#is there a support hotline for after the match...? asking for a friend | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

selsprompts · 4 years ago

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Who’s the best boyfie?

Insight; This is literally a shit post idk what this is okay- I basically wanted to do some boyfriend headcanons with my best boys Kuroo and Bokuto because why not??

This is literally all over the place pls don’t come for me.

Characters; Tetsurō Kuroo & Kōtarō Bokuto

Warnings; cursing & erm there’s implied smut so read at your own risk mkay ghouls and gals tyty

Kuroo<3

oh gosh my favourite boy!!

Lots of hugs and kisses regardless of where you are this mf does not CARE.

but will be respectful infront of elders (ofc)

Loves to mark you up (hickeys ect)

He is definitely a physical boyfriend in every sense of the word

He comes off as the blunt type, definitely won’t beat around the bush when he wants something from you but will tease.

“Kitten, stop doing your work and come cuddle with me”

“Not right now Tetsurou”

“You’ve been studying for 3 hours just take a break”

“Oh yeah and do what?”

“I mean that chair looks a little uncomfortable, I have a better one right here”

Cocky bitch 101

You’ll be like ???

And he’ll be smirking licking his lips and then you catch his drift because he meant his face.

Soz back to cute stuff I’m—

He likes to buy you over the top things for special occasions.

this doesn’t mean he doesnt buy you things for non-special occasions.

it means that he puts more effort into Christmas, birthday and anniversary gifts.

Like this guy is ALWAYS doing the most just to show you how special you are no matter how much you think you aren’t.

He loves you to death and loves to show you off.

Shows you off infront of his friends especially so they can get jealous.

“Oya Oya that’s my baby, you look so good today”

“Yeah, yeah I know”

“Oh you know?”

“Yes?”

“You hear that Kenma? Y/n ALREADY knows!!”

Kenma is like 0_0 but he will compliment you saying you look nice

Kuroo likes to spend lunch with you, basically any of his spare time outside of vollyball and studying, that time is reserved for you.

It doesn’t bother him much because he sees his friends during classes and majority of them are in vollyball anyways.

WILL. FLIRT. WITH. YOU. IN. CLASS.

He will send you notes and purposely tease you (maybe try to get you in trouble)

“Hey y/n take the note”

“nO Kuroo I’m going to get in trouble”

“Come I’m just this one time-”

“KUroo no-”

“Excuse me, Mr/Ms Y/n, am I interrupting your conversation?”

“No Miss”

“Mmm”

“I’m gonna kill you Kuroo”

“ehehe”

Now he can tell you about how you need to be punished later for making such a big mistake.

Kuroo is top. He will switch if that’s what you really want but majority of the time he’s top.

Kuroos way or the fucking highway 8)

Type of bf to text you at 2am asking to FaceTime till he falls asleep and you comply

Sends you memes that you two can laugh about next time you see eachother.

Sends futuristic memes (as in things that would happen in the future between you to)

*Marriage memes*

Loves to help you do whatever you need.

He hates seeing you struggle when it’s not underneath him

Makes fun of your height if you’re shorter than him CONSTANTLY

“Hey short stuff, how’s the grass?”

if you’re taller he will be lowkey jealous that he has to look up to you.

“Hey, if it isn’t my long legged kitty, come down from up there”

Loves you regardless of what you look like honestly.

Loves you for the mindset you have and the person YOU ARE.

Kuroo is the type to fall INLOVE with someone’s way of life and how they choose to live it.

King shit all the time pls you are his King/Queen.

You ARE royalty in his eyes and deserve nothing but the best, no more no less.

Will reassure his love when need be. It’s cute because he doesn’t do it often.

10/10 boyfriend will definitely share the bed.

You’re usually little spoon but when he’s cranky and loses a match, he won’t say it but you’ll just know that he wants to be held so you be the big spoon:’)

Bokuto<3

okay off the bat this MF IS SO HYPER MY GOD-

will want your attention 24/7.

always has to make sure you’re safe.

he’s so cute when you ignore him purposely especially over text,

“Hey baby”

*read*

“Helloooo y/n”

*read*

“noe what did I do pls tell me🥺”

babie hotline 101.

wbk he super emo so when you do stuff like that he’s in babie mode.

will always answer your texts ASAP.

V supportive of anything you do 100%.

He is the physical boyfriend but is a tiny bit more modest in public and likes to keep it respectful infront of elders/superiors.

Loves to hug you from behind so he can pop his head on your shoulder and look at you from the side like ;).

he will say he loves you all the time just cause he wants you to know.

this goes for in person and over text,

“Hey y/n”

“Yeah Bokuto?”

“I love you”

“That was random”

“I know but I just want you to know how I feel right now”

“I love you too goofball”

“Hehe”

WILL HEHE WHEN YOU COMPLIMENT HIM PLS HE SNICKERS ALL THE TIME AND BLUSHES.

Loves to give affection however he can.

This means he’ll bring flowers during lunch or whatever just to surprise you to see the look on your face.

Loves sharing food with you because he gets to feed you.

Same when you’re sick he will be babying you.

Bokuto is a switch so he’s moody no doubt about it for when he wants you on top.

He can be v dominant when you see him after a match he lost or if he’s very hype.

Will go into “whos the best fucking player mm?” mode in the bedroom 0_0.

Loves when you pull his hair WHEHE.

Loves to do matching outfits sometimes lowkey.

Also LOVES LOVES LOVES to show you off infront of literally everyone???

Akaashi is like ok chile.

He thinks your relationship is good for bokuto because he’s not up his ass all the time and he doesn’t have to deal with the emo king.

Loves to kiss you on the forehead during romantic moments.

He feels that it symbolizes more affection then a kiss on the lips sometimes.

He also kisses you by grabbing you with both hands by the face.

Super passionate kisser literally out of a movie scene.

Likes sending memes of like everything dedass, especially shows you watch together which is ALSO a lot.

Will name a star after himself and tell you that ‘whenever you look up at the sky you can find me’

Super cute gifts.

Bokuto has a type.

It’s the incredibly cute kind.

He needs someone to match his uwu energy.

He loves you for your ambition and strive.

This is because he feels the same way about vollyball so when he sees you being so driven with something it reminds him of himself.

Loves your personality more than anything.

You’re probably always big spoon because babie hello unless he’s like ok protective owl time.

If you’re short he loves to throw you over his shoulder and run around with you.

“Babe not again”

“But WHYYYYY it was so fun last time”

“FOR YOU! I was being carried around like a dead CHICKEN”

“A CUTE DEAD CHICKEN!”

“I- bokuto”

If you’re tall he will dedass ask you to do blocks for him even if you don’t play vollyball... there is no choice.

Tall jokes 24/7.

“How’s the weather up there mm?”

“Shut up bokuto”

“Mhm just don’t get hit by any birds”

“-_-”

Boyfriend status again 10/10 but will pull the wholeass sheet off of you and when you yell at him he will tell you to ‘get closer then’.

It’s really a preference at this point.

Hey guys, I apologize for this long awaited post. I’ve had this in my drafts for forever and I haven’t been feeling in the mood to write lately but I hope this is good!

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wishonastar7 · 3 years ago

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Timely Fate4

Starting the Paid Service(3)

There were different reactions once the dokkaebi disappeared. Some tried to get off the train, then there were the ones who frantically tried to call the police. Yoo Sangah belonged to the latter group.

"T-the police aren't picking up! What should I do...what do I do..."

"Yoo Sangah-ssi," I said, putting Gilyoung down and taking my headphones back but keeping his line of sight away from all the gore surrounding us. "Calm down." She gave me a pitiful look, tears welling up in her eyes as she stuttered.

"Yoo Sangah-ssi," Dokja said, hands on her shoulder. "Remember the game that the development team made? Have you ever played it? A game where the entire world was destroyed and, in the end, only a few people survives."

"H-huh? W-what are you say..."

"Think about it in this way, we are in a game right now."

Yoo Sangah silently licked her lips, her trembling calming down. "Game..."

"Yes, a game. It's a game, so don't hesitate to do the things that Ha-Neul and I tell you to do, ok?"

"O-ok. What should I do, now?"

"Just stay still." He straightened his back, a sigh of relief escaping his lips before he closed his eyes and opened them back up. He looked around.

[Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World]

The descriptions that had once existed only in a novel now unfurled themselves before his eyes.

[The dokkaebi stretched out its antenna.]

[The bodies scattered like trash in the carriage.]

[The bloodied office worker trembled.]

[An old lady groaning in her seat.]

It was like Neo in the Matrix. Observing, questioning, and then eventually accepting it. It felt odd to be able to accept such a crazy thing like this as reality, but it was our reality now.

"Come on everybody! We should all calm down. Let's all start breathing calmly." Someone stepped forward exactly five minutes after the dokkaebi had disappeared. "Are you calm yet? Everyone, please stop what you're doing and pay attention to me."

The ones that had been crying as well as those who had been frantically making calls, stopped. Once everyone's attention was gathered to him, he spoke once more. "As you know, in the event of a national disaster, small disturbances can cause large human casualties. That is why I will now take control of the current situation."

"Wait, who are you?"

"A national disaster situation? What are you saying?"

Some people belatedly recovered and strongly resisted the word 'control'. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"I am currently an Army lieutenant serving in the 6502 unit. I just received a message from my unit." People gathered around his phone to read the message.

I on the other hand stayed behind with the others. It was a national disaster situation, people were bound to be afraid. The things that happened next would only let their fear grow stronger,

Army Lieutenant Lee Hyunsung.

He was one of the main supporting 'characters' for 'Ways of Survival'.

[Steel Sword Lee Hyunsung]

"Soldier-nim! What is happening?"

"I have been trying to contact my unit, but.."

"Blue house! What is the Blue House doing? Please contact the president quickly!"

"I apologize. I'm just an ordinary soldier so I don't have a hotline for the Blue House."

"Then why are you taking control?"

"For the safety of the citizens."

It was at this moment that I realized the description the novel had given the man wasn't incorrect. Rather, it was extremely accurate. He was upright and attentive. He cared for his country and the people in it. He was a good man.

"The Prime Minister is making a speech! It is a level one disaster!" Everyone turned on their smartphones at the person's cry.

To my fellow citizens, unidentified terrorists are currently in an unspecified number of areas, including Seoul.

'These terrorists will have all of Seoul playing in their palms just for entertainment.' I thought, the idea suddenly startling me. I wasn't listening to the speech, rather I was looking through my bookbag.

"Ah-ha!" I muttered out, pulling Lee Gilyoung closer to me. "Here," I handed him a blue fanny pack and then took out two boxes of matches and put them inside the fanny pack. I took out a few lighters and placed them in, a small pocket knife, a spare taser, and batteries.

"I always carry extras with me. These are for you. Keep the taser at hand at all times. The knife will only be for desperate situations. Press this button to activate it. No, don't press it now! Later." I gave a small sigh as I ruffled his head. "Use these to protect yourself when I can't. The fanny pack is waterproof and so Is everything else but I put everything in a Ziploc bag in case of water somehow getting in. Make sure that the matches never get wet. I wrapped them in a layer of plastic wrap before putting them in the small Ziploc but it doesn't hurt to be careful."

I helped him strap it over a shoulder and under the other one before zipping my bag back up and picking him back up. He gave me a look before snuggling up to my neck. I looked over at Kim Dokja and Yoo Sangah to see they were looking at me with contemplative looks.

"Y-you carry that around with you...all the time?" Yoo Sangah finally got out.

I looked at them before responding. "And more." They shivered as I purposely deepened my voice. I picked up the cricket Gilyoung had dropped and put it in the box and into my bag with the others.

"But where is the President? Why is the Prime Minister making the speech?" The commotion continued. I took a chocolate granola bar and a juice box out of my pockets and handed them to Gilyoung. I loved spoiling him.

"The president has already been hit." Someone responded.

"What! Really?"

"I'm not sure. A Naver comment-"

"Naver! Then it's false!"

Of course, it wasn't.

"Uwaaaack! What?" People dropped their phones as gunshots were heard. It came from their smartphones. Chiiiiick, there was a loud sound and blood filled the screen. Everyone held their breaths as they realized what had just happened.

"P-Prime Minister." His blood filled the screen. The Prime Minister had died in real-time. His head had exploded. The next thing that appeared on the screen was a dokkaebi.

[Everyone, I already told you. This isn't a game like 'terrorism'.]

[Do you still not understand? This won't do. This isn't a game.]

It sounded so ominous though his tone was relaxed.

[According to the data, the people of this country are good at games. So why don't I try raising the difficulty?]

Beep. A huge timer appeared in the air. At the same time, it started decreasing.

[The remaining time has been decreased by ten minutes.]

[Ten minutes are remaining.]

[If the first killing doesn't occur within the next five minutes, all lives in that compartment will be wiped out.]

The words of the dokkaebi drastically changed the situation to a point that Lee Hyunsung couldn't fix it.

"T-There is a murder back there!" Someone shouted, directing everyone's attention to the bloody scene taking place in carriage 3907. The murderer's complexion was white.

[All types of access to the compartment will be restricted until the scenario is complete.]

"W-what?"

