#and then i got top surgery and didn't tell them i did that because i didn't want to explain why that was a thing i wanted

[cameoappearance]

I told them I changed my name, but not why. I changed it legally, so it was becoming an actual problem that they'd send me cheques with the wrong name and I'd have to physically go into the bank with my name change certificate and the one piece of ID from before that I hadn't thrown out (an extremely expired preliminary driver's license from when I was 16 that I found while cleaning my desk) and explain the situation to often baffled and unsympathetic bank tellers. They're in their early nineties. My mother was convinced coming out to them at all was a waste of time but that was before I whipped out the name change certificate at a family picnic and announced it to everyone present, and now they have like a 50% success rate on remembering my new, cooler name.

and how old are they i guess cause i sometimes forget not everyones grandparents are old as hell. okay love you

[livwritessometimes]

Where's the Trophy? He Just Comes Running Over to Me (Part 2)

: Carlos Sainz, Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc

: Part 1

: Main Masterlist

: Author's Note - Here is the part 2. Let me know if you guys want me to do more fics like these. If you have any requests feel free to send em!!…Also lmk if you guys want to be added to the overall taglist

...

Carlos Sainz

What if I told you I'm back? The hospital was a drag

(Australian Grand Prix, 2024)

"What a performance!"

"What a comeback!"

"A Ferrari 1-2, headed by Carlos Sainz who wins the Australian Grand Prix!!!"

Y/n couldn't believe it. Standing next to Carlos' dad and cousin, she could feel the two pull her in for a hug. It was when she felt his dad wipe a tear from her eye that she realized she was crying. "I'm so proud of him," said Carlos Sainz Sr. 

She could see that very clearly. It was evident from the look on his face that he was proud of Carlos, and frankly, it was a relief to see that. The past few weeks have not been the best for all of them, especially Carlos, Y/n and his father. 

*past*

The day they got to know about his surgery, they all dropped everything they were doing to be there with Carlos as he got his appendix removed. 

The road to recovery had been tough. There were several speculations going on about Carlos not being signed again by Ferrari, so he did everything in his power to prove to everyone, especially the team, that he deserved the seat more than anyone. But as he got out of his surgery, the only thing he could think about was all the criticism he had received.

Y/n spent every second with him during his road to recovery. 

"You do know this isn't the end, right?" she had questioned Carlos the day before the Australian Grand Prix.

"Maybe, but it doesn't feel like that," Carlos said as he turned to face her on the couch.

"Need I remind you that you're the same Carlos Sainz who broke Max's streak last year after winning the Singapore Grand Prix," Y/n said with a proud smile. 

"And one of the 3 people who won a Grand Prix last year," she continued.

Carlos looked at her with a smile. "Yes," he said.

"Exactly, so why are you so worried about proving all the haters wrong? You have nothing to prove to anyone. So when you're out there in that car, the only thing you better be worrying about is not hurting yourself," Y/n said before she added, "because if you get hurt while driving, I swear to god the haters will be the least of your worries," she said as she slowly caressed his check.

"Yes, mi amor," Carlos said before kissing the palm of her hand that was caressing his cheek.

*present*

Standing with his family Y/n waited for Carlos to get out of his car. As soon as he got close to them, Y/n pulled Carlos in for a hug. "I'm so proud of you, Carlos; I can't describe just how proud of you I am," Y/n said, pulling him in closer.

"I can tell Mi querida, you're crushing me a little," Carlos said as he laughed, looking down at Y/n.

Wiping away the tears from her cheek, Carlos pulled her in for a kiss. "Don't you have a trophy to get?" Y/n questioned breaking the kiss.

"I do," Carlos replied before pulling her back in.

Standing on top of the podium, Carlos looked at his father and cousin, looking back at him with a proud look on their faces. He then looked at his girlfriend standing next to them, who was looking back at him as if he were the only person standing there, winking at her, Carlos stood straight for the national anthem. 

There was one thing clear now: no matter what happened, if he stayed in Ferrari or not, he would always have Y/n by his side, and that's what mattered at the end of the day for him.

...

Oscar Piastri

These blokes warm the benches We been on a winning streak

(Hungarian Grand Prix, 2024)

Oscar knows that he should be happy. He did it. He finally won his first ever Grand Prix. But he was feeling anything but happy.

The situation that led to this win made him feel uneasy. The messed-up strategy and the swap, all made Oscar feel like he didn't deserve to celebrate this win. To make things worse, none of his loved ones were there to witness this. His mom and sisters were back in Australia, Mark was travelling, and the person he wanted the most to be there, his girlfriend, was back home, probably watching the race in her 'I love Oscar' t-shirt that she got as a joke when he first signed for McLaren.

Driving to park at the spot for the Grand Prix winner, Oscar thought about what the news outlets have been saying about him. 'Oscar Piastri to Become the Next Face of F1' 'Future All-Time King of F1', Oscar let out a bitter laugh, remembering that. What is the point of getting better and better at every race if the first race you win, the one that you're going to remember forever, happens like how it did? 

Before he could even get out of his car, Oscar was congratulated by Lando. He could sense the tension between then. Oscar knows it's not their fault that there is this tension lingering between the two, but there was nothing that either of them could do about it. 

Smiling, he softly said, "Thanks, mate," before he got out of the car and towards the team. 

After being congratulated by the team, Oscar was making his way towards the cooldown room when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw his girlfriend standing in front of him, and just as he had thought, in her 'I love Oscar' t-shirt. 

"What are you doing here?" Oscar said before he practically threw himself at her.

Laughing, Y/n hugged him back while replying, "I wanted to surprise you, but you surprised me instead," Y/n said as she pulled away.

"I can't believe you won!!!," Y/n said as she pulled him in for a kiss.

"Ya, neither can I," Oscar said.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you excited?" Y/n asked. She knew why he was like this. She knew very well what was going on inside Oscar's head.

"Nothing; it's just that this doesn't feel right," Oscar said. 

He continued, "Like winning your first Grand Prix is supposed to be a joyful occasion, but I can't help but feel like this win was given to me."

Y/n gently placed both her hands on Oscar's face, making him look at her, "Oscar Jack Piastri, don't tell me you're doubting your skills, definitely not after the way you raced today. You were absolutely amazing out there, and nothing can change that," she said.

"You deserve this win more than anything. I don't care what anyone says, but this trophy has your name written all over it. So you better go up there and celebrate like you believe in this win as much as I believe in it," Y/n said.

Oscar looked back at her, wondering what good he had done in his past life to have someone like Y/n in his life. 

"You hear me?" Y/n questioned, looking at him with so much determination that Oscar couldn't help but smile back at here after nodding his head.

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

"Good! Now quickly go; I have to facetime Nicole so she can see the celebration as well," Y/n said, giving Oscar a final kiss before making her way to get a better spot to see the entire celebration.

Covered in confetti and champaign, Oscar smiled as he saw Y/n and his mom on FaceTime, watching the entire celebration.

Oscar doesn't know if feeling like he didn't deserve this first win will be something he remembers 20 years down the line, but he sure knows that he will remember Y/n surprising him when he needed her the most.

...

Charles Leclerc

Where's the trophy? He just comes running over to me

(Monaco Grand Prix, 2024)

Charles finally did it. He broke the Monaco curse.

DNF in 2018

DNF in 2019

DNF in 2021

Strategy error in 2022

6th in 2023

Winning the Monaco Grand Prix almost felt impossible to Charles. Years of bad decisions had made him lose faith in himself.

Charles refused to believe in the Monaco curse. Because how can the place he loves the most, the place where he was born and raised, the place he was desperate to make proud, actually be against him winning?

He refused to believe in the Monaco curse. Because what if it is actually true? What if, no matter what he did, he could never win his home race? Charles refused to think about this, and this is what made him want this win even more desperately.

His entire family was there watching him, waiting to see him win. His brothers and their girlfriends were all at the edge of their seats as the last lap of the race began.

His girlfriend, however, remained seated. Y/n remained glued to the seat. She refused to move from her spot, fearing she might miss something if she moved even the slightest.

4 more corners to do. 3 more corners. 2 more corners. 1 more…

The entire area erupted into cheers. Lorenzo and Charlotte were hugging each other in disbelief of what they had just witnessed.

All the noises had faded for Y/n. All she could see was Charles; all she could think about was Charles. She could not express in words what she was feeling. Wiping away a tear that had rolled down her face, she was engulfed in a hug by Enzo and Charlotte.

Charles was not afraid to show his excitement as soon as he got out of the car. Screaming out of pure joy, he could not have felt more alive than he did right now.

Without removing his helmet or waiting for the photographers to capture him in the iconic number 1 position, Charles ran. It was as if his feet had a mind of their own.

Charles ran till he reached the area where his team was waiting for him. His eyes frantically searched the sea of red, trying to find the pair of eyes he desperately needed to see.

Suddenly his brother Arthur and a few of the team members parted to reveal a teary-eyed Y/n standing with the team.

Charles ran straight into her arms.

No words were exchanged for a few minutes. It was as if they did not need words to convey what they wanted to say.

Finally Y/n broke the silence, "You did it, Mon bébé."

"I did," Charles said, pulling back to look at her.

"You broke the Monaco Curse," Y/n said laughing, knowing that there was nothing anyone could say to Charles now.

"I did," Charles replied, still holding onto Y/n.

"Are you going to say anything besides 'I did' or is that all you know now?" Arthur chimed in after hearing his brother's exchange with his girlfriend.

Y/n laughed looking at Arthur before turning towards Charles, waiting for him to answer his brother's question.

"Marry me," Charles finally said.

Both Y/n and Arthur were shocked; none of them were expecting this. Arthur thought that his brother was going to follow the plan he, Enzo, and Charles had come up with for him to propose to Y/n. What he did not expect was for this brother to do it today.

Y/n, on the other hand, had not seen this coming. It was now her turn to remain silent for a few minutes. And these few minutes felt like hell for Charles.

"Yes," she finally said.

"What?" Charles asked.

"Yes! I said yes, I will marry you, Charlie," she said as she kissed Charles' helmet.

"SHE SAID YES," Arthur yelled to let everyone there know that his brother had not only won the Monaco Grand Prix but also got the girl of his dreams.

...

Tags: @wobblymug | @evasmlp

[bxyp]

Could you maybe do something with a ftm reader who has a lot of scars and tattoos especially on his back and like Ghost sees him shirtless for the first time? Without Ghost knowing your trans? And it just being fluff and a little bit of angst?

If you don't feel comfortable doing this its okay!!

Sincerely: a very cool person

His priority is your well-being, not some scars you have.

Summary: You have been shot, and Ghost, as your comrade, helps you treat the wound. What could go wrong?

Pairing: Simon "Ghost" Riley x FTM Reader

warnings: SWF content, "Ghost" '22, transphobia is mentioned, post-surgery scars are described, military, soldier! reader, blood, wounds were mentioned, reader gets shot.

word count: 592

Being transgender in the military wasn't easy. Sneaking into the shower right after everyone had left to just take a shower, just without anyone knowing. Just to make sure no one judges or looks weird. It wasn't easy in the army. The service here was even harder…

Being wounded in the line of duty was not unusual, even the best soldier could receive a scratch. And even now you are leaning against some old tree in East Asia. Things never go according to plan, that's part of the job.

