In the summer of 2000, a big-budget superhero movie was about as far from a sure thing as Hollywood could imagine. The state of the genre was dire: Batman’s popularity was on the decline after fans rejected director Joel Schumacher’s campy take on the caped crusader. Additionally, Superman was too much of a do-gooder for edgy, Y2K-era audiences. The success of Blade a couple of years earlier suggested superheroes still had potential. However, there was no guarantee that one R-rated vampire movie could prop up an entire industry.
Enter the X-Men, who blasted and clawed their way into theaters 25 years ago on July 14, 2000.
I like to imagine that this isn't the first time Jeremy has noticed the new room, but that he refused to enter while Hope was sleeping in there.
My experience with cats is that, if an area that's usually closed is left open, they'll want to check that area out and sniff around (I say "area" and not "room" because I'm including things like closets and cabinets).
As such, for this to not have happened sooner, I insist it MUST be because he was previously hesitant to enter while a stranger was in the room. A sleeping stranger, perhaps, but all the same.
A lack of a plan coming together anyway
Past me: "Ha! Four panels! That'll be easy!"
More recent me: "Oh. Right. Detailed backgrounds, and intentionally zoomed out a bit. Eep."
To be fair to, and harsh on, myself, I made this page more difficult than it needed to be by not planning out, and labeling, how everything was layered better. I work from premade templates, and normally, I don't really need to label the layers beyond the default, make a bunch of new layers, etc.
With a page like this, however, I absolutely should have made a customized plan, and labeled things appropriately. I don't know if it would have saved a lot of time, but I imagine it would have saved some, and even if it didn't, it would have made the whole thing less stressful.
A woman’s experience with a cashier has people questioning whether people’s basic math skills are in a steep decline. Canada-based Viktoriya (@viktoriyaonline) revealed in a TikTok how a cashier’s mistake led her to be $15 richer.
Viktoriya shared her story to 230,000 followers, saying she needs folks to “start paying with cash because I think people are really bad at math.”
Was a woman making Starbucks workers’ lives harder, or was she being “gaslit?” According to TikTok viewers, it’s the latter for a customer who went to pick up her mobile order only to be chastised for doing so.
In a viral clip, TikToker Quela (@quela_fowler) films herself at a Starbucks drive-thru picking up an order she ordered through the mobile app. However, what was supposed to be a smooth interaction made her feel thrown off after a manager got “upset” with her.
A Fort Lauderdale woman sparks safety concerns after sharing her experience with an Uber driver who locked his doors and asked to kiss her.
What did this driver do?
On May 11, Lauren Becker (@lauren.becker30) posted a TikTok about an Uber driver locking the doors and attempting to kiss her despite her saying no. The video has elicited concern and outrage. It has reached over 487,000 views as of Monday.
Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 37 secrets from Secret Submission Post #968. Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ]. Current Secret Submissions Post:here. Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
A Nashville woman’s viral TikTok about a Hinge match canceling their second date due to a “stronger connection” has ignited debate over the emotional toll of dating apps.
“When I say I’m done dating, I’m done dating,” said one TikToker, Andrea (@ajdsing94), in a viral video from May 11. The video has amassed over 190,000 views as of Monday.
Hovertext: I saw an article that said it was a 3 minute read then offered an AI summary, and I believe it may be included in an eventual epitaph for civilization.
Bonjour, mon amis! Today's sweets are mostly inspired by Marie Antoinette, so you know what that means: Prepare your eyeballs for an over-the-top feast of excessiveness!
(And no, we won't be having any gruesome headless sweets commemorating Marie's rather gruesome end. Sheesh. Get your mind out of the guillotine.)
Yep, it's all decadence and girliness from here on out! And yay for that, because have I mentioned I've been helping my husband Matt at football camp all week? Yes, I've been sharing a house with 25 teenage boys for the last five days. I could use a little girliness up in here.
Fortunately this first beauty is a sight for my pink-deprived eyes:
We've all just collectively dreamed it or something. (We have excellent imaginary taste, you and I!)
Now here's a solution to that pesky problem of how to hide plastic cake pillars: Simply pipe a decorative cage of icing between the tiers for an elaborate camouflaging exoskeleton of awesomeness!
Er, on second thought, you might want to just leave that to the pros.
