#She's at least learned a way to communicate 'hey I'm not doing good and I need help' and learned how to talk about it a little

[sakurarisen]

mind: does my muse have any mental conditions that affect their lives? what are they? how do they handle them? what coping methods do they use most? 

All About A Sera's Health~!

mind: does my muse have any mental conditions that affect their lives? what are they? how do they handle them? what coping methods do they use most? 

Apologies for long ahead of time because wow this unintentionally is long XD

Sera does - She has anxiety, both general and a little social, some issues with depression, and PTSD, none of which are particularly diagnosed in most verses because Sera very much dislikes seeing doctors of any kind, but it's been brought up to her in most and she actually agrees with it, even if she won't say as much to most people. Even when she isn't aware there's names for it, she's more than aware she has something going on - But even in this case, she's prone to just calling it "her nightmare" and "the nightmare's voice", largely because she has nothing else to actually call it by. It keeps her constantly looking over her shoulder, afraid of thunderstorms, unable to handle large crowds of people on her own or tight things around her wrists, being alone with someone clearly scheming or giving her strange looks. and doesn't do well with people who've made their intention to hurt others clear, among other triggers.

As for dealing with it... That depends on what point in her life you're asking her. While she's usually good at hiding it and only breaking down in private, or excusing herself to deal with it alone, she's still dealing with it alone until she finds herself a home and settles down with Zack, and 'dealing with it alone' doesn't usually go well. She's prone to breaking down when she's alone, curling into a little ball and sobbing... For a long time, Sera would've - and did at one point to Zack - described herself as a 'broken porcelain doll stuck in a glass box', eventually progressing that to 'a broken doll played with and thrown aside out of the owner's boredom'. She may have seemed to have it under control, but in truth, her 'nightmare' controlled a lot of what she did and how she acted, and she just didn't have the words - or ability - to explain it.

As she grows into her 20's, however, and finally allows herself to develop a tight support network, she learns better ways to explain herself and her mental state and problems, and discovers better coping skills, as well as ways to combat 'the nightmare' that is her PTSD, fears, and anxiety. Grabbing or touching something physical - grabbing onto the hem of her shirt or the sides of her skit/pants, holding Zack's hand, touching his shoulder or arm, leaning against a tree and pressing her palms flat against it, etc - is a big way to keep her grounded and remembering what's real life and what's just her mind trying to run away with itself, the feeling of something solid and physical a wonderful way to help in re-focusing herself.

She's learned breathing exercises, and has anti-anxiety measures frequently nearby that change depending on verse, like squishy keychain toys, fidget toys, and in all verses, her stuffed husky, Zax. Zack and their closest friends who know of her traumas - a number of people she can count on one hand - are on speed dial on her phone, and reachable with the press of a button, or at least easily reachable in verses where phones don't exist (Genshin), ready to pose a 'rescue' and give her a safe place to break down if she can't avoid it, or help her fight off the 'nightmare', be it with distractions or helping to talk her through it.

To that, she's also learned how to talk through it, and while she doesn't have the 'proper words', persay, even now to explain how she feels or what's going on with her, she's taken to Zack's nickname for her of 'Kitten' and embraced the idea of 'I am a kitty' much like a child, and uses that to help explain herself when everything else fails. Sera is very much capable of being a mature adult and regularly is, only being childish around close friends and family who're okay with her being silly and embracing the childhood she never had, but even then, 'bad kitty' when she feels like she's screwed up something and can't figure out what or how is pretty self-explanatory, and so is 'Kitty doesn't feel good-'; if she's referring to herself as 'kitty', it's fairly known she's having trouble dealing with something really upsetting her she doesn't otherwise have the words to explain any better.

She doesn't have her mental state fully under control just yet - There's still a lot Sera doesn't know how to handle or how to word, and she's someone who will try to deal with things alone to avoid being a burden on others, but she's certainly come a long way and is still learning, each and every day.

[enbycarp]

Hey all, it's Juneteenth. I feel like this is a good day to talk about folks in prison.

I'm pen pals with several folks in prison. I've been doing this for many years now, and i think it's one of the most important things I've ever done. I started because i was interested in prison abolition, and i was told this was the way to get started in that movement. It's also a way to invest in our communities. Because queer, poc, poor, and disabled communities are disproportionately affected by the industrial prison complex. It's our people who are being thrown into cages and often being forgotten, tortured, enslaved, and denied their rights. We can invest in our communities and participate in mutual aid no matter what our resources or ability levels are. Being a pen pal requires investing a pretty small amount of time and money. Literally, if you can write a letter, you can do it (and often, you can send the letters online, so you don't even need paper).

I have made some true friends as a pen pal. People who have offered me support as much as i have offered them. I have one pen pal who i can talk to about things that i don't talk about with anyone else.

I won't lie, it's not always easy. There have been a couple pen pals that i didn't get along with well. I had to tell them that it wasn't working and gently end our correspondence. I've had two pen pals that stopped writing to me after they got out, and i just have to hope that they're ok out there. And these folks put up with really hard, sometimes horrifying shit inside. It can be hard to process that. Though, I've known other folks with pen pals who clearly set boundaries about what they're comfortable talking about and that's worked for them. I've had a pen pal ask me to do more than i was able to do for them, and i had to tell them no. They understood. You have to be able to set boundaries in any relationship, though.

You get to decide what you can do to help a pen pal. For some of us, that's just writing letters. I sometimes send gifts to folks (mostly books from Amazon). For one of my pen pals, i look up info about magic the gathering or D&D because she plays those games inside. For another, i wrote a letter to help support her case for getting a shorter sentence. One friend likes me to look up facts about his favorite actresses and sports teams. When one friend was facing transphobic discrimination, i organized a call in to the superintendent (and we really helped her). Some pen pals are looking for romantic connections (they generally tell you up front of that's the case). Many queer prisoners just need a connection to their community.

Please at least check out www.blackandpink.org and learn about what being a pen pal can mean for people on the inside. That organization has connected me with several queer pen pals. Even if you're not going to sign up to be a pen pal, just take a few minutes to learn about it.

Thanks!

Ps: you can ask me if you have any questions about

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

hi there, could I get poppy playtime (if that is to many characters then just catnap and dogday are fine) with a reader that has pica (if you don't know what that is it is where a person can tend to eat or bite on things not edible, like paper, erasers, eca)

I can do a few!

.....

Huggy (saved/rescued) + Poppy

While in his "idle mode" on the podium, he sees you munching on a piece of paper like lettuce and then plush stuffing like it's cotton candy.

And then you just snatch the key from him and move onto the next puzzle, and he goes "???????"

Why did you eat those things? Did they somehow sustain your hunger?

Huggy only gets to learn more after you save him from falling (and tame him with an actual edible snack you brought along), taking a breather after freeing Poppy from her box.

When he grabs one a random paper, you assume he wants to draw something as a way to communicate...until he starts chowing it down.

In his mind, humans DO eat paper and he's been starving and cannibalizing toys (and trying to eat you) for nothing...

But then he spits it out, picking shredded bits out of his teeth, before glaring at you as if you told him to eat that.

You're a little scared and confused until Poppy explains that he was only trying to mimic what you do, and she asks why you eat such random little things.

Eventually you explain to the pair of your condition called "pica".

You've had it most of your life, with an official diagnosis to boot, but it never really hurt your digestive tract.

Over the years you've cut the habit, although being stuck in this factory meant you had to find other sources of food...even those not even considered food at all.

Some of your coworkers knew about it, and their only complaint was the occasional eraser going missing thanks to you (which you deny stealing...most of the time).

"I always joke about having a cast-iron stomach," you tell the toys. "Food is the least of my......"

But you pause and look at Huggy, realizing he might be offended by you shrugging off food as negligible to your survival.

No matter what, though, it's not gonna stop him from trying different non-food items and seeing what tastes good.

He might've eaten pieces of clothing and plush fabric/stuffing over the years, albeit none of it was delicious by itself.

Dogday

"They want nothing more than to crawl beneath your skin and eat away at you bit by little bit--fill what feels empty inside themselves."

"Jesus, that sounds horrific." You say as you crunch on a piece of chalk (one of several that you got from the schoolhouse) nonchalantly.

Dogday takes immediate notice and is rather concerned. He knows the chalk and crayons here are made to be non-toxic, but insists they're not safe for human consumption.

He fears it's gonna kill you and begs you to stop, saying you needed to live.

Before you could fully explain your condition, the mini-critters are closing in, so you free him and haul ass out of the playhouse of horrors.

After making it somewhere safe where you could patch him up, he presses you on why you continue to eat all these foreign objects.

But he jumps to the conclusion that you got desperate after running out of food, going mad from hunger like the other toys did...

He recalls Picky Piggy going through something similar, and he gets a bad flashback to the Hour of Joy when he had to stop her from eating Crafty's paint....and the corpse of a Smiling Critter -

"Dogday? Hey stay with me..it's okay. I'm here, I'm here.." You console him, calming him down from his panic attack. "I'm not going crazy, alright? I just have this small condition called pica."

"...p-pica? Oh. I thought...kids grow outta that.." He mutters, finding familiarity with that term.

He's had his fair share of toddlers putting things in their mouth that could be choking hazards.

You shake your head, explaining that it stuck with you, but it doesn't cause your stomach any pain as long as you're careful about what you eat.

Dogday's relieved you're not losing it.

Even so, though, he's gonna feel nervous if he catches you eating another piece of chalk.

But it's just his instincts as a child caretaker, so you couldn't blame him.

Catnap

He hangs out in the shadows for the most part, watching your every move...and he does pick up on your strange habit of eating non-food objects.

It's something orphaned toddlers in the playhouse often did, and he'd see the other Smiling Critters hurry to take the items away from them before any emergencies happened.

But those memories mean nothing to him.

All he's doing is waiting for you to eat the wrong thing and keel over.

Unfortunately for him, you just keep trudging on, munching on a crayon like it's normal before throwing your gas mask back on.

He doesn't know how you manage to stomach so many things, and honestly is kinda envious.

Why can't he and the others sustain their hunger like you did?

It does make for some rather..amusing situations, though. Such as when you're in the smoke factory and use the elevator to escape him.

You just stand there as the doors close, eating some chalk and crunching it loudly without breaking eye contact with Catnap's horrific eldritch form.

Obviously, you're stress-eating at that point, but he doesn't have to know.

Miss Delight

The schoolhouse was like a cafeteria for someone with pica, aka you.

While looking for generators, you just pick up whatever you find: erasers, chalk, crayons, etc. and start biting them, or even chewing and swallowing them.

It only succeeds in angering Miss Delight right away, as she sees you doing all of this and snaps at how "childish" you are for eating things you shouldn't.

But you when shout back that you have pica, the PA system suddenly goes quiet.

Like Dogday and Catnap, that definitely triggered some memories for her, which she dwells on for a while before realizing you were still in the school..

