#notes app = friendly supportive buddy

[why-the-heck-not]

help im writing my thesis in the notes app

[ashleyloob]

Hi!

From someone who is disorganized and discouraged, I would love advice on weight-lifting/building muscle. Would you share your understanding of building muscle and the breakdown of diet?

If possible, could you share how you apply what you know to yourself? If you use any tools to help you?

Struggled with working out, gaining weight, and eating my whole life. Thanks!

prefacing this with some important info for fellow disorganized scatterbrains!!!!

the main reason why ppl have trouble sticking to a lifestyle change is because they try to make very drastic changes too quick, and you get overwhelmed and it becomes unsustainable. this is especially an issue for neurodivergent folks, and since it's Tumblr I assume a good chunk of y'all are (me too dw)

DON'T immediately overhaul ur diet and hit the gym 5x a week from day 1!!! hitting tiny goals consistently is also more rewarding than working towards one very large arbitrary goal that you might not reach, esp when it comes to working out. start veeery small if u need to, such as only 10 bodyweight squats per day like i did and go from there. you wanna program ur brain into feeling accomplished to keep you motivated. patience is key!!!!

ok!! now onto the more detailed info below

Disclaimer: I'm still a newbie myself!! only consistently lifting heavy for about 3 months as of this post. I did a good deal of excessive info diving on lifting using the power of Sheer Autism, and my main gym buddy is very experienced & taught me a good chunk of this shit so shout-out to my pal for making all this possible xoxo

so good news!! "building muscle" is very easy for beginners starting from zero. newbie gainz are absolutely real. at this stage you can do just about anything at the gym and get stronger bc u can only go up. BUT!! if you structure it, you can make the process enjoyable and much more efficient. if you're goal oriented (lookin at u ADHD menaces), you'll love the concept progressive overload.

PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD & SETS/REPS

wikipedia defines progressive overload as: a method of strength training and hypertrophy training that advocates for the gradual increase of the stress placed upon the musculoskeletal and nervous system. in layman's terms, it just means gradually adding more weight as you work out to increase the difficulty as you get stronger. progress is VERY easy to track because of this, and you'll be hitting PRs pretty much every week for the first couple of months and that shit feels fantastic because you physically feel yourself getting stronger so rapidly. I use the app Strong to track my workouts. so, how do we structure progressive overload? that's through sets/reps. A rep is a single execution of an exercise. 1 squat is one rep. 2 squat is 2 reps. and so on. A set is a collection of reps. The format is Sets x Reps, for example: 3x5 means 3 sets of 5 reps. You will rest between sets, and it's typically anywhere from 1 minute all the way up to 5 minutes depending on the level of exertion/type of training you are doing. Heavier weights mean longer rest periods and vice versa.

WHERE DO I EVEN START??

For those interested in barbell training: the r/fitness beginner routine is pretty good! I also recommend 5x5 stronglifts. both are very straightforward, but also note the typical olympic barbell is 45lbs. If this is a weight you struggle with, you can begin with bodyweight exercises, dumbbells, or machines at the gym which are all very BEGINNER beginner friendly. especially when it comes to legs you're probably much stronger than you think. Most people can squat 45lbs first try. don't be afraid -- you're standing on those things all day, they can support hella weight. Like I mentioned earlier, don't be afraid to start veeeery small and work your way up from there. I started at home with doing only bodyweight squats without the barbell, then added on benching with light 7lb dumbbells after a week, then impulse signed up for a gym membership a month later and began to go there to use equipment and now i'm deadlifting over 100lbs as a tiny girl that previously was too weak to even lift a 40lb dog. it snowballs quicker than you think once you gain confidence in your own body and its abilities!

WOAH I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SQUAT/DEADLIFT/BENCH/THIS IS SCARY AND IM FUCKING UP

If you can, i highly recommend getting a personal trainer to assist you, or tag along with a gymrat pal to show you the ropes. This page is also a good resource to learn specific lifts. otherwise, youtube is your best friend. you can record your sets and compare your form to form tutorials on youtube, and