A New Devious Chapter

Unsurprisingly, while Lux was streaming the other day, I was sending fun little things to him and our friends. At one point, in the middle of the raid they were on, while dying a few times, I sent a snarky thing to Lux.  When he found it, he made sure to tell everyone he was playing with, obviously just seeing it as our normal routine of behaviors, and treating it that way. Not having as much knowledge of us together, one of them comments "Is there some way you can punish and correct that behavior?  I'm sure between all of us, we could help bounce ideas and figure something out." Lux is quiet, as everyone giggles over both my comment, and in agreement of the correction. Meanwhile, far away from any microphones, I am laughing so hard my face hurts.  Something they'd probably all see as defiantly bratty, confident in the fact that people don't stop me from being me, and that includes my snarky troublemaking behavior. It was a small moment that act...

Sometimes, Lux streams himself playing video games with his friends.  I get to giggle at silly things, sometimes help, and enjoy seeing and hearing from people. He always tells them, just in case someone pops onto the stream that we don't know, so they can censor any personal stuff.  Usually though, I'm the only one watching, and he tells them.  And in the cloud of folks saying hi, if there is someone new, I will hear a "What's a [Loki]?" And, last time, one of our friends just said "It's complicated" Lux was quick to correct him, but rather than letting Lux get to explaining, or simply asking for a title we use, said that. But, it's really only complicated if you only want to use titles that wouldn't apply.  There are many things that would work at this point and be perfectly acceptable. Long term partner Primary partner Submissive Best Friend All things that would work, but just don't hold stereotypical romantic relations...

In the week of everything blowing up, my mom got a call from her brother for Channukah.  They caught up for a bit, and during that talk, he told her that he'd volunteered our house for a birthday party in April for both him and his twin brother.  Y'know, the physically abusive one, that I'd been promised I would never see again. You'd think given the promises made to me, and wanting to actually protect your own kid, my mom would have told him that my one uncle isn't welcome. You'd think. When I was told this, I brought that up.  My mother's response was simply "Well they decided." So, because they volunteered our house, and us to throw them a party, it doesn't matter that they're abusive apparently. I told her that I would find a way to be absent as soon as I found out the dates. She threw a huff, and said that Squishy was staying so she could see the one decent uncle. Except, I spoke to Squishy, and she repeated ...

I'm not sure if I've mentioned my pseudo nephew here, but know I've mentioned his parents.  His father was my brother's best friend literally since I was born, and his girlfriend has been around for over a decade. Their son, Red, is a couple years younger than Squishy, only being in first grade where she is in third. And, in the just over a year he's been in school, he's assaulted at least four kids.  Not just a small shove either.  The last one he smashed another kid's head into a bench. He's continually attacked Squishy, and destroyed her things, lying to us repeatedly about it afterward when we'd either seen it happen or his reasoning were things we knew couldn't happen. Some of their friends no longer allow their kids near him, because he attacks them so often. And you know what her response is? "Well, he's just a boy.  He's just like his dad.  He isn't violent at all." Are. You. Fucking. Kidding. Me. ...

With everything going on lately, I'm reminded of how careful we all need to be.  That no matter what side of what we're doing, there's a risk with every person we involve. And while there is a little more to worry about as a bottom, since it adds in the physical risk, so many things are shared. Both parties need to be responsive in the moment.  They need to be honest, and receptive, and unafraid to speak up at any point.  Limits need to be respected for everyone, and any aftercare necessary needs to happen, with both parties responsible for it. What's also important though, is honesty and clarity afterward.  I find that many bottoms want to look tough in the moment, and then cry out after.  The problem with this is that you never know which one is the truth. I'm reminded of the time someone accused Lux of beating them beyond their limit and walking away.  An accusation made of an event I was in the room for, which was an absolute lie, to the point w...

This last week has been a whirlwind for people in my life, and it has me worrying about so many. Zero discovered that the girl I expressed to him my dislike was manipulating him, taking his money, and using him to feed her drug addiction. Kitty is stretched beyond his spoons, making excuses, and feeling battered in his own home. I have friends being attacked on all sides, in life changing ways, over what was likely some dumb mistakes being taken far out of proportion. Lux is still dealing with family insanity. And all I want to do is have physical presence for all of them.  Be with them, hold a calm environment, and help however I can.  Talk things out to death, reassure them, provide comfort and support, and remind them all that sometimes they're dumb boys with good intentions that simply want to see the best in people.  They're good boys, but there's too much crazy elsewhere in the world for them to keep their intentions sometimes.

Kitty and I have a very long-standing relationship, even if it's taken many forms throughout the years.  Changing needs, and spoons, and lives and events which have made us become who we are, both separately and together. And, unfortunately, it's caused me to become even more of his voice of reason and calm than I have been for a long time.  Constantly reminding him that he needs to worry about and take care of him.  What's more though, reminding him that he can express things to me, always, and will never be without my care and presence.   He's been rather poor at keeping present lately.  Just not enough time and energy to put toward anything.  It sucks, I'll fully admit, but it happens.  He's aware of it though, and does want that to change.  What's worse though, is that because of this, he doesn't think he deserves any sort of presence during this time.  That he's only kept around because his lack of presence makes them feel li...

