#it’s the information organization dream

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Word List: Psychology

more psychological concepts as reference for your poem/story

Telepathic dream - a dream in which one appears to gain insight or information about a person or event despite not having access to the relevant information in waking life; described by Sigmund Freud.

Thought echoing - (or écho des pensées) an auditory hallucination in which an individual hears their own thoughts repeated in spoken form.

Trait rumination - a tendency to focus attention on negative thoughts and emotions, which is associated with longer and more severe episodes of depression or anxiety.

Twilight state - a state of clouded consciousness in which the individual is temporarily unaware of their surroundings, experiences fleeting auditory or visual hallucinations, and responds to them by performing irrational acts, such as undressing in public, running away, or committing violence. The disturbance occurs primarily in temporal lobe epilepsy, dissociative reactions, and alcohol intoxication. On regaining normal consciousness, individuals usually report that they felt they were dreaming and have little or no recollection of their actual behavior.

Universality of emotions - the finding that certain emotional expressions, appraisals, and manifestations are the same or highly similar across cultures and societies.

Waking dream - an episode of dreamlike visual imagery experienced when one is not asleep. The term is sometimes applied to hallucinations, religious visions, and the like.

Windmill illusion - an illusion of motion of rotating objects, such as windmills and automobile wheels, which appear to reverse direction intermittently.

Xenoglossy - in parapsychology, the ostensible ability of a person to speak or write in a language that is entirely unknown to them.

Yantra - a visual pattern on which attention is focused during concentrative meditation.

Zeigarnik effect - the tendency for interrupted, uncompleted tasks to be better remembered than completed tasks. Some theorists relate this phenomenon to certain gestalt principles of organization but at the level of higher mental processing (e.g., memory), rather than at the level of pure perception; described in 1927 by Bluma Zeigarnik.

Source ⚜ More: References ⚜ Part 1 2 3 4 5 ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[nexstage]

Sugarggedon

What could’ve…

“Aaaghhhh!” He screamed. In seconds, his head hit a hard, cold surface making him curse, gritted teeth. Opening his eyes again, the dread and terror he felt moments ago was replaced by the deepest level of confusion for he found himself in his room. His old childhood room. “What the—?” His hands went to his face. His skin felt smooth, a bit oily, a few pimples from acne in the chin.

What happened to all the back pain, the arthritis, the scars, the wrinkles, the cataracts, the—? Wait a second, since when his future looked so old? And why was that by the way?

He flexed his fingers and hands. They were young. He was young.

“Stan, are you ok?” Broken out of his stunned thoughts, he glanced at his brother.

Lively and healthy. Uh, why was he thinking about a future with wrinkles and health issues again?

“Stan, what happened? Was it a nightmare?” Ford gently placed a hand on his forehead. “You have no fever. What about your stomach? Did you eat something before going to sleep?”

“Uh… No no. Just… Just a dream. I mean, I had a dream, but I thought it was real.”

“By the look of your face, it seems that this dream went to the extreme in making you feel that was the reality.”

“Eh… You could say so.” He murmured an ouch as he rubbed the bruised part of his forehead. He hoped that didn’t leave a mark. “You can’t believe how crazy it was, you know, in my head.”

“Tell me then, we have some time before the clock goes off.”

“You won’t believe it! It was insane!”

Stan went into a long ramble describing a town called Gravity Falls in Oregon, invaded by all kinds of aliens and monsters, a colossal pyramid floating above the forest surrounding the town, the sky painted in all the colors ever known by man, fire and destruction everywhere, and they were there in the middle of it running from something. When he described their appearances, Ford’s eyes gleamed at his own description as some kind of adventurous researcher fighting alongside Stan who was wearing a businessman/mafia boss suit and even glasses.

“You weren’t kidding. That’s unbelievable!”

“Yeah and—“ Stan’s breath hitched as he saw part of the room where Ford’s trophies usually were. Correction, where Ford’s AND HIS trophies usually were.

He stood up and scanned all of them. His twin’s prizes were outstanding for obvious reasons. He was a genius beyond anyone’s league. Stanley, on the other hand, was just there. Pure brawn and troublemaking, struggling in academics.

Except that he was good at sports. Basketball, football, boxing, the medals and trophies said it all.

There were even photos where he had invited Ford to be part of it, both smiled so big their cheeks hurt.

“Amazing, right? In the end, your bet with Pa worked out.”

A bet? A bet with Pa of all people? What was Six—? Oh. Oh yeah! He remembered now.

Pa with his typical lack of faith in him and stoicism simply said that it would be a miracle if he managed to graduate without dragging Ford down in the journey until graduation.

Stan had always wanted to impress his father, to get that gesture of approval and recognition he only gave Ford. Being average and the extra Stan were the bane of his existence, however, for his twin excelled in every class while he got Cs, or in the best of scenarios, a B. And Pa hardly went to his boxing matches, expecting Ford to report him about his progress and barely saying “Mhm” before focusing on the newspaper.

Then when he said he would win all the matches in boxing and get all medals his father scoffed, “I bet my fedora that you couldn’t even be this disciplined with boxing or any other sport.” Stanley took that personally and organized himself. He became part of many sports clubs, attended all the classes, and impressed the coachers.

Suddenly, the few medals he obtained for boxing multiplied in tenfold just like the others from football, basketball, wrestling, etc.

As his mind processed the information, the clock rang incessantly taking him by surprise.

“Welp, time to go to school.”

A wave of anxiety washed over him due to Ford’s words but why? It was just school. It’s not that something life-changing would happen, right?

**************

“Mr. Pines, Mrs. Pines, let me be frank with you if I may.”

