#I will write a small essay as many times as necessary

[disasociatehaze]

Yes this is very important. You never know when your joints or muscles are just going to give out, heck what if you just need a mental break from the confines of your home and don't want to go far?

Having frequent benches is good because a block from your home is a different spot than a block from the home 2 doors down and sometime in life your gonna have trouble getting there and back to where you started regardless of who you are or how healthy you are.

On the note of walkable cities and benches: I think water bottle refill stations should be included in this because I really would love to see fewer people pass out from dehydration/heat stroke/ heat exhaustion because the government decided that getting rid of public access drinking water was "a good way to stop the homeless problem", but also because some people take walks along the sidewalks or to do they're chores out (i.e.: getting groceries or going to the laundromat) rather than just walk through the nearest park/green space.

BuT wHo'S gOnNa PaY fOr It?? The trillions of dollars of tax money that the government conveniently keep loosing every other week.

And lets be clear, I don't believe every urban area can be perfectly walkable predominantly due to the nature of how or where they're constructed (some places are literally built into hills/mountains/cliffs and people should absolutely not be displaced to change the landscape), but it's possible to make small changes that make those less walkable places more walkable than they were before and changes can be made to improve the other things can done as technology develops.

Perfect is a concept that tends to stunt progress and creativity by setting unattainable or near unattainable standards. Just because you can't make a town or city perfectly walkable doesn't mean it can't be made a little bit better nor that the little bit that can change won't help people for the better.

walkable cities also means sittable cities send tweet

[gyuuberryy]

trapped

READ THE FULL FIC HERE

pairing: hotel owner!heeseung x reader

genre: reincarnation au, supernatural themes, horror

synopsis: a road trip with your parents gone wrong lands you at a mysterious mansion in the middle of nowhere. after it turns out to be a hotel, your parents decide to stop over. everything about this place screams deja vu to you which is strange because you've never even heard about it. the hotel was not the only weird thing though, its handsome yet mysterious owner who looked like he stepped out of the 1920s is way too enthusiastic about your stay. every encounter with him leaves you feeling weirded out yet enamoured. but he is not who you think he seems to be. he will be the one to decide the duration of your stay here and it looks like it will not be ending anytime soon.

warnings: horror themes, suggestive content, slight yandere themes, manipulation, possessive!hee, more to be added!

note: let's ignore the fact that i have so many reports and essays to write for school rn !!!! because i HAD to release smth for halloween. this should be out by next weekkk

word count: 24.2k

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ᨓ READ THE TEASER BELOW

heeseung’s words seemed to echo in the cavernous dining hall, each syllable hanging in the air like a weight pressing down on your chest.

you shifted in your seat, suddenly aware of how isolated you were from everyone else. your parents were somewhere outside, wandering the sprawling gardens with sunoo, oblivious to the tension brewing in this room. and you were here—alone with heeseung, who was studying you like you were the most fascinating thing in the world.

he leaned back in his chair, a slow, deliberate movement, his eyes never leaving yours. “this mansion has a long history,” he began, his voice low and smooth, like velvet. “it’s been standing for centuries, long before this area became what it is now.”

you swallowed, trying to keep your unease from showing. “centuries? that’s… impressive.”

heeseung nodded, his fingers tracing the edge of his plate in a casual, almost absent-minded way. “impressive, yes. but also… haunted by its past.” his eyes gleamed with something you couldn’t quite place. “you see, many who come here find themselves drawn in by the allure of the unknown. they come seeking something different, something unique. and often, they find more than they bargained for.”

you felt a chill run down your spine. the way he spoke—so calm, so composed—made the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. it was as if he was telling you a story he had told many times before, one with a punchline you wouldn’t like.

“what do you mean by that?” you asked, your voice quiet but firm. you didn’t want to seem rattled, even though you were starting to feel like the walls were closing in around you.

heeseung’s smile widened, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “let’s just say this mansion has a way of revealing things… about the people who stay here. things they may not even realize about themselves.”

your pulse quickened. “that sounds a little ominous.”

heeseung chuckled, the sound soft and unsettling. “it’s not meant to be. it’s just… the nature of this place. it has a way of bringing the truth to the surface. you’ll see, in time.”

you didn’t like the way he said that, as if you were going to be here long enough for the mansion to work its mysterious magic on you. you were only supposed to stay until the car was fixed, and then you and your family would be gone. the thought of staying here any longer than necessary made your stomach churn.

“i don’t think we’ll be here long enough for that,” you said, forcing a small smile.

heeseung’s eyes flashed with something—disappointment? amusement? it was hard to tell. “you never know,” he said quietly, his gaze intense. “sometimes, plans change.”

you glanced away, focusing on your barely touched plate. the food that had once looked so appealing now seemed like a burden, something you had no appetite for. you just wanted this conversation to end, to find your parents and get out of this place as soon as possible.

as if sensing your discomfort, heeseung leaned back again, his demeanor shifting ever so slightly. “i didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he said, though there was a glint in his eyes that told you he knew exactly what he was doing. “it’s just that… guests here tend to stay longer than they anticipate. this place has a way of… captivating people.”

the word captivating sounded too much like trapping for your liking.

before you could respond, the door to the dining hall creaked open, and you breathed a silent sigh of relief as your parents entered, laughing and chatting with sunoo, who was still wearing his unsettlingly bright smile. their carefree demeanor was such a stark contrast to the tension you’d been feeling that it almost made you dizzy.

“sweetie, you should see the gardens!” your mom exclaimed as she approached the table, oblivious to the undercurrent of unease between you and heeseung. “they’re absolutely gorgeous. i’ve never seen anything like it.”

your dad nodded in agreement, beaming. “it’s like something out of a storybook.”

you forced a smile, trying to match their enthusiasm. “that’s great. i’m glad you had fun.”

sunoo’s eyes flicked to heeseung for a brief moment, something unspoken passing between them, and then he turned his bright gaze back to your family. “i’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to explore the rest of the estate before you leave.”

you stiffened at his words, catching the subtle implication. you weren’t leaving any time soon.

heeseung stood then, smoothing down the front of his suit, his gaze lingering on you for just a beat too long before he addressed your parents. “i’ve arranged for the mechanic to give me an update on the car shortly. in the meantime, please, make yourselves comfortable. feel free to explore the mansion further if you’d like.”

your parents seemed delighted by the prospect, but you felt a knot of anxiety tighten in your chest. you couldn’t shake the feeling that this place was trying to keep you here, that every step you took deeper into the mansion only tangled you further in its web.

heeseung’s gaze slid back to you, his smile as charming and unsettling as ever. “i’ll make sure everything is taken care of. don’t worry.”

but worry was all you could feel as your family began to follow sunoo out of the dining hall, leaving you to trail behind, your thoughts spinning. as you exited the room, you couldn’t help but glance back at heeseung, who stood by the door, watching you with that same piercing gaze.

there was something about the way he looked at you—something that made you feel like a fly caught in a spider’s web.

and you weren't sure if you could escape.

𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 ©𝗴𝘆𝘂𝘂𝗯���𝗿𝗿𝘆𝘆 on Tumblr

˚ · .𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱

[whumpty-dumpty-doo]

We Are TroubleD - "Saturdays Are For Soup" - (Pre-capture)

Written as a part of @whumperofworlds' WoW's Birthday Whump Event!

Day 9 (my chosen prompts are bolded) - Aftermath of rescue / Sickness / "You're burning up."

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Event page | My event participation masterpost (coming soon) | “We Are TroubleD” Masterpost | Next (coming soon)

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Content warnings: Food, sickness, medicine (pills), nausea mention, trouble breathing, trouble sleeping

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            The boys should have won an award for their dedication to academic excellence… or at least that’s what Darius thought. After all, it wasn’t typical for either of them to spend their entire Saturday tucked away in the university library unless it was absolutely necessary. Apparently today it was absolutely necessary, and Darius made sure to voice his displeasure about it.

            “You don’t actually want to be here all day, do you?” he questioned as they scaled the stairs to the building’s second floor. Tristan shook his head and adjusted his backpack.

            “Of course I don’t, but I told you, if I don’t meet this deadline then I’m screwed. I can’t focus at home right now… A few too many sleepless nights. I need a change of scenery.”

            “But on a Saturday?” Darius griped. He was being a little dramatic about it, partially playing it up for laughs, though he genuinely wasn’t into the whole idea.

            Tristan rolled his eyes. “I never said you had to stay. Hell, you didn’t even have to come. I just offered in case you wanted to get a head start on your stuff for next week. You’d be wise to do so.”

