#and there's other conditions that make that stuff bothersome

[theultimatepumpkinpie]

I'm so fucking sick of people putting flashing lights and colors in things with no fucking care in the world for other people. There is literally an unskippable ad on the curse forge launcher that features an ass load of rapidly flashing lights for an extended period of time.

[thatscarletflycatcher]

A starter guide on Ubuntu-Linux, from a non-techie to other non-techies

Preamble (a.k.a. the story/rant before the recipe, feel free to skip or not as you wish)

Several years ago, I got a laptop for college purposes; it ran on Windows 10 with decent reliability for a few years, but then it started getting slower and slower, the bloatware (programs and apps that companies pre-install in your devices that you cannot remove) was just tremendously bothersome, my computer would start updating all of a sudden and be at it for hours, etc, etc.

And so my dad suggested I switched to Ubuntu (he had been using it for a few years himself at that point), and... I'm not going to lie to you. I was scared. Was it going to be too different? Wouldn't it require far more computer knowledge than what I already had? Wouldn't the learning curve be too steep? Wouldn't I be unable to do a lot of the stuff I used to do?

Years later my answer is: I don't miss Windows. The learning curve wasn't nearly as steep as I thought it would be. I got acclimated to the system within a couple weeks. There are parts of Ubuntu itself that aren't that up to date (mainly stuff about medium-advanced audio management, streaming through Discord, and semi-pro to pro levels of photo processing), but I have managed to work around most of it with little difficulty (the image processor I use for making gifsets is proprietary sofware --the code of it is not open for transformation by third parties-- but I can work with it mostly fine through a tool called Wine). If what you do with your computer is mainly internet surfing, document writing, listening to music and playing videos (and similar basic stuff) you are unlikely to have any problems working with Ubuntu. But the best, best, best part of it for me? No bloatware. No 8256754 attempts at getting my personal information or tracking me. My computer is fast, as fast as it was when I first got it (the couple times it broke in the last two years had nothing to do with software: it was first the hard drive, and then the fan). No computer deciding to update and leave me waiting whenever it wants. And honestly, that makes every little inconvenience I have faced in Ubuntu worth it, very much worth it.

Linux has a problem

And it is that a loud section of its userbase is made up by techies who have a very unrealistic notion about how much the average person knows about computers.

A few months ago there was a post making the rounds, where OP explained that you can put ubuntu in a pen drive and carry it with you (yes, it is possible and relatively easy to do) and there was a bunch of people in the notes explaining how much better it is to pick Linux Mint, or use a raspberri pi, as if people who don't know you can carry Ubuntu in a pen drive could understand what they are talking about.

My goal with this post is to explain some of the very basics in an accessible language. I will probably use inacurate and generalized language in it for the sake of explaining simply, and will focus on Ubuntu because it is what I know. If you are a Linux fan who loves Linux Mint or whichever other, go ahead and make your own post.

Definitions, yada, yada

So, what is Linux? in plain terms, it is an operating system (Windows and Mac are operating systems) with several variations called distributions. Think of it as Linux being like a family, and the distributions being the members of the family. Some """famous""" members of the Linux family are Ubuntu, Debian, and Red Hat. One of the main distinctive characteristics of Linux distributions at the basic level is that they are free software: it can be used, modified, and redistributed under certain conditions, by everyone.

Where do you get Ubuntu, and how to install it?

You go to www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop. There you will see two items: the first one is a "LTS" (long term support) and the other isn't. What is the difference?

Ubuntu releases a new version every six months, one in april and one in october. So, for example, the version released in april this year is Ubuntu 22.04, also named Jammy Jellyfish, and the one released in october, Ubuntu 22.10 is called Kinetic Kudu. Every two years, in april, a LTS version is released. Jammy Jellyfish is a LTS release. That means it has a 10 years stay, and is a stable, well tested and tweaked release.

What I'm saying here is, get the LTS release.

When you click download, you will see an ISO file of about 4gb. Save it to your hard drive, and get yourself a 4gb or bigger pen drive that is empty and you don't mean to use for anything else.

To install Ubuntu in that pen drive, follow the instructions here. They are short and simple, and the whole process shouldn't take more than half an hour (probably around 15-20 minutes).

Now that you are in possession of Ubuntu-on-a-stick, you can go ahead and reboot your pc, with the stick still connected. Usually the computer itself will recognize the system and open it, or ask you between the two options of system. This is not installing Ubuntu yet, but you need to be careful.

Next it will show you a menu with two options: to install Ubuntu, or to try it out. DO NOT CLICK ON INSTALL UBUNTU IF YOU STILL HAVE UNBACKED STUFF OR ARE UNSURE YOU WANT UBUNTU YET. It will format your hard drive and all of that will be lost. The try option, on the other hand, works from the stick and does not format your hard drive.

Try Ubuntu will allow you to see how the basic system would look upon installation, and it will also be what you'd use if you were carrying Ubuntu on a stick to use in other computers. You cannot really modify much there, but if you choose to install the system, it is very, very, very customizable. You can tweak it and add and change the position of menus, clock, desktop icons (At first I thought you couldn't have those because they don't appear there by default! But you can! You just need to add them yourself).

To install Ubuntu on your computer, follow the instructions here. The process, again, is described short and simple, it doesn't take long, and the thing itself guides you step by step.

It is possible to make a disk partition, and have Windows in one part of the hard drive, and Ubuntu on the other. I myself have never done this and don't know how it is done. But if you want to try that, there are many tutorials on the internet about how to do it, I just don't have a specific one to recommend.

A couple more things

Once your new system is up and running, and you are customizing it, there are a couple basic things to know that are helpful:

Between the programs that come with the system, there's one called terminal. Terminal allows you to write direct commands to your computer. For example, instead of opening a program from its icon, you can type the name of the program (for example, "VLC") in terminal, and it will open it.

Similarly, you have two ways to install programs: one, like windows, by downloading the package and opening it with double click, the other by writing in the terminal "sudo apt-get install [name of package]". Some packages will already be in the cloud in what is called repositories, and just by typing "sudo apt-get install [name of program]" terminal will download and install it for you.

Like Windows, Ubuntu will give you messages about updates being available; unlike windows, you can install those whenever you want, and they run on the background (you can use your pc while it updates).

Alternatively you can just update your computer whenever you want by opening terminal and writing "sudo apt update" and then "sudo apt upgrade". I myself do that every day.

There are a few programs like get-iplayer (to get stuff from BBC Sounds) and youtube-dl (to get stuff from YT) that work in terminal only.

Terminal is very cool and if you are like me it will make you feel like a hacker in a 90s spy movie.

www.askubuntu.com is a forum that has answers for everything you might face as a problem or challenge while using Ubuntu. It is great.

If you do give Ubuntu a try and have any relatively basic questions I can answer about it, feel free to shoot an ask or message me, and I will help if I can!

[hectorthedoggo]

part 2/9 of the fic!! And, i decided to write kazui instead of Mahiru because i realized that mahiru's in a wheelchair. but i also don't have a clue on what's going on with that man. so i may or may not just make two shidou parts.

again, this is unedited and stuff so it may be a little confusing. I also haven't written Yuno's perspective. at all. so uhm bear with me idk her character that well

The Milgram prison was usually pretty cold, but today, it was cold in both senses. Yuno’s straitjacket helped, but her school uniform underneath was not a benefactor in her warmth.

She was fine though, and still got by in her room, under the sheets. Hmm… this is comfortable, but I have to go eat.

She resolved to get out of bed, loosely flattening her hair, tying it up into a ponytail so it wouldn’t be too much of a mess.

Opening the door, she sauntered over to the place where she could prolong her life by another few hours, continuously. Like a little checkpoint.

She came over to grab the food that was left out for her, and that too was cold. At least they thought of me.

She slowly ate it alone. It tastes dull. Who makes this? Whatever, I’m thankful that I’m getting free food.

It was bothersome to go through the motions like this, the prison environment with a tangible fog of depression and despair, but she did it anyway.

A small clinking sounded from outside of the cafeteria. Ah, the warden. I suppose they’re fun to tease.

They stepped in, cape clutched to the areas of their bare skin, until they saw her and let go of it to appear more formal.

She snorted. They’re like an animal standing on its hind legs to appear intimidating. They’re less scary than an everyday person.

They scowled at her. “What’s so funny, Yuno?”

“You!”

Goosebumps formed on their uncovered arm and legs. Do they not have an alternate uniform to wear when it’s cold? “That answer is disrespectful. I will not tolerate it.”

While their words sounded intimidating, they avoided eye contact and their ears turned pink.

“C’mon~ Disrespectful? Stop being so uptight, you’re basically one of us.” She was going for more of a reaction, and she got it.

“I’m the warden! I- you- you know that.”

“Yeah, yeah. Keep repeating that enough and maybe it’ll come true one day. I too am, deemed by the stupid voices, ‘not a prisoner’, but look at me.” She indicated the straitjacket.

The voices had been less chatty today, but they seemed to have been bothering Futa more nowadays.

Es froze up at the question to their authority, and clenched their fist. “I’m not talking to you anymore. I don’t have time for your antics.”

“Hmm~ have fun freezing to death! I hope your room has good heating! If not, well, I think that’s one of many of Milgram’s flaws!” This’ll get a rise out of them. I need a good laugh.

They turned around to face her, scowling. “Milgram isn’t flawed. They’re just… busy.”

Wait, that’s actually concerning. She dropped her teasing tone. “Wait, do they seriously not have heating? Do you have no other clothes you can wear?”

Es bit their lip. “No.”

Jeez, that’s depressing… Wait, aren’t 15 year olds prohibited by law to work in conditions like that?

“That’s bad working conditions… you’re gonna catch a cold.”

“Stop being concerned, I’m perfectly fine.”

“Are you?”

“I have my ways of keeping warm.” Hm, like how? What could they have at their disposal?

Yuno ran through a list of things they would have access to in her mind. “Wait, so… blankets?”

Their eyes widened, and Yuno knew she had gotten it. “Haha, so you do use blankets. That’s kinda cute…”

They glared daggers at her, and quickly grabbed their food, a slight shiver going through their body.

They were pouting as they turned back to go back to their room. Hey, that’s kinda like how Mu does it… interesting.

A little image of Es swaddled in blankets, doing work with their little pouty face and rat’s nest of hair came to her mind, and she giggled.

Es purposefully bumped her shoulder on the way out.

The lingering smile that came from the earlier interaction faded away into a frown. 

It may be funny now, but are they okay?

Only time can tell, I suppose.

[krs724490]

9/22/2024

its the first day of fall. my practices have been out of practice. I'm realizing that so much of my "work" has not been work. I am the spiritual bypasser of spiritual bypassers. I definitely witness my emotions and do not allow them through my body. I have been obsessed with the witness but I had no idea the way I wasn't allowing myself to express. the way I've been shaming my emotions for occurring because I don't see them as valid.

shame on me for being insecure about graham. I want to be the perfect girlfriend and my stuff gets in the way. I feel shame for not being able to be that steady, understanding presence that he is for me. and I wonder why a lot of females have insecure, anxious attachment styles... its because of society. we were conditioned to latch onto a man, I think even our systems are set up for it. no wonder we aimlessly follow their every move. the systems are failing us. I dont want my daughter to grow up thinking she is at the whim of any boy. I dont want her to bend for anyone. In fact. I hope she's lesbian lolol.

The battle is within me. I feel attached and resistant to the attachment and unaware of what to do with it. how to become more secure. how to not care. how to not feel. it all seems so counterintuitive. I must feel but not so much that I act from a place of ill intention. I must feel but I must not cling to the feeling. just enough to healthily touch without dragging it along.

its strange how I feel the urge to write when I'm out and about, as if Ill have so much to say. and now I sit here not sure what even makes sense to write. I guess it would be good to acknowledge truman. I have an attraction, physical attraction to him. and that turns into an emotional curiosity and a cognitive investment. he lent me his copy of the bhagvad gita of which I already own the exact same copy. there is a part of me that wonders if I had a partner who understood the gita, if life would be richer, if we could connect deeper. especially being with a partner who is more detached and seemingly less emotionally present. when truman offers me the gita, I wonder. when I see brian's tattoo of buddha on his shin, I wonder. but I also in a twisted way, know I was meant to have a partner who is not spiritual. to humble me in the way I think spirituality holds all power. to show me that there are other ways to be a good human that are just as right and valid. he is perfect for me.