Once again. The voice of the dokkaebi rang out through we couldn't see where he was. [Haha, some places are quite fun while others have yet to start. Alright, I'll give you some special service. Let me show you what will happen if the first killing fails to occur in the next five minutes.]

A giant screen appeared out of nowhere.

A boy bit his fingernails as he muttered. "Is that the school uniform of Daepong?"

Beep, beep, beep- an ominous beeping sound was heard.

Then the high school girls began to scream.

[The given time has run out.]

[Paid settlement will now begin.]

Once the announcement ended, the head of the girls sitting in the front row exploded. One by one, again and again, the heads of the girls exploded until one girl managed to strangle the girl next to her until she slowly ran out of breath and collapsed.

In the end, she was the only one remaining.

[#Bay23515 channel. Daepong Girls' High School, Year two Class B Survivor: Lee Jihye]

The figure of the girl on the screen disappeared. Then the dokkaebi asked, how is it? Interesting?]

The dokkaebi spoke with a smile. Everyone started looking at each other nervously, others turned vicious. Slowly people started spreading out, getting farther and farther away from the others. The only ones who remained in the same area were Lee Hyunsung, Kim Dokja, Yoo Sangah, Lee Gilyoung and me.

I could see Dokja panicking. A flicker of realization passed through his eyes and I felt like smacking myself. He had gotten a PDF from the author but didn't realize that it was the entire novel. And he was still waiting for him to appear.

Yoo Jonghyuk.

My best friend for over ten years.

And the protagonist of 'Three Ways to Survive in A Ruined World.'

(1540)

#ORV #OMNISCIENT READER'S VIEWPOINT #FANFICTION #OC #ORVSPOILERS #YOO JONGHYUK #KIM DOKJA #YOO JONGHYUK X OC #KIM DOKJA X OC #SLOWBURN-ISH #MUTUAL PINING #FRIENDS TO LOVERS #KOREAN WAS GOOGLE TRANSLATED #KOREANWEBTOONBASED #KOREANLIGHTNOVELBASED

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solalunar-eclipse · 4 years ago

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Scars You Can’t See - Chapter 5

Chapter title: Ready to explode

Word count: about 3800 words (whoa)

Author’s Note: I think it’s about time I gave a shoutout to @teamxdark! Their comments have gotten me to start planning out some of the later chapters (and giving me a lot of inspiration), so I figured they deserved some credit!

And thank you to everyone who’s read this fic so far- every note I get is incredible and I hope you’re all enjoying the ride :)

First | Previous | Next

Sonic stared blankly at his phone screen for the fifth time this morning. The old texts and the name at the top of the messaging app blurred slightly as his eyes unfocused. He was waiting for...something. What, he wasn’t sure.

That was a lie.

Truthfully, he was hoping that the three little dots showing that someone was typing would appear like a miracle. He knew that wouldn’t happen, though. The hedgehog on the other end of the messages had turned off his phone entirely. Heck, Shadow was literally in hiding. There had been exactly one post on Chatter (which he and Tails totally hadn’t read over and over searching for hidden messages) and that was from Omega.

But chaos, how Sonic wished for just five minutes to talk to him. He hadn’t even realized before now how much he normally texted the hybrid in a day. The hero honestly just messaged whenever he saw something or found a funny joke that he thought Shadow would like. In dealing with his new absence, though, Sonic had come up with an idea to write down whatever it was he’d seen that he figured Shadow would enjoy and save it for later.

He was forced to stop this when he wrote nearly two thousand words’ worth of moments in half an hour.

Sonic cursed all the times he’d taken Shadow’s near-constant presence for granted. The hybrid had always been a punctual texter, despite Rouge’s repeated attempts to convince him that he didn’t have to answer right away. Even when the other hedgehog had been off on a mission, Sonic still had an idea of how long he needed to wait before he could start texting. But now, it could be days, weeks, or even months before he could talk to Shadow freely again.

What if you’ll never hear from him again? a nasty inner voice whispered. What if that call was the last time you got to hear his voice?

Sonic felt his stomach fall through the floor at that idea, before swallowing the sensation and shaking his head. He couldn’t doubt Team Dark like that! They were guaranteed to pull through, and kick G.U.N.’s butt in the process.

Speaking of which…

The hero was pretty angry at G.U.N., and that was actually a big deal for him. Sonic didn’t get angry, except sometimes at Eggman. Even when a bitter detractor had posted a lengthy essay on Chatter explaining exactly why Sonic was (supposedly) a terrible person, he hadn’t reacted in fury- or even close. He’d had his friends’ support, and honestly? He’d pitied the person more than anything. Anyone who was trying to tear others down had probably been hurt pretty badly themselves.

Sonic had even made a meme out of their misspelling of his name- “Sanic” was now a worldwide joke with a hilarious drawing to match.

But now, all he really wanted to do was beat someone up- some robots, some evil agents, whatever- and trash the whole organization until they were all falling over themselves to apologize. The fact that G.U.N. had dared to treat Shadow’s obviously painful past with no kindness whatsoever really got on his nerves. The hybrid had suffered a hundred times over, lost his memory, and even died to save the world, yet he still didn’t get the respect he deserved.

“Uhhh, Sonic? Is everything okay?”

The blue blur jumped, startled out of his spiraling thoughts. He heard a growling noise, and his eyes widened when he realized it was coming from him. Sonic could feel his lips curled back into a snarl and quickly straightened his face out, blinking and clearing his throat. “Yeah! Sorry, Tails…” he said, embarrassed at having been caught in that kind of state. The fox eyed him skeptically. “Really, I’m fine!”

“Are you su-”

“Yeah!” Sonic exclaimed, grinning reassuringly. No point in upsetting others with his own problems, after all. “Everything’s good here, buddy!”

“If you say so…” Tails muttered. He didn’t seem convinced, but accepted it despite this. “Anyway, what I came over to say was: we’re out of groceries- can you head out and get some? I made a list of everything we need, it’s right here!”

Ordinarily, Sonic would’ve complained loudly and with much drama about having to do something so menial as a grocery run when he was a hero, for chaos’ sake. But that wasn’t the case these days. “Sure thing!” Sonic agreed, feeling better already. With a distraction to keep his worries and negative thoughts away, he’d be back to normal in no time. “See ya soon!”

The blue blur dashed out the door- before returning a second later, a sheepish grin on his face. “Forgot the list,” he explained, rushing out again.

With the wind in his quills, it was almost too easy to forget everything that he’d been thinking about just moments before. Sonic grinned properly as he raced across fields and through side streets. This was his element, after all! He made his way to his and Tails’ favorite grocery store, bounding over obstacles and pulling a few awesome parkour tricks he’d picked up over the years. Shadow had always gotten on their case for not supporting a more local store- this one was a big name, after all- but Sonic had--

He shook his head, walking into the building. No more thoughts like that! There was only so much ruminating on bittersweet memories a guy could do in a day.

His presence here was relatively common, so he didn’t do much more than turn a few heads as he stepped through the automatic doors into the air-conditioned halls of the large grocery store. Sonic forced himself to walk through the aisles (instead of sprinting through them and accidentally whipping half the items off the shelves in his wake). As he did so, though, he began to hear people talking. And they weren’t just talking about the latest viral video, or boring politics, or any of those things, either.

They were talking about them.

Of course, everyone would always change the subject when he walked by, chatting loudly about their dog or their kids or whatever. It was almost as though they were saying, “Don’t look at me! I didn’t say anything about your friends! I’m just here, minding my own business!” But of course none of them really had been.

He recognized that he was spiraling down the path of thinking about it again, even though there was nothing he could do. And now no matter what, the thoughts of some of his closest friends were tainted. Which totally didn’t frustrate him at all.

It didn’t help, he thought irritably (not noticing the mild scowl that had appeared on his face), that G.U.N. was basically screaming in all the op-eds and information releases the organization could get their hands on that they weren’t in the wrong. They didn’t say that specifically, of course- that would be too obvious. Instead, they just published the same old news over and over again: Team Dark had stolen classified files and then run away.

This had all begun to grate on Sonic’s nerves a little, particularly when pundits and newspaper writers alike began to spout wild conspiracy theories about Team Dark having been spies for ‘the enemy’- whoever that was- or that one of them had finally lost it...or even all three at once. The most frustrating, however, was when once avid supporters of the former G.U.N. agents completely disavowed them and distanced themselves from the team as much as possible. It made him want to pull a Knuckles and punch a wall- how could people turn on the team so easily?

The hero pulled himself back to reality to realize that he’d been staring at a can of soup for the past few minutes. And were those dents where his fingers had been? He put the can in his shopping cart, took a deep breath, and continued on, giving himself a little ride on the back of the cart as a treat. Normally, he’d remember his various accidents and restrain himself, but lately the hero had needed to clear his head. He deserved this.

A few minutes later, a chime on his phone let him know that Tails had sent him a message. Sonic opened it up and read the text:

milesperhour: Sonic, I think you need to see this. Take a close look at paragraph 5. https://www.centralcitynews.com/team-dark-update

Sonic clicked the link, sighing, and began to scan the article. Another one? Really, he’d had enough of-

Oh boy. Oh wow. Okay.

They’d made a move. G.U.N. didn’t release much in the way of information- all they’d done was declare an official alert asking people to keep a lookout for Rouge, Shadow and Omega. And to tip G.U.N. off at a hotline that they’d provided for this purpose.

Sonic had learned how to read between the lines over the last few days, though, and on his second read-through, he saw what most would not.

...are in possession of multiple classified files…

So they’d stolen more info? That must’ve been what Omega’s post was about! Sonic began to squeeze his phone hopefully. Maybe this was it, maybe soon this whole nightmare would be over!

He practically flew through the rest of the store at the thought. Team Dark would give G.U.N. what for, the organization would apologize, and then everything would be fine!

Sonic checked out in a hurry, rushing home as fast as he could. Slamming open the door, he yelled out, “Tails! Did you see- oh right, you sent me the article. But still! Things are looking up, buddy!”

Tails had a slightly lopsided grin on his face, making the hero’s heart sink. “What’s that look all about?”

“I don’t know- it’s probably nothing! After all, Team Dark can handle any situation they come up against...just, G.U.N. has a lot of resources, you know?”

Sonic’s smile returned in full force. “Sure they do, but they also owe me for saving the world, like, a million times over! Once we’ve got the Edge Gang back with us, I’ll go talk with the commander and get them to straighten everything out!”

“That sounds like corruption, Sonic…” Tails said, a wicked smirk appearing on his face.

“Dude, what?! No! I’d never-! I just meant I was gonna see if I could talk some sense into them- hey, get back here!” Sonic screeched, seeing Tails run off with the groceries...including the donut he’d bought for himself.

…

Later that afternoon, Sonic was in the middle of finally enjoying said donut after wrestling it from Tails’s (evil terrible Sonic-and-sugar-hating) claws. It was a little squished, but it was still great- he wasn’t complaining!

That was, of course, when he heard a loud, sharp knock on the door.

He jumped up and zipped over to the entry hall, pastry still in hand. Whipping open the door, a shocking sight greeted him- one that made all of his battle-honed senses immediately scream danger danger danger. Two impeccably dressed G.U.N. agents stood before him, a human and a barn owl. The human seemed pretty awkward, wearing slightly rumpled slacks and overall looking a little messy. The owl, however, despite being about the same height as the blue blur, exuded an air of steely discipline that would make everyone she faced feel about two inches tall.

Everyone except Sonic, that was. He was secure in the knowledge that his friends were not wrong, and he maintained his usual relaxed demeanor without a hitch. The hero smiled fake-pleasantly at the two agents, ignoring the fact that he had sugar glaze at the corners of his mouth and all over his glove. “Sorry, guys, I wasn't really expecting guests.” He gestured to himself as an obvious example. “Anything I can do for ya?”

He didn’t offer to let them inside, though. These agents were hunting down his friends, he was absolutely sure of that. Sonic refused to help them in any way, not when Team Dark was still out there and being threatened by their organization.

The barn owl gave him a look that nearly pierced through his very soul. “Sonic the Hedgehog. I am Agent Toya, and this is my colleague, Agent Jones. We have a few questions that we would like to ask you. Inside.” Her voice was cold and clear, with no trace of an accent.

Sonic felt a chill run down his spine, but kept his smile up regardless. “Sure thing!” he chirped, despite very much not wanting to let them in. “The living room’s right this way- make yourselves comfortable, I’ll be back there in a sec.” He honestly didn’t think he could have refused them entry without...complications.

The hero zipped over to Tails’s workshop, flinging open the door with a little more force than he’d intended. The fox jumped up in a fright when it smacked against the wall, staring at Sonic. “G.U.N. is here. Two agents.” he said quickly. The imminent sense of danger in the back of his head wouldn't leave him be, despite the fact that he was one of the most powerful people alive.

...Despite this, don’t let G.U.N. take you or anyone else anywhere. You might not come back…

...These people aren’t crazy geniuses- they’re ruthless destroyers…

“Oh, chaos.” Tails breathed. “I’ll wait nearby, okay? Then I can do something if they start getting too intense.”

Sonic nodded, before speeding back down to see the agents sitting on his couch. “Hi! So whatcha guys want?” he asked perkily, burying his thoughts for now.

