#even if the environment is open and accessible to the public and could leave behind residue! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

alluringjae · 4 years ago

Text

it’s a royal order - jjh

⤑ summary: one of your royal campaigns became a success, and your bodyguard jaehyun was there to see it all happen. it’s only fair to celebrate, right?

⤑ pairing: jaehyun x female reader

⤑ word count: 2k

⤑ genre: fluff, suggestive (dirty talk, jaehyun got a daddy kink, superiority complex!!), implied smut | bodyguard!jaehyun, princess!reader, slight enemies to lovers!au, modern royal!au (where south korea remains under monarchial power)

⤑ warnings: mentions of alcohol, drugs, family problems and therapy, explicit language

⤑ author’s note: this is definitely less emotional than all i do is wait! i got this idea from a show i really enjoyed before it got cancelled named the royals. specifically, i really liked the story of eleanor and jasper, which is the whole princess x bodyguard dynamic. the pining and tension, ugh! if you know this show or not, it doesn’t matter. anyways, thank you for the 30+ followers and 200 notes on aidiw! enjoy!

i need holy water because of this piece.

⤑ credits to jeongjaehyuns for the gif above uwu

⤑ leave me some feedback, constructive criticism or hellos!

“On behalf of the royal family, I would like to extend my utmost support for the Anti-School Violence campaign for all students to have a safer and more meaningful learning environment.” You proudly announced to the board of officials alongside other influential individuals in Korean society.

Being the only princess in the current royal line may have its pressures, but holding a strong, direct impact for a brighter future for the people motivated you to take advantage of your platform for the better. As the image of pure innocence and revamped women empowerment, you aimed to accomplish all the things your mother wished she could before her untimely death alongside your personal aspirations.

Expressing genuine joy with the campaign, with a tinge of desire to annoy the old-fashioned and closeminded officials, your prying eyes were more enamored by a certain man in the back clapping by the ballroom doors. You can’t help but act flustered whenever he witnessed you in a state of success and satisfaction.

This man went by the name Jeong Jaehyun, your trusted bodyguard since you were in your early twenties. 3 years later, he still stuck by your side and helped you endure all the darkness as a royal.

Back then, you went through a rebellious phase that was ruining the image of your family. Clubbing almost every night, drugs, skipping school, you even managed to get all assigned bodyguards to quit! The media ate up all your tricks, turning them into scandals. That was the plan, of course. You desired your own freedom from all the royal obligations because you didn’t ask to be born into that lifestyle. To all of your peers who wished to be in your footsteps, you would’ve impulsively passed your title to them. There’s so much deception that lies behind the glitz and glam of it all.

This unexpected change in your former untainted attitude came to the point that your father, the king himself, stepped in and personally assigned one of his men to get you in check. He figured that appointing a guard nearest your age may lessen the tension and mend you back together.

In the start, you absolutely despised him. There was no way to fool him when you were up to no good. He easily found your alcohol and drug stash which he disposed of on the spot and stood by your bedroom door every night so you wouldn’t sneak out past curfew (which your father also strictly implemented).

One big turning point in your relationship was when he rushed you to the royal hospital when you drank a cocktail that went unnoticeably spiked. To think that this was a typical social gathering with other royals and officials, you’re a constant target to many. You didn’t wake up for a few days, and the entire time, Jaehyun willingly stood by your bedside and outside your hospital room.

Since that and more instances your father insisted you get involved in royal affairs, you softened up. As cliché as it was, the more time spent with him, the more you knew about him and vice versa. He was the one that got you to fully open up about your grief towards your late mother, encouraging you to seek help. Turns out you weren’t as different as you thought despite your differing ranks in society when he also had a void for a missing parent. In his case, it was his father, who ditched his family for his mistress. Silently, you helped each other recover from your traumas alongside therapy. From dreading his presence, you started treating him more casually. Your father’s tactic of assigning a bodyguard around your age admittedly worked.

Oh, how time flies.

This campaign was the last thing on your weekend agenda, so you had the entire late afternoon and evening to yourself. Bowing one last time to the audience, you stepped down from the platform and accepted the soft hand of your bodyguard, who quickly made his way to you despite the flashing cameras. It was something he got used to as it is part of the job.

Once he successfully ushered you out of the ballroom, his hand still held yours. Nothing new, except this event was quite public and you didn’t want anyone to get any wrong ideas. Strolling down one of the many hallways in the palace became a pastime for the both of you, where no one can catch you. It was a safe haven within the destructive life of the Park kingdom.

“You did phenomenal as I expected, your highness.” Jaehyun complimented, recalling your panic the night before as the stage fright hit strong when you were reciting your speech to him over and over again.

“We are in private, Jaehyun. Must you really use those formalities with me?” You taunted, bobbing your head sideways mockingly. With him could you felt like a normal young adult, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. Jaehyun loved being frisky with you, catching you get irked up. And he was up to do it again.

“Hmm last time we strolled these halls, Yuta caught us making out after a successful meeting with the Prime Minister.”

You gasped at his statement, conscious of whoever may be in the vicinity. But before you could refute, your hand that was interlocked with his were mightily slammed against the white wall. You lost your breath for a moment, his warm body closely on yours. His free hand freely roamed up and down your covered waist. His lips were dangerously near your neck, where you’re sensitive. Your hips naturally grinded against him to release the pent-up tension.

“Something tells me you want to do it again, princess?” Now he’s just using your title as a pet name, but you couldn’t complain. It just hits differently when the situation was set up like this.

“I deserve it, don’t I? Got a lot of those hell-driven officials on my side for this round.” You raised both your brows cockily, licking your lips.

“Hell yeah, you do.” Finally, he rids of the tension and plants open kisses on your bare neck. Your throaty moans were uncontrollable, and you could care less.

“My princess,”

Kiss.

“So intelligent,”

Kiss.

“So benevolent,”

Kiss.

“So helpful,”

Kiss.

“But,” He changed his pace and direction, swollen lips near your ear.

“But?” You question naïvely. He scoffed, smirking at your antics of playing dumb.

“But a total slut for her bodyguard.” He dominantly planted his lips against yours, one of his veiny hands gripping on your waist and the other by the arch of your butt. He was hungry, needy even. Due to your shared schedules, it’s been a constant struggle to have proper alone time from the snooping eyes of Korean society. After all, it wasn’t in the norm for a princess to fall deep for her bodyguard. Nor were you sure you would be accepted by anyone. Yuta, the bodyguard of your oldest brother, the crowned prince Jinyoung, finding the both of you at that time was a total shock but didn’t care either.

All that mattered was that your feelings towards each other are real and strong. Accepted or not, you had each other.

All this lust put you in a daze, wanting much more than another smooch fest in the hallway. Tugging on his belt, he squeezed your butt tightly. You emitted a moan, which allowed his tongue access. No way could you keep your hands to yourself, touching his upper body and the flexing of his abdominal muscles from his button-up. You felt his now hard member poking through.

Analyzing your area, you were on the other side of the palace. Farther to your bedroom where numerous rendezvouses were made, one kink you’ve considered in the past amplified your mind. Considering this area was also the king’s side, and he was abroad for royal affairs, this was your chance.

“I have an idea, my love. You up for it?” You rose a brow at your lover, challenging him. Not one to overpower this man in bed, but always suggesting a way on how to spice it up.

“And what exactly does your feral brain want to do with me, princess?” His finger lifted your chin so you meet eye to eye. You can just see the fire still burning, and oh how you were ready to intensify it.

“The main ballroom, where my father and late mother’s throne rest, are a few doors away.” Your fingers signal him to lower his stance as his tall height was difficult to reach. With a sneaky smirk,

“Let me ride you in the king’s throne, my love.” Your lips brushed over his and sucked his bottom lip, tugging him by his belt. He groaned, squeezing your butt. “It’s a royal order.”

“Nasty, your highness. Insanely nasty, you are.” His hands hoisted your waist, boosting you up in his arms. You gasped with profanities, ravenously cut off by his lips again. His nails digging deep in your bare thighs, your legs naturally linked themselves around his torso while your arms passionately intertwined his broad neck.

In between kisses, he carried you to the said main ballroom. One of your wildest imaginations, just a second away. This room remained to be the only place without any guards stationed technological advancements or updated interior designs to preserve its traditional beauty. Dated as far as the 19th century, only special events were held and the highest of the high were allowed inside. Spacious, surrounded by gold linings majestic paintings of angels from above with a huge crystal chandelier right above the center. Right ahead, the original thrones that your ancestors, grandparents, and parents sat on when they were throned in its pure glory.

Pushing your lover on the king’s throne, the gold sun-like rays plastered behind the headrest, he cockily leaned back and manspread his legs for comfort. He rubbed his hands before patting his thigh, waiting for your submission. But you weren’t going to give in just yet.

Not when you prepared a mini-show just for him underneath your designer silk dress.

Jaehyun’s solemn eyes marveled over your gorgeous figure as you stripped down one strap after the other. Due to its silk fabric, it effortlessly dropped down to your figure to reveal a new set of black lace lingerie from your previous trip to Paris. Ages ago, Jaehyun unhesitatingly ripped your favorite ones during his birthday, so you decided to get a mature version of it. A version where your bra lifted your breasts more and undies hiked up to your waist to elongate your legs. Only for the eyes of yourself and the man in front of you, establishing that you were a powerful woman who can be absolutely anyone she can be. Princess, a normal young adult, or his slut, it’s up to you how you see yourself.

Jaehyun mumbled all the profanities he could think of at the moment. Looking like a divine angel when the sun from outside shuns behind you, his slacks tightening so much more than a while ago.

“All this for me?” He ogled shamelessly, undoing the buttons of his dress shirt and untying his necktie. “What did I do to deserve such regal treatment?”

You sneered at his comment, stepping out your dress in your heels and stationing right in front of his luring lap. “You’ve always been there for me, thick and thin. I think you deserve a reward, don’t you think?”

Lowering yourself to straddle him, his breath hissed when your damp core collided with his crotch. Distracted and caught in your trap, “I don’t think you answered my question, my love.”

Rather than a verbal response, he roughly pulled you back in for a kiss. His hands scattered to explore from your back down to your waist. Your hands messily ran through his hair, tugging on some when your body got too sensitive to his wild touches. The thrilling sounds of the two of you drowning in your fiery romance bounced throughout the ballroom, not minding if anyone passed by the hallways outside. It was a private room after all, and whatever happens here, stays here.

Rolling on his crotch while his lips trailed down to your collarbones, the quick snap of your bra wires echoed. The tight lift lessened as Jaehyun’s fingers dropped the straps, unveiling your bare chest covered in his marks.

“Enough playing, princess. Let daddy have some real fun with you.”

945 notes · View notes

miekasa · 3 years ago

Note

any spare levi headcanons tonight????? 😁😁😁😁

Sure, why not, he is the love of my life after all. These are pretty random, and fit in some sort of generalized modern boyfriend au. Hopelessly domestic, as that is the nature of nearly everything I write for Levi, anyway. Also still terribly obsessed with the idea of him with a motorcycle, so there’s that.

He owns at least six black blazers. They’re nearly identical; slight differences in texture and cut, one with lapels, one that’s boldly all leather that you swear you’ve never seen him wear. They’re kind of his go-to staple, other than a sweater.

That being said, he doesn’t exclusively wear all black. His closet leans towards more neutrals, sure, but he’s not allergic to color. You might not catch him wearing neon orange on the average day, but he’s not averse to a nice shade of green, any shade of purple that suits his mood, even a softer pink.

He has towels and rags he sets aside especially for you when he comes over. He always washes them and put them back in place when you leave so that they’re ready to go for next time.

Claims to not have any attachment to the shows/dramas you watch, but he’s totally backseat watching. Halfway into every single series, he starts sitting down when you turn it on, and scoffs at dumb decisions the characters make.

He splurged on one of those frame TVs that look like a painting when they’re idle. It was a good investment in his opinion.

He doesn’t hate Starbucks drinks—there’s worse things out there in terms of quality of tea. What he despises about the establishment is the way they call out names for you to pick up your order. He’s learned that mobile order ahead is the way to go.

Has slippers for around the house, so consequently, you have slippers for walking around his house. He keeps both pairs (and a few extra for friends and guests) tucked neatly beside the door for easy access; yours always go next to his.

Does not understand the purpose of a robe. Buy him one tho and he will suddenly find an excuse to wear it: making breakfast, lounging around watching TV, doing some light cleaning and dusting. It’s comfy, alright, he can admit that much.

The little puppy you got him that he swore he was not going to warm up to now gets the royal treatment. The best doggie goods and treats, top rated shampoos, cutest drying towels, even a miniature couch he constructed just for the pup. They’re best friends, there’s no breaking that bond now.

Speaking of the puppy, affectionately named Captain, Levi can be found walking him every day shortly after work. They have a few different routes, but they always pass by the local vendors/market, who enthusiastically anticipate their appearance every day. Some of the older ladies running stands have even taken to bringing a few treats with them for Captain—after bundling up some goods for Levi, too, of course.

Captain also has a special doggy backpack Levi uses for when he’s on his motorcycle. If you follow anybody on TikTok in his area, you’re bound to see at least one video of the pup while Levi’s out riding. He’s become viral on social media without even knowing it.

(When you show him a video someone posted of him and Captain with well over 100k likes, and a million views, he only rolled his eyes. But remembers that particularly day; remembers the folks had a kid who politely asked to pet the dog, so he let him. He also maybe asks you to send the link to him).

On the subject of the motorcycle, there was a good few weeks he wouldn’t let you on it. Always found an excuse, a smart reply that was punctuated with gentle push on your forehead and calling you too clumsy for it. Later, you found out it’s because he’d ordered you a helmet; didn’t want to risk you riding without one.

He always keeps it in the storage compartment should he make a stop to pick you up while he’s riding; and he usually wears at least two layers to have a spare to wrap you in before you get on.

When he cooks, he always makes sure there’s enough for leftovers and/or to give you some later. He also bakes frequently, and at least once a week, he stops by with some kind of treat for you—“Trying out a new recipe, let me know if you think it’s missing anything.”

On the subject of food, he won’t police what you eat to annoying extent; he knows that not everybody has the time or will to make pasta from scratch like he does. But, he will smack your wrist if you consider ordering fast food when you’re over at this place. Give him 30 minutes and a single pan, he’ll make something much better than whatever you can find on Uber Eats.

Really, though, he doesn’t mean to obnoxious about the homemade food thing, it’s more habit for him. Growing up, he had to learn to be resourceful, so buying fast-food isn’t ever at the forefront of his mind. Cooking for you also turns out to be something somewhat intimate that he enjoys, so just let him.

Once bought an Apple Watch because he liked the look of them, it wasn’t insanely expensive like other high end watches, and it could connect to his other devices, so why not? A week later he returned it, the ping of his notifications were in one too many places for his liking.

You tried to convince him to keep it—“At least for when you’re jogging! It can track your activity and calories!”—but he clicks his teeth. He’ll survive without keeping track of them.

He learned the hard way that jogging with Captain is no good. His legs are too tiny and Levi ended up carrying the puppy the entire time. Captain is more of a walk dog… or ride on the back of his bike dog.

If you changed anything in his phone settings—like the ringtone for you contact, or the sound his keyboard makes—he wouldn’t go back in and try to figure out how to reset it. Unless it was something obnoxious, like adding an autocorrect shortcut to say something lewd.

He doesn’t really listen to music when he’s just walking. When he’s on a run, that’s fine, but he somewhat prefers to just… hear the environment around him when he’s on a stroll or a break from work. The only reason he’d have headphones on in public is to take a phone call, but even then, he’d prefer to wait until he’s somewhere more private.

He likes having you over at his apartment and has contemplated asking you to move in. He doesn’t want to rush anything, though, so he’s content with your sleepovers for now. (Though he really cannot fathom that you call them “sleepovers” like you’re 14. Please).

He speaks to his mother at least once a week, and she always asks about you. Levi tells her that you’re fine, gives her small updates about you, but Kuchel really just wants to know when the wedding is. He pretends to be busy whenever she starts asking and conveniently ends the call.

Occasionally, he’ll stop by and take you out for lunch. Depends on how much time he has during the day for himself, but he always enjoys sharing a meal with you.

Whenever you’re out with your friends drinking, Levi will pick you up. Even if you already told him that you’d Uber home; as soon as you text him that you’re going to leave soon, he’s already on his way.

He makes pretty good cocktails himself. Teases you for running his alcohol supply dry when the truth is he has more of your favorites in his cabinet than his own. He secretly likes the way you flirt with him when you’re tipsy.

You don’t always cuddle on top of each other when you sleep together. You can just lay by each other and that’s enough; but sometimes, you catch Levi turning towards you in his sleep, reaching for your hand. His body seems to search for yours subconsciously, and you swear there’s a hint of a smile on his sleeping face when you put your hand within reach.

Do not try to pay for dinner when you’re out with him. He’ll pull the “I’m going to use the restroom” move and pay the bill behind your back if he needs to. Open your own doors, maybe; pull out your own chairs, sure if you want; but not this.

He flosses very diligently every night. Mostly because he fucking hates the dentist, so if he takes the extra steps and is extra careful with his teeth, he doesn’t have to go as often, right?—Wrong, it’s the one time the roles are reversed, and you and Hange have to wrestle him into the doctor’s office.

On the flip side, if there are any doctors you routinely avoid and/or forget to schedule check ups for, fear not, because Levi will do it for you. He’ll drive you there, too—the only caveat being, that he usually doesn’t tell you where you’re going until you’re almost there. You think he’s doing the mysterious man surprise date thing and then boom, he’s pulling up to the ophthalmologist. Good luck.

He’s purchased a physical, paper copy of the news on every one of your anniversaries, birthdays, and other special occasions. He keeps them all neatly tucked away in a drawer. Sometimes, he looks back on them—sees what was happening in the world around you on that day. Maybe someday he’ll cut them up and bind them together in a book for you.

He doesn’t like having headphones in when you’re home with him, and preferred if you didn’t either—unless it was for work or school. He welcomes you to use his speakers and play your music aloud; he likes listening to what you listen to. If you look closely, you can catch him humming along or tapping his foot when he really likes a song.

Saves pictures you send him in an album in his camera roll. Occasionally can be found scrolling through them—particularly if you’ve been away on a trip, or he hasn’t gotten the chance to see you because of conflicting schedules.

He takes relatively short showers and doesn’t have a strong preference for the water temperature, so he lets you shower first. Unless you want him to join you, of course.

It’s not hard to tell when Levi wants you. He becomes noticeably more touchy, even if that margin isn’t too wide by anyone else’s standards; and he rarely tries to hide it. It only happens in the privacy of your apartments; but he’ll come on to you—leaning a bit further into conversations, a hand on your knee, a kind of cloudy look in his eyes.

Sometimes he forgoes the attempts at being subtle, just kisses you out the blue, carefully backs you up against the wall, puts his hands on your hips. He can be awfully direct when given the opportunity.

#anonymous #[dreamy sight] levi where art thou levi.......... i am yearning deeply #levi x reader #aot x reader #levi smut #levi fluff #snk x reader #aot imagines

324 notes · View notes

lustbile · 4 years ago

Text

To Provoke

Incubus!HaechanxReader

Word Count: 4.4K

Warning: dom-ish haechan, semi public (alley way), oral&fingering, biting, blood consumption, & can maybe be interpreted as degrading but not really

notes: a resounding thank you to whoever gave haechan curls and horns im in love with you nct stylist person. I wrote this all today and it made me stupid so I will try to go through and do more editing. Also not that I think anyone would, but I made the edit for this, horns and all, and im asking politely no one repost it, i know it’s not the most extravagant edit but im asking u pls.

Nct Masterlists

Multi group Masterlist

You were trying to provoke him.

You were always trying to provoke him.

Everything you did, every move, blink, sigh, and turn was an attempt to pull him from the shadows.

To admit you’re addicted to him is embarrassing, degrading even, especially with the way it fills his chest and wild eyes with hunger and pride. His ego was one thing that never needed to grow, big enough to fill every nook and cranny of the universe, but something about the way your pretty eyes would glitter at him in awe pushed it over the edge in free fall.

The outfit you chose to wear was maybe a bit too revealing for the weather, the nipping cold dancing along your shoulders and thighs in a way that makes your stomach clench and your teeth chatter. But it was the same outfit you had worn on the night you had met him, the outfit that his greedy fingers tugged and pulled on to get access to your skin, and it still had the smallest of tears in the seem from his impatience that night.

But it got you attention, and that's what mattered in the end.

He had always had a jealous streak, something he’d deny sharply if you had the nerve to accuse him, but that didn’t change the fact that some of your best nights with him were spent after he showed up to remind you that your body and skin were for him only. And that jealousy was the exact thing you needed to get him to show his face again.

It had been far too long since you had felt him last. You had no clue where he could have possibly ran off to for such a long time, but that didn’t stop the fire that was building in your belly. And no matter how many times you tried, your own wandering hands were never enough to quench your body’s thirst like he could.

The man you spoke to at the club meant less than nothing to you, even when you felt his growing excitement pressing against your back when you agreed to dance with him. The sloppy kisses you allowed him to press against the skin of your neck felt no different than just air as your mind was too distracted by the man that had taken ownership of your heart and soul so long ago, regardless of his absence.

It didn’t feel long before the lights became too bright, the alcohol that sloshed in your cup too bitter for your tongue, and the smell of the strange man too stale and unfamiliar. But when you pushed away from his chest and checked the time on your phone, while you ignored his grumbled complaints of you being a tease, you saw that it was only a handful of minutes past midnight.

You had stayed out much longer than that before, much later in fact and with glee, but something in your chest, a heavy and daunting weight, was pulling you towards the entrance on unsteady feet and a taunting disappointment on your shoulders.

Your mind still felt muggy even after you broke away from the stuffy environment of the building, but you brushed it off as a combination of the minimal alcohol you’d consumed and the angry unsatisfied monster that had made home in your gut.

You had enough of a head on your shoulders to scan your purse for your pepper spray and pocket knife before you decided that maybe the short walk home would help clear your mind and disappointment. It was still cold, your icy fingertips begging for a uber or cab instead, but you were hoping the biting chill would help calm down whatever lustful beast you had become because of a man you couldn't even contact.

Your legs felt too heavy to carry with every step you took, your neck feeling like your necklaces were made from tons of lead instead of whatever cheap metal the random online store you had ordered them from used. You were grateful that the only company you had on the back streets you had chosen to take were the flickering street lamps and the skittering rats you could hear in each alley you passed.

You could almost taste the relief of the cheap bottles of wine you had stashed in your kitchen paired with a trashy netflix horror film when you turned onto your street, your apartment building somehow looking inviting with its old brick and foggy windows as it sat on the corner. The only thing stopping you from kicking off your heels and making a run for it being the memory of one of your less than polite neighbors dropping a large glass vase and not feeling any need to pick up the broken pieces before leaving for the day.

Instead you grit your teeth to help bear the pinching of your shoes, and break into a quick and awkward jog down the desolate stretch of sidewalk. Your eyes watering as you're met with icy air.

Peace and warmth and cheap familiar alcohol is only a few strides away when you hear it. To anyone else in the city it would have been no different than the sounds of an everyday creature scavenging in the trash for food, but you had lived here long enough to know what's a rat or raccoon or, in this case, a cat.

It was a stray you had befriended long ago, one that could climb and duck into your conveniently opened balcony door for a bowl of food and a scratch behind the ears. It was just a sweet little boy that was grey and covered with scratches and scars, but due to a no pet policy had to be kept labeled as a stray and a secret to your landlord.

You huff in frustration, assuming he would have been curled up on your couch when you returned home and not chasing rats in the alley next to your building, but he had always been mischievous from the day you met him. So with the hope that you could block his image from the security cameras, you turn and head into the dim light of the small alley.

You had lovingly dubbed him Oscar when you came home more than once to your trash can tipped over and learned he had a special love for garbage, and that name along with some weird chattering cooing left you mouth as you tried to coax him from whatever trash can he was creating chaos within.

Your teeth were already gritted and you back stiff as the playful feline found enjoyment in jumping out and scaring you in times like this and you assumed this time would be no different as his evilness seemed to only raise as it got deeper and deeper into the night. So you were already mentally prepared for an attack from an overly excited ball of fur, what you weren’t prepared for was a voice.

“What are you doing out so late?” the voice was gruff and slightly accusatory and made you all but jump completely out of your skin. And as you whip around in circles to try to find the face that the words feel from, you see your love and joy Oscar jump from the tallest trash can and scale the fire escape up to scramble back into your home like a guilty teenager that was caught by their mother.