I hate feeling like I have so much work to do. realizing how I have not felt my emotions. I have only felt a fraction of what I was meant to feel, thats heartbreaking. I cannot believe I didn't allow myself to let it out. today I am mourning every emotion that I did not allow through. every moment of silence where I felt I could not speak up. not honoring the truth of my emotions. that includes being honest with graham about my emotions no matter how ashamed of them I am. the more I cover them up the more they fester and I am so blessed that he gives me the space to air them out without holding them against me. do you know how rare that is? or it feels as if it is so. I hate how he is so open about this. its bothersome the way he handles everything perfectly. that is part of my resistance to him now.

we can also talk about the way I am settled into this routine enough to find its exhaustions and pitfalls. whenever i have a new beginning I start strong because I am hyperfocused on the potential of what I could do in my routine. and now that I am settled in I can see the ways that I am able to poke holes. the sugar comes back. the frustration comes back. it is a true cycle. it feels that a new beginning strikes a chord in me that wakes me up. a break up, a new job, a new house. and in a weird way I am able to start again. breaking up with graham would be nice because I see it as a giant energy boost to take a look at myself and reset. only this time I can't escape. this time I know I can't leave and that is also an odd feeling. odd to settle in for awhile.

the river of transitions presentation was fun for me to give. I do feel this is an area of life where I've excelled and I'm proud of myself because I followed my heart with my careers. mo asked me if I've always been this confident moving through my transitions and its so funny, I told her it doesn't feel that way. I suppose in hindsight I realize how much all of these transitions benefitted me, but while I was in them I was unsure. I guess I dont see myself as confident, but it was nice to be reflected back to in that way. I wanted to tell her if only you could see how lonely its been. If only you could see how self centered and stupid I feel for pursuing a selfish profession. If only you could see.

Lately I've really been feeling my age. I feel 26. I feel younger than the people around me who have done a lot of work on themselves. I feel naive to the realities of the world. to racism and using different pronouns and saving the planet. I dont know where I've been all these years. I needed this sort of education. this sort of wake up and its disarming, to put down who you thought you were. to feel like you dont know anything. I feel like I should be a blonde 23 year old with the sort of brain I have. I think all this neurosis is the result of waking up. of realizing where I am and how far there is to go while simultaneously realizing its all right here and will come as it does.

I pray that I am able to protect myself from my own attachment to graham and the ego that keeps me small. I am inspired by my classmates who share so honestly, openly, vulnerably, about where they're at. I dont want to raise my hand and tell everyone that I feel young and behind again. I've always been younger than everyone else and punching above my weight. but I skipped over some things. I was not meant to jump. and I dont want to try to anymore.

I probably have about 5 million attempts at a new beginning. we pause here to wipe the slate clean and acknowledge that this moment, right here right now, is the beginning of everything in your life that's to come... its actually shocking how little I practice what I preach and how much I hold the vision for others but not for myself.

fall is a time of transition and change. today is the first day off fall, 2024 and I do want to take it and run with it. its so nice to be at this point in the year and to be able to envision the rest of it. to be able to see the finish line. fall represents transition and this is perhaps the largest transition I've been through in a long time. this is adulthood. this is grad school. this is setting myself up for the rest of my life. I can feel the way that I am settling into what is. I am no longer running. I want to sit with my neurosis and allow them fully in. I want to sit with my joy and let it fully in. I want to sit with graham and not run from the work it takes to be in a relationship. I want to be in the process of naropa of what it means to be a student there. I am not looking to the next, I am right here.

today was icky. and I knew I would pick myself back up and make sense of it. I wonder how much of my food stuff is spiritual bypassing "today I did not have it in me to avoid it" that is a tough statement. I'm not sure my full relationship to it. there is a place that I can arrive where I am in my spirituality, a place that can sit with these unpleasant feelings and allow them. a place where I can make different decisions because there is space. space to feel and understand where these emotions come from. space where there is so much grace and love and connection, understanding. a place that wants to tend to the wounds. genuinely wants to show up for them. its so beautiful. Ive been there before. I'm grateful to it.

I think I can leave this here. if you journal long enough it all trickles out, everything this that needs to be addressed. I trust. I will finish with, I trust.

[hairstyleforteen]

Best Conditioners For Oily Scalp and Dry Ends — OUR BEST OF 5!

Maybe it's time for you to search for the new best conditioners for oily scalp and dry ends. Having an oily scalp and dry ends is the worst thing to have. The feeling of greasy and sticky as if there's a grease oil in your hair is what actually what it feels like to have those hair problems. Even if you have your best shampoo, it seems impossible to mend that excess oil. Maybe your hair care product is weak enough in trying to rebalance and cleanse your scalp and hair. One of the main reasons why people still experience dry ends and oily scalp is the lack of proper hair maintenance and using the incorrect shampoo for their hair. On that note, worry no more. Because we are reviewing some of the best conditioners that are currently available on the market right now. So, begin your hair maintenance with some of our selected shampoos. You should use a hair conditioner Maybe among the reason why you are having an oily scalp and dry end is that you seldom use hair conditioners as your daily routine hair care. Chances are, you are missing some of the important stuff to make your hair healthy. Because using a hair conditioner on a regular basis is a must. Applying a conditioner to your hair is crucial in preserving your hair healthy. Because a hair conditioner is responsible for keeping your hair bouncy, strong hair, nourished, prevents excess oil in the scalp, and hydrated. A shampoo is not enough in order to maintain your hair's quality. That's why hair conditioners are created. They are made to fill the gap where the shampoos missed the spot. Because shampoos generally clean the hair by removing dirt and other elements. Also, shampoos can remove the natural moisture content of the hair. A hair conditioner will help restore the lost moisture and nutrients of the hair and gives nourishment and deep moisturizing to the hair. Moreover, a hair conditioner is most needed for those people who are experiencing dry ends and oily scalps. That's why it's crucial to have a hair conditioning product. Because this will restore your hair's productive and healthy looks, plus it keeps the scalp fresh, nourished, and oil-free. Why you are having an oily scalp The worst things we hate during the morning are feeling the grease around our face and also the hair that feels greasy and icky even though you are well aware that you have taken a shower. But having greasy hair is absolutely normal because the hair naturally secretes oil especially when it's hot weather or after a hard workout. It only gets bothersome if it's producing too much oil to the point is getting greasy and sticky. Good thing that oily scalp can be in your control. Also, it's important that you know what causes your scalp to produce excess oil. We have listed some of the root causes of having an oily scalp. Brushing or touching your hair more often Brushing your hair too often can result in excessive oil production. Especially if you are touching or hair combing it too often. That said, discipline yourself to stop touching or hair combing. Also, you need to leave it be after you style your hair. Because your hand tends to produce sweat and oil which will transfer to your hair and will make your hair oily. It's the product you are using There are some instances that the problem is not the hair itself but on the hair products. Be wary of what products you buy. Don't be swayed by the advertisement about getting your hair super shiny which can lead to greasy hair. Sometimes it's the liquid shampoo or conditioner that is at fault and it may end up in to the appearance of grease. Sometimes it's because of over conditioning Celebrity stylist Philip B. said in an article that over condition will result in greasy hair. To know that your hair is over-conditioned, expect that your hair is limp and too soft, or sometimes it feels thick, heavy, and oily. In order to prevent from over conditioning, be sure to apply it only on your mid to ends not from root to ends. Your diet Show me your diet and I show you your hair. Because your overall diet will greatly reflect on your hair. So, if you are eating too many oily foods such as fast food burgers and fries, you will likely to produce more oil on your scalp. Other than that, eating too much omega 6 fatty acids. Though it's healthy but when it exceeded to normal, it can affect your health and even your hair. That's why most experts agree that having a healthy and balanced diet will make your hair healthy. It's not always the conditioner or shampoo that are always to be blamed but even your lifestyle too. Your pillow It's important that you regularly wash your pillow sheets. But sadly it's a chore that most people often neglect. The fact that your pillow absorbs the oils from your hair and your face and even the environment. So, don't be surprised whenever you feel that your hair is always greasy in the morning. Keep in mind that you need to properly wash them and dry them under the sun. Why you are having dry ends Ever wondered why your hair feels brittle and dull-looking? There are various reasons why dry ends on your hair happen. Most often these hair are prone to damage and are hard to comb. We have listed some of the common reasons why you are having dry ends. Using heat styling tools more too often Heat styling tools are great for heightening your hairstyle but if you use them too often, then there will be a problem. That problem will always be dull, dry-looking hair. Also, overusing heat styling tools can remove the natural oil in your hair. Using the incorrect styling product for you If you are using a hair styling product that is not suited to your hair type, then you are putting your hair at a greater risk. When selecting your hair product, you will need to make sure that it is designed to your hair type. It's important to read the label first before buying. Also, avoid hair product that uses too much alcohol which will remove the natural oil from your hair and even moisture. Instead, look for products that specifically nourish the hair that features oils from coconut, argan, avocado, etc, which greatly help your dry hair. Consider the environmental factors Such environmental factors that make your hair dry are the cold winds, extreme heat, and low humidity. It's best to wear a hat when it's summer or get a swim cap when you are swimming. You can also apply hair products that offer protection against pollution and other environmental factors. Washing your hair in water that's too hot It's no doubt that having a nice hot shower after a long day of work feels good. However, when it comes to your hair, it's a different story. Exposing your hair is too hot water will make your hair dry and you should keep away from it. Instead, you can exclude your hair if you are going for a hot shower. Or much better if you will have a shower wash with lukewarm water. You can also rinse your hair in cold water which smoothens the rough hair. Best Conditioner For Oily Scalp and Dry Ends — OUR BEST OF 5! Rahua Hydration Hair Conditioner

Our most beloved and number one on the spot is the Rahua Hydration hair conditioner. This may be expensive but it's worth every dime you put into this. It's a premium quality hair care product that will surely make your hair becomes voluminous, silky, and lustrous. It's well-formulated and each ingredient is very beneficial in every way. We all know getting our hair treated in the most ideal way is difficult, but with this, nothing is impossible anymore. If you feel that your hair is dry enough and you want to replenish it in the most possible care, this will do the job. The blends came from Amazonian oils and natural protein bonding. The scent derived from mango and passion fruit which has a tropical aroma. This is capable of smoothening the cuticle, gives adequate hydration, add vibrancy, and prevent frizzy hair. Among the key ingredients includes Morete oil, Rahua (Ungurahua), Sacha Inchi, and organic mango sugars. With premium ingredients included, you know that what your hair will receive is also premium care treatment. What's fascinating about this is it's great for all hair types. All in all, this is our personal favorite because of its capability. We can agree that the price is a bit higher compared to other premium brands. But, what this offers is way more useful than chemically centered conditioners. This will make your dry hair manageable, smoother, healthier, and even glossier. Tru Moroccan Hair Conditioner

Our second product that's worth trying is the Tru Moroccan hair conditioner. Take note that this is manufactured in the USA, so rest assured that what comes in this product is premium and the best. Some say this hair conditioner is a masterpiece that you should try because it is a combination of science and nature which allows your hair to become fully repaired. Also, your hair deserves to have a hair care treatment, and to do that, you will need a premium quality conditioner like this one. So, if you are having a dry and damaged hair, this product is meant for you. Also, you can safely bet on this product because all its ingredients come from plants that are organically grown. Deeply nourishes and also keeps your hair oil to its proper balance. This conditioner has an excellent formula that is perfectly designed for certain kinds of hair types. Among those notable ingredients are olive fruit oil, aloe vera, starflower, sesame, jojoba oil, and coconut oil. This is also perfectly safe because it's nontoxic. All in all, we really liked this product because it's more than a hair product. This helps maintains the earth's environment and ethically made because there are no animals that are subject to test for this. What's also fascinating is that all of their ingredients came from organically grown plants. We strongly suggest this conditioner for oily scalp and dry ends. Just Nutritive Hair Conditioner

