The sound of thunder cracks loudly from the next room, causing me to duck and cover underneath the art desk. My paintbrush makes a soft thwap as it hits the floor beside me. Seconds later, a loud booming voice that could only be my father. It is followed by a quiet response from my mom. With each passing remark, her voice gets louder as she responds to him. Not again… I think to myself. I shut my eyes and fight back tears. I hate it when my parents fight. I especially hate it when they fight over me. Every now and then I can hear part of what they say and I start to hum to myself.
Sunshine, my wonderful little minion, floats over to comfort me. “Remember, you can get through this. This isn’t the first time they have fought and it probably won’t be the last. Do you remember what we did last time?”
I peek at her with one eye and nod my head. “We talked quietly to ourselves. You had me go over my favorite memories, my favorite things, and my favorite quotes.”
Sunshine gives a little mewl of approval. “Tell me about this weekend at the Minions Market. How has everyone been?”
The Minions Market is where I adopted Sunshine. I started volunteering there a week after it opened. I am a proud minion feeder. Once I was old enough, they started paying me for the job but I don’t really care about the money, although my father does. It’s a topic he brings up quite regularly in his fights with my mom, that I should get a “real job.” But this is what I want to do with my life.
I sigh as I hear more cracks of thunder, which seem to be getting further away. I look at Sunshine who is just bright, glowing, and as happy as she can be. I don’t know how she does it. “This weekend was great. Kara and Niji came by and adopted a Pumpi Jelly and Kittito. Kara named him 'Squishy' and Niji named her lovely Kittito 'Beauty'. The minions were sad to see them go, of course, but were so happy that they found a home.”
Kara and Niji are my best friends. Like, bestest ever friends. They’re both Spectrum. If you haven’t noticed by now, I love rainbows. It’s probably a bit cliché, but they really do bring out the best in me. I met them in art class and they welcomed me to their table with open wings.
Thinking about them, I smile. Sunshine notices and glides closer. “And just what are you thinking about now, my lovely?”
Sunshine’s unwavering admiration of me never ceases to make me blush. “Oh, I was just thinking about the first time I met Kara and Niji. I am grateful to have such amazing friends as them. They have come to my aid so many times.”
“Oh? Do tell. I love hearing stories about them. I’m sure you haven’t told me everything just yet. I still have a lot to learn about your life, yes?” Sunshine beamed.
“I was new to their school and there were few other Storm pets around. At the time, there was a huge misconception that Storm pets were emo. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but a few bullies gave me a really hard time. One time, after a really bad fight between my parents the night before, I was crying in the middle of the school day on the way to art class. Two of the bullies started taunting me. Niji and Kara had just turned into the hallway when the two jerks were saying some really foul stuff to me..." I glance over to Sunshine, sniffling at the memory.
"What happened next?" Sunshine inquired.
"Kara began buzzing with rage behind the bullies, causing them to turn around. All her bright colors turned very dark; the pink turned to red, the blue turned to navy, and the purple turned to a very dark, almost black, purple. Now, Kara has a stutter so she doesn’t take kindly to bullies at all. Despite the stutter, she is very intimidating when she’s upset. I’m pretty sure the buzzing and the dark colors has something to do with it…” I chuckle a little and look up at Sunshine. She giggles softly and I continue. I start forgetting about the storm happening in the other room. “Her eyes also go completely black. She was SO mad hearing them talk to me that way that she immediately got up in their faces, glaring, and with no stutter at all said ‘Do we have a problem here? What did she ever do to you to cause you to be such a prick? And trust me, I know a prick when I see one.’ She even pointed to her stinger as she said this!”
Just thinking of this memory caused me to let out a laugh. It was just too funny not to. Sunshine did a little somersault in the air and then floated back down to rest on my paw. “Then what happened?”
“Well, the bullies couldn’t get out of there fast enough. They scrambled to get away as Kara, Niji, and I had a laugh. My tears of sadness had turned into tears of laughter. After that, we got to art class and I painted that pot that you see up there.” I pointed to the clay pot holding my paintbrushes.
I originally got the clay pot to paint for my mom. She loved it but my father scoffed at it and had a fit, so I keep it in here instead. He’s always so angry. He hates all the painting and drawing and writing I do. I feel like such a big disappointment to him.
I whimper at the thought and try to keep my mind off of things like that. Sunshine realizes I’ve gotten too quiet and starts me up again. “So, there’s a favorite memory. Tell me about your favorite things.”
I look over to my left at my Tempest plushie. “Well, I love my Tempest plushie, as you know. She is so inspirational to me.” I look at the floor and at my cloud mural on the wall. “I love the color blue, especially sky blue. I love to paint clouds and the night sky. It’s very relaxing.”