“Hello to you too, Sonic.” Jones said politely. “How are you?”

The hero tugged slightly at the cuff of his glove. “Pretty good!” he lied through his grin. “Been chilling around the house for most of the day- how ‘bout you?”

“Not bad,” the human answered. “Work is work though, you know?”

“Yeah, sounds pretty rough.” Sonic said, a little unconvincingly. Before he could stop himself, he thought of all the late nights Shadow and Omega had spent working on paperwork and various odd jobs for G.U.N., and the times when Rouge had to cancel her dates with Knuckles because she was just too exhausted from work to do much of anything. His smile became slightly strained as he worked to keep his frustration on Team Dark’s behalf under wraps.

The owl gazed at him silently for a moment, having watched this whole awkward transaction with a calculating look in her eye. Then she spoke. “I’m certain you have seen the news lately.”

“Uhhh...kinda, I’m not big on newspapers, but I try to keep up, yeah! Always nice to see an article about yours truly, hah.” He played it off, deciding to act dumb for now.

Agent Jones shifted in his seat, looking cautious. “Yeah…” he said, offering up an incredibly fake smile. “I’m a bit of a fan, myself.”

Sonic knew exactly what was going on. It was almost so classic he had to laugh- the old good cop/bad cop scenario. The human was clearly trying to play the good cop, and not enjoying it either. The hedgehog had to wonder, though, was he just a better bad cop or uncomfortable because he was helping grill a hero?

Oh, right- Agent Toya was talking again. “We know that you have seen the articles published about the betrayal of Team Dark. Even if you do not read the news, one of your friends will have told you by now.”

The hedgehog’s eyes narrowed a little. “And what’s that supposed to mean? What do you want outta me?”

“You. Know. Something.” she said sharply. “That team- in particular Shadow the Hedgehog-” He tensed at her flippant use of his name, as if they weren’t hunting him down like he had legitimately gone bad. “-trust you. You are very close with them. They would not have left you with nothing.”

Sonic shook his head, trying one last time. “I don’t think so, lady. I know about as much as you- if that. It’s not like we’re besties or anything.”

Agent Jones shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know- it looks like you guys are pretty close to me. Not that that’s bad, I mean-!!” he amended rapidly, realizing his mistake. In addition to having blown his role as the ‘good cop’, he was now being stared down by a very irritated pair of green eyes. The look he was being given contrasted sharply with the grin plastered across the hero’s face, and the agent began to sweat slightly and avoid his stare.

Meanwhile, Sonic turned his attention back to Agent Toya, sitting up straight and squaring his shoulders in preparation for more. He was a fighter, after all.

It seemed that the barn owl came here ready for a fight as well, because her own eyes flashed and she straightened her G.U.N. uniform. “Sonic. We need information. Our organization has been compromised. Twice. We are in a crisis and we are ordering you to tell us what you know.”

That did it.

“As if!” the hero exclaimed, jumping to his feet. “You think I’m the kind of guy who’d sell his friends out and watch them get carted off to jail- or worse?! I don’t know as much as you think I do, and if I did, I wouldn’t tell you!” He had probably blown any semblance of ignorance up now, but Sonic couldn’t find it in himself to care.

The owl agent stood as well, glaring at him. “If that is the attitude you are going to take, then we have no choice but to take you into custody.” She began to reach for the Taser on her belt at the same time as Jones grabbed the gun from his holster. Sonic’s eyes flickered between them both- the human he could take on, but he wasn’t completely sure about Toya’s skill with the Taser.

Could he get around them? Sure, but not without breaking something...and he hated to bust up his house just because a couple of agents showed up on his doorstep and pulled weapons on him. He’d handled worse odds, hadn’t he? But then he and Tails would constantly be on the run, and that was no way for a nine-year-old to live…

A loud crash resounded in the kitchen. Jones shouted and jumped up, Sonic’s head snapped around so fast he tweaked his neck, and Toya took a step backwards.

Rubbing his neck and wincing, Sonic yelled out, “Everything okay in there?”

Tails dashed into the room out of nowhere, crying out, “Sorry! Sorry! I was just working and wanted a drink- and I heard- I heard-”

The fox then began to cry, sobbing and clinging to Sonic’s chest. “You’re not gonna take him away, are you? I need my big brother…” he sniffled. “Sonic, everything’s gonna be okay, right?”

The hero was trying his very hardest, meanwhile, to keep his jaw from hitting the floor as he watched his brother, a brave, intelligent sidekick and someone he was proud to fight beside, put on the most incredible show he’d ever seen. “I…I dunno, buddy…” he said honestly, uncertain about how to react.

This seemed to be a pretty good move, as Tails immediately began to bawl harder and gasped, in between sobs, “Please don’t take him away from me!”

It appeared that Toya would not feel comfortable using force against Sonic (or even resuming her interrogation) when the young fox was around. Instead, she gave him a very pointed, piercing look, before declaring, “We will be back at a later date to continue this conversation.”

She stalked out the door, Jones shoving his gun back onto his belt and following sulkily behind her. As soon as she had gotten into her car and driven off, the hero sagged into the couch and let out a loud sigh. “Welp.”

Tails flew out of the room immediately afterwards, whispering a quick “Wait there and chill for a second I’ll be right back” before he exited. Once he returned, the fox crawled around on the couch next to Sonic before letting out an “Aha!” and holding up what appeared to be a tiny piece of metal.

“It’s a shame to have to do this, but…” he muttered, before vanishing with it. A couple minutes later, a very loud noise boomed from Tails’s workshop and made Sonic panic before blasting in there at top speed.

“What was that?!” he shrieked.

“Just destroying this camera that human agent left in our couch.” the engineer replied lightly.

“Wait- what??” Sonic gasped. “He did what?”

“I thought they’d be crazy to leave without planting one, so I checked the camera feed, and it was pretty obvious! He must be a new recruit.”

“Wait- you have a camera? In our living room?” the hero asked, feeling slightly creeped out.

Tails shrugged. “Well, I didn’t until recently, but I figured that G.U.N. would have to show up at our place eventually, so yeah.”

They both stayed there in silence for a minute, before making their way back down to the main house.

“Well, what do we do now?” Tails wondered.

“I dunno- you’re the smart guy, pal.” Sonic replied quickly. “I just don’t want to have to escape from them! I like running, but not away from people. Especially bad people.”

“Well...does it count as running if we’re hanging out with Knuckles?” the fox suggested hopefully.

Sonic sighed. “I guess not...it’d be cool with him, too, since Angel Island is a pretty safe place and all. I still hate the idea of hiding from them, though.”

“Maybe you won’t have to!” Tails said, trying to be cheerful. “After all, I don’t think people will buy it if G.U.N. says you’re a...traitor…” He trailed off, remembering a particularly eventful moment from their past.

“Yyyeah.” the hedgehog said dryly, having thought of the same thing. “That’s exactly why I didn’t have to ride through the streets of Central City on a piece of helicopter.”

“Let’s not think about that for now though, okay?” Sonic asked. “ I don’t like the idea of being scared all the time.”

Tails nodded in agreement. “Besides, we’ve handled them before! We can cross that bridge when we come to it anyway.”

Sonic grinned. “How about we watch some TV for now, take our minds off things?”

“Sure! But I’m definitely gonna tell Omega- or whoever calls us next- about this. They deserve to know.” the fox answered.

“Okay…” the blue blur said. He felt a little guilty that he could just turn on a movie and forget about G.U.N. for a while- Team Dark didn’t have that luxury. Quickly, though, he added, “Anything on there you’ve been dying to watch?”

Tails smiled happily, and Sonic decided that this was totally worth it. “Well, there is this one documentary…”

#scars you can't see #sycs #team dark #sonic the hedgehog #miles tails prower #*eggman voice* it's time for a change of pace!#i had to look up sonic characterization posts right before the final edit #i want to write him well!!#btw just to clarify #gun received word about the second heist directly after the end of chapter 4 #i can't believe we're at chapter 5 already!#wow #sol’s fanfiction

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ajalanigeria · 4 years ago

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Picking the best travel agency in Nigeria

Blog URL: https://ajalang.blogspot.com/2021/03/picking-best-travel-agency-in-nigeria.html

A nice and trustworthy airline travel agency unravelsnumerous options and an extended variety of services in comparison to what can be searched on the internet. In addition, being able to reverse with actual people at a physical location is to be more expedient and heartening to a number of flight clients. It is important to know that in case any problems emerge, there is a travel agency in Nigeria to help resolve the conflict.

Normally, any personas the right claim to have travel agencies just by running businesses. The major problem lies on which travel agency a customer can believe for the hassle-free experience when it comes to buying airplane tickets. This post will discuss various factors that customers may take into account in hiring the right airline travel agency.

Factors to Keep in Mind

The first element to consider is the agency's regular services. It is necessary to know about their hotline, the number of days they are open in a week, sloppy or professional email addresses, as well as their internet connection. These are determining factors so clients will know whether they can promptly reach the business after sending an e-mail or calling the company's phone in just a minute or two.

Post this, it is also suggested to inspect the size of the best international travel agency in Nigeria. However, superior agencies are not unavoidably better in comparison to the smaller ones. If the flight is envisioned for a person or a family, a smaller agency might be more well-matched. Contrariwise, if the flight being handled is for a group of a thousand people, then bigger agencies might provide improved services.

Moreover, the standing of the travel agency in Nigeria should also be considered. Being able to know what earlier customers faced with the agency and its services can forge or break the trust of probable customers. Sentiments of family members, families, co-workers, or friends who had past experiences with numerous agencies is a great start in hiring the right one.

The fourth aspect is the agency's specialty on a particular travel type. There are two kinds of travel - business and leisure. While all agencies might be ready to support, if a precise agency specializes on business travels rather than leisure travels, it is more probable that its services more corporate-centric. Customers need to put this in mind and frankly ask the agency about the basic travel type it can serve.

Finally, the deals and promotions offered by travel agencies can be a big factor, particularly to those with imperfect budgets. Comparing travel promos of different agencies can control which one is the most reasonable despite having the same group of services. Customers, however, should be aware that there are agencies with little or no circumstantial which are providing airfare charges which are too decent to be correct.

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maatryoshkaa · 6 years ago

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Stray Kids as Roommates | Thread

some roommates-to-lovers fluff coming at you!

Bang Chan

You guys are the pair that n e v e r sleep

Turned his room into a home studio; probably would have thrown out his bed and turned his room into an office if you hadn’t stopped him

You often fall asleep to the sound of his humming and tracks muffled through your bedroom wall

You see the most of him during exam season, while pulling all nighters

He’s always in the kitchen making his 14th cup of coffee when you get up to go to the bathroom at 3 am

Lots of deep, meaningful conversations over late night snacks

You swear you’ve heard him talking to his Goku figurines during the unearthly hours of the morning

You’re the only one Chan lets ruffle his fluffy dandelion bedhead in the morning

Takes care of you more than he takes care of himself

Always asks you how your day went when you get home and insists on listening even when he’s been awake for over 48 hours

Always there to give you advice and comfort you when you’re feeling down! A living breathing mental health hotline

Walked into your room when you were studying for finals at 2am

You were in your pajamas, hair a mess and eyes barely open

And that was when Bang Chan decided he was in love with you

Ah, the couple with matching bags under their eyes.

☽ Read the rest of the boys under this cut!

Woojin

Fried chicken takeout for dinner is a big Friday night thing

Kind of like a big moral support teddy bear, his hugs are the greatest

You steal half his closet in the winter because his hoodies are the comfiest

Literally the dad of your household

Checks up on your health and how you’re doing every now and then

Pushes you to finish your work and makes sure you’re not procrastinating

Honestly, your grades are soaring thanks to him

Helps you with homework

Your parents love him

Always saves and brings you good things to eat

Tucks you in at night when you can’t sleep nyahh i’m soft

And a couple times, when you wake up shaking from nightmares, homesickness or stress, he’s always there to comfort you, lying there until you fall asleep again.

“Woojin?”

“Yeah? Shh, don’t worry, I’m here.”

You always sit outside the bathroom and listen to him sing in the shower

Until he suddenly opened the door in nothing but a towel and you couldn’t face him for weeks

He thought your furiously blushing face was the cutest thing he’d ever seen and teased you about it,

Until you finally kissed him to make him shut up

Hint: it worked wonders.

Minho

Saturday night dance battles are a t h i n g

Doesn’t do any chores unless he notices you’re feeling tired

Tried to cook once and probably accidentally gave the both of you food poisoning

Remember when he cooked rice cakes in the unwashed metal pan I’m--

Likes you a lot more than he lets on

Like, you’d mention craving a certain food or not having saved up enough money for something, and voila, the next day it’d be sitting on the kitchen table.

“What? It was on sale, just lying around. Don’t think too much of it.”