Eyes barely open, this job is not for the weak. That's why you clench your teeth while Ghost starts pulling you out of your gear to put bandages on your gunshot wound on shoulder. Of course you wish you could do it by yourself but right now you priority was to not get infection.

"Keep your eyes open, soldier." Ghost’s harsh tone didn’t let you relax even for a second, which was probably for the best. He didn't pay much attention to your tattoos or scars, figuring he could take a closer look at them once he stitched you up.

You feel his gloved hands slowly pour the alcohol onto your shoulder. Sharp pain simply drowned out all your thoughts. Every cell of your body felt like it was on fire. "Fuck! Be gentle, I’m bleeding.” You spat as soon as you unclenched your teeth. Everything hurt so much, your mind could barely focus on one thought.

"I'm well aware of that." He said that once he found the nearest piece of cloth to cover the bleeding, he would help you get to your feet and get to the nearest evacuation site.

He picked up the radio and said something, but you could barely hear what. Only thing you got was that he said that you had been shot and you both needed to evacuate as soon as possible. He probably said something else, but your head hurt, along with that damn shoulder that felt like it was being cut off, slowly, piece by piece. His skillful hands quickly tightened some fabric on your shoulder. And without giving you time to come to your senses, he picked you up, throwing your good arm over his shoulder. “The evacuation helicopter will be there in a few minutes. Get back on your feet."

You both slowly walked towards the place Ghost lead you to. Only now did you remember that he probably saw your scars… Those top surgery scars that you covered with everything you could. Those scars that you hid. These white lines are right under your pecs. You worked hard to make them hard to see. But neither cream nor some beaty products could remove them. A constant reminder of who you were born…

Anxiety rise in you, your stomach became a tight knot. You're afraid that he saw the scars that you tried to hide. “So, about what you saw…” You were afraid he might tell someone. The military was not the most acceptable place. Here you will have to fight not only on the battlefield, but also earn your place among others.

“I don’t care who you are, lad. My job is to keep you alive, not to pry into your personal life.” His words can be harsh and cold. But you don't see any condemnation here. He considers you his equal. Ghost wasn't the nicest person, but he wasn't an asshole who treated you differently just because you weren't like him.

The rescue helicopter was visible in the distance…

MAIN MASTERLIST | AO3 | TWITTER

𝔑𝔬𝔱 𝔪𝔲𝔠𝔥. ℑ'𝔪 𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔤𝔢𝔱𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔲𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔴𝔯𝔦����𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔦𝔫𝔠𝔢 ℑ'𝔳𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔞𝔴𝔞𝔶 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔞 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔩𝔢. ℑ 𝔨𝔫𝔬𝔴 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔰𝔲𝔭𝔭𝔬𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔞 𝔣𝔩𝔲𝔣𝔣 𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔶, 𝔟𝔲𝔱 ℑ 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔨 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔣𝔦𝔱 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔊𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔱'𝔰 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔢𝔯.

[ms-demeanor]

Going off that post about nutrition and science, I'd love to hear what you think of the 5:2 diet/The Fast 800 and its creator, Dr. Michael Mosley. For context: in order to get an NHS-funded breast reduction (it's a gender thing, but also just a general quality-of-life thing), I need to be a certain BMI, so I've been referred to a weight management clinic. The lady I've been seeing initially just put me on a low-carb diet (130g or less of carbs per day, with an aside from her about how bullshit Keto and BMI limits for treatment are), but now she's said that, if I wanted to speed up the weight loss, I should include the 5:2 diet: 5 days in a week where I eat "normally", and 2 fast days in which I restrict myself to 800kcals. I did a little looking into it myself, and found that 5:2 - which I HAD heard about before - is now being sold as part of "The Fast 800", with Dr. Mosley being the creator of it. I was shocked by that, because I was already a fan of Dr. Mosley's work (he has a podcast called "Just One Thing" that I really liked, and thought contained reasonable-sounding advice), and yet having a diet plan that he's clearly making money off of does immediately make me feel suspicious. I've borrowed his "The Fast 800" book from the library, both to find out more about the diet I've been put on and to see if it's at all backed by evidence, and he does cite a bunch of scientific studies which seem to back up his ideas, but I don't know how valid they are, and I don't just want to accept them at face-value (especially since he's a "we got fat completely wrong in the 80s, therefore we should eat a Mediterranean diet!" types). Obviously I'll go with what my weight management lady suggests, since she's obviously more qualified to talk about it than I am, but I am curious to know what you think, and whether I'm right to be distrustful of all of this.

I am, generally speaking, against any diet for rapid weight loss. They're not sustainable so people gain the weight back (often with more weight getting added on).

There have also recently been findings that suggest that BMI cutoffs for top surgery are detrimental to patients as patients in higher BMI categories are more likely to have minor complications like UTIs or to be readmitted, but are not likely to have major complications or be at risk of significant harm from having top surgery. I don't know if anybody will listen if you bring up that study, and I know that GCS is fraught in many places for many reasons.

I'm also just.

I'm so mad. I'm so fucking mad! I'm so mad about this!

One of my best friends is a guy who was pressured into a pattern of disordered eating and unhealthy exercise in order to qualify for top surgery; since then he has not been able to eat in a healthy way and has struggled with alternating between exercising to the point of harm and other destructive behaviors that make him unhappy and unsafe. And he didn't need that. He didn't need any of that! He needed a very safe surgery that had perhaps a slightly higher risk of minor complications at his size and instead he got top surgery and an eating disorder! I hate it! I'm so fucking mad about it!

Also as near as I can tell Michael Mosley qualified as a psychiatrist in the 90s, spent very little time working as a psychiatrist, and then became a media personality. From what is visible on his website and every biography I've found for him he apparently doesn't have any background in nutrition beyond whatever is standard for someone in medical school (which is NOT MUCH).

Hey I just looked at his website and this is straight-up fucked up.

Anybody recommending an 800 calorie a day diet for 2-12 weeks in a context that is not heavily medically supervised can fucking choke. That is *ridiculously* dangerous and the website says that this can improve insulin resistance but there are a shitload of studies about people on crash diets like this *developing* insulin resistance (oh hey like my friend who became prediabetic after his rapid significant weight loss).

Also in regard to the studies he cites on the website, the "two years later patients are still going strong in their diabetes improvements" it's really important to put shit like that in context

at 5 years 13% of the original intervention group were in remission from their type two diabetes; the average weight loss experienced by the intervention group as a whole was 6.1kg compared to 4.6kg in the control group. That's 1.5kg lower for the people who went through a twelve week medically supervised very low calorie diet compared. That's an average difference of 3.3 pounds between "starvation diet" and "no diet" for the Americans in the audience.

Yours is the second comment I've seen that has been leery of the Mediterranean diet, btw, and the Mediterranean diet is fine. It's very achievable and not super gimmicky and is based on very reasonable reassessments of fat, not the hardcore "you are fine to eat 100g of fat a day" kind of attitude that you get from the keto crew. There isn't really one Mediterranean diet and it certainly isn't low carb (which the bits from Mosely's website seem to indicate it is).

So, no, honestly I don't think much of Mosely and I'm very sorry you're in this situation, that sucks and I hate that they're refusing you treatment until you undergo an exceptionally difficult and potentially harmful weight loss excursion.

I know you're probably stuck with that and it's bullshit and I think it fucking sucks and unfortunately the medical advice you're likely to get is "eat in a significantly disordered manner at least until it is time for surgery" and it blows. That just fucking sucks.

If you're looking for rapid weight loss that you don't plan to sustain (and you shouldn't plan to sustain it, it won't stay off) you may want to look into body building forums for how they discuss cuts. It's still disordered eating and it's still not healthy, but at least they're effective and can tell you what supplements will keep you from becoming malnourished while you prepare for surgery. This is a terrible idea. I don't actually want to give this advice to anyone but bodybuilders are the exact kind of people who know how far and how fast they can push weight loss while having an awareness that it isn't really good for them and it won't stay off.

I cannot overstate enough how much I hate the thought that people are being encouraged to rapidly starve themselves in order to prepare to recover from surgery. I am so sorry and I'm so mad and

[wileys-russo]

not so wise II a.russo x reader

she looks so cuddly there ^ not so wise II a.russo x reader

"do you want us to come in with you?" lotte offered as she pulled into the dental clinic and found a parking spot. "no it should be fine. i know where to go and they said it shouldn't take much more than twenty minutes before i'm admitted." alessia declined, grabbing her bag and unbuckling herself.

the blonde was due to get her wisdom teeth removed today and yourself and lotte as her closest friends had volunteered to drive her there and look after her post surgery. tooney and mary had both volunteered given the wsl had a two week break but alessia assured them they should spend the time with family and loved ones in manchester instead.

"did they tell you roughly how long you'll be under for?" you questioned, rolling down your window as the taller girl hovered by the car, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. "an hour or two maybe? they've got lotte's number and they said they'll call you once i'm in recovery and thats when you come inside." alessia explained as you both nodded.

"once you're all loopy!" you grinned teasingly making the girl roll her eyes. "i still say its something people put on and over act for views, i'm sure i'll be a little out of it but i don't think it'll be half as dramatic as everyone says it is." alessia assured herself as you and lotte only hummed with amused smiles.

"well bye then!" the blonde rolled her eyes again at your obvious disbelief toward her words, though this time more playfully as you both called out good luck and she disappeared inside.

"so...full english?"

~

"got any fives?" you asked, tucking your knees to your chest and peering at lotte over the top of your cards. "how do you win every single time, you're cheating!" the older girl huffed handing over her cards as you grinned.

"you're just terrible at this lots you've always been shit at card games." you chuckled, not willing to reveal you could actually see the poor girls cards in the reflection of the window behind her.

the two of you had gone for breakfast and coffee and had returned to the clinic, now sat in lotte's car trying to pass the time as you waited for her phone to ring.

"harsh. but alright new game, blackjack!" lotte announced, holding out her hands for your cards, though right as she began to shuffle the deck her phone rang. a few words exchanged with the nurses and the two of you had locked the car and headed inside.

"she's in the fourth door on your left girls." the nurse pointed down the hallway after checking you both in, thanking her you headed down there. "is that?" you paused, hearing a familiar voice singing.

"oh my god it is." lotte grinned, the two of you hurrying to the source of the noise, opening the door to find a nurse begging alessia stop moving her mouth, the gauze continually falling out.

"oh look it's my best friends, you came!" alessia gasped with a slur as you and lotte looked on gleefully at her current state of drugged up delusion. "hi lessi, you feeling okay?" you smiled moving to her side and running a hand through her hair.

"i feel....so good." alessia chuckled, grabbing your top and yanking you down closer to her. "we gotta steal some of this stuff it is great." she whispered making you laugh and gently pry her hands off of you as lotte spoke with the nurse.

"okay less you need to stop yelling because the nurse needs to put the gauze back in your mouth to stop the bleeding." lotte explained gently to the taller girl who groaned.

"it feels like im eating marshmallows i don't want it!" she whined, pushing away the nurses hands. "you don't eat it! you just leave it in your mouth." you reminded with a chuckle, alessia finally allowing the nurse to re-insert the gauze.