“I asked you a question,” this time the words were followed by strong hands gripping your shoulders and a shrill yelp escaping your throat.

Your hand was pushing into your purse for at least one of your weapons as you squat to get out of the person's hold and turn to see their face, the grinning and prideful boy behind you washes you with a wave of relief before stabbing at you with annoyance.

“Haechan, what the fuck,” you whisper harshly as you pull your hand from your purse and stand up straight, your now free hand now moving to jab a rough finger into the dip of his chest, “how many times? How many times have I told you to not fucking sneak up on me like that. I know the pepper spray can’t hurt you and a stab wound would heal in like five minutes but that doesn’t mean I want to stab you, idiot.”

“Why not?” his head jerks back as if you said something dumb like the sky wasn’t actually blue or he wasn’t really the sexiest man to live, something that just has no logic behind it in the slightest, “like you said it would heal so maybe we could try, might be kinda hot.”

He punctuates his words by grabbing you roughly by the waist, his other hand wrapping gently around your neck before he pushes you against the rough brick behind you, the permanent evil glimmer in his eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Do you ever get tired of being an absolute freak?” you thinly veiled insult doesn’t pack as much of a punch as you had maybe hoped, but when he begins to mouth at the skin of your jaw and cheek you can’t really find it within yourself to care.

“Well isn’t that why you like me?” he asks rhetorically as he starts to nip light bruises in the spots that blur your vision, “freaky me must be your favorite, because otherwise you wouldn’t be dressed the way you are.”

He’s no wrong, not even in the slightest, but the confident way in which he says it is enough to make you want to lie, “wanting you and liking you are two different things, no one ever said I liked you.”

“Oh but you want me,” the way in which he takes everything you say in strides without even batting an eye is bit infuriating, but the way his fingers tighten against your neck and push into your jugular is enough to make you melt against him, “that’s what you said so for once that’s not me putting words into your pretty little mouth. But don’t say you don’t like me, that’s a dirty lie and we both know it.”

“You don’t like when I lie?” you pout at him, trying to pull more and more reactions from him, “but some of your favorite things I say are lies, like how big you are and how well you fuc-“

“Alright that’s enough of you,” he interrupts, his fist tightening that much more and his other slipping from your waist to reach under the hem of your dress, a satisfied growl and his tongue pressing into the inside of his cheek being his reaction when he realizes the underwear he was grabbing for wasn’t there, “I’ve had to watch you prance around all night, letting a low down dog of a man touch you. And for what? My attention? Baby, you already have my attention.”

Your words stutter violently, the only sounds coming from your throat are whines and gasps as his fingers slip between your thighs and glide against the dampened skin, never staying on your clit long enough to give you the pleasure you need but enough to make you squirm.

“You were watching me?” you finally gasp out, before it clicks in your brain how dumb of a question it was. He told you a long time ago that he always will keep an eye on you, and knowing what he is and the things he can do, you had no reason to not believe him.

“I always am my pretty baby,” he coos before pressing teasing kisses to your open mouth, seemingly tasting and feeding off of every little noise that slips out, “and it hurts to see you let such a nasty man touch you where only I should. You didn’t even notice him following you out of that trashy club did you, silly thing?”

You jerk back as much as you can with the way he holds you, eyes widening at the news that you were apparently being followed without your knowledge. Every emotion that swims in your brain feels like its fighting for dominance, but with the way he chooses to dip his middle and ring fingers just barely past your entrance you’re struggling to cling to just one.

“God, you are so lucky to have me aren’t you? Who else would take care of creeps and make you feel good hm?” he tilts his head as he speaks, his breath warm against the side of your face before his tongue dips to lick at the shell of your ear, “no one can make you feel the way I do can they?”

“No,” you finally answer after a moment, the word coming out as an airy breath as his fingers finally sink in all the way. He wastes no time before curling them and pressing at the spot that makes your knees buckle, “please Haechan, need you so bad.”

“Oh is that one of those infamous lies of yours you were talking about?” he pulls away slightly, but shows no interest in slowing the motions of his hand, “well it can’t be can it? I can always tell you know? Can hear the way your heart picks up when you lie, much different than the way it does when you’re about to come for me.”

His wrist starts to move faster, the heel of his hand finally pressing and rubbing against your clit as the muscles of his forearm start to strain. The telling signs of your orgasm feel too sudden, too fast, and with his hand still constricting the blood that tries to flow to your head all you can do is let your eyes roll as your breathing comes out as small puffs.

“But since you’ve asked so nicely,” you can only let out a pathetic cry when he pulls his hand away from you suddenly, your lack of oxygen being the only thing stopping you from letting out a scream loud enough for the whole block to hear as he denies you of any stimulation. All you can do is let out incoherent babbling and whines as your hands reach up to dig your nails into the leather jacket protecting his forearms.

He releases your neck, your skin burning from the friction and the sudden amount of oxygen and blood returning to your head making you dizzy. And while your eyes roll as they try to refocus and your heart rate begins to slow to normal, he grabs your wrists and pushes your weakened form to be flush against the wall thats scrapes against your exposed skin.

“You are by far the best thing ive ever tasted,” he mutters, not concerned with whether you heard him or not, before his mouth latches to the side of your neck. He seems to find the most interest in the finger prints he left behind, as he pulls the tender skin between his sharp teeth and works to create a bruise that won’t leave you for another week.

Regardless of denying you a proper release, he considers himself to still be a generous guy. As his tongue lays flat against the burning skin of your neck, he starts to kick at your feet until your clumsy legs are falling apart wide enough for him to press his thigh against your skin, and in the exact way he predicted, you can’t help but to begin grinding helplessly against him.

One of the main reasons the dress that you currently wear is one of his favorites, is the neckline. Low enough to show the expanse of your chest and just enough of your cleavage to make him salivate. He’s as transparent as glass with this love, especially as he mouth travels down between your collarbones and sternum.

You can hear a quiet pop in the fabric of the neckline when he bites down and begins to pull it with him as he sinks down to the floor, the huff you let out being both in frustration from him further ruining a nice dress and your impatience.

The straps dig harshly into the skin of your shoulders before they give and fall, the sudden lack of support making it easier for Haechan to take the fabric and expose your chest to the cold air.

The look in his eyes when you look down is mean and predatory, you fear one day he’ll snap and consume you whole, but for today he settles for wrapping his swollen lips around your nipple and sucking harshly.

Your hips quicken involuntary, broken moans filling the empty alley as you twitch and squirm in his hold. He seems to grow irritated at your impatience as he shoves your wrists back harshly, his knuckles audibly scraping against the brick.

“You can never be patient to save your life,” his head tilts forward and he presses his forehead against your sternum with a huff before he’s leaning back up to press a sloppy kiss against your panting mouth, “you’re lucky I missed you so much or otherwise you’d be in for a lot longer of a night.”

He keeps your wrists trapped in his hold as he moves to kneel on the ground, the rough and dirtied pavement doing nothing to help the tears that already litter his jeans.

You feel your face flush when he lets go of one wrist and uses his newly freed hand to shove the hem of your dress up and around your hips, and the burning beneath your skin only worsens when he leans forward and breathes deeply with his nose pressed against your pubic bone.

He leans back for a moment, his hand wrapping around the bend of your knee to pull your leg to rest on his shoulder and you feel your shoulder sting from the wall cutting into your skin from him moving you like a doll.

“Haechan,” you whisper his name out with a pout that you hope will get you exactly what you want, but you can only huff and petulantly twitch when he begins nipping and licking at the skin on the insides of your thighs.

His teeth are sharper than most, and he usually airs on the side of caution because he’s aware of this. His bites are gentle for the most part, but when you begin to peak in your feelings of impatience, you can’t help the way your hips begin jerking forwards in search of his tongue.

His palm pushing against your hip is his first warning, a generous one in his opinion, but when the warning seems to fly completely over your pretty little head he has no other choice but to lean forward and sink his teeth into delicate skin at the bend of your thigh.

You cry out for a second before you’re tucking your lip between your teeth. It stings terribly, the skin breaking around his teeth burns but you can’t stop the way you revel in the sharp pain. And at the exact same moment you taste the metallic ting of the blood falling from your bitten lip, you feel the same warm thick liquid drip from the wounds he’s created and straight into his grinning mouth.

More blood falls freely when he pulls his teeth from your flesh, his warm tongue flattening against the injury immediately to catch as much of the liquid as possible.

He laps at it for a moment, savoring as much of the taste of your life source as possible, before he starts at the bottom of the bite mark and drags slowly up.

Once his tongue moves off the wound, he continues across your skin. The moment he hits your labia, you let out a gasp and jerk against him again, your mind completely erasing the fact that the bite was meant to be a punishment for that exact thing.

He seems to have forgotten him wanting you to remain still, as he doesn’t hesitate in the slightest until his licking across your stil swollen bundle of nerves.

He moans as the flavor of your arousal mixes with the still lingering taste of your blood, the vibrations shooting straight up your spine and making you shiver.

He tilts his head up to smile at you, his eyes shining as he grabs your hands and moving them to thread into his curled hair.

“Why are you shivering?” he asks with a faux concern, his right hand smoothing over your thigh before pushing between your legs to return his fingers to their spot inside of you, immediately pumping and curling them slowly, “are you cold or something? Maybe it’s because you’re in such a skimpy little dress?”

You groan out in annoyance at his playful act, your eyes rolling back but for once not in pleasure. It’s not until he starts to proudly giggle to himself do you exploit the hold you have on the back of his head to push him back to your body.

You fear that being shoved around may be the exact thing Haechan would have wanted, when he happily moans before latching his lips to your clit again, but the pleasure that melts your muscles erases any need to call him out on his deviousness and perverted enjoyment.

He seems happy with your moving hips when they start to move against his waiting face. Your fingers mindlessly and desperately tug at his scalp as your head tilts back and thumps against the wall.

The hand that isn’t pressed deeply inside you slides across your hip, his callused fingers making goosebumps run up your arms as they push into your lower belly.

You can feel yourself fluttering around his fingers as the curl and push apart, your thighs tensing around his bobbing head as he licks and bites gently at your clit. It feels like it’s harder to catch your breath and you know you’re only moments from orgasm.

“Please, please,” you start to stutter the word over and over, praying both that he lets you come and that you’re neighbors are deep enough in sleep to not hear the noises you know will escape you.

You almost cry in relief when you feel his shoulders shift, his face and fingers both pressing deeper from the movement in a way that tells you he has no intention on letting up on your shivering body.

His blunt nails start to scratch into your skin and you can feel his heavy panting breath against your skin every time he begins to lap at you desperately. You can feel your muscles lose even more strength, and your head becoming heavier and dazed as he coaxed you closer and closer to your finish.

Your shoulders twitch up towards your ears and you feel your stomach clench as your back curves, small whines and whimpers leave you as the heel of your foot thumps against the space between his shoulder blades.

You gasp out when you feel it, them. They start as small bumps beneath your palms, and you feel your chest tighten when it clicks what they are.

He’s always had a good hold on controlling them, keeping them hidden so he can wreak havoc without being clocked as something inhuman. They had peaked out a few times, usually in moments like this, but it’s such a rarity that you can’t stop the way your heart begins to thump in your chest.

Out of everything about him, you were obsessed with all of him, but you loved his horns the most. They were small and sharp at the side of his head and the way he looks when they’re poking out amongst his curled hair, and especially when he was grumpy or mad, made you want to jump on him and kiss him all over.

You were so caught up and distracted by them growing to full size directly under your hands you forgot how sharp they were at their tapered ends. The reminder you get is when they sharply down push into your palms like thorns.

You gasp sharply, but the way they curl makes you afraid to pull away. It makes you tremble and flush with embarrassment, but the pain bleeding into your hands is the last straw on your nerves. All you can do is wrap your now bleeding hands around the horns and cry out into the cold air as your erratic hips move across his face.

He groans deeply against you as your nails scrape at the skin that surrounds the base of his horns, the feeling of his and his still moving tongue pushes you through and past your gasping orgasm.

You sign in relief when he finally detaches from your body, his mouth moving up to press your hip and across the space of your stomach the dress reveals. He puts your leg down slowly and he creeps back up your torso, now hyper aware of your wounded hands still stuck on his horns.

“Sorry my love, they’re kinda sharp aren’t they?” he rhetorically asks with a soft but guilty grin. He stays ducked down enough that your hands don’t go too high that they start to slip, and he follows with his own to help you detach them.

“I just keep making my mark on you tonight huh?” he sighs as he stands at full height and brings your still bleeding hands to his face. You grit your teeth and scrunch your nose when he gives you a knowing look that says ‘we both know what I have to do.’

He is quick and gentle when he swipes his tongue across the deep cuts in your hands, not wanting it to sting more than necessary.

A teasing grin fills his face when he looks up to see the tired pout on your face, “just like the one on your leg, there won’t be anything left than a bruise if you just wait like an hour,” he’s sincere in his words, and you know it works, but you still feel all wounded and tired.

“Take me home,” you demand, wrapping your slowly healing hands around his shoulders and leaning until your head rests against his shoulder.

“Hey now,” he contradicts his tone by wrapping his arm around your waist and helping guide you walk to your apartment, “you still have to feed Oscar, and take a shower, and I’m not even full yet so you have to let me play with you until I wear you out.”

His tone is far too genuine and loving for the words he says, and you swat weakly at his chest in annoyance, but all he does in response is a laugh.

#nct smut #haechan smut #nct imagine #nct oneshot #haechan oneshot #haechan imagine #nct 127 smut #nct dream smut #kpop smut #nct fic #nct fanfic

378 notes · View notes

space-mermaid-writing · 3 years ago

Text

House Arrest [Reader X Loki] Chapter 3

Summary: You are Clint’s 'little' sister and actually a trained Shield agent. But you gave that up a few years ago and became a Chef, because you wanted a normal live. Then one day Natasha shows up at your door and takes you to the Avenger Tower for a while for security reasons.

Tags: Reader is an former Shield Agent, chef!reader, Reader Barton, 2012 Avenger vibes, everything is still alright, Slice of Life, Avengers Family, Loki has a good heart, still the god of mischief, Slow Burn, mention of food and cooking

Read it on AO3

Chapter 3: Nighttime pancakes

The next few days you got to know everything a little better: The tower, the Avengers - as far as they were present and showed themselves - and the rest of the staff that you ran into from time to time. You also discovered that the tower had its own training halls. Actually this was just logical given the team that lives here. Often when you were out and about in the building, you got the faint feeling of being watched. It was a little disturbing, but you dismissed it by saying that the environment was still new to you. Also, you had learned that JARVIS had access to all the public rooms and most of them were probably video monitored too. You weren’t sure about your own quarters yet, but you were also not sure if you wanted to know the answer.

Unfortunately the nights are very long, because you sleep very badly here. Despite the short time, you miss walking outside, through the streets, and besides, you are used to a rather strict daily routine. Sure, it's nice to switch off for a few days and not have to do anything. A little vacation, so to speak. But you're someone who soon gets bored with that. You chose a profession that requires you to spend hours running around the kitchen, preparing dishes and finishing orders for a reason after all. The price of your now lazy life is that you toss and turn in your bed at night without really being tired. Maybe there are some additional worries that keep you awake. For example, the Hydra question that was still unresolved.

This night you turn from side to side again, sighing, and at some point take a look at the digital alarm clock. Its digits glowing a light red in the darkness. It's three in the morning. Or night. Depending on how you see it. After a few more unsuccessful tries to sleep, you give up and decide to roam the halls a bit. Just walking around and stretching your legs. Outside, it's quiet. Only the soft whirring of some working machines can be heard. The corridors are discreetly lit, so you have no trouble finding your way, which leads you into the large lobby. It’s actually the first time since your arrival that you find it completely empty. Still, you have the familiar feeling that you are not alone. Jarvis probably never sleeps.

Out of habit, you end up in the kitchen and take a bored look into the fridge. Nothing in there appeals to you, but you're not really hungry either. Not even for a little snack. Still, you feel like cooking. Maybe pancakes. You could eat them for breakfast later. Without thinking too long about it, you get a bowl from the cupboard and tie an apron around yourself, which you have obligatory lying here by now. Flour, milk and eggs are quickly mixed and a few other ingredients are added for flavor. You put some butter in a pan on the stove. When it became liquid, you start to fry the first pancake and gradually got more and more, so that you quickly have a respectable pile together. Quietly, you hum to yourself.

"It's been a long time since anyone has been here at this hour”, you suddenly hear an unfamiliar voice behind you. Surprised, you whirl around, holding a knife that had been lying next to the stove. A dark-haired man in a green shirt is standing by the kitchen island, watching your actions curiously. When he sees the knife, he raises both hands to calm you down. On each of his arms you notice a narrow silver hoop with a red dot flashing. You hadn't heard a door, and you're not sure how long he's been standing there. "What’s your deal? Can’t sleep?", you ask him. "Just like you apparently." You raise an eyebrow and set the knife aside as the pancakes demand your attention. "You're Loki, aren't you?" It's more of a statement than a question, and the man nods. "And you're the archer's sister", he respond, which makes you in turn nod. "I‘m Y/N, pleasure to meet you." "You don't often hear that as a prisoner", he says amused, but still keeps eye on you, waiting for your reaction. "Heard about it. I guess we're sitting in the same boat." "Oh, really?" "Well, I probably won't be tasered right away if I try to leave the building." "Probably?", Loki follows up. "Yeah, I'm not entirely sure about that."

You talk for a while until you hear the elevator ping quietly in the lobby. But you're not paying attention right now, as you're busy scraping the last bit of dough out of the bowl and then turning off the stove. "Would you like some?" you ask Loki, turning to him only to find that he has disappeared. Taken aback, you turn your attention to the room next door, where you hear muffled voices. Then the door opens. "THAT'S what I call a nice welcome," Clint grins, looking at the stack of pancakes. "Brother dear", you greet him equally pleased and surprised at his unexpected appearing. Smiling, you walk up to him and hug him. Along with him, Steve Rogers, whom you've also already seen on the news as Captain America, came in. He seems a little confused at first, but after you fill him in on who you are, he welcomes you as well.

"What are you doing here?" your brother then asks you. "You can see that. I'm making breakfast for you." "No, I mean, what are you doing here?" He specifies the question with a gesture that included all the surroundings as well as the Tower. "Oh..." It's clearly too middle of the night for you to be that precise. In a few words, you explain your situation. Clint has some encouraging words for you, but can understand that you are not enthusiastic. "At least we can get more on each other's nerves again. Why don't you start right now and join us while we eat?", he laugh, putting his arm around your shoulder in a brotherly fashion as he pushes you toward the stove. You have to laugh, too. "You mean while you eat my breakfast." "Exactly." You go get two plates from the cupboard and serve the men each a good stack of pancakes with maple syrup. They thank you and the group of you make yourselves comfortable at the kitchen island. "Where and how do you guys usually eat here?", you ask in the meantime. "We each order our own food. Probably have a flat rate with all the suppliers in the neighborhood," Clint explains. Steves' gaze is on you questioningly. "Don't you want some pancakes, too?" "In the middle of the night? No thanks, I'm not hungry." "Then why did you made them, if you don't mind me asking?" "I knew you'd come and could use something in your stomach", you reply with a serious expression, to which Steve shoots first you and then your brother a scrutinizing look. He’d seen enough weird shit while working with the Avengers to take such a statement quite seriously. And he wonders whether you, unlike Hawkeye, have superpowers. But only until you can no longer stifle the broad grin, because his facial expression is just too funny.

Before you can say anything, though, Clint interjects. "As siblings, we've just developed some sort of telepathic ability." You nod in agreement. "Exactly. That's how I always know when he's going to say something stupid and deserve a head butt." "To be honest, I never heard him talk about you before”, Steve admits. "See”, you wink, "It‘s working out just fine." You laugh, and while they continue to eat, Clint tells you about the mission they just came from.

Afterwards, you put another stack of pancakes on a plate to take it with you back to the lobby. "Hungry now, are you?", your brother asks you, clearly tired after the long journey and at this late hour. Just as the super soldier. "Maybe”, you answer shortly and wish them both a good night. The greeting comes back double and you head into the large lobby with the elevators. "Jarvis?" "Yes, Miss Barton?" "Where is Loki's apartment?", you ask the computer. "You are not exactly authorized to receive this information." "I just want to get him something to eat."

You raise the plate in your hands a little higher and apparently your answer is analyzed, because for a few seconds there is silence. But then you get the information you want and are directed to the door you are looking for. It was on another floor and at the end of a long corridor.

You knock, but at first there is no response. So you try again. "Come on, my prince, I know you're not asleep and it's rude to leave a lady at a locked door." You hear an amused sound from the other side and shortly after the door is opened. With his arms crossed, Loki stands before you. "It's also rude to disturb a prince in the middle of the night, M’Lady", he replies. "Rude would be to refuse a dinner from a lady. Especially when she personally hands it to you", you add, giving him the plate. It's impossible for you to tell if he's amused or annoyed as he looks from you to the pancakes in his hand. "I never said I wanted any“, he states. "But you didn't say you didn't want them, either. Just give them a try. I'm pretty good at cooking." With that, you turn to go. "Good night, dear prince," you wish him, but without turning around. So you miss the grin on Loki's face as he closes the door.

57 notes · View notes

prof-peach · 4 years ago

Note

Hey Prof, I need your advice.

My sister recently decided she didn't wanted her bulbasaur anymore (she got him on a whim about a month ago) and gave him to me, he is quite violent and tends to attack when I try to get close to him.

Now, that wouldn't be a huge problem, but my Purrloin has gotten hurt trying to befriend him, she's quite outgoing and never really liked fighting (we enjoy contests so she knows a few more flashy attacks), so she couldn't even defend herself properly.

I don't want to give up on him and my local rescue center is filled with Bunearies (you know, after Easter kids don't want their Bunny anymore) so they can't take him in right now, any advice in how I can go about this situation?

Sounds to me like you have a tricky little dude on your hands. So you're not battle orientated which will make this harder, Bulbasaur in the wild are actually quite combat minded to defend their families and territory, and a lot of their herds consist of strict hierarchy based on power and skill, often led by older, fully evolved members of their group.

Before you take any actions to befriend them, its worth noting that any pokemon who comes into your care showing aggression is usually doing so for one or two reasons that are pretty universal for any species. Fear being the main issue with pokemon who have been ditched, if a pokemon is unwell, if it feels exposed, if it is unsure of you or your home, your partners, it may lash out because it is afraid. Even what looks like pure anger can stem from a fear. Of course some individuals are just full of rage, its not unheard of, but for the most part it comes from somewhere else.

For a moment, take the time to put yourself in this pokemons shoes. It was chosen, with hopes and ambitions of its own, by your sister, a stranger to them, and for whatever reason they were cast aside. This reason may be unclear to the pokemon, it may be unfair, unkind, or even without malice just out of pure indifference. No matter the reason, this pokemon has been left behind by a trainer it at one point probably wanted to try to get along with. I don’t know what your sister may or may not have done, or provided for the bulbasaur, but it will help you understand how its feeling, if you were to ask her about their relationship prior to you receiving the pokemon. If it has always been aggressive and angry, i’d seriously consider talking to it about release, not rehome.

We humans have a preconceived notion that pokemon are pets and things to keep with us. This may be true for some sure, but not every pokemon wishes to be a captive to a human, they may want more for themselves, and wish for a free life with their own kind. We cannot put our wants and desires above that of the pokemons, so you two need to have a talk, at a respectful distance for safeties sake, to see what the Bulbasaur feels they may want. These are herd pokemon, born and bred to be with their own kind, if not a larger group, if its lonely, if it wants to go home, to start a family, or simply to not be held in a ball as some creature to be owned, then you as its current carer must give it what you can. You can always find another pokemon who wants to be your partner, but you cannot give back lost years to a pokemon who has lived a life its unhappy with. Treat them with respect, and be open and honest. At the end of the day we have a chance to help pokemon, and forcing what we want onto them is a hinderance, and will lead to them feeling unsatisfied and bitter in the long run.

Some pokemon lash out due to the process of being handed off to someone else, trust is earnt, not always just simply given to whoever holds the pokeball. Remember this as you move forward, and try to keep your other pokemon away from them, Bulbasaur are territorial species, and have to accept pokemon into their families before simply allowing them to come and go freely into their personal space. Despite their grouchy natures at times they usually do have a morally positive compass, and defend with ferocity when they love something. Perhaps in you showing genuine concern for their welfare and future, offering them not what you want, but instead what they want, they may give you a chance to get closer, but take baby steps, and try to be their friend above all else. I bet they're feeling pretty lonely right now.

