#i haven't timed them but i do know they've been over 30 minutes at work before

[dimonds456-art]

Maladaptive daydreaming.

[krikeymate]

You know that one TikTok of Melissa opening the fridge with Jenna in it? ;) Imagine: the core 4 are having a sleepover or something. Sometimes they love to play games they used to play when they had sleepovers as kids with Sam as the babysitter. Just for the nostalgia of it. It’s super hot. The apartment doesn’t have AC and it’s been hot for days so there’s no difference between the inside and the outside temperatures. Anyway, they’ve decided to play hide and seek. Sam’s the seeker. She found Chad first. He hid behind the curtains and sneezed before Sam even finished counting. Mindy is next. She was under Tara’s bed. It’s been 30 minutes and the three of them are still looking for Tara. She’s always been good at this game but they’re playing in an apartment with very limited options to hide, and they’ve looked everywhere! Every cupboard is opened, every closet door, even the drawers. The apartment is a mess. Sam’s starting to freak out. “Ok Tara, you won! It’s over. You can come out now!” No reply. Sam checks the locks on the front door. She swears, if Tara left the apartment without telling them she’s going to kill her, no matter if it’s a game or not. But the locks are still closed and some of them can’t be locked from the outside. Mindy and Chad are still mostly relaxed. It’s not the first time that Sam freaked out during hide and seek because she couldn’t find Tara. It’s the first time as adults, tho. “Calm down, Sam. It’s not like she’d climb out of the windows or something,” Mindy jokes. Sam promptly checks all the windows. They’re all calling out for Tara now. Sam is contemplating calling Kirby for help. Then Chad is like “This is taking too long. I need a bear” and goes into the kitchen. He’s briefly confused because all the fridge contents are on the table and no one noticed it before. He opens the fridge and jumps. Tara’s in there. She’s not moving. Oh my god, did someone kill Tara and place her in the fridge? “Turn the lights off! It’s too bright,” Tara mumbles sleepily. Chad blinks. Once. Twice. Again. “Sam, I found Tara,” he whisper-yells.

They've got a dying old fridge-freezer shoved to the side in the dining room, they haven't had a chance to get it collected yet. The freezer no longer works properly and the door seal is busted, but the fridge compartment still does the trick, so they keep it plugged in and use it for extra space.

I love love love the idea of a bunch of grown adults deciding to play children's games, because having fun is timeless. The comical image of them getting more and more desperate and confused and checking ridiculous places where she obviously can't be but what if she is is always welcome.

Tara being like oh small dark and cool? Sounds ideal to hide in on a hot summer day! And just climbing into a fucking fridge and taking a nap. Chad closes the door behind him and tells the others and then Sam is pulling her out and going what the fuck are you doing?! Are you insane?!

She make a no climbing into a deathtrap rule after that (Mindy makes a sign for the fridge), and the old fridge-freezer gets collected for the dump rather quickly after that.

[fireheartedpup]

Finally asked about my dog's seizures again.

They want to know how often it's happening and for how long. I am not good at keeping track, and it's not really possible to get my phone out in time to get an accurate reading. I would need a stopwatch, or to already have it set to go. I can barely get it on film, because she tries to work through it and they only last a few seconds.

I did try, since that's the only information was given, and apparently she has like 20-30 seizures within 40 minutes of waking up.

Which, of course, is classified as an emergency. They want me to go in to see the vet.

I asked the vet directly about what was happening. She said she would need to see it.

I just want to know how to make it stop. I have asked multiple vets over multiple years about this. They all said pretty much the same thing: I don't know, I would need to see it.

I think that if you've read your medical textbooks, you should be able to recognize the description of a seizure when you hear one. I know owners can get it wrong, but come on--blank stare followed by uncontrollable spasming. Can only be so many things.

So now they're probably like, hey, why aren't you taking this more seriously, and I'm like, I did!! It wasn't treated as an issue!!!

I don't want to pay for yet another thing in the laundry list of things she's taking for her issues, but I want her to be okay. I think this is why she's barking when I'm gone. She comes to me for comfort when it starts, so when I'm not there I think it distresses her.

I'm not happy with myself. If I were better at doing things that earn money, I could just go get her what she needs without concern. I haven't touched my writing sites in months because I'm discouraged about the way things are going.

I had to stop taking the adaptogens because they loose effectiveness over time and I need a break, and I'm already struggling with the sleep schedule and with actually doing things again. I need care too. I don't know exactly what's wrong or how to fix it or how much that'll cost.

I wish I could be motivated to help her more. You'd think it's a no brainer, right? She needs help, so I need to help her. But I'm kind of paralyzed.

They say it takes 2 years after leaving a volatile house to recover. I was really hoping I'd be able to make something work for me before now.

I'm trying to calculate exactly how much all her things cost. Her heart medication alone is $80 a month. I tried a cheaper option and wasn't satisfied, and trying to get those approved is like pulling teeth.

Food is trickier to calculate because staples like flour and rice last longer, but it's at least $10-20 per month for fresh protein. If I add any canned food to that, it's usually around $2-4 a can and those last around a week, so that's $16 a month.

She wants a chew every night, which is valid and good for her teeth, so that's probably $30 a month? I don't actually give them every single night and I try to not let her eat the big ones all at once, so I guess I can bring that down to $15 a month.

I buy the ones that cost like $1 apiece. I should go get a bag so I can consolidate now that I know just how much she wants them, because she will go in search of other things to chew if she doesn't get one now. But they're not essential, so up until now they've been an occasional treat.

Treats are like $7-10 a bag now, and if I'm giving them regularly they don't even last a month. I don't give as many treats as I'd like because of this. I should make more of my own, because I think flour and eggs and brewers yeast and water is cheaper, but she only likes those for about 3 days and that's about as long as they last.

Kaolin for her diarrhea is about $10 a bottle. It lasts about a month. I think. The psyllium husks are also for diarrhea, and that was $7 for a bag that I'm only halfway through, and it's been around 3 months.

I'm really glad I got the huge jar of phosphorus binder for her kidney issues. That's lasted like a year and I'm only 3/4 the way through the container. It was about $40? I think?

Treatment for fleas and such is $50-60 and lasts for 3 months. I'm honestly falling behind on that one. I need to give her a bath and reapply.

Grooming is $100 a visit now, and she SHOULD be getting groomed about every month. She's getting groomed around every 2-4 months.

So adding another expense on top of all that is making me want to cry.

I would like to make something work for me instead of complaining all the time.

[cryptidsurveys]

Tuesday, July 16th, 2024.

How have you been doing? I'm a little worn out from volunteering, but otherwise, I've been doing well. Cassie was telling me that I need to stay for a full day sometime, that way I can understand what they mean about the nonsense that goes on in the evenings. Basically, over the past few months, the time they actually get off work has been pushed farther and farther back. They're supposed to get off at 5pm, but Alex said the other day that she didn't get off until 6pm (and she already comes in ~30 minutes early). There also seems to be some growing animosity/resentment between the dog & cat people. Dog people are allegedly the hold-up. I'm not sure what changed, but it wasn't like this last summer. Cattery is usually finished early, often expected to help with the dog stuff; but when they ask for the final check to be done so they can go home, they're typically left for last.

I feel like that's eventually what will drive Cassie to quit. She had somewhere she had to be last night and they dragged things out until she was like, Yeah, I need to leave. She said it was "fine" in that situation; but in the future, when she has cheer practice, she's not going to be able to wait around for them because cheer won't take work as an excuse for being late. Also, I was told that Lucy might be looking for another job. Lucy told Cassie she wasn't going to quit until she found one, but after her absence last weekend, she might have just decided to go for it.

I know I'm essentially backseat managing here, lmao, but they really need to get ahead of this turnover issue. Since I started volunteering again last summer, they've lost something like 15 employees.

Anything you're looking forward to? Hopefully going for a picnic at the Mountain Park tomorrow. I haven't been there since last autumn, which is way too long. There's a certain rock in a certain stream that I just need to lie down on for a while.

Do you or anyone you know play the violin? No.

Do you have a nice view out of the closest window? It's just a view of some houses. And today, some construction. They're doing idk what on the corner diagonal from us.

What is one of your favorite breakup songs? I don't think I'm really a fan of any breakup songs.

Do you know anyone named Georgia or George? No.

What age did you learn how to ride a bike? Without training wheels? I think I was around 6 years old.

Are you currently listening to music or watching TV? I'm not. Sometimes I will listen to music while taking surveys, but it just feels like a bit much atm.

What is your morning routine? On volunteer days: depending on the day, get up somewhere between 5:15-5:45am. I'm usually awake a bit before that, though, so I just lie in bed and listen to something on YouTube. Shower, get dressed, brush my teeth, eat breakfast, gather the remainder of my things, talk with my dad for a bit. Then, depending on the day, leave somewhere between 6:20-6:45am.

On Wednesday: wake up, brush my teeth, make myself presentable, go grocery shopping, then come home and eat breakfast.

On Saturday: wake up whenever I feel like it, make breakfast, clean my bedroom, and make some art.

Are you someone who gets easily agitated by hearing someone chewing? No. It doesn't tend to bother me.

What was the last text you sent? It was a text to my mom. We might be going to see Despicable Me 4 on Saturday, and I was like, "I'll finally find out what all those little yellow minions are about."

What did you last have to eat? Some mixed veggies with sriracha sauce and a cheese and jalapeno sandwich.

What's your favorite kind of oatmeal/porridge? If we're talking about the flavored pouches, then probably brown sugar, birthday cake, strawberry, or peach. However, I typically use plain oatmeal as my base and use fruit, peanut butter, etc, to flavor it from there.

Have you ever ate a whole pizza in one sitting? I don't think so…maybe a half, though…? In elemntary school, we used to have pizza days on Friday (was it weekly? monthly? I can't recall); if you didn't "flip a card" (their disciplinary system), then you could pay some small $ amount that I no longer recall and get a half/full pizza, a cookie, and drinks.

What are some things you are grateful for? Volunteering. Even with all the drama, I can't imagine giving it up. I feel like it's a good exercise in detachment (not that I'm so detached, lmao; I'm obviously here dishing the constant tea). Like, if you ever just want to be an observer without any real expectations or responsibility for the system as a whole, go volunteer somewhere. It's an interesting experience… It's helping me learn to step back, stop trying to control everything, and just sort of let everything play out the way it will. It's not that I've given up all autonomy to the flow, but seriously, sometimes it helps to really see just how little of this teeming, chaotic world has anything to do with me. Thought I was going to make a difference; instead, found out what a cosmic speck I am. Maybe not what I wanted, but definitely what I needed. Still a speck, but now a free speck.

What's the last thing you done while outside? Drive, I guess.

How often do you do laundry? Every few days. It just depends on how quickly it piles up.

Have you already had your birthday this year? Yes, back in March. Which feels like forever ago. June 1st feels like it was last week, but March feels like it was last year.

Last thing you done before this survey? Vacuum the living room and dining room.

Do you like sleeping with multiple pillows? I have multiple pillows on my bed, but I only sleep with one.

How many candles do you have in your bedroom? A couple.

What emojis have you used the most here recently? D; and :')

What color is your favorite shirt? I don't have a favorite shirt, but my favorite hoodie is black.