Clowns you for every little thing, but the moment he hears someone make fun of you, it’s on sight

Bicker like an old married couple, lots of back and forth catfights

Evenings falling asleep on the sofa, both tipsy and giggling while his two cats snuggle up around you

Arguing over who the cats love more

Endless crackhead antics; the neighbours probably hate you

Insists on walking his cats around the apartment complex, when in reality he just wants to spend more time with you

Everyone already knows you’re basically dating but you’re both too stubborn to admit it

Probably hooked up once or twice, or more than once or twice ;)

Changbin

Honestly when you first got him as your roommate, you were terrified

Because this 5’6 ball of dark is intimidating as frick

Realized how soft he really was when he whipped out his Munchlax plushie

Petty arguments with him are impossible because he speaks so fast

So you just let him win

Makes you kill the spider

Always manages to convince you to watch horror movies at 1 am

Probably as an excuse to have you in his arms if you get scared ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) he thinks he’s slick

Perfected the “stretch and put his arm around your shoulder” move

Made a special playlist for everything you do together: good vibes for breakfast, upbeat jams when doing the chores together, chill indie mixes for cozy evenings in doing work

Insists on helping you around the house

Bringing you fresh ice coffee, cookies, and convenience store hauls whenever he gets off work

“B-but the Peperos were on a buy one get one free sale 👉👈”

Suggests playing the pocky/pepero kiss game to which you smack him in response

But you end up giving him a quick peck anyways, and he freezes, stunned

You run off, face red, Changbin chasing after to you with a wicked grin

“What was that? Is that buy one get one, too, because I want another oneeee!”

Hyunjin

The chillest roommate, but when he gets hyper oh m y

I ain’t gettin no sleep cos of y’all, y’all not gettin sleep cos of me

You have to wake him on the weekends because this boy would sleep until the evening

You want to let him rest, though, since he’s always out and working so late ;(

Secretly takes so many candid, soft pictures of you and saves them as his wallpaper

Loves to take you shopping and dress the both of you in matching #OOTDs

Hypes you the heck up

“She’s sister snatched today! Skin glowing, outfit on point -- oh look at that SMILE! Do the thing again -- oh my gosh. You’re killing it, y/n!”

Gives you fashion advice and beauty tips, although you keep bugging him for his skincare routine cuz damn

Probably share skincare products

Always do face masks together but fail at keeping them on because the two of you keep laughing at the stupidest things

Sometimes he has to put you to bed when he comes home late, and you’ve fallen asleep on the couch waiting for him to get back

Can’t resist kissing your forehead sometimes when tucking you in

At moments like these, he finds himself wishing for a sliver of a chance that you might feel the same way he has

He’s honestly so damn obvious though, getting you matching “roommate” things when he goes out -- plushies that remind him of you, little snacks when you’re down, cute accessories, you name it

This boy also forgets that he talks in his sleep -- and is very hard to wake up

So one morning, you’re leaning over his bed, about to shake him awake, and hear him mumble

“y/n, y/n, y/n...i like you sooo much...what do i do?”

You nearly choke on your toast, effectively waking the boy up, and he stares at you, half-awake and mortified.

“What? Did I--did I say something in my sleep?”

The smug, blushing smile spreading over your face is enough to send him diving back under the covers as you begin to tease him

Jisung

So comfortable to be around, he’s basically your best friend from day 1

Except for the fact that he’s so. Damn. LOUD

Noise complaints filed from the neighbours, the landlord, the neighbour’s dog, you name it

Another soft bean whose bedhead you love to ruffle

I mean have you seen My Pace dance practice? That boys mane has a mind of its own--

Brings you lots of cakes and pastries from cute bakeries when you’re stressed

A responsible boi™ ! always helps you out around the house.

Grocery shopping together? What a concept

Except he piles the cart with chips and snacks when he thinks you’re not looking

Lots of late nights binging movies on Netflix

This boy loves moves

But he loves them even more when he watches them with you ;D

Afterwards, you’re both too lazy and comfortable to move, so you end up falling asleep cuddled up against each other

Always runs away and hides when you ask to see his songs

You find scraps of hastily scribbled lyrics and ideas strewn around the house all the time

Little phrases like “i think i love you” and “my heart beats impossibly fast when i’m with you”

So you manage to collect enough to bring them to him and tease him about it

Jisung gets all quiet, though, instead of whining like he usually does, and you quickly apologise, thinking you’ve gone too far

You reassure him his writing is amazing

“It’s not that.”

He finally looks you in the eye, the intensity of his stare making your heart stop for a moment.

“They’re about you.”

Oh, how the turn tables.

Felix

i hate him sm, blease

Why did you even agree to room with him

Rooming with Felix is a one way trip to insanity -- we going ✈️✈️ acid trip

You can hear him yelling yeets and yeehaws when he plays Fortnite while you do your homework, and you swear you’re t h i s close to putting his head straight through his screen

Video game marathons when you’re not busy though, you have to admit, are the bomb

Probably convinced you to make TikToks with him

Makes you do all the viral challenges, including the couple trends

Honestly the most fun guy to be around ever

Your daily dose of memes and sugar

Knows when to be down to earth and serious, though!

Gives the best massages when you’re overworked and runs you a bath, promptly ordering your favourite takeout and making sure to feed you

Building pillow forts together on rainy days and snow days, and having sleepovers!

Binging vine compilations together during said sleepovers

Sending each other memes at 1 am when you’re both simultaneously procrastinating on homework

You basically became a couple without really going through the confession stage; it just sort of happened

“Hey, ‘lix?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“I think I kinda like you.”

A sideways smirk. “Well, yeah, you’ve dealt with me for this long.”

The best-friends couple: soulmates, and, more importantly, partners in crime vine

Seungmin

Sweetest roommate!! Honestly you feel bad for even asking him to do chores

Has a bit of an evil side, though

One second he’s flashing you an angelic smile, the next he’s roasting you for your selfie skills on your recent Instagram post

You make one (1) complaint about the living room being messy, next thing you know you wake up and it’s spick and span

Cooks?? Really hecking well?

Sometimes you wonder if you signed up for a roommate or a housekeeper

Your apartment is so clean

Taking evening strolls together after dinner and taking pictures at the park

Walks you to and from work/school like a little puppy, and gets anxious if you’re late coming home

Doesn’t know how to show how much he cares about you and gets frustrated with himself

So he indulges in the little things, like packing you cute little lunches with sticky notes on the containers

Little notes around the house on days he stays out working late, like make sure you’re eating! And don’t sleep too late!

Honestly, you fell for him the moment he first smiled at you

Once, he was working overtime nonstop, and you didn’t get to see him for over two weeks

When he finally came home on time, you couldn’t help tackling him in a big bear hug

After he got over his initial heartbeat racing a thousand miles per hour, he dropped his head into the crook of your neck, hugging you back tightly

No words were needed, you missed each other’s presence so much, it seemed to say itself

I love you, and I missed you.

Jeongin

Is this boy even old enough to rent out a room? He is babie

So incredibly shy when he first meets you, but warms up quickly

Owns animal-printed pajamas and onesies

You both had a mini celebration when he got his braces off, complete with banana milk and animal crackers

You are both babie

An early bird, always wakes up before you

You wake up to him shaking you and laughing at your scrunched up face

“Wake uuppp, y/n, you’re going to be so late!”

“Ergghhhh.”

Can’t clean to save his life; always ends up breaking something or knocking things over

So he’s in charge of doing the laundry

Had a fat mental breakdown when he realised that meant your underwear

Your apartment is littered with figurines and plushies that both of you collect and don’t have the heart to clean out

“Jeongin, where are y----” you stop. “Why are you lying face down on the ground?”

“...we’re out of banana milk.”

Another hidden evil bean who clowns you for everything you do once he warms up to you

Baby boy!Jeongin switches to Savage!Jeongin in a matter of seconds

Also makes you kill the spider

Helps you cook, but only if you tell him how to do everything or he’ll freak out

Putting mukbang channels on the TV while eating together and watching in comfortable silence

Loves watching you eat and has a million derpy pictures of you saved on his phone

Poor boy has no idea how to tell you he’s falling head over heels with you

Accidentally blurts out “I like you” during a screaming contest

Lots, I mean LOTS of awkward laughing as Jeongin feels his face heat up, watching yours do the same

The longest moment passes, and Jeongin is getting ready to disassociate when you’re finally able to open your mouth and scream back,

“I like you, too!”

Baby boy found his soulmate.

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softbluefanfiction · 5 years ago

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Kyoya x Tamaki - Changing Times

Chapter 1: The Artist

Warnings: Thoughts of suicide, mentions of past suicide attempt, self hate, sad times, do not proceed if this is not for you!!

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: Call 1-800-273-8255

Now, to begin! Hello friends, I am very excited to be writing again, and really hope you like my story! Its an idea long in the making and I feel very excited to move it along! I am pretty busy, so it will never be left on a cliff hanger, but you may have to wait a little bit in between parts, and if I ever drop the story I will upload information about what the ending would have been! I just wanna have you be not be worried about being left on edge, as that is never fun!! Time to proceed with the story now, I really hope you enjoy! (Also, its been a hot minute since I watched the show, so bear with me just a bit on that please).

Kyoya is the silent, mysterious type. That is what allures girls in, his aura that leaves all to question. That is what makes the club money, and what gives him the chance to learn proper ways to run a business. That is what makes his father proud.

Kyoya stops at that thought, his fingers, covered in paint, coming to a halt once more. His thoughts always drift when he paints and, like all good artists he thinks, they sway to more unsavory parts of his mind, but this train of thought is forbidden. It goes beyond the palatable amount of pain, and moves into feelings that tighten Kyoya's chest and make his hand stop in its tracks. So, he removes those thoughts, takes a deep breath and continues.

He was using a paint brush when he started painting, and really tried to convince himself he was not going to make a mess. Now, his hands are covered in various sunset shades along with everything in the near vicinity, and his plan to contain himself has failed. He always looses himself in painting though, it is the one time Kyoya truly relaxes, even with his venturing thoughts.

Kyoya never really knows what he is painting, unless the painting starts with a defined idea. Generally, any art piece Kyoya makes comes from a general color palette then moves from there. Then, once a picture starts to form, he moves into it. It is common for landscapes to arise from his strokes, but faces of those around him may come into place as well. Last week he painted the really nice boy from french class, Liu.

He does feel somewhat creepy when he does faces, he did not get permission, why should he have the right to paint the person? He still does though and what does it matter, no one will see it. That thought sends a pang through Kyoya's chest. He truly loves his art, and is excruciatingly proud of it. Its really the only thing he is proud of doing, the only thing that he does for himself. Kyoya takes a break from his work to clear his eyes and take a breath once more.

Looking back up at his piece, he has yet to see a picture forming, maybe it is somewhat cloudy though. He proceeds with an audible hum, making some defined lines then zoning out once more.

He woke up feeling a bit more downtrodden today than usual. As requested by his sister and therapist each, he took his meds and set off for the day. They seemed to work for a small while, but wore off far too quickly, he should start taking extra with him to school just in case. He had to stay after today and work out extra finances. The club just had another theme day and Kyoya wanted everything squared away before going home, and he was grateful finished early enough to paint.

Tamaki had stayed after with him, not wanting Kyoya to be lonely. A small smile crept onto his face at that thought, knowing someone cared was nice. Tamaki had ended up falling asleep on a couch near where Kyoya was filling out his papers. He was informed he would be bored but when did Tamaki ever listen?

He was so adorable though, just laying there in the beams of light. A light blush crept across Kyoyas neck, but his thoughts still wandered across the shades of Tamaki's face. The angles that the light made, how he was laying, the calm, still somewhat glowing expression on his kind face. That painting would have been magical. Honestly, in any position Tamaki found himself, Kyoya would find that painting to be a captivating one.

Kyoya was no airhead, he knew he liked Tamaki. He knew he wanted to kiss him awake today, and cuddle on that couch. He knew that every look Tamaki gave him, he wished it to be one of deeper care. He knew that he read into ever gesture, every touch, hoping to find something there. But it was not meant to be. Tamaki liked Haruhi, and Kyoya liked his family. He had the ability to love women, and was attracted to many, so, he would find one of those to replace Tamaki and to not make his family a scandal.

Kyoya was sadly sure of that future, but for now, he was going to add one more beautiful element to the painting in front of him.

All of Kyoya's strokes were now deliberate, this is the part he liked the most. He added curly hair, and a face looking upwards, with closed eyes. The face was calm. More orange, then he grabbed a circular brush and dabbed a bit at the clouds. Then the painting was done.

It was an angelic face, placed in front of a glowing sunlit background, soft clouds floating all around, no ground in sight, and the blush on the cheeks were not pink, but matched the darker shades of orange in the background. He had tried to make Tamaki, but in all reality with the curly hair it looked more like Huni. He could never get anybody perfect from memory. Either way, Kyoya was proud of his work. He got his hand half way through his hair before he realized he would need to take an immediate shower.

Audibly groaning, Kyoya got up and cleaned his work space, carefully placing his painting in the corner to dry.

Then, just before he set off for his shower, he looked back into his room. Sitting on his desk in a neat row was his medication, alongside the others was his newest anxiety pills. He had tried many, but all seemed to have horrendous side effects, this ones only real issue was stomach aches and how many times Kyoya would have to take it in a day on order to have it work all the way through. His lips tightened as he thought about taking one. He had taken his depression meds earlier and sure, when he was painting he was fine, but was he really?

After some contemplation, Kyoya almost walked away. He stopped barely outside his doorway, thinking back on what happened last time he made a decision like this.