Years ago, I was talking to Squishy about friends of mine, and how they married, and both female.  She questioned it for a second, and when I simply said that people can marry whoever they choose to, and for whatever reason, she accepted it without any question. I remember her friends coming over, and not believing her when she would say it.  Saying that it couldn't possibly be true, while my daughter just simply agreed that people should be able to love and marry whoever they choose. Sure, it's a good thing, and speaks volumes for how we often hold the beliefs we are told to have early in life, but that isn't what this is about. This is about something a lot funnier. I'm talking with Squishy the other day, and mentioned a friend of mine, and then that turned into her asking if I had a boyfriend, and then asking if I had a secret boyfriend, and then asking if I had a girlfriend. And upon that, instead of the "No" I gave the other two, I said "Na...

Lux just left from a visit.  The first time he's been here since the clusterfuck that happened a couple months ago.  While it wasn't the weekend we had planned, due to timetables changing, it was still good time for us. Rather than focus on a lot of the goings on, we just kept it to time together, talking about the future, and things we want to do, and normal conversation.  Definitely something that felt more like recharging and simply enjoying, rather than needing to go through the process of catching up or obligation.  Lots of affection and appreciation and just being thankful for the other. He also liked the present I made him, which was super nerdy and only he and his super nerdy friends will get. The next while is going to be really difficult to find time to actually be with each other, and while that does suck a lot, and I already miss him, we'll manage through this like everything else. For now, we just enjoy what we have.

Something crazy has happened.  Something unheard of for this time of year. For a couple of days, I'm caught up on everything.  As in, there's no holiday prep to do right now, no schlepping to manage, and no gifts to make.  I started early, and so I'm caught up on just about all of it. It's a strange feeling to be sure, and almost makes me more anxious that I don't have a thousand things to do at every moment. It also makes me crave time with people even more though.  Not knowing when I'll see them again, and now having space when I'm not running, and could be getting in quality time recharging with them.  It makes me feel like a big awkward jumble, and almost impatient to get moving again just so I don't have to miss them so much. This time of year is such a strange thing for my mind.

I read a lot of things about poly, and hear a lot of arguments for it that give the reasoning of one person not being able to be everything a person needs.  That they need another person to fill in the gaps, and this should just be considered normal. Except, I feel like that cultivates a negative space.  It means telling someone they aren't enough every day.  It encourages a competitive environment in hopes that you'll become the more tended to partner by being more appealing than the other.  It creates a space where we look at things as needs, which may just be surface desires.  And it makes us look at people more as a checklist than as people. I have the same needs for every partner I have, regardless of their space in my life.  Those needs are things like presence, acceptance of who I am, respect, and conversation.  They are all pretty basic, and that's because I need that to be fulfilled more than most other things.  There's never a gap ...

I will now take advantage of the fact that my posting schedule means I will always have something appear on Thanksgiving. This year, I'm particularly grateful for only a couple things in my life, but they're pretty big ones. I'm thankful for having people who stay around.  The vast majority of the people in my life have been there for a long time, even if they aren't constantly present.  They're people who know who I am, and what that entails.  Knowing they've been around a long time and still haven't disappeared gives me feelings of support, and that's the best ever. I'm also thankful for my sense of inspiration and desire for growth and progress.  I've seen myself be able to do a lot of things I couldn't, or wouldn't even touch a year ago.  I see myself becoming more comfortable and content with some things, all in positive ways. While this year was hard on my mental state, and there wasn't much good overall, I'm finding...

It has to be something with the seasons, but I've noticed that especially with so many people becoming busy with the holidays, I'm craving presence.  Rather than wanting to simply be out among groups and wanting to be social, I feel like I need to be with the people I care about most, and have more time together to take care of them, or snuggle up.  I'm not even craving force in play, but rather the affirmation of power exchange and affection. I think that part of this is also just the long time I've had apart from so many of the people I can actually be affectionate with.  The ones I can just relax around, and feel inspired and relaxed and like I can recharge however I need. Hopefully with the holidays I'll be able to spend more time with them soon. In the meantime, I'll find self-affirmation in the things I'm learning over the next few weeks.

We've officially moved into the mass of holiday prep.  The other day I was going through my project lists, and massively time consuming things that need to happen in the next few weeks.  And, it's the time of year when I barely have time to breathe. Well, I was working on a bunch of things that I had needed to get more done with, but now that gets put aside again.  Not because of my mental space though, but because I have so many things to do on a deadline that it has to move to the backburner.  That alone makes me feel a little better about it. This year is really pushing me in a few ways.  I'm trying a completely new medium, which is going pretty well.  I'm also attempting some new techniques with other mediums, and just making up patterns as I go along.  It's the sort of year where I'm really feeling like I'm rather adept with things.  It's also fun to actually make things up just from a flat picture rather than follow a pattern. It's als...

Almost as though it's being shoved in my face to show my own progress, I've seen so many cases of people being insecure lately, and noticing how normal that is. A few cases were the after effects of abuse causing people to be overly paranoid, or constantly placing blame on themselves.  Some were simply being afraid of voicing their own needs, or feeling like they were wrong for having them.  Even more were being told they felt they had to ignore their own limits, and learn to do things they didn't enjoy to get the attention that other partners did.  And occasionally to the point of being shamed for not simply blindly obeying alongside other parts of a dynamic. I look at these, and first I feel badly for those people for being in those situations and mindsets.  Then, I realize how much more secure I am in being me, and knowing that I am justified in what I need.   There was too much of my life where I wasn't secure, and it was because of the shitt...

