#Safer food Better Health

[spidybaby]

A trusting matter

Summary: A confession makes Kylian think you have no trust in him. Making him feel shamed and almost breaking your relationship.

Warnings: cursing, sex talk, slut shaming, sex shaming.

"What is this?"

You turn your head to where he is, finding him walking out of the bathroom. He has something in his hands, reading the back of the box.

"I don't know, what is it?" you ask him.

He tries to read what the box means, but he can't understand any of it.

"Comprimé pelliculé." he reads out loud for you. "What does that even means?"

You frown, stretching your hand to him. "Let me see."

He hands you the box, you want to laugh at him.

It was your birth control pills. He was trying to understand what the box says but the box only reference that the box contains certain amount of pills.

"It's my contraceptive pills." you smile at him, leaving the box on the nightstand next to your side of the bed. "Want to see a movie?"

He's quiet, what is a contraceptive pill? why are you taking them?

"Are you sick?" he asks, worried about it.

You shake your head, smiling at him.

"Healthy as always."

"Then why are you taking these pills?"

You chuckle, finding him adorable. "It's contraceptive, Ky."

"What's that?"

You then get why he was so worried, he doesn't understands what the pills are for.

"They are birth control." You smile.

"Birth control as in anti baby?" He asks, still confused.

You can't help but laugh at him. Thing that makes him pout. Why were you laughing at him?

"I'm not sure if >anti baby< is the right thing to say, but yes."

His mind is still confused, why were you drinking them if he's using protection every time you had sex.

"But I'm using protection." he says, not fully getting the purpose of the pills.

"Yeah, you are."

"Then why are you taking these for?"

You sigh, wondering what's inside of his head for him to be that confused.

"Condoms can break." you say. "And it also helps me with my period, it helps me with my cramps. Not only for the anti baby part." you explain to him.

You left him sitting in bed, grabbing your water bottle and walking to the kitchen. He follows you like a kid who's ready to botter their mother with questions.

"But if the condom breaks, you can take the plan b pill, don't you?"

You roll your eyes, "Yes, that's correct. But I don't want to get to that." You say, low and monotone tone. "Birth control is safer and the fail rate is less than others."

He nods, not asking more questions. He was one not to ask much about health or things like that because you were someone healthy.

"Hey, do you want some cake?" you ask him. Opening the fridge. "I have the one you like." you take the box out of your fridge, placing it on the counter.

He nods happy, accepting a piece of it. You were seated at the top of the counter, he was between your legs as you feed him the cake while jokingly pretending to do the airplane move on him.

"You got some right here." you grab a napkin, wiping the tip of his nose.

He loves spending times like these with you. Only the two of you, things you could only do from time to time due to his agenda. Especially now that he is in Madrid.

You were telling him about this series that you were watching. He was washing the dirty dishes from dinner since you made dinner. He then gets this thought.

"Hey." He says, getting your attention.

You humm, placing the leftover food back on the fridge. You were too focused to notice his mischievous grin. He walks over to you, waiting for you to close the fridge door and turn, hitting his chest in the process.

You left out a laugh when he carries you and places you back on top of the counter. Kissing your lips while his hands grip your hips.

"I was thinking." He began. "Since you are on birth control, I can stop with the condoms."

You stop smiling, looking at him with a frown.

"And it's going to be better, because it's going to be a life saver. All those times we had to stop because I didn't have any left."

He was smiling like crazy, thinking of how much your sex life was going to change with you taking birth control. It was easier, it was faster and he didn't needed to stop when he runs out of condoms.

"Kylian," you sigh, not wanting to have this conversation. "I don't want to stop using condoms."

He frowns, not understanding you.

"Wha-Why?"

You don't want to say the real reason. "I just don't." You push him a little, getting down of the counter and walking back to the room. "It's more safe if we both are protected."

"But isn't birth control enough?" He whines. "Don't you want to feel me completely?" He asks, getting closer.

He hugs you from behind, his lips on your neck, making you shiver at the sensation. He pulls you to him, making you let out a small whine.

"Stop it." You whisper.

You take his hands away from you, walking over to the bathroom to wash your teeth. You can't help but feel a little bit bad about denying him what he wants.

But you can't.

He looks at you from the door. Not understanding why you are so questionable about the topic. He tries to understand that maybe it's because you are fearing that something fails and you get pregnant.

Even if that was the case, he would be by your side with any decision you take. But since it was not the case and he doesn't really know the real reason.

"I get that you are scared, but this can be something good for us." he says, trying to open your mind to the possibilities. "And if pregnancy its what scare-"

"Kylian, please." you say, tired of the talk. "Drop it."

"I'm just saying that you don't have to worry."

"Listen, I don't want to stop using condoms, end of story."

You walk outside of the bathroom, grabbing the clothes from your bed and walking into the closet to hang them.

"I just don't understand why you are so closed to the option."

You stayed quiet, you want to drop the conversation. If only you would have known that leaving your pills there was going to cause so much commotion.

"Y/n?"

You turn your face to him, noticing how his eyes are full of doubt. You just sigh, shaking your head and continue ordering the clothes.

"So you are just going to ignore me?" he asks, mad at your attitude.

You finish, turning to see him. "Kylian, you have been with a lot of people, I haven't. Forgive me for wanting to take care for myself." you explote.

He's taken aback, what are you even meaning?

"Take care of yourself?" he asks mad. "So I'm not safe enough for you to have sex without me wearing a condom?"

"Remember when I told you that maybe doing a test to see if you were fully healthy trigger you?" you ask. "You told me that you had that when you get the medical exams at the club. I asked you that because I don't want whatever you groupies have." you scuff.

You walk out of the room, tired of him insisting on talking about it. You take a few breaths, finally getting what you just said to him. You turn, finding him walking towards his things.

"Kylian." you call.

He just lift his hand, making you shut your mouth. You just observe him pick his things. He doesn't want to say anything back, afraid of telling something wrong.

"You were insisting, I asked you to drop it." you try.

"Yeah, I should have." he says, the way his voice is so low that scares you. "But lucky me I didn't, cause I found out my girlfriend thinks I'm fucking around and that I'm going to catch something and giving it to her."

"Kylian, don't go." you say, blocking the exit. "Let's just calm down and have a conversation."

"Oh! you want to talk now?" he laughs. "Well, now I don't want to."

You watch him go out of your house. Hearing the sound of his car getting away from your property. You feel bad about what the way this conversation goes.

"But why did you even say that?" your best friend says.

You look at her like a kid whose parent is scolding.

"I asked him to stop with the conversation, and when he didn't I lashed out."

You feel the guilt of the words you say to him. You know that what you say hurted him, you know that maybe this isn't something he would forget.

"I tried everything, calling, texting, even went to his place, but he was back in Madrid." you sigh, not sure of what else to do.

Your friend tries to think about what you can do to tried to make your situation right. It's a difficult position, because you lashed out when he kept insisting on doing something you weren't comfortable about.

The thing is, you would have been comfortable, but when you asked him something you asked your last partner, he refused.

Your mother taught you that you needed to be careful when it comes to sex. She works in health care and constantly sees how girl get things because the boys they are with are also with half the city.

Hearing stories about girls being sick and having to go out of their ways to fix something their boyfriends or sex partners got them was your daily stories.

So when you asked Kylian in a not direct way, he told you that he didn't needed that, he got those test every season and every six months thanks to the club.

> "I was thinking" you say, sitting next to him on the couch. "In this biology class I'm taking, they are encouraging us to get these test to now we are healthy."

"Really? what kind?" he asks.

"Oh you know, some blood ones, some normal check out to discard any std, any sickness. And my friends and I are a little bit scared of doing it." You show him the pamphlet.

"Scared?" he asks, a little concerned about you. "Is it that invasive?" he read what the test are.

"Not sure, just you know needles. They are taking their boyfriends and I want to ask if you want to join me, maybe?"

He reads the whole thing, looking at you with a smile. "I've done these tests. They are not that bad." he says. "Don't worry, take it from me."

"Oh, you have?" you ask, smiling. "When was the last time?"

He thinks for a moment. "I think before the year started."

"That's almost eight months ago." you say. "Don't you think that it's better if you get another one?" you say, batting your eyelashes.

"No, thank you." he says. "I'll get one when I get to the medical testing in Madrid. No need for more."

"But, you will do your girlfriend a favor."

"Let me think." he says, pressing his fingers on his temples. He pretends to think about it for a moment. "No, let's go to eat." he says, kissing your temple and walking to the kitchen. <

You met Kylian only six months ago. You didn't sleep with him right away, you wanted to meet him before even think about that. You liked him too much and didn't wanted to rush things.

You know that he was someone who got girls that wanted to spend a night with him. You read news about him "hooking up" with different models or influencers.

That he was flying them to Paris, when he was in PSG. Then when he announced the moving the news were that he was moving this model from Paris with him to Madrid.

You never cared about those things, you trusted him. He was someone who was very family orientated. He prefers to spend the night with him at home than to go out.

When he asked if you wanted to become official, you were thrilled. You love spending time with him, and not to lie but the trips, the gifts and the games passes were an amazing extra thing.

"I'm going to Madrid." You say to your friend.