And seeing you eating stuff makes her howling stomach grow louder.

"Barb" says you're mocking her own hunger, especially since she notices you gathering the notes she left around the place, and insists on killing you.

When you finally do encounter her, she is visibly disturbed by you crunching on a piece of chalk and throwing it to the ground to distract her, buying you time to break eye contact and flee.

She calls you "crazy", but you're not the one chasing her with a weapon made of a ruler and colored pencils.

[lgbtsana]

LOST IN TRANSLATION

- sim jaeyun / jake one-shot

GENRE: Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Deaf Jake, College Life.

PERM TAG LIST: @run2seob

Jake is a 21 year-old deaf, junior university student, who has trauma from bullying over the fact he can't hear. Y/N is a 20 year-old, freshman university student, who just wants to make friends. She approaches Jake without knowing he's deaf, and he begins to dislike her when she couldn't understand why he was pointing to his ears. Y/N learned through Heeseung that Jake was deaf. Why not learn sign language? Will she be able to befriend Jake or will he dislike her until he graduates?

The alarm in her room, blaring, filling the room with its ever so annoying noises. Y/N's hand slams on the nightstand, searching for the alarm clock desperately, trying to turn it off.

“Just turn off already!” she exclaimed, sitting up and turning it off. A sigh of relief escapes her lips, “Finally…” her voice trails.

“Fuck! I'm late!” She hurries to change her clothes and get to her university, Decelis Academy.

While she was almost always late, she had good grades. Her GPA is what got her accepted. So, learning things felt like a breeze to Y/N.

Arriving to her class, she immediately got scolded by the professor. “Late again, Ms. Seo” Professor Jay remarked, annoyed at the tardiness. But, just glad she made it.

While, Professor Jay seems harsh. He actually is laid back and kind. Always making sure everyone is done with their work, and able to turn it in. The students appreciated it, this allowed them to understand the material better.

“Sorry, Professor Jay…” her voice trailed, “I was up late studying.”

A sigh left the professor's lips, “Sit down, at least you're late with a decent reason.”

A slight smile met her lips, “Thank you, Professor Jay!” she spoke excitedly, walking to her desk chair and taking a seat.

Being a Freshman gave Y/N some advantages, she was able to get off with being tardy, blaming it on ‘studying’ when she already knew the material.

Though, she had some challenges with making friends. They always walk away from her, saying that she was “Too weird.”

It irked Y/N, but she let it go.

After her class ended, she noticed a taller boy in the hallway. Realizing this was a chance to make a friend, she skipped over excitedly and spoke, “Excuse me? Would you like to be friends?”

Silence.

“Ah, ignored again…” she sighed as the boy turned around and jolted in surprise. His jolt made her jump as well, but she was still confused. Why didn't he answer her?

She said the same lines she just spoke, and he tilted his head. Bringing out his phone and typing, before showing her, “I'm deaf.”

Her mouth formed an ‘O’ shape, finally understanding the situation. She still wasn't sure how to communicate with him, and he got annoyed. Huffing and walking away.

Y/N reached her hand out as she frowned. Another chance down the drain.

The night of, she looked up videos to learn sign language. She realized that, to communicate better, she could learn sign language.

Y/N stayed up all night learning sign language. Practicing signs to perfect her understanding.

The next day, she walked up proudly to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and was visibly annoyed by her presence. “My name is Y/N, what is yours?” she smiled as she signed to him. His eyes widening in shock, no one having done this for him before.

“Jake.” was all he signed before quickly walking away.

“Jake, huh…” Y/N murmured, turning on her heel and making her way to Heeseung.

“Hey!” her hands clasped his shoulders roughly, making him jolt. “What the hell!” he exclaimed, “I'm doing an assignment, what's up?”

“Do you know who Jake is?”

“Jake? Yeah, he's the deaf student. Keeps to himself.” Heeseung quickly replied.

“Making more friends is hard, Seungie…” she whispered, visibly upset.

“What happened? Wait- Did you try to talk to Jake?”

“Yeah! But I learned sign language after that to fix things, I think that made him hate me more…”

A fit of laughter began as Heeseung couldn't hold it in anymore.

“Hey! It's not funny, asshole!” she hit his back lightly, making sure not to hurt him.

“It kinda is.” Heeseung spoke plainly.

“No!”

“Yeah!” He laughed heartily.

“I'll get Sunoo to talk to him, he knows sign language.”

“You will? Thank you!” she hugged her closest, and only, friend.

“Yeah, yeah. Now let me do my assignment, in peace.”

Y/N nodded and left the room.

Heeseung was able to get Sunoo to convince Jake to talk to Y/N. It was a long process, but they were able to do it.

Jake and Y/N meet up at the park, signing to each other, Y/N made sure to get every sign correct.

Jake noticed her concentration on making sure she was signing correctly. A chuckle left his lips, watching her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

“What's so funny?” she signed to him.

“Your eyebrows furrow when you concentrate,” he signed back, “It's kinda funny.”

Y/N pouted, “No fair! I'm trying not to mess up and make you hate me…” she signed and frowned at the end.

Jake's eyes widened, he didn't particularly hate her, he was more weary of her.

“I got bullied for being deaf when I was younger,” he signed, explaining his childhood thoroughly.

At the end, Y/N understood why he was weary. But, he finally knew she wasn't like that.

Christmas came around in a flash, people around campus going home to visit family. Yet, some decided to stay in their dorms. Keeping time to themselves.

Jake texted Y/N that he was going to visit family and came to her dorm room to give her a hug. “Until we meet again!” he signed, making it dramatic as possible. Y/N laughed, “Yeah, yeah, get going drama king!” she signed back, before putting her hands on his back to push him.

He pulled out his phone and texted her, “See you later!”

She looked up from her phone and smiled. Mouthing slowly, “Bye.”

Holidays ended, and Y/N was waiting at the train station for Jake to arrive. She wanted to surprise him when he came back.

As the train came to a stop, the door slowly opened and people from inside came flooding out. Y/N was focused on finding Jake, her eyes searching through the crowd until their eyes met.

Her face lit up as a smile came to her lips. She noticed Jake mouthing, “Can I hug you?”

She gave him a nod as confirmation, and he walked over to her, pushing through the crowd and placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

Y/N's eyes widened as Jake pulled away, “Kiss?” she signed, “I thought it was a hug?”

Jake covered his mouth to laugh, before signing, “I mouthed, ‘’Can I kiss you?”

Y/N shrugged, “Either works!” she signed with a smile. Before giving him a tight hug, pulling away and signing, “Welcome back.”

While flowers take time to blossom fully, so does love. It takes time to learn a language, it takes time for feelings to grow. Love takes time.

[ladyloveandjustice]

I want to expand on what I'm talking about. And I said a little bit extra in the comments:

There's just some posts that have been going around about how to solve the issue of men swinging real right in America right now,which does have an impact on society. some guy was saying he was attacted to the right bc they were all 'welcome brother' but in the left people resent him. I think it's just. It's easier to go to an idealogy that's like 'you're entitled to this' than an idealogy that says 'hey you're not entitled to everything but you could be more emotionally healthy and kinder to other people and". That's something simply being nice or making them feel good won't ever fully fix. The "rewards" for being in the right will always feel more immediate for white men.

It's not unique to men to feel alienated in an idealogy that wants you to challenge yourself. At the same time, more kindness to everyone, emphasis on acceptance, less volatile language toward each other, will help the community be stronger over all. it is a difficult conundrum, but I don't think it comes down to 'we don't make men feel special enough

It also ignores I think, that white men DO get rewarded in leftist spaces too. a lot. Men will get a ton of adoration for saying something vaguely feminist than if a woman says it a lot of the time, and so on a so forth, everyone loves a sweet guy...I think that's something that already happens.

But let's get back to volatile language:

We always say guilt isn't going to help anyone and it isn't about guilt. But I think we need to admit that no, we do try to make people feel guilty and ashamed a lot. And not framing it around that most of the time would do a lot.

I've seen posts straight up saying it's a bad thing to want to survive and live happy lives and take actions to do this because (x) bad thing is happening. You know, the most basic human instinct? And that's not going to win over people. You may not like that, but it's not.

I don't think that needs to center on women helping men feel special about themselves. A lot of us are asked to take care of men all the time and it's exhausting. Men on the left can focus on being more positive about the concept of manhood if they want, but asking women to do the work. is just....yeah that's just the patriarchy.

I do think examining things like black masculinity etc is great though. If you have another marginalized identity, it will intertwine with masculinity in very specific ways that will be used against you, just as it is with femininity or being outside both those concepts (yet the world assigns you one anyway). I totally get that masculinity is used as a weapon against both gay men and gay women, in different specific ways. And I think at least learning about that and supporting efforts to stop this makes one a better person.

On the other hand. it would be insane of me to ask a Black woman to make a Black man feel special and accepted for simply being a man if she doesn't want to do that. Like. absolutely wild.

And it's it's rarely about that, is it? When we say "celebrate men" it's not bringing any unique experience into it. It's about white men. They're the ones who make up most of the alt-right.

Communities in the right are not compassionate but because they offer some form of reward and companionship they can seem like that. As much as people are lured in by "welcome brother" or whatever, those same people will on the right will mock any person who steps outside the strict roles that have been set.

So....we need to abolish to same roles. I think we need to focus on how we talk to people. On supporting people when they're trying.

It also comes off in how we talk to each other about basically I can harshly tell someone who has privilege over me-- a white man or straight person ect ect-- their guilt about their privilege does nothing, I'm not interested in guilt and what we need is action. But let's be real. Telling someone "you benefit from a system that makes other people suffer" is going to make someone feel guilty. And yelling at someone for feeling guilty isn't going to make that better. I think we avoid saying the truth and say what's the core of it-- no, it's not your fault you were born a certain way and now you benefit from something. A society hundreds of years in the making made that happen. And that sucks, that you basically have no choice but to be complicit. And it sucks way, way more for the people who are kept down by that system. So we need to change society. We can do it together. It's not to "make up" for you existing. It's because we care about each other. I want this for all of us, because when we see each other as whole people and are treated equally, it benefits all of us.

This is a not a "men are uniquely punished by the left for being men, we need to celebrate masculinity, stop being so mean" thing. It's a human thing. It's about the way we talk to each other and try to weild guilt towards people in general. People want to feel good about themselves. They want some kind of acceptance. If you're constantly made to feel bad, it can be hard to want to stay. This is something everyone feels, because we all have a selfish instinct.

People don't like feeling guilty. That's just how people are. It's promoting compassion, rather than hatred and resentment, that's going to help us in the end.

But me simply saying that isn't going to change much. Humans feel hurt and lash out too. When horrible things are happening to us, we resent people that don't understand that or are part of that. The paradigm shift will be hard. Not everyone will be able to do it and I don't think that's wrong.