Do you currently smell food cooking? No. Oh, but at the shelter earlier, I walked out of cattery to go to the bathroom and it smelled like someone was cooking hot dogs with ketchup or something. Come to find out it was ant killer. What a wild smell for such a thing…like luring them to a picnic or something…

If you were given $1,000 to spend at one store. What's your store of choice? Walmart (groceries).

How much sugar do you consume on a daily basis? Idk.

Do you have any ice cream in your freezer? Yeah. Well, it's custard, but same basic deal. It's from Culver's. Strawberry cheesecake and mint choco-chip.

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "chaos"? Chaos theory, chaos magicians…etc.

Do you own anything that has an animated character on it? Somewhere.

Have you used a microwave today? Yeah.

What's the last book you read? Still in the midst of the third Dune book. I haven't picked it up in a while, though. I just haven't felt much like reading lately.

What's something that always makes you cringe? Idk.

What's a word or phrase you say a lot? My toxic trait is that I'm blind to my own annoying catchphrases.

What's something that always makes you emotional? Music. Not always in a good/cathartic way. Sometimes in an overwhelming/spiraling way.

How many times have you changed clothes today? Twice. From pajamas to volunteer clothes and back to pajamas.

What's on your mind currently? Just how busy this next week-ish feels. I hope I don't get a migraine…

In what ways have you changed over the past year? So many ways.

Do you really care about others opinions of you? Ehhhhh. Much less than I used to, but still to some extent.

What's your favorite pasta? Spirals, bowties, macaroni elbows.

Do you currently see anything yellow? Some watercolor flowers I painted.

What did you last try to do and failed? Not sure.

Does your bathroom have a certain theme or color scheme? Not really.

If you have Netflix or any streaming service.. what's your favorite shows to stream? N/a.

Are you currently wearing anything red? No.

What was the last thing that caught your eye while shopping? I'm not sure.

What's a social media site you have no interest in? Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok…I don't even know what's out there these days because I don't keep up.

Have you ever tripped and fallen in a public place? Yeah.

When did you last buy a dairy product? Last Wednesday.

What's the last song you sang out loud? I'm not sure.

[anticomedygarden]

England's got a new queen! part 3

part one | ao3 link

-

"And here's the room where Nixon told his family he was gonna resign," June says, gesturing into the dark room.

"Lovely," Pez says brightly.

"It's also the room where Nancy Reagan found out Ronald Reagan was shot," Nora adds.

"Even better." He turns to June, and his light purple hair - the hair that he apparently dyed especially for this trip - catches the light. It looks good. "I trust I'm not staying in a room that has anything to do with either of those men?"

"Of course not," June assures him. "You're staying with me."

Pez raises an eyebrow. "Oh? And where are you staying?" he asks Nora.

"Alex's room." When the entire White House Trio is staying at the Residence, she has her own room, but when Alex isn't there, she moves everything in there to the left five degrees. She's up to 20, and he hasn't said anything.

It's exhilarating.

They finally reach June's room so Pez can dump his stuff, and June fires off more texts to Bea, Alex, and Henry in the hopes that something gets through. Nora isn't optimistic.

"Hey, are either of you hungry? It's just about lunchti-"

A blaring alarm pierces through the rest of June's words, and they all jump.  

"That's the fire alarm," June says, brown eyes wide.

"Should we not be running?" Pez asks, calm demeanor visibly straining. Nora can't blame him. This was supposed to be safer than his apartment.

"What if it's a ploy to get us all outside and in one place?" June points out.

They all stare at each other, wasting possibly precious time. There's no one else in this part of the building at this time of day, so it's not like they can ask someone what to do.

Just then, the sound of firetrucks and other emergency vehicles makes itself known over the still blaring fire alarm, and suddenly, the whole situation seems a lot more real.

Nora does the math. "Run."

-

The next day, Henry and Alex don't even consider going back to the trails. They don't even decide what to do with their day until about 1 p.m., an hour after they get up.

They don't mean to stay in bed that long; they're legs just hurt really bad.

At the kitchen island, Henry looks up from his pancakes. "I was thinking we could go swimming today."

Alex nearly groans at the thought of more exercise. "Are you sure? Yesterday was a lot."

Henry nods. "Swimming is good for sore muscles, and there's a pond near here."

Oh god, Alex didn't even think of the walk to get there. It better not be too bad because Cash left a note before they got up that he was already on the trails.

Henry must sense his thoughts, because he hurries to say, "The pond isn't even a quarter mile from here."

Still not ideal, but, "That sounds fine."

Which is how, 30 minutes later, Alex is shucking off his shirt and shoes and jumping into glittering blue water, Henry right behind him.

When he resurfaces, Henry is right next to him, and Alex has the sudden urge to grab onto him and not let go.

Huh. Trauma has a funny way of showing itself, doesn't it? It's not like they haven't been back to the lake house since 2020 or that he can't be around water without getting anxious. In fact, they've mostly managed to work through a lot of the problems that had stemmed from that trip. Maybe it's the isolation leaving no distractions, or the annoyingly fresh air making his mind work faster that's bringing back the memories, or maybe it's the weird/bad feeling that still won't go away.

Whatever it is, he tries to reassure himself that Henry would never leave again, which he knows. That, and he literally can't leave, not without at least alerting Cash and making lots of noise.

Anyway, Alex doesn't even try to resist the urge and pounces on his boyfriend, pulling them both under. They struggle for a few minutes before popping back up for air. Henry may take a knee to the stomach, but Alex certainly can't be blamed under these conditions.

They wrestle for a while longer and then relax while treading water, and they even play a rather violent game of Marco Polo.

By the time they go back to the cabin, they're both pleasantly tired, and Alex can't even remember why he ever felt uneasy in the first place.

-

All three of them take off running toward the nearest staircase, Nora in the lead.

"Are you sure we shouldn't wait and make sure it's safe? I don't want to be assassinated," June shouts over the sirens and alarms.

"Better assassinated than burned to death by a fucking building fire!" Nora reasons, and is 100% right.

Pez breaks in. "I agree. Assassination means you made it."

"I want a third option!" June exclaims.

If only there was one.

It doesn't take long to get to an exit, and soon they're out on the back lawn along with various staffers.

Oh, and there's Zahra.

"What is going on?" June demands, ignoring the phone pressed to her ear.

Zahra holds up a finger, and they wait for her to finish her phone call.

"Mhm...yeah...yep, okay, love you, bye." She hangs up and faces them. "What do you want?"

"Hold on, was that Shaan?" Pez asks gleefully. He shares Alex's obsession with Shaan and Zahra, and, honestly, it's kinda hilarious. It's become somewhat of a norm for one of them to text the group chat with some stupid update like, "Zahra is reading The Catcher in the Rye," or, "Shaan is sexting Zahra again." Nora wouldn't say it's one of the reasons she gets up in the morning, but...it totally is.

Zahra ignores Pez and turns to June. Good choice. "What do you want?"

"What's going on?" June asks again.

Zahra holds her hands up in the air. "The fire alarm went off."

"Thanks, that's helpful," June deadpans. "Do you know anything else?"

Zahra rolls her eyes. "As of thirty seconds ago, everyone we know that was in the Residence is fine and on the front lawn."

They all breathe a sigh of relief. "Do we know if-"

Once again, June is cut off, this time by Zahra's phone.

"Hello?...Okay...yes, ma'am, they're with me...okay...great, we're on our way." She hangs up and shoves her phone in her pocket, and they wait for her to tell them what's going on. "Good news. There's no fire."

It sounds like good news, but Nora's mind immediately goes to murder. She asks, "Does that mean someone pulled the alarm on purpose, like, maybe to get us all outside in the same place?"

"No, a cook accidentally started a grease fire."

They all cheer. "Yay!"

So much for the murder theory, although they really can't rule it out yet. Still, though, Nora allows herself to relax. Just a little.

Of course, it has to end. All their phones buzz at the same time, and they glance at each other nervously.

It's a news update.

Pipe burst spotted at Buckingham Palace amidst Queen's sudden illness. Royal family remains silent.

She looks back up to see the others' worried faces.

It's practically official.

Something terrible is going on here.

-

When they get back to the cabin, Henry goes to shower, and Alex goes to start dinner, and he really means to. Really.

But, while he's looking through the cupboards for pots (of which there are none) and pans (of which there are nine), he happens to find a cupboard full of marshmallows, Hershey's bars, and graham crackers.

He can't be blamed if he starts building the fire instead of building dinner. Besides, Cash is right there with him.

"This is damn good," the bodyguard says as he stretches his legs out in front of him. The man somehow isn't deathly sore even after hiking all day. "Where'd you find this stuff?"

Alex grins. "In one of the cupboards. None of it's even expired yet."

"Nice."

A few minutes later, Henry comes out of the cabin followed closely by David who immediately runs up to Alex to beg for food. Alex breaks off a piece of graham cracker for him.

"I thought you were making dinner," Henry says.

Alex waves his marshmallow stick at him. "I did."

Henry just laughs.

-

Bea Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor is having an absolutely wonderful time. After all, her least favorite person in the world may finally be doing her place justice, Bea and her sister-in-law are bonding for once over the general horribleness of said least favourite person, and she is currently watching her older brother run around like a chicken with its head cut off as a burst pipe that could very well be an act of terror destroys a centuries old palace.

"Then there was this one time before our wedding when she asked me how the weight loss was going," Martha says, rolling her glass through her fingers. "Mind you, I was underweight at the time from stress and could barely keep down crackers."

Bea rolls her eyes in sympathy. She may not have been particularly fond of her brother's chosen person at first, but she has since learned that the woman has depth, particularly since she started working with charities dedicated to lessening the impact of eating disorders.

"That's right, Philip, perhaps some paper towels will fix it," Bea calls when he emerges from the flooded side again with a roll of paper towels tucked under an arm. Martha giggles beside her, mimosa in one hand.

"I was trying to save an antique rug," he snipes. "Besides, I don't see you helping."

"The only thing that can help right now are sandbags and the world's best plumber." She sips her water while Martha questions Philip on the pipe, but Bea imagines the situation is much the same as it was an hour ago when they first heard the boom.

See, the pipe didn't simply burst. It exploded in one of the sitting rooms, creating a small geyser and a massive hole in the wall. Probably millions of dollars worth of old furniture had been destroyed, but thankfully nothing particularly important to history. The bigger problem is that it was still leaking. With minimal staff, it had been up to them to take care of it, and Bea had gladly allowed Philip to take the reins.

Now, though, looking at his damp hair and sad little roll of paper towels, she feels completely justified. It really is a hilarious situation they've gotten into.

She tunes back into Philip and Martha's conversation just in time to hear, "Any news on the Queen?"

Philip fidgets a bit, a sign of deep discomfort in a man made to go through prince training. "Mum said she's getting worse."

Shyly, he looks down, and Bea revisits a thought she had when they were first made aware of Mary's sudden ailment.

Her brother probably isn't taking the news as well as Bea, and he may actually be hurting at the idea of her death.

She swallows her pride and says, "I'm sorry to hear that."

Philip waves her away, face pinched. "You don't have to pretend for me. I'll be fine."

Strangely, Bea believes him, and one look at Martha tells her her sister-in-law feels the same way.

Just then, Princess Catherine emerges from a corridor to the left looking forlorn.