I had a friend over last weekend, who is going through a breakup, and realizing her needs and such in the process.  It's insane, to see so much of my past in another relationship, and that imbalance and disregard of needs. Over the last couple years, I've had so much concern for my partners.  For their lives, and safety, and taking care of them how I can.  I've also had to keep track of my own bandwidth of being able to balance them both.  Something frequently in my thoughts, and that I take great care with. And the number of people I see that don't do that astounds me.  The people who simply throw attention where they want.  And how people make excuses for that, and encourage that behavior, will never solve the problem. I've realized a lot of things about myself over the last weekend, and how far I've come.  I've also realized how far from the norm I am, and that I am not the kind of person most would be able to deal with in any sort of dynami...

I finished a massive project about a week ago. Like, lace tablecloth size project. And I feel like it helped kick me in the ass to want to work on more things. I have a few things I want to get to, but I also have projects that got put down earlier in the year.  Things I had a lot of drive for before I wound up in such a shitty rut for a good while. And while I may have first said I would pick them back up in the beginning of the year, now that I'm through a small pile of projects, I feel like I should just do it now.  Tackle what I can and see what I can get through. I need to cultivate more creativity in my life.  I need to create more in order to feel more inspired, and that will make me feel better and more motivated overall.

I've managed that even though lots of things are going on, to keep social lately, and it's helping me.  Last weekend I spent some time with a friend who I hadn't seen in about a year, and I have plans for this coming weekend as well. It was nice to see a friend though, even if it seemed very confusing on more than one occasion. When I saw him last year, he was just barely fresh into a new relationship.  And a full shift in lifestyle with this person.  For his entire life, he'd had open, and kink positive relationships.  He's spent a year though in a monogamous, vanilla relationship, with someone who is incredibly sexually insecure, passive, and limiting. He goes from one breath saying that she's "the one" and going to be his forever, and then in the next breath saying he can't stand his sex life, and that it's taking a toll on his everyday life beyond where he can deal with. Why is it that so many people share this to me, and I have t...

The other day I was puttering about twitter, and hopped on a hashtag to say that people should be treated with respect.  I said this because far too many times the day before, I felt like I wasn't treated with basic human decency, even though I know I deserve it. Well, someone who apparently thought they could get a feeling of superiority from me tried to tell me that people in general are not deserving of respect. Mind you, other people in this tag posted about things like having a right to kisses and shit.  He wanted to go on a power trip. He picked the wrong person. Continually, he tried to put words in my mouth, hoping I'd get angry and make a mistake.  At one point even said that the fear of jail is what keeps him from violating consent, or simply that he was "raised by women" not simply that he believes violating consent is wrong, y'know, because he respects people.  Only because it's a crime. Oh yea, this guy had no idea what he was getting in...

I found out about a new game recently, a horror game under the guise of a dating simulator.  When you first boot it up, you get about a dozen warnings not to play if you are easily disturbed or have depression.  Right up my alley for things I enjoy. Well, given that there are far different paths to take, I figured I would watch what a "normal" run looks like, then go through and do the more complete path. At one point, one of the girls confesses that she has always had depression, and that she likes reading things about various emotions because it's the closest she can get to feeling things.  That if she's not feeling nothing, she's feeling pain.  She explains in deep detail how this all affects her, and her reactions to having to admit this to someone. And I scroll down, and see comments. They all agree with that feeling.  They agree with how that absence of feeling no matter what they do is far too fitting to their own experience. I've been talki...

While Lux and I were talking, we also started in on jealousy. What causes it to perk up, or how long it's been since either of us have either felt it, or let ourselves feel it. I've learned that jealousy isn't really something I feel, but the closest would simply be imbalance of treatment/respect, or things that cause massive changes to the normal.  Obviously new partners or friends or sometimes just life will cause some change, but if I'm completely thrown to the backburner, I will have a problem and speak up. Lux has a few things that I know tend to cause jealousy, and I'm aware of, and avoid those.  In fact, he's seen first hand at this point that I'm not only keeping these things quiet, but they flat out aren't going to even be an option. We've talked about how he doesn't know if that would be a thing at this point because it's been years. I mentioned that it would depend on who it was.  If he got a new partner, he'd be far ...

The other day Lux and I were having a pretty long conversation about a lot of things.  And while it definitely rolled through a few subjects, we discussed a lot of what piques different parts of our brains, and the like. Of course, it started by me needing to remind him that I do actually respond to discipline, so long as whatever is happening is being said that it's discipline, and there then is a presence of positive reinforcement for good things as well.  I think Lux often forgets this just because we keep things pretty neutral, and most of the time when he does something that would be seen as punishment to other dynamics, I find it fun and encouraging because I'm not being told it should be otherwise. We also talked about how a lot of the time, I tell him he's in charge because so much of our dynamic is based on very simple respect, and not a lot of active power exchange.  About how he enjoys exerting some amount of territorial possessiveness on occasion, and how ...