"this is going to be a long afternoon." lotte mumbled to you with a knowing smile as alessia started to ramble about how she didn't believe they'd taken her teeth out because she could still feel them in her mouth, words hardly understandable with the cotton pads shoved in her cheeks.

"but a funny one." you grinned in response.

~

"-here we gooo! tooney and lessi russo." alessia finished singing for what felt like the one hundredth time as now yours and lottes patience was beginning to slowly thin. "can they put the gauze back in?" lotte sighed dragging her hands down her face.

"they said we can take her home soon." you patted the older girls knee with a smile as alessia commenced the infamous song yet again, taking full advantage of the happy gas she was coming down from.

"oi. get my bag!" alessia stopped and pointed at you. "get your bag?" you hinted with a smile. "please." alessia corrected as you chuckled and passed her the bag. "less i don't think you'll need that it's not very cold out." you laughed as she pulled out a beanie.

"oh god stop it hold on." you shook your head as she tried to yank it on over her hair which was up in a bun. moving to let it out you took the beanie from her and gently tucked it on, patting her head once you were done.

"you're so good to me." the blonde sighed, grabbing your hand and placing a few kisses to the back of your palm as you scrunched up your nose and pushed her head away. "your mouths all bloody." you chuckled, pulling your hand away and wiping it.

"you wiped off my kisses!" alessia gasped before flipping you off. "oh i like doing this." she giggled, turning her middle fingers toward lotte who grinned and took a picture. "oh my god lessi." you hurried to push her hands down as the doctor and nurse entered and the blonde flipped them off too.

"i can assure you i've taken worse." the man chuckled as alessia flipped him off again and you held her hands in yours to stop her. "if you wanted to hold hands you should have just asked babe." alessia grinned, head flopping to the side as you sighed and shook your head.

"the anesthesia should start to wear off in the new few hours so you're both welcome to take her home now. i assume one of you is staying with her overnight to monitor?" he asked as you confirmed that would be you, lotte having dinner plans with tao.

"if she has any abnormally heavy bleeding, or a reaction to anything or the pain worsens beyond a five or six out of ten just give us a call." he gave you a card with the clinic details on it which you stashed in your pocket, quickly grabbing alessia's hand again as her middle finger popped back up.

you thanked him as lotte disappeared with the nurse to sign off on alessia's discharge papers. "do you ever think about if you drop soap on the floor. is the soap dirty or is the floor clean?" alessia pondered as you looked down at her in amusement.

"can't say i have less." you grabbed her bag off her lap, slinging it over your shoulder. "come on, time to head home." you helped her up into a sitting position, encouraging she slowly try to stand. "okay easy!" you grunted as the taller girl stumbled into you.

"you're so tiny. i could just wrap you up and put you in my pocket." alessia sighed, one hand resting on your head as the other slung over your shoulders, your own wrapped around her torso as you helped her walk out of the room.

lotte grabbing her from the other side the walk to the car was much smoother, alessia still rambling away absolutely anything that popped up in her mind, no chance of any sort of filter being active at the moment.

"why am i in the back! i'm the oldest." alessia huffed as you both slid her in and buckled her up. "no you're not you idiot." lotte laughed, slipping into the drivers seat. "yeah i've decided i'm the oldest now. deal with it bruv!" alessia slurred with a shrug.

"oh god her chav era's returning." you teased, alessia scoffing in offence and winding down the window as lotte pulled out of the clinic. "can we get food please? i'm starving!" alessia groaned dramatically.

"you're not allowed to eat for another two hours sorry less." you turned around with an apologetic smile as she groaned louder and sunk down into her seat, frowning like a scolded child. "i'm wasting away here! i'll die of starvation!" alessia moaned kicking the back of your seat as lotte chuckled and you started to film the blonde kicking off.

"they're starving me here send help!" she stuck her head out the window with a yell and gasped as suddenly her beanie went flying off her head, sending you and lotte into hysterics.

"that was my favourite beanie! it's from college." alessia cried out as you wound up her window. "should have kept your head in the car then less, you're not a dog." lotte chuckled as she pulled into alessia's driveway.

the blonde whinging the entire time both you and lotte managed to get her inside and settled on the lounge. "has it been two hours yet?" alessia huffed impatiently as you covered her with a blanket and shook your head causing her to groan.

"here you big sook put this on your jaw where it's sore." lotte returned handing alessia an icepack. "you sure you don't want me to stay?" she checked as you walked with her to the door. "no! you've been looking forward to these plans with tao all week. we'll be fine." you assured, hugging the girl goodbye and closing the door after her.

"what are you doing lessi?" you sighed with a smile as alessia was wrestling with the blanket. "i'm hot. i'm trying to take my pants off!" the blonde huffed in annoyance, words still slightly slurred from the swelling and anesthesia.

"do you want me to get you some shorts and a t-shirt?" you offered, hurrying off to her room and rummaging through her drawers, grabbing what you needed. "here." you threw them to her, laughing as the bundle of clothes hit her in the face.

"who turned the lights out!" she yelled against the material as you rolled your eyes and peeled them off, pulling the blanket off of her and retreating to the kitchen to put your phone on charge as she changed.

"well, all things considered that went quite well." you grinned seeing she had managed to change but had put her shirt on inside out. "what do you want to watch?" you collapsed beside her on the lounge, kicking your feet up onto her coffee table and grabbing the remote.

"something not food related!" alessia moaned in annoyance. "and here i was about to put on the great british bake off!" you teased, encouraging her to put the ice pack back against her mouth. "my arms are tired, you hold it." alessia demanded with a huff tossing it onto your lap.

clicking into she's the man, more so for your own viewing pleasure than hers, you shuffled closer to her and gently pressed the icepack to her cheek.

"can't believe you wiped off my kisses before, those were with love!" alessia glared up at you as you shook your head. "your mouth was all bloody! it was gross." you laughed making her scoff.

"if i kissed you on the lips would you wipe it off?" she challeneged, eyes starting to become a little droopy as the doctor warned she would likely become quite tired the more it wore off.

"why would you kiss me on the lips?" you chuckled with smile. "cause i have a crush on you, sshh." alessia hushed, a finger pressing to your lips as your eyes widened.

"don't tell y/n though." alessia yawned, stretching out as her eyes started to close. you opened your mouth to speak but thought better of it, knowing this would need to be a conversation had tomorrow.

~

"morning." you looked up from your phone as alessia appeared with a yawn, making a beeline right for her coffee machine, holding a mug up as you nodded.

"how do you feel?" you asked, last nights confession still playing on your mind as you locked your phone and rested your chin on your hand. "like i got punched in the mouth? and a bit foggy about most of yesterday afternoon." alessia chuckled with a rasp, morning voice thick as she slumped against the bench.

"all i'll say is you definitely need to retract your statement about people putting it on for views." you smiled causing her to groan and turn back to the coffee machine. "i assume you and lotte have plenty of video evidence." she sighed, moving to lean on the counter across from you, sliding you your coffee and sipping on her own.

"we do. but most of it was harmless," you assured her with a soft smile as her eyebrows furrowed slightly. "most of it?"

"yeah um, there is something you said i sort of want to talk about." you started, putting down your coffee and messing with your fingers as alessia nodded. "you might have kind of...said you have a crush on me?" you winced as the blonde choked on her coffee, spitting it back out and coughing as you hurried to grab her some water.

she croaked out a thank you and took a swig as you sat back down.

"it was just me being drugged up!" she brushed off, clearly embarrassed as her face burnt bright red and she refused to look at you. "less i-" you started as she cut you off, mumbling how she wanted to shower and darting off to the bathroom.

you waited for her to return, settling in on the lounge and flicking on her tv.

around a half an hour later she emerged, silently sitting beside you as neither of you spoke for a few minutes.

"so maybe it wasn't the anesthesia." alessia started, looking down at her hands. "i do kind of have a crush on you, as juvenile as that sounds given the fact we're twenty four." she chuckled awkwardly.

"but i really value our friendship and i don't want to lose that or make you uncomfortable so i'm so sorry if i have."

"you haven't, i promise."

"that was not at all the way i wanted you to find out." alessia sighed burying her face in her hands. "drunk mind sober thoughts hm." you nudged her with a soft smile.

"so are you going to ask me on a date or just sit here feeling sorry for yourself?" you asked nudging her again, alessia's head shooting up, surprise etched into her features. "um. do you want to go and get dinner?" the blonde stumbled over her words as you nodded, finding how flustered she was incredibly cute.

"yeah i do."

[reneesghostinthelivingroom]

wassup man. hey i got a requestion. Could you write a Regina Georgee fic where she andd NB!Reader are in a secret relationship but Y/N is dysphoric, and regina reassures them she won't leave them for someone else? Lots of praise, physical touch for comfort (smut only if ur comfy!! xx) + regina wears Y/N's letterman jacket to hard launch at school the next day so everyone knows her ass is owned by Y/N? If you do make it smut, bottom!regina would be great with whimpering and begging Thanksssssssssssssss

You're Beautiful ||

|| Regina George x nonbinary!reader

|| Warnings: minors don't interact, first time posting smut (just a small amount, isn't the main focus and doesn't go overly detailed; does skip through some of it), body dysphoria and description of how it feels, reader being upset, some swearing, regina comforting reader which means somewhat out of character regina, bottom!regina, top!reader

|| Summary: Reader struggles with body dysphoria, Regina assures the reader they're beautiful which leads to reader showing Regina they're thankful for her... the next day, Regina shows the school who owns them.

Requests open!