"You are crazy?" she asks. "What about your job?

"I mean, a signed Real Madrid jersey will do for our boss." you say, writing the email. "Also, I booked him and his mistress some tickets for Hawaii, so he better give me the time or his wife would get the email with the information." you smile at her.

When your boss asked for not one but two signed jerseys, you booked your ticket. You knew where Kylian was living, you even have a copy of his keys for emergencies.

You grab a small bag, packing only a few things. You hoped that he wanted to see you. Your friend drove you to the airport, it was not a long flight. Only two hours and a few minutes. You will survive.

To you luck, you notice how the Real Madrid instagram is posting about the players training, so you have time to think about what you will say and how you would say it.

You have a copy of the pass for the gate, so you with no problem got inside. You tried to think about the situation, mentally hitting yourself for being that mean and dumb.

You know that the two of you were wrong, he on one side for forcing the conversation on you, even when you asked him to drop it in a nice way.

And you, for basically telling him that you didn't want his rabies that he probably got from his one night stands.

You sat down in the couch, tired of overthinking the situation. You don't want to lose him, not over something like that. Even when you basically accused him of cheating.

You were so into your mind that you don't pick the sound of the door opening and closing. You just hear the voices and tense.

He wasn't alone.

"Oh hi!" a dark hair boy says, smiling. "Kylian, you didn't told us you got company, we need more drinks."

You wave at him, a little shy to say something.

"Company?" Kylian asks confused. That's when he sees you, red cheeks and awkward smile. "Hey." he says, walking towards you.

"Hey." you say. "Hi, by the way." you finally say.

"This is Vini." Kylian says, pointing at him. "Vini, this is my girlfriend. I talked to you guys about her."

You smile at him. He still refers about you like his girlfriend.

"Nice to meet you." he smiles. "I'll call Rodry, he will bring more drinks."

You look at Kylian, trying to get an explanation so you don't look too lost. "We are watching a game." he says.

You nod, feeling a little dumb because there's people there and you can't really talk with him like you wanted to.

"No need to call Rodry." you say, standing up. "I'll be upstairs, so you can have more privacy."

You give him a small smile and walk a little fast to the stairs, feeling a little embarrassed about how your plan is going. You feel a hand on your arm, making you turn.

It was Kylian, he then moves his hand from your arm to you own hand. He grabs it, walking upstairs. He leads the way, you can't keep your eyes away from him.

He can feel you sight, he feels the need to turn around. When you two are inside his room he turn around, looking at you with this neutral expression.

You wait for him to say something, but he didn't. He wanted you to start. "Hi." you say, smiling a little. You really don't know what to say.

He want to laugh, but he remembers that he's mad. So he won't do it. You feel defeated, wanting for him to smile at your awkwardness.

"How long are your friends staying?" you ask.

You don't want to talk with him when his friends are downstairs. You want to be able to have a conversation with him and two be able to express how you feel without caring. You can't do that if there's people waiting on him.

"A little bit after the game, we have training in the afternoon, so we can stay a little bit later than normal. But I can ask them to leave right after the game."

You shake your head. "No, it's okay. I can wait."

"Vini did asked Rodry for more drinks, so you kind of have to get down at some point or they will come get you." he jokes.

"Maybe after the break." you smile back. "I'll take a shower first."

He nods, smiling at you. He walks downstairs, wanting to call the night off and hear you out. He wasn't mad anymore, just a little ego hurt. But he can't be mad at you that long. Not you.

"Rodry and Jude are almost here." Vini smiles. "Is your girlfriend joining? or did I scared her when I mentioned drinks?" he asks, joking.

"She's taking a shower, she will join us in a few."

You can hear the way they are screaming and cursing at whatever is going on at the game. You laugh when you hear one of his friends saying something in a very bad french.

The laugh Kylian left out is music to your ears. You sat on the stairs, not feeling like going down. You missed him, his humor and his laugh.

"No way these motherfuckers are only giving two extra minutes." Jude yells. "That's bullshit."

"Innit" Vini laughs, making fun of Jude's accent.

The other three boys laugh, making Jude curse Vini. The game came to an end, you know because the guys criticize the way the referee did and how the coaches did.

You got up, slowly walking upstairs.

"Okay, ladies." Kylian says. "Time to go home."

"We still have drinks." Rodry says.

"My girlfriend just flew in from Paris, pardon me that I want to spend time with her and not with your asses."

You stop on your tracks, wanting to hear more. You feel your heart warming up.

He wanted to spend time with you.

"Got it, let's go, boys."

"You own us one."

"I want to be with my girlfriend now."

You walk back into his room, smiling.

You regret not talking thing with him. You know that everything was avoidable if you would've been honest from the beginning.

You sat on the bed, watching the door carefully. You can't wait any more. The ninety something minutes you spend waiting for the game to be over were killing you.

The door opens quickly. You tried to act as if you weren't waiting for it to open. Earning a chuckle from you boyfriend. You feel the heat in your face, embarrassed of him discovering you.

He closes the door, walking to the bathroom. The door is left open, you can see how he's stripping his clothes. You fall back into the bed, not taking your eyes away from him.

He knows what he is doing.

You can hear the shower. You take a deep breath, mentally hitting yourself. You have to control yourself. You close your eyes, words repeating on and on and on. You know what you want to say and you will say it.

You are to into your thoughts, practicing how you will deliver the words, how you are giving him the message that you trust him and never doubt his loyalty.

You feel a cold hand grabbing you ankle. Making you open your eyes, you saw Kylian with towel around his waist, his eyes glued to yours.

You smile at him. "Hi." you whisper.

He smiles, shaking his head no. He wants to tease you, make you feel desperate. He takes his times changing. Picking carefully the boxers he would use.

You can tell what his plan is, and it's working.

He walks over to you. Sitting on the chair that's on the corner of his bedroom. "Mon cher, Y/n." he smiles mischievously. "What brings you here tonight?"

Your eyes are glued to his, you won't look down at his body.

You have to be strong.

"Don't you have a tshirt?" you ask, making him smile.

"I have tons." he points with his head towards the closet. "But the one I normally use to sleep is the one that you are wearing."

You blush, looking down at the shirt you took from him. "Oh" you say.

You look back at him, noticing how his grin is bigger. "You were saying?"

You sigh, knowing he's not going to give in. You sat back on the bed.

"I want to apologize, what I said was very out of line." you began. "I didn't meant to ever made you feel like I was shaming you for your previous sex life. Neither meant to doubt your loyalty to me."

He looks at you in the eyes. He can tell that you are being honest.

"What trigger your reaction?" he asks. "Was it something that I said in the past? Anything you read online about me?"

"No." you shake your head. "You know how my mom works at this clinic?" you ask him, making him nod. "Well, since I was a kid she told me about how girls that came there had all these problems. They came thinking it was a normal cold and ended up being something else, because their partners were sleeping around. And that made me feel like I needed to be extra careful with all."

"Even with me." he says low. He was saying that more to himself.

"You are the second person I've been with." you say, crawling to the edge of the bed, near the chair. "I felt so much pressure, my mom kept telling me about how I needed to be careful, that football players were always around. And not that I don't trust you, I do. But-"

"But you wanted to be sure you were safe." he finishes your sentence.

You nod, "I trust you, Ky. I do."

He stands up, opening his arms to you. He wraps his arms around your figure, embracing you into a much needed hug.

You inhale his scent, feeling better now that you explained everything to him. Not caring that load of always being alert.

"I'm sorry I was pushy about the subject. It wasn't nice of me."

"No, it's ok-"

"It's not." He interrupts you. "You asked me to drop it, and I kept talking.

He separates from the hug, walking over to his nightstand. He opens the drawer, taking an envelope.

He hands you the envelope. You take it with curiosity. Checking it to know what is it.

He did the test for you.

He wanted you to trust him. Even if that took a small medical check and blood test.

"I know now that it's not because you don't trust me, but because you are protecting yourself." He says, going back into the embrace.

"You didn't have to." You smile at him. "Thank you."

"If that's what it takes to make my girl know that I'm only hers, then I'll do anything."

You grab his cheeks, kissing him.

You missed the taste of him. The way his lips felt against yours. How his warm temperature mix with yours.

"I'm willing to try if you are." You smile, pecking him.

He smiles at you. The way his eyes got a little dark. You separate from him. Putting your arms in the air for him to take your shirt off.

"Je t'aime." He says, kissing your lips before taking the fabric off of you.

You kiss him to shut him up, pushing him down the mattress with you. "Show me how much."

[nidalzomlot]

Help me and Support My Family in Gaza

I am 34 years old, and my family and I are in desperate need of assistance.

We are living in constant fear for our lives and the lives of our loved ones. We urgently need your help to find a safe haven where we can live or to escape the horrors of this war.

My Story

Before the war, I lived a normal life with my family in Gaza. We worked hard to build a better future, but unfortunately, everything was lost in an instant. Our home was destroyed, and we lost everything we had. Now, we are living in extremely harsh conditions, lacking basic necessities like food, water, and electricity, and we are suffering from a lack of essential medical care.