Stan couldn’t stop drumming his fingers into his knees despite his best efforts. This better not be a problem he accidentally or willingly dragged Ford into but as far as he remembered, they hadn’t gotten into more conflicts with Crampelter and his goons, and the rest of their classmates minded their own businesses.

What else could it be then?

He wished he had his notebook with him. For some reason, his wacky dream had clung to the darkest corners of his mind, pushing him to draw every detail. Doodling instead of keeping up with the lesson of the day was something he was known for like any other student but his gut seemed to be desperate to keep sketching those apocalyptic scenarios, and the pyramid, what was with that pyramid that—?

“Being frank is the only way I speak.” Filbrick’s voice cut through the haze of his restlessness. Stanley slightly gulped, wanting the whole deal to be over.

“You have two sons here,” the principal pointed at him and Stanford. “One excels in sports and the other in academics.”

“What are you trying to say?” Caryn asked. Stanley mentally did the same. What was he getting at?

“I’m saying that your sons are soon-to-be stars, Mrs. Pines!” Uh… What? “Stanley here has gotten the attention of the best football coachers of the country. Many teams are fighting over him to get him on their side. The scholarships are raining! Ohio, Alabama, Michigan, Southern California, North Dakota, Montana, even Harvard!” Harvard?! “And let’s not forget Stanford. He’s an unparalleled genius! All his teachers are going bananas over his science project! Have you ever heard of West Coast Tech? Best college in the country? All his students have turned science fiction into science facts! This guy could change the whole world! Your sons might be famous millionaires, Mr. Pines!”

“I’m impressed,” Stanley was this close to fainting. Pa said he was impressed. He even smiled! Pa never smiles. He has never been impressed of him! And now he was!

*************

The night at the swings was tranquil. The soft waves barely moved the Stan O’ War and his nose inhaled as much sea air as he could. If someone had told him that one day he would make his father proud and have a future beyond scrapping the barnacles off of a taffy store -wait, where did that thought come from?- anyway, if he had been given those news, he would’ve laughed and ignored it.

Stanford was the guy with the brilliant future. He had the brains, he would go places, he could beat the odds with whatever plan he concocted. Stan was another story.

Of course, the world decided he could do better. He even made the impossible happen! He would be a famous football player, Pa was impressed of him, his parents were proud, he would leave Glass Shard Beach and meet famous sportsmen, maybe win the hearts of cute babes, who knew.

And yep, his hands were still twitching and fidgeting. Why though? No idea.

“Can you believe it, Stanley? We’re going to college!”

He chuckled. “More like you are. I have to choose from a pool of pamphlets.”

“This is the amazing thing, though! You have lots of options. It means all your hard work paid off.”

“What about, uh, West Coast Tech? Happy with only one option?”

“Having more than one college to go sounds excellent, but I’ve read the pamphlet, Stan. This college has everything. The best teachers, the most advanced equipment, the best environment. Maybe… Maybe there I could show everyone that I’m more than the freak they see. That someone like me can change the world.”

“I know you will. I bet that in a few years we’ll be living in huge mansions while Crampelter and his friends will be working as taxi drivers.”

“Now that’s a depiction of a perfect world!”

Both laughed uproariously.

The echo of their laughter travelled throughout their neighborhood but not one soul opened a window to shout a complain. As they calmed the pain in their stomachs for laughing so hard, the salted, humid air reminded Stanley of the bittersweetness ahead of him. He had a great future but in exchange he would leave behind stuff he loved like their childhood dream and the Stan O’ War.

It felt weird to be excited to go to another path that wasn’t connected or fused to Ford’s. When they were children, the “Us against the world” motto was all they knew and mattered. Did it still matter? They weren’t as close as before and their talents had pushed them to different goals but they still enjoyed each other’s company.

Things were changing but others were still the same.

“What are you drawing?” Drawing? Stan peeked at what his hands were doing. A bricky-like triangle over a bunch of houses and trees. Wait. “This looks like my dream.”

“Is it causing you trouble again?” Ford asked concernedly.

“More like it’s a song on a loop. Bit annoying.” But still his hands kept doodling different shapes reminiscent of what he’d dreamed. As if they were telling him something which was nonsense! I mean, these were his hands. Hands don’t talk, they don’t think.

“You know, this gives me a great idea!”

“What kind of idea?”

“It’s more for you than for me. What if you make a comic out of your dream? I know the details will vanish with time but if your dream is this persistent, then maybe you can make the best out of it. You may not see it, but you have talent drawing, Stanley. This could be a pet project during your breaks in college and football training. And who knows, perhaps in the future, you will also be known by your art.”

Being known by his art… “Heh, you’re putting a lot of faith in a simple project, Pointdexter.”

“Because it could be a great opportunity.” Ford watched the stars mesmerized. “The future does look promising after all.”

“Yeah… It does…”

[elfpylon]

you bet your sweet ass I'm incorporating dazzle camouflage into my worldbuilding that somehow fits with the non-euclidean nature of the fabric of reality.

inspired by an anachronistic WWI battleship stealth method- it helps the wearer phase in and out and between the fabric of spacetime and confuse opponents. it looks cool as fuck and matches the high-contrast jagged black/white aesthetic of the Artificed- which have that 1920s German expressionist fever dream thing going on. who are they? ehh that's for another time.

