#dj lore

Dahlia was thankful that she had her family’s Father’s Day plans to look forward to after Evora’s burial. She planned a barbecue and invited Ric and Val. Felipe and Jay helped Alexa and Maya make cards - one from them and one from Dahlia - and Val brought her ukulele with her to play the lullaby she’d written for the twins.

She was reminded that even on the saddest days, there is a capacity for joy, and to be grateful for every day that she gets to spend with her husband and their family.

Everytime I've gotten these I've started and stopped because why does it feel like bragging to say nice things to yourself 😭😭😭 But you said non-negotiable so here goes.

I really like my looks. Ok. I hated my body for years. I really was mortified of taking pictures in high school. And so I have like 9 photos with my loved ones from that time floating around tops. I accidentally got into fashion(?) I just started buying clothes and putting matching outfits together and realized it would be a shame to not have like photo evidence of my style. And then after coming out as nonbinary I just really took off with my facial appearance too. I really want to something crazy with my hair and nails soon. But I think next up is getting my ears pierced. Idk I used to be so depressed I literally did not care what I threw on and while I don't hold anybody else to high standards or anything, it really does feel good to feel confident in my appearance.

I really like how seriously I've taken my writing this year. At one point a few years back, I thought I might never write again. And if I did, I would never actually finish anything. But here I am. To Slip Away in Real Time planner and written and finished. And it paid my first phone bill to boot 🥺

I like my creativity. Like I am the kind of person who will take 4 minutes to lay the groundwork of worldbuilding with a prompt as general as like "space battle" or "western ensemble" Every story idea I've ever had has been concept first, character second, which is really why it's so damn hard to talk about ocs on here. I'm like "oh you mean the people that exist within this entire planet I created in my brain?" It's more of a problem than a skill sometimes honestly. I'm very proud of both Pantheon and just like the fact that I've put more thought into my concepts than my craft. I hope my writing skill speaks for itself. I never want to sell my talent, I just want to relay vivid experiences as my brain churns them out like sushi in that one sitcom bit. I'm trying to catch all these cool ass ideas in my head but I have yet to even finish my first novel 😭😭😭

I really like how I've kind of owned standing out/being the odd one out. Growing up it really felt like I never fit in anywhere. I literally could never settle at a lunch table because at just had one odd friends who would sit with their cliques of sorts. So I might set my lunch down in one place but I would bounce around table to table trying to get my fix of conversion for the day. I've always been a roamer honestly. I've got friends and family all over my home state. I think now though, I see it differently. It's not that I don't fit in anywhere. I just carve this niche where people can come and go from my life and space as they please. I try to be open minded and unassuming and solidarity forward when Lord knows not every black person has the time or patience or even has to. But I think I just fit in a lot of places. I'm every woman so to speak agdjfkrkrj. I really like having so many different and far off friends. And I appreciate most of all the places I naturally fit into. I'm not the kind to ever forget my roots. And my politics are grounded in my identities. But as far as interests and environments, I fuck with the lames, the needs, the punks, the band kids, the academics, the singers, the artist, the activists, the wild cards, the psych ward rejects, the overly sane and disgustingly sober, the potheads, the fuckboys, the skaters and the freaks. I literally just have all kinds of friends. It's less lonely when you look at it like that. The world is my home babes.

And finally I like my tone and lexicon. I haven't decided whether or not I actually like my voice. But I have a sardonic and sarcastic way I turn phrase and referential banter that literally rivals marvel movie b roll. I just cannot stop talking shit. And the way I roll things off my tongue is something that people are always both impressed and incredibly annoyed by. I think alot of people would be surprised by just how much I can not stop fucking talking irl. It's a gift. And a curse. But I rarely turn this mouth of mine onto people. Although I am very capable of stringing together insults.

I'll really be like "what do you mean you don't know I'm adopted and my parents were addicts in Chicago and my adoptive parents are part of my extended family (great aunt and uncle) but also my adoptive parents are separated and my 'dad' has no legal or marital obligation to me but was in fact my only source of unconditional love and let me stay with him when I was gonna run away at 17 until I recently moved to the city to reconnect with my immediate family, including staying with my mother who's been sober for seven years?"

"What do you mean you aren't aware that I've spent the last four years estranged from my adoptive family, been proccupied taking care of and falling out with my closest friends?"

"What do you mean you don't understand that my confidence and coolness are very newfound and that I spent all of high school as the strightlaced mom friend spazz and that I only came out of my cage bc I got crossfaded at a party bc I was determined to do everything my ex best friend did at the time because I was madly in live with him at the time and massively in denial about it?"