Everyone gets frustrated by a class of people where a lot of them have more power and try to push them down. Nobody wants to talk to someone that's trying to hurt them.

That's why it needs to be someone like me who could explain racism 101 rather than idk. making a person of color say 'well white people don't feel special and accepted for being white. poc we must be nicer. let's celebrate whiteness because the right does and that's why white people are drawn to it, they feel accepted." listen to how ridic that sounds. you are literally asking for a white history month. That's the same thing you're doing when you're talking about manhood like this. The onus is not on the discriminated group to reach out to those harming them. That's up to others in the community.

But as a broader thing...We just need to figure out what the end game is. Do we want to yell and guilt trip, or do we want more people in our corner? What's more important, the end goal or if someone knows all the right lingo or matches up to your opinions exactly? What do we need to rally around? How can we take care of each other? If we're kinder to the community, more people will follow.

Anyway this is the last time i'll say some big thing like this and tag it. I don't like doing this on tumblr for a reason.

[shira-cosmic-star]

Little things to love. Jabberwock HC

(This was ordinally supposed to be a different HC. Then I got sidetracked and came up with this one. I promise I'm working on the Wish Me Mell pt 2. It'll be posted some time tomorrow. Thank you kindly for your patience.)

Warning: Nothing but fluffy, GNreader

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

Haru: 

Mc headed over to Jabberwock to assist with the animals. It was a long week and maybe this will cheer them up? They’ve always enjoyed spending time with the boys and Peekaboo.  After making your way through the entrance. MC see a wide grassy field. So far there wasn’t any signs of animals or ghouls nearby. Just a straightforward path to the dorm. As MC walked on the side walk, they looked around deep far into the distance. 

“Gahahha! Watch out!!” MC heard a voice behind them. As soon as they turned around Mc see a goat like anomaly, running towards them. Panic begins to set in. 

‘Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh! What should I do!?’ They sway left and then right. Unsure which direction to go.  

“BAM” 

“Ow” They cried as the goat ran straight into them and slammed its head into theirs. Haru quickly runs over to them and helps Mc up. 

“Gah! Are you okay MC?” He questioned after seeing what the goat did. MC had their hand on their forehead. Once he removed their hand to take a look. There was a knot on their head. 

“Is it bad?” He looks into their eyes. 

“No, no, no! Nothing an ice pack can’t fix!” He stated cheerfully. Haru takes their hand gentle and guide them to the dorm. In the dorm Ren was sitting on the couch watching YouTube. After hearing the door creek open. Ren looks up from his phone. 

“What happened to you?” While he raised one of his brows, he asked. 

Not fully wanting to admit what just happened. MC pouted and removed their hand from their forehead. 

“Eh? Yeesh.” Haru had come back in the room and handed MC an ice pack. Once they have placed it on themselves , he hummed to himself. “MC, why didn’t you move out the way?” His voice carried with concern. 

“I-I was going to, but I panicked and I-I didn’t know where it was heading...” MC explained their thought process. They stumble with their words as they feel the rush of embarrassment forming on her face. He chuckled and patted her back. “Hey it’s all okay. It could’ve been worse.” He explained to MC in a tempt to cheer them up. MC smiled and nodded their head. 

“Yeah! I could have broken a nose or busted my head!” MC spoke with a cheerful voice and good attitude. Haru loved this about MC. He stands up straight with both hands on his hips. “That’s the spirit! Gahahah!!” His laugh rings throughout the dorm and They joined him. 

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Towa 

Upon, MC’s arrival. They have offered Towa a dandelion. Which to their surprise, Towa eats it before they could say anything. From that day on. He had taken a liking to MC. Though he isn’t much of a talker. He still listens and communicate the best that he can. Towa would nod his head, yes or no while he makes little sounds. Mc is able to tell by the tone of Towa’s hums whether he is saying ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ 

Right now, both of them are sitting on the hill watching the sunset. Mc would do most of the talking. Meanwhile, Towa would listen. He enjoys hearing all of her stories. Rather they were happy, sad, silly, or scary. Though, the one thing he loves the most. Would be how caring and mind she is. She would often stop by with homemade lunches for all of them. Making sure that each of them had at least a healthy full meal. Mc would even take care of peekaboo, while Haru and Towa was out. Often when Mc makes the meals. She would make sure Towa’s was perfect. Favoritism? Probably. She spends a lot of time with him. So why not put a lot of effort into making his meals? Mc had learned which flowers he likes to eat. Some flowers he would eat. While others he likes to smell and admire. 

Towa also loves to cuddle with her. He would sit her, right between his legs and hold her to his chest. Recently, Mc has been with the other ghouls and helping them out. This makes Towa extremely upset, he misses her so much. So, now they are both cuddling was they watch the sunset. When it starts to get dark outside. Towa tells her how much he enjoys being around her. So much that he wishes it never ends. He will always be grateful for the things Mc do. Not only for him, but Haru too. 

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Ren: 

Ren was working at the Mystery Diner this evening. He had messaged MC about joining him. They were planning on watching horror movies and playing video games together. But unfortunately, MC wasn’t available that night. They were off on another mission with the other ghouls from another dorm. Recently MC has been cancelling the hangouts due to the missions. Ren sighs heavily, he knows deep down they don’t mean to cancel on him. Yet, he couldn’t help, but miss their present.  

Shortly after the mission, MC had gone to the school store to find something that Ren might like. They went from alle to alle. They couldn’t find anything there. Disappointed, they sighed. Then and idea came to mind. They decided to make him a gift. ‘Maybe that will cheer him up? Hopefully this isn’t cheesy or makes things weird...’ Alongside of some snacks he might like. This took them a few days to make his a cute sorry gift. They have messaged him, asking if he was either at the dorm or at the diner. He had clarified that he was at the dorm. Shortly, MC walking into the dorm. Ren wasn’t in the lobby, nor was he in the kitchen. That could only mean one thing. He was in his room.  

‘Knock Knock’ MC hits their knuckle on the door. Ren opens the door to see who it was. They had their hands behind their back. Standing in front of him was MC. Looking guilty like a child who had done something wrong. “Oh hey” He was the first to speak. Ren opens the door wider and lets them in. Mc sits down on the edge of his bed and took a deep breath. 

“Ren, I’m so sorry for cancelling the past few hangouts. To make it up to you. I’ve made you this. They showed him the basket of horror movies, his favorite snacks, and cute little items that reminded MC of him. There was a shark key chain. A small plushie of his favor horror movie character, and a note for him.  

“Don’t read the note yet. I rather you read it when I leave. I’m truly sorry Ren, I hope you can forgive me.”  

Ren’s heart beats faster and louder. His ears red as his cheeks. He was speechless, how on earth is he able to talk now? He can’t even look them in the eyes. His fists balled up from his anxiety. He takes in a deep breath. Looks them in the eyes and spoke. 

“You didn’t need to all this, but thanks.” At the end of his sentence. He looked away extremely bashful. With his hand rubbing the back of his head. MC knew that all was forgiving. Ren have asked them if they wanted to stay and watched the movies with him and share the snacks. Both of them hearts swells with a certain feeling. Who knows where things will lead in the future. 

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

(Edited)

Thank you for reading this feel free to like, comment, and reblog!

You can also request anything in the "ask me anything" box

𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝐷𝑎𝑧𝑧𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠✮

[raayllum]

Hey Raayllum. I was just curious to know as to why you believe Rayla hurt herself, considering she's been wronged and abandoned by everyone in her life. Do you think that Rayla doesn't let Callum love her? It really bothers me that nobody ever defends her besides Callum.

Like I understand, Amaya was defending her nephew, but I think she was being completely judgemental towards Rayla. I'm just saying. It was unfair.

To start I'm gonna talk about Rayla, but I wanna clarify before the read more that I don't think Amaya was being unfair at all or overly judgemental; that said, we'll work our way there.

I think Rayla struggles to do exactly what she says so in the show: she struggles to share her burdens. She struggles to let herself be vulnerable / be 'weak'. Which given "your heart wasn't hard enough to do whatever it takes" + growing up in a 'one strike and you're out' community system could not have helped the issues she already had as a young child to begin with: "I wasn't fast enough, I wasn't strong enough" (Bloodmoon Huntress).

Most of the time even when she's telling people what's wrong, it's still under the lens of "this is the price I'm paying and even though it hurts I'm totally fine with it, actually, you don't need to help me." She's not asking for solutions, she's updating them on the choices/prices she's already decided to pay.

Whether because of her own perceived mistakes, or because of other people's choices, or because there's something Much More Important than her own personal wellbeing to ever possibly prioritize, of course.

She wants / wanted to "be strong alone" (and sometimes had to be) and she has a very hard time forgiving herself / giving herself the same compassion she shows other people.

That said, we shouldn't say she's making no progress. 5x04 is the first time in the entire show she 1) seeks someone out to talk about her own problems and 2) talks about her own problems because she wants to, not just because she feels guilty, or because she's having a breakdown. That's huge, and shows she's beginning to learn to accept the grace given to her - there's just a long way to go.

She's bad at being nice to herself, too. Why should her pain, or what she puts herself through, matter? She can shoulder it alone. It's fine. Until it isn't. And, luckily, until she doesn't have to.

But again, thankfully, she's starting to improve.

With that in mind, as said, I don't think Amaya was being unfair at all. She barely knows Rayla, she's a lot closer to Callum, and she saw his heartbreak up close. Then she sees Callum and Rayla show up together, out of nowhere, when Amaya didn't even know Rayla had come back into his life. Of course she has her guard up (nor does Amaya ever say she was right to hurt Rayla back at the Banther Lodge because Rayla ended up hurting her nephew; her issues with Rayla are now completely removed from her being an elf, and she's also being hyperbolic).

Rayla did hurt Callum; she did abandon him, and she did break his heart. She had 'good reasons' for doing so, or at least good intentions. She was scared of losing him. She wanted to protect him from what she saw as her burdens. She "couldn't bear to put him in danger" just over her (because, for a lot of the reasons stated above, she doesn't think she's worth that; regardless). But she was still wrong to leave. That said, Rayla was wrong to leave not only because it hurt Callum, but also because it hurt herself, and Amaya is the first person we've seen directly acknowledge it (although Callum does so in the background that will likely be taken to the forefront in S6).

Amaya, who's had a 4 season long arc about developing more empathy and seeing herself in others ("We gain nothing if we throw away the chance to learn and grow"), is also able to recognize what's going on, because she's been through it herself. And she identifies it all for what it is: a hyper independent trauma response because of grief and fear.

R: You think I meant to hurt Callum? That's the last thing I wanted! A: You abandoned him. You broke his heart. R: I was trying to protect him! I left without him because I couldn't bear to put him in danger. I knew I had to be strong alone. A: [Sighs] You know who you sound like? R: Who?! A: Me.