The day it happened he had chosen not to take his depression medication, and had not slept well. He barley existed that day, only doing what he needed to do to put on airs that he was fine, which was not a lot, and collapsing as soon as he got into his house. Everyone was out, and the maids were told, as always, not to disturb him. Kyoya tried to paint, but only made a brownish mess that he angrily threw away. After that he really does not remember what happened until waking up in the hospital.

Fuyumi found him, and stayed with him right up until he recovered. Thankfully, she had come into Kyoyas room that night to see him, and tried to wake him up. Had she not done that...

Kyoya shook his head, and turned back to his room. He could not hurt her like that again, and he had not been left home alone for awhile, he wanted her to know she could leave. Go hang out with friends, and have fun. He needed to take care of himself while no one was around for her to feel comfortable doing that. So, Kyoya took two small pills and made his way to the shower.

No one outside of the family was to know. Everyone was to be told that Kyoya was contagiously sick, and that is why they were seeking medical care and no one could see him. That was the only thing he heard from his father in the hospital, then he left, never even looking at his son. Kyoya was fine with this, the absolute torture it would be for everyone to know what happened was enough to make him feel sick without his pills. It still very much hurt to have his father care so little. His therapist said it was just his father coping, but Kyoya was hardly sure of that.

Whats worse is members of the club are getting suspicious. Haruhi, being the only member with any mental dexterity, never really fell for it. She had noticed that Kyoya was off that day and asked about it. Kyoya of course dismissed this as the start of his illness, with support from the other club members, but he still was not sure she completely believed the lie. At the very least she does not seem to have any clue of what really occurred, just that what his family is saying is untruthful.

But now, the other members are getting suspicious. Ever since the incident Kyoya has been going to therapy twice a week and he can also call an emergency meeting if he needs it or simply speak over the phone through a panic attack, instead of meeting on a strict biweekly schedule. This is much harder to plan around club activities, and he has often been absent from meetings, with no explanation.

So, of course, the twins refuse to get out of Kyoyas ass. Not only that, but him being gone is not exactly on the bottom of the priority list for other club members either. The twins antics can be ignored, but the other members also wishing to know what he is doing makes things far more difficult. Of course, Kyoya explaining that what he is doing is simply his business and that they do not really need him there is not working.

As Kyoya begins to formulate a plan to stop the other members of the club from driving him up the wall, he feels his meds start to sink in. With a sigh, he relaxes his shoulders into the warm water of his shower, and allows his mind to take a break. He smiles, proud of himself for not giving into his thoughts, and relived to be feeling better.

Hooray!! Alright, I was gonna add some more to this chapter, but it all does not feel right, like there needs to be a pause before moving into other things. So, this chapter is more of a set up chapter than anything else, and next chapter we will start to see some more story progression. The time period for this is just after summer, I dont remember when exactly the show ended, but lets pretend it was at the beginning of summer, and Kyoya attempted in the summer, then he started school a few weeks after, more will be explained in the fic but I wanted to give you a short time frame just to set it up. Also, I did not want this to be in first person, but I did want it to show more of Kyoyas thought process, which explains the sort of contradictory thoughts I narrate sometimes. Like, his art makes him feel better, but he still felt sad while doing art, and probably should have taken his meds before starting, but still didnt realize he needed to. This will be fleshed out more throughout the story, and Kyoya is going to realized some of his flawed thinking.

Okay, enough me telling you things before I spoil the story for you!!!

I REALLY hope you enjoyed and I cant wait to start on more! I wish you the most delightful of times, and love you all! Thank you for reading!!

(This was cross posted from my Wattpad account Bendrowned-, So if you wanna check it out there, please do! Thank you so much!)

#KyoTama #Kyoyaxtamaki #boy love #fanfic #fanfiction #shipping #tw suicude #tw depression

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selphiahaven · 6 years ago

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I want to help a young woman. She is depressed and anxious. And her health is not so good. I don't know how to explain the seriousness of the situation to her. Without sounding like a game sire. I would do anything for her. Only I have the feeling that she doesn't want my help. :-(

I’ll try and answer as best as I can under the cut (It’s not a super triggering discussion, it’s just long because there’s so many possibilities that may and may not help).

But, an important footnote to know is that, even though I was initially going to school to become a counsellor, I am not a professional in any form of the word. I have an interest in this field, and have ideas on some starting steps, but keep in mind that it might be more useful to approach a local professional. Or, at least, asking around for what resources exist in your area. I know that there are a few tumblr posts going around that talk about the world suicide hotlines— Here’s one of them. I’m not entirely certain if all the numbers listed are correct, but that might be another place to start.

So to begin, let’s start by saying that every person experiences depression and anxiety differently. What may motivate one person may damage another person. In order to discuss depression and anxiety, you have to allow yourself to be wrong. You have to be okay with the idea that, no, you will never entirely know what is best for this person in front of you, and that’s okay! This is their life, and they are allowed to make their own choices, even if you believe that they might get help elsewhere. For example: If you believe therapy is more helpful, but the person of interest would prefer antidepressants, then that’s totally alright! That’s the option they want to approach, and while you are allowed to discuss with them the pros and cons of each option, you should never be forcing your view onto them.

A general rule I like to live by is to avoid giving advice entirely. This, of course, isn’t possible 100% of the time, but it’s a good rule of thumb to avoid saying: “You should go to therapy.” when a better alternative might be: “Have you considered going to therapy?” Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Be open in asking why they have been avoiding treatments that may help them. Some people may have trauma regarding bad counsellors or side effects of drugs, so them saying “No.” when you try and recommend these options is entirely warranted! You can always suggest options though: “I have heard therapy helps some people, would you be open for looking into that?” Put various options on the table in a non-threatening manner. It’s also a good idea to keep your own biases quiet when discussing someone else’s paths for treatment. Just because you didn’t have a good experience with support groups doesn’t mean you should throw out those options before discussing them with the person in question. You are allowed to explain your hesitancy in using them: “I tried them, and these were some of the downsides…” but do not immediately shut these down as options unless the person of interest says no to them. Keep as many doors open as possible.

If you decide to talk about what others are going through, then they should be the one talking more than you are talking. This does depend on personality factors, but if someone is talking to you about their emotions, you should avoid unloading your own baggage onto them. If someone says “I’m feeling depressed.” and you go off saying “Oh, I know, I’ve been so stressed because of…” then you may be shutting down this person’s motivation to talk (Again, everyone is different, and some people may feel more comfortable knowing that someone else is going through what they are going through). Keep the focus on the other person. Be curious about them. Explore their feelings, thoughts, and motivations. If you do talk about yourself, keep it brief and relevant. Some people just want someone to listen to them, and you might be doing a world of difference just talking to someone rather than throwing a bunch of phone numbers for counsellors and doctors in their face.

An important note to add is that not everyone will want to talk about their situation and what they are going through. If people straight up do not want to talk to you, then it’s likely to be damaging if you try and force yourself on them. For instance, you might be part of the problem, and that’s okay. You doing your best might not be enough, and that’s okay. Keep in mind: this isn’t supposed to be about you, this is supposed to be about the person in need. In these situations, you might want to just mention that you are going to be around to talk if/when they need someone to talk to, and then offer the option of someone else to talk to as well. Offer the suicide hotline, or maybe other mental health groups and services that they might want to reach out to without your help. Do not always assume people need your help. Offer your help at any time, but if they reject it, be prepared to step away while still keeping the door open that you can and will talk with them if they need it in the future.

If you need help talking with people about depression, it might be useful to just scroll around and see what you can find on the internet (or, ideally, some local and reliable sources) about what to say to someone with depression. Everyone is going to have a different vocabulary when speaking about serious topics, and you should explore what you might say in certain situations early. Explore what feels natural to you. For example, I use a lot of empathy, paraphrasing, and probing when I talk with people about these topics. Probing is when you ask for more information, and it can be as simple as “Can you tell me more about that?” to “I heard last week that you went to see a therapist, how did that go?” Try and keep probes non-confrontational, and open-ended (Such as, using words like who, what, where, when, why, and how). Paraphrasing is when you repeat what the other person has said, but in your own words. It’s a way to make sure you’re following in the same way they are telling their story. If someone says “I’m looking for a job, but everything seems to be closing me off; even my friends and family.” you might reply with something like: “Yeah, and so searching for this new job is reminding you of other people who have closed you off.” Empathy is where you look at the core emotions behind a person’s words. Put an emotional label to what they are saying. When someone says “I have been getting terrible grades in school,” something you could reply is “It sounds like you’re discouraged about these grades.” KEEP IN MIND: It’s okay to be wrong! If the other person says: “No, I’m actually frustrated, because I worked really hard and I think the teacher hates me,” then roll with it. Accept it. If the other person rejects how you explained he situation when you paraphrased, roll with it. Ask where it is that you messed up. Try and word it in a different way. There’s no set tactic as to when you use empathy, paraphrasing, and probing at what times. It’s kind of intuition and trial-and-error. Some people are just natural talkative with one line of empathy, whereas others need a diverse range of tactics to actually open up…and that’s okay!

You might feel this way of talking is kind of wooden and unnatural, and it does take some practice to get used to. Keep in mind: Everyone responds to different things differently. If someone is swearing and yelling about how shitty life is, it might not be the best approach to go: “You sound really frustrated right now.” Who knows, it might be better to match their anger with a “Life fucking sucks.” The main point is that, through talking, the main focus is to try and understand what people are going through. For some people, they might want someone to understand their complex emotions. For others, they just want people to listen. Unfortunately, mental health is a complex issue that has no definitive answers.

Long story short, everything really depends on the situation. There is no one-size-fits-all motivational speech that will get everyone out of bed and ready to take on the world in all its horrors. This world is a big bag of shit sometimes, but different people will see different parts of its ugly surface. In the same vein though, different people will see the beauty in different opportunities that simultaneously exist in this life. Dealing with depression might be a serious topic to discuss, but it’s also important that, after you have explored the ugly parts of it, you also take the time to explore what has kept this person going for so long. What has motivated them even though their darkest moments? Some people may not have answers to this question, but some people might. And, really, in order to fully explore someone, one should not only focus on the good or the bad, but a decent mix of both.

**Footnote to repeat that I am not a professional in any sort and these are all just suggestions that MIGHT help. Please continue doing your own research on topics of depression if you decide to take any of this advice.

#Admin talk #asks

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fairycosmos · 5 years ago

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My boyfriend of a few months (i've known him for a year) has just told me his "his mind and body don't match" that he has struggled all his life with this. (I'm female btw) I honestly don't know how to feel or react or what to say. I'm so confused but also I just want to hold him forever because he's the most beautiful person in the world to me. :( do you or your followers have any advice on how to deal with this?

hey! like he's trans? i'll use he/him pronouns since you did if that's ok, but correct me if not. i definitely don't think i'm an authority on this subject and if i have any trans followers who want to chip in, your insight would be greatly valued..........but i guess generally i would recommend just letting him know that you're there to listen and that you love him and that you will be with him through it all. that would be a good place to start. try to keep an open mindset. don't assume how he feels or try to speak for him, just ask and go with it. be receptive to his thoughts n feelings. think about how you would feel if you were him. it must be painful to deal with something like this for your whole life. and this must be quite a shock for you as well. it's totally normal to not know exactly what to do, and to experience a period of adjustment where you feel a bit out of sync and taken aback. confusion is just a part of beginning to understand. process it in your own way, one step at a time. you're both just learning to navigate this, but it seems like you care for each other profoundly and that's a really good sign. he was honest with you and it was probably really hard to talk about it after keeping it inside for so long. but that means he trusts you enough to try. idk where you guys live or what the situation is like, or if he wants to begin to transition in any way. it's tough and he's the only one who can make that call. but i think having a conversation about what you can do to help and where he wants to go from here could be really beneficial. there may be minor changes that can be made that will enable him to feel more comfortable on a daily basis. i would also suggest doing some more research about how to support him. there are a lot of people online who share their own experiences which could make you both feel less alone. it probably feels like a very overwhelming situation but i promise there are resources and people who understand. the more you guys confront this together, and the more you remain open to positive progress, the less foreign it will seem. he doesn't have to be cis, it's ok that he's not. you can both come to terms in your own ways in order to create lives you're glad to live. whatever that looks like, there's no wrong answer. i don't know where you're at with your feelings for him, and how you deal with them is entirely your choice. but regardless, you obviously think he's an amazing person and you want him to be happy. just being there for him will help more than you realize. he doesn't owe a physical transition or a 'coming out' announcement to anyone, and there's no rush. right now it's probably a good idea to just work on being honest with each other and like i said before, listening to what he needs and what steps he wants to take, if any. familiarizing yourself with trans people (through online or irl communities) and showing him that he has options and that he is loved will make a big difference. there are also hotlines you can call that will offer additional info and guidance. anyway i hope you're both ok and that you're able to get to a point where you're both happy and healthy. you deserve it, and it's alright if it's a process. take it one day at a time. and let me know if you need a friend, i'll be here. sending love.

again, if i have any trans followers who want to make some suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated.

#anon

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artgurusauce · 5 years ago

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Sooo, about my hiatus...

