#..........might pick up a couple of wrist braces just to stabilize those

[equalseleventhirds]

i am Contemplating how this new job will affect my joints, bcos i do have Sometimes Joint Pain and probably-too-bendy joints (still uh. still haven't gone to the doctor abt that one. whoopsie.)

but i am thinking and like....... as long as i am lifting things in a balanced way, that's never caused me serious joint pain? and moving things short distances is fine. now, i fuck up my shoulders when i'm like, carrying things a long distance and with most of the weight on one arm (laundry trips my beloathed) but lifting big ol boxes should be! balanced!! i was good & fine moving big props around a stage bcos i used both hands for short distances! this is the same right?

also being upright & moving around & not typing nearly so much or sitting at a shitty desk designed wrong for my height will probably help my back not be hunched over and my fingers not get. u kno. cramps n shit. goodbye impending carpal tunnel perhaps???

so like, no i haven't consulted a doctor, but based on prior experience this specific type of lifting & moving disagrees with my joints less than sitting at a desk all day and typing. so... should be fine? as long as i am careful & mindful about safety etc.

........does anyone else have any type of joint hypermobility and know anything about this. google says careful weight lifting is in fact good for eds bcos muscles will support wibbly joints, but i don't actually have eds, just hypermobility, and also idk if this is the 'right' kind of weight lifting.

[yasxgamal]

Basic Information

Full name: Yasin Gamal Pronunciation: ee-ah-ceen gah-mah-l Nickname(s): Yas, E. Birthdate: November 20th, 1986 Age: 34 Zodiac: Scorpio Gender: Male Pronouns: He/him/his Romantic orientation: Panromantic Sexual orientation: Pansexual Nationality: English Ethnicity: Egyptian Current location: London, UK Living conditions: Yas' place is a one-bedroom mess. It's a good flat, spacious and in a good location, all things considered, but he's not the best at decorating. Apart from the very odd artwork or two hanging crookedly on the walls, there isn't much more to it. He keeps his space clean and tidy when he has the time to do that, but it's not a very personal place. Also probably smells like smoke most of the time -- or, air freshener if he's trying to impress you.

Background

Birthplace: London, UK Hometown: London, UK Social Class: Wealthy if you count the parents' money, Middle if you consider his own money and lifestyle currently, and his tendencies to waste it all on cigarettes. Educational achievements: A really fancy degree in Computer Sciences and Computer Engineering at the most expensive college in the UK Father: Omar Gamal Mother: Safiya Gamal Sibling(s): Samir Gamal and Aisha Gamal. Birth order: Samir, Yas, Aisha is the youngest. Pets: Ramen, the stray cat that crawls in through his window and occasionally spends weeks sleeping inside, and then disappears for months on end. Previous relationships: One big relationship in college for 3 years, a miserable breakup. Then mostly only casual things after that, none he would consider true relationships. Arrests: N/A Prison time: N/A

Occupation & Income

Current occupation: Programmer for the Time Machine project Dream occupation: Programmer for the first working Time Machine Past job(s): College Era: various internships, waiter, freelance photographer for kids' parties, freelance I.T., tech teacher for the elderly, tech teacher for children, coder and manager for a pornographic film company's website. Post-College Era: has helped coding and programming several apps and softwares independently, then a stable job at GoodCore Software Ltd. as SQA Lead. Spending habits: Yas spends a lot on cigarettes and technology, but everything else he doesn't care enough for. In debt?: No Most valuable possession: Emotionally, his own laptop or phone, and all the photos and memories stored in them, as well as his work. Legally and monetarily, though, it's the BAFTA statuette from his sister, which he now gets to keep for a year because he won a bet (it's fine, she has more than one).