R: Oh... Thanks, I think? A: When I was growing up, my big sister Sarai was the smartest, strongest, bravest person I knew. When she died, I felt lost and weak without her. I hated feeling that way, so I learned to be strong alone. Stoic, strong, and lonely. R: That... does sound like me sometimes. A: But the last two years have changed everything. Meeting Janai, falling in love. I am stronger now than I have ever been, because we are stronger together. And I realized that was the real truth of me and Sarai, too. Love and trust grow a kind of strength that is much bigger than we each possess. To have that kind of strength, it is not enough to love someone. You have to trust them to share the burdens you carry.

Amaya and Rayla once had a spat in the Banther Lodge because Rayla asserted that she was alone (which I think Rayla truly believed, anyone, running off with two boys she barely knows) and Amaya called her a liar. Now, Amaya reminds her that the choice to be strong alone is a choice, and she can make new ones; she can let trust coexist with the endurance of her love to make something that's stronger together, and Rayla takes her up on it.

Like Amaya says in 4x06, "All I ask is that your justice is compassionate." Amaya calls Rayla out, and then she offers actual help so that the pattern doesn't persist, so that she's less likely to hurt Callum in that way again. You can't fix people's emotional problems or relationships for them; you can only keep giving them chances, if you want to.

Thankfully, Callum and Rayla both want to - so they do.

[wolven91]

Beers With The Fellas

"Hey guys, you coming round to mine tonight? Got a bunch of drinks in." Asked the human suddenly, surprising the work crew.

The rest of the crew looked up from where they were packing away their tools to the diminutive creature. The 'new' additions, that were the humans, were still finding their feet in the wider society despite it being over a year since their disastrous debut. It had to be admitted that they had taken to it rapidly now that they had given a proper opportunity.

That said, they often had odd ideas that left the other races scrabbling to react correctly.

The crew was a mixture of races, none of which really mixed outside of work. It wasn't that they specifically didn't like each other or had unfounded prejudices, it was just... not done? The various races had multiple clashes with one another. Everyone present hadn't been involved in the fighting or even knew someone involved, but it was s still a fact that their respective governments had a cold relation, if at all. The slender taurian, looked to the robust ursidain, who looked to the towering ssypno. When a new species joined the wider community, it was required, expected or demanded that they be given an opportunity to show how they can add to the community, how their culture reacted to others.

It was just good sense, a fresh set of eyes on established processes. Especially saying of just how much the galaxy had stagnated over the last few hundred years. There were rumours that nothing had changed, not even a new recipe in all that time. At least not until the humans showed up.

In the distant past, some races like the vulptanis had interesting technology to add, or others, like the esquinines, had an inspired governmental process. But the humans? Well, they had none of these overt boons.

But what they did have, was ideas. Odd ones, but every now and then a tiny change here or there had a ripple effect that confounded established processes down the line. Some good, some bad.

So, when the human was stood there, arms wide, a broad smile plastered over her face and offered the team to come to her domicile for 'drinks', the crew hesitated when they realised their first gut reaction was to say no. Afterall, you didn't invite practical strangers into your nest, den or home, colleagues or not it was done.

"Sure?" replied the taurian, always first to side with the human, even to his detriment. Male taurians were meant to know how to handle any social situation after all, it was why he oversaw managing the haphazard group.

The ursidain, a male who hadn't quite decided if he liked the tiny, stick thin creatures yet, rolled his eyes whilst facing away from the group, he'd wait, let the rest of them decide before throwing in his own choice with the popular choice. The ssypno clapped his hands together with a joyful look plastered across his face.

"I've never seen a human home before! Of course! Do you need me to bring anything?"

"Only if you want something specific to drink, a friend of mine works in logistics; a bunch of beer, or rather what was described as beer. The kegs got damaged and the snooty sluggat who they were for refused to accept them. They were paid for so he basically gave me a bunch as he needed the warehouse space, should be enough to tide you guys over and I made sure to have plenty of food in so-"

"What time?" Asked the ursidain, not intending to interrupt the human, but to be fair he'd need to go and get washed first. At the mention of food his head had whipped round, ears perked.

"Soon as you're ready, all I'm going to do when I get home is get changed. Apparently, the comet that flew by earlier today has a tail that'll give us a bit of a light show." She explained. It was as a good excuse as any, the ursidain would get to eat, the ssypno would get to satisfy his curiosity and the taurian would suffer through, but watch, monitor and learn what he could.

The team broke up and went their separate ways. It was barely a few hours later, that the trio of aliens met up with one another again as they navigated to the human's apartment. It was an interesting travel, the human's home was a secret, they were banned from revealing it and were escorted at one point by a squad of canids to ensure they weren't being followed. As the 'B' repair team, they were used to getting the crap jobs, the jobs the rest of the teams didn't want. So the fact they got an escort and were brought to a very nice hab-block with all the airs and graces that came with that life?

It stroked their egos ever so gently, endearing them to the human for this opportunity. No rich citizen would invite 'their kind' here normally. Not unless a toilet was broken.

Stepping up to the door, they scratched their claws down the metal plate to announce themselves and moments later their human colleague let them in with a smile and a flourish.

"Hey! Come on through, I rigged up an ice bath on the balcony so if you got anything that needs cooling down, you can stick it in there. Foods next to the doors too!" The female human finished with a chuckle, lightly elbowing the ursidain in the rotund belly. The giant brown bear grinned at his weight being acknowledged; he'd tried hard to ensure he kept up appearances, it was nice that someone other than a fellow ursidain finally paid him a compliment. To the ursidains, to be accused of getting thin was on par with the worst insult one could think of after all.

Stepping through the door, the home wasn't too far removed from the standard template, but the home itself had some odd styleistic choices. The ssypno made no effort to hide his curiosity, moving around, running his fingers over the counter tops. Everything was too small, but he loved the rugs that tied to room together, plus it was nice to have something other than the cold floors beneath him.

He shamelessly stole the idea of rugs everywhere for his own meagre home.

The whole team eventually settled on the balcony that overlooked 'The Great Glass Ceiling' that was the ceiling and sides of all the spinning circular station that residents this side of the station enjoyed for an unobstructed view of space. At first, conversation was hesitant, the nervousness of meeting co-workers outside of a work environment was alien, but with drinks and food available, eventually the walls came down. They settled into the banter they had during the day, realising that they were no different from who they were at work, just more relaxed.

The comet's 'tail' was a sight to behold as micro-meteors lashed the station's shielding creating a display of shooting stars that were hard to come by outside of specific planets. Even the shield added its own glowing display that coloured the darkened residential district.

What came from this evening was a noted high cohesion of the team by upper management and the taurian manager. All of a sudden, during work hours they were far more in sync with one another and became even more so over time. Their efficiency skyrocketed from a lower end of the average to being classed as 'ideal' by the station AI. Upper management, obviously wanted to recapture this lightning in a bottle. So began their plan to enforce 'team building exercises' for all workers outside of work hours. This initiative ended as a unmitigated disaster and almost universally hated when employed with the various other races.

The Administrator of the station instead decided to recreate the original environmental settings while instructing nearby stations to do the same and see what would happen. Several food and drink deliveries were 'refused' for various false reasons and marked as 'free to be taken'. The human, and other humans on other stations, time and again, took the opportunity to share their wealth with their colleagues. Each time the various races took part with these 'drinks with the guys/girls' there was a noted positive increase to their work-life interactions.

Mind bogglingly, they invited near strangers into their homes or to established bars to simply 'make friends' with any species, not just their own.

The social engineering of humans, seemingly unintentionally, was a boon to any workplace should they have access to what was needed, meaning free booze and food, and placed with staff that were openly welcoming to newcomers. It was quietly designed that this would happen should a human appear in a station and request work.

Humans were excruciatingly rare still, but if one enquired about any open positions, a role was created in rapid order where the 'recommended' settings of human friendly crew were available. Each time and every time, the overall productivity, morale and team cohesion increased once the human began making friends in their own strange alien way.

The various AIs of each station communicated with one another and simply made the conditions easier for these humans to work their magic. For the cost of a single delivery of consumables, these humans made work teams who were struggling into top notch employees.

[transingthoseformers]

OverpanKid!OP anon

Sentinel and Blackarachnia would have interesting reactions.

If Overpan figured out what happened on Aracha-7, Sentinel would be in deep slag. Thankfully, while they don't see eye to eye, Optimus doesn't want Sentinel dead, so while his parents are tearing into Ultra Magnus (not literally but the little twitches in Trepan's digits and Overlord's glare say other wise, though they can't act on it. While they are of neutral alliance and can't be prosecuted, Optimus isn't and they wouldn't put it past the Council prosecuting their son for their actions) Optimus pulls Sentinel over to the side like;

"Hey, I think we need to have a chat and bury a few hatchets before you get buried by them."

They have a long overdue conversation and who knew that the threat of your old pal's parents ripping you to shreds would be the key to healthy communication? There's still a long way to go for them but they've made up for now. Though upon learning Trepan - a mech with a very explicit reputation - was an Autobot, makes Sentinel a bit curious. He's been under the impression that their faction can do no wrong, but realizing this mech as committed atrocities that have been struck from the records, makes him wonder what else they've been hiding. (I like to believe that Sentinel genuinely believes in the Autobot cause, but he's so young and fully indoctrinated with the the wool pulled securely over his eyes, he's ignorant of the darker side of the Autobots. Trepan showing up is his glimpse behind the curtain. I don't hate Sentinel, he's a jerk and needs to learn his lesson, but I think he can be redeemed.)

Blackarachnia on the other hand, well, her mental state isn't the best, so she's probably gonna end up extremely conflicted once she learns that sweet, goody-two-shoes, Optimus is the son of two of the most terrifying mechs in the universe.

I'm sure I can figure out some way to reunite these three again. Sentinel's got a good start but Blackarachnia is gonna be tough.

Makes perfect sense, it's totally TFA Autobot of the autobots™️ to blame whatever Overlord and Trepan do currently on Optimus

Nice to see Optimus and Sentinel work something out... Even if it's under threat of two of the most terrifying mecha in the galaxy who just happen to be your friend turned rival's parents. Sentinel had to have been terrified lol

And you're right about Sentinel. He does honestly believe everything autobot wholeheartedly, especially after Archa Seven. This being a turning point in that could have interesting interesting results, especially as you put it tfa Sentinel imo too can be redeemed with careful work.

Yeahh BlackArachnia already had several reasons to be wary, but she's going to be Extra reevaluating her interactions with him after learning of his past before the academy. Though, considering their interactions in canon I think BlackArachnia is severely tempted to accept his help (at least that was the tone I saw in the show, with the whole tragedy angle— especially in the episode where she was working with meltdown and meltdown double crossed her) and considering bw BlackArachnia I feel like we'd definitely see her go through a redemption arc of her own (thought I don't see her becoming an autobot again. I've thought before about her declaring as neutral before though...) Her learning about Trepan and the worse sides of the autobots cannot help her opinions on them.

