#idk what my name would be changed to though

[memori662]

KIAN vs ALEXA (my two dear snipers...)

Spoiler: they end up as besties

And sorry if the P.O.V. is strange. Idk why sometimes they're written in first person and another times in third person.

Bang!

Alexa dogdes the bullet just by a hair.

Bang! Bang!

Now, what the fuck?

“Hey, to whoever is trying to kill me: I'm sure I have no debts. And if you're looking for any debts my parents might had...” She smoothly takes out her hand-gun. “I'll make sure you don't get your prize.”

Her eyes search for any strange movement. Any sound. Anything. And they land on a green fluffy ball (?) on one of the buildings.

The green fluffy ball (?) must've noticed her eyes on ‘itself’, as ‘it’ —in an abnormal velocity— changes placement.

“It's a solo sniper? Snipers don't usually attack alone. Or it's a very good sniper or there's more enemies.”

Shit. She has lost sight of ‘it’.

“Are you being a coward?” Maybe provokating whoever that might be lure ‘it’ out. “I mean, if you're a sniper that some dark organization hired to kill me, I'd feel honored to be such an important figure.” For fucks sake, I sounded just like Memori or Mimi...

It doesn't work. Bang!

Oh, they're good.

Alexa isn't one that works in dodging —unlike a particular blonde girl named Memori—, she's also a sniper. And she recognizes a good job done —thing that Memori definitely wouldn't...— Wait, don't think of her everytime??! Maybe those are things that happen when you're a competitive person and is paired with someone who enjoys remarking ‘how much better she is at everything’. But anyway, as I was saying— Bang!

“We're gonna be bad blood...” she mutters.

Her red eyes scan the place quickly, taking notes of anything she could use at her advantage and anywhere more enemies could been hiding. I should probably ask for help— Bang!

She would've been already dead if it wasn't for her quick thinking. She's been doing this practically since her birth.

I should confront them directly. Snipers usually don't have good hand-to-hand combat skills.

And with a quick and quiet running, she luckily makes it to the top of the —gladly not too tall— buildings without being shot.

She knows the green fluffy ball —that now takes the shape of a young adult probably with her same age, that wears a fancy mob-like suit that which would give off an intimidating aura if it wasn't for his puppy-like expression— allowed her to actually come closer, because he clearly isn't a normal human.

“Wow,” the puppy-looking boy speaks, “it's been a while since someone succesfully dodged my bullets.” His voice doesn't have any venom, just genuine interest. “You're good.” He smiles.

“I know I am good.” As she speaks she fires her gun. “No need to remember me.”

“If I shoot now, you cannot dodge.” The green-haired boy smiles slyly as he easily dodges the bullet. “Are you sure it's wise to keep attacking me?”

“Who said I couldn't dodge?”

“It's basic knowledge. You're so close to me that if I fire right now, you wouldn't have time to dodge.” he speaks lightly with a sing-song tone.

“Are you suggesting we chit-chat this over? Because I'm no diplomat.”

“Neither I am.” Even though his voice and overall appearance were so soft and puppy-like, the sniper in his hands right now says the contrary.

He probably isn't half bad in hand-to-hand neither. I need to be careful for any ambushes or hidden trap.

“Are you thinking about my skills right now, Alexia?”

“It's Alexa.” Oh no, this man is giving me déjà vu...

“I think Alexia sounds cuter, don't you think so?”

... Definitely déjà vu.

“Hehe, but I think Alexia suits you better, don't you think so, Ale~xia?”

Ugh, get out of my head, you fucking egocentric bitch—

“My name doesn't have anything to do with being ‘cute’. And how do you know my name?”

“Your name?” He widens his eyes —so fucking adorable—. “I thought you'd know me!”

Nope. This guy's on drugs.

“I'm Kian. K-I-A-N!” If he had a tail, it'd be swinging happily right now. “And you're Alexa. A-L-E-X-A.”

Why is he spelling the names again...?