Our next best product is the Just Nutritive hair conditioner. This is definitely worth your money because of the amazing features it can do to your hair whether it's oil scalp or a dry ends. The feel of this conditioner is very light and yet leaves your hair incredibly great. Plus, the blends of the oil in this are stunningly amazing. You don't need the top brand conditioners when you have this one. A combination of grapeseed and sunflower oil gives adequate hydration to the hair leaving the hair to look vibrant and feel silky and soft. There's also an inclusion of Jojoba seed and peppermint oils that deeply penetrate the scalp which removes the excess oil. It also has a formulation of basil, tea tree, and lemongrass. That said, Just Nutritive conditioner has an overall excellent ingredients that will be extremely useful to the hair. The scent of this product is a citrus element because of the lemongrass. Rest assured that this product doesn't have any silicones, dyes, and parabens. All in all, what more could you ask in a perfect formula like this one? None. That's why we openly suggest this wonderful product because it's more than a conditioner but a booster in keeping your hair healthy and free from damaged and dry hair, not to mention those excess oils. This will surely purify your hair like it's a rebirth. OGX Hair Conditioner

What you need in your dry and oily hair is a touch of Australian tea tree oil infused with peppermint oils and milk proteins. This may be hard to find but actually, there's a brand that offers this type of formulation and it's undoubtedly excellent for your hair. It's the OGX brand that we are talking about here. This conditioner is very special and highly effective for those type of hair conditioner This hair conditioner is able to moisturize, hydrate, and refresh your hair. Blended with tea tree oil and peppermint which makes it a perfect formula in restoring the hair's shine and healthy from dry and oily hair. It will also remove the frizz on the hair. Perfect for any type of hair which makes it an awesome conditioner. Some notable ingredients include milk protein, tea tree oil, peppermint oil, among others. The scent of this is very enticing which leaves a good smell on your hair and in the bathroom. Another thing is that this excludes sulfate and parabens. All in all, why you should buy this? You should! Because it has a unique blend of ingredients that effectively nourishes and moisturizes the hair. Also, the scent is very appealing and smells fresh, not to mention it really smoothens the hair. No wonder this is among the best conditioners for oily scalp and dry ends. Seaweed Bath Co. Hair Conditioner

Last but not the least, we give you the Seaweed Bath Co hair conditioner. Give your hair a special treat of 65 and more vitamins and minerals which will make your hair healthier and stronger looking hair. The power of the ocean is at your hands now. This is by far one of the best conditioners for oily scalp and dry ends hair. Because it's suitable for all hair types and also the formulation of this is quite remarkable. Formulated with nutrient-rich from harvested Bladderwrack seaweed and also form extracted oil coming from jojoba, coconut, argan, and aloe vera. This will definitely make your oily and dry hair turn into vibrant and healthy-looking. Also, the formula is meant to cleanse and deeply penetrates each hair strands just to bring back the moisture to its glory. It's completely vegan-friendly with plant-based formula without any phthalates, parabens, triclosan, gluten, and dyes. So you know what you are getting. In addition, it great for normal to oily hair as well as other hair types. All in all, if you want an organic hair conditioner that effectively restores your hair's health, then you should definitely check this out. Also, the bottle is made from 100 percent recycled plastic which makes the environment happy. Besides that, it's packed with vitamins and minerals that are crucial to your hair. Benefits of using the best conditioner for oily scalp and dry ends Using a hair conditioner is another powerful tool in order to preserve your hair's beauty and health. Also, they are extremely in so many ways that using them regularly (or depending on the situation) will make your hair in good condition. Apart from that, there are surprising benefits that can be gained through hair conditioning. We have listed some of the common benefits to which it's very surprising to know. Protects your hair cuticles The fact is many people have been using hair conditioners without much clarity on what are the benefits of it. But among the benefits of using the hair conditioner is to protect the cuticles on the hair. That said, hair conditioning products create a defensive layer around the hair cuticles. This sort of protection is used against the foreign elements that might cause damage. These can be gleaned from polluted environments, heat styling products, etc. Hair conditioners also close the cuticle which creates moisture in the hair shaft. A properly sealed cuticle is flexible and soft which is more manageable and easy to care for. Allows the hair to become vibrant The most fascinating thing about hair conditioners is that they help the hair to become presentable and looking fresh and healthy. That means hair conditioner gives your hair a nice shine and vibrant look. Not only that, it will help reduce the frizziness in your hair by eliminating the negative charge on your hair. Also, the benefits of applying a hair conditioner can be seen within minutes. By just applying it for about 2 to 3 minutes, it will leave your hair instantly smooth and shiny. No more dry ends and oily scalp for you and say hello to the world again with your newly gained confidence because of the vibrancy of your hair and because you used the right hair conditioner. Keep your hair moisturized We all know that shampoo can remove dirt and clean your hair almost effectively. But upon the process of applying a shampoo, there's a tendency that not only the dirt will strip off but also the essential oils from your scalp and hair. The use of hair conditioner, it will bring back the needed moisture in your hair strands preventing to end from having a dry scalp. Keep in mind that you need the right conditioner especially for oily scalp and dry ends. Because it will greatly balance the excess oil and rejuvenate the lost moisture which greatly prevents from having dry ends and keeps the hair moisturized and shiny appearance. Minimizes towel damage Drying your hair in a towel may result in damage to your hair depending on the amount of stress you are putting. Also, given the fact that a wet hair means it's in its weakest state, so if you dry your hair with a towel and you squeeze it this will eventually lead to breakage, damage, and even split ends. With the help of hair conditioning, it will protect your hair from huge damage. Another thing that you need to make sure of besides applying a hair conditioner is that you need to properly dry your hair. So, if you are going to use a towel, just damp on it or gently wipe your wet hair. You don't need to be rough about it. Detangles hair strands One of the most excellent benefits of using a hair conditioner is it greatly helps in detangling the hair strands. Your hair becomes dry and rough because of cleansing which has the tendency to entangled quickly and sometimes get stuck up with the other hair. Hair conditioners will greatly help the process of restoring the detangled hair strands and also helps smoothen the hair. Easy to style No more worries about the frizzy, brittle, oily scalp, and dry ends. Because after the use of hair conditioner, you can easily style your hair to whatever hairstyle you want. The fact that your hair will look so lavishly smooth and shiny, it also saves you from post-shower hair treatments. Frequently Asked Questions How often should you use conditioner on your hair? The general rule is that every time you shampoo, you always need to follow a hair conditioner. This is because we don't want to allow the moisture and the oil to be lost. Because it can lead to dryness of hair and scalp that is very itchy and will make your skin flaky causing dandruff. So again, every time you shampoo you should follow it with a hair conditioner. Even the experts have recommended this tip. Should I match my conditioner and the shampoo? Read the full article

[yaytomhiddlestonyay]

capitalism/growth ideology is bad, neoliberalism is bad, austerity is bad, AI is bad, and the future is bad

this is bleak

the luddites were, in general, right

and so were all the people who would have chosen to live simply and peacefully in the distant past

how do we stop this from going any futher

it already went too far a long time ago

Yes fine i know that technology has enabled scientists and psychologists and anthropologists and doctors and dieticians to study human functioning and needs faster/more,

but but...... to have a similar level of good useful knowledge/results/outcomes for human, animal, planet wellbeing in many ways, we could have instead just....

....just not had capitalism and greed and technology and violence disrupt and destroy and degrade and assimilate healthy cultures + systems + lifestyles in the first place

fuckin borg

I suppose.... I suppose a lot of changes bring good as well as bad

Why can't we get our shit together and just codify a bunch of human, animal and planet needs and givens that have to be super carefully protected, like much better/deeper than we currently do or ever have, and include human diversity and community and concepts like in that in a big way,

and then in advance just always disallow any changes or developments to impact those givens, or disallow them to be used in ways or settings that impact those givens...

I suppose maybe i am overlooking/dismissing an obvious human need/maybe human culture/anthropological need

desire for ever-expanding knowledge

and maybe other ones that i can't understand that much or be sympathetic to if i'm not an inventor or engineer

but......

if we could just make the perogative for change and 'advancement' not be greed or profit or growth, and disallow it to be used for that and disallow those things a fair bit, and disallow negative impacts on people or animals or the planet

maybe that's the way

I wonder if tribal elders and sages and wise men and mystics and, well, teenagers and stoners and artists and poets and weirdos, have had this same discussion from the beginning of time

from rocks and flints and implements

to standing upright and carrying stuff

to fashioning objects to carry stuff and alter the environment and use resources and and.......

I hope you're all happy with the back problems and spine problems and neck problems and foot problems from standing upright and carrying stuff.

absolute madness

did i just end up back at tao/yin/yang/duality/alan watts/ lore and mythologies and prometheus and pandora and icarus, and whatever the opposing stories of those were... Are we so dumb now from our technology and our destroyed cultural functions that I dumbly wasnt taught this unsolvable paradox/conundrum via tribal lore and mythology already, instead everybody has to annoyingly and exhaustingly get there on their own

either that or do the bothersome treadmill of seeking money or success or blah blah

what if we finally did fuck up the fundamental nature of humanity and human culture

i would give anything to know all the lore and mythology of any sustainable & humane tribal cultures, and compare it with that of early cities, capitalist/growth civilizations, etc

what if knowledge retention and growth drive is fundamental to humans and human needs

that wish for enough resources for all young, and ease and comfort instead of struggle

and at its problematic level, i guess overemphasis to a problematic degree on abundance, excess, security, control, etc

what if every bird and insect and creature's biology & DNA is constantly desperately trying to evolve towards getting enough resources to raise all young well, instead of losing some, and a magical desire to not be at the mercy of weather conditions or rain level or....stuff, and getting the best mate/gene mix possible, and the best health of you and your kiddos, to go further and better

and the only reason they arent causing havoc in the process is brain's less developed, can't oppose thumb, can't make good implements, can't stand upright and carry stuff.

Well I mean...... nature is kind of horrible

I guess they kind of do miserable havoc

maybe a somewhat alternative to that struggle and certain unpleasant things was tools, agriculture, knowledge, and setting aside resources and land and .... 🙄

and maybe an alternative to watching your offspring struggle was....

marriage, passing down property/wealth, amassing armies or strongmen & building better weapons to beat other assholes, honing knowledge, gathering more and better resources to do this.....

oops accidentally invented civilization/growth/capitalism

Edit:

OK fine i forgot about birth control

and probably a few other things

But those are EXCEPTIONS

[chelleztjs18]

Hello you mrs. does not like sweet things very much and hates ugly fishes robin hood lefty eyebag 😅

Oh no, that sucks about your phone! Hope it is good now and not damaged badly.

Hahahaha yes we talked about your favorite fruit! And you said BANANAAAAAAAA was one of them 🤣

Yeah I'm not sure what the number is but I was able to set up an appointment today before work, so I am finishing this and will leave soon for the eye doctor.

No no ahahahahaha I am dead again. Have you ever watched courage the cowardly dog?? If you have, do you remember the old lady, Muriel??? That's how I imagined what you described hahahahaha with a cane and probably iced coffee in the other hand 🤣🤣

Ooh I see. Is that why you said you are sensitive to noise before? Or is the repetition of sounds just bothersome to you?

Are you going to do surgery for it then?

I used to make notes and detailed stuff about the characters before. But now I just cram everything in my brain. You should write a story about Wanda receiving anonymous messages from a curious george and she slowly falls in love with them hahaha just kidding

Ah that's interesting what your friend said. I think you answered my next question, cause I was going to ask if you were a sub or dom in the relationship, and if you were a top or bottom.

I guess my next question would be, how do you write it?? The description and details is so good, it's crazy. Also, do you get flustered after you write smut?

- CuriousGeorge

hello hello you!

how are you today? and how was your eye doctor appoinment?

the phone is okay, thank god.hahaha. i blow air with hair dryer then put it in rice overnight and it works fine now. :D

hahaha yeesss BANANAAAAAAAA!! *screams like minions"

hahaa yeah i might be like her when i got old. n if i can stay alive till that old, the doctor wouldn't let me drink coffee anymore for my heart.lol. but i know which show u meant.

hmm i dont know if i'm sensitive with noise has anything to do with my hearing problem. buuuutt it's a different condition that i think i have it. It's called Audio Processing Disorder. you can google it. i didnt mean to diagnose myself with it but when i read about it, i have all the symptoms. I'll send u a link of a post in instagram about it that i saw. Here is the link:

maybe someday i will have the surgery. well, you know how expensive medical can be here in US. the doctor wants me to get hearing check again in a year to see if it gets worse that fast or not n see it from there.

hahaha that would be a nice story to write. is wanda going to be a married woman in this fic idea too? :D

oh well, when i was with my girlfriend, i was the top. n but neither of us dom or sub. but if i can be with a woman now, i would love to be with a top dom one. so in conclusion, I'm a switch that lean more to bottom n sub. i dont mind to top n if i have to dom, i probably the soft dom. :D

how do i write my smut? i just try to write it whatever that's in my mind. i write what i thought i would see as if it's in a tv or something. i write what i think that my eyes pay attention to or where my sights change focus to. n i try to write as detail as i can so when people read it they can feel it as if they r in the story or at least as if they are watching it like a movie.

also thank you for the compliments, i appreciate it. I just love writing in details, that's why my fic usually long no matter what type of story it is. i'm glad u enjoy all the details :D

next questions?