Skills & Abilities

Physical strength: Average Speed: Average Intelligence: Above Average when it comes to all things technology, Average on some other subjects. Accuracy: Average Agility: Above Average Stamina: Above Average Teamwork: Great in environments where everyone is delegated a certain job and he gets to do his thing in his corner to add to the mix. When it comes to people wanting to mess with his codes, he gets a bit stubborn and difficult to deal with. Shortcomings: often lets his pride ruin things, a bit of an inflated ego when it comes to his work, bad at communicating. Languages spoken: English, Arabic Drive?: Yes Jump-start a car?: No Change a flat tyre?: Yes Ride a bicycle?: Poorly Swim?: Yes Play an instrument?: If you count the guitar lessons in his childhood (he does) Play chess?: Yes Braid hair?: No Tie a tie?: Yes Pick a lock?: No Cook?: Yes, the very bare minimum, and he hardly does it.

Physical Appearance & Characteristics

Faceclaim: Rami Malek Eye colour: Greyish green Hair colour: Black Hair type/style/length: Shaved on the sides, originally short on top but it grows out too fast and he can't be bothered to get a haircut, so it grows out curly. When it starts to become a mop and look like he has a helmet of hair on, he cuts it short again, and repeats that cycle. Glasses/contacts?: No, but they're needed. He has shit eyesight and no one ever forced him to get glasses so he never did. Don't ask him to read any signs that are far away. Dominant hand: Right Height: 5'9 / 175cm Weight: 154 lb / 70kg Build: Slim Exercise habits: Nonexistent, but he does a lot of walking Skin tone: Olive (Type IV) Tattoos: The initials of his siblings, A.S. in a simple font, on the bottom of his ribs on his right side. They all have matching ones. He continuously tells them the joke that they should get a fourth sibling with an S name, so he can get A.S.S. tattooed instead. Piercings: None Marks/scars: Several small scars around his legs and arms, from climbing around and getting into trouble as a middle child desperate for attention. A more notorious scar runs up behind his left elbow from a night in college when he got wasted with his friends and had an accident with a knife (don't ask). Clothing style: Black, a lot of black. The most colourful thing in his closet might be a dark grey jumper. Very minimalistic in the sense that he never wears patterns or colours or graphic tees, it's always just very dry and kind of bland. He probably could get into fashion if he wanted to, but he feels bad spending so much of his hard-earned money on the high-fashion stuff. Also he can frequently be spotted wearing those compression gloves/braces on his hands, for carpal tunnel syndrome Jewellery: A couple necklaces that have no emotional attachment besides "I thought they were cool so I bought them", but he's never without them, even when they mostly just hang inside his shirts. Dabbles in rings if he's feeling fancy. Allergies: None Diet: Consists of mostly snacks. He occasionally buys the healthy kind, like a couple granola bars or some fruit, but if he's going through a big project, he'll only snack. Anything easy to eat with one hand goes. He does, however, understand the value of nutrition and that he needs to fuel his body properly every once in a while; when that happens, he resorts to ordering food from some healthy restaurant nearby. It's basically a couple salads a month and then nothing but Doritos for days straight. Physical ailments: Carpal tunnel syndrome happens often enough that it's almost chronic, because he doesn't usually take breaks or stretch his wrists out like he's supposed to. Back pain from sitting all day (and bad posture) is also so present that he barely notices it anymore.

Psychology

MBTI type: INTJ Enneagram type: Type Five Moral Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Temperament: Somewhere between Phlegmatic and Melancholic? Element: Water Emotional stability: Who is she! Introvert or Extrovert? Introvert Obsession(s): Outdoing his siblings, no matter how much he loves them Compulsion(s): Working to the point of forgetting to take care of himself Phobia(s): Acrophobia and atychiphobia Addiction(s): Cigarettes/Vaping Drug use: Sometimes wrongly and terribly pops an Adderall when pulling all-nighters. Has smoked weed before, but he doesn't love the slowness of when he gets high. Alcohol use: Not very often nowadays, but the occasional blackout still happens. He's known to become a completely different person when he drinks, much more loose and fun and happy, so he does it sparingly Prone to violence?: No Prone to crying?: No Believe in love at first sight?: Yes, but doesn't think he's the type to ever experience that, since it takes a while for him to get close to people, so he believes in it as an abstract concept