Um, hey there everybody. So this is gonna be a pretty heavy-handed post. And I do hope this doesn't make you guys worried or upset or anything because everything is all good now, promise. But I wanted to wait until it was all settled to explain so here goes... So, in advance, first off, I'd like to apologize for the sloppy upload schedule. My bad, I'll try not to set unrealistic schedules for myself. I’ve never been a “Schedules” person, I prolly shouldn’t start pretending now. On top of what's happened, I'm a biiiit of a procrastinator and I apologize for that. Anyways, that said, let's get this underway. As you all know, I was planning on moving out of my current house in August, as I lived with my mother. As much as it pains me to say this, I really don't get along with my mother. She's sort of...abusive, to me. Mostly verbally, but honestly, I won't get into much specifics. And no, she never put a hand on me. But it was still really hard to live with her and I just wanted to leave. I was trying to orchestrate a move with my cousins, pretty much the only family I could trust enough to live with which meant I'd have to move out of state. I was even working with a job finding program that would hopefully land me something before my deadline, since that would mean I could support myself without someone else. That only happened recently but we’ll get into that later. One thing lead to another, and my mother ended up finding out about my plans and it got really ugly. Again, she never physically abused me, and we were just in a screaming match, but it was really awful. Long story short, a lot of stuff happened on top of that. My move was compromised, I lost my health insurance, and I was honestly losing my marbles and losing motivation to write, draw, or do much of anything. Because I lost my insurance, that also meant I was no longer supplied the anti-depressant meds I needed from my state. So I went into a really dark place for a brief period of time. It was so bad I actually called a suicide prevention hotline. I ended up recovering, and I didn't do anything, thank god. If I'm being honest I was pretty much poor. I had no income, no job, and due to my mental disabilities it was hard for me to support myself. And losing my health insurance really damaged that by quite a lot. Things just got so out of hand so fast and it was honestly bringing my mood down really bad.

Then, my prayers were answered when I was landed an internship with a daycare center through my job finding program. I was able to get my insurance back through that as well and things are really looking up for me. My mother just moved out and I’m about to be on my own with a bit of support from my adoptive father. I’ve thankfully been feeling much, much better and my job has actually helped to improve my mood and I feel really alive again. Honestly the toxicity and bad parenting going on with my mother has lasted the better part of 10 years now and I’m just glad that it’s over and done with. I have good friends there with me and everything's all good now. I'm gonna get back to writing soon. And don't worry about my comfort or my mental state, I can assure you, I'm 100% healthy. I thank all of you once again for all the love and support you've given me and I am eternally grateful for my fanbase. I really, truly did not expect any of you guys to stick around after Make It or Break It and I am so so glad that you did. I still can't do weeklies, but I will be uploading as frequently as I can. So you will get a chapter from both Pokemon Eclipse Saga and Take Me Back To Forever every month, at the very least. Again, apologies for the flakiness.

I’m sorry to dump all this on you guys but given my poor upload schedule I thought it was about time I told you all the truth and stop skirting around the issue. Pokemon Eclipse Saga and Take Me Back To Forever are not cancelled, and I will continue writing them to the best of my ability.

By the by, if any of you would ever like to ask me something or talk to me, don’t hesitate to DM me, or leave a message for me in my ask box!

Don’t be shy. I won’t bite, I promise haha.

Thank you all so much my little noodles, and have a fantastic rest of your day~ ♥ ♥ ♥

#announcement #emotional dump #sorry for the long ass post #we will now return to our regularly scheduled shitposting

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solacekames · 6 years ago

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Reckoning With Georgia’s Increasing Suppression of Asian American Voters

As AAPI’s become a more powerful, Democrat-leaning voting bloc, efforts to keep them from the polls intensify.

Getty / Associated Press / Flickr CC / Collage by Katie Kosma - Anjali Enjeti | Longreads | December 2018

Early on November 6, Election Day, Kavi Vu noticed that some voters appeared distressed as they exited Lucky Shoals Park Recreation Center, one of five polling places in Gwinnett County, Georgia. A volunteer with the nonprofit, nonpartisan civil rights organization Asian Americans Advancing Justice — Atlanta (“Advancing Justice”), Vu had been standing outside to answer questions about voting and offer her services as a Vietnamese translator.

When she began asking the mostly African American, Asian American and Latinx voters about their voting experiences, she learned that after 2.5 hour wait times, many of them had voted via provisional ballots.

Why? As it turned out, Lucky Shoals was not their correct voting location. “A lot of people had lived in Gwinnett County their entire lives and voted at the same location and all of the sudden they were switched up to new location,” Vu said.

So when poll workers offered voters the option of voting at Lucky Shoals with provisional ballots, rather than driving elsewhere to wait in another line, the voters took them up on it. They left with I’m a Georgia Voter stickers, and printed instructions for how to cure their ballots. But poll workers didn’t verbally explain to the voters that they’d need to appear at the county registrar’s office within three days to cure their ballots, nor did the poll workers make it clear that the votes would not count at all if the voters failed to do so. What’s more, as the day wore on, poll workers ran out of the provisional ballot instructions altogether.

Vu was alarmed. In an attempt to reduce the number of voters using provisional ballots, she began offering to help voters locate their correct polling place using the Secretary of State website. That’s when poll workers repeatedly began confronting her about her presence outside of the polling place. “They told me to stop speaking with voters in line, even after I explained what I was doing.”

By mid-afternoon, Vu counted some 100 voters who had wrongly reported to Lucky Shoals. When she finally left eight hours after arriving, she was “heartbroken,” over the dreadful conditions at the polling place and the number of votes by minority voters that would likely never be counted.

***

Elsewhere in Gwinnett County, Mohammed Shahid appeared at his usual polling place at noon only to be told that his name did not appear in the voter registration system. Shahid, who speaks fluent Bengali but only limited English, explained as best as he could that he had been casting ballots successfully at the same location for years, that he voted in-person for Clinton in 2016 and absentee in the primary election just a few months earlier. The poll worker told him there was nothing she could do. She turned him away, and failed to offer him a provisional ballot, as is required.

Shahid felt that hands were tied. “I left the voting place without voting,” he told me over the phone. “I have a language issue. What else could I do?”

***

Peggy Xu and Arah Kang were both volunteers for Jon Ossoff’s campaign for the 6th district congressional seat last year and Stacey Abrams’ campaign for Georgia governor this year. Xu began to panic when she didn’t receive an absentee ballot by late October. On the 24th, she contacted the Fulton County Election Board and was emailed an affidavit cancelling the first absentee ballot. She then filled out and returned an application for a second absentee ballot. She was assured her second ballot would be mailed to her Washington, DC, residence, where she is temporarily living, by October 29, one week prior to the November 6 election. It never came.

Kang, a college senior in New England, finally received her absentee ballot a few days before the election. She immediately filled it out and expedited it back to the Fulton County Elections office. According to the Secretary of State website, it was never received.

Both Xu and Kang had successfully voted via absentee ballot for the 2016 presidential election, and in-person for the 2017 sixth district special election. When they posted about their frustrations on Facebook, they received a flood of messages from friends and friends of friends, mostly millennial minority voters in Fulton and Gwinnett Counties, all of whom supported Abrams — who never received their absentee ballots. Within 48 hours, they created a database of 40 disenfranchised voters. Most of the voters had taken great pains to follow up with their election board offices multiple times in an attempt to track down their absentee ballots. None were able to vote.

“We compiled this data in only two days,” said Xu. “If a list like this was compiled for the whole state, imagine how many people would be on it.”

“Forty people is not a hiccup,” said Kang. “It’s a wake-up call.”

***

On October 15, the first day of early voting, my phone started buzzing almost nonstop with messages from AAPI friends. The line is too long I have to go back to work. The voting place shut down because the computers aren’t working. A friend told me the machine switched her vote from Kemp to Abrams — what if this happens to me? They’re telling me I’m at the wrong voting place. I spent hours trying to help them sort out various issues online at the Secretary of State website and through the voter protection hotline.

For the past 11 years, I’ve lived and voted in Johns Creek, Georgia, a northern suburb of Atlanta with a 25% Asian American population. These voters reached out to me because I had spent most of 2018 volunteering for Democratic campaigns. I had knocked on their doors, texted them to remind them about the election, invited them to my home to meet candidates or discuss strategies for turnout.

But the number of issues they were having when trying to vote? I had never before seen anything like it.

***

Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) were the fasted growing racial group in the South between 2000 and 2010, and in Georgia the AAPI population has exploded. Since 2000, it has grown by 131% to over 480,000. Historically, though, AAPI voters have had one of the lowest voter turnouts among racial minorities. For the 2016 presidential election, it was around 49% nationwide, below white and Black voters and slightly ahead of Latinx voters. But in Georgia, voter turnout was 52% for that election. Foreign born Asian Americans tend to have a higher voter turnout than U.S. born.

Of far greater importance are the reasons for lower turnout. They may include a general failure to mobilize AAPI voters, the minimal contact political candidates make with AAPI voters, or language barriers. In Georgia, over 40% of limited English proficiency individuals speak an AAPI language. And because they speak dozens of languages, including Tagalog, Korean, Mandarin and Vietnamese — advocacy groups must find translators for several languages to assist them.

Over the years, especially recently, Atlanta-area Asian American organizations have launched vigorous voter drive programs to increase turnout for elections. The result? Some 6,400 AAPI statewide registered in 2014, and another 6,500 registered in 2016.

Despite these impressive gains in electoral power, the voting rights of all minority voters have been drastically impeded since the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965. States, like Georgia, with a history of voter suppression no longer require “preclearance” from federal courts or the Department of Justice to alter voting procedures. Shelby County v. Holder allowed Brian Kemp — who will be sworn in as Georgia’s governor in January 2019, and who became Secretary of State in 2010 — to ramp up his suppression of minority voters.

He first strengthened the “exact match” policy, which required that signatures on voter registrations mirror the signatures on identification from the Georgia Department of Driver Services or the Social Security Administration. Many times, the discrepancies between signatures are minor — missing hyphens, transposed letters, the day’s date instead of birth dates, or nicknames signed for legal names. But because Asian Americans’ and Latinx’s names don’t always neatly conform to romanization (one first, one middle, one last name), the requirement of exact match disparately impacted them.

Kemp’s more egregious version of exact match resulted in the purge some 35,000 voters between 2013 and 2015, over 76% of whom were African American, Latinx, and Asian American voters. African Americans were eight times more likely and Latinx and Asian American voters were six times more likely to be kicked off the rolls than white voters. Civil rights groups sued the state; in a settlement, Kemp froze the program,restoring all 35,000 to the voting rolls.

But Kemp didn’t slow down. To the contrary, he accelerated his suppressive tactics, purging half a million voters from the rolls on a single day in July 2017, 107,000purportedly because of Georgia’s “use it or lose it policy,” which disenfranchises voters for allegedly not voting in the past three years. (Though voters have come forward to state that Kemp attempted to purge them, even though they voted regularly). Another analysis found that Kemp purged some 300,000 voters for purportedly no longer living at the same address — even though these voters never moved. The vast majority of voters affected were minority voters.

A month before November 6, Kemp froze 53,000 “pending” applications due to discrepancies under a new version of the “exact match” law. Though most of the pending registrations could be cured easily with photo identification at polling places, 3,000 were held up due to potential “citizenship issues.”

One of them was an 80-year-old Vietnamese woman, who Cam Ashling, founder of Georgia Advancing Progress PAC, attempted to take to vote during early voting. When she tried to pull up the voter’s information on the Secretary of State website, Ashling learned she had been flagged because of exact match, and that they had to drive to the other side of Gwinnett County to appear in person at the Voter Registration and Elections Office with her naturalization papers — before she could cast a ballot. “This is a major burden on Asian American voters, especially when it’s the state’s fault,” said Ashling. Local civil rights organizations sued the State of Georgia again — now one of multiple times over exact match over the past several years — and won, including an injunction that allowed those voters to vote with proof of citizenship.

At about the same time, Gwinnett County, a majority minority county with 12% AAPI voters, began rejecting absentee ballots at a rate of 8.5%. (By comparison, Fulton County, the largest in Georgia, had rejected only 1.7% of its absentee ballots.) African Americans’ ballots were rejected four times more often than whites’ ballots. Asian Americans’ ballots were rejected six times more than whites’ ballots. According to Victoria Huynh of Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Inc. (CPACS), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, many AAPI voters were not notified that their ballots were rejected. “They were stunned,” she said. “They had no idea there was an issue with their votes until our organization contacted them.”

Kemp, the Republican gubernatorial candidate who oversaw his own race, finally resigned as Secretary of State two days after Election Day. Neither Stacey Abrams, down less than two percentage points, nor Carolyn Bordeaux, the Democratic candidate for the heavily Asian American seventh congressional district, overcame their opponents’ leads. Kemp’s merciless purging and blocking of minority voters, coupled with Georgia’s outdated, hackable voting machines, means Georgia voters will never know who veritably won the gubernatorial and seventh congressional district races. And voters like Xu, Kang, and Shahid are left wondering whether votes like theirs, had they been counted, would have changed the outcome of the election.