Cheerio!

[justanotherpjofan]

Cale sick 1

Let's continue with the fluffy stuff.

Cale being nursed by his family, please for this hc just forget the vitality of the heart exists else it makes no sense for Cale to get sick. Also let's assume that Saint/Pope Jack is at the Vatican taking care of business so he cannot heal him.

It was like any other day.

The children woke up by Cale's side as the three of them sleep better with his human beside them.

And as usual their human was sleeping soundly.

He would normally wake up hours later than the kids, but they didn't mind as long as he'll be up by luch.

Contrary to their expectations Cale woke up with them.

Noticing the hour he tried to sleep a little longer but it was too late, his noisy children knew he was awake.

He drag himself out of bed his throat was dry but it always was in the mornings.

His body felt heavy but yet again it always did, so he just disregard it.

Their day went on normally, Cale would go around the Villa looking out on how his friends were doing and then go sun bathe near the fountain.

Ron would give him lemonade or another sour but refreshing beverage as he sun bathed.

As this happened Ron immediately noticed that Cale's face was red and that he was sweating a lot, but as he had expended most of the day out in the sun he thought it made sense.

He came acrossed Rosalyn and Eruhaben on his way back to his room.

Rosalyn also noticed his red cheeks so she approach to put her hand on his forehead, it was burning.

That action took Cale by surprise but he let her do, her hand felt nice and cold, he focus on that feeling by closing his eyes.

Rosalyn's touch was gentle and Cale liked that, to be honest it wasn't comfortable when people touch him but with his people it didn't felt half bad.

Perhaps it was because he trusted them but he had the feeling that it was okey to be somewhat vulnerable.

"I think you have a fever" She said.

Now that she mention it, it was getting harder to breath.

"I'm fine miss Rosalyn" He wasn't feeling sick just a little lightheaded.

Eruhaben didn't listen to him because he knew Cale couldn't care less than when it came to his own health.

So he lift him up and took him to his bed Cale suddenly felt weak and didn't protested much, he felt dizzy when Eruhaben picked him so he just closed his eyes letting his drowsiness take over.

As he was lighter than a broomstick Eruhaben could lift him with just one hand while the other was patting his back.

Cale leaned on his shoulder feeling at ease he snuggled a little, his body was fatigued and Eruhaben shoulder was comfy.

By the time Eruhaben reached Cale's room the red headed was already asleep.

Rosalyn watching this decided to call Ron from the training ground where he was teaching the cats.

Ron hurried, it had being a long time since his puppy like master was sick.

When he arrived he could see Eruhaben sitting on a chair next to the bed reading a book with the legs crossed.

He would often peek at Cale to ensure that he was alright.

A small towel soaked in cold water was placed on his forehead.

Ron changed the towel and wipe the sweat.

"Eruhaben-nim is he alright?"

Cale didn't seem to be in a critical condition but it was best to ensure that it wasn't something serious.

Eruhaben also believed that to be the case and had already inspected him so he knew it wasn't related with his ancient powers running wild again.

"I think is just a common cold it is nothing to worry about, he needs to rest"

Cale let out a groan and woke up, he felt muscle pain in all his body and had a little headache but it was bearable.

He sat up straight and Ron quickly fixed the pillows for him to be comfortable.

"Achoo!"

Cale covered his mouth with the handkerchief he often used to clean the children's mouth when they eated messily.

"How are you feeling?" Eruhaben asked gently.

Even him as a dragon acknowledge how bothersome a cold could be and he was one of the stronger species so he couldn't imagine how annoying would be for this weak human.

"...My body hurts..." It hurt like he have done a lot of exercise however the only exercise he had been doing was breathing.

Ron put a hand on his forehead, normally he would moved away but as he was a bit drowsy he didn't care.

This hand felt bigger and rougher than Rosalyn's hand it also had calluses due to the dagger training that Ron had stricly followed for over fifty years.

"You are still feverish Young master-nim"

"...Is that so?" His throat was sore so his voice came out weird.

There you go Cale letting his people take care of him.

[ii-zi]

Truthfully can't remember ever not being sick. Afaik I've been "sickly" since birth; this meaning I'd get sick a couple weeks right after getting "better" of the same thing, having multiple illnesses afflicting my body, being sick for months at a time, etc.

Literally just last year I was (and still am) continuously "sick" to the point of barely functioning for over 7 months. I was only "functioning" because I completely disregarded both my mental health and the toll it'd have on my body just so I don't "fall behind" on life lol. I wouldn't even know I actually got COVID if it wasn't for my family all getting sick too due to how the life altering symptoms are so similar to what I'd experience in a mildly bad day.

A couple months (?) ago I saw that post about the "pain index" for hospitals. I actually knew about it beforehand? But what i learnt sorta put it in perspective. It's like a 1-10 scale for when you go to ER (emergency room) and have to describe you pain to the doctors. Can't remember exactly how it went but it was something like "barely ever exist, not aware of it most of the time/doesn't affect" to "can't move bc of it can't think of anything else". The same post went on a tangent about how abled/not chronically ill people have a base index of 0. Which means that, in a un-injured, resting state, the pain they constantly experience is 0. 0. No pain inflicted as a secondary reaction to existing. It hit me somewhat hard, bc at first i thought "yeah that's normal", but quickly i realized it was not my personal experience: the fact that I can ("can") regularly function (i.e. force myself to) doesn't mean I don't experience it. At this point people just don't believe be bc I "can't possibly be in pain/going thru something all the time"

I don't remember ever not being in pain. I've had to, since the very first moment of my existence, make several extra efforts to function quasi-effectively in the same way others do on a regular basis. When normal people experience the symptoms I'd have in a good day, they'd usually call in sick: stop momentarily their busy lives to recover (and with good reason) not only due to how taxing it's for the body, but also because of how hard it is to simply function as a normal person under said conditions.

I know the "world isn't fair" and all that kinda stuff we're always told, but why do I have to perform up to a regular standard when I gotta start in such a disadvantaged position?

The most realistic outcome I could get out seeking a diagnosis would be debt because I'm also fucking poor a "minor" bothersome issue (ex. gastritis) and a "keep pushing" lol. The next best thing would be a "chronically ill but Fit to Work".

I've had to force myself, since the very beginning, to function minimally like the others, overstressing my mind, over abusing my already pained body. I'll never be "allowed" to perform on even terrain, but i am permanently expected to get not only similar, but excelling results so I can "prove" I'm still "worth it" because of all the same shit that makes it all so difficult.

Not only i want a fucking rest, but the permanent option of taking one whenever I fucking need it

[v-akarai]

All credit to @svpages​ whose summary I quote below:

the world around them slowly begins to melt into black nothingness.

If it isn’t literally Kuro himself? Or rather his life between apathy and regrets. About who he failed to become, about things he could do but he won’t. It may seem that he was fine with doing nothing and didn’t care at all but we know he actually DID. But not enough to overcome fears, self-pity. There always was a reason to stand up again but not the good one. It’s too hard, too bothersome and frightening. So better to hide, play dead and try to recall your own ambitions less frequently.

I think Kuro has learnt well that people always try to shift responsobility to someone and that the fools, who gladly accept it, will end up destroying everyone, including themselves. However, it’s not easy to turn off concern, so thoughts like “I have to do something”, “how can I ignore it? I’m just disgusting” come over again. They can barely help get rid of numbness, they can only bring one down, strengthening self-flagellation and reluctance to do that something. The more Kuro worries without making a move, the deeper he sinks. This isn’t life, but a swamp.

I can’t describe that very condition when you think about something that probably could make you feel alive but you like. don’t want it. Yeah, it would be good. Yeah, I’m tired of being who I am. Things that surround me, thoughts and emotions I have each day – they’re all the same and I’m sick of it. But to do something with it seems much harder. A change brings troubles, responsibility and other bothersome stuff (it doesn’t has to be true ofc). So I stagnate.

For Kuro, reminders like siblings and Mahiru may be like triggers. They say that Kuro can’t run away and forget. Someone like Lily shows that he isn’t done yet. It hurts to see that you still have opportunities. They’re like a burden. It looks like Kuro couldn’t ignore his own feelings anymore so he used the opportunity ‘given’ by C3. And it was a disaster.

All that Kuro wished for was peace of mind, but his ‘freedom’ from anyone and anything didn’t bring it to him. There’s nothing around and he’s nothing too.

So as the story begins, he’s still in this swamp. I’m not going to deny that Mahiru is a good influence on Kuro. His kindness and (sometimes incompetent but always sincere) support helped Kuro and it shows. However, friends aren’t a cure. Now it’s up to Kuro. Swim or sink. And if Kuro does it wrong, they’ll both sink, just like irl

Tbh I got “Artificial Enemy” vibes from all of this, especially because of these lines:

That’s not the best plan of action,

And I know you know it

To drown in dark, withered days

Must no doubt be painful

*cries of nostalgy*

[mightyoctopus]

Chronic Pain Yue Headcanons pt 3 (ft Toph)

Scoliosis and chronic pain are invisible conditions, so her friends sometimes struggle with really understanding what’s going on. When Yue says she’s in pain, they believe her. When she says she can’t do something, they believe her.

But sometimes, just sometimes, they push. They question whether it’s really that bad, they ask her if she can’t just keep going a little bit longer, if she really needs to rest right now.

And Yue doesn’t blame them. They’re on a tight schedule, they’re often in very dangerous situations. Everyone else can treck through the forest for hours or go to the market or do important stuff and here she is, struggling to even stand for extended periods of time. She feels like a burden.

I feel like this would come to a head in a situation that’s not very serious or dangerous. Maybe they’re on a shopping trip, or visiting a festival or “having fun” somewhere else... but it’s not fun for Yue. She has mentioned that she’s in pain several times already and it would be nice if they could come to an end or at least sit down and rest, but her friends keep ignoring her and telling her they’ll rest “soon.”  

This is where Toph would step in.

“Listen up, everyone, when Princess says she can’t stand any longer, then she can’t stand any longer! It’s that simple! When I say I can’t see, do you think I’m lying? No? Then why do you question her? We all know she’s a lot more honest than me.”

Then she turns to Yue and says, “Come on, lets get back to camp. These dunderheads can stay here without us, if they want.” 

By the time they’re back in their camp and Yue can finally lie down, she’s nearly in tears from the pain.

---

“I’m sorry, Yue,” Aang says, once he and the rest have returned. “I shouldn’t have pushed you like that. I know that not all pain is visible.”

“Yeah,” Sokka agrees, “You went out of your way to explain your condition to us, and we just ignored it. That was a shitty thing to do. I’ll try to do better in the future.”

Katara kneels down next to her girlfriend, who has sat up by now, and takes her hands in hers. “I’m sorry, too. I know your pain is serious. This isn’t the first time we pressured you, and that’s not okay. You’re not a burden and we shouldn’t make you feel like one.”

“It’s okay, Katara. I know it’s bothersome. Believe me, I wouldn’t hold you up like this if I had a choice.”

“You’re not holding us up. It was just a stupid festival. It was meant to be fun, and to be honest, I had so much fun I forgot to think about how you’re feeling, and that wasn’t okay. I put my fun above your physical well being. I shouldn’t ever do that and I’m so sorry I did.”

Yue wants to object again, tell her girlfriend that it’s okay and not that serious, but Toph interrupts her.

“No, Sugar Queen and the others are right to apologize. What they did was wrong. Full stop. You don’t need to minimize that or add a “but” to the sentence.”

Yue is quiet for a while, then admits, “You’re right. It’s just hard, sometimes, to stand up for myself like that. I still struggle with feeling like a burden. But your apologies,” at this part, she looked at all of her friends in turn, “mean a lot to me. It’s... it’s great to have friends like you.”

---

Later that night, Toph tells her, “I know it’s hard, but you really need to learn to stand up for yourself. When you’re disabled and you don’t, nobody will.”

The words sound overly harsh, but Yue knows they aren’t wrong.