[iamthescalesofjustice]

had a star wars themed dream. anyway

 feemor getting a birthday cake from a smug crime boss 🤝 surana having some parents of a force-sensitive kid refuse to believe he is not a jedi and try to pawn their kid off on him 🤝 the temple guards having a mando who says their name is revan turn up to the front door 

‘was not prepared to deal with this shit today’ 

[tired-needs-sleep]

i didn't plan on falling asleep, but it happened and i had a crazy dream again. i usually don't remember dreams very frequently but 2 in like a week's span is crazy in itself. anyway....

the setting is a place similar to blackstepple castle, a dark-colored castle that was very obvious was old. one event or another caused me, who happened to be sara this dream but for simplicity i'll just say kisaragi's name because i didn't exactly feel like me in the dream

they're with some friends and somehow they get captured. they're taken to the castle, and i don't actually think it was super far away. the terrain didn't change much, actually. it was all snowy. anyway, sara is thrown into a cell and faints, but a voice swirls around their head: don't know exactly what the full thing was but it ended with "you were destined to rule this castle." that's the last thing i remember in that part.

kisaragi's friends, who i didn't recognize from anywhere, found this odd pit with dark energy that they could interact with. it was in a cave but the area it was in had a hole in the roof to the surface. they messed around with this pit, and found that sara could somehow communicate with those friends through some means on the other side. don't know how because the dream never fully explainedz but what i did see was sara on the other side was in the bottom of the pit and could see silhouettes of those three friends, but if they tried to touch them they found it was just an illusion. but the voices were from the real friends and they even dropped some food down into the pit and it got to sara. yet i was aware this pit wasn't like a regular hole you know? like a portal that acted and looked like it wasn't one

at some point sara is trying to escape. unsure if there's anyone helping them but there's 3 different major guardians of this castle. and each had their own boss battle arena. sara got through two before they ran into the final one, a dragon. think it had four legs and wings and was dark colored too, but not the same as the castle wall color. like a navy blue color. anyway they try to go and escape through the door but it's locked, they get caught by this dragon, and are thrown back into their cell. again that voice says that they are destined to rule the castle, and she faints.

skipping over some time because i don't remember what happens between then and the second time sara and friends communicate again, they give them food and plan a second attempt to escape. once the meeting is over sara tries to touch one of their friends, but the portal's illusion ripples when they brush their fingers through. again, that voice speaks, repeats that they are destined to rule that castle, and instead of passing out, sara leaves and breaks through the prison cells, then releases the others in captivity after taking care of the guard. things get wild, prisoners are angry and vengeful against the guards with how they treated the captives. sara takes this distraction and bolts, some of the other captives also follow them. they easily cut through the first and second boss fight guardians, and for some reason or another, sara is the only one willing to actually fight the dragon. despite loosing the first time.

so they fight. sara does a little sword's dance and dodges the first attack. they manage to climb onto it's back, probably trying to reach the weak spot on the back of it's neck- like that's a hard place to reach on a cat or dog so i guess that's based in some form of logic. but then this dragon flies up, and flings sara into the air. that did.. almost nothing though. they use pursuit and catch up to the dragon, speed up it's back, and night slash. dragon screeches, and crashes down. it's a rough landing but they're alright.

i wish i could tell you what happened next, but i woke up around now. i remember seeing the dragon just laying there, but kisaragi was looking at it with shock. rightfully so, that was a wild battle, huh?

cool storyline even without some details that would've been helpful lmao. i just think medieval rpgs are cool and it's one of my favorite type of games

[textualviolence]

truly a lot of my dreams are complete full-fledged narratives and they're excellent. Many a times have i wanted to kill myself upon waking up and realizing the excellent manga i just read didn't exist. Ive written them down but its not the same i have to actually work to make them real & full fledged. But the concepts are always insane.

[silv-paru]

GO VOTE I'M BEGGING YOU ALL

Okay, I don't usually do that, but if anyone who is french and follow me, Go vote the 7th of July.

I don't want the extreme right to be in majority in the assembly.

For context for everyone who isn't French: Macron decided to dissolve the french assembly (they vote and suggest new laws) after the European elections (spoilers: This was a bad idea considering the rise of the extreme right everywhere in Europe), meaning we have to vote to elect some new deputies. And today was the first round... surprise, surprise: the RN (which is the extreme right) was first.

The left, as a response to the European elections, formed a coalition called Le Nouveau Front Populaire (the new popular front), very 1934 of us I have to say and they are second (I think).

The second round is the 7th of July.

GO VOTE.

[gimmick-blog-bracket]

@hellsitegenetics

I love them

I didn't know I needed to know that the weed-smoking girlfriends post was genetically a wolf, but I did, and I do. Also puts great stuff on my dash.

it’s so fun to be scrolling unhinged posts and then boom. an organism!

so many moths‼ also, unexpected comedy with some of the matches

perfect blend of silly and informative, and makes for an excellent punchline at the end of a long post. puts creatures on my dash. literally what more could you ask for

It's a really unique blog concept and a lot of times the results are pretty funny. It's great when the sequence matches the post content too!

Creatures 👍

Finds beautiful creatures out of the mess of the hellsite

Offers finality AND gives us a creechur.

I love them. English speakers talk like moths

If this blog wins, they could run the text of the winning announcement, and determine the post's genus and species!

They're also very good about tagging the type of creature depicted in the results, so as long as you mute tags of creatures you don't want to see, it's a very fun time seeing iconic legacy posts (and new submissions) being reduced down to a string of letters and assigned a random species of fish or moth or something!

uhh it’s cool

BLAST

There are so many weird bugs in the world

Yippee!!

If, as Haldane said, God has an inordinate fondness for beetles, then surely this blog proves that Tumblr has an inordinate fondness for moths.

