#like it's still absolutely possible to get covid and for it to even give you symptoms

[c0rpsedemon]

when i saw 'cabin in the woods in middle of nowhere new hampshire' bad i mean it. i have a 65 year old father from northeastern mass that's the only type of vacation i ever go on (if you're wondering what it's like it's like a modern day yellow wallpaper btw) . i know my cabins in middle of nowhere new hampshire. i've been to multiple with better wifi than i currently have. that says a lot btw.

[navree]

at the risk of sounding blasé (which i hate to do but it is a risk),

you did not "lose two years and counting" to covid, you lost a year, at most a year and a half. and that ended in 2021. which WAS two years ago

[hiseyeisonthesparrow]

hi!

im lds too. I mean kinda. my family got shunned by our ward and then stake and its caused a lot of shakiness in my faith. I want to believe and go back but it's so hard when I share my experiences with others and they mitigate my pain and excuse the actions of the men who caused this. Any tips?

Thank you so much for sharing your story with me!

This is going to sound like the opposite of what you are expecting or wanting to hear, but when everyone else in the world seems to have turned their back on you, the most important thing you can do is build your relationship with God and Christ themselves. Sometimes the only people who will fully understand you is the one who created you (God) and the one who felt all the pain and hurt and misery you have experienced, are experiencing, and will ever experience (Jesus).

Going back to the basics of the Gospel has been really important for me -- instead of challenging my faith by trying to understand complex social issues with strong emotions behind them [stuff like queer membership, race in the priesthood, abortion, et cetera], finding things that I know I can believe and trust is important, even if it's as silly or simple as "I believe that some celestial force out there loves me because I was able to buy my favorite shirt before it sold out forever" or "I believe that being in the temple makes me feel peaceful" rather than things I still can't say with confidence like "I know the church is true" or "I believe the nuclear family unit is eternal".

When Covid struck, I was attending a ward in Utah. We kind of absolutely hated it -- after attending multi-cultural, multilanguage wards our whole life, the sudden plainness and overpopulation of Utah wards was so strange to us. Suddenly, lockdowns happened. Church was online and sacrament meetings were held from our home. The year or two we spent doing "home church" -- a weekly Zoom call with our extended family where our cousins would take turns giving talks, and my deacon brother would pass homemade bread to us -- was one of the most spiritually strengthening experience of my life. After Covid restrictions ended, we couldn't go back to our old ward -- none of them would wear masks, and my youngest brother couldn't get vaccinated. We ended up moving our records to a Portuguese branch half an hour north, and it was one of the best decisions we've ever made.

I don't know what your family situation is like. I am not going to pretend like The Power of Christ Can Heal All Intergenerational Trauma. While Christ did help me learn to love my parents and understand their perspective, it did not take away the fact that they did not support me through my most difficult times. But I will say this: if there is anything you can do to possibly come closer to your family, do it. This is a hard experience for all of you, I can imagine. If there is a way you can strengthen each others' testimonies, it will be unimaginably helpful. Finding others who understand the hardships you are going through is one of the best ways to get through it, and it's really convenient if those people have a) known you your whole life, and b) live with you. It may not work. They may never support you or understand your pain. But try.

Instead of turning to hate those who have hurt you, make an effort to focus your energy on the things of the Gospel that make you feel joy. Making death threats to Dallin H. Oaks will never be as helpful as being a good example for those around you, or learning to love Christ's gospel. It will be one of the hardest things you will ever do. But to quote Yoda, "Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering" -- for all parties involved. Allow yourself time to grieve, to be angry, to feel hurt. But simultaneously let those feelings be washed away in time by the healing power of the atonement.

If you ever feel alone or unloved by Christ or far from salvation, you are wrong. There are armies here and on the other side of the veil to bring you back to Him. Some of the strongest testimonies I've ever encountered have been here on Tumblr, by people with backgrounds similar to mine. We are here to help you. That's what being Christ's disciple entails -- helping others. Queerstake and Tumblrstake are here for you. I am here for you. Christ is here for you. Reach out with questions about your faith -- we love to answer them.

(Also if there's an opportunity to sneak into another ward or stake's church services, do it. You don't owe anyone an explanation of who you are or why you're there)

Thank you so much for your ask! I hope I answered the question well enough -- if anyone else has anything they think would be helpful, please share it!!

[bekolxeram]

8x02 specs based on promo and stills

I've been having so much fun picking out details from promos and now the stills, thinking of all the possibilities and coming up with my own predictions. It's like smashing two things I love together to create something wonderful. Thanks 911 S8, I've been absolutely fed for the past month. (It's just a bit scary actually posting my specs) Anyway, here we go:

Elderly couple, possibly going to Hawaii to visit a baby. Woman with cute dog. I hope they turn out okay. Airport 1975 is about the passengers as much as it is about Nancy and Alan Murdock. I suspect 8x02 would be structured a bit like 7x03, the first few scenes would be a flashback sequence about the passengers' background, before we continue on with the mid-air collision and Gerrard's busted head.

I wonder how Dennis Jenkins factors into all this. Is he going to get hurt and Athena must decide whether to save him or not? Is he going to spring into action and help the injured passengers in the cabin? All we know is that he cleaned up after killing Emmett and became an upstanding member of the society, we don't fully know his credentials. (Or maybe he's helping to land the plane, just because the writers want to psychologically torture Athena😬)

Oxygen masks are deployed when the cabin altitude is higher than around 14,000 feet, which should be where the plane is flying. In a loss of cabin pressure event, it's standard protocol to rapidly descend to 10,000 feet, so that the people onboard can breath normally. You see all the passengers here not wearing their oxygen mask, they should be fine for a while at 14,000 feet. But if you happens to run into a situation like this, be sure to wear your oxygen mask as soon as possible.

One of the most unrealistic things about Airport 1975 is that a light aircraft coming in contact head on somehow only tears a small man sized hole in the 747 cockpit, without doing any other damage. There should've been debris flying everywhere. Here we see there seems to be an even bigger in the cabin, so good job. Coincidentally, a hole in the cabin is exactly the one occasion where the cockpit door would blow open on its own.

So uh... RIP Captain Dominguez? The first officer doesn't seem too well either. The flight attendant is doing exactly what he was trained to: help the incapacitated pilot out of the cockpit, transfer him to the galley, give him oxygen, and search for medical professional onboard.

Athena is attempting to contact approach and declare an emergency here, but you do have to press some buttons and flick a few switches before you can reach air traffic control. You can't just talk into the mic, you don't want to hot mic ATC the whole flight. It's possible that Athena doesn't know how to operate the radio system. This is yet another thing that requires tweaking from the original Airport 1975 plot. Nancy had to figure out how to use the radio, Athena and basically everyone in 2024 has a cellphone, so she can simply call 911.

911 would most likely refer Athena to someone at the ATC center. Not only do they help guide Athena to the nearest airfield for an emergency landing, they need to know Athena's every move in order to divert all traffic in the airspace out of her way. In fact, I think emergency services have already been notified by the time Athena gets inside the cockpit. Air traffic controller must call 9-1-1 immediately when they witness an accident.