[dr-spectre]

I’ve been seeing a lot of people in the Splatoon community say that Splatoon 3 ROTM will be the last time we will see the New Squidbeak Splatoon which includes Callie and Marie, but like… no?! Nintendo hasn’t outright said “hey y'all, you like the Squid Sisters and wanna see them continue to grow and develop? TOO BAD BITCH!! THEY AIN'T COMING BACK AFTER THIS GAME HA HA! IT'S JUST OFF THE PEAK AND DEEP PEAK NOW BUDDY! ENJOY!!”

When that person said in the Splatoon 3 direct “witness the finale of the Splatoon Saga” she meant the finale of the trilogy set up from Splatoon 1, the story of the New Squidbeak Splatoon vs the Octarians. The Splatoon games up until this point have always had a consistent throughline of developing the Octarians and giving more insight into the conflict between them and the Inklings. Octo Expansion was about diving deeper into the Octolings, them reaching the surface and living with the Inklings. In Splatoon 3, it seems like the Inklings have accepted the Octolings and are living peacefully alongside them. (Or they are just really dumb and still don't realize that Octolings aren't just Inklings with weird hairstyles.) 

Splatoon 3 ROTM marks the finale of the New Squidbeak Splatoon vs Octarians storyline as DJ Octavio’s entire army literally got turned into mindless furries and he became allies with the New Squidbeak Splatoon at the end of the game. Whether he’ll stay as a good guy remains to be seen but by judging Smollusk’s dialogue in Side Order where he says that Octavio is just flying around in his new machine nowadays, he’s probably gonna stay at the very least neutral to the Squidbeak Splatoon. His mission to save his race is basically over now, Octolings are living on the surface and his army is a bunch of furries. We will most likely never see the Octarians as enemies ever again in the series and the developers will move on to different threats never seen before and start a new storyline, or maybe they’ll focus on the Salmonids for Splatoon 4 but we’ll have to wait and see. 

Now I wanna roll back to the Squid Sisters, listen, aside from the Inklings, Callie and Marie are the most iconic characters in the entire franchise. If you tell a random person “do you know Splatoon?” They are probably gonna think of the Inklings, the unique gameplay and then the Squid Sisters. The only other characters that rivals their popularity are arguably Off the Hook, Deep Cut are still recognizable but they aren’t on the same level of popularity as those two groups in my opinion. 

It would genuinely be a bad financial and story mistake to never ever bring back Callie and Marie for Splatoon 4 and onwards, they are extremely iconic and profitable characters that people LOVE and wanna see more and continue having brand new adventures. Now, do I think they are gonna have the same role as before? No, I think they may take a break or step back from the Squidbeak Splatoon and let Captain 3 take control over Agent 4, Neo Agent 3, etc.

For Splatoon 4, I am guessing they are still gonna perform as the Squid Sisters, but in the main story mode or dlc I'm hoping that the developers take an Octo Expansion/Side Order route with the Squid Sisters where you get to hang out with them and learn more about them. How are they doing currently? What was it like for them at the start of their careers? Some more info about how they were as kids? How do Callie and Marie look back on the events of Splatoon 2? How do they feel about the other Idols and characters? 

There’s still so much left for these girls and just never seeing them again after Splatoon 3 would be a massive mistake and destroy all that interesting potential and lore. 

Also, the way that the Splatoon world works is that it’s an ever evolving world that follows our time, meaning that the characters age and go on new journeys as the years go by in our world. We see updates on past characters and are shown where they are at, the only times when that doesn't happen is when a character is fucking dead (Commander Tartar and the Octoweapons except for Octostomp) or they are in a location that isn’t the focus of what the writers wanna tell (C.Q. Cumber), heck even a character like Iso Padre who was a small side character in Octo Expansion managed to make an appearance in Splatoon 3 and show that he actually made it to the surface! 

Callie and Marie are not going anywhere, you can rest easy. The credits song "Wave Goodbye" is not called that in Japanese, it's called "Star of the Sea Breeze" and we all know that the localization team can make some pretty bad mistakes....

[brothermoth]

the left wing of the ostrich

You know what? This is the fault of young people being so fucking stupid and unable to educate themselves with the vast fucking resources they have available. I don't give a shit how good or bad your formal schooling was. The internet is free and you can learn these skills entirely on your own by simply not being a goddamn reactionary fool.

You're not a fucking anarcho-communist or a Marxist leninist feminist or whatever the fuck y'all are spouting now. You're an uneducated shitheel who thinks calling yourself the most left sounding thing is going to make you better. You've never read Marx or Engles and I doubt half of you even understand the theory you claim to follow.

I'm not blaming this on anyone with a learning disability who has difficulty accessing educational materials by the way. This is about people who make a willful choice to be radicalized online. This is about people who do not have the common sense to pull their head out of their ass.

Gen z (I fucking hate generation labels but it is largely people 18-30 that this problem comes from) is one of the least educated groups of people with some of the lowest reading levels since public education became widely available.

These are people without an ounce of fucking kindness or goodwill in their heart who feel so much apathy toward any one group of people that they are not even willing to do anything but stare like a fucking fool and let shit happen.

Radfems get off your high fucking horses—you had a hand in this. If your feminism isn't based on basic human fucking empathy then you're nothing but a shill doing absolutely fuck all for women or anyone else for that matter. You're a bastardization of feminism and you should be fucking ashamed.

Anti voting cunts? Genuinely I want you to sit and spin. Your fake empathy is pathetic. You don't get to put myself and everyone I care about in front of the bus so you can get on your moral pedestal about being against genocide. Your hands are stained with fucking blood. You're an idiot and your stupidity and your silence is murderous. You had a chance to get off your ass and DO something that fucking mattered for the people in your own community and you basically told us we are not worth it. The man who wanted to shoot protestors will absolutely be beneficial for Gaza. Right.

You're such lukewarm activists that you believed misinformation about Kamala Harris that was so easy to just fucking verify. (No she did not imprison people for weed. She was in fact supportive of lessened sentences and education for prisoners so they can find jobs when they're free. She has done a LOT for people and she was put in a very difficult position where she could not risk losing the large pool of moderate voters.)

Hey "activists"! Do you know how your own fucking government works?

THE VICE PRESIDENT CANT DO SHIT. KAMALA HARRIS HAS LITTLE TO NO SAY ON WHETHER OR NOT WEAPONS GO TO ISRAEL.

Hell, BIDEN doesn't have much sway over that decision. Congress is red and they make the majority of foreign policy decisions you fucking stupid cunts.

Trans Americans will never forgive you. Black Americans will never forgive you. Poor Americans, disabled Americans, Latino Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans and all the others.

I hope you regret the choices you made. Christ, I hope it fucking haunts you. Trump voters were always going to vote trump without hesitation but you? You had to play leftist and call every marginalized person who pleaded with you a liberal. You're pathetic. If I could spit on you via internet, I would.

Put your fucking head back in the sand. You can stop pretending to care now.

[discar]

HZD Terraforming Base-001 Text Communications Network

Chapter 5 | Prev chapter | Next chapter Chapter Index

Aloy: Varl, Erend, you two ready to go?

Varl: Yeah, just shaving goodbye to Zo.

Erend: OH, HEY, I FOUND ANOTHER CLIP!

Erend: [FaroFails.mp9]

Aloy: Erend, are you READY?

Erend: YEAH YEAH, JUST WATCH THE CLIP!

Aloy: …

Aloy: Okay, fine, that's hilarious.

Kotallo: We would likely all find it funnier if we hadn't seen such machines rise from the ground to slaughter our friends and loved ones.

Erend: I DUNNO, I THINK THAT MIGHT MAKE IT BETTER.

Varl: I'm ready.

Aloy: Onward to ELEUTHIA, then.

----

Aloy: Zenith. Stay low, stay quiet.

Varl: Understood.

Erend: GOT IT.

Varl: All-Mother's mercy, Erend, learn how to type without speaking.

Zo: Wait, you ran into Far Zenith already? Get out of there!

Kotallo: They are in the middle of a mission, soldier. It is their duty to judge their next step, not ours.

Zo: Sigh. Fine.

Kotallo: ...there has to be a better way to convey emotions in a text.

----

Erend: SPECTERS COMING DOWN!

Aloy: We see them!

----

Varl: Coming up with an extra passenger!

Erend: WHAT? THERE'S ANOTHER SPECTER UP HERE!

Aloy: I'll deal with it! Varl, just keep her safe!

Zo: Keep who safe?

Kotallo: Did you capture a Zenith?

Erend: WHAT IN THE BROKEN PISSED-IN FORGE IS THAT?

Varl: I'd like to clarify for everyone that Erend is actually yelling now, and if he keeps doing it THIS SPECTER IS GOING TO KILL US.

Erend: SORRY, BUT

Erend: WHAT. I, JUST, WHAT.

Varl: Zo, get ready for medical treatment. She's got a wound in her head, if nothing else.

Zo: Understood. But who?

Varl: You're going to need to see this for yourself.

Aloy: Specter's down.

Varl: We're coming over.

----

Aloy: Zo, Kotallo, we talked it over. Varl and Erend are returning to base with... someone who needs help. I'll follow soon.

Kotallo: Understood, commander.

Zo: Understood. I have everything I need to heal most moderate injuries.

ADMIN [GAIA]: As long as she is not required to perform surgery, there should be no issues.

Zo: By all the songs, please never ask me to perform surgery.

ADMIN [GAIA]: Unfortunately, I cannot perform the task for you. You may have to learn.

Zo: I'll... look into it. But don't expect miracles.

ADMIN [GAIA]: I have records of many miracles my predecessor saw. Do not underestimate yourself.

Varl: Okay, we're riding.

Varl: Uh, GAIA?

ADMIN [GAIA]: Yes, Varl?

Varl: How do you define a miracle? Because I was always taught that a miracle was the direct intervention of the All-Mother. Who either doesn't exist, or is... you.

Aloy: She's not the All-Mother.

Zo: Aloy, I understand your position, but being dismissive of the beliefs of others helps no one.

Aloy: Scoff.

Aloy: We really need a better way to handle emotions in texts.

Kotallo: I am looking into something.

Varl: So, miracles? If you're the Goddess, then everything you do is a miracle. If you're not...

ADMIN [GAIA]: A miracle is an event that seems inexplicable by natural or scientific laws and is accordingly attributed to some supernatural of praeternatural cause. Various religions often attribute a phenomenon characterized as miraculous to the actions of a supernatural being, (especially) a deity, a magician, a miracle worker, a saint, or a religious leader.

Varl: Right. So a miracle is something from a god, or someone like that.

ADMIN [GAIA]: Correct. However, by the nature of the events in question, it is impossible to conclusively prove the existence of the supernatural. If sufficient proof is accrued, then it simply becomes another documented phenomenon of nature. In this way, a miracle is best summarized as an extremely unlikely, advantageous coincidence, one that statistically should not have happened, or at least not in quite such a fashion.