[shawtynagito]

Aethers grand Halloween special! a wrath over the adults wallets! Pt 1 😩

"Trick or Treat!" Aether yelled, pounding at the door in front of him. The people of Liyue lacked the spirit for Halloween.

The door opened slowly as a grumpy looking boy peeked his head out of the door.

"... What're you doing at my house at this hour?" Xingqiu blinked, rubbing at his eyes. He was just like a big baby. "And what is the meaning behind your outfits?"

"It's Halloween!" You huffed. "Give us a treat or get tricked, that's how it works!" You explained. "And the outfits are for fun!"

"I have nothing." He spoke, quick to shut the door. "Please do trick me later."

Aether went back to pounding on the door. "You can join us, then! It'll be fun!" He announced.

The boy swung the door open this time, his eyebrow twitching. "You're going to wake up my father."

"Paimon promises your dad won't wake up if you join us." Paimon announced, a cheeky smile on her face.

The boy let out another sigh. Reluctantly stepping out of his house.

"You have no cool outfit." Aether pointed out before crossing his arms. "How disappointing."

"Paimon has to agree.."

"Do you think the Heir of the Guhua Clan walks around in his pajamas?" He sassed, furrowing his brows. "No. The answer is no." He answered before any of you could say something dumb.

"He's so grumpy when he's tired!" Paimon pointed out, eyes wide. "A.. Tired grumpy Guhua geek!"

"Your names are getting weak." You shook your head. Aether could only agree.

"Hey, why is he leading us? He won't know any good hotspots!" Paimon spoke, ignoring the insult as she pointed over toward the blue-haired boy.

"Heheheh, I am simply gathering new people to bother in the middle of the night." He explained, turning back to the three of you. "This is another Halloween tradition, right? Bothering others when they are trying to sleep?"

"... So petty! I'm getting shivers!" Aether shook, running his hands up and down his arms.

"Yeah, I could almost drown from all the pettiness!" You added.

"Wamin restaurant? Who are you going to fetch here? Pickup food?" Paimon questioned as Xingqiu made his way over.

"Have you never heard of Xiangling? I thought she was a world-class chef." Xingqiu sighed. Rapidly smashing the ringer at the front.

"Oooh! You know Xiangling?" Paimon blinked, "Paimon thought you were always busy reading some book!"

The boy fell silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. "I am human, as well. I need to eat."

"Oh, right." Paimon nodded.

It took Xiangling a moment to appear at the front, looking disheveled.

"I had to run over here! My ringer is connected to my clock at home, so I came as fast as I could-" the girl blinked as she processed the familiar faces in front of her. "Oh, what're you guys all doing here? A gathering?" She smiled, "I can make us some yummy Slime Parfaits!" She drooled.

"We are here to retrieve you for the night of tricking or treating others." Xingqiu interrupted with a smile.

"Trick or Treating others..?" The girl blinked. "I don't know what that means, but if I can find ingredients, I'll join!"

"Oh, you'll find some very sweet ingredients." Aether nodded, knowing her, she'd probably find a way to incorporate candy into her dishes.

"Sweet! I'll join you!" She smiled, skipping her way over toward the door, leaving her restaurant completely unattended to.

"The next place we're going may be to scary for thee flying dog, just a warning." Xingqiu warned with a smile, leading the group of you to a rundown cathedral. Much like the one in Mondstadt but in much... Worse condition.

"Paimon's not a dog!" Paimon protested, however, her words went unheard as she stopped herself right outside of the doors of the buildings.

"What's wrong, Paimon? Just a few more centimeters and you'll be inside." Aether encouraged.

Xiangling and Xingqiu pressed on further into the building without fear. As the three of you stayed back.

"No way Paimon's going in there! I'm staying right here!" The girl pouted, kicking her leg in the air.

"Should've left you to drown." Aether mumbled before walking further into the building.

"Hey! Stop being so mean to Paimon!" The girl chased after him in a flash of courage. You slowly joined them.

"Be banished from this world, and settle your soul to rest..." A new voice mumbled out, a random, yet long-lasting flash filling the air.

"Brrr, Paimons cold all of a sudden! What happened?!"

Xingqiu emerged from the shadows out of no where, a smile on his face. "Just a quick Exorcism." He explained. "Nothing to unordinary."

"Oh, just an exorcism..." Aether mumbled. "Just an exorcism?!?" He repeated, however more urgent.

A new boy appeared alongside Xiangling, clouds of cold radiating off the light-haired boy.

"Hello." He greeted. "I get a lot of reports of paranormal activities on Halloween. There's high waves of spiritual energy on this specific night..." The boy mumbled, "sorry for not getting to you sooner."

"No problem, it's only been a few seconds." You shrugged. Paimon frantically tugging at your spare coat.

"This should be my last job for the night. I suppose I can join you all." He offered.

With that, the six of you set off to the nearest, that you knew of- rich guy.

"Childe, open your door!" Aether commanded, pounding on said persons door. He knew a lot of people...

The door swung open, a brown-haired man standing at the doorway. "Heya. What brings you here- and all these other kids...?" He mumbled, his eyes combing through the number of children at his door.

"Trick or Treat!" The lot of you yelled.

Childe stood still for a moment before he let out a small laugh. "Haha... Trick or treat, right." He mumbled, slowly shutting the door.

"What's a trick or treat?" You could hear his muffled voice say.

You all stood outside of his door for a moment, waiting for the man to reemerge.

He returned to the door, with a smile.

"I don't have candy." He spoke. "Besides, why would you trust candy from a guy like me?" He hummed, eying the boy beside you.

"Just give us something." Aether spoke.

"Right, here." He nodded, handing Mora left and right. It was an overwhelming amount, actually. "Have a good night, don't get yourself into trouble." He warned before shutting his door.

"Sounds like he really wanted to get rid of us..." Paimon mumbled. "But now Paimon is stinkin' rich!"

"I was in need of Pocket Money for the night." Xingqiu hummed, causing everyone to glare at him.

"We get it, you're rich!" Paimon yelled.

"I would say we should stop at Zhonglis place, but he probably wont have a thing to give out..." Aether spoke, rubbing the back of his head as he walked down the trail.

"And Ningguang is to busy being her rich self." Xingqiu huffed, crossing his arms. Repeating something along the lines of 'dont talk badly of others'.

"Let's head to Mondstadt! They always have a lot of good stuff on Halloween!" You announced. "I grew up there, and the amount of stuff they give out is crazy! Plus, I know of a few people to bother!"

___________________

"Why does this place smell so badly of smoke?" Chongyun asked, his eyes scanning over the building he stood in front of.

"I don't know, but it's probably a good place to cook.." Xiangling drooled.

"Oh, that's just Bennett being Bennett." You grinned before approaching the door, knocking on it lightly. However, the door caved in, falling onto the floor.

What a flimsy door!

Everyone's thoughts behind you resonated.

A white-haired boy walked over to his door, simply picking it back up and placing it back into it's doorframe.

"Hey, [Firstname]!" The boy greeted with quite a big smile for someone who's door just broke. "I was waiting for you!" He grinned, leaning over to the right, picking up a classic pumpkin bucket.

"I like your hot dog costume!" He complimented.

"And I like your mummy costume." You smiled.

"Have you gotten anything good yet?" He asked, slapping on protection gear. His bad luck kicked in exponentially on Halloween.

"Some filthy rich guy gave us a crap ton of Mora!" You spoke, lifting up your bag so he could get a look. "You can have some." You offered, pouring a good amount of your share into his bucket.

"Thanks a bunch, [Firstname]!" He grinned, finally securing the last piece of equipment before he turned to the rest of the people accompanying you.

"Oh, are these new recruits?" He grinned, overwhelmed over the amount of new people around him. Usually, people avoided him like the plague.

"They're all people that're gonna trick-or-treat with us! Cause I'm forcing them!" Aether stepped up, hands on his hips. He looked quite proud.

"Paimon just goes wherever he goes because Paimon is bothersome like that." The fairy smiled, hands behind her back.

"Huh, alright, cool!" Bennett grinned. "Have to warn you though, my unluckiness might spread to you guys."

"Paimon isn't too concerned, I don't think anyone else is, either."

"Speak for yourself..." Chongyun sweatdropped. "I don't have a good feeling about this..."

Xingqiu let out a laughed as he shook his head. "Oh, dear Chongyun, what's there to be so scared of?" He asked, placing his hands on his hips.

Chongyun let out a groan of irritation before looking around the place. It took a while of walking to get here, so he might as well check the place out.

"Who are you guys?!" Amber's voice echoed throughout the place as she appeared out of no where. "You guys don't look like natives."

"Ever hear of tourists?" Chongyun sighed. "I was forced here by my friend... Who was forced here by your honorary knight."

"It's me, I'm the honorary knight." Aether spoke, making his way over to the both of them.

"Oh, I see.." She hummed, reaching into her pocket. "Take these." She spoke, offering some... Granola bars.

"Granola bars, deadass?" You deadpanned before turning away. "What a let down.. Last year you gave me a crapton of candy..."

"Well, this isn't last year! And I'm on a budget here!" She huffed, her lips settled on a pout.

"Whatever... I bet Diluc and Kaeya have a ton of candy and are competing on who has the most because of their undying sibling rivalry!" You grinned, hopping away from the rest of the group.

"Hold up, [Firstname]!" Bennett called out, rushing after you to only end up rolling down the stairs. Thank God for protection gear....

_____________

Diluc, of course, was attending the bar. Cause he never had anything better to do, and Kaeya was off in the corner, being kind of creepy...

"I forgot it was Halloween." Diluc sighed, crossing his arms at the sight of the children pouring into the room.

"Just like how you forgot about fathers legacy." Kaeya smiled, his voice loud so everyone in the damn place could hear it.

"Damn you.." Diluc seathed, furrowing his brows. "Did you remember what day it was today?" He asked.

"Of course I did." The man smiled, standing up from his seat. "I'm not quite the slacker you are." He boasted.

"Then hand us our candy." Aether demanded. Holding out his bag.

"Yeah!" Bennett grinned. "If you don't mind..." He added on sheepishly.

"Of course..." Kaeya coughed, looking around the area. Snatching a bag of candy someone had left behind while they went to the restroom.

"Here... Share it between all of you.." He smiled, pouring a generous amount into the bags being held in front of him.

"A witch, a mummy, a cat and a hot dog... How....." He looked off to the side, "original..."

Silence filled the air for a moment before he changed the subject. "And... Who are these three? What are their costumes?" He asked, attention on the three people forced to come over here.

"I am Xingqiu... And my costume is... Ready for bed." He bowed awkwardly.

"Chongyun... I'm a... Sumo wrestler..." The light-haired boy blinked sheepishly.

"I'm Xiangling and I'm... I'm..." She grumbled, scowering her brain for an idea. "I'm a pirate!"

Kaeyas uncovered eye widened. "A pirate...?" He asked quietly, analyzing the girls outfit.

"Uh oh.." Paimon sighed, "she's gonna get caught!"

"That's an interesting view on pirates you have..." Kaeya nodded, quickly placing the bag back down as the owner had made their way over.

"Have a nice night, children." He smiled, waving at the lot of you.

"You didn't remember Halloween for shit." Diluc coughed, causing Kaeya to look over at him.

"Of course I did."

________________

"Fischl? What are you doing out here, I thought you said you were going to stay indoors tonight?" Bennett asked the blonde girl as she walked down the steps from the Adventurers Guild.

"Haha... That was Oz, silly child." The girl lied, laughing into her hand.

"I'm right here," Oz spoke, his voice was pretty deep.

Fischl let out a puff of air as she crossed her arms. She was so close to committing animal cruelty right then and there.

"... That was a few hours ago... Now is now..." She explained with a cough. Looking to the side.

"So then... You can join us in trick-or-treating now?" Bennett asked.

"Hah! Trick-Or-Treating... Why would I do something so childish?" She scoffed.

"Yes, oh so childish of you to have a bag full of candy, right?" Xingqiu hummed, his gaze fixated on the bag she held.

"Oh, this?" She laughed, draping it over Oz in an instant. "He's a big fan of candy... To bad because I'm giving the candy out..." She lied.

"Oh, great! Can we have some?" Aether asked with a smile. Of course, he knew that she was lying, but like... He really wanted candy.

"Um, haha... Right..." She nodded, "only one for each person... Monstadt has... A lot of people..." She hummed, handing out a single piece to everyone.

"How generous." Xingqiu sighed, stuffing the thing into his pocket. "I hate smarties." He grumbled.

