Steven Tyler, Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, and Leonardo DiCaprio were among the few who partied at the Stark mansion, getting to see Remedy Stark grow up. She learned to speak many languages, her best friend was an artificial intelligence named Just A Rather Very Intelligent System, or Jarvis for short, her father created, till she went to a private charter school.

Now Remedy, wasn’t as smart as her father, but she did skip a few grades here and there, graduating at the age of 14 in 2001. The same year Pepper Potts entered both her and her father's life, she watched them dance around each other in fawning, praying for the day when either her dad grew mature or one of them made a move. That was also the year her second mutation activated, all Remedy had to do was think of a place she wanted to be and she would end up there, unfortunately, it happened in front of both Pepper and her father. It became a family secret.

Years went by, she watched the only woman she ever saw as a mother figure dive in love with her father, while he became a superhero. Aliens it turned out were real, a frozen super-soldier her father spent his entire existence in the shadow was alive, assassins could have their own family and be a damn good friend, also Nazis it turned out were still around.

Being called an Avenger was pretty amazing, but what felt even more amazing to Remedy was saving lives. Fixing the wrongs in the world that you could. Remedy found a family in the Avengers. Wanda was someone who was her own and that could relate to the pressures of being someone with powers. Steve soon after the battle New York, became her best friend, a brother she never she wanted, along with Clint and Sam. Natasha, well she was another Aunt and another mother figure of sorts who brought along Bey. Bey was Natasha’s child, her pride and joy, but also Remedy’s best friend.

Turns out when you get shocked by Thor when trying to save a small nation, well it can awaken hidden powers where you can open portals. Soon everyone knows your secrets and governments well they don't care that you are a Stark, or that you save lives, they notice the fallout you leave behind.

Remedy knew Steve and her father Tony getting along was never going to last, they always had a fallout but they always came together in the end. This time Remedy wasn't able to foretell the destruction, Thunderbolt Ross would have on the group. Remedy left to go bury her Godmother Peggy Carter, then the next thing she knew she was a wanted fugitive.

Tony wanted her to hate Bucky, for killing her grandparents she barely knew, but she couldn't find it in her. It wasn't Bucky’s fault it was the men behind the controls. She could be angry at Steve for not telling her father but she could easily forgive him attempting to protect his best friend, she would do the same for Wanda and Bey.

When it was all over, said and done, T’Challa welcomed Remedy along Bey to lay low in Wakanda when they weren't trying to be vigilantes. Pepper would meet up with Remedy behind Tony’s back, updating her on her father as well as her godfather. Always going their separate ways with a hug and tears in their eyes.

Than Thanos happened and one moment she was assisting Natasha to get up after healing her broken arm, getting ready to open a portal, next she saw her body turning to ash before her very eyes. Next, she was standing between Sam Wilson, Bucky with Bey who was transformed into a Mammoth with both Princess Shuri and Spiderman on their back, as they were being portalled back to New York.

Remedy fought long and hard, the burning feeling in lungs, long since came a constant reminder she was alive. Working back to back with Wanda most of the fight, sending people her way, or defending Spider-Man, or well Peter, he had stopped to introduce himself and to apologize for the black eye back in Germany. Yeah, she could grow to like the kid and could see why her dad did too.

Seeing her dad again for the first time in what felt like forever, was crazy, especially when Remedy half expected him to yell at her, instead he hugged her. Remedy honestly couldn't remember the last time her father had hugged her. He held her tightly to the metal suit he had long lost his helmet it seemed, Remedy could have sworn she felt tears hit her scalp.

“You are so grounded young lady, I don’t care if you are 30 years old, you are grounded! No television, phone, no boys, we are going to have a long talk about what it means to be a vigilante and not talk to our parents.” Tony broke the silence that surrounded them, trying to make his daughter laugh, while she tugged him down to dodge a laser beam heading their way.

Remedy wasn't sure how long the fight even lasted but for her, it ended with her on Bey’s Polar Bear form a few yards away from Bruce Banner who was in possession of the gauntlet. Bruce snapped and the next thing she noticed was the aliens they had been fighting were turning to dust. Thanos was defeated and all of a sudden it felt like a weight was lifted off their shoulders. Exhaustion hit Remedy hard and it was expected so the last thing she remembered was the white fur, hitting her face before she was caught by Clint.

The drive to wherever they were going seemed to drag on as Remedy got stuck between the two super soldiers, a guy named Frank Castle was driving and he wouldn't let anyone touch for stereo. Somehow Sam had won a coin toss and got to ride shotgun, while in the very back Bey was sharing their iPod with Wanda and Karen Page, was snoring.

When Remedy came to in the back of a truck that belonged to Castle, Pepper had been pushing her hair back. Tears had been cascading down her face even though she was smiling, Remedy had tried to smile but everything in her body has hurt. Pepper was in her suit of armor, Remedy remembered choking out the colors were far better than Dad’s, making Pepper laugh. Tony had leaned over the side of the truck kissing the crown of her head, reminding her favoritism sucked.

Soon they were invited back to Stark-Potts household because of course they got married, but it turns out they no longer lived in the city but out by Lake George. The two-hour drive listening to classic rock and alternative rock, barley any legroom, the constant sniff, and cough was starting to get to Remedy. Almost making her wish she had taken up the Peter Quill guy, or even Scott Lang offers up for a lift.

As Hozier’s voice crooned about how he should have taken better care of his lover, the road Frank had turned on to suddenly became bumpy. Steve sat up straighter, suddenly elbowing Remedy in the ribs with his sharp elbow, causing her to take a deep intake of breath. Bucky reached around Remedy smacking his best friend on the back of the skull, getting a laugh out of Wanda and Bey in the back. Steve gave her an apologetic look as they drew closer to a cabin that looked almost luxurious, right away Remedy knew this was one of her Dad’s places.

