#i never agreed to this system it's just a weird cultural quirk that makes my life slightly worse but otherwise isn't important to me
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gideonisms · 2 years ago
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I can't read the aj book reviews on goodreads though because I feel like people collectively did not get that the gender thing was A) in service to her other themes not the entire point of the book B) not a girlboss everyone's a woman now thing either
#maybe the idea started like oh what if i just used she pronouns for everyone but the writing is more nuanced than that#it's the empire taking over different cultures it's not like universally a good thing#it's what many of the characters grew up with so it doesn't occur to them that they could be a different gender#it's not a universally bad thing either it's not like the book goes 'oh the empire is wrong not to have two specific genders'#it's just like. in the same way this empire enforces gender and restricts bodily autonomy through constant surveillance#your empire does the same to you. it's just like asking you to question things#but some characters have no problem with their given pronouns. it's all socially constructed that's the point#breq was probably the first time i was really envious of someone's gender though#there's no like. status significance to her pronouns in her culture. she doesn't wear different styles based on it#then you see her having to translate herself to other people's expectations when she's outside of the empire#and she's constantly botching it even after 20 years#never related to someone's experience with gender more#it's like i don't really do that. lol. but you're welcome to interpret me however. it is simply none of my business#i'll be whatever is most convenient when i'm trying to rent a place to stay. assigned woman at rental application#i never agreed to this system it's just a weird cultural quirk that makes my life slightly worse but otherwise isn't important to me
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abluvicn · 5 years ago
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Hi, I was wondering if you have any tips for being self taught (You're like, extremely brilliant, by the way)
hi, thank you so much, that’s so sweet!!<3 here you are:
a guide to be self-taught for all the knowledge lovers out there
1. Listen to yourself. Don’t judge your thoughts and their form. Most people are MUCH more intelligent and creative than they think they are. They just don’t notice it as they don’t pay attention to their thoughts, don’t value them the way they should.
Buy a notebook. Note every thought that has any meaning, however weird, bad or unsignificant it may seem. Don’t make it a diary, a diary is filtered. It gives you an objective, makes you try to shape your ideas a certain way. Screw the dates, calligraphy, aesthetic, screw making any sense. The whole point is to contain an unchanged stream of consciousness, to keep it unedited, so you wouldn’t lose anything. I call it A documentation of existence - you neither have to agree with what you write, nor believe it’s yours, simply acknowledge it exists.
You have no idea how many times I made a stupid note at 4am that everyone else would ignore but that later on got transformed into a whole project.
2. Sleep well and USE THAT TIME. I’m surprised how few people understand and appreciate the power of sleep. Come on, it’s literally the door to your unconsciousness, the amount of opportunities it gives is astonishing!
I used to not get it. When I was a kid I hated sleep so much, I would refuse to go to bed sometimes as I thought of it as a waste of time. In primary school I wanted to reduce my sleep time so much, I started to highly experiment on it and even followed the Uberman Schedule for some time. Now I know sleep is actually a powerful instrument that can help you increase your potential.
Learn about it, research LD, OOBE (be careful with it though) and most importantly sleep programming. They can all be extremely beneficial! Statistically we’re asleep for 1/3 of our lives so don’t waste that time.
3. Mnemotechnics. Find out what way of remembering information works best for your brain and use it. I especially recommend The Mind Palace Technique. You may’ve seen it on Sherlock and thought it’s pure fiction but I assure you it’s very much real and it’s the most effective mnemotechnic I’ve ever used. Seriously, I’m surprised how much I remember thanks to it.
If you use it right, it’s actually so efficient you may remember those things for years, if not forever - so don’t put useless and stupid stuff there. I once did it and I regret it SO much, it’s been years and this idiotic picture has just engraved in my brain... anyway, MNEMOTECHNICS!
4. Read. Read things you don’t agree with. Read things you hate. Read everything that makes you feel something. Same way with movies, plays, music, etc. Consume as much culture as you can, surround yourself with it. Let your knowledge grow, your viewpoint change, allow yourself to be influenced by the world.
5. Use drugs wisely. And yes, caffeine, theine, nicotine and alcohol do count. They have a massive influence on your brain, please don’t let them destroy it. Be especially careful with cannabis, it lowers your IQ significantly, even used only a handful of times.
6. Acknowledge that you will lose motivation and know what to do about it. It’s perfectly normal! Please never beat yourself up for it, it will only make everything worse. It’s important that you find your own way to deal with it, but if you want to know mine: I just romanticize the hell out of everything. Learning is so much easier and more enjoyable when you do it on your own terms and do it with passion.
Working on a maths assignment an hour before the deadline, irritated you have to do so, trembling in fear that you won’t make it on time? terrible, horrendous, worst experience ever.
BUT
Sitting under a tree, birds singing in the background, while you’re doing mathematical equations, thus using a beautiful way of allowing yourself to explore the universe you’re so fascinated by? - marvelous, astonishing, groundbreaking.
Seriously, just love what you do. Love everything.
7. Learn what you WANT to learn about, not only what you have to. Look for the quirks.
Usually the reason why people hate a subject is that the only way they look at it is through the eyes of the education system. Come on, ancient history is boring? Sappho had a fake husband whose name was literally Dick Allcock from Men Island. Most schools teach to stay inside the box and consume only what is useful or necessary, stripping you off any passion. Screw them. Useless facts are amazing.
8. Sudoku and chess. They increase your IQ, improve memory, creativity, problem-solving, reading skills, concentration... even fuel dendrite growth! Great excercises for planning and foreseeing. Also, they’re kinda cool, 10/10.
9. A HEALTHY DIET, REPEAT IT AFTER ME.
10. Never be scared of making mistakes or sounding stupid. Ask for help. It’s crucial, especially when you’re learning a new language. You’ll never speak it if you’re scared of twisting pronunciation or making a grammatical error. Something done not perfectly is still so much better than not done at all.
bonus: Don’t trust Duolingo. I just had to say it.
That’s it, hope this helps! If anyone has any more questions, feel free to ask.
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fourangers · 4 years ago
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Fate and Choices (ch.06)
Summary: When Naruto discovered who was going to be his soulmate, he jumped straight at this opportunity, looking forward to spending the rest of his life with his better half. Sasuke well…he was less eager in this regard though. NaruSasu. Soulmates tattoos. M-rated.
Chapter 05
AO3 link | ffnet link
--.--
Sasuke was checking the monthly chart about follower growth alongside the monthly expenses to boost their social media account when his brother called.
“Good morning otouto-kun. How are you doing so far by yourself, you need any help?”
“Morning. So far nothing of the tragic nature. Thanks for asking anyways.” He tilted his head to one side to steady his smartphone in between his ear and his left shoulder, while he used both hands to type on his laptop. “By the way, you met your soulmate already?”
“I did! He was waiting for me at the airport. A very fascinating individual, knowledgeable and has a keen sense of everything since he traveled across the globe, learned all different kinds of culture and society. I had a wondrous time talking with him.”
“That’s great.” Sasuke muttered.
“Also, he shares some long-distance ancestry with us! Apparently, his great-great grandmother is an Uchiha that detected that her soulmate lived in the Netherlands and migrated here. The only clue he has some Japanese genes might be the fact that he has more of an almond shaped eyes, but his hair is curly unlike ours.”
“Huh, really? Interesting.”
“We’re going to do a city tour in Amsterdam. I mentioned that I like seeing anything related to art and history, so he already programmed an entire schedule visiting Van Gogh’s museum and other great places.”
“I see that he’s not wasting one second in trying to get into your pants huh. Give me his number so I can tell him that if he ever dares to make any wrong move I’ll tear him into pieces.” Sasuke scowled, frown in his face as his fingers pressed on the buttons loudly.
He heard Itachi’s amused chuckle. “Otouto-kun, don’t worry about it. He really appears to be a kind man and I believe I’m a good judge of character. I’ll keep you and mom posted about all this, because I know you two will be nagging me no matter what.”
“Hn.” 
Even despite his current reservations, it was refreshing and odd listening to Itachi’s upbeat voice. He was glad that his older brother was acting his own age for once, since he was forced to be more mature in his teenage years to defend his own mother and protect Sasuke. So it was nice hearing Itachi’s honest excitement, proper from a young man such as him, which was the main reason Sasuke curbed most sarcastic and critical remarks, not wanting to put a damper on Itachi’s mood.
“Talking about soulmates, how did you fare with yours, by the way?”
Sasuke almost bit his own tongue, coughing dryly.
“That bad?” Itachi questioned, apprehensive.
“No, actually…” Sasuke cleared his throat. “We’re going to try and go on some dates.”
“…”
Sasuke could almost feel Itachi’s smiling on the other side of the phone. “Nii-san, your sudden silence is somehow more infuriating than your usual smartass quips.” �� 
“So you say. Anyways, I have to go for now. Call me if you have any questions Sasuke.”
⏤.⏤ 
Sasuke yawned, adjusting his laptop settings so it’d pair with the TV screen. Neji and his crew would be arriving soon to adjust the overall schedule and other general alignments. Nodding to himself, he went to the bathroom (those meetings tend to drag for hours), only to see Suigetsu adjusting his hair style, straightening his clothes.
“Suigetsu, what are you doing?” Sasuke deadpanned, raising an eyebrow as his friend continued to turn in all angles, trying to get the best look in front of the mirror.
“Well, Uzumaki is coming here today right? I’m sure that you already dumped him at this point of the story so he’s free for grabs! I’m definitely going to try asking him out.” 
Sasuke opened his mouth to elucidate the whole situation but they heard the receptionist’s voice so Suigetsu was first to go towards the entrance, Sasuke trailing behind. He saw Suigetsu affably shaking hands with everyone, before changing his tune when he saw Naruto. He was definitely feeling up the blond’s biceps while they greeted each other.
Sasuke frowned, stepping in with a grunt. “Naruto, Neji, everyone. It’s nice to see you all again.”
Naruto was positioned so his back was facing him, instantly turning around with an exclaim. "Oh hey, Sasuke!"
Sighing, Sasuke controlled the urge to blush witnessing how Naruto's eyes brightened up, grin widening as their gazes locked together. That dumbass looked exactly like an overexcited puppy. Neji even patted the blond head twice, before shaking Sasuke's hand. “Nice to see you again. I hope our meeting wasn’t too much of a trouble for you.”
Sasuke nodded, stepping aside to let them in as they settled in the meeting room.
“So, first things first, I’d like to present Takahashi Ayumi-san. She’s going to be Shinrei’s account manager from now on.” Neji explained, as the aforementioned woman bowed respectfully, giving Sasuke her business card.
“Is that any reason for such a change?” Sasuke exchanged their cards, bowing back at her while he glanced towards Naruto. The blond man on the other hand, didn’t look troubled nor guilty, settling some of his own fears aside.
“Naruto is our main social media manager and we’re getting new cases for him to take care of, so I thought that it’d be better for him to focus solely on his tasks.” Neji said.
“I’ll still go with you to meet any possible sponsor, or give reports to your current ones. But anything related to your social media accounts will go through Ayumi-san from now on, to organize our workflow better.” Naruto filled in the rest of the speech, also opening his laptop. “So we’re also here to make the transition go smoothly, and she’ll be up to date with the overall demands and so on. You don’t have any problem about that, right Sasuke?”
Sasuke shrugged, as everyone concentrated on discussing the rest of the procedure, covering all details. Once they finished the meeting and Neji’s team departed, Sasuke returned to his office, seeing Suigetsu’s roguish smile.
“Hey, I managed to get Uzumaki’s number. Well, obviously he still thinks it’s work related but…I’ll turn things around. I gotta tell you, I had a glimpse of a bright future when I saw him bending down to pick some paper, that’s a nice juicy butt that I haven’t seen in a while. Man, I just want to get in between that round asscheeks and thrust.”
Sasuke had enough. “Naruto and I are dating.”
Blinking, Suigetsu slackened his jaw then uttered out. “What?”
“Naruto. And I. Are dating.” Sasuke spelled out with gritted teeth.
“Again, what? He’s your soulmate, isn’t he?” Suigetsu saw how Sasuke clenched his mouth, frown in place. “I don’t get it, after all the time when you kept complaining about how the soulmate system sucks and you’ll never get together with your soulmate because it’s a waste of time and so on and so forth you’re dating him? Am I missing something?”
"It's a long story, let's just say we talked, and I'm going to try, see if it's going to work."
Suigetsu stared in awe, before snorting at last. "I knew you wouldn't last long. I mean, when you have a soulmate like that, you'd want to call first dibs. I would do that too if I were you."