“I asked you a question.”

“Memori is your Boss or something like that, right?”

Of course.

“You know her?”

The glimpse of sadness in his eyes disappears as quick as it appeared. “Yes.”

“What's she to you?”

“...” He seems to be struggling to find the correct words. “We- She was a close friend.”

... Is this some sort of pattern? Thinking of all the similarities...

Being unclear as fuck, acting as if everyone should know what you're talking about, being in your own world, switching personalities as a light switch, loud, child-like, asking how your name's spelled... There's definitely some patterns.

“Are you implying she hired you to kill me?”

“I'm not,” he whispers to himself. “It was just because.”

“Just because? Nobody hired you, no ‘a higher power demanded me to’? Nothing?”

He nods with apologetic eyes. “Memori seems to like you very much.”

Hell yeah she does and doesn't even try to hide it.

“You're asking why Alexa has to go with me?” She asks with a nonchalant expression. “Obviously because she's better than you all.” Her words are often impossible to understand if they're seriously or not. But it wasn't the first time that she admited a clear favoritism with Alexa.

“But Alexia, what do you man with a high—”

“Dude, did she reject you or what? You look so hopeless always talking 'bout her.”

“No?? I don't see it.”

“Ya sure?”

“Sure. She's like my sister.”

“... Really?”

“Really. She's like a black cat.”

What. Definitely no.

“Uh-huh,” I continue. “Why did you think it's a good idea to attack me?”

“Well, since Mori bullies you—”

“She doesn't.” Mori.

“—she must like you very much! And I wanted to see what it is that she likes about you so much!”

“You're nuts.”

“I'm not a nut- I'm not an aliment!”

“I know you're a real human.” He recoils just a bit when I call him a real human. “I meant you're crazy.”

“Ohh!” He has fangs. “That's what you meant!”

“Are you four or what?”

“I'm the same age as you!”

“Really? I don't think so. And how the fuck do you—”

“Ah, sorry for this,” he says as he lowers his sniper.

“No worries.” A total weirdo after another weirdo. “And where ya from? Your work, I mean. You look too fancy to be a normal sniper. Don't tell me you're a blue-blooded rich?”

“Ah, that is... Hm.”

“Very helpful,” irony fills my words. “So ya aren't a rich?”

“Ah, you could say... Kind of rich. My work pays me well.”

“Are riches becoming more and more common by the time?”

“People are getting better and better at finding suitable jobs!” He exclaims with optimism.

“I don't think Memori's your friend.”

“She's an angel! Who wouldn't be her friend?”

“An angel, you say?” She asks skeptically.

“She may be nicknamed sinner now, but I mean it as her personality—”

“She's nicknamed sinner now?! Since when?”

“Ah, between a circle of rumours,” he half-lies smoothly. “Nothing big, really. Some people simply resent her for her former job.”

“That chick was probably in some illegal trade. Tell me otherwise,” she rolls her eyes in exasperation.

“You don't know where she used to work?”

“At least me, no.” She looks at the sky. “She's a real mistery among us. Classic rich person behaviour. How delightful.”

“You don't have a very limited vocabulary!” He seems oddly excited about it. “I thought you wouldn't know words like ‘delightful’.”

“It's not a bad thing.”

“Why the hell wouldn't I.” No, this man right here? He's also a total fucker.

“Uh-huh.” Of course it is a compliment. Of course. Very obvious. Totally expected.

He suddenly grabs my hand and shakes it with both of his hands with a bright smile, but quickly stops after what seems like remembering etiquette. As if there is an etiquette for shaking hands. There isn't, right? ... Not that I would know, anyway.

A little late, no? “Alexa. Pleasure's mine. Is that what I'm supposed to reply?” I ask genuinelly this being the first decent handshake I've ever had.

“Excuse me,” he apologies with a smile as he lowers up his right-hand and looks at me expectanly.

??? What does he wants me to do?

“Uhm... What do I do?”