As the Range Rover came to a slow stop, Remedy noticed Happy, Pepper, and Rhodey standing on the porch together, with drinks in their hands. Remedy followed Bucky out of the car and saw the lake to her left, it's beauty was serene, she could see why Pepper and her Dad would settle here. Suddenly arms were around Remedy’s legs and holding on tightly to her, with no foreseeable plan to let go it seemed.

“Remy, Daddy said he would bring you home and he did! Mom said you would teach me how to play guitar and you’d Dutch braid. I’m so happy your home.” Remedy stared down at the little girl at her legs in confusion before she heard footsteps nearing, and a hand was placed on top of the little girls head. That hand is turned our belonged to her father and beside him was Pepper, both of which were smiling at her.

“Remedy, this is Morgan, we had her shortly after the snap. Morgan this is your older sister Remedy.” Tony was now holding Morgan in his arms, who continued to stare at Remedy was adoration.

“I know who Remedy is Daddy, I have her picture at my bedside, I tell her goodnight every night and I read to her. Well not her, the picture of her, but now I can read to her because you brought her home to us, as you promised!” Remedy felt her heart rate skyrocket, she had a sister, she had been gone five years and so much has changed. To the right, she could hear Bey screaming no, as Clint was saying sorry, everything felt louder, her breathing more shallow.

“Remy?” Pepper put her hand on her shoulder like she used to do when she was a teenager, and she felt the world was out to get her, but Pepper always reassured her, she was stronger than those who brought her down. Remy tried her hardest to smile at Morgan, but she felt perhaps it still came out more like a grimace than anything else.

“Morgan, it's so good to meet you. If you don't mind, I just need a second to catch my breath.” Remedy had reached over and squeezed her little sister soft delicate hand in a loving gesture before she turned away from her family. Her legs taking her out towards the edge of the dock of the lake, hands-on her hips she found herself struggling to breathe as her mind raced.

Where did she belong now? Why did she have to leave all those years ago, she should have come home with the tail tucked between her legs and signed the accords, they could have been a family. She had missed out on the wedding, the one she had wished for since she was a pre-teen, on her birthday cakes and falling stars. Tony had taken in Peter Parker, Spider-Man who was a pretty cool kid, but still, she missed out on seeing them interact. Here she was a big sister and she missed five years of bed life and yet she seemed to know everything about her, acted like she was the best thing in the world. What would Morgan think when she found out that she wasn't all that great?

An arm around her shoulder, the scent of metal, tea tree, sandalwood, amber, leather, and moss hit her nose, indicating Bucky was the one at her side. He ran his flesh hand up and down her arm, as he put his face in her hair shushing her as she began to cry. Remedy didn't need to be told that Natasha was also gone, along with Vision, people they lost in the war. Her family was falling apart and she felt so broken, yet here was a man she spent weeks on the run, months in Wakanda with, comforting her.

“I’m not sure about you, but I feel a little lost right now, but that's because we are in a strange place, but I promise you Remedy, you got me. You aren’t alone and we’ve got Sam and Bey as well as Steve.” Remedy kept her head in the crook of Bucky’s neck as the vibrations of his voice soothed her along with the smoothing up and down motions of him rubbing her back.

“Everything’s going to be alright.” Bucky kissed the crown of her forehead and looked out at the water while he just held Remedy in his. He vowed to keep her safe and maybe they could help each other piece themselves back together in this messed up world.

#lds4 writing challenge #ktk writes #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fanfic #buck barnes #bucky barnes x ofc #bucky barnes x mutant!stark #oneshot #bucky barnes one shot #fan fic #fanfiction #songfic #bucky barnes songfic #james buchanan barnes #sam wilson #steve rogers #shuri black panther #frank castle #karen page #pepper potts x tony stark #tony stark #morgan stark #writing #challenge #marvel #mcu #thanos #hulk #stark daughter #bucky barnes fanfiction

[wow-so-original-blog]

why my 8 year old sister thought i was pregnant when i was 11 because of owl city

Strap in, kids, it's a long and confusing story but it's hilarious.

So 11 year-old me had just gotten her first iPod Touch and her parents graciously allowed her to use their Spotify account. It was there that she discovered the heaven which was Owl City.

The songs were quirky and nonsensical, the exact thing that makes 11 year olds feel smart by understanding the metaphors. (not knocking owl city; he's great; just knocking 11 year olds.) Anyway, 11 year old me knew she wasn't allowed to use chatrooms, YouTube, and the like without supervision, and she didn't mind. Until, that is, she discovered the Owl City Fan App. Here you could communicate with like-minded fans and download hundreds upon hundreds of pictures of concerts, paparazzi shots, and whatever. It was here that 11 year old me discovered she had a MAJOR crush on Adam Young. At one point I distinctly remember seeing a pic of him with a weird face like he was about to sneeze and saying "Adam Young can sneeze on me any day." Yeah. It was weird. But hey, I was 11! And I wasn't about to let a silly rule separate me from other Owl Citizens!

A few days into using the app I discovered it included a link to Owl City's Twitter account. Not only did this bypass the parental controls my parents put on my iPod, it gave access to the whole internet if you searched up Google's account and clicked the link in their bio! I promptly made myself a Twitter account using my middle name and a misspelling of my last name. No parent would ever discover my secret!

