@Eric Michael: You Can’t Logic Someone Out Of A Position They Didn’t Logic Themselves Into.

I know no one probably cares but they have changed the Berry Waffle Cone sent at Bath & Body Works!! That's my most favorite scent of all time and when I went there today because of all the deals they were having I was surprised to find a Berry Waffle Cone candle because they're usually very hard to find cuz it's a seasonal scent and I don't go to Bath & Body Works that often, but anyway when I go to smell the deliciousness of what this scent SHOULD be it is just somehow wrong!!

I would know because I have this sent as a candle, both types of lotions and the body spray which I hoard like it's nobody's business because it's my most favorite scent in the world and it's not guaranteed I'm going to get another one anytime soon

Don't get me wrong the candle I smelled today that claimed itself to be my beloved Berry Waffle Cone did indeed smell good BUT it just wasn't the same, I don't know why, my only guess is that they somehow tweaked the formula over the years but I want my OG sent back!

Bath & Body Works if you see this which you probably won't I beg you to tell me why it has changed, if it was simply because of a tweaked formula I asked you to somehow bring through the glory that is the OG Berry Waffle Cone or maybe I just happened to smell a bad candle or maybe my nose was wrong but when I got home and smelled my OG candle and it smelled how I expected it to smell, delicious, like a literal bakery, it's got kind of a warm bread smell but the sweetness to it as well is just so good and I love it but why has it't changed!? ┻⁠┻⁠︵⁠ヽ⁠(⁠`⁠Д⁠´⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠︵⁠┻⁠┻༼⁠;⁠´⁠༎ຶ⁠ ⁠۝ ⁠༎ຶ⁠༽

I was talking to myself and came up with the line "instead they take the poisoned berries handed to them like they're a god-given cure" so here is poems based off of it

His words, a venom, sharp and sly,

Spilled from a mouth that never tries

To heal, to soothe, to lift the soul—

Only to poison, twist, and control.

Each sentence laced with bitter sting,

A heavy blow from a hollow king.

In every tweet, in every speech,

He reached to tear, to bruise, to breach.

Promises dripped in bitter hues,

A master of the darkest news.

He weaved his lies, with artful grace,

A smirk upon his troubled face.

The truth, a casualty in his fight,

As facts dissolved in the toxic light.

Yet those who hear his wicked call,

Fall deeper still beneath his thrall.

For words like these can tear apart,

They plant a seed, corrupt the heart.

But in the end, though loud they roar,

The poison fades—truth stands once more.

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Instead they take the poisoned berries handed to them like they’re a god-given cure—

Bitter fruit, with a lethal allure,

That promises healing, but leaves them to rot,

Feeding on lies that they’ve been taught.

His words are sweet, his smile a mask,

A gentle whisper, a dangerous task.

“Trust me,” he says, “I’ll make it right,”

But darkness blooms where there once was light.

Instead they take the poisoned berries,

Blind to the thorns that twist within,

They taste the venom, convinced it’s sweet,

And fall to the rhythm of their own defeat.

The cure they seek is a cruel disguise,

For in each berry, a sorrow lies.

They drink the poison, the whispers, the lies,

And wonder, too late, why the world still dies.

But when the dawn breaks, they will see—

The berries were never meant to set them free.

And in the ruin, the truth will stir:

No god gives poison—only a deceiver.

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**The Poisoned Gift**

Instead they take the poisoned berries,

Handed to them like a god-given cure—

A promise painted red and sweet,

A bitter gift, they eat and eat.

His words, like fruit with lethal glow,

Drip false hope where doubt should grow,

And in their hunger, they take the bite,

Believing venom tastes of light.

"Trust me," he murmurs, with hungry eyes,

While shadows stretch and truth lies tied.

They crave the healing, the promised ease,

Blind to the thorn that digs, that bleeds.

The berries cling, like secrets kept,

Wrapped in pride and swallowed deep.