It's still odd for Bea to see her mother being an active participant in anything, and she almost feels bad that this is one of things Catherine has to return to. Her mother has been taking it remarkably well, though, almost as if she had been waiting for it since getting back in the game. Bea is actually quite proud of her.

Back in the present, they all stand, snapping to attention.

"How is she?" Philip asks.

Catherine sighs. "Much the same."

"Is her blood work back yet?"

"No. It seems whatever lab we're using is running every test imaginable, or they just haven't figured it out and don't want to tell us."

Bea decides to break in. "What did you come out here to tell us, Mum?" She's been in with Gran almost this whole time; something must be up.

Catherine sighs again. "An entire PPO team called in sick."

There are three identical noises of shock and outrage, and Bea says, "Do you think it could be related?"

She hadn't really believed the murder theory, but if their security is now partially out, it may be time to consider it.

"I don't know," Catherine says carefully.

Before she can continue, Philip says, "Of course it is. The Queen is dying, security is understaffed, and no one can contact Henry. It can't be a coincidence anymore."

"Not so fast," Catherine says, holding up a hand. "All of the ones that called out were contacted and are indeed visibly sick."

Bea wonders what that means. Perhaps an inspector went to each individual house and waited for them to vomit.

"Is that proof, though?" Martha asks nervously. "Could they not have been nefariously exposed? It seems an awful coincidence that both security and Her Majesty end up like this at the same time."

Bea has to take a moment to appreciate her sister-in-law using the word 'nefariously' in the same breath as calling the Queen 'Her Majesty,' the same woman she had described as an 'arrogant little shithead' not five minutes ago.

Philip nods. "Yes, exactly. If anything, this is just further proof of a plot regardless of the intentions of our PPOs."

This time, Catherine doesn't disagree, and Bea knows that they are well and truly screwed.

[blackidyll]

I was tagged by the lovely @saint--claire for this! (❁´◡`❁)

3 Ships I have so many ships that I can mention, so I'll just do one each for three arbitrary categories.

1) Ship I'm reading: IceMav from the Top Gun movies. I mentioned this before, but I needed both movies to fall in love with this pairing so hard. Like if I watched the movies individually I would be interested but not this much - but throw in the fact that they canonically have 30+ years of history and TGM made it very clear that their bond has gotten even stronger over the years *chef's kiss*. Rivals to wingmen! Ice as Mav's guardian angel! Mav was the only one Ice trusted to teach the kids so they could all come back home alive! Mav pounding his wings onto Ice's coffin!!! The angst from Ice's canonical death adds a sort of realistic bittersweetness that makes the ship somehow more appealing to me. But also, because real life is depressing enough as it is, I'm happily rolling in OG!TG wingmen era fics and found family MavDad/IcePops and Dagger kids AUs forever.

2) Ship I've written: Halfdain from Genshin Impact. I like a lot of Genshin characters and relationships (both romantic and familial), but Halfdain was the one that broke my two-year pandemic lockdown writer's block. Halfdan literally appears onscreen for like three minutes, but his loyalty to Dainsleif! He followed Dainsleif's final command for 500 years! He remembered and recognized Dain even when his memories should have completely eroded away! He believed in Dain so much. And Dain! How he recognized Halfdan even in his shadowy husk state! The way his eyes flickered and he smiled the gentlest smile for Halfdan! The hand clasp in the flashback, and the Black Serpent salute! Halfdan's fate is also what inspired me so much - I was so distraught at the fact that Halfdan dies and they couldn't be together despite everything they've been through, I broke my own writer's block to fix things. Tragic endings what? I WILL FIX THEM WITH FIC. This is probably the rarest pairing I ship (<50 works on AO3), but I love them so much.

3) Free choice: 00Q from the Daniel Craig James Bond films. So, I've kind of stopped writing for them. However, I see a pattern with my current ships and like.. I haven't actually watched No Time To Die, but I know what happens to Bond. And going by my track record, I'll either write my own fix-it fic or I'll look for all the fix-it fics. And that's why I still haven't watched NTTD: 1) i'm not quite ready for things to end, and 2) I don't want to risk switching hyperfixations, so I'm procrastinating on it. But 00Q will always have a special place in my heart, both for how long I was actively in the fandom for, and for how much I grew as a writer writing for them.

First Ship I'm probably aging myself right here, but considering the timing of when I got into fandom it's either Yuki Sohma/Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket or KakaIru from Naruto.

Last movie Enola Holmes 2. I enjoyed it!

Last song Hoyoverse just dropped The Stellar Moments Vol 3 album and I've been listening to it while writing this. My favourites are Chapter of a New Era (Yunjin's theme), Storm Chaser (Heizou's theme), Evening Luxury (Diluc and Fischl's outfit teaser) and Surasthana Fantasia (Nahida's theme).

Currently reading Uhhhh.. I have far too many fic tabs opened, but two IceMav fics that I'm actively following are As Lions by @qin-ling (Time travel fic! The angst of Mav's now unreturnable original timeline and his Ice's death, but also hope in the form of getting to save Goose and befriending '86 Ice again!) and ICE - In Case of Emergencies by @derpinathebrave (post-breakup IceMav where Ice gets called as Mav's emergency contact after an accident. The title is already excellent but also the writing is impeccable).

Also I have a ton of Sandman fics opened before my brain took a sharp dive into TG fandom, so here's a fic I was halfway through: We have all the time in the world (a great exploration of Dreamling throughout their once-a-century-meet ups, where Dream is slightly more in-tuned to his feelings for Hob).

Currently watching I just finished watching Season 3 of Mob Psycho 100. I (surprisingly) did not cry at the ending but the moment 99 (the season 1 OP) played in the final episode? Oo, good chills, it was so excellently done.

Currently consuming All the Chinese New Year snacks. Actually, I can't eat most snacks yet because we're saving them for 初一 . But you know what you can't save for too long? Mandarin oranges. So many mandarin oranges. This is the best season for mandarin orange lovers :D

Currently craving Milk tea (not boba. Just tea and milk variants, no tapioca pearls or other toppings).

Tagging @qserasera, @no-gorms, @solowinged, @kamicom (welcome back!), but only if you feel up to it. And if anyone else would like to pick this up, please feel free!

[cellarspider]

Thanks to the previous reply for digging up the real image.

This why linking to sources is important. This is why going to sources is important, to verify something is a photograph of a real event.

If you can't find a source for an image, check two things:

1 . Go to Google Image Search. Click the "Search by Image" option on the right of the search bar. Search for the image URL, then click "Find Image Source" above the main result. You will get a list of results that includes the date. If you only see social media results or clickbait websites, consider it deeply suspicious.

2. Go to TinEye, do the same process. TinEye and Google Reverse Image Search work slightly differently, and TinEye lets you sort results by when they were posted online. Neither are comprehensive, but between them, you have a good chance of finding the original source.

I'm going to break down what I found when I did this under the fold. TL;DR, It took me 15 seconds to gather enough information to determine the top image was fake, but 30 minutes to identify the original point of spread on the English-language internet.

I don't blame people who get suckered by this stuff. We want to trust each other. When others have already been circulating an image and have provided a story for it, it makes it seem more real.

If you don't know the facts, and especially if you're viewing an AI-generated image on a phone, where potential giveaways are harder to spot, it can be easy to believe it.

This is a pretty harmless example of something that can be far more dangerous, when it's applied to more sensitive topics.

Be safe out there, everyone.

So, here's how my search for the image's source went.

TinEye's first identification of the top image comes from Imgur, 25th February, 2023.

The comments were a mix of credulity and people pointing out that the image cannot be real, by the laws of optics. While the title doesn't claim that it's real, the "photography" tag is a lie.

The next day, it was already being circulated elsewhere on the internet with further misinformation.

This was apparently the second time this had been posted there, and was removed for not being a photo. However, it continued to spread on Twitter, with more misinformation. We see the first invention of a supposed photographer, to give it more authenticity. I don't know if this is the first guy who came up with it, but this was within the first day of circulating the image.

This other twitter account includes a link, but it's to a clickbait website, not any sort of original source.

Later, this was scraped up by more legitimate-looking clickbait news sites.

Note that this story is complete bullshit. They've not cited any sources. They've not linked to the original image, because they don't have one. They haven't directly quoted the photographer, because he doesn't exist.

As a note: This sort of thing can happen on any news website that doesn't do its own in-depth reporting, or legitimate publications that have an "affiliate" program, or a social media division. These are of variable quality, and often do not seek to cite anything other source than "Twitter".

It took fifteen seconds to verify that the image was likely fake using TinEye. It took half an hour to find a reddit post that linked to fact-checking website that identified the first time the images were spotted on the English-speaking internet, in a tranche of AI art posted on Facebook on February 5th.

This is as far as I can follow the trail, lacking the facility in navigating the Chinese-speaking internet to go any further. But you can see how quickly this developed into a hoax, through a combination of reasonable-sounding lies, the addition of more and more detail to the story as it passed along, and credulous spread of the image.

Full circle rainbow was captured over Cottesloe Beach near Perth, Australia in 2013 by Colin Leonhardt of Birdseye View

[the-mortifying-ordeal-of]

If doomsday isn't my top song on Spotify Wrapped this year, I'll eat my shoe (if MyFitnessPal has the nutrient info, obvs).

I have felt so high. Even now, my eyes feel heavy but pulsing, and not in a fatigue way. My mind feels settled, clear, simple. Maybe I am tired, because I begin to sway when I close my eyes, but my jaw is also soft and everything tingles and I feel so good. I realized yesterday that I haven't had any shakiness that I usually associate with low blood sugar, and all the dizziness I've been experiencing has been pleasurable. I'm learning to sit with hunger and not be ruled by it.

I am concerned by my circulation and how profoundly my fingers and toes go offline after eating a goddamn parfait, but I'll deal with that later.

I had an amazing day on Friday that I've been wanting to write about. I took notes on my phone about it because I didn't want to forget, wanted to come here on my laptop so I could write fully about it. I know that I woke up early, before my alarm, and was able to go to the fitness center to elliptical. I've been increasing the intensity and keeping myself to a 30 minute limit, and I continue to get such an amazing rush afterward, and I've been able to sustain a 170-180ish bpm HR and not have super shitty self-talk or want to stop. I broke a sweat, listened to my MTS radio, and felt so good.

I came home, showered, and took a 5 with my morning meds. I logged into work and finally fucking finished my 1:1 audits, and then fully mapped my remaining to-do list onto my calendar for this upcoming week and that felt really good. I don't think I'll fully catch up this week, but if I can stick to that schedule, I'll have made an un-fireable contribution for the week. That felt really, really good.

What was amazing, though, was that sometime mid-morning I took a second 5 and I started to get that euphoria that I'd experienced with Wilson's 30ER. After wrapping up work around noon thirty, I went to go grocery shopping and I was fucking floating. I looked in my rear-view and my pupils were almost gone, but the fall colors were glowing and it was nearly 70 degrees and I felt so tuned in. I am so obsessed with my new grocery shopping routine for both an intake and budget perspective and I felt the rush of winning both games. I didn't have to talk to a single soul, I was running on black coffee and ACV tea, and when I got home to put my groceries away, I cracked open the last carbonated green tea I had. It had been on sale for a buck because that store will no longer carry them, but they've been so good for suppression that I looked them up to see if I could just buy more. THEY ARE NORMALLY SIX BUCKS A CAN. Oof, no wonder they were delicious, but that's not in my budget. But after chugging that, I went to a second grocery store and felt really good about my choices. I now have a fully stocked fridge and pantry, just in time for Wilson and MUC to come over that evening to make soup dumplings from scratch and watch Wine Country.