Keep in mind that this whole time I have no idea how to use Twitter. I sent out the same tweet multiple times because I couldn't find my profile page. I also tweeted Owl City directly telling him that he would look hot in a pirate suit. (once again, I was 11. I had no sense of judgement.) Anyway, this goes on for about a month until the unthinkable happens.

One day, I'm sitting in my room, trying to figure out how to retweet, when my mom walks in.

"hey Mom."

"hey, what are you doing?"

I hastily close out of the browser page and go back to the picture section of the Owl City app.

"oh, just playing around on this app."

"just wondering, would that app be appropriate for your sister?"

Its a trap! My sister is 8 at the time and I know she would tell on me immediately if she found out I was using the internet!

"well," I stammer, "yeah, but i don't think she'd like it. She's not that into owl city. It's perfectly safe, though."

I said, you know, like a liar.

"ok," says my mom, and leaves. I dodged a bullet there!

So I thought.

Later that day, we have a family meeting. My mom asks if I remember the rules about my iPod.

Here's where I could have saved myself. I could have said something like, "no, I don't," or "yeah, we can use the internet as long as we're safe" or something that would have made it look like a misunderstanding. I know she knows by this point, so I could have acted innocent. But no. Like an idiot, I tell her the rules

WORD

FOR

WORD.

"yeah, no talking to strangers, no going on YouTube without supervision, and no social media."

If we were playing iPod-rule-breaking BINGO, I had the blackout. And she knew it.

It was then that my parents and I had a serious talk. I had kept my account secret for a month, so my iPod would be taken away for a month. From then on, all apps I downloaded had to be approved. I was distraught. In the eyes of 11 year old me, I had done the worst thing possible to do; break my parents' trust. It was so embarrassing that I didn't tell my sister why I was grounded. I later found out that in the eyes of my 8 year old sister, the worst thing possible to do was to get pregnant, and thus it must be the only thing worthy of being grounded for so long. So for a month, or possibly longer,

SHE THOUGHT I WAS PREGNANT.

The weird thing is, 7 years later, I still have no idea how my mom found my Twitter account. She must have deleted it because I searched for half an hour and couldn't find it.

Anyway. The end.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #196

“what separates man from beast? turn to your master.”