Its worth sharing interests with the pokemon, talk about contests, see if they're interested, some pokemon have a predisposition for this, others have no interest and prefer more battle based lives, or even peaceful non-competitive existences. no amount of pressure will change a pokemon’s nature, and some just aren't cut out for the fine art of showmanship that contests require. You can however use powerful attacks in showy ways, so theres always hope that they could enjoy it, if you can work with them to their strengths.

If possible, work to getting them outdoors, cooping grass types up can lead to stroppy, testing personalities, many thrive in the outdoors, he may need some serious outside time to compensate for the lack of exercise and natural stimulation they may have not been getting prior to your ownership. There are plenty of areas in public that are much like tennis courts, areas of space you can book for a set amount of time too exercise difficult pokemon, these locations are often secure facilities, both outdoors and indoors, to suit a range of species. find one that has outdoor facilities and book a few hours per week to go there, increasing the time whenever possible. This exercise and time with you may help to find common ground, and topics that you and the bulbasaur can bond over. This can be anything from battles, to sun bathing, playing sports, games, swimming, running or digging, and everything in between. Bulbasaur naturally are great foragers and tend to like to snaffle about in long grass and shrubland, hiding treats like berry slices in a secure environment is good enrichment and can tire the pokemon out. a tired pokemon is usually a little less aggressive, having lower energy levels and less want to expend attacks. this process also associated you with something fun, and your scent will be on the treats too, so they'll know you were the one to provide this activity for them.

I’d also take plenty of time to observe the bulbasaur, as your sister got them on a whim, they probably had no prior knowledge of the species, or how to correctly care for them. In a month, a health complaint could have begun to show, so observe their colouration, feet, walking gait, sleeping patterns, feeding habits, and general behaviour. Excess scratching, heavy breathing, or unusual shaking or moving can suggest a health condition is starting to take form. Most can be helped if caught early, but some illnesses give the pokemon discomfort, and can lead to snappy tempers and irritability. It could be that this individual is in pain, or finding life difficult due to its health, which can cause a lot of hostility as i’m sure anyone would agree. It can suck to be sick!

This species can be won over if you can prove you have a skill of worth to them. This is the case with a lot of pokemon, having respect for something they cannot do, and learning that they need things from you can lead to them at least tolerating us humans. Its a foot in the door. A trick i like t use with particularly difficult bulbasaur is to give them their fav food, whatever it is, then put it in a clear container the pokemon cannot open. They have no thumbs, and their vines though dexterous, aren't able to open every kind of container. The pokemon will want whats inside, and be unable to access it. they will eventually give up out of frustration. this is where you come in. enter the space, don’t let your pokemon approach as this can be threatening, and open the container. leave it on the floor open, making sure they've watched you get the thing open. They can then approach and enjoy their fav food, all thanks to you and those wondrous thumbs you have. repeating this process yields good results, and starts a mutual relationship of tolerance and acceptance between you and a bulbasaur. Most will accept they want the food more than they want you gone, and you provide something they can’t get to. whatever you do, don’t let them see that you were the one to lock the food up in the container. Get a friend to do it, or do it in the room, and leave it in place on the floor, before allowing the bulbasaur to enter and investigate the item. If they see you're the one doing it, the trick is foiled, and your back to square one. Eventually this does tend to lead to the pokemon becoming less stressed with you around them, and eventually it leads to trust, and even friendship. This trick is good to use to get them use to you, once they're ok with you being around them because of your use to them, they may start to take food from you directly, engage in play, or even just sit and tolerate company for short periods of time. Do not expect this to be quick, but it does usually do the trick.

Regardless, i do have concern that the pokemon may want to be with its own, should you discuss this and find they're not interested in being housebound and a pet, feel free to send them our way, we had exactly this situation in mind when setting up the islands facilities, and have extensive locations designed with grass pokemosn needs at the forefront. Theres a small herd of about 12 bulbasaur evolutions that live north of our labs, no people see them, they are happy as a unit, and are left alone to go about their lives, with the only interactions between humans being us giving them their yearly health check, or should we spot them with an issue, we may intervene. They live away from others and pretty much free, in a poacher safe environment. Its not ideal, we like to keep pokemon in areas they come from, with people who love them, and you show great concern for the pokemon so it would be a shame to have to let them go, BUT sometimes thats just life, and theres nothing to be done about it other than accepting that the pokemons wants come first. They may just be mistrusting so try everything else first, and see how you go. hopefully you’ll yield some results from this all. Good luck out there trainer.

#long post #bulbasaur #prof.peach #peach talks

176 notes · View notes

ohnobjyx · 4 years ago

Text

Why does it snow?

(Yes, I’ll keep using the snow theme, it’s fitting).

Part 3: Underlying issues

Okay, so I’ll try to explain in this post why people reacted so strongly to this matter. Let’s keep in mind that, as a country, they underwent an extremely fast technological and economic development. I don’t want to talk about politics, but let’s not forget that it’s a esential part of every society, as it constitutes how it’s governed.

Disclaimer: I try to keep things objective (if I include my personal opinion, it’s in cursive and in brackets), but I’m biased because of the XZ friendly content I’m usually exposed to and by my own views of their situation. Open to discussion, but please make sure you’ve enough information to do so.

So, let’s go!

For better or for worse, XZ’s fans incident touched issues Chinese netizens have had for years now. People did discuss about this before, and it will probably be discussed in the future.

Let’s keep in mind that I present here a rather negative view of a part of the C- society. That’s because we are placing a magnifying glass on a small part of the fandom, so by no means all C-fans are like this. These are all a minority.

“Fan quan” culture

This is a big one. “Fan” in this case is an anglicism, so it means “fan”. “Quan” means “circle”, as the people who belong to the same group. The best translation for “fan quan” would be “fandom”, but it has more connotations than fandom has.

So in a fandom there is a lot of people that share a common interest, XZ, in this case. There are groups in w/ibo for people that belong to a certain fandom, and that’s different than following the supertopic of that said interest.

To enter the group, you have to apply for it, and a moderator has to accept you in the group. Belonging to a group like this is accompanied by some rules, like “be loyal to the celebrity”, “not mentioning other celebrities in the group”, “supporting your celebrity by getting their endorsements” or “defending him”.

(We are talking about before... after this incident, a lot of groups have “relaxed” in their rules, and now they consist more in “don’t enter in discussions with other fandoms”, “don’t create heated discussions”, “be rational in your pursue”, at least in XZ’s. This however, is second-hand information: I’m not in any group, neither XZ’s nor WYB’s, so I don’t know how they are right now from the inside).

So a fandom can change a fan. I’m sure there’s a psychological investigation somewhere out there about how these things work. It’s in this kind of environment that “extreme” fans appear.

These are fans are willing to go to great lengths to show their support for their idol, some of them going to points like sasaengs, invading the idol’s privacy. They act in ways that perturb the normal progression of things, they are very disruptive, and some of them even try to buy votes for their idol.

(Please remember that these are a minority, but when you have 30 million fans... even a small percentage is a huge number of people. In Western countries, these kind of “fans” also appear from time to time: stalkers that go to great lengths to chase a celebrity).

The fandom culture has shapen how the entertainment industry works. It’s a symbiotic relationship:

Celebrities are successful and popular thanks to their fans, who all belong to a fandom with their name. They depend on them, as fans are more likely to watch a film or a drama if their favourite actor/actress appears in it, no matter what genre (that’s why companies also analyse what kind of people conforms their fandom, to target the kind of genre would more likely be watched by the celebrities’ fans). They also depend on them for things like endorsements, as some fans see buying things recommended by their celebrity as an act of “loyalty”.

However, fans have a large influence on what a celebrity does. The idol is severely criticized if they do something the fandom doesn’t approve of. There has been instances where people drop the fandom if the idol choose a role the fandom doesn’t like (like how WYB lost fans for trying for a BL drama, he wasn’t even casted yet), and an idol can lose their popularity if they choose a partner the fandom isn’t happy with (or if they choose a partner at all, we’ve said that there is a type of fans that fantasize with being said idol’s partner, so if they have a bf/gf or if they marry, these fans’ fantasy is broken).

So we can see that the extreme fans are a problem, and why celebrities can’t outright reject fandom culture. They can disagree with the most extreme ones (like how WYB and XZ did in May), but they can’t simply say, “let’s dissolve all of the groups”.

That’s why in recent years, a lot of people has been rejecting the fandom culture. But a big fandom and an influential idol can also serve to positive purposes, like charity and public welfare projects.

That’s what XZ has been trying to do, to show that fandom can still produce things that are useful for the society, and to avoid people being ashamed of being his fan.

State control

As we know, the cultural industry in China is subject to state control. However, have you ever wondered why did only ao3 get banned from the country? What about the page that hosted MDZS original novel? And other fanfiction sites? The website that hosted the novel wasn’t an “illegal” one. In fact, it’s very public, and they earn money by people paying subscriptions to their page to access their content, that’s not just limited to BL novels.

(Heavens know that the novel was very explicit, and that it’s just a drop of water in the ocean: there are thousands of works like this one out there).

So, why did 2/27 provoke so much anger? Because the accusers took advantage of the power of the government.

Fandom culture gives an important boost to economy. It’s not just about entertainment, with the endorsements, fandom culture promotes consumerism (people buy things not because they need it, but because it’s endorsed by their favourite artist).

That’s why the government doesn’t only tolerate them, but even promotes secretly this kind of culture by not strictly enforcing laws and regulations. That’s why websites and novels that don’t comply with Chinese censorship laws have been “allowed” to exist until now (take for example the whole “danmei” genre, that MDZS belongs to). As long as no one reports them, the state will turn a blind eye to these kind of websites.

(Many of you may be asking, if a novel is “allowed”, why censor the tv drama? Well... the cover of the book wasn’t even remotely explicit, but videos and images of two men kissing each other, that’d definitely be banned by the government. Text is subtler that a picture, I suppose).

In words of a former worker of the state regulation department, if there exists such a content, it needs to be censored. However, this places the regulation department in a tight spot, because it subjects them to rejection from the people and the anger of the commercial companies.

Usually what if there’s no report, the department won’t investigate even if they’ve heard that the content is questionable, but if it’s reported, they must look into it.

So the fans didn’t just report it, they announced loudly and widely that they were reporting it, so the department could only investigate, there was no other option. By that time, the matter had originated great conflict and discussion, and, after arising so much controversy, and with people knowing what kind of content had been reported, ao3 could only be banned if they didn’t want to people stop taking the government seriously.

Thus, in this case, the regulation department has been used as a weapon in this fan war. This is not to say that the government is “innocent”, it’s to say that the accusers had reported the work and announced it knowing exactly what would happen.

This has been a phenomenon in the last years: the “report culture”. People use this as a weapon: they know that if they report, your content is going to be banned. So it can be used as a threat, leaving the other party defenceless if their content is really not approved by the country.

However, this kind of behaviour has enacted the rejection from the general public, as it’s seen as a cowardly behaviour: you don’t like their content, so you report them, knowing full well what’s going to happen.

(To put it simply: there’s a guardian, a keeper, in the playground, that it’s in charge of the children in the playground. This keeper has set rules that the children must follow, but there are too many children, so he can’t keep an eye on every single one. However, he will listen if a child goes to him and tells him that another has broken a rule. He’ll go and teach them a lesson. But the keeper is busy, and sometimes likes the things the children do, even if they are breaking the rules, so he turns a blind eye on them. But if he ignores the children who tell on their mates, and doesn’t punish the wrongdoer, other children will start to do as they please, so he has no other option than to punish them. Other children realize this, and soon, calling the keeper is made into a very effective threat against other children.)

This brings us to a point that’s very important...

We have to take into account that all industries have to show their loyalty to the government, no matter who they are. So the celebrities and the companies behind them, no matter what they think, have to express their loyalty and nationalism, especially since they are in such a visible spot. Even if they don’t have such feelings, they must pretend at least (but the majority are very patriotic, since it goes into the younger generations’ education).

So before considering to criticize their government, we must be aware that both WYB and XZ, as well as any other Chinese idol you might like, live in there. Expressing very anti-governmental opinions identifying as their fans might actually hurt them rather than help them (this was a problem from twitter a few months ago, from what I know. So please, don’t do that).

Some haters actually spread rumours of celebrities being unpatriotic quite frequently, to make the government look into it. These kind of rumours are the deadliest for them, and can actually retire them, so please, be careful with what you say while saying that you are their fan.

That’s also why XZ can’t say anything about ao3 being banned from the country, no matter what he thinks. Better not to enter that place.

“Xiao xianrou”

In recent years, more and more new celebrities are very good looking. So much that it’s more than just a suspicion that they get their jobs because of their looks rather than actual talent. They also get numerous fans because of their beauty. These young idols receive the name of “xiao xianrou”. It’s very noticeable when you compare them to the older generation of artists, who don’t have a face that would stop a crowd, but have a lot of talent.

Being a xiao xianrou doesn’t mean that they don’t have talents (XZ is considered one too), it’s just a name that these new celebrities receive. However, people feel that new celebrities nowadays are very good looking, but have no skills.

(This is just an example of what it’s called xiao xianrou. Remember, it doesn’t mean that they are talentless!)

Of course, not every good looking artist nowadays must be completely useless in anything else (we can all think of 2 good examples). In fact, people who get into the industry, and manage to stay there and continue working after, let’s say, 5 years, definitely has something more than just good looks. But people also feel that to stay in the industry when one isn’t so handsome must be purely because of their abilities with acting/singing/dancing.

However, it’s also a fact that some of the new dazzlingly beautiful idols have singing or dancing abilities that aren’t so outstanding. A lot of good plots and dramas have been ruined by actors who are handsome and beautiful, but don’t know how to act to save their life.

So for people who are very upset with this, when they saw the news about XZ and the comments of the antis saying that he had no acting skills, they thought that this was just another one of them, and jumped on the train of criticizing without actually knowing how his acting skills are or what happened. It was just a way of venting their displeasure with a whole other issue that has actually nothing to do with XZ.

W/ibo (W/)

This platform is a part of the problem. To start with, w/ earns money the same way twitter and instagram do, so for them it’s essential that people spend a lot of time in their website/app.

While positive people spend time on their platform, another group that do that is haters and antis.

W/ is full of netizens spreading hate, insults and cyber-bullying other people, but the platform itself doesn’t do anything to change this. And this happens because W/ profits from it. The more time a hater and a anti spend in W/, the more W/ profits from it. Sometimes, it’s W/ who sets marketing accounts that attack a certain idol.

Moreover, an account with lots of followers will get more money from the platform (like youtube). That’s why people that have no particular reason to hate xz turn into antis and dedicate themselves to spreading hate, gaining followers from people who resent him from 2/27 or fans that hate him for any other reason. And that’s also why haters accounts appear and spread, and why W/ doesn’t always block them.

This is why when a celebrity or any other people who got insulted or has been systematically attacked on Internet, they can only report it to the police and let lawyers handle the issue. However, legal processes are long and take time and money, so many people don’t do it (especially idols, who can have a lot of antis).

Seeing that people are starting to realize this, and protesting about being left defenceless on the Internet, W/ started recently a project to stop malicious content and hate (looks like just playing the part to me, tbh).

Another problem this platform has is the privacy inside the communities and the false accounts.

This platform holds communities where people can talk and share things they like. However, in groups of fans of a certain idol, there are also “spies” that sell information about the characteristics of the group or antis that disguise themselves as fans to continue spreading rumours and false news from inside the group.

This is what happened a little earlier in February, before 2/27: an anti got into a bjyx group, but all of his comments were to belittle XZ and praise WYB. Even if people know that this is not true, after seeing it for a while, it’s bound to affect their image of the idol.

And last...

This is not exactly a “problem”, but I couldn’t include it anywhere else.

The economy and money is why XZ’s company haven’t given him up yet. For one, XZ has signed many contracts with several companies, so he can’t leave even if he wanted to, because he’d end up with a debt in the millions. For another one, the companies don’t want to give up on him yet, because he himself hasn’t committed any grave mistake (like, none, in fact).

If it comes to it, they’ll “kill the hen and get the eggs” (meaning they’ll get what they can and discard XZ) but for now XZ is still very popular and he’s earning a lot of money for the company. So, right now, XZ isn’t a failed investment, just a very dangerous one (in case his reputation deteriorates again), but companies have put too much money on him to give up at the first sight of problem. That’s why XZ’s Studio is valiantly trying to separate XZ from those crazed fans, and declaring them from being independent of XZ.

Actually, one of the companies he signed with was on the verge of bankruptcy when they signed the contract (before CQL, I think). After the boom last year, they were actually counting on him to reverse their situation with the new dramas, but they didn’t expect 2/27. So now, they are one of the most interested in getting XZ back to work, and to air his dramas successfully. It’s for selfish reasons, but it serves XZ’s interests.

However, companies do and will dare to “lick the blood from the knife” (it’s a continuation of the previous idiom, to lick the blood of the hen and it means to get even the last drop of profit).

If XZ doesn’t enter the government’s black list of celebrities, they’ll continue to get the earnings from his fans’ “offerings” (the crazed fans who buys his every endorsement + rational fans buying their favourite artist’s endorsements they actually like).

The future of the entertainment industry is uncertain, from both economic and social (epidemic) points of view, so this is to be taken into account when considering this problem.

←Part 2: A sudden snowstorm | Part 4: Plum blossoms in the snow (I) →

#gg's situation #part 3 of 7 #my post

76 notes · View notes

dc41896 · 5 years ago

Text

Small World

Prompt: During a night out, Kenny meets an incredible girl. But what happens when the girl of his dreams is also his new teammate?

Hey guys👋🏾!! Hope everything is going well during quarantine and everyone is safe and trying to stay positive💕! This was requested by @lclb13 and I’m so sorry that it’s taken all this time I honestly didn’t mean for that to happen and hope you like what I came up with!

Pairing: Kenny CrosbyxReader

⚠️: Mentions of drinking, fluff💕!

There was nothing more that Kenny wanted to do after a tiresome day at work literally chasing down a narcissistic, psychotic kidnapper than to have a couple beers and relax. He could practically smell the mixture of alcohol and wings already as he walked the remaining few feet to the bar he frequented on work days like this. However, his mood would soon fall seeing the note on the front door and all the lights off in the usually bustling establishment.

“Due to state mandated rules following the COVID-19 pandemic, we will be closed until further notice. Sorry for the inconvenience and stay safe.”

“Shoot, I thought it didn’t start until tomorrow,” a voice speaks from behind him. Turning around, he couldn’t help but notice the stressed, yet beautiful, eyes in front of him as you crossed your arms letting out an annoyed breath before turning to walk away.

“Tough day at work?”

“Not exactly. I start my new job tomorrow and I just wanted to have a couple drinks to try to calm my nerves.”

“Crazy how as we get older those don’t get any better,” he lightly chuckles making you smile.

“Now that you mention it, you have a point,” you giggle. “Well looks like I’ll just head home then since more than likely every bar in town is closed. It was nice talking to you um..?”

“Kenny.”

“Kenny. I’m Y/N, have a good night,” you smile giving a small wave before turning around and walking away.

Although only having that short conversation with you, he hated that you had to leave. Besides how breathtaking you looked, it was something about you that drew him in and didn’t seem to be loosening it’s hold anytime soon. Plus with everything closing, who knows when he’d get the chance to see you again.

“Hey, what if I told you I may be able to get you that drink after all!?,” he calls after you, lightly jogging to the spot you were currently standing.

“That depends. If this is your way of trying to get me back to your place I’ll admit you’re cute but-,”

“I promise you it’s not like that, but thank you for calling me cute though,” he winks with a chuckle. “An old army buddy of mine owns a arcade and game room a couple blocks up and if you’re still up for it we could go there.”

“Won’t he be closed too?”

“To the public yea, but not to those with special VIP access. So what do you say?”

“Okay, I’m in,” you smile following behind the taller and bulkier man as he begins to stroll down the empty sidewalk. “And sorry for thinking you were trying to get me back to your place. I probably look full of myself now.”

“Nah don’t apologize, you’re looking out for yourself. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

———

“Read the sign, we’re closed,” an annoyed voice answers from the other side of the call box.

“Even for an old friend?,” Kenny asks with a smirk.

“Especially for said old friend,” the voice replies chuckling.

A loud buzz sounds as the front door unlocks allowing both of you to enter the building. Climbing the flight of wooden stairs, you’re finally met with a room that seemed to go on forever from how many activities one could do.

Towards the back were 10 pool tables with five on each side of the room while pinball and other arcade games lined the side wall. At the top of both corners of the bar hung flat screen TVs displaying the evening news and ESPN individually.

“So what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?,” the friend asks with a smile hugging Kenny.

“Work stress. Leo this is Y/N, Y/N this is my friend Leo I told you about.”

“If he said anything bad, I promise it’s not true,” Leo laughs shaking your hand.

“Don’t worry it was all good, and Kenny was right when he said this place was amazing!”

“Well thank you! Usually there’d be more people here, but with COVID that’s pretty much shut everything down.”

“And while that sucks, that also means everything here is open for us and bottomless drinks,” Kenny winks pulling two beers from the ice chest behind the bar.

“Bottomless sure, but that doesn’t mean free,” Leo retorts as Kenny laughs.

“Don’t worry we know. Put everything on my tab.”

“No, I can’t let you pay for my drinks” you reply taking the cold, dripping bottle from his hands.

“You don’t have to let me, it’s already done,” he smiles before taking a swig. “Plus take it as a good luck gift for your first day.”

“I would try to fight you on this, but I have a feeling it’s not gonna get me anywhere.”

“And you would be right,” he chuckles leaning against the shinning bar. “I’m that easy to read huh?”

“Don’t take it to heart, it’s just part of my job.”

“Let me guess...psychologist?”

“Not exactly, psych is part of my background but I work with law enforcement.”

“Oh what branch? I work with FBI.”

“Same! I just transferred here from LA,” you excitedly beam.

“Well a heads up, the guys in the main office here are really good people. Me and my team have worked with them before and I know you’ll fit right in with no problem.”

“I hope so.” Sighing, you take a drink from your bottle trying to ease your nerves but they only seem to grow the more you think about the new environment you’d be in tomorrow. Sensing that your mind and nerves were getting the best of you, Kenny’s fingertips brush against your skin as he lightly grabs your arm.

“Hey we’re here to forget about work right? How about some pool?”

“Sure, but I’m gonna be honest I suck,” you answer as he leads you to the closest table. Setting his beer next to one of the pockets, he hands you a stick from the wall before removing the triangle holding the balls in place.

“Oh I’m sure you’re not that bad.”

Lining up your shot, you bend over the table with top of the stick in one hand and the base in the other. Shooting it forward, you connect the stick with the cue ball expecting it to crash into the others, but sadly it wildly spins and hits the side of the table nearly landing in the middle pocket.

“Well, uh it’s a good start,” he grins as you flip him off.

“I told you I suck.”

“You just need practice. Here let me help.”

“Oh help me as in stand incredibly close to my butt all the while having your arms around me?,” you smirk making Leo laugh from his spot behind the bar.

“C’mon that’s the oldest trick in the book! Rake that big head for something new,” Leo adds sipping on his beer as Kenny chuckles crossing his arms in front of his broad chest.

“Actually I was just gonna demonstrate how it’s done, so if you’ll excuse me miss know it all.”

Stepping aside with your hands up in surrender, he takes your previous position bending forward with the stick in his hands. In a swift motion, he hits the cue ball making it glide across the table until it makes contact with the others causing them to scatter and a couple to sink in the corner pockets.

Although it was a simple movement, you couldn’t lie and say that it didn’t make you feel things. Watching as he bent over, you had a better view of his back muscles and how his tight shirt clung onto their every curve. His biceps grew bigger as he flexed to perform his shot making you wish he had chosen to guide you instead.

“So you just need to have a better grip on the stick and give it more force, then you should be good,” he explains snapping you out of your trance. “Ready to try again?”

“I guess,” you nervously smile moving to where the cue rested. Readying yourself for your shot, you feel his eyes on you making you even more nervous to try to get it right. Aiming for the striped ball, you keep his words in mind as you strike the ball and it hits your target better this time, but misses the pocket from being hit a little too hard.

“See? Better already!,” he smiles playfully nudging your arm.

“Yea but I still need to work on how hard or soft to hit it.”