I thought this Fabergé Egg cake was a winner on its own ... (Seriously, doesn't it look like a 1st place trophy to you? Or is that the football camp talking?)
...but then I scrolled down and realized the egg was only one quarter of the whole cake!
Wow. The layers look like carved marble or porcelain, and I love those unique shapes, too. It's hard to believe the tiers wouldn't shatter when you went to cut a slice!
I think more food should be adorned with edible pink tassels, don't you?
Oh, don't stare at me with that doleful expression. Turn your attention instead to the amazing miniature dessert table in your boudoir. And hey, is that rug edible too? Incredible.
Here comes another amazing egg cake. I'm not really sure if fancy eggs are a Marie Antoinette thing, but they're both similarly lavish, so it works for me.
Just gorgeous. If I was serving this cake, I don't think I'd let them eat it, youknowwhatI'msayin? (Like "Let them eat cake?" Marie's famous line? You know? Yes? Never mind.)
I thought it was Marie masquerading as a... um... masquerader, while holding a kangaroo for fun, but the website informs me that this is actually an 18th century French figurine, masked to conceal her illicit rendezvous, and juxtaposed by the fawn in her arms meant to represent birth and innocence.
So, I was close.
All of these fanciful confections make me want to host a Marie Antoinette party! How about you? Here's a checklist of everything we need:
Powdered wigs, macarons, frilly shoes, masks, more fancy eggs (I guess they really are a thing) tiny top hats, (pretty sure that's NOT a thing, but I'll go with it), and of course, cake!
Does this cake remind you of a hot-air balloon, too?
And did you know that the first manned hot-air balloon ride took place in front of Marie Antoinette and the French court? And that it was "manned" by a sheep, a rooster, and a duck?
True story.
Here's another one: this cake is fantastic! Do you see the little movie-scene applique? Too cool.
I'm not sure how inspired by Marie Antoinette this final cake is, but it's incredible. At over three feet tall and almost two feet wide, I'm pretty sure this is the cake they serve you when you die and go to heaven:
Oh, wait. Actually this is the signature cake for the Hilton Hotel in Silver Spring. Which, after a week at football camp, sounds enough like heaven to me.
Happy Sunday!
*****
If today's Sweets are right up your style alley, then I have JUST the tea for you:
This blend is made in France using the roses and apples grown in the Versailles palace garden. Omigosh!If that's not tea fit for royal-tea, I don't know what is. Plus it comes in that gorgeous pink tin. Talk about a perfect gift for any tea-lover. ******
A woman noticed a secret shopper next to her while at Target. Then, she was approached by an employee and asked to check out her items despite walking around the store like any other customer.
In a video with 65,000 views, TikTok user @myjaabaandz pointed out that a secret shopper was following her around Target and acting “weird.”
Finding an expensive product on sale is a win. One that is marked down to a penny? An almost unheard-of bargain. One Home Depot customer achieved this difficult feat by scoring a paint sprayer for just a penny.
@ticklesdealz has an impressive 21,000 following for posting content about “clearance deals, hacks, tips, and finds.” This time, he brings more than 38,000 viewers on a trip to Home Depot.
If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section with exclusive content and events.
Everything you’re used to seeing at the Hot Pink Palace that is Smart Bitches Trashy Books will remain free as always, because we remain committed to fostering community among brilliant readers who love romance.
Name: Sam(ifer) Age Group: early 30s Country: Austria Subscription/Access Policy: I don't (currently) make locked posts. Other than that, anyone is free to subscribe, unsubscribe, grant access, revoke access, etc. About Me/Other Info: I'm a French guy who's constantly trying to post more on this website, and right now what my brain craves is more activity on my Reading page. o7 I'm participating in sunshine_revival which has been helping with the posting, but my Reading page is pretty slow and I'd really like to get more people on there so we can all post alongside each other. Or something. I'm mostly looking for people who post about fandom stuff, but the actual fandom isn't super important to me (though if we have fandoms in common, that's great!) I'm more into the vibe of shared enthusiasm/passion, you know? I'll show you the little (size neutral) guys (gender neutral) that make my heart soar, you'll show me yours. That sort of stuff.