Top tier blog as a geneticist, I love seeing obscure organisms and MOTH

Admin got rate limited after trying to blast the bee movie

the knowledge of biology to pull this off (i have taken one biology class in my life) and also the work to find all the strings honestly deserves quite a bit of praise

This gimmick blog has it all: science, pictures of animals, interaction with the text of other peoples' posts, interesting information, and a unique and fun premise. As a biologist, I'm rooting for hellsitegenetics to reach the end and take the tournament, because it is truly a standout among gimmick blogs.

If they win, perhaps this blog too shall become a cool organism :3

@one-time-i-dreamt

people sometimes dont read the URL and think that the dream is something that actually happened. creates confusion and the funny

[cesium-sheep]

dream that a bunch of people were around again but something happened that demanded manual override to gather information and when it was done I couldn't stop shaking and everyone was trying to be really gentle like arin and matt and matt's dad and all this stuff and they were being really nice but I still felt pretty awful.

[paperbag1999]

i was like “let me smoke weed before bed to calm down because i had a nerve wracking day” and the weed was Evil.

[ana-bananya]

$50/$50,000

EDIT: replaced Wafaa's old campaign with a link to her new one

@wafaaresh reached out for help boosting her new campaign

Wafa has started this campaign to raise funds her her family's evacuation. The funds will cover evacuation costs for her, her parents, her siblings (6 brothers and 5 sisters), and her siblings' children. The money will also help afford necessities and medical treatment for her family.

Wafa had graduated from university and dreamed of traveling, but her ambitions have all been destroyed. She and her family have also lost their stores and home, both destroyed by the Israeli occupation, leaving them without income and proper shelter for these past 9 months.

Her family has been displaced more than 10 times since the genocide began. They are without access to food or drinking water, and many members of her family are suffering from hepatitis and malnutrition.

Her mother suffers from chronic hypertension, needs daily blood pressure medication, and needs surgery for varicose veins in her leg. Wafa and her family cannot afford her medication or surgery at this time.

Wafa's gfm and her account are new, and I wasn't able to find any verification for her so I talked with her to try and verify her campaign. She gave me the information I have restated here, and I'd like to include the photos she sent me as well.

This is Wafa's little sister, Sara (the girl pictured in the cover of the gfm) with their brother, Mohamud, and his son, Abood. The photo was taken in their house. You can see more of Wafa's house in this post. The background of the photo matches the home shown in the video.

The next photos are of Wafa's younger brother, Mohiy. He had an operation on May 20th, 2024 for a a gallbladder operation to treat his hepatitis and severe pancreatitis. She has told me he has recovered from the pain he was suffering from and that he is in a better condition. Here are the photos she gave me of him. The first is before Oct. 7th and the second is after his operation.

Please donate and help spread this post around. Wafa's campaign is new and needs attention.

[mohammedhaboubsblog]

DO NOT IGNORE ‼️

MY FAMILY URGENTLY NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT TO EVACUATED FROM THE GENOCIDE TO SAVE PLACE

Hello, my name is Mohammed Haboub, from Gaza, I lived in the war about 8 months displaced from house to house, my house was destroyed on the third day of the war and I did not take anything from my house, the Israeli army called my father and informed him to evacuate the house in a military operation in our region, we evacuated the area and we were displaced to my uncle's house for 4 days, and then we were displaced to Rafah for 10 days and the house was evacuated because the house opposite us was bombed, and then we were displaced to Khanunis, after that we stayed for 50 days and then the area was evacuated and we were evacuated to Rafah and the opposite mosque was bombed, and a woman in the house was martyred and my family was displaced and we survived from death miraculously.

I study computer engineering at Al-Azhar University and I excel at my university. I study in the second year of my specialisation, I had a dream and my future were destroyed. My twin brother and I are studying the same specialisation. Please help me to building our future and building our house.

Please, help us as soon as possible.

Your support will make a huge difference and save our lives.

please share and donate any amount you can or pray for us ‼️🍉

I appreciate everything you do for my family❤️🫶🏻

@sayruq @sar-soor @90-ghost @vakarians-babe @northgazaupdates @helppeople @ibtisams @appsa @annoyingloudmicrowavecultist @feluka @marnota @sayruq @tortiefrancis @flower-tea-fairies @tsaricides @riding-with-the-wild-hunt @vivisection-gf @belleandsaintsebastian @ear-motif @ibtisams

@animentality @communistchilchuck @brutaliakhoa @raelyn-dreams @the-bastard-king @queerstudiesnatural

@northgazaupdates @90-ghost @skatehani @awetistic-things @baby-girl-aaron-dessner @morallyrainyday

[musubi-sama]

Papa Mama, Kiss!

Nanami Kento, girl dad, and how the small commands an almost-2year-old can etch into his heart.

A/N: Thanks @pseudowho for the gentle nudge to write this one out. And for everyone else, if it's not obvious, based on real events.

WC: 1.4K

Fatherhood, raising and nurturing children to become their best selves. To give them wings and teach them to fly on their own. This is what Nanami Kento dreamed of for years. But almost two years in, his daughter was testing his last thread of patience.

“Papa, milk!” Kento returns with a glass of milk.

“Papa, tea!” Kento blinks, and returns with a glass of tea, finishing off the milk for himself along the way.

“Milk?” Kento sighs. Just as he starts to lift himself from his chair, you put your arm on his.

“Sweetest, could you take a sip of the tea first?” you offer the glass to your daughter, and she happily starts to drink the water, quickly emptying the cup. Sufficiently satiated, she goes back to eating her lunch.

You shoot your husband a soft smile, you’re met with a weary, but loving gaze in return. Features worn by time, bolstered by love, and cut by the effort of child rearing.

You both had done your research, coming to similar conclusions with differing approaches on how to tackle the approaching “Terrible Twos.”

Kento couldn’t understand the parenting blogs, as they made any solutions to challenges seem so…. simple to solve.