Sunshine teeter-totters in the air. “Go on!”
I nod, knowing what she’s doing. Part of her method in lessening my anxiety is grounding me. I get up to gather my Tempest plushie in my arms and inhale softly. I have her next to my blueberry-scented candle so that she will smell like it when I hold her. “I love blueberry everything,” I softly say to Sunshine. “But you knew that.” I smile at her as she floats up to the half-eaten blueberry donut on my desk.” Looking back down at my bookshelf, I caress the spines of the journals and books. “I love collecting journals. My rainbow one is my absolute favorite. It contains all my favorite quotes.”
In my bookshelf, the rainbow journal sits between my favorite cloud watching book and the books I had read to learn about minions before volunteering at Minions Market. I use the cloud watching book as inspiration for my paintings.
I reach down for the rainbow journal. Just as I anticipated, Sunshine exclaims, “Oh, let me hear some! You have found such wonderful quotes. Have you added any new ones since we last read from it?”
I nestle back down under the table, noting that the thunder cracks have fallen to a low rumble as the front door slams shut. I wince and wonder how long it will be this time before father comes back. As Sunshine grabs the journal key from its hidden location, I smile at her and nod. “As a matter of fact, I did add some new ones. I added them the day I got this tattoo.” I lift up my left paw to show her the semicolon. She’s seen it before but she loves when I show it off because she knows how important it is to me.
Sunshine settles down between my paws as I open the journal to the most recent page. I give her a quick nuzzle, which causes her to squee with delight, before reading my latest addition which reads: my story isn’t over yet;
Later that night, before I go to bed, I write a new entry in the journal on my desk.
My best friends call me Hope. My real name doesn’t mean a thing to me anymore. I have become HOPE personified. Slowly but surely, I have learned who I am. I love being creative. I am a writer, a poet, an artist, a painter. I love blueberry everything. I love the color sky blue. I love minions. I love collecting matter. I absolutely adore them. With their help and the help of my mom, my friends, and my beautiful Sunshine, I have learned that I matter. So I write this to myself and anyone else who happens to read this:
You. Yes, you. It will be OK. But you need to do one thing for me and for everyone else who cares. You need to keep going. Can you do that for me? You matter. And even if today or tonight is the darkest moment, you can do it and keep going. Even if you feel like you are alone and no one cares, I can guarantee, whether you know it or not, there are people who care. There are people who would be sad forever if you were not here. So keep putting one foot in front of the other. Keep going and stay here with us.
You matter. You aren’t alone. You are going to make it. Keep fighting. There are people who care for you. I love you. Tomorrow is a new day. ♥
HOPE.
hold on, pain ends.
Information
you_matter has a minion!
Sunshine the Angelic Chibi Rainbow
Sunshine the Angelic Chibi Rainbow
you_matter
Legacy Name: you_matter
The Custom Storm Clawsion
Owner: nocturnal
Age: 8 years, 5 months
Born: October 29th, 2015
Adopted: 8 years, 5 months ago
Adopted: October 29th, 2015
Statistics
- Level: 49
- Strength: 56
- Defense: 10
- Speed: 10
- Health: 10
- HP: 10/10
- Intelligence: 25
- Books Read: 20
- Food Eaten: 0
- Job: Minion Feeder
USA Hotlines
For international numbers and more resources, go to yourlifecounts.org. Remember, World Suicide Prevention Day is September 10th of every year. Also check out TWLOHA.Crisis Text Line
♥ Text "GO" to 741741
National Hopeline Helpline
♥ 1-800-SUICIDE or 1-800-784-2433
National Suicide Prevention Hotline
♥ 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-273-8255
Self Harm
♥ 1-800-DONT CUT (1-800-366-8288)
Youth America Hotline
♥ 1-877-YOUTHLINE or 1-877-968-8454
Youth Hotline
♥ 1-800-448-1833
The TREVOR Project
♥ 1-866-488-7386
Inspired and want to donate art of/for you_matter? She would be happy to hang it on her art wall ;3
nocturnal | MoondustDreams | |
User not found: dot | User not found: ursa | |
- ♥ my story isn't over yet;
- ♥ hold on, pain ends;
- ♥ be strong because things will get better; it may be stormy now but it never rains forever...
- ♥ stars can't shine without darkness.
- ♥ the best is yet to come.
- ♥ mistakes are proof that you are trying.
- ♥ you got this.
- ♥ dream. imagine. believe.
Huge thanks to these users!
Sexy - Thank you for the lovely minion. I will cherish it always. n.n
MoondustDreams - Thank you for bringing my concept to life in such a beautiful way. You are an amazing person and artist.