"We're just dating, not having sex like some kind of horny animals." Sasuke muttered, glowering back.
"Right, as if part of the whole dating business doesn't have people fucking like horny animals." He quirked a haughty smirk, wagging his eyebrows. “Aw fuck, I was getting really turn up in asking him out! Maybe we should both try getting him on dates, and then make him choose between one of us⏤”
“Suigetsu.” 
“Right right, jeez.” Suigetsu raised his hands in mock surrender. “You don’t have to get so defensive. I won’t make any moves, whatever.”
Sasuke snorted, noticing the message ping showing Naruto asking him to go to the lobby once again. 
“So, you hungry?” Naruto beamed, while he was busy typing on his smartphone. “I asked Neji to stay for a while longer so we can go out for lunch.”
“Lunch sounds like a good idea.”
“Great! You’ll lead the way, but please don’t choose any expensive restaurant because I’m on a budget ok. Don’t pick anything weird that will make me taste shark semen or some weird shit like that.”
Sasuke smirked. “Actually, I’ve heard that in China it’s a good aphrodisiac so⏤”
“Yeah, see, that’s what I meant.” Naruto poked his arm repeatedly. “I just want to eat some Ramen for all I care.”
He ended up choosing a traditional Japanese restaurant, specialized in Teishoku (set meal). While they were waiting for the food to arrive, his curiosity got better of him so he questioned. “So, why did you and Neji ended up giving the task of managing Shinrei to Takahashi-san?”
“Hm, well…it’s something that I thought over this weekend. Now that we’re dating, that means it’s gonna be more difficult setting work and dating apart right? I don’t want to end up discussing with you over something work-related while we’re on a date, or flirt with you while we’re talking about work. Plus, I might get frustrated about having to solve some issues about Shinrei and then out of nowhere you might send something personal on LINE. It’s those things here and there that makes me afraid that it might hinder our relationship and I don’t want this to happen to us. So I talked with Neji, he suggested this solution and Ayumi-san was on board to help me out.” Naruto explained, while he adjusted the napkin in his lap. “You don’t mind that, right?”
“Not at all, I actually agree with your idea. Never expected that a usuratonkachi like you would be so thoughtful.”
Naruto rolled his eyes, then broadened a playful grin. "You know what does that mean too, right? That I'm free to send you dick pics, all to my heart's content."
"That also mean I'm free to block you once again if you step out of line."
“Aw, you wouldn’t do that, would you? Not after you accepted going on the Best Date Ever in History!”
“You’re pretty confident with your dating skills.” Sasuke shook his head in amusement. “I trust you already came up with a detailed itinerary then?”
“Maybe, but I’m gonna keep this as a surprise.” 
Sasuke stared nonchalantly towards Naruto’s cheshire smile, snorting softly. Their food soon arrived, they enjoyed the fragrant dishes in between chuckles and teasing remarks. It was hardly a chore getting in tune with Naruto, lowering his barriers. It’s been so long he felt so relaxed around someone aside from his mother and older brother.
While they were going back to Sasuke’s office, Naruto read a message, raising an eyebrow.
“Huh. You know your employee Hozuki-san? He scheduled a meeting this wednesday but he just cancelled now, telling me that he fixed whatever issue he wanted to talk about, but when I asked, he just said that it’s nothing big. That’s weird, you know anything about it?”
Sasuke smirked, but schooled his expression to a neutral one. “Yes, but don’t worry about it, usuratonkachi. I assure you that Suigetsu wasn’t asking for anything important that really needed you help.”
“Hm…” Naruto wrinkled his nose, tilting his head to one side. “You seem to know him pretty well, he’s been working in your company for a while?”
“Actually, I’ve known him since college, I decided to ask him to work with me when Nii-san and I founded our company.”
“That’s cool, how did you guys meet?”
“We used to have a lot of classes in common, and then we formed our group of friends.” Sasuke muttered, recalling his memories. “Crazy friend, but at least helped me hook up with some guys.”
Naruto stopped walking at once. 
Sasuke also halted his steps, turning around with a quirked eyebrow. 
The blond man strode menacingly, glowering. “You did what? After what happened between us?!”
Seeing the indignant expression on his face, Sasuke instantly understood that he stepped on a landmine. He began a well-rehearsed speech. “Well, technically, at that time we weren’t in a relationship and also we were just young hormonal teenagers, so officially, there’s nothing that really binds us together so…”
“What the fuck Sasuke, what did you want?” Naruto snapped back. “Some official document, registered in the government with our signatures, stamps and even some blood pact for some special effect? We didn��t have any extra-official but I thought that, well, since we were in this together…”
“If there’s any consolation the number of hook-ups is under one single digit, so can we drop this.” Sasuke snarled, tensing his shoulders.
Naruto stared back incredulously, before giving out a sardonic scoff and crossed his arms. His eyes glanced up and down towards Sasuke, growling.
“Oh, so that’s how you justify yourself by cheating on me.”
“Again, back when we were teenagers, we’ve done nothing but fooling around together.” Sasuke emphasized, annoyed. “I honestly thought that you have done the same, considering that we lost contact while in college.”
“Sure, okay, cool, thanks a lot for pointing that I’m a fucking idiot for wasting my chances while I was waiting for you like a fool.” Naruto’s voice was bitter and angry, taking Sasuke off guard from this uncharacteristic behavior. “I should have followed after the first vagina or dick available while I was in college. Hey, maybe I should do this right now, to pick up since I’m behind.”
Whatever tight control Sasuke was attempting to reign in, snapped apart as he glared towards Naruto’s rebellious face. He knotted his shirt into his fists, Naruto mirrored this movement, wrinkling the expensive fabric. He growled. “I thought we were in agreement that we're dating now. A suggestion, might I add, that you gave it to me."
"Well, that was before I discovered that you probably slept with half of the campus or where else more. So sorry if I'm not taking this piece of news all too well." Naruto said with gritted teeth.
Sasuke huffed. "I already told you, it was only under one single dig⏤"
"Who the fuck cares, one, one thousand⏤! You cheated, that's what happened!" Naruto pushed Sasuke away, throwing his hands to the air. "You know what, fuck this shit, I'm outta here!" He turned around, already stomping away from him and yelled. "Have a nice fucking day, asshole!"
Sasuke clenched his jaw, his body tensing to pursue Naruto but he dug his heels down. He better wait till Naruto would cool his head. Who’d have thought that such pleasant lunch would end up this badly?
⏤.⏤
Naruto was ignoring him.
At first, Sasuke let it slide, waiting till Naruto would bounce back and forget about what had happened. However, days had passed and after few tentative messages were sent, receiving nothing from Naruto’s end. 
On the other hand, this situation just made him mount considerable respect over Naruto. Only one week had passed and Sasuke was resisting the urge to barge in Naruto’s apartment to stop this silent treatment he’s suffering. And Naruto waited for seven years?? Sasuke resigned himself not to pressure Naruto after everything he had done in the past. 
For such an easygoing man, that dumbass could surely hold some grudge.
Sasuke couldn’t bring himself to pester Naruto, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t gatter intel from other sources.
“So…how’s Naruto lately?”
Neji stared unsurprised while Sasuke drank his beer, glancing sideways. “He’s acting all the same, cheerful, energetic and everything. Why are you asking me if you can contact him anyways?”
Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows. “He didn’t tell you what happened a few weeks ago?”
Neji hummed, smiling. “You know that Naruto opens himself just to you. I mean, maybe Gaara and Shikamaru occasionally, but yes. Mostly you.” Then, he sighed, pouring more beer to his cup. “Though after years working with him, I could see that beneath all that smiles, he’s angry over something. And after you asked how he was, just gave me the easiest confirmation about my suspicions.”
 “Hn.”
“I know I’m going to regret asking this…what happened?”
Rubbing his temples, Sasuke paused in contemplation before confessing. “I told him that I had some past flings back in college.”
For the record, Neji used a total of five seconds to show an incredulous expression before he mumbled. “For someone who used to be the genius back in school and have a master degree, you can be pretty stupid sometimes.”
Sasuke glared. 
“Why did you do that?” Neji asked.
“We were just chatting, I said it without really considering much. I honestly thought he wouldn’t make a big case over it.” Sasuke huffed. “And well, I thought that since we haven’t seen each other for over seven years, Naruto would have his own flings too.”
“Yes, that’s the stupid part I’m talking about. You can’t expect that everyone would do the same journey as you did.”
“I know, which is why I’m patiently waiting to amend the mistake I did. I even sent him messages, writing that I’m sorry and all the bullshit you’re expecting me to do.” 
Neji didn’t really trust Sasuke’s input. He snatched the smartphone out of Sasuke’s hand, scrolling down while he mentally shook his head. “Right. I’m only reading ‘Naruto’ ‘I can explain’ ‘stop sulking and talk to me’ ‘Naruto, it’s been five days you dumbass’ ah…I’m not finding any ‘Sorry for everything’ here. Perhaps you wrote ‘Let me grovel on your feet if it makes you happy’? Ah nope, nothing of this sort.”
Sasuke did not appreciate Neji’s sarcasm, grabbing his phone back. “It’s been more than a week and he still hasn't answered any of my messages.”
“Well…have you considered calling him?”
 ⏤.⏤ 
Usually Naruto was too lazy to answer phone calls, since most of the time it’s telemarketing or scammers trying to get his credit card. Suffice to say, he was flabbergasted seeing Sasuke’s contact buzzing on screen. 
Sighing, he stared at his smartphone, hot anger burning on his gut. He willed it down, grumbling. “What.”
“…” Sasuke bit his lower lip, mumbling. “I see you’re still angry over what we talked about a week ago.”
Naruto closed his eyes, dropping himself on the sofa as he responded. “No, not really. I was actually kind of waiting you’d talk to me.”
“Well.” 
“Yeah?”
Sasuke chugged some more beer down his throat, clearing his throat. “I don’t know what exactly I should say to make us return to the way it was. I can’t change it, it’s all part of the past.”
Naruto groaned, messing his head. “I know, I get it. It’s just⏤now I can’t get the idea that you got involved with other guys in my head. Were they one time thing? I mean…did you do it to satisfy some curiosity about how different it’d be having sex with someone who is not your soulmate? Or did you do it because you wanted a relationship with someone else? Or were you bored⏤”
“Naruto, I’m not answering any of these. It’ll only make you angrier.” Sasuke said in a quieter tone.
“That’s not fair.”     
“It is, because it’s about my life, and my life only. I’ll reveal if I want to, but you got no involvement in it.”
“How so? But before you disappeared out of nowhere, we were⏤”
“We’re just two teenage boys who had nothing definite aside from two matching tattoos. We’re going on circles, this is going nowhere.”
Naruto stomped angrily, standing up. “That’s your fucking problem, you know. You used a loophole, used the fact that we didn’t cement anything before you just disappeared out of my life. You were always such a manipulative asshole, sometimes I⏤AAAARGH! I just want to reach your fucking neck and shake you. Really hard.”
Sasuke listened to the furious inhales and exhales, and mumbled. “I will…leave you alone if you prefer⏤ ”
“Yeah, I prefer it.” Naruto paced around the room, scratching his head. “We definitely went on different paths because we had different points of view. I still believed in the soulmate system, so the wildest thing I did in college is trying to steal some statues on campus. You got disappointed with this system, so there was nothing stopping you going after some other guys.”
“Still…” Sasuke clutched his smartphone tighter. “I admit that I hurt you. And I’m sorry about that. Like I’ve said, there’s nothing that I can change about the past, aside that I promise I won’t do it again. And if there’s anything I can do to make you feel better…just ask.” 
“…HMMMMmmmmMMmmmmmm.”
Sasuke knew Naruto enough to understand that particular tone. “Anything that is not outrageous or sexual in nature, get your mind out of the gutter dumbass.”
“Not even you wearing a sailor fuku?” Naruto practically singsonged, his mind also picturing Sasuke with stilettos. 
“I’m glad that even with all the current resentment you have on me, you still have enough imagination to come up with the most ludicrous ideas.” Sasuke teased back.
“Yeah yeah. Sasuke…” Naruto raised his eyes to stare at the ceiling, his body relaxing. “I’m still not giving up with the whole date thing, ok.” 
Sasuke released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “I’m glad.” 
To tell the truth, even despite some reservations and fears, Sasuke was looking forward to starting this relationship with Naruto, only to have it temporarily halted. But he’s willing to take the backseat until things would calm down if necessary.
Taken aback from Sasuke’s honesty, Naruto scratched his head. “So, you willing to wait some a little bit more? I guess I just gotta organize this new information in my head.”
“Sure.”