After grocery shopping but before they arrived, I was obsessed with how I felt. My notes say "eyes delayed laggy, pupils small, beautiful colorful day, fast and fluid, pulsing face, maybe some swallow, 20hh!!! I miss that tea already" OH YEAH BECAUSE I made it twenty fucking hours!! I've still basically been at a normal amount, if not a few hundo more than MFP recommends, but I've been so fucking good at maintaining my streaks and not taking in junk or spending money or getting blasted like I want to. My macros have been good, my ability to eat mindfully and singularly has been useful, I'm slowing down and paying way more attention, and it all feels better. I've noticed my body is more tired, and I'm wondering if it's the lack of rest days, but I've also been good about moving my body a lot. At one point while doing push-ups (and struggling to reach my previous max), I had the terrifying thought "to what end..? how long do I keep this up? Is this sustainable? When will I know I've made it..? am I happy living like this?" and quickly pushed that aside and kept going, because I know why I'm doing this: I want to save money, not be ruled by impulses, not numb and expand and soften and let my body fall to ruin. My mental health is sharper than it ever has been, my skin is clearer, I'm visibly cut with muscle in my arms and abs, I'm witnessing my ability to state a goal, pursue it, and achieve it - I'm learning to trust myself. I am saving so much money, I'm breaking my addiction to sugar and junk, I'm preventing god knows how many health disorders that my friends and family are struggling with who eat "normally" and I like having a game to play to keep me occupied. My hunger and cravings used to rule my whole fucking life, and I know I'm obsessed in a new way now, but I'm still building the habits and breaking the cycles and I DO want to maintain this. Not this level of effort and vigilance forever, but I've been atrocious to my body for a very long time and it'll take time for this to become my new default, to rule my intake instead of letting it rule me, to crave the satisfying choices and only take in what I need and use it effectively to be strong and capable and have stamina and discipline.

Ok now I'm tired. I've had a few later nights but I've kept waking up early, and I'm grateful for that, but I'm hoping I can take a bath after cleaning and go to bed early tonight.

I dunno man, I like what I'm doing. I know it's taking a lot of effort and it's isolating and secretive but I love having something that's just for me, something I'm not constantly gabbing and preaching about, something that's mine to control. I love seeing my progress. I'm learning about myself and I like the simplicity, the solitude, the control. I feel safer than I have in a long time, happier, more motivated. I have no intention of going back to the way I was.

[purplesurveys]

1929

What were you doing before you logged on here? I played my rhythm game and also spent a bit of time with Max.

What was the last airline you flew on, and where were you going? I can't remember the airline, but it was our flight from Da Nang back to Manila. Felt like a fever dream, honestly. We took off close to midnight, then upon landing it took the longest 45 minutes before we got the go signal that we could start getting out. Then it took another while to get the immigration stuff sorted out and THEN another while for our bags to come out of the belt thing.

By the time we got home it was around 4:30-5 AM. Cannot even remember how I went from the car to my bed. Also could not be assed to unpack; I just did it the next morning.

Which of your breakups was the hardest for you to get over? I've broken up with the same person twice, but it was the second one that was infinitely harder to deal with because that one had a sense of finality to it.

What did you have for dinner last night? Leftover lechon.

Do you write poetry? If so, what kind of poetry do you write? I'm terrible at creative writing but in the last year I dabbled in like three poems just to tickle my writing braincells a bit. Regardless, I still think they're terrible work and I'm very shy about it to the point that I have each of them written out in completely random pages in my notebook so that they aren't easily seen, even by me.

As for the kind of poetry, my default is to use the stream of consciousness format. I like writing in a wistful tone, usually about heartbreak so I can process the thoughts that remain with me all these years later.

Have your parents traveled to any countries that you have not been to? My dad has traveled to TONS of countries because of his line of work. He's been to both the Americas and Europe – I haven't been outside of Asia.

Did you have acne when you were a teenager? Not much. My acne is apparently the fashionably late type, because it's only started giving me headaches now, in my mid-20s.

What's your favorite type of gemstone? Diamond, I guess, just because it's mine? Hahaha.

Do you prefer sleeping in total darkness, or do you like to have a little bit of light? Darkness. I'd find it very distracting otherwise.

Who was your favorite children's book author when you were a kid? Geronimo Stilton – I don't know their real name.

Would you rather take a class in fencing or archery? Archery.

Has a significant other ever given you the silent treatment during a fight? Yes. She was very hardcore about it, too. Makes me wonder why out of all those million and one times it happened, I never decided to just up and leave. I very well could've done so, when I think about it now. But alas, I was the type of person who felt the need to fight for the relationship.

What is something you took for granted when you were younger? Food. I was a very picky eater.

Have you ever seen the movie Blue is the Warmest Colour? Parts of it. The 3-hour runtime turned me off, lol.

How many bathrooms does your house have? Two.

What was the last thing you borrowed from someone? My sister's jeans.

What are your favorite condiments to put on a burger? Mayonnaise.

What color are your best friend's eyes? Brown.

Have you ever had a stalker? Either I've never had one or they've been doing a fantastic job this whole time.

Would you rather work in an office setting or work from home? Home is fine right now, but it'd also be nice to experience being in an office setting. I've never had it.

[themomsandthecity]

How Melissa Stockwell Is Balancing Parenting and Paralympic Training

Melissa Stockwell has always been about defying the odds. While serving in the US Army as a second lieutenant, she lost a limb in active combat after her vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in 2004. She later set her sights on sports, becoming the first Iraq War veteran to qualify for the Paralympic Games, competing for Team USA in swimming at Beijing 2008. She then upped the ante with triathlons, earning bronze at Rio 2016 and also competing at Tokyo in 2021. But her fourth Paralympic Games at Paris 2024 next month might be her most meaningful yet because for the first time, she'll have her kids by her side. "They know that mommy swims, bikes, and runs all the time, and they've seen me compete once or twice a year, but I want them to see me on the world's biggest stage and see what I actually do," Stockwell tells PS. "I'm sure it'll be more of a challenge at times but it'll be worth it. I can't have them miss it." After all, she wasn't able to bring her children - 9-year-old Dallas and 6-year-old Millie - to the Tokyo Games because of COVID restrictions, and her eldest was just a baby when she competed at Rio. In fact, the Olympic and Paralympic Games have been making it easier for athletes to share their experiences with their families, with P&G even sponsoring an on-site nursery in the Olympic Village. Though her kids are older, Stockwell is grateful for the services. "They really try to make it a family affair and make it as uncomplicated for families as possible," she says. Stockwell will have plenty of support, with about 30 family and friends joining her in the French capital, including her husband, dad, and in-laws. They'll also be traveling over with several other families, also with kids. "We have an incredible village of friends in our network, so there will be plenty of people to help if we need it," she says. More than anything, she wants her kids to see the grit and determination that has earned her everything from a Purple Heart to a Paralympic medal. "It's really important that my kids are seeing me with this definitive goal," says the athlete who's based in Colorado Springs, CO. "We've been counting down the days, and they know it's coming. They see me working toward it. That's huge for not just my kids, but for any kids to see that." With her family at the forefront of Paris 2024, her goal this time around is simple. "I hope to wear that Team USA uniform and represent as best I can - and enjoy myself, race well, and have my training pay off," she says. "I would love to be on that podium." PS: How's your mindset different now that you're a three-time Paralympian already? Melissa Stockwell: I know what to expect. I'm older - I'm one of the older ones competing. That veteran athlete mentality is beneficial because you can manage your stress a little bit more. PS: Is there a certain mantra you're taking with you to this game?I MS: There's a lot of them, like the quote, "I haven't come this far to only get this far." But also my family is just such a huge motivator, and they're going to be on the sidelines. I'm going to be able to race with Team USA and some of my greatest friends. I do this because I enjoy it and I'm really trying to take that to heart. PS: How do you balance training with motherhood? MS: I definitely can't do it alone, that is for sure! I live by the calendar. Every night my husband and I go over our calendar for the next day. Every hour and every minute is filled: who's picking up the kids and who's bringing them to camps, baseball, or whatever it may be. I get all my training in when the kids are at school or at camp, so it's back-to-back-to-back. I don't really have the luxury of recovery in between, but I thrive on that. After I pick up the kids, put my mom hat on: dinner time, bath time, everything that comes with that. It's busy, but I can't complain. PS: How do you deal with those moments when the schedule gets thrown off track? MS:… https://www.popsugar.com/family/melissa-stockwell-2024-paralympics-interview-49379232?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[atypicalstrong]

vent incoming

So two of my friends moved to South Korea and weren't able to take their cats with them immediately, so I agreed to foster them for 6 months until their first vacation so they could come collect them.

Little did I know that 3 years later I would still have these cats, because it turns out that importing pets more than 6 months after you immigrate is incredibly difficult, and the owners didn't do any proper research beforehand, and also didn't save any money to get it done. And STILL aren't saving money to get it done, and are instead begging all their associates for money (by taking commissions they aren't actually doing - a mutual friend has literally 30 works they still haven't received) every step of the way when we have to get health tests and certificates and lab reports done.

And it turns out everything we've done so far has been for nothing because its all been in my name, and they're gonna have to redo all the expensive and time consuming tests in their name. Which means finding a vet that will do all this legal paperwork in someone else's name who isn't in the country to verify anything at all and is just taking my word for it. Which is uhhhhhhh an issue to say the least.

I found all this out today first thing in the morning when my friend was like "the pet relocation company says none of this will work so can you and your vet fix it?" And when I was like "I'll ask but I'm pretty sure we have to start over bc anything else would legally be fraud since technically I own your cats right now" (because its been 3 fucking years) they had the fucking GALL to break down crying and say it hurts so much to hear their pets aren't legally theirs, and I have to make my vet fix it because they've been doing a "trash job" (they haven't, they've actually been very helpful and the only fuck up that happened before this was a lab's fault, not my vet's), and they can't afford to do it all again, and that they "need me to be in their corner right now".

And then they just shut down when I tried to offer any solutions that DON'T involve legal fraud. Like coming back and doing it themselves instead of using a company, which is "just not possible" (no reason given when asked why not, literally just silence), or doing it as a "sale" so it makes sense that its all in my name ("that won't work because the regulations are probably different").

Like, I'm sorry you waited until the last minute to check if we were doing everything correctly! But that's not my fault, or my responsibility! I never wanted it to take this long, and I certainly don't want to keep your fucking cats! They keep destroying all my stuff, which you've offered to replace but noticeably haven't! Even if I wanted to, I CAN'T keep your fucking cats because I'm moving next year!

Nevermind I've got a bunch of my own shit going on that y'all don't seem to care about at all, like fighting for disability benefits, and being sued for medical debt (my court date is LITERALLY tomorrow and they haven't asked about it once since I told them last month), and affording rent and food! They're over in South Korea spending all their money on take out and "retail therapy" (and to be fair some genuine unforseen costs, but that just makes the other stuff more infuriating) not saving anything for the cats, while I'm over here going to food banks and hygiene pantries just to stay afloat!