It may be easy to forget the victories with these tough losses, but the victories, especially against exact match, have been substantial. A few days before the December 4th runoff election, Advancing Justice challenged a Georgia law that required that translators assisting voters be close family members, caretakers or voters registered in the same precinct. (Some half-a-million voters in Georgia have limited English proficiency, most of whom are Asian American or Latinx.) Acting Secretary of State Robyn Crittenden, appointed after Kemp’s post-election day resignation, settled outside of court. Voters will now be able to select any translator of their choosing to assist them at the polls.

Still, the road to the 2020 election is guaranteed to be a brutal one. “We remain concerned of continuing efforts by our state to suppress the voices of immigrant communities — especially as they become more empowered to politically engage,” said Phi Nguyen of Advancing Justice. “Our elected officials must step up and do more to protect the rights of all voters.”

***

Georgia’s AAPI voters are steadily turning bluer. According to exit polling conducted by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), 61% of Asian Americans in Georgia voted for Barack Obama’ second term in 2012. And though a smaller number, 55%, supported Democratic Jason Carter for governor over Republican Nathan Deal in 2014, out of 560 respondents, a whopping 71% percent of AAPIs in Georgia voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016.

If we break this down by ethnicity, Bangladeshi-Americans and Pakistani-Americans are the most reliable progressive voters in Georgia, with 97% and 96% casting their vote for Hillary Clinton. (Given that Bangladesh and Pakistan are Muslim majority countries, and that Trump made xenophobia and Islamophobia central to his campaign, it’s easy to guess why.) At the other end of the spectrum, Chinese and Vietnamese voters supported Clinton at 61% and 59% respectively.

The trend toward progressivism seems to have continued for this year’s midterms, where 79% of Georgia’s AAPIs (revised slightly down from an initial report) voted for Abrams for governor. For comparison, the Democratic AAPI constituency in Georgia is more left than the constituency in Texas, where 64% voted for Democrat Beto O’Rourke for U.S. Senate; Florida, where 71% voted for Democrat Andrew Gillum for governor; and in Nevada, where 68% voted for Democrat Jacky Rosen for U.S Senate. The progressive AAPIs of Michigan were the only group that came out ahead, with 91% voting for Democratic Gretchen Whitmer for governor.

Prior to the 2016 election, I had no idea that so many AAPIs in red Georgia were Democrats. Members of my community in Johns Creek rarely discussed elections. We don’t do politics, was a popular refrain. In the years before Trump, progressives largely kept their views to themselves. I was one of the only ones openly horrified by Sarah Palin and birthers.

This apathy began to dissipate during the 2017 sixth district special election when the AAPI community became more organized. During his first term in the State House, Representative Sam Park, the first Democratic Asian American and the first openly gay person elected to the Georgia legislature, headed the Asian American outreach effort for the Ossoff campaign. This was one of the first times, if not the first time, that a Democratic campaign in Georgia poured significant resources into engaging the AAPI constituency.

I worked with Representative Park as a community volunteer to help get Democratic AAPI voters to the polls. This is how I came to understand the untapped power of Georgia’s progressive AAPIs electorate. A meet and greet at my house with Jon Ossoff brought 75 people, mostly Asian Americans. An outdoor event for AAPIs on Mothers’ Day at a local club house brought over 250. Gatherings at mosques, temples, and at Asian restaurants garnered hundreds of AAPI Ossoff supporters.

Over four months, I knocked on the doors of several hundred houses in Johns Creek, most of them belonging to Asian Americans. (This is otherwise known as canvassing.) At first, voters quickly closed the door after accepting Ossoff campaign literature. As the election approached, they lingered on their porches and asked me questions about voting, the election, the candidate. By the time early voting for the runoff election rolled around, three weeks before Election Day, they couldn’t wait to get to the polls. Neighbors who told me they didn’t see the point of voting voted. Friends who used to skip every election except presidential elections voted. Many of them voted for the first time. And getting them on board resulted in a chain reaction — they rounded up their own reluctant voter friends and got them to the polls.

This evolution in commitment and engagement in the AAPI community was astounding.

One the day of the election, I was stationed outside of my polling place as a volunteer poll watcher in a folding chair under the shade of a tree sipping water. I had been up at 6 AM placing signs along the street leading up to the polling place. I hadn’t slept much over the past few weeks.

A car pulled up to the curb in front of me. An elderly Pakistani American woman, an Ossoff supporter I’d met once before, jumped out of the driver’s seat, ran to the other side, and guided a much older Pakistani woman out of the car. They moved slowly up the stairs, arm in arm, and entered the building.

Maybe I was just exhausted. But as soon as the door shut behind them I started crying.

***

After a deep dive into the data, I learned something unfortunate. Though progressive Asian Americans built a sturdy infrastructure for engagement leading up to Election Day, the number of Asian Americans who voted for Ossoff versus Republican Karen Handel is unknown.

Still, when 2018 rolled around, the Democratic AAPI model for the sixth district special election could be dusted off and implemented at a statewide level. Grace Choi led this effort for the Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign, as the AAPI constituency director. Those of us who volunteered our hearts out for the Ossoff campaign began mobilizing again. We organized meet and greets with candidates, canvassing events, and rallies that centered the AAPI constituency.

For those of us working on the ground, the fact that 79% of Georgia’s Asian Americans ended up voting for Abrams (eight points more than the percentage that voted for Clinton two years earlier), coupled with the fact that Democrat Lucy McBath ousted Handel from the sixth district congressional seat only 18 months after Ossoff’s loss — wasn’t entirely out of left field.

But it was immensely rewarding all the same.

***

Unlike progressive AAPI voters, conservative AAPIs seem far more secure and outspoken in their political beliefs. Not long ago two Chinese American voters told me that because Trump supporters “are very vocal” in the Chinese American community, they oftentimes felt as if they were the only Democrats in the room. A conversation I had with an Indian-American neighbor a week later followed suit. “What can you do?” he told me. “Indians are Republicans and you can’t change their minds. Trust me, I’ve tried.”

Despite recent Democratic victories in Georgia, the perception of Asian Americans as conservatives appears to be a deeply entrenched one. Perhaps because not too long ago, many Asian Americans were Republican. The shift of AAPI voters from Republican to Democrat didn’t begin until after 1992, and didn’t gain significant momentum until 2008, when the majority of every Asian ethnic group in the state voted for Obama.

What’s more, for a while, prominent AAPI elected officials dominating the media — like former Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal and former South Carolina governor and outgoing U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley — were Republican. And though several Democratic AAPI members of congress are currently leading the resistance — including Representative Ted Lieu, Senator Tammy Duckworth, Senator Mazie Hirono, Senator Kamala Harris, and Representative Pramila Jayapal — the assumption that Asian Americans are Republicans persists in the AAPI community.

How do we counter this narrative, especially at the state level? We elect more AAPIs to office.

The political history of Asian Americans in Georgia (whether Democrats or Republicans) is a relatively short one. Judge Alvin Wong of the Dekalb County State Court, holds the distinction of being the first Asian American elected to judge in the entire southeast. Republican Charlice Byrd served in the Georgia state house for eight years beginning in 2005. In 2008, Democrat Tony Patel, the current chair of the state Democratic Party’s AAPI caucus, ran (and lost) for a state house seat. In 2010, Rashid Malik ran for state senate and lost. (Malik ran again unsuccessfully in 2012 for the state house and in 2016 for the 7th district congressional seat.) Republican BJ Pak won his house seat in 2011, making him the first Korean American elected to the state legislature in either party, and served until 2017. In 2013, five Asian Americans ran for local offices and two won. In 2015, six ran for local offices and another two won.

Democratic Representative Sam Park’s historic November 2016 win was fueled, in part, by the two other Asian American women who helped to steer his campaign, his field director Pallavi Purkayastha and campaign manager Bee Nguyen. Park’s campaign left a vibrant legacy. Last year, Nguyen won the house district seat Abrams vacated to run for governor, becoming the first Vietnamese person elected to the Georgia legislature. Purkayastha, currently chief of staff to Representative David Dreyer, served as campaign manager for Nguyen’s race, and would head Democratic Angelika Kausche’s race for house district 50, flipping it blue for the first time.

Three Asian Americans will be serving in the state legislature in 2019 — the most in Georgia’s history. All three are Democrats. Park will begin his second term, alongside Nguyen, who recently won her first full term, and Sheikh Rahman, who will begin his first term in the State Senate. Rahman is the first Muslim, and Bangladeshi American elected to state legislature; like Kausche, he is an immigrant.

Seeing is believing. To have more impact as a voting bloc in 2020, progressive Asian Americans will not only need to participate more in politics and civic engagement, they’ll need to recruit others in the community to do the same. “When we do not see ourselves reflected in the body elected to serve us, becoming politically engaged becomes more challenging,” said Nguyen. Rahman hopes to begin an AAPI caucus in the legislature, though his focus will remain on voter turnout. “Our main challenge is still how we can increase our folks at the polls.”

***

If Georgia’s progressive Asian Americans want to increase their political capital, they’ll need to continue to evolve as a forward-thinking, radically inclusive constituency. Because Republican AAPIs are getting bolder, even downright aggressive, in their tactics. One local Republican East Asian man I know routinely harasses Asian American women at Democratic events. Democrats don’t care about Asians! Why would you vote for them? Only Republicans care about Asians! He’s confrontational and belligerent, and when the women try to dodge him he tends to follow them around while spouting xenophobic rhetoric about immigrants entering the U.S. “the wrong way.” (He’s an immigrant himself.) I expect he’ll reappear at Democratic events in the months leading to the 2020 presidential election.

Staunch GOP AAPI voters are not uncommon. While the shift to more progressivism among Asian Americans in Georgia has been impressive, 18 percent of AAPI voters still supported Kemp with his shotgun, chainsaw and explosive political ads, despite the fact that many of their origin countries have among the lowest violent gun deaths in the world. We have miles to go before we have the same kind of Democratic turnout success as Black women, 97% of whom voted for Abrams.

In the Hindu Indian-American community, those who support Hinduvta or Hindu nationalism align themselves with the GOP primarily because of its Islamophobia. (Thirty-eight percent of Hindus in Georgia supported Trump in 2016, just one percentage point less than Catholics.) This, despite the fact that they may disagreewith the GOP’s positions on guns and healthcare. “Resident Indian-Americans typically come from the dominant community in India,” said Suresh Kolichala, a Hindu-Indian who has been an active volunteer with Democratic campaigns. “When they come to America, they still feel they are part of the dominant community. They can easily identify with the problems of whites because back home in India, they face criticism from the liberal voices about oppressed sections of people.”

Regardless of national origin or ethnicity, Republican AAPIs in Georgia hit the ground running for elections. They throw money at GOP candidates, host lavish fundraisers, and frequently post photos of themselves posing with Republican candidates on social media. Nonpartisan organizations ensure that GOP candidates attend (and oftentimes speak at) their cultural functions, even at risk of jeopardizing their nonprofit status. In other words, conservative AAPIs are winning the publicity game and don’t shy away from promoting their candidates or proclaiming their loyalty. And their loyalty is being rewarded. As of this writing, two Republican Asian Americans are serving on Kemp’s transition team.

Progressive AAPIs are going to need to step up their game to stay ahead. What’s more, they’re going to need to align and uplift Indigenous, Black, and other people of color and reclaim and re-imagine the model minority myth as an unapologetic progressivism that condemns all forms of bigotry. They’re going to need to come out for Black Lives Matter and asylum seekers, the poor, the LGBTQIA+ community, and the disabled.

And above all else, progressive AAPIs must examine their own internalized prejudice. Too many are anti-Black, homophobic, transphobic, and xenophobic. They spout false Republican talking points about the “migrant caravan” and the need to come to the U.S. “the right way.” They ignore police violence against unarmed Black Americans, and too few have voiced their objections to the anti-gay Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a bill vetoed by former governor Nathan Deal, but which Kemp has said he will sign into law as long as it reflects the 1993 federal law.

This is no time to rest on our laurels.

***

The Indian festival of lights, Diwali, fell this year during the same week as the midterm election. In between texting hundreds of voters who might need to cure their provisional ballots, I picked up three boxes of cashew burfi and 80 pieces of naan at our local Indian restaurant for our neighborhood’s celebration in Johns Creek. In the intervening days, though we grew less optimistic about Abrams’ likelihood of becoming the next Georgia governor, we beamed about our historic wins. “We did it,” people exclaimed to one another.

After Ossoff’s loss last year, the same progressives at the Diwali party spooning paneer and biryani onto their plates grew even more determined. They donated to campaigns, canvassed and mobilized their networks to vote for Democrats straight down the ticket. We were now reaping the fruits of our labor — a blue wave, the first ever, for Johns Creek. Democrats here flipped the state house and senate seats, and McBath, whose 17-year-old son Jordan Davis was gunned down in Florida in 2012, bested Handel for the sixth district congressional seat. The trifecta of wins felt miraculous.

But the progressive AAPI community must be vigilant. In the December 4th runoff election for Secretary of State, the office responsible for Georgia’s myriad election issues, Republican Brad Raffensperger surpassed Democratic candidate John Barrow. Despite the dozen or so pending lawsuits against the state, Raffensperger has pledged to enforce Kemp’s policies, which will likely lead to the further erosion of the voting rights of all minority voters.