“Guaranteed to solve purple crying with one simple trick!” “Sleep training made easy! You’ll have quiet nights in less than a week!” “10 steps to handling a temper tantrum in public. Number 6 will surprise you”

But every solution seemed to be milquetoast, at best, and unhelpful at worst. But almost two years in, he started to get the hang of things. The secret is that his daughter was her own person and required him to think on his feet. And despite the new levels of exhaustion he had reached, especially in the early days, Nanami Kento was euphoric to see his daughter every morning. He missed her in the depths of his heart every second she was at daycare, or even just with you running errands.

Kento was a modern dad, bucking the trend by taking the full year of paternity leave along with you. Reassuring you that there would still be an open spot in daycare once it was time to return to work. And he was right. He helped fill out the pages and pages of paperwork. And choosing the 13 facilities to rank in hopes you were offered a spot at your number 1? Of course, your salaryman husband excelled at sorting the data and organizing the thick booklets of information.

When it came time to drop off your daughter on her first day, and it was only for two hours, you both arrived with big, nervous, first-time parent jitters. And were the only full family there in the morning drop off. The other parents sharing knowing glances at you and Kento fumbling clothes, trying to find the bins you needed, almost dropping the thermometer, and giving maybe one, two, three, too many kisses to your daughter as you handed her off.

The walk to the local coffee shop was filled with dreams of what fun your daughter would have with her class. Kento was hiding his nerves well, but you could see right through him. You saw the tremor in his hand, the nearly imperceptible gravel in his voice. He didn’t hold back for the other parents’ sake; he’d never do that. But he didn’t want your daughter to catch his nervous and scared energy. He knew if she felt his anxiety, it would make handing her off so much harder. He couldn’t bear to hear your cries of separation.

So, when you both returned two hours later, Kento lit up with the biggest smile and the most eager arms as the workers handed your daughter off to him.

“Oh, my love, I’ve missed you! What did you play with? Who did you meet? Please tell me all about your day, spare no details,” your doting husband cooed at your one-year-old. He continued an entire conversation with her, even if words didn’t form from the baby babble.

You spoke with the workers to understand how she fared for the short visit. They told you how she didn’t cry not even once. And how tomorrow your daughter can stay even longer, through the morning snack. It made you so happy to get such fantastic feedback.

After a few weeks, you all settled into a lovely routine. Both of you working from home left flexibility for drop off and pick up. And as your daughter became more capable of bigger play times, Kento would take her out to the local park so that you could make dinner most days. You loved the peace and quiet, he loved the bonding time.

As your daughter’s language built up over the months leading up to her second birthday, she was beginning to string together commands. Able to ask for help, food, drink, toys. She even started to command who could sit next to her and then tell them to “moot (move)” away and a new person would be not-so-gently asked to sit next to her.

“Papa,” she would point to a spot on the ground next to her, in the middle of the playground. And Kento is not the type to ignore the requests of a child. He took a polite squat next to your daughter, waiting with bated breath for the next command she would give.

“Mmm. Ah…up,” she reached her hands up in the air.

“Do you want up?” Kento reached over to lift his little one up in the air with a light, controlled, toss.

“Papa!”

You sat on a nearby bench watching, camera clicking over and over, catching the precious moments to share with your friends and family across the world.

That night ran like every other, a well-oiled machine. You took a bath with your daughter, Kento took her for a fresh diaper, clean pajamas, and to help him make, and for her to drink, the nightly milk bottle.

And the final step, you welcomed a sleepy toddler into your weary arms. Tonight, she was laden down with her stuffies of choice, a small Sylveon and Doraemon.

“Okay, let’s cuddle up here, please,” you coax a sleepy toddler into your lap and to lay against your chest. It seems like every day it gets harder as she grows bigger. What happened to your teeny tiny bub?

“Good night, I love you,” Kento leans down to give a kiss to the tiny (well, not so tiny anymore) forehead. “And I love you,” he leans over to your waiting lips as you tilt your head up. Every night you get a soft, but gently urgent kiss from Kento.

“Papa iss?” you both break from the kiss to hear a tired request. Your daughter had sat up from your chest and looked expectantly at Kento.

“Of course,” he leans down for another kiss, this time her cheek. A satisfied smile spreads across her face.

“Mama iss?”

“Yes, love.”

“Mama papa iss?” and you looked up at Kento to make sure you heard her correctly.

“Did she…?”

“You heard her now,” and Kento leans down for another kiss, this time he lingers a heartbeat longer. As he pulls away, in the dim haze of the nightlight he catches your waterline beginning to fill.

“Oh, baby, you’re so sweet,” you coo at your daughter, pulling her into a tender hug.

“Good night, you two,” Kento is standing by the door, soft smile from lips to eyes. He slips out and gently shuts the door.

After you spend a few minutes cuddling with your daughter, you gently lay her in the crib and quietly slip out of the bedroom, leaving her to take the last step to dreamworld.

You sit down on the couch next to Kento. Still feeling the buzz from twenty minutes ago, he reaches over to cup your face.

“How are you feeling?”

“I am going to ride that high for weeks. I can’t believe it,” your eyes can’t hold back the tears of love and happiness. You feel every bit of the dichotomy between the hard moments and the soaring highs of happiness.

Kento could feel his heart grow and swell. The small command would replay in his mind until his dying breath. It would be a story he shared as the father of the bride. An endearing tale he treasured, a memory he could rely on to get him through overtime.

Coaxing you into his lap, Kento presses his lips to yours much more urgently than the last kiss.