Our Current Situation

My family consists of myself, my children Omar, Odi, and Alma

Me and their mom, Azhar, worn down by the relentless struggle, our living conditions are dire, lacking the most basic facilities. Clean water or acceptable diapers are a rare luxury, and the constant threat of violence surrounds us.

We have to believe someone will hear our story. Someone will help us."

You can be that someone. Your donation can help my family escape the horrors of war and start anew in a safe place. With your support, Omar can play soccer again, Odai can build his dreams, and little Alma can finally know peace in a brighter future.

Medical Needs: Some of my family members are suffering from serious health issues that require urgent treatment and medical care, which are unavailable in Gaza.

Shelter: We are currently living in temporary shelter that does not provide adequate protection from the ongoing bombings and the constant danger surrounding us.

Our Goal

We aim to raise funds to:

Safe Shelter

We need a safe place to live peacefully and securely, away from the horrors of war. To secure a suitable apartment with basic necessities—such as a bathroom, water, protection from diseases and pollutants, and shielding from radiation and shrapnel—costs approximately €900 monthly.

Medical Care

Ensuring that our family receives necessary medical treatment and healthcare is crucial. We need funds to cover medical treatments, milk, and diapers for my baby, amounting to €500 monthly.

Escape the War

Our ultimate goal is to relocate to a safer place outside of Gaza hopefully to Egypt. The costs are significant, but the safety of our children and ourselves depends on it.

Here's a breakdown of the costs involved:

Coordination fee for leaving Gaza:

€10,000 per person. We need €20,000 to ensure both my wife, Azhar, and I can leave Gaza safely.

Travel and entry costs to Gaza: €2,000.

Purchasing a home and living essentials in Egypt: €30,000.

Educational and medical expenses in Egypt: €30,000 annually.

Monthly living expenses for food and beverages: €3,000.

How You Can Help

Financial Donations: Any donation, no matter how small, can make a significant difference in our lives. Help us reach our goal by providing the financial support we desperately need.

Share Our Story: Please share our story with your friends, family, and on social media to raise awareness about our dire situation and attract more support.

Moral Support: Words of encouragement and prayers can give us the strength to continue fighting for survival.

Thank You for Your Support

We are grateful to everyone who contributes to helping us during these difficult times. Your generosity and solidarity give us hope and bring us one step closer to safety and stability.

With heartfelt respect and gratitude,

Nidal Zomlot

DONATE HERE

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[howtofightwrite]

re: the question about stunning someone with head trauma (and how you Should Not unless you're okay with them dying) would knocking the wind out of a character be a better way to have that happen?

Yes, but no.

So, knocking the wind out of someone is a lot safer. I wouldn't say perfectly safe, this is how Harry Houdini died, after all. However, it's a lot safer that head wounds, and usually wouldn't result in any major injuries.

The downside is against a trained opponent, who's ready for the hit, it's not going to work. This isn't called a, “sucker punch,” without reason. If your abdominal muscles are tensed for the punch, they will absorb a lot of the blow. So this works better against the unaware or the untrained.

The other problem is, it's not going to take someone out for the duration of the scene. In a self defense situation, winding your attacker is great, because it lets you create an opening to start your escape. But, it's not going to stun someone for minutes. From personal experience, you can measure the time you gain from winding your opponent in seconds.

There are combos that start with winding someone and lead into more painful blows that can extend that opening. But, there is a continuity of force: Incapacitating someone for longer requires inflicting harm that is increasingly difficult (impossible) to moderate.

If the goal is to escape from someone who means you harm, then yeah, an elbow strike to their stomach, will give you the opportunity to get out of there.

If the goal is to have a prolonged conversation while standing over a defeated (but still living foe), that's not really something you can do intentionally. At the same time, intentional application of lethal force isn't as reliable as you might expect. For example, gunshot wounds to the head are only fatal ~98% of the time.

The issue with this train of thought is that the individual inflicting harm cannot moderate for the desired outcome. Knocking someone out, only for them to recover, is 100% possible. However, you can't do that intentionally. And having a character who does bounce another person's head off the pavement until they stop twitching, is an incredibly violent act, and it's not going to be a casual, “well they're just knocked out.” It's a, “Carl, that kills people,” moment.

If you want a character that is disproportionately violent, and probably scares everyone around them a bit, this will feed into that presentation. If you want a character who's a good person because they don't kill people, then attempting to inflict life altering injuries on someone is probably not the best way to demonstrate their ethics.

(Remember, Batman doesn't kill people, he just shatters their spines; leaving them at the mercy of the American health care system. So, the real moral lesson of Batman is that it's better to be psychologically unwell and wealthy, than economically disadvantaged. You can murder half of the city, and he'll gently deposit you in a padded cell that you can escape from whenever you get bored of the place, but if you so much as imply that you'll resort to less than legal means to put food on the table for your starving family, he will end your existence as a vertebrate.)

And, yes, I fully realize that, by the nature of his character, and comics, Batman (like most superhero comics) is poorly suited to discuss the complex factors involved in street level crime. This this is more of a critique on the treatment of “violence is okay, so long as no one ends up in the morgue,” more than a specific character critique.

There's another part to this that worth remembering, and I know I've said this before, but when you're writing, violence offers diminishing returns. Violence releases the tension you've been building. You can think of it like a rubber band gun. Until you pull the trigger, that rubber band is under tension, and the moment you release it, you hit your audience. Now, getting hit a rubber band is a sharp, and somewhat unpleasant experience, but the second time is going to annoy you less than the first, and if you're constantly bombarded with them, you'll quickly become numb to their impacts.

I'm not saying that you can't, or shouldn't, use violence, however as a writer, you are paying a very real cost whenever you use violence to resolve a scene. It's something that you do need to consider carefully. Part of my aversion to questions like this comes from this structural consideration. A lot of writers make the mistake of using non-lethal violence somewhat indiscriminately. This can absolutely harm the credibility of your characters, and your world.

There is absolutely a place for violence in stories, however, this is a tool that is most effective when used sparingly, or deliberately. (This doesn't mean the violence itself needs to be deliberate, just your use of it.)

A lot of the time when someone says, “I want to use violence to temporarily remove a character from the scene,” that's a scenario that will harm your story. There are a lot of ways to remove a character from a scene, and I don't mean, “alternatives to fighting,” like hiding from them or talking them down. The limit here is your creativity, and in a lot of ways, violence is the least interesting way to achieve your goals.

-Starke

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[neodymiumcuilz]

Hello dears! 🇵🇸🍉🙏I am asking you to support my campaign to help me reach my goal. I am in dire need of your support now to help me stay alive and safe. Gaza is a very dangerous place both in terms of living and lives. The family consists of 20 members, most of them are young children. I need your financial support to enable me to get the basic needs for my family until the Rafah crossing is😭 reopened to transport my family to safety and peace. Please help a family stay alive through your small donations or through your shares to others. Thank you very much for standing by those in need. My campaign 90-ghoset has been documented🍉🙏

"Hello, I am Ahmed from the Gaza Strip, I am still alive after ten months of war. This is my fifth war too. But this war is unlike any other. I am trying to raise money for me and my family, as we are determined to leave to safety while this disaster continues. We want to leave the Gaza Strip towards Egypt through the Rafah crossing and Hala Company.

This was a very difficult decision for me, but this is my fate and the fate of my family. I feel ashamed to ask you to donate enough to save me and my family of 20, most of whom are young children, by raising enough money to reach safety. "Hala Company details are at the bottom of the article." Please participate, even if it is a small part. Donate any small amount, share my photos, share your story, anything that makes a difference. I have complete hope in you and your generosity.

Father Fathi suffers from heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, and son Mahmoud suffers from back and cartilage pain, which is why he does not have a medical mattress due to sleeping on the floor, which makes him feel severe pain."

Hello everyone, please listen to the words of @ahmedhells-blog who has reached out to me asking for help.

My friends, the people of Gaza deserve human rights, like comfort, warmth, saftey, shelter and to be healthy and have food to eat and water to drink. However in Gaza this is scarce. They can barely afford anything due to the high cost of living, and they are left without income to survive the hellish conditions.

If you are able to donate I urge you to please do so, any donations, no matter how small go towards building a better future for this family. Please help save them from their situation and reunite the family in safer environment, along with providing health care. Any contributions make a difference. Be a kind person here;

Please share @ahmedhells-blog share his story to help get his voice heard. Thank you.

[creature-wizard]

This is very random but, can we talk about the rise in “toxin free eating/clean eating”? Because all of this is so wild to me. The rise in “cleanliness” in general is so weird. (Not saying caring about hygiene is weird that’s not what this “cleanliness culture” is about.)

I’m sorry but drinking raw milk isn’t going to give you this missing nutrition BIG DAIRY has been keeping from you so they could fill you with toxins. Pasteurizing milk is a process so you don’t fucking die!!!

An uptick in bird flu cases have been reported in Dairy cows recently, and with all the dumbasses drinking raw milk that’s just putting yourself and so many others at risk.

But do they see that risk no. They are too busy posting tiktoks about how Air Fryers give people autism. And how “processed” foods are filled with evil toxins and give people autism. (Why the fuck does everything now a days give you autism) What do they think processes food are?? Putting a food in a wrapping is processing it.