I don't even want to be friends with them anymore at this point! And that really hurts, because there was a time when they were the best friends I'd ever had. But now? After all this? How can they expect me to trust or rely on them, for anything? After everything I've done for them THIS is the thanks I get?

I don't even know what else to say. If they don't SINCERELY apologize for this, and also accept they fucked up by not doing the research or saving any money, and ALSO come to terms with the fact that we have to start over, I don't know what I'm gonna do. Stop being friends with them and rehome the cats, I guess. I don't WANT to do that but I don't think I'll have any other choice.

I've put up with so much and for what. For fucking what. Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh...

[the-firebird69]

There's an interesting story because with all the offices coming back online people will stop pulling from there because they found out through the spies they're just despise at those sites a lot of them are trumpsters almost all of them and the business is shut down all day they were just sitting there and I thought they have a lot of work and they have none and most of it is a reputation and the reputation is mud and they are they are horrible horrible at liar and tell people the truth sometimes and they are just getting beat up it is just amazing how many of them for beating to death when he started talking about this company they're terribly terribly bad at it and I do know that it's extremely annoying let me come hostile and they don't have it and I do understand now they're doing it here in a personal basis and we do need to stop him we're going to file all sorts of suits but we're going to do the old fashioned way and pretty soon

These chips are being sought all over Earth but all sorts of parties. Trump is sending us in like it was the only thing you have to do at all. Huge groups are going down and the warlocks sent down a giant contingent and their Force they're using the same about 2% and they have about 10% of the general population that's really a smaller number I was there. Still in a few trillion but it's not that many people by comparison it really is not and not even that great for fact-fiving

Couple more things he's going to break take a rest

-the bugs are attacking and he's the air on and they're also going to spray and they don't tell people when they're awake and we're complaining and you don't listen but then I say they have to do it weird at night so it hits the water area it kind of agree with that and then so it's giving take. They haven't sprayed and it doesn't really come over here and it works it's very good it was almost a huge nightmare

-they're having a war under the rings and truthfully they have about 120 houses that are macarlock and they didn't lose that many because the pseudo empire has around 70 and minority more like a 30 and we have like 40 and Max are here with like 40 and they're building 40 more and it's mostly mcmorelock it's true and the clones have houses out of the 120 yeah how about 40 so there's still quite a few of them but they lost about 30 households and you heard who and they're fairly big names.

-along with that there's a few other things happening people are getting very disillusioned with their leadership they want to hold people with no money and nothing to do with no goods and just have them go off in a battle and do whatever it's very lame it's never worked that way people get very pissed and they're stopping their leaders and our son is having a lot of problems too they've been doing it for years Tim and to him and to society and they're trying to put their foot down finally

-is a large group of people trying to get into Charlotte county and they're trying to break in. 30 households went to the first ring and they have a giant for us for me and the pseudo empire promise to wipe it out

20 more people when we've got a deal there's too many people trying to get in and too many every day and it won't go away or stop trying to use Force and it's mostly Macklemore lock and they're trying to get in now so that's going on and there's a huge number of people trying to get here by plane and there's only so many flights and they get here and they're disappointed.

A couple more things we're experiencing a lot of problems here with these people here and we're fighting with them all the time. It is a huge pain this week will probably be different we will have you're a huge number of people taking each other to court and we have to be here to make sure it doesn't boil over this is going to be a large number of cases submitted tomorrow and we'll see how many minutes going to be a lot and it'll start pulling out there big ones we also have another problem with just their attitude it's horrible and then talk is horrible and what they do around the Sun and they need to leave they really do they're horrible people and uncivilized I have there not afraid of the law or anything so we're going to start enforcing stuff and they're going to hate it they're big pigs

-there are several wars going on right now and when it just started is the United Kingdom and they are trying to fight to get there and BGA is calling his and trying to fight to get a huge army and defend the area and ships are moving in spaceships from the island Australia they're fighting to keep them there but it's a big area and their tunnels is about 300 million ships just arrived it's going to go with that for a while

more news later

Thor Freya

Olympus

Good things are working

Hera

Zues

Yes they are

Thor Freya

We'll see you in hell you losers here you're going to go to hell this week finally

Nuada Arrianna we shall help hold you in prison yes you need to go there. The pseudo empire will try to cause chaos to force their military and take the area of Lord will begin the truth we will be bringing troops here to haltom

Mild

[pandesalmonster]

It's 4am and i haven't slept.

Blame the iced coffee i made earlier. Blame the Excel spreadsheet that I should have worked on this evening. Blame Twitter and Reddit for the unlimited content that's kept me up.

Lots of things on my mind again.

FIRST: my growing kpop collection expenses. oec and loossemble had comebacks this year and OOOOH. SHINY POBs. I want all the POBs. But I have limited money. I have gone over the supposed 3% allocation for kpop. I have too many albums (3 versions instead of just 1), Chuu and Heejin are comebuting this year. And Red Velvet! I don't have the money and space for all that! in general, I just bought so many things that they are piling up.

like that ^ is literally my philosophy for collecting loona items now. even if they're pretty, even if the store says it's limited. even if i have to wait 10 years for the prices to go down. I'm still working on accepting the reality though *cries in poor*

SECOND: the ongoing war in palestine and israel, and am i retweeting the correct information? do i have the correct information to form the best opinion? 2 filipinos have already been killed by hamas. if i retweet a tweet condemning that does that mean I don't support palestinians right to their land? if i don't fully agree with one side then does that mean I wholly support the other? Is it truly possible to support and condemn both sides at the same time? Maybe this is the "black-and-white" thinking that the boomers are talking about. This is a good thread: https://twitter.com/Ike_Saul/status/1711780282725011520

THIRD: kpop fancalls and the people who say "[group members] recognize me!" because they've met and talked with the members multiple times, and they went to all of their concerts. Like I'm jealous you know? How do they have the money, and the time, and the energy? And I don't even want to meet the members, I just want the clout and admiration that it gets them. I want others to envy me, if you get my drift.

FOURTH: is it possible to escape social media and screens? because just yesterday I felt sick, and I don't know if it was because I spent 30 minutes waiting for a bus, then 1 hour standing on that bus due to traffic, or because I spent an hour carrying my very heavy bag on my shoulder, or is it because the aircon was very cold when i went to the office, or is it my looking at screens. But like I want to be the cool girl who doesn't need social media. Or at least get my screentime down to 2 hours a day. I watched social dilemma and it still didn't stop me from doing 4-6 hours a day. Maybe I need to be more mindful of how people/ the algorithm is manipulating me to stay there.

FIFTH: Am i gonna get the drive to be better? Because I keep writing out my problems, searching for advice in forums, and then I open a distraction and forget everything that I wanted to improve in myself.

- You know what, maybe I will. I am typing this on a lovely laptop but it is company owned. I want to buy this laptop for myself. I want to edit my videos, and I will definitely need a fast laptop for that. Because my sister will be using the ipad, I cannot use that.

So maybe my drive will be to save up for that laptop as fast as possible. I've been wanting to buy a new phone (specifically, one that supports a stylus. So I can draw on it).

SIXTH: Am I ready to buy a house? I submitted a bid for a foreclosed house and lot near my sister's. I don't think it was approved, because I'm not on the list of winners, and nobody has contacted me yet. Personally, I don't think I'm ready to buy a house. But my mom is pushing me to buy one, because prices are only gonna get expensive.

SEVENTH: Am I gonna get the work ethic and drive that I admire so much in my co-workers? I will admit that I am not very fond of my job right now, but they are very lenient, allowing me to work from home, but I repay them with sleeping on work hours and not doing any work. I want to be like the ones that stand on their word and are very dependable. But I am not there yet. I want to work on being that someday.

***

You see, I rarely go on here, but when I do, I always have so many things to say. That's what happens when you bottle up your thoughts. I should be writing here more often. maybe everyday. Here it's easy to catch up to my brain. Writing on notebooks, although recommended by some, is really tiresome, you know? Here it's easy to backspace and just type, as many words as you want. When I write with my pen, my hand tires easily. Maybe because I've been using my phone more and my pen less.

They say hand-journaling is better for distracted people, but for me, typing is so much better.

Maybe I should write with a pen less, draw with a pencil more, and type on a keyboard more.

Anyways. It's 4:30am. I need to sleep for 2 hours. and catch up on the work I missed.

[polaris-one]

Time Management Coaching Techniques That Work

You might think that time management is a habit, like brushing your teeth. It’s not. Time management is a skill, and like any other skill, it requires practice to master. If you want to become more efficient in your daily life, whether you are an entrepreneur or working in an office environment, here are some effective time management coaching techniques that work:

Set goals.

When you set goals, make sure they're specific and measurable. For example, instead of saying "I want to lose weight," say "I want to drop 10 pounds." This makes it easier for your coach and yourself to track progress and know when you've reached your goal.

Your goals should also be achievable but challenging--which means that they may take some time and effort before they are achieved (and sometimes even longer than expected). For example: "My goal is to be able to run 5 miles nonstop by September 1st" versus "I would like to run 2 miles nonstop by April 15th."

Finally, always remember that your goals should align with what's important for you in life--not someone else's idea of success or happiness!

Prioritize.

Prioritizing is a key component of time management coaching techniques that work. It's important to prioritize the tasks on your list in order of importance, starting with those that are most urgent and working down toward those that can wait until later.

The first thing you need to do is figure out what needs doing right away, then next week or month, etc., until you reach the bottom of your list (which should include everything else). For example:

Urgent: Call insurance company about car accident claim.

Important but not urgent: Go through my clothes closet and donate anything I haven't worn in over a year; call library about renewing my library card; call doctor's office about scheduling annual checkup appointment.* Less important than either of these two categories above: Call friend who lives nearby who doesn't have children yet so she can keep me updated on their social life without having too much pressure from them about getting together soon; buy new pair shoes online since mine aren't comfortable anymore; bring old books back from storage unit where they've been sitting since moving here two years ago

Create a To-Do List.

When you have a clear idea of what needs to be done and when, you can start scheduling your time accordingly. Make sure that the list is concise and easy to read so that it doesn't become overwhelming or confusing. You want it in front of you at all times so that when something pops into mind during the day (and it will), there's no question about whether or not it should go on the list for later that night or tomorrow morning: just write down every single thing!

Schedule your day in 15-minute increments.

It's tempting to schedule your day in 30-minute increments and then get frustrated when you don't get everything done. But if you break up the tasks into smaller chunks, it's much easier to see what needs to be done and how long each task will take. If a task takes longer than expected, just schedule another 15 minutes on top of that time slot so that you can finish up at the end of the day without feeling rushed or stressed out by not finishing everything you set out to do.

When you get distracted, go back to your list immediately.

If you start doing something else and then realize that you are no longer on task, stop what you're doing and go back to the original task. You can't do everything at once, so focus on one thing at a time! If it helps, use an alarm or timer to remind yourself when it's time for a break or another activity.

Focus on the task at hand, not the entire job or project.

It's easy to get overwhelmed by the big picture. When you're working on a project, it's natural to think about all that needs to be done and feel like you won't be able to get it done in time. But if you focus on one small thing at a time, then eventually everything will get done!