"I don't get a lot of free stuff, Halloween is the coolest!" Bennett smiled. "So is my birthday... But that comes every four years... If you think about it, I'm only like... Four years old..."

[kerikaaria]

If I Never Met You: Chapter 41

(Taehyung X Reader) Idol!AU, Manager!Reader

Genre: (PG13) Angst, but lots of fluff

WC: 3.6k

Warnings: None

Series Masterlist

Chapter 40 | Chapter 41 | Chapter 42

You had never seen Jin so angry. The look on his face was almost enough to make you feel absolutely terrified, even if you knew that anger wasn’t directed at you.

There was no getting past being honest with Jin after he already heard so much. So Yoongi had grabbed his arm and hurriedly dragged him into the stairwell before attempting to calm him down and explain what he had heard.

But there was apparently no calming him down.

“And you guys felt like this wasn’t important information to share?” Seokjin asked.

“We thought it was better if less people knew about it,” Taehyung replied. “There’s nothing we can do at this point, and Bang PD already told noona that he’s going to let her finish healing without anything else being asked of her.”

“That doesn’t make it any less wrong,” Seokjin agitatedly replied. “Are you just letting it slide? Not going to do anything about it?”

“If you heard about that, then didn’t you hear what I told noona?” Yoongi asked, meeting Jin’s intensity.

“I heard Y/n saying about the article’s release being intentional and done behind her back,” Jin answered. “I wasn’t close enough to make out anything before that. But frankly, I don’t care what you said, Yoongi. Something should be done about it!”

“First of all, would you just- please calm down,” Yoongi said, attempting to do the same for himself. “Don’t go waking the whole building. And you should care about what I said before that. What do you want us to do, hyung? Barge into Bang’s office, tell him how much of an injustice it was, and demand he compensate her?”

“Sure, that sounds like a great start,” Jin said, still obviously very agitated, but his voice at a reasonable volume.

“Okay, then what?” Yoongi asked. “Do you think he’s going to just admit it? Do you think there is no chance whatsoever of it affecting noona’s job? Or our own? Do you really want to risk everything you’ve worked for for years, and risk making noona losing her job, make her have to move back home? While she’s still healing?”

“He can’t just do stuff like that, though!” Jin replied incredulously.

“He’s a businessman, Jin,” you said. “He saw an opportunity to better your guys’ image and popularity and he took it.”

Your friend turned to you and furrowed his brows. “You’re not telling me right now that you’re okay with him just- just using you like that, are you?”

“Of course I’m not!” you whisper yelled, making the boys around you flinch. “It is constantly bothering me. He called me earlier today, and I felt so awkward I had no idea how to talk to him. He apologized for asking me to go to the airport to pick you guys up, but I wanted so badly for him to come clean and apologize about the article instead. I can’t tell you how much I want to just wheel right into his office and demand that he tell me what he did and why he did it, even if I already know. I want to hear it straight from his mouth, and I want him to tell me he knows he did something wrong and say he’ll never do it again. But it’s not going to happen, Jin. It’s just not.”

Letting all of the anger you’ve felt over the situation out in your rant made you feel breathless. The others remained quiet for a moment, probably unsure of how to respond to something like that.

“Yoongi is right,” you said. “It’s wrong, and he shouldn’t have done it. I’m getting more attention than I ever asked for and it’s nerve-wracking being this much in the public eye. But what good will it do to ask for an apology? It will make him aware that I know what he did, and probably wonder who else knows. I have no idea if I’d get fired, if he’ll do something to make sure that I can’t tell anyone. And I’m scared of how it could affect you guys. I needed to talk to Tae and Yoongi today because I just had a lot of emotions and wanted to confront him, but knew it wasn’t a good idea and they helped reason that with me.”

Jin chewed on the inside of his cheek while he calmed himself down. “I’m still not okay with this.”

“Neither am I,” you admitted. “But what else can we do, really? Other than hope that he decides to come clean about it on his own.”

“Hyung, please promise you won’t do anything,” Tae pleaded in a small voice. “I really wish I could too, believe me. But I just don’t think this is one of those things we can fight.”

Seokjin didn’t look any of you in the eyes while he said, “Don’t worry, I won’t. I’m sorry for exploding like that, I just-” he sighed, unable to finish his sentence.

“I know, hyung,” Yoongi said, placing a hand on Jin’s shoulder. “I felt the same when I found out. I understand.”

“Now I get why he’s acting so apologetic, though,” Seokjin said. “When he gave us permission to take a long break to take you out of the house, he just seemed odd. I couldn’t place what it was, but it was almost like he felt guilty. Which I guess could be explained by the airport, but it felt like more than that.”

“I mean, being attacked by a couple of sasaengs does make one afraid to leave the house when they’re so defenseless,” you said, laughing a little. “If I could stand on my feet and run away, that’s one thing, but I’m literally at others’ mercy like this.”

“That’s why you have us to protect you,” Tae said, smiling widely at you.

You smiled back, feeling more at ease now that you were all on the same page.

“Alright, let’s get back before someone else gets curious and eavesdrops,” Yoongi said, sending Jin a teasing look.

It was Jin who took you back to your apartment, helping you into bed. Nobody really argued when he silently decided he’d do it, figuring it would help him feel better to help you in the ways that he at least knew he could.

“I seriously can’t wait until you can start walking again,” he said as he helped you gather your covers and tuck in. “Not that it’s a burden to help you, but just because I know how frustrating it is for you.”

You chuckled. “Yeah, you and me both.”

Jin suddenly looked serious as he sat on the edge of your bed. “Y/n, you know you can always come to me for anything, right? If you need anything, I’m here for you.”

You smiled at him. “I know Jin. I promise I will. If I need to talk or just need some company or something, you’re the first person I’d go to.”

“You really are like family, you know?” he said. “It’s not just me. But you really are like a sister to me. So I want to be a good brother to you.”

“You are, Jin. I treasure your friendship. And I love being a part of this family. I would never trade any of you guys for anything.”

“Even if it meant you’d instantly be rich?”

“Absolutely,” you didn’t hesitate to answer. “I’d pick living a poor and hard life if it meant that I had the seven of you with me. I’d even be willing to be stuck in a wheelchair for life.”

Jin laughed quietly. “Well, we’re for sure going to try to not let any of that happen. But thank you, I’m sure we all feel the same.”

He gave your hand a squeeze as he leaned in to kiss your forehead before getting up and you one last ‘good night’ while he left.

You really did have such a wonderful family here.

By now it had been about two months since your injury. It could take up to six for your legs to fully heal, and with you staying entirely off your feet the hope was that you’d heal more quickly than that.

Two days after that night in the stairwell, Mrs. Kim attended your doctor appointment with you. She was really sweet and you couldn’t have been more grateful for her wanting to keep you company during this short time. It was especially a relief having someone with you when you visited the doctor. Not that you were scared of hospitals or anything, but you often had trouble remembering to ask questions and just nodded along to what the doctor told you. So someone else being there who could remember to do so was a huge help.

After an x-ray of your legs to see how the bones were healing, your doctor informed you that the healing process was going well. It would still be a little while before he recommended anything like walking, but they were at least healed enough that putting some weight on them shouldn’t have been bothersome.

To test it out, he asked you to place your feet on the floor and put a small amount of pressure on them and told you to immediately stop if you felt any pain. You found that it didn’t really hurt with just a bit of weight, but it did feel weird to do so for the first time in so long.

With the confirmation that it didn’t cause any pain, he told you that you were able to assist when people helped you in and out of your chair now. They still had to hold the majority of your weight, but walking lightly to help make it easier on them was no problem.

It was small progress, but it made you feel happy and excited, nonetheless.

After the doctor appointment, you decided you wanted to go back to the office first and let Bang and hopefully the boys know the news.

You felt nervous since this would be your first time seeing him in person since you learned about the article, at least if he was available to see you. But you felt it was important that he knew any progress in your condition and it wasn’t like you could avoid him forever. You had to see him at some point, so might as well rip the band-aid off now.

Your boss ended up not being at his office, and a quick message to Sejin let you know that the boys were practicing choreography for the concert so you headed toward the practice room in the meantime. You waited outside with Mrs. Kim, watching through the window as they practiced for Boyz With Fun. The choreography for the song was more lighthearted and didn’t need to be precise since the song was mostly for fun, but it was still very high energy.

When the song ended and didn’t restart right away, Taehyung’s mother knocked lightly on the door, not wanting to intrude without permission. It was Hoseok who came to open it, smiling brightly despite looking exhausted. “Hello eomeoni, noona. What are you guys doing here?”

“We wanted to stop and say hi,” you said. “We just came from my doctor appointment.”

“Oh, that’s right! That was today!” Hoseok sounded excited. “You can come in. We’re due for a break anyway.”

He opened the door wide, holding it while you wheeled through after Tae’s mom.

“You had your appointment today?” Namjoon asked from his spot on the floor through ragged breaths. “How’d it go?”

“My legs are healing well,” you said with a smile. “He said I can put a little bit of pressure on my feet now.”

“Really?!” Jimin asked, sitting up straight after having been laying flat on the floor.

You nodded. “No walking or anything yet, but he said I can put some weight on them to help when you guys are moving me in and out of the chair.”

“That’s great!” Tae said, smiling widely as your eyes met his. “That’s huge progress. That means your bones are healing really well.”

You smiled softly, feeling your heart skip a beat. It felt silly, but everyone seemed so enthusiastic and made it seem like it was such a big deal when it was really only just a small amount of progress.

That, and how are you supposed to not feel affected when Taehyung was staring at you like that.

“Yes, the doctor said she’s healing really well,” Mrs. Kim said. “He said she’s healing faster than they expected, almost as fast as they hoped she would. He expects it to be no more than two months, if that, until she’s able to start getting back on her feet.”

“And then you’ll be able to resume being our manager,” Jungkook said.

“Well, after I can walk again, yeah,” you said. “I can already feel how weak my legs are. They’re going to need a good amount of physical therapy before I can walk entirely unassisted.”

“But that’s still so much closer than it could have been,” Namjoon smartly added. “With how bad that fracture was, the doctor said it could have taken up to six months. But since you’ve been really good about resting your legs, I guess that helps a whole lot, huh?”

You nodded. “That’s what he said. He said he could tell that I’d been following his instructions to not put any pressure or weight on them.”

“How much longer are you boys practicing?” Mrs. Kim asked.

“Probably another hour,” Hoseok said. “We have a few things to refine, but we made a deal that if we can do the choreography with no mistakes for five runs in a row then we can go home early. I think we can do it.”

“Well, I guess I’d better go get dinner ready then, hm?” she responded. “I want to make something a little special today since we got the good news from the doctor.”

“It’s really no big deal, eomeoni,” you insisted.

“Nonsense! Every step is progress, and that’s something to celebrate.”

“I still need to let Bang know,” you said. “I might need to just call or text him to tell him.”

You could see Jin’s head turning to you out of the corner of your eye at the mention of your boss’ name. “We can tell him for you if you want,” he said.

“It’s fine.” You smiled in his direction. “I can talk to him.”

Jin took a moment to think before nodding, clearly understanding what you meant. You were okay with talking to him despite the fact that you still hadn’t quite gotten over what happened.

“Do you want to stay, noona?” Taehyung asked hesitantly. “I know you used to like to watch us practice. You could stay and go home with us?”

You turned toward his mother, about to ask her what she thought before she beat you to answering.

“That sounds like a lovely idea,” she said, smiling. “You have been wanting to get out of the house more anyway. Do you want to stay?”

“That would be nice,” you didn’t hesitate to answer. Seeing Tae’s boxy smile break out on his face at your response most certainly didn’t make your heart skip again. Not at all.

“Alright, I’ll see you back at your apartment in a little while then,” Mrs. Kim said before turning toward the door. “Take good care of her, boys!”

When she left, you wheeled yourself to the front of the room, as close to the corner as you could so you wouldn’t be in the way of their reflection.

“Do you want to sit on the floor?” Taehyung asked. “We can use our jackets to make a little seat for you, it might be more comfortable than your chair.”

You thought about it for a moment, realizing that that would help keep you more out of the way for them since your chair could be folded up as well. “If it’s not too much trouble, then sure. It’ll keep me from blocking your guys’ reflection, too.”

Taehyung’s eyes widened. “I didn’t mean it like that!” he backtracked, flailing his hands around a bit.