Sugar, pasteurized milk, chemicals in an ingredient list you don’t understand, aren’t giving you autism or parasites or “toxins”. It’s crazy they will say they have a borax deficiency and start eating LITERAL BORAX THE LAUNDRY DETERGENT, but demonize sugar or oil. Stop moralizing your EDs and spreading false information to feed your delusions. Let’s also not ignore the political rhetoric that also helps prop up these ideas. (That’s way bigger conversation I don’t want to get into. Also I’m saying “your” and “you” not at YOU but at them. Sorry for any typos, I hope you understand what I’m trying to get at.)

We can and should talk about this! So many people today have been led to believe that Food In The Past was so much better and nobody got sick from anything they ate, which was just. So Not True. Like the reality is that food today is way safer than food in the past, and the health problems people suffer today were absolutely suffered by people in the past. Like you only have to read something like the Lacnunga to see this for yourself.

[weaselle]

@biggyb I wanted to answer you and then it became so much that i felt it needed to be it's own post.

So, if it was enacted on a large or ubiquitous scale, that is absolutely a concern, that if everybody had more money prices would just increase, rendering the UBI useless.

what would we do about that?

One the one hand that is basically already what happens anyway, which is why cost of living increases etc are a thing. And on the other hand there are a few mechanisms that can curb that, things like rent control laws.

But ultimately, personally, i believe the real answer is to remove the money aspect and provide the basic necessities directly.

When we say UBI we’re basically talking about the government giving us money (which has to come from somewhere, and that probably means some kind of progressive wealth tax, which is really just wealth redistribution at that point but whatever)

Anyway I believe it would be more effective for the government to provide those things directly (but not exclusively). I believe the baseline for society is everybody has free access to:

HEALTHCARE

All forms of healthcare (this is an important one, the very best we can do should be available to anyone who needs it, with no conditions, no barriers to entry like complicated paperwork, if you need health care you should get it, period.

INFORMATION

This means a free press, and education, true, but i also mean internet access, which at this point in our society i think is necessary for equality

NUTRITION

So, not just food, but a complete diet. This can still be very basic, little more than rice and beans, with medical exemption options of course, but it can be enough that it is the bare minimum food types, maybe rice beans and a couple types of dark green veggie and a couple types of vitamin C fruit. Possibly eggs or peanuts or something. Nothing fancy, just good quality ingredients that contain enough nutrition to keep you not only alive but fully healthy. And i think this should be provided in both raw ingredient form and cooked form.

CLOTHING

This one gets overlooked a lot, but kids need shoes, and struggling people need blankets and jackets, and everybody needs access to clothes, actually. Again, can be very basic, maybe government issued overalls, socks, jackets, blankets, and some kind of cheap tennis shoes would be most of it, but everybody needs access to clothes.

And finally HOUSING

So for example, the government would build apartment complexes that were just freely available to the public, first come first serve, you sign for it and the apartment is yours until you give it up or take another apartment.

We already have our government building and running public schools and libraries, we just need to upgrade those a bit. We already have governments building and running hospitals, we just need to do a lot more of that a lot better and get these private insurance companies to fuck off.

And then we just need to provide the clothes, open the Food Distribution Centers and build the housing.

Because then it won’t be money, so you don’t have to worry about the prices of everything going up because everybody has more income, which you are correct, is a concern. So just provide those things directly.

This is much less like taking money from the super wealthy and putting it into the bank accounts of everyone else, and much more the way taxes are supposed to work taking money from those that can spare it and using it to build a society that is better for everyone - even improving things for those super wealthy people (who now at the very least get to walk around safer from the sick and the homeless and the desperate - i mean violent crime alone would probably do whatever the opposite of sky-rocket is. Ground-dive.)

And people will still get jobs and spend money! Like, just because you provide government overalls, doesn’t mean people will stop wanting fashion brands. But now nobody will die of exposure from not having clothes. Same with everything, for example, the government school system is extremely developed, but there are still private schools, right?

That would be true of all this. If you gave everyone access to basic nutrition, there would still be steak houses and sushi restaurants and stuff. But now you could actually have the public boycott foods they felt were sourced unethically, or you could, say, regulate the fishing industry into sustainability even if that meant fish became so expensive that the average person could only eat fish once a year or whatever. Businesses might die from it, but no people would. Not even the people who used to own those businesses.

For my money, no money is where it’s at. But UBI would be a nice stepping stone.

What UBI experiments show us is that when you give people money and they DON’T get a job, but just exist at the minimum level, they are usually only doing so to accomplish something like go back to school for a degree or take care of a disabled or elderly loved one.

And the same would be true if we just provided everyone with the basics (except healthcare, everybody must get the best we have when it comes to healthcare, anything else is a moral failing that doesn’t bear contemplating)

but yeah, there would be people who would only wear government issued overalls, only live in government barracks, and only eat government rice and beans… but UBI experiments show us that it would be a small percentage of the population, and they'd only be doing it either to accomplish something worthy, or because they were in some way impaired. 90% of everyone else would still be out there getting jobs so they could move into a nice house and eat fish, but now with the security to quit if those jobs didn’t treat them well!

imo, THAT’s how you fix the economic issues surrounding UBI, you take the “income” out of the equation and you just straight up provide the Universal Basics themselves.

"but how would we build all these apartments and run these food distribution centers?"

well, this dovetails into my other favorite solution for the united states.

See, we spend a FUCKTON on the military, and we're just never going to make that stop happening, apparently.

So I say, we INCREASE the military. I say double it even.

And then we use them here, keeping them sharp and employed and trained etc by doing public works.

The military is already full of engineers and cooks and doctors and electricians and forklift operators and everything else.

So get them building apartments and running food distribution and supplementing hospital staffs etc.

All that stuff involves, logistics, and teamwork, and knowing how to run projects and accomplish missions, it's all good training even for the combat personnel, which is only 15% of the people in the military btw.

The rest are those other jobs i mentioned. So hire and train even more of them, and then deploy them here, repairing bridges and building hospitals and managing clothing warehouses and stuff.

anyway. Food for thought.

[hxney-lemcn]

Scavenger — Farmworld! Finn Mertens x gn! reader

summery: After Finn saved their life, reader becomes a family friend of the Mertens. What happens when the family becomes too accustomed to their presence?

tw: mentions of blood and injury (nothing too descriptive but it's there). hurt/comfort. this is gn! but I couldn't find a good term for a gn! parent...but you can choose what they call you :)

a/n: I am so down bad for Farmworld Finn that it brought me out of my hole and got me writing again lmao. So enjoy

wc: 1.9k

Master List

The sun beat down heavily as I ventured from stall to stall. I shifted my scarf to better cover my shoulders from the sunlight. I was a scavenger. I explored the desolate lands that were already looted as is and took any interesting trinkets I could manage to find. I’d trade it for food or any other things I needed, then I’d head out of the city to the Merten's household. It was a lineup I ended in a long time ago. 

Years ago, I found myself attacked by a group of mutant coyotes while on a hunt. I fought them off the best I could, but ended up wounded in return. I cursed myself for not carrying more medical supplies. I cleaned and wrapped my wounds to the best of ability, but I knew I needed to head back to the city. The walk back felt longer than I remembered, and suddenly in my slightly dazed mind, I realized I wasn’t aware of my surroundings. 

Scavenging was a dangerous practice. You had to be aware of your surroundings at all times, because for all you knew you were on some gang territory and you’d be dead or seriously injured. I myself didn’t join any gang, I worked alone. Which may seem dumb, but I find that you’re not too much safer in any gang than alone. They’re all selfish and only seem to care for themselves. Even without gangs, you have to be aware of wildlife, as everything has become more dangerous. Not to mention stocking up. You can’t bring too much with you, not that there’s much supplies anyways, but if you bring too little you might as well be dead.

I kept walking, trying to gather in my surroundings. Blood started to drip down my arm, my wound having been poorly bandaged. I tried to stay calm as the pain was pounding throughout my body, hoping glob would look down on me with pity and bring me someone who would help. 

I couldn’t stop the pained yelp as I absentmindedly brushed against a thorny bush. My chest constricted as the world started to spin, stars invading my vision. If this was how I ended…it would honestly be really sad. I kept walking until I stumbled to the ground. Perhaps I should rest. I leaned back against a tree, focusing on breathing properly. The swirling got worse as I heard a branch being broken. I took out my dagger, looking around, which only made everything worse.  

I closed my eyes hard, trying to correct my vision. If I’m dying, I’m going down fighting. More rustling was heard and I quickly opened my eyes, only to see a man in front of me. He was tall, fit, and had one prosthetic arm. I don’t remember seeing him in any gangs, I would remember since he definitely stands out. I can only hope he’ll be merciful.

“Please…help,” I whispered out before I finally fell unconscious. 

That was how I met Finn Mertens.

Merciful he was. Him and his children helped nurse me back to health, and in return, I helped around the house where I could. At first, Finn didn’t want me doing anything, but I insisted that I wasn’t going to be a burden on this already large family. So he agreed I could help the kids with small house chores. It felt embarrassing when he told his oldest kid, Jay, to keep an eye on me. 