ATC supervisor from 5x01, good to know she's still working there post-covid. She's talking to someone on the phone here, maybe Athena? In the next still, we see a man holding the same phone, but he doesn't have the ATC badge on him, so who is he? A cop? A flight instructor? The airline boss? Another controller but we just don't see his badge?

I don't see the plane landing next episode just yet, it's a 3 episode arc after all, and in universe they probably want to take some time to assess the situation and test out which parts of the plane are still working. As for how faithful to the original will this Airport 1975 inspired disaster be, I hope not too much. Yes, I know talking a total layman through flying then landing a jet airliner is immensely difficult and risky, but can you imagine saying this about Athena freaking Grant-Nash?

[geeky-politics-46]

COVID Cuddles

Pairing: Doctor Stephen Strange x Reader

Summary: It finally got you! You are sick with COVID-19 and missing Stephen's cuddles

Warnings: reader has COVID, pandemic references, slight angst with fluffy happy ending, language

This fic is totally self-indulgent as i am sick with COVID right now & my Doctor Strange teddy bear is one of the things keeping me company. So I made it into a story. Probably lots of errors as I'm sick & drugged

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?"

You looked up at him in the doorway, masked fave peeking through, from where you sat on the bathroom floor. Tissues shoved up both nostrils as you waited for the bathroom to fill with steam from the shower before you tossed a Vicks vapor shower bomb under the water. Hoping that it would make it easier to breathe. Or at least make it sound like you didn't smoke 4 packs of cigarettes a day.

You had made it 3 years without getting COVID-19, but finally it got you. Despite the 2 original vaccines and 2 boosters. Your number eventually came up. You knew it would eventually. You just hoped the vaccines would make the illness shorter still.

"Well, I feel like I swallowed broken bits of light bulb, and I had a coughing fit so bad earlier I nearly puked. So I'm fucking fabulous."

They never mentioned a side effect of COVID was that it made you mean. Of course, maybe that was just you. You knew with your asthma you had to throw everything at this now just in case. So that was what you were doing. Currently waiting for your 6 hours between NyQuil shots with an ibuprofen chaser to elapse so you could top yourself up and get a good 3 hour nap before starting the waiting process all over again.

It made matters even worse that the moment you tested positive you basically became a leper. Stephen, Wong, and America banished you to the bedroom and adjoining bathroom. Wong even put up a quarantine spell that would alert them if you tried to leave the room.

You understood why. The Sorcerer Supreme and one of the Avengers getting severely ill probably wouldn't be a good thing. Much too tempting for the forces of evil. No one really knew if America could get COVID, having traveled the multiverse she probably had antibodies to things that didn't even exist in your world, but it was better safe than sorry.

Still though, a cuddle sounded really good right about now, and that was one thing Stephen couldn't give you. At least not until you were no longer contagious. You still had a couple days to go before that was even a possibility.

He was doing his absolute best to give you anything he thought you might need. Leaving trays and bags of food and medicine. Occasionally throwing in some candy or a random little treat he thought would cheer you up. He was trying so hard. Especially when you knew he wasn't exactly known for his bedside manner as a Doctor.

You hated snapping at him. You just felt genuinely terrible, and you knew that you just had to ride it out. For the most part, by yourself. It almost felt worse when he would check on you, knowing that you couldn't go hug him or even hold his hand without exposing him even more than you already had.

"I know you are miserable right now, and I know I don't have to keep bringing you all sorts of stuff beyond food and drugs. However, America showed me something that we both decided you needed. It's a friend to keep you company."

He reached inside and set down a large plain white paper gift bag. Stepping back and closing the door so you could move to get the bag, taking it back to your spot by the tub before looking in the bag.

As you peeked in the bag, you were immediately about to burst into tears. Inside was a fairly large brown teddy bear. What made it special though was that it was styled to look like Stephen.

It had blue eyes and a very dark brown goatee on its face. That alone was enough to make you giggle. The fact that it was wearing a version of Stephen's blue sorcerer's robes and it's own little Cloak Of Levitation attached to it's shoulders with velcro was just icing on the cake.

It was perfect. Soft and perfect size to snuggle while still being well formed enough that stayed looking like Stephen. Just Stephen in teddy bear form.

"Stephen, it's perfect! I love him so much! This is exactly what I needed. Thank you"

He peeked back through the door to see you already snuggling the bear tight to your chest. Happy tears on your cheeks and for the first time in days a smile on your face.

You couldn't see it behind his mask, but he was smiling too. So relieved that he could make you feel better even for just a little but. He figured you missed cuddling. He knew that he missed it. He had stolen one of your sweatshirts to snuggle, so he thought it was perfect when America showed him the bear.

Now once you were better, he might have a problem with the bear if he was there for you to cuddle instead. He would deal with that when the time came though. For now, he would share you.

--------------------------------

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Stephen Strange Taglist: @starkiller-queen @glitterylokislut @verycollectivecreator @chatampr @maskmare931 @lovecleastrange @wheredafandomat @mkixx @evelynrosestuff @katefullerrr @littlepinknightmare @foofarny @stygianoir @moonroyalt @saturnsbabe69 @blaxdet @blackrose-92 @ironstrange1991 @rindulacre @nancy-thompsons @wolfatheartandsoul @dangerouslittlefairy @n0obmaster-69 @oliveoilthoughts @onebatch--twobatch @yourmajesty13 @blondekel77 @lil-sweater-slut @gwephen @taramaria @sinceimetyou @slashersrus @coeurgrenaty @cc13723things @just--a-magpie @supervengerslock @strangelockd @dont-feel-so-good-peter @kingsmanperfecthartwin @ghost-lantern @inlovewithloki16 @thefalconandthewinterwidowshield @itssmaugtheterrible @katherinemaximoff @veryfancydoilies @cute-angi @mochacake2016 @prix19 @alexfanficnook @anotheroddfish @mando-is-the-way @xourownsidee @baes-x @dreamingsmile @negar77rd @imaginesfreetotake @ppatricia34me @rougepetale @tis-vereon @divinearchangel @sherlux @hiddlechive @ginnykate @thatesqcrush @friendofplenti @yuugenmomo @holdmyowos @the-royal-petals @lokislov3 @captaincarmel164 @lucimorningst4r @mydearalmira @petalcranberry @singhfae @emotionsareforuglypeople @trappedinlimbo15 @veryladyqueen @icytrickster17 @kentucky-criedfricken @briefhandsstudenttoad @calamityismyspecialty @sinisterstrange616 @patbrdac @trojanaurora @azu21 @massivehahaao3tree @strangesgirl

[lovejosephquinn]

Hey darling, I hope you're having a great day. I love your work and your writing BTW.

Since I'm a big sucker for any FRIENDS TO LOVERS theme, how about you've been in a friends group with Joe for a few years now. After all this mayhem (aka rise to fame) that happened to him this year, you finally meet him again in your group. You reconnect, still the same flirting between the two of you.

