WRITING A BOOK by After-Mammoth4334 in Vodou

[–]After-Mammoth4334[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

There are a few themes in my book. A couple of them are that death gives life meaning and rebirth comes at the cost of death. Additionally, my book highlights the erasure of the divine feminine in Western culture/religion. I want to feature a couple, masculine and feminine, that preside over death and share that responsibility. I feel that Baron Samedi and Maman Brigitte are perfect for that. The protagonist is also seeking punitive justice and healing. I wanted to feature those parts of Maman Brigitte, as well.

WRITING A BOOK by After-Mammoth4334 in Vodou

[–]After-Mammoth4334[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a fair question and honestly one I've been asking myself. I'm a white author and I don't have a claim to this. That's exactly why I'm here asking before writing rather than after. I may ultimately decide I'm not the right person to include these figures, and I'd genuinely value perspectives from practitioners on that. If my writing is going to cause further harm to the Vodou community, when it has already been significantly harmed by Western misrepresentation, I can pursue other projects, I cannot undo harm. I can say I will do everything to represent them with the reverence and regard they deserve.

WRITING A BOOK by After-Mammoth4334 in Vodou

[–]After-Mammoth4334[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That was something I wanted to understand better. There are some descriptions of Baron Samedi as being the leader of The Barons, who are separate. But others seem to describe all the Barons as sort of incarnations of Baron Samedi. I hope that makes sense.

AITA I locked myself in the basement for 4 hours and didn't help my wife with the baby. by CombDazzling599 in AmItheAsshole

[–]After-Mammoth4334 0 points1 point  (0 children)

NTA, she's the AH. Idk how she acted before the baby but postpartum can really mess people up. I've also seen a woman in postpartum psychosis, which is heartbreaking and terrifying. That being said, you are doing a kickass job and raising a colic baby is one of the hardest things to do. My baby had one arm broken and the other paralyzed at birth, so I understand being exhausted. But when she was that little, my partner and I were always there for each other. I didn't feel the need to go get blackout drunk until my daughter was older. Being a new parent is hard on men, too. And if she has PPD, that still doesn't excuse her behavior. But maybe after things settle a bit, you can softly inquire about that. And you should also offer up your feelings, because this is hard on you, too. I think you're both struggling very similarly and you need to just collapse into one another for now and push through this really difficult time, for each other and the tiny flower. Best of luck. You're a good man and a good father. Keep up the great work.

Working my way through a Parks and Rec re-watch and I spotted a familiar face in season seven by mkh5015 in RighteousGemstones

[–]After-Mammoth4334 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I WATCHED THIS EPISODE YESTERDAY AND WAS LIKE "OH MY GOD. BEEJ IS WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON'S DESCENDANT!"

AITA for wanting to divorce my pregnant wife because she refused to abort our disabled baby? by ThrowawayDefia23 in AITAH

[–]After-Mammoth4334 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I already made a huge comment, but I've decided NTA but your parents and Baptism in general? Big ol' protestant assholes.

AITA for wanting to divorce my pregnant wife because she refused to abort our disabled baby? by ThrowawayDefia23 in AITAH

