As someone who was raised hardcore Catholic, I'm impressed you could so readily come up with the word intercessor, since I could never have done so.

Nah. I'm in the "bizarrely huge number of Jolie haters," although at least I admit my hatred is irrational and weird. As a hater (who expressed genuine admiration on another thread) I'm still gonna bet that most of us will just keep our mouths shut and hate more quietly.

Oh man. I'm so sorry. Like, it's not bad enough to lose your mom. :(

How am I just seeing this? This is the best.

So many feels. I'm decidedly not a fan of hers, usually, but I think going public with this took guts.

I think they're just going to kill Talisa off at the wedding, so they can get rid of a character that doesn't really have much import after Robb dies. Ties up a lose end.

I don't know, I don't think that's giving either the viewers or the writers enough credit. I think a few well-written scenes would bring viewers up to speed on Theon (admittedly, I haven't read A Dance With Dragons yet, but it seems like it should be doable).

One of the few good things I learned from my dad was to be suspicious of everyone. He taught me to trust my instincts and question everyone, even people in authority, and to be on my guard. It's a valuable skill and I honestly think it's saved me from some pretty sketchy situations.

I laughed so hard I scared my cat.

Oh man, thank you for this. It's definitely one of the things I worry about, that my kids will somehow feel all the things that are missing. It's nice to hear your perspective on it.

Thank you! I really appreciate the kind words.

He gets some funding and I could probably access respite care, but he's still pretty young, and does spend every other weekend with my ex. I'm sure I'll rely on that more as he gets older, and of course I'll use the state funding to help with living arrangements for him so he can have whatever degree of independence…

Thank you. That has to be so hard too, on a whole other level, since you didn't really know your mom very much. Hugs back at you.

Thank you.

I'm sorry. :( That really really sucks.

I know. Part of it is I'm not even sure what help to ask for. I think most of my problem is I'm just so overwhelmed with grief; grief about my mom, of course, but ongoing, daily grief about my son. He's turning 13 and the older he gets, the more obvious it is that he's not going to be one of those Temple Grandin…

Hugs all around; my mom died 2 years ago and I'm still pretty much a mess.

I know, I definitely have to get better at that.

Thanks. My family is completely fucked up and dysfunctional. My mom was the only thing holding things together at all; since she died, I have pretty much no relationship with my sisters and my dad is no help at all.

I've never found one that didn't smell after it develops. There are several that are odorless when you put them on, but every single one makes your skin get a weird odor; it's the developer that turns your skin brown, so by definition if it works, it will smell. I just can't stand it, so I remain pasty white :(