“Ah, nothing,” he dismisses.

Oh, a headshake.

I offer my left-hand to him. He stares at my hand, as if it was strange. Fuck, do headshakes have some etiquette I'm not aware of? “Am I doing something wrong?”

He focuses his attention back to my eyes as he accepts my headshake also with his left-hand. “It's not a big deal. Usually, handshakes are with the right-hands.”

So it does have an etiquette.

“Oh. I'm left-handed. I didn't know.”

“Don't worry your pretty little head about it.” He replies as he shakes his hand four times, completely different from how his behavior was a minute ago. “My name is Kian. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Mhm, maybe a little bit more formal, but yes,” he chuckles and nods. “You are cute. Like a mouse.”

Like a mouse. That's new.

“And you're like a dog.” It's an implied insult.

“Why, yes! I get told that often.”

“Figures.” I stare at this green-haired man with disbelief at his obliviousness.

“Welp, I need to go now.” He adds, “Boss expects me...”

Boss? So he does work for someone, huh?

“Bye-bye, Alexia! It was nice to meet you!” He waves his hands with excitement.

“... Nice to meet ya too, I guess.”

And with that, he jumps swiftly away.

Huh, what a strange man.

Randomly pick 2 OCs. Make them fight. How will it go?

[max--phillips]

Okay here goes

First, the spoiler free stuff:

Ridley Scott knows how to make a fucking film.

If I don’t see fics of Acacius x reader x Lucilla I will begin biting

If you are going in it for Pedro, I will warn you his character is very important but kind of… idk, shallow is too strong of a word, but not very fleshed out. I don’t think that’s an issue in the greater scheme of the movie though, it makes sense in the plot and doesn’t feel out of place or bad in the universe.

If you are going in it for Paul Mescal, you will not be disappointed.

Please watch the first movie first. The story will not make any fucking sense if you don’t.

Just the right amount of flashbacks and footage from the first movie . Chefs kiss

Ridley Scott really said “all emperors and tyrants are nasty little freaks with terrible vibes”

Oh also if you’re squeamish about gore and stuff like. It’s a movie about gladiators so set your expectations accordingly. There is an instance of a disembodied head used as a prop. So y’know

Okay, spoilery stuff below the cut

Arishat was hot :( rip

Monkeys at the beginning? Terrible. 0/10 did not enjoy that. Also did not enjoy seeing and hearing Mr. Mescal BITING ONE

I love Ravi I would watch a whole movie just about him tending to gladiators’ wounds quite frankly. Give me that story

We love to see bisexuality on screen (even though that wasn’t a social identity at the time but we’re not here to talk about that) what with the concubines and drunk as fuck Macrinus

Speaking of drunk as fuck Macrinus: that whole scene was so fucking funny. They’re like that meme about people getting high. You know the one

Speaking of Macrinus—Denzel Washington stole the show. When TIME magazine pushed a story to me today headlined “Gladiator II Belongs to Denzel Washington,” I was like, pshhhh, nah. But it really does. It’s not about him? But it’s his fucking show.

The politics . THE POLITICS

It feels a little heavy handed right now but that wasn’t probably how it was intended, given it was made before. Y’know. The election. But the whole dream of Rome being a place where everyone is equal and cared for but you can only whisper it or it’ll shatter? Yeah.

Oh, right, Acacius: that dude is so tired he does NOT want to be there. Let him go home to his hot wife. Alas, his hot wife is the way she is and like… no good deed goes unpunished.

And I fucking called it with my text post a few months ago. Two (2) movies now where Denzel Washington (either directly or indirectly) kills Pedro Pascal. Brilliant

Admittedly selfishly I would’ve liked to see more of him. But it felt like the correct thing in the context of the story. If he didn’t die then, if he wasn’t the inciting event for the uprising of the people of Rome, it wouldn’t have made sense and it would’ve just been fan service and “look, we got Pedro Pascal!” at that point.