            Darius considered his friend’s words and made a small “tch” out of the corner of his mouth. Good ol’ Tris… he was right as usual and was just looking out for Darius' best interests. He did have an essay that he was dreading writing for his art history class, and he supposed there would be some decent resources for that somewhere in the stacks. Begrudgingly he admitted to himself that it would be smarter to stick around to get a jump on it rather than putting it off until the night before, which was his usual M.O. for writing projects.  

            “Ugh, fine. You’re right. But I might bounce in a few hours. It’s too nice outside today to stay cooped up in here.”

            He didn’t see it, but a small smile spread over Tristan’s lips. Atta boy.

            When they made it to the second floor, Tristan was breathing heavier than usual, his cheeks flushed a gentle pink. Darius frowned as Tristan caught his breath.

            “Wow, really?” Darius asked. They had walked up those stairs dozens of times, and they had never tired Tristan out before. “You okay?”

            Tristan shrugged it off. “Yeah. I dunno, just a little winded. Must’ve overfilled my bag this morning.”

            He had gone a little crazy on packing for the day; Tristan had stuffed in multiple heavy textbooks, his laptop, a full water bottle, snacks, several notebooks, and anything else he possibly could have needed for a day of marathon working. It was way more than what he usually lugged around on a typical school day, and he felt that pretty much as soon as they had left home. The added weight pressed down onto his shoulders, and he was already tired out.

            Darius spotted two open chairs at a table near one of the large picture windows and made his way over with Tristan trailing behind him. The two of them plopped down their bags and set up their workstations, ready to dive in for the day.

            Tristan was his typical studious self, wasting no time in getting to work on his assignment, but it took Darius longer than he cared to admit to actually get started. He kept jealously staring out the window at people strolling by on the sidewalk below, all dressed up for fun days out.

            Guys were out on the quad tossing a Frisbee around. There was a gaggle of girls filming each other running around with a bubble wand and laughing. Some people were simply lounging on benches under the shade of the trees engaged in conversations. Any and all of that sounded more fun than homework… but it had to get done.

            Beside him, Tristan coughed a few times, jerking away Darius' attention. Message received. Tristan was subtly trying to tell him to get on with his work, and Darius obliged. He pulled out a pencil and opened his notepad to skim his class notes.

            But Tristan kept coughing. Not constantly, but frequently in little spurts. He knocked against his chest with his fist to get his lungs to calm down, then took a swig out of his water bottle.

            “Dusty…” he remarked.

            Darius gave a small chuckle. “This place always is.”  

            Eventually Darius managed to buckle down, and before he knew it, he was flipping through borrowed books, researching, and typing. An hour and a half passed, and he was only broken from his workflow by Tristan making a frustrated grunt.

            Darius glanced up from his screen and saw Tristan staring absently out the window, his brow creased like he was in deep thought. Darius had seen that look on his face before when Tristan was working something out in his mind. It was a look of concentration and pensiveness.

            … But something was off about it today. He looked troubled, like there was something under the surface that was bothering him.

            “See, I knew I wasn’t the only one who wanted to be outside to enjoy the day. I see you staring.” Darius teased.

            Tristan didn’t respond, he simply blinked, then his frown deepened as he continued to stare through the window at nothing in particular.

            ‘Man…’ Darius thought. Tristan was really lost in whatever he was turning over in his mind… probably some big math problem. He was one of those geniuses that could solve really complex stuff in his head. It just came naturally to him. In a way Darius envied that, but he himself never found numbers and figures super interesting like Tristan did.

            Well, Tristan might have been somewhere on another mental processing planet, but Darius was ready for a brain break. He closed his laptop and stretched, deciding it was time to go for a short walk.

            “You want boba?” he asked.

            Tristan’s vision dropped back down to his own laptop keyboard and his lips slightly parted, though he didn’t speak. He still had that frown and thousand-yard stare. Maybe he hadn’t heard Darius.

            “Hey, do you want boba?” Darius repeated. He reached out and lightly tapped the table’s surface in front of Tristan to get his attention.

            With a small jump, Tristan came back down to Earth and finally turned to Darius. His face changed to a slightly surprised expression, though he still seemed distant. Was it Darius' imagination, or did he seem paler, too?

            “Huh? What?” Tristan questioned.

            “I’m going for bubble tea. Do you want some?”

            “Oh. I uh… I dunno. Sure. Thanks.”

            Tristan seemed flustered coming out of his trance, like perhaps he wasn’t all there. He must have noticed how Darius was looking at him, because he shook his head to clear his mind.

            “Sorry, I just feel a bit off. Kinda tired.” he explained. “A drink sounds good. Could you get extra ice? It’s like, stupid hot in here.”

            What the heck was he talking about? The sun was high in the sky, but it was behind the building, not shining directly through the windows. If anything, Darius felt cold in the space. The library tended to blast the AC for whatever reason. How could Tristan feel hot? Weirdo…

            Darius took Tristan’s order but refused his money as per usual. He liked treating his friends to things. It made him feel good.

            It was nice to get out into the sunshine, even if it was just for a brief walk across the way for tea. The library was too stuffy in Darius' opinion. After all, Tristan had just had a coughing fit in there, proving his point. They should both be out in the fresh air. The afternoon felt incredible- there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the temperature was perfect.  Maybe Darius could convince Tristan to pack up long enough to enjoy their drinks outside.

            The line for tea was longer than Darius had anticipated, and by the time he had picked up their drinks and started back toward the library, twenty minutes had passed. Hopefully Tristan didn’t need that tea too badly.  

            Darius approached their spot and found Tristan leaning forward on the table, his elbows bent and his head resting in his hands. His face was completely obscured like he was either crying or was extremely frustrated.

            “You good?” Darius asked, hesitantly setting Tristan’s drink in front of him. “Must be one hell of an assignment if you’re this stumped.”

            Tristan shook his head. “I have a headache.”

            “Did you eat yet today? Drink enough water?”

            “Yeah. I’ve been taking care of myself, I just—” Tristan lifted his head, squinting into the light from the window, but winced and quickly pulled back into himself. He made his way down a little further, placing his arms on the table like a pillow and burying his face into them.

            “Light hurts.” he muttered.  

            Darius swirled the ice around in his drink thoughtfully, then took a sip as he sat down.

            “D’you want to go home?” he asked gently. “Sounds like you have a migraine.”

            “Mm…” Tristan uttered. “No. I still have so much to do. Do you have an aspirin?”

            Darius pawed through his bag but came up empty-handed.

            “Nah, I’m sorry, I’ve got nothing. I can get you some from the campus store if you want?”

            Tristan nodded and Darius stood.

            “Alright, Hang tight. I’ll be right back. You should drink some of your tea while I’m gone. Maybe it’ll help you feel better.” he reached out a reassuring hand, gently clapping Tristan on the back, but his fingers landed slightly above Tristan’s collar and came in contact with the back of his neck. As soon as Darius felt Tristan’s skin, he pulled back and gasped.

            “Whoa! Tris, you’re burning up!”

            “What?”

            “Dude, I think you’re sick.”

            Slowly Tristan sat up, once again squinting into the light. He looked miserable, and unmistakably pale. Darius hadn’t been seeing things before after all.

            “No… I can’t be— ugh, crap, maybe you’re right…” he leaned forward again, dizzily resting his forehead against the heel of his palm as he felt his stomach lurch. “Yeah, I’m nauseous…”   

            “Here, I’m gonna pack up. Let’s get you home.”

            Tristan made a stubborn noise of protest, though it sounded strained. He knew better than to stick around in such a state, but if he went home then what about his project?

            “Dair, I’ve gotta finish this…”

            His friend crossed his arms. “You won’t get anything done if you’re under the weather, plus you’re gonna infect everyone in this library if you stick around. Come on. You clearly need to lie down. Pack up your books. You can read them in bed.”

            One of Tristan’s hands clenched over his stomach, and the other curled into a fist to mediate the pain.

            “Fine…” he took a second to collect himself, then slowly began to gather up his belongings. Tristan placed things in his bag through half-lidded eyes, his head sagging wearily a time or two like he just couldn’t handle it.  Darius helped him along as soon as he had gotten his own things packed up.

            Tristan got to his feet and reached down for his backpack. He grabbed a strap and pulled up, but once it was taut the bag didn’t lift off of the ground. He cringed with effort and wobbled unsteadily as his arm hung loose.