⏤.⏤ 
On the next day, Sasuke received a message from Naruto.
You free tonight?
Bewildered, since he originally considered that Naruto wanted more days to restart their date, he answered nevertheless.
Yes.
Ok, great. I’ll be waiting for you in the lobby from your office. I’ll be there in half an hour.
Sure.
Oh. Naruto stopped typing before sending this message. And bring your business cards. Tons of it.
Sasuke’s confusion further escalated, but he obeyed nevertheless. Naruto was waiting him with crossed arms, tapping his right foot.
“Hey.” He analyzed him, looking up and down before shrugging. “Alright, you look fine enough. But use this jacket instead.” He threw it in Sasuke's direction and he caught it with ease. 
Black eyes studied the smooth fabric, clean cuts and the tag showing that it's a renowned brand, which all points to the fact that this tuxedo jacket was pretty expensive. “Where are we going?”
“Hm?” Naruto mumbled, his gaze fixed on his smartphone.
“Where are we going?” Sasuke repeated the question. Naruto never cared for appearances whenever they went out, thoroughly ignoring all the malicious glares and whispers focused on his gaudy orange jumpsuit and loud voice. But this time he was wearing formal attire (that looked pretty good on him, actually), also ensuring Sasuke would be decent looking. 
“Yeah, I’m comparing if we’re going to be faster using uber or going to the subway. There are some points of heavy traffic, but nothing too drastic. I don’t want to ruin our clothes too since now the subway is definitely crowded so…yeah. Using uber. He’s arriving in three minutes.”
“Okay.” Sasuke waited while Naruto was still focused on the phone, muttering. “You still didn’t answer my question.”
Naruto gave him a lopsided grin. “I was hoping you wouldn’t notice that.”
“So. Do you intend to give me any explanation?”
“Nope.” Naruto intervened before Sasuke could further inquire. “Because I’m still angry about you.”
Then why did this dumbass go through all this effort to go out with him…Sasuke’s head was full of question marks but he expressed with a baffled glare. But that only caused Naruto to laugh in amusement, patting him on the shoulder while they entered the car.
On the course of the trip, Naruto continued to use his smartphone, not striking any kind of conversation. And as much as Sasuke valued quietness, seeing the usual blabbermouth behaving in such uncharacteristic way was unsettling to say the least. 
“…Do you intend to talk to me any time or are you going to keep on this silent treatment till the end of this date?”
Naruto snorted, rolling his eyes. “I’m still considering it. Why?”
“If you’re going to act like that, I’d rather if we cancel everything then. I’d rather be alone than submit to whatever ill-intent you have stored for me.”
“Oooooh you’re making me sound like a villain, I like it.” Naruto grinned from Sasuke’s roll of eyes. “Don’t worry about it okay. It’s gonna be a surprise, trust me.”
“…hn.”
Sasuke vaguely recognized the tall buildings and elegant architecture, noticing that the car stopped in front of a high-end hotel. Naruto stepped outside, moving his head to signalize him to do the same, as the blond man was reading some instructions on his smartphone, following the sign arrows.
They arrived in what appears to be some kind of party, he could hear a constant buzzing even behind the huge mahogany doors. There were several security bodyguards, as well as a reception desk at the entrance, so Naruto approached while they questioned his name.
“Uzumaki Naruto.”
They bowed politely, confirming his name on the list and asked. “And the gentleman behind you?”
“He’s with me. His name is Uchiha Sasuke.” 
They opened the doors, and his vision was suddenly inundated with bright lights, women wearing glittering dresses or kimonos, all men wearing formal attire. Waiters moved around smoothly carrying all kinds of tasty dishes, beverages and champagne. There was a classic ambient music echoing in the opulent room, and when he focused his eyes at the center stage, everything became clear when he read the huge banner:
Uzumaki Tsunade-sama for Tokyo’s mayor
He deadpanned back to Naruto. “Your aunt’s party? Really?”
Naruto scratched the back of his head. “I couldn’t say no, she’d kill me and you know that!”
“Fine, then why am I here too?”
“Well, even considering the current situation between us, I have to admit that you’re still pretty entertaining so I won’t get bored while we’re in this thing.” 
“Glad to be at service.” Sasuke replied sardonically.
They heard a familiar shout. 
“Naruto!” A blond woman came rushing towards them, widening a smile. “I’m glad you arrived. Well, here he is everyone, the mastermind behind my social media campaign!”
Naruto and Sasuke were swarmed by a group of men from all ages, gazes sharp and shrewd.
“You said that Naruto-kun is your nephew right? It’s my pleasure to meet such a talented young man.” One older man approached, offering his hand. Of all the people in that circle, he appeared to be the most astute.
“Thank you, but I’ve done nothing out of ordinary.” Naruto replied, shaking hands.
“What, really? That’s my nephew alright, so humble.” Tsunade squeezed his shoulder, beaming. “You know that due to your social media strategies I could get in close contact with the younger demographic.”
“Yes, and it’s thanks to her that she’s the frontrunner in this year’s election! The first female mayor in Tokyo. We’re looking forward to seeing you ruling this city.”
“Let’s not count the eggs before they hatch, the election will only happen in the next two months.” Tsunade warned. “Also, we don’t know who might be listening to this conversation.”
“True, but it’s still very impressive.” He responded, giving a significant glance towards the blond man. “Is Naruto-kun available to help other parliaments to win some elections?”
Naruto huffed silently, though only Sasuke could pick that subtle movement. “Sorry, I work only in the private sector. Helping my aunt is due to the fact I know her political history, so I know that I’m aiding someone I trust with my life.”
“Yes, too bad right, Honda-san.” There was an indignant twitch on Tsunade’s eye, as she focused on a newer topic. “Oh, I see you brought Uchiha-kun.”
Naruto threw his arm around Sasuke’s, grinning. “Yeah, a nice date with my soulmate.” 
Sasuke quirked an eyebrow in response, but it garnered enough interest in the group.
“Oh? Your soulmate? Congratulations, I gave up trying to find mine years ago. But well, now that I’m on my 2nd divorce, I always wonder how wonderful it’d be if I got married to my soulmate.” 
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged significant glances so Sasuke stepped in. “Actually, our Uchiha clan is renowned for finding anyone’s soulmate over the centuries, and now we developed a technology to match the soulmates all over the world faster.”
“He found me using these powers, as many others, it’s an ancient knowledge only their clan possesses.” Naruto further explained, though he could see his aunt narrowing her eyes. 
“That’s really interesting. I would like to talk more about this. Here, my card.” They exchanged business cards as other people in their circle flocked around them, collecting Sasuke’s cards.
“Well…Naruto, let’s get some food for you while we get our conversation up to speed, right.” Tsunade made a face of ‘you better obey me or else’, so with a shudder, Naruto obeyed his aunt.
They walked to a more secluded place, so Naruto was first to protest. “You didn’t ask me to go to this party just so you can throw me more politicians to be his social media manager right?”
“Of course not, you really think I want to share my golden egg with everyone else?” Tsunade snorted, crossing her arms. “That Honda-san, I knew he was keeping an eye on you, I wouldn’t imagine that he’d have such audacity in asking right in front of my face, that old geezer…Anyways.” She smoothed out her glower, looking concerned towards her nephew. “Brat. I thought you were still angry over some things your soulmate had done back in college.”
Naruto glanced down, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I still am but…this party will be good for his company.”
Tsunade stared, then unceremoniously whacked the upside of his head.
“Ow! What the hell, old hag?” Naruto yowled, his hands nursing the painful spot.
“You deserved this. You really need to stop being too generous.” She harrumphed, placing her hands on her hips.
Blue eyes blinked, pointing out a bit baffled. “Um, usually people see this as a positive thing.”
“Not so positive when people use this to their advantage.” Tsunade sighed, smoothing the sides of his shoulders and squeezed them thoughtfully. “Be careful okay?”
Naruto gazed back, wordlessly nodding. Some of Tsunade’s staffers called her, so she walked away while the blond man went back to find Sasuke. He was talking with a new group of people, spotting him from afar as he whispered once Naruto positioned himself next to him. “That took a while. I thought I was supposed to entertain you, not random strangers.”
“Sorry about that, my aunt wanted to talk about some things.” Naruto shook hands with everyone in vicinity, scurrying them aside as everyone went on their own way. “Did you manage to get a lot of new contacts?”
“Yes, and even some possible businessmen that might buy some of Shinrei’s stock.” Sasuke replied, smiling in such a contented way that caused Naruto to beam in return. “Thanks for giving me this opportunity.”
“No problem, glad I could help you out.”
“It’s roughly 8 o’clock right now, I’m sure you’re dying to eat some dinner⏤” On this cue, Naruto’s stomach decided to growl. Loudly. Sasuke rolled his eyes. “There are dinner tables settled in front of the stage, I suspect they’ll call us to sit there once the food is ready.”
“Yeah, thank all gods. I’m so hungry I could eat a whole cow. But it’s probably one of the fancy shmancy restaurant, they’ll probably give me some food the size of my pinkie telling me that it’s some reinvention of Japanese cuisine.”
“Sounds like something right up my alley. You’re the one who likes to eat junk food like Ramen.” Sasuke smirked.
“Ramen is comfort food and one of the main staple of Japanese food, how dare you diss them!” Naruto grumbled, when the waiters asked them to go their respective tables, redirecting to their seats. Considering his close parentage with Tsunade, they placed him right in front of the main stage, sitting in the same table with what they could recognize that those people were very influential and powerful politicians. 
One of Tsunade’s secretary whispered something on Naruto’s ear, so he excused himself, bowing politely. In a few more minutes the room went dark and strong flashlights focused on Tsunade, who stood behind a podium.
“Hello everyone, thank you for participating in this beautiful event. I’m honored sharing this special moment with all my friends, allies, comrades. People who share this common goal with me and will bring everyone to victory. Others at some point have its fate intertwined with mine and now will help me to reach such success.” Tsunade’s voice was calm and commanding, bewitching all in vicinity. “Fate commands in many different twists and turns in our lives, making us grieve, laugh and learn. I’d like to believe that my fate has given me many obstacles to strengthen myself and grow. My late husband was the one who was interested in politics, and once he was murdered due to skirmishes with Yakuza, I inherited his will. My dearest little sister unfortunately passed away from a terrible disease but blessed me to take care of this bright young man, Naruto.” 
She turned around, arm raised as Naruto approached her, bowing to the audience as he stood next to her.
“My nephew helped me in this campaign and I’m happy to say that we have currently 65% intention for votes⏤” Tsunade read on her iPad. “And I’m the leader to win Tokyo’s election that will be held in the next two months. Thank you everyone! Here’s a reminder to everyone who is and was challenged by fate, those who are still struggling and may we bring them to a brighter future!”
She raised her glass as everyone mirrored her, chanting together.
“Uzumaki-sama for mayor!”
⏤.⏤
“Maaaannnn. No matter how many times I was forced to go to these kinds of parties, it’s awkward as fuck just keep on standing there next to my aunt, and having to put that fake smile whenever she made me talk with other politicians.” Naruto groaned, while they were walking to the subway station.
“Hm, really? You behaved pretty well considering that you're usually a spazz, usuratonkachi.” 
“One of my aunt’s secretary, Shizune-neechan gave me most tips. It was the most attention I could get since my aunt was, you know.” Naruto shrugged awkwardly. “Getting all busy being our town’s mayor and climbing in the political scheme. I mean, she raised me the best she could, but I guess it wasn’t enough.”
“I see, this is also the reason you were so fascinated being a pain in the ass and nagging me wherever I go back when we were kids.” Sasuke snorted when Naruto gave a squawk of indignation.
The blond man reconsidered and responded. “Maybe, I guess. We were the only kids with no friends back in school so I wanted to show you that I was there.”
“I suppose it worked. There wasn’t a day where I wasn’t forced to participate in your ludicrous plans of mischief.”
“It was entertaining!”
“You certainly entertained me better at the end of high school.” 
Naruto snorted. “Yeah. Good ol’ times.”
“Is reminiscing those memories good enough for you to dismiss the current anger you have on me?”
Their steps diminished to a quiet halt, Naruto turned around to gaze at his childhood friend. Under the soft glow of street light, Sasuke looked austere, solemn though his eyes shadowed some bashfulness and guilt. 
Naruto exhaled tired, muttering. “I’m still…⏤not as much as before but maybe there is some bitterness lingering. Sasuke, now I get why I couldn’t forgive you right off the bat. It’s not because you slept with other guys…”
A black eyebrow was raised and he chuckled, waving his hand in negative.
