#if anyone catches the temp ship i'm going to be so happy

[sanderssides-fics]

A special haven chapter 3

Chapter 2 (chapter 1 is attached to chapter 2): https://sanderssides-fics.tumblr.com/post/162106840402/a-special-haven-chapter-2

Tw: mention of homophobia, mention of violence, mention of mutism, mention of nightmares, mention fo death.

Tags: @analogically-prinxiety @the-prince-and-the-emo @princeyandanxiety @thebaagelboy @softlogic @the-sanders-sides @polysandershell @princey-and-hottopic

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Imaj had left after dinner that night, Logan came by half an hour later. The weird environment had Anxiety feeling more clingy to Logan as a safe place than before. Logan didn’t mind as he and Anxiety spoke between each other. Logan had an arm around a shaking Anxiety. Anxiety had drove himself into an attack from thinking about whether Roman was happy or Mad anxiety wasn’t home.

“You don’t need to think of your torture location right now, Anxiety.  Think about how at this location you are accepted and safe. Okay? Follow my breathing to calm down, it’s a distraction and an easy way of regulating your inhale-exhale pattern.” Logan said and Anxiety suppressed a snicker as he followed the elders breathing carefully, slipping up a couple times and coughing once or twice.

Anxiety was calmed down a little while later, around 20 minutes later to be more precise. Logan’s shift was long over but wasn’t leaving yet. Anxiety wasn’t in a secure enough mental and emotional state to leave. Logan smoothed out Anxiety’s hair, causing Anxiety to jokingly purr which made Logan laugh gently. They were content in each other’s presence, a sense of comfort and security.

Logan took some more notes in the familiar notebook, noting Anxiety’s comfort with him and the quicker release of his Anxiety attack with the mention of home. He noted that the home was helping Anxiety ever so slightly, how Anxiety took better reactions to children than adolescents. It wasn’t a surprise, when Anxiety was in waiting rooms once or twice he always made Babies laugh and 2-5 year olds calm down from break downs. Parents adored Anxiety’s skills but despised his looks. Nobody really wants a rebellious teen near their children.

Logan smiled to himself as Anxiety fell asleep against him and helped Anxiety lay down in his bed gently. Logan left a note on Anxiety’s dresser of Logan’s work schedule so Anxiety knew when Logan would come by. Then he left to the kitchen.

“Thanks for taking him in Donny, it was difficult to get him here” Logan said, Donnovan was sat at the kitchen island with a teen in all black. Black hair with a red under side, a long black trench coat, black jeans and shirt, black Converse.

“Its no problem, the more the merrier. Elliot and Isaac both adore him. I’m sure if Kyle wasn’t here Kit & Kat would too.” Donnovan smiled gently as he got up, the teens head slammed against the granite counter top.

“What’s up with them” Logan gestured to the half concious, groaning teen.

“He escaped the home last night, came home… 30 minutes ago, he got ahold of alcohol and some form of narcotics. He’s hungover and upset.” Donnovan said sighing “He was 3 years clean, his mind is punishing him enough” donnovan spoke and talked with Logan for a little bit before Logan left to his own house.

Anxiety curled in his sleep and whimpered as a nightmare roared in his mind. Quick flashes of Roman angry at him, his dad lain dead in a hospital bed, Roman shoving him and blaming him for their dad’s death, Roman beating anxiety, Roman laughing,  the images got redder and redder until Anxiety startled awake in a scream. Within a minute Anxiety was surprised as he was being hugged by a pair of muscular arms, the scent of leather and aftershave hit him and Anxiety spotted it was Kyle with him now.

“Don’t say anything, I’m the Dad kid here. You’re still young, you need care. And you had a nightmare right? You need someone here, your Significant other is off duty-” Kyle paused when Anxiety choked on air. “Have I said something wrong?”

“L-Logan and I are not together” Anxiety said quietly.