Still, one more city in Georgia is blue, and Asian Americans in Johns Creek played a significant role in making it happen. It’s not necessarily a revolution, but it’s a much needed spark.

* * *

Anjali Enjeti is an Atlanta-based journalist and critic whose work has appeared in The Nation, Newsday, The Washington Post, Al Jazeera, and elsewhere.

Editor: Sari Botton Factchecker: Sam Schuyler

Posted by Anjali Enjeti on December 19, 2018

#anjali enjeti #georgia #asian-american #aapi #voter suppression #atlanta #brian kemp #stacey abrams #jon ossoff #I have two problems with this article but for the most part its great

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scambusternow-blog · 6 years ago

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How to online date safely as told by match.com

There's some very good useful information here. As well as resources where to file a complaint for a perspective scammer account if you've been victimized.

How to Date Safely

Match.com is responsible for more dates, relationships and marriages than any other dating site. At Match, user safety is a priority. We understand that meeting someone for the first time whether online, through an acquaintance or on an outing is intriguing and exciting, however, your safety is very important and because you are in control of your Match experience, there are certain safety steps that you should follow while dating – both online and offline.

We ask you to read the tips and information below, and strongly urge you to follow these guidelines in the interest of your personal safety and well-being. However, you are always the best judge of your own safety, and these guidelines are not intended to be a substitute for your own judgment.

Online Behavior

Finance: Protect Your Finances & Never Send Money or Financial Information

Never respond to any request to send money, especially overseas or by wire transfer, and report it to us immediately – even if the person claims to be in an emergency. Wiring money is like sending cash: the sender has no protections against loss and it’s nearly impossible to reverse the transaction or trace the money. For more information, click on the video below to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's advice to avoid online romance scams, also available here: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0004-online-dating-scams.

Online Romance Imposter Scams

Imposters promise romance to users of online dating sites to trick them into sending money

▶

Protect Your Personal Information

Never give personal information, such as: your social security number, credit card number or bank information, or your work or home address to people you don’t know or haven’t met in person.

Note: Match will never send you an email asking for your username and password information. Any such communications should be reported immediately.

Be Web Wise

Block and report suspicious users. You can block and report concerns about any suspicious user anonymously from any profile page, email or messaging window. Keep conversations on the platform. Bad actors will try to move the conversation to text, personal email or phone conversations.

Report All Suspicious Behavior

Additionally, please report anyone who violates our terms of use here. Examples of terms of use violations include:

Asking you for money or donations.

Requesting photographs.

Minors using the platform.

Members sending harassing or offensive messages or emails.

Members behaving inappropriately during or after meeting in person.

Fraudulent registration or profiles.

Spam or solicitation, such as invitations to call 1-900 numbers or attempts to sell products or service.

Offline Behavior

First in-person meetings are exciting, but always take precautions and follow these guidelines to help you stay safe.

Get to Know the Other Person

Keep your communications on the platform and really get to know users online/using the app before meeting them in person. Bad actors often push people to communicate off the platform immediately. It’s up to you to research and do your due diligence.

Always Meet and Stay in Public

Meet for the first few times in a populated, public place – never in a private or remote location and never at your date’s home or apartment. If your date pressures you, end the date and leave at once.

Tell Your Friends and Family Members of Your Plans

Inform a friend or family member of your plans and when and where you’re going. Make sure you have your cell phone charged and with you at all times.

Transport Yourself to and from the Meeting

You need to be independent and in control of your own transportation, especially in case things don’t work out.

Stay Sober

Consumption of alcohol and/or other drugs can impair your judgment and potentially put you in danger. It’s important to keep a clear mind and avoid anything that might place you at risk. Be aware that bad actors might try to take advantage of you by altering your beverage(s) with synthetic substances.

Health

Match welcomes everyone and empowers our community of users to create and cultivate relationships. An important aspect of any healthy relationship though – whether formed on Match or otherwise – is ensuring proper sexual health and safety. And as an essential member of the Match community it is your responsibility to make sure you do the following, if you choose to engage in sexual activity.

Protect Yourself

You and your partner should use proper protection. Condoms and other mechanisms can significantly reduce the risk of contracting or passing on an STI, such as HIV. However, you can still get certain STI’s, like herpes or HPV from contact with your partner’s skin even when using a condom. To be effective, however, protective measures must be used consistently.

Be Open and Honest

It is completely reasonable to have a conversation with your partner regarding sex and sexual contact before actually having it. All issues ranging from the number of partners each of you has had, to the last time each of you was tested for STI’s are fair game. Many STI’s are curable or treatable. If either you or your partner has an STI that is curable, you both need to start treatment to avoid becoming re-infected. It is important to be completely honest in these conversations.

Vaccinate

The risk of contracting some STI’s can be reduced through vaccination. Talk to your doctor or a professional at a sexual health clinic to learn more.

Know Your Status

Know your status. Some STI’s don't show symptoms. Regular testing is critical to staying on top of your health and helping prevent the spread of STI’s After testing, always ask for a copy of your test results so you are sure of your status.

For Further Help, Support or Advice

In the case that something has happened, immediately call 911. Emergency situations include a recent threat of violence or sexual violence, recent act of violence or sexual violence or if your health or someone else’s is in danger.

If something has happened and you’re in need of help, support or advice pertaining to physical or sexual assault, please call the below 24hr hotlines.

Rape, Abuse and Incest National Hotline

1-800-656-HOPE I www.rainn.org

Planned Parenthood

1-800-230-7526 I www.plannedparenthood.org

National Domestic Violence Hotline

1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or 1-800-787-3224 I www.thehotline.org

Additionally, if you are aware on anyone who violates our terms of use please report them here.

About The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA)

The National Cyber Security Alliance is a non-profit organization. Through collaboration with the government, corporate, non-profit and academic sectors, the mission of the NCSA is to empower a digital citizenry to use the Internet securely and safely protecting themselves and the technology they use and the digital assets we all share. NCSA works to create a culture of cyber security and safety through education and awareness activities. NCSA board members include: ADP, AT&T, Bank of America, EMC Corporation, ESET, Facebook, Google, Intel, McAfee, Microsoft, PayPal, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Symantec, Trend Micro, Verizon and Visa.

About STOP. THINK. CONNECT.

The campaign was developed by the STOP. THINK. CONNECT. Messaging Convention, a public-private partnership established in 2009 and led by The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) and National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) to develop and support a national cyber-security awareness campaign. In October 2010 the White House, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Messaging Convention launched the campaign. The Department of Homeland Security provides the Federal Government's leadership for the campaign. Industry, government, non-profits and education institutions participate in STOP. THINK. CONNECT.

STOP. THINK. CONNECT.™ is a trademark of the STOP. THINK. CONNECT. Messaging Convention, Inc. The logos and artwork connected with the STOP. THINK. CONNECT. trademark are copyrighted, 2010-2011. All Rights Reserved. The trademark and logo may only be used in accordance with the license provided at www.stopthinkconnect.org/license

STOP. THINK. CONNECT.™

Help/FAQFind your way around Match.com and get your questions answered.

SuggestionsWho knows our site better than our users? Use this form to submit your suggestions and ideas on how to improve Match.com and make your experience even more rewarding.

How to Report a User

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blogspersonal707 · 3 years ago

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youstartedoutrandom · 7 years ago

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Please write something about how to deal with the Naya Rivera situation. I'm so upset.

Hey Anon,

The first thing is to acknowledge your emotions for what they are: a grief response.

While some people may say that it doesn’t make sense to get worked up over something a celebrity has done—even one’s favorite celebrity—the truth is that a fan’s relationship with the media they consume and the people who produce that media is complex and deeply emotional.

Storytelling and representation can make deep impacts on the ways in which we perceive ourselves, so seeing someone who helped to tell one of your favorite stories or who in some way represented a crucial facet of your identity in media do something disgraceful or even pernicious can upset your sense of self and cause you to feel conflicted and hurt.

Based on your message, I’m guessing that Naya’s work and advocacy have probably meant a lot to you over the years. You may have looked up to her. You may have seen yourself in the characters she has played.

Seeing this situation unfold has probably challenged your notions of her and maybe even affected your perceptions about the media she has helped to create. You may feel uncomfortable thinking about her and her work and be unsure as to how to continue to engage with characters, music, and storylines you have long loved. It may be hard for you to look at Santana and/or Brittana and enjoy them anymore. Doing so may even be triggering for you, depending on your past history.

If so, then what you’re experiencing is a kind of loss, and it’s healthy for you to treat it that way. You have to allow yourself to process your thoughts and work through your feelings.

The tricky thing is is that there is no one right way to grieve, and everyone’s emotional journey is going to be different. I can’t offer you a “one size fits all” fix for your grief or tell you the way you ought to react. All I can do is offer suggestions.

I put them after the cut.

_______

So the first thing I suggest is to allow yourself to feel what you’re feeling and truly grieve.

It’s okay if you’re sad. It’s okay if you’re angry. It’s okay if you’re confused. It’s okay if you’re all those things at once.

You may see other people in fandom spaces reacting differently to this situation than you are, but don’t spend too much time comparing your reaction to theirs or trying to force your reaction to match anyone else’s.

Though the fandom is in many ways a collective, it is made up of individuals, and everyone comes to fandom with different experiences, meaning that while this situation may be hitting you hard, others may be less affected. Some people will need a lot of time to grieve. Others will need no time at all. While your primary emotional response may be sorrow, your best fandom friend may instead feel anger or incredulity. There isn’t one right way to feel about what’s happening or to respond to this news.

Just focus on what you feel and give yourself the time and emotional space that you need to work through your own reactions.

Remember that grief is seldom linear and that you may feel like you’re done mourning this loss one day only to suddenly feel bereaved again the next. You may be fine for a while but then hear a snippet of “Landslide” and all at once be right back where you started.

Sometimes it’s hard to be patient with the grief process because you just want it to be over so you can stop feeling upset, but you can’t rush it. You just have to ride the wave and allow yourself to react as much as you need to. There’s no single timescale and the five stages don’t always happen either in order or individually. Nothing about grief is neat and tidy.

Permit yourself to feel what you need to feel, and realize that your paradigm is probably going to shift.

—which brings me to my second suggestion, which is to carefully curate your media for the next while.

After everything is said and done, some people in the Santana/Brittana fandom are going to want to continue engaging with Naya’s past work, but others are not, and only you can decide where you stand on the issue and what makes you comfortable.

When certain media has meant a lot to you—and may have even bettered or saved your life—it can be really difficult to decide how to proceed when an actor involved with that media has done something you object to, particularly if you are a fan who is conscious of the facts that storytelling doesn’t happen in a vacuum and that continuing to support celebrities who are abusers can have serious implications for their victims.

I can’t tell you what you’re going to feel about Naya/Glee/Santana/Brittana once this situation plays out in full. I can only encourage you to be gentle with yourself over the next few days and weeks.

If seeing Naya, Santana, and/or Brittana is in any way upsetting or triggering to you, then blacklist those words and images using Tumblr Savior or even consider logging off your fan sites for the time being. You may need to avoid clicking links to the updated news stories. You may need to unfollow some blogs. You may need to stop watching old episodes or listening to old music.

It’s possible that you’ll eventually want to return to engaging with media involving Naya, but it’s also possible that you won’t.

In the event that you don’t want to return, tell yourself that what you’re doing is okay. I know that walking away from media you once loved can be a confusing and emotional process, and it may even feel like an act of disloyalty. But the important thing is to do what you need to so that you can feel safe and healthy and process your grief.

One of the hardest things about seeing someone we’ve once admired do something that we can’t condone is feeling that somehow the well has been poisoned—that all of the good that they may have done for us in the past has been undone by the bad thing they’ve done in the present.

If you do end up walking away from this aspect of your fandom life, please know that doing so in no way invalidates or changes the things that you have felt and learned to this point in your journey. If Naya’s portrayal of Santana helped you to understand and accept yourself and your sexuality, then that’s a good thing, and you don’t have to feel guilty or invalid.

Though the media itself may be tainted for you, the discoveries you’ve made, the healing you’ve experienced, the friendships you’ve forged, and the art you’ve created still count for good in your life.

If you need to express your feelings about this situation, then do so. Write a reaction post if you need to. Confide in a trusted fandom friend if you can. If you feel helpless or like you need to take action, consider doing something to support victims of domestic violence or raise awareness.

At the same time that you are curating your own media and figuring out your best course of action, allow others around you to do the same.

As stated above, everyone is going to process this situation differently, and you may have friends in the fandom who need different types of space and amounts of time to grieve than you do.

Be conscientious about your tags and reblogs. Be respectful of what your friends and mutuals may or may not want to talk about. So many people all over the world have personal experience with domestic violence situations, and it is important to be mindful of their trauma.

My final suggestion is to talk to someone if you need to.

If you’re struggling, reach out for help to a family member, friend, counselor, or hotline. Don’t feel like you have to process your grief alone because you don’t. There are people who are willing to listen and who want to help.

I’m thinking of you, Anon, and my ask box is open if you need it.

Be good to yourself.

#Ask #Anonymous #Anon

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