What's a show that you absolutely refuse to watch? 13 Reasons Why. How many times have you been in love? Twice. Do you remember how old you were when you started swearing? 7th grade, however old that is. How many years older than you would you date someone? ~9, maybe 10. Depends on just how much I'm interested in the person. What was the last thing you pinky-swore on? *shrugs* Don't even recall the last time I did that. Would you consider yourself a nice person? I think I am. Are you a car kind of fella? No. I don't even know the names of the most basic models. Are there a lot of mirrors in your house? Not at all. There's like... two. Who’s the laziest person you know? Proooobably me. True or false: Glee is annoying. All musicals make me cringe. Would you make a good teacher? Why? Fuck no. I'm not dealing with 20+ kids, and I'm also way too awkward for that. Is the fan on? Actually no. I have a small heater in my room that turns on/off to regulate the temperature. Otherwise, my room is frigid this time of year. Have you ever broken someone else’s bone? No. Do you really believe in your ‘one true love’? I don't believe in that concept. There's billions of humans on this earth; you don't have just one that you'd be wonderfully compatible with. Do you worry more about other people’s happiness than your own? It depends. Have you ever had feelings for 2 people at the same time?
 Yes, Jason and Juan until I picked between them definitively. You could also say Sara and Girt, but I'd come to learn my feelings weren't romantic towards Girt. Do you believe that leaving a significant other for someone else is ever a good idea? Sure; if you're even considering someone other than your s/o, that says something anyway. It's a far better alternative to cheating. Is it possible to ‘fix’ a ‘broken’ relationship?
 Mixed emotions, idk. Would you ever throw out/give away something an ex gave you?
 I've thrown out stuff, but I haven't given anything away, though I'd probably be able to. If you found someone seemingly perfect for you, but it turned out they had a child… would you still give the relationship a chance?
 No chance. Who is the first person you see in the mornings? Well, I live with only Mom. Who was the last person you were in love with for more than a year?
 In love, probably Jason. I consider someone being in love and just loving someone are of different intensities. Do you have a secret life?
 The RP site is unknown to just about anyone. Have you ever seen the last person you kissed without a shirt?
 Yes, but she was just changing her shirt rq, and I didn't really look anyway out of respect. Do your parents know EVERYTHING about you?
 No. Are you friends with your best friend’s boyfriend or girlfriend?
 She's the same person lmao. Favorite thing to eat with peanut butter?
 Jelly. If you had to get a piercing right now, what would it be? At this very moment, probably my left daith. Do you have a nervous habit? (e.g. biting nails, tapping feet, smoking) Most obviously, I knead my hands and I'm fidgety. My eyes dart around, and I bite my lip a lot. Current favorite song? I've been hopping around between a lot lately. Maybe "Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums" by A Perfect Circle. Do you know anyone famous? No. Do you own a Bible? No. Have you ever pierced your own body part or that of someone else? No. The last time you held a baby: Moooonths ago, like last summer when Colleen needed me to hold her son for whatever. The last form you filled out: Something for vocational rehab. The last time you stayed up past 12AM: Saturday night/Sunday to see the super blood wolf moon. It was incredible. The last time you gave up on or quit something: Well it's not like I'm ever doing anything noteworthy to remember quitting. The last video game you played: Some of The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon. The last time you were in a big city: Not since March '18. The last television show you watched: Avatar: The Last Airbender with Sara. I'm surprisingly really into it and can't wait to keep going ahhhhhhh. Who was the last person you sat next to? My mom. Do you wear socks to bed? No, I hate socks. How many Canadian provinces have you been to? None. What kind of car did you take your drivers test in? N/A What is your first memory of being in a hospital? I have very faint memories of when I was a very little kid, my sisters and I played in the room where my mom and her three co-workers worked. I can't remember why we were ever there? All I know is we always wanted to go to the little gift shop to get candy lol. Does anyone in your life treat you badly? Are you allowing them to treat you that way? Or do you stand up for yourself? Not consistently. Have you ever cut someone out of your life because of how they treated you? Rather how she treated most of the human population. How much was the rent/mortgage at the cheapest place you’ve ever lived? Idk, probably here, where I think it's $700-something. Do you still keep in touch with your very first best friend? We're friends on Facebook, but that's it. Who got married at the last wedding you went to? Oh JEEZ. I think he was one of Ashley's co-worker's nephews or something like that?? I can't remember the exact connection, but it was complicated. What was your favorite home-cooked meal when you were a kid? Like, made from scratch? Um. I dunno. Nothing stands out. What was the topic of the last conversation you had with your dad? The laptop we're working on getting. Have you ever been to a wedding where the bride was a total bridezilla? No. How often did you visit your grandparents when you were growing up? Almost never. Dad's were in Ohio, Mom's mother was in Florida (my grampa died when I was like, two), and here we are in NC. We couldn't afford to travel much. Have you ever had psoriasis? I don't think so? I do have super dry skin, but I don't think I've ever had scaly patches. How much of your time to do you spend being bored? What could cure that boredom? Almost every day past afternoon, really... and having shit to do that doesn't confine me to this house, or have Sara here. Do squeaky toys annoy you? Yes. Animals: love ‘em? Why or why not? I absolutely love them; they're our neighbors. It's amazing how creatures that can't speak can be so interesting. Is a solitary person necessarily an unlikable person? Um, no. Are you a picky eater? You have ABSOLUTELY no idea. If you play Sims, have you ever saved a Sim from death? I've played the animals one, in which case, yes, lol. Are you hopelessly addicted to the computer? Admittedly so. Almost everything I do is on there, and it's sad just how lost I am on what to do if I don't have WiFi or a gaming console. I've been this way since I was a pre-teen though, so it's not exactly something I think I can un-learn. Like I'm not one of those people who puts every opportunity behind sitting here on it at least, I'll happily jump up for something fun and/or interesting, but it's still my go-to thing to do. Do you prefer online or face-to-face communication? Why? Depends on the person and my mood, but more often than not, online because I'm a socially awkward abomination. What kinds of things do you watch on YouTube? Let's plays mostly, but also random shit from some people I'm subscribed to, beauty videos with Jeffree Star solely because I love that hoe and am there for his personality, uhhh other misc. things that make me laugh. If you’re offered a trip to either Hawaii or Alaska, which would you choose? Probably Alaska, esp. if it's a good season for the Northern Lights. Do you have any close friends that were adopted? No. If you could have any job/talent, what? (regardless if can or not)? Hyperrealistic traditional artist or meerkat biologist. Who, in your opinion, is the best thriller writer? I wouldn't know. Does your mom eat meat? Yes. Was your dad ever in a sports team? Yeah. Do you prefer thick or thin crusted pizza? I stroooongly prefer thick. Thin is just flaky and hard. Have you ever had an eerie/paranormal experience? What happened? A lot. The top two that scared me the most follow: 1.) I was home alone, very late in the night watching TV, and Teddy, who was glued to me, would not look away from the bottom of the bed and was barking and growling relentlessly. I even tried forcing his head to look away with how badly it was scaring me, but he absolutely would not let it. Me personally, I "felt" a strong and malevolent female presence just fucking staring at me, and I called my mom literally crying. I was so shaken up that at like 4:00 A.M. I think it was, she had to call our poor neighbor to sleep in the house with me. Safe to say, I did not sleep in my bed; I'm pretty sure I didn't for a good few days. 2.) I was outside one night, walking with my iPod as I did most nights. I suddenly stopped dead when I saw this white, transparent thing walk very fluidly out of the woods of my backyard and just vanish. It was fucking crazy because it felt like time had slowed, and I remember perfectly it looked like a bipedal creature walking on all fours instead, but it was not a fucking human or animal. It reminded me of some Rake depictions (which I don't really believe