Erend: SO, WHAT, GOOD LUCK?

ADMIN [GAIA]: Several years ago, the second son of the Mad Sun-King, a young man who grew up with empathy and compassion despite the insanity and paranoia of his father, met a young woman with connections among some of the most powerful Oseram. Together, these two toppled a king. Was that good luck?

Erend: I KNOW IT WASN'T YOU. YOU WERE DEAD THEN.

ADMIN [GAIA]: Almost a year ago, a young woman found a door that was designed to open only for her, only for the door to fail to open because it could not identify her. And yet, she found a way to open that door anyway. Was that good luck?

Aloy: That's REALLY skipping a lot of context.

ADMIN [GAIA]: My predecessor trusted in a miracle, Varl of the Nora. There was no reasonable chance for the world to be saved; she could not even follow a chain of causality that would lead to such an event in the most unlikely of scenarios. But she trusted in a miracle anyway. And she was, in the end, correct.

Aloy: ...I'm heading back now. I'll be at the base soon after the boys arrive.

Chapter 5 | Prev chapter | Next chapter Chapter Index

[dsireland86]

Hii! :)

Can you do imagine request "Nap dates"? I had inspiration when i was listening Angus & Julia Stone's song Nothing Else. Y/n is working for Sumerian Records and is interested tour management. Sumerian sent her with Matt to work with the production so Matt can focus more on audio things. Y/n is first shy and trying to focus 120% only working but Noah is trying to get Y/n in every way. She is almost thirty years old and single, for the first time in a completely foreign environment. She is a native Finnish speaker and still looking for a little communication in English. She's a little shy, slow to ignite, but she's also been eyeing Noah, but scared that everything will go wrong. Her motto has been that you don't eat from the load. She talks a lot about how she misses skin to skin touching, but is too afraid of having relationships or sex with strangers and Noah suggests nap dates. She has a rule: no sex, no kissing, only cuddles and naps. Y/n is gemini ja Noah is Scorpio so they are not compatible and they try their best to fight off their interest in the other, but they still end up trying nap dates. Eventually they become romantically interested in each other and they end up kissing and having sensual, but mind blowing sex.

Nap Dates

Tag list: @philomenie @supersquirrel1996 @foliosgirl @angelmarie89 @fadingintothegrey @theanarchymuse95 @thisbicc @lma1986 @dominuslunae @shayzillaaaa @fadingintothegrey @an0mallly @alwaysfightforwhoyouare @mrsnoahsebastian @flowery-mess @iloveyoutodeathbutimdrowning @stardustsirenmelody @romanreigns-supreme @anything-more-than-human @into-the-grey@rumoured-whispers @myownthoughts12@sister-sebastian

The flight from Finland was almost thirteen hours. I check the time once I land then make a quick call to the record label once I'm out of the terminal, following the signs to ground transpiration. Even though this is my first time on any foreign soil, thanks to the help of the internet and the amount of English I know, I'm able to maneuver my way through the airport well enough to get to where I need to be. Still on the phone, my boss tells me there's an Uber waiting for me outside that will take me to the hotel where I'll be staying. In the morning, one will pick me up and drive me to the studio to meet with the man I was sent here to work with. 

A while back I mentioned to the label that I was interested in learning more about tour management in America, so they set me up with a guy named Matt with a strange last name I couldn’t pronounce, and arranged a meeting with him via video call. I liked him instantly. He was easy to talk to and had a really nice personality. I knew we were going to be a good match Upon exiting the airport, I see the Uber waiting for me. I climb in and we head to the hotel where I check in, find my room, then showering, and finally sleep. The drive to the studio the next morning is a quick one. I'm nothing but a messy bundle of nerves the minute I walk inside, wondering why I ever agreed to take this job. Turning the corner, I see two men standing in the hall and they both smile the moment they see me. My cheeks redden instantly. 

"Hey, can we help you?" a man, wearing a black ball cap asks. He has dirty blond hair down to his shoulders, a pointed nose and a very cute smile. He looks at me as if he recognizes me, and I admit to myself that he, too, looks very familiar. "I, uh, yes. Maybe? I don't know actually."

My English comes out slower than I want it to, but at least they can understand me. The other guy, tall with long brown hair pulled up in a messy bun, smiles at me too and proceeds to speak to me in Swedish. I sigh in perfect joy. We carry on a brief conversation where I explain who I am and why I’m here, learning that his name is Joakim, but his friends call him "Jolly", and that he is part of the band that I'll be working with.

"And this," he says, clamping a hand down on the shoulder of the man with the ball cap, "is Matt, our tour manager." "Oh my gosh, I'm an idiot," I cringe, slapping my forehead with my hand. I look back up at Matt only to see him grinning at me. "You knew who I was the whole time, didn't you?" Matt slowly nods, unable to hide his smile. I nod, too, feeling completely embarrassed. "Hey, don't worry about it," Matt encourages me. "You've had a long couple of days. I'm sure you're beat." "Yeah, just a little. Jet lag is kicking my ass.” "Come," Jolly says, I'll introduce you to the other guys." I nod and follow them down the hall to a room on the right.

Nicholas, Nick who goes by Folio, and Noah; the three remaining band members. I shake each of their hands, smiling shyly at them, but stop and stare hard the moment I get to Noah. He stares at me, his expression is cool and relaxed and his disarming smile penetrates my entire body. Noah seems to be a laid back sort of person and it helps me to relax a bit. Matt takes me over to the sound equipment, asking me questions about what I know and what I'm able to bring to the table as far as tour production, and I'm honest and thorough, telling him what I know and can do. He's impressed and says I'll be a great fit. Glancing over at Noah, I catch the way he's staring at me. His brown almond eyes are deep and entrancing, making it extremely hard to look away. I take a deep breath and exhale it through my nose quickly, trying my best to refocus my attention back to Matt.

It's been three weeks of work and I love my job. Matt is the best. Very easy going and easy to work with. His personality and intelligence match mine when it comes to work and pretty soon, the two of us, along with Noah, have a whole idea planned out for the upcoming tour. Noah is growing on me and I’d like to think I'm growing on him too. Getting to know him more, I learn he’s a little reserved and introverted like me, but very sweet, which is surprising to me considering his stage presence. Everyday I'm around him, my feelings about him change. The fluttery, butterfly feeling that would come and go is permanently there now and it only grows whenever we're together. It's ridiculous, actually. I'm thirty years old, not a teenager. Noah shouldn't have this sort of effect on me; yet he does. And if I'm being honest, I'm beginning to really like the feeling. 

The day I met Y/N face to face was the day my world turned upside down. I was drawn to her for reasons I didn’t know or couldn’t understand. I was never known to be a guy interested in the opposite sex to the point it was all I could think about. But she was; she was all I could think about.  I couldn't concentrate on anything but her and the way she moved so gracefully and the way she spoke, softly and slowly with her moderate Swedish accent that was thicker than Jolly's and much sweeter. Her smile was simple, but so bright. Whenever she used it, my heart would skip a beat and I couldn't help but smile back. Y/N was also very easy on the eyes. She was distracting. Every time she walked into the room, I found myself staring at her a little more than I knew I should, and the fact that she was single was mind blowing.. A woman like her shouldn't be. We became easy friends. The only problem was, Y/N devoted 1000% of her time to her job, never giving herself time to do anything else. Matt tried telling her not too, that he was afraid she might burn herself out, but she refused to listen to him, telling him it was just her nature to stay so busy.

"So, there really is no man for you back home? No one that interests you?" Y/N shakes her head, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. I managed to steal her away from work for the day, taking her out for coffee, which turns out to be hot cocoa instead. We're sitting on a park bench, overlooking the ocean. A soft breeze swings in, blowing the small strands of hair out her face. I look over at her, taking a moment to soak in her delicate features that make her so pretty, and find myself feeling things for her that I probably shouldn't, yet I just can't help myself.

"What about you?" she asks, turning to face me. The soft twinkle I see makes me smile as I huff a small laugh. "Nope. No one. I mean there have been girls that I thought were pretty and nice, but in the end they just turned out to be too shallow or taken. I find it better to just not go looking for something, but instead let that something find me. I'm not in any rush." Y/N chuckles and takes a sip of her hot cocoa. "You mean to tell me all your fame and money doesn't buy you happiness like everyone says it does?" she jokes. I laugh. Laughing with her is so easy. "I'm afraid not. I don't want to be rich anyway. I just want to find my person and grow old with her." Y/N hums in approval. "How did you get to be so wise, Noah," she smiles, playfully. But I sense some seriousness. "Life wasn't always easy for me, you know. I had to learn that falling apart isn't always a bad thing. It taught me how to become someone, that's for sure." Y/N frowned. "We're all someone, are we not?" "No," I shook my head. "I don't think we are. Most people live life in a bubble, locked up in their minds, completely turned off to reality and what's passing in front of them. They spend their whole life looking for the next best thing instead of enjoying the here and now; instead of being present."

"Wow, yeah, I agree with that," she nodded. "You know, you're not like other guys, Noah. You enjoy going slow and sitting still while you come undone and allow life to pick you apart a little. I like that. It's refreshing." Y/N turns and looks at me and I can't help but trail my eyes over her face and wonder what it would be like to kiss her soft, red lips. She's the first girl I've had these sorts of thoughts about in a really long time. "Thank you," I say quietly. "You're welcome," she says, trailing her eyes over my face as well. "Can I ask you a more personal question?" She hesitates at first, but then says okay. "When was the last time you were with a guy?" Her eyes narrow. "Like? Romantically or sexually?" I feel my cheeks redden a little "Both." A small smile creeps over Y/N's lips.

"Um, it's been a while. I'm really backwards and shy and have zero confidence. Having a sexual relationship with strangers is hard for me because of that. And trying to get into a deep, long term relationship never works out because if I'm not willing to sleep with the guy then he loses interest. "Are you serious? Y/N you're beautiful! You should have a lot of confidence." "Yet, I don't," she laughed, turning away from me. “Also, you’re really hot yet you’re single,” she points out with a sly grin and I laugh. “Okay, point taken.” I playfully shove her in the shoulder as we remain quiet for a moment,  processing what we just learned about each other.

"I miss it though," Y/N confesses. "Miss what?" "Skin to skin contact. Not necessarily sexually or anything, but just like hand holding and soft, gentle caresses and touches. Cuddling, gosh I love cuddling," she giggles and it's the most adorable thing I’ve ever heard. "Especially when it's cold or raining. Cozying up together and falling asleep, or watching old movies in the dark. Those are the best."