For example: If I'm working on organizing my closet, I might start by taking out all of the clothes from each drawer and putting them into piles based on what kind of item they are (tops vs bottoms). After this step is complete, I'll start sorting through those piles by color and type (shirts/sweaters vs pants). Once I've grouped everything together into categories based on category and style--and separated out any items that don't fit anymore or no longer suit me--I'll put them back into their original drawers according to category so that everything has its own place where it belongs!

Take breaks when you need them.

Take breaks when you need them, but keep track of how much time you're spending and what you're getting accomplished during those breaks.

Make sure that your body is getting enough sleep, healthy food and exercise, relaxation and positive social interactions. Your brain will thank you for this!

Delegate tasks that are not a priority for you and your business.

Delegation is an important part of time management. It's the act of assigning responsibilities to others, which frees up your time and energy.

If you're like most people, delegation is not something that comes naturally--and it can be difficult to learn how to delegate effectively without making mistakes along the way.

One technique that works well for me when delegating tasks is asking myself these questions: "Is this task something that I really should be doing?" "Does this task fall within my skill set?" If yes, then I have no problem taking on more work! If not...then it's probably best if someone else takes care of it instead!

These simple tips can help you manage your time.

Here are some time management coaching techniques that can help you improve your productivity.

Set goals.

Prioritize the tasks on your to-do list and schedule them accordingly, so you can make sure that each task is completed as soon as possible.

Create a to-do list every morning before starting work or school, so you know exactly what needs to be done before leaving for the day (or night). This will also give off a positive vibe in those around you!

Schedule your day in 15 minute increments; this will allow for breaks when needed but also force focus on what needs done right now instead of letting things pile up later on down the line when they could get even more stressful than they already are at their current momentary level of "not being stressful enough."

Polaris One is the world's first time management coaching business. We provide our clients with the tools and strategies they need to get more done in less time, so they can spend their days doing what matters most to them. Polaris One is proud to provide Time Management Coaching. We know that you're busy, and we want to help you get more out of your day.

Our time management coaching services are designed with one goal in mind: helping you manage your time better so that you can accomplish more of what matters most to you. Polaris One wants to help you maximize your productivity, minimize stress, and improve the quality of your life in general.

Polaris One 310 Laguna Vista, Alameda, CA 94501, United States +15102893350 https://www.polarisone.com/ https://www.google.com/maps?cid=6776342651580498392

[viktuurionice]

Venting /// sorry gkdkksksk

I told my sunt that on week's where I'm working 39 hours a week, that I don't want to do dishes. I only have to do them 2 nights in a week, which isn't a lot but considering I'm exhausted and working so I can get my own place and get out of everyone's hair I don't think it's too much to not want to do dishes.

But after taking a 3 hour nap I got a lecture about how the teenagers are out of the house for 12 hours a day for school and extra curriculars (also mentioning they like and enjoy their extra curriculars. They've chosen this) and they still get their chores and stuff done. Which... Is a fair point. But they're not disabled. Neither of them are disabled. They're both fully functioning and have been doing this for years. Again, they're not fucking DISABLED. And ARE CHOOSING THINGS THEY ENJOY.

I'm disabled and this is the first time I've managed anything other than part time in VERY short increments in about 10 years. My fucking disability no one believes in is disabling and I'm not spending an hour on dishes while I've been on my feet all day.

Also wanna point out this is conveniently ignoring her son that's in his mid 20s and has never worked a job in his fucking life, who went to bed 30 minutes after I got up this morning.

I'm not spending 12 hours a day doing shit for other people. Make the NEET do it. I'm not even spending an extra hour after a full shift doing it, make the fucking NEET do it.

"what exchange are you going to give?"

Idfk me being rested enough to not be a raging cunt? Me moving into my own place as soon as I'm able? Dude I'm in PAIN. And you bitch when I take ibuprofen like it's a hard drug. I'm too tired to even remember the non over the counter pain meds. But that's sure what my family acts like ibuprofen is. Well, if I'd been able to go to a fucking urgent care for my wrist they probably would have told me to take fucking ibuprofen. Jfjskskdkdkks

Don't complain about me acting drugged, I just flipped my sleep schedule on its head and I haven't slept through the night without a sleep aid for as long as I can remember, and I don't like taking sleep aids because they make me drowsy. Lower your fucking expectations. Of course I'm fucking tired.

I'm allowed to read or draw for a bit if I have the energy, not spend an hour on dishes. I will, not be doing that. Especially after standing and moving boxes and stocking shelves and otherwise moving around for over 8 hours.

If I'm not able to do something to keep my head on straight soon I will simply kill myself and let that be your problem. I was going to do that a few months ago anyway, I am not attached to survival. If you make it unpleasant I will simply peace out. I'm done. I've been done. "Well that's life." Cool!!! I don't fucking want it. I don't care. "Cook all your meals! It saves money! All your doing is paying for other people's labor! Everyone still does their chores! Dogs are loud, so are kids!" I DO NOT CARE. I can buy ready made meals to save time! I value my time more than cheap food! I value my time more than organic food. I was able to do all my own chores before, it's called a fucking dishwasher and not having to hand wash everything before putting the dishes in. Your dog barks a lot because you treat her like a human toddler when she's a dog. You haven't trained her NOT to bark. In fact you've trained her to bark in order to get whatever she fucking wants. So SHE BARKS ALL THE FUCKING TIME. Every human child I've been around since becoming an adult is quieter than your fucking dog. "Dogs bark" yeah, no shit. I'm pretty sure I've had more dogs than you. I at least know how to train them better, but I'll never own one again.

Like lower the fucking bar for fucks sake.

[ryosmne]

Tattoo Artist! Sukuna x reader (part 3)

Hey there again, I had a few ideas of where i wanted to take the third part, I'm very happy with what I came up with, it's very very fluffy, I hope you have a good time reading 💜.

Series masterlist here

Here's a playlist for fluffy Sukuna

Warnings: Language, suggestive tones, alcohol consumption (everyone is of age here, around 21/22), nudity? Not really described, that's about it.

Saturday was slow for Sukuna, he doesn't really like working away his weekends, but here he is, finishing up a chest piece that looked good if he had to say so himself. Everything was luckluster to him compared to the project he was still drafting for y/n.

Speaking of her she hadn't texted him all day, neither did Sukuna. He told himself he wasn't clingy like that, she texted him before she would do it again surely. Y/n didn't pay much mind to him not making contact, perhaps he was busy. She wasn't wrong, she also had initiated most of their text conversations, she didn't want to seem desperate. Sukuna was going to contact her when he was free.

On the other hand Sukuna was stressed, passing in the hallway between the reception and his work booth, checking his phone every once in a while, he was a bit snappier than usual, not letting Gojo's or Megumi's remarks go, he would answer back, his voice almost dripping with venom, he was very much pissed and it showed.

When closing time finally came he was ready to blow up, Gojo teasing him, only made him more agitated. Gojo knew something was bothering him and he wasn't planning on dropping the subject.

"Hey 'kuna, tell the truth, you took her out and she left because she couldn't stand you, that's why you're so mad."

The white haired man joked, you could see the smoke coming out Sukuna's ears.

"Don't call me that. For your information, me and y/n had a great time, quit being an bumbass I'm not mad." Y/n did enjoy herself right? It sure looked like it. Was Sukuna getting insecure? Yes. Could everyone tell he was lying about not being mad? Also Yes.

"Oh so it's 'you and y/n' now? You were right Geto, he's got it real bad, he's not even calling her 'some girl' or something."

Gojo continued to laugh, he was enjoying every single second of torment he was putting Sukuna through.

He had enough though, he grabbed his jacket and his keys, but just before he left the rest of his crew and Yuuji, who came to eat with Megumi to close, he called to the most rational person inside. "Geto, come on I'll drive you home." Sukuna needed someone to talk to, he needed to know he was in the right and not going totally insane. Nanami was really close to him but relationships wasn't a topic he would really touch on. Gojo was out of the question, the man was a womaniser, not that it was a bad thing but he wouldn't even take Sukuna seriously, he only wanted to annoy him for the time being. Megumi was also a no. He would spill the beans to Yuuji, he already had Gojo on his ass he didn't need two more idiots making fun of him, one was barely tolerable. That only left Geto, who has at least had a few solid relationships and he was trustworthy enough not to give him too much shit.

Geto grabbed the chance not to have to clean for one night, but he was very curious about Sukuna's sudden move to give him a ride home, he has never offered that before. Yuuji had tipped him off, he knew his brother wanted to get all of the attention, if y/n didn't make a move, his brother would go insane. He was surprisingly right, so Yuuji told Geto to try and get his brother riled up. Now Geto didn't exactly agree, but he wanted to give Sukuna a friendly nudge to the right direction.

Sukuna had already been driving for a little while, he couldn't find the courage to open his mouth and talk. Has he gone mad? Its not like he's clueless about girls, he's had many. Why was it different this time?

"So how come you wanna drive me around at night?" The raven haired man asked, eyebrow raised, ready to hear what his friend was so on edge for all day, even though he had an idea. Sukuna wasn't one to share feelings, he never did, he couldn't really tell anyone the reason why not a single word from y/n all day irked him so damn much. "Look, so let's say there's this girl right? You take her out, you have fun, everything is cruising perfectly, but then she doesn't really talk to you the next day." He said with a small pause "hypothetically speaking" He added, just to avoid further questions.

Geto looked at him with a blank face, although he couldn't really believe in his ears, Yuuji was right, he knew his friend was falling face first, it still surprised him. He saw the day that Sukuna was stressed for a girl, if someone told him even two weeks ago that this was going to happen happen, Geto most definitely would've laughed straight in their face.

"Well it depends really, for example did you text her and she didn't answer? Then yeah, she's not interested, but maybe she's busy, or she started texting first and she wants you to initiate." Sukuna blinked "You're right she's busy, she has a test too, maybe she has been studying, she'll come around." He said, the words came fast out of his mouth. Geto looked at him again more serious this time. "Look man, I know for a fact, you haven't texted first, you seem to really like her, don't be a pussy and send her one text." His tone was equally serious. "I'm just fond of her, that's all she's good company." Sukuna tried to brush him off, Geto wouldn't budge. "Call it what you want, I know you like the feisty ones, so do many people and you know how college kids are, one party is all it takes to lead to who knows what. Man up, when you do you can bring her around the shop too, you know we all would love to meet her." By the time Geto finished his sentence, Sukuna had already parked outside of his apartment to drop him off, they shared their good nights.

For the rest of his lonely drive home Sukuna couldn't help but think of that party his brother mentioned a couple nights ago, was y/n going to be there? And Geto's words kept replaying in his head.

Geto was smiling to himself walking inside his apartment knowing he did the right thing giving his friend a slight push.

With her hair just the way she liked it, her make-up done and an outfit that extenuated her best features, y/n was making her way down the street to meet up with Mai outside of Todo's place. The walk wasn't too long and y/n caught a glimpse of her short haired friend, who was also dressed to impress, standing right out of Todo's door.

"You didn't wait long did you?" Y/n asked, Mai smilled and shook her head, she was the late one most of the time, she did make it just a second before y/n arrived.

