#So we've just been sniffly and miserable

[rhaenys-queenofkhyrulzz]

MENTHOL CRYSTALS

fucking lifesaver

[kidspawn]

glad to hear you have masks that fit, but sorry to hear about the immune response. i know immunosuppression + retail can be an absolute beast, and a lot of people with “normal” disease resistance think it’s for lack of effort and not biology+circumstances. i wanted to make sure you had all the knowledge you needed to protect yourself as best as possible to the extent that is possible within an individual’s control, since disinformation makes it reaalllly hard for people to access info and i still come across people who were misguided by their doctors about how to best protect themselves (ie they are told to wear surgical masks and to take them off if 6 feet apart despite being indoors) and end up confused and disheartened. appreciate you being kind even though you’re probably tired of hearing it and/or are used to people blaming you instead of blaming society’s unwillingness to control illness, and hope you have a good one!

You're absolutely fine! I can tell you were coming at it from a genuine place - which says quite a bit, in my opinion. Frankly, I attribute it to most people knowing that someone who struggles with healthcare (especially in terms of covid) is probably from the USA and as such we tend to be criminally uneducated in regards to health, prevention, etc. It is important to make sure people are educated, and I think it's generous of you to send out resources to (i presume) a complete stranger who made a few snide comments about collecting viruses like pokemon cards.

I didn't pay much attention to my health, when I was a teenager, but it bit me in the butt when I found out my unwillingness to stay home from work when I'm sick (several holiday horror stories related to getting very sick but hey those are time and a half so it just made sense to work and stay very far away from others and wear gloves) just made me feel worse then I got other people sick. I'm not proud of it by any means, and knowing that my stubbornness surrounding ignoring my own health needs has hurt others has made me more cognizant of how my personal handling of my immune system can affect others. The USA work force (can't speak for any other countries) actively punishes you for, say, going "hey I am running a fever/have an illness/etc, and should not come in because it'll put others at risk." It puts your position in jeopardy, can cut your hours severely, etc. We've been forced into an expectation that we need to shelf our own needs to function in society.

(Also I'm just... used to being sick. I don't notice I'm sick until it's too late, most times. I digress. I've now become the bastard who tells coworkers to stay the hell away from me if they have so much as a sniffly nose bc I'm not missing out on work because you're irresponsible, my friend.)

That's not what you were touching on at all, but I do think it warrants a perspective for others to consider. I don't have much regard for my health, frankly. If it didn't affect others, I'd probably just keep working through a cold because I'd rather be miserable and paid than stay home and risk reducing my job or paycheck. But it doesn't just affect me. It affects customers, coworkers, even my family at the time. I'm lovingly coined patient zero because I pick up illnesses all the damn time. Once again, because retail + an (probably) undiagnosed immunosuppresive disorder clashes horribly with USA work culture and just how impossible it is to live and consider your health. Most people, including myself, chose their job over their health.

I don't know what to round out here. Am I warning people to prioritize themselves because I know several teenagers who follow me? Am I just pointing out it's a tragic collision of miseducation and the brutal work culture of this gradually decaying country? Who knows. Maybe I haven't slept in three days and as such I'm losing all capacity to regulate my word count.

(Anyway, now I just tell my colds to wait a few days until my usual day off. Do they listen? Not really, but I am quite skilled at gaslighting myself.)

Disregarding everything I said because it's frankly nonsense and unrelated to your ask (squirrel brain!), thank you. I appreciate your grace and composure. You were calm, professional, and very gentle with how you delivered information. I'm not the type to snap easily, so no worries there. Have a lovely day!

[faofinn]

21. "But if you stay, you'll get sick too"

Part 1 | Part 2

As much as Fao hated to admit it, his mum had been right. He’d woken up the morning after his game feeling shit, and he’d definitely not drunk enough to be hungover. His throat was like he’d swallowed glass, he was sniffly, and he had a proper dry cough. He felt awful. They’d stayed in his flat that night, to go home that morning, and though he felt guilty he definitely wanted to be home with his family rather than by himself. Even though Sheila fussed, he liked it when it meant he got food and endless cups of tea. 

Once they’d got home, he’d flopped onto his bed, feeling utterly miserable to say the least. The cat had joined him, which was nice, the tabby curled up next to him, purring away. He hated it, feeling guilty for bringing it home, but also for ruining their time together. They were supposed to do stuff, spend time as a family whilst he was home for the weekend, and now he’d ruined it by getting ill.

While everyone had their own things to do, they'd planned going out in the early afternoon. Sheila had seen the state of Fao, and knew he was coming down with a cold. As much as she knew it was just an old wives tale, she couldn't help but wish he'd listened and worn his coat.