“That’ll come with time don’t worry.”

“And thank you for being such a good teacher.”

“Anytime.” Meeting your eyes with his blue ones, you both feel as if you’ve been there for longer than a few seconds, but in the most comfortable way. Moving towards you, he sets his mouth to say something, but is cut off by his phone buzzing.

“Duty calls?”

“Yea something like that,” he answers quickly typing his response before putting his phone away. “What do you say we do this again next weekend?”

“What? So I can practice my shots?”

“If you want, or we could do other stuff. It’s up to you.” Noticing your raised eyebrow, he realizes what he said before pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed.

“I didn’t mean that stuff,” he chuckles. “You know, I’m not sure if you giving me a hard time is because you like messing with me or hate me completely.” Softly giggling, you reach to grab his phone handing it to him so he could unlock the screen before adding your name and number.

“Does that answer your question?,” you smirk taking a final drink from your bottle.

———

Sitting in his usual spot, his eyes scan the computer screens in front of him, as he tries to decipher the hit patterns of their new suspect to predict where he’ll be next. Every so often, he’d look at his phone to see if you replied to his recent message, but still there was nothing.

“That’s like the 10th time you’ve glanced at your phone in the span of five minutes. Is someone expecting a text from a girl?,” Hana asks amused.

“Stop watching me like a creep,” Kenny smiles throwing a balled up piece of paper at her.

“Okay guys quick announcement. This is Y/F/N Y/L/N from the LA FBI branch and she’s gonna be our newest member for these next few cases,” LaCroix explains. “Just to give you a quick introduction to everyone, that’s Sheryll, Clinton, Hana, and Kenny.”

“From the look on your face, I’d say you guys have already been introduced,” Hana whispers as Kenny seems to become more red by the minute.

“Y/N I’m gonna have you here with Kenny while Clinton and I go check where our guy was last seen in town. Sheryll and Hana I want you both to check in with our victim to see if she’s been able to remember anything else.”

Everyone scattering to where they need to go, you sit next to Kenny nervously fiddling with your fingers.

“So...first day ok?,” he asks after clearing his throat.

“Mhmm,” you nod. Awkward silence falling over the both of you, the only thing that could be heard was the ticking of the clock on the wall and Kenny occasionally clicking the mouse.

“Hey, this doesn’t have to be awkward. It’s not like we did anything you know? Basically last night was two adults playing pool.”

“Right, and enjoying each other’s company, which coworkers can do,” you add as he nods in agreeement.

“Exactly! You could even say I just welcomed you to town,” he smiles.

“And in a very fun way!”

Another silence falling over you two as your small laughs died down, you both knew that your feelings were already too strong to try to ignore or get over. Plus deep down neither of you really wanted to let it go.

“So what now?,” you ask just above a whisper causing him to lean back in his chair rubbing a hand through his short hair.

“I don’t know, but I’m guessing it starts with us not meeting next weekend,” he sighs looking down as he taps his fingers against the table.

“....well not necessarily. You have to give me my next pool lesson remember?” Lifting his head, your small but bright smile make him feel as if he’s floating as he softly chuckles to himself.

Taglist: @crushed-pink-petals-writes @honeychicanawrites @honeychicana @fumbling-fanfics @lady-olive-oil @themyscxiras @melinda-january @lovelymari4 @literaturefeen @damnitaa @curlyhairclub @renfrewscorner @secretmysteriousperson @fullofmelaninsarcasmandepression @nunubug99 @felicity-x0 @ellixthea @jojolu @jnk-812 @brwn-sgr @captainsamwlsn @wildfirecracker @nina-sj @iammyownlover @chaneajoyyy

If anybody wants to be tagged, has asked to be tagged but don’t see your name, only want to be tagged for certain people I write for, or no longer wish to be tagged just let me know🤓!

#kennyxreader #kellanxreader #kellan lutz #kenny crosby #fbi most wanted

74 notes · View notes

noodlesrgucci · 5 years ago

Text

Covered

Summary: After seeing his girlfriend in a revealing outfit, Bakugou has to show her just who she belongs to, even if he has to do it from under a table.

Warnings: Smut Smut Smut Smut

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x Female Reader

Word Count: 1725

This is a Halloween special 🎃🎃🎃

Halloween is a time of laughter, joy, and adventure. It is the time of the year where even the most wholesome people find an excuse to indulge themselves in sweetness. But most important of all, Halloween is filled with terror and spookiness.

People tell their children lies about monsters and demons. Scary movies soon fill up the movie theater in order to make people feel the adrenaline of being terrified. Many houses are decorated to resemble the hell that all humans seem to fear.

That’s what Halloween is about. It’s about the unknown and the unexplainable. It was supposed to be creepy and frightening.

So Bakugou couldn’t bring himself to understand why his girlfriend had chosen the costume she did to go to the Halloween dance party at UA.

It was certainly not terrifying. In fact, it was far from it. She wore a skin tight short black dress that had a tail hanging from its back. The top of her head was adorned with some cat ears and she had even cared enough to put some high heels on.

The costume did not provoke any fear in Bakugou. But it did unleash another emotion that he often struggled to hide: possessiveness.

The costume Y/N was wearing was extremely tempting. It could be considered sexy since it showed her voluptuous body. Had she done that on purpose? Did she really want to awaken his wrath?

From the moment she arrived to the dance, Bakugou’s eyes followed her every move. She had waved at him and went to greet the other girls from their class.

The dance floor was full with people and there were many tables scattered around the floor. Bakugou found himself sitting in one of the tables located in a corner. He was soon met with an enthusiastic greeting from Kaminari and Kirishima.

They tried to make a conversation with him but all he could focus on was Y/N. The skin tight fabric of her dress was displaying all of her curves. Bakugou couldn’t control his eyes from wandering down to look at her ass and just how well sculpted it was.

The things he’ll do to her once he gets his hands on her.

An eternity later, Y/N and Mina went to Bakugou’s table. Y/N sat right next to Bakugou and immediately engaged in a conversation with the other three.

The music was loud, very loud. It was loud enough to have the tables shaking slightly. They had to pretty much scream in order to be heard. There were also many disco lights around them, so Bakugou’s eyes had to get adjusted to the sudden changes of color in their environment.

Since Bakugou was trying to get his mind off of Y/N, he tried to look around the room and see if anything interested him. There was nothing. But then he noticed something that made his entire day brighter. The tables had an awfully high height. They were very long and decorated with a long tablecloth.

Y/N was chatting with her classmates while sitting next to Bakugou. She felt Bakugou’s hand rest on her thigh. She didn’t care at firts and continued to talk to her peers. Bakugou didn’t like this and he slipped his hands in through the bottom of her dress and through her panties.

Y/N almost let out a moan when she felt Bakugou’s fingers graze over her clit lightly. Her face became red immediately and she tried to move. That did not work because Bakugou added more pressure on the finger that was on her clit.

In a matter of seconds, Bakugou felt how wet Y/N got. He continued to make circular motions around her clit as Y/N struggled to not moan.

The conversation she was having was now long forgotten. The only thing important to her now was Bakugou’s fingers which seemed to speed up.

“ Y/N are you okay?” Mina asked her. She noticed how quiet Y/N had suddenly gotten.

Bakugou watched as his girlfriend struggled to form words. This was really entertaining to him.

“ I-I’m feeling good! R-really good,” Y/N managed to let out.

Bakugou traced his fingers from her clit and into her entrance. He allowed two of his fingers to go inside of her and started to pump them slowly.

“ Seriously, are you okay, Y/N?” Bakugou now asked her. Only Y/N could catch the tone that he had said that with. He was mocking her.

Sweat ran down her face and she answered his question with a nod.

Mina, Kaminari, and Kirishima decided to engage in a conversation themselves while Y/N and Bakugou continued their little game.

Now Bakugou’s fingers were rapidly pumping into her. Y/N used her own hand to massaged her clit. The pleasure she was receiving made her want to spread her legs as wide as she could and moan Bakugou’s name loudly.

Quiet moans left her lips but were concealed by the loud music.

“ You’re such a slut, letting me do this to you in front of all these people,” Bakugou whispered in her ear. His warm breath was enough to drive her mad. This caused her to reach her climax.

Bakugou’s hand retrieved from her heat. He turned his face towards her and made sure to make eye contact. He then raised his hand and sucked his fingers.

Y/N choked on air. How could Bakugou act in such a lewd way in public? Thankfully the lights and the music distracted everyone from what they were doing.

“ We are leaving. You guys are acting way too weird,” Kaminari said. Y/N had forgotten that they were still there. Kaminari and the others left the table to talk to other people.

Y/N wanted more. She wanted to touch Bakugou. She wanted him to be inside of her. She just really wanted more. She saw a spark in Bakugou’s eyes that made her believe that he was up to no good.

He grabbed her arm with one hand and with the other lift the cover of the table. In one swift movement, both of them were under the table.

Y/N sent him a questioning look. “ What are you doing? Can’t you-“

All of her questions were answered by the look he gave her. A look of love and lust. She immediately understood what he wanted.

“ But don’t you think they’ll hear us? I think they’ll be able to see us too!”

Bakugou explained how the tablecloth was so dark they wouldn’t be able to see what was going on under it. And the bottom of the table was very spacious. Y/N could sit without having her head hit the table.

“ But they’ll see-“ Y/N was interrupted once again but this time it was done more harshly.

“ Suck,” Bakugou demandes as he let his cock spring out of his pants. The limited space forced him to sit.

His demanding tone along with the way his eyes looked made Y/N forget about everything that was bothering her. She leaned down towards him and saw how erected he was. She took his entire length into her mouth.

She grabbed part of his cock with her hands and the other part was in her mouth. She licked around it and started to suck it. Bakugou’s hand made their way to her hair. They grabbed it and started to make her pace faster.

Y/N bopped her head up and down very quickly as Bakugou’s cock was in her mouth. His groans motivated her to keep going.

“ Ah, baby. Just like that… mmm”

She could taste his precum and continued to devour him as if he were a tasty meal. Bakugou’s body started to shake slightly. He suddenly came and released all of his sperm inside of her mouth.

“ Swallow”

Y/N swallowed part of his semen while the other cascaded down her chin. Bakugou’s eyes never left her as she did this.

Y/N couldn’t help but wonder how people didn’t hear them. But she could barely hear Bakugou and she was right next to him. She had never been so grateful for such loud music.

A squeak left her mouth when Bakugou’s hands gently squeezed her boobs through her dress. He then turned her around so that her ass was facing him. The dress she was wearing was so short that when she was bent like that, her panties were exposed. Bakugou could see just how wet she really was.

He moved her panties out of the way and now he had full access to her wet pussy.

Bakugou slammed into her from behind and allowed his hands to rest on her waist. Y/N couldn’t hold back the loud moans that left her mouth.

Y/N’s face was facing the dark cover of the table. All it took was for someone to hear them. If someone saw them like this she wouldn’t know what to do.

“ You like it when I fuck you under this table?”

Bakugou became rougher in his thrusts. They were almost animalistic and each one had Y/N crying out louder and louder.

“ This is what you get for wearing that damn dress!”

Y/N threw her head back. The feeling of being deeply penetrated by Bakugou was sometimes too much to handle. They both felt a familiar sensation in their stomachs. They were both close.

Bakugou sped up and before long they both came at the same time. Liquid ran down Y/N’s tight as she turned around and gave Bakugou a kiss.

When they caught their breath, they decided to get out of from under the table.

Nobody seemed to notice what they had just done. Not even her classmates seemed suspicious and Y/N was incredibly grateful for that.

The night continued and Y/N just enjoyed the rest of the worth. At least she tried to. She couldn’t believe that she had done it with Bakugou under a table in such a public place.

Also, Bakugou sent her some looks that told her that once the party was over he’d do as he pleased with her.

MASTERLIST REQUESTS ARE OPEN!!!! <3

#katsuki bakugou #katsuki #bakugou #katsuki bakugo #bakugou katsuki #katsuki x reader #bakugou x reader #bakugo x reader #katsuki bakugou x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #my hero academia x reader #mha #bnha #bnha x reader #mha x reader

480 notes · View notes

enviroblog-spring21 · 4 years ago

Text

Blog IX: Providence Lost a BIG Opportunity for Environmental Planning.

The number of living people on planet Earth reached one billion people in 1804, an unprecedented milestone after 200,000 years of our species’ ascendence. Although it took 200,000 years for the human population to reach one billion people, it took only 200 to reach seven billion. In 2009, humanity cleared yet another milestone, the number of people residing in cities exceeding those living in rural areas for the first time in human history.[1]Current population trends centuries in the making act in tandem with the current climate crisis, of which more humans than ever will be forced to deal with in the twenty-first century and beyond.

Chapter six of Living in the Environment heavily focuses on Earth’s carrying capacity–– i.e., the number of people that existing natural capital and ecosystem services can adequately support. Debate about the physical boundary to human growth has gone on for centuries. Notably, in 1798, Thomas Malthus hypothesized that exponential population growth coupled with comparably stagnant food production created a proverbial ceiling for the exponential population growth he identified. Of course, during Malthus’s time, industrial agriculture was somewhat of an oxymoron, he could have never predicted that food production too would also increase exponentially due to industrialized agriculture.

During my History of Capitalism, I was required to read Planet of Slums by Mike Davis. The book delineates an environmental history of what is perhaps the ultimate rejection of Malthus’ hypothesis: The Green Revolution. After World War II, philanthropic efforts on the part of the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller foundation introduced industrial agriculture technologies such as pesticides, fertilizers, irrigation infrastructure, and high-yield crop variants to what they saw as destitute peasant populations, most notably in India, Mexico, and the Philippines. Although the intentions of the foundations were good, (although incredibly utilitarian in hindsight) what ensued was the disenfranchisement of peasants from their land, followed by the swelling of slums encircling cities such as Mumbai, Mexico City, and Manila, contributing the lion’s share of urban development globally. The Ford and Rockefeller foundations assumed that the peasants, needing not to grow their own food any longer, would live a metropolitan urban lifestyle as they enjoyed in the West.

Urban slum dwellers in the global South account for the majority of the world’s urban expansion. In summary: More people today are living in cities today but in the ever-expanding rings of slums within and surrounding cities. I can already see North American urban planners looking at global urban demographics and concluding that the pro-urban sentiment espoused by the authors of their dogma over the years has finally caught on, and people are ascending to a new urban rapture. Slum-dwellers, the vast majority of urban populations in the Global South, endure the most reprehensible environmental conditions in the world. The largest city in North America, Mexico City, has a dirty environmental secret that foreign visitors to places like Chapultepec Park seldom know. The city hoards several tons of feces in open-air garbage dumps, located next to or on top of the city’s slums. Slum-dwellers are known to scavenge dumps and landfills in hopes to find something of sustenance or utility, and particles of shit carry through the air often irritating the throat and lungs of people unfortunate enough to be in proximity to them. In Mumbai, not many people other than slum-dwellers shoulder such disproportionate burdens of climate change. Slum dwellings are often constructed out of scrap metal with no ventilation or proper insolation. When monsoon season arrives dwellings often flood, and when the water drains out it leaves mold behind to be perpetually inhaled. The tin walls and rooves of slum buildings in the summer make the unfortunate residents inside feel like they’re baking, even more so with rising temperatures.[]

North American urbanists may think that cities have a default setting towards environmental friendliness, as we see in the global South, they do not. This sentiment may come from, the improving environmental condition of cities in the Global North (although they have a long way to go.) Mayor Bloomberg’s “PlaNYC” initiative provides excellent examples of what cities ought to do in order to effectively mitigate climate change. Two things from the plan I find incredibly interesting are congestion pricing and the creation of beautiful waterfront parks, perhaps the most physical representation of Bloomberg’s legacy (aside from rebuilding from the rubble of Ground Zero.) Congestion pricing in New York City is effectively a toll on vehicles moving in and out of Midtown Manhattan during times where traffic is heaviest. Cities such as London, Milan, and Stockholm show that levying tolls on rush hour traffic is an effective way to incentivize transit ridership and get carbon-emitting cars off the road. The majority of New York City residents don’t even own a car anyways[2], making the weight of each resident’s carbon footprint a whole lot lighter. Fewer cars on the road equates to lower carbon emissions. Unfortunately, however, New York City lags behind its international counterparts due to the reluctance of Trump DOT under Secretary Elaine Chao to implement anything of the sort. Biden’s DOT, however, recently lifted the roadblocks to congestion pricing leftover from the previous administration, and the city should be set to implement it in a matter of months.[3]

The Bloomberg administration also constructed some magnificent and beloved waterfront parks on top of former industrial sites. One of the best examples of this Bloomberg initiative is Brooklyn Bridge Park (BBP.) The park makes for a great case study in sustainable design,[4] I believe that it represents part of what other coastal cities in the Northeast ought to be doing with their waterfronts to mitigate the effects of climate change. Old industrial piers on the edge of Brooklyn Heights were transformed into Brooklyn Bridge Park using recycled wood and granite for park benches, structures, and decking, as well as recycled fill material from the (long-delayed) East Side Access Project. BBP also restores vital habitats of native plants, birds, and marine life by recreating the salt marshes and meadows that were destroyed as Brooklyn grew. Notably, the BBP also partnered with the Billion Oyster Project to restore oyster reefs to the Hudson. The reintroduction of oysters is in large part responsible for the estuary’s dramatic environmental turnaround from a deathly polluted waterway to a place where even whales and seals have returned.[5]

Providence has the opportunity to create its own iteration of a Brooklyn Bridge Park-style sustainable green space, but that opportunity is already diminished and threatened to be completely decimated by development. In 2002 the Rhode Island Department of Transportation completed work on relocating an old elevated viaduct of Interstate-95 that separated Downtown Providence from the Jewelry District for over half a century. While I would have preferred the complete demolition of I-95 within Providence, still, it was a great first step by the state’s tragic history of land-use planning. Being such a poor city, however, and desperately wanting to scrape off residents from Boston and New York, the city put as much land as it possibly could up for development.

While a sustainable park was implemented in the execution of the former I-95 land’s master plan, it is much smaller than it needs to be. Therefore, the park’s potential utility as a public amenity that both protects Downtown Providence from rising sea levels and provides Providentians much-needed greenspace is considerably diminished. Even the existing parkland is threatened by a high-rise mixed-use luxury condominium building that would become the tallest structure in the state.

If I were in control of land-use planning of the land formally under the Interstate, I would strictly follow the Smart Growth Tools outlined in Chapter 20 of Living in the Environment. First, I would cordon off everything east of Dyer Street from development and hire the same landscape architecture firm that built Brooklyn Bridge Park to build a park on the model of BBP. Certainly, I would make the blocks of the new streets way smaller as to fit in with the historic streetscape of Downtown Providence and the Jewelry District to promote a mixture of uses and encourage transportation alternatives to automobiles. Scattered across the blocks I may create smaller urban parks on the model of those such as Father Demo Square in Greenwich Village. Some of my zoning ordinances would impose constrictive parking maximums instead of minimums, call for each building to implement green roofing, and encourage density and the mixing of uses, and inciting tax incentives would be offered to buildings that achieve high LEED ratings. Unsurprisingly, none of these incentives are being implemented by the State of Rhode Island or the City of Providence.

When Superstorm Sandy hit New York City, Brooklyn Bridge Park withstood better than city officials expected. The park absorbed much of the blow the storm dealt to surrounding neighborhoods.[6]Unlike New York, Providence has the geographic advantage of not being a low-lying archipelago. The city’s geography is characterized by steep rolling hills and deep river valleys and flatlands, the former comprises more of the city than the latter. Therefore, the city is naturally going to be more resilient than many of its northeastern counterparts. The only parts it needs to protect is its immediate waterfront and the flatland valleys of Downtown Providence. It seems as though the city’s urban planning department has been reduced to a wealth management agency. They would rather boost property tax rates and cram as much new development they can under the city’s arcane zoning laws rather than conserve and protect our irreplaceable, historic urban patrimony with a public amenity capitalized on to its full potential.

WC: 1,559

Question: The "15-Minute City," where people can find all of their needs and wants within a fifteen-minute walk from their home is often cited as one of the strongest answers cities give to climate change, by inducing less consumption (especially in the transportation sector.) However, I fear that designated 15-Minute city areas could become enclaves for the rich. Arguably, places like Greenwich Village in New York, or Wayland in Providence are already rich enclaves of the 15-minute city.

If we do not address inequality while implementing 15-minute city plans, will all

the environmental benefits be offset by the larger consumption habits of rich populations?

[1] United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs: Population Division https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/urbanization/urban-rural.asp#:~:text=By%20the%20middle%20of%202009,urbanization%20remain%20among%20development%20groups. [2] NYCEDC: New Yorkers and Their Cars, https://edc.nyc/article/new-yorkers-and-their-cars#:~:text=According%20to%20recent%20census%20estimates,own%20three%20or%20more!). [3] Kuntzman, Gersh. Congestion Pricing May Not Go Anywhere Unless Biden Wins, Mayor Says. Streetsblog NYC, 14 July 2020 https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2020/07/14/congestion-pricing-may-not-go-anywhere-unless-biden-wins-mayor-says/ [4] https://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/about/sustainability/ [5] https://untappedcities.com/2021/02/03/history-new-york-city-oysters/ [6] https://www.ecolandscaping.org/01/managing-water-in-the-landscape/stormwater-management/weathering-the-storm-horticulture-management-in-brooklyn-bridge-park-in-the-aftermath-of-hurricane-sandy/

#blog9 #rhodeisland #environmentalplanning

1 note · View note

timeclonemike · 4 years ago

Text

The War of the Words, Part 5: Counterstrike

Previous installments of this essay have repeated the point that the tactics used by nazis, terfs, and other varieties of bigot are those adopted by a force with a numerical and strategic disadvantage when facing a larger and stronger opponent, among other things. This may have given the impression that these types will eventually just die out. While I believe that this is true in the long term, it is demonstrably true that they can still do considerable damage in the short term, so this is unfortunately not the kind of problem that will solve itself. Action must be taken to undermine them at every possible juncture. This is especially true given that the current, semi-covert “secret agent” / muddy-the-waters approach was adopted because previous open displays of aggression were not getting the results they wanted. It is entirely possible that a shift in strategy will occur again and allow them to make more headway than they presently are.

Any given strategy employed by the nazis and terfs and racists has one or more potential counter-strategies, but simply waiting to recognize a specific type of propaganda or psychological manipulation or social engineering method puts everyone else on the defensive - by the time the problem is recognized and understood, it has already been effective for some time and may allow for a certain amount of momentum. Also, rapidly shifting strategies can lead to the defensive side lagging behind or being overwhelmed, which is one of the potential advantages of the “increase the signal to noise ratio when it comes to dog whistles” approach mentioned previously.

Therefore, as the old saying goes, the best defense is a good offense. The best chances of combating these ideologies involves going after them directly, rather than trying to play damage control after the fact (although that is also important.) And to do this most effectively requires a certain level of understanding of the psychology (and pathology) of the kinds of minds that are most amenable to fascism and radical exclusionism and racism.

The most important point worth considering is what I have taken to calling the Fascism Paradox. Fascism derives its name from the Fasces, a symbol that was adopted during the days of the Roman Empire and then appropriated by authoritarian political movements in the early twentieth century. It consists of a bundle of rods tied together, incorporating a handle and axe head, and the symbolism is pretty straightforward; a single stick might break, but a bundle of them together is much more robust. The obvious idea behind it is that many people united in a single cause and goal can accomplish what an individual cannot, which is why it was adopted by so many governmental offices and magistrates before the early twentieth century.

The titular paradox is that the Fasces symbolizes strength despite being an admission of weakness. The whole point of tying the rods together is because an individual rod is inadequate to the task at hand. Likewise, most authoritarian displays of power revolve around numbers; large military parades, massive rally crowds, mobs of angry young men wearing polo shirts and carrying lawn torches. The power of symbolism, and the attraction they hold, is a door that swings both ways; those who are attracted to the idea of fascism are those who are individually weak, and can only achieve strength and power by proxy, as part of a larger group.

Given that knowledge, the obvious counter is to strip away the protections of the group itself. After the Unite the Right rally, quite a large number of participants were identified by photographic evidence where they did nothing to conceal their identities, and the social consequences were considerable. These individual people were not part of a larger, dangerous force; they were people with names and addresses and once people could pair them with the faces in the photographs, it was basically open season. This technically wasn’t even doxxing; nobody can realistically make a claim to privacy when they are in a public space, much less when they are deliberately drawing attention to themselves. (The lessons learned from this are implicit in the “secret police” tactics used by unidentified federal agents in Portland as of this writing.)