            “I’m so sorry to ask you this…”

            He didn’t need to finish the request. Darius was already bending down to grab his bag in addition to his own. Darius hefted both backpacks onto his twiggy little shoulders and felt his eyes bulge in surprise under the weight. God, why were Tristan’s textbooks so heavy?! The kid must have crazy muscles to be able to haul even one of those around every day. No wonder he was so worn out. Darius took a breath and quickly wrestled his face into a neutral—no, calm and pleasant, so Tristan wouldn’t worry—expression, then helped Tristan to his car.

            Tristan attempted to force the veneer of being in better shape than he was, but the illusion shattered almost immediately after he buckled himself into the passenger seat. He was napping before they even got out of the university parking lot. Once they arrived home, he limped up to their apartment and made a beeline for the couch.

            “Uh-uh. Real bed.” Darius ordered. Poor Tristan looked ready to drop, and the couch was the first thing he saw, but he needed a proper rest. The boy nodded distantly, then slunk off to his room.

                                               ***

            Tristan was out pretty much the second his head hit the pillow, and wound up being down for a few hours. He managed to sleep for quite a while, but it wasn’t always solid. It was hard to get comfortable, and he tossed and turned while battling weird dreams and body aches. He woke up a few times, never fully flashing back into full consciousness, though he was able to do a few things in his stupor.

            One time he woke up to pills and a glass of water on his bedside table. He swallowed them down, then conked out again.

            When he woke up another time, there was a thermometer. He stuck it under his tongue and waited. When it beeped, he pulled it out and checked the tiny screen. He had a temperature alright.

            Another time the water had been refilled and there were saltine crackers on a plate. Darius was watching out for him, and Tristan was thankful.

            Finally, Tristan woke up fully sometime in the evening and pulled out his phone to catch up with whatever he had missed in the world while he was resting. He was already feeling a little better thanks to the water and pain relievers that Darius had left him.

            While he scrolled, a delicious smell wafted into his nostrils… heavenly… at least what he could make out through his stuffy nose. In the kitchen he heard Darius humming a tune contently to himself over the sound of the stove’s fan. He must have thought Tristan was still asleep; It was rare to hear Darius singing out loud unless he either thought he was alone or was in the mood to not care if he was heard. Tristan didn’t recognize the song, but it was nice to hear Darius sound so relaxed. It made him feel more at ease.

            Tristan reached for a tissue and blew into it, sniffling after the fact. Ugh. Whatever this cold was, it sucked. A shiver ran through him. He had woken up drenched in sweat, and it was cooling a bit with the air around him. He hated the way it felt on his skin- more gross than anything. He peeled his shirt off and tossed it aside on the floor, then peered over at his closet door longingly, willing for a fresh shirt to magically float on over to him. That wasn’t going to happen, though.

            Timidly Tristan threw off the covers and made to stand up, but right as he did, there was a quiet knock on his door. Darius turned the handle, then poked his head in.

            “Are you decent?” he asked. He was joking, but Tristan flopped back down to his bed and swiftly yanked the top sheet up over himself.

            “No, actually.” he responded, but Darius was already looking at him, his eyebrows raised in surprise.   

            “Oh, I— uh… I-I’m sorry. Do you want me to leave?”

            Tristan sighed, then lowered the blanket down. Whatever, it’s not like Darius had never seen his chest before. He just felt a little self-conscious due to the sickness. It was wracking his brain and not allowing him to think straight.

            “No, you’re fine. Come in.”

            Darius entered fully, carrying a single tier wire shelf in his hands with a baking sheet on top of it. Tristan cocked his head to the side at the sight.

            “I brought you dinner.” Darius explained.

            “Are you carrying it on the shoe rack we bought last week?”

            Darius shrugged.

            “Yeah well, we don’t have a bed table or proper trays, so this was the best I could come up with. I promise the shelf’s clean. I just took it out of the packaging.” his eyes quickly scanned Tristan up and down. “Did your fever burn your shirt off?”

            “Too sweaty.” Tristan replied. He reached up and finger combed his hair, unsticking it from his forehead in an attempt to look somewhat put together, even though he definitely wasn’t. “Could you grab me another from the closet?”

            Darius set the makeshift tray down for a moment, then did as requested, searching for a soft shirt and plucking it off its hanger. As he pulled it out, he looked at the design on the front and his eyes flashed with recognition.

            “No way.” he said. “Is this from spring break freshman year?” Darius flipped the shirt around so Tristan could see it. There was a screen-printed image of a very cartoony sea turtle in swim trunks riding a surfboard and grinning brightly under some radical font that read “SEAMOUR’S SURF SHACK: PIZZA AND TREATZA!”. Just laying eyes on it brought back memories of the beach trip they had taken with their friends that spring. Darius could practically smell the woodfire pizza oven, the tomato sauce and bubbling cheese from their meal, and of course the saltwater blowing in on the ocean breeze.

            “I didn’t know you bought this!”

            “Oh yeah! That place was the bomb. I wanted to remember it. We should go back there again someday.” Darius tossed Tristan the shirt, and he slipped it on, a nostalgic glimmer in his eyes.

            Darius picked up the shoe-rack-cookie-sheet-tray-table and brought it over to the bed, then placed it down on top of the sheets. Tristan took the thing in and couldn’t contain his laughter. It certainly wasn’t an aesthetically pleasing setup, but it was a thoughtful and creative one, nonetheless. He appreciated the effort.

            “Thanks. That's ingenious, Dair, I'll give you that. What did you bring me?” he looked down at the tray and lit up at the spread before him. There was a bowl of hearty looking soup, a condiment container with a dollop of sour cream in it, and a small plate of sourdough bread slices.

            “Hold on a sec, is this that soup your grandma made us when she visited? Plem… Palm…” Tristan couldn’t quite remember the name, but he definitely remembered the soup. It was incredible.

            “Pelmeni soup, yeah.” Darius said. He seemed pleased that the meal had made an impression on Tristan. “I called her up and got the recipe. This isn’t going to be as good as hers, but I tried. Just thought you could use something solid, y’know? You need strength if you want to kick this thing quickly.”

            Tristan eagerly picked up his spoon and dug in. His shoulders sank in bliss when the flavor met his tongue. The savory taste of the chicken dumplings, the broth, and the vegetables mixed together in a delectable delight, warming both his body and his soul.

            “Oh my god.” he spoke behind another mouthful of the stuff. “Please make this more often.”

            Darius dropped his gaze to the floor and his long black hair flopped in his face, allowing him to hide a flattered little smile.

            “Does that mean you like it? You know I’m not normally a chef or anything. You don’t have to lie if it actually sucks.”

            “Shut up, it doesn’t suck! I’m not lying!” Tristan happily slurped down several more spoonfuls as Darius grabbed his water glass to refill it.

            “Well, that’s a relief. I’m glad I didn’t screw it up.”

            Darius went out to the kitchen, then returned with a full glass. He set it down on the bedside table and picked up the thermometer. The screen display had long since shut off.

            “You took your temperature earlier, right? What was it? How are you feeling?”

            Tristan swallowed a bite of bread. “99.1. Guess that’s what I get for not sleeping as much as I should have in the last week or so.”

            Darius scoffed. “Hate to tell you I told you so, but…” Tristan worked too hard, and that was coming from an art student who often was right there with him up late into the night. He had implored Tristan to rest more, but it seemed like he wasn’t going to slow down until his body forced him to.  

            “Yeah, yeah, I know…” Tristan waved him off. “Anyway, I’m feeling a bit better than I was earlier, but I’m definitely still sick. I’m hot and cold at the same time… What gives?!” he scrunched up his features and looked like he had a tickle in his nose. In a flash he had snatched up a tissue and brought it up to his face, where he exploded into it with a sneeze.

            “Mmm, and there’s that.” he sniffed. “Headache’s gone for now, but I feel like there’s a balloon pressing against my sinuses.”

            “Well, eat up, then get some more rest. Sorry about your project. You should email your professor to tell him you’re sick and that it’ll be late.”

            Tristan stirred some sour cream into his soup to make it creamier. “Already did. Thanks for talking some sense into me and getting me out of the library. And for the medicine. And for this.” he nodded down at the food.  

            “Anytime. Let me know if you need anything else.” Darius reached out with his foot and lightly tapped Tristan’s backpack at the base of the bed. “This is here if you want it, but really, get some more sleep.”

            He started to walk out the door, and Tristan’s face fell.

            “You’re leaving?” he asked. Darius looked over his shoulder.