She made them both a cup of tea, grabbed a load of snacks, and dropped the bombshell on Fred that he was alone with Finn for the rest of the day. Neither of them minded, and she was slightly concerned at the excitement and mischief on both their faces, but Fred was an adult. And Finn knew how to call them when things went wrong. She bundled them out of the house, the peace and quiet immediately so much better, and headed to Fao's room. 

"Fao? Sweetheart?"

He lifted his head. “Mm?”

"Can I come in?"

“Yeah.” He murmured. “But not to say ‘I told you so’.”

She grinned at him. "I don't need to. You've already said it."

“Was getting ill before.” He pointed out. “At least Pollo is giving me sympathy.”

"Hey, I've brought you tea and snacks, I'm being nice." She protested. "Shove over, let me on the bed."

“You should’ve led with that.” He said, gathering the cat up in his arms to shift over and give her room. 

"Ah, but that would have been too nice." She teased, settling next to him. "Have you had any paracetamol?"

“Had some earlier.” He murmured. 

"Not time for any yet?"

“No, not yet.”

"Alright. Want to put a film on?"

“Mm, dunno.”

"Are you going back to sleep?" She asked gently, reaching to stroke through his hair.

He sniffed. “Snacks?”

"Got plenty."

“Like what?”

"I've got crackers, crisps, chocolate - don't tell Fred, I got his good stuff, and the fruit salad he made for us yesterday."

“Mm, chocolate.” Fred always had the best stuff, and he was rubbish at hiding it. 

She passed him the bar. "And we've got the place to ourselves. Fred's taken Finn out."

“Oh? Thought it was quiet.”

"Thought you might appreciate a bit of peace."

“You should’ve gone too. I’ll get you sick.”

"I couldn't have left you all alone."

“I live alone, mum.”

"Not when you're here."

“Still. I’d be okay.”

"Are you trying to politely kick meout?"

“I don’t want you to get sick too.”

"I don't mind."

“You won’t be able to go to work.”

"We'll just stay in together."

“Mm, still.”

"I'm not going to leave just because of a few gems. You'll have already given it to Finn, no doubt. I might as well get it over with now."

“I tried to be careful around Finn.” Fao said. “But he wriggled his way into my bed anyway.”

"You could lock the door, tie him up, and you'd still end up with a Finn in your bed."

“Exactly.”

"I know you're careful with Finn." She murmured softly.

“As careful as I can be. He really enjoyed last night.” He murmured, his voice croaky. 

"I know." She smiled fondly. "He's not shut up about it all morning."

Fao smiled. “Of course.”

"He wants to go out properly with you next time."

“Not so sure about that one.” 

"Me neither. Said maybe when he was older."

“Yeah, maybe.” He sighed, eating a square of chocolate. 

"Though I couldn't imagine it would be a good idea."

“He’s clumsy enough without alcohol.”

"That's very true."

After a moment, Fao shifted to cuddle up to her, his arm over her waist. He was feeling miserable, and she always made it better. 

She smiled, waiting for him to settle. She reached to rub his back, drawing soothing shapes across his top. "Better?"

“Yeah, better.”

She pressed a kiss to his hair. "You gonna go to sleep?"

“Can’t sleep.”

"That's okay."

“I’m sorry if I get you ill.”

"It's part of life."

“Still.”

"I know."

It was nice, the way she traced shapes on his back. He’d finished the chocolate, and it had made him feel a little less miserable, at least. He sniffed again, his throat still sore, and let himself relax into her. Despite saying he couldn’t sleep, he soon found himself drifting, unable to stop it. 

[it-may-be-dull-but-im-determined]

One of my oldest irl friends just sent me an ao3 link for a Janeway fic on whats app and my brain just shorted out for a moment because THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE and as far as I know she had stopped reading fic even before LJ existed, let alone ao3?

But y'know, way back before any of that, when we were tiny baby ST Voyager addicts bonding over our love of faintly terrible (okay I still love it so I'm allowed to say that) sci-fi shows while we were miserable at school in the mid-90s, this absolute gem of a human being was the only one who had the internet at home. And she started telling us about these stories she'd found online...

Being a seriously good friend, she then used to sit up all night after her parents had gone to bed, hunting down fic (it was WAY more difficult then) and secretly printing out page after page of it to bring into school for the rest of us internet-deprived shippy junkies to devour. We still can't work out to this day where her parents thought all the printer supplies were going, because let me tell you, we were voracious for that Janeway/Chakotay ship fix back then?

And I mean it's been twenty five years and we are Really Very Old now (and I have approximately 87 ao3 tabs open on my phone browser at all times which is totally her fault really) and she rewatches Voyager way more that I ever did, and she makes her kids watch it but I'm getting sniffly because I don't think we've ever had a conversation about fic as actual adults that wasn't just nostalgia? And she just sent me a link, entirely apropos of nothing, with a voice message about how she's still confused why that ship never became canon, because some things, obviously, never change.