Y/N's description sounds like this thing I read about in one of my weird, self-help books. It's a thing called nap dates and apparently it works when someone is missing the physical touch of another human being, so I mention it to her. "What about nap dates?" She looks at me completely confused, shaking her head. "What are nap dates?" "They're dates that people who are friends or in a platonic relationship have. You hang out with each other, cuddle, watch tv, sleep, you know, boring stuff." "Boring stuff," Y/N laughs, tossing her empty cup in the trash. "Well boring for those who aren't trying to make their relationship go anywhere."

We stand up, and I stretch, working out the kink's in my neck, grimacing in pain. "Are you alright, Noah," she asks, alarmed. "Yeah. I just have this insane knot in my shoulder blade that won't go away. It's been there for days and hurts like hell." "Oh, well sit. I can rub it out for you." I do as she says, making sure she has enough access to my back. The moment she lays her hands on me I feel the instant spark rip through my body. Her touch is electrifying. I can't help but moan and groan over the feeling of the way she works and messages the knot out. It's invigorating. But it's the way she's touching me that has my body all worked up. It's gentle yet confident. Strong yet sweet. And just the thought of never feeling it again sends my mind into a spiral.

"How's that?" I move my arm around feeling immediate relief. "Oh god that feels a million times better. Thank you." Y/N grins. "You're welcome." I take her hand and hold it for a moment, thankful she doesn't pull away. Her eyes are speaking to me, yet I can't read what they're saying. "Noah," "Yeah?" "The idea of nap dates sounds fun." "It does, doesn't it?" "You really want to try it?" "Only if you do," I assure her. "Okay," she grins at me again. "Let's try it. But there's conditions." "Sure," I agree, fighting hard to control my eagerness. "No sex, no kissing. Only cuddling and sleeping." I chuckle. Her conditions seem pretty fair. "Absolutely," I agree." She grins. "Okay, good."

The rain is pouring down outside as Noah and I lay on the couch together, cuddled up under a warm, thick blanket. My leg is wrapped around his and I’m curled into him, burying my face in the crook of his neck. I'm engulfed by the scent of him and it makes me lightheaded. The abnormal fluttery feeling in my stomach that always comes around whenever Noah and I are together is hitting me hard in my chest, making my heart race. I'm not sure if it's anxiety or nerves, but it makes me snuggle into him deeper and wrap one arm around his torso. I take a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"Are you okay, Y/N," Noah asks softly. I know his eyes are still glued to the tv as his favorite show plays quietly in the background. He has one arm beneath me, holding me so I won't fall off the couch, while his other one is tucked under his head. "Yup I'm fine," I say sleepily, yawning big. "Awe, you tired?" I nod slowly. "Go to sleep. We have nowhere to go or nothing to do," Noah suggests, bringing his hand down on my head and slowly caressing my hair. The warmth of Noah's arms are the very thing I need to help me drift off into a lazy, comfortable nap.

The night belonged to them. Nothing but the stars and the full moon watched them from way up above as they kissed one another. With her on her back, hands wrapped around his tattooed neck and fingers snaking through his newly trimmed brown hair, and him leaning over her, fingers tracing her cheekbones then caressing the side of her face, Y/N and Noah embraced the sensual feelings rushing through their bodies.

Night after night, day after day, their nap dates slowly began to take a different turn; they had developed strong feelings for one another. At first it started with their hands finding each other, fingers intertwining and playfully locking together. Then came the looks and slight smiles whenever they were around each other, the ones they thought they were being so secretive about. Finally, it came boiling over the night a huge storm rolled in with horrible wind, thunder, and lightning, knocking out the power for hours. It scared Y/N, making her cling to Noah as if her life depended upon it. Noah sang to her, held her while she rested her head quietly in his lap as he played with her hair. She fell asleep, only waking when she realized she was being carried to her bed. "Noah, please don't leave. Stay with me.” "Alight, I will," he promised, crawling into the bed next to her. The feeling of her body pressed so tightly against him made resisting the urge to kiss her impossible, but he did it anyway.

At first he thought Y/N would panic, freak out, or get mad at him because of their agreement when they first arranged their nap dates. But Y/N did the opposite. She turned all the way over, facing him and allowed Noah to devour her lips, her mouth, and her body, stopping only when it was about to go too far. "Not yet, not like this," Y/N whispered in the dark. The word "yet" clung to Noah's heart and mind like a magnet. He agreed, kissing her once more.

Now, here they were, tangled up in one another beneath the stars, unable to stop their hungry appetite for the other. "Noah, let's go home," Y/N mumbled against his lips. Noah smiled at her mention of the word "home". "Why? I like kissing you beneath the stars." Y/N giggled. "I know, but I'm not comfortable enough to do this out in the open. I’m sorry. I hate being the way I am sometimes.” Noah stopped kissing her and met her gaze. "I like you just the way you are," he told her, loving the way she smiled at him. He pulled her in and laid a soft kiss on her forehead. "I want to do nothing else but fall into your arms and let you have your way with me. I just can't do it here." Y/N confession had Noah's mind reeling. "You're going to let me have my way with you?" he asked. "If you'll have me," she answered quietly. Noah grabbed her and kissed her, standing up immediately after they parted. "Let's go."

Noah opened the hotel room door for Y/N and she walked in as he flipped the light switch on, locking the door behind him. His tall frame loomed over her small figure that was the picture of perfection against the black backdrop of the room behind her. She stared at him with eyes so intense he thought she could see right through him. And in that moment, Noah wanted nothing more than to just feel her naked body against him.

Leaving just the entry light on, he guided her back into the darkness of the room, thankful that the soft glow of the moonlight and the parking lot lights filled the room with enough light for them to still see one another. Noah ran his hands down her arms, feeling the instant prickle of her skin as he did so, making him shiver, too.

Without a word, he removed his shirt, then his shoes and socks, moving close to help Y/N do the same. Even though he knew she wanted to do this, she still looked alarmed. "When was the last time you were with a guy?" Y/N was quiet for a moment, unsure if she should be truthful or not. But, to do this right, she knew she had to be. "Two years ago." Noah's mouth fell open. "Why? I mean, I don't... " "There was no one worthy enough, that's all. I don't just sleep with anyone for fun, Noah. I have more respect for myself than that," she stated firmly. He closed his mouth quickly "Does this mean I'm worthy enough? Us being here together, alone, about to do the very thing you say you don't give to just anyone?" Y/N smiled up at Noah shyly, raising her arms as he lifted her shirt above her head and tossing it to the floor next to his. "Yes, Noah. You are more than worthy enough. I want to give in to you completely, mind, body, and soul. I just need to be assured that I won't regret it in the end."

He held her face in his hands when he kissed her. Noah didn't ever want her to go away again. It was as if her mouth had suddenly held all the oxygen that kept him alive. Undoing the clip of her bra, Noah gently pulled the straps down and she let it fall, revealing herself to him. He sucked in a slight breath, licking his lips instantly. "I have such a fucking weakness for you, Y/N," Noah confessed, carefully pushing her down on the bed and laying her back. "I have since the moment I saw your face on that video call. I was drawn to you, for reasons I didn't understand." He latched his fingers around the waistband of her leggings and pulled them off, leaving her only in her white cotton panties, which he quickly took off and shoved into the pocket of his joggers. "For safekeeping," he winked at her, making her giggle.

Looking down, Noah stared at the naked body before him on full display. Y/N was beyond beautiful. She was a perfect work of art, something to be worshiped and adored. Lowering his face, Noah trailed slow kisses over her stomach, feeling how it dipped from the way his lips tickled her, making him smile against her skin. Y/N ran her hands through his hair, moaning from the feeling of it running through her fingers as Noah placed kisses all over the front of her body.

From her stomach to her breasts, Noah went slow and steady tasting every single part of her. Wrapping an arm around her waist he arched her back and rolled her hardened nipple with his tongue making the noises coming out of her sound so intoxicatingly sinful. He was obsessed with her, and every touch, every sound made Noah feel more unhinged. He sucked her breast into his mouth as much as he could, nipping at her silky skin while flicking her nipple with his tongue over and over. Pulling back, Y/N cried out in protest of his absence, making him chuckle darkly. Standing to his feet, Noah slipped off his joggers and boxers at the same time, freeing his hard erection. The sight made Y/N shiver with absolute lust, and she couldn't wait to have him between her legs. "Spread your legs for me, Princess, and do as I say, alright," he whispered in her ear. Y/N obeyed, releasing a loud, content sigh over feeling him between her thighs.

"I want you in the worst way, Y/N," Noah confessed, rutting himself lightly against her soaked, throbbing core. She was already a panting mess, ready for whatever happened next. "Your taste, your scent, and I want the feeling of your skin next to mine. I want it all tonight," he whispered, staring her straight in the eye. Y/N swallowed, placing her hand on Noah's cheek. "Then take me, Noah. I'm all yours."

Without another word spoken, he reached down and guided the tip of his hard cock to her entrance and eagerly began taking her at his pleasure. Noah felt like heaven inside her. The sound of her first escaped moan as her body took him in and he spread her open wide was the best music to fuel his passion. He shivered when her nails dug into his back and his head fell into the crook of her neck as he began to pump hard and fast into her tight, wet core. The sheer ecstasy of it all threatened to tear them both apart and shatter them into a thousand pieces.

Noah grabbed Y/N's hips with purpose, aligning himself perfectly so that he could thrust hard and completely down to the very base of all he had to give her. She moaned for him, wrapping her legs tight around him and squeezing with all her might. No longer caring who could hear, Y/N cried out his name, biting his shoulder and pulling him in close to suck the warm, wet skin of his neck, Noah's own breathy moan seemed to accompany her sounds perfectly as his cock filled her entirely and hit the soft spongy spot of her cervix. Nothing could make him weaker than the feeling of her clinging to him and moaning "harder" in his ear as he bottomed out inside her, trying his best to cling to sanity.

"Oh god, you feel so good. Fuck," Noah groaned breathlessly, as he felt her writhe beneath him. "I'm a fucking mess for you, Y/N," he confessed, pounding into her a little harder and clamping his large hand around her thigh, pulling it up higher to get a better angle. She pulled his face into hers, latching her lips to his and feverishly kissing him while tugging on his hair collected between her fingers. "Fuck!" Noah growled," thrusting harder.

"Noah, I'm close," she whimpered. "I know, I can feel you. Goddamn, you're so tight, baby," he groaned. The pad of his middle finger rubbed circles along her clit, pressing down a little harder and making her squirm in delight. The way her back arched off the mattress mixed with her wetness gathering on his fingers, Noah knew she didn't have much longer. His hand took her leg and hiked it up higher against his side so that he could thrust even deeper down within her. The screams of her pleasure, echoing off the walls of the hotel room were pornographic,

"Noah," she cried, running her nails down his back, making him seethe in pain and pleasure. "That's it, cum for me, baby," Noah ordered, moaning as his head fell into her neck once again. Y/N's hands moved up his chest and around his neck and he made a sound deep in his throat that thrilled and frightened her to the point that her trembling walls shattered around his cock and she came as the hot rush of blood pulsed through her veins. Every muscle in her body tightened around Noah as he guided her through her orgasm until he felt himself tightening. He thrusted into her once, twice then pulled out and groaned deeply, spilling his warm release over her stomach

Spent, Noah's head fell against hers, his sweat mixing with her dampness, and he kissed her, long, hard, and still full of so much need. He rolled over and got up, heading for the bathroom Y/N laid there, panting, dazed over what just happened. Never in her life had she experienced sex like that before and now that she had, she only craved it more, but only if it was with Noah. He came back to bed carrying a warm and dry cloth, carefully cleaning up his mess. She watched him through sleepy eyes, sweetly caring for her until she was clean.