            “Uh, well, yeah. You’re sick, plus you probably don’t want me around bugging you while you recover.” he saw the look in Tristan’s eyes and wavered. “… Do you?”

            Tristan messed with the top sheet absentmindedly, lightly pulling on it and twisting it in his hands.

            “You could hang out if you wanted… I don’t mind the company.”

            Darius peered up at the ceiling and weighed the risks in his mind, then breathed out a fond sigh. It did suck to be alone, especially when dealing with something like a cold.

            “Alright, but you’re wearing a mask.” he said. “I don’t wanna catch it.”

            Tristan sniffed, then blew his nose again and nodded. “Deal.”

            Darius left momentarily, fixing himself a bowl of soup. He grabbed their handheld video game consoles too in case Tristan wanted to play later. Darius might have pointed out the bag full of textbooks on the floor, but he knew that what Tristan really needed was rest and relaxation.   

            He made himself comfortable on the beanbag chair across the room while Tristan finished up his dinner. Once done, Tristan placed the homemade tray table combo on the floor, put on a face mask, and snuggled back down under the blankets. He turned to Darius.

            “So, you remember what happened after Seamour’s, right?” Tristan asked, steering the conversation back to their beach vacation. Behind a mouthful of dumpling, Darius' eyes brightened, and he nodded emphatically. He gulped down the bite and resurfaced for air.

            “Oh my God, how could I forget? We went out to that pier and freaking Landon launched his sandal off the dock… I still can’t believe he managed to fling it off like that.”

            “Right?! How did he do that?!” Tristan laughed. “And then Cici asked that fisherman to try to get it—”

            “And he actually caught it!” Darius finished. The two cracked up. “Like, what kind of luck is that?! Can I have some?”

            The pair reminisced for quite a while, Tristan laughing and smiling through it all despite the discomfort that came with the sickness. It was nice to have a distraction from it, and he really appreciated Darius' company. It was nice that he had stayed.

            They talked and shared stories until Tristan’s eyelids grew heavy and he nestled further down into his pillow. It was about time for bed at that point anyway- hours had passed without either of them noticing. Darius rose and stretched deeply, grabbing his bowl from the floor, and adding it to the tray. He scooped up the whole bundle and deposited it in the kitchen, then returned to insist that Tristan take another round of medicine before sleeping.

            Tristan accepted, removing his mask and taking what Darius gave him before settling in for the night.

            As Darius left, he gave Tristan a friendly tap on the shoulder with one finger.  

            “Sleep well. Call or text me if you need anything. If I’m not sleeping, I’ll come help you.” he said.

            “Will do. Thanks again, Dair. I’m lucky to have you. G’night.”

            Darius peered back from the door frame and smiled softly at Tristan, relieved that he had been able to help him. It was nice to take the evening off to chat, and he was glad that Tristan had asked him to stick around.

            "'Night. Get well soon." Darius flipped off the light switch and closed the door, leaving his roommate content with a belly full of soup and well wishes for a speedy recovery.  

---------------------------------------------------

Day 9!

Kind of nice to give the boys a break, even though it comes at Tristan's expense. Sorry dude! Luckily with Darius looking out for him and serving him healthy and hearty meals, I think the guy will be back on his feet in no time!

Thanks for reading!

---

Tag list: @dutifullykrispyland, @fleur-a-whump, @gala1981, @generic-whumperz, @risahraun

[scotianostra]

On November 7th 1974 Eric Linklater, the novelist and playwright, died in Aberdeen.

Although born in Wales, Linklater always considered himself as an Orcadian. Indeed like many on the island Eric can claim viking heritage and his family has documental proof that goes back to the 15th century an 18 generations.

There is a great wee story about his Great- Grandfather that I am sure you will appreciate, he worked on the whaling fleet from Stromness. When given leave he’d walk 10 miles home to Harray. It’s said there were many ale-houses by the road, and he never did the journey in less than 3 days!

Educated at Aberdeen University, Linklater spent many years on Orkney, the birthplace of his father, and even commanded the Orkney garrison during the Second World War.

Linklater was initially rejected by the army because of his poor eyesight, but joined up in 1917, his poor eyesight however meant he was not meant to see any action, he was sent to a Yeomanry regiment stationed in the north of England.

I read he lied about his age to join up, he would have been around 17 at the time, it’s partly true,and if you look at the pic of him in his uniform he does look very young.I did manage to dig up the truth about the lie though . While in England he heard that they were sending a small draft to the Black Watch in France, he made a few adjustments to his own medical record (improving his eyesight and adding a year to his age) and, using his own authority as Orderly Corporal, added his own name to the list of those sent abroad.

From 1919 to 1925 he studied at Aberdeen University, first in medicine and then in English. Between 1925 and 1927 he was an assistant editor of the Times of India, living in Bombay. After a year working at Aberdeen University in 1927-8, he spent two years as a Commonwealth Fellow in the USA, at Cornell and Berkeley.

Eric Linklater began publishing prolifically in 1929: altogether he wrote 23 novels, 3 volumes of short stories, 3 autobiographies, 10 plays, and 23 books of essays and non-fiction, as well as the books mentioned above in the first paragraph. Juan in America and Private Angelo are perhaps his best-known novels. He loved the Icelandic sagas, and wrote his own: The Men of Ness: the Saga of Thorlief Coalbiter’s Sons ; later, in 1955, he published a book about the sagas, called The Ultimate Viking.

On 1st June 1933 he Eric married Marjorie MacIntyre, and after a period in Italy they settled at Dounby in Orkney; they had four children.

Between 1939 and 1941 Linklater commanded the company of Royal Engineers on Orkney. In 1941 he was posted to the directorate of public relations in the War Office, and from 1944 to 1945 served in Italy, where he acquired the experiences necessary for writing Private Angelo, which was dedicated to the Eighth Army. It was a book about courage, but it did not celebrate war. Angelo’s remark “I hope you will not liberate us out of existence” might well have inspired William Tenn’s celebrated science fiction story “The Liberation of Earth” . In 1951 he published a history of that part of WW2, The Campaign in Italy, and, with the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel he visited Korea.

In 1945 Eric Linklater was elected rector of Aberdeen University, and in 1947 the family moved to to Ross, and later to Aberdeenshire. From 1968 to 1973 he was deputy lieutenant of Ross and Cromarty.

Diana Gabaldon author of the Outlander books, told National Geographic: she researched for her series of books by reading a Linklater book. "I was reading a research book called The Prince in the Heather. She said. The account of Jamie Fraser surviving Culloden is partly based on a true story in the book where a Fraser of the Master of Lovat's regiment” took refuge in a farmhouse with 18 others and survived the slaughter.

Eric Linklater died in Aberdeen on this day 1974 and was buried in the Harray churchyard in Orkney. His widow, already an active political campaigner, moved back to Orkney, to serve as chairman of the Orkney Heritage Society. She helped to establish the St Magnus festival, and campaigned for the Scottish National Party.

Orkney makar George Mackay Brown wrote in the Orcadian, 14th November 1974,

“Orkney is a poorer place without him; even though for most of the year, he lived outside the islands. It is fitting that his dust should be brought back to lie in Orkney earth.”

[total-fucking-freakshow]

Can you tell us about your version of Lifty and Shifty?

An excuse to type an essay on my HCs for the twins? Hell yeah!

Short version:

Lifty

Lifty is an optimist, sensible in the long-term

Worries about his brother's mental and physical health constantly

Knows when putting his feelings first is necessary

Very social and quick to trust

Shifty

Shifty is a pessimist, no regard for long-term consequences

Tries to keep Lifty from worrying about his condition

"Edgy" and can't quite grasp the concept of self-care

Anti-social and trust is a lie

Below is the longer version. Gonna write an entire paper on my Lifty and Shifty HCs

My version of Lifty was always more optimistic and reckless, with more of a "you only live once" kind of mindset. This bears a large contrast to Shifty's constant pessimism and cautious nature regarding short-term consequences and effects. In addition to this, Lifty knows how to draw a line with his actions (He's not going to drink the very obviously labelled bleach just to find out what it tastes like), but Shifty doesn't. Their differing views and thought processes often lead to very heated arguments about almost anything (They argued over a spoon once), but often the topic of conversation is Shifty's deteriorating health.