[glazecake]

Palestine فلسطين

x / x / x | x / x / x | x / x / x

My goal with making this post is to use my platform to raise awareness and encourage solidarity and action for the people of Palestine. Over the past few weeks, I have felt powerless to watch the destruction of Gaza before the world's eyes. However, I realized that I still have a large platform despite this blog's inactivity. With this, I would like to share information about Palestine and what you can do to help.

In the above post, I have sought out videos of Palestinian food, culture, art, architecture, and nature to share. Israeli propaganda is trying adamantly to dehumanize the population of Palestine in order to further justify their genocide. Regardless, no matter where you are in the world, humans recognize and understand what it is to be human. What it is to make art, to share food with your loved ones, to travel, and laugh, and sing. To experience heartbreak and hardship, and to experience joy. To dream about the future. To stand up for what we believe in, to fight in the face of injustice.

If you are an American citizen, use your voice to stand up for what's right. Contact your representatives. Demand a ceasefire in Gaza. Boycott companies and celebrities who voice their support of the Israeli settler state. Protest. Donate. Organize. Fight. We are strongest when in community with each other. Our US tax dollars directly fund the murder of Gazan civilians. Make it known that we will not stand idly by while news outlets and propagandists lie to our faces about the atrocities enacted by the IDF and the Knesset.

Here are some links for information on Palestine, as well as places to donate:

decolonizepalestine - A website aiming to educate and dispel myths about the Palestinian people, ran by two Ramallah residents.

US Campaign for Palestinian Rights - You can use this website to find groups organizing near you.

Palestine Action US - The US branch of a directive aiming to dismantle the Israeli military regime, directly funded by the US.

Hirbawi Kufiya - The last and only Kufiya factory in Palestine, as featured in the gif above. You can pre-order a kufiya which will be shipped once the blockade has been lifted.

Let Gaza Live: Ceasefire NOW - An easy way to send letters to your representatives to demand ceasefire in Gaza.

The Palestinians: From Peasants to Revolutionaries by Rosemary Sayigh - A good introduction to the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Click to Help - One click a day can help raise donations for the UNRWA.

baitulmaal - Donate to fund relief.

anera - Donate to provide hygiene kits for displaced Gazans.

As of October 27th, 2023, Gazans are losing access to the internet. It is imperative for us to share their stories, to continue to remain active and aware of their martyrdom. The IDF will utilize this information blackout to their advantage. We must do all we can. Do not forget the plight of the Palestinian people. Do not allow their voices to go unheard.

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. 🇵🇸

[aq112233]

This is me Mohamad.. ‏🇵🇸

Imagine you wake up with

nothing left.That's exactly what happened with us .we moved from having everything to having nothing.In a blink of an eye ,we lost everything, our house ,dreams, memories belongings and our works. We are starting from zero and need your help to climb the leader step by step from scratch.💔💔😢

All the positive words cannot express how generous you are, especially in sharing my posts to inform other donors about the people of Gaza who are still suffering from the terrible conditions caused by the unjust war on Gaza!🍉🖤💔

Please continue to support us by donating directly or by sharing the link to let others know. Don't hesitate to help people in difficult and miserable times until the dark days are over. 🙏🙏🙏🏻🍉🍉🍉

https://gofund.me/b30a66ff

[captainsophiestark]

The Shiz University Book Fair

Fiyero Tigelaar x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Fandom: Wicked

Summary: Fiyero made an enemy in his destruction of the library, but it might be just the spark he needs to find something in life that matters.

Word Count: 2,952

Category: Angst, Fluff

A/N: The actor who played Fiyero the first time I saw the musical will forever and always hold the place of favorite in my heart, but damn, Jonathan Bailey is a VERY close second.

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"That self-important, irreverent, stupid, idiot."

I grumbled to myself, using it to vent a little bit of my temper as I worked through my corner of the library. The books I'd been meticulously organizing, gathering, and cataloguing had been scattered to the winds, and even worse, some of them had sustained damage. I couldn't be completely sure yet, but it also seemed like a few were missing. I was going to kill that stupid fucking prince.

"Well, I see someone completely ignored my critical lesson yesterday."

Speak of the devil and he will appear. I huffed, then set down the stack of books in my hand before whirling around with a fierce scowl. None other than Fiyero Tigelaar stood before me, much closer than was wise if he knew how badly I wanted to hit him, staring at me with his arms crossed and an insufferable smile on his face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded, absolutely seething. Fiyero just shrugged, apparently completely unaffected.

"I noticed you didn't come to the Oz Dust last night. I figured that meant I had more work to do in corrupting my fellow classmates." He gave a significant look to the stacks of books behind me. "Apparently, I was right."

"If you so much as move a finger to touch my books again, I swear, I'll knock that stupid smile right off your face. For good."

Fiyero's eyebrows raised, but his grin only widened. He held up his hands as if to placate me, but he also took a step forward. I narrowed my eyes.

"Listen, I'm just trying to say... you seem a little stressed," he said. I scoffed, but it didn't deter him. "And in my professional opinion, you need to let go of some of this stress before it eats you alive. Living in the library, working day and night, not letting go and having fun? I've seen it claim more than one attractive classmate whom I could've saved. I'm not letting it happen this time."

I clenched and unclenched my fists, barely managing to restrain myself from punching him in the nose. Clearly, his flirty charm had worked almost universally for him before, to the point that he wasn't getting a single one of the glaringly obvious signs that I did not like him and did not want to talk to him. I huffed a long sigh through my nose.