in), but not precisely. My entire body absolutely chilled, and I was like a deer in headlights for many seconds, but after that, I have never run faster than I did going back inside. I immediately told my mom, freaking the hell out, but who knows if she believed I actually saw something. I didn't do nighttime walks for I think around a week, and for a loooong time, I'd altered my path so I couldn't see the spot it had appeared, and I over my dead body would ever go to the clearing at night. I also either saw a star do some weird-ass shit over the course of a week or so, or it was some UFO doing something okay only facts here. All three of these things happened at our old house, sooo glad that is no longer home lmao. Do you have any friends with the same name as you? No. How many people of the same name as you have you ever met? Oh jeez, plenty. How often do you see your best friend? Our history so far has been every ~2-3 months. Do you like incense or does it give you headaches? I love that shit oml. Do you prefer to watch or attempt? Depends? Do you shout when you’re upset? Occasionally. Where was the last place you ate, except from home? I believe Wendy's. What was your favorite thing to do as a kid? Play Spyro or make-believe with my favorite toys. Do you take any vitamins? Which ones? Yes, for vitamin D, as my deficient of it beforehand was absolutely abysmal, and it was probably the cause of my knees wanting me dead. Have you ever lost something really precious to someone else? Maybe? Who makes you feel small/inferior? It's entirely unintentional, but my psychiatrist, ha ha. He is a fucking genius with incredible knowledge of like... everything. Are you protective of your family? Well yeah. I'm especially protective of my younger sister, but not like, incredibly. What size ring are you? Idr. What’s something you regret buying, but you just can’t get rid of it? Sad as it is to say, my rat Mitsu. She's nervous of being held, yet she always jumps up onto the cage's bars when I'm passing and enjoys me petting her through them, but that's all I can do, and I feel awful. Her claws also reeeaaally irritate my skin (maybe from the bedding, idk), but getting rid of a pet rat isn't exactly easy, especially with the fear of her being bought merely as food. What villain do you believe is most worthy of a redemption arc? Is Harley Quinn still even a villain??? What was your favorite school project you ever made? Idr. What role do you take on when you have to do a group project? (for example: leader, delegator, slacker, etc.) The meticulous writer/taking the notes. What’s a funny mistake you’ve made recently? Oh boy, how is nothing coming to me among certainly a million options in the back of my mind??? OH WAIT. I was texting Sara and mentioned I was watching Shane Dawson, but it autocorrected to "Shame," and I was like, "still accurate." What would be your reaction if one of your parents said they were having another kid? My mom's long past that age. And my parents are divorced. How many friends do you have that don’t live in the same country as you? One of my long-time Internet buds, off the top of my head. What is always in your wallet that doesn’t need to be? HAHA. One time in high school, me a few friends got together to just wander the mall. We went into a tux store and got a card there for literally no reason, but it's still in my wallet for memory's sake. What is a strange red flag you have when pursuing a relationship? Excessive and/or raunchy flirting. If a single thing you say fits the latter, you're fucking out. How many people have you thought “Glad I don’t have to interact with them ever again” about? Probably a decent number. What do you NOT want on your tombstone? Don't mention shit about God or Jesus or whatever. How many couches do you want in your residence? One long one or two average ones for the sake of accommodating company. What is the strangest website you have bookmarked? Nothing strange. What is your typical number of windows/tabs open on your computer? Ha, usually 4-5 tabs. Sometimes more, sometimes just two or three. Do you follow the expiration date on food? Like, religiously. What is the coolest name that you would never name a real human child? "Magnus" is the first that came to me. What fish scares you the most? Probably stonefish. Hard to spot 'em, venomous as hell, enough to sometimes kill. How do you feel about snails? In almost all cases, they gross me out. Just not as much as slugs. I hate slimy things. How often do you think about what guys will think of you? The older I get, the less I give a fuck what one thinks, at least about how I look. If you are on birth control that allows you take pills and skip your period, how often do you opt to skip it? How come? I can't skip mine. Is there a book series where you loved the first book, but for some reason the other books in the series just didn’t measure up? Idr. Are there any stores/restaurants that you would like to shop/eat at, but there aren’t any located near enough to you? Oh, I'm sure. I'd have to think. If you are a part of a certain fandom or are a fan of a popular series/musician, is there a rivalry between your fandom and another one (e.g., Lady Gaga fans vs. Katy Perry fans or Marvel vs. DC)? The Silent Hill and Resident Evil franchises are often compared, but I haven't seen much "rivalry." There are some people who pit Markiplier and JackSepticEye against each other with them being close in subs, but it's wonderful that I usually see only great bonding between the two fandoms instead, and they usually overlap with fans. Metallica is constantly shit on by Slayer fans. There's more, I'm sure, but I don't feel like digging deep into the thousand fandoms I'm in lmao. Do you ever have smell hallucinations? Don't think so. If you were told by a professional that you were unable to become pregnant, how would that affect you? Is there something important to you about conceiving a biological child rather than adoption? And finally, if you even want to have children, would you choose adoption or surrogacy or would you go on childless? Honestly? I'd be fucking ecstatic. I'll probably never have hetero sex ever again, but rapists always worry me. I don't at all want kids. Is there something that you did not used to take seriously, that you either now take seriously or wish that you had in the past (e.g., a relationship that you miss, your education, etc.)? Man, I don't know. I would say my college, but I didn't really have a choice in my decrepit mental state, and fuck that school from a trillion different angles anyway. Are you physically affectionate with your friends? Just with hugs. I'm not a platonic cuddler/kisser/hand-holder. Are any of your friends/relatives actually impressive artists or writers? Are you willing to share an example of their work? My cousin is an incredible artist, but I don't believe I've seen her work in years. When it comes to relationships/crushes, are you more often the pursued or the pursuer? Pursued, I guess. Do you ever find yourself making negative comments about other people’s appearances, whether it’s people you dislike or even just people on tv? I generally keep comments to myself. Have you ever dated someone on the football team? No. Do you have any ceramic animals in your house or outside? There is this pointless dolphin in the corner of our backyard?????????? Why????????????? Who made you???????????????? Have you ever made a summer bucket list? No. Have you ever stayed in a hotel suite? No. What type of waffles do you like? (Plain, blueberry etc..) Plain or chocolate chip, 'pending on the mood. Have you ever been to a night club? No. What was the last thing to make you sad? A picture on Facebook of some dick posing beside an elephant he killed at a watering hole. It was in an anti-trophy group or something like that. Do you kill spiders when you see them? If it's in my house and not tiny, unless it's too close to me. Are you allergic to any animals? Which ones? No. Does it bother you when people play with your hair? It would if it was anyone but my s/o or maybe my mom, but even from her, that might feel weird. What is your favorite movie series? SHREK, BITCH. I haven't seen the fourth one though and I am legitimately mad. Not sayin' it for the meme, I legit love Shrek okay. Did your parents get married before or after you were born? I actually found out recently it was after I was born. True/False: You’ve had an odd dream this week. It's weird, I've actually been briefly recalling them lately... but not for long. I believe I have, though. Who was the last person to let you down? Mom, probably. Can you dry swallow pills? I'm capable with small capsule ones, but I don't. What was the last thing you ordered online? Sara's Christmas present. Are you happy with your relationship with God, or do you want more from it? I have no relationship with him, if you're addressing the "God" I'm assuming you do. Even with the entity I believe in, I don't really see us as having a "relationship" in this life. They're just my silent judge that sees me according to how I deserve. Is your spirit made for adventure? Eh. Yes and no. Have you ever been rejected by a church? No.