Mannerisms

Accent: RP English Speech quirks: A lot of pauses between words and sentences, since he often thinks a lot before he speaks. The occasional ums and uhs and some stuttering if his mind is working faster than he can speak, too. Hobbies: Photography, playing video games, reading novels (graphic or otherwise), finding passive-aggressive memes to send into the Gamal siblings groupchat Habits: Stealing wifi, smoking and vaping, ordering delivery of everything instead of getting it himself Nervous ticks: lip chewing, tapping fingers, bouncing one knee, scratching his neck/jaw or touching his nose Drives/motivations: It's all for the glory, babey Fears: Never achieving anything grand Sense of humour?: It goes as far as memes and roasting his loved ones, but not much further than that. He's usually not comfortable enough to crack jokes, but you might get a sarcastic comment or two if you're lucky. Deep down, he can be sharp and quick-witted, but it doesn't come out often, unless he's having drinks. Do they curse often?: Hecc yes, probably as a form of rebellion against his posh parents

Favourites

Animal: Tarsier Beverage: Strong black coffee with two spoons of sugar Book: Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes Colour: Green Food: Zalabya Flower: Jasmine Gem: Peridot Mode of transportation: Walking, and if not, the metro Scent: Oranges Sport: Tennis Weather: Rainy enough that he doesn't feel anyone's judgement for staying inside all day Vacation destination: Japan

Attitudes

Greatest dream: Finally being famous for his work Greatest fear: Never achieving anything big enough to make him happy, and being forever miserable because of it Most at ease when: Left by himself or enjoying someone else's company that he's truly comfortable with, probably in silence, doing his own thing Least as ease when: Forced into environments where he has to put on fancy clothes and pretend to be enjoying himself when he's not. Alternatively: when he's going on hour 32 without any sleep and he's denied more coffee Worst possible thing that could happen: Achieving greatness but realising he needs something else in order to feel fulfilled and be happy Biggest achievement: His degree and hopefully the first working Time Machine Biggest regret: He doesn't like to say he regrets things, so there's nothing he'd call a huge regret. But if he had to say something, he'd probably say it was not telling that one high school crush that he liked them.

[hasbihallarcomebackhome-blog]

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[planetsam]

Hi! Do you you think you could do a angsty Jancy nightmare comfort fic, please? I feel like Nancy would still get nightmares about being in the Upside Down with the demogorgan and about Barb too. I really love your writing!

The nightmare sends her back to the waking world violently.

She chokes and gasps and shoves herself from the nightmare so violently that she falls out of bed. The jolt is unpleasant but the bruise makes her certain that she’s awake. The cold metal of her bed is a poor substitute for the steady pulse that she careened into the last time she was in the Upside Down. It’s pitch black in her room and she can’t figure out why. She had the lights on, she was studying. She fumbles to her knees and rips the pillows off the bed until she finds what she’s looking for. It only takes a moment for her finger to find the raised bump and for the beam of the thing to light up brilliantly.

She sweeps the beam around her room and under her bed, expecting any sort of monster to be there. When none show themselves, she pushes herself up. She pops the lid off the compass and braces it against the bed, watching as the line is pulled and stabilizes. She breathes deeply, pressing her forehead against her mattress. She’s in her bedroom. She’s not in the Upside Down. She has proof. Pushing herself up, she walks over to the light switch and tries it, not stunned to see it’s not working. The power is out. It doesn’t help that she’s alone in the house. Her mom and Holly are at the store, Mike is at the Byer’s house.

She fastens the flashlight and compass around her wrist, figuring that she might as well get the other flashlights out. The blackouts are another thing they can thank the lab for. Apparently kicking out the department of energy’s lab had the unintended side effect of rolling blackouts. There’s no one to actually regulate the power properly. Just another thing that’s her fault in this mess. She shakes her head, no, no it’s not her fault. It’s their fault. This is something else they can thank them for, because if they hadn’t been experimenting on children this wouldn’t be happening. She goes for the gun she knows her parents hide before she goes for anything else.