I would’ve liked to see a more in-depth exploration of the change in relationship between Lucius and Lucilla—it seems like they went from Lucius screaming at her to get out to them hugging it out without any real development between the two of them specifically. Obviously a lot had happened in the world of the movie at that point but nonetheless

Macrinus shooting Lucilla was his Icarus moment. There was no coming back from that. “But what about Geta” “but what about Caracalla” no. It was Lucilla. If she’d gotten got by the praetorian guards or something else, it would’ve been fine. But because it was Macrinus there was nowhere he could go from there other than [checks notes] getting his hand chopped off and then gutted in a dirty irrigation ditch.

Remember kids, the people in power who are causing all of the things going wrong in the world have names and addresses and are mortal <3

Also another takeaway from the movie: imperialism, religious extremism, ableism, and authoritarianism will be the end of us all <3

Anyway. Good movie. Can’t wait to watch it again in my own home with subtitles so I can actually like… process everything everyone was saying LMAO and take better reaction notes.

I’m still sitting in the theater parking lot it’s been like 30 minutes LMAO okay thanks for coming to my tedtalk or whatever

[princekirijo]

I think more people with Spidersonas should draw what their sona would look like in Spider Ham's universe :]

[crayonfodder]

who up transfemming they faves

[fandom-geek]

vaguely fascinated by osana sov's naming choices. she chose for her daughter a name that can mean "bitter (strength)" or "lady" in two ancient languages (hebrew and aramaic) and for her son a name that means "old friend" in another ancient language (old english)

like every other golden age character has a name that's pretty normal by our standards, which tbh includes mara, then osana just names her other kid uldwyn. then again, even osana's name is either a variant of the hebrew hosanna or after an obscure and possibly fictitious old english princess-saint whose name means something along the lines of "godly solitude", so i suppose mara might be considered the odd one out

[claitea]

whoa guys did you see the new cards i really want alto's full art!!

made with this site! art without the text under the cut :D

[rist-ix]

https://www.tumblr.com/rist-ix/749015401700229120 not you reblogging this when you ship bloom with the man who murdered her family 😭

Bloom's into ppl who slay! Hope this helps :3

[quietwingsinthesky]

i do love canon amy & rory but god, does some part of me wish they really had gone with the idea of the doctor picking up a child as a companion (and then later, that child’s best friend with a huge crush on her.) with the rest of the season really not changing at all, except now it’s amelia pond with an angel in her head killing her and lost alone in the woods. it’s little rory who dies and is forgotten and becomes a toy soldier. if this is going to be a fairy tale, then let it be one. children have never been safe in fairy tales.

[clownjacket]

If Kipperlilly DOES end up betraying Porter/Jace as part of a secret other scheme she has (whether good or evil) and it has to do with saving Lucy, I just know she’s going to be a bitch about it and pull a ‘sorry, I only save High Five Heroes’ before leaving her other friends to die or some shit. And then she will take her final form: Magic Betty from Adventure Time, betraying her allies and saving her frost gf at the expense of the world. It would also parallel what Ankarna is going through (‘your girlfriend’s out of town, it sucks’, becoming a little imperialist rage machine under the influence of Porter/Sunstone but not being able to fully turn on Lucy despite going against her values and turning into a violent weirdo). This is my wish. My dream. I am manifesting it. Magic Betty Kipperlilly I believe in you.

[goldensunset]

what if they gave you the actual arcphone instead of just a case

ADFFSHDHNXJSBDJSBJSBDBDJSNSNBGJ

[jtl07]