I JUST NEED ALL THE FRIENDS TO LOVERS FLUFF RIGHT NOW (no need for smut though)

Since, a touch-starved anon ❤️

Thank you so much 🥰

Absolutely joining you in being a sucker for friends to lovers, it's my most favourite trope. I'm really not proud of this however and I think it could've been much better; but I'll let you all decide! 🥺

You know the saying? keep your friends close... That was exactly your life's motto, they were for life and the close circle that you'd had over the last few years got you through anything. It wasn't until 2020 that you suddenly learnt you could be ripped apart from the person you were closest too in such a brief moment. The day that Joe got the phone call, the one that changed his life forever. You'd always secretly had a thing for him, not wanting to ruin your chances in case he didn't feel the same, but you kind of wished you'd told him before he'd got on the plane to go to America just a few days later.

Then covid hit, it just seemed to be one thing after another. Yeah you'd all manage to video call every now and then from your homes but it wasn't the same as actually being around one another. You'd have brief encounters through your phone with your friends and singular late night ones with him as if you didn't have anything else to say, you'd ramble on together till the early hours. Joe returned months later back to America to continue filming and the calls and texts came few and far between, he was busy all of the time and it wasn't entirely his fault but you got worried that this was it; that he'd forget you especially and you'd never see him again the way you always had, just merely through a television screen instead. It was different when everything he'd done had been filmed quite close to home, so you knew you'd always find him back at his flat eventually, but not having him around hurt and it made the feelings grow evermore; painful yet sinful when you'd think about him in every way possible.

You'd lost count of the many times you thought of him, keeping him in the forefront of your mind at all costs, day or night, no matter what you were doing, wondering mostly what life will be like for Joe after Stranger Things aired. You had spent countless hours over the years telling him to be patient, comforting him when he almost gave up on acting. You promised him the day that he sent his audition tape that he'd make it big, that one day someone would notice his talent and he'd take off into the industry big time. He'd just smile at you the way he did, his dimples approving of your promise but the look in his eyes, sorrowful and scared told an entirely different story.

Surely enough, the day that Season 4 aired, you and your friends were sat in your living room watching it, you all cheered when Joe came on the screen, shouts of excitement and gasps at the look of your friend with a long haired curly wig, clothes that just were not him, for example the ripped black skinny jeans, that was entirely mesmerising. Your mind was boggled at the way it didn't even look like him anymore, it was only his chocolatey gaze that reassured you Joe was behind that get up. His acting was outstanding to you all, giving him a mental standing ovation that he was on his way to stardom through his new role, he shined brighter than you'd ever known him too.

He'd stayed in America finishing off bits and pieces for Volume two, he'd facetimed you one day in his trailer after not hearing from him for a month, you stared him down the second his face filled your screen as he was in costume, ready to go film the last scene before they wrapped up. He caught you gawking a few times, he'd have you stuttering in response.

"What're you staring at?" How did he realise that was the case? Prick.

"N-n-nothing."

"You got the hots for me in a wig?" Joe barked a laugh, you instantly threw yourself into self defence mode shaking your head, your cheeks flushing in confirmation which made his smile beam from ear to ear.

You even called him Eddie instead of Joe at least twice, embarrassing yourself deeply but the laugh that erupted from his throat made it more than worth it. It wasn't until you both said at exactly the same moment that you missed one another, your voices spoke in unison and the emotion came crashing between you in an instant was electrifying, but you shook it off quickly when he got shouted from the door of his trailer shortly after and the call was ended abruptly, a pout from Joe's lips, his little puppy dog eyes giving you an apologetic look that he had to rush off. You didn't have time to speak about your feelings, you'd planned it all in your head the second you got to talk to him, but it just never came about - you were grateful yet full of regret.

Some time later, the group of you re-joined and sobbed hard through Volume 2, all decided collectively that he seriously deserved an award for this role, especially from the fact he could make fully grown men tear up at their own friend dying on camera. Your promise of 2 solid years ago came true and exactly 24 hours later, your social media was bombarded with Joseph Quinn this and Joseph Quinn that. Eddie Munson had created your friend celebrity status in the matter of a mere moment.

It wasn't until the summer that you'd all taken the time out of your busy adult lives to throw a party especially in Joe's honour for returning home, a nail biting experience for you indeed. Your friendship circle wasn't the same without him so it wasn't often that you'd all get together anymore. You couldn't wait to see him, you couldn't wait to tell him how proud you were and above all, you couldn't wait till you could utter the words I told you so. You'd done a number on yourself, making yourself look as good as possible so that he might notice. Your feelings overtaking you a little too much, maybe understandable after you'd not seen him solidly for the last year and a bit, so you thought you'd make an effort.

You watched through your kitchen window whilst you stood outside having a smoke with your friend, the front door opened and a crowd of people huddled around. A rush of nausea hit you like it was the first time you were seeing him again, the eye contact that was made between you through glass when people moved around to return to their previous conversation.

As the old saying goes in a sea of people, my eyes will always search for you, that quote was circling in your head until eventually Joe came sauntering out of the back door and you felt his presence solidly stood before you, staring, almost teary eyed from the obvious confirmation that he'd missed you the most. He looked the same, but different, his hair was curlier, face looked skinnier and body less defined from the weight he'd had to lose especially for the show but the same in the way his eyes sparkled and spoke a thousand words without him having to open his mouth.

You dropped the cigarette that was perched between your fingers and ran into his arms like some sort of romantic scene, wrapping yourself around him, your face held in position into his chest as he swayed you from side to side. You caught sight of a few people looking your way that were situated in the kitchen, one of them even mouthed get a room, mentally flipping a middle finger their way; all you cared about in that second was that Joe was around you again.

"God I've missed you Joey." You cooed, your voice slightly muffled from your face smothered into his chest.

"Missed you too love." The happiness radiated from his voice and butterflies swarmed your stomach.

People had always noticed in the past the flirty exchanges between the two of you. People had always commented that you would look cute together, there were only a couple of people out of the entire friendship group that knew of your true feelings, they'd been sworn to secrecy on the matter that Joe would never find out. There were always talks between all 3 of you, they'd always confronted their beliefs that they were 99% sure that he felt the same way but he was too damn shy and too stubborn of a person to admit it. If that was true then that made two of you.

The girl who stood outside with you had disappeared to let you have some time alone with Joe, patting him on his forearm as a brief encounter as she left to go back inside. She was one of the people that knew of your secret and had only in these last five minutes been telling you that you needed to make a move before it was too late. That you couldn't watch from the side-lines forever, twiddling your thumbs and gawking at him from a distance.

Indulging in another cigarette together, not quite being ready to go inside and share him with the rest of your friends just yet, you playfully and skilfully caught up with him, finding ways to bring into the conversation that all you wanted was him.

"You know Quinn, you've really broke the internet with Eddie. He's everywhere." You muttered and he rolled his eyes, not quite believing you.

"Stop saying silly things like that." He laughed, you pulled out your phone, showing him some of the screenshots you'd taken and they rolled back around swiftly, his lips parting at the wonderful things people had said about his character, unsure what to do with all the strange love coming from random people he didn't know.

"Did they let you keep the wig by the way?" Joe frowned, looking back to you, putting your phone back into your pocket and folding your arms together.

"I knew you had a thing for Eddie." Joe smirked. Not Eddie. You you fool.

"The wig made you think that?" You laughed over dramatically.