#survey #quiz #questions #random

[carterashofficial]

The Toe Incident

Otherwise known as Easter 2010

So because @aearyn and @greyias asked for it, here’s the story of how 14-year-old me managed the feat of cutting almost the entire bottom of my right baby toe off.

Warning: lots of humor (I hope), blood, needles, hospital talk, etc…

It’s also gonna be long. Like, really really long.

Okay so before I begin, i have to mention that I am the idiot child. Not when it comes to smarts, but when it comes to common sense. Because I am lacking that in abundance.

So.

I was a clumsy and awkward thirteen-year-old. I unfortunately did not grow out of either trait. Ever. I’ve still got both, but now I’ve learned how to make people laugh over my clumsily awkwardness.

But when I was fourteen, it was bad. I was in eight grade, the boy I’d had a crush on for years was in my PE class, acne, middle school, what even was fashion- you get the point. Awkward middle school early-teen stuff.

At home, however, I was Cool. My eight-year-old sister Bug looked up to me like I was the greatest thing ever, we’d just rescued Scout and he was still puppy-ish. I even had a new Ipod Nano for my birthday.

That Ipod made me lose a quarter of my toe.

The year was 2010, the beginning of the era where the 2000-something sunglasses fell out of fashion during new years. It was Easter. So naturally Bug and I had found our Easter baskets wherever the Easter Bunny hid them.

I got an Itunes gift card (I do not download illegal music. The FBI will find me. Imagine if that’s why I don’t get a job when I’m out of college. Like during the interview they bring up the time I got arrested and are like ‘what for’ and I’m like “i downloaded Nickleback illegally off the internet when I was 14”. I’d probably not get the job more on my 8th grade music choice than that fact that I wasn’t slick enough to not get caught.)

Okay back to the actual story.

It was a beautiful Southern California day.

And so naturally my dad wanted to go to the beach. My dad loves the beach. He’s from Michigan (i mean both my parents are but Mom doesn’t like the beach, probably from taking me and Bug as small children all the time). So we decide to go to the beach to see the sunset.

So I booted up the family Windows XP desktop and got Itunes up to use my giftcard on some new music. Nothing like siting in the car for half-an-hour with new songs, right?

This is where I mention that the XP desktop is in my parents’ bedroom in this 100% early 90′s aesthetic hutch thing. Next to it is a bookshelf full of Mom’s textbooks for her master’s degree. And in front of the bookshelf is it:

The Trash Basket. (being used for not trash, but recycling. So the name’s a lie).

This Fucking Trash Basket was EVIL. Did I know that? No. Was it full of my mom’s old papers and notes from earlier classes? You betcha.

So this is where Idiot Child me earns the official Idiot Child badge.

I can’t multi-task. In general. So there’s awkward, clumsy, 14 year old me trying to put headphones into my Ipod, unplug the syncing cord from said Ipod, and scroll through Ipod to get to new songs.

And I walk into The Trash Can.

Papers go EVERYWHERE. Ipod is dropped. I stumble forward. And then I throw everything back into The Trash Can to pretend it never happened.

And thats when I see it.

A little red splotch of blood on the carpet.

I figure I scratched my toe on the metal of The Trash Can’s bottom. Nothing a band-aid, neosporin, and wearing shoes at the beach wouldn’t fix. I step into Mom and Dad’s bathroom, stick a small wad of tissues under my toes, and then proceed to search the entire fucking bathroom and adjoining closet for the damn band-aids (we were out, apparently). 

I get the neosporin, a Q-tip, and I’m about to go and get a sock to protect my slightly-scratched-toe when I realize that the tile floor feels…

Sticky.

I look down.

Blood is smeared all over the floor. The wad of tissues is crimson. and I can’t feel a damn thing when I reach down and touch my toe.

That’s when I get dizzy and sat myself down on edge of the bathtub.

Bug takes that moment to come in to tell me that we’re leaving for the beach as soon as Mom gets back from taking Jewel (our other Dalmatian) for a walk. She sees the blood. Sees me sitting on the edge of the tub and bracing myself on the counter.

Apparently I really scared her when I said “Get Dad. Now.” because I’d never heard her actually yell.

“DAD! DAD, CARTER’S BLEEDING!”

In all honesty, I think he may have been expecting a different kind of bleeding. Like, the feminine nature kind.

Because Dad walked into the bathroom, took in the sight, and that was the first time I heard him say the F-word.

“Fuck.”

Dad gets me to elevate my leg over his bathroom sink, Bug gets me a pillow from Mom and Dad’s bed so my head isn’t on tile, and Dad calls Mom’s cell phone, since she’s out walking Jewel.

From downstairs we hear her phone ringing.

“Shit,” says Dad.

At this point I’m feeling 100% Fine. Like, I can see the blood dripping down my heel into the sink, but nothing hurts. At all. My toe is completely numb. My dad (gently) washed it with mild soap by dripping it down my foot. 