“Okay then you both wish you were. My point still stands!” Kyle and Anxiety both snicker. They both started just talking to distract Anxiety from his previous dream. It wasn’t long before they connected quite a lot. Anxiety messed with Kyle’s hair as the other ranted about how his parents kicked him out for being Polysexual, Kyle had brown hair that was curled and created a curly fringe on his forehead which was fun to tangle your fingers in and just play with in general.

Anxiety told Kyle about never knowing his mother, and how Roman and his school were treating him. It was getting really late now and both boys didn’t realize how tired they were as the discussed the pangea effect and fell asleep lain side by side and woke up to Kyle’s phone ringing. Anxiety was first awake, a pair of arms around his waist, Kyle had warned he was sleep-cuddler. Anxiety didn’t mind, Kyle woke up and hung up the call before pulling Anxiety closer.

“You awake? It’s only 6 a.m.” Kyle asked in a groggy, husky morning voice. Anxiety turned around slowly but not too slow, being careful not to spook or hurt Kyle.

“As much as I hate it, yes I am awake” Anxiety mumbled and Kyle just chuckled gently.

“Do you want to move or stay here, I’ve locked the door so we wouldn’t be disturbed.” Kyle questioned and got his response with an affection-deprived Anxiety moving closer to him. Kyle just chuckled and held Anxiety, he felt bad for the 16 year old. Kyle was 18, 19 in 3 months,  but didn’t have to move out of the home because he was a huge helper in the home with Kit & Kat who hated most people. Kyle had noticed Kit & Kat’s instant cuddling of Anxiety earlier that week and decided that if the girls trusted him then he could too.

Anxiety fell asleep again, arms wrapped around Kyle as if Anxiety was a kid, an 11 year old but still a kid. Clingy and loving and yet scared and distant. Anxiety was a kid inside, and maybe Kyle could be the brotherly figure Anxiety needed. That’s all Kyle wanted.

Around 8 a.m. they finally left the room. Kit & Kat sensing Kyle and suddenly they were climbing his body and resting on his hips as he held them. Anxiety smiled gently and suddenly had Elliot at his side rambling about one of imaj’s stories.

■□■

Anxiety didn’t tell Logan about him and Kyle being close, but rather that Kyle helped him with a nightmare last night.  Logan took note that the nightmares were starting again.

“You’re okay here though?” Logan questioned and Anxiety smiled gently and took a chance by pecking Logan’s cheek.

“Yeah, it’s better than with Roman and doesn’t smell like the hospital chemicals” He giggles. Logan was blushing gently but nodded. Logan had only been able to come by that night because during the day they had a preteen brought in with 4 broken ribs, a broken arms, and an inability to explain what had happened. Not just because they were unconcious but because they were physically Mute. A previous disease had damaged their vocal cords to the point of no return. The preteen however had two Wrist bands that paramedics had gotten information off of. One was in Nonbinary flag colours, the other held their name and another.

“What names were on the persons bracelet?” Anxiety asked suddenly Curious. 

“Elliot, and Missy” Logan smiled and so did Anxiety. Elliot had previously talked of his cousin, and how she communicated with broken-ASL and whiteboards. Logan left soon after that. There was an emergency call, but he’d be back at 10 tomorrow. Anxiety could wait. He had many friends for once.

For once…

He felt loved

[bettas-and-other-oddities]

Basic Betta Care Guide:

This will be a bare minimum care guide for betta care. As with most of everything on this blog, it is mostly going to be based on my experience of keeping bettas, stuff that I have researched, and full of sarcasm. Please, with any new pet, do research of your own to ensure that you know how to properly take care of your animal, or you may end up torturing or killing your animal.