Started: May 2nd

Finished: May 10th

~~~

This week has been absolutely awful, mental health wise. Everything else was about the same. Which you were grateful for, you really didn't need any extra stress from school drama or assignments.

You had stayed the night at Regina's place, having decided to have a cozy Thursday night in with your girlfriend instead of attending the usual parties and such. You ordered take out and watched a movie. Regina's always had this certain image about her, but behind closed doors? When it was just the two of you? She could be so uncharacteristically soft. The first time it happened you had to do a double take and stare at her; wondering if that was really your girlfriend or if she had a twin you didn't know about.

Speaking of her being your girlfriend. Nobody knew about the two of you. You were considered an outcast for your gender identity, the only ones in the school that didn't judge you (besides your girlfriend) were Janis and Damien. They were pretty much your best friends because of it. And only friends...

You were currently getting changed in the bathroom; something you usually did, much to Regina's annoyance. She would always tell you you could change in front of her, that she didn't mind and in fact insisted that you did this. It's not like she hasn't seen you like that before anyway. But you always made up some excuse for why you couldn't and then scrambled off to the bathroom before she could stop you.

Today had been no different.

When you finally got out, Regina turned and looked at you. Eyes scanning your body. Instinctively your arms went to your stomach and you took a step back. Trying to avoid her gaze. You hadn't changed into anything different, just your regular set of pyjamas. Despite that you couldn't help feeling self conscious about your body. It wasn't what you wanted. Some days, you managed... others? Others were harder. You wished certain body parts could just be detachable. Well, they were with the right surgery but you didn't have that kind of money and you sure as hell weren't about to ask Regina.

When you backed away from her, she raised an eyebrow and took a couple steps closer until her hands gripped your waist and pulled you in flush against her.

"Where do you think you're going?" She smirked at you, hand trailing up your side. Sending a shiver down your spine as you bit your bottom lip in response.

"I..." You take a breath, gathering your thoughts. Do you tell her about your insecurities? "Not today, Regina. Please." You voice was barely above a whisper, feeling vulnerable in the moment.

She looked almost offended for a brief second but her features softened as she looked into your eyes, trying to get a good read on how you were feeling. She could see your vulnerability and it all clicked in place.

She sighed deeply and grabbed your hand, pulling you over to the bed as she made you sit down before straddling your lap and looking into your eyes. Her hand rested under your chin.

"You are fucking beautiful." Regina whispered, giving your jawline a kiss." So damn handsome."

"Regina- that's not-" You stuttered out, though whatever you were going to say died in your throat as she kissed your jawline. Your hands instinctively went to wrap around her waist to keep her in your lap.

"What? That's not true?" Regina's eyes met yours again and you shook your head. That wasn't what you were going to say.

"That's not what I meant. I can't stand my body, it makes me feel sick just thinking about it. This isn't who I am in my head and it hurts. How can you be with someone like me? Someone who can't even accept their own body?" You admitted out loud how you really felt, it felt good haven't it out but it hurt talking about it. Tears brimmed your eyes.

Regina frowned as she listened to you, she knew being nonbinary was hard for you. She knew you were hurting. She never realized just how much.

"Because I love your body. I love your mind. I love you. Alright? I'm not going to fucking leave you for someone else, you have what I want even if you can't see it for yourself. You're beautiful." Regina replied, her hands trailing along your sides as she speaks; making you shiver under her touches.

"Alright?" She asked again, her lips now brushing against your neck. You tilt your head to the side almost instinctively, allowing for her to have easier access as she kisses your neck. Sucking on the skin until a mark is left behind. Her finger gently touch it, making you shudder as she laughs a little. You were so easy. Every little thing she did had an effect on you.

"Mm..." You tried talking, but it came out as a soft hum instead of the 'okay' you had tried to say. Your mind wasn't fully settled, Regina could tell just looking into your eyes.

"You're beautiful. My handsome partner." Regina whispered into your ear, making you blush. You could tell what she was doing, giving praise to lessen your thoughts. You appreciated her for it.

You nodded slowly, taking in her words and allowing them to sink into your mind. Even if they were hard to accept.

"Better?" She asked, her hand now resting below your neck as her fingers just barely graze against it.

"Better... thank you." You mumbled, letting your eyes close as you melted under her touch.

"That's not a real thank you. Show me just how much you appreciate me." She whispered into your ear again, you blushed a deeper shade of red as you read between the lines of what Regina really meant.

She looked at you expectantly, you rolled your eyes but that didn't hide the smile (or blush) on your cheeks.

Regina smirked when she saw it and laid back in bed, head rested on the pillow as she grabbed you by your arms and pulled you on top of her.

You easily followed, laying your body down on hers as you began giving her neck soft kisses. Her head tilted to the side in response, eyes closed as she melted into the feeling.

Regina wouldn't call herself submissive, she wasn't submitting to you. She was more of a pillow princess, she wanted her body to be worshipped by you. Treated like a Goddess.

Your soft kisses became harder as you sucked on her skin, leaving that oh so familiar mark. Matching the one Regina had given you just moments before. You heard a soft whimper escape Regina's lips, so you kept going. Getting more of that sound from her. You made sure to start slow so you could worship her body the way she had wanted; and show her just how thankful you were. You'd spend the whole night treating her if you could.

"More... please." Regina almost begged, her tone sounding desperate. Part of her wanted you to just skip the worshipping and get right into the hard stuff, the other part of her wanted to be worshipped and praised. She felt torn.

"Hm? What's that, baby?" You smirked against her neck, looking up for a brief moment to lock eyes with hers. God, you loved being able to make her this desperate.

Regina gritted her teeth, trying to keep herself from begging for it but she knew you wouldn't give her what she wanted if she didn't.

"Fuck you." She cursed, you held back a laugh. You knew she was just frustrated with how you were doing this.

"Keep talking like that and I'll just stop all together." You whispered in her ear, sending a shiver through her body." Go on, beg me."

Regina's eyes closed again as she kept her mouth shut, when she felt you start to pull away and get up... she grabbed you and held you in place on top of her.

"Don't stop."

You smirked, knowing you had her exactly where you wanted her. You gave her throat a kiss and continued on with what you had been doing before... only you upped it a notch like Regina had asked for.

~~~

The next morning, you had woken up sore as you took your spare clothes and went to change in the bathroom like you normally did. Regina had felt you getting out of bed and started to stir, sitting up and rubbing one of her eyes.

Her eyes narrow when she sees you heading to the bathroom with your clothes.

"Y/N." Regina spoke up, her tone a mixture of stern and tired with sleep.

You stopped in your tracks, hand on the door frame as you looked back at your girlfriend and tilted your head in confusion.

"Yeah?"

"Get your ass over here." Regina demands, you sigh and listen. Going to her bedside. She grabs you by your waist and suddenly pulls you into her lap, making you gasp at the sudden action.

"Regina-"

She cuts you off with a kiss, making you quickly shut up and melt into her body.

Regina parts the kiss and stares into your eyes, hand gripping your chin to make sure you had your full attention on her.

"You're changing out here. Repeat what I told you yesterday." Her tone was stern, but it didn't come from a place of meanness like it usually does for everyone else. She was always a little softer on you.

"You told me a lot of things yesterday," You gave a teasing response back, you knew what Regina wanted you to say. You wanted to see how much you could get away with.

She rolled her eyes, her grip tightening around your chin just slightly." Don't be a smartass."

"Fine... I'm beautiful." You muttered, she could tell by how you said it you didn't mean it.

"Y/N." Her tone remained the same.

"I'm beautiful." You repeat, Regina kissed your cheek and let go of your chin.

"Damn right you are. Now get dressed. Where's your jacket?" She added, looking around her room for a brief moment to see if she could spot it.

You looked at her in confusion. Your jacket?

"My letterman jacket?" You asked, wondering why the hell Regina would want it.

"Yeah. Where'd you put it?"

"Um... I think it's on the couch downstairs. Why?"

Regina rolled her eyes, getting out of bed. There was a slight shake in her legs which made you smirk, feeling pretty damn proud of yourself because you knew she was still effected by the night before.

"I'm wearing it. Obviously."

"To school?" Your eyes widened a little, that jacket had your last name on it. Was she seriously about to reveal your relationship?

"No, to a funeral. Yes, dumbass." Regina narrowed her eyes, annoyed with the amount of questions you were asking though she couldn't help feeling a little amused when she saw your reaction. She was planning on hard launching your relationship. She wanted people to know she was taken by you. She wanted it to be the talk of the school. She knew exactly what she was doing with this.

And sure enough, everyone at school knew Regina belonged to you and that you belonged to her. When they saw her in your jacket it started so many rumours and for the first time in your entire highschool life... nobody bothered you. They didn't want to risk the wrath of Regina George.

[pablitogavii]

So... Gavi just got his surgery and thank god it's success. I think the reader is taking care of him after his surgery still at hospital and at home will be the major fluff <33

Hospital Bed

She was with me through it all, sleepless nights at home prior to surgery, anxiety about the outcome and now in the hospital bed awaiting my recovery.

My injury was hard on her most of all, because she was always scared of my way of playing and possibly getting hurt that way.

I would always tell her to be tranquilla and that I will be just fine..until now. She had to watch that on the tv screen and the rest of the night was awake until I arrived home.

It wasn't based on rules allowed for her to stay but when doctors saw her laying in my arms finally asleep after days of worrying about him.

"Tan monos..need to give you IV" nurse said smiling at your sleeping face while quietly renewing Gavi's port. Then Belen and Aurora came in placing the blanket on top of both of you.

"Pedri and Laporte wanted to come check on you today cariño.." Belen said and Pablo nodded kissing the top of your head making his mom smile.

"We'll leave you two to rest..want me to bring you anything from home later??" she asked and Pablo gave her a list of things he wanted feeling really scared in the whole hospital setting.

Another hour passed as my friends walked in and I showed them to be quiet cause she was still sleeping. They smiled at two of us nodding and speaking quietly. She moved a little and he placed my hand on her head playing with her her to lull her back to sleep.

"Y/N seems very tired..must of been terrified for you??" Pedri asked and he nodded explaining how she refused to sleep until my surgery was done.

You slowly woken up hearing other voices nuzzling your face into Pablo neck while yawning before rubbing the sleep from your eyes.

"H..hey guys..why didn't you wake me up?" you said and everyone said it was alright and that you slept very cutely in your boyfriend's arms. Made you blush.

"Did they come for your IV??" you ask little lost in time and Pablo giggled saying that was hours ago.

"How long did I slept??" you ask and he said making you shocked and sit up to stretch up a bit and drink some water.

"We will leave you two alone, lovebirds..see you soon Pablo" they said waving and leaving the room while the two of you stood there looking at each other with bright smiles.

"You did look so cute..sleeping in your boyfriends arms" he said and you blushed laying back down and kissing his cheeks lovingly.

"Hmm I love my boyfriend very much" you said and Pablo chuckled kissing the top of your head gently.

"How are you feeling Pablito??" you ask and he reassured you that everything is alright now.

"We're already leaving the hospital tomorrow" he said and you smiled looking up at him still with sad eyes wondering when will he really be alright again.

"Pablito..?" you said and he looked down at you with furrowed eyebrows.

"Promise me you won't try to speed up this recovery..that you will let yourself fully heal?" you say and he smiles knowing that you know him very well. If he could he would already be back on that pitch playing football. But he knew you and his family worried.

"I promise, mi amor..not until you give me okay?" he smiled and you as well leaning up and kissing his lips lovingly.

"Can I tell you something preciosa??" he said and you nodded

"I hate hospital beds..being here alone would have drove me crazy..thank you for not leaving me" he said and you pouted nodding your head.

"We're in this together Pablito..siempre" you said and he leaned down to capture another kiss from your soft lips.

"Siempre, mi amor.." he said and it really ended up being like that. Next eight months you were his biggest supporter..helping with his physical therapy..being there to listen when he got bored or annoyed..stayed home with him whenever school was out and allowed him to lean on you this time. Pablo really much appreciated having you in his corner..and recovered fully with your help.

[throwawayhero]

hii!! could u please do headcannons for katsuki in a relationship with a trans man reader?? Tysm!!

Of course lovely! And thank you so much for sending in a request! Please feel free to correct any mistakes that I make, but I'll try my best! I wasn't exactly sure how to make the hc's specifically relationship orientated, so it's sort of a thin line sorry! c/w; afab, lgbtqia+, course language, menstruation, no quirks mentioned

He honestly had no clue you were trans when the two of you met for the first time. He had no reason to. And tbh, he didn't give a fuck when you told him. He sort of just.. shrugged and moved on? Nothing more, nothing less. But if you weren't already out when you met him and you realised how you truly felt a bit into the friendship.. he still didn't give a fuck! He accepted you, obviously, and he 'encouraged' you, in his own way, to test things out.

"Okay? Fuck does that have to do with me?"

He especially liked helping you pick out clothes. When asked to go with you to go clothes shopping, he would complain and tell you to get someone else to go with you.. but he would still grab his keys and rush you out the door (: (That's why your style is majorly inspired by his.)