If this sounds like a roundabout way of saying “Divide And Conquer”, it’s because there’s another element to the paradox. A bundle of sticks may be stronger than any individual stick, but the strength of said bundle is still limited by the strength of the individual sticks. For an object lesson in why this is important, compare breaking a single uncooked spaghetti noodle with an entire package of uncooked spaghetti. The whole package technically puts up more resistance, but the difference is marginal in comparison to the forces involved. So it is with fascism and the people who are enticed by it; because their attraction to the group and the cause is motivated (subconsciously or not) by an attempt to mitigate personal weaknesses, the group itself inherits all off these weaknesses. This is especially true when it comes to the subject of morale and courage under fire; each individual in the group is relying on the group as a whole, and they take their cues from each other, so as soon as one person falters everyone around them starts to hold back. The result is a chain reaction of hesitation and lost momentum. (This can be seen in real time when watching videos of right wing protests fighting with counter-protest groups, and can also be seen in recordings of police and riot cops against protestors when a charge doesn’t immediately turn into a rout.)

This paradox also comes into play with another peculiar psychological characteristic: Being disgusted or enraged by compassion. Compassion directed towards weakness can serve as a reminder of said weakness, or an admission, or symbolize a loss or negation of strength; the human mind is very complex and this can get rationalized and justified many different ways, but it all comes back to a central idea; that they can’t or don’t have what they want more than anything. This is another reason why these groups turn on each other at the drop of a hat, because displaying compassion for, or receiving compassion from another, is an insult in a culture where strength is prized: “I’m helping you because you’re weak and you need my help / pity / support.”

(In a world, and especially a year, where the hits keep coming and they don’t stop coming like some sort of Fae contract involving a Smash Mouth song, this attitude is even less healthy than it normally is.)

The sense of personal weakness at the heart of the paradox can take multiple forms, not just physical strength. Financial stability, social leverage, political authority, health and wellness, even good looks can all qualify. What matters is it’s something that a person wants and does not have. This by itself is the origin of most conspiracy theories; some other nation or ethnic group or political party is hoarding or stealing all the food or medicine or political power, and if they weren’t, things would be different. The conspiracy theory angle is so complicated it requires its own essay to explore in full, so for the purposes of brevity and clarity we will leave that unaddressed for now; all we need to focus on is the idea that these people want something that they can’t have. The “can’t have” part especially plays into the idea of radicalization and recruitment. Somebody who wants to be physically strong can work out and get swole, and can measure their progress over time in terms of sets and reps. As a matter of fact, they have to in order to determine what exercises are working for them. How much they can lift and for how long and with what body parts will vary greatly depending on factors like genetics, environment, childhood and adult nutrition, but what matters is that it can be quantified and measured and progress can be seen.

But fascists, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, fascism-susceptible people, are in a different situation. As much as they glorify, praise, and fetishize strength and power, what really drives them is their weakness. No matter how ripped they may be and how much they can bench, it’s never enough; they will always be afraid and insecure and there is always the possibility, if not the certainty, of somebody stronger. It’s the difference between wanting to be strong and wanting to not be weak. This also applies to knowledge, to social acumen, to power and influence. So long as they are unable or unwilling to confront the root cause of what drives them - to admit their weakness in whatever form they find intolerable - they can’t come to terms with it psychologically, never mind take action to correct it practically.

This leads directly to the next strategy for dealing with fascists; mockery and ridicule. The insecurity and weakness that drives fascism is bone deep and borders on the universal, and this is why so many alt-right insults are disparaging terms referring to a perceived lack of strength or fortitude or power. Trying to use those specific terms against them is about as effective as children on a playground going “I’m rubber, you’re glue” but individual insults and derogatory remarks are not what’s important; the underlying insecurity is. Simply not treating them with the deference and respect they desire is itself a potent starting point, and from there any number of comedic possibilities present themselves. Autocratic and authoritarian regimes are notorious about cracking down on dissent for this reason even more than an attempt to keep the citizenry from being agitated; just look at Vladimir Putin’s heavy handed retaliation against Russia’s internet access when somebody photoshopped heavy makeup onto his face. Wannabe dictators with no power can’t remove the object of their ridicule and it eats them alive from the inside out.

The final aspect of this counter attack strategy has to do with enemy morale and opposition. As stated in previous parts of the essay, a number of fascists and crypto-fascists abandoned the cause and ideology when they decided it was less stressful to stop being one. In other words, leave the door open for somebody to switch sides. Consider an analogy where Fascism is an island; some people will burn all their bridges in pursuit of the ideology, but others might not; if other people burn those bridges, the result is the same and they end up trapped on Fascism Island anyway, so they have nothing to lose by doubling down. A number of people on and off Tumblr have discussed this topic and the problems with what is called “essentialist” thinking long before this essay was written; there is a nearly decade old TED Talk by a DJ called Jay Smooth who suggested we start thinking of bias and prejudice the same way we think about hygiene like brushing our teeth, that prejudice is something people do as opposed to an inescapable part of their character.

It’s worth keeping in mind that this may be interpreted as weakness by the fascist or fascists in question and this may prompt them to redouble their attacks or attempt to “play” the person giving them an out in order to get information or undermine their confidence or even try to recruit them into the fascist cause; it’s also worth keeping in mind that it is impractical and unrealistic to expect everyone to adopt this approach. Some people have lost too much personally, and some people are too close to the ideological or physical front lines to even consider letting their guard down. Not everyone can be Reverend Wade Watts.

#The War of the Words #On the Shoulders of Windmills

3 notes · View notes

emtheanxiousdragon · 5 years ago

Text

Sanders Hospital AU

(Special thanks to @justisaisfine for some help developing this story!)

(This is the introduction to the AU. For full info, please see the AO3 story.)

————————————-

Located in sunny Miami, Florida, Sanders Hospital is one of the top-ranking public hospitals in the country. Famous for its charitable president Thomas Sanders (no relation to the name of the hospital, as he loves to joke), Sanders Hospital features an award-winning mental health department and pediatric center! Its connection to the local university has allowed for a wonderfully talented resident program and educational opportunities. In the hospital's long history, they have treated people from all walks of life- from homeless people to the President of the U.S! (He just spent a few days in the hospital with a broken leg, but still!)

As a public hospital, they naturally have less funding than private institutions. One of the biggest rivals to the hospital is St. Gemma's Hospital, a respectable private hospital that makes its home on the other side of Miami, closer to the rich beach houses and expensive hotels. They've been praised for possessing what some call the best burn ward in the Southern United States. Many of the doctors of the two hospitals share a respectful relationship and have aided one another when their personal expertise was needed. However, there's still tension between the two hospitals for government funding, alongside some personal tension between doctors.

Major Hospital Locations

The Main Lobby. The main entrance to Sanders Hospital is the first glimpse of the wonderful care that awaits you during your stay. The front doors are wheelchair accessible, with a long slope going down to the main floor. The smooth, curving metal reception desk sits below the hospital's logo- a rainbow-colored caduceus. Hubs of blue and grey lounge chairs and couches collect below warm circular lights. The lighting in the lobby changes depending on the time of day- on bright days, the lobby will use as much natural sunlight as possible. On dark days, or during dusk and dawn, the lights will shine a bright, but neutral color. During the night, the lights are turned to a warm yellow, as yellow light encourages rest far better than harsh blue or white. This part of the hospital lacks the stereotypical smells of rubbing alcohol and disinfectant. Instead, the smell of freshly baked pastries from the hospital coffee shop fills the lobby, accompanied by whatever Baths and Body Works scent the barista decided to use for the day. There's also a gift shop in the lobby where visitors can buy their ailing loved ones gifts to aid recovery!

The Pediatrics Ward. With beautiful swirls of color on the walls and cartoon characters, it doesn't take long to understand why the pediatrics department of Sanders Hospital has won so many rewards. Every step of the way, the doctors and nurses patrolling this side of the hospital are ready to comfort a child in pain. Patient rooms have a TV where families can put in DVDs they brought from home or from the hospital. Each room has a recliner and couch so parents and immediate family members don't have to leave their kids. This part of the hospital also contains the NICU, which can be a heart-breaking place at times. The doctors keep in close contact with the legal department's Child Protective Service officers. If the pediatricians suspect child abuse or a child loses their parents, they don't hesitate to call the CPS officers, cause guess what? These folks are the nice sort of CPS officers! The department has gone under fire at times by people claiming they have pushed the borders of a doctor/patient relationship (giving personal gifts to patients, favoritism, becoming too much of a friend to the patient and less of a doctor), but so far they've kept their heads above water

Entertainment Row. While not its official name, hospital staff call this part of the hospital Entertainment Row for its patient services. This part of the hospital has a library that patients can borrow from, including books and DVDs. There is a lounge room with TVs and gaming devices with windows looking over the city. Since its on the top floor of the hospital, it also opens up to the roof-top garden, where patients can walk around and enjoy some fresh air. There's even a gardening program at the hospital where patients can help grow and harvest fruits and veggies to use in the kitchens! It's a wonderful way to boost a patient's emotional health and give them a chance to relax between tests and treatments. Entertainment Row also hosts classrooms for long-term students so they don't fall behind on studies. Often these classrooms are used by patients booked long-term into the mental services department, but those struggling with cancer, tuberculosis, and other diseases that require long-term hospital care are still able to keep up their education.

The Emergency Department. While not as famed as other parts of the Sanders Hospital, the emergency department does host a no wait policy- patients are taken straight to beds without waiting, as those with serious conditions cannot spend half an hour waiting for someone to check them in. This makes the ED a pretty chaotic place. However, the policy has been credited to saving multiple lives and even for stopping an epidemic! (That's a story for another time). With a central hub of desks and computers, doctors can hop from one patient to another and quickly determine if they need to be checked into a room or if they can soon head home.

The ICU. The hospital tries its best to keep the ICU a naturally lit environment. It runs on a similar light system as the main lobby and they try to have windows in each room. However, with the nature of the ICU, there's still a sense of dread and worry that hangs over anyone who visits the area. Experienced doctors appreciate the less gloomy atmosphere, but with the smell of disinfectant trying to overpower the lingering stenches of those too far gone to save and withering gift shop flowers sitting on mantels, the gloom still remains.

The Psychiatric Department. The other most awarded department of Sanders Hospital, this part of the hospital has the most personalized rooms. As most patients who find themselves in these rooms are at the hospital for long-term care and observation, the staff allow them to add a few more personal touches to the rooms than long-term patients in other departments may be allowed to. As long as the items can't hurt them, they can have them. The offices of each doctor are also personal, designed for therapy, to relax patients when they come in. Each office also has the personal touch of the doctors, as it helps them bond with their patients in a way that makes them feel more open to share their issues.

Doctor's Lounges. With a few in different parts of the hospital shared by different departments, the lounges are places where doctors, nurses, and residents can settle down for a bit. There are beds against one wall for those on long shifts and kitchen space for doctors to store food and even do a bit of cooking if the chance comes. You can find many residents finishing papers and studies around the rectangular plastic tables in the center of the room while also chowing down a quick dinner. The staff like to keep most of their work troubles outside of the lounges, however.

The President's Office/The Board Rooms: Thomas Sanders' office is usually empty. Since this is a president who likes to be on the floor doing what he went to school to do whenever he can, its usually locked. When he's working on presidential business or other similar work, those entering are greeted by the usually open balcony behind his desk with a marvelous view of Miami. Sometimes he'll be on that balcony, drinking some coffee and watching the sunset. The shelves along one wall contain a mixture of personal items and work-related stuff- diplomas and awards, Steven Universe pop figurines, the latest medical journals, a few favorite knick-knacks. (Dr. Picani usually avoids the office so he's not tempted to steal his boss's figurines). Next door to the office are the hospital board rooms, where the hospital board members meet and discuss the goings-on of Sanders Hospital. A yellow-tan room with a long wooden table and a monitor at the end, the board rooms are very professional. If a staff member gets called up there during a board meeting, something's probably going to go down. While the hospital president may be an honorable man, the same can't be said for all of his board members. The rooms are more inviting when used for Thomas's meeting with his department chairs.

The Lock-Up. As a public hospital, Sanders is in charge of treating prisoners from some of the big prisons around Miami. All prisoners are kept in a special, separate ward away from the rest of the prison under heavy protection. Doctors and nurses must put all equipment through scanners and confirm items with security personnel before they can enter. Prisoners are to stay in their areas (curtained off sections with beds) unless given permission to leave. All types of prisoners are treated here, from juvie kids stuck for a few months for vandalism, to serial killers doing double-life sentences.

Staff Members

Thomas Sanders- Hospital President

Thomas Sanders started his career at Sanders Hospital when he was a teenager, volunteering in Entertainment Row. Living in the area, young Thomas snagged a summer job in the library and helped many young kids find books to entertain themselves during chemo and therapy. Thomas loved helping others, even back then. He went to med school specializing in art therapy and mental health services but later got some cardiovascular certification so he could better assist in surgeries. He got a job at the hospital that started it all, getting a residency in the psychiatric department. When he joined the department, the place was gloomy, with depressing rooms and depressing offices. As Thomas climbed the ranks, his positivity and infectious happiness spread around the department. Rooms became brighter, offices became more welcoming, and patients became happier. While the hospital board cared less about patient happiness, they did care that Thomas's effect on the department was bringing in more patients and making money. He became the head of the psychiatric department. When the former president retired, Thomas was offered the job. He accepted, hoping to improve even more of the hospital.

While he can struggle against the greed and ambition of his board members (whom he sadly cannot get rid of alone), Thomas has slowly but surely found his place as a respectable, kind, and intelligent hospital president. He helped turn the hospital into a major LGBTQ+ supporter in Florida. He's a hands-on sort of president, wanting to keep in touch with each part of his hospital. He tries hard to make real changes happen and affect the community in a positive way. His personality, which helped change the psychiatric department so much, has now changed the entire hospital for the better. People joke that he's done so much, they renamed the place after him, but he swears it was a coincidence. He justs tries to put some good into the world.

Joan Stokes- Medical Director

Joan Stokes is Thomas's right hand in the hospital. The two met in med school, when Joan helped Thomas work on this thesis on the health issues of Miami LGBTQ+ people. Joan kept in touch with Thomas after they graduated and the two were very close friends. Joan started their residency at St. Gemma's and got first-hand experience in their prized burn ward. They moved to Sanders a few years after completing their residency to take a job as a general surgeon. They met their partner, Talyn, while working on a case involving a kidney transplant on someone who recently lost an arm.

Joan has always been the more level-headed, more focused one in their friendship with Thomas. As medical director, they are able to take Thomas's swirls of imagination and inspiration and apply those ideas on a practical level, adding in their own ideas. The only real arguments you'll see Joan get into with Thomas are about the job. They are a private person, but when they are around people they're comfortable with, their outgoing and funny sides emerge. If kids spot them in the pediatric ward, they'll probably make a few jokes. Depending on the adults in the area, they may sneak in a few 'mature' jokes as well.

Roman Prince- Public Services Director

Where Joan is the right hand of Thomas, Roman is the left. He doesn't have the medical skill that Joan and Thomas have, but he does have a presence that few can argue with. He's in charge of Entertainment Row and manages fundraisers, public appearances, speeches, and special events. He puts a special effort into the entertainment that patrols the pediatric ward entertaining kids- balloon artists, hospital dogs, everything! Entertainment is the best way to cheer up kids! He's the face of Sanders Hospital, appearing on talk shows and representing the issues of the hospital and the medical community.

Of course, there's doubt in his role- a high school drop-out managing a hospital? What can he say about the medical community when he never even went to college? To his friends, it doesn't matter. But it does to him. When the stress of public services becomes too much, he'll take part in his passion- teaching kids how to act at the local YMCA. He loves acting, and tries to find any chance he can to do so.

Patton Foster- Head of Pediatrics

This bubbly man was simply made to handle kids! Patton is known as 'Doctor Sweetheart' by some of the nurses and lower-level staff, as he treats everyone with fatherly kindness and respect. He always takes time to ask people how they're doing and is always ready to give advice. He always gets a laugh out of the younger kids and connects to the teenagers in the department extremely well. (If we're being honest, he's the source of most of those accusations of pushing the doctor/patient relationship too far, and they're probably right, but is that a bad thing?) He's ready to share tears with parents in pain, who are definitely included in his advice-giving. When people questioned whether to hire Logan Berry as the head of the Emergency Department, their biggest concern was that Patton would lose focus working alongside his husband. So far they haven't had to worry. Much.

Despite his fatherly and loving nature, Patton can be extremely stubborn. He often refuses to resort to any treatments that would cause a conflict with his morals, always searching for different ways to go about things, therefore ignoring the treatment that would save his patient's life until it was truly the only answer. When it comes to his moral standards, he can be strict. However, he's always looking to improve himself and be kind to others, supporting self-care, self-love, and the expression of emotions (even when he tries to repress the ones he has).

Logan Berry- Head of the Emergency Department

When you think of a doctor, you're probably thinking of Logan Berry. A logic-driven man able to put aside his emotions to get the job done, he is a shining example of the knowledge and respect commanded by doctors. When asked why he doesn't pursue a more glamourous and financially rewarding position at St. Gemma's or a similar institution, his answer is always the same- "I'm needed here." Logan has spent his life seeking to spread knowledge. He got a teaching degree alongside his medical degree and had a very unique residence- as a teacher's assistant at a medical college in New York, spending half of his time teaching and the other half fulfilling his medical requirements at the nearest hospital. Only a few days after his residency ended, he quit his TA job and moved back to his home state of Florida.

Logan took a job at a small, poorly funded clinic in the slums of Miami. He tried to educate his patients to better care for themselves, but he couldn't reach many people. He worked himself into exhaustion. The end result is poorly recorded- all that remains are some buried medical records in the file rooms of Sanders Hospital, a few police reports, and a metal leg that clicked whenever Logan walked. It was during his physical therapy at Sanders Hospital that Logan met Patton, who was only a year into his job. The two became close, and in a few years of therapy, re-adjustment to work, and new friendships, Logan and Patton were married. Logan tied up the loose ends of his old clinic and applied for the position as the head of the Emergency Department at Sanders Hospital.

Virgil Lawson- Head of Nursing

Being at the top of the chain of nurses for Sanders Hospital is tough, but at least Virgil actually cares about what he's doing. Despite the fact that he lives off the hospital coffee shop and its vending machines, hasn't been back to his apartment in four days, deals with more work than one man should legally be allowed to, and deals with not only generalized/social anxiety but chronic panic attacks, Virgil Lawson is the happiest he's been in a long time. He protects and encourages both his nurses and his friends, acting as a source of calm in the constant storm of medical work. His no-nonsense attitude is perfect for nursing as he deals with crabby patients. He's rarely more in the zone than when he's running around the hospital to his next assignment, running through treatments in his head. Hospital security even consider him an honorary member of their team when the head of security caught him practicing kung fu in an empty doctor's lounge (he learned in high school, as a hobby and for self-defense)

He didn't start out working at Sanders Hospital. Virgil grew up in Atlanta and went to school at University of Florida. Once he was a registered nurse, he realized that he was actually alone in Florida. His single mother had died while he was in college, and he didn't have any other family. He started out working for a company that sent the rich private nurses, but he would have gone insane had he stayed. He decided to find a job somewhere that would pay well, and ended up in the employ of St. Gemma's Hospital. He doesn't talk about his time there. What most people know is that Virgil looked into the recently opened position for Head of Nursing at Sanders and a few months later, he was fired from St. Gemma's. A week after that, he became the new Head of Nursing. Few understand why he has such a deep hatred for the rival hospital.

Emile Picani- Head of the Psychiatric Department

Sanders Hospital has been known for a quirky staff, but Emile takes the cake. He did a tour with the Navy for a few years out of high school before resigning and beginning his path towards becoming a licensed therapist and psychiatrist. He found some fame in the medical field for his fascinating thesis paper on the use of cartoons as a therapeutic tool. That was what made Emile such a unique therapist- he was able to find cartoons and shows and movies to connect with his patients and help them understand themselves better. That was also what made it difficult to hold down a job. He got positions at a lot of places, but he could never stay long. It was always the same song- he was too loud, people found him too strange to connect to, he couldn't keep a stable patient quota, he didn't blend well with the other staff.

Emile bounced around the country, doing his best for people for as long as he could before he was eventually forced out. If it bothered him, he didn't let it show. Eventually, he stumbled into Miami on the coattails of DisneyWorld tourists and found a therapist position open at Sanders Hospital. He wasn't expecting to get the job. However, Thomas got a hand on his file and remembered reading his thesis- he loved that thesis! He hired Emile and, fully expecting to be fired within the month, started setting up his old cartoon routine. But something was different this time. This time, he stayed. He got a steady flow of patients who wanted to stay with him. Emile finally found his place.

Remy Dormir- Barista

Remy seemed to fit more with the club-hopping, coffee shop roaming, hipster crowd than anything found in a hospital. Still, there he was, running the Sanders Hospital coffee shop. And owning it. He's got the orders of his favorite and frequent customers memorized, Emile and Virgil among the top of that list in their respective categories. If you want news about Sanders, then honey, you've come to the right place. He knows every dirty secret floating through the hospital. He could destroy careers with a single word, but mostly he just uses that knowledge to tease friends and put a greedy doctor back in line once and a while.

Remy acts like the counselor for the hospital in a way. Despite his love of gossip, he's great at keeping secrets, so many find themselves venting to the barista as he pulls out the next batch of cinnamon rolls. He might spill a petty secret here or there, but he would never truly betray someone. He sometimes acts superior to everyone and like he doesn't care. Only one of those statements is true. Many ignore him, but the wise will drop a tip into his jar and get the latest scoop of Sanders Hospital drama. He's living in a medical drama and he knows it.

Nate Christopoulos (Crime-Fighter Guy)- Head of Security

Hospitals aren't safe anymore. Scoundrels lurk behind every heart monitor, ready to strike. Even doctors can be bought. But Sanders Hospital is safe under the protective watch of Man in Black, the Man of Two Worlds, the Man of Legend- Nate Christopoulos! A biracial, bisexual, former private investigator with a film noir obsession, Nate is in charge of the hospital security. He keeps a special eye on the lock-up so no prisoners cause any disturbances. He relishes when he's called to action to defend someone. He's a crime fighter at heart! He spends half of his time watching the live security feeds in his office and the rest patrolling the halls. When near the pediatrics ward, he pretends he's going in slow motion to make the kids laugh.

He spends quite a bit of time around Remy, fueling up on coffee and getting the latest in criminal goings-on. The two share a passion for sarcasm and sunglasses. The most excitement he sees on a regular basis is handling a violent patient in Dr. Picani's department. He works with the police whenever suspects and witnesses to crimes are treated in the hospital- he's not going to let a stereotypical hospital assassination take place under his watch!

Talyn- Physical Therapist

Never one for last names, Talyn deals in those recovering from limb loss, intense injury, certain surgeries, and those dealing with certain chronic illnesses. Their job is to strengthen their bodies so they can return to something resembling their old strength. They're quite the fashionista, coming in with new hair colors every other week (patients are extremely impressed when they dye their eyebrows). Their blunt attitude helps push their patients towards recovery and helps them not give up. They've heard their fair share of war stories from veterans returning from overseas. They just let their patients vent it all out.

When relaxing from their emotionally draining job, they'll often talk to their partner Joan or Virgil, both of whom had enough common sense to talk about things other than work sometimes. They love wearing fun clothes whenever they can, occasionally coming up with silly costume days for patients just to get an excuse to wear funner clothes. They are one of the two people Logan is comfortable discussing his injury with.

Dr. D.- Cardiovascular and General Surgeon of St. Gemma's, Sanders Hospital Consultant

For someone in the medical field, Dr. D. should really be clearer on what his name is. Some call him Deceit behind his back because of his secretive nature. Of course, official records and close friends know his full name, but he prefers to keep it hidden. His patients don't need to know his full name. He gets what he needs from his patients and tells them what they need, and then he leaves. The next time he sees them, it'll be under the knife. It would be a stretch to call Dr. D. a crooked doctor. He doesn't take bribes or kill anyone. He is, however, always ready to break hospital policy to get his job done, and has developed a special skill in covering up his lawbreaking. Usually, he tosses hospital security at whatever Remus is doing and that's that.