TANK SIZE

There is a bit of debate on the betta community about the minimum tank size for a betta fish. In my eyes, a 5 gallon (~19L) for a permanent home. You can use a 2.5 for a small hospital tank, or for a temp tank if you suddenly came into ownership of a betta. If you choose a 2.5, please look into getting at least a 5 gallon (~19L) for your betta. Bettas love lots of space to swim and explore, as well as water quality is easier to maintain in a large tank. 5 gallons (~19L) are also the smallest tank that can safely maintain a stable tank cycle. Besides, the bigger the tank, the more you can decorate.

CYCLE YOUR TANK

The niteogen cycle is this big long process that is invisible to the eye. A short hand explanation is basically benificial bactera grows in your tank when you have an ammonia source, like fish waste, and it grows and grows until the bacteria is able to convert your ammonia and waste into other chemicals and such. I'm not so great at describing cycling, so here is a great link to look into!

Cycling your tank is a long and boring process, and it can happen anywhere between 2-8 weeks. Its long and boring, but putting a fish in an uncycled tank (also called fish in cycling) can be detrimental to your fish, as it usually results in stress, ammonia burns, and even death. Here is another link in case you are reading this after you added a fish to a new aquarium.

You can use bottled bacteria, like Seachem stability, API quick start, or Tetra safe start to help speed it up, but there are some discussions on whether or not they actually help. You can also ask a friend that has tanks if you can have some of their filter media to add into your filter. I don't recomend getting pet store filter media, as you could accidentally introduce sickness or parasites.

A FILTER AND HEATER ARE REQUIRED, NOT OPTIONAL

Most people assume that a betta can just live in a cute little bowl for its whole life. Which is so wrong. Your tank absolutely needs a filter and a heater. Filters help keep a stable nitrogen cycle and helps reduce maintenance. A heater is needed as bettas are tropical fish, coming from places like Malaysia and Thailand where temps are a nice warm 78-90°. With a heater in your tank, it should keep your betta tank at a toasty 78-80° F ( 25-27° C). A cold tank can lower your bettas immune system which leads to illness, as well as it slows their metabolism and activity levels. A good filter and heater is key to a happy bettas. Here is a diagram of what wattage heater is needed for your tank size!

TANK DECORATIONS

Getting a new tank can be exciting when it comes to picking out decorations! But take a minute to think about them before you go hog wild on them. Bettas have very beautiful, and very delicate fins. You have to find decorations that won't cut up your new betta buddy. Live plants are a great option. They are very soft, and even help with your water quality. Low tech plants don't require a ton of additional care, and can look amazing. Here is a link to a website that gives you info on some easy to care for aquarium plants!

If you don't want to try out live plants, silk plants are also a good option for bettas. They are very papery plants that are soft and safe for a bettas fins. I have silk plants in both of my bettas tanks. They are also easier to clean, with just some hot water and a clean, non soapy toothbrush.

If you want non-plant decorations, its really inportant to make sure there are no sharp edges. You can test this by taking a nylon stocking and dragging it across the decorations. If it catches, it might not be so safe for fragile fins.

Always check the inside of your hides. It can be super soft and smooth in the outside, but the inside can have the sharp edges of seals and other things. Make sure your betta cant get stuck in them, as well.

Bettas also like to have a very heavily planted tank. They are fearful in large open spaces. Here is a couple ideas of a good betta tank.

PICKING OUT YOUR BETTA

Picking out a new buddy can be the most exciting part of starting the hobby. Its really important to decide where you want to get your betta. If you decide to go online and order a betta, make sure there are good reviews on the breeder. If people say that their betta never arrived, died during shipping and had to pay for a dead betta, or there is just poor quality bettas, its best to look for a different breeder. A good breeder will have a variety of pictures of the betta, and will be able to answer your questions about the betta you're intersted in. They also will have some good reviews. You can always ask the betta community for recommendation for breeders. I don't have a lot of experience with getting bettas online, so I don't have a lot of info on them. ***

If you plan on getting your betta at a pet store or local fish store, there are still some things to look for. You want to make sure the betta is active, and alert. They should also have healthy fins for their tail type. Small tears are okay of you plan on keeping your water clean and healthy. I don't recommend beginners going out and "rescuing" a sick betta, as you won't have a lot of experience dealing with illnesses, and could potentially end up with a dead betta within days of purchasing the fish. If you are experienced and want to help a sick fish, go ahead and help it.