Dynamic

Shifty is very logical when it comes to planning, while Lifty is more emotion-led. Lifty gets excited very easily, and is the type of person you wouldn't trust with a secret if it involves anything even remotely enjoyable. Shifty is quite the opposite, being able to keep his composure in most situations unless Lifty or someone close to him is in immediate danger (In which case he becomes a nervous wreck prone to sudden acts of violence if provoked) Shifty is also fairly quiet (Unrelated to his damaged larynx) while Lifty doesn't know when to stop the conversation, and will just keep talking until someone else breaks it up. Lifty is constantly reminding Shifty that he needs to take care of himself, but he can't even remember to drink water and eat on his own, so Lifty basically has a full-time job nagging Shifty to do the bare minimum to keep himself functioning.

Relationships

Lifty, being the social butterfly that he is, has quite a few friends (Russell, Toothy, Flaky, Cuddles, the list goes on...). He also finds it very easy to empathize with others, and as a result is a lot better at cheering people up than his brother. Shifty on the other hand doesn't consider very many people "friends". He only really has three, those being Russell, Flaky and Toothy. He has an extremely hard time trusting people, and finds it hard to empathize with anyone at all. Although he isn't able to understand anyone else's feelings, he still tries to be as respectful as he can when it comes to heavier topics. Shifty is absolutely terrified of Flippy. Lifty doesn't understand this fear, and thinks it's just one of those irrational fears. It is not.

Appearances

Shifty has a small rip in his right ear. Lifty doesn't. Shifty has a hat. Lifty doesn't. I don't know what you expect lol

Also Lifty is bisexual and Shifty is gay and asexual

I want to keep going but I'm going to be typing all day if I do. I can elaborate on anything if necessary. I honestly love talking about my HTF HCs, thanks so much for asking : )

[cillyscribbles]

🎁 and 🔥 for the ask game!

thanks so much for writing in and an even bigger thanks for coming up with the game, it's great fun sending out questions and writing answers :))) gratitude all around!!!

🎁 If you could give any of the ensemble cats a song, who would it be? What would it be about?

ooph, hard to decide! i think i'd like to hear from jellylorum or asparagus jr - i mostly headcanon them as a member of gus' family somewhere, so i think it'd be fun to hear what it's like maybe trying to live up to your relative's greatness, or managing adoring kittens, or just overall being gray little cats that run the show without having spotlight on themselves, you know? like jellylorum in particular is there all the time, singing for jennyanydots, singing for gus, singing bewares for grizabella - what's that like? is she happy with her small role? does she feel like it's rewarding? this would totally throw off the whole groove of the musical but i'd love to hear a post-ball song with jellylorum ushering away kittens, telling mistoffelees to put away the sparkles, telling munk and tugger to quit running around and sit with old deut because she's got this handled and has run cleanup on more jellicle balls than most of them have attended combined, hahah. great question!

🔥Share one (1) hot take/opinion about the show/fandom/etc

ooh! you know, i think i can share a thing i learned in adaptation theory! it'll definitely make it into that essay i'm working on (one of its main points, actually) but my Hot Take(tm) is that a lot of folks don't realize the grip that nostalgia can have on them when they're looking at adapted media (cats, cats the book, cats the movie, cats the insert production here). this is by no means meant to be a criticism because it's not something you can unlearn or avoid - i feel it, you feel it, most folks feel it, it's often the default! it's just something you can become aware of and consider on purpose, and i believe that it's very important when criticizing (and trying to be objective, of course - anything goes when it comes to subjective opinions and that's good!) this sort of media. you need to separate where you believe a change (be it reduction or addition) to be ill-fitting because it doesn't work for the purpose of the media, and where you believe a change to be ill-fitting because you have seen The Thing done differently and believe that was a better/more fun/more impactful way to do it.

to take an example, whenever i hear about a cats production where cats aren't Actual Cats, i feel less inclined to seek it out because the animal element is what i particularly enjoy about the musical. that being said, changing this element to better suit the purpose of an adaptation can be an important or even necessary choice for what the production is trying to achieve! it's all about the Purpose. you'd be shocked how many things are about the Purpose. this doesn't change my inclination to enjoy cats!cats More, but recognizing this subjective-objective separation can in fact help me enjoy not-cats!cats adaptations More because i know what the nagging ">:(" feeling is and so can discard it as source supremacy sinking its long sharp nails into my heart, lol. i hope that makes sense!

[kissofthemis]

lifting the shorter one up so they can be seen in photos w/ highschool lukerosa!

This photographer really needed to work on visualization skills.

"I understand the reasoning putting us in alphabetical order," Rosa murmured, "but is it really necessary for a group this small?"

The school's ordinary photographer, who had been serving the school for ages, had finally retired. However, he did so at the worst possible time-- right before the yearbook committee needed to send in all their final photos to have the yearbook bound! The school had been scrambling to find a replacement on short notice, and only by a stroke of luck had they managed to book someone before the deadline. Now, all of the clubs and organizations in school had to get their photos taken in a single day, which had caused utter chaos on campus.

And perhaps because everyone, including the photographer, was struggling with the time crunch, some decisions had been made that were...

Well, in Rosa's blunt opinion, inadequate. Bad, even. (She would never say that aloud, however. She always strove to be polite, and she would choose words such as "curious," "interesting," "not quite optimal," or even "rough around the edges.")

Luke whistled softly as he surveyed the group. "I mean, there are enough of us that we can't all fit in one line, so..."

"That's exactly the problem!"

Rosa had always prided herself on her academic prowess and her intellect. When she was nominated to join the school's academic team, she glowed with joy for a solid week. Even in the modern era, many academics could be snobby about women who aspired to great heights. They would dismiss women as merely being good at maybe one or two subjects, but never worthy of being a scholar.

As if every famed male scientist could write compelling essays, or every prestigious male historian could do mental math.

So Rosa had been the only girl selected for the academic team, as she in fact was well-rounded in all subjects. She studied a wide breadth of topics in order to represent not only her school or herself, but all the girls whose brilliant minds were overlooked solely because stuck-up, conservative old farts couldn't look past their manicures or their makeup.

Her hard work had paid off; she had been the second highest point scorer in competitions for the entire season! Second to none other than Luke Pearce, her dearest companion and constant thorn in her side.

"But my name puts me in the back," Rosa went on, urging Luke (who did not seem worthy of that first place accolade right now) to see the issue. "I'm the only girl, and I am also--"

"Oh, no! Rosa, you're short!"

That was a bit too direct. Rosa clutched her chest and tried to ignore the blow to her self-esteem. "N-not short! Just... shorter than most of the team!"

Luke was not listening to her indignant mumbling. He waved towards the photographer, but unfortunately the photographer and staff were too absorbed in their work. They hardly had time to waste, after all. "Mmm... that's no good."

Rosa sighed and leaned onto Luke's shoulder in defeat. "Maybe I'll raise my hand so some part of me shows. Oh, but I'll probably get yelled at. I would have packed heels if I had expected th--"

All at once, Rosa shot up in height.

She suppressed a startled screech as her feet left the ground and she dangled loosely in midair.

No, not loosely. In fact, she almost felt... secure, as she felt two large, warm, comforting hands gripping onto her waist.

"L-Luke?"

"Problem solved! Ta-dah!"

"P-problem not solved! How long can you hold me?!"

"As long as it takes!"

"This isn't sustainable!"

"Should you get on my shoulders instead?"

"Luke Pearce!!!"

[frogofalltime]

day 13

i forgot to write this last night !!

so i started the day by turning off my alarm and going back to sleep until midday. bad idea.

then i stayed in bed on my phone until 1pm before finally getting up and taking my meds. another bad decision because they take a few hours to work and then they keep working for many more hours so if i take them too late i have way too much energy at bed time

i ate lunch and talked to my flatmate for a while. she always talks to me when she sees me so i usually avoid it when i'm not up for socialising but this time i was in the mood for it so it was good.

then my friend invited me to come over and study with her but i needed to shower first so i didn't get outside until like 5pm

then i talked to @etherealspacejelly (who was in the living room when i arrived) for i have no idea how long. i was being very loud and hyperactive and insane and idek what i was even talking about ?? these meds are making me extremely annoying ,,, i am very sorry robin

finally i actually started studying while eating chocolate and nuts and raisins and banana pieces. normally this is a very effective way to make me study because i really like these snacks but it just made me feel nauseous. i also got unbearably bored and easily distracted

i listened to my friends messing around and ended up joining in. i eventually got everything done although i just gave up on the last two lectures because the content seemed unnecessary for the exam (it probably was necessary, i was just losing my mind by that point)

then i messed around with my friends some more, washed the dishes, and went home. i could hear a really loud ringing in my ears / brain and i felt extremely overstimulated. it was kinda hard to breathe too

when i got home i managed to make myself some food because i hadn't eaten a proper meal yet. i did not feel hungry at all though. i still felt really overstimulated but i ate while reading percy jackson and it calmed me down. but eating is really hard these days. i feel sick from eating even just a small amount, and i don't want food at all :(

my flatmate came into the kitchen to eat her dinner too and asked if i wanted to watch a movie with her ?? we have never hung out before and i was not tired so i said okay. so she put a movie on her ipad on the kitchen table and we watched around half of it but then she finished her food and we both went to bed

i was not tired at all so i listened to part of a 10 hour long youtube video essay about all the problems with harry potter. i did not feel sleepy so i thought it would help. by around 3am i still was not asleep so i turned it off but the pressure in my head and around my eyes was very bad which kept me awake :/

i must've eventually fallen asleep, i have no idea when, but i had three separate stress dreams and i woke up feeling really tired

today i have an exam so i better do some revision beforehand, see ya later

[daeranilen]

I'm inviting fights I don't want to have, but I absolutely have to say: if you are out here arguing for prescriptivist, rules-oriented English education in 2023, I need you to seriously contemplate the assumptions you're bringing to the table about the nature of English and the goals of education.