User not found: shejoker User not found: dot - Thank you for adding friends to her life!
Thank you to the anon that reminded me about TWLOHA. It is such an important mission and it definitely needed to be included here. I love you.
And thank you to all of the following users for the art they provided for the art wall!
MoondustDreamsHippogriff User not found: dot User not found: ursa
Credits:
MoondustDreams - overlay, background
nocturnal (that's me XD) - story, coding, quote art, the whole concept (I sketched out what I wanted and showed it to Moon and she created it so beautifully!)
Sexy - Thank you for the lovely minion. I will cherish it always. n.n
MoondustDreams - Thank you for bringing my concept to life in such a beautiful way. You are an amazing person and artist.
User not found: shejoker User not found: dot - Thank you for adding friends to her life!
Thank you to the anon that reminded me about TWLOHA. It is such an important mission and it definitely needed to be included here. I love you.
And thank you to all of the following users for the art they provided for the art wall!
MoondustDreams
Credits:
MoondustDreams - overlay, background
nocturnal (that's me XD) - story, coding, quote art, the whole concept (I sketched out what I wanted and showed it to Moon and she created it so beautifully!)
Pet Treasure
Wings of Healing
Tempest Plushie
Fireside Blueberry Pie Candle
Conflicted Journal
Loving Yourself
Book of Poetry
Darling Poetry
Little Blue Flower Book
Artists Sketch Book
Black Artist Acrylic Paint
Red Artist Acrylic Paint
Orange Artist Acrylic Paint
Yellow Artist Acrylic Paint
Green Artist Acrylic Paint
Light Blue Artist Acrylic Paint
Dark Blue Artist Acrylic Paint
Violet Artist Acrylic Paint
White Artist Acrylic Paint
Blank Canvas
Artist Rigging Brush
Artist Filbert Brush
Artist Bright Brush
Artist Angle Brush
Artist Flat Brush
Artist Round Brush
Artist Mop Brush
Artist Fan Brush
White Pot of Acrylic Hobby Paint
Silver Pot of Acrylic Hobby Paint
Black Pot of Acrylic Hobby Paint
Red Pot of Acrylic Hobby Paint
Gold Pot of Acrylic Hobby Paint
Yellow Pot of Acrylic Hobby Paint
Green Pot of Acrylic Hobby Paint
Blue Pot of Acrylic Hobby Paint
Purple Pot of Acrylic Hobby Paint
Painted Gray Flower Pot
Watercolor Set
Monarch Butterfly
Homemade Watercolor Luminaire Cards
Painting Outdoors
How to Draw
Pencil Art
Cloud Watching
Intermediate Rhyming
Book Package
Minion Manners I
Minion Manners II
Minion Manners III
Dream Journal
Embossed Leather Journal
Simple and Sweet Journal
Rainbow Journal
Rainbow Print Bookmark
Rainbow Octombre Cake
Over the Rainbow
The Sad Clawsion
Blueberry Scented Jar of Bath Salts
Blueberry Bodyspray
Blueberry Taffy Rainbow
Ice Cream with Blueberry Sauce
Delicate Blueberry Wafer
Blueberry Dipped Biscotti
Bag of Mini Blueberry Biscotti
Blueberry Eye Candy
Sugar Coated Blueberry Star
Gum Filled Blueberry Sucker
Sweet Blueberry Vesnali Cupcake
Blueberry Pressed Flower Shortbread Cookie
Blueberry Fondant Strawberry
Blueberry Mini Cake Pop
Blueberry Chocolate Covered Cake Balls
Blueberry Pie Pop
Gourmet Blueberry Bagel
Blueberry Bagel
Blueberry Whoopie Pie
Blueberry Scone
Blueberry Chocolate Ball
Blueberry Vanilla Cake Slice
Blueberry Pie Slice on a Stick
Bubbly Blueberry Pie
Blueberry and Cream Tartlet
Vanilla Blueberry Roll Cake
Blueberry Hikei Vesnali Egg
Frozen Matter
Time Matter
Snow Matter
Roiling Storm Matter
Festive Matter Sugar Treats
Rave Matter
Celebrating Dark Matter
Holiday Dark Matter
Dark Matter
Rift Matter
Beach Ball Matter
Particle Matter
Alien Matter
Spooky Matter
Tainted Matter
Vampire Matter
Brain Matter
Coal Matter
Dust Matter
Skull Matter
Darker Matter
Nuclear Matter
Shinwas Dark Matter
Candy Matter
Hydro-Matter
Cake Matter
Gingerbread Matter
Pilgrim Matter
Reborn Matter
Spark Matter
Pure Matter
Light Matter