What have I done?!? 🥁🎸🎹 This is so, so cool! You wrote the audition like i mini-fic 🤩 Drabble? I don’t know, it was very cool, thank you 👏🏼 And Mary’s comment when she was adjusting the chair, hahaha. Loved the idea with neon colors, what a cool concept 🎨 Who’s the singer of this band? And how would Ava know of their music? Has she seen them live, or is their music out? Maybe it could be combined with your earlier thoughts? That Ava worked in a bar they played, and that’s how she found out about them (and Bea). Does the band have a name? And/or will it change/develop when Ava joins? Thank for taking my questions seriously, this is so much fun 😘

anon oh no, oh no now we're getting into the details aren't we. i'm torn between the band being primarily instrumental (akin to Polyphia) and having guest vocalists every now and then, vs having some hella strong vocalist - i'm thinking like Fuki from Doll$Boxx or omg what if someone like Tatiana Shmayluk from Jinjer?!? yoooo that would be intense. if the latter, then Lilith would be a terrifying analogue oh geez.

okay yknow what, i'm leaning towards instrumental first with guest vocals because i kinda like the idea of them working with different vocalists occasionally, which would be kinda like canon what with how their "front man" / halo bearer changes. but also like, that puts more pressure on each instrument to be on their game (which Beatrice impresses upon Ava when they have their two-day bootcamp).

as for how Ava first heard of them (aside: anon I am the absolute worst at naming things, their band's name is just going to be "the band" for the forseeable future lolol) maybe she happened upon their music online or heard about them somehow - someone playing a cover, someone mentioning them in passing, or maybe someone watching a video on their phone and Ava happens to see - oh that would be amusing if it was JC, yeah, lol okay, maybe JC's also a musician and someone sent him a video of their band but he's not really paying attention to it because it's not his vibe but Ava is enthralled. she goes home, looks up all their stuff, immediately starts playing along and it's difficult and brilliant and it pushes her to the limits of her skill level but she still has the utmost fun and it pushes her to keep learning. she becomes a fan but while she's eaten up every video and interview she could find about them (perhaps she happened upon one of those explainer videos that Beatrice did lol) she hasn't had the chance to see them live because they'd been on hiatus - hence why Beatrice (and Mary though she tries not to show it) are stressed about the upcoming gig, because while it's a small one, it is important to them since it's their first one in a long time.

oh and maybe also they're debuting new music for the first time in a long time at that gig - and maybe, after Ava's proven herself to Mary, they work through the song with Ava and Ava is able to play it perfectly, but then maybe during a break or something she's playing along to the track - not exactly practicing but like casually playing like she does at home alone whenever she listens to their songs, adding stuff here and there - and maybe Mary and Beatrice come back from break early and hear her and Beatrice looks at Mary and is like, "I'll make sure she keeps to what we've written" but Mary forestalls her, steps into the room fully, which catches Ava's attention, who abruptly stops playing and somehow manages to stop the track too without falling over.

"hey boss," Ava says, twirling the drumsticks between her fingers nervously. "that was a uh quick walk."

Mary's face is unreadable still, and she rewinds the track a bit. "do that fill again."

Ava blinks and Mary gives her a look that's like, 'do not make me repeat myself' and Ava scrambles to remember what she did and fumbles.

Mary shakes her head. "no, you did it differently last time." she kinda beatboxes what she remembers and Ava's like, "oh yeah" and repeats it correctly this time and Mary's taking up her bass and is muttering to herself about voicing things differently to match and Beatrice is like, "you want to change it? the performance is the day after tomorrow" and Ava's like, "hey I was just messing around" but Mary looks Ava straight in the eye and says, "it's a good idea. let's use it." then she looks at Beatrice and raises an eyebrow. "two days is more than enough time, right?"

and Beatrice kinda helplessly laughs because of course Mary would get caught up in this, in this energy Ava's brought with her - it's the renewal they've needed; Ava's exactly what they've been looking for.

[clegfly]

Small thing I’m cooking for idksomethingclever99’s fic MITPP!! For some reason I’m having trouble tagging them but here’s the fic!!