"I saw the way you looked at me on FaceTime Y/N, you were down bad for me with long hair." He stuck his tongue over his top lip, his stare intense waiting for your admission.

"Correction, Eddie..." You threw him off his high horse. "Yeah well, what can I say? A sexy ass metal head is just my type." You joked. His eyes grew with your response.

"I'd better get it back then." What was that supposed to mean? Your mind was all over the place in just 6 short words. "I've already got the leather jacket." He continued.

"Phew, I was scared you were going to miss that out." Stifled and forced giggles fell from your lips, you were nervous from the way Joe looked at you differently in that second, something told you it was good. You stood in silence for a few minutes and Joe looked through the window to see the rest of his friends deep in conversation.

"You wanna get going back in?" He said anxiously before moving toward the door.

"I told you so." You belted out quickly, grabbing at his hand, holding onto his fingers as if your life depended on it, he moved back towards you, a look of confusion taking over him.

"Wait, what?" He chuckled.

"I promised you that this was it for you. I told you so." You smiled, mirroring the shyness on his face, he softened in seconds.

"Don't be daft." His hand wrapped around yours, reciprocating the grasp as he swung it side to side, not letting go, even if your palms were now sweating from the soft touch, this somehow felt right.

"Well I'll always be your number one fan." You winked and his lips pursed together in the most adorable way, smiling as he looked to the ground. His free hand came up to stroke your cheek and it was like all of a sudden you'd fell into a dream that was all too familiar when you were sleeping.

Without any forewarning, Joe leaned down, replacing his fingers for his lips and planted a kiss on your cheek, his mouth hovering still against the heat from your face after, unsure whether he should of committed an act like that. Then he did it again, giving your hand a squeeze in reassurance when he stood back in his previous stance, an exhale of relief that you didn't let go or just bolt from his actions.

"I had no doubt that you would be, my darling." Your mutual stare became something intimate, you weren't sure where this was going but you were pretty sure that from that one moment, he'd always felt exactly the same and had just admitted it in his own way. Nobody had ever looked at you the way Joe did tonight.

[spacelazarwolf]

Can i ask why people seem to only refer to black and brown people? I'm east Asian, and it can feel kind of bad not really being included in the language surrounding talk about racism. We're one of the groups that faces the most discrimination and hate crimes, especially with how covid started. Me and nearly every Asian person i know has faced racism over our lives and many of us have very pale skin. It feels very alienating to be, in a way, left out of the discussion. I understand that often we're included somewhat implicitly, but it doesn't look like it when the language doesn't represent it.

so before i get into it, i'm giving two caveats: 1. even though i'm jewish and my family and i have had a complicated history with being racialized as non white, i'm still racially white. so while i always try to take into account all the things that my family has experienced and that the people of color i know have taught me, that's still the individual perspective i'm speaking from. 2. i live in the us, so that's the culture and society i'm talking about. it may apply to different places in the west (or even outside the west idk) but it may not so like inb4 "#american centric" bc i am literally talking abt america.

re: your actual question of why people seem to only refer to black and brown people, i think it's mostly used to talk about issues that affect darker skinned people of color, but sometimes used as another variation of "people of color" that's meant to encompass all nonwhite people. i've definitely used it that way before without really thinking about it, but i can see how that could make groups who may not see themselves as being black or brown feel left out of a conversation that still absolutely pertains to them. i think we as a society are currently struggling with what vocabulary to use when we talk about racial issues. there's a bunch of different acronyms and phrases people use, and listing out all the different racial and ethnic groups we can think of always leaves someone out.

but i also think our struggles with vocabulary are caused in part by the way our view of race has become very black and white. especially when it comes to east asians, i think people fall way too easily for the model minority myth + think lighter skin = less oppression, so they think east asians don't need as much advocacy as other groups. but as you said, especially since covid, there's been a massive spike in anti asian racism, and that's something i don't think people are really taking seriously. there's this one scene in station 19 (cw for discussion of anti asian hate crimes) that i feel like addresses this so well. people are afraid to downplay the severity of anti black racism (which is understandable considering that anti black racism has been downplayed for hundreds of years), but they end up gaslighting other racial and ethnic minorities or even themselves about the other kinds of bigotry that exist. and as one of the characters states in the clip, "it's all bad."

and like, as a jewish person, i definitely feel a lot of solidarity with east asians because our struggles are dismissed in similar ways. for those of us who are light skinned, we're often told (in my experience, usually by non black people) that basically our skin is too light for people to care because "black people have it worse." people use any success our communities have had as a reason why what we experience Can't Possibly Be That Bad. but what they're missing is that it's all connected. the same people who are perpetuating anti blackness are likely perpetuating anti asian racism and antisemitism too. you can't get rid of anti black racism without dismantling white supremacy, and part of dismantling white supremacy is addressing anti asian racism and antisemitism. we can't just keep hacking away at one brick and expect the entire wall to come down. we have to bulldoze it all.

[eliasiis]

can you do a scaraether fic? like one where aether makes him admit he likes being tickled

so this was................ sent after i said requests were closed. but the funny thing is ive just gotten fucking covid and lee scaramouche is all i need in life rn so i was like fuck it we ball. anyways this was.... an experience to write.like it was fun but generally also really like..... idk.............. maybe that was because i didnt really have motivation but here it is anyway

admit it

pairing : scaraether ( read it as romantic or platonic i do not care )

word count : 1.4k

Scaramouche can not catch a damn break around here.

Since that idiot traveler found out about his only existing weakness, he just won’t quit it with his stupid antics. It’s like he just has an irresistible urge to almost kill Scaramouche every time he sees him. 

And that makes purely existing quite hard, because he sees him every single day! There is no escape. There’s absolutely nothing he can do about this to make it stop.

( He could just stop seeing the traveler every day, but he refuses to even acknowledge that as a possibility. ) 

It’s unbearable, it’s absolutely awful, he’s never hated anything more and before this he hasn’t gotten the chance to be touched like this, so affectionately playful, in so long and he can’t bring himself to seriously tell Aether to stop. He really can’t stand being reduced to such a humiliating version of himself that by all means he wanted hidden, truly, he can’t.

And that’s what he’s desperately trying to communicate to Aether right now.

“Oh, shove it with your excuses, I know you like this.” Aether trails spidering hands up the sides of his unwilling victim. His grin looks like it might split his face in half and Scaramouche hates the fact that he’s enjoying his suffering.

His hands are gripping Aether’s as hard as he can, pushing and pulling and trying anything to get him to stop just for a second so he can breathe, but those tickling fingers are determined in  their quest to make Scara pass out.

“You- You don’t know anythihihing! GAH, STOP! Fuhuhuuck-!!” Scara twists and turns, bucking his hips and smacking and pushing at Aether’s shoulders. For one blissful moment, it stops.

Panting, Scara wraps his arms around his torso and tries to kick Aether off of his thighs with the remaining strength he has, but even at his full energy that’s nothing compared to Aether. Which is to say– He fails. Despite his continued struggling, Aether doesn’t move and just starts running his mouth again.