He specializes in surgery on burn victims, operating in St. Gemma's famed burn ward. When he was a child, Dr. D. was treated at that very burn ward after his father's smoking burned down their apartment, killing his mother and leaving him orphaned. He still has the scars from the experience- crumpled, burned skin that covers half of his face, surgical scars repairing his nerves, hands so scarred he never takes off his gloves. His injuries don't affect his surgeries, but he never bothered to get plastic surgery and fix his face. His scars were a reminder- he couldn't trust people, like he couldn't trust his dad to stop smoking or get a job.

Remus Prince- St. Gemma's(?) Janitor

Every hero needs an evil twin. Remus fulfills that role for Roman. The twins were both high school dropouts, but Remus wasn't quite as successful as his brother. Perhaps it was his violent tendencies that made it difficult to find a job in the creative arts. It could also be his OCD- those intrusive thoughts of his that forced him to do such strange rituals, Roman was the only one who ever understood why he did those things. Sometimes it was tough to tell what strange things Remus wanted to do, or what were truly intrusive thoughts. A relationship with his twin was always difficult to maintain. It was tough to tell whether either twin wanted to know the other sometimes. Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn't. Most people don't know he's related to Roman. Regardless of siblings, Remus works as a janitor, cleaning up hospital floors and messes with intense focus.

Sanders Hospital staff aren't sure where Remus works. They'll see him cleaning the halls of Sanders Hospital or changing bedsheets- one of the nurses once spotted him giving a patient a sponge bath! He's not listed in the staff, but he still cleans the hospital (someone apparently saw Remus get a check from the hospital, but that was never proven). It's the same thing at St. Gemma's, but there isn't a staff member there willing to confirm or deny Remus's employment. He most likely works there, but no one is completely sure. Nate and his security team have been ordered to escort Remus off hospital grounds when they catch him, but they don't do a good job at it. He is Nate's number one enemy.

—————————————-

There you go! The start to a new AU! I’m ready to make a tag list for anyone who likes this AU! I’m also suggestings asks about this series directed to me or the characters! At the time of this post, all characters are open.

I also accept prompts for short stories about the characters! I can’t guarantee your suggestion would be written, or that it would be quick, but I will see what I can do!

116 notes · View notes

macgyvermedical · 5 years ago

Text

An Environmental and Public Health Review of 1985 MacGyver’s “Bitter Harvest“

Let’s face it- everyone’s doing medical reviews these days. It’s about time someone realized that public health is in all your favorite TV shows, lurking in the background, just waiting to be reviewed...

And by favorite TV shows, I mean 1985 MacGyver. Cause damn could this show roll out the public health storylines.

If you haven’t seen the episode “Bitter Harvest”, its a pretty social justice heavy one:

Mac ends up stranded in a town of agricultural laborers who suspect that the company employing them is using unsafe pesticide applications in their vinyards, causing elevated rates of cancer, mystery illnesses, and birth defects. When a prominent figure in the community is killed over his workers’ rights protest, Mac decides to go undercover as one of the workers, finding that the company has been using an illegal plant growth regulator they suspect is behind the illnesses. The episode deals with issues of environmental and occupational health, worker’s rights, and the social determinants of health overall.

This post will cover all the public health related knowledge you can stand about the potentially illegal chemical application, the social determinants of health, and of course, the many, many, many times Mac gets sick or injured during his 4-day stay in Kasabian, CA.

Skip to “The Medical Review Part” if you’re just here to watch Mac suffer.

My previous MacGyver (2016 and 1985) reviews:

Awl - X-Ray + Penny - Duct Tape + Jack - CD + Hoagie Foil - Guts + Fuel + Hope - Wilderness + Training + Survival - Father + Bride + Betrayal - Lidar + Rogues + Duty - Nightmares - Seeds + Permafrost + Feather - Friends + Enemies + Border - Mason + Cable + Choices -

Note: listen, guys, I was really trying hard not to make this into another 3000-word post... but I did. This literally took me weeks to research and write. For ease of scrolling, I’ve put a read more here. Enjoy!

Agricultural Chemical Application

In the episode, residents of the town claim they’ve been illegally exposed to agricultural chemicals. Various characters tell stories of being forced to work in fields too soon after pesticide application, and of the illnesses or birth defects they and their children have suffered because of it.

The application of pesticides, fertilizers, and in certain cases plant growth regulators, are vital to modern agriculture operating at the scale necessary to support a nearly 8-billion-human planet. Due to the fact that many of these chemicals will eventually enter human bodies, great effort has been made over the last century to create chemicals that function to kill pests and increase crop yields while posing as little harm as possible to the humans who may also be exposed to them.

The episode features three very different agricultural chemicals- Captain, Methomyl, and 4-CPA. The first two, Captain and methomyl, are both pesticides. Pesticide is an umbrella term for any chemical that kills an unwanted animal (i.e. a rodenticide), insect (insecticide), fungus (fungicide), plant (herbicide), microbe (microbicide), or algae (algaecide). Pesticides are often necessary to control populations of animals and insects that would eat the crop, control fungus and algae that would spoil it, and control the growth of plants that would compete with the crop for nutrients.

Pesticides (and many other agricultural chemicals) are regulated in the US under a law called FIFRA- the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. FIFRA is enforced by the US EPA, who generally details where, when, how, and how much of an agricultural chemical can be used, as well as how much of any agricultural chemical can be left on the final crop (this is usually a very small amount).

Captain is a blend of copper-based microbicides and algaecides. Copper-based pesticides have been around since the 1700s. They’re used on almost every conventional food crop in some form to prevent fungal and bacterial infestation, as well as to prevent the growth of algae in standing water. Generally, they can be pretty irritating to eyes and skin and toxic if swallowed at high concentrations, but they’re pretty safe in the dilute amounts routinely used.

Methomyl is a carbamate insecticide. Many forms of insecticide, carbamates included, work because they prevent the breakdown of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine in the insect. This causes an overproduction of acetylcholine and the death of the bug. Since humans also produce and break down acetylcholine in a similar way, carbamates are also toxic to humans. In fact, they’re extremely similar to the chemical weapons known as nerve agents.

Why would we spray nerve agents on food? Well, carbamates and organophosphates (another similar pesticide) are actually pretty nonpersistant, meaning that they rapidly break down in the environment and become non-toxic long before the end consumer is exposed. This is good for humans, because it means we can spray them on food, kill the bugs, wait a certain amount of time, and then we can re-enter the fields or eat food without being poisoned.

Toward the beginning of the episode, Mac is knocked out and left in a field, where he is sprayed directly with some form of agricultural chemical. This leaves him generally weak and coughing for the rest of the episode. While never really explained, if I were to give my best guess as to what was sprayed on him based on what is shown in the episode, methomyl would be it.

Weakness, coughing, nausea/vomiting/diarrhea, excessive salivation, sweating, blurred vision, and constricted pupils are all symptoms of exposure to carbamates, organophosphates, and their earlier and significantly more persistent (and therefore toxic) cousins the organochlorines. Fortunately for Mac, acute (one-time) exposures to carbamates like this don’t tend to have long-term consequences once the person recovers.

The last chemical mentioned in the episode was 4-CPA, referred to in the episode as “fix”. 4-CPA is a plant growth regulator (basically a synthetic plant hormone) that restricts root development in some plants and increases fruit yield in others. In the episode it’s treated like it’s some super toxic, illegal pesticide that would be outrageous and reckless to use on your grape crop. In reality, it’s not really dangerous to humans at all (it can be irritating to skin and eyes, but its non-cancer-causing, non-birth-defect-causing, and generally not even that acutely toxic), and the US uses so little of it as a country (about 20lbs total per year) that just in quantity it’s probably not a threat to the general environment either.

At the time of the episode 4-CPA was only approved for use on tomatoes and mung beans, meaning that the episode’s assertion that it was illegal on grapes is technically true (why Mac knows this off the top of his head is beyond me, but here we are). I’m not sure what, if anything, would happen if you put it on grapes, but I get the sense it either wouldn’t do anything, or wouldn’t do enough good to justify the expense. Today, it’s just approved for mung beans (and either way, it’s not sprayed, the mung beans are just washed in a really dilute solution of it before they’re allowed to sprout).

If you’re like me, you’re wondering “so why use 4-CPA as the big bad chemical at all when there are clearly more dangerous, more illegal agricultural chemicals to choose from?” I had 2 ideas:

4-CPA has a really limited market. Even if the episode launched some kind of investigation into it, it wouldn’t disrupt any significant amount of agriculture.

Mac needed to be able to identify the substance with limited resources, and 4-CPA just happens to have an obvious “melting crystal” structure that can be seen with a homemade polaroscope (I don’t know this for a fact, but since that’s how Mac identified it and there’s not really any other reason to use it, there might be some scientific truth to it).

4-CPA’s toxicity wasn’t actually relevant plot-wise, they just needed something illegal Kasabian was doing that Tony could have used to open dialogue about a union contract. This gets some mixed-signals throughout the episode because they seem to use it interchangeably with “toxic pesticide”, but it could have been the initial intent.

At the end of the episode it is revealed that Kasabian (the character) has ordered that all grapes treated with 4-CPA to be destroyed, voluntarily submitted his fields to outside testing, and decided to stop using “Tox 1″ pesticides. This is in reference to the chemical’s US Toxicity Class. The most toxic are “Toxicity Class 1″ which are fatal if less than 5g of the substance is ingested. The least toxic is “Toxicity Class 4″ which is entirely non-fatal and non-toxic at most reasonably ingest-able doses.

For reference, 4-CPA is a “Tox 4″, while Captain is a “Tox 3″ and methomyl is a “Tox 1″. So basically the ones Mac brushed off as “legal” are way, way more toxic than the one they make a big deal about.

(I did try to figure out what the heck dynaset (dinaset? dynacet? idk?) was, but came up empty. If you know what the heck Alex was talking about with his story about the guy who died from dynaset exposure, please let me know!)

The Social Determinants of Health:

In the episode, Carmen and Mac have a discussion about why Carmen’s daughter Natalie was born with a limb defect. Mac asks if she thinks it has to do with pesticide exposure, but while Carmen endorses having worked in the fields until well into her 3rd trimester and was certainly exposed to agricultural chemicals, she is hesitant to agree, stating “we are poor people, Mr. MacGyver. Many things contribute to birth defects.”

While Carmen may be curbing her language out of fear in this scene, she’s not wrong in suggesting that her socioeconomic status may be just as important a factor in her family’s overall health outcomes. More broadly, this concept is known as the Social Determinants of Health- the idea that while access to healthcare and general health choices are important, factors like economic stability, education/language/literacy, built environment, food security, and social support actually have a substantially greater impact on overall health.

This is a massive topic, and not one we can completely cover in the post, but know that this is a thing that we think about extensively in both the medical and public health worlds:

Consider that the children of Kasabian are growing up in poverty and possibly food insecurity, reliant on local-tax-funded public education that may or may not be provided in an appropriate language, with parents who work long days in the field and carry home pesticide residue on their clothes, whose drinking water is likely contaminated with the same pesticides, and who primarily receive healthcare from a free clinic (mentioned in the episode).

Contrast this with a child who grows up in an affluent, safe, suburban community with an affordable super market within driving distance, reliable and flexible transportation, a well-funded school system with classes taught in their primary language, with clean tap water, consistent healthcare, and whose parents work in low-physical-risk occupations and can afford to spend time with them without a life-altering reduction in income.

Could both of these children grow up healthy? Sure, but even if the Kasabian child’s parents are careful to take their clothes off before hugging them, install and maintain filters on their taps, give up sleep to tutor them, and obtain healthy food from some other source, these activities would cause a significant burden to the family and the environment itself would still put the child behind. Even in the best of circumstances, with parents who are both creative and really, really trying, the child growing up in Kasabian is still going to be exposed to higher levels of pesticides, have a lower quality education (and therefore lower health literacy), lack appropriate healthcare, and get less sleep, all of which together contribute to statistically worse health outcomes.

Now, I did a quick lit search to see if anyone had found an association between limb defects and parental occupational (work-related) exposure to agricultural chemicals. In the several studies I looked at, (1 based on data from the 1980s), there was either no association or a very weak association between parental pesticide exposure and limb defects. This means that her mother’s pesticide exposure was likely not the cause of Natalie’s birth defect (common causes of limb reduction defects include thalidomide, misoprostal, or anti-convulsant exposure, certain viral infections, and folic acid deficiency, though many times the reason is unknown).

Had it been the cause, though, consider that Carmen likely felt compelled to continue working her manual labor job where pesticide exposure was likely because she had no other choice economically. If she didn’t want to starve in the weeks of income loss after Natalie’s birth, she had to work for as long as she could. In a more affluent household or an area less reliant on agricultural work, she may have been able to afford to take the time off or work a different job during her pregnancy, which might have prevented the birth defect.

The Medical Review Part

I said this was going to be a public health review, but let’s also face it- Mac was arrested, in a car accident, knocked out, poisoned, forced to walk 20 miles in the sun with no water, nearly suffocated, and thrown through a plate glass shower in this episode, so we’re still going to talk about medical things (but relate them back to public health, of course!).

The first thing is that car accident. After being released from jail, one of the organizers, Tony, offers Mac a place to stay for the night. On the way back to Tony’s house, his car is run off the road, resulting in what was essentially a front-end collision with a ditch. The pic below doesn’t look too rough, but that car was airborne before it face-planted into that dirt, so... it was bad.

Tony’s car is a 1973 Chrysler New Yorker (thanks to @thefirstusernameithoughtof for the ID). The 1973 New Yorker did have 3-point seatbelts, and we know from the screenshot below that both Mac and Tony were wearing them correctly (this show is so good at role modeling, even the little things, man I love it). However, like many 70s vehicles, it did not have additional safety features like airbags or a crumple zone.

This would be in accordance with the law at the time- although seatbelts were mandatory as far back as 1968, front airbags wouldn’t become mandatory until 1998 (based on a law first introduced in 1991), and “crumple zones” (the front portion of the vehicle that “crumples” to absorb force in an impact to avoid crushing the occupants), while standard today, has never been made legally mandatory in the US. Without this technology, I think its unlikely Mac and Tony survived this crash without very serious injuries.

Despite this, they appear to be unharmed (those sure were some great seatbelts), and after surviving the accident well enough to get up and then run from the scene, Mac is incapacitated by the comparatively minor insult of a 2x4 to the face.

And I will say, it would have been totally realistic for Mac to get a mild-to-moderate concussion resulting in him being unable to fight back or get up for several minutes, giving the bad guys a chance to escape and for Mac to be sprayed with pesticide.

If you remember from earlier in the post, out of the pesticides mentioned, I think methomyl is probably what Mac gets sprayed with. Throughout the rest of the episode, we see him weak, coughing and sweaty, which line up well with the symptoms of carbamate pesticide poisoning (in case you skipped the first part of the post, other symptoms include blurred vision, constricted pupils, excessive salivation, and nausea/vomiting/diarrhea, which I suppose would be difficult to show on family-friendly TV).

Even though he is grossly decontaminated (washed off) by Carmen, as someone recently concussed and poisoned, Mac probably should have sought some form of medical attention. He didn’t. Instead, two days later, still reasonably sick, Mac decides he needs some answers and goes undercover as one of the laborers. He’s not doing too great, and has to work all day in the hot sun. With the extra sweating, salivation, nausea and diarrhea from the aftereffects of the pesticide, Mac would have had to be really, really careful to stay hydrated.

And, I suppose, he tries. In terrible Spanish, Mac asks if there is any water, to which a woman points him to a spigot.... about thirty feet from a latrine. He, I think reasonably in the moment, chooses not to drink it.

Being that the field was 20 miles from town, I have to assume that the water coming out of the spigot was from a well. And since we have to assume that this well provides drinking water to more than 25 people more than 60 days per year, it is legally considered a public water source, and thereby beholden to the 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act. That means that in order to be in compliance, the water coming out of it either had to be regularly tested to ensure that it naturally met maximum allowable standards for various contaminants (like... human waste and pesticide runoff), or it had to be fitted with a filter or other means of reducing those contaminants to maximum allowable levels.

But that’s legally. The EPA, who would be enforcing that Act, probably wouldn’t come in and ensure that testing was being done unless someone complained, and given the other things that have happened in this episode that haven’t been reported (like, you know, the murder), Mac has every right to be suspicious of that water source.

The fact that there are workers in a remote field without a clean water source is also probably several OSHA violations, but we don’t have time for that right now.

Given that Mac was soon after discovered and forced to walk the 20 miles back to town, it might have been worth it to get some of that contaminated water. Since he made it back to town at all, I have to assume he found a surface water source and a way to clean it (he is MacGyver, after all), between the fields and the town, otherwise, considering that he’s in rough shape already, that very well could have been death number 2 for him this episode.

The next day, somehow still upright, Mac goes looking for proof that Kasabian was violating the law. He ends up finding it, but is interrupted, punched multiple times, and thrown through a sheet of glass not once, but twice, thus earning his 3rd, 4th, 5th, and probably 6th concussions of the episode. So at this point he really, really should be seeing a doctor.

Instead, he goes to a funeral.

R E F E R E N C E S R E F E R E N C E S

#MacGyver #MacGyver Classic #bitter harvest #medical review #public health #public health review #whump #EPA violations galore

24 notes · View notes

sandersstudies · 6 years ago

Text

Quirky - Chapter 5

A High School Superhero AU - Sanders Sides

(Will add tag list in a reblog! If I miss you, please let me know ASAP - As always, asks, comments, messages, reblogs, and keysmashes are more than welcome.)

-> Chapter Six

<- Chapter Four

<<- Chapter One

You can now also find the fic with the same username and title on AO3 :)

Virgil kicked a stone in front of him as the class walked toward the bus. Next to him, Logan was going on about the history of U.S.J., their destination for Hero Studies class. Virgil wasn’t a fan of field trips. He almost envied Terrence, who had stayed home sick from school.

“Pick up the pace, gang,” Mr. Picani said. “Last I checked, none of you had lead feet as a quirk.” There had been no updates on Mr. Sanders, but Virgil and many of the other students had been watching the news religiously. All that had been released to the public was that Mr. Sanders had encountered an unnamed retired pro hero at the site of a recent vandalism, attacked him using his quirk, and fled the scene. Police officers had pursued, but initially lost the trail until Mr. Sanders was arrested in the early hours of the morning in his apartment. The date of his trial had not yet been announced.

“Am I boring you?” Logan asked, stopping mid-sentence.

“Oh, no, no,” Virgil said, spasmodically grabbing Logan’s wrist and then dropping it immediately. “Sorry, guess I’m a little caught up in my own head. What were you saying?”

“U.S.J. is a fascinating location, that is all,” Logan said. Mr. Picani checked their names off his list as they got on board the bus. “Think: a single building containing several ecosystems and terrains to prepare heroes for work in any field at all! Especially useful for disaster intervention, search-and-rescue...but I won’t go on.” He took one of the few remaining open seats, and Virgil sat beside him, on the aisle side. “What were you thinking about?”

“Mr. Sanders again,” Virgil said, lowering his voice and leaning toward Logan. He felt exposed sitting near the aisle. “Do you really think he attacked another hero?”

“Rumor has it the other hero was the Flying Falcon,” Logan said in an even lower voice. “But I don’t like spreading inconclusive evidence.”

“The Flying-” Logan shushed him. “The Flying Falcon?” Virgil whispered. “Roman’s dad?”

“Inconclusive evidence.”

Virgil craned over the back of his seat as the bus started. Roman was several seats back reading a comic book, the seat next to him empty.

His posse not hanging out with him anymore? Roman had seemed a little quieter than usual yesterday. Then again, everyone had. Roman was dwelling an awfully long time on his page. He’s no genius, Virgil thought, But I’m pretty sure he can read. Roman’s eyes did look a little glazed over, come to think of it—

Logan pulled gently on Virgil’s sleeve, and Virgil came back to himself as he slid back into the seat.

“It’s rude to stare,” Logan said. Virgil felt his neck flush hot as he bounced his leg. Logan must think he was a real ass. He stared down at his hands, and then toward the front window of the bus, watching for U.S.J. to appear on the horizon. Another disadvantage of sitting on the aisle side of the seat was limited window access.

“There it is,” Rafaela said a few minutes later, pointing. Students craned their necks to get a first glance at the dome.

“Please stay in your seats,” Mr. Picani said from the front of the bus. Students sulked back down.

U.S.J. didn’t look like much to Virgil. He’d gone on vacation once with his mom and visited the Omaha zoo, and the huge glass building reminded him of the desert dome that housed things like Fennec foxes and meerkats. He had a vague idea that once he entered U.S.J. he would be pounced on by a bobcat.

“The hero Glass runs the U.S.J.,” Kai whispered to Kenny from behind Virgil. “They’re so cool.”

Virgil vaguely recalled seeing Glass on television before. The hero could turn things they touched into glass, and also transform into a glass figure which, when damaged, could regenerate almost instantly. That cheesy action figure, Virgil remembered. The little clear plastic arm that shot off and could “regrow with the power of their Quirk!” (that is, be replaced and reused). How many millions did heroes make off of dumb things like that?

Kai was bouncing up and down, grasping the back of Virgil’s seat and shaking it back and forth as the bus pulled up to the building. Virgil winced. He’d noticed that when Kai was overexcited, his quirk goo could leak from his nose and ears.

“Let’s go!” Kai said.

“Just a minute,” Mr. Picani said. “Your names must be checked off the list as you get off the bus, so don’t rush, now.”

“You checked us on off when we got on!” Kai whined, draping himself over his seat. Roman was instructed to check off names so Mr. Picani could lead the students into the building, and the students started to file into the aisle. Virgil wondered for a moment if Roman would be petty enough to leave Virgil’s name unchecked, but the class president’s face was serious as the other students got off the bus.

“Are you thinking again?” Logan asked, alighting just behind Virgil.

“A little,” Virgil admitted. At least Logan wasn’t embarrassed by Virgil’s awkward staring anymore.

“I do find the construction of U.S.J. compelling,” Logan said again. “The ecosystems…” He was staring at the building with barely-contained delight. “I’ve read about their systems of environment regulation for the six main zones. It’s fascinating. Do let me know if I go on about them too long.”

Virgil felt his lips contort irresistibly into a smile. Logan sure was a nerd, but it was kind of funny how excited he got. “You’re fine.”

Logan continued, rejuvenated by Virgil’s consent. “The main zones are the Ruins, the Landslide, the Mountain, the Flood, the Downpour, and the Conflagration zones. As their names suggest, each is related to a different environmental factor.”

Logan sounded almost like he was reciting from a book. His quirk isn’t a photographic memory, Virgil thought. In fact, Logan was liable to forget things that didn’t interest him. But it might as well be when it comes to this stuff.

“The Conflagration Zone is perhaps most impressive,” Logan went on. “Designed to simulate a city on fire, a blaze is kept constant within the zone, maintained by the environmental factors which prevent it from spreading into the other zones. It’s actually a very delicate balance, the design took years to perfect.” He spoke as proudly as if he’d designed it himself. The class began to move toward the entrance of the building where there was a large sign with U.S.J. emblazoned above it in gold letters.

“Glass is the official caretaker and one of the head designers, along with Multi-Man himself.” Logan’s arms moved emphatically. “Glass’ quirk is quite astonishing. I would be very interested in seeing it in person. Of course, they are also a faculty member. Perhaps they would prefer to be referred to by their civilian name.”

Other students were also commenting on the structure and its caretaker, but none in such technical terms as Logan, who had paused to take a breath after a particularly long paragraph.

“We’re going to process into the front entrance,” Mr. Picani said. “We’ll stop there and you’ll be directed into the next location.”

The students jostled a bit, and Virgil shrunk into his oversized hoodie. Logan, on the other hand, seemed to have grown two inches taller since they’d left the main campus. He was scanning each part of the building as they went through the front double doors, and Virgil imagined once again that he could hear Logan’s synapses firing.

The class oohed and ahhed as they entered the building. The raised platform they entered onto let them see across the entire space, which was more massive than a stadium. From their height, it reminded Virgil of an arena. In front of them was a blue arch leading to the stairs that descended into the rest of the building, which had a dirt floor. Smaller domes encased two of the environmental zones, but a real miniature mountain rose to the ceiling on their right, with a landslide arching down to its base where rested a mock town, small but with everything to real scale. It was so realistic Virgil expected to see people peering out of the windows to watch their arrival. At the edge of the town was a series of collapsed buildings which came almost up to the edge of the raised platform, and across from those was a lake to the students’ right; Virgil had anticipated a pool, a simulated lake, but the body of water had grass and even small trees at the edge, growing happily inside the pavilion with a healthy diet of lake water and sunshine.