My dad was both disgusted and fascinated by it. He kept tapping different parts and going “can you feel that? what about that? This?”

I didn’t feel anything but lightheaded and nausea.

Then Mom got home.

Bug went thundering down the stairs, hollering how I cut the bottom of my toe and Mom had to look at it.

So Mom came upstairs, looked at my toe, and almost fainted.

You know how I mentioned earlier that she was getting her Master’s degree? She was getting it in Nursing.

Ten minutes of her and Dad discussing what to do ended with me propped up on their bed with about 5 pillows under my foot and my mom next to me, sipping water and trying to not pass out. I felt fine. Dad bandaged my toe, and helped me hobble downstairs onto the couch where my foot could be propped up higher on the coffee table.

Just with the trek down the stairs made me bleed through my bandages. And Dad replaced them.

We were not going to the beach.

So Bug and I settled in on the couch to watch re-runs of… I don’t remember. But Scout was allowed on that couch, so he was the Lap-Dog (this is before he got fat), and Jewel was in her customary spot of laying against the couch directly under Bug because Bug would sit forward and give Jewel a belly-rub with her feet.

This goes on for about an hour until Grandma calls. Mom’s mom. Who is also a Nurse. (TV gets turned off so us kiddos can talk to Grandma).

Mom and her mom discuss my toe. Forever.

While the mothers are talking, the couch starts to shake.

I think nothing of it. It’s Jewel licking one of her back feet, and it’s made the couch shake before again.

But then I feel the floor moving too.

I live in Southern California.

It was an earthquake.

And my mother, in her infinite wisdom that we’ve never let her live down, hangs up on her mother in Florida with “I gotta go, Mom, we’re having an earthquake.” and forgets to call grandma back for 5 hours.

Now my seat on the couch was directly under the ceiling fan. I started to get up, damning the toe because hey, I did NOT want the fan fall on me. Mom pointed at me, gave me her patented Mom Voice, and said “Stay.” it worked on me, Bug, and the pups.

The earthquake ended, I got up the bathroom, and once again bled through my bandages. It’ been about 3 hours since the Incident. And my toe was still bleeding something awful.

Dad decided to take me to ER. Mom said there was nothing they could do, the cut so was so awkward it’d be almost impossible to stitch. Maybe steri-strips?

I was loaded into the car, and Dad and I buzzed away to what’s been dubbed as “The Toe Hospital” since this day.

We arrived, I got put in a wheelchair, and it was completely empty inside. My dad started to make a crack about it and the various nurses all shouted for him to not jinx it.

The nurse took one look at my toe after removing the bandages and sent me to a different room.

“You did quite a number on this,” she said as I left.

I was wheeled into a new room with a bed and a new nurse came in.

“You really did a number on this,” she said. And she couldn’t stop staring. “You might need stitches. Let me get the doctor.”

The doctor walked in.

“Wow, you did do a number on your toe.”

At this point I just wanted to know if the numbers added up to stitches or nah.

And they did.

Doctor Dude got supplies, and made the tragic mistake of standing in my line of sight while he extracted the numbing stuff with a really long needle.

I have an intense phobia of needles. Like, I’m 21 years old and I almost started crying when my mom suggested I get a flu shot over text. Blood drawn, I’m fine. Something being injected in? Someone’s going to have to hold my arms and legs down and I’m going to be screaming. Loud.

My dad swears he still hasn’t regained feeling in his hand because I had it in a death grip, sobbing, while Doctor Dude numbed up my toe and gave me twelve stitches. There was a little TV in the corner of the room and so I got to watch Chuck Norris in some cowboy TV show.

We got home, Dad threw out The Trash Can (apparently part of my toe was stuck to it…). I was on crutches for three weeks. Missed two months of PE. To this day I have minimal feeling in my toe, the nail hardly grows, but if I bang it on the corner of something, I am down like for a good 5 minutes because holy hell does it hurt.

And that, everybody, is the Toe Incident.

#Carter's life #The Toe Incident #Easter 2010

[mscharliescott]

If things had been different..

"Charlotte? What's wrong?" She looked up at her mother and she scowled. Nancy knew she hated being called Charlotte. She preferred Charlie. She didn't know how to answer her mother. "You don't seem yourself." The truth was she hadn't seemed herself since she was eight and here she was fifteen. That's a long time to not be yourself isn't it? She shook the thoughts from her head and just as she was about to speak her seventeen year old sister did. "Maybe she's just tired. If you stop harassing her then maybe she'd be back to herself." She saw Delilah shoot her a small smile which she returned. "That doesn't make any sense. Charlotte are you---" She never got to finish her sentence because Charlie got up from the dining room table and she ran to the nearest bathroom. Before she really realized what had happened she was throwing up. A few moments of being in the bathroom and she heard a knock.

"Just a minute!" She managed to get out. "It's me Char.." She heard her sister's voice and she cleaned herself up. She wasn't sure if her mother was there too and if she was she didn't want to give her anymore questions. She opened the door and she looked at her older sister. "I don't feel well. Can I sleep in your room?" She heard her mother come up. "That won't be necessary. You have your own room and your own bed." Before her mother could continue Delilah helped her get upstairs and she took her straight to her room. "Thank you." Charlie smiled lightly as she was put into the smaller bed mostly used for when Delilah had company or for times like this. "I got you." Was the last thing she remembered Delilah saying before she slowly drifted off to sleep not knowing exactly what was wrong with her. She hoped to find out the following day.