This seemed fun to do… probably won’t get more done than this page though…

[servuscallidus]

Reading Stazio's Thebaid (and watching L'Odissea 1968 rai miniserie), it's terrifying how the greek gods mess with people's minds to reach their ends. Zeus wants to destroy two cities, Thebes and Argo, and instead of bringing about a forerunner Sodom and Gomorrah (or second, I'm fuzzy on the timeline), he plants the thought in Etheocles' mind that he want to keep the kingship for himself and inspires bloodlust and a desire for war in the youths of Argo. He puppets the two cities by effectively stripping their leaders of wants, thoughs and personality and puppeteering them into a war no one wanted. We don't even know if the desire to keep Thebes was always there in Etheocles or if it's all Zeus' creation.

Basically, it never matters what a mortal wants, not because a god can effortlessly overpower them, but because a god can easily make it so that they never wanted anything other than what the god desires them to want. It's horrible. You can never know if what you wish and think is truly something that comes from you or if a god planted it so that you'd do their will

[themyscirah]

Okay so basically the United States MINT of all people is going to be working with DC to make a line of coins! These coins sadly won't be in circulation (the things I would do to live in a world where I could get Batman coins from the supermarket) as they're collectors coins, but will be releasing over the course of the next 3 years, 2025-2027.

Designs haven't been released yet (the same is true for all 2025 designs) but we know there will be 9 coins in total (3 each year) with the first year featuring (of course!!!) Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.

Although we know the first three heroes to be featured, the remaining six have yet to be decided, and it turns out the Mint is putting out a survey on their site to gauge which of a group of culturally significant heroes people want to see most! (link to the form is mentioned in the article above)

The considered group includes: Supergirl, the Flash, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Captain Marvel, John Stewart GL, Aquaman, Hawkman, Jamie Reyes BB, Robin (Damian?), Cyborg, and Batgirl, of which 6 will be selected.

As someone who does a bit of coin collecting myself (mainly circulation coins like the quarters sets, but I also have a couple proof and collectors coins) I think this is a really cool and interesting idea that showcases the history of the comics medium and these characters and their influence on American culture. Really excited to wait and see what the designs look like for the coins already announced!

[maitaitiu]

for you, i'd watch paint dry OCxCanon week 2024 Day 7: "so... it's a date, then?" Pairing type: romantic Canon Character: Skyla (she/her) OC: Fern (she/her) Fandom: Pokemon Wordcount: 1776

AO3 link

CWS: mentions of hospitals & needles

Synopsis: Skyla finally has a day off from both her jobs. It's sorely needed; she loves her work, but she's wiped out! She's looking forward to a relaxing evening, and then a fun day-long date with her girlfriend, Fern. Though, Skyla has forgotten that Fern has a hospital appointment the same day as her day off.

Skyla stretched her arms high above her head as she kicked the front door of her apartment closed. She was so glad to be done with work today.

Sure, she loved flying. And she loved doing Gym stuff. But man, it was all tiring. And she was thrilled to finally have a day off from both of them tomorrow.

Not only that. But she could finally spend a whole day with her girlfriend! Fern was currently sitting on the couch in the living room, slippers kicked off onto the floor and legs pulled onto the cushion. She was reading something on a tablet, though she looked completely bored.

Skyla threw her bag and coat into the cubby by the front door, and walked into the lounge- where she then dramatically flopped onto the couch and lay her head on her girlfriend’s legs.

“Hiya, cutie. You come here often?” Skyla grinned, drawling her voice out to exaggerate how tired she was.

“Now and again,” Fern’s reply wasn’t as enthusiastic, or happy, as expected, so Skyla sat up.

“You good?” she asked, “What’s on your mind?”

Fern looked up from her tablet, “Oh. Nothing interesting. Just health stuff.”

Skyla raised her eyebrows.

“I’ve got my infusion appointment tomorrow.” Fern said, frowning, “It’s just… boring.”

It took Skyla a minute to remember what those were. Fern only needed that kind of appointment every two months or so, and they’d only been dating a year… and its infrequency led to it being not something they really discussed much at all. But she did remember, after a minute or two of thinking.

Well, some of it, at least.