The building seemed all sunshine, in fact. Even the mountain was contained inside the massive glass ceiling, and on this sunny day no artificial lights were needed. A few metal beams around the edge were the only reminder that they were not really outside.

Forgetting Mr. Picani’s instructions in their excitement, a couple students began to rush for the stairs that led down into the zones, but stopped suddenly, as if prevented by an invisible barrier.

“Woah there,” said a new voice. In their astonishment at seeing the building, none of the students had noticed the figure standing before him. The person had outstretched their hands to stop Kai with one arm and Rafaela with the other. They were not invisible, but clear through their entire body, and it was only as they began to return to their ordinary form that Virgil could make them out.

They wore ordinary black clothing that looked casual and modern. In place of the mask that usually covered the whole round face was a smile under dark eyes and hair. Virgil realized that the action figure had exaggerated the hero’s age: Glass could not be much older than some of the UA upperclassmen. A few students muttered the name in awe and surprise.

“Here, I’d ask that you refer to me as Mx. Stokes,” Glass said. “Glass is for field work and going on Ellen and things like that.”

Kai was staring up at Mx. Stokes in astonishment, mouth slightly agape. Mr. Picani walked up to the other hero.

“Mx. Stokes is going to begin by giving you all a bit of a tour, and then you’ll be prepared when you start using this place for rescue training,” he said

“That’s right,” Mx. Stokes agreed. “Do any of you know how many zones are in U.S.J.?”

Logan’s hand shot up so fast he almost smacked Virgil in the face.

“Yes?” Mx. Stokes said. “And your name is?”

Logan had begun after the teacher’s first word, so the response went something like “U.S.J-contains-eight-zones-six-of-which—Logan—six-of-which-contain-specific-environmental-factors.”

“Thank you, Logan,” Mx. Stokes said. “That’s correct. All of you are actually standing in the first zone now. The entrance is itself one of the zones, and if you’ll look down those steps you can see into the central plaza, which connects the entrance to the six environmental zones.”

Virgil stared past the other students down the massive flights of steps, lined with guardrails and wide enough that the whole class could have walked down side-by-side. At the base of the steps was the plaza, in the center of which was a circular green space. Virgil hadn’t noticed it at first; it had been dwarfed in size by the other zones. It was little more than a fountain surrounded by plants, a typical park centerpiece. It looked out of place only because it was framed by fallen buildings, a mountain, and a lake.

“Let’s start walking toward the plaza,” Mx. Stokes said, turning for the stairs. The students began to follow, Kai leading the way. Virgil grumbled at the thought of having to go back up the stairs again before they left. He envied Patton, who Mr. Picani was directing to a small elevator — too small for the whole class, but Virgil could dream.

“Now, when lots of people think of hero work,” Mx. Stokes went on. “They think first of TV stuff like punching people and blowing stuff up, right?” A few students muttered agreement. “Right! But the most important part of being a hero isn’t that stuff. Even more important than knocking the shit out of villains—”

“Glass,” Mr. Picani warned from the top of the steps.

“Knocking the stuffing out of villains is caring for the people we serve, and that often means search-and-rescue operations. Plenty of heroes are known for this kind of work.”

There was a beat of glances among the students. Rescue was Multi-Man’s speciality.

If he wasn’t in jail, would he be giving us this speech? Virgil wondered.

“Now,” Mx. Stokes said, breaking the moment. “If the entrance is noon, we’re going to move around the zones clockwise. Does anybody know what the zone immediately to our left is called?” The students were halfway down the stairs, and the collapsed buildings began to loom to one side.

Logan’s hand shot up in the air again, but Mx. Stokes glanced over the students and called on Kai’s much shorter raised arm instead.

“The Ruined Zone,” Kai said.

“Ruins Zone,” Logan corrected in a whisper.

“Right, the Ruins Zone,” Mx. Stokes said. “Or the Collapse Zone. It probably looks a lot like the place where you guys had your heroes vs. villains exercise, and where you took your entrance exam.”

Virgil shuddered at the memory.

“However, the Ruins Zone is meant to simulate an urban environment in the middle of a disaster like an earthquake or tornado, and some of the buildings are not very stable.” They’d finally reached the base of the stairs and had landed almost among the buildings where Patton, just coming off the elevator, was waiting for them. Virgil was startled by the level of detail in the fallen city. Real road signs lay bent at the side of cracked roads. He could see inside individual broken windows and into the rooms inside. He could imagine himself, perched on top of a building in his mask. He could swoop inside the windows and rescue...who was inside the building? He imagined a crouched figure inside. Perhaps it was—

He cut off his daydream halfway. Unrealistic.

“Could...could one of the buildings collapse now?” Kai asked nervously.

“Nope,” Mx. Stokes said, hands on their hips. “The entire building is currently in safety mode. Nothing can hurt you right now so long as nobody goes messing around. But some of the beams and stones are very unstable and are liable to collapse if tampered with, so it’s not a good place to experiment if you don’t know it very well. Anybody know the name of this next zone?”

Since they’d reached the bottom of the stairs, Logan had edged closer to the front of the class and was directly in Mx. Stokes line of sight when he raised his hand.

“Logan.”

“The Landslide Zone,” Logan enunciated.

“That’s right,” Mx. Stokes said, turning around to lead then away from the buildings and toward the small town, surrounded by forest and half-buried under the edge of the mountain with mud and rocks. “I think the name is pretty self-explanatory.”

Virgil was astonished with how long it took to walk first to the Landslide Zone and then all the way to the Mountain Zone, around five or six o’clock on Mx. Stokes’ imaginary map. Surely the building didn’t look this big from the outside? If he kept his gaze focused on the mountain, he found he could almost forget he was inside a building.

“Quite a lot of cliffs there,” Mx. Stokes declared after ignoring Logan’s hand to allow Remy to say “Mountain Zone.”

“Here’s a question,” Mr. Picani said, coming to stand beside Mx. Stokes. “I want each of you to think about your quirk strengths and weaknesses for a moment, and when we get back to the entrance, I’d like to hear which zones you feel work to your advantage and which would be most difficult for you.”

“Does this count as homework?” Remy asked.

Mr. Picani pointed a joking finger at the students. “Be lucky this is Hero Studies and not Literature or I’d have you write an essay on it.” A few students chuckled good-naturedly.

“We’ll take a quick break here,” Mx. Stokes said. “You guys can think about that question and take a quick look around the base of the mountain. No climbing though, okay?”

Some of the students practically sprinted toward the rocks, while Virgil and several others fell gratefully into splayed sitting positions.

“I am going to investigate the rock face, would you like to come?” Logan asked, leaning over Virgil.

“No thanks,” Virgil said. “Think I’m just gonna chill out here.”

“Understood.” Logan sped-walked away, paused to examine a root, and vanished behind a small clump of trees at the base of the mountain.

It is cool, having all this stuff indoors, Virgil admitted to himself. But he was no geology student. He flopped onto his back. The ground felt like real dirt, and he stared through the ceiling’s metal beams to see the clouds drifting lazily overhead. He hadn’t slept well after the news about Mr. Sanders. It was silly but—

He was distracted from his thoughts as Mx. Stokes leaned in to say something to Mr. Picani, too quietly for Virgil to hear except as a mutter. The glass hero touched the other teacher on the arm, and the two took several steps away from the class, though Mr. Picani’s gaze still scanned the students, most of whom had run some distance away or were now chatting amongst themselves. Kai had made a bouncy ball using his goo quirk and he and Kenny were tossing it back and forth, occasionally sprinting after it when it managed to slip through their fingers.

What was Glass saying to Picani? Half-closing his eyes, Virgil rolled onto his side as casually as possible to see the pair better. With the arrest of Mr. Sanders, maybe it was better not to trust anyone, not even the other UA teachers.

From Virgil’s distance, Mx. Stokes’ furrowed brows looked almost sympathetic as he spoke. Picani shooed the younger teacher away after a moment, and Mx. Stokes took a respectful step back.

Something’s going on between those two, Virgil thought. He glanced around to see if any of the other students were watching, but the only one nearby was Patton who was—

Looking at him.

Virgil quickly rolled over and went back to half-closing his eyes. He probably didn’t see that, he tried to convince himself. It didn’t work. He really didn’t like Patton’s eyes. If Virgil had had the courage, he would have watched to see if Patton ever actually blinked, or if his eyes were always staring just a bit. He didn’t look back for several minutes, and was nearly drifting into a nap when Mx. Stokes’ voice broke out again.

“Okay, everybody come back!” Mx. Stokes called. “Roman, you’re class rep, aren’t you? Run around toward the mountain and make sure we’ve got everybody back.”

Virgil pushed himself back into a standing position and dusted himself up without checking to see whether Patton was looking at him.

“Enjoyed your rest?” Logan asked as he approached.

“Enjoyed your investigating?” Virgil responded.

“Thoroughly. They’ve used an ingenious mix of sedimentary rock and artificial materials to create an accurate imitation of a genuine landmass. The trees are growing via an irrigation system routed from the lake under the tile.”

“Who knows the name of the next zone?” Mx. Stokes asked. Logan’s delight at the discovery of sediment and irrigations had distracted him long enough that he had not raised his hand by the time the question was answered.

“The Conflagration or Fire Zone.”

“That’s right, Roman,” Mx. Stokes said. “Let’s start moving that way. And before any of you freak out—” The teacher raised their hands defensively. “The safety settings make the location totally secure.”

A few students scoffed, but Virgil stifled a grateful sigh. The Conflagration Zone, situated near seven o’clock, was the first of the zones covered completely in a dome, this one red instead of clear, with drawn-on flames rising along the sides. Ordinarily, Virgil would have thought of it as a large building, but dwarfed by the entire U.S.J. it was much less impressive. Virgil could almost feel Logan shaking with excitement next to him.

“How does the Conflagration Zone work?” Virgil said, deadpan.

“Very interesting that you would ask!” Logan almost burst out. “Actually, the fire in the space is maintained via a chemical balance, not by burning materials, which regulates it while simulating real fire. Many of the materials inside are actually functionally fireproof. A ventilation system maintains a regulated amount of smoke, and—”

“So,” Mx. Stokes began from the front of the group. Logan trailed off his lecture to listen. “We’re about to go inside the dome now. We are going to stop right inside the entrance, where there won’t be any fire, so don’t break off from the group or run around.”

The doors looked as if they might lead into an ordinary pavillion or museum, but Virgil shivered (ironically, he thought) at the prospect of going inside. He pulled his hood over his head.

“The Conflagration Zone is an environmentally controlled space—” The teacher’s voice changed as he crossed the threshold of the dome, and Virgil was pushed along as the students followed. It was a good thing Logan had already told him about the zone, because he couldn’t hear Mx. Stokes talking over the roaring in his ears.

Like the Ruins Zone, the space contained rubble and several collapsed structures, all engulfed in fire. Standing just inside the door was like facing a raging campfire, and Virgil flushed in the heat. There was no lighting inside the dome besides the flames, so the entire place was illuminated in red and orange. A few mock streets between buildings were the only places away from the entrance that seemed to be totally clear of fire. The class’ brief stay inside was mostly a blur for Virgil, and he breathed deeply when they turned and proceeded back outside. Outside, Virgil realized, was how he thought of the inside of U.S.J., despite the domed ceiling above them.

“Everybody really likes this next spot,” Mx. Stokes said. “Who knows what it’s called?”

“Flood Zone,” a few students said at once.

“Right, sometimes called the Shipwreck Zone,” Mx. Stokes went on. “Nice relief after that heat, huh?”

The students muttered agreement. Near nine o’clock arched the clear blue water of the artificial lake, a large yacht bobbing like a massive buoy two hundred yards from the shore. Behind the lake rose up a small mountain on which perched wooden scaffolding to support a amusement-park-style waterslide, funneling water into the lake. The main slide twisted around several times, reaching the height of an office building, and was wide enough that the entire yacht could have slid inside it. An offshoot from the slide did not come to rest in the water, but jutted out over the zone, spewing water to form a waterfall.

“Looks fun, right?” Mx. Stokes said. “You can’t see from here, but rock formations stab out of the belly of the slide, and the way down is pretty dangerous. The slide and boat are fully functional, though. You guys can check them out when you come back for your first session of rescue training.”

They’d reached the edge of the water, and Mx. Stokes bent down on the mossy shore to reach into the water and cup it in their hand.

“Lightly chlorinated,” they said. “To keep out bacteria and the like. You can even—” and they slurped the water from their hand like they were taking a shot. “Though I don’t necessarily recommend it. Go ahead and touch if you like.”

Several of the students plunged their hands into the water. Kai slipped off his sandles and dipped in his toes. Virgil slid down to sitting and felt the wet ground sink slightly under his weight. When he stuck his fingers into the lake, he could still see them clearly, if slightly distorted in shape and blued in color.

Logan plopped down next to Virgil and plunged his arm in all the way up to his shirt sleeve. When he pulled his hand back out, he’d grasped a fistful of soil from the edge of the water.

“Incredible,” he said, rubbing the grains of sandy dirt between his fingers. “They’ve actually incorporated the lake directly into the ground of the location. The irrigation of the water must be highly advanced.” When he sat back up, the front of his shirt was blurred with mud, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“The lake is connected directly to our next zone,” Mx. Stokes said, gesturing to the dome near ten o’clock. “The Downpour Zone’s ceiling and floor are routed with pipes to and from the lake to create the constant rain without wasting water. Now, I can see you’re all enjoying the lake, but I’m not sure you all would like to walk into the eye of a storm.”

Virgil suspected Logan would enjoy that very much, if it meant a chance to learn about irrigation or whatever it was.

“So, we’re going to walk along the dome and take a look through the doors, and we won’t be getting soaked,” Mx. Stokes said, beginning to walk around the edge of the lake toward the second dome at a brisk trot. Some of the students took an extra moment to get up from the shore, and Kai skipped several steps as he tried to put on his left sandal. Mr. Picani brought up the rear.

“You guys still with me?” Mx. Stokes called over their shoulder smilingly. “We’re almost done, I promise.”

As they approached the final dome, there was a faint sound of thunder from within, muffled by the walls, and Virgil had an image of the Downpour Zone as a snowglobe on Mx. Stokes’ mantlepiece. The dome was indigo and dappled with large painted clouds of blue and purple, intersected with large beams. When the teacher swung the double doors in to let the students peer inside, Virgil remained suspended near the back of the group. He’d seen storms before, and he only had to wait through a few minutes of oohs and ahhs before it was the time he’d been dreading: time to ascend back up all those massive stairs to the exit. Do you want to be a hero or not? he asked himself in an attempt at motivation.

Not that badly, he responded.

The entire group sans Patton and Mr. Picani, who had returned in the elevator, slugged up the stairs. The only students still apparently full of energy were Kai and Logan, who had sparked a conversation in their mutual admiration of the space and were now gibbering away to one another excitedly.

Too discouraged by the stairs to keep up, Virgil walked a few steps behind. It looked like Logan had found a new, more willing set of ears, even if those ears sometimes leaked goo. Virgil found he wasn’t relieved to be rid of Logan’s lecturing, and managed to catch a few snippets of their conversation.

“The production of the building was a direct result of…that’s why I find it so interesting....me too!”

Kai was several inches shorter than Logan, and did pant for breath about halfway up the stairs. Virgil slowed even further, but still caught up to the pair.

“Hello, Virgil,” Logan said. He was smiling. “Kai also knows a lot regarding the history of U.S.J.”

“I’m a big Glass fan,” Kai said, pausing to catch his breath. “I figured.” Virgil hadn’t meant to sound so cold, but Kai’s nose was leaking goo again. The shorter boy sniffed and then suddenly tensed. “Oh no, don’t—” Virgil didn’t get a chance to finish before Kai let out a massive sneeze, splattering Virgil with flecks of goo like smashed Jell-O.

“Oh, gross!” he said instinctively, shoving Kai away from him. Whether the other student was already thrown off balance or whether he’d pushed harder than he meant to Virgil was never quite sure, but Kai tumbled back and would have fallen onto his butt if Logan had not been directly behind him. Too surprised to catch Kai, Logan fell back against the railing of the stairs with an “oof,” Kai essentially in his lap. His glasses went flying.

Kai exclaimed and threw out one hand as if to catch the glasses, and they were enveloped suddenly by goo shot from his fingers before they flew past the safety rail and over the edge of the tall, tall staircase.

Kai almost screamed. “I’m really sorry!” he said, covering the noise of Virgil swearing.

Virgil leaned down to drag Kai to his feet — he was very light — and take Logan by the hand.

“I think my glasses…” Logan muttered.

“They went over the edge,” Virgil said. “Gosh, I’m so so sorry, will you need new ones? Can you see okay? Should I—”

“Oh, they’re not broken!” Kai insisted.

“What?” Logan got back to his feet.

“They’re not broken,” Kai said. “My goo is a shock absorber, they’ll be protected.”

“Everything okay back there?” Mx. Stokes had been leading the group, but paused when Kai shouted, and had now turned around to approach them. Mr. Picani appeared at the top of the steps after exiting the elevator with Patton and was also peering down to see why the group had paused.

“We’re so sorry, Mx. Stokes,” Virgil stuttered. “It was my fault. Logan’s glasses fell over the side of the stairs.”

“Well, that’s not good,” Mx. Stokes said after a beat. They leaned over the guardrail to peer into the Ruins Zone below. “Can’t see much from here, huh? Well, why don’t you — and what’s your name, kid?” They planted their left hand on Virgil’s shoulder.

“Virgil.”

“Okay, Virgil, I don’t think Logan here will be much help to you down there.”

Logan had, in fact, lost his depth perception and was experimentally walking up and down the nearest three steps with only minimal success.

“You...you want me to go down there?” Virgil asked. He was unsure how to put confused emphasis on every word in a sentence at once.

Mx. Stokes tapped their thumb against their lip. “Here, Virgil, why don’t you take your class rep, he’s a popular guy, right? His light quirk will be a big help down there.” Virgil had no time to protest before Mx. Stokes was waving. “Hey, Roman! Hop down here a minute!”

Roman was near the front of the group but trooped down the steps at the sound of his name. Mx. Stokes slapped their right hand onto his shoulder so they stood in a T-pose connecting the boys (albeit a crooked T, because Roman was taller than Virgil).

“You’re gonna take a jaunt with Virgil here to recover Logan’s glasses,” Mx. Stokes said. “Think of it like a real hero mission, boys.”

Roman looked unimpressed.

“Now,” Mx. Stokes went on. “Safety settings are still on in all zones, so there’s nothing dangerous down there so long as neither of you messes with anything. Just go ahead and run down there and right back up and we’ll hold the bus for you.” They lightly smacked both the boys’ shoulders and jogged away, gesturing for the rest of the class to follow.

“I really appreciate it, Virgil,” Logan said, touching Virgil’s arm lightly before walking away and leaving Virgil facing Roman on the middle of the stair.

The two stared at one another for a second before Roman huffed and started off down the steps. “Well, are we going or not?”

Virgil bit his tongue. He supposed putting up with Roman was enough of a punishment for sending Logan’s glasses spiraling into a collapsed city, and began to follow the other boy down, loath to think that he’d have to climb the stairs all over again.

When Virgil reached the base of the steps, Roman had wandered a few steps into the city and was staring around the ground, occasionally swearing under his breath.

“Thought you and Specs were buddies or something,” he said, peering under some fallen beams. “What’d you knock his glasses off for?”

“It wasn’t on purpose,” Virgil snapped.

“Geez, chill out,” Roman said, straightening up. “Just a question. Where did the damn things go, anyhow?”

“They fell over there,” Virgil said, pointing deeper into the ruins. There were a number of beams arching above the walk and though a strong sunlight was coming through the ceiling, it was difficult to see underneath them. “Why don’t you just use your quirk?”

“I don’t need to use it for everything!” Roman said a little too loudly.

“Geez, just a question,” Virgil said, imitating Roman and sticking out his tongue. “What, jealous since you’re basically quirkless anyway?”

“Hey, fuck off!” Virgil said, bristling. “I didn’t drag you down here or anything.”

“You said it was your fault the stupid things fell.” Roman took a few steps toward Virgil, his hands balled into fists.

“Yeah, but it’s not my fault that you’re acting like a massive ass,” Virgil snarled.

“Oh, fuck off, I’ll get the stupid things myself.” Roman whirled around. He stalked away, shaking slightly at the shoulders. Just as he was about to round the corner of one of the collapsed buildings, he took a furious swing at a low hanging beam, the impact of which created a hollow groaning sound. Roman kept walking.

Virgil was about to follow him when suddenly the groaning grew instead of faded, and the beam shuddered and collapsed directly over Roman’s head.

#studywritesstuff #sanders sides #fanfiction #fanfic #fic

361 notes · View notes

sciencespies · 5 years ago

Text

A Helpful Online Safety Guide for People With Autism Spectrum Disorders

https://sciencespies.com/uncategorized/a-helpful-online-safety-guide-for-people-with-autism-spectrum-disorders/

A Helpful Online Safety Guide for People With Autism Spectrum Disorders

People from all walks of life and all kinds of backgrounds fall victim to online bullying and cybercrime, but studies have shown that those with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more susceptible to online threats than others.

ASD is a developmental disorder that affects behavior and communication. People on the Autism Spectrum tend to live a relatively normal life but can need supervision and lack judgement – a trait that has been identified as dangerous when left to their own devices in cyberspace.

Not only are ASD children and adults at risk from others, but they can also develop compulsive online habits and internet addictions, and can be more deeply affected by exposure to inappropriate content.

Everyone should feel safe online. It’s therefore extremely important to make sure you have adequate online security and remain internet vigilant.

To help you surf with ease and reduce your vulnerability to attack, take a look at our Internet Safety Guide for people with ASD.

Common Online Issues

There are always an array of threats surfing along the waves of cyberspace. Familiarize yourself with what they are and be extra vigilant – a plan of action is most definitely in order. Below, we have selected the most common online issues faced by those with ASD and provide tips on how to take control of the situation.

1Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying has become a more common trend across the internet, especially affecting children and those with ASD. The bullies use digital platforms, like social media or internet chat forums, to harass and intimidate their victims. Sometimes, this harassment can escalate into real-world threats and bullying. Anyone can become the target of a cyberbully, despite their age, background or lifestyle.

According to the Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, those with intellectual and developmental disabilities are more likely to become the victim of cyberbullying. The anti-bullying alliance has also found that those with disabilities are more susceptible to cyberbullies.

More is being done to understand the phenomena and help build a safer environment online. However, cyberbullying can sometimes be difficult to recognize.

Text-based communication sometimes struggles to convey the same level of meaning and context as face-to-face conversations. Because of this, it can sometimes be hard to tell if someone is intentionally trying to bully, or if it’s a misunderstanding. But, if a person sends you abusive messages, or tries to intimidate or embarrass you online, this is most definitely cyberbullying.

The Long Term Effects of Cyberbullying

Bullying can damage your self-worth and/or affect your mental health. Ongoing harassment could lead you to withdrawing from society, making it difficult for you to interact with friends and family. If left unaddressed, the impact of cyberbullying can run deep, and for a long time.

Even though this sounds scary, don’t let it deter you from exploring online and forming meaningful friendships with people over the internet.

Different Types of Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is a beast with many faces, the most common of which is abusive messages received through email, text message, and instant chat. However, it’s not only through these means that online bullies can get to you.

Cyberbullying might also manifest itself in the following guises:

A person spreading gossip and rumors about you online, to your friends or even strangers.

Someone who posts statuses and comments intending to humiliate you, or altering the way in which other people perceive you.

Threats being made to you through social media and other avenues of online communication.

Someone who uses their online profiles to share information, videos, or photos of you without your consent, or after you have asked them to stop.

A person who uses your online profiles and information to stalk you online and/or in real life.

Someone who hacks into your online accounts or impersonates you with the intention of using your name and reputation to spread inappropriate or harmful content. This is most commonly known as fraping.

How to Prevent Being Bullied Online

Recent research suggests that cyberbullying tends to occur when certain risk factors aren’t mitigated. Although cyberbullying is hard to stop, you can take steps to prevent yourself from becoming a victim.

The first step is to change the settings on your social media accounts so that your profiles can only be seen by people you know and trust. Cyberbullies are opportunistic by nature, so you‘re at greater risk of experiencing online harassment if strangers can easily contact you.