And they, in thrall, in dreams secure,

Let poison pass as if it's pure.

But when dawn breaks, the fog will clear,

The truth lies sharp, like shattered mirrors—

No god gives poison as a cure,

Only deceivers, cruel and near.

Oh my God this is probably the best thing I've seen in a while! Thank you for sharing your amazing Creation with the world

oh man im so sleepy i cant see straight, but im done!! Shindeku animation set to the tune of Welcome to My Parents House by NSP (with some emic on the side) i started yesterday and finished right before midnight! go me <3

"I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory

When’s it gonna get me?

In my sleep? Seven feet ahead of me?

If I see it comin’, do I run or do I let it be?

Is it like a beat without a melody?

See, I never thought I’d live past twenty

Where I come from some get half as many

Ask anybody why we livin’ fast and we laugh, reach for a flask

We have to make this moment last, that’s plenty

Scratch that

This is not a moment, it’s the movement

Where all the hungriest brothers with

Something to prove went?

Foes oppose us, we take an honest stand

We roll like Moses, claimin’ our promised land

And? If we win our independence?

Is that a guarantee of freedom for our descendants?

Or will the blood we shed begin an endless

Cycle of vengeance and death with no defendants?

I know the action in the street is excitin’

But Jesus, between all the bleedin’ ‘n fightin’

I’ve been readin’ ‘n writin’

We need to handle our financial situation

Are we a nation of states? What’s the state of our nation?

I’m past patiently waitin’. I’m passionately

Smashin’ every expectation

Every action’s an act of creation!

I’m laughin’ in the face of casualties and sorrow

For the first time, I’m thinkin’ past tomorrow"

Hey, so today's post is kind of personal, more than a little personal actually but I guess you could say I wasn't feeling the best earlier. And with these feelings I was trying to find anything to distract myself with and I ended up going through some older notes in my phone. And, well I got to reading this one. I guess you could say it's kind of stupid but I almost felt like I could relate? (again to myself so, stupid) and I thought maybe others could too.

I guess I was just feeling a lot of emotions, some similar but also none quite the same. I guess you could say it I felt... Unvalidated? Not valued, not seen, not heard; amongst other things. I won't go into detail what happened today but I guess here's a little, almost diary entry? Of a bad day from a while back.

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Thurs. Oct 24, 2024:

I wasn't having the best day yesterday, I couldn't tell you why, there wasn't just one specific thing, I think it was just... Everything. I'm just, tired. Tired of not knowing, tired of not being enough. Just, tired. I need a break. Just a moment to catch my breath. So yeah, I wasn't having the best day yesterday.

I had to actively stop myself from crying my eyes out in the middle of a classroom or hallway a couple of times. For some reason, I so desperately wanted nothing more than a hug from my dad. But it made me want to cry even more because I knew I couldn't have one, it was in the middle of the school day and he was at work. I had to force myself to think of something, anything other than how much I so desperately wanted a hug at that moment. Otherwise, I'd start bawling my eyes out in front of dozens of people.

I thought about asking Mrs. T for a hug. She was right there. No more than a couple of steps away. But for some reason I couldn't get myself to do it. Even though I was trying my damn hardest not to have a mental breakdown a foot behind her. Instead I just silently got up once the bell rang and stood behind her for a moment, debating. But after a moment I just grabbed my bag and silently walked away, I didn't say anything, she didn't say anything either. (She hadn't notice)

The second time I think I had to actively avoid breaking out in tears was on the way to my third-period from Mrs. T office hours, I had to force myself to stop thinking about the hug I couldn't have otherwise I'd start crying in front of my pre-calculus class. Eventually, the teacher came along to unlock the door and I splashed my face with some water from the water fountain.

It was a little better after that. I could distract myself with math, I didn't have to think, well at least think about anything other than math. And I thought to myself, what if I asked Yoshi for a hug, even if it seemed like an inadequate substitute at the time? I thought about the girls and I know they would hug me if I asked but I don't know if it was the kind of hug I needed. I think that thought is also the reason I didn't end up asking ***** for a hug either. It wasn't the kind of hug I needed.