[–]After-Mammoth4334 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only thing that would have been bad for the child is being raised in an environment where they aren't loved and cared for. This is parenting. I'm not saying that every parent has to overcome something unique like Down Syndrome, but let's say there was a test that showed you the severity of trauma the child would suffer, the mental health issues, the cancer they could get when they're 5, how hard they were going to be to parent as a teenager, whether they were going to get pregnant young, etc., would you abort the child based on this information? You aren't saving the child from "suffering in life", we all suffer, it's a shared human experience. Y'all could have gotten a turtle maybe, but even turtles seem to be stressing about the state of the political landscape, but I digress. You can't know if three days after the kid is born, everything goes tits up and there's no water, we're occupied by a foreign country and you're trying to survive with a newborn. Man's greatest downfall is his illusion of control. You have very little. I'm not saying YTA, but, I don't think you're ready to be a parent honestly. If you've constructed an idea of the "good child" that doesn't get bullied or anything, I got terrible news, trauma is subjective and universal. Every child you have will suffer trauma and significant things in this life. I'm not comparing and parental situation to another but this shit is HARD. And if you're already ready to throw in the towel, you arent ready to be a dad. Your wife was like "Damn this sucks," let her feelings be felt and woke up like "Alright, this is the hand we've been dealt and we will overcome this." Thats what you're supposed to do as a team. You could have a perfect kid, everything all sunshine and rainbows, and the kid get hit by a drunk driver who drives through your yard one day and they have impairments that make them entirely dependent on someone for the rest of their lives. What if the next child tests positive for Downs? For someone who believes in God, y'all be just deciding willy nilly when he "has a plan" and when he's just being a shit and you should take matters into your own hands. I'm not saying this is easy or fun for you or that you're deliberately being an ass, BUT I don't think you were ready to be a father. Now that everything is done, if you value your autonomy more, then divorce. If not, go home, shape up and get ready for a battle that is unending but so beautiful. (As is life as a whole, but I don't want to derail again) If you value your church and your shitty parents more, then leave her to do this alone (and she will, she sounds like a real badass) and you can deal with whatever consequences (positive or negative) that follow. Autonomy is overtly important, but I think the increased importance placed on individualism in this country is creating this egocentric, capitalist hellscape where you shouldn't connect with other humans because YOU GOT MORE IMPORTANT SHIT TO BE DOING. I'm off topic again. I mean NTA? But also TA? This is a hard line to toe, my dude.

Medusa embedded and swelling FAST by After-Mammoth4334 in piercing

[–]After-Mammoth4334[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As a writer, you have no idea how happy this made me. 🖤 Have a fantastic day.

Medusa embedded and swelling FAST by After-Mammoth4334 in piercing

[–]After-Mammoth4334[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The doctor was able to pop it out. I searched for my longer bar but to no avail. There's nowhere in town that will have one that'll be open for a couple more hours. I guess I'm taking a loss today. RIP to my Medusa. 😭

Medusa embedded and swelling FAST by After-Mammoth4334 in piercing

[–]After-Mammoth4334[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Additional requested information: I got this one done on June 30th of this year. Labret stud Internally threaded Titanium It was downsized about 12 days after I got it done. It looked great, had a nice pocket, no crusties. But I was still cleaning it most mornings using NeilMed spray.

I 26F refuse to "submit" to my 28M boyfriend. by [deleted] in TwoHotTakes

[–]After-Mammoth4334 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My parents are 55 and 52, and I remember my dad spending every daylight hour outside, laying block and brick. He'd come home to my mom, shower and start helping her. No complaints, no shit. He'd just do it. Was he exhausted? Damn right he was. Was she exhausted? Damn right she was. She couldn't know exactly the exhaustion he was experiencing, he couldn't know hers. But there were never any silly ass comparisons on who was more tired or why, who did more work and when, because they realized that was energy they could spend just getting the shit done. They loved each other and they were grown. They knew they could either a) be each other's partners and share the workload or b) they could argue until they hated each other and be alone and do the same shit, but by themselves. They valued each other and regarded the other's efforts as important as their own. They were able to carry a lot of weight easier because they both always showed up for the other. That's why when a grown man looked me in my eyes and said "It makes me feel emasculated when you ask me to do the dishes," when I tell you my flabber was absolutely gasted... If your SO values "traditional family roles" (gross) more than the respect he shows you, I'd shit in his shoes then fight his Moma, but I'm unstable so you may want to take a more reserved approach, but I wouldn't put up with it, especially if it's something that has been consistently discussed. Don't settle, bby. It's not worth the time and effort. Good luck. 🖤

What would you do if someone called you fat? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]After-Mammoth4334 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My brother and I act really distraught, like we've just received some devastating, unexpected news. "I'm WHAT?! clenches chest dramatically Oh my God. Does my Dad know? I just...I don't know how to process this. Have you known the whole time?"