“No, it’s not what you’re thinking, I didn’t like that you got involved with other men, but it’s not the main reason. Sasuke, you didn’t give me any satisfaction when you went to college, you didn’t call me or message me something like ��we’re over’ or ‘I want some time for myself so let’s be free to pursue other things’, so I was stuck in limbo. And, even regarding how much you don’t believe in the soulmate system, I thought that…considering that we know each other forever, you’d at least inform me.”
“I know. I regret not doing this, hurting you in the process. However, I cannot change the past, all I can promise is that I will correct my mistakes.” Sasuke promised.
Naruto nodded. “Another thing, is that what you said to me about the flaws of the soulmate system really made me change my point of view. I could tell that the fact I was angry is solely my own feelings, but another part wanted to forgive you. I wanted to analyze if this part is because you’re my soulmate or it’s also part of my own self.”
“And your conclusion would be?”
Naruto chortled, shrugging. “50/50, maybe. Sometimes leaning more to my own emotions. But I wasn’t sure. That’s why I took more than a week to talk to you.”
“And when am I going to get back to your good graces?” Sasuke wondered, and they restarted walking.
“I think I tortured you enough after tonight. I’ll be back planning the Best Date ever in History.”
Sasuke sighed in relief, a comfortable silence falling between them while they walked in the deserted street. He was guiding Naruto to the subway station, but took a detour to a darker corner that he knew no onlooker would bother them there. He stopped, staring towards the blond man.
“What?” Naruto muttered, a little unnerved from the piercing eyes.
“I’m impressed that you still hadn’t used your usual old trick of poking me on the shoulder and surprising me with a kiss.”
“I said that I’m not going to torture after tonight, but the day hasn’t turned yet. So I’m still in the angry mode.” Naruto grinned. “It’s a punishment for not being a good boy in the latest days.”
Snorting, Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Good boy? I wore this jacket you threw at me, I behaved well as your date in that party, I was exceptionally so good, that I’m sure I deserve a gold star.”
“Yeah, but I’m still smarting with the whole you cheating on me thing, that you got a demotion from childhood sweethearts to first daters. And while I was sure you were gonna get back to my good graces eventually ‘cuz I don’t hold grudges forever Sasuke, I needed some gradual steps till we’ll get to that much needed direction.”
“Fine. At least it’s over after tonight.” Sasuke concurred, smirking. “Do I at least deserve one kiss on this first date?”
Naruto peered back with increasing suspicion, then consented, giving a short kiss on his cheek.
Sasuke scoffed in derision. “Hm, I’m sure that even kids in middle school gave more significant kisses to their crushes than you just did right now.”
“Whaaa⏤wait a minute you bastar⏤” Naruto’s incoming diatribe was interrupted with Sasuke’s lips against his own, hands snaking around to grip his torso.
Naruto took a second in shock before melting in his arms, breathing out a happy sigh as he pushed forward, deepening the kiss. Surrounded by familiar senses and new ones, he explored the hard edges of Naruto’s body, scrawny arms now filling with muscular ones, though his mouth remained soft and pliant, always inviting to taste some more. When Naruto laced his hands behind his neck, tongue tracing over his lips, sliding in and wrapping with his own, Sasuke couldn’t contain the shiver in excitement, moaning. 
After countless minutes kissing, lost in their own world, they retreated for a bit, Sasuke’s taste persisted in his mouth, making him lick his lips. Moist mouth softly caressed his own, whispering.
“See? This is how you were supposed to kiss me on our first date.”
Naruto’s cheeks flamed red, but he managed to roll his eyes, disentangling himself from Sasuke. “Whatever. See you later bastard.”
He turned around ready to walk his way before a hand held his arm and spun him back to Sasuke, receiving another peck on his lips. The light touch was innocent but when Sasuke released him, his stomach fluttered when he witnessed the heated gaze and the playful smirk. 
“See you later dumbass.” Sasuke waved him, walking back to the brighter street. “I’ll be taking a bus, the subway station is on your left.”
Naruto grumbled with himself, cursing about stupid sexy assholes and the habit of making everything a competition.
He smiled all the way back to his home.
Chapter 07
⏤.⏤.⏤.⏤.⏤.⏤.⏤.⏤ 
AN: I’m sure that you guys are wondering “So Itachi’s soulmate is…” Yeah, he’s Shisui. I didn’t want to make his name a mystery, I just didn’t find a space in the dialogue for Itachi to tell Sasuke his name.
Onto good news. The story is shaping a little bit better, so my estimate is that it’ll take roughly 10 to 12 chapters long. I have all the sub-plots and main plot ready in my head, I just have to organize to sound more concise… 
I guess what’s interesting in this story is about two people who know the other one so well but has to relearn to fall in love with his other half.
The most difficult part was writing the kiss. Not the act itself but it’s just that Naruto and Sasuke are officially japanese in this era, that means that Japanese people are usually way more reserved in PDA. Sasuke, on the other hand, doesn’t care about public opinion, which was why I was more ok with him initiating, and he also waited till the street was deserted and dark and went to a corner. I researched a little and in recent years Japanese are more ok with light PDA, but generally kissing (and long deep kissing) is frowned upon. 
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dearlazerbunny · 6 years ago
Text
Happy Halloween
Pairings: Kylo x Reader
Genre/Ratings: Vampire!Kylo AU
Words: 2200
Summary: Happy Halloween, here’s a vampire fic requested by anon! Anon, I hope I did it justice, but if not let me know what you’d like added and I will do my best : )
“You know, that’s not what vampires look like.”
“Hold on.” You hold a finger up to the friend you’re talking to and glance behind you, where an incredibly tall, incredibly cute guy is staring at you with such an intensity you’re almost uncomfortable. “Were you talking to me?”
“Yes.” You can barely see the speaker in the dim lighting, as he’s wearing all black and has a head of dark curly hair that’s just begging you to run your fingers through it. No costume that you can identify, even though the party invitation specifically said costumes required. Might be a bit of an ass, then. Shame, really. He really is cute. “That’s not what vampires look like.”
You glance down at your costume, consisting of a historically-cut white shirt and dark velvet cape fluttering behind you in the night air. You paled your makeup a bit, smudged your eyes to high heaven, and topped it off with a perfect blood red lip, complete with a few dribbles down the corners of your mouth. “I suppose I did take a few liberties with it,” you say, gesturing to your tight black leather leggings and laced up high heels. “But I was going for the sexy factor.” You pause, wondering if you’re going to go too far with this next comment. “Why, do you think it worked?”
A small grin slides its way up the side of his lips. “Perhaps.”
“Then my work here is done.” With a flourish of your cape, you give a small bow. “Besides, who knows what a vampire actually looks like? They could dress like Japanese Lolitas for all we know.”
He raises a fantastically sculpted eyebrow. “Bloodsucking monsters in pastel and lace?”
You shrug good-naturedly. “Sure, why not? Fight the system. And who are you to call them monsters?”
“You don’t agree?”
“They’re just misunderstood, the poor bastards. Not their fault the lot they got in life.”
“Interesting.” The grin has returned, this time in full force. “I don’t believe I got your name….?”
“Y/N.” You hold out a hand for him to shake and he does so. When you pull your hand back you rub it casually against the velvet of your cape, trying to dispel the cold his skin leaves behind. “And you are..?”
“Kylo.” He inclines his head in an incredibly old fashioned way, which is amusing enough to put a smile on your face and forgive him for the rudeness. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.” He wanders off through the crowd of revelers, seemingly cutting through the throng with ease.
“Well he was hot.” Your friend whistles impressively once the stranger- Kylo- has gotten far enough away. “And a bit odd.” There’s something about him- you can’t quite put your finger on it. But you’re definitely intrigued.
And hey, any guy who recognizes the mastery with which you wear this leather deserves another look in your book.
You wander over to the snacks, where a bubbling bowl of punch emits a dry ice haze and Halloween-themed treats are aid out for your perusal. You pick up a witch-finger pretzel stick and munch on it thoughtfully while you wait for the host to finish up his conversation. Once he turns back to stirring the punch, you casually make your way over and try to make your voice as blasé as possible. “Yo, Armitage. Got a question for you.”
He turns to you, his red hair glinting in what little moonlight is shining through the windows. “Shoot.”
“What’s the deal with Kylo?”
He raises an eyebrow. “Kylo? Did he actually talk to someone long enough to tell them his name?”
“Bit of an enigma, then?”
He snorts. “More like a brooding asshole. He’s a good guy, but he can come off a bit…”
“Rude?” You grin. “He seemed very offended by my costume, for some reason.”
“Ah.” Armitage appraises your outfit. “Well, he would be, now, wouldn’t he?”
“Not following you.”
“He’s a vampire.”
Your eyes widen. “You’re fucking with me.”
“Swear to god.”
Vampires are incredibly rare, and not much is known about them other than they exist and what you can glean from the old stories about Dracula and whatnot. You’re immediately intrigued- all you’ve ever heard of them is in a friend of a friend of a friend’s story, and even those are few and far between. “So he’s pissed because I’m basically appropriating his culture.”
Armitage laughs. “Something like that. But I’m surprised he even talked to you. Usually he just shows up, broods in the corner, and leaves.”
“Does that mean I should be worried?”
You meant it as a joke, but he tilts his head, like he’s actually considering. “I doubt it. You’re not really his type.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
He shrugs. “Take it as you will.”
“Well you’re no help.”
“Hey man, you want to tango with a vampire, be my guest.”
You roll your eyes. “No one is doing anything, I was just curious.”
“Well, now you know.” He raises his glass in a mini toast. “Happy Halloween, meet a vampire.”
You laugh as he wanders away. Happy Halloween indeed.
The walk home is short, but the booze from the party and the chill in the air makes you stumble along the sidewalk on the way. Shivering, you quicken your pace, only to lose your balance and tumble onto the concrete below. “Mother-!” You sit up and try to brush yourself off, only to find your palms scraped and bloodied. “Fantastic.” Using the brick wall beside you to help yourself up, you try to continue home, only to trip and fall again, your ankle giving out beneath you.
“Well, fuck.” You dig through your purse, trying to find your phone so you can call your roommate to come rescue you, when a figure appears before you, casting a shadow over the sidewalk. “Need some help?”
You look up from unlacing your heels. “Kylo! Fancy meeting you here.”
“Indeed.” He tilts his head slightly. “Are you hurt?”
“I think I twisted my ankle,” you admit soberly, rubbing it with your fingers. “Damn heels. Knew I shouldn’t have worn them.”
“Ah, but they completed the outfit.”
“I thought you didn’t like my outfit.”
“Perhaps I liked it for other reasons.”
You quirk an eyebrow. “Are you… are you flirting with me? Usually I’m good at knowing but the whole stone-cold demeanor thing is throwing me off.”
He grins. “I just thought a little friendly banter might cull the awkwardness of me offering to carry you home.”
“You-” you laugh. “You aren’t serious.”
“Well, I’d offer to walk you home, but you can’t seem to walk…”
You sigh. “Okay. Fair.” You hold out your arms like a little kid, throwing caution to the wind. “Just don’t drop me.”
“Up we go.” To your surprise- or maybe not considering how tall he is- he lifts you easily, clearly strong enough to handle you. You’d be lying if you said that wasn’t a turn on. Better to think about that than the fact that you’re now cradled in an almost stranger’s arms being princess-carried to your apartment. Who is also apparently a vampire. You glance surreptitiously at your bloody palms. “Thinking about something?”
His voice interrupts your thoughts. “Oh, nothing. Just party gossip.” The street lamps pass by in a haze as he continues along the street, his footsteps echoing off the buildings.
“I see. And what might that be?”
“Um-” do you give up your wild card, or keep it close to your chest? “Just that Armitage should really throw another one next year. It was great.”
“Hm.” He doesn’t seem convinced, but the two of you continue along in silence for a while.
“It’s just up here.” You point to a brick building a little ways off the street and he heads for it while you dig your keys out of your purse. “Just… set me down here, I guess…” you lean against the doorframe while jiggling the key into the lock, eventually getting it to pop.
The two of you stand there in the doorway for a few seconds, unsure of what comes next. “Do you… want to come in?”
“I’d feel better knowing that you were taken care of.”
“You hardly know me.”
“Well enough to not want to see you in pain.”
Hm. The booze isn’t exactly keeping your head on straight. You’re not usually the one to let a semi-strange guy into your apartment willy-nillly, but on the other hand, you can hardly walk, so…
“Come on in. Just don’t… be weird or anything.”
He chuckles amusedly as you hobble into the living room and plant yourself on the couch, wincing in pain. “Be weird? How so?”