The other day, I mentioned to Kitty that the morning was weird, simply because things were happening a bit differently than they normally would.  He was instantly worried, and started to take my reassurances as trying to brush things off.  It took a while for him to realize that I truly did mean that nothing bad was happening. He said that it was him simply being paranoid.  That he was broken, and it was just the way he is. Well, I jumped on that without hesitation.  I rather forcefully told him that he is not broken.  Maybe a little weird.  And certainly not pristine, but not broken simply for who he is.  Not only that, but having genuine worry and concern for a loved one should never be something that counts as being broken.  Eventually, he said that while he may not believe that all the time, he did then. At the same time, I look at Lux, who is somehow managing more and more crisis in his life, and trying to hold himself together.  W...

I actually managed to have an empty house last weekend, without anyone else home, and plenty of space to work on things. So I had Lux over, and another friend, and we burned things, and we relaxed a little.  It was a much needed time for all of us, getting away and having distraction for a bit. And I was so incredibly grateful that Lux spent the night.  My bed might be a little crowded with us both in it, but it still makes me happy to have him there to snuggle up with.  Even if this meant not getting all that much sleep. It was also a reminder of how much I enjoy doing for friends and people I care about.  While nothing insanely interesting may have happened, This weekend was what I needed.  I'm feeling a bit better about everything.

Lux and I were talking the other morning, and he said that outside his apartment he could hear a couple fighting.  After a bit, and hearing it get continually louder, he went outside to break things up. And while there were some things about it I don't need to go into here, one of the worst things was that the person causing the issue of course tried to use Lux's race as an attack.  It was irrelevant to the situation, and of course is simply a characteristic of him, but they felt it necessary to throw it in his face, in order to feel superior, and in malevolence. When he told me, I was suddenly reminded of how often lately I need to worry about Lux's safety just because of the color of his skin, and how insanely ridiculous that is.  That despite the fact that he is an amazing, strong, and intelligent person, people will see that he is slightly on the darker side, and try to use it against him. I'm reminded of why we can't say that we don't acknowledge peop...

Puttering around before bed the other night, I saw an article about helping women have a higher sex drive to meet their partner, or some such. While I don't agree with that being necessary, and that anyone should be able to find someone they feel connected with, as well as have a similar sex drive, I let curiosity take over, and click. And, it gives the stereotypical advice.  Learn to masturbate.  Buy lingerie.  Create a romantic mood for yourself. When I was younger, and had no idea what a desire for sex actually felt like (for a host of reasons), this was the same sort of thing I was told.  And, I think this limited pool of advice definitely contributed to me being awkward as hell for the longest time when it came to sex.  I felt like I was broken because all the things recommended made me feel worse, or bored, or uncomfortable in my skin.  It took me a long time to realize and acknowledge my sex drive, and that it is as high as it is.  An...

I have a very different body shape from my mother, as well as my any other member of my family.  And, not only while growing up, but through most of my teens, and even sometimes currently, I was ridiculed for it. Told I was less because I didn't have large breasts, and the target of several insults and shame due to having large hips and butt especially compared to my waist. I was outright told I would be seen as less attractive because of these things.  Because I wasn't shaped the way they thought was the only shape anyone was drawn to.  That it made me not worth the attention of anyone. And, it took me a really long time to realize how full of shit they were.  That I didn't need to wish that I had some specific body type in order to actually be attractive. At some point, I found acceptance in it.  Simply becoming complacent in the idea that my body is shaped the way it is.  They still made comments, and they still dug, but I knew it was something b...

A while ago, a game came out called "A Normal Lost Phone".  It was an awareness story-telling sort of game, that covered real world issues, in a great way to show the shit people deal with the early years of their life. Well, the creators made a new game.  This one so aptly named "Another Lost Phone".  And it is only the tiniest bit different from my time with the gnome.  To the point where I noticed what was going on in the first five minutes, and called every single detail before it was said. Kitty thought it would act as a mind fuck for me, and if I wasn't so completely over and past that chapter of my life, it might.  However, I found it interesting to see how clueless people are to it, unless it's thrown in their face.  That I wanted more people to see this game, for the chance to bring more light to how some situations actually go. That people do get forced and trapped into a home.  That they are manipulated into a situation that doesn't al...

We're celebrating Rosh Hashanah today here.  I've been herding cats for a couple weeks to be able to put it all together, and have people over for the new year. Mind you, the actual holiday was a few days ago.  People are more apt to come by on the weekends though. And, while sending good wishes to many people, I found myself having to explain holidays here to several people. We've always hosted holidays here.  Until I was grown, I had never had any sort of holiday dinner at someone else's house, and I was used to tons of people filing in throughout the day, not worrying about us not being home, or missing out on food and social activity.  It's why now I only know how to cook for ten at the least, and don't bat an eye at needing to cook ahead or for a crowd. It also made me think about the holidays I enjoy more now that I'm grown. There are a lot of holidays that I actively dislike.  The ones that focus on just being with family, or commercial obli...

Over the weekend, in the midst of everything going on, Lux and I were looking for some semblance of normalcy.  Already trying to rebuild from what he was in the middle of. And so in the middle of the day, when I was simply going through some of the motions of the afternoon, Lux gave me a task to complete over the remainder of the day.  Nothing prompted it, and it had been a very long time since he'd asked anything similar of me.  To be honest, I was caught a little off guard in the first few minutes just with how big of a change it was for us. It didn't stop me from going about it though, and feeling very happy with him and us for the entire day.  As small as it was, I felt like I was helping make progress in a lot of ways, and pulled the fact that we do have power exchange back closer to the surface. Mind you, it didn't stop me from pulling some sass later on, even though I didn't get away with it as well as I could have.  Which may not have been somethin...