Its also a good idea to go to the store, look at the bettas, and go home and research the type of betta you liked the most. Some betta types have lots of health issues. Twin tails are more susceptible to swim bladder, dragon scales often go blind, and "rarer" breeds like black orchids and platinum can have health issues from breeding. Pet store bettas are also just in general less healthy than normal due to the disgusting amount of over breeding.

TANK MAINTENCE

Now that you have everything set up, you have your betta buddy, don't sit down and relax yet. There is still a lot of care maintaining your new tank. Usually you need to conduct 25-30% weekly water changes on your tank, and also make sure everything in your tank is healthy. Maintence can include water changes, cleaning the inside of the glass to clean off algae, trimming back plants when the get too long, and cleaning your gravel. A lot of new fish keepers just assume you can throw a fish in a tank and that's all there is too it. Unfortunately, that's not the case. A fish tank is maintence. If that's not for you, its best to stop reading and consider a pet rock or a fake houseplant. Not keeping up on your maintence can lead to a gross looking tank and sometimes death.

FEEDING AND FOOD

Its easy to feed a betta, but harder to find a food that's actually good for your betta. Sure, it can eat goldfish flakes, but its not good for it. Usually for food, I recommend frozen blood worms, daphnia worms, fluval bug bites, and omega one betta pellets. Its good to vary up your bettas diet.

The pet store may tell you that you only need to feed your betta once a week, but thats usually because bettas are in cups and they need to reduce waste, and the bettas don't need that many calories. Your betta at home is going to need more food. I feed my bettas almost every day, with fasting days throughout the week. Its important to know that a bettas stomach is only about the size of their eye, and over feeding is really easy. They only need 2-4 pellets of food per day. You can split that up into two feedings, or do it all at once. As much as your betta begs for food, don't over feed them. It can lead to health issues.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR FISH GETS SICK

You can do everything right, and keep your water pristine, and still end up with some sort of sickness. And that's okay! Most illnesses are very treatable. The most common illnesses with bettas are swim bladder and fin rot. Swim bladder is usually caused by over feeding. Here is a link to a website that better explains it, and how to treat it!

The other most common one is fin rot. This usually happens due to a cut on the fins that gets infected. It can look like a black or red outline on the fins, and the fins look tattered and broken. Here is a picture of my late fish Tofu that had a bad case of fin rot.

Usually, warm clean water and taking out decorations that are sharp will help. If it doesn't, there are some awesome over the counter medications you can get to help it. Stay away from pimafix or melafix, as they are mostly tea tree oil and the oil will end up coating the bettas labyrinth organ and suffocate the betta.

If your betta doesn't look or act normal, consult a veterinarian or ask a local betta keeper/expert, and they can help you.

Here is a website that I like that helps with betta diseases.

SHOPPING LIST

Here is a quick shopping list of things you will need to set up a new tank!

Tank at least 5gallons (~19L)

Water conditioner (I recomend Seachem Prime)

Soft decorations/plants/gravel

Heater

Filter (depending on the filter I would get filter floss to house your bacteria)

(Optional) bottled bacteria

API master test kit to test your parameters

Water siphon/gravel vac (helps with water changes)

Betta food

Your new betta buddy (for after you've set up and cycled your tank)

I hope that this was helpful to people wanting to get into the hobby. Please feel free to reblog and add things as you see fit! I hope you guys enjoy!

***I usually get my fish from my local pet store. I don't quite know how the fish process is when ordering from an online breeder, I only know as much as comparing it to getting a dog from a breeder. Please feel free to reblog or messege me with a more accurate explanation/guide to betta breeders!