"Let's go, my sister and Nobara are waiting" she informed y/n, who nodded. "Really, I haven't seen Maki in a while, Nobara rarely shows up in class too." She said full of excitement, the girls were friends for a long while, even before college. Mai and y/n ended up forming closer friendship.

"Yeah they're about to remind us of how single we are." Mai loved her sister with all her heart, she was very competitive though and when Maki got with Nobara before Mai could strike up a boyfriend in college, she took it a bit personally. Then she focused her attention on finding someone for y/n, but that never went well. Hopping right up the stairs both girls were talking about what they would see tonight, more accurately who. "So Yuuji is probably going to be here, I asked Todo" Mai said her eyes hopefull, y/n rolled her's and her companion didn't let it go unnoticed. "I really don't get you, he's cute, you even said so." There she goes again, but y/n wouldn't let it slide this time. "You seem way more giddy to see him, than I do." She said, knocking on Todo's door who was waiting right behind it, answering in seconds. Mai was still dumbfounded, she hardly acknowledged Todo at the door and made her way inside with y/n.

Thankfully the sofa on Todo's living room they usually sat on was only occupied by Maki and Nobara. "Wow sis you made it on time for once without someone dragging you out the house." Maki hugged her sister tightly, "I didn't really have a choice, y/n said she would go home if I was late again." Mai, said with a bit of a whine. Nobara went for y/n. "She's giving you hell huh?" Her comment made the girl laugh. "Nah she's fine, she can be a bit of a baby." That line made Mai slap her arm playfully, even when they made digs at each other, it was all in good fun.

Y/n could see Mai out the corner of her eye scanning the room, it wasn't unusual for her to do that, but it was the fourth time the past 30 minutes they've been here. Something was definitely up with her, and when she raised her hand having finally spotted the one she was looking for, y/n was a hundred percent sure of what was going on.

"Yuuji, over here" Mai called hand in the air, a very friendly smile on her face. Yuuji eagerly walked over offering his greetings, his attention was on y/n "Hey, has my brother texted you at all?" That was an out of the blue question. Mai gave her a look "His brother?" She questioned, then looked back at Yuuji "You've got a brother?" Why did he have to say that infront of Mai, she wouldn't leave her alone until she told her everything about the guy, she was at least thankful he didn't mention a date, Sukuna probably hadn't mentioned anything to him. "Oh yeah, he's the one I went to last week and no Yuuji he hasn't, did something happen?" Mai stayed silent, so did the other girls, they planned on interrogating her later, judging by the looks they exchanged. "Oh it's nothing" Yuuji let out a breathy laugh, knowing he plotted with Geto to get under his brother's skin. Payback for the bagels he baked at 4 am was going to be sweet.

Yuuji took a seat next to Mai, who introduced him to her sister, Nobara already knew him short of and the two of them begun chatting casually. Y/n could see the chemistry between them as he complimented the dark haired girl on the way she looked tonight. She could see their eyes meeting, something more than friendliness resided in the looks they shared.

Y/n let her friend have her fun, at this point Maki and Nobara had adopted her taking shots, talking about the annoying situations that have occurred in the time they hadn't seen each other. Nobara in particular, was sharing her frustrations about men not taking her seriously as Maki's significant other and continuing to make moves on her partner. "I shut them down" Maki said proudly snaking an arm around her girlfriend's waist. "I know you do, I just want them to feel a bit threatened" Nobara's eyes drifted to the floor . "What are you talking about? Remember the time you just looked at that guy eyeing her and he mouthed 'sorry'? You're very threatening." Y/n took another shot laughing with the two girls. Her comment was quite comforting to Nobara and Maki knew that things always went Nobara's way, she just liked complaining sometimes, she was the jealous type.

Todo with Takada in hand, who arrived right after y/n and Mai, answers his door again for the multipluth time this evening, seeing the last person he expected. "I thought you were too old for house parties" he taunted at the grumpy man infront of him. "Screw you I'm 26, and I didn't come empty handed" Sukuna spoke, his tone getting a bit friendlier at the last words in his sentence. He passwd the two bottles of vodka he held to Todo. "Well come on in, Yuuji's brother is also mine" he said giving the pink haired man a friendly hug.

Sukuna's eye scanned his living room untill his eyes landed on the back of y/n's head, he headed straight her way.

Y/n heard a few girls around her making a fuss over some apparently really hot guy who just entered, but she didn't bother turning around. That was until she heard it "Huh, who would've known, you actually have friends" That voice was unmistakably his. Sukuna was here. Y/n's heart was fluttering in her chest but the alcohol in her system made it easy to come up with a comeback. "At least I don't pay mine to hang around me." She said, her voice laced with sarcasm, she still didn't turn to face him, she was frozen in place. Mai's, Maki's, Yuuji's and Nobara's eyes were wide and dancing between the two. There was for sure something going on here. Sukuna took a seat beside her casually draping an arm around the back of the sofa. "You're hurting my feelings doll, I'm not that bad" he spoke so softly, she almost got lost looking into his eyes. He looked way too good for her liking, same jewelry and eyeliner as the last time she saw him, his pink her strategically messed up, a silk black button down with the top two buttons undone, exposing his defined collarbones and the tattoos that extended to his chest and neck, black pants framing his thighs perfectly as he sat. Y/n was staring at this point, her friends were silent, taking in the image that was displayed before them. They had never seen y/n flustered or having difficulty forming words. Even Yuuji was surprised, seems like he was wrong about y/n's taste.

Sukuna was enjoying the look on her face a little more than he cared to admit, he would've taken his teasing further, but he didn't want to embarrass the girl anymore and her friends were already shocked. "Aren't you going to introduce me?" He asked her poking her cheek, and y/n could see Nobara was about to blow up.

"Right, Mai, Maki and Nobara this is Sukuna, he's um my tattoo artist?" What was she even supposed to say at this point? The guy she went on a date with and had the best make out session of her life?

Sukuna gave his hand out to the girls greeting them, he noticed his brother a few seats over who was concealing a laugh "you're here too brat" he briefly egnowledged him, Yuuji hummed back a hello in return, turning to Mai who was very eager to hear the details of y/n's and Sukuna's relationship, he sure as hell didn't look like just her tattoo artist.

"Tattoo artist? Really? you don't even have tattoos y/n" Nobara spoke, she just wanted her friend to be honest with her, if she had someone special, she could have said so, they've known each other for years. Sukuna wasn't surprised to hear that y/n hadn't shared that she got tattooed, he could tell she was a bit of a private person.

Y/n took off her jacket that she still had on from when she arrived, to show off the design to Maki and Nobara, Mai had already seen it and she was busy gossiping with Yuuji anyways. "Right, I forgot to tell you" she said, as Maki and Nobara scanned her upper arm with their eyes, so did Sukuna. He couldn't help himself, y/n looked so beautiful in his work. He wanted to cover every inch of her skin she was willing to give him, she could be his personal work of art, she already was one, but he wanted to decorate her in the best way he could and with the most beautiful art he could make. "That looks so beautiful" Maki spoke in awe, Nobara gave a little laugh "it's creepy, but it's really you. "

She took a look at Sukuna then back at y/n "It's very fitting, I don't know how to explain it." She continued.

Sukuna never took compliments that seriously, but hearing y/n's seemingly bitchy friend praise his work and the perception he had of her made him grin widely.

The four of them continued to speak, Maki and Nobara were very interested in Sukuna's line of work, Mai and Yuuji also took their turns in talking when they weren't too busy with one another. Y/n's friends were doing great with Sukuna, she thought he would be really difficult, he has a very explosive personality. Sukuna was putting in all the effort to make a good impression, both to y/n and the ones around her.

"So, did you miss me that much you came to find me?" Y/n asked once the attention was taken off of them. Mai looked to be having a deep conversation with Yuuji whereas Maki and Nobara got up to dance. "And if I did?" Sukuna spoke, his face dangerously close to hers, when did he manage to get hip to hip with her? Then again y/n had grown so comfortable around him, she didn't notice.

"Well, if that's the case, I'm glad you did come." She replied, Sukuna could tell she was a bit tipsy, else he would be making out with her on that sofa not caring who was watching.

Y/n poured herself another drink, thank god she didn't have to get up to get a refill, but Sukuna's voice stopped her movements. "Maybe you should ease up there" he said watching her fill two cups.

Y/n raised a brow at him "since where are you a party pooper? come on it ain't a party without a drink" her voice was playful as she tried passing one cup to him. Sukuna liked this y/n too, she was a bit more giggly, she smiled a bit more, "I'm driving sweetheart". Y/n was satisfied with his answer and proceeded to gulp down on both the cups she filled before Sukuna could stop her. She laughed pointing at him with her tongue out "too slow". Sukuna could only smile and pat her head. She was something else.

Somewhere along the night, Maki and Nobara disappeared and so did Yuuji and Mai. "You better tell your brother to take good care of my friend" y/n's state was getting worse, or more hilarious, it depended on how you looked at it. Sukuna would straight up laugh with some of the things she said, and he was trying his best to keep all forms of alcohol away from her, for her own good. "I don't think you should worry, Yuuji is much better than me in these kinds of things." He replied honestly, but y/n didn't necessarily see it like that. "There's no way he's that smooth" she trailed, the corners of her lips tugging upward. "Well if I didn't know any better, I'd say you liked me, didn't you think I was a dick?" Sukuna asked "Still do" her smile only grew wider.

One thing was for sure, y/n was very demanding when drunk, Sukuna left her side for the first time all night to get her some water, cause she felt 'like SpongeBob under that lamp drying out'. Not even slightly bothered by her request, Sukuna was on his way back to her, that's when he saw some guy standing infront of her trying to talk to her. Y/n even in her not very conscious state didn't tolerate people who didn't respect her "Just one song, come on it won't hurt, you're alone after all" the guy, y/n didn't care to catch the name of said "look, I don't dance, not unless the company is worth it, and I'm here with someone, leave me alone, this is getting annoying" Sukuna observed laughing to himself. He didn't feel the need to intervene yet. Y/n didn't like getting bossed around that's for sure, nor did she need a knight in shining armour to protect her, not that he would mind doing that. Sukuna casually sat down beside her again, ignoring the guy who was still standing there for some reason. That irritated him, it was enough that he tried to make a move on her, but not leaving while he was right there rubbed him the wrong way, "Here you go sweetheart" He said handing her the glass, praying that she won't drop and break it, he threw a glare at the guy who finally took the hint and left. "Thank you 'kuna." Y/n spoke, in a tone totally different from the one she had moments ago.

The nickname alone made his heart jump. Gojo was quite annoying when he called him that, but hearing the same word rolling out of y/n's tongue was completely different. Sukuna couldn't tell why he was feeling that way, he didn't care though, all he knew was that even the air smelled sweeter, when he was around her.

"You don't dance unless the company is good?" He asked, genuinely curious "well yes, if I feel comfortable I'll dance, but I don't really do it that much" she said, eyes heavy looking all over Sukuna's frame. " I see, how about we dance?" Sukuna suggested, he rarely danced himself, y/n made him want to get out of his comfort zone, hell he's already at a house party thanks to her.

"Only if you take some shots with me." She smilled at him malevolently. "You're playing dirty, who's going to take you home if I'm drunk?" Sukuna just wanted to hear her drunken logic "It probably takes a bottle for you to get drunk, you're clumsy, drunk or not, you're probably going to kill me if I get in your car".