Welp, it's the start of insanity again. The time of year with very little mental break between things, and it starts in a week.  While I enjoy a lot of the things happening, this time of year is also always incredibly stressful for me near the end, and the holidays are never great for my mental space. However, next weekend is Rosh Hashannah, then I'll have a weekend of empty house where I'd like to do something myself, and then we're throwing a Halloween tea, on top of trick-or-treat itself, and all the fun Halloween things to do.  Then a tiny break before Thanksgiving, followed by Channukah, Christmas, New Years, and all the birthdays.  It's several months of constant, and not all of it I want to be a part of, but I'll be throwing myself in. Luckily, I've been feeling a lot more inspired lately, and Lux and I do want to take some time to have some amount of frivolity given how the last year has been for us. It's not going to be an easy time.  Bu...

When being poly is good, it's really good.  Partners are supportive, and present, and things are awesome. And yea, sometimes things are going on with one or the other, and you shift your focus as necessary without the other one feeling left out, because everything is cool. But, when shit goes down with one, it's never only one. Lux has some incredibly serious and horrible things going on right now, and is a mess.  I've been being present where I can, but it's a mix of him not wanting people around, or me not being able to be there, or a ton of other things. On the same hand, Kitty was stuck in Irma, hunkering down at home, where I had no way to see if they were safe as I watched footage of the area where he works flooding. And here I am, in the middle, unable to help either one. So, needless to say, earlier this week I was a mess. Not only do I have one boy to worry about, but multiple.  And it sucks. But damn it, they're cute. Poly is dumb.

I'm sitting with mom a couple weeks ago now.  I had finished my workout, and was having some juice, so I take my time, and we start talking. She mentions that someone currently working with my brother (who is officially back in Jersey) is related to his new neighbors.  She also says that apparently he's more than a bit of an asshole, and the rest of the guys in the shop have a pool for how long it'll take for my brother to punch him. I say that it might be good for the guy, and act as a wake up call.  She points out that his neighbors might not appreciate that, and I say that we don't know how they think about the guy, and might appreciate it as well. She then says "Well, we don't know what kind of an asshole he is.  He might be like your uncle, where he says a ton of shit, but you can laugh with him." And there we go. I went off.   I told her that he doesn't "just say things".  I made it very clear that he physically g...

I've had a few reminders over the last few days of how I react to high protocol, and strict power exchange situations.  Not that I have any innate problem with them, but more that I learn how little I fit into it. High protocol situations make me want to grab someone, make popcorn, and sit to the side snarking away like Statler and Waldorf.  That if someone were to expect me to act with all the rules and ritual and hierarchy around others that gets used, I'd just pull out every bit of sass possible, then go hug Lux, because while he's the domly dom, there isn't a thing in the world that will tell me I'm lower than anyone else, or should be treated that way. Even just with regular power exchange, I'm loud.  I speak up, and don't look for tasks or stereotypical gestures.  I let my needs and wants be heard, no matter what might be the more ideal behavior.  I however, do my damnedest to take care of any domly person I have, and when the chips are down, they...

The last week, while not bad, has had a lot going on. Everyone who I had started to make plans with had flaked on me, either by simply falling off the face of the earth, or cancelling with excuses (to which I saw them making plans elsewhere).  It meant being stuck home in the rain, which while not horrible, could have been better.  Instead, it meant I could be present for many people who needed it, wherever they were, which is also good. Squishy also goes back to school in a couple days.  The last week has been spent getting her sleep schedule sorted out, and taking care of all the little school things so the first day goes smoothly.  As much as the summer allows me to take longer trips, I enjoy the routine of knowing I have time for what I need to do during the school year. I've also had a few things I need to cancel on myself, or get scheduled and sorted out for a multitude of reasons. There's a lot going on, and in some ways, the changes are things I would...

It's been about a month since taking out my nipple jewelry, and since also having a trip to see Lux, I figured it's a good time to mark the progress on them. I still miss them.  It's weird not seeing them, or having them.  At times, I find that I feel sad not having them still.  Even now, in the evening, I notice myself caught in the muscle memory of going to clean them. However, I haven't had the slightest bit of pain since the day I removed them.  Only while up with Lux, which was also when I happened to be in the middle of my cycle, and meant a hormonal flux, did I see a tiny bit of lymph.  Lux even took advantage of many chances to go after my chest in ways he has never really been able to, remembering to ask how they were doing afterward, and I had no problems. They still don't go flat though, which is upsetting, but it looks like if I were to put a taper through, I wouldn't have any problem.  I suppose they still have more healing to go through ...

While spending the week with Lux, I felt a massive recharge in a ton of ways.  Being social helped, and away from the house, and getting to touch on a bunch of projects, as well as helping Lux out around the apartment and all. But, the biggest of all was just little gestures from other people.  And it didn't really matter who.  Just little unprompted things outside of the routine.   While at Shelter, Blue would occasionally give me hugs when he walked past, and even though I was a bit worn down from the day, and awkward as hell from not knowing many people, it made me feel a lot better than I was able to express. Then going back north, and over the course of the week, Lux was significantly more affectionate than normal, and even the smallest things made me feel better for a day or afterward. It goes to show how little I actually need at this point to feel affirmed, and that I've apparently been starved for affection with everything happening lately. ...