Waking up the following day she was back in her own room. She was confused as hell but she didn't have time to make sense of it. Before she could fully wake up she felt sick. She got up and made her way to the bathroom between her room and Delilah's and within moments she was getting sick. Luckily she'd shut and locked the door just before she fell to her knees in front of the toilet. At least she'd made it. That was something she'd cared for. The last thing she needed was to have to clean up a mess before school. Once she was sure she was done she started the shower and within a few moments she was standing underneath the water. She stood there for what felt like hours but in no time she could hear Delilah banging on the door. She scowled under the water but she finished up and shut the water off.

A few moments later she was wrapped in one towel with another around her head. Quickly she made her way out of the bathroom. "It's all yours." She headed back to her room and she got dressed as quickly as possible. Just as she was finishing with her boots he came in without even knocking. "You're dressed already?" he asked. Arching a brow she didn't even look up. "I have school." She moved to stand and he caught her arm. "No you don't. Your mom is gone to work and your sister can drive alone." She pulled her arm free and without looking at him she sighed. "I have two tests today and an exam to study for. I have to go." She grabbed her bag and she headed for Delilah's room almost knocking her over as she came out. "I was just about to come get you." Delilah looked up at their stepdad before looking at Charlie. "Are you ready?" Charlie nodded.

"I can take her to school." he answered. Charlotte grabbed Delilah's hand and she pulled her sister down the stairs. "That won't be necessary." She called back. The two of them went out and got into the car they shared. "Don't even worry about your seat belt. Let's go." Once they were away from the house she sighed. "Can you go into the drugstore for me? It's for class but I don't want mom thinking it's for something else but I need a pregnancy test." Delilah gave her a dirty look but she pulled into the parking lot and walked in. When she finally came out she had two different kinds. "You never specified so I got two kinds." she sighed. "Thank you." She took the tests and put them in her bag. "Coffee?" she asked. She knew she wouldn't have to ask her sister twice. Once they got there she didn't want one. She wasn't in the mood for one even though that was unusual.

Once at school she saw a few friends on her way to the bathroom. Once inside she locked herself into a stall where she took both tests. She waited the three minutes and she nearly fell over. They both came back positive. "Fucking hell..." She put them in her bag in a bag and she walked out of the bathroom like nothing happened. She went about her day like nothing happened and she asked her sister for some money. She would pay her back but it was enough to get a one way bus ticket to New York and some snacks for the trip. She knew that it wouldn't take long for her mother to figure out she was pregnant so she bought the ticket for the Friday evening. She'd get to spend a few more days with her sister and she'd have enough time to figure out what she wanted to take with her. She just wanted to tie up a few loose ends.

When Friday afternoon came Delilah wanted to break free to go with her friends Charlotte said no. Charlotte begged and convinced Delilah to stay. She told their mother they were going to dinner and a movie. A sister bonding experience. And then Charlotte was being dropped off at a friends. It took a little convincing but the girls were teenagers so eventually Nancy told them to have fun. Charlotte put her stuff in the trunk of the car that morning after their mom and stepdad had gone to work. She'd even saved her sister's phone number in a burner phone and put the info in Delilah's phone when she wasn't paying attention. She labeled herself as homework buddy #3. Once they left they did go get food but that's when she sprang it on her. "Hey Delilah. I have something major to tell you." She bit down on her lower lip while they sat in the car after eating.

"I'm going to New York. Tonight. I found our dad. He's alive and well and as far as he knew we didn't want him in our lives." She paused. "And I have to go. I can't wait." She bit down on her lower lip. "Why can't you wait?" She looked at Delilah. "Your niece or nephew." she admitted. Delilah arched a brow. "Look. I don't have a boyfriend or anything. The baby's father is someone you know." she added. "Who the hell is it?" She could tell Delilah thought it may be one of her friends. "It's not one of your friends if that's what you're thinking." She bit down on her lower lip. "He lives with us." It didn't take Delilah but a few moments before she was hugging her sister. "Don't tell them you know. Just. When they ask why I'm not coming home tomorrow say you don't know. I'll be in touch. Just say you dropped me off at Sami's house. I'll be fine." They hugged again.

They made it to the bus station and Delilah gave Charlotte some spending money. "Let me know when you make it. I love you." They hugged and Charlotte boarded her bus. She found a seat with her bags and she sat comfortably. Another thing Delilah got her on the way was a neck pillow. As the bus pulled away she waved to her sister and she put ear buds in with music. She left her old phone behind. She had the contacts she wanted in the burner. She also managed to get her sister's old iPod and she downloaded a ton of music and some games to play offline. While they were out she bought two chargers and she had two already so hopefully she'd be able to stay charged with the iPod and the burner phone. She managed to text her sister a good bit while on the way to New York and she found out that her mom and step dad were going crazy looking for her and Delilah was pretending to be distraught.

She had to admit that made her feel better. She also had to admit she hoped they didn't get what was going on out of Delilah until she was safe with their father. Once she made it to New York the first thing she did was go find a real meal. Then she headed to find her father. That took a little longer than she expected mostly because she was lost. Once she finally found her way finding him was easy. When she saw him she knew immediately that it was him. "Hi. Are you Gabriel James?" she asked just to be sure. Once he'd answered she smiled a little. She'd barely thrown up the whole trip but she'd managed to get medication before she left for that and she was running low on it now. She bit down on her lower lip and she sighed. "My name is Charlotte Eloise Scott. It used to be James. I'm your daughter." She could tell he looked dumbfounded so she continued. "I know I'm not eighteen yet but can I stay with you?" she asked. "I need somewhere safe to be." she added before showing him the pregnancy test. "I'll tell you everything if I have to. I just need to be safe first." she finally finished.

#what if task #muse week #cj muse week