“Afterwards, then… how about we go watch a movie or something? Or… go for a run… or a walk- or we could go bowling..? It’s my first day off in ages tomorrow, so I wanna treat you anyway!”

Fern smiled slightly, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“I forgot about your day off.” She said quietly, “I’m sorry, Sky.”

“Why?”

“It takes like, four hours. And it’s an hour to drive to the hospital, and an hour back… That’s already six hours… four of them I’m spending with a needle in my arm and under fluorescent lights that give me a headache.” She turned off her tablet and looked away, shoulders dropped down in obvious guilt, “I just don’t think I’d be up for anything outside of a nap before or after that.”

Skyla practically felt herself deflate. So much for having a nice, super fun day off adventuring with her girlfriend. She stayed quiet on the couch, and said nothing as Fern walked out of the living room to see what they had in the kitchen for dinner.

And also, evidently, to avoid the fact that both of them were now feeling bad.

With a sigh, Skyla lay down on the sofa, and stared up at the ceiling. She couldn’t move her day off, and even if she could, she’d worked so hard today that the thought of going into work tomorrow was nauseating- no matter how much she enjoyed it.

But it wasn’t like Fern could move her appointment. So… what?

Skyla squeezed her eyes tightly shut to think for a minute.

Did they just accept that this was an irritating and unchangeable situation?

No. There must be some way for them to spend time together tomorrow.

Skyla picked herself up from the couch and resolutely walked into the kitchen, where Fern was reading the expiration date on a jar of pasta sauce.

“Should we just order pizza, d’you think?” Fern asked, “Or maybe Thai food? I don’t know if this is still good to eat…”

“It looks fine to me. Buuuut I could totes eat a Massaman curry… Mm.”

With not even a further glance to the jar of sauce before she shoved it back in the cupboard, Fern nodded. “Let’s do that. I’m craving tom yum soup already. Geez…”

She pulled out her cellphone to order the food- but Skyla quickly stopped her.

“I’ll pay.” She said, impulsively, “Also. Can we talk about tomorrow?”

Fern blinked, not really letting any expression through, which was most unusual, “Sure.”

And then she dialled their favourite Thai restaurant and placed an order for delivery.

Skyla sat down on one of the breakfast bar stools while Fern ordered, giving the occasional thumbs up whenever Fern asked about things like spice level or any appetisers or whatever. They practically always ordered the same things, so it was pretty easy to communicate the order silently as Fern spoke on the phone.

“Forty minutes,” Fern said as she snapped her flip-phone shut, “You should go get something more comfy on before then, hm?”

“Are you thinking… pyjama dinner and a movie?” Skyla asked, eyebrows raised.

“You bet. Go on. Go go go!” Skyla laughed as her girlfriend pushed her down the corridor toward the bedroom.

She took a quick shower, let her hair hang loose- still wet- and changed into her softest pyjamas. And then returned to the lounge with a blanket in hand, where Fern was once again curled up on the couch, looking at her tablet.

The thing was, showers were bizarrely good for thinking up ideas. And Skyla had one, now.

“Are people allowed to come with you to your appointment tomorrow?” she asked, as she sat down, and covered both of them with the blanket, “Like… a friend or a family member?”

“Oh. Yeah. One person, I think.” Fern nodded, and put the tablet away again, and reached to pet her patrat who was curled up on the armrest.

“Do you… normally bring anyone with you?” Skyla prompted after a moment.

“No. I’ve… always just gone alone.” Fern sighed, and pulled her patrat into her lap, “Why? Are you offering to come?”

“Yeah! I know you said it’s super boring and stuff, and the lights are gross, buuuuut…” she leaned onto her girlfriend’s shoulder, “Maybe I can help make that less boring! I can bring you an eye mask to shield you from the lights… and snacks… and I can give you massages…”

Fern snorted, “You’re not a masseuse.”

“Just an idea!” Skyla insisted, “I dunno, maybe it’d be a bit less boring if you had some company?”