She’s only halfway down the stairs when there’s a knock on the door. She doesn’t really know how a knock can be gentle, but it is. The knot in her chest tightens and loosens in rapid succession. She still cocks the gun, she’s still ready to shoot with one hand. With the other she checks the peephole and immediately fumbles the locks open. Jonathan Byers is standing on the other side of the door, dressed in an open yellow rain slicker that’s almost comical. It would be if a full body tremor didn’t race up her spine at the sight of it. Before he can say anything she yanks him back into the house and shuts the door, locking it.

“Are you—“ he begins but she cuts him off, hugging him tightly, “it’s okay,” Jonathan says in a way that doesn’t leave room for argument.

Nancy didn’t realize she was holding her breath until air floods her lungs. She’s not crying, she could shoot someone still. She tenses when Jonathan’s hand closes around the gun. They don’t say anything but he waits for her to loosen her grip before he takes it, immediately thumbing the safety. He sets it on the table within easy reach. With their other hands free, she wraps both of them around him and he mirrors her, holding her tightly like he understands perfectly why she’s holding a gun before she’s getting another flashlight. She takes a couple of deep breaths before she’s steady again, the cinnamon smell of him signaling something in her head that makes her relax.

“I have to get the other flashlights,” she says, stepping back and shining the light around just to make sure. Another beam joins hers because of course Jonathan brought a light. Her hand trembles when she goes to pick up the gun, but she forces past that, “they’re in the kitchen.”

“Okay,” Jonathan says simply, “everyone’s over at our house.”

“We’ll still need them,” she says, focusing on the steps it takes to get there and then shelf they’re on, “unless your mom has enough lights for all of us.”

“Well—kind of?” He says. She looks at him curiously, “she also has a backup thing for the Christmas lights.”

Nancy nods and pulls down the flashlights, checking all of them methodically before she’s ready to shut off the one on her wrist. For one nauseating moment everything is dark. She looks down at the glow in the dark compass. It’s stable. The needle is stable. It sometimes works instantly, it sometimes takes a bit, but that always brings her back. Always proves something to her, something honest. She flinches when Jonathan’s hands wrap around her forearm and steady her, but that doesn’t deter him.  Instead he clicks the bezel a few marks and lines them up. Over the rushing in her ears, she realizes he’s talking.

“Sorry, what?” She asks, fumbling onto his voice. She can almost see the puzzled look she always gets during her night terrors. “I fell asleep,” she explains, “I dreamed about Barb again—don’t talk,” she interrupts, “I have to—to—“ she trails off as he guides her hand to the bezel of the compass. Rotating it helps. “Sorry,” she repeats, “I want to make sure I can come back without—“ she trails off.

“Without me,” Jonathan says simply and she bites her lip. Something infinite flashes across his face and she knows she hurt him. She doesn’t like that, but she has too many lies in her life and she can’t stomach him being one of them, “you’ve been having nightmares this whole year?”

It’s not a question but she nods anyway.

The news isn’t a surprise to him, not really. And whatever he feels that’s even remotely surprised is immediately kicked by the fact that he knew. Somewhere he knew. He looked at her enough to see the makeup getting heavier, the smile getting faker. But somehow all of that added up to another slap in the face, one he couldn’t handle anymore than he could handle when her hand started finding Steve’s again. He has as much right to those feelings as he did to taking her picture, he knows that. But knowing it doesn’t help the jealousy that churns in his gut when he thinks about it. He almost asks if Steve knew but bites the words back. His cowardice has done enough. He doesn’t want to give her more of a reason to slap him.

“How do you usually get through them?” He asks and, yeah, okay now he’s definitely getting slapped.

Except she just looks down at her wrist.

He looks down and has the most ridiculous urge to smile. In the dark he can almost see the color that burns at her cheeks. He’d put a lot of thought into the present–more than maybe anyone else’s. Jonathan’s gift list isn’t very long. He knows Will and his mom too well to struggle. But she is–was–in that grey area. He’d practically throw the thing at her and booked it before she could open it. He tortured himself with what was wrong with it, consoled himself that it was the thought that counted, told himself not to think about it every time he took out the camera.