When I was nearly fully healed, I thanked the family, and promised to visit and bring them something for their kindness. Finn seemed a bit weary, but didn’t protest. 

Which led to now. I’ve grown quite close to the family. When I’m out scavenging, I can’t help but search for toys or items the kids would enjoy, or possibly even Finn…but he’s a bit hard to please. When in the city, I trade for items that I know will help them out, and in return, they allow me to stay for as long as I need to. It's a nice symbiotic relationship. 

I smiled as I finally approached the house. I managed to get some really good meat, and I was even thinking of cooking something for the family. I only hope Finn doesn’t react too badly to the proposition. I understand how the soup they’ve been eating means a lot to them, and I hope I’m not overstepping, but I also know how they must want to try something different.

I knocked on the door, hoping it would be Finn answering so I could talk to him about the meal first. It seemed like glob really was on my side as Finn stood on the other side.

“You know you don’t have to knock anymore,” Finn greeted.

I looked off to the side a bit embarrassed, “I know but I still feel awkward about it.” I wasn’t sure if I was seeing things, but I swear he slightly smiled. 

“Come in,” He motioned. 

“Oh!” I exclaimed, almost forgetting what I was gonna ask due to his handsomeness. “Hey I was wondering-”

I was cut off by a chorus of the younger kids calling out my name.

“Hey guys,” I smiled, setting my sack on the kitchen counter. “I gotta talk to your dad real quick okay? Then I’ll come and see what you’re up to.”

“Okay!” They cheered, pushing each other slightly as they ran off. 

I turned back to Finn who was already looking at me, I felt shy under his gaze. It was held with a warmth I normally only see him look at his kids with. I opened my sack revealing the cut of meat I got.

“I was wondering if it would be okay to cook something for dinner,” I finally said, keeping my eyes down. It was silent for a few seconds which put me a bit on edge, “I don’t mean to overstep or anything, I totally understand if you want to stick to the stew. I can just add the meat to that-”

“Okay.”

I looked up at him in shock, “Seriously?”

He nodded, “I can help.”

My heart stuttered, not expecting him to let me cook in the first place, let alone help. “O-okay!” I slightly stuttered, feeling a warmth enveloping me at the situation. “Do you have any seasonings?”

At first it was only Finn and I cooking, but slowly, the kids started joining as well. Some came when I didn’t come find them like I promised earlier, others enticed by the smell of something other than stew. It was nice, a big family bonding moment. 

I think that's what kept drawing me back. Not only did I find Finn to be handsome, but his family was such a welcoming one. I wasn’t a fan of children, I didn’t really have any experience with them. Growing up in a wasteland, children meant more mouths to feed. And I was never really focused on finding love or making a family. I had to look after myself. I didn’t have land, or any prestige. Just a scavenger looking for their next meal. 

So being tended to and cared for by five children was a bit of a shock. I got to know them on a personal level and my aversion to children seemed to vanish. I was awkward around them at first, but I learned how to treat them, and soon I found myself wanting to be there for them. The domesticity of it all warmed me in a way I thought was impossible. It made me forget that the world was unforgiving, that there was still good in the world. 

“Dinner is served,” I stated proudly, seven plates of food set on the table.

“Thanks (momma/daddy),” Bonnie thanked absentmindedly before digging in.

I felt myself tense, looking over to Finn who also seemed tense. Oh glob please tell me I didn’t do something wrong. I mean her calling me as her parent wasn’t my fault, but I didn’t want to seem like I was replacing their beloved mother. Nothing was said as the children ate without worry. Jay tried to talk about something he found, and I tried replying like I wasn’t sweating bullets, but I think he felt the tension too. 

Once dinner was finished, I went to wash the dishes, wanting to avoid any thought of what just happened. If I pretend like nothing happened, it never did…yup. It didn’t help that after everyone was finished eating (which was very quick), Finn just walked out the door. 

“Hey,” Jay popped in. 

“Hello,” I replied, putting the dish to the side to be rinsed.

Without saying anything, he helped rinse the dishes. It was like that for a minute before he finally said something, “You’ve become a member of our family. We still love our mother…but you’ve helped bring back something she left. Dad’s been a lot happier…Neptr’s been learning a lot more with the gadgets you bring him. Stormo’s gotten a lot stronger with the basic defense you teach him. Fern found that he loves nature through what you’ve taught him in the forest. Bonnie loves having someone to play with. And…you’ve helped me with…my thing…”

“How’s Little D been?” I asked with a soft smile.

“Good,” Jay blushed slightly. “I know Dad is still struggling with Mom’s passing…but you’re good for this family. So…please don’t leave.”

I looked over to him in shock, “Leave? Oh Jay, I’m not leaving. I just…don’t want to seem like I’m replacing her. And ultimately, the decision is up to your father. I mean…if he deems…I don’t know, that I’ve become too close, or…I know I’m just overthinking. I just don’t want to upset anyone.”

“You’re not upsetting anyone,” Finn’s voice rang out from behind us. I felt myself flustered in embarrassment at the fact he heard about my worries. Jay took it as his queue to leave and I turned around to face the man I was slightly avoiding. Finn motioned me to follow him and we sat in the living room, the kids being occupied by their own interests.

“I’m…sorry if I made you feel that way earlier,” Finn apologized, staring into the fireplace. 

“It’s not your fault,” I laughed nervously. “You know how I get.” His gaze fell onto me, and the pure emotion in his eyes made me melt.

“I’ve come to realize just how important you are to our family, how important you are to me,” He continued. My heart melted even worse when he called his family ours. “...I…” He seemed to struggle with what he was trying to communicate.

I slid closer to him, putting my hand over his gently. Our fingers intertwined and suddenly the room felt really warm. I think I know what he’s trying to imply, but I want to be 100% sure. We sat like that for a few minutes, letting him think of the right way of saying what he wanted to. 

“Would you stay, and officially become a part of our family?” He asked, the lightest tint of pinks covering his cheeks. 

“Are you asking me to marry you?” I blurted out, feeling my own cheeks warm at the thought. Although we never officially courted or dated…I wouldn’t be opposed. 

“We can take things slow if you’d rather.”

Leaning over, I kissed his cheek, “I think we’ve been going pretty slow.”

…

“Good job Bonnie,” Jay whispered, handing her a fruit he got from the city as they watched their dad and new parent finally come together.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Robyn Pennacchia at Wonkette:

In 1911, 146 garment workers died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, because their boss had the brilliant money-saving idea of locking the doors to the stairwells and exits in order to prevent them from taking unauthorized breaks. The streets were littered with the bodies of people who threw themselves out of the windows, hoping that would be a safer escape. One of the witnesses to that horrific moment in American history was Frances Perkins. Already a suffragist, consumer and labor rights activist, and sociology professor, Perkins was so horrified by the fire that she committed herself to improving labor standards in New York and elsewhere. In 1934, after FDR appointed her Secretary of Labor, she became the first woman in a presidential Cabinet (and to this day, the longest serving Secretary of Labor in US history). As Secretary of Labor, Perkins created the Bureau of Labor Standards in order to improve working conditions for the American labor force. In 1971, the Bureau of Labor Standards became the more comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Administration, better known as OSHA. Over the years, OSHA has instituted regulations that have protected American workers from getting hurt or killed on the job So, naturally, a Republican wants it gone. For the third time in as many years, Rep. Andy Biggs has introduced the NOSHA Act, an act that would abolish OSHA in favor of letting states set their own safety standards.

[...] During his first term, Trump gutted OSHA, and he’s promised to do worse in his next. Which will be very hard, because in his first term, his administration killed a yearslong project that was specifically dedicated to preparing hospitals, nursing homes and other medical facilities … for a pandemic. Because when will one of those happen, right? Also, on Monday, Trump demanded that every regulatory agency kill 10 regulations for every new one they implement, which should work out just great. Surely no one will die or be left bankrupt or get food poisoning or anything like that. Surely businesses will do what’s necessary to protect their employees and customers, even if it would cost more than the lawsuits would if they didn’t bother. [...] Every safety regulation is written in blood. Each of those regulations exists because someone died or was severely hurt or made severely sick by something that regulation would have prevented. The first job safety regulation, the Massachusetts Factory Act of 1877, was passed after The Pemberton Mill Collapse — caused because the greedy new owners of the mill made it “profitable” by shoving more machinery into it than it could handle, and it collapsed, killing 145 workers (mostly women but some children) and injuring 300 more. (Lawrence would later be the site of the 1912 Lawrence Textile Strike, better known as the Bread and Roses Strike, a year after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory burned.) No one is coming up with random unfair regulations just to hurt the feelings of “job creators” or because they want to destroy American businesses. But OSHA exists because companies locked people in buildings to ensure they weren’t taking unauthorized breaks, because they overloaded buildings with more machinery than they could handle. It has provided a recourse for employees who believe their safety isn’t being considered by their employers, and, according to a report published by the AFL-CIO, it has saved almost 700,000 lives and likely prevented millions of injuries since it was implemented.

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ)’s bill to abolish OSHA is an attack on workplace safety.