Even as I just silently dissociated my way through lunch to avoid crying. Then came ceramics, my mind and body felt all over the place. Like I wanted, needed to do something but couldn't. I was glazing my projects which helped a lot I even got to genuinely smile and laugh at some point, so my day got a little better after that. I could just immerse myself in my art. I could mostly do the same thing in LC while painting posters, so by the time I went home I was a lot better than the latter half of the afternoon.

Hours went by and I forgot about my insistent need for a hug from no one else but for my dad. And eventually, he came home. At that point I didn't feel like I desperately needed a hug anymore, but I thought to myself, I could still use that hug, so I silently moseyed my way out of my room after a moment of contemplation and made my way to his.

I stood at the door and watched for a moment as he was kicking his dirty laundry into a pile on the floor to be washed. I don't know why but that pile of dirty laundry felt like the Mariana trench between him and I at that moment. So instead of wading myself across it I just asked, are you still not working tomorrow? (That's not what I wanted to say but I felt like I needed to say something, anything, to try to bridge that gap)

He confirmed what I already knew, still not looking at me, just focusing on compiling his clothes together. And of course, since I was there standing in the doorway ******(my dog) wanted to come see, and as always he was getting told that he was in the way (I always feel bad when I hear everyone say that, even though it's true and he likes to stick close to your legs causing you to trip) and I don't know why it struck me so much.

Why when he told ******(my dog) to get out and go away it felt like he was saying it to me. I know he wasn't angry or annoyed at me, I know that. He was just tired and now annoyed at the dog. But it hit me, and I couldn't tell you why.

So I silently left and made my way back to my room as he started saying things like all I do is work work work work, work and mop, work and mop... In his usual annoyed tone. I don't know why, but for a moment, I silently stood at my door still just a little cracked as I listened to him rant, even though my heart felt like it was cracking with every word he said.

Finally, I silently shut the door and that's when the waterworks; the one's I had been holding back all day, finally spilled over. I cried for a while rambling and babbling and I had to repeatedly tell myself something I already knew, he's not mad at you, he's just tired and annoyed at the dog, he's just tired and annoyed at the dog, had to tell myself he won't be mad at you if you go to ask for a hug, that's ridiculous, so finally after a while of working up my gall, I splash my face with water in the bathroom make sure it didn't look like I was crying.

And I made my way back to his room, but this time there was no cavernous trench of laundry between us. I silently made my way in and just stood behind him while he was fiddling with his phone and charging, still not saying a word. ******(my dog) followed me along and jumped on his bed. It probably didn't take more than a minute to finish up his fiddling, but it felt like forever, and again I felt like I had to force myself to not make my eyes water, so he couldn't see.

Finally, he turned around and asked me what I wanted, I silently held my arms out for a hug and I asked him if I could get a hug he couldn't hear me so I repeated myself but I don't think it came out as more than a mumble. He got the hint anyway and hugged me. like his hugs. We usually just silently hold each other and sway back and forth on our feet. I like our hugs.

But in that moment it just didn't feel right. I couldn't tell you why. Just that it wasn't. Suddenly he spoke up and said, it'll all be okay. I don't know why he said it. Maybe it showed on my face. Or maybe you didn't show enough.

Because the next moment he's pulling away. Entirely too quickly. A hug. One that earlier in the day I had to actively stop myself from crying out for because I so desperately needed it. A hug I had to give myself a pep talk just ask for. But a hug that felt like it was the answer turned out to break me even more.

After he pulled away he joked about something with the dog and laughed. He laughed. There's nothing wrong with laughing. But in that moment it felt like she was laughing at me. And I had to force myself to let out a laugh too. So he wouldn't see that there's anything wrong.