“I sleep with it under my pillow.”

There’s nothing to choke on so it’s really odd but he manages. Nancy smiles, half heartedly tries not to let it be too wide and fails. She might be a little too enamored with pulling out the same honesty in him that he demands in others. He stares at her and she meets his eyes steadily. She doesn’t mind how exposed she feels under his gaze. She craves it sometimes–most of the time. Which is part of what’s made the past year so frustrating.

“Under your pillow?” He gets out and she nods.

“Wanna see?” She asks.

There’s never any bullshit of studying with him. Aside from the pull out jokes which she found hysterical and he later rolled his eyes at, there’s something almost mature about it. She doesn’t say anything else as she leads him up to her room, using the flashlight to guide their way. He follows her silently, keeping a hand in hers. He does close the door and a moment later, she clicks the light off and crashes her mouth into his. Nancy isn’t for comparison, she finds it unfair, but there’s something about the angles of kissing Jonathan that fit perfectly. She drags him over to the bed and practically puts him down on top of her. His knee presses between her legs and she whimpers at the friction.

“Wait—wait,” he says and she wants to cry in disappointment, “nightmare.”

“I’m not having one right now!” He stares down at her, “Jonathan,” she pleads around his name, tugging him down.

She doesn’t take the compass off.

His fingers trace the stitches and she can practically feel the surprise radiating off of him. Surprise at what, she isn’t sure. Jonathan has his share of mysterious. But the fact that his chest is rising and falling under her cheek, the fact that she can ask him, it actually makes a smile tug at her lips. His fingers pause as she looks up at him. Even in the dark she can see the smile that she brings to his lips.

“Why are you surprised I have it?” She asks him.

“I’m not—I’m surprised you have it and you didn’t call,” he says, thumbing the clasp. She looks up at him and he looks away, but his fingers keep moving and she tries to ground herself with that, “I don’t know how to do this,” he stumbles out, “but I want you to call.”

“I wanted to call,” she blurts out, “I did, I just—“ she trails off and he shakes his head, tipping her chin up to look at him, “I felt stupid. Wanting that,” she catches her lip between her teeth, “wanting you and being with Steve.”

“I was stupid too,” he says, actually surprising her, “I saw you with Steve and just thought—“ he shrugs.

Maybe it’s the fact that neither of them seems to know how to get a full sentence out. Or maybe it’s the fact that they picked now to talk about it. Or maybe it’s just the miscommunications they seem to wind up in general, but Nancy can’t stop the laughter. She buries her face in his chest, trying to contain it. Failing miserably at it too. His arms stay tight around her so she hasn’t pushed him away. But she’s sure he thinks she’s crazy. She lifts her head.

“Sorry, I just—“ she shakes her head, “we fought a monster, you pulled me out of another dimension. But neither of us could figure out how to say we liked each other.”

“It’s weird right?” He deadpans, his face remaining straight for far longer than it has any right to.

She finds herself on her back the next moment. She shifts her neck and gets comfortable. His fingertips skim over her face and she smiles, catching the edge of his thumb with her teeth playfully. He looks down at her in that way he does sometimes. Where he can’t believe what’s happening. That she’s there. That she wants to be with him. She doesn’t like it always, she doesn’t like it usually. She doesn’t like him looking at her like the other boys sometimes do. The look evaporates as their noses brush, but he pulls back far enough so she can’t kiss him like she wants to.

“I like you,” he says, his voice sending shivers up and down her spine, “I want to be with you. I have for a really long time.”

The admission from him, someone who she knows doesn’t make many of them, makes something warm curl in her chest. It’s the same thing that made her sleep with the survival compass he gave her all through the last year. Groping for comfort even when he wasn’t there. She tugs it off and reaches behind her, sliding it underneath the pillow for safekeeping once again. Jonathan presses his lips to the newly exposed skin of her arm wrist and Nancy thinks that she’s glad she still has the compass.

She’ll need it to find the phone.