“Say it.” That grin of his almost looks sadistic. He wiggles his awful fingers above Scara’s stomach, where his shirt has long since rode up far past where it originally sat fully protecting his sensitive skin. Now, though, he trembles and grabs both Aether’s hands on instinct. The blonde gives him a stupidly charming grin, but it’s still terrifying, the way Aether doesn’t even attempt to move his hands out of Scara’s grip, like he knows Scara knows that Aether will stop when he feels like it.

And Scara does know that. He flushes deeper, and trembles more. “Piss off! I don’t like this. I don’t like you! In fact, it’d be absolutely wonderful if you could get off- Nononostop!!” Aether drops his hands back down to Scara’s stomach, kneading at the soft, ticklish skin there and Scara howls, squealing with high pitched laughter. Trying to fight Aether off hasn’t done him any good up to this point so he slaps his hands over his mouth, trying to stifle the embarrassing, delighted squeaking and cackling. “Mmmhmph-!! Nnnh..!” 

To be completely truthful, Scara does like this. In fact, he’s not sure if he’s ever adored a physical feeling more. Aether’s hands are warm and the way he laughs with Scara feels less as if he’s making fun of him and more like he’s just enjoying making Scara laugh and that knowledge gives him fluttery feelings that he refuses to think about. Even so, that flustered, giddy feeling is just as delightful as the rest. The only part of this he can say he hates is that Aether’s trying to make him admit it, and even then- That’s merely because the prospect of admitting something like that is embarrassing.

“I hate you, I hahahate you so muhuhuhuch! No, nononohoho!! Not, not that-! Aether!” Scara pushes at Aether’s shoulders and bucks as much as Aether’s position will allow him, but none of that stops the traveler from digging his fingers into his hips, massaging in circles. Sometimes slow, sometimes fast, or both with either hands. He keeps the pattern completely unpredictable and combined with what he knows is Scara’s worst spot, he’s really trying to completely murder him. At last, he’s going to get rid of Scara forever and it’s going to be by way of tickling.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure you do, and that’s why you’ve never stopped me once.” Aether’s sarcastic tone paired with his completely false and not at all correct accusations make Scara gasp with offense and not because he’s being mercilessly tickled within an inch of his life. “That’s also why you’re not admitting you like this, right? If I didn’t know better, I’d say you won’t do it so I’ll tickle you more!” Aether says, pressing all ten fingers into Scara’s hips and just above them, targeting both his sides and his hips while he evilly vibrates his fingers into the skin. The feeling makes Scara jolt and cry out with hiccuping, gasping laughter, squeezing his eyes shut and really pushing at Aether’s hands this time.

“Aether-! I cahahan’t, I, I, Ple-” Scara cuts his own pleading off, still too embarrassed to let go of his pride just like that. He won’t plead. …Not again, anyway.

“What, you can’t take a little tickling, Scara? Weren’t you all high-and-mighty just a second ago? I’m sure you can handle it, right?” The teasing only makes Scara’s desperate squirming increase, and he just starts babbling incoherent half-sentences, possibly along the lines of ‘I hate you,’ and multiple repetitions of him just yelling protests that aren’t really words.

Aether isn’t that sadistic, and moves his hands to lightly scritch in the middle of Scara’s stomach with a measly two fingers, giving him room to breathe while still tickling. He’s such a generous tormentor. 

Well, is it really tormenting if the victim likes it? Still giggling, Scara purses his lips into a tight line, muffling it just a bit. His grip on Aether’s hands goes slack and his purple eyes shine with unshed tears when he opens them to glare at Aether. “A-Ahahare you done?” He asks, gasping in between his words.

Aether, still moving his two fingers in tandem on Scara’s poor, twitching skin, doesn’t drop his smirk. “I’ll be done when you admit you like this.” His head tilts with an innocent smile present on his face all of a sudden, as if he’s not doing anything wrong at all. 

Scara doesn’t speak. For once, he just doesn’t have any sort of insult or comeback to spew at Aether for daring to do such a childish, stupid thing to him.

Aether’s evil smirk returns and he raises his hands again, only to lower them back down to idle at Scara’s sides. “Are you completely sure about this decision, Scara?” 

He’s still met with nothing but silence. 

Well, it’s not Aether’s funeral. He squeezes at Scara’s sides, laughing along with him when Scara jumps and squeals, those unshed tears starting to fall. Scara’s squealing, shrieking laughter goes silent and his squirming just increases tenfold, flailing and kicking and bucking- Anything to make it stop, but he still refuses to just say what they both already know is true.

( Aether was right before, of course. He wasn’t ready for it to stop, not yet. Now, though…)

Limits reached, Scara finally uses what he’d been acknowledging as a last resort and only that. “Okay! Okahahay, I’ll- Mmph! EEK-!! Stohohop, I’ll sahahay it!! P-Please!!” 

Lifting his hands, Aether climbs off of Scara and folds his hands on his lap, just the picture of innocent patience. 

Taking a second to breathe, Scara puts his hands to his face and mumbles something mostly incoherent. 

Aether’s smirk only widens, an evil shine in his eyes. “What was that?” 

“I said I like it, okay?! I like- I-I like when- Urrghh…” Scara rolls onto his side, scowling at the ground beneath him. It’s like the word itself is poisonous to him- Like he’ll just roll over and die if he says it.

“Come on, Scara, I believe in you!” 

“Oh, shut up! Just… Give me a second, okay?!” 

Aether waits patiently while Scara squirms and bites at his lip. “I, I like… Being…T-Tickled…”

Aether scoops Scara up into his arms, cooing and smiling at the boy now in his lap. “Awh, Scara! That was the cutest thing I’ve ever heard anyone say, ever! How can you be so precious, huh?” 

Completely flushed and embarrassed out of his mind, Scaramouche pushes at Aether’s face and kicks, trying to get out of his grasp. “Ugh! Let me go, you vile creature! Augh, Stop!”

…Though, he supposes the affection isn’t too bad either.

[willowmosby]

So I decided to watch the new abc Doctor Odyssey, because God forbid I finish one of the multiple other shows I'm working my way through. My thoughts are below the gif (that i did not make in case that wasn't obvious)

Please please let me know if you have thoughts id love to know how others are vibing with this show!

So my thoughts. Is this a theme heavy pick apart the screen for details hold be accountable for their options show. No and honestly I'm kinda glad. Like I love me some Buffy or Black sails, of interview with a vampire. But honestly right now I'm super excited for super sexy boat time so whenever I use the world silly in this review please know I mean it in the best way possible.

The only weird thing is that I felt super weird the covid is now old enough to be a tragic backstory. I mean covid is absolutely tragic backstory material but like I thought we would give it a few more years.

Unless it ends up in some twilight zone shit it will be a little murder she wrote in the sense that like there's no way that a small town has that many murders and people still want to live there. There is no way they have even 3 emergencies a week that are as serious as this weeks on a cruise ship of that size. - but hey I'm not mad cause " work like a captain party like a pirate" is so silly but also so sexy and the ship is show shiny and pretty and the homoerotic tension is so there.

Like Tristan and Max had way more chemistry than either of them had with Avery. I could see an Ot3 cropping up but I don't think ABC is going to be able to actually do that - like it's still a stretch for me to think they'll go through gay route- but I think that could be fun.