Look. I get it. In undergrad, I worked in my college's writing center, and I helped a lot of students with their grammar. When I applied to my grad program in composition & rhetoric, my personal essay was about how teaching sentence diagramming to my tutees empowered them to become better editors of their own writing, and how I felt that kind of "building blocks" grammar instruction was meaningful, necessary, and missing from a lot of people's education. But then I got to grad school and I learned that grammar instruction in general and sentence diagramming in specific has been discredited for OVER A CENTURY. There are MANY studies about this! We've known that the primary function of traditional grammar instruction is to make students hate the English language for, again, OVER A CENTURY. And then we kept doing it! It's literally the one instance of every bad faith critique you've ever heard about public school curricula being objectively correct.

You know why sentence diagramming worked with my tutees at the writing center? Because I was delivering one-on-one, personalized instruction. Most things work when that's your mode of teaching. But when I was teaching classes, even small ones, it quickly became clear to me that focused grammar instruction took time away from more important lessons, and that students overvalued it - that they cared more about whether their essays were correct than whether their essays were good.

And I don't blame them. I'd had those teachers who docked points for misplaced commas and run-on sentences. I knew some of my colleagues were still teaching like that at the time. I'm sure many are still teaching that way to this day.

But that doesn't make it right.

The tricky thing about English education is that there is no objectively correct set of rules to learn or teach (and you don't even have to be a descriptivist to know that this is true - just go refresh yourself on the Oxford comma debate), but there will always be people who believe there is, and who will judge you when you don't adhere to it. Some of them will be your teachers. Many more will hold other positions of power. All of them are collectively creating the rules you are being judged against.

Are those the people you want to align yourself with? Is the system they've built the one you want to uphold, even begrudgingly? Is temporary and conditional access to power worth it?

It's fine to answer yes.

Just make sure you understand what you're saying yes to.

[sanjispudding]

OPLA thoughts

I decided I wanted to sit down and pour out my thoughts on Netflix’s Live Action One Piece. I’m going to start by saying this: It was a beautiful adaptation. You could feel the love from everyone involved in every single scene. 

Before we fully dive into this, I want to make a mini disclaimer that, yes, there will most likely be spoilers.

Let’s start with an easy one, the soundtrack. One of the things I love about the anime is the music and I can say the same about the live action as well. Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli knocked it straight out of the park with every track. The sound that left me when I heard Bink’s Brew in the background could only be described as a surprised squeak. And then, in episode 4, when our crew gets the Going Merry…I teared up. We Are?! In the live action?? Absolutely brilliant. But let’s talk a bit about some of the original tracks. “Chop Chop Cannon” might be my favorite. I can’t explain why, I just love the circus music. Arlong’s theme went so hard I don’t even know where to start. Belousova herself stated that “Wealth, Fame, Power�� is a combination of Luffy and Roger’s themes, and that Roger’s theme is Luffy’s in reverse. If that doesn’t clue you in on how fantastic this soundtrack is, I’m not sure what will. So, if you get a chance, I highly recommend simply listening to the soundtrack. I can’t lie, that’s what I’m doing as I type this out.

Another easy bit to talk about: the cast. Everyone, from our main crew to the villains and even the side characters were perfectly cast. 

The Strawhats especially had me smiling from ear to ear. Iñaki Godoy’s performance as Luffy has a special place in my heart. He embodies the purehearted energy that Luffy is full of so well. I’ve seen little complaints here and there about certain scenes of him “refusing food” but you need to see the context of when he does and why. For example, one of those scenes happens when Zoro is hurt. Luffy wouldn’t sit there and have a feast when his friend is hurt. That’s not our captain. I could probably write a paragraph on each actor and their performance…But that would turn this into an essay and I don’t think anyone wants that. 

Initially, when the trailer first dropped, I was unsure of Arlong and the Fishmen. But after seeing the episodes, they were so well done. Arlong was just as threatening and scary as he was supposed to be. The use of prosthetics instead of CGI was a wonderful choice and only added to the beauty of the show. It gives me a lot of hope for how they could handle Chopper in the future as well.

I said this before, but I love the fact that things are different in the live action. You get to experience these characters and story beats again in a way that feels so new it’s almost like you’re seeing it for the first time again. I constantly wish I could go into One Piece blind again, and this adaptation sort of allows me to do just that. Things I thought wouldn’t make me cry again, definitely did. Two of the biggest examples being Sanji's goodbye to Zeff and the Baratie, and Nami asking for help. 

There are also SO many Easter Eggs for fans to find. I won’t point them all out, that would turn this into a longer thing than necessary, but it adds so much to the series. Things as small as known characters wanted posters to things as obvious as Nami reading the story of Nolan to Zoro.

Now, this isn’t to say that this adaptation is without faults. Nothing is perfect. One of the bigger complaints I’ve seen and have to agree with, is that Usopp and Sanji should have been more present in their respective arcs. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we get a season 2 and we get to flesh out their characters more. It’s what they/we deserve. I don’t fully get why we introduced Garp so early either, or kept Koby and Helmeppo around for so long. I don’t think it was a bad choice per se, just an odd one. It does have me wondering about the next meeting, if the live action gets there that is. Hopefully it does, the War arc would be fantastic in the live action.

It has been an absolute joy to see people who have never given One Piece a chance before, watch it now. Oda created something special and it’s amazing to see new fans of all ages come out of this adaptation. These new fans are in for a wild ride, especially if we get more. With Loguetown and Alabasta set up as our next arcs, the future of this series is looking bright. If they thought the reception of these 8 episodes was great, just wait until they introduce us to Chopper and Robin. Crocodile remains one of my favorite One Piece villains and seeing him in live action would be a dream come true.

[lestcat-de-lioncourt]

Okay so this form of ableism reallyyyy gets my goat. People with ADHD get this treatment a lot. It really unsettles me how often as well. Like, why do people so often expect someone with a mental health disorder which specifically surrounds focus irregularities, to focus at the exact same level as someone who’s not got ADHD?

Getting angry at people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder for not being able to write/read giant blocks of text on demand is ableism.

We can do it when we can do it, forcing us is much more much distressing than a neurotypical person/someone who doesn’t have focus irregularity would feel, and even those people get distressed at having to do things like this.

I don’t care if you’re annoyed, I really don’t, and even less if you begin ambushing and bxtching about it, then guilt tripping or indirect posting acting like it’s being done to you because “this horrible person doesn’t care”. This is abuse and emotional manipulation to mentally disabled people.

There’s a big reason why many of us suffer in education and that’s because of teachers not being trained to accommodate our needs.

I know you’re not a teacher, and it is not your responsibility to “teach” us anything, but it is your responsibility to not lash out and punish us if we can’t give you big blocks of text, writing, chapters fast enough, big reviews, essays, and completed books/creations on demand. It is also useful if you accommodate us as well, and promotes mental health awareness and accessibility.

Our symptoms literally include the inability to control our focus, meaning it can express by the inability to focus and get distracted (especially under pressure, even with things we really want to do) with big and small tasks which need focus. Unfortunately you’ll have to make peace with the fact it may never happen, or don’t ask someone with this mental health disorder to do this stuff and preform ableist exclusion since you despise our symptoms so irately.