[blackpearlblast]

Night 7: Hayam Abu Shaaban and Family

Hayam Abu Shaaban is the mother of five children, with ages ranging from 4 to 15 years old. They live in a shelter with 35 other people, with a lack of proper access to food, clean water, and medications. Her daughter Salma is diabetic and is struggling to regulate her blood sugar levels with a lack of insulin and test strips. She is struggling to provide her children, and with the grief that comes along with that struggle. I want to quote part of her campaign message, as it makes its point far better than I ever could:

"Each donation, regardless of size, brings us close to our goal. This campaign is a call for unity and support for a family that have lost everything back home but insist to save the lives, future and mental health for its kids. Your assistance is not just financial support, it represents solidarity and hope for a safer future."

Let's try our best to give them solidarity and hope for a safer future. 

This is a vetted campaign. This post is part of a series of posts where I highlight one campaign for each night of Hanukkah and you can view the rest here. I will be donating 17 CHF to Hayam's campaign. I encourage you to give what you can, even if that's only the minimum donation value or just a reblog! Small acts of kindness and hope have the potential to do far more than we know, so long as we have the courage to give them a try.

[another-whump-sideblog]

Fixing Tracy — Illness

TWs in the tags

Masterlist

Somehow, Tracy is even more tired than before. She's stopped worrying about escape methods, which if anything should free up her mental energy, but she's just exhausted. Using the gym, which used to be easy, saps Tracy's strength further, until she stops using it altogether.

She's not even just tired, she's achy and weak and hypersensitive to cold. Molly must've changed what she's drugging her with, or maybe stopped drugging her, causing withdrawal. It doesn't really matter, there’s nothing Tracy can do about it either way.

“How are you feeling?” Molly has been hovering around Tracy, worried, since the disaster of Tracy’s last escape attempt.

Tracy shrugs, staring at but not really watching the movie Molly put on.

After a moment, Molly moves to slap Tracy!— oh wait, she’s just placing her hand against Tracy’s forehead. False alarm.

“You’re burning up…” is that excitement in her voice? “I should’ve checked that sooner, you’d think a former nurse would know not to just assume something is mental health related without checking! I’ll— I’ll make you some soup, and read to you, and keep a lukewarm washcloth on your forehead—“

“I don’t get sick, Molly.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I don’t get sick.” Tracy repeats. “You know why I’m miserable, you just want to blame it on something that you can fix without letting me go.”

“…I know you probably won’t suddenly feel great about everything after you’re better. But you won’t be sick anymore, and that’ll help at least a little.”

“I’m not sick!”

Molly chuckles. “Whatever you say, dear. I’m going to go make some soup, is that okay?”

Tracy can’t come up with an answer to that that doesn’t make her sound like a pouty child. “…fine.”

Molly’s definitely got a spring in her step as she heads to the kitchen. She seems to really like the idea of Tracy being sick. Not because she likes it when Tracy suffers, Tracy's fairly certain that she doesn't, but because she likes how vulnerable it would make Tracy. Which is worse. Tracy shudders. Just from the thought of how creepy Molly is, not chills or anything of the sort, because Tracy doesn’t get sick.

Tracy rests her eyes. She's so, so tired. So…

She wakes up in her bed with a washcloth on her forehead. She's definitely being drugged, how else would Molly move her from the couch to her bed without Tracy even stirring?

"Are you awake? Are you hungry? I ended up putting the soup in the fridge since you were asleep, if you're hungry I'll reheat it for you."

Tracy rubs her eyes. "...what kind of soup?"

"Chicken noodle. Can't go wrong with a classic."

"Mm… I can reheat it myself." Tracy tries to get out of bed, but Molly gently pushes her back down. "I'm not sick. You're fucking drugging me, and I can't avoid it because there's no food here that hasn't gone through you first."

"The only time I ever drugged you was to get you from your old place to here. I can have some of the soup too, if it helps you feel safer."

"Reheating it myself would would help me feel safer."

"Hmm… what if I brought in a bowl of soup and had some in front of you so you know it’s safe? With a different spoon, of course.”

“Then the spoon could have a drug on it.”

“But… germs… what if I brought a few spoons, and you can pick which to use and which to have me use?”

“…that works. Wait— no, I want to get it myself, I’m not—“

“You are sick, dear. Even if you were sick because I drugged you, that wouldn't mean you're not sick, right? You'd just be sick for an unconventional reason. I haven't drugged you, but if you can't believe that, can you at least believe that you need extra care right now, whether it's because of a virus or drugs?"

"No, I don't get sick! Stop treating me like I’m incompetent! I’m not—“ hot tears fall from Tracy’s eyes. Could this get any more humiliating? “I’m not that weak! I’m not pathetic, I don’t get sick!”

“Being sick doesn’t mean you’re weak or incompetent or pathetic.”

“I’m not sick! I don’t get sick, please stop saying that, I’m not— I don’t make excuses, I’m not sick, I can do it!”

"...okay. This seems like something we should talk about when you're feeling better. For now… could you just humor me? Please, I desperately want to take care of you. It’s not because I think you’re weak or incompetent or pathetic or making excuses. It’s the opposite, actually. I know you can do it. You’re so strong, and you always work so hard. You deserve to be taken care of. Will you please let me take care of you?”

“You’d just drug me more if I said no.”

Molly looks crestfallen. “I… is there anything I could do to convince you I’m not going to do that?”

Tracy shakes her head.

“That’s… that’s okay. You don’t have to trust me, and… I’m glad you don’t feel like you have to pretend to. I’m glad you can be honest with me.” She looks at Tracy with big, sad blue eyes. “Do you really want to get the soup yourself? Or do you just not want me to do it?”

Does she actually want to get the soup herself? It… wouldn’t actually prevent Molly from drugging it, since she could’ve beforehand. Even with Molly’s offer to eat some to show that it’s safe, eating a little of something drugged wouldn’t have as strong an effect as eating a lot of something drugged. And if Tracy pushed for Molly to eat the same amount as her… Molly could just say no, and then what would Tracy do? She has to eat. Tracy will eventually eat what Molly wants her to whether it’s drugged or not. Even if Molly did eat the same amount as Tracy, it’s always possible that she has higher tolerance to the drug she put in the food, or has access to a drug to neutralize the effects of the drug she put in the food. There’s no point in trying to ensure the food isn’t drugged. It always could be, no matter what.

And Tracy feels like shit. Does she want to get out of bed when she doesn’t have to?

…No, of course not. Who would want to make things harder for themselves on purpose, when the same result is reached either way? Of course she wants the easier way. That’s… that’s not weakness, that’s normal. It’s normal. Healthy, even. That’s what Tracy has told Alicia to comfort her countless times, and Tracy doesn’t lie, not to Alicia.

Really, the only reason she wants to do it herself is because Molly would really enjoy getting soup for her, and that’s creepy as fuck. Is that all this argument is about? Molly would enjoy taking care of Tracy, so Tracy doesn’t want to let her?

This is such a pointless, childish power struggle, and Tracy is too tired to continue it. “I guess I just wanted to argue.” Tracy says softly. “You can get the soup. I don’t care.”

The answer doesn’t seem to make Molly happy. “I… that’s very self aware of you. I’m proud of you. I’ll be right back.”

Molly leaves the bedroom and Tracy pulls a blanket over her head. She’s so fucking worthless, can’t even get soup for herself… but… she can. She could’ve. Molly wanted to do it for her. Molly begged to do it for her. So… what does that say about Tracy, that she let Molly do it? She doesn’t know. Well… it doesn’t matter. Who cares?

Achy and tired and trying not to cry, Tracy groans into her pillow. She can’t go on like this. Every little thing can’t be a huge debate and power struggle. What else can she do, though? Just accept that she’s stuck and do whatever Molly wants? She doesn’t want to fight and she doesn’t want to give in either.

Molly finds Tracy curled up under the covers crying when she comes back. “Oh, dear… what’s wrong?”

Tracy doesn’t answer. There’s no point in starting another argument.

“I know, I know, I know it’s hard. I’m sure you’re really miserable right now, but I promise it’ll get better.”

“I’m so tired.” Tracy sobs. Tired of fighting, tired of losing, tired tired tired.

“Let’s get some soup in you, then you can go back to sleep. Can you sit up? I brought a few spoons so that you can pick which one you use and which one I use if you want me to prove it’s not drugged.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Tracy stops hiding under the covers like a child and sits up. She reaches out to take the bowl of soup from Molly’s hands, but Molly seems to have a different plan. She picks out a spoon and sets the rest down, then fills the spoon with soup and starts bringing it towards Tracy’s lips.

“What the fuck is wrong with you??” Tracy knocks the spoon out of Molly’s hand. “I can feed myself! I’m not— I’m not…” anger quickly gives way to horror. “You- you think I’m sick. You think I’m so sick I need help bringing a spoon to my mouth, and— and I’m still here. Not in a hospital.”

“…I just wasn’t thinking. Of course you wouldn’t want me to do tha—“

“If I was so sick I couldn’t eat on my own, would you take me to the hospital?”

“I was a nurse, dear. Breathe. You’re safe, I can take care of you.”

“What if— what if I had a heart attack or a stroke or something?? What if my appendix burst, you’ve never been a surgeon, have you??”