Main Fandom: My main fandom is Pokémon, specifically Pokémon X&Y. It's been my ride or die for over a decade now, though I've been a general/more casual Pokémon enjoyer since 1999. I love the creatures (all generations, though I don't know the ScaVio ones very well yet) and I love the characters (especially the Kalosian ones, but my heart is open to most of them.) In general, I'm largely into the games, and not so much into the rest, but that doesn't mean I dislike it. Other Fandoms: Non-exhaustive list, because I can never remember what I like: .flow, A Series of Unfortunate Events (books & show), Ace Attorney, Amphibia, Animal Crossing, Arcane, Assassin's Creed (mostly Unity), BEASTARS, Far Cry 4, Final Fantasy (7, 9, 15), James Bond (Craig era), The Legend of Zelda, Minecraft, Mob Psycho 100, Petscop, Pokémon GO, Portal (1&2), Severance, Silent Hill (2&4), Sonic the Hedgehog (games & movies), Squid Game, Star Wars (movies), Stardew Valley, Super Paper Mario, Tales of Symphonia, Undertale/Deltarune, Vocaloid, Yakuza/Like a Dragon, Yume Nikki, Yuppie Psycho. OTPs and Ships: My OTP is Professor Sycamore/Lysandre from Pokémon X&Y! Unbeatable! Number one forever! On my death bed I will be thinking about them! Other than that, here's a selection of ships I've been into in the last few years: Redd/Nook (Animal Crossing) Sade/Arno (Assassin's Creed) Ibuki/Louis (BEASTARS) Ganondorf/Link/Zelda (The Legend of Zelda) Serizawa/Touichirou (Mob Psycho 100) Eusine/Morty, Serena/Shauna, almost any male character/Lysandre (Pokémon) In-ho/Gi-hun (Squid Game) Zelos/Regal (Tales of Symphonia) Tachibana/Oda, Majima/Nishiki (Yakuza/Like a Dragon)
Fannish Activities: I draw and write! This year has rendered me a bit too swamped to do much of either (I haven't written anything in months and I miss it a lot) but these are my two main fannish endeavors. I also frequently participate in events (mostly exchanges, but not always) and sometimes even mod/host them. I also have a (WIP) fansite for Pokémon X&Y! Non-Fannish Interests: Right now, I'm super into webdev and web design. I also like and am curious about all kinds of arts and crafts (trying to get back into sculpting and painting lately, also picked up cross-stitching through one of my partners.) I miss taking long walks around a lake, and I love animals (I have two cats!) I also enjoy washing the dishes...
Over the years, companies have offered special promotions to engage customers in finding a specific item, code, or puzzle in exchange for prizes. Typically, a lucky winner can win the grand prize, which is usually money. After one woman attempted to redeem the $10,000 golden specialty Starburst grand prize, she was heartbroken to learn she was unable to claim it.
In a clip with 17.2 million views, Connecticut-based TikTok creator Kiya (@yeaathatskiyaa) films her mother holding a Starburst Original bar in plastic wrap from the 2010 Hunt For Gold promotion.
We all know a Bath and Body Works enthusiast: waiting for the next drop of special edition candles, who considers the semi-annual sales a holiday, and whose home is adorned with plug-in wallflowers. The company they revere, however, is being badmouthed by an alleged disgruntled ex-employee. According to them, the home fragrance brand is not as wholesome as it seems.
In a viral TikTok, Taylor Clark (@taylor.clark112) “exposed” the so-called secrets Bath and Body Works “hides from you.” But how true are they?
Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 44 secrets from Secret Submission Post #968. Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ]. Current Secret Submissions Post:here. Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
A customer has questions for Nabisco after purchasing a box of Nilla wafers from Walgreens and noticing that the product seems to have dipped in quality from the version we knew and loved in our youth.
In a viral TikTok, Heather (@heatherfishcreations) says she paid $6 for the box of cookies at Walgreens, which she admittedly probably could’ve gotten for less elsewhere. However, she wanted to do a quick trip rather than a whole grocery run for her treat, so she opted for the convenience store instead and paid the higher price.
Optional: If you would like your secret's fandom to be noted in the main post along with the secret itself, please put it in the comment along with your secret. If your secret makes the fandom obvious, there's no need to do this. If your fandom is obscure, you should probably tell me what it is.
Optional #2: If you would like WARNINGS (such as spoilers or common triggers -- list of some common ones here) to be noted in the main post before the secret itself, please put it in the comment along with your secret.
Optional #3: If you would like a transcript to be posted along with your secret, put it along with the link in the comment!
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