“I’ve got bloody palms, don’t go all vampire-y on my ass.”
He freezes in the kitchen, and you clap a hand over your mouth. Oh god. You said that out loud, didn’t you?
“Who told you?”
“Would you believe me if I said I guessed?”
“No.”
You sigh. “Armitage. Now promise me you won’t go murder him in the middle of the night.”
He sighs, and his nostrils flare. “Of course. Never should have told him.”
“Hey man, it’s okay. I mean, it’s cool. I’m like, an equal opportunity employer. No judgement here.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Really. You’re not freaked out.”
“I mean, kinda? A little?” You’re babbling, form the pain or the alcohol you don’t know. “But my first impression was that you were really hot, and the first impression is the one that tends to stick, so…”
“Hm.” He glides over and settles himself on the coffee table, looking at you intently. “I might’ve had similar thoughts.”
“Ha. I knew those pants were magic.”
“Magic doesn’t exist.”
“You expect me to believe vampires exist but magic doesn’t?”
He shrugs. “I don’t write the laws of nature.”
You let your head sink back onto the pillows behind you and close your eyes. “So, what do the laws of nature say about… say, hookups?”
Your eyes don’t have to be open to know he’s staring at you with that mesmerizing gaze. “Be a little more specific.”
“Say, if a human wanted to make out with a a vampire, that doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll wake up the next morning devoid of her blood.”
“Want to find out?”
Your eyes pop open. “Desperately.”
In one fluid movement, he’s on top of you, straddling your hips like he was made to do it. “I was hoping you might say that.”
Immediately, you reach up to pull his lips down to yours, and when they connect a whimper escapes your throat. It’s so good. So, so good. He alternates between gentle pecks and long, deep kisses that leave you breathless and seeing stars. Running your tongue along his bottom lip, you slide it into his mouth, which he effortlessly replies to. Suddenly, a sharp nick makes you withdrawal, putting a hand up to your mouth. “I- hold on, something-” you pull your fingers away to find a bit of blood dotting the tip of it. You must have cut your lip on… something?
“I think I cut my lip,” you say a bit obviously, and you can visibly see his pupils dilate when he sees the bright red blood on your fingertips.
“That was probably me.” He grins, and in vivid detail you can suddenly see what looks to be extremely sharp fangs. “Sorry. Hazards of… well. Me.”
“That’s- that’s okay.” You’re a bit stunned. It’s not like you didn’t believe the whole vampire bit, but seeing it was another thing.
He tilts his head. “Scared?”
You lift your chin defiantly. “No.”
“Good.” He attacks your lips again, this time with both hands on the side of your face. A moan rumbles from his throat and he pulls away to murmur “holy fuck you taste good.”
Humming, you push your bottom lip into his mouth so he can suck on the place where it’s cut. That sends him into a tailspin, and he immediately starts grabbing at the hem of your shirt, clearly wanting it off. You comply, and his soon follows, both getting tangled up together as they hit the floor.
So, you don’t know if going for literally hours is a Kylo thing or a vampire thing or both but… yeah. Wow. You’re both tangled up on the couch, limbs everywhere, his head resting in the crook of your neck. Occasionally he puts small kisses on the tender skin, making you shiver. He mumbles something into your neck and you can’t quite make it out.
“Say again?”
“You smell so fucking good.” “Really?” You tilt your head upwards so he can burrow deeper into you and he does so the instant you move, one arm wrapped possessively around your waist.
“Yes.” He inhales, seemingly in heaven, and that really shouldn’t be as hot as it is.
“So, I’ve never been into the whole vampire thing… but I think you’re making me change my mind.”
You can feel his smile against your skin, with just a glint of steel from his incisors rubbing up against your neck. “Happy to be of service. It is that time of year, after all.”
You laugh, running a hand though his curly hair and pressing his kiss a little deeper into your skin. “Happy fucking Halloween to me.”
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jiminandlemonade-blog · 6 years ago
Text
I Can’t Fall In Love Without You - Part 3
I Can’t Fall In Love Without You
Jungkook series  
Part 3 of 5  
(A heart warming/tear jerker series)
Read the previous part here
You couldn't help but stutter your words over how gorgeous he looked. "Um, I'm Y/N" you gulped, collecting your last bits of paper that you threw on the floor. "What brings you here?" He asked in broken English. Your eyes were glued to his face and you didn't know what was wrong with you. It was as if his looks cast a spell on you.
"My Father got a job here so we moved from y/c.." You spluttered slightly. Chae-Young could see that you were getting rather nervous around him so came to your rescue.  
"Taehyung, stop flirting with her. I know she's beautiful and you are too but you don't need to hit on every beautiful girl you see" she joked. "What?" He gasped. "I'm only joking Taehyung" she laughed back, hitting him on the arm. It turned out that Taehyung and Chae-Young were best friends and had been since they were young. Taehyung was always caring, it sometimes appeared to come off as flirting, even if he wasn't.
At that moments, the maths teacher walked in and you sat down in your assigned seat before moving off into the section Chae-Young was in to fill in some information about yourself on the school's computer system.
"Is it really always like that?" You asked aloud once leaving the classroom. You were walking with Chae-Young, Taehyung and some other class mates and they all nodded in unison. "I wish school was like that at home" you laughed. Taehyung was quick to agree. "I attended a normal South Korean school but it was very strict and because of this, I really struggled and as you can tell, my English skills were lacking and their constant pushing and nagging, rather than supporting and teaching me hindered my progress.. That's why my parents sent me here" he explained.  
At the end of the day, you all exchanged numbers so that you had someone to talk to if you ever needed help. It was a nice gesture and you really appreciated it.  
Once you got home, you couldn't wait to crash on your bed. Even though it had been a relaxing day, sometimes being relaxed can make you more tired. Suddenly, your phone lit up.
Taehyung: I hope you had a great day today. If you ever need help with anything, please let me know
He seemed so sweet and you were so grateful to have met someone so kind but what you did notice was that you had a missed text message from Jungkook.
Jungkook: Don't go finding a Korean man to replace me! 😉
You sighed "never", even though you couldn't get your mind off of Kim Taehyung.  
Y/N: Don't be silly. I miss you.
The next few weeks were a blur. You were learning a whole new culture let alone another language and you were enjoying the company that you were keeping. You didn't feel great though that you could hardlies talk to Jungkook. He was busy himself leading his life and you had yours and then there was the added complication of time difference. Thankfully, you still both talked every day.
Walking into school, you didn't expect to see such a commotion. "Y/N, can you believe you've won most compatible?!" Chae-Young screamed as soon as she saw you. "What are you on about?" You laughed, walking over to where the commotion was. You looked on the board and there was your name until 'most compatible'. "But who?" You let out as your eyes scanned to your right. "Me" you heard a voice laugh from the background. "Taehyung!" You laughed, hitting his arm. "Why are we on here?" You giggled. Everyone around you thought you were both aimlessly flirting but it wasn't, you were just really good friends. "I thought the same thing, you're not weirded out are you?" He asked. "Of course not!" You replied. "I've really got to tell Jung-" you stopped.
The only reason you stopped is that you didn't want people to know about Jungkook. They knew you had a best friend back home but they didn't know anything about him, you weren't even sure if they knew it was a boy unless you had dropped some personal pronouns that you weren't aware of. You didn't want them to know his name because you didn't want to be teased.  
You let out a gasp and started running down the hall. "Chae-Young, wait!" You shouted. "What is it?" She replied, taken aback by your loud voice. "Are you okay about this? About me and Taehyung being voted most compatible?" You said, looking worried. She looked just as worried back. "Ew, what do you mean?" She laughed. You always thought that Chae-Young loved Taehyung, especially because they were best friends from such a young age, because it was a similar scenario to you and Jungkook.  
"Really Y/N, if I was in love with him, he would know.. I'm not like you. I act on my feelings" she winked as she took her books from her locker and walked away. She knew everything about Jungkook, just not his name. She was the type of person that thought you should jump on a flight right now. You wanted to do that too, but it just wasn't that easy.  
"Here" Taehyung said behind you, turning you around and handing you a ticket. "What's this?" You replied. "It turns out, because we won most compatible, the school is treating us to a meal at the Italian restaurant next door" he laughed. You couldn't help but giggle, it sounded ridiculous. Yes, you loved him for who he was and especially his appearance but you didn't see him that way.
"So when are we going?" You laughed, taking him by surprise. "You want to go?" He asked, confused. "Sure, why not?" You asked back. He shook his head and you agreed that the coming weekend would be a perfect time.  
You didn't want to tell Jungkook but you thought it would be funny.
Y/N: You told me you didn't want me falling for a Korean man but look! It looks as though other people want me too! Hahahaha *photo of the wall*
It took Jungkook around 4 hours to respond.  
Jungkook: Lol
Was that it? 'lol'. You realised you really shouldn’t have sent him it, or he was just too busy to even care.  
The weekend rolled around and you were quite excited to spend time with Taehyung alone. It had always been in a school setting with others so it made a change. He picked you up from home and drove you to the restaurant.  
"Through here" the waiter smiled at you, placing you in your own room. "Woah, the school pulled out all the stops didn't they" you laughed. Taehyung looked confused at your slang. "I mean the school put in a lot of effort" you rephrased. "Oh yeah, they did" he nodded in agreement.  
You were having general chit chat and it was lovely to get to know Taehyung on this level. He was even more caring and considerate than you thought and it made you think more about who he was as a person.  
"Here, let me take that from you" he called as your plate was put down. You hated garnish and as soon as the pizza was put down in front of you, your face squirmed. "How did you know I hate garnish?" You asked, laughing at how quick he was to whip some salad from your plate. "Y/N, I've been with you every day for the past month, you realise these.. Quirks"  
The conversation was flowing backwards and forwards and you didn't expect to get on with him as well as you did.  
"You know Y/N, I really would like to do this again sometime" he suggested. The words took you off guard. "You mean, like a date?" You gulped down your last remaining bite of pizza. "I mean, if you see it like that?" He asked. You weren't over Jungkook and you thought you never would be, but then again, he'd been so distant to you recently, you had no idea what was going on. Here was a man treating you really well so how could you say no?
"Sure, why not spend more time together" you smiled. You didn't insinuate it was going to be a date, but you didn't deny it either. After the good time you had had tonight, you didn't really know what you wanted.
You arrived home and after saying goodbye to Taehyung, you immediately reached for the house phone to call Jungkook. No answer. You decided to text him instead.
Y/N: You know how I was voted the most compatible with a boy at school? Well as a prize we had to go for a meal together. It was really nice. I hope to show you the restaurant some day
Once again, it took him a long time to reply.
Jungkook: Hopefully
Hopefully? Was that it? No mention of the practical date you had just been on, not being bothered that you were voted compatible with another man? You felt slightly miffed and offended.
Jungkook had never treat you this way and you didn't like it, it brought a weird side out of you. You knew it was only because you loved him but at the end of the day, Jungkook wasn't there, but Taehyung was.  
Y/N: When are we going to do that again then?
Taehyung: You really want too? Next week?
Y/N: Next week sounds good!  
That was more like it, an instant text back.  
At school, you both acted the same. Nothing was different, you were still both really good friends but there were some more flirting comments here and there.  
"Can you just go on another date already?" Chae-Young non-chalentely commented. "We are" Taehyung smiled. Chae-Young's eyes lit up. "WAIT WHAT, Y/N, COME HERE NOW, TELL ME EVERYTHING!" She squeeled, grabbing your arm and taking you into the bathroom.
"What about your best friend? What's going on?" She spoke rapidly. "Chae-Young, really, it's no big deal. He asked if I wanted to do it again and I said yes. Why not? I love my best friend as you know but it's not practical. He isn't here. He's seemed so distant and has been so distant lately. I don’t know what's going on. But what's wrong with getting to know him a bit more?" You asked. "Nothing" she winked back.
That weekend, you went on another 'date'. This time, it was to the same Italian but you ordered a different main, you weren't having the pizza nightmare again. "Can I tell you a secret?" Taehyung stated. "Of course!" You said, sounding concerned.
"I really shouldn't be telling you this but I really trust you. Can I trust you?" He asked. You nodded your head. He thought about it for a moment before nodding himself, as if he was agreeing with the dilemma he had going on in his mind. "Y/N, I'm a trainee" he quickly admitted.
"You're a what?" You asked. You knew exactly what a trainee was, you just couldn’t believe it. "A trainee. I'm debuting soon.." He trailed off.  
Everything started to make sense. "That's why you're at this school isn't it? You're so clever, I didn't believe it when you said that the previous school was so strict that it stopped you from learning." You admitted.  