When you told him what your new name was, he immediately said that it was better than your other "shitty ass" name. He also changed your contact name as soon as he could.

When you got your first masc hair cut you didn't tell him beforehand, so when you bumped into him and surprised him with it he stared at it for a good minute with a frown before saying that it looked better than the "rats nest" you had before. Bonus points if you did any form of bleaching and/or dyeing it, he says it makes you look less boring.

"At least now you look like you actually have a personality."

If he catches someone calling/referring to you by your deadname, whether it was intentional or not, he's onto their ass IMMEDIATLEY and he is NOT polite about it. He will sass them tf up.

"Who's that? Oh, you mean ****, right?" "Come again?" / "Excuse you?" / "Pardon?"

Kinda had no idea what binders were before you told him what they were used for. Insisted you got ones with cool designs and called you boring for getting solid colour ones only.

Genuinely became so much more involved with the LGBTQIA+ community because of you. His first Mardi Gras was a night he will literally never forget, for both good and bad reasons. If you dare MENTION a feather boa, he'll start having flashbacks.

He doesn't put that much thought into his sexuality. He's just the type of person to not gaf, yk? Call him what you want, he wasn't gonna sit there and confirm or deny. He just knew that he had been attracted to girls and guys his whole life, regardless of the extra stuff.

When you got your period for the first time around him he was pretty neutral about it. When you mentioned the dysphoria it gave you he did try his best to console you, but it just ended up making you laugh. He really did try to keep you distracted, even if he struggled exponentially. He let you use his Netflix to watch a movie/TV show while you hung out. ACTUALLY understood that cramps hurt like a bitch and gave you pain relief and snacks.

"Jeans cannot be comfortable for you right now, ya masochist."

Went with you to every T-shot appointment. He wasn't obvious about it but he always made sure that his hand was there for you to hold if you got paranoid about the needle hurting. Noticed the effects quicker than everyone else and claimed that he "won" at being the most supportive.

"You guys suck at this."

He helped you save up for top & bottom surgery and surprised you with the rest of the money you needed on a random Tuesday night. He'd never admit it but he "almost" teared up at the sight of how happy you were that night. And you'll pretend like you never saw the tear roll down his cheek.

[pinkthrone445]

Would you consider writing a part 2 for “The most wonderful time of year?” where maybe reader got pregnant by a one night stand or donor ands has a happy ending? Pretty, pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top?

-The most wonderful time of the year?- Part 2

Part 1

Pairing:Melissa Schemmenti x Reader

Gender: hurt, fluff

Warnings : (+18) strong words, fights.

Summary:Melissa makes the worst mistake of her life by letting you go when things don't go the way you wanted them to. Years later, fate pulls you together again, Melissa just hopes it's not too late to fix things.

I'm officially on vacation, so I hope I can write some more! Thank you for continuing to send requests, little by little I am answering all of them. I hope you have a beautiful year!

Melissa was stunned to see the hall where you had gone, it was as if the ghost of the past had visited her, all her bad decisions were coming back to her head, even things she had avoided thinking about for years had come back to haunt her. Why had she left you? Why did you look so happy since you left her? Why had you come back and no one told her anything? Were you avoiding her or was it a coincidence that she didn't cross paths with you before? Was she right to leave you to get on with your life and dreams? If it had been the right thing to do, why was she hesitating so much?

Why hadn't anyone told her that you had come back and that your son was going to the same school where she worked, if almost everyone knew that you had been her girlfriend? Why Barbara, her best friend, didn't say nothing, anything? Melissa looked at her friend who started packing her bag faster as she felt the redhead watching her

-"Why?..."-Mel asked in a very weak tone and her friend didn't dare to look at her

-"Why what?"-the older one played dumb

-"Why you didn't tell me she was back?..."-Her voice sounded pained, as if her friend had committed the worst betrayal, Barbara had never seen Mel so hurt by her fault and she was not liking it.

-"Mel... I'm so sorry, she asked me to... She told me she would bring her son here because it was close to work and because she had no one else to leave him with. She begged me not to tell you because she wanted to be calm without going through the pain of seeing you again... You know we promise parents confidentiality with some things and even though I wanted to tell you I couldn't... I am sorry..."-Barbara spoke in a calm tone, and her friend sighed in pain

-"It is ok Barb, I understand... How long has it been since she came back?"-Mel needed to know

-"About 3 months?... She told me they came back because of a job offer she had...I promise you that's all I know"-Her friend responded by trying to redeem herself

-"Thanks Barb... Let's go home"-Mel talked before going with her friend to the car.

For the next few weeks, Melissa watched you from afar every time you dropped off your son in the mornings and picked him up in the afternoons. Also in the recesses or lunches that she had to supervise, she observed your little one very carefully, seeing all the similarities that you and he had, you both had the same eyes that shone when you smiled and that laughter that animated any person every time you let you show it. The two of you frowned in the same way when something displeased you and your little one loved pasta just like you. It made Melissa happy to see how much the two of you looked alike, it made her feel like you were close and that she already knew your son because of how much you looked alike with him.

More than once, Mel saw how you were late to pick him up because your work took longer than expected due to some emergency, your son was used to waiting for you and was well-behaved, but she was worried that you had no one to give you a hand when unexpected things came up.

One day in particular, the hospital where you worked had called the school saying that it would take a while to get there because you were doing a big surgery, but Barbara hadn't come to work that day, so Mel offered to take care of your little one until you arrived. Your son had no problem staying with the redhead because he had already gotten used to seeing her at school, although at first he had stayed with her playing on the carpet and listening to the book that Mel read to him, soon he fell asleep curled close of the teacher, since he had had gymnastics that day and had exhausted his energy.

When you arrived at school you were surprised to see how the two of them were snuggled together while Melissa stroked his hair and your son slept soundly, at first the scene gave you tenderness, it allowed you to imagine how things would have been if you and Mel had started a family, but that same thought made you angry because you remembered everything that had happened with her. In order to get the redhead's attention and not scare them, you cleared your throat. Mel stood up carefully with your son in her arms, who settled on her chest with his thumb in his mouth, there were times when you forgot how small he was and that he was only three years old because of how well he behaved and understood everything. The redhead handed you your son carefully, you laid him on your chest thanking the heavens that he didn't wake up and murmured a soft thank you to her before turning to leave, but she grabbed your arm making you stop and you sighed

-"If you ever need it, I can take care of him if you want from time to time... You're not alone, you know"-Melissa whispered and you looked into her eyes

-"Look Melissa, I appreciate you taking care of him because Barbara wasn't here today, but I don't want you to get involved in our life, got it?"-Your tone was soft because your son was asleep, but your words were harsh

-"Hon, I'm sorry about what happened between us, but it's not wrong to ask for help, you don't need to do it all if someone it's offering to help you..."- she repeated and you sighed, you were too tired for this

-"I'll ask for help if I need it or I'll manage on my own, I just don't want your help, I don't want you near him"-You responded by looking seriously how her face transformed as she listened to you

-"Please I'm not a bad influence on him, you know I'm good with kids, I'm just offering you help, you don't have to be that mean..."- she responded with annoyance

-"I'll refresh your memory in case you don't remember, you left me, at Christmas, because you didn't want to have children or have a future with me, so don't come to pretend to be a good person to me or to him, because you were the one who let go of the opportunity to have a family, you let go of the opportunity to continue relating to me or my son. If you were so repulsed by the idea of having children or getting married, I don't want you around pretending that you want to take care of him or get to know him, because you don't deserve to know what a beautiful person MY son is... I didn't come back to rub this in your face, I just came back because I needed a better paying job so I could take care of him... "-Your tone of voice rose, but you tried not to scream so you wouldn't wake your child

-"I came back from you! You were the one that disappeared, I realize pretty soon what a big mistake I made and try to get back to you... I visited your family and they didn't wanna tell me where you were... I tried to call you and you changed your number, I went to see your sisters and I put up with their screams and insults just to see you, but no one wanted to tell me anything about you... I went every year, three times a year every dam year... I'm sorry okay? I was so stupid when I let you go... I just didn't wanted to hold you back on the things that you dreamed of..."-Melissa was someone with a lot of strength, but right now she looked so weak and fragile, so hurt and needy, she looked so remorseful

-"I wanted all that, I wanted marriage, pets, and children with all my heart, but I wanted to do it with you... And you let me go so easily..."-Your voice sounded hurt, too

-"And I regret it every day, every second that pass...As soon as you left, I realized that my life wasn't worth living if I couldn't share it with you, I would have given everything to have you by my side again, my stupid pride, my stupid ideas and everything I am, I would have left it for you to come back to me. It's been 5 years and there's not a moment where I don't think about you, how much I miss you and how stupid I was to let you go. How stupid I was to reject the things you wanted, that you wished you had, how stupid I was to have missed a life with you and him. Because now that I know him and see how happy he makes you, I realize what a big mistake I made by not joining you in this, you're an amazing mother and I would be lucky to be with you taking care of him..."-Mel whispered looking into your eyes and you sighed not knowing what to say or do. You didn't know what would have happened if Mr. Johnson hadn't come in to tell you he needed to close the school. You and Mel left school quietly, and after a simple goodbye, you each went to your cars and home.

The days began to pass, and though you hadn't spoken any more after that night, you noticed how something had changed between you two but you didn't know that. Melissa also noticed how now you recognized her presence with at least a small smile when you left your son at school and saw her, that little smile was enough to make her happy all week, seeing that you didn't despise her anymore made her the happiest woman in the world.

For your part, you wanted to talk to Melissa again but you were scared and didn't know if it would be the right thing to do or what excuse to use to do it.

It wasn't until a work conference coincided with you not being able to get a good babysitter that you had a good excuse to talk to her, but still, you consulted with your son before

-"Theo, mama has a work conference for a few hours, do you want to stay with the neighbor and her children?"-You asked your son but he shook his head, looking at you a little sadly

-"I want to stay at home... The neighbo's childen ade noisy and won't let me do what I like"...-He muttered, trying to cross his arms angrily, but it gave you tenderness when you saw that they were a little crooked and he couldn't cross it properly

-"It's fine, but I can't get the babysitter who always comes... Would it be okay if you stay with Melissa? The teacher at your school who stayed with you when I couldn't get there quickly, do you remember her?" - You consulted and he smiled a lot, nodding excitedly and jumping up and down

-"Yes, please, she does the best voices when deading and takes cade of me when the olde kids tease me, I like hed, mama!"-Your little one spoke excitedly and you sighed with relief when you saw that he agreed, you didn't know who else to call if he didn't want to stay with her. Praying to the heavens, you called the redhead and explained the situation, she agreed and in less than 15 minutes the eldest was already at your home. As soon as she arrived, you took the opportunity to get ready to go to the hospital and quickly explained some things to her

-"If you see that he wants to cry and you can't find an obvious reason, it is likely that something is overwhelming him, it may be loud noises or that the texture of his clothes are making him uncomfortable, in that case turn down the volume of things and offer him his pajamas, those clothes always calm him down... If you or him are hungry, there's food in the fridge, if he's sleepy, a bottle of milk before bed helps him sleep better... He knows how to go to the bathroom on his own... Let me think if I remember anything else"-You spoke quickly, and the redhead laughed, putting her hands on your shoulders and guiding you to the door so you wouldn't be late. Her hands felt firm but loving, as they did years ago when you started to get distracted from doing what you needed to do and she gently guided you.