“That’s extremely unlik—“

“Humor me! What would you do?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I don’t want you intentionally injuring yourself to try and get away, so I’ll leave it vague, but I do have plans in place. You’re safe with me.”

“I’m going to die here! Alicia won’t even know! They’ll never find my body!” Screaming again so soon after last time does not do her throat any favors, but she’s too panicked to care.

“You’re safe. Can you take some deep breaths for me?”

Thoroughly drained by her outburst, Tracy lies down and complies. Molly guides her through breathing exercises until Tracy can hardly keep her eyes open.

“I hate seeing you so scared. I would do absolutely anything to help you feel safe, so please let me know if there’s anything I can do. I’m going to leave the soup and the spoons here on the nightstand, okay? I’ll bring you a water bottle too.” She picks up the spoon Tracy knocked out of her hand. “I’ll take this, since I assume you don’t want a spoon that’s been on the floor. I’ll clean the carpet later. Does all that sound good?”

Tracy doesn’t answer and tries to pretend she’s already asleep.

“You’ll feel better once you’ve had some sleep and food.” Molly says softly. “If I could take your sickness on myself so that you didn’t have to be this miserable, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I love you so much.”

Tracy is asleep before Molly’s footsteps leave the room.

Tag list: @whumpyourdamnpears @watermelons-dont-grow-on-trees @iamheretohurt

[ceapa-mica]

Bad Day - a Thrawn headcanon

a/n: Whether you're sick, on your period or are suffering from the good ol' stressy depressy, this headcanon is for you. ❤️

This will get slightly NSFW later so 🔞

Thrawn takes your wellbeing very seriously. He picks up on any cues you're not feeling your best right away.

Better get ready to be spoiled, because during your relationship Thrawn took mental notes of what you like (and dislike).

First of all he makes sure you take time off work. Using your datapad to work in bed? Nope, he makes sure you focus solely on getting better.

He orders your favorite food from the mess hall. A hot soup if you're sick, and chocolate when you're on your period.

I headcanon that Chiss are immune to most human viruses and bacterial infections.

So it's not surprising he lies down next to you and works from his datapad.

You're the little spoon, no questions about it. His tall, strong body is enveloping you, his body heat keeping you warm better than any heating pad could. There is no place you feel safer than in his arms.

If you're sick, he orders a medical droid to check on you. He always has painkillers in his quarters for that time of the month. If your mental health is the problem, he will listen to you and makes sure you feel loved and appreciated at all times.

Although he doesn't share your love for your comfort holo movies/series, he doesn't mind you watching them while he works on his datapad.

He makes sure to have a supply of your favorite hot beverage in his quarters.

He tells you stories of his people to distract you from your ailments. Little do you know you're the only person he tells these stories to.

Should you get into the mood™, he takes his time to make you feel really good. Whether you prefer it slow and sensual or fast and rough, whatever makes you feel better. He draws the line at physical pain and degrading you though.

Should you be on your period, Thrawn is a warrior. He doesn't mind a little blood. Just put a towel under you and you're good to go.

And last but not least, should you be the type who needs some space, and time for yourself to feel better, Thrawn would acknowledge and respect your decision, making sure all your needs are met. He respects your boundaries after all. Just comm him in case you need anything.

To him you are his most precious piece of art and the light in his dull Imperial life. He wants you to be comfortable and that you take your time to recover. He loves you and wants you to know, no matter how bad you feel, you will feel better again. Not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon. He knows your body and mind are strong and can deal with anything.

Feel free to add to this headcanon! ❤️

[badpoliticaltakes]

I agree that qe should support poor people who want to have those children! Sadly government support like that has never been enough. Abortion would save children feom being born into abusive households when its not the mother who is abusive, many women get pregnant and then cant escape those relationships because of their children (corrective rape and forceful impregnation is a thing that affects a lot of people) so allowing them to escape those relationships before having children on safer terms would be better

Heres an study on how abortion being banned increases maternal deaths https:// ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306396

Hello!

Thank you for the link to the study! There were several issues I had with it specifically that are acknowledged in the study - potential misclassification of Maternal Deaths (see 'Study Limitations'), as well as the study's struggle to establish a link of causality (which is always difficult, I do understand).

Many of the issues with abortion that have the potentiality to affect Maternal Mortality I think could be solved in other ways (such as previous chronic conditions being exacerbated), and in the Discussions section it says this:

To me, these confounding issues are worth focusing on. More of an emphasis on family in their legislation would aid in paid family leave, and would help generate a dynamic where women could stay and look after their children without facing poverty. We should put more of an emphasis on primary care, and improve the health of people (especially through critiques of the food industry and the looking at the monetisation of healthcare as a barrier).

I do believe women should have access to contraception, and better sex education and family planning. I also think that what would help pregnant women who have been abandoned by their partners, or are in abusive relationship is a strong community (not necessarily religious), and that a lot of pregnant women would feel less inclined to have an abortion if they had that support.

Regarding your point about abusive relationships and abortion, I have the similar and opposite concern - that men in abusive relationships may coerce women into getting an abortion as an additional form of control, and as a way to further exercise control over their body. If unprotected sex became something that lacked consequence for men, then they could impregnate women as they please, and that greatly concerns me. This is why, ideally, I think men should be held accountable for their families, and if they impregnate a woman have responsibility to be a father (except for certain case such as incest, rape, abuse), and this would create a culture that respects life and women.

I think it's worth stating that I don't wish to ban abortion in cases of incest or rape, or when a woman's life is in danger, but I do wish to prevent the lack of responsibility that seems to be emerging in our culture around pregnancy and parenthood. Furthermore (and this is especially concerning as a disabled person myself), the way I have seen some women describe aborting their babies who may be disabled is greatly concerning, and that is a side to the abortion debate that I feel often gets ignored.

I do wonder, to the women who wish to have abortions, if there is anything that would influence them to have their baby. Maybe not, but I do wonder if we shifted the culture and discussion around pregnancy and motherhood to not be so negative (babies as parasites and leeches, pregnancy as a condition or ailment, family as a burden) and more of an emphasis on support, that more women would be inclined to not have an abortion.

I hope this illustrated my point, and please feel free to send me another ask! This was super interesting to debate about, thank you!

[yourgamemasterthewhiterabbit]

So the inspector came, same guy as came to my door yesterday, was already wearing a mask and everything.

Can't complain about any mess, but he insists my storage stack is a "fire hazard" because there isn't 4 full feet of space around it, and gods forbid there be a fire or a fire inspection and he'd ''hate to see it happen to [me]'' but they have inspections yearly -and all- and if they saw it they'd 'put in an order to make me stay somewhere else while someone came in and threw out all my stuff for me' ...

... Which you know, would get me fucking DEAD of the FUCKING PLAGUE, which you know they also wouldn't pay for [wherever I have to stay like a hotel], and would mean losing 50% of what I own for the crime of what was it again?

Oh yes. Being assaulted and having my home sold out from under me, forcing me to move a house-worth of stuff into a 10*17 apartment before getting deathly ill two separate times in a year and a half.

I cant' stay at a hotel. It would be a death sentence. I have nowhere else to go. And I'm also pretty sure he's planning on it, or knows it's going to happen soon.

So yeah, this winter I was going through the rest of it, but now I have to play a game of rushing to get it done before he or anyone else can "inconveniently" call a fire inspection down on my head.

... Like he seemed like a nice guy, but I don't fucking trust this situation.

This feels like I am being set up on purpose.

He gave me his work email to keep him 'updated on my progress', but I have no idea how much that's going to be used against me somehow by this management corporation.

I did ask him to get an on-demand water heater for the building and explained that the guy above me has been harassing me over water usage though. He says he doesn't know what the boiler situation for the building even is yet.

Like I would already be on my own ass to downsize faster but I'm a little jaundiced right now from all the organ fuckery as it is and I just didn't want to push it when I could have approached it at a healthier safer pace instead.

But now it's looking like I have no choice.

The problem is my whole body is still swelling to all shit in every single joint and the more I use them the worse I get. Even my jaw is starting to click and grind painfully any time I try to chew food.

Like my joints are turning visibly purple on the inside from the torn up tissue from having to use them yesterday despite the swelling and that tissue damage is going to tax the hell out of my liver and kidneys. Which have already let me turn slightly yellow as of yesterday at least.

And all these health problems and being in this situation can all be traced directly back to fine and gb keeping me sick with plague exposure, gb assaulting me and my last landlord selling the house out from under us once I told him. Each shit situation I am in keeps catapulting me into the next faster than anyone could be expected to catch up or cope and I literally have 0 [zero] recourse or help whatsoever.

And the more it snowballs off of what other people did, the more it starts to look like it's just me and like there isn't really an excuse, because oh it been a year so why haven't you fixed everything and gotten better? Like because this shit all takes time and physical energy and I'm disabled, but no one making these decisions has to care or listen. And because I keep getting noise complaints made against me every time I move stuff around.

Isn't there such thing as legal grace periods? Like wouldn't the fire inspector HAVE to give me fucking time to fix the problem?