"Fine. You want me to let off some stress? Here goes!" Fiyero grinned like he'd just won the lottery, but I steamrolled over him, relishing the moment that satisfaction dropped from his face. "I've been working on putting together pallets of books and organizing everything for months for the largest reading and book fair in Oz! All for kids, who travel from far and wide to come to the Shiz University Book Fair. For some of them, this is the only access they get to important stories, reading events, and information that they otherwise can't even dream about. I've been helping to put it on since I started here at Shiz, and for the first time, I've finally been put in charge of the whole thing. My dream job, my dream event, that will do so much good. And you fucking ruined it! 

"It's going to take me SO LONG to put everything back, reorganize what you threw around the room for your stupid dance break, replace the damaged and missing books, all before the kids come in less than a week! And frankly, if you hadn't destroyed all of my hard work, I probably would've gone dancing with my friends last night, to celebrate the end of our preparations. But instead, I'm here, working all day and night to get things back in order for one of the events that I not only enjoy most, but that's most important to me and the people who attend. Some of us know how to balance important things that we care about with dicking around, and we don't need lessons from a sanctimonious asshat who thinks he has life figured out even though it's painfully obvious that he doesn't."

Fiyero frowned at me, actually looking like he was using his brain for the first time since I'd met him. Whether he was burning up his processing power trying to think of a comeback or just fuming about someone having the nerve to shout at him, I didn't wait to find out.

"You're lucky I didn't kill you the minute you set foot in my space here," I continued, the anger leveling to a dangerous simmer rather than the explosion I'd been feeling a few moments earlier. "Now get the hell out."

With that, I whipped around, putting my back to Fiyero and returning to my stacks of books. It was the clearest method I could think of for dismissing him, and hopefully, he at least got this message.

I finished running through an inventory of the next stack of books without interruption from Fiyero. After another moment, I couldn't stand the not knowing anymore, so I whirled back around with a scowl already loaded to tell him to get lost again, this time in stronger words. But, to my surprise, he was nowhere to be seen.

I hummed to myself, scouting the library one last time. He was really gone. Good. I'd expected more of a fight, but I definitely didn't have time for one. Hopefully, that would be the last I saw of that obnoxious party boy.

***************

"Babies and toddlers?"

"Check."

"Learning to read?"

"Check."

"Middle grade?"

"Check."

"Everything else? Nonfiction, second language, advanced readers-"

"Everything checked off and accounted for. Now triple checked."

I let out a long sigh as I stared around the circle of my closest, most trusted volunteers. They each had clipboards in hand, running through last inventory and organization checks with me before the Shiz University Book Fair officially began. Despite how intense I'd been all morning, they all still had smiles on their faces as they indulged my over-preparedness. This event meant just as much to them as to me, after all, and we were all recovering from last week's unplanned chaos.

"Alright. Then great job, everybody. Grab some coffee or whatever else you want, and then get in position. Doors open in ten."

Everyone nodded, sharing smiles before breaking from our circle and heading off to do whatever they wanted with their last few minutes of quiet. Some of them clapped me on the shoulder on their way past, and I gave them each a smile and a nod.

After the scene Fiyero had caused in the library, not only had everything required reorganization, but a good number of the books had also required replacing. I'd managed to track down most of them, but with only a week's notice, I hadn't quite gotten all of them. Still, on such a limited time frame, I was proud of what I'd managed to accomplish. Everything was as close to perfect as it could be, in position and ready for the arrival of the kids to go off without a hitch.

Of course, no sooner had the thought crossed my mind than a new challenge popped up out of the ether to punch me in the nose. With just under ten minutes until book fair start, Fiyero had the nerve to come riding in on a bicycle, a cart behind him and a smile on his face.

I rushed across the field space where we'd set up the book stands, trying to head him off as early as possible. I caught some of our volunteers sharing glances and looking at Fiyero with interest, but this was a problem I was perfectly happy to handle myself.

"You! Get the hell out of here, right now!" I shouted, pointing to Fiyero as he stopped his bike and hopped off of it. I raced right up to him, shoving at his shoulders and trying to shoo him back onboard the bike, but he just held up his hands in surrender while still standing his ground.

"Relax! I come bearing books!"

I froze. Fiyero's shoulders relaxed when I stopped trying to shove him out of my space, but his relief was a little early as far as I was concerned. I narrowed my eyes at him, incredibly suspicious and ready to resume my attack at a moment's notice.

"What do you mean you come bearing books? What are you talking about?"

Fiyero smiled, keeping his hands up in the air as he walked to the back of the wagon he'd pulled here on his bicycle. I watched him like a hawk, but when he flipped the tarp back to reveal a few different crates of books, I couldn't stop my mouth from dropping open in shock.

"What...?"

"I heard what you said in the library," Fiyero said with a shrug. "I'm... sorry... that I ruined some of the books you'd prepared for the children. I didn't mean to. Or, I suppose I did, but... I didn't realize how important they were at the time. I asked around, and a few of your volunteers said you hadn't been able to replace some of the books, so... I decided to do it myself."

My eyebrows shot up as Fiyero lifted the first crate out of the cart. He walked over to me, stopping just in front of me and holding it out so I could see inside. Lo and behold, it contained more than one volume of the books I hadn't quite been able to replace on such short notice.

I looked up at Fiyero with wide eyes, all the fire and impulse for violence drained away. He just smiled back at me, and this time, it didn't seem to have the same arrogant tinge as before.

"...How...?"

He just shrugged again.

"I'm a prince. I have my ways."

"You... you seriously went to all the trouble to track these down? Just for the book fair?"

The corner of his mouth tugged up into a smile. "I've been trying to find something useful to do with my title for a long time. It wasn't a problem."

I just breathed another surprised sigh. I didn't know how to react to the man in front of me. I'd written him off as a shallow asshole, quite validly in my opinion, but the Fiyero standing before me now seemed like a completely different man.