-"Remember that I'm with kids almost all day, I know how to take care of them and if not, I'll send you a message, okay?"-She spoke and you nodded going to open the car, your son ran next to the redhead hugging her leg and waved at you with his little hand

-"Goodbye baby! Behave yourself and listen to Melissa, I love you my boy!" - You screamed smiling when you saw how comfortable he felt around Melissa, something that wasn't normal with other people. Then you looked up at the redhead smiling kindly-"Really thank you... I didn't know who else to call, I'll be back as fast as I can"-You smiled nervously

-"It's the least I can do... Go or you'll be late!"-The eldest spoke and you got in the car to go to the hospital.

A few minutes later, Melissa watched as your little son entertained himself without causing her any troubles, he painted and played with blocks while soft music played in the background.

She took time to observe a little, there was still a lot boxes on the house, but she could already tell that you two were turning it into a home. There were many pictures on the wall, mostly yours and your son and some with your family, she smiled when she saw one with all your friends in which she was included. There were many books on the shelf too, the top ones were yours and the ones at the bottom were your son's. The Christmas tree was the same, although Melissa knew that you loved to keep order even in the decorations, you had let your little one decorate as well, making most of the balls and stars be at the bottom of the tree where the little boy could reach, Mel laughed tenderly at this.

There were toy boxes in various places and the lights were soft, accompanying the fireplace light, giving a warm atmosphere to the house.

When she turned around, your son was looking at her with his eyes wide open

-"Miss Melissa... My mom said you wed a teached too like Ms. Howad, can you help me do my homewodk so my mom can sleep when she adives? Pweease?"-Your son begged her with big puppy eyes and the redhead nodded excited.

A couple of hours later, after doing homework, eating together, and playing some more, your son brushed his teeth, and after Melissa gave him a bottle of milk and read him a story, he fell asleep smiling and hugging a stuffed animal that she recognized, it was yours when you were a kid.

When you got home, everything was neat, clean and quiet, the redhead was sitting on the couch grading some of her students' papers. Seeing you enter, Melissa took off her glasses and smiled softly at you as she saw your tired face

-"Theo is sleeping, he did his homework, played, ate, brushed his teeth, and put on his pajamas before bed... We also sorted the toys together and after he fell asleep I arranged the rest, made pasta in case you are hungry" - Melissa spoke in a whisper to avoid waking your son, she also put her cell phone and papers in her purse before getting up to leave

-"I don't know how to thank you... It's rare that he stays with just anyone, he sees you as someone special"-You confessed and she smiled

-"He's special, I could spend hours playing with him and listening to all the things he knows about animals... Thank you for letting me help you and for trusting me to be with him... I'll go so you can rest, good night..."-The redhead gently caressed your arm giving you a small smile before leaving.

Weeks began to pass and the distant greetings turned into small chatter that was then followed by messages late into the night. You didn't know it was going on, you were just letting it flow.

A month after Christmas came your son's birthday, he gave his invitations at schools to whomever he wanted, and you were really surprised to see when Barbara, Mr. Johnson and Melissa arrived at the party you had organized for him. Your son was through the roof when he saw them and spent the whole party laughing and playing a lot with the other children. Your family was there too, and your sisters were looking at Melissa badly but you told them to control themselves.

When it came to opening presents, Melissa had given your son clothes with the same fabric as his pajamas to make him feel comfortable, that made you smile as you realized how much attention she had paid to him. Also she brought you a small puppy, to fulfill your dream of having a pet. Even though you knew your child would say it was for him, you almost burst into tears when you saw the little puppy.

A couple of hours passed at the party, your son, your new puppy and his friends were playing and singing with Barbara and Mr. Johnson, Melissa was sitting on the couch that was in the courtyard where the party was, you carefully sat down next to her and rested your head on her shoulder letting out a tired sigh and closing your eyes. Mel just looked at you and smiled, putting her arm behind your shoulders, bringing you closer to her, begging you not to walk away

-"You know... The first year you showed up looking for me, I saw you, but I didn't come out because I was mad at you... The following year I started to miss you and wanted to see you, but days before you went, I found out that the treatment had worked and that I was already pregnant and I thought that if I saw you, you would be scared and reject me again... Then the baby was born and I was even more afraid to see you... That's why I stayed away, it wasn't out of anger at you anymore, it was fear of rejection again... But I'm happy to see you again and to see that Theo is happy being with you too..."-You whispered and the redhead hugged you closer to her body

-"(Y/N)... I know how much I messed up and I want to see if I can fix this, because I don't want to miss another second away from you two, would you like to go on a date with me and your son?... If you don't want to, I understand, but if I didn't ask you I know I'll regret it"-She spoke sincerely, expecting you would reject her and push her away, but you just hugged her tighter taking advantage of her scent and the heat that her body radiated

-"We'd love to..."-You whispered, hiding more in her neck, watching your son's happiness and listening as the redhead's heart almost came out of her chest.

-"By the way, your sisters have been looking at me like they want to kill me since I arrived, but since you sat next to me, it seems like they're shooting lightning at me" - She whispered and you laughed

-"I know, so be careful what you do this time because if you don't, I'll let them do it"-You responded jokingly

[syn4k]

survivorship bias

During WWII, the United States used survivorship bias to improve their planes. The bullet holes in returning aircraft represented areas where a bomber could take damage and still fly, while bullet-free areas needed reinforcement because planes that got shot in those areas did not come back at all.

Why do you think every single queer person of significant age is so loud and defiant about who they are? Why is the stereotype of a loud queer who makes being gay their entire personality so prevalent? Why do you see them everywhere?

Here is a statistic for you: queer youth in the United States are four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers, with 12% of them making successful attempts. From a study conducted by the Trevor Project in 2022, over a third seriously considered suicide in the past year. That number jumps to 42% for genderqueer youth. 

Take a moment and process that. Fourty two percent. That's almost half. 

For every trans person over 20 you meet breathing on the street, there is another one with one foot already in the grave. 

What I'm saying is that there is a reason that the proud ones are the only ones that remain.

As an at least somewhat visibly genderqueer teenager, a question I get asked a lot is "if you could magically be switched into the body of your target gender with no questions and no repercussions and everyone forgot you were trans at all, would you do it?" They are well-meaning, most of the time. They are curious. They simply want to know. 

My response, every time, is "absolutely not." 

(For some reason, they never expect that answer.) 

I am one of the lucky ones. When I say lucky, I mean beyond blessed and beyond fortunate to have been born into the family I have. My parents are devoted to each other and to raising a child who is going to make it to adulthood one day, and while they may not understand everything, they understand that it is far, far more important to have a kid who is strange alive and happy than it is to have a kid who is miserable and regular and dead. 

You do not get things for free in this world. As hard as we may wish for her, there is no magical fairy that will descend from the sky and instantly change my body to what I hope it will be some day. God knows if that fairy existed we would not have fourty two percent suicide statistics. God knows she'd be a patron saint in her own right. 

But these things take time and these things take money and these things take luck. You have to watch your words when dealing with the fae lest they use your own phrases against you. When I made a plan to get top surgery, my doctor, my mother and I all agreed to tell the insurance company that we were doing it to ease back pain so that they'd agreed to pay for it. These are the things we have to deal with. It's not even too urgent of a procedure for me. I can live with what I am. 

Too many cannot. 

I do not want to be invisible. I do not want to be silent, because silence is what drove my peers to despair and eventually to death. Silence kills. 

I want scars on my chest and two weeks of recovery time and every dirty look from the soccer moms at the pool when I go shirtless. I want to stride into the county court and testify in front of a judge to get a legal name change. I love this body. It is not perfect but it is mine and it is home. 

Silence kills. I want to be loud. I will viciously, visibly love myself and every demonized miscreant for the sake of the quiet ones who are looking for a reason, any reason to stay alive. I will be that reason. I will be a light in the darkness and I will love them as I love myself, as their parents and friends should love them. 

Do you understand? I do not have a choice. I have to survive this world for the sake of my brethren who didn't. 

I hope that one day we do not have to look at bullet holes in planes and razor blade scars on arms to reverse engineer how to survive in a harsh world. I hope that one day we will all wake up and look at the sun shining through the window and think my god, it's beautiful. How lucky I am to be alive. How lucky I am to be here in this moment despite everything. 

I hope we all make it. I hope it gets easier. 

Until then, I will be a beacon for those lost in the darkness. I will persevere. I will show them that it is not all suffering, this, and that it is in fact an altogether beautiful thing that you are here despite and in spite of all the forces leveled against you. 

I am one of the lucky ones who made it. I love this life and this body of mine and I accept every flaw contained wherein because it is infinitely better than the alternative. I choose the pain of living over the pain of oblivion. I choose to stay, imperfect though the location is. I do not have the choice to do anything else. None of us do. 

You only get one life. 

Do not spend it hesitating in the dark. 

[perpetual-fandom-brainrot]

Temporary Relocation Ch. 2

Read the previous chapter here Basic premise: Reader has arrived on TF 141's base after a transfer due to a special experimental surgery and is now receiving the initial medical checkup. If you cannot handle reading about needles, blood, and/or medical procedures, I recommend you do not read this. Bold text where the medical section ends.

You flinched a little as you felt a needle being pressed into your skin, followed by a nurse murmuring, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," you grumble to the best of your ability, "just wasn't expecting bloodwork." The woman's lips pursed in silent understanding as she watched the tube fill with the crimson liquid.

"Would it offend you if I said I admire you?" Her inquiry came as the seconds ticked by.

"Why?" You almost scoffed. It felt as though she was patronizing you just because you were a fresh face. Noting your irritation, she hesitated a moment.

"You're a soldier. Despite that, you took a surgery that could've ripped it away from you. It still could."

The nurse's words served to soften your expression, but they weren't what you found to be echoing in your head. In one ear and out the other, while your mind was ashamed of the fact that you'd prioritized the financial gain.

"Yeah, well," you grunted as she dislodged the needle once the tube was full, "we've all got our reasons for things, don't we?" Her focus on the tube left you without a verbal response to your question.

Next, your ears and tail were tested. What you could currently hear, sounds you'd probably be able to hear once everything was healed, the range of motion your tail currently had and how much it hurt when touched or moved in certain ways. That was how you found just how sensitive your tail actually was. Each foreign sensation shot sensations from the base of your spine up to the top. What the hell did they do with it? No other parts of your body ever had that kind of sensitivity.

The nurse hummed as she took all of the information down on your chart, you had zero doubt it would be confidential to anyone who didn't 'need-to-know.' As she read back over her notes, her expression only changed slightly. Enough you could tell she was thinking, but not for you to tell what was good and what was bad.

"They seem to have really intertwined your tail with your spinal nerves. I'll get this back to the main lab and send it off for data collection. In the meantime, take these," she handed you a bottle that contained the smallest pills you'd ever seen, "the dosage and when to take them is on the label. It should help dull the sensations from your tail. Pharmacy only signed off on this one bottle before you arrive. There's not much, but it should get you used to how the drugs work."