Last weekend was long, and certainly a roller coaster overall. It started with me having to pull a knife on a guy who tried to get handsy with me on the train, and having to rely on Lux knowing what I would do in a shitty situation in order for us to meet up. We then found out we were running late, and had to bust ass upon meeting Blue, heading over the the Bomb Shelter venue to set up the rigs and lights and all.  On the bright side, I now know how to put together all of Blue's suspension rigs, which means I can help with more in the future. Lux was part of a rope performance, and everyone who wasn't actively in a scene made sure to watch.  He wound up with some rope burn, but looked fantastic the entire time, and I got to enjoy how good his butt looks when he is in an inversion. I had asked Blue near the end of the night if he wanted to put me up, asking if he was up for stupid time, which is the sort of special way we refer to rope.  He still had one more scene...

Last night, Lux and I got to go to a play party with some of our friends. And, it means getting to play again, for both of us.  He wants to pursue more play partners finally, playing with me again, and in general. With the long break from it, I've noticed my mind distancing itself from it, which only tells me that I need it more. I've been trying to balance out and reset and take care of myself in so many ways.  I need play lately, both for the fun time with people, and the chance to just clear my head of everything and start at a level ground, using the endorphins to sit in a better space. I need to remember how good regular play is for me. That paying attention to the play I want helps me immensely. And, seeing that Lux wants to pursue it as well is fantastic.  It shows he's trying to get back to a more comfortable him, and means he'll hopefully be in a better space soon, and that we'll maybe make progress back to where we were as well. We both need to...

I very nearly had to walk in and give my father a reality check the other day. I was sitting in the living room reading, and heard him getting louder, of course needing to show my mom everything he scrolled through on social media, and talk about how everyone is stupid and wrong.  This time he was showing her a picture of a girl with tattoos. He says "You have all these beautiful girls, and they force you to try and see past these tattoos.  They're just a fad right now, and people don't understand that when they get older, it won't be a fad anymore, and then they'll just be ugly." My mother responds with "They don't know it isn't attractive.  I see all these people come in with things that get pierced, and then they get infected and they wind up with issues from it." And oh, did I want to walk in there.  To storm in like a fucking hurricane.  To explain that these girls are beautiful.  Full fucking stop.  They are beautiful because th...

I've been having more projects to manage lately.  Things to do and make and manage and get through.  It's helping my mental state a lot. Working out has been difficult this summer, but with school starting soon, and a trip to see Lux, it should be a good time to really reset things and start with more preferred habits. It's amazing, how just the act of having a physical project and something to make can help me feel better.  Even something as massive as what I'm currently making, which happens to kill my hands in the process. I'm packing up a few things to work on and play with during my trip, and I'm feeling myself be a bit more inspired and motivated.  I'm still feeling very drained due to lack of social stimulation (again, not for lack of trying) but not finding myself overthinking and going into depressive spirals regularly like I was.  I feel like I can be around people, and want to be going and doing things for the act of recharging. And hopefu...

I'm the kind of person who believes that I should always be able to look back at who I was at any point in my life, and think I was an idiot compared to what I know in the present.  Not to say that I'm a genius now, but that I have learned so much, and become even more myself over time. And lately, I've been thinking about how my surroundings have affected that, in many good ways. I've noticed that I have the broadest span of people out of my family.  I know people all over, and touch on many different circles and hobbies and groups. My siblings tend to think a lot like my parents.  They have a lot of the same abusive tendencies, and gaslight, and have no idea what healthy relationships are.  They also have a lot of very racist and bigoted habits and views. And, I know I started there at one point.  I can think of a lot of points in time when I held views similar to them just because I wasn't taught that anything could be otherwise.  I've had to lea...

While Lux and I aren't at Pennsic this year, and I'm still not able to make it to Summer Camp this month, I still seem to be just as busy. The biggest thing is that my brother is moving back from North Carolina.  He and his abusive girlfriend had been looking for a house up here for a while, and they found one about a month ago, and a couple weeks later, they got an offer on the one down south.  Things went from a crawl, to planning a move in a month and a half, and they'll be officially back up here at the end of the month.  I saw the property earlier this week, and it's exactly what he has wanted since he was a kid.  Tons of land to turn into an offroad track, far off the street so he can't be bothered, a barn to turn into a shop, as well as a full basement.  He's even already planning on taking Squishy for overnights.  I think he'll be happy up here once he gets settled in to house a bit more. Later this month I'm headed up to Lux's for a week...

When I was sixteen, I remember sitting at the computer, and deciding that at some point, I wanted a body piercing.  Because it was me, I then went about researching different piercings to see exactly what I wanted done.  Most of the piercings out there looked at the time rather unappealing to me, but I really enjoyed the way pierced nipples looked.  I loved them, and decided that I would at some point have it done. Well, then I was dating the gnome, who, along with any other form of self expression I wanted, tried to fight against me ever having the piercing done. Then, on April 21st of 2011, I decided to go and have them done.  It was a gift to myself for finally getting rid of the gnome, and gaining new independence and sense of self. I unfortunately had also already started playing with Thrax. Well, he decided that these piercings were something that he didn't need to care about.  He pressured me to stretch them faster than they should be, and if I we...