And every time I move things around to clean or downsize the stupid neighbour makes a fucking noise complaint against me, and the landlord tells me to STOP the TELL ME TO STOP, every time. Every time I try to use hot water, or now any water at all, to wash myself, my clothes and my apartment, the neighbour throws a bitchfit and runs the water on me.

So I am going to go play raft for the rest of today because fuck it, but if you don't hear from me for a while it's because I'm neck deep in solving problems faster than people can try to ruin my life or literally get me killed over them.

Or I'm busy writing emails and playing diplomat or something.

I guess instead of taking a week to recover I am trowing myself into the downsizing again as of morning. Hopefully I really was right on the edge of recovery and I'll be able to handle this and still move enough to feed myself.

Cool.

... Also I know he can't have known -and this isn't a sincere complaint- but he misgendered both me and my cat :(

Sir we are boys >:( Ignore that we're pretty T~T

One thing I can say for him is that at least he knocked and made sure I actually got the notice. :/

[goth-oatmilk-latte]

i think one of the worst and scariest parts of recovery is the almost sure guarantee youll gain some, all, or even more of the weight back.

i listen to a lot of health podcasts and a lot of them talk about healing relationships with food and developing a healthy diet. and it isnt necessarily recovery or like diet talk, most of the ones i listen to are about picking better foods and being more mindful about buying more whole foods, eating clean, fixing thyroid issues, those sort of things.

and almost all of them talk about the fact that they gained weight when they started listening to their bodies, eating cleaner, and idk thats terrifying to me. and most of them acknowledge they dont like how they look, but they feel better...and idk if i can vibe with that bc i wanna look good and feel good.

its like recovery? weight gain.

gym girlie again? weight gain.

clean, mindful eating? weight gain.

everywhere i turn theres the possibility of looking how i used to look, and i hated that bitch.

at least this is safer. i may not always feel good, but i look better than i have. and plan to continue.

[mr-clow]

Kal’Hal notes on a human ship. Part 2:

Laffite woke up a few moments earlier than her alarm told her to. She rolled around the bed for a while, thinking about yesterday's events and stretching her torso. She felt the air going out between her ribs. Kal’Hals had evolved from an aquatic world, and they could breathe water or air, their gills having evolved into pseudo lungs, their hands with palmed fingers and a powerful tail connected where humans would have legs. Her big blue eyes with no white to sight, something that humans had and still looked weird to her, panned the room, and she saw a small package on the floor in front of the door. She unrolled her tail and with the full length of it she reached the box and put it on her bed…

I opened the box, inside the first I saw was a colourful paper with some kind of human animal that was saying get well soon. I looked kinda cute, but I didn’t get any reference if there was any and Mag had signed it. Below I found a card with a clip attached to a paper that explained that is a long term sensor to check the radiation received and that humans use it when they work in radioactive environments (They really work in radioactive places!) and also below there were some pills. The paper explained that it was something humans used in case they got poisoned, but I should check if Potassium Iodide was bad for my health, something even I didn’t know. Below all that I found a small device that I recognized, it was a radiation sensor. Maggie really tried and I was glad.

I had met humans before, even if a lot of other species treated them as wild dangerous creatures, Kal’Hal knew better. Both species had an early relationship and for more than a thousand human cycles they had been supporting each other. Humans could be extremely loyal given the same treatment, and that didn’t include their pack bond. I have never been included in a human pack, but some people said that there was no safer place in the universe than being included and surrounded by a human pack. I wondered if this box was only a form of respect, or if it was a sign that they had started to include me in their pack.

After that, I took the time to moisturise my skin and change my clothes, my world was way more humid than earth and I needed to keep myself healthy. After that I took the things from the box, read the instructions again and searched about those pills on my way to the mess hall.

When I reached the mess hall my face was showing quite the concern, those pills could shut down several of my organs, technically I had a blister of poison in my hand. Maggie waved a hand, she was having breakfast with Bill who was in charge of the engineering department, Rose and Raúl, both of them colleagues also from the same department. I waved back, took a tray and served myself some food. Most leaves from the human world, some processed seeds and various teas were fit for my consumption, so I chose peppermint tea and a light salad. Most humans wouldn’t eat this at this hour, but the cook knew my taste, so I gave him a nod and an imitation of a smile, he smiled back, and I went to sit with Maggie.

Maggie asked how I was, and I explained that I still felt uncomfortable, but I was willing to give it a try and thank her for all the things she got me. Bill explained that everyone room in the engineering department had helped and that they had asked in the Med bay for the pills. My face turned with worry and Raúl asked what happened. I took the time to explain that iodine was poisonous to a lot of species and turned back the pills. They apologised, and then the conversation turned to other things from work, and I felt relaxed. Maybe they were starting to include me in their pack.

I went back to help Maggie assemble the reactor we were working on the last day. The job hasn’t advanced too much, but I noticed some tools that weren’t here yesterday. “Maggie, why did you bring all this?” While I checked a welding equipment that I haven’t seen before. “Yesterday, after I left the box in your room, I came back here and checked all the boltholes and filled the ones that had more diameter than they should. You shouldn’t worry any more for this” Her face had a smile but with an expression I didn’t knew. “Thanks Maggie, I appreciate all this. Anyways the sensor you gave me didn’t go off even in here, so I’m starting to feel more secure” I took the sensor from my belt and showed it to her. “Ehhh Laff, I don’t want to scare you, but you checked that it was set to your standards? It is really sensitive, but you have to program it” I looked at her, then at the sensor, and it was true, the threshold was set to 1mSv, lower than a human needs it but higher than I was comfortable. I changed it and when I pressed OK the sensor went off automatically. I looked at her worried and she took my hand and led me outside. “How low did you set it, Laff?” She asked with a worried look on her face. “Not too low, only 0.01mSv” and she put the same smile from before, “Oh hon, that won't do. Why don’t you try 0.4mSv at least, remember what I said yesterday. Earth is slightly radioactive, humans are, and this ship also is human made. Nobody got hurt before with even more than that, so let's try that.” I nodded slowly, I didn’t like it, but I knew she was right and changed the alarm. It stopped, and I exhaled, she took my hand again, and slowly we went inside the room, it didn’t sound again.

All that day I was distracted, but Maggie chatted as usual, and she gave me some simpler tasks, so I could entertain myself. At the end of the shift I went out to the mess hall with Maggie and when we sat down I looked at her and Bill “Yesterday you told me that humans knew how much radiation makes you sick, it’s that true?” Bill and Maggie looked at me with a serious face. Bill took a breath to start speaking, but Maggie spoke first. “Look Laff, we are not proud of explaining this to you, but I consider you my friend and I think it is fair to explain you some of our history”

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Eversince Crewle daughter and her dorm that follows her, the house of Persephone have one thing that they need something to keep them busy since there no farm size garden to tend to daily they proceed to break in to any dorm that they able to break in and clean, tend the green house, take care of the animals, even decorating the outside of the Ramshackle in a good clean order

Segment of each form they all went in without waking anyone up

Heartsbull: * tends the roses, tend the animals making sure they are healthy and happy, leaves a basket of fruits that they grew in the garden in the Ramshackle as a gift*

Savannahclaw: * did everyone laundry, clean anything that needs to be cleaned, leaves a magic box that preserve full of cooked food for the dorm and a note of complacent of they should check that thing they found*

Octoville: * they didn't do much, but they leave a lot of crates of veggies, herbs, fruits, spices, and some nice bread *

Scarabia: * they cleaned top to bottom as it's no tomorrow, they leave a crate of herbs and some aroma plants for them to burn later *

Persphorm: * they tend the flowers, the garden, dust everything with due care, they leave a large crate of plants that benefit health, light potion, and teas *

Inglhide: * they struggle with security but they managed to get in, they did light decorations in the lounge with some nice edible flowers and maybe some nice home cooked food for everyone to enjoy*

Disonima: * they are all scared, even the nymps students since Faes and nymphs have a very bad history ( but they do trust Crewle daughter alot ) in the past but did their best on cleaning on what they could and leaves some herbs *

The girls are all satisfied at the end as they all did it a night time but they all fully aware the confusion at the end results; but all agreed that NRC is more safer compared to RSA, maybe because the dorm represents the wife of the king of the underworld? Maybe is because they don't feel overwhelmed? They all don't know

Yeah, no. The princesses of the Princess Academy aren't going to go out of their way to do such things. Perhaps if their role model wasn't you and the Ice Queen their head principal they might do this. You all have respect and if any labor is being done their negotiating pay.

Now the thing with the Princess Academy is that despite churning out women of valor and charm, their isn't an inherent...friendship for either magical schools. In fact majority of the females are either incredibly fearful or hateful of men in general. Of course that sentiment lessens during formal events but on the usual they aren't racing to be anywhere near them.

Sevens, your dorm and the other dorm leaders are begging you not to go.

Princess Academy Students: Noooo (Y/n)-sama please! D-don't leave us for break! We'll pamper you better than any of those rats! Please.

Crewel Daughter Reader: Sorry girls, work must be done and I can't have my father worrying more than he already is. Ta-ta~

Princess Academy Students: Waahhhhh! Make sure to mirror call us, please!

Princess Academy Dorm Leaders: *Wiping tears in their eyes* Even then she can only think of her father, how admirable!