"I'm at this school to improve my English and I did find it hard at my old school, so that was correct but I'm here more because the company is just around the corner." He replied.
"Wait, you're training with BigHit Entertainment?" You gasped, slightly too loud as Taehyung covered your mouth. He nodded in response. "Holy shit" you breathed. "How's everything going?" You asked. "Well. I'm really close to all of the members which is good. They're all being revealed one by one but I'm the secret member who will be unveiled at debut" he confessed.
"Taehyung, do you think you should be telling me this much?" You asked. He could trust you, but you didn't think it was right for him to tell you, especially because his entertainment company was just around the corner. Anybody could be in the building.
"I'm telling you this much because you're the only person I can trust" he stated. You were shocked. You couldn't believe that he didn't trust anyone else but it made you feel great and it made you get butterflies in your stomach.
At the end of the 'date', Taehyung took you home and asked if you both could make it a regular thing. If anything, it was more casual than dating but you both knew it could take a sudden turn. However, you still agreed.
For the next 4 weeks, these 'dates' went on and it was the same routine. Taehyung would pick you up, on the drive there you would talk about his preperations for debut was going, you would pull up to the restaurant and apply your lipstick again, you would order a new item from the menu at the Italian, talk about how expensive the deserts were, he would pay because he refused to let you, even though you insisted on paying for the drinks, you would both talk some more about the week and spend an extra hour talking about the meal was finished, he would drive you home, you would talk at your door for about 15 minutes slumped against the wall, then you would hug goodbye and go inside.  
You told Jungkook nothing. You both still spoke, but not about Korea.. Just life in general and things you spoke about back at home. You didn't want to mention about Taehyung, not at all.  
This 6th date.. It was slightly different. "Does it feel weird that we've done this 6 times now and we've never questioned it?" Taehyung abruptly asked as you got to your front door. "What do you mean?" You asked, confused. "We've been on 6.. what I would call, dates, yet we're doing nothing about this?.. Do you like me?" He asked straight up. Honestly, you didn't know.
"Taehyung, I'm getting to know you. I've only known you a little over 3 months" you smiled. "It's the same feeling with me" he cooed back. You couldn't help but smile, the last time you got butterflies like this was when you first saw him.
"We'll do this a bit more and then decide okay?" You smiled. He nodded and replied with "okay". You really were being honest with him. You didn't know what was happening but you knew you were waiting for the moment Jungkook would tell you he loved you, just one more time, so that you could let the urge to have someone in your life other than Jungkook go. Taehyung was tring to fill a void that only Jungkook could fill and you knew this. You felt awful.
You froze as you thought about this in your head but saw Taehyung's lips coming towards yours. It was only a peck, but in that instant you knew.. There was no connection there. No spark. It was Jungkook you needed. But the radiating beam coming from Taehyung's face after the kiss caused you to smile out of awkwardness, but he didn't pick that up. Without you confessing, he walked away smiling, telling you that he couldn’t wait for another date.
"Chae-Young, help me!" You bellowed down the phone. She couldn't help but laugh. "He kissed you didn't he?". "How did you know?! Did he plan this?!" You questioned, your voice raised. "I don't know, but it wasn't planned with me. I knew it would happen that's all. I knew he would kiss you and you would call me panicking because you knew you were in love with Jungkook right?" She laughed more. "He thinks I'm going to go on another date with him because I didn't tell him other- wait.. Jungkook? How do you know his name is Jungkook?" You questioned, suspicious. "Do you think I can't read? I've been around your house and you have his letters strewn across your bedroom floor where his name is signed off at the end. His contact in your phone is Jungkook-ah with a love heart after it. You've name dropped before. You even wrote his name on the back of your ha-" "Right just stop there" you cut her off.  
"Please tell me, what do I do?" You asked. "If I know anything about Taehyung, go out with him next week and then be honest with him" she suggested. You liked that idea. You'd rather do it in a nice and comfortable setting and routine than calling him or sending him a text.
The next week came around and you were nervous. Thankfully, school was over so you didn't have to see him that week and he had a lot of training at the company before other members arrived.
The 'date' happened the same way it always did but this time when you got to the door, he did something you weren't expecting. "You don't like me like that, do you Y/N?"
You felt like shit. You gulped before you said your brazen apology. "You're wonderful Taehyung, you truly are. You will be an amazing boyfriend for some girl but that girl isn't me" you spoke, not wanting to hurt his feelings. "I'm glad you're being honest with me Y/N" he smiled, giving you a hug. "I hope whoever the boy you're in love with knows it.. Or you're both missing out" he smirked. Wait.. What did he just say?  
"What do you mean?" You asked him. "Y/N, I've known from the first day I met you that you were completely besotted with someone else. Do you not realise that every time your phone buzzes and it's your 'best friend' that you smile like an idiot? Even if you say he's being distant, you light up. I hope to make someone feel like that one day. You're a wonderful girl Y/N and that's why I wanted to pursue this and make you happy, but I know there's a time when good things must come to an end, especially when you know it's not right anymore. Fight for him Y/N, if it's the last thing you do" he spoke, giving you one last hug before leaving your door way. "We're still friends though aren't we?" He laughed, kissing your forehead, something he knew you loved when you needed comfort. "Of course!" You beamed, running to him and bringing him in for a big hug. You're glad it ended this way
"Taehyung!" You shouted as he walked away. He turned around looking confused. "Thank you.. For everything" you smiled. He nodded as if to say you're welcome and couldn't help but be happy that you were finally happy for once. You really both the best friends who would never fall in love, however, you had one best friend that you were and always had been in love with.
You didn't want Taehyung out of your life, he truly was a great friend. However, something about him not being so involved in your life now made it so much easier to show your desire for Jungkook.  
*Jungkook's P.O.V*
"Taehyung, what are you doing here?" He asked. "Just saying goodbye to a friend" he smiled, shaking his hand. After a brief conversation, Taehyung continued down the stairs. Jungkook didn't notice where Taehyung had come from but he had a feeling. Taehyung realised he had no idea why Jungkook was there. "Hey wait.. Why are you here? You didn't need to be here for another week. Are you staying in these apartments before we move in?" Taehyung asked, his husky voice bellowing around the empty stair well. "No no, just saying hello to a friend... I'll call you tonight and explain" Jungkook responded continuing down the hall. He felt sick, he had a vague idea what was going on, especially because he saw Taehyung leaving from the direction of your apartment.
*Your P.O.V*
You closed the door and immediately heard muffled voices. You sat down at the kitchen island for a drink of orange juice but instantly there was a knock on the door. You opened it and the first thing you noticed were bags dropping to the floor.
"I thought you weren't going to fall in love without me?" Jungkook questioned, looking down at the floor where his bags had just dropped. Your heart was in your mouth. You couldn't find the words to speak let alone allow your mouth to form words. He was standing in front of you after 3 months of going insane without him. It felt wrong to run into his arms. You felt as though you needed to explain yourself, it was evident he saw another man coming to your apartment.  
"I haven't" you admitted. You admitted. "He left because I told him nothing would ever happen.. Me and Taehyung have been really close as friends and I think not having you around made me want something more.. But I didn't want it with him. I knew that. I felt like I was using him and couldn't do it anymore. In the end he wasn't you and he was never going to be". Again, you wanted to run into his arms, but something didn't feel right.
"Jungkook, why are you here?" You questioned, tears filling your eyes, not knowing what to make of the situation. Jungkook gulped and looked around your apartment from the door way, not maintaining eye contact with you. "You know how you saw me dancing and singing in my room?" He asked. You nodded. "Well there's a reason for that.." He trailed off.
You stared at him, waiting for an explanation. It seemed crazy to you that he was even mentioning it, you only asked him what he was doing here. "Y/N.. You're more aware of the South Korean culture now.. Basically.. Um, sorry I'm becoming a spluttering idiot" he stated, taking a deep breath in. "I've been a trainee for nearly 2 years now, sorry I couldn't tell you but I wasn't allowed. You don't know how many times I have wanted to tell you Y/N. When you said you were moving to Korea, I was honestly thrilled.. I knew you would be there with me but I was scared too.. What if you moved and I didn't debut, what if you would not forgive me for lying to you.. What if you had moved on without me.." He gasped as his words were getting faster.  
You couldn't help but smile. You knew this was something he had always wanted, always dreamt about and you didn't mind that he couldn't tell you. The tears were now rolling down your face and everything suddenly felt right again, there were no secrets.. Again, you wanted to run into his arms, everything felt right, so you did.
You wrapped your legs around his waist and nestled your head into his neck as he carried you. "I've missed you" you muffled into his neck, not wanting to let go. "I've missed you too" he announced back.
He pulled you off of him gently allowing you to stand again, even if your legs felt like jelly. There were no awkward silences, just silence. You felt at peace. That was until Jungkook broke it with a question you never thought you would hear in your life. "So, you're definitely not in love with another member of my group?" He asked. You looked at him rather confused. "Who?" You asked, shaking your head bewildered. He looked at you dead set in the eyes. "The man who just left your apartment, Kim Taehyung"
Part 4
MASTERLIST
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Text
Part One: Ableism
TW for: abuse, ableism
So. Some of you may have seen posts about me that were written by my ex-boyfriend/datemate, Ezri (tumblr user @regal-roman and @panpunksexual).
The first post (https://regal-roman.tumblr.com/post/170845546062/he-was-abusive-i-know-he-couldnt-help-that-he)
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[Transcript: He was abusive. I know he couldn’t help that he had mental illness, just like I can’t help that I do.
But his illness hurt other people. His illness hurt me all the time. But no matter how many times I asked, he would never get treatment so he wouldn’t hurt me anymore.
I am not ableist. I don’t believe that I’m better than him because I don’t have the illness he has. I wouldn’t mind him having his illness at all if he weren’t hurting other people.
If you are hurting other people because of your mental illness, it is your responsibility to get treatment so you no longer harm others. Victims should not have to accept abuse just because the perpetrators were mentally ill.]
To begin with, the “illness” they are talking about? Dissociative Identity Disorder [DID]. According to the DSM-5 [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fifth Edition] DID is diagnosed through five criteria. For efficiency’s sake we will only be focusing on the first criteria (criteria A) which is detailed as followed: “A. Disruption of identity characterized by two or more distinct personality states, which may be described in some cultures as an experience of possession. The disruption of marked discontinuity in sense of self and sense of agency, accompanied by related alterations in affect, behavior, consciousness, memory, perception, cognition, and/or sensory-motor functioning. These signs and symptoms may be observed by others or reported by the individual.” [Information taken from: http://traumadissociation.com/dissociativeidentitydisorder#dsm5, further reading can be done at: https://www.healthyplace.com/abuse/dissociative-identity-disorder/dissociative-identity-disorder-did-dsm-5-criteria/]
The line “distinct personality states” is of significance here. Alters (also known as headmates or system members) are separate from the core/original. They are different people occupying the same space. Yes, there are alters known as fragments or shards that are not “complete” personalities, however out of a system of eleven only two of our members are fragments (Anya, a trauma holder and Frank, a protector, neither of whom can front independently). The other nine members of our system are fully formed and act independently of each other. For the purpose of this explanation we will however, not discuss certain members of our system for various reasons, largely because they never directly interacted with Ezri. They are as follows: Nina (a four to six year old child alter), Lucien (a 600 year old vampire priest), Harley (a fictive of Harley Quinn) as well as our fragments Frank (a fictive of Frank Castle, the Punisher) and Anya (a fictive of Anya from the 100). The alters that are important to our narrative are: Lucille (protector), L337 (protector), Gl!!tch/Glitch (protector), Luna (protector/headspace manager), AJAX (protector-ish) and ting (core).
I began my three-month altercation with Ezri on October 18th, 2017. They had known that I had DID and at first their general attitude about it was positive, even before we had begun dating.
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[Transcript:
panpunksexual 09/27/2017 This is gonna sound dorky but the way I view you being a system is literally “well that means more friends”]
They continued to ask questions about it, claiming that they had a “pretty good understanding of it. The best I could get without being a system myself”
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[Transcript: 
panpunksexual 10/24/2017 Did you ever think people wouldn’t want to date you because you’re a system? 
newt on a newt 10/24/2017 yeppp 
panpunksexual 10/24/2017 When I was first learning about it, I never thought it was weird and I still don’t. I was really curious about it, but I didn’t want to ask a bunch of questions and seem like [I] had a creepy fascination with it 
newt on a newt 10/24/2017 questions r good dw 
panpunksexual 10/24/2017 I think I have a pretty good understanding of it now. The best I can get without being a system myself I’m a pretty optimistic person, so I view it as just having more friends, even though I’m only dating you and not any of the others]
To continue with their claims about me, we come across the line “…his illness hurt other people.” No example of “other people” are given (likely because none can be found). My DID has never hurt anyone directly. My alters (predominantly L337, Gl!!tch and AJAX) have been rude or cruel to Ezri, which they should be held accountable for (even though they were simply attempting to defend me or themselves) and AJAX had previously caused me (and only me) physical harm but he is the only alter that has caused physical harm to anyone. Ezri continues with “But no matter how many times I asked, he would never get treatment so he wouldn’t hurt me anymore.” This is simply untrue, although the ‘treatment’ I am in may not be what he wanted.