I've been seeing a ton of stuff all over about how women are avoiding lines on their faces, and winding up with any signs of aging, or marks on their faces. That these lines are frowned upon, because skin should be perfectly smooth without any signs of anything. And, maybe it's me being more masculine, but unlike most of my body, I have no problem with the lines on my face.  In fact, I'm kind of proud of all of them. My smile lines mean I've laughed, and found happiness in things despite how my life has been. The lines starting to form near my eyes don't mean I've scowled, but that I've smiled with my entire face, in a way that couldn't be mistaken. Even the lines in my forehead, are because I fought.  I fought for respect, and to be treated like a person, and these lines show me that I refuse to back down. I'm reminded of who I am by the lines that have formed on my face, and what I've stood up through, and what I've done. And ...

Lux came by the night before my birthday, because we hadn't seen each other in so long.  We didn't get to go out, but at least got a couple hours to hang out and snuggle, which we both needed. It also meant I got to give him his birthday present, which was a heavy as hell flogger with monkey fists at the end of each fall.  He'd mentioned wanting one in the past, and so I of course put way more thought than necessary into every step, and it wound up with a ton of detail. And, being me, and not doing nearly as many projects as normal because of my mental state, was beyond overly critical about it.  He loved it though.  He kept checking it out, and thanking me, and saying he was going to kill people with it. It reminded me of how I function so much better when I'm making something.  That I'm someone who feels fulfilled with creating, and having projects to look forward to. I'm a builder, and a creator, and someone who needs to be constantly learning and exp...

It's my birthday! I've spoken on here a few times before about how I usually dislike my birthday.  That things tend to explode, and I wind up just being upset and alone.  Like with other things, I wind up being forgotten. This year, I made the decision to hide my birth date on all social media.  While I'd done this as a social experiment in the past, which proved positive to my thoughts, this time it's a bit different. I dislike the idea of social obligation and going through the motions.  I enjoy things to be real, and honest.  I often don't do a lot of things that might be expected of me with certain people because it's more social obligation, and because it isn't completely heartfelt, I skip out, and it puts me in worse graces of some. But, I've gotten old enough that I don't give a shit about everyone liking me.  I'm far too strong a personality, and rarely censor myself, and that's going to put off a lot of people.  I however wil...

So, this person who was projecting the other day.  What was he projecting about you may have asked? Well, he's been consistently saying lately that he doesn't feel like he is represented anywhere, and that he has no specific place that he fits into and belongs.  That he feels like an outlier. And I think that was why he was trying to claw for something.  He wanted to cling to an idea that he could relate to, that it would give him something he held in common. But, you'd think that he would have looked at me, and realized that he was talking to the wrong person in that moment. I can't actually remember a time at which I was around incredibly similar people.  My friends are generally of a different gender.  Any nerdy circles I go into often don't share my other hobbies.  My taste in media is often odd. I'm a weirdo, and that's never been something that bothered me. I don't look for a circle to fit into.  I look for singular people to bring in...

I had an exchange with someone the other day, where simply poking fun, and a single comment spurned a spiral of butthurt that I couldn't comment on there any longer because I knew it wouldn't be heard. However, I knew a good chunk of it was mistargetted projecting, and I very nearly flipped. This person, who I will admit is of a minority, happened to say that I didn't know about under-representation or toxicity in the geek community. Let that sink in. Give it a minute. Read it over again. He told an Agender female bodied person who attends events and hobbies solo that they don't understand toxicity in geek culture. Because, when I was a young teen, there were tons of girls playing magic who didn't just do so because their boyfriend did.  That I was spoken to as though I knew the game, and that people didn't just think they could take advantage of me.  That my consistently goth and masculine preference was absolutely accepted by everyone. And that...

I've noticed the term "Queer" becoming a catch-all for most people who fall into non-hetero or non-cis folks.  And I know that for a long time it was considered a slur, and this is sort of the phase of taking it back, and giving the term a more positive presence.  It's increasingly common amongst a lot of people I know as a way of explaining orientations, and I just can't get used to it. I don't remember myself ever using it as an insult in any way, but I did say queer by its literal definition as being strange or abnormal.  It was definitely a part of my long goth phase where I wanted to sound poetic and cool.  Then I just became a goth that didn't give a fuck. Anyway, even though time has passed, it still takes the same place in my head, and now, that's very conflicting. You have people claiming to say that there is no normal in terms of sexuality and gender, and heteronormativity is something to be fought against so they can be acknowledged as...

To start this off, I need to explain a couple small things in order to get even more humor from this.   My sister and I both have broad shoulders, and small breasts.  Boobs never really appeared for us, and even through my pregnancy, I simply actually fit into the B-cup bras that I'd only had because my mother refused to accept that I was actually an A-cup.  My mother on the other hand, has ginormous boobs, and has often spoken of her disbelief of my chest size.  To mess with her further, I often point out while finding clothes for squishy, that bras my size can be found in the children's section. Anyway, on to the silliness. Apparently, while squishy was gone, my mother had bought her training bras, because I don't know why.  The evening after she got home, she was laying with me as we watched something nerdy, and ma was trying to get her away to be up her butt and get her ready for bed. Ma got Squishy into her room by asking if she'd seen the ne...