“Whatever is more comfortable for you is more important,” Namjoon chimed in. “You’re not in the way, not at all. But if you’d prefer to sit on the floor, then it’s no trouble for us.”

You smiled at their thoughtfulness. “I know that’s not why you asked, Tae. It’s okay, it was just my own concern. But yeah, if you don’t mind I would definitely like to spend some time out of this chair.’”

“Absolutely,” Jin answered, smiling reassuringly. Everyone jumped into action, grabbing their spare jackets to pile into the corner.

You wheeled yourself away so they could work and turned to look at what they were doing. A smile slowly spread across your face as you watched them quietly discuss how to set everything out so that it was the smoothest and most comfortable they could make it.

It made your heart swell, the amount of thought and care they put into such a small task. You really didn’t know what you would do without them.

After almost everyone sat on the little pile of clothes, testing to make sure that it was comfortable enough (It was only supposed to be Jimin, but then a few of the others decided they wanted to make sure themselves, which of course made you laugh), they dispersed and you approached the makeshift seat. You locked your wheels, Taehyung approaching to help you get out. Scooching forward as usual, you internally reminded yourself that it was okay to put some weight on your feet to help him out. Especially since you were being moved to the floor, it would require a bit more maneuvering than the usual chair-to-bed or vice versa.

But when Taehyung reached out for you, he wasn’t standing in front of you and with both arms reaching underneath your arms. He instead was a little to the side, one arm wrapping around your shoulders as the other looped underneath your knees. Just as you were opening your mouth to ask what he was doing, he lifted you with ease, hands reflexively linking behind his neck to keep yourself steady.

Before you could even blink you were being held princess style, which most definitely wasn’t the standard way of picking someone up out of a wheelchair. You had to resist the urge to tuck your face into his chest to hide your embarrassment, brain working well enough to notice that that would only make things worse.  

“What are you doing?” you finally managed to ask as he knelt down next to the clothing pile to set you down. “Why’d you pick me up like that?”

“It was easier,” he answered. “Less shuffling and easier to get you sitting down.”

It felt like forever before you were finally sitting on the floor, even though it must have must have been no more than ten seconds. Once he pulled away you found yourself feeling simultaneously relieved and disappointed at the loss of his warmth.

Looking up at the others, you caught the knowing smirk and raised eyebrows on Jin’s face. You felt a sudden urge to smack the expression off of him, but of course you couldn’t exactly get up and walk.

“Comfy?” Hoseok asked, giving some of the material around you another fluff for good measure.

“Yes, it’s nice and soft. Thank you,” you said.

“Good,” he responded. “Alright, let’s get her chair folded up and get back to practice, guys!”

It was really nice to watch them practice again. It felt so normal, you could almost forget that your injury ever happened and like you were still working with your boys almost every day.

At one point, when they had just a moment in between runs through the choreography, Jimin captured a selfie of the two of you. He sent it to Sejin with what he wanted to caption it with to get it approved before saving to post on Twitter later.

It ended up being closer to two hours, rather than the one that Hobi projected, before they were perfect enough to head home early. Luckily, you weren’t picked up so intimately this time as you were helped back into your chair by Yoongi. He said he wanted to let you practice and get used to letting your feet rest on the floor and help do some of the work.

You appreciated your heart being saved from anymore palpitations today.

Even on the walk home, you felt so refreshed at even the smallest return to normalcy that you didn’t care about Jungkook wanting to push your chair for you when you’d usually insist on wheeling yourself.

Mrs. Kim’s delicious homemade dinner filled with laughter and the company of your closest friends warmed your heart even more, so by the time you got around to texting your boss if he was available and calling him when he responded, you didn’t feel even the slightest pit in your stomach as you had the previous day.

You still had quite a while to go, but everyone was right. You were making progress and despite how small, it was reason enough to be excited and celebrate. It was enough to help keep you going as you waited for the day that you could walk again, at least for now. Nothing was perfect and there were certainly more things that you needed to personally work through, but it was the little steps to be celebrated that would help you climb your way there.

After laying down for the night, you got the notification that BTS tweeted. You clicked to see a sweet but short message about how you heard good news from the doctor today, and how excited they were to have you cheering on their practice.

You fell asleep with a smile on your face and dreamt of your head pressed against a warm chest while strong arms carried you.

Series Masterlist

Chapter 40 | Chapter 41 | Chapter 42

Tags: @calling-dips-on-j-hope​ @misohime​ @netflix-batman-sleep​ @smallbaby-cat​ @leitholdwithlove​ @ramyagovindraj​ @rjsmochii​ @overtherainbow35​ @leesalts​ @whobuiltthemoon​ @bethebitchuare​ @shookysxga​ @jeneate101​

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[junggoku]

(Don’t) Say My Name - Ethan Ramsey x f!MC

book: Open Heart

pairing: Ethan Ramsey x f!MC (Nina Valentine)

word count: 2,513

summary: No, Nina did not think she was working too much. No, she is not that tired. No, she is fine. Really. She’s fine. (*narrator voice* She was not, in fact, fine)

A/N: Okay guys, just take this. I have no idea what this is, but I made a promise to get this out there and I finally finished it. I’ve been working on this for about a month now and honestly, I’m kinda proud of it. I’m proud that I managed to finish it at least. HELLO MY DEBUT AS A FANFIC WRITER MUAHA. Jk, but seriously. Enjoy! Also, let me know if you wanna be added to my tagslist? I’m not sure if I’m gonna write often but I figured I should throw it out there anyway.

Rainy weather always brought with it a certain restlessness in the air. There was something about the rain that made her lose focus, distracted as it falls and showers the earth. With her head resting in her hand, her attention was directed towards the windows in the cafeteria, watching as raindrops patter and hit the side of the glass. Her eyes tracked the movement of one particular drop, following as it slid down the smooth surface until it disappeared over the edge. 

Dr. Nina Valentine leaned back in her chair with a sigh, taking her elbow off the table and turning to witness the smattering of doctors and nurses inside the cafeteria at this hour. It was later in the afternoon at Edenbrook and she had been pouring over a patient file in an attempt to distract herself from the bone-aching exhaustion seeping in from working 48 hours straight. In between putting her five hours at the free clinic earlier, studying up on diseases for the diagnostics team, and checking up on her regular patients, Nina was about two breaths away from falling asleep atop her file on one Ms. Rebecca Pope.

With a scrape of her chair, she pushed her hands on the table and stood up, gathering all her materials and drifting back out into the hallways of a bustling hospital. Making her way over to one of the nurses’ stations where a small collection of interns had congregated, Nina noticed the head of her own intern standing on to the side alone, brows furrowed as she focused intensely on a patient’s chart. 

“Anything interesting on there, Ortega?” 

With a start, Esme looked up, her eyes wide for a split second before schooling her features. 

“Not particularly, no,” Huffing, the intern lowered the chart, fixing her eyes on Nina. As the resident reached the counter of the station and set her stuff down, she could feel Esme’s gaze sticking, and glanced up at her intern, an eyebrow raised in question. 

“What?” 

“You look like the walking dead,” Esme states flatly, zeroing in on the deep circles under Nina’s eyes, purplish bruises broadcasting to everyone exactly how many hours of sleep she got—or did not get—in the past couple of days. 

“Gee, thanks. Mind you, I think it’s a great look for me,” 

“No, seriously. You look like you’re about to fall over. Do all residents sport eyebags like that or is that just a you thing?” 

Rolling her eyes, Nina doesn’t respond as she turns her attention back to some paperwork on the desk. Esme sidles up, and steals a quick glance down at the files and journals Nina had placed on the counter. “Stuff for the diagnostics team?” 

“Yeah. Gotta turn myself into a walking disease encyclopedia if I’m gonna be able to do my job,” Nina sighs as Esme pulls out an article on gastrointestinal viruses, ignoring the group of interns that was still hovering nearby, a couple of them glancing over at them curiously. The last few hours are starting to get to her as Nina feels herself slipping a fraction, her eyelids growing heavier as she stands. Her workload had grown significantly, something that she already knew and expected, and while it was challenging to keep up with, thinking about the patients she can help—can still help for who knows how much longer—kept her moving. 

Esme flips through some of the pages in the article, “Man, seriously. How do you do it? I’m getting second hand exhaustion just from looking at this.”

The corners of her mouth quirked as she allowed herself to take a breath. “I’m not sure I’m even really doing it.”

It’s getting harder to focus. She’s been putting off sleep so often these days that she knows she’s not going to be able to stand upright for much longer, but she couldn’t afford to. Edenbrook’s situation loomed in her mind so much recently it was hard for her to sleep without thinking about all the patients she could still help if she was at the hospital. 

Preparing to head back to check on another one of her patients, Nina started to turn around. She miscalculated though, moving too fast. Esme’s voice rang out in mild alarm, “Hey-”

It all faded to black.

----

“Is she gonna be okay?” Sienna glanced over at Nina, eyebrows furrowed in worry. Her friend was snuggled up in what looked like three layers of blankets, an almost blissful expression on her face. The light sleep medication was setting in, Nina’s nerves stilled and numbed. Sienna knew her friend had been working late hours and forgoing sleep more often lately, but didn’t notice just how much of a toll it had taken until Nina collapsed, head burning with a high fever. 

“She’ll be alright. She’s still running a bit high in body temperature, but with some rest she should be good as new.”    

With that the doctor walked out, leaving the residents as they all peered at their friend, now snoring lightly without a care in the world. Jackie shook her head, a strand of hair falling into her eyes, “I should’ve noticed. That kid we babysat a few weeks ago saw it right away and even then I didn’t pay attention.” 

“Not your fault. We all should’ve said something. We know how she gets about patients,” Bryce sighed. 

“We shouldn’t be doing this right now anyways. Let’s go and let her sleep,” Casting one more concerned glance at Nina, Elijah slowly wheeled out of the room, the others trailing closely behind. A soft click of the door closing and the world was bathed in quiet once more. 

The air settled, a strip of the moonlight trickled in and Nina opened her eyes, releasing a breath, and tilting her head to look out the slits in the window. 

Raising a hand to her forehead, she continued peering out, a small frown crossing her soft features. Stupid. How stupid of her to end up passing out. And from not getting enough sleep? This was the last thing she needed. Feeling annoyed at herself, the brunette huffed and closed her eyes again. The sooner she rested, the quicker she could get back to her patients. 

Admittedly, being in a bed again felt nice. Good for her neck at least, to not have to nap on the stiff boards in the on-call room. Allowing the numbness from the medications to kick in, she willed herself to fall asleep and relaxed her muscles. It was pleasant, to be honest. Letting her nerves and senses be dulled for once. It’s been ages since she was able to shut down her brain. Everything had been in hyperfocus mode in the past month. 

She needs to be better if she’s going to be helping anyone, if she’s going to save Edenbrook. Her sluggish thoughts are interrupted though, as the sound of the door click signaled a new arrival in her room. Assuming it was one of the nurses, Marlene, coming to check on her, Nina kept her tired eyes shut, “Mar-”

“Nina.”

A pause. It’s in moments like these where Nina swears the world slows down just a little, everything suspended as time lulls for a brief second, like an intake of breath. And while her mother always told her she was a bit dramatic and a bit of a romantic, Nina would argue that she never felt these kinds of sensations, had these kinds of moments and these thoughts before in her life. Not quite in this way. Not until she came to Edenbrook. Not until him. 

Even in her befuddled state, she realized how sappy she sounded in her head. The meds must be getting to me. In this condition, she might have been a little too honest. 

The way he said her name created a throb in her chest, bringing up an emotion she refused to acknowledge at the moment. Still, she was aware enough to hear something else in his voice. Try as he might to control it, there was a hint of anger there.

“Ah. Dr. Ramsey. To what...” Another pause, “...do I owe the pleasure?” Cracking open her eyes, Nina found the tall figure of Ethan Ramsey by the door, his arms crossed over his chest, face carefully blank. 

Even in the low lighting of the room, Nina could see him scanning up and down her frame to make sure she was alright. Ice blue eyes finally connected with warm brown ones and she willed herself not to look away. That bothersome part of her mind started to tickle, but she quickly opted to ignore it. 

“I was told you fainted and landed yourself here from exhaustion. Why didn’t you say anything?” 

The junior fellow broke eye contact, staring straight ahead at the potted plant on the dresser across from her bed. “I just...it didn’t really matter. I was fine.”