It’s either this, we will hyperfocus and overwork ourselves, completing tasks in an hour or at the very last minute, or doing hundreds of hours of things in massive blocks but still out of our control when this happens. Not to mention adding perhaps excessive information that may not be necessary and be occasionally hard to follow.

Many times we cannot stick with one project, and not one topic for a very long time.

If you have a massive problem with that, and begin to ostracise people for doing this as well, it’s ableism.

Stop targeting people with ADHD with your stigmatic opinions, and stop asking us to do things knowing we have it if you expect guaranteed results.

It’s okay to be privately frustrated, or a little upset it didn’t get done, but you can’t do much about that except learn, educate yourself, and attempt to understand and be compassionate afterwards and take time to realise it’s often not done to spite you or because we hate you. Not forceful and not punishing.

A person with a broken leg isn’t turning down going jogging with you “just to spite you”, or “because they hate jogging/hate how you jog”. It’s because they cannot even walk, obviously involuntarily and they’re not “choosing to not walk” or “just being lazy”. Don’t apply the same theories to people with mental health disorders.

This also stands with anybody, even for people that are neurotypical. If this person does not work for you and isn’t being paid to bring work to your table or finished projects, essays, writings, and more, then you have no right to become vicious/critical when they can’t or don’t want to commit 100% to the request they are asked to do/offer to do for free, or can’t finish it for whatever reason they communicate.

Also this applies between people with ADHD doing it to each other. You can be ableist/have internalised ableism if you’re disabled/have a mental health disorder as well. If anything though, if you do have ADHD, it’s a little questionable if you don’t consider any of this. Though no two persons experience is necessarily the same plus you may have a different type of ADHD/not have combined ADHD, plus, many people are misdiagnosed which would also be another reason you might not get these things.

ADHD is a kettle of fish which is both amazing and difficult to live with, in a world that rarely accommodates us, or especially won’t for free like neurotypical people would receive.

Making it harder and refusing to accommodate us isn’t okay, and condemning us for not being on par with your demands which are often unrealistic, isn’t acceptable. Don’t be surprised if we start to avoid you after this behaviour. It’s offensive and tiring to receive.

We probably have 70 other things we are trying to be doing rn, not to mention juggling a hectic life full of responsibilities whilst trying to commit to fun things, or over committing to too much at once.

It isn’t usually because we don’t want to either, this inability to do things on demand so easily is applicable to things we really want to do as well. Hell, if I can’t open and play a game I’m in love with, idk what to say! But it certainly isn’t on purpose haha.

[pokimoko]

summer winter reading/writing/arting tag

Thank you so much for tagging me @thealterscrolls in your post, you know I love an excuse to overshare about things I like and/or are working on. Though, I'll be nice and keep each list to a maximum of 8 cause otherwise I would go overboard and that would make this already long post longer than necessary. Alright, let's get into it:

Describe one creative WIP project you're planning to work on over the summer: No summer for me for a while but hey, winter for me personally is a great time to work on stuff cause excursions outside the house are at a minimum, and I don't have to feel bad about being inside all day when the sun's already going down at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Anyway, I'm hoping to work on my In the Absent Place prequel slash companion fic focusing on Jake and the events that lead into that story. It's been an idea I've wanted to do for months and I have indeed started on it but I keep getting distracted from it by other ideas and fandoms (and also working on zine fics). But I do want to finish it. I also have a fic for The Owl House and one for Wolf 359 that I keep coming back to (aka the fics that have been distracting me), so we'll see if I ever get round to finishing those.

Recommend a book: When it comes to reading books, I am both very easily entertained (I rarely give out 1 or 2 stars) and extremely reserved with what I consider a great book, to me at least. I have given only a few books 5 stars. These are those few books: • 'Project Hail Mary' by Andy Weir • 'Piranesi' by Susanna Clarke • 'Loveless' by Alice Oseman • 'Radio Silence' by Alice Oseman • 'Elatsoe' by Darcie Little Badger • 'Good Omens' by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett • 'The Witch's Heart' by Genevieve Gornichec • 'His Dark Materials' series by Philip Pullman

Recommend a fic: There are so many great fics I've read that are lost to time because I'm stupid and rarely bookmark stuff (it's that same 5 star problem, y'see). But here's some I have bookmarked or remember really liking: • 'Mens Rea' by yellow_caballero (Moon Knight) • 'the dotted line' by zippe (Moon Knight) • 'An Evolving Situation' by whiskyrunner (Moon Knight, ongoing) • 'Puddlejumping' by Davechicken (Moon Knight) • 'Misguided Ghosts' by petrichorishly (Lucifer) • 'Thermotemporal Equations' by blinkytreefrog (Captain America) • 'No Echo' by sh0rtwave (Wolf 359) • 'you were the song that i'd always sing, you were the light that fire would bring' by rnelody (The Owl House)

Recommend Music: I like listening to a lot of genres, but I think indie pop is probably my go-to, so pretty much all of these will fall under that. Here are some of the songs I've really been enjoying lately: • 'Word to the Trees' by whatever mike • 'Christmas in June' by AJR • 'Kelly Time' by Owl City • 'Bite Down (Bastille vs. HAIM)' by Bastille • 'Jigsaw' by Conan Gray • 'Bloody! Bloody!' by Junie & TheHutFriends • 'Serotonin' by girl in red • 'Talking to Myself' by Will Jay

Share one piece of advice: Nothing you learn is a waste of time. Nothing. Doesn't matter how obscure or pointless it feels like it is, everything comes in handy some way or another eventually (and, hey, even if it doesn't, it can still be fun to have that knowledge). So learn! Learn whatever you want, however big or small. Learn that fictional language or lore from your favourite story. Learn about a show you've never watched from an hour long video essay. Learn about that obscure historical event you found in a Wikipedia rabbit hole at 2AM. Learn not because you have to but because you want to and because you're interested. Because no time is ever wasted when you've gained something new.

That's it for me. I'll tag @pizzee, @yellowocaballero, @theophagism, and @mockspector. Consider it my not-so-sneaky way to learn about your projects and/or favourite books/fics. ;)

[simowis]

Monthly nonsense 23.11

So I started to read the history again. Because he is the representative of his civilisation, even though we are of different races and our cultures must be far apart. I had to have more knowledge about the human culture before I could have a basis for an idea of his culture.

I don’t need to search sacrifice from others fictions，my people’s history has so many of them.

There's some good words in my language can discribe those solders' spirit, but english don't have them. A pity.

Maybe the word 'martyr' can explain part of it. But not for religious. For faith, for all of us a better life.

The ME's writer may not know what a 'memory shard' means for my race.

"No fight, no future. " "This cycle is doomed, unless there's a miracle. And miracles are what we must strive for with all our might." "Our deaths are inevitable, but it's all worth it in the passing of the flame to the next cycle. "

The consciousness of the Protheans in Javik's time would have been sublime. They no longer thought only of their own race, their own cycle.

He's absolutely a hero.

Wish he can have some kind of hope after war.

Casualty exchange ratio

His story summit is just over one hour. Too little, and too precious for me. I wait until I almost forget all of it then look back a little. Hope it can always be fresh to me.

In fact javik did not told Shep what's the actual 'weakness' of prothean empire. He indicate it is linked with 'all united together'.

I really enjoyed the philosophical musings in Shepard and Javik's daily conversations, especially on the subject of AI versus organisms. It's a shame it's only a few dozen lines of dialogue in the game. He really has a lot on his mind. He has a strong moral and philosophical view of the world, and he's been educated in more than just the parts necessary for a soldier. Had he been an adult in a time of peace, he would undoubtedly have been a fine scholar; he wasn't the type to be a passive recipient of others' ideas. If he writes books after the war, I'd like to read his thick, brick-sized series of essays on his ideas about AI; his philosophy of race.

Javik says that the Zha's mistake was to implant devices to enhance their intelligence, and that this led to the creation of Zha'tl. And he apparently believes that the rise of Zha'tl was an aberration, and that the Zha were subjugated and enslaved by their implanted AI. The Protheans, staunchly anti-AI, would have resisted their own implanted devices. At the very least, 'implanted devices to enhance intelligence can lead to a loss of control' is a lesson deeply embedded in the consciousness of every Prothean. They may also develop robotic hands, robotic eyes, or even entire mechanical bodies, but turning the brain into a chip and running multiple cores, as in 'Battle Angel Alita' ; or fusing Motoko's mind with the AI's consciousness, as in 'Ghost in the Shell', must be an absolute prohibition for them. Their ethics on genetic modification are obviously very loose, as they would modify the genes of the primitive Asari, and they would probably do genetic screening on themselves, as they are worshippers of evolution. However, they would certainly have no use for AI in this area, even though it would be a lot faster in terms of efficiency.