Even as I silently walked out of his room my back to him so he wouldn't see the tears threatening to spill from my eyes. Mouth tightly shut so he wouldn't hear the sobs threatening to claw up my throat. I silently walked away from his room to mine closed my door, and let the first sob near silently leave my body as it clicked shut. I felt so stupid. I felt useless and like I couldn't do anything.

And so then the waterworks started again as I tried to snuff out the sobs leaving my body. I didn't want him to try to come into my room and see me breaking apart so I decided I was going to take a shower. I wasn't dirty. Not really. But it felt like it, almost. Couldn't let him see. I don't know why he's not allowed to see. He just isn't. So I started quietly cursing myself for being so stupid as I took off my jewelry and grabbed my stuff for the shower. I felt better after the shower. Not entirely. But better than I was before. Didn't feel like I was going to start breaking out in sobs at any second. So, better.

*Echoes of the End*

The earth once sang in hues of green,

Now silenced by the scars unseen.

The forests fall, the deserts grow,

As endless winds of sorrow blow.

The air is thick with silent cries,

While fading suns paint fractured skies.

The oceans choke on plastic breath,

And creatures flee from certain death.

Mountains crumble, rivers dry,

As we stand still and wonder why.

A fleeting moment, lost in time,

The rhythm of the world’s last rhyme.

We’ve sown the seeds, now bear the cost,

As futures fade and dreams are lost.

A dying world, a dying call,

Can we still rise before we fall?

*Echoes of a Kingdom Lost*

He stood atop his gilded stage,

A kingdom built on fear and rage.

With words like fire, sharp and cold,

He took his power at a cost.

He promised glory, vowed to save,

Yet led the hopeful to a grave.

Beneath his smile, a shadow lay,

A price for dreams he threw away.

He silenced truth, distorted facts,

Bent the system till it cracked.

Cast out science, shunned the wise,

Blind to earth’s collapsing cries.

Where unity once tried to grow,

He sowed division, let it show.

Friends turned strangers, torn and crossed,

Trust among us slowly lost.

He placed a wedge, a sharpened thorn,

In places fragile, scarred, and worn,

And left us all to tend the tears

Of families broken, lost in fear.

Now echoes linger in his place,

A hollow throne, an empty space.

We stand and sift through what remains,

To heal, to grow beyond the chains.

With steady hearts, we face the cost—

To find the kingdom he has lost.

Words of wisdom I've heard from my father:

You can only pick your nose, you can't pick your battles

**Beneath the Flag**

O land of promise, bold and bright,

Your stars once blazed a hopeful light,

But shadows fall where dreams decay,

As gilded hopes drift far away.

Skies of blue and fields of green,

Hide truths beneath a painted scene,

Where wealth divides, and justice sways,

And voices fade in endless haze.

Cities hum and highways roar,

Yet many struggle, wanting more;

The streets are paved with stories lost,

And freedom bears a quiet cost.

A land of plenty, yet denied,

Where broken dreams and secrets hide.

...Where hope and hardship still collide.

......Where shadows linger, hope entwined.

Where hands reach out but come back bare,

And promises hang in the air,

A country torn, a dream betrayed,

As weary hearts still hope for aid.

Doyou know of a skin with a larger font size and dark mode?

No but it's really easaly solvable because the larger font size is something you can do by yourself! So you can just take any dark mode skin and add code!

The quickest way to do this would be the one I explained here in this ask Which explain how to use the skin wizard that’s native in Ao3.

Otherwise you can get any dark mode skin you find pleasant to look at (My Tide skin, My Dyslexia skin, Ao3′s Reversi, the tag dark mode in this blog has some, or go and look at this ao3 skin collection) and then at the bottom you can copy/paste either one of these codes here to increase the font size to your needs: This one changes the entire website (including buttons, interface, menu):

body { font-size: 130%; }

This one instead changes only the work and the summary, tags and comments while leaving the rest of the interface the normal size:

#workskin, .blurb, .comment { font-size: 130%; }

You just need to change the percentage to one that looks good for you!