The bit where Max decided not to sleep with Avery did feel very much like he's gay and just not out about it and got caught up in the homoerotic fight but somehow ended up with the girl? (Like you know that scene from how I met your mother where it's not Ted fighting someone for a girl or the girl and someone fighting for ted? )but if it's not that's fine too we love a man who realizes there is a power imbalance.

I just think it's a weird way to set up a straight will they won't they. You know cause most times in a will they won't they It takes them a while to get to the first time. Like if they were setting up a romantic trope they did it better with enemies to friends to lovers ( please please let this be the case) with Tristan and Max.

Anyway Sorry sorry for the ship discourse it's too early in the show to really tell maybe next week the cast will have settled in and the chemistry between Max and Avery will be off the charts.

For some ship discourse I do really like the set like it is so clean and sparkly and like it just feels like a glamorous, sexy, and fun time. Like nothing too serious or gritty can happen here no sir. Which isn't always my cup of tea but this time I think it could be fun.

I like the captain as a character cause he goes so far in being serious that it comes back to silly. I do think that if the show wants to last a long time it needs a few more regulars. I don't need a full ensemble ensemble but like 4 characters that we know by name is not enough. Give me a reoccurring lifeguard or bartender or something

Anyway just thought I get some thoughts out there while it's relevant, who knows if I will actually continue to watch ( just so many shows so little time) but I will try my best.

I'm super excited to see other people's thoughts and feelings!

[farfromstrange]

I love reading sick!reader fics more than anything, but I just had the funniest thought and now I can’t stop thinking about it:

Matt Murdock would be ever the considerate mother hen when his partner is sick, we’ve established that, but I’ve been coughing for the past twelve hours with only five minutes in between fits and they’re so loud, even my mom in the next room just texted me if I’m “suffocating or still alive”. And you can pretty much hear it through the entire building, too.

IMAGINE poor Matt having to live with that for three days until the cold gets better or the medicine starts to take effect… I know he’d take good care of me, but I also know he’d have to resist the urge to run at the ghastly sound of the mucus coming up my throat and whatever’s left stuck in my lungs. Let alone the wheezing breath and the snot I keep blowing into the several tissues around me. Or touching me while I’m burning up like a bonfire? That man is sensitive enough already, he doesn’t need my head to give him third-degree burns.

It would either go something like this (the classic):

“Sweetheart, you’re burning up, your skin is clammy and you’re breathing funny. Did you take any medicine for that cough? Do you need me to get you something for your sore throat? How about a shower, a bath, some soup? Well, even though you don’t want it, I still got you all of that. And now I’m getting undressed and will cuddle you until you can finally fall asleep again. No buts.”

Or he’d completely lose his mind:

“Sweetheart, baby, love of my life, I worship the ground you walk on and I’d do anything for you, but I can’t possibly be next to you when you’re coughing like that. It’s like you’re screaming into my ear. But I’m gonna stay here anyway because your lungs sound funny, you’re hot and your nose is bleeding, I need to make sure you make it through the night. Let me get you some Tylenol and then I’ll just… sit here and wait until you’re asleep. While you quite literally sound like you’re dying. A broken record in my ear. Yup, no worries at all. I’ll just… sit it out. This is not about me.”

And every time I’d cough, he’d shoot up, check if I’m still alive and then he’d put some headphones on to ignore the sound of my body quite literally ejecting whatever virus it’s got. It sounds nasty even to me, so I can’t possibly imagine what it would be like to someone who can hear the Subway moving underneath his apartment, or a woman screaming all the way across the city.

I know he’d love me and take the best care of me even though he’s suffering, but that would be torture on his senses, let alone his worry radar. He’d be so on edge, he wouldn’t even get any rest, but he’d never leave me. He would try to tune it out, but as someone with covid lungs (even though she’s fully vaccinated and had it two times) tuning out the sound of my soul leaving my body is pretty impossible, let alone the sniffling because I can’t stand using tissues anymore at this point because everything’s raw.

So, I love sick fics and they offer me great comfort, but it is impossible for me to stop thinking about this now and I somehow find that funnier than I should. That’s probably the fever talking or whatever.

Poor Matty… He’d go absolutely insane, and he’d be more than relieved when the cough is over and I’m on my feet again.

And if he’s sick? Boy, you need to tie him down and knock him out. He hates being sick and whatever comes with it. The way it feels, sounds and turns his senses into mush. He’s delirious when he has a fever and he acts like a reckless child. You need to sedate him or he’ll actually crawl up the walls (like a cat).

So yeah, that’s that.

[khaire-traveler]

I’m going to be brutally honest, I am a minor who is afraid of worshipping anything or anyone. I’m afraid because I think of the possibility that gods or goddesses are not real and my mind is making that allusion to comfort me due to me not having friends and usually being lonely. I want to start. I really do. I want to experience feeling that at least someone is going to be there for me through my thick and thin. I don’t have an alter nor do I pray. I’m currently sick with Covid and I feel awful. It was my first time praying to a Greek god. I prayed to Apollo, I mentioned his family, and his parents. I don’t know what to do or get started. I obviously can’t openly do stuff due to my parents. I want to start, I want to do this, but I’m so lost. I just need help. I know some knowledge about Apollo and his stories and his family as well. This is kind of stupid and I know I’m going to regret this but what if someone else is going through the same thing? My name is Khloe but I’m called Koko.

Have a goodnight <3

Hey, Koko,

There's no shame in feeling doubtful, but if I'm going to be honest, this isn't something I can answer for you. I can give you suggestions, but unfortunately, I don't have all the answers. This is the kind of thing that you have to figure out for yourself, in my experience. I used to have the same fear, and it took a long time for me to push through it. Even then, I still struggle sometimes which is completely normal. Many people have felt this way; you are not alone in this worry.

The way someone put it to me once was "So what if they're not real? You still grew as a person because of your faith. It still improved your life." Initially, that didn't really help to hear, but as time went on and I became more comfortable with the fact that I may straight up never know "the truth", it became something I understood. In any spiritual path, I feel this is a fact many people have to face: the reality that we don't know anything for sure... and that's actually ok. That doesn't make our beliefs any less valid. It doesn't make our time spent worshipping or the words we said in prayer any less real. If your faith gives you hope, that's what matters. Faith can be a beautiful thing, even when it's a little scary due to the uncertainties, but there aren't many things in life that are certain. Another thing is to keep track of your experiences, specifically things that renew your faith in a sense. It takes time to build a good list of these things, but even things like an answered prayer or a reminder that a deity is present are helpful to look back on.

