worked in gaming triggered thousands of vile assholes to comment on my ass, tits, and vagina. So let me give everyone a quick rundown on my physical traits. I fart, puke from excessive drinking, and have constipation when I’m dehydrated, just like everyone else, male or female. I also have irritable bowel syndrome. I have adult acne and hairy forearms. My nose-blowing sounds like a honking goose, and it annoys people, especially my mom. I’ve had a muffin top since birth. One of my front adult teeth got knocked out from a volleyball mishap so I have a fake tooth, and when it’s removed I look like an Asian hillbilly.
I worry every day about my parents getting older, because I’m an only child and would be their sole caregiver. I cry when I watch the movie Annie. Overall, I’m just a regular ol’ person, not a slut, not a prude, but possibly a little grosser and gassier than the average human being. So, to my angry vocal gaming constituents, consider all this when you feel compelled to comment about my ass, tits, and vagina, or anyone else’s for that matter. Who is the person you are trying to “bring down,” and what is your motivation to do so? Think about what is driving you to harangue women like me online, and where the anger is coming from. Is it because you think your actions are anonymous and untraceable? Are you doing it for attention? For the “lulz”? Or is it really something deeper, maybe something else from your history that is compelling you to spew hateful words toward a stranger?
If we met face-to-face, could you say all the same things you’re posting online while looking me straight in the eye? Think about your nieces, daughters, sisters, and baby cousins. Would they be proud of what you’re saying online? What would they think of your words?
I’m not sure I have much more to say than this. I think I’ll end it here, if that’s okay. Thank you again, Seattle Met.
To view the game trailer, and to find out more about Melody’s Ultimate Apocalypse, click here.
Candace got the link to the article before it went live and called me to tell me how much she loved it, and then she burst into tears (totally the hormones). “Why are all these haters after you?” She blew her nose. “They can go to hell! I hate them!”
Then she screamed, “Oh god!,” and then more shrieking pierced through the phone.
Candace’s water broke, five weeks early.
ANNABELLE YING FUNG was born at 5:50 A.M. and rushed straight to the NICU. With underdeveloped lungs and a weak heartbeat, she needed around-the-clock breathing assistance.
My eyes brimmed with tears as I sat in the hospital waiting area, rereading the same paragraph over and over from a battered Food & Wine magazine from September 2013. This was all my fault. Her water broke when we were chatting on the phone about game PR stuff. Tears flowed down my cheeks as I squeezed my eyes closed, wishing this nightmare would just stop.
Wil came into the waiting room and poked my arm. “Do you know where the vending machines are? I’ve been up twenty-eight hours straight. Breakfast isn’t served for a while, and I’m starving.” With his lean stature and gaunt face, he probably needed more than just one breakfast.
I stood up and hugged him. “I’m so sorry, Wil. I feel horrible. This happened because of me.”
“Mel, she’d already been on bed rest for over a week, on Dr. Zach’s orders. If it didn’t happen while you two were on the phone, it could have happened when she went to the bathroom, or when she coughed or something. Don’t put this all on yourself.”
His words made sense logically, but they didn’t make me feel better. This happened while Candace and I were on the phone together. Had I been a major factor in the early delivery, if not the actual root cause?
We found the vending area down the hallway. He contemplated his processed-food options and bought a giant frosted honey bun. “I love these things. Candace won’t let me eat them.” He frowned. “Maybe I should have something else instead.” He bought some Wheat Thins and left the honey bun behind the dispenser flap. Damn. Maybe I’d come back for that a little later.
“How are Candace and Annabelle?” I asked.
He smiled weakly. “Candace’s sleeping now. They gave her a sedative because once the shock from her early labor wore off, she got a