"So... is there somewhere in particular you'd like me to put these books?"

"Oh! Yes, uh... yeah. Follow me."

I led the way to the table I'd worked hard to cover up a slight empty spot on, and Fiyero dutifully followed me. I waved to a few of the other volunteers to unload the rest of his cart, and we worked quickly, Fiyero providing much more help than I'd been expecting. By the time the doors officially opened and the first few children arrived, everything was perfectly in place.

I'd been expecting Fiyero to take off not long after he dropped off the books, but he continued to surprise me. He talked to the kids and their families as they came in, and not long into the event, he borrowed a map of the table layouts from one of the more experienced volunteers. Within ten minutes, he was helping direct kids and families with questions, carrying their books, and sending them to people who could answer questions if he ran into one he didn't know the answer to.

I kept an eye on him all the same, expecting the other shoe to drop. Surely, the Fiyero that had destroyed my books and the rest of the library would make a reappearance at some point. And yet, he never did. The new Fiyero not only stayed, but he stayed later than some of my regular volunteers. The sun was setting by the time the last kids and families left, and Fiyero was still here, along with my most dedicated volunteer core. I shook my head as I crossed the space to talk to him, still not quite believing this had been real.

"Well!" he said, addressing me with a smile and his hands on his hips as soon as he noticed me coming. "That seems like it was a success!"

"Yeah. We're still looking at numbers, but... I think it might've been our most successful event ever."

Fiyero's smile took on a warm glow that made him much, much more handsome than I'd ever thought possible when he was destroying books.

"Congratulations."

Heat rose to my face as I glanced at the ground.

"Yeah, well... thanks." When I met his eyes again, that same warm smile almost knocked me flat as my heart raced in my chest. Still, I forced myself to take a breath and return to reality. "...Why are you here?"

Fiyero frowned. "Am... I not wanted?"

"No! No, that's not what I was trying to say. Seriously. I appreciate all your help, both with the books and with the kids today. Honestly, you were great. But... I don't know, I'm just surprised, is all. You didn't really strike me as the type of guy to hang around volunteering at a book fair for an entire day."

Fiyero hummed, glancing down with a self-deprecating smile on his face. I watched him with interest, especially when he met my eyes again with more sincerity than I'd honestly believed him capable of.

"I didn't strike myself as that type either. In fact, I pride myself on my ability to corrupt my fellow classmates despite the best efforts of people like you. But... it was nice to be a part of this. Speaking with you in the library... it's clear how much this matters. To you, of course, but to the kids and their families who come to this event... It obviously does a lot of good. It was nice to be a part of creating that."

I smiled at Fiyero, something I never could've imagined doing just a few hours ago.

"Not what I expected to hear from Mr. Nothing Matters."

Fiyero shrugged. "Well..."

He turned slightly away from me, rubbing the back of his neck and moving like he was going to retrieve his bike and leave. I reached out and grabbed his hand before he could get very far, to both our surprise. Fiyero looked at me with raised eyebrows, a light behind his eyes that I'd never seen before.

"It was wonderful to have your help," I said. "I kind of hate to admit it, but... you were a big part of the reason this event was such a success. You found replacements for books that families and kids had been waiting for and expecting, but more than that, you spent time with them. You're a prince. Whether or not you care about the title, taking the time to talk to, help, and encourage those kids, who all know exactly who you are? It was a big deal. So thank you. I'm really glad you decided to be a part of this."

The last of the guarded expression faded from Fiyero's face as he fixed me with a soft smile. He stepped closer to me, and after a moment, I let my hand fall from his before clearing my throat.

"Anyway..." I said, trying to break whatever intensity was currently building between the two of us. "If you wanted to keep doing stuff like this, you know, helping make a difference... I host a reading group every week with some of the kids who are more local. I'd love to have your help hosting that, if you'd be interested."

Fiyero was fully grinning at me now, the confidence bordering on arrogance back in full force. This time, though, I didn't quite mind it as much.

"I'd love to help with that," he said. "On one condition."

"...And what's that?"

"As long as agreeing to help with your reading group doesn't prevent me from asking you out to dinner. And maybe for some dancing, to celebrate Shiz's best ever book fair."

Despite myself, I smiled, my heart flipping in my chest. If he'd had the nerve to ask me out a week ago, I would've slapped him. Now, I quite literally couldn't think of anything I'd rather do to celebrate.

"I think we can make that work," I said, fighting and losing to a smile of my own.

"Perfect. How about... tomorrow night?"

"You're on."

We shared another smile, but before we could do anything else, the voices of my friends, the other volunteers who'd been the most involved in this event, broke in. We'd all made plans to go out and celebrate once this event was officially finished, and although they were probably pretty interested in seeing what happened with Fiyero and I, none of them wanted to wait any longer to celebrate.

"One second!" I called, waving to them before turning back to Fiyero. He was still watching me with a little smile, and it made my heart race when I noticed it. "...Do you want to come with us?"

His eyebrows shot up.

"Where are you going?"

"The Oz Dust. We're celebrating a successful event, and you were certainly a part of creating that success. It wouldn't feel right to celebrate without you."

Fiyero grinned, then took my hand in his. My heart skipped a beat, but I pushed through, letting Fiyero pull me along and towards the group of my friends.

"It would be my honor," he said, giving me one last look before turning with a smile to greet the rest of our group. I followed, watching him, still a little in awe. Whatever had caused this change in Fiyero, it was truly amazing to see. Everyone else in the school seemed to be smitten with the party boy, but suddenly, I found myself head over heels for the version of him that seemed to care as much as I did, now that he'd found a cause worth caring about.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen @misshale21