Honestly, I can't tell you what's right for you. I can't force you to work through the fears and worries you're having. All I can do is suggest the things above and advise you to do what you feel is best for yourself. I say give it a chance because truthfully, what do you have to lose? You could be denying yourself an absolutely amazing experience, but you won't know until you give it a try. And if it turns out it's not for you, that's ok, too! There's nothing wrong with deciding that it isn't your path later on. I wish you well, and take care. 🧡

[lover-of-mine]

On Taylor, too..... Just wanted to add. I'm with you and the other anons annoyance of having to stick up for her. But we are also introduced to her in S2 when Eddie is dealing with his wife. Of course, I shipped Buddie back then, but literally, I'm all the way down the hole now. When she is reintroduced in Covid. That's the point I thought they were maybe going to finally diverge the Buddie storyline. I thought Eddie would go off with Anna. And Buck was lonely. He was isolated and not on a winning streak, so I was actually happy he got "his whale" in a way. But that was the shows last chance. They did will reveal. It was clear there wasn't doing to have a divergence in their story. So exactly why would I accept someone now who doesn't have 20% of the development of Taylor. So many years later where the only thing that stops bUddie from being married is they haven't gone to pound town yet.

Yeah, that's the thing really, up until suspicion and the shooting, buddie was very much still up in the air. It could've gone any direction because, besides some key moments, they are best friends, to tone it down a little bit and let them be besties with their respective wives seemed like the most plausible scenario. If there was no shooting, Eddie would've settled and had a decent life with Ana in my opinion, I see season 4 Eddie just accepting that was all he could get, he liked her, Chris liked her, life could be nice and that would be it. And Taylor, she was framed as this multiseason great love. They developed her character and her relationship with Buck, during First Responders and Treasure Hunt they are establishing a connection they could've worked with to keep Buck with Taylor. Let's face it, we were all looking at buddie and liking their interactions and seeing the potential but it is the shooting that changes everything, it's the "Because Evan" that makes them possible. Everything about the shooting is romantic. The slow-motion of the blood hitting Buck, the wide-shot of the both of them, the impression they give that they have their eyes locked across the pavement, Buck doing the saving alone, the focus on hands, "are you hurt", Buck escalating from we got you to I got you, from just hang on to I need you to hang on. And if that wasn't enough, they hit us with the will reveal. After Buck had already stepped up. Eddie putting Buck in his will is not inherently romantic, hiding it and only revealing it because he needs Buck to see he's loved and that his life matters? Absolutely is. The level of understanding between Buck and Eddie that was shown during Survivors destroyed any possibility of them not ending up together and it still being satisfying. And they keep playing that up. It wasn't an isolated event. Sure, it was a fantasy, because we were dealing with two guys that were being presented as straight, but the idea of them not ending up together feels unsatisfying and that's exemplified by the ending of season 6 because if that was the actual ending of the show it would've been deeply meh for both of them. And now Buck is canonically queer. Which means buddie is an actual plausible possibility. The amount of work that would have to be put into a character for them to even begin to feel as satisfying as a partner for Buck as Eddie or vice-verse was already a lot, but now that they are an actual possibility, come on. The work that was put into Taylor is the bare minimum. The idea that I should lower that bar now just because the person in question is a man is laughable to me. Eddie is right there. Six seasons worth of development, and friendship, and partnership, and understanding. I need at least half of that to even begin thinking about considering accepting someone else as a possibility.

[scribbleshanks]

I hope this isn't prying too much. I also have a march in my city for tomorrow (the 2nd) and I'm considering going, but I've literally never gone to a march before. Do you have resources on how to potentially prep for one like this? Is this one I should keep my phone off and my face covered? Being just a march instead of a protest, I don't think I have to worry about anonymity as much, but I have no idea what to expect.

you're good dude but honestly I also don't know what I'm doing, and I unfortunately don't have any easily available resources on hand about how to prep

but I remember this short comic by Dan Schade I came across that gives tips on what you can do to prepare in case you might you're worried about your safety, considering these sorts of things can be targets for police violence. I really recommend checking it out

here's a summary of it:

obscure your face, ie w a covid mask or bandana (for anonymity reasons but also covid reasons, still in a pandemic)

plain anonymous clothing, nothing identifiable

multiple water bottles, ear plugs

safety gear: safety goggles, spray bottle with milk in case of tear gas, neosporin

pepper spray if you got any

leave your phone at home; if you must bring it disable location services, put it on airplane mode, and keep it off until you need it

stay with the group, don't stray off, stay aware of your surroundings

don't take any pictures/don't post any pictures

don't talk to the police if you encounter any

to be completely honest it's possible you might not even need to do everything the comic suggests, but if you ask me it could be better to do some of the precautions in case anything happens

going to the march can really help boost the numbers and add your voice to the people there calling for a ceasefire in palestine, but I totally get that it's super nerve wracking as a first time thing (also my first time going to a march, I feel like I'm going to shit my pants). if you choose to go it doesn't hurt to do some of the small stuff like obscuring your face and turning your phone off if you're worried about anonymity or cops

wishing you absolutely all the luck anon, I hope you'll be safe over on your end

[animegirlsakurablr]

Shenanigans in the Grand Order, part 728

*deep sigh* And what do you mean by that, sir?

Oy vey, oy vey...

So, what you said (back then) is, essentially, an oxymoron?

And your semi-amnesia is goddamn pointless!

I feel like actual!Dobrynya would get along with Odysseus.

Heh, and he gets summoned to take care of a kid. And not just any kid... It's Koyanskaya.

And the (what feels like a last second) reason why she looks like Tamamo: Amaterasu came by (Why? Who tf knows) and granted her a life.

Anyway, this is now done. It's... not as awful as many make it out to be, but this chapter definitely has problems. It feels just so rushed. I know that story chapters and event stories usually have months to "wait in the oven", so to speak, but Tunguska felt like it only had weeks to prepare.

I'm not sure if it's because:

1) Sakurai also wrote the Christmas event and also this one, therefore writing two things back-to-back

2) Covid still causing some amount of trouble (remember, this originally came out two years ago on JP)

3) Sakurai was beginning to write Fate: Lost Einherjar and possibly being roped to be one of the writers for Samurai Remnant, and also possibly beginning to write the story for Summer 7

4) Some sort of combination to the above or some other reason

Like. I'm way more curious to what went on behind the scenes for Tunguska than I am for any of the other story chapters. Give me the goddamn tea.

Any positives? Beyond that it does end (albeit not in a satisfying way), Taigong Wang's nice, and the soundtrack introduced here is good too. And that's kinda it. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

And besides how rushed it feels, where do I begin with the negatives? The way Ibuki is given semi-amnesia, but the only characterization is "the party girl who is also the brute"? The two mounts who add nothing to the story? Why are there two halves of Koyanskaya now running around in Chaldea? Several characters repeating themselves ad nauseum- scratch that, that's sadly a Sakurai writing tick.

And oh man, Dobrynya and how Koyan came to be. I absolutely despise FGO's take on Dobrynya. Not only because it's yet another case of "it's this person, but it's actually that person!" (this case being the wife Natasha), but her design holds nothing to either of them - and what I mean by that is that her design is almost literally a recolor of her illustrator's FF14 OC. I am not kidding with that. And while that isn't particularly new, Raita did that before with Raikou. But here's the thing, Raikou - even with her "I can't take this character seriously because of her assets" design, she still fits in with where she came from in a more fantasy way. Dobrynya doesn't. And don't get me started with her coloration (oh yes, I want to be snow-blinded by a character's art /s).