Similarly, you should always avoid opening messages or accepting friend requests from people who you don‘t know. The ability to hide behind a computer screen while attacking someone often removes a cyberbully from the real-world consequences of their actions, and so they often pick on someone who isn’t in their social circle or someone they don’t know.

6 Tips to Avoid Cyberbullying

Secure your social media accounts. Set your security levels to ‘friends only’ so that strangers can’t see your profile or send you messages.

Don’t post personal information online. Never post information such as your location, address, phone number, school, or workplace online. This will help to prevent cyberstalking, and also means bullies won’t be able to contact you face-to-face or on the phone.

If someone sends you abusive messages, don’t take the bait. Most bullies’ primary goal is to elicit a reaction from their target. If you respond, it might encourage them to continue, so it’s best to refrain from giving them what they’re looking for. Most bullies will simply give up and leave you alone if you don’t reply.

Report them. If someone is bullying your or someone you know, report their post to the platform’s support team. A member of staff will review the content and make a decision to either delete it or allow it to remain. In more serious cases, they may even take action against the bully by blocking or banning them.

Block the bully. Blocking someone will prevent them from accessing your profile and contacting you in the future.

Talk about it. Let a trusted friend or family member know what’s going on. They might be able to help you or give you some handy advice.

2 Understanding the Context of Online Messages

Online Misunderstandings

It is possible to misunderstand a situation when communicating with someone over the internet. It’s easy to miss the context or meaning of someone’s comment in the absence of social cues, and this can cause online discourse to go off-track, or even turn into a heated argument.

Here are the best practices for avoiding misunderstandings online:

Keep in mind that not everything you read online is true and not everyone with whom you speak will be honest.

If something is unclear, ask the person to clarify what they mean before sharing your opinion.

Use reliable sources to double check facts and information so you don‘t take on or share something that is inaccurate.

Remember to be polite and calm even when you are sure that somebody is wrong or if you feel they are being rude.

Look out for admins and moderators in groups and forums to mediate online discussions if they become uncomfortable or argumentative.

Online forums, like Talk About Autism, are built specifically for people with ASD to socialize and make friends. Most of these forums have moderators who monitor the discussions and are trained to offer mediation if they spot a misunderstanding.

12 Ways to Improve Social Media and Online Communication

There are a lot of benefits for using social media, especially for people on the Autism spectrum who may have trouble interacting with people. However, there are some drawbacks to putting all of your information on social networks. Here are 12 tips that can improve online communication and minimize the risk of being misunderstood.

Never add your boss, teacher, or supervisor on social media. If you‘re friends online, they’ll be able to see the content on your profile, which may lead to misinterpretations over your character. If their opinion of you is altered by what they see, it could hinder your ability to get a promotion.

Never comment about your workplace online especially if you‘re complaining about your job. It might seem innocent to you, but it could cost your job if it gets back to your bosses or colleagues. Additionally, most workplaces now have rules against posting about your work on social media.

Refrain from posting content that might skew other people’s opinion of you, such as angry rants. Potential employers will usually look you up online and they may base their opinion on you from what they see, even if it doesn‘t actually represent who you are.

Always meet a new online friend during the day and in a public place. Always tell someone where you are going, who you are meeting and any change of location. To be extra careful, you could take a trusted friend or family member with you. Don‘t go anywhere secluded or follow them back to their house. If something feels ‘off,’ leave.

Keep your passwords safe and don‘t hack into other people’s accounts or websites, even if you can. People with ASD often find themselves the victim of a manipulative person who will ask them to break the law or hack a computer, but it’s illegal to do so.

Don’t believe everything that you read online – particularly on social media. A lot of users spread misinformation over the internet and even exaggerate their lives to look good.

Don’t compare your life with someone else’s on social media – you’re only seeing the highlights of their life, not the regular everyday experiences.

Always be polite in your online discourse and avoid arguments, even when you feel that the other person is wrong.

Remember that most internet users regard typing in capitals as the digital equivalent of yelling, and in this context, it can be viewed as rude to type in ALLCAPS.

You can use emojis or emoticons to better express the context and meaning of your words. For example, adding a smiley face to the end of a sentence will show that you are happy, or being friendly.

If someone is making you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, leave the situation and block them.

¨C17C¨C18C¨C19C. If you share photos without consent, or photos of a minor, you are breaking the law and may face legal consequences.

3 Becoming a Victim of a Scam, Manipulation or Hacking

Scammers and hackers are unfortunately a part of everyday online life. To put it simply, some people have ill intentions and wish to manipulate others for their own gain.

They will present themselves as someone who wants to become your friend, or even a potential romantic partner. They will work hard to build a relationship to gain your trust, then rip you off!

Scammers, hackers and cybercriminals will do this for a variety of reasons. For example, they may try to con you into sending them money or committing a crime on their behalf.

They may also be phishing for your personal information – like your passport details – to steal your identity or pose as you online.

Best Practices for Avoiding Scams and Manipulation

Don’t give anyone personal information, such as your address, phone number, or ID number.

Never divulge your banking or credit card information online – remember that some scammers may contact you pretending to be your bank. Your bank will never contact you asking for personal and private information.

Don’t tell anyone where you or your friends and family work or go to school.

Consider using a pseudonym instead of your real name – lots of people use their first and middle names, or create an entirely new name for themselves.

Be careful when agreeing to meet up with people you’ve met online.

Don’t send money to anybody you meet online – if somebody asks you to send them cash, it’s likely they are trying to scam you.

Never click any links to websites that you don’t recognize as they may take you to a website that will compromise your computer’s security.

If you think that you may have been the victim of a scam, it is important that you contact your bank and local law enforcement agency immediately.

Play it Safe

The Center on Secondary Education for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder have created a memorable acronym for staying safe online, Play it Safe.

Personal information – never share your personal information online.

Let a friend or family member know if someone has asked you for this information, or if you don‘t feel safe.

Attachments – remember that email attachments might contain malware that can damage your computer and harvest your private information. Don‘t open them unless it’s a file that you have been expecting from someone that you trust.

Your feelings are important. If something makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, stop and let somebody know.

Information – remember that not everything you read online is true.

Take breaks from your computer often to socialize, stretch, and give your eyes a rest.

Spend your money safely. Don‘t buy things from unfamiliar stores or links, and don‘t send people money.

Act politely and don‘t say things online that you wouldn‘t say in real life.

Friends online should stay online – if someone asks to meet up, tell them no.

Enjoy yourself and have fun!

4 Exposure to Inappropriate Content

For as many wonderful and informative pieces of information you find online, there are equal amounts of inappropriate and harmful content hidden away. Sometimes, you might stumble across depictions of violence, pornography, and illegal content that most people would prefer to avoid. Accessing things like child pornography, even by accident, can have disastrous legal consequences, so it’s important to safeguard yourself against this.

Tools to Block Inappropriate Content

1. SafeSearch:

Google’s SafeSearch blocks explicit content from your Google search results. Although it isn‘t always 100% accurate, it allows you to filter out things like pornography and explicit images when you‘re googling on your tablet, phone, or computer.

How to set up SafeSearch:

Go to ‘settings’ button on your Google homepage, then navigate to search settings. Under SafeSearch filters, select the box next to the ‘turn on SafeSearch’ option, and be sure to click save before you navigate away.

You can check out Google’s SafeSearch guide to learn how to enable it on your Android or iOS device.

2. Internet filters:

Web filters, like Net Nanny, monitor the websites you access in order to block inappropriate content. You can customize the things your filter looks for, and even whitelist websites you deem as safe. This is a great tool for adults who want to filter out content that’s not safe for work as well as parents looking to keep their kids safe online.

3. Advert and pop up blockers:

We’ve all heard stories of friends who’ve had people walk up behind them when they’re using their computer, only for an unexpected explicit pop-up to come on the screen at that very moment. You can protect yourself from these potentially disastrous incidences by installing a pop-up and ad blocker on your browser.

4. Anti-virus and anti-malware protection:

Some viruses and malware will cause explicit pop ups to grace your screen at inopportune moments. A good, up-to-date anti-virus will not only protect your computer from damaging infections, but it will also keep you shielded from inappropriate content.

5. Links:

Avoid clicking on links you don’t recognize. Even if the message is sent to you by a friend, don’t click on a link you don’t recognize, or you aren’t expecting. You will often receive spam messages via text messages and email that ask you to click on a link to access their website or even a prize, but doing so will leave you at risk of a virus or scam.

5 Sensory Overload on the Internet

For those of us who experience sensory sensitivity, electronic devices and the internet can trigger an all-round overload. Loud noises, bright backlights, unexpected music, and auto-playing videos are just a handful of the irritants that can overwhelm.

Thankfully, there are steps you can take to minimize the sensory impact.

Adjust your screen’s brightness levels and invest in an app that blocks blue light on your device. Although it will make your screen appear with a slightly orange tint, blocking out blue light is a must for decreasing the strain that backlights put on our senses. Apps to block blue light are available on most devices, and they’ll even help you get to sleep faster and minimize the impact of light-sensitive migraines.

Switch video and audio autoplay off on your social media platforms.

Invest in a ‘quiet’ keyboard and mouse to reduce the clicking noises as you type.

White noise is a great tool to soothe the senses. It can also drown out irritating sounds, like the hum of your computer, or your noisy neighbors! White noise videos are available for free on YouTube, or, alternatively, you can purchase a white noise machine.

6 Internet Addiction

The allure and ease of socializing online can negatively impact your drive to socialize in the real world. Online addiction is a serious issue and iT affects many people. Studies suggest that people who are prone to obsessive behaviors are at greater risk of developing an internet addiction. People with ASD and anxiety disorders are at particularly high risk.

It’s easy to see why – the internet offers sanctuary and an easy way to connect and communicate with peers. When most of your friends are internet-based, that‘s where you will want to spend most of your time.

It’s crucial for your mental and physical health to develop and maintain relationships in the real world. The internet is a wonderful tool, but if it interferes with your ability to spend time with friends and family, it might be time to take a break.

Tips to Counter Internet Addiction

Set yourself a time limit when you‘re on the computer. You might like to set a timer for an hour or two and log out when the time is up.

Create a roster or make plans to spend a certain amount of time with friends and family, or enjoying hobbies and exercise, each day. Include your online time in your roster, but plan other activities for your free time as well.

Make sure you have completed all the other tasks you need to do, like chores, before you go online each day.

Use specially designed apps to remind you to take a break. Programs like Offtime monitor your usage and show you how much time you‘ve been spending on social media. You can even set them to block certain sites, like Facebook, during certain times of the day.

Set your social media push notifications to silent on your phone or tablet. This way, you’ll receive them when you login and not when you‘re busy with other activities.

If you feel that you might be falling victim to an internet addiction, you can ask your doctor for a referral to an experienced therapist who will be able to give you more advice.

7 How to Protect Yourself on Popular Social Networks

Below, we have compiled a short guide to keeping yourself safe on some of the most popular social media networks. We delve into their risks, and how to change your account settings to avoid explicit content, scammers, fake profiles, and cyberbullies.

Facebook

What are some of the main risks on Facebook?

it is easy for scammers to befriend and trick you by using fake profiles.

There is a medium to high risk of being exposed to links that will take you to scam websites that phish for your personal information.

Cyberbullies often use Facebook to harass their victims.

Although it is against Facebook’s policies, you may be exposed to explicit posts that their content filters haven‘t detected.

Features like video autoplay can trigger sensory overload.

Social media, as a whole, can be addictive.

Ways to protect yourself on Facebook

Leave out personal information:

Although Facebook asks for your first and last name, avoid giving it if you can. Instead, many people use a pseudonym or create a fake last name. This will make it difficult for people to track you down on other platforms or in real life.

Avoid customizing your ‘about me’ section too much. You should never tell Facebook where you live, work or study.

If you‘re using a device with GPS, don‘t allow Facebook to post your location. The easiest way to do this is to block Facebook from accessing your device’s location information. You can usually find this setting on your device under Settings > Privacy > Location Services.

Make your account private:

Make sure that your profile is private so that only your friends can see your statuses and send you messages. This reduces your risk of encountering cyberbullying by putting you in charge of who can contact you. Keep in mind that strangers will still be able to read any comments you make on your friends’ posts and on public pages.

How to set your posts to friends only:

Once you‘ve opened the status dialog box, click the privacy setting drop-down menu in the lower bar. It will say either ‘friends’ or ‘public.’ If it says ‘friends,’ that means only the friends you have accepted will see this post. If it’s set to ‘public’ click on it and select ‘friends’ before you hit the post button.

How to set your profile to private:

When your settings page loads, select ‘privacy’ in the sidebar. This will load two categories of privacy settings for you to alter.

There are two privacy options under ‘your activity’. For the best privacy possible, set them as follows:

Who can see your future posts?

This should be set to ‘friends only,’ so that strangers can‘t see your private status updates.

Limit the audience for posts you‘ve shared with friends of friends or public?

If you opt to change this to ‘friends only’, it will increase the privacy of all your past posts so that strangers can no longer view them.

Next, decide how people can find and contact you.

Who can send you friend requests?

If you‘re not interested in receiving friend requests from strangers, set this option to friends of friends. Unfortunately, there is no way to completely eliminate people sending you requests, but this will reduce the occurrence by quite a bit.

Who can see your friends list?

For optimal security, set this one to ‘friends’ or ‘only me’.

Who can look you up using the email address/phone number you provided?

If you‘re worried about strangers or bullies tracking you down using your email address or phone number, set this one to ‘friends’ only. Your friends can already contact you through your account, so they‘d have no reason to look you up by any other means.

Do you want search engines outside Facebook to link to your profile?

If you select yes for this option, it makes it possible for people to find your Facebook page by searching for your name on Google or any other search engine. For optimal security, select no.

Now, head on over to your ‘timeline and tagging’ settings to finalize the process.

Who can post on your timeline?

To prevent strangers (and bullies) from posting on your timeline, you can set this to ‘only me’. However, this will also prevent your friends from posting on your timeline.

Who can see what others post on my timeline?

Again, set this one to ‘friends’ or ‘only me’ so that strangers can’t see the posts other people leave on your timeline.

Avoid cyberbullies:

If someone is using Facebook to harass you, you can block them from seeing your profile or contacting you. All you need to do is navigate to their profile and select the drop-down menu that‘s represented by three little dots at the top of their page. Then, select ‘block’. They won‘t be able to find or view your profile, and they won‘t be notified that you have blocked them.

Avoid inappropriate content:

For the most part, Facebook’s censorship software filters inappropriate and harmful content out of your feed. However, you can also set Facebook up to filter comments containing specific words out of your timeline.

Head back to your ‘timeline and tagging’ settings, and under the timeline category, select the ‘hide comments that contain certain words’ option. From here, you can create a list of words, phrases, and even emojis that you don‘t want to see on your timeline, and Facebook will block them for you.

Take a break:

You can log out of Facebook at any time, but for a more prolonged leave of absence, you can temporarily deactivate your account. All of your friends, posts, and photos will remain on your profile while you‘re away, but nobody else will be able to see your account or send you messages until the next time you login. This is a great solution if you need to take a step away from social media, but don’t want to lose all of your content and memories.

To deactivate your account, go to settings > general > manage account > deactivate your account.

Twitter

What are some of the main risks on Twitter?

Twitter is a hub for social and political activism, and sometimes, this can become overwhelming and distressing.

Due to Twitter’s diverse content, you may come across some explicit or triggering tweets from time-to-time.

Passionate arguments often break out over Twitter discussions, and users may be at risk of experiencing cyberbullying.

Like all social media, Twitter has the potential to become addictive and interfere with your everyday life.

Ways to protect yourself on Twitter

Make your tweets private:

When you set your Twitter profile and posts to private, they will only be visible to your followers. When someone new follows you, Twitter will send you a notification and you will be asked to approve their request, or deny it. However, accounts that followed you before you protected your tweets will still be able to view and interact with your profile unless you block them.

To protect your tweets, head to the Tweet privacy section in your privacy and safety settings and check the box next to ‘protect my tweets.’ Click the save button, enter your password to confirm, and you‘re done!

Additionally, you can make it so that people who have your contact details aren’t able to find you on Twitter unless you follow them first. From the privacy and safety settings page, uncheck both discoverability options.

Prevent Twitter posting your location information:

Every time you create a Tweet, you will be able to choose whether Twitter should post your location with it, or not. By default, Twitter won‘t share your location unless you have already opted in to the service.

Avoid cyberbullies:

Blocking someone on Twitter is similar to Facebook. From their profile, click the ‘see more’ icon (three vertical dots) and select ‘block’ from the menu. Then, click ‘block’ again to confirm. People you have blocked can’t follow or see your Twitter profile. Twitter won‘t send them a notification when you block them, but if they visit your profile, they will receive a message informing them that they have been blocked.

Avoid inappropriate content:

The best way to ensure that you avoid content you don‘t want to see on Twitter is to only follow people who are already your friends, and only view content on your main Twitter feed. Once you delve into Twitter‘s search feature or investigate hashtags, you leave yourself vulnerable to inappropriate content. By default, Twitter will show a warning before you view content it deems as not safe for work, but this isn‘t 100% accurate as some content can slip through Twitter‘s filter.

Take a break:

Account deactivation on Twitter is a more permanent solution, so if you need to step away for a short while, it’s better to log out. You could deactivate your account completely, but you face losing your profile and past tweets in the process.

Instagram

Make your account private:

When you‘re posting personal pictures on Instagram, privacy is important. You don’t want strangers to be able to access your personal information or use your photos to impersonate you online

Luckily, you can make it so that all of your posts are private and only your friends can see them. To do this, head to your settings, then select account privacy and turn ‘private account’ on.

Now, people will need to send you a follow request, and you will need to approve it before they can see your posts, followers, and following lists. If someone was following you before you set your account to private and you don‘t want them to be able to see your posts anymore, you will need to block them.

Avoid cyberbullies:

Just like most social media platforms, Instagram makes it easy for you to block someone. All you need to do is go to their profile, hit the ‘see more’ button (represented by the little dots) and select ‘block’.

Once you block someone, they can no longer find your profile, posts, or stories. Instagram won‘t notify people when you block them.

Avoid inappropriate content:

Although posting explicit content is against Instagram‘s policies, unfortunately, some users still share it. Similar to Twitter, the best way to avoid stumbling across explicit content is to stick with viewing the profiles of people who you trust and avoid exploring hashtags.

Time out:

If you‘re in need of a break from your Instagram account, login from a desktop or mobile internet browser, navigate to your profile, and click ‘edit profile’. Select ‘temporarily disable my account’ and follow the prompts. All of your followers and content will remain until you‘re ready to log back in.

8 Online Dating and ASD

Online dating is a great avenue to meet new friends and potential romantic partners, but it brings with it some pretty serious dangers. People who you meet via online dating sites may not always be who they seem, and catfishing is rampant.

A ‘catfish‘ is a person who creates an online dating profile through which they pretend to be somebody else. They might use a fake name, fake pictures, and a fake life story among other things to paint you a mental picture of the person they aren’t.

It can be difficult to tell if someone is catfishing you, and so we delve further into how to check if someone is telling you the truth about their identity below.

If you‘re using the internet to date, remember:

Always have a conversation with someone and get to know them before you agree to meet in person.

Ask to speak with them over video chat, or on the phone to verify that they are the person in their pictures. Someone who is being honest about their identity will rarely have an issue with this and will take comfort in knowing you are, too.

Also, ask if it is okay to add them on Facebook if you have an account. This way, you can check out their profile, pictures, and friends to get a clearer picture of who they are.

Always agree to meet in a busy public space, like a cafe, during the day. Make sure there are people around who can help you if you get into trouble and consider asking a friend or family member to be situated

Never tell them personal information like your address even if they are offering to pick you up.

Make sure that you can get to and from the meeting place independently and safely. You don‘t want to be reliant on them for a ride home if you don’t like them.

9 How to Tell if Someone is Who They Say They Are

Most of the people who you meet online will be genuine, but some will use fake profiles designed to draw you in and manipulate you. Luckily, you can usually verify if someone is telling the truth about their identity by using a few simple tricks.

Verify their picture:

Check to see if their profile picture is a real person.

If other photographs on their account show the same person, they may be telling the truth. You can save one of these photos to your computer and use Google’s reverse image search to check if it appears anywhere else online.

If it appears in a lot of places, they may be using a stolen profile photo. But, if it only appears on their profile, chances are it is a photo of them.

Check their friend count:

Do they have any other friends on their account? If you are the only friend they have, they might be using a fake profile to target you.

If they have other friends, do the friends ever post anything to the person‘s timeline that might indicate they know each other in real life? If not, they could be using a fake profile to attract several targets who have never met them before.

Check their status updates and posts:

Are their status updates regular, everyday posts about their life? Or, are they mostly posting links and advertisements? If they are mostly posting links and ads, it is likely that they are using a fake profile to scam people or make sales.

Secrecy:

Have they told you not to tell anyone about them? If so, this indicates that they could have ill intentions and that they are not a genuine friend.

Money:

Have they asked you for money, or told you they are in a bad situation and need help with money? If so, they are likely posing as a friend in order to scam you.

If you suspect that your online friend isn‘t who they claim to be, you should stop talking to them and block their account.

10 Signs that Something Might be Wrong Online

If you feel upset, uncomfortable, or unsafe, something might be seriously wrong with your online situation. It’s important that you listen to this inner feeling and leave the situation before it goes too heavy. You may need to block the person who is making you feel unsafe, or seek help from a third party, like a family member or the police.

If one of your online friends is saying something one day and then contradicting it the next, it’s possible that they aren‘t being truthful about their identity. You could use the steps listed above to see if everything checks out, and if it doesn‘t, you may need to make the decision to remove them from your online circle.

Cyberbullying is common on social media, and if someone is being cruel to you or other people, they aren’t worth your time. You should report their cruel comments to the website‘s administrator and then block them to prevent them from contacting you in the future.

If something seems too good to be true, then it probably is. You should always be cautious of scams. Remember that if a stranger or friend is offering you something that sounds a little fishy, like a prize for clicking on their link, you should avoid it at all costs. If you‘re unsure, you can search on Google or even Snopes to find out if it is a scam.

11 Ways to Improve Your Child’s Internet Safety

Protecting a child from the dangers on the internet should be a concern for all parents, even moreso if they have children on the Autism spectrum. We’ve put together the following tips as a guide to keep your children safe online, and avoid some of the dangers that can be found online.

Keep your family’s computer in a communal space, like a lounge room or in the kitchen. This way, you can check in regularly and keep an eye on what’s happening in your child’s online social circles.

Create some visual reminders and posters of internet safety tips and hang them up in the room around your computer. This can be a great opportunity to sit with your child and discuss internet safety while coming up with some rules together.

Educate your child about online safety, clarify that they understand, and renew their knowledge regularly.

Roleplay different scenarios with your child to teach them how to react to online dangers in a safe setting. You could create an account on the platform they‘re using, and use this to send them messages as part of the roleplay to make it seem more realistic.

Write and enforce a strict roster around internet usage times to avoid complications with internet addiction. You may even divide time spent online into separate categories, like play or study, and work that into the roster as well.

Put all electronics away about two hours before bed to help improve your child’s sleep.

Use internet content filters, like Net Nanny, to monitor and restrict your child‘s browsing activity. These programs will also restrict their access to inappropriate content, and any other websites you block.

Install child-friendly internet browsers like KidSplorer – they are visually appealing to children, and they make it safer for them to use the internet. Similar to a content filter, they’ll only be able to access the websites you have specified, and will even block access to the internet at predetermined times.

Establish a plan with them on what they should do if they encounter a cyberbully, how they should react, and who they should tell.

Casually ask them about their online friends and what they’ve been talking about, similar to the way in which you‘d ask them how their school day went.

Provide them with a checklist of the information that they are not allowed to give out over the internet, such as their full name, birth date, address, and school name.

12 Conclusion

In summary, the key here is to ensure you’re internet safe. Focus on incorporating tighter online security measures and heightened safety precautions. Educate yourself, be vigilant and be aware.

Those with ASD are more susceptible to online threats than others, so it’s even more important to follow our advice for remaining safe online.

Cyberbullies and online scammers will unfortunately always have a place online, so it’s your job to stand up and take the necessary steps to protect yourself from attack.

Follow our steps so you can spot when something is not right and take action to protect yourself when you feel threatened.

This Internet Safety Guide has flagged the key areas you should watch out for, and how to tackle the threats faced. Enjoy your time online, but remember to be internet safe and careful at the same time!

#Biology, #Uncategorized

1 note · View note