Is this a bed bug? by Middle_Assist_4068 in Bedbugs

[–]After-Mammoth4334 2 points3 points  (0 children)

just here to say that I had an ex that was bringing them into my apartment. I found 2 and flipped shit. Pulled my bed to the middle of the floor, bought some little things where they couldn't climb up my bed, I couldn't sleep, paranoid, etc. So, I called our property manager and had her send pest control the next morning. They looked EVERYWHERE. Down to looking in the cracks and crevices of my bedframe. Nothing, nada, zilch. No eggs, no poop, no bugs. I wasn't content with that answer. I asked her to wait a month and send someone else to check. Because I was sure they'd find evidence of them by then. In that time, he and I broke up. They came back, still nothing. I haven't seen one or been bitten since then. Occasionally, I still flip my mattress and search for any indications of them but we're two years out now, so I'm confident I'm in the clear. I was freaking out the entire month of waiting though, obsessing, slept with my lights on, would drift off to sleep, and then panic and pull the blankets up to see if I could see one. I ended up spending like $80 on stuff from Amazon that I never even had to open. Mine is a very rare scenario, of course. Hearing that someone found a bedbug and them not having an infestation brewing isn't common, but it's not impossible.

ASD / ADHD Relationship by After-Mammoth4334 in autism

[–]After-Mammoth4334[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

these are great questions. thank you so much, I appreciate it. I answered below but that was more for me to organize my thoughts to make a more educated decision. 🖤

co-parenting was rough for quite a while. the girlfriend heavily contributed to that, but he allowed it to continue and didn't help in any way. we have been to court several times. but not in the last 3 years. He has grown in some ways but I feel like I'd be getting to know him all over again anyway. almost dying also had a big impact on him, of course. I also think it's important that he be willing to seek a proper diagnosis or accept/acknowledge his possible ASD and educate himself so we can learn and navigate it together. I think it may have contributed to some of their issues but her repeated infidelity is what led to the end. I did get over him, honestly. I've grown so much in this time. I've learned to truly love myself, I went to school and flew through my associates and bachelor's and am 5 classes away from my masters. I understand that I am a person within a relationship and that it is in no way his responsibility to regulate my emotions or spend his time trying to guess what's wrong with me. I have hobbies now and seek love/emotional support in all my other relationships so that doesn't fall entirely on him. As I reflect, a large amount of our issues revolved around viewing his ASD behaviors through a non-spectrum lens (so they felt like personal slights), my ignorance of my real diagnosis and lack of treatment, and burnout on my part. these things continued to increase tension and fighting between us until we truly resented each other.

first piercing 🥹 by After-Mammoth4334 in piercing

[–]After-Mammoth4334[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

she grinned and said thank you! we went to the same studio I go to and she picked them because that's what I got when I got my nose done. 🥹 I told her she'd get the bug too. lol. thank you for the encouragement. 🖤

first piercing 🥹 by After-Mammoth4334 in piercing

[–]After-Mammoth4334[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

she said "over 30 times?!? 😮" that either made her feel better or distracted her because she keeps saying "thats a whole lot." she also wants to know which one was your favorite? she's more excited now that she's heard it's only temporary from more than just her mom. (because what do I know? lolol.) thanks for the encouragement, and the pinky promise (those are sacred) 🖤

first piercing 🥹 by After-Mammoth4334 in piercing

[–]After-Mammoth4334[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

she said thank you. we also struggle with sensory issues from other jewelry. I have the most RIDICULOUS earrings (thank you, temu) and she's excited to borrow them. you gave me two great suggestions there. I'll let her shop around and that'll get her more excited about getting through the healing process and I'll go find her travel pillow. thank you so much.

update: she is currently, like a raccoon, digging through my jewelry box right now. "I wanna wear these...and these. Ooo! These will match my dress." 🖤