And Koyanskaya's backstory... On one hand, being the embodiment of many animal souls because of a natural event (the Tunguska explosion) is a really interesting concept for a Servant, and I kinda want to see other kinds of concepts in the future. On the other hand, how it connects to her love/hate relationship with humanity is a load of crap. "Oh, the animals mistook the sound of the explosion for gunfire-" let me tell you how bullshit that sounds. Animals can be damn intelligent. They know what humans are. Several of them know in what way we do. They also can tell before any of us know when something is wrong, whether it be reacting to something that we don't see or when something like a volcano is going to go off. I don't know if the whole "animals mistook the explosion for gunfire" is something Sakurai herself wrote, or is something that Nasu wrote who just passed it onto her, but it really is just a bullshit reasoning for why Koyanskaya hates humanity. You could've made her the embodiment of something that humanity actually was responsible for, like Chernobyl for example. Just. Why.

I plan to get through Traum later this year, and then after that I'll be waiting for... LB7... Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay...

SQ used: 0

Revival stones: 0 (I wish to bonk the devs for not allowing the players to use the stones for main interludes with a bat)

[crownedinmarigolds]

6, 23, 24, 27, 45 and 63 for Khloe? :3c

Oh my goodness! SO MANY! Thank you!! :0 I think for fun because the questions seemed posed like an interview, I may have Khloe "answer" these herself! (Ask Meme Post here!)

Her hands are laced in her lap, and she can feel her heart pound in her chest as the interviewer gives her a quick smile over their notes to put her at ease. The questions shouldn't be too invasive, right? Khloe sits up when the other person appears ready. 6. Are you more mature than you seem? Less? Khloe laughs a little, though the question itself isn't amusing really, it's more like a valve release to get out the stage fright. "I get told I look younger than I actually am, so I guess I would technically be way more mature than I appear. I'm thirty but I get told I don't look like it. So that's nice!" 23. How did you earn a living? "I am still working for the company I was at before." She gets a bit more comfortable in her seat and smiles. "I'm just a data entry clerk, but it's work from home and I pretty much make whatever schedule I want, so it's pretty perfect for my, uh, current lifestyle." 24. Did you have any real friends? Khloe cringes a little, ouch. "I fell off accidentally with a lot of people. I just got busy, COVID hit and it was hard to meet up and then you forgot to meet up... Days just blurred together and before you knew it months passed. I would say though my Mom was probably my best friend..." Her voice trails off, and for a split second her eyes appear melancholy before she looks back to the interviewer. 27. What was your first brush with the supernatural? "Unfortunately, my first brush with the supernatural was my Embrace. I have lots of books and movies and games and whatever centered around the supernatural that I love, but I never thought it was real-real until I woke up a vampire. I wouldn't call me a complete non-believer, but I definitely didn't think every bump in the night was a ghost or a werewolf that's for sure." She shrugs, "I gotta say, wasn't impressed initially with the whole being a supernatural being either for a hot bit there. Thanks to being Thinblood, my heart still beats, I still feel things working, I don't even heal good - uhm, well I mean. So aside from feeling ravenously hungry, it wasn't very different than being human." 45. Why do you think they (your sire) chose you? Her nostrils flare a little, and though she tries to remain polite she can't help the slight disdain in her voice. "If everything she tells me is true, which sure I am inclined to believe her, then it was all an accident and my Embrace was out of the goodness of her heart. Or maybe even a weird motherly pull because she knew about her issues with Embracing. Either way, I don't think I was a real choice, just an opportunity that presented itself when she slammed her car head-on into mine and I went flying into the street." 63. Do you have a permanent home at all? The frown she had from the question about her sire remains, and she looks at her lap, "I have an apartment but I don't really stay there anymore. I stayed with my boyfriend in his trailer, but that's gone now too. I stay now with my coterie in our shared home - but who knows how long that will last. It's just the nature of the life I've chosen to dedicate myself to, right? You don't revolutionize without possibly getting hurt, and you can't always trust that your own bed is safe..." Her lips then quirk into a smile, "Though, I guess sorry to be so cheesy, I would say my coterie is my permanent home. That I can say for absolute certain."

[squirrellypoo]

I will be your blood loss consultant

Hey IWTV fic writers - want to ensure your character's blood loss feels realistic? Got a situation where a petit coup has gone too far, or a character got gravely injured? I've got a unique perspective to offer to the fandom - I've lived for extended periods of time with extremely low blood counts* and I'm happy for you to send me WIP snippets or to ask for advice on blood loss storylines.

To break it down a bit further, from my experience, how being low on the different types of blood feels/affects you:

Red blood cells - Red blood cells carry oxygen around the body, so if you're low on these, you're effectively low on oxygen in the blood. This is the most obvious, but you feel really sluggish, tired, and will be breathing heavily at the slightest physical exertion. Physically, it kinda feels like you're moving underwater, and your limbs feel heavy, and even short walks feel hard. (I went from running 10km 3x a week to getting out of breath just walking up stairs, for example). Cognition is fine, but frequent naps are a requirement.

Platelets - Platelets are what allow your blood to clot and heal cuts, so a lack of these means you bleed and bleed for a long time. But also you bruise super easily, and bruises last a really long time (weeks/months). You can also have spontaneous burst blood vessels in the whites of your eyes. Parts of your body that wouldn't normally bleed also do - like waking up to blood on the pillow because your gums bled overnight. The most unexpected part for me was having a constant background rushing sound in my ears - kinda like holding a seashell up, but all the time (until a transfusion).

White blood cells / neutrophils - A lack of these doesn't make you feel that different, tbh, but a lack of WBC means you can't fight off viruses so you pick up every single cough and cold, and have it for twice as long as normal people. A lack of neutrophils means you can't fight off bacteria, so your body's normal bacterial cohabitors cause problems that can really mess you up. So you've got to be insanely conscientious about what you eat (no runny eggs, unpasteurised cheeses, raw vegetables!), and brush your teeth and mouthwash after you ingest anything. You'll really only need to worry about these symptoms though if you've got low blood levels for an extended period of time (several weeks+).

Overall though, I've described the extreme examples. If your character is young and healthy, they will probably only experience the red blood loss symptoms (and possibly minor platelet symptoms) for a few days, depending on how much blood was lost. If they're in a situation where a hospital would give transfusions, be aware that you'll only ever be given enough to get you out of the dangerously low territory, never so much that you'd be "back to normal" counts after the transfusion(s). But transfusions do make you feel better almost instantly (better, but not good).

But again, feel free to message me with any specific questions (I can also tell you how chemo, meningitis, spinal taps, surgery w/o anaesthetic feels if that's of use!), I'm happy to talk about all this and I want to give back to this fandom and IWTV fanfic writers in particular to say thanks for the hundreds of hours of enjoyment you all have given me!

* I'm absolutely fine now! Over my lifetime, though, I've survived off the blood of literally hundreds of people. A bone marrow transplant saved my life 14 years ago and I run marathons now and am probably healthier than most 40-somethings, except I'm still Clinically Extremely Vulnerable to Covid and can't go into crowded places or unmask indoors. But my bloods have been fine for over a decade and this is in no way traumatic for me to talk about!

Please consider joining your country's bone marrow donor registry and/or donating blood regularly if you're able to! Both saved my life.