You nodded as you took the bottle, settling it into your pocket.

"If you don't have any other questions or concerns, you're free to go," she stated before writing some last minute notes.

"Actually, one question," you scrunched your face as you gently poked one of your ears, "is there an estimate on how long it'll take before the soreness goes away?" Not knowing how much longer you would be off-duty was driving you insane.

A moment of silence passed before the nurse found a conclusive answer in the notes, "you should get used to how things are in a few weeks. The soreness should be completely gone about two months from now. I can't say how long it'll take for you to learn how to use your new senses, that depends on you."

You nodded curtly, "thank you," before standing up and heading for the door. "And thanks for the meds, doc," you concluded before leaving.

Absent-mindedly wandering around base afterwards sent you to the canteen. You couldn't consciously remember the last time you ate anyway. You approached the main counter, discovering the remains of the lunch platters. Your selection turned out to be an amalgamation of sorts. Not that you could complain given the limitations. However, your last minute considerations were interrupted by a gruff Scottish voice from behind.

"They hurt?" He nodded towards your ears. You smiled softly as you turned to face him, plate in hand.

You shook your head as you responded, "not as bad as they did. Get an earful from that lieutenant earlier?"

"You could say that," he muttered. The irritation in his voice was evident, and the glaring look in his eyes made it even more so.

"Sounds bad, I won't push. Guy seems to have a real hothead."

"Only if ya know how to piss him off," he chuckled, "which doesn't take much. Nice to meet you, I'm Soap. Soap MacTavish," and he held out his hand for you to shake. So you did.

"Y/n L/n," you began, "might make my field name Whiskers when the time comes." Soap laughed a little.

"L.t'll definitely have fun with that one. Ghost isn't usually a jokes guy," he told you.

"He'll absolutely hate me, then," you concluded. "Wanna go sit? My mouth is watering knowing food is a foot away from it."

MacTavish promptly turned and marched towards a table, where Gaz was already sitting. Soap settled in front of a previously lonely plate, amalgamated similarly to yours with significantly less organization. Food instantly found its way to your mouth when your bum found the table bench.

"How'd the checkup go? All good?" Gaz asked. You nodded and partnered it with a thumbs up. He gave a solid nod in response. "Can you still hear out of your human ears?" You watched his eyes flicking up to your cat ears, then back to where your human ears were. Another shake of your head, this time you swallowed your food to talk.

"Nah, they rerouted my hearing network. My sense of balance is supposed to be enhanced by my tail, too, but right now it's too sore for me to find use in that," both Soap and Gaz were just staring at your ears while you explained. You felt yourself internally shrinking under the scrutiny, your body temperature rising in a way you prayed wouldn't be visible.

"What can you hear now, then?" Soap chimes in. Your saliva felt heavy as it went down your throat the next time you swallowed, then passively rested a smile on your face in hopes of concealing the sudden jitters.

"A lot more than I could," you admitted. Your tone sounded more cautious than you wanted it to. Willing your vocal cords to steady, you continued, "the helicopter was hell before I put the headphones on. Like I could hear the electricity signals coming from all of the buttons and wires."

"Bloody loud bastards, helicopters," he scoffs, but in agreement with your own distaste. "Can't imagine what it's like to hear everything comin' from 'em, I'd cross Scotland on foot to avoid that special little hell."

"Thanks," you ensured your tone was flat and void.

"Real reassuring there, sergeant," Gaz added. Simultaneously, the three of you let out some laughs, albeit small ones. "Did they tell you how long you'd be staying here before you could go on missions?"

Memories of the nurse's words had you groaning miserably, "a few months, at least. There's still a lot of variables with this." You felt like directly mentioning the nurse's comment about how intertwined your tail was would've been a bad move. Experiments have their kinks, after all. "At least I've got company," you shrugged off your previous frustration before sending a smile to Soap, "pretty entertaining company too, it seems."

"Always gettin' into trouble doesn't mean I'm entertainment," he playfully spat back.

"I don't know MacTavish, the lieutenant seems to have it out for you. You pick his nerves too often for anyone to get bored watching it," Gaz throws in.

"See? It's two against one! For someone with soap as a field name, you sure are bad at slipping out of situations," you sent a shit-eating grin to the mohawk-donning sergeant. He scoffed but sent a smirk of his own back at you.

"Not all of 'em, you'll see when you're finally on the field with me and the team."

"I'm sure I will," you responded as you moved to throw out your empty plate. "This was a good meal and a great chat, but I need rest. It's been hours." You don't wait for approval before turning and heading for where Gaz had gestured to personal quarters earlier, but you made sure to wave and call a "catch up with you boys later," over your shoulder.

------

Defeated and harsh sighs pushed their way up your throat as you closed the door to your personal quarters. This was your room, yet it looked just as plain as the rest of the halls of the base. At least your stuff had been very kindly dropped off for you already. You made quick work of adjusting the space to be as close to your own as possible. Personal trinkets, photographs, posters, and other small decorations littered the walls and desks alike when you finished. It was nothing too much- certainly not close to what you had on your own room at home- but it was nice at the same time.

Finishing making the bed was what had you deciding to take a shower. The switches were easy enough to figure out once you entered the bathroom, and before long you were under a stream of comfortably warm water. It had been awhile since you got to properly bathe, since you were in too much pain directly after the surgery to do anything other than sponge clean. You hadn't been allowed to do that yourself, either. Your tail couldn't be disturbed nearly at all for the first two weeks, back when you were still being held at the hospital. Memories flooded you as you washed yourself up.

You hissed in pain as the nurse gently adjusted your tail here and there. Even the slightest movements shot harsh jolts up your spine, but you were sure it'd be worse if you looked over your shoulder and watched all of it happen. You did your absolute best to stay still, contrary to your body's screaming urges.

"That concludes this set of testing," she stated. Her pen scribbles were the only thing that filled the room for a moment before she continued, "I'll send the next batch of staff in now."

You snapped yourself out of it, quickly disabling the faucet and stepping out of the shower before you could remember anything else. Fatigue blanketed itself around you and burrowed into the warmth of the clothes you changed into. A yawn pried your mouth open as you settled into your bed and carefully pulled your blanket over your body. It didn't take you long to fall asleep after that.

Read the next chapter here

[strawberryblondebutch]

before the season starts, do you have predictions based on the current rosters/draftees? who do you think will be standout players? who might have the best season? etc etc

Making me flex my creds after a couple bourbons, I see you!

The Good: Boston is the team to beat this year. They didn't lose any of their stars this year (to retirement or free agency), they got my No. 1 pick of the draft in Hannah Bilka, and Frankel/Soderberg still make the best one-two goalie tandem in the league. The only question mark on the roster is if the new-look D corps can take some of the pressure off the goalie.

Montreal didn't tweak much of their roster, nor did they have to. ARD is aging out of her prime, but you've got a window there with her, MPP, and Stacey that you need to maximize. Hope that you can get a draft seed that doesn't rematch you against Boston and maximize what you can get from your role players. O'Neill was sneaky good last year and is only 26.

The Bad: Toronto is going to regress. You can bookmark this and come back to clown on me if they get the top seed again, but I don't see the pieces lining up for a second year in a row. Campbell isn't a strong enough goalie to stand on her head every game, and they were carried by an offense that will take a hit as Spooner works her way back from major surgery. I don't expect her to hit the wall as hard as, say, Tyler Seguin did after his season from hell a couple years ago, but you never want to be in a spot where your sparkplug is a step behind. (At the time of this post, Toronto also only has five goalies under contract, which... remember what I just said about Soupy standing on her head? Yeah.)

Ottawa has one big regression candidate as well, and that's Maschmeyer. Masch not only has the most mileage on her body from last season (not her fault, Abstreiter was working through injury) but she has a newborn at home, and I anticipate the Cole Hamels problem coming into play. Hamels, for those who didn't follow the Phillies in the late aughts, had a newborn at home right before the 2009 playoffs and suddenly forgot how to pitch, because he was sleeping maybe two hours a night. I think the Charge knew Masch was primed to take a step back, and that's why they swung for Gwyneth Philips in the draft. Philips was lights out in college - not sure how she'll adjust to senior-level play.

The Ugly: Let's talk about the elephant in the room that is Minnesota. A title hangover is real, and it's made worse by the behind-the-scenes drama. When I say that I expect Britta Curl to be a liability for the Frost, I'm not just talking about her Twitter personality. I had the misfortune of watching her on the Badgers for five years, and she may have decent counting stats, but I noticed a selfish, whiny player, which carried over her to her national team play. On D, you're expecting Clare Thompson to be a major contributor after an extended break from competitive play. The one good thing you can say about Minnesota is that Heise is finally healthy. You can't tell me that AC injury wasn't bugging her the back half of last season. I do think Taylor needs to add one step to her game, and it's physicality. A lot of that was being snakebitten by injury, but she has the frame of a power forward, and she needs to be throwing her weight around like Knight does.

And, last but unfortunately least... New York. For what it's worth, they will get a Fillier deal done now that they've indicated they're open to a shorter contract. I really like the Schroeder/Levy tandem. The coaching change will do them well. Now that I've given them their flowers, I need to be mean for a second. The Sirens do not have a player who can quarterback their offense. I love Alex Carpenter deeply, but she thrives as a second choice. She buries the greasy goals that snipers and true playmakers leave out for her. Abby Roque is the same way. That was my worry about taking Fillier 1OA - Princeton fucked her up. They took a dynamic, play-driving forward and made her a passive floater. Now she's on a team of people who hang around the zone, waiting for something to happen.

Players to Watch: I'm excited to see what Izzy Daniel can do with competent players around her. Her counting stats in her Patty Kaz year weren't great, but that'll happen when you're dragging along a husk of a team. Minnesota must have seen something in Hymlarova that I didn't. I've watched a lot of St. Cloud State hockey, and they're. Well. Not terribly great. Brooke McQuigge was sneaky good for Clarkson, perennial thorn in the rest of the NCAA's side. Elle Hartje has a good hockey IQ and 200-foot vision (though she doesn't solve New York's dynamo problem). Anna Wilgren adapted very well to Mark Johnson's system last year, which shows an adaptability that will come in handy in the pros.