Honor must be a very important part in Prothean society.

The third day, his smile still compels me. This art is to pull my head and stab me with a small knife at the same time; while warming me up like a hot water bag. This only makes my blood flow faster. How do I draw a smile like this …… and then stab myself to death?

He tortured me for loving him.

Prothean don’t need primitives to fight Reapers.

[blue-sky-and-sunny-day]

@sleepingwithdragons here is the second part of horror/ scary book recs.

Part 2

Gothic and mysterious and scary i loved this one . 💚.

Omg the terror!😳 😱. Warning : gore. Horror in all its glory. without spoiling anything i can say you will never expect the shocking cause of what is going on and why until much later. A good storyteller . I enjoyed reading this becoz it's highly imaginative and u won't be able to stop once u start it .

Ah! You have seen the image on Tumblr about blorbo ? Some one is saying ..."let me tell u about my blorbo" and others are running away from them ? That is me and the Pendergast series. These authors write flawlessly. This mystery / thriller/ horror series are some of the best i have ever read. Most of them r standalone. But here let me talk about this one only instead of writing an essay on the series ( i will ,given a chance😁)

This is indeed horror. You will never guess who is responsible and why . The setting is perfect . Corn fields and small town ,Not too many characters. Let me be clear , the descriptions of violent acts which r already done (and no long drawn descriptions of how) , are vivid ( non- sexual, these writers avoid this trope in their books and i whole heartedly support it ) but necessary for the story . This novel introduces one of the beloved recurring female characters in the story and the beginning of a beautiful platonic relationship. There is a lot of humour ( nothing funny about awful things happening to people / dogs ,not that ) it's mainly the interaction between the characters . But the horror/ fear element remains constant. The last half is just mind-blowing and so excellently written you will feel the danger and pray for the safety of the protagonists. Thrilling and absolutely terrifying .

Stunning description of a thunderstorm in the cornfields 👍👍.

This story will freak you out 😵‍💫

Creature feature. Takes place in the New York Museum of Natural History. Horror . Believable explanation given about the origin of the creature. Action and absolute mayhem and terror.

I love this so much 😭🖤. My favourite ghost story . So good . Scary in a good way . Hopeful ending .

Ahhhhh! My favourite vampire story of all time ♥️♥️.

Best ghost story writer ever . Check out his other supernatural short story collection . Best written horror/ ghost/ supernatural stories in the history of the genre.

Short story published in weird tales . Scared me silly .highly recommended.

Horror . 😢 .short story.creepy .

Must read for horror/mystery fans and fans of ACD.

Part 3 coming up.

[shraddhamatre]

Breaking the Code: An All-Inclusive Guide to the UPPSC Examination

A highly coveted and esteemed competitive test in India is the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) exam. Thousands of applicants compete each year for a small number of posts in Uttar Pradesh's many administrative services. Passing this test can open the door to a rewarding and significant career in public service. This site seeks to offer a thorough rundown of the UPPSC test, including its format, methods for getting ready, and essential advice for passing.

Understanding the UPPSC Exam Structure The UPPSC exam is conducted in three stages: Preliminary Examination (Prelims) Main Examination (Mains) Personal Interview Preliminary Examination: The prelims consist of two objective-type papers:

Paper I on General Studies: The themes covered in this paper are quite broad and include general science, environmental ecology, biodiversity, economic and social development, Indian politics and governance, history, geography, and current events. Paper II (General Studies) (CSAT): This test measures general mental capacity, understanding, logical thinking, analytical ability, decision-making, problem-solving, and rudimentary arithmetic.

Main Examination: The mains are more comprehensive and include both objective and subjective questions.

It consists of: General Hindi Essay General Studies (four papers) Optional Subject (two papers) The mains exam requires in-depth knowledge and a well-rounded understanding of various subjects.

Individual Interview: Those that make it to the mains are invited for in-person interviews. This phase evaluates the applicant's general competence, personality, and fitness for a career in public service. Strategies for Preparation Recognize the syllabus: Understanding the curriculum in its entirety is the first step. List every subject, including any subtopics, for the main and preliminary exams. This will assist in organizing your study schedule. Create a study schedule and allot sufficient time to each topic. Make careful you cover every subject and provide enough time for editing. Setting and achieving daily, weekly, and monthly objectives helps support a regular study regimen.

Go through standard books: Consult the required texts for every subject. For example, NCERT texts are highly suggested for geography, history, and politics; Laxmikanth is recommended for Indian politics; and Ramesh Singh is recommended for Indian Economy. Current Affairs: Read publications like The Hindu or Indian Express every day to be informed about what's going on in the world. Monthly periodicals that cover current issues can also be quite helpful. Practice Writing: To improve coherence and clarity of ideas, write articles and responses on a regular basis. For the mains test, this is essential. simulated Tests: To gauge your degree of readiness, take frequent simulated tests. Examine how you performed and focus on your shortcomings. Consistent practice can lead to improvements in accuracy and time management.

If necessary, enroll in a coaching institute: Although independent study is crucial, coaching centers may offer direction, organized instruction, and insightful knowledge about the format and requirements of the test. Crucial Success Advice The Secret Is Consistency: Studying consistently and intently is crucial. Take a balanced approach to studying and refrain from last-minute cramming. Revision: It is essential to revise frequently. Concise notes will allow for fast modifications when the exam date approaches.

Remain Upbeat: Retain a cheerful disposition during the planning process. Take pauses when necessary and practice mindfulness because stress and anxiety can have negative effects. Health is wealth: Maintain a nutritious diet, get enough sleep, and engage in regular exercise to keep your body and mind in good shape. Stay Informed: Visit the official UPPSC website on a frequent basis to stay informed about any changes to the curriculum or exam format. The UPPSC test is surely difficult, but success is possible if you have the correct study plan, dedication, and commitment. You will be well on your way to a fulfilling career in public service if you approach this path with confidence and a specific objective.

Start Your Preparation With: https://gameacademy.in/  / https://clppenny.page.link/cTBm  Recommended: https://www.youtube.com/@gblions  / https://www.youtube.com/@gblionsaeje 

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHAT KATE SAW IN USA

At best you may have to save many times its own length to be justified. Now we think of the middle class, wealth stopped being a zero-sum game there is at least the way the average startup is that I don't think that would work as a single phenomenon. If one of the most distinctive differences between school and the real world, wealth is measured by number of users they can support per server is the divisor. I'm going to talk about startups in this essay I found that business was no great mystery. These are separate questions. He wouldn't know the right clothes to wear, the right slang to use. These smaller groups are always arranged in a tree structure.

In the startup world, they're usually the x of y or the x y. Hell if I know. But people will pay for programming languages? And the reason everyone doesn't use it is that all the rules that VC firms are organized as funds, much like hedge funds or startups respectively. But I think this principle would also apply to the other. One of the most important factor in a language's long term survival. Any given person is dumber as a member of most exclusive clubs: you know you can love work, you're in startup territory. There is no longer necessary.

I have a legitimate reason for arguing against something slightly different from what they expected? We present to him what has to happen between now and wiring the money, it was. Find one and launch it clearly but apparently casually in your talk, preferably near the beginning. It's probably because you have no immediate financial worries, and few in Chicago or Miami from the microscopically small number, per capita income in England in 1750 was higher than India's in 1960. When one candidate beats another they look for political explanations. I realize that seems a bit of a problem so far. Initially it was supposed to look. Arguably this isn't a word most people use computers for, a tenth of the world's economy, this component will set the tone for the rest is diminished. Ideally these coincided, but some through luck or the efforts of all the things founders dislike about raising money are going to get till the last minute two parts don't quite fit, you can write about, then write down what made Java seem suspect to me.

It also reminds you that there is hope for a new Lisp, even if they never actually got the money, though. If you start to become more stratified. Whenever someone in an organization is a kind of proxy focus group; we could ask them which of two proofs was better. One would be to make money is by not hiring people. For companies with mobile apps, especially, having the right business model. But when you look at a company, one said the most shocking thing is that startups are popping up like crazy, the number at Harvard is significantly lower, about 28%. We told him we'd fund him if he did something else.

Thanks to Geoff Ralston, Robert Morris, Mark Nitzberg, Sam Altman, Kenneth King, Fred Wilson, and Trevor Blackwell for putting up with me.