If we look at this article by Natasha Tracy “DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER (DID) TREATMENT” [found here: https://www.healthyplace.com/abuse/dissociative-identity-disorder/dissociative-identity-disorder-did-treatment-challenging/] a list of treatment options and goals are provided. Treatment options are:
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[Transcript: Dissociative Identity Disorder Treatment Types
Dissociative identity disorder is primarily treated with psychotherapy of various types. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the following are DID therapy types:
Psychotherapy – often thought of as “talk therapy.” This DID therapy encourages communication of conflicts and insight into problems.
Cognitive therapy – involves changing dysfunctional thought patterns.
Family therapy – helps to educate the family about the disorder, recognize its presence as well as work through issues that have developed in the family because of dissociative identity disorder.
Creative therapies such as art or music therapy – allows the patient to explore thoughts, feelings and memories in a safe and creative way.]
Treatment goals are as follows:
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[Transcript: Dissociative Identity Disorder Treatment Goals
There are many dissociative identity disorder treatment goals. The goals of DID treatment include ensuring the safety of the patient, symptom relief as well as:
“Reconnecting” all existing DID alters into one, well-functioning identity
Allowing the person to safely express and process painful memories
Developing new and healthy coping skills
Restoring functionality
Improving relationships]
We are in therapy and have been for the past two years, seeing a therapist weekly (Wednesday’s at 5:30) which has been beneficial to us and helped us with symptom relief, safety (AJAX no longer poses a threat to me), processing trauma, developing functionality and improving relationships. The only area that we do not, have not, and will not ‘work on’ is integration. Integration is the 'reconnection’ of alters and is not a healthy or tenable option for us and would cause us more harm than good at this point in our lives. Our therapist, a trained medical professional, agrees. Ezri, who is a teenager and not a trained medical professional, decided otherwise and considered it the only acceptable form of treatment and only valid form of treatment. Please note that the only reason they say I should get treatment (which I have been in for two years) is for their benefit, not mine, not anyone else’s. Just theirs.
The third paragraph states “I am not ableist. I don’t believe that I’m better than him because I don’t have the illness he has. I wouldn’t mind him having his illness at all if he weren’t hurting other people.” He begins saying that he is “not ableist” despite the numerous derogatory remarks he has made towards me and my system members about DID, frequently calling them less than human or not real, saying that he is “how things should be” and that we are not normal or less than human.
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(Please note, during this conversation Lucille is fronting.)
[Transcript:
newt on a newt 12/11/2017 DID is caused by childhood trauma that is so severe that a child’s brain cannot handle it, causing the mind to splinter and break, forming a completely separate personality. 
panpunksexual 12/11/2017 Yes I know that. But Tyler thinks that you are all real people when you’re not  You’re just in his head. It’s all in his head 
newt on a newt 12/11/2017 “It’s all in his head” much in the same way you are in your own head. 
panpunksexual 12/11/2017 Yeah, but I’m only one person. That’s how things should be. And I don’t like getting worried one of you will make me cut myself again 
[Tyler’s note: no-one encouraged/told/made him self-harm, they told him not to. This is guilt-tripping.] 
Or that one day Tyler will disappear and not come back 
Nobody thinks about how all this makes me feel]
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[Transcript:
panpunksexual 12/11/2017 If you’re not the original then you’re not real either]
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(Note, the alter fronting here is Gl!!tch/Glitch, who has several typing quirks which I will transcribe as an original version and as a readable version) 
[Transcript: 
newt on a newt 12/12/2017 s0 y0u sxx l337 as lxss than human? [so you see L337 as less than human?] 
panpunksexual 12/12/2017 Yeah]
Ezri clearly seems to view DID/being a system as something that is unnatural and wrong, something to be “fixed” even when it is important to my survival. Their actions and words indicate and are proof of their ableism, which they are not exempt from just because they aren’t neurotypical. Having BPD/BD does not mean he cannot be prejudiced against other people.
“I wouldn’t mind him having his illness at all if he wasn’t hurting other people.” As said before, my DID hurt no one but Ezri and even then it was only a few people acting in defense of me, more comparable to your best friends telling someone who is hurting you to go fuck themself that to being hurt by an illness. “Other people” were not being hurt as anyone who is close to me can attest. They are attempting to use unnamed and made-up “other people” to back up their ungrounded accusations.
I agree with their final paragraph, however 'treatment’ should not just be for other people. Mentally ill people deserve therapy and help for themselves, they deserve to get better and feel loved and accepted. And yes, victims do not have to accept abuse simply because the perpetrators are mentally ill which is why I am no longer excusing Ezri’s actions.
Therefore, we will be presenting all of our evidence against the false accusations that Ezri has made on their blog (shown at the top). This evidence will be separated across multiple posts, and a masterpost will be made.
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trcubledycuth · 7 years ago
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how i operate.
I feel bad for constantly spamming you guys with ooc posts, but every time I’m on tumblr and talking to someone else, I get reminded of the fact that we all have very different ideas of what writing on here is like and what it all means. Obviously there are a mass amount of writers who all have different quirks and ways about handling their blogs, replies, threads, and memes. So, here’s mine, because I feel like it’s a little different than most.
GENERAL OPERATIONS IN A CRYSTAL CLEAR FORMAT.
I don’t do drafts in the sense of “omfg, i have 80+ in my drafts!”, hell no. That for me is easily the biggest fun sucker. Maybe I’m an asshole, but if I read a response and there is nothing come to mind, nor any excitement to continue, it gets dropped. And because of horrendous experiences on tumblr where people get way too touchy and oversensitive, I alert no one. Though sometimes, it’s legitimately a case of oh, I didn’t see that! Which is highly plausible.  If it takes months for me to get a reply, chances are my interest is straight up gone. I’m not saying I don’t understand why it takes so long sometimes, whether it be not in the mood, not enough time, whatever else there is, I get it. But that’s not what I’m into. You have to make time for writing and if you don’t, you don’t. The people that get the most engagement and activity out of me, are typically the people that have plotted up elaborate verses that I’m living for.
They’re typically people that are threading with me on GoogleDocs and people I talk todaily. They’re also the people I know in terms of what they enjoy writing and therefore, I feel more comfortable dropping things on them. Whether it be a new, unannounced verse, a big plot drop, or ridiculous as fuck memes, I know (mostly, or at least generally) they’re DTF and living for the exact same things. Simply put, we’re on the same page. It isn’t to say I don’t want to write with new people, or start new verses, or just generally interact, it’s that I’ve got a comfort zone and I know said people are also in my zone. These people typically send me a million memes because sometimes, my brain just isn’t cooperating for replies because I like to make them perfect because I’m ocd as fuck and want to ensure that my partners are actually getting replies they’ll want to reply to and hopefully replies that move our threads further along and add to the overall story. If writing on GoogleDocs and all partners agree we want to post it on here, i’ll link to it in a ‘read only’ format for people that like to keep up with the story progression of things.
MEMES.
If I send you a million, it’s not because I’m a needy asshole that expects/hounds for a reply (especially not instantly, so please never apologize for it being ‘late’). It’s because sometimes you get a meme and it does nothing for you. So I send a lot in hopes something will stick, but also so you’ll have something to write if you’re in the mood or feeling bored. I’m a very chilled person and I feel like because I write a lot it gives the impression that I’m not a chill person and I just never want that to seem like a thing? As it is, this inbox sits at 80+ memes and asks right now, yet I delete absolutely nothing because you never know when the mood strikes, and if you knew the amount of memes I answered from months ago, it’d probably help the whole situation. If I don’t get to your meme, trust me, it’s not because I don’t want to, it’s because nothing has hit me yet and I’d like to wait until I’ve got something awesome brewing before unleashing whatever on you. Feel free to send as many as you want, because the more options I have, the more likely it is you’re going to get something. And that’s not an ‘oh please send me memes!!!’ beg, that’s literally me being straight up as to why it seems as if some people are ‘heavily favored’ versus others.
THREADS.
It’s absolutely not necessary, but I’ve come to realize I’m far faster with threads on GoogleDocs than I am on here. Formatting is easier, it’s not a hassle thanks to Tumblr’s buggy as fuck activity page, and I just generally can look at my DocHome and see what needs responded to. I don’t have to struggle to find something, nor do I have to struggle with accidentally losing posts because my ass pressed off the page or my computer crashed. And yes, I’m aware I can write in a program to ensure that doesn’t happen, but formatting still is a complete and utter bitch. I also don’t have to spend ten minutes combing through and picking, nor creating an icon.
WRITING.
Try as I may, there are some writing styles on tumblr that I can’t seem to swallow. I want to write with everyone, but realistically I can’t. I’ve also got this thing where I turn into Ditto and slowly adapt writing styles if I see it enough (and it’s not near my own), which Idespise, therefore I’m very selective on who I follow/write with. Chances are if I’m following you, you’re in the clear but there are a ton of quality people I don’t follow thatdo follow me and I don’t want people thinking it’s because they’re ‘not worthy’ because tumblr culture is weird as fuck. It’s impossible to ignore the fact I also write a lot. This isn’t going to change. I’ll certainly try to write less by request but it doesn’t come naturally to me, therefore one liners aren’t within the realm of possibility for me, nor do I follow accounts that only do one liners because it clogs my dash and so on.
PLOTTING.
This is such an important thing for me. I lowkey like to leave no rock unturned, and as much as I’d like to ~wing it, or just write and see what happens; that seldom works for me,especially if I’m not familiar with your fandom or characters. Plotting for me isn’t ‘omg they can meet in the three broomsticks and we can see what happens!’. It’s a great scenario, but my interest is 0%. Surface level interactions are great but I’ve been writing for a long time, so what would have me pumped back then (just to be writing her), does nothing for me now because I’ve been far too spoiled and have too many incredible things going on. That’s not to say what we could do isn’t incredible, it’s just the sole fact that I need more. Or plotting, or constant snowballing of plots. It’s just how I work. I know that’s too much for some, and if that’s the case, please unfollow! I know I’m not for everyone.
STARTERS.
I’ve come to realize I flounder with these. Like, I struggle hard. I know there’s about ten+ people I owe starters to and I want to write with you guys, but I’ve legit just been unable to produce something that I don’t classify as total and utter garbage fire. Therefore if you’re one of these people that have been waiting, please know it’s not you. If you want to throw something up for us? By all means. Wanna send a meme? Go for it. Want me to send memes? Tell a sister. Just know it’s literally not because I’m a raging asshole, but … More often than not it’s also because it’s in a fandom I know I’m going to fuck stuff up for because while I may love it, that doesn’t mean I remember all the details, and whatnot. In short, I suck, you don’t.
DRAFTS.
I’ve made a page where you can see what is currently in my drafts. Sometimes I really don’t see responses have been made, other times I drop threads. The things on my draft page are things I have full intent to reply to, though to seem like a total hypocrite of my first point, it’s taken me a while. Please know the intent is still there.
IMS.
I never mean to leave anyone on read, but I have hardcore adhd. Tumblr’s IM system isn’t really the greatest for that and I lose track far too easily. I also get a lot of messages and I never want to discourage anyone that wishes to talk, but I do need to throw a disclaimer out there because I’m not very good at keeping up and often go days without checking them because they stress me out. It’s not you, it’s literally me, but they turn into an avalanche and I often avoid them. I’m also really awkward because if I sense you’re not into the convo, or we’re trying to plot and I’m not getting anything in return, I zip out and die, so it’s literally? IMS are a battlefield.
REMINDER. 
This is a sideblog, I can’t follow anyone and don’t need to be following you in order to interact with you. If I do follow you it comes from @thebrightestwltch or @wrathcfdragons. This was also copy/pasted from Hermione’s account so please excuse the hp theme.
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arcticfoxbear · 7 years ago
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 Pretentious
“Seriously though, are you a technovibe?” Pele asked leaning forward over the bowl of popcorn perched on top of her crossed legs. There were a few other people in the Garrison community room but the two cadets were alone on the couch.