She waited nervously as Fern thought in silence for a minute.

“Well… I mean… If you’d like to come…” Fern said quietly, with a tiny smile on her face, “It would be quite nice. It is really boring though.”

“That’s okay! I have plenty of gossip from work I can tell you… and play-by-plays of Gym battles… and you can tell me how it’s all going in Pinwheel Forest…” Skyla sighed happily and let herself fully lie down on Fern’s lap, biting back a laugh when Fern yelped in reaction to her hair being cold and damp, “Y’know. Hanging out. Moral support. And I can drive us home, so you can nap on the way back!”

“Sure. Okay.” Fern rolled her eyes, and pushed Skyla off her lap, “I appreciate it.”

“Yes!” Skyla exclaimed, as the doorbell rang, “So… it’s a date?!”

“The world’s most boring date ever, sure.” Fern said, getting to her feet.

“Still a date!” Skyla asserted, racing after her to the door.

“True.”

They paid for and received their food from the usual friendly delivery driver, and tipped him generously, as always, and then returned once more to the lounge- where they channel flicked until they found some trashy soap drama to watch, curled up together on the couch under a blanket, their pokemon lounging around the room as well, and eating some of their favourite foods.

Eventually, Fern fell asleep on Skyla’s shoulder, and she took the opportunity to quickly read up on the process of the infusion tomorrow. Where they’d have to go, what they were allowed to bring (Skyla made a list on the back of her hand of snacks and other stuff to pack before they set off), as well as the type of medicine Fern was getting (infliximab) and what sort of side effects it could have (the most common seemed to be nausea and headaches, so she also made a note to bring a heat pad and some painkillers. Not ibuprofen, since Fern couldn’t take those…) and also, she debated the possibility of sneaking off at some point to run to a store and buy Fern a gift… Would that be necessary? Would she think it was patronising? Maybe… It’d still be a nice gesture though, right?

It was already a lot to think through, and she wasn’t even the one needing the medicine. No wonder the whole process exhausted Fern so much, who was already more prone to fatigue due to the very condition she needed the medication for.

Still. Fern would be back to her normal, vibrant self in a couple of days. And if she wasn’t, well… Skyla wasn’t a quitter. She loved her girlfriend. That was that. If Fern was tired and sad for longer than usual, then Skyla would be there no matter what. And she’d do everything she could to make her feel even just a little better.

A date didn’t have to be a fancy meal or an eight-mile hike. It didn’t have to be bowling, or sports, or a walk on the beach. A date could be a nice evening in watching trashy TV, eating your favourite takeaway; a date could be an afternoon spent in a hospital room, braiding your girlfriend’s hair, and shielding her eyes from the harsh lights as she tried to nap away the hours with a needle in her arm.

For Fern, Skyla would spend a whole day doing the dullest paperwork ever if she had to. Fern, who would run a bath with floral bubbles for whenever Skyla said she’d had a rough day at work. Fern, who would personally beat the daylights out of anyone who was cruel toward pokemon. Fern, who felt her emotions at a hundred-and-twenty percent capacity all the time, and who listened intently whenever Skyla or someone else spoke, even if she didn’t care. Fern, who’s body was rebelling against her constantly and had to explain it to everyone she interacted with, and was so clearly exhausted by it all, but still kept going because she had no choice. Fern, who was asleep on Skyla’s shoulder, a tiny bit of sauce from her Pad Thai staining her cheek.

Skyla put her arm around her girlfriend and squeezed her with a hug.

She had always hated sitting still. But it wasn’t so bad with the woman she loved at her side.

Not at all, actually.

[be-gay-do-crime-ahaha]

Holy fucking shit the dysphoria is dysphoria-ing right now. I feel physically nauseous oh my fucking god. I’m gonna fucking kill someone maybe myself rn I’m gonna lose my shit holy hell.

Doesn’t help that I’ve been incredibly overstimulated the past few days every sound is like a fucking cheese grater in my ears oh my god.