“Clearly, you were not fine, since you’re now lying here in a hospital room.” Voice rising, Ethan crossed the rest of the way over, coming to stand right beside her bed. “If your workload was too much, you should’ve spoken up about it. I understand you wanted to keep working, but you’re not helping anyone in your state right n-”” 

“You nag too much, Dr. Ramsey.”

“...Excuse me?” 

Rolling her eyes up all the way to the ceiling, Nina turned her head towards the window again and tried to drown out the deep facets of his voice. “I passed out from being too sleepy and the first thing you do when seeing me is to nag. How sweet of you.” She was growing frustrated for some reason, the medication making it difficult for her to control her emotions now. Would it kill him to be honest for once? 

Ethan’s mouth was opened to respond, but she didn’t let him, her words spilling out. “You always know just what to say. Really. It’s very cute of you. Are you a pine tree? Cause you’re just full of sap, aren’t you,” 

A moment of silence as Ethan waited for her to finish.   

“...That’s a maple tree.”

“Oh,” The brunette frowned. Was it? She really needed to sleep soon. 

They descended into another bout of awkward silence. Glancing back at her boss, she found him peering down at the ground, scratching the back of his neck. In a quiet voice he broke the silence, “I’m sorry.” 

Deflated, the junior fellow shook her head slowly. “No. I’m sorry. I got mad for no reason. Thanks for coming to check on me.” Being around him always made her feel a multitude of emotions, but it was worse in her current situation. She didn’t have her usual self-control nor her filter and the fuzziness creeping at the back of her head told her she wasn’t going to actually remember this conversation the following morning. ‘Least I won’t remember calling him a pine tree like a dumbass. 

Eyes softening a fraction, Ethan spoke again, voice pleasantly gentle this time, “When I heard you collapsed all of a sudden, I was...it was concerning to say the least.” His hand came up to her forehead, lightly brushing away her bangs. His fingers were cool and felt pleasant against the warmth of her skin. Staring up at him, the soft stream of the moonlight accentuated his sharp, handsome features, and her heart stuttered again. 

The furrow in between his eyebrows was irritating her. She hated when he made that face. Like he was disappointed in himself. For not having caught on sooner. As if any of this was his fault.  

“I’m okay now though,” Fixing a smile that probably wasn’t all too convincing, Nina tried to reassure him. “And besides, this was on me. If I can’t handle it I’ll let you know next time. Alright?” Stop making that face. 

He didn’t say anything for a while, seemingly content to just gaze down at her, as though he were trying to find something. Sadly, the brunette wasn’t in any state to try deciphering it now. His fingers had moved lower, caressing her cheek softly. “I’m sorry again for raising my voice earlier. I guess I was just frustrated you weren’t looking after yourself. You make it very easy to nag at you.” 

Feeling slightly indignant at that, Nina pursed her lips into a small pout, but she quickly sagged again, too tired to reply in her usual spirit. Instead, she tried focusing on the feel of his fingers brushing on her skin. 

“It’s alright. Really. I’m sorry too. For snarking at you.”

“Mhmm. That was hurtful,” What looked like amusement lit up his eyes, a minute smirk playing at the corners of his lips, “You even tried calling me a maple tree.” 

“To be fair, you’re as prickly as a pine tree. So I guess it still works.”

Chuckling, Ethan shook his head a little, a quiet fondness crossing his expression as he watched the junior fellow’s eyes begin to droop. 

“I should let you get your rest. It’d be a waste if you didn’t use this time to catch up on sleep,” With that he began to move away, retracting his hand and Nina already missed it. “Goodnight, Nina.” He whispered. As Ethan began to turn around and take his leave, the brunette let the silence linger for a second before speaking up one more time, voice so soft she wasn’t sure he’d be able to hear, “Please don’t say it like that.” 

A pause. There were so many pauses tonight. 

“...What?” Bemused, Ethan spun back around. 

Nina avoided looking at him, keeping her eyes on the ceiling. “Whenever you say my name like that...it hurts.” He’d be able to pick up the rest of what she didn’t say. It hurts to hear you call my name like that. Like you’re saying everything and nothing all at once. Like it’s a wish you want desperately but can never grant. Like you lo-  She blinked, turning her head slightly to him.    

A deep sadness flashes across Ethan’s face, reflecting her own yearning back at her. He audibly released a breath, piecing together what he wants to say. What he can and should say. 

“Nina, I...” It’s always the same game between them. 

“...Yeah. I know.” 

With that, Nina adjusted herself to at last allow sleep to take over, pulling up her blankets to her chin and shutting her eyes a final time, “Goodnight, Ethan.” In her growing drowsiness, she could hear faint footsteps crossing back to her, but she didn’t open her eyes again, sleep quickly overtaking her senses. 

An undefined emotion tickled at the back of her head and her chest throbbed again. She already had an idea of what that feeling was. But tonight, she didn’t want to think about it. She wasn’t ready to give it its proper name. All she wanted tonight was to dream about blue eyes and low chuckles. In her dreams, she could feel a soft brush of her temple, the faintest touch of his lips. It’ll never really be enough, but tonight it was everything.

Fin.

tagslist: @openheart12​ @ethandaddyramsey​ @noboundariesplease​ @ethanramseysgirl​ @sekizincimektup​ @drethanramslay​    

[lovemesomesurveys]

Have you ever shared a shower or bath with someone as an adult? No.

What kind of pizza toppings do you like? This question has come up a lot it seems lately.

When did you first take a shot of alcohol? I was honestly 21. It was apparent because I took a shot a tequila and as I was dying my dad handed me his beer and I took a big swig of it. Now, if you know me that says it all because I don’t share drinks. At all. With anyone. I grabbed it and drank without any hesitation at all hahaha. Everyone was shocked.

Did you babysit for money when you were in middle school? I only every babysat my brother and a couple of my cousins, but yeah my parents did give me money for that.

Who is your favorite band? How long have they been? One will always be Linkin Park. We go back to my middle school days.

Has the last person you kissed ever been to your house? Yeah.

Have you ever been to a spa? Nah. I honestly haven’t had an interest in going to one. 

When talking on the phone, do you place it against your left or right ear? My right.

What’s your favourite Lunchables meal? I loved the Nachos one.

Do you like Bob Marley? I’m familiar with his music, but I’m not particularly a fan. 

Have you ever eaten at Golden Corral? No.

Do you sit and eat dinner at the same table with your family? No, we don’t have a dinner/dining table. Are you listening to any music right now? If so, what are you listening to? No, I’m listening to an ASMR video.

Who was the last person to make you genuinely smile? My mom.

Is there something you want to say to someone but can’t/won’t? Yes.

Do you like men who have a sensitive side? Yes. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Have you ever tried to get someone into a certain band/artist? Yeah.

Have you ever carved you and someone else’s initials into a tree? No.

Do you like Dairy Queen? I haven’t been to one since I was a kid. I see commercials for it a lot and it looks good, but I just never go.

Is there a song in a different language that you can sing? Yeah, some Spanish songs.

How do you feel about bands that use pyrotechnics in live concerts? It can be cool.

Ever fallen down a hole? No, not literally. Thankfully. I fall down rabbit holes a lot, though.

Do you like bananas? I love bananas. 

How long do you normally spend in the shower? Like 30-40 minutes.

Have you ever been a featured member on any website? No.

Have you ever had any weird pets? I mean, my doggo is pretty quirky and silly haha.

Are you currently talking to/texting/instant messaging anyone? Nope.

Have you ever experienced insomnia? I have insomnia.

Do you like egg nog? I do.

Would you ever wear Converse with a prom/formal dress? Nah.

Do you prefer hot chocolate with or without marshmallows? Gotta have marshmallows.

How many different people of the opposite sex have you cried over? A few.

Would you rather be a surgeon or mortician? Omg, I absolutely could not do either one. Nooooooo.

Would rather be a musician or a painter? Musician. I wish I had some ounce of musical talent.

Would you rather write your own book or make your own movie? Write a book.

At home, do you have a trampoline? No.

When you are about to go to bed, do you put on some sort of noise? I have my TV on low for some background noise, but I always listen to ASMR before bed.

What is your favorite Christmas movie? I have several. 

And what about your favorite Christmas song? I love the classics. 

What is your ultimate favorite stocking stuffer? Gift cards are awesome.

After Halloween, do you sort out all of your candy into little piles? Aw, I always did that as a kid. 

When you listen to music with headphones, do you keep the volume low enough to hear surrounding noise faintly, or do you blast it? I want to be able to hear surrounding noise. I want to know if someone is calling out my name or comes up behind me. I’m super jumpy. It’s also good to just be aware of your surroundings.

What did you have for breakfast this morning? I had a homemade egg and cheese mcmuffin with spinach and garlic.

What’s the largest animal you’ve ever had as a pet? My doggos.

Do you own any kind of helmet? No.

Out of everything currently in your refrigerator, what food or drink is your favorite? Currently, I’d say my leftover pizza, my Starbucks Doubleshot drinks, and my pack of Yoo-Hoos.

What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had? The one that made me a paraplegic.

Do you like the taste of cough syrup? Ew, nooo.

What is something you like to have conversations about? Interesting stuff? ha.

What all is in the trunk of your car? I don’t have a car of my own; I don’t drive.

Do you ever put fruit on your cereal? No.

Is your heat or air conditioning currently on? No, but I have 3 fans going right now.

Have you ever fallen off of a horse? I’ve never been on one.

Which do you value more, your appearance or your intelligence? Those who see me can see it’s clearly not my appearance. Intelligence is important, but I don’t think I’m all that intelligent. But yeah, learning and being aware are things I want.

When was the last time you drove something other than a car or truck? Uhh, does wheeling around in a wheelchair count? ha.

Were your grandparents present when you were born? My grandma was.

If you drink/smoke, how often do you do these things? I don’t do either.

What do you think of fast food? I like it, I don’t care.

What website do you spend the most time on and why? Tumblr and YouTube for sure. I enjoy them.

What’s the most amount of time you’ve spent online? Is this usual for you? I’m on throughout the day. When it comes to travel, what kinds of places intrigue you most? I’m such a tourist, so I enjoy touristy things. I like checking out the shops and museums. I don’t know, I just like checking out as much as I can.

What is the farthest you’ve walked in one day and what made you do it? A friend and I walked all over this large city while there vacationing.

What is something important that’s often on your mind lately? My current situation with my health stuff.

What about something unimportant, but you can’t stop thinking about it? Hmm. I don’t know. My mind is pretty much just focused on all the bad shit I’m dealing with.

Do you like oatmeal? If so, what kinds of things do you like in it? I do. I like condensed milk, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

What was going on the last time you felt nostalgic? I’ve been feeling that way a lot these past few weeks I’ve noticed. Like, having/craving things I used to enjoy as a kid. Like my latest Yoo-Hoo obsession, for example. 

How much attention do you pay to the movements of the stars and planets, and do you believe they influence anything? None.

What is the most difficult or involved video game you’ve ever played? Hmm. Perhaps the Life is Strange series.

Which accent do you find most sexy, alluring or appealing? British or some Southern accents.

Which accent do you find most annoying, disturbing, or bothersome? None of them.

Can you cry on cue? Is it any kind of useful? No.

Does it take you a while to actually get jokes? Not usually.

Can you wear socks to bed or does it annoy you? Yeah, I always wear socks.

Have you ever bleached your hair? Yep, several times.

Do you like jelly beans? Just the black ones, which is a super unpopular opinion. 

Do you have trouble sleeping when it’s storming? No, I love it.

Who was the last person you know that graduated? (high school or college) My brother just graduated UC on Saturday.

Were you happy or sad when you found out your babysitter was coming? My babysitter was usually my aunt, who I’ve always been close with, so I looked forward to it.

Did you have a boyfriend in kindergarten? No.

Did you ever read the Magic Treehouse series? Nope.

Who was your best friend in elementary school? I feel like it switched a lot until like the 5th grade.

Did you ever watch The Land Before Time movies? Yes.

Did you collect anything when you were a kid? Rocks. It was something my Nana and I did together.

Did you get an allowance? Yes.

Were you into American Girl dolls? Nah.

Were you friends with your childhood neighbors? Yep, yep.

What was your biggest fear when you were a kid? All bugs. That hasn’t changed.

Did you ever play the "Reader Rabbit" computer games? Awww, yeah.

Did your parents let you drink soda growing up? Yes.

What was your favorite kind of cake as a kid? I’ve always loved white cake with buttercream frosting.