I looked down at the date on Tuesday, while having a particularly difficult day for a ton of reasons, and realized that it was four years to the day since Thrax and I broke up.  I mentioned it to Lux, and that I should do something he would have hated.  He jokingly just said "Yea, forget about him."  And while yes, it's best not to dwell on the past, and it's not like I went out of my way to remember it, or had even thought about it before that moment, it's not the best thing to completely forget. I don't think back on him fondly.  I don't think about it and blame myself.  I think about it, and remember the things he did.  How often he lied, or kept secrets, or tried to manipulate me, gaslight me, and use me to do whatever he wanted with disregard for myself. I try not to fixate on it, but I do think about it and feel glad that it's been gone from my life.  That I keep it in mind so I never do deal with it again.  It's something to acknowled...

Right now, a ton of vidja games are on sale, and so this week has had a super dopey thing going on, but it's kind of funny in its own way. I decided it was a good time to pick up some new games for myself, as they are really cheap, and my wish list was piling up.  I had a gift card I'd use to get a couple little things for myself, and something for Lux and I to play together. Well, I asked him which of two games he'd rather play with me, having told him about them both in the past, and that we would probably have a lot of fun with them.  Instead of getting a response, he buys me both, with a note saying he was sorry for being a dick lately.  Well, not only was he not being a dick lately, but now I needed to figure out what to get all over again.  I had wanted to be nice, and not make him buy games for once, and he did it anyway.  Which in ways was irritating, and cute, but still a little disheartening because I had wanted to be the one to pick things up for ...

A while ago, my mom and I were out to lunch after running a bunch of errands.  We're sitting in a local diner, waiting on our food, and she mentions how my old man refuses to do anything for himself, and has never actually had to do for himself.  We talk about it for a bit, and then she makes the comment of "You had better hope I outlive him, so that you don't have to take care of him." And I didn't even pause before responding.  I told her that she had better hope one of her other kids steps up, because I'm not doing it.  That with how he treats me every day if he says I'm too stupid to have a conversation with, that I'm too stupid to take care of him. I said it very plainly, and sternly, and she just looked at me as if something clicked and she was afraid.  She didn't argue, or respond in any way, and just sat quietly for a moment.  As if in that moment, she realized that her husband is actually abusive, and that I sit and tolerate more than ...

I like to consider myself pretty low maintenance in the scheme of things.  I don't do any real stuff for my skin, and use cheap soaps and shampoos.  My makeup comes from the drugstore, and I'm not into all sorts of vitamins and meds all the time. And this is where the warning comes up.  This is gonna contain a ton of talk about my cycle and bits.  If you wanna be a weenie, go away. I've been getting my period like clockwork since I was ten.  The only times I've ever not gotten it right on time is either when I was pregnant, or twice because my stress levels were through the roof.  In fact, I got the IUD I currently have (and plan to stick with, but more on that in a minute) because it would not remove my period. However, even though it was regular, and my flow has never been super incredibly heavy, I have also always had absolutely intense pain during my period.  When I was a teenager, and trying to tell my mother about it, she would say she was ...

It seems like the end of the year is always really hard for Squishy.  She's now done with school for the year, and the last month or so has been a lot of talking with her about things. There are some girls in her class that would flip flop with day by day.  One day she'd be telling me they were attacking her, lying to everyone about her, and yelling at her on a near daily basis.  Then she comes home and says they were nice and asks me if they can come over. And, I know I can't control who she's friends with.  I can however try to talk to her about what is and isn't healthy behavior in people you keep as friends. She later would tell me about how she would get told off and attacked whenever she didn't want to play the same things as them, and would even do what they wanted for a little bit of time, wanting to compromise, and they would go off on her.  Then, whenever she would ask if someone else in the class wanted to play, these girls would walk up and say...

So, I said I would talk more about Zero, and things going on with him that have me rather cranky. I had to be all pride though, cause it's the thing to do. Last time I talked to him, I was trying to make plans for us to hang out, because it's been a while, and he keeps saying he's missed me.  I made a few suggestions of dates that worked with his schedule, and he started saying that he wasn't sure, and might be hanging out with "the girlfriends". To which, I asked if this new girl had flat out said she wanted poly and to date.  He said "Not yet, but just taking it day by day".  Bitch, if you already started calling this person your girlfriend, when she isn't, and hasn't yet said she wants to be, you aren't taking it "day by day".  You're reaching for an ideal situation in your head, and don't want to accept that things might not be that way. We continue talking though, and he fills me in that this girl has a ton ...

Happy Agender day! As much as this is something that I've actually used to identify me for the shortest time, it's something I've been aware was different about me since I was my daughter's age or younger. That I didn't recognize any sort of difference between people in regards to their gender, but simply found myself getting along better with boys.  Apparently, the gender divide was already there and strong, because other girls had a lot of issues with that, and attacked me over it. As I got older, and started to actually have some personal agency over myself (because my family) I found myself wanting to present more masculine, and of course my family then started to shame on me, and again refuse to let me look the way I wanted.  My father still hates that I keep short hair, but he can blow goats. No real terms for me have ever fit.  In fact, most gendered terms besides pronouns kind of make my brain tweak because they just feel wrong.  Even though I can...