Noah tossed the towels to the floor and pulled back the blankets, climbing beneath them, still fully naked. Y/N narrowed her eyes at him as if to question if he was sure and he held up the blanket, motioning for her to come close. She was sleepy so she crawled over to him and snuggled deep under the blanket that Noah tossed over her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her into him so that her back was pressed tightly against his chest." You have no idea how much I like you," Noah confessed quietly to her in the dark. "How much you make me smile and how much I love talking to you." Y/N smiled to herself, squeezing his arm in approval. "Yes, I do," she replied. Noah was quiet for a moment. "Then you know how much I wish you were mine." She took a breath and sighed, and because she felt so warm and safe, Y/N closed her eyes. "You have me, Noah. Until the very last star in the galaxy dies, I'm yours."

[marshmallowprotection]

Can you please write a one shot on vet yoosung having to deal with a patient like this guy

"Dr. Kim, you should be warned, the patient today was listed as a bite warning."

"I'm sure we can handle him. He might just be anxious at the vet. It's no problem! I'll take it at his pace so he doesn't feel crowded. I'd hate to feel cornered when I don't feel good and I can't communicate why that is, too! Is it the mastiff from last time? He wasn't as bad as they'd claimed, you know! He just needed some belly rubs before he turned to butter."

"Dr. Kim, I'm starting to wonder if you're afraid of any animal at all!"

Yoosung chuckled. "No, no. Of course not. I don't have anything to be afraid of! Animals can sense your anxiety, you know. That's one of the first things I learned before I even got far into my studies. If you're as calm as you can be, they'll feel better about trusting you. It isn't clear cut and perfect, but it does make a difference in my experience."

"You might be surprised with this guy."

"C'mon, how bad can he be?"

The nurse nodded and went to wet the patient from the waiting room. It wasn't long before she turned with a crate that was filled with the howling and growling of a dog. Yoosung noticed that the nurse was wary, trembling as she went to the unlock the crate and free the beast from his cage, but he offered her his hands.

She took that offer in an instant and took a step back so he could do it.

A fraction of a second later, a Chihuahua burst out of the crate and began to bark at him in incredulous speed. He didn’t seem happy to be at the vet, that was for sure, but the rate at which his body was shaking was bound to make anyone assume he was filled with rage the likes of which no human had ever seen. 

Yoosung knew what most people assumed when they saw a yapping Chihuahua. They expected to see a dog that wouldn't stop trembling or howling in disgust. Frankly, a quick Noogle search would tell them that the reason why their dog was responding the way it was because they were overstimulated, overwhelmed, or cold.

They weren't filled with anger nine times out of ten.

He knew these animals weren't filled with rage, and it was sad that most people were afraid of them for that reason. He had to imagine that it would be frustrating to be a small dog, constantly poked and prodded as if you were nothing more than a toy, and anyone would angry after being treated that away—even if you didn't want to be. 

The Chihuahua yipped at him but Yoosung was patient. He took a seat in front of the dog and kept his hands to himself, seeing how long it might take his patient to get the barks out of his system with the space to do what he needed to do. He knew that wouldn't be all the comfort the dog needed to feel better, but it was a start, and he wasn't the type to rush an appointment if it wasn't an emergency to start with!

"Hey there," his voice was gentle as the dog continued to shake and tremble. "We've got plenty of time to figure out what's wrong, little guy. I won't poke and prod you until you establish your comfort level. I don't like going to the doctor, either, but the least I can do is make the trip less cold."

The growls continued. 

This wasn't his first rodeo with an animal that wasn't comfortable. But, this was assuredly the first time he interacted with a tiny dog that clearly hadn't had its boundaries respected. He knew what that felt like... and it wasn't fun to have his buttons pressed until he felt cornered!

Undeterred, Yoosung continued, "I would give you treats to help you feel a little more comfortable, but for us to run the test today, you can't have anything to eat. But, I promise if you let me take care of the scan, I'll give you something fresh to eat. Your owner said we could do anything to make sure it was comfortable for you if we could and I bet a plate of chicken will do the trick, huh, little guy?"

Quietly, he offered his hand to the Chihuahua. Most people would have expected the dog to bite them on impact, but he didn't let any fear show on his face. "Don't worry, I won't grab you without asking first."

He was somebody who took care of animals for a living, and he knew that showing fear over a bite or a scratch wasn't worth it. He could take it, and he would rather take it if it meant they trusted him fully instead of feeling like nobody listened to them. It took a moment, but the dog sniffed his hands, and the growling suddenly subsided with it. 

A smile appeared on Yoosung face as he let the dog nuzzle its face against his hand. "There we go, that's much better, huh? Let's get you taken care of so you can go home and eat to your hearts content all night long, hm?"

"Dr. Kim... how did you do that...?"

"Simple! I let them decide that I'm trustworthy on their own before I go poking around. They're just like you or me, you know? That's what I told you before. Patience helps."

[cinnamoncitric]

It all starts with Robin.

In truth, if one might get technical, it starts with Billy Hargrove. Then, in due time, it restarts with Russian spies and a fortress underneath a mall. But neither of the parties was there for the result, so: in all the ways that matter, which is to say, in all the ways that help, it starts with Robin.

In all things Steve Harrington, there are two authorities other than the man himself, and, though he has known him longer, she doesn't think Dustin has noticed. Steve himself doesn't like to talk about it, has only ever opened up to her on the subject under scrutiny and prodding. But avoidance doesn't change the fact: Steve's hearing has suffered.

He tells her this exactly once, both sitting side by side on the bed in his room. He says it looking down, ashamed, one hand tightly pulling at his hair, the other holding Robin's in a tight knuckled grip. His voice is small. He does his best to suffocate the anguish and the fear that flood it when he says, What if it gets worse?

There's no reason to believe it will, for now. At least, that's what the doctor tells them once she bullies Steve into a visit. As long as there are no other injuries, no other blows to the head, he isn't in danger.

But the thing is, there might be. That's just the life they lead – never knowing if the danger is truly over. So Robin sits her ass down and picks up a book on sign language because she knows he'd never do it on his own.

Come on, she tells him, months of secret classes in Indy later. I'll teach you. We can just use it to talk in secret in front of everyone whenever we want to.

Which is, of course, not how it goes down. They go maybe a month into sneaking awkward signs behind everyone's back until Dustin gets wind of it. And when child prodigy Dustin Henderson decides he wants in, there's not much they can do to stop him. And he gets all the other genius gremlins to do it, too. Imagine how useful it would be to communicate without alerting demogorgons, he tells them, when Steve explains he doesn't want to talk about the real reason for it. They all figure it out anyway.

Mike learns it like he'd much rather not. His only argument for doing it is that it might be good for his college application and that Nancy took an interest in it and is now forcing him to learn with her as "sibling bonding."

Will is shy, Lucas is earnest, El is curious. By some point, all of them pick it up. All the older kids, all of the adults – Hopper, Joyce, Murray, Claudia Henderson – and Steve feels like he could cry. They all took the time and effort to learn a whole different language, just for him.

He does cry, and it's all because of one Max Mayfield.

Hey, loser, she calls out one day when the two of them are waiting for the others, searching for him with her cane so she can stand in his direction. Are you looking at me?

Steve twists so that's she's perfectly in his line of view and then confirms.

Good, Max says in sign with a shit-eating grin, pose triumphant, Guess what I fucking learned how to do.

Just like that, there are tears streaming down his face. He tries his best to control his breathing while Max goes on.

Lucas showed me, she continues in sign. It was a pain in the ass because he had to keep moving my hands himself every time I got it wrong, but I wasn't about to let you guys have one over me.

When he doesn't answer, when he can't answer due to the huge lump stuck on his throat and the tears streaming silently down his face, she pauses. Then starts again, this time out loud, Hey, you know you have to speak to the blind girl, though, right? I can't see your hands.

Steve laughs wetly. Shut up. Language, Mayfield.

She laughs at the unintentional pun. Yeah, language. Oh, man. Are you crying?

Shut up, Steve says again. I'm gonna hug you now, okay?

She huffs. Sure, if it's to get it out of your system.

[fairuzfan]

Hi I’m sorry to barge in about this but these last few posts about feeling invalid in ethnicity hit home for me. My grandfather was Lebanese and died before I could meet him, and aside from my mother I have no other Lebanese culture in my life. I have always felt pride in my heritage (especially after learning about grandpas possible skirmishes against the IDF? Unclear) but I’ve always felt like an outsider because I don’t know many other Arabs/SWANA irl and wasn’t raised in a typical Lebanese home. Obviously there are major differences between these two situations, but I wanted to know if you had any more suggestions on how to find community? At least for someone to tell me if I’m appropriating a culture I am only a fourth of. Again Sorry, I know this isn’t what you do here and I understand if it’s wasting your time. Thanks for being on this stupid app regardless

hey your grandpa sounds badass! im sorry you've always felt like an outsider... i will say, i'm not sure if it's cultural appropriation if you have familial ties to lebanon and acknowledge your history there. if anything, i think you still have a right to interact with it as a way to investigate your grandfather's history.

something that really connects me to palestine is literature. books, poetry, essays, think pieces — these expose me to a wide range of opinions and understandings of the world around them. do you happen to know if your grandfather had any writings from back then? or if you can ask your mother for stories about him? i've been trying to get my own grandpa on the phone to hear about his experiences in palestine before the Nakba.

it also might help to look into different writers and artists online and interact with them. I share a lot of tweets from palestinians (doctors, artists, writers) because that's where i learn the most about palestinian culture in palestine and the diaspora. I know I recommended them earlier, but I'd look up Radius of Arab American Writers. Their vibe is something I think you'd appreciate.

if you're part of any distinct groups like medical care or environmentalists, i would google "Lebanese Doctor Association" or "Lebanese Archivists." That's how I found librarians and archivists for Palestine.

but literature is still my go-to either way. I don't know many lebanese writers, but I do know fairuz LOL and she's probably the most famous lebanese person. Khalil Jibran is also a famous lebanese writer you might look into.

if anyone else has any tips, feel free to add on. im sorry, i don't know if i helped too much. i hope that you can reconnect with your grandfather's heritage and learn more about him. good luck and, more than anything, have fun.