Sukuna was full blown laughing, but she was right, her head was still not gone, she could walk and talk fine, she was just more talkative and cheerful, couple of shots wouldn't hurt, he could walk her home after since she lived close by, he remembered the way and then walk back home himself. She also gave him the cutest look he'd ever seen, how could he deny her?

"Ok you win" he raised his hands in defeat and y/n couldn't be happier. She poured 4 shots for them, which they quickly consumed and they were off to dance.

She never pictured him as a dancer, y/n saw Sukuna as the very cool looking dude standing on the bar, probably drinking whiskey with a bit of ice.

Looks can be deceiving, Sukuna was spinning her around, their bodies were pressed together, guiding each other to the beat. Eyes were meeting, body heat was exchanged, they fit like puzzle pieces even like this. Y/n kept looking at the exposed skin of his neck, why did he have to look like that and be this close, her face only grew warmer once her eyes met his and then dropped to his lips. Its not that Sukuna didn't want to kiss her, he would most certainly prefer her to be sober and remember it clearly the next day.

Those last two shots y/n had, in addition to Sukuna's body against hers, made her vision a bit blurry and her knees weak. "Hey doll, everything ok? You with me?" He shook her lightly by the shoulders, he could tell she was growing tired and he noticed how her demeanor changed. "Mhm, I'm sleepy 'kuna" there she goes again, making his heart skip beats. Y/n would be giving him so much shit had she realised she made him feel like that. "Ok then, how about we take you home ?" Sukuna's voice was so mellow, almost like he was talking to a toddler.

He guided her out of the crowded house, Todo was nowhere to be found, so Sukuna couldn't really let him know he was leaving.

Y/n was leaning on him, walking slowly down the street towards her place, but she abruptly stopped and sat down.

"What's wrong?" Sukuna asked, his sound as mellow as before. She was down right adorable, sitting there with a pout of her face .

"My feet hurt" y/n complained, dramatically throwing her arms around, if it was any other person Sukuna would've droped them to fend for themselves. "Really? That's sad" he replied, dropping down to her level, she only nodded, women's shoes are the most uncomfortable thing in the world. Sukuna scooped her up in his arms and carried her bridal style the rest of the way, he couldn't have her complaining and it wasn't like she would remember much either. With her arms wrapped securely around his neck, y/n could feel the warmth creeping up her neck all the way up to her ears, she didn't see the satisfied smile Sukuna wore.

Today went a lot better than he expected. So well that the tiredness got to y/n before they reached her apartment. Sukuna watched as she fell asleep in his arms. What a strange girl, she had both shyness and attitude, she was dancing her heart out no more than 15 minutes ago yet she still managed to fall asleep as he carried her.

Reaching her building, luckily the main entrance was unlocked. Sukuna took a peek at her, he couldn't bring himself to wake her up, she looked so peaceful, but unfortunately he had to. "Hey, which floor are you on?" He whispered softly, that was enough to shake y/n awake. "Third" she whispered back. Sukuna took the elevator up, and he finally reached her hallway, he only wished she didn't get her floor wrong or it would look like he was trying to break into someone else's house. "Doll, can you point your door for me? I'll put you down for a bit, where are your keys?" Y/n pointed at her door, handed Sukuna her keys and groaned as he set her down to unlock it for her. "You're such a brat" he pointed out swinging the door open, her annoyed face looked even cutter under the barely lit hallway.

Lord knows how Sukuna managed to find the light switches in the dark but he made it, y/n looked completely out of it now. He picked her back up and tried a few doors to find her bedroom. He gently layed her on the mattress. Y/n groaned again and said something about being uncomfortable. Of course she was uncomfortable, with her clothes still on from going out, there's no way she wasn't.

He shouldn't care right? He should just let her be and go home, but Sukuna could already tell she would have an awful nights sleep and he wanted her to rest properly. "Were do you keep sleep clothes" he asked, y/n pointed lazily at some drawer. After briefly digging in the drawer, he took out a pair of sweat pants and a hoodie for her.

He reached her frame again, undoing her shoes, sliding them off, next he prompted y/n with her side resting on the headboard so he could have her sit up with her legs dangling of the side of her bed. His hands found the rim of her shirt, her voice stopped him "don't look ok?" Her voice was hardly above a whisper. "I won't look"

"Promise?" She asked holding out her pinky

"promise" he stated locking it.

Sukuna averted his eyes from her body and helped her into her comfy clothes. Only one thing remained "Now come on time to get your makeup off"

"Nooo, I want to sleep" she complained loudly, dropping her body backwards on the bed. "Come on, it's not good for your skin, it will just be a minute, just be good for me" he said grabbing her hand, but y/n turned her head away. That's when Sukuna threw her over his shoulder, the most she could do was weakly hit his back and tell at him to put her down.

Sukuna sat her somewhere in her bathroom, while she still mumbled about being sleepy. He got a washcloth wet, and took a look at the products in her cabinet, she surely had an oil cleanser he just had to find it... bingo.

He pushed her hair out of the way and gently applied and massaged the product on to her skin, giving her instructions to keep her eyes and mouth close, he was extra careful not to cut her with his nails, then he used the washcloth to remove all the make-up that melted off. Sukuna also wore liner, not all the time but often enough to know that some things didn't come off with soap and water. He takes care of himself, his skin, his hair, his nails, everything. He knows a bit more than he's willing to share. Next he followed the same steps with her cleaner, y/n was enjoying herself, half asleep under his touch. He finished everything by applying a serum and a moisturizer on her face. "You've got the cheap stuff." He joked. "Hey it works" y/n defended as he picked her up once more.

This time he layed her under the covers, he pulled them up over her body, looking at her with plain adoration, he leaned down to press a kiss on her forehead.

"Sleep tight, I'll text you." He whispered in her ear, turning around to leave. A hand tugged oh his wrist, the same way he had done to her a couple days ago. Y/n was looking at him with pleading eyes "please stay" she almost begged, "are you sure? Its really late" he said, y/n nodded patting the spot beside her, he couldn't say no to those eyes. He quickly got rid of his shoes and dress shirt, he disappeared to the bathroom to take off his eyeliner and got under the covers with her.

Y/n curled up next to him, laying her head on his chest, taking in all his warmth and scent while listening to his heartbeat, his arm was wrapped securely around her.

" Can I ask you something?" Y/n's voice broke the silence. "Didn't you want to sleep?" Sukuna teased, and y/n took the opportunity to ask anyway. "Why do you like me?" What kind of question is this? Sukuna blamed the fact that she was a bit out it. She had no reason to be insecure, she was stunning and she also had a personality to back up her looks. "Let's see... you're kind of a badass, no one really talks back to me like you do, you're quite easy on the eyes too" what he said was very true, but he was falling for the little details too. The way she picked mindlessly at her food as she talked when he took her out, or the way her eyes sparkled when something peaked her interest. Even her drunken self had him feeling things he never did.

"How come you were single? Judging by your friends it's been a while" The words came out of his mouth before he could stop them, but y/n didn't give any signs of being bothered by his assumption. "Honestly, I don't want someone to fall out of love and leave me behind" Drunken words are sober thoughts. Sukuna didn't want to ask if that had happened to her before, he didn't care, he would do better than whoever hurt her.

More moments passed with him rubbing comforting circles on her back, he was sure she was asleep, her breath was slow and steady against his chest. "I wonder, what would you say if I asked you to be mine?" Sukuna whispered, staring up at her ceiling. "I'd say yes, airhead" y/n mumbled. Sukuna's eyes widened, she wasn't supposed to hear that. "I'll make sure to ask you soon then" he said, y/n looked up at him, this time he couldn't help himself and captured her lips in his, in a very slow passionate kiss. It didn't last long but it was enough to keep y/n's head spinning around with him running through it. "Sleep already, brat"

"okay 'kuna".

The light coming in, beaming through her curtains, woke y/n from a very peaceful sleep, now all she felt was the vodka she consumed the night before. Her head was pounding hard, she reached for her phone on her nightstand. Instead of her phone, her hand made contact with a piece of paper.

Good morning doll.

You're most definitely feeling like shit, but don't worry you didn't do anything too embarrassing. Unfortunately I had to go to work early and you looked cute sleeping, I didn't want to wake you. There are pain killers next to you, you must have a hell of a headache. Don't forget to eat, I made breakfast for you in the kitchen (with all I could manage to find, you should go grocery shopping more often). Text me or I might think you died in your sleep. Have a wonderful day y/n.

- Sukuna

PS I took a peek in one of your notebooks. I was right, your handwriting is really fucking bad.

Of course he had to be his usual smug self, y/n found herself laughing at the words scribbled on the paper that was obviously ripped out of one of her notebooks. His handwriting was as pretty as his drawings, so aesthetically pleasing. He had even taken time to doodle coffee cups, and some trees at the bottom of the page.

The events from the previous night were starting to flood back to her head head. She took the pain killers Sukuna left out for her, he was kind enough to place a glass of water on her nightstand too. Y/n couldn't believe Sukuna not only stayed over, but he also put in so much effort for her, he certainly didn't look like the type to do so.

Walking in her kitchen, what she witnessed, exceeded all her expectations. When she read breakfast she thought he made her a sandwich, which she would've been extremely grateful for. Sukuna had gone all out, from pancakes, to French toast, an omelet and even her coffee served. She just stood there looking at her table, mouth almost hanging.

Her phone buzzed in the pocket of her sweat pants.

You should've told me you were going out with Yuuji's hot brother. I would've never guessed that's your type.

Mai seemed to be in a mood to tease her.

You're right I should've told you, your turn, where did you and Yuuji run off to last night?

Y/n laughed knowing it was going to take a while to get a response. She sat down looking at all the choices she had, wondering what to pick. It's safe to say everything was as delicious as Sukuna.

I'm impressed. You draw, you cook AND you didn't burn down my house, I'm very thankful for that (breakfast was delicious too).

Sukuna, stared down at his phone, all the stress he had two nights ago long forgotten. Only thing that remained was to get y/n right back in his chair.

Happy to hear you're alive and kicking and you enjoy my cooking. I've got to go through, some dickbag wants me to do a cover-up. I'll talk to you later.

He dealt with this client in an unusually polite manner. Y/n had brighten his morning from the moment he woke up next to her.

Bonus Domain shenanigans: "Yuuji was right, I had to push him" Geto said to an agitated Gojo, who wanted to get under Sukuna's skin for a little longer. "Then hopefully he will bring her over, that would for sure be fun, he's going to get so worked up if we give her any attention." Gojo was rubbing his hands together at the thought. "I don't think that's a good idea. I'm not that worried about what Sukuna will do to you, we've both seen y/n, she doesn't even take his shit, I think she'd hit you." Nanami pointed out ."Well I haven't yet seen her, Yuuji said she was nice to him." Megumi joined the conversation remembering his friend talking about the girl, he had zoned out for half of it though. "I haven't seen her either, I did hear her though, she doesn't sound like she would let you pull something like that to him" Geto spoke again. "Nah she looked friendly, we can for sure make him foam at the mouth" Gojo plotted. "I can guarantee, she will rip of your head of if you try your shit." Sukuna was sure of it too.

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