Reblog If Your Name Isn't Amanda.

Every single time I see a take that amounts to "if you write about X happening, or like fiction where X happens, you like X" I'm reminded of this one time I was at a casual friends house as a young kid. We were in her room, pretending to "be orphans" escaping from an evil orphanage and having to take care of each other and fend for ourselves. It was all very Little Orphan Annie/All Dogs Go to Heaven and based on the 80s pop media.

And this girl's mom comes in, hears what we're playing and gets all MAD and UPSET. She says that if we play act something, it's because we want it to happen. So her daughter must WANT HER TO DIE.

First off lady, we were 6 year year olds, so take it down several notches. We barely had a concept of mortality for fucks sake. She made us feel so guilty and ashamed, because she was taking our game personally.

Now I have a 5 year old. And sometimes she looks at me and says "pretend you're dead, and I have to -" Whatever it is. Some adult task she's assigned herself.

And it's just so transparently obvious that she's practicing the idea of having to do things on her own. Which is exactly what 5 year olds are supposed to do. I actually find it very flattering that the only way she can envision me not being available to help her is to be literally deceased. Otherwise, obviously, she wouldn't have to do scary hard things alone.

It's a natural coping mechanism. She's self-soothing about what would happen if I wasn't there by play-acting independence in a perfectly safe environment. She's also practicing skills she needs, and making up excuses for practicing them on her own, without taking on the responsibility of being able to do them by herself all the time yet.

Humans mentally rehearse bad this in their brains all the time. We can do that by ruminating- going over worries over and over again, which tends to lead to anxiety and helplessness and depression. Or we can do it with a sense of play- by recognizing that the fiction is fiction and we can dip our toe into these experiences and expose ourselves to bad things without actually being injured.

My daughter does not want me dead. And I don't want bad things to happen in real life. But fiction and pretend help me face the horrors of the world and think about them without collapsing or messing myself up mentally.

honestly how funny would Batman comics involving Resurrected!Jason have  been if they had actually acknowledged all the ridiculous and stupid things that happened after he died.

like imagine it going the exact same way with Jason coming back from the dead and going on a rampage but instead it ended up like:

Jason: WHY DIDN’T YOU KILL THE JOKER AFTER HE KILLED ME??? THIS IS PROOF YOU NEVER LOVED ME REALLY I KNEW IT>:(

Bruce: oh no I totally tried to kill the Joker in revenge for your death, he was just involved with Iran for some reason at the time so it was weird

Jason: Involved with…Iran.

Bruce: yeah idk why it was odd and pretty racist. Anyway I DID eventually go after him but then Superman showed up and stopped me even though he didn’t have any real stake in any of it?

Jason: huh well okay. I can’t be mad at Superman.

Bruce: what you can’t? But you can be mad at ME?

Jason: Yeah it’s a proud Robin tradition. anyway finish your story what happened next.

Bruce: Okay, well it looked like l’d indirectly killed the Joker despite all that, so I felt vaguely content for a while? but then he just came back again so it was clear to me this was all pointless and he would never stay dead even if I did kill him? I mean does anyone in this weird world of ours? Look at you. 

Jason: okay I guess I’m not upset about that anymore then but why did you then immediately make another kid Robin, pretty hurtful..

Bruce: no see this boy literally stalked me and I was all “leave me alone kid I’m going on a suicidal rampage now” so he just made himself Robin and made this big speech about how Robin is important to my mythos and also my mental health…

Jason:nice this kid sounds like a nerd I wanna meet him now so i can noogie him and shove him into a locker.

Bruce: I’m going to assume you mean that affectionately and congratulate myself on diffusing this situation. Great parenting, me. 

Joker, still tied up: so i guess everyone’s forgotten I’m here? that’s fine

This is the Lucky Ace. Reblog to recieve a wad of cash that is oddly specific to your current needs.

Mitchell + smoking 

This song is wonderful, and I love the video.

Curly and Care Root sharing the umbrella just makes me squeal a little. Cute Boys being cute!

And Wallflower Blush!!! She looks so awesome!

Curly Winds' hair!!

And Bon Bon and Lyra!

Just. 😍

I feel like when I say ‘relatable’ what I really mean is ‘resonant.’ I don’t want characters who I feel are like me, I want characters who have emotions so strong I can feel them through the page.

Okay fuck it if this post reaches 666k notes by the end of 2023 I'll practise basic self care

Why 666k? Because it's funny and impossible so good fucking luck

tips to get your life back on track after a breakdown™

sleep. your body needs to rest. the average panic attack takes as much energy as running a half-marathon. let yourself rest. take a 20 minute nap. any longer and you’ll hit your REM cycle, and you’ll wake up worse off. after, you’ll feel so much better.

clean something. literally anything. a plate, a draw, the whole mf bathroom. it doesn’t matter how much or how little. it’ll make you feel more in control, and it’ll make your surroundings more appropriate for recovery.

get some fresh air. even just opening your window for a few hours will help. if you feel up to it, take a walk. take your dog. pick some flowers. cloudgaze. even just sit in your garden for a bit. your body will thrive off of non-stale air. 

eat and drink. I know for some people, myself included, this is Hard. it’s alright if all you can manage is a granola bar, or some cereal. anything is progress and will fuel your body. drink water if you can, but anything apart from alcohol will hydrate you.

take a shower. I have clinical depression. have done since I was 12. I know how hard it is to take a shower. but it fucking helps. if you don’t do anything else off this list, do this. it’ll help more than you know.

talk to someone. I can’t stress this enough. humans are social creatures! we crave interaction. even the most introverted introvert needs to talk to someone. call your mom. text a buddy. skype your brother. chat to your local cashier. anything !! you’ll feel less alone, and hopefully get some good serotontitty flowing.

do something fun! same as above, it’ll make u feel so much bette, and provide a distraction. some good options are writing, drawing, watching a movie, dancing - anything you enjoy!

be kind to yourself. it’s okay if you relapsed, or if you had a bad day, or anything else. treat yourself gently. you wouldn’t so harsh to a friend in your situation. it’s gonna be okay.

if you can’t do all of these, it’s okay. there are better days ahead. this, too, will pass.

adhd just makes your really bad at capitalism, unfortunately