[lycandrophile]

i totally understand why some people have read my posts about my recovery experience and been a bit freaked out by it if they haven't gotten top surgery themselves yet, and i also totally understand other people who have had top surgery wanting to reassure those people so they don't get scared out of having top surgery.

what i don't love is when, in an attempt to be reassuring, other people who have had top surgery say "well, my experience was much easier than this and yours might be too. don't be scared of having this kind of recovery, because you might not!"

if you had a super smooth top surgery recovery, i'm so happy for you and i'll be the first to admit that i envy you. i'm genuinely glad you got lucky! but i also know that, when i was preparing for top surgery, i wanted to know how to prepare for if i did have a rougher time and need more support, because being pleasantly surprised by a better time than you expected is much easier than being unpleasantly surprised by difficulties no one prepared you for. trying to find out how to prepare and being met with varying degrees of "don't worry, that didn't happen to me" was infuriating. the chorus of "that didn't happen to me" didn't do anything for me when one day post-op it took three people to figure out how to lift me into a sitting position without hurting me, and i never want anyone to find themselves in a situation like that totally unprepared. i worked really hard to get ready because i'm disabled and knew my body never has a chill reaction to anything, and i want other people to be able to prepare themselves too, whether they have a specific reason to or not.

not to mention, nothing in my experiences so far has been some worst case scenario that you should pray never happens to you. none of the things i've described in my posts have been complications; it's all just natural parts of recovering. every single time my surgeon has seen me, she's assured my that i'm healing perfectly so far. so yeah, things have been rough, but this isn't a horror story that i'm telling. it's not a warning or a cautionary tale. it's all totally normal and expected, even if it is more intense than some people's experiences. it just doesn't feel great to have my experience treated as something awful when it's all just part of the process.

the confidence that comes with knowing what could happen and feeling ready to face it is such a powerful thing, and i want people to be able to have that going into their surgery. i want them to be able to trust in their knowledge of what could happen and feel equipped to handle whatever comes their way. i want them to know that it'll be worth it in the end, even if it's hard for a while. i want them to know that top surgery is a wonderful thing and is worth doing, even if it's a rough experience, and that they can have a hard time and still come out the other side thrilled with the outcome. i want them to be able to look that fear in the face and say "yeah, maybe it'll suck for a few weeks, but then i'll be so much happier for the entire rest of my life, so fuck it, let's do it."

if i've learned anything over the past week, it's that top surgery is scary but it's also so worth it. if it would make your life better, go for it. i promise, the fear will be worth it. and honestly? a lot of the scary shit isn't nearly as scary once you've experienced it and learned how to work with it.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not letting my parents have a say in my name and for still being mad at them years later?

I (19m) am a trans man who came out to my parents at around age 14 with my chosen name already picked out and everything. I chose a name that started with the same first letter as my deadname even though I didn't really care about that because I had heard that some parents got upset if you disrespected the name they had chosen for you at birth.

Truthfully, my coming out was a bit awkward because I couldn't bring myself to tell them in person. They found out when I wrote my new name on a poster board for a science project I had to present to all of the parents, but after all of the standard questions about whether I was sure and whether I was sure I was sure it seemed like they were accepting of my gender. After the fact though, they kept calling me my deadname (which I was mostly chill with dealing with I could understand needing an adjustment period) and when they weren't calling me by my deadname, they were calling me Colin, aka not the name I had chosen.

Turns out, that's what I would've been called if I had been birthed with a Y chromosome because my dad wanted to pay respects to my grandmother who people keep comparing me to (another thing I don't really like but whatever) and that's close to her name. Sucks to be my parents though because no offense to people named Colin but that's one of the worst names I can think of so I wasn't having it.

For months my parents continued to refuse to acknowledge my chosen name and would either call me by my deadname or call me Colin in an attempt to get me to start answering to it like some kind of pet. After crying in front of them multiple times and refusing to talk to them, my parents finally gave in and while they still frequently deadnamed me they let me use the name I chose and stopped shoving Colin down my throat.

Even after their concession though, I know they've never fully accepted me and they cut corners so they can be "pg" while still disrespecting me. It's been years but my mother still brags to me about how she's so good at not misgendering me because she only uses they/them or refuses pronouns altogether when talking about me. (which is really crazy because you'd think she'd be able to respect my friends with they/them pronouns but no such luck)

Recently, I had a conversation with my father about why I had chosen the name I did and he said he wanted to have more input on the name. I replied that what they did was really hurtful and he said that we were all going through changes which I replied to by simply saying "Wonderful" and leaving because I had nothing constructive to say and imo I think I should get an apology before I'm expected to be more than passive aggressive. My parents say that I'm "keeping grudges" and that I "never give them any grace" and they think now that they've let me get top surgery I should just let it go.

TLDR; AITA for not wanting to be named Colin and still being pissed at my parents for trying to force it even though it's years later?

What are these acronyms?

[reorientation]

I'm ftm and I've been on HRT for 5 years, had top surgery and I generally pass really well. My passport says I'm male, too. But until very recently, I never even saw a real cock in person, despite being a fairly horny person - I've only had sex with two people, both afab and transmasc as well. Ironically, I was the dom-ish one in both of these relationships, too.

But... I kept spending a lot of time online browsing through humiliation and misgendering porn. Reddit, tumblr, all that stuff. I kept fantasizing about being used like that. The rougher the better. I've got so many fantasies about it.

It took me a long time to finally install grindr. First, I chickened out and uninstalled it. And then installed again. Uninstalled. Installed.

And one night, around midnight, I started writing with someone. He lived 5 minutes from me. Told me I could come for a quick discreet fuck, just that, like I'm a fleshlight. And... I did. I went out, came to his house, got bent over and for maybe 8 minutes, he fucked my pussy, groped my ass and made me feel like a toy.

I loved it.

I didn't even get to cum, obviously. He didn't even ask for my name until afterwards. And then I told him to hit me up if he ever needs to unload again. It was my first cock ever, first one I've seen and first one I've let inside my most private parts, and the first cock even saw me as a fleshlight because that's how I advertised myself.

I kept grindr on my phone after that. I'm not using it too much, but it's there, waiting for me. And I did have a few more encounters after this one. I guess it awoken the slut inside me...

While this first guy used a condom, I was quick to find a second one. And I was so horny that I let him cum inside me (he even took some pics). I'm not on any contraception apart from T, which isn't contraception, and I'm scared like hell of getting pregnant. So afterwards, I had an awkward pharmacy talk, because I came in and said 'I need emergency contraception', they asked if it's for me, they stared at me and said 'it's for females'. I didn't sleep at all this night (because he was too busy with my body...) and I stood there like a dumb bitch for a few seconds while the guy (he came with me) said 'he's female' and that unlocked something in my brain and I said I'm trans.

Today, I might get fucked raw by another guy again. I had enough brains to get on birth control after that awkward pharmacy talk but apparently not enough brains to stop offering my cunt to strangers...

Oh also it's the ftm who just send you a long ask about fucking people from grindr and having an awkward pharmacy talk and possibly fucking another stranger tonight, I thought I should add some kind of name so you know who I am so uhmmm I guess my deadname would be a good fit and knowing you know it along with the fact that I'm offering my pussy to strangers will be kinda hot. So hi, I'm Alice uhh, and nobody used this name for me in years...

🎵One pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small 🎵

Except for you, Alice, I suppose it's "keeps you small" - without that little pill, you might already be swelling. 🖤

Sometimes things happen very fast, don't they? You hadn't even seen a cock in real life, for all those years, and then just a few days after you sent your first Grindr message, you were out in public listening to the man who'd just fucked his cum into you tell a stranger that you're female.

How did it feel to have them looking at you, Alice? To feel their eyes on you and realize that they knew you had a fresh load of cum inside your pussy. To realize that after all your efforts to pass, you still ended up having to admit that you have a fertile womb, and that a real man had put his seed into it.

It felt good, didn't it? Being a cumdump, and having them know it. Being humiliated in public because you'd been so desperate to give your pussy to a stranger. Having them see right through your identity to the needy little cunt underneath.

But maybe they're not seeing through anything. You've been dreaming of "misgendering" and letting men use you as a fleshlight without even asking your name. Maybe this is your new identity - not a man, just a needy little cunt.

[seeminglydark]

I'm in love with Caro's style! It's a super cool mix of masc, fem, and vaporwave kind of look. As an enby who, at first, thought I had to look a certain way after coming out as non binary, I was wondering how Caro found their style after they started transitioning and figuring out who they were as a person.

Hello! So I did draw an entire four page little comic thingy to answer this, but I'm going to post it tomorrow cuz I wanted to draw a cute little cover for it ha. Figured I would answer you in text today though, and then you can have the visual tomorrow <3 First thing I'm going to say is that there is no 'certain way to look' for any gender identity or sexuality, cuz thats important, for those who dont wanna read through this text dump. Dress how you want forever.

SO! *rubs hands together* how Caro found their style! Background to those who havent read my comics, Caro grew up as a super high femme kid with crazy helicopter parents who controlled every aspect of their life, including how they dressed. They participated in pageants, modeling and wore a LOT of pink. Not that Caro didn't like pink, they did, but they liked purple better.

After Sully (highschool sweetheart) left, and Caro was on their own, they cut their hair off in a fit of rage and suddenly had to grow up real quick because they were on their own. Whats that got to do with fashion, RJ? Everything, dear reader! When they left, they had a bunch of Sullys shirts and his battle jacket. All 10 sizes too big of course, so paired the oversized tops with their own jeans, workout shorts etc. They had their cheer sneakers. And that is what they wore for a few months, til they got a job at the local gas station. The gas station employees were like, what is going on here with this little girl wearing too big clothes with a fucked up haircut, so, they pitched together and got this kid a proper haircut, during which Caro tearfully explains they arent a girl at all, they dont know what they are and everything is very scary and please dont fire them. Bev, one of their older co-workers decides they need better clothes and takes them to Seattle to thrift! Caro never thrifted in their life and found themself enamored with tacky 80's clothes and patterns, bright colors, funny tee shirts, etc. They worried, because maybe that wasnt what a boy would wear. Bev tells them theres no such thing as what a boy or a girl would wear, something Caro had never heard before, and that gives them mental permission to gleefully grab all the things they never got to wear growing up. They looked like a roller rink carpet threw up on them. they loved it.

The Gas Station Adults buy them a jacket that fits as well, GasCo purple of course, with their chosen name on the name tag. a symbol of acceptance. Caro started hearing things about genderfluid and nonbinary, and looking into what that meant, and what it could mean for them. Their podcast project, Mil-Liminal goes viral. Goldie, their agent, helps them get on low t. they realize how much fun body hair is and LOOK they can wear crop tops to show off their new tummy trail while still hiding their boobs. Whats even more fun? Getting tattoos. Taking their body back. Making themself into the person THEY want to see, and whats makes them the most happy. Still looking like an arcade carpet threw up on them, still loving it. They get top-surgery. Goldie asks them if they want to do a public face reveal. They've kept themself hidden this entire time, and realize they dont want to do that anymore. They shouldnt have to. They want to show the world this person theyve become. Which also means choosing a signature look for Mil-Liminal.

A Mix of their Highschool Varisty Jacket, and their GasCo Jacket. Sneakers. A nod to the pieces of clothing they always felt comfortable in.

Shorts and crop tops or mesh tops. Show off the tattoos, and the scars they earned becoming the person theyve always been.

Wear their identity on their sleeve, because not everyone can, but they are in a position where they want to make a difference and be seen for those who cant, cuz they know how it feels to be lost and scared and not have any idea how to move forward. Let their voice BE a voice.

A SnapBack. A call back to the first date with their highschool sweetheart, who listened, and put his hat on them and took them out and let them be themself, and loved them for it.

The most important thing to take from this anon, is that there is no Look. There is no way to dress or act or look if you're non binary, its not fashion. The same way clothing has no gender, anyone can wear whatever the fuck makes them happy. Put clothes on that, when you look in the mirror, you feel comfortable and happy. Its a very personal thing, and its about YOU, and how you feel. and your gender journey. Gender and Sexuality is as vast a spectrum as the human condition.

Thank you so much for the ask and inspiring me to make a look book and fashion journey post, I'll put it up tomorrow <3