“Not a technovibe,” Lance said evasively.
“Like Hunk then?” She asked, tossing her green hair over her shoulder. “Can you sense chemical clouds?”
“No, not that either,” Lance said. “It’s my turn anyway. Do you make plants grow faster?”
“Nope,” Pele said with a laugh. “Everyone guesses that first. I’m impressed it took you four times. Oh, oh, oh!” She leaned forward and stabbed a finger at him. “You are really friendly. Can you read people emotions?”
“No way!” Lance said grimacing. “I really feel bad for folks with that ability.”
“Yeah,” Pele agreed. “It can’t be nice to see into other people’s heads.”
“So do you camouflage?” Lance asked.
“Nope.” Pele shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth. “Are you a low oxy?”
“Baby,” Lance gave her his most charming smile. “You might take my breath away but I still need all my oxygen.”
Pele snorted and rolled her eyes. “Do you have enhanced senses like Senior Cadet Shriogane?” The door opened to the room and Hunk strolled in carrying a stack of paper under one arm.
“No, these eyes are one-hundred percent au natural.” Lance replied.
“Lance, field trip forms,” Hunk said holding out the paper to his friend.
Lance groaned and held out his hand. “Come on Hunk don’t make me do this. Making us spend two whole days with those U.A. twits is cruel and unusual punishment.” He gave Hunk his best puppy dog eyes. “And I didn’t even do anything to deserve this.”  
“None of us did,” Pele said glumly. “But one, we need time in space, and two we do need to learn to work with the people who might be saving our lives some day. I mean Thirteen is pretty much the backbone of the space rescue system. I have a stack to do myself. Want to finish our game later?”
“What game?” Hunk asked.
“Guessing each other quirks,” Lance said. “I’m winning.”
“You are not!” Pele said with a laugh. She stood and handed the bowl to Hunk but her face suddenly lit with an idea. “Oh! Are you quirkless?”
Lance fought back a wince. It wasn’t like he was ashamed personally. Mama had made sure of that, but there was no getting around that cultural stigma, and getting a negative reaction from a pretty girl was never fun. Still he knew it would come up when he started the game. “My charm and mad piloting skill is allthe quirk I need babe!” He said.
Pele groaned and smacked her head. “I should have guessed that first.” She said. “The Garrison stats do skew towards quirkless.”
“Are you quirkless?” Lance asked surprised. She clearly didn’t seem to think it was a problem so he didn’t need to worry about hurting her feelings.
“No.” Pele smiled at him. “I got a nice boring, harmless quirk that won’t cause an explosion in zero G, use up all the oxygen, or make a standardized space suit unviable for wearing.” Her smile turned into a mischievous grin. “But you still have to guess it.”  
“You bet I will!” Lance called out as she left. His face turned from smirk to thoughtful as the door closed behind her though. “Hey Hunk,” he began, as his friend settled beside him on the couch and began flipping though the papers, “was she right? Are there a lot of quirkless at the Garrison?”
“Yeah,” Hunk said absently, “about half of our class I think.”
“Weird,” Lance said dropping down to poke at his stack in annoyance. “Isn’t the general population like ninety percent quirked?”
“Eighty,” Hunk corrected him. “Who are you using for your emergency contact?”
“Mom,” Lance said. “She wants me to contact her first in case Dad tries to keep anything frightening from her to keep her from worrying.”
“Makes sense.” Hunk said. “Are you going for the extra life insurance?”
Lance rolled his eyes and began stabbing at the paper absently with a pen. “Seriously I can’t believe our first training trip to a real space station and we are being baby-sat by a bunch of overpowered, hero wannabes.”
“Give the devils their due,” Hunk said. “Those U.A. students are good, and they need to train for their jobs too.”
“But they are such pretentious…”Lance stumbled for a proper word. “Pretentious student, people!”
“Have you ever met someone from U.A.?” Hunk asked.
“Well, no,” Lance admitted, “but everyone knows how they are.”
“Just sign the paper Lance,” Hunk said with a sigh. “It is only two days and they won’t be there next time.”
“Oh I’ll sign,” Lance muttered. “But I warn you,” he glared over the paper at Hunk. “Pretentious!”
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shehzada-ali-archived · 8 years ago
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(( ✈ ON THE ROAD AGAIN~))
((LORD THIS TOOK A WHILE BUT I’M FINALLY HAPPY W/IT))
It was amazing given the sheer number of airports they had departed and arrived upon with nearly the same frequency of New Yorkers taking the subway to their daily routine, that the little things never failed to annoyed him to close to the point of no return.
Missing bags were one thing—he could implode later on after the flight when they had disembarked from the metal tube flying at 12'000 feet in the air and he could do his best impression of Les Grossman from Tropic Thunder without attracting the attention of security, but this time, his patience was being tested even before they approached the departure gates.
“He’s with me.”Ariya stated gruffly as he picked up his hand luggage from the scanners and watched as one of the TAS officers produced two handheld metal detectors; he didn’t even have to turn around to know who among the line of weary travellers behind him had been singled out.
“At ease sir, it’s just a random check—”
“Bullshit.” He could see a few of the agents flinching at his choice of word and heard the scandalised gasps from behind him but it was 4:30am of a red eye flight and he was scrapping the bottom of his reserves of patience. “That’s what they say about him at three out of four airports we’ve been through and that’s a whole lot of airports agreeing on the same thing so if his name is the reason you keep calling his ass up, slot the patdowns a little earlier down the line so he doesn’t have to run for the fucking gates five minutes past boarding time.”|
“Sir, you’re making a scene–”
“Adeel Alam. That’s his name on the passport. That’s why you keep pulling him aside, right? You think he’s going to blow a plane or something? You know where he’s from?”His snapped back, voice rising as quickly as his pulse did.
“Ari.”
“Fucking Bolingbrook Illinois, the most mystical oasis this side of Agrabah for sure!”
“Ariya.”
“Five years on the force and the whole lot of you still insist on treating him like a goddamn criminal?!”
“ARIYA!”
The Iranian whipped his head around to the sound of his name, the way his features had been savagely twisted up in mounting rage softening immediately as he saw the concern in his co-worker’s eyes.
“It’s okay.”He heard the two words that made him want to punch a hole in the wall and his hands instinctively began flexing in a way that made two security guards from behind the conveyor belt reach for their batons.
“It is not fucking okay, Bhai. You know it’s not.”Ariya shot back even as he felt the tenseness in his shoulders dissipating when his travelling partner gripped them reassuringly. It was maddening, the weird calming effect that the Adeel, better known as Mustafa Ali in the ring had upon him when he wanted to rage, wanted to vent, wanted to sling back the mud the world had heaped upon them.
“It’s not the perfect situation, I know that, I agree; I hate the frequency of this routine where I’m concerned as much as you hate seeing me go through it but it’s 4:30am and these people are as tired as we are, same to the people behind me.”He listened as Ali reasoned with him with the same dead calm the man was well-known for.“It’s an injustice, Sher, and it needs to be fixed, but there’s a place and a time that can be better addressed. For now, let them do this.”
The fire in his belly died down a little and his nostrils flared bullishly as he looked at the stragglers behind Ali and took a deep breath before waving dismissively.
“Yeah yeah. Fine.”Came the relenting rumble as Ariya rubbed a side of his face wearily and moved aside from the line. He didn’t budge however despite the glares of consternation shot his way by the agents. “What’re you looking at? You want me to leave? ‘Cause I ain’t going nowhere until you’re done with him.”
“I-if you’d just wait here for a sec–”One of meeker ones willed themselves to speak and he wasted no time tossing his luggage down and sinking into the single seat the TSA agent had pointed out, arms crossed mutinously as he watched them escort firmly Ali to the private room and the line behind them began to move again.Every now and then he dropped his gaze upon the face of the wristwatch on his left hand before leaning back in the chair and taking his passport out from his pocket to riffle through the pages. The stamps there detailed a sprawling map all across the United States, the only home the both of them had known yet the same home that seemed determined these days to make a stranger out of the one who had traded five years of their life to keep it safe. Many a time he scoffed at Ali’s straight-laced past as a cop in Chicago, but he was the first to raise his dukes to anyone who dismissed it because of the the man’s background for sake of race, religion, a myriad of things which in a perfect world had no bearing on a man’s character. Theirs was one far from it however, and as he saw the door to the examination room crack open after fifteen minutes, he immediately rushed over to the side of the Illinois native who was visibly uncomfortable and not a word was passed between them as they gathered up their belongings and left.
“How bad?”Came Ariya’s inquiry when they were out off the TSA’s earshot and steadily making their way through the halls in search of their gate. The place was eerily desolate this early in the morning, the stores that lined the corridors dark and cafes he could swear still echoed with the laughter from its previous patrons empty.
“The pants came off. Boxers too.”Ali stated in a matter-of-factly tone though the way his sombre expression slowly lifted up in one of those ill-contained grins made the gears in Ariya’s head work at double speed and he groaned at what was coming next.
“Don’t say it. Don’t you s—”He grumbled under his breath, burying his face in his free hand for a moment as he heard the stifled snickering from his long-suffering travel mate who dropped the zinger;
“They thought I was packing.”
“I hate you.”Said Ariya with a snort as he lightly slapped the back of Ali’s head.“Arrest yourself for that double-entendre, Officer McCheesy. No fucking bail.”
“Come on Ari, at least this wasn’t like the time I played a game of hot and cold with them when they got the paddles out.”The smaller man offered with a wry grin and this time it was Ariya who let loose a bark of a laugh as he rolled his eyes at the memory.
“You were delayed for what, six hours?”He counted on the fingers of one hand, brow knotting as he attempted to recall the details. It had gotten Ali into hot water with the agents for a while but at the end of the day outside of a moment of humor it was nothing of the man’s actual fault.
“Seven. Missed my flight, rescheduled. The dinner vouchers would have made up for it if at least one restaurant in service there hadn’t been serving pork.” Said the Illinois native with a resigned shrug as they finally spotted the signs pointing out the gates.
“How the hell are you so….calm about this?”The question that had been playing at the tip of his tongue finally rolled off it as he turned to look at the former cop who raised both eyebrows quizzically.“About this goddamn system and how it’s set up to fail you from the moment it hears your name and sees your skin no matter what you do?”
“Oh don’t get me wrong about ‘calm’, how did that phrase go? 'I’m always angry’? I just happen to find arguing with congressmen during town hall meetings about pressing issues a lot more satisfying and productive. I mean, I’ve worked with the system, man; Different avenues for your righteous fury, some work better than others.”Came Ali’s reply, followed by a toothy grin which softened into something warmer that had the man dropping his gaze to the floor for several seconds. “Having travel partner willing to get his ass chewed out with me by Brisco for being delayed again though, that helps a lot with you know. Coping. Not being alone through all this.”
Ali turned his head and raised his gaze so they shared a glance and Ariya stopped in his tracks at the thought. No doubt the others they worked with sympathised with the situation, voiced their discontent every time the well-mannered optimist was pulled aside like the black sheep of a flock, but they had their own business to handle and goodbyes would be exchanged while Ali being Ali would assure them that he would be alright. A statement people like them had to tell themselves over and over again from one violation of liberty to another, all the while hoping that their angry neighbour back home or the lone white male staring holes in their back from across the street had enough self-restraint to keep their malcontent verbal. Alright as they could be, the weight of a country’s social upheaval shouldn’t have been something either of them had to bear alone.
“You’re killing my street cred here.” He complained gruffly, bumping his shoulder into Ali who reciprocated the gesture in brotherly fashion. “Don’t mention it alright. Ever.”Ali made a gesture of zipping his lips just as static began to crackle to life from somewhere above them.
“Last boarding call for Delta Airlines flight 5761, Orlando to Chicago.”The culture though somewhat mechanical voice of a woman drifted out from the speakers in the hall and the two men looked at each other once more. “Please proceed to gate 25.”
“Race you there, Ari.”Came the dare from the lithe man with a wink as he hitched his bagpack a little higher on his shoulders. “Last one to the gate pays for gas!”
Ariya watched as Ali shot off like a bullet, a crooked grin quirking up the side of his mouth as he charged along, hot at the man’s heels.
“Get ready to pay up bunny boy, 'cause I’m about to Usain Bolt your entire Terminal Dash record!”
The world wasn’t perfect and he didn’t know if Ali’s hopes for it would ever be something they could achieve in this lifetime. Didn’t mean they couldn’t find the light in the darkness from moments like these however, and for as long as he could help keep it burning, so he would.
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