#and do you look at what people who don’t have the same opinion of you are saying’

[britcision]

So what you’re saying is, you don’t think 700 people going missing in a single park is a problem, because it’s not millions?

I never said it was a hugely high rate or a daily affair, just that it happens a lot more than people think (since, as you yourself noted, people are assuming these are very safe attractions), and it is always a risk on these trails

I’ll admit, I can’t find the specific article I got 3 permanent staff (which gods I still hope they’re rangers because the alternative is worse but yeah, I should have specified)… because there are too many articles from rangers all over the country talking about how dangerous this will be

Have a couple for funsies:

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/trump-administration-fires-1-000-workers-at-20174248.php

https://www.sfgate.com/national-parks/article/hiring-freeze-national-parks-job-offers-rescinded-20052544.php

https://www.sfgate.com/national-parks/article/senators-warn-national-parks-could-close-20154149.php

Now, these are all from the same source, because I limited the search to where I got the number from

I think our main difference of opinion here is how we look at those numbers; you’re looking at them as a probability, compared to the numbers of people visiting the park, which makes them look very low

I am looking at them as numbers of people who largely survived a dangerous situation (as I noted, which you may not have caught? Since I said most of them resolved well?) that will not have the same tools and resources to survive over the next two years

Even if only 50 people actually die because search and rescue could not operate effectively, that is a very high number of people who died because of budget cuts. 20 people dying for a budget cut is a lot of people dying for a budget cut.

One bus full of people falling through a hole in a bridge per year should not be an acceptable sacrifice, no matter how many other buses cross that bridge without hitting the hole.

The size of the number relative to other numbers is not why I call it significant. It’s the value of each unit being counted.

The number of people who do end up needing help is also likely to significantly increase because the maintenance on these trails is not going to happen this spring or potentially at all unless something very important changes

Now, some trails won’t have drastic changes in terrain from winter storms, or hurricane season; they still need maintenance at least to ensure that trail markers remain present and legible

The fact that some seasonal workers will still be hired - less than usual - will not make up for the fact that there will not be adequate staff to train them, as potentially noted in one of those articles I linked (I think, unless it’s one of the other 13 I checked trying to find the right one, but these were the three I picked rather than adding all of ‘em)

It’s also completely true that the number of rangers and resources before didn’t make everything perfectly safe, and that there’s no realistic way to make everything perfectly safe, because people are still going to be dipshits

This is why I noted they were previously still overwhelmingly underfunded and under staffed, because while it will never be perfectly safe, more money and more resources would make things safer

You can’t station a ranger every square km to keep people away from the bison, but you could put up motion sensitive cameras along the roads and trails to note when people are potentially exhibiting dipshit behaviour, and maintain those along with maintaining roads and trails

I’ll happily admit, I kept my previous post simple, and probably shoulda pasted my references in in the first place… but the point was not to provide perfect academic study that people would definitely read through and analyze, but to get their attention, and hopefully make them reconsider vacation plans to areas that are very unlikely to be able to maintain even their existing campsites this summer

And, hopefully, to make them take the dangers more seriously by putting a human number on how many people require a service that just got a massive budget and personnel cut

I could have limited it to the average deaths, but the actual reason I didn’t is that my point is about not having the resources to effectively run search and rescue, so which is more relevant?

(But yeah, 900 confirmed deaths in the Grand Canyon coulda been its own paragraph - along with the fact that there are almost certainly more, because again, these are the recovered dead, not total numbers of missing assumed dead, and no one’s dredging on an annual basis checking for bodies)

I could include that yeah, you’re probably still relatively safe on a green route, so long as you’re taking regular hiking precautions… but people who regularly hike know that

They’re not the target audience - people who won’t remember to wear sensible shoes, bring water and a first aid kit, check the weather, etc. are, because they’re the ones who need to be reminded that hiking is always dangerous in general

Because even when the trails are being well maintained, maps are supplied at the trail heads, visitors centres are open to give bathroom access and offer any supplies you forgot, and there are rangers stationed to provide aid, hiking is never a guaranteed safe activity

Even ONE of those things not being accessible increases that danger, and almost none of them are going to be accesibile this year

Hiking in or near a national park, within the radius that park rangers would usually be able to assist with search and rescue efforts, is going to be significantly more dangerous this year, and every single year after that until funding once more allows things like basic trail maintenance - which will cost more the longer it’s neglected, and become increasingly dangerous

So sure, I could provide a well rounded, well cited post detailing all the individual risks that will be higher, and included all kinds of statistics that reflect the situation before even a single one of these changes go into effect - because people as a whole are excellent at interpreting statistics accurately

But, since you also didn’t include your sources, I think we can all agree that that’s not necessarily what Tumblr is for.

If you will be dissuaded from a hiking vacation by one post telling you the worst case scenario, you’re probably already not doing research or experienced enough, or particularly committed to doing it in the first place

If you see a scary post and decide “well I’ll look into this more”, you’re already unlikely to pet a bison (note: do not pet the fucking bison. Fluffy does not mean friend.)

I’m not your mom, I’m not your teacher or being paid to explain all the risks in perfect detail, and I can’t make you do anything - and you also shouldn’t be fully taking as read anything you read in a tumblr post anyway, in general

But trying to dismiss the whole post as misinformation or “making it harder to talk about what’s really going on” because… you would have liked full statistical run downs? Because it’s not a news report? Because hiking is dangerous anyway?

I’m not sure what precisely you think is so bad about this post, since you seem to agree that hiking is dangerous even with the current safety measures in effect, and that those measures will be impacted by budget and personnel cuts, which will lead to increased dangers, and likely casualties

You claim you’re not looking to diminish the impact of the cuts… but if it’s still “perfectly safe” to hike the trails you would if they hadn’t happened, what impact do you think the cuts had?

National parks being defunded and losing full time staff means that everything you do in those parks now carries additional risks, even the most simple little day trip where you go to the visitor’s centre, take some photos, and leave - because the roads aren’t being cleared, the centre is closed, and if something does go wrong, instead of trained staff being present to help you, you might have some seasonal workers who cannot have received the same preparation and training they were offered in 2024

Hiking trails are already risky, and tackling a trail you don’t understand and are not prepared for is always dangerous

It is more dangerous when the safety measures used to mitigate those dangers are missing

You are much more likely to get hurt on a poorly or unmaintained trail, and any incident that occurs is more likely to be serious when there are less emergency personnel, and personnel are less trained

The Grand Canyon averages 12 deaths a year - in the previous conditions. Those conditions will not be applied this year. The average death rate is not likely to decrease, or remain stable, given the new conditions

But humans are bad at nebulous concepts of danger, so yeah, I’m going to point out the entirely possible worst case scenario that people very rarely consider: you could die

People already die in national parks. More people are more likely to die when safety precautions and emergency services are cut.

People in need of search and rescue are more likely to die when search and rescue cannot be performed, or cannot be performed as well.

None of that is misinformation or fear mongering, and it does need to be considered when discussing these cuts, especially because it makes people uncomfortable.

Even if only 10 more people die total, those are 10 people with lives and families, whose deaths were preventable. And that is in one park.

Any number of dead people who might otherwise not have died should be unacceptably high - even if it’s already a dangerous activity. That’s why we have laws about seatbelts.

(Bad things that are not death could also happen, but people do not tend to stop and think twice at reminders like “you could break an ankle”)

Frankly, if more people remembered that going into any wild area, we would see a significant reduction in the number of dipshit incidents and accidents already, so I’m not going to not talk about it because you think that mentioning the significantly increased possibility is fear-mongering

By the way guys, in all seriousness? Do not hike in the US this year

Unless you are completely, 10000% sure there are no possible circumstances under which you’d need a ranger’s help to get you out, do not go on a trail

(If you are this sure there are no circumstances under which you’ll need help you either do not understand hiking well enough to go, or you’re comfortable with the idea of crawling out on two broken legs. Gravity sucks, anyone can fall)

3 rangers for the entirety of Yellowstone means that if something goes wrong you are literally on your own

People already go missing in national parks every year, because the park rangers were already wickedly under staffed and under funded

Between 2018 and 2020, there were 371 search and rescue incidents in Yellowstone. In the same period, Yosemite reported 732. The Grand Canyon had 785, in the same 2 years, and over 900 confirmed deaths overall - and that’s the bodies that were found

Most of these search and rescue incidents end well… because of the tireless expert work of park rangers who will not be there this year

People are going to die on family vacations, provided they can get into the parks at all - cuz they’re not going to have the staff to handle parking

Let alone trail maintenance after every storm, trash removal, camp and fence repairs…

Nature is beautiful and wild and free and fucking dangerous and it is exactly as easy to die of exposure now as it always has been

Fuck, people are going to die running at the bison to take a selfie with them, because no one will be around to tell them not to

And if you’re in an area that counted on tourism to a national park for revenue… I genuinely have no idea what’s going to happen, but it’s not going to be good

May “liberal tears” be a great comfort to every family that loses a loved one because they wanted one cool vacation pic

[solkwan]

“Do you want a girl or a boy?”

The question was odd to you. No matter how many times you were asked, your answer remained the same. Why should you care for the sex of the baby? A baby is a baby. Regardless of being born a girl or boy, it’s going to keep you up all night with its cries. You’ll still raise the kid the same. Is one worse than the other? It was a mystery why so many people were obsessed with asking you the question. Was it better for your firstborn to be a boy? A strong, healthy boy who will bring honor to Wonwoo’s name. Then, is a girl perceived as less?

What you find most interesting is the person asking always has their own perception as to what you’ll choose.

“A girl, right? Oh, they’re just the sweetest,”

“Having a boy as your firstborn is a sign of good fortune and wealth!”

The skin around your eye twitches with either statement. The people who ask you never really do care. They only make small talk to avoid the fact you’ll be giving birth at the ripe age of 19. A teen parent, in their first year of college. The ladies in your neighborhood couldn’t get enough of it, chatting about you over tea. Funny, though, how they never refer to Wonwoo as a teen dad. Claps to his back and wide grins at the fact. Whereas you’re met with pitiful smiles and questions about your studies.

“I have no preference, really,”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” sadness seeps in their voice, “You’d look great with a daughter,”

There was never really a point in the question. Wonwoo always found a way to indulge them, though. Eager to please them.

“I think a girl would be wonderful,” a soft smile settling on his face. Looking at you in an attempt to settle the awkwardness.

He never really did mean anything he told them. You could tell by the way his eyes crinkled a little too deeply. He’d never get tired of pretending for others, you noted. That’s why, at 5 months pregnant, when the nurse first asks you if you’d like to know the sex of your baby, Wonwoo looks to you for answers. Your eyes stay indifferent.

“If you want to know, we can,” You tell him.

Wonwoo bites his cheek, turning back to the nurse, “I think we’d like for it to be a surprise,”

Wonwoo’s mother insists she knows—throws a reveal party.

“This way I’ll be able to buy clothes in advance,”

Wonwoo manages to sit down with her long enough to lecture her about gender roles and stereotypes. The next day, she ends up coming home with bags of purple, orange, pink, and blue one-pieces, all alike. Smile wide on her face as she boasts about how much she’ll spoil her grandchild. Though Wonwoo’s talked her out of throwing a party, she regularly asks for your opinion on it.

“You can throw one if you’d like,”

You’re searching your email for news on your temporary university leave for the coming Spring semester. Two months into your first post-secondary education semester and you’re already looking for ways out. This is not what you had imagined for yourself, but you figured out long ago that what you wanted for yourself and what the world destined for you were two very different things.

“Well, if you don’t want one it won’t be any fun at all,” Wonwoo’s mother eventually leaves the living room and you’re left alone wondering if you should have tried a little harder to satisfy her.

For the next 2 months of your pregnancy, the sex of the baby remains a secret. That is until you’re going in for your monthly check-up and the nurse with floral-patterned scrubs lets it slip.

“Everything looks good so far,” the nurse smiles as she looks over the screen, “You’re scheduled to have a beautiful baby girl in less than two months,”

Time slows as you and Wonwoo look up at one another. You’re quiet, it quickly fills the room. The look in Wonwoo’s eyes makes you want to have his babies for the rest of your life.

“A girl?” Wonwoo’s voice rings through the small room.

The nurse finally tears her eyes away from the screen. She’s appalled as if she wasn’t the one to let the cat out of the bag. She’s searching for answers in your eyes. All you can do is stare back.

“Did you not already know?” her voice squeaks, “Oh my god–I’m so sorry–I had no clue!”

Her apologies fall and stumble out of her lips. She looks near the verge of tears and you find it amusing. Before Wonwoo has the opportunity to comfort her, a full and true laugh is making its way out of you. Wonwoo turns to you, eyes wide. The nurse quiets down as your laughs settle down.

“We’re having a girl,” you’re whispering to Wonwoo.

Smiles tug at the ends of your lips. Happiness fills your chest. Your eyes are becoming blurry with tears. You’re having a baby girl and everything looks good so far. You’re scheduled to give birth in two months and you can’t bring yourself to care about the leave of absence you’re taking from school. At this moment, you have no regrets. You’re sure you’ll never feel joy quite like this for a while, so you bask in it while you still can. In the dark hospital room, propped up against the bed. Your hand has found Wonwoo’s and you’re holding on as tightly as you can. In the bliss of it all, you pull him close to your face and kiss him.

He reacts quickly, grabbing onto your face to touch your foreheads. It’s not anything especially explicit, no swiping tongues, no biting or dragging of lips. Just pressing your lips against his to feel one another. Salty tears staining his lips. He’s pulling away but not letting you go. He moves to peck the skin on your face. You’re giggling and you’re embarrassed at the fact. You don’t want him to stop.

You suddenly remember the other presence in the room and manage to push Wonwoo’s face off of you. The nurse has a smile on her face, her eyes full of relief. The three of you relish in the moment.

“Congratulations,”

here’s a wip I’m not sure I’ll ever finish LOL. I think sharing it gives me a sense of responsibility so here’s to hoping I finish writing this someday

[youareatragedy]

Please please answer me this. I know you dont like feyre or elriel but you said it yourself that feyre is sjm’s selfinsert n feyre said elriel would be cute together. I think that’s her telling us that elucien will have the rejected mate storyline that she brought up.

Hi, anon. I actually don’t want to make a post about the shipwar anymore, but you said "please" twice and apparently I haven’t reached my full idgaf stage yet.

To answer your question, if I remember correctly that thought was immediately followed by Mor saying to Feyre something like "Girl shut up. This isn’t your business and both Lucien and Elain need time" right? Also, SJM loves Rhys like she’s his dutiful wife and she literally made Rhys forbid Azriel from doing anything. He gave Azriel a chance to plead his case, but Azriel couldn’t even say he was over Mor let alone explain what he intended to do with Elain after sleeping with her and potentially jeopardizing her sacred mating bond with Lucien. And that is a red flag, people. If you want a partner who’s willing to jeopardize something that sacred in your life but doesn’t think about the consequences YOU would have to endure..... go get therapy. That is not a good person for you.

And even if none of that had happened, I would still never trust Feyre’s judgment. This is the same character who flip-flops her "beliefs" every two weeks:

"I don’t want to be a High Lady! Look at those poor people, how sad!" → "But now I do want to be a High Lady! Hihi! Babe, more mansion?! Yes!"

"I am very powerful and will do so much for my people" → "Look at that! I did such a good job making an art studio because I like painting anyway! I am so selfless. I did enough for everyone with this studio so my job here is done! Hihi!"

"I want to think about children later after I explore the world and have fun with my new life" → "KIDDING I'M PREGNANT! Hihi!"

So no, I don’t trust Feyre’s opinion on anything. She could tell me my dad is my dad, and I’d demand a paternity test before believing her no matter how much I look like him. That’s how little I trust her judgment and opinions.

Also.... in the nicest way possible, dear pretty people: Please stop sending me ship related asks at least for a while💋

[water-to-drink]

Well, I don't know if you're writing this. But. What about the usual sagau, where the characters of genshin impact got into the reader's world and live in the same house with him (the reader may be rich, or they will already come to work, lol) and a situation arose where the reader and the characters had to fly by plane (regardless of some reason, it's not about that). In your opinion, how would certain characters fly on an airplane? Which of them would invariably be exalted and who would not climb into this terrible flying thing in the second case under torture? One thing is for sure: it would have been an unforgettable flight for all of them. Plus, a character like Albedo would be interested in airplanes on a technical level. Bonus points if you describe how the character behaved at the airport, who would be useful to themselves and who would come to look after as a child? (the character is at your discretion, but I would like some of them to be Ei, Itto, Goro, Furina)

By Plane

(Characters): Albedo, Ei, Itto, Furina, Gorou, & Klee

(Synopsis): You and your faithful acolyte are going on a trip aboard, but you have to get through the hell of flying there first

(Tags/Warnings): This takes place before the Fontaine archon quest, I wrote and edited this while drunk, (if I missed anything lmk)

(Word Count): 900

(A/n): I’ve never been on a plane so I hope this is accurate to the airline experience and sorry this took so long

Art by Artem Chebokha

Albedo

🧪 Is be fascinated by the concept of planes. What do you mean that humans in your world have found a way to transport multiple people in a single craft and do it safely?

🧪 You have to keep an eye on him so he doesn’t wander off and god forbid dismantle a plane out of curiosity

🧪 Other than that he’s good, he just gives the flight crew a case of uncanny valley, staring at them like he’s studying their every moment and word

🧪 Will stop if you tell him to and will opt to watch a movie on those screens that are behind the seats

🧪 Be ready to answer a lot of questions, Albedo is very curious about your world and wants to know more about it

🧪 He wants to bring as much knowledge back to Teyvat in the hopes that it will aid him in his research

Ei

🌩️ Ei goes with the flow and what you tell her to do, you are her creator after all

🌩️ She wouldn’t have a difficult time going through security or waiting in line, she sees it as a form of either patience training or your world’s customs

🌩️ What you have to be worried is her summoning a lightening storm while you’re in flight, she’ll do everything in her power to not once you explained the danger of getting caught in a storm while in the air

🌩️ You also have to tell her not to bring out her sword, the Musou no Hitotachi lest you want to be escorted off of the plane, possibly arrested, and questioned on how a woman was able to pull a sword out of her chest

🌩️ Will request something sweet or dango milk outright when the flight attendant asks if either of you want something

🌩️ You asked for ice cream and Ei absolutely loved it

🌩️ She ate it so fast you couldn’t even warn her about potentially brain freeze

Itto

🐂 Another one you have to keep an eye on, mainly because he’ll get lost if you don’t have eyes on him, it’s like he’s a big child

🐂 Getting through security and onto the plane is nothing short of a miracle, but the oni makes you regret that

🐂 Itto will want to touch everything that peaks his interest, you just have to be quick in steering him away from causing you two too much suspicion

🐂 Once seated Itto will surely complain about anything and everything, his legs are cramped, the movie that’s playing is boring (you don’t know how since movies aren’t as a readily available thing in Teyvat!)

🐂 It all wears down your patience, he stops when you throw him a death glare and tell him to shut up

🐂 Just be sure to apologize after you land and are off the plane, his feelings go hurt (´༎ຶོρ༎ຶོ`)

Furina

💧 Lord help you if you can only afford economy

💧 Furina will complain about everything. There isn’t enough room for her legs. The seats are too uncomfortable. And don’t think she won’t complain on your behalf

💧 Definitely will demand for better quality food for you and her. She is disgusted by the audacity the flight attendants have to serve two gods such slop!

💧 However if you are in first class she will be somewhat satisfied with the treatment, but she is make some comments about how the service could be better

💧 If you tell her to be nice she will try, if her creator can tolerate the absolute bankruptcy then she can

💧 Just pray you aren’t going to be on the flight for too long lest she goes crazy from the lack of luxury

Gorou

🐾 Poor boy is so stressed. He’s never been so high up in the air

🐾 This is so unfamiliar to him, the noises are way too loud, and the change in air pressure

🐾 Not to mention he has to hide his ears under a hat and tail under a baggy shirt

🐾 Just make sure to comfort him throughout the flight, his creator petting him and scratching him behind the ears is making this torturous experience a lot more easier

🐾 He’s scared when the plane experiences turbulence, he snarls when the flight attendants asks if either of you need anything

🐾 When the plane lands Gorou is clutching onto you for dear life, just reassure him that things are okay

🐾 Maybe you can return by either car or train if it’s possible

Klee

🧨 Another one you have to keep your eye on, just hold her hand to make sure she doesn’t go anywhere

🧨 You have to tell her that bringing a bomb into the airport and onto a plane is a big no-no in your world

🧨 You also tell her to not mention bombs under any circumstances, not until you leave the airport

🧨 Other than that Klee is good, she is adored by the flight attendants who asks if you need anything

🧨 She is enthralled by the glowing rectangle behind the seat, what do you mean this can show images?

🧨 Just don’t fall asleep cause Klee will go around the plane saying hello to the other flight goers and flight attendants

[certifiedsexed]

Hi. I wanted to ask something, it’s kind of urgent for my… peace of mind, I suppose. Is it bad, as a cishet girl, that I frequently heavily flirt with other girls even tho I would never actually so much as kiss one of them? For context, as cliché as it may be, I suppose I could be labelled as the ‘heartbreaker’ type, or something: I habitually flirt and whore around with anything that breathes, basically, be it guys or girls, I enjoy the attention, having their eyes on me, and having them react to me, it makes me feel beautiful and desired, it’s a huge ego boost, and also it’s funny to see them get so fussy and flustered over nothing. However I also get bored of my target very fast, and jump from one to the next with a cold mind and often just becoming indifferent to them. It never bothered me on a moral or ethical level; I never had much ethics to begin with, I’m not saying that I’m deliberately cruel, it’s that mostly do whatever the impulse of the moment tells me without pondering much about the consequences. BUT, recently, I got a girl I know confessing that she’s a lesbian and she likes me and that she thought that I was bisexual or something and thus could be compatible with her because she noticed me flirting with a large number of females. I didn’t know how to answer, it wasn’t the first time someone confessed their love to me, but it was the first time it came from a GIRL, who thought I was GAY, and as such could be with her. My instinctual reaction moment was standing there stiffly for some moments before answering in what I can imagine was nothing if not a cold and vaguely condescending tone ‘Look, I’m sorry, girl, I, uh, like dick. Do yourself a favour and get over it.’ and awkwardly walking away. Which got me thinking about my actions, for once. I don’t know, sending this act in itself feels like denying my own very nature, but… should I stop doing what I do??

Hello!

You're allowed to flirt with people without being attracted to them, Anon. There's nothing wrong with that. Flirting can be fun and exciting, there's nothing wrong with enjoying it regardless of attraction.

That said, the way you describe your thoughts on flirting and describing others as "targets" sounds like you're not being respectful and the way you responded to the girl who confessed to you was deliberately mean.

If you really want my opinion, I'd say that if you want to flirt with people, go ahead. As long as you're both into it, that's fine.

But if you're thinking of them as "targets" and only a means for an ego boost and being mean if they confess to you, it sounds like you should stop until you work through how to respond better and be more respectful.

It's good you're trying to think about your actions and how they affect others. I'd recommend to keep doing that.

Let me know if you have any other questions, Anon. <3

(Also, "liking dick" is not the same as not liking girls, Anon. You might want to choose different wording if you run into another situation like this.)

[elainsgirl]

I’ve seen some people say they don’t mind elriel not being mates because their story will be beautiful regardless, and that it might be better if they aren’t mates because that makes their love more special. While I’m not against that sentiment, I just feel like SJM has written too many hints that they are in fact mates. Some nessians get angry if you say elucien is a corrupt mated bond due to the corrupted couldron. To them you’re implying nessian is also a corrupt bond. But that is not true. Because that would mean the couldron actively gave Nesta a mate. Why would it? It hates her. And if it did, Cassian likely would’ve immediately realized Nesta is his mate like Lucien did with Elain. But he realized later, like Rhys did with Feyre. It’s the timing that gives it away in my opinion. Thus, nessian is a bond from the mother, just like feysand, and elucien from the couldron. Now we have Azriel who is showing clear signs of being Elain’s mate (sensing she is a seer like Madja said a mate would, whereas Lucien couldn’t figure out what was going on with her, and so many other things but I don’t want to type all that lol). SJM loves writing parallels with her main acotar couples because she’s using the Koschei story as her inspiration. Feysand and nessian’s stories have many, but elriel has as well. I believe Elain and Azriel definitely have a mating bond given by the mother. This way, SJM can still write the rejected bond story with elucien like she has been wanting to, while still having elriel ending up being mates, perfectly completing the pattern she started and the prophecy with the sisters and the bat boys. How do eluciens and gwynriels not see this? The answer as you know is that they are in complete denial.

One thing I never understood is when antis complain that if one bond is corrupted that means all bonds are wrong, not just eluciens. And the reason that doesn’t make sense - its stated by Sjm herself that not all bonds are right or perfect, its a mismatch system. You can get a good bond or an illsuited bond. Feysand and Nessians’ bonds are clearly matched and perfect meanwhile the ONLY bond to be questioned is Eluciens. That is a choice done on purpose by Mass.

Look, the minute Mass wrote “why not make them mates?” Between elriel, everyonr should havs clocked on and questioned this. Bcs there was no reason to write that line if elucien is endgame. Absolutely none. From acowar Mass has the readers question why elucien? Why not elriel when it’s clear they’re more suited for each other? Then in the bonus as a set up for elriels upcoming journey she once AGAIN makes you question why elriel aren’t mates. The literal fact she wrote the “how does it make sense that two of my brothers are mated to two sisters yet the third given to another” line - eluciens should’ve packed it up bcs Sjm atp is blatantly telling you where the story is going.

Rhys knew Feyre was his mate long before, she had her transformation and the bond snapped BUT Feysand fell in love first THEN accepted the bond. Their love was established before they became “official” mates- Nessian follows the same path. It shows us readers that these characters aren’t accepting each other bcs of the bond but they fell in love and chose each other long before. The bond is a cherry on top, take it away and Nessian/Feysand would still be in love.

Elucien breaks away from this pattern. Lucien blurts out they’re in mates and what I find extremely interesting- in his monologue during acowar, he does not once state feeling drawn to Elain or how he looked at her and knew she was his mate who he had to save at all costs. Sjm never reinforces that idea within acowar - the same book where she introduces the idea of elriel being mates. Interesting right? Anyways, elucien break from this pattern that Mass has used so far. Their story would be forced proximity and then Elain coming to accept Lucien as her mate and realise the cauldron was right for her…which doesn’t sound romantic does it? Also what author questions if the cauldron was wrong between a couple…only for it to be right in the end? I definitely agree there is 2 bonds at play. A fated/mother bond and a cauldron bond, Azriel is elains second mate hence why he is affected & can smell the elucien bond. Also worth noting, Elriel have mother imagery whilst Elucien have cauldron imagery.

Elain and Az fall in love, choose each other, establish their love and then BOOM! Mass creates their “we’ve been mates all along!” Storyline that she is so fond of and used for Nessian/Feysand. It allows her to maintain the pattern whilst exploring the concept of bonds.

[langfield]

This is a pretty dumb question, but you're an interesting person so I'd like to see your perspective on it. I realize people tend to give flack to people in the fandom who enjoy games made by Deck Nine, due to their games usually suffering from the same issues and because the studio itself has the Nazi and sexual harassment allegations ehich are of course problematic. I don't think people who like DE and True Colors deserve harassment, you and other people definitely don't deserve harassment. If anything you seem to have far more grace and give it to far more than other people have. I guess I'm really wondering how do you go about navigating the conversation that is Deck Nine? Do you think it's s good idea to seperate the art and the artist, or do you have an alternate interpretation of it?

hello! thank you so much for the question ( which is not at all dumb, by the way! ), because i think deck nine’s mistreatment of employees is important to address whether one likes their lis games or not. i’ll preface this by saying that i rarely ever get involved in behind the scenes production for medias i consume, mostly because it never enriches or devalues the experience for me. there are, of course, interesting things to discern from the creators ; you can easily find out why maybe the latter half of a story fell flat, or why certain characters disappeared, and a bunch of fun little details like that … but that extra knowledge is merely icing on the cake for me, rather than a part of the cake itself. while the people behind a game are important, i’ve always put more weight into my own interpretation of events, which can either align with author’s intent or not. to me, media is always what you personally make of it, and as a very queer person in an extremely straight world ( whose opinions hardly mesh with fanon takes held as gospel ), i’m used to crafting my own stories within works that aren’t exactly what was meant to be displayed. don’t get me wrong! i’m well aware of the canons i indulge in! i can easily find out what a lis game was trying to accomplish ( given how unsubtle said games are ) i just might add my own spin or flavor to it. i think everything ever made exists to be interpreted in multiple ways : so pouring over companies and the conditions behind them aren’t exactly on my to-do list.

however, i am well aware of deck nine’s mistreatment of employees. i’ve read articles discussing true color’s shitshow and i follow a former double exposure writer who was laid off, one who has no qualms complaining about it and the impossible work conditions they were under. it is all very bad and very true, and that deserves to be acknowledged. anytime i defend double exposure ( or before the storm, or true colors ) i am never defending deck nine as a company! i do not care for deck nine like that, nor am i inclined to give them grace … the sympathy i give is always towards the actual employees, especially the writers of said games, whom fans are excessively cruel towards. it absolutely disgusts me when fans claim that the writers of de deserved to be fired before christmas because they did a ‘bad job’ -- when the reality is that the writers are phenomenal people who did their best to make a game and characters worth caring about. the flaws of double exposure is entirely based on how deck nine refused to let the writers breathe! they had to change the story seven thousand times because deck nine wasn’t happy, and because deck nine was betting on making a sequel, much to the dismay of said writers.

i, personally, do not understand people who hate before the storm, true colors, and double exposure simply because deck nine made it. while i support acquiring games illegally so as to not support corrupt companies, i think you should give these games a try regardless. many of the employees on deck nine who suffered through sexual harassment and general abuse have said that it brings them joy to see people love the games they worked on, or the characters they helped create. many have said that the writing that is praised in these games were decisions marginalized people on these writing teams fought for. the people deck nine has abused do care for the games they’ve created, and care for them passionately! :

the last two screenshots are rather important to me, as they prove that the writers do indeed understand the life is strange games and franchise. many claim they don’t, but they do! and they’re the ones who have fought to keep lis as lis as possible. they love these games and tried to do them as much justice as they were allowed. this is always important to understand, in my opinion.

so, where does that leave me? i think how i approach deck nine’s games is that i approach them as i would any other, out of respect to the employees who gave these games their all despite deck nine’s toxic environment. perhaps i’m far more lenient on the mistakes inherent in their games because i know the writers couldn’t make the games how they wanted, which would’ve probably be leagues better than the ones we got. i appreciate what these people fought to include ( like the topics of racism, empathy, and queerness ) and i condemn deck nine for what they’ve done, but i don’t condemn the poor employees for doing the best they could under impossible circumstances. their works are weak and aren’t even close to perfect, yet i find extremely enjoyable content within said works anyway. these employees have explicitly stated their thanks and desire for people to enjoy these games, so that’s what i shall do! it’s less of a ‘seperate the work from the author’ and more of a ‘the author isn’t just some soulless company, the author was people, queer and poc and otherwise, so it’s fine to acknowledge the abuse they faced while still connecting to their games as they have encouraged us to do.’ deck nine sucks. and maybe their lis games suck. but i find it more important to respect the victims behind the games who have made their opinions clear rather than feign activism by hating the games these victims poured their blood, sweat, and tears into, all while claiming i’m hating these games for said victims. that’s just my opinion, though! people can always do as they like, but this is how i deal with deck nine’s toxicity while also engaging with the lis titles they’ve created.

[ozcarma]

Trying to watch 999 let’s plays is such hell to me - NO ONE PLAYS THE GAME RIGHT just shutupshutupshutupshutup and play the game!! Stop trying to make jokes!!!!

I’m too autistic for this, I cannot bear hearing let’s players doing their own voice acting when I adore the game’s VAs too much. Everyone always fucks up Santa’s and Lotus’s voices especially.

I understand the draw of Let’s Plays are largely the people playing them who have gained their own following, but as someone who just loves the game I don’t wanna hear ur stupid banter 💥💥💥 play the game and be intrigued but not TOO intrigued because give it a fuckin minute it’ll explain what’s going on 🙄‼️

[tautozhone]

idk how to start this so this post is ab individual action, trying to motivate positive change in the world, etc etc

a lot of growing up in the US for me makes things feel more scary than they are. like it’s actually not that difficult to go out of your way to get a bottle of water or iced cup of water from some random drive through if you think you should do it. either fast food conglomerate or local actually, it’ll usually be cheaper than 5 dollars to get drinkable water. i try to have 5-10 dollars i can justify spending on water, and asking for change, because sometimes when i’m out driving i need to go grab water.

i do not do this for me as much as i try to do it specifically when i see someone who’s most likely homeless on a street corner. i’m sure one day i might do this and they might not be there when i come back, but what have i lost really? a bit of time and a bit of money that would’ve meant more to them, that i can hold onto until i see them next.

the pressure that a lot of people feel when they think “what can i do” comes from this grand narrative that the average citizen can singlehandedly fix the housing crisis. rich people? maybe. nonprofits? not in a day, not all one person still. what can i do is a question i ask a lot. what can i do, not just because it feels bad to move along like nothings wrong with the world, but what can i do that will do anything. what can i do that makes even the smallest change.

i feel like it took me too long to figure out a personal method to what i consider individual action. it’s taking time to get to my own financial stability to be able to do more. but for now it’s as simple as water and cash. not water and food, but water and cash.

individual action means a lot in small steps, go get a bottle of water bare minimum and the price of a meal if you can and then just give it to them. if it wasn’t such a miserably hot place where i live i would keep a pack of water in my car, which i still want to do for the sake of having immediate access to water to give someone who might need it- hot or cold sometimes won’t matter. but when it’s hot out, get cold water, if it’s cold out, a warm tea will hydrate more than coffee will as long as it’s not super caffeinated.

[iliveinprocrasti-nationn]

i hate going “hey i might not be up to hanging out im just not doing well mentally” but also i know if im either constantly panicking or completely out of it while we’re hanging out then it won’t go well

[slowlyfoggydestiny]

Soo it happen again huh

[mx-pastelwriting]

Saving My Fanfiction Work

First. Side note: This post was only intended to give resources to fanfiction writers and enjoyers. My talk on recent political events was a context/reasoning on why I made this post. Also I’ve had to add more information to this post over time due to people’s confusion in my comments. Explaining it was to make sure that this post didn’t come off as out of the blue for my followers and this community. Which is fanfiction.

Also, why I made this post was from people asking if they could download my fanfiction because of the recent political events in America hence why I named it “saving my fanfiction work” and added my context. So this was also a post to tell people that liked my fanfiction they could download it as long as it was for their personal collection. I merely just wanted to list resources to people who wanted to download fanfiction and don’t know where to start or don’t have the immediate resources. I’m not here to fear-monger. I am just giving resources and the reasoning on why I’m giving them along with urging people to look into those information/recent events as staying aware is important. I respect everybody who’s given their opinion and yes, some of my grammar in this post is not adequate as this post was merely made for giving/stating resources.

Lastly, I will no longer update this post with comments as I’ve said my peace, nor will I pay attention to the notifications as they are muted. As my page is for fanfiction not politics. Thank you for the people in this community who share this post for the resources see you around the tags! Stay safe friends!!✨ Remember I love you! And you are loved!💛

-

Due to the recent events in the United States. To clarify the recent events being Trump becoming president of the United States, Project 2025 more than likely going to be integrated. If you are not familiar with Project 2025 I urge you to look it up.

Along with the KOSA bill that has many problems and it has passed the senate now needing the finally vote in the house, which both are majority red. Go here to learn more on why it needs to be stopped and how you can. This is another component that will harm our communities. Go to: stopkosa.com

With all of its harmful plans some of the plans are to take down/restrict internet sites that have LGBTQ+ communities that means communities like the fan-fiction communities/sites in the United States.

I am only giving resources to those inside and out of the US in case they banned sites that hold fan-fiction. Better safe than sorry.

Being that I live in the US the possibly of mine and many others Fanfiction has the possibly of being in danger. Therefore I'm giving you recourses. (I'm not leaving or stopping my writing, I'm here for the fight!)

For those wanting to save my fanfiction, I give you permission to download them off of AO3 and to be used for your personal collection. Meaning, your eyes only. To clarify I’m saying this as others have asked if they could download my fanfic so for those who would like to you can.

If you do not know how to download them many others on online have tutorials on how to download them and add them to our phone libraries.

Here are some links to tutorials:

Downloading Fanfic

Adding to Iphone & Android Library

Adding to Kindle Library - Video on How (On TikTok)

Adding Book Covers (At the bottom) - Good EPUB Cover Changer (I use this)

Types of Files and What they mean

Please stay safe out there! Remember to follow the rules below.

DO NOT share the downloaded file anywhere online.

DO NOT repost the downloaded file under your name.

Fanfiction is protected under copyright law when plagiarism is involved. If you plagiarize my work, either a piece or whole in any language, I will take legal action. Inspiration or the same idea does NOT apply to this, only word-for-word plagiarism in any language.

♥ mx-pastelwriting does not consent to their fanfiction being copied, copied & credited, translated, used in videos and/or audios, screenshotted, used in AI, or reposted on any other platform without permission.

♥ mx-pastelwriting does give consent to "reblog," sharing links to direct work, and being in recommend lists.

Please stay safe out there friends! I love you so much! Know that there will always people that love you and in for the fight to make sure you are loved!

And here are some resources in case you don’t feel okay! Resources here

[daydreamer-in-reverie]

Started rereading the Hunger Games series and I feel like it’s so overlooked how in 74th and 75th Hunger Games, we don’t know every Tribute’s names, with Katniss only referring to them by their District numbers but in TBOSAS, we knew every single Tribute by name. We associated them with the clothes they wore on the Reaping Day and Suzanne even goes so far as to describe how they looked, however briefly. We see these Tributes and we’re familiarized with them by the little tidbits provided to the mentors and to Snow and Lucy Gray. But we never get this in the original trilogy.

In two generations, President Snow alienated the Districts from each other so much that Katniss didn’t even care to know all the names of the Tributes sent into the Arena with her, with the exception being those who posed great risk against her safety and those she felt great compassion for (e.g. Cato, Thresh, Rue, Mags, Betee, Wiress etc.). Katniss even went so far as to call the D6 Tributes in the 75th Hunger Games morphlings, for their affinity to imbibe in the drugs that help them forget their own traumas (an incredibly hurtful description, in my own opinion, to be known by the qualities you hate the most about yourself). We never know the real name of the 74th D5 girl, with Katniss only referring to her as Foxface and we don’t even know Marvel’s name until we get to the second book and he was Katniss’ first personal kill. Katniss even kills the D4 girl in the books with the same tracker jacker venom that killed Glimmer and yet still, we don’t know her name. We are so removed from the identity of the other Tributes that we don’t even know what some of them looked like beyond brief descriptions of mangled bodies and dead Tributes in the bloodbath at the Cornucopia.

And, the thing is, Suzanne established the importance of names in the series. Even in real life, we recognize the importance of being named. It is a fundamental aspect of being human. If you’re ever in a perilous situation where a person might be placing your life in danger, we’re told to remind the person that you’re human. “Keep saying your name, how old you are, where you came from. Remind them you are a human being just like them.” Before any propaganda can work against a group of people, refusing to recognize a person’s name is the first step to dehumanization. And just like the people of the Districts, we don’t care enough about the other Tributes to even want to know their names. Their propaganda worked on us, the readers.

In two generations, President Snow completely wiped out any sense of familiarity and camaraderie the Districts may have shared with the other. In two generations, Snow sowed the seeds of distrust and division into the Districts so deeply that even we, the readers, were affected by the effects of Capitol propaganda. In two generations, the Districts ceased to genuinely care about the others beyond the vague sense of injustice they feel for their shared plight. It’s why Career Districts don’t seem to care about killing the other Tributes. How can you care, to show your compassion and humanity, when you can barely see them as people? Yes, they may have been in the Arena with you. Yes, they may have been starved and beaten and forced into labor like you were. Yes, they might be children just like you. Yes, they might be subjected to the same deplorable system that turned you into virtual slaves. But they are not your friends. They are not your allies. They are strange, with different customs and traditions that you have. You do not share the same values. They do not care about you. At the first chance they get, they will kill you with your bare hands and they will do it with alacrity if it meant their survival. There can only be one Victor and it can’t be them. It has to be you.

[daynascullys]

because tumblr is the gif website, I feel like everyone here should understand the work that goes into creating a gifset. because I think not everyone does, and it’s a huge part of why people don’t respect gif makers the way that they should.

the simplest gifs you will ever see me post still take the better part of an hour to create. because in order to make a gif, you need the material—for me, that means taking screen captures of videos or finding a download for them, both of which take time. then you have to open photoshop and create your gif, which can take a really long time depending on how quick photoshop is, how long the gif you’re making is, the size, any number of variables. and then I always color my gifs from scratch. if there’s dialogue, I listen over and over to try to make sure it’s correct, sometimes I look up transcripts, and sometimes it takes time to decide how to break up the dialogue. so even if it’s a simple two-gif set of a short scene, it will take the better part of an hour at least. and again, this is for the simplest gifsets I create.

so when I gif a scene, I am spending at least an hour with that tiny little snippet of material. which means that whatever it is that is featured in the gifset, it’s something that I like or tolerate enough to spend at minimum an hour with it. and this is why it DOES NOT MATTER if you are not critiquing the gif itself, gif makers do not want to hear every negative thought you have ever had about an actor, character, scene, or anything else they may have made a gifset for. if you want to complain about something, make your own post.

do not take someone else’s creation as a chance to complain or make nasty comments about anything featured in it. if I am willing to gif something, it means that I am willing to spend my own free time looking at it and working with it and creating something with it. so even if it isn’t my favorite scene or character or actor or whatever, I like it enough to watch the same three second clip over and over again for the better part of an hour. and yes, you’re just one person, but imagine a gifset with 100 notes. say 50 of those are reblogs, and 20 have some sort of complaint in the tags. you only see the tags of people who reblog from you, but OP will see all the tags. which means it’s not just your complaint, it’s all 20 different complaints about the thing they liked enough to make a gifset for.

and look—I understand it’s your blog and you can say whatever you want. I understand that I am creating something to be seen by other people and I don’t get to control what people say or do in the tags. if you read this and think fuck that, I can do what I want, you’re right. the purpose of this post is to remind you that you can do whatever you want, but the consequence may be that the people who are creating content for your fandoms stop posting altogether because they get sick of reading everyone’s negative opinions.

all that said, for the love of god: if you like something, reblog it. send asks and tell people you like their creations. say it in the tags. send things to friends. DO NOT REPOST THINGS. if you want to reap the benefits of other people creating things, make them feel like their work is appreciated.

[mars-ipan]

gonna go just a little crazy

[luveline]

Hi Jade ! I loove your sunshine!readers, could I request one for Carmy ? Maybe someone calls her to get to the restaurant when hes feeling anxious to calm him down idk if thats good lol love ya !

ty for requesting <3 fem, 1.4k

Is it The Beef or The Bear? In your head, despite the wishes of everyone who works there (except for Ebra, who seems to have mixed opinions), you always call it The Beef. But the sign brags otherwise, and when you push open the doors, nothing inside is left to remind you of the old restaurant. It was a total gut. 

“Hi, gorgeous,” says a familiar, warm voice. 

You almost walk straight into her table, distracted looking for brown curls through the kitchen door’s little window. “Hey, Tina.” You grin at your second favourite chef. Your most favourite Sous. “You taking a break?” 

She offers you a round butter cookie from a sleeve of them. Her cup of coffee billows with steam. “Uh-huh.” 

“Hiding from a meltdown?” you ask, taking a cookie, fingers oily with butter, sugar grains falling to the floor. 

“It’s not like that,” she says. 

Well, what is it like? you think. 

Richie’s text wasn’t exactly descriptive. Need ur help with the little Bitch, he’d said. Then, when you didn’t answer, ASAP!!!!

You figured it must’ve been another rant. He’s prone to these… episodes of anger where he doesn’t realise he’s spinning out and hurting people who really care about him. You try to bring him out of it, but he’s a Berzatto. They’re all the same, sort of. Everything that’s wrong with them has been stamped into them a long, long time ago. 

He’s been better since Nat steel armed him into AA, but still. You tilt your head to one side, sugar cookie between your fingers, listening for the goings on in the kitchen. “Sydney’s here?” you ask. “I thought she was sick.” 

“Sydney gets sick, but she doesn’t take sick days,” Tina says with a loving shrug. 

You smile at her in brief goodbye for now and make your way to the kitchen, where you push in quietly. All their ‘Behind!’ and ‘Corner!’ and ‘Hands!’ makes you laugh, and you can’t take it seriously so you don’t, but you’re not trying to be dangerous in there either. 

“Hello?” you ask. 

Sydney and Richie look up from a cramped notebook at the table nearest to the door. There are employees you're unsure of prepping vegetables along the wall, but Carmy isn’t anywhere to be seen. 

“Fucking finally,” Richie says, before rubbing his face regretfully. “I’m sorry, it’s just– I texted you an hour ago, babe, you’re letting me down.” 

You laugh. “Sorry, babe,” you tease. “I have a job, just like you.” Your hands are cold where you tuck them under each armpit, crossing your arms. “Hi, Sydney. You feeling okay?” 

“No. He’s stressing me out.” 

“Which one?” 

“Both of them.” She looks like she might rub her face too. “I need him to be in here right now, he should be doing this, but he keeps walking away and– and not saying where he’s going.” 

“He is stressful,” you agree, though usually Carmy’s stress tends to bounce right off of you, “I’m gonna find him and strap him down for you.” 

Sydney just frowns. 

“I’ll see what’s up,” you say more seriously. “In the office?” 

“Out the back,” Richie says. “Smoking like his mother. He’s a fucking steam train lately.” 

It’s like they want to worry you. You give them grateful nods, sorry nods, and start to make your way out of the main kitchen, past the dishwashers and the dessert station to one of the back doors. Carmy isn’t your responsibility. You don’t have to apologise for him, you don’t have to mother him, he should commit to his responsibilities all on his own, but… it’s hard. You like apologising for him because his behaviour isn’t always on purpose, and he struggles with commitment for similar reasons. There’s this aching, stagnated grief in him that’s reawakening, there’s the stress of the restaurant, his business, the scars of the last ten years, and before that. You know it isn’t your job to come here and make him feel better, but isn’t it? When you love someone, it’s half the deal. 

Carmy shouldn’t yell at his friends, or employees. He shouldn’t chain smoke, and he shouldn’t be sitting on the low wall by the dumpsters shaking so hard with his head so low that you can see the first notch of his spine in his shirt. 

“Carmy?” you ask. 

His head ducks further down. You can hear him breathing, not too hard as to alarm you, and yet unrelaxed. 

You smile without thinking. You hate seeing him like this, but looking after him is a pleasure. “Hey, Carmen. Can I sit with you?” 

He forces his face up. “What are you doing here?” he asks. 

Trying to make sure he doesn’t tear another chunk out of Richie. “It’s my lunch break.” 

You perch on the wall beside him and snap your nearly forgotten cookie into two pieces, one side bigger than the other, which you offer him. 

Carmy takes it. Looks at it without expression, though that slowly turns to a dry ire you’ve felt directed your way a hundred times. “What the fuck is this?” 

“Cookie.” 

“I don’t want this.” 

“Could you just eat it?” You put your own half in your mouth in its entirety, all aligned to your teeth. It shatters into sweet, soft crumbs between your teeth. You talk with a hand over your mouth, “It’s not gonna kill you.” 

Carmy looks at it for a long time before he eats it. 

You watch him. He’s more tan than you’d think, that Italian gene kicking in, skin clinging to whatever sunshine it finds. He spends enough time inside that you’re surprised it can muster the energy. He looks better with it though, his curls look gold toned under the sun, and his clenched jaw doesn’t seem so harsh. 

“What’s wrong?” you ask eventually. Almost conversationally. 

“Nothing.” His hand shakes on his thigh. He turns his palm down to clasp his knee. 

“You sure?” 

“No.” 

“That one’s my favourite.” 

“What?” 

You poke toward a tattoo on his hand. It’s a simple flower, same style as most of his tattoos. “I like it ‘cos it’s just a flower.” 

“My least pretentious,” he guesses. 

“Something like that.” 

He tips his head back. 

“Richie texted me. He thinks I’m gonna… like, I’m gonna calm you down, I guess.” 

“You always do,” he says. 

You give him a long, smiley look. “So you’re in love with me?” you ask warmly, pushing up into a knee to wrap your arm behind him, hugging him before he can move away. “You’re totally fucked for me, Berzatto, that’s fucking crazy.” 

“Fuck off,” he laughs. 

You rub his arm, his skin hot in your hold. He touches your waist very, very lightly. “What am I supposed to do, anyway? I can’t cook. You and Syd are on your own.” 

“You already… already did enough.” He grabs your waist where you wobble on the brick wall, grit biting your knees, his hand comparatively soft. 

“Such a crush on me,” you tease in a whisper, his hair crushed under your cheek. 

You’re tempted to kiss his temple, but affection with Carmy is like oil and water sometimes. You give him a last protective squeeze and sit yourself down again. 

“Carm,” you say, “you know you can call me, right? Like, if you don’t feel okay.” 

“Yeah. Yeah, I know.” 

“Or text me. If that’s easier. It’s hard to say hard things out loud.” 

He laughs again. “Sorry.” 

“I know, I don’t– I don’t seem like I know what you’re talking about, I get it, but I do understand. N’ even if I didn’t, I don’t mind listening. Or laughing at you.” 

“What’s that about?” 

“The laughing?” you ask. “You tell me.” 

His hand slides behind your back in half a hug. “Guess it’s funny.” 

“Can I change my mind about the tattoo?” 

“The flowers not your favourite?” 

“No. You know which one I like best?” 

His thumb rubs into your back. “The snail.” 

“Absolutely the snail. You’re so fucking silly sometimes, I’m supposed to take you seriously when you’re yelling and red in the face with a snail on your arm?” 

You can’t see his face with your cheek to his shoulder, won’t know that he’s smiling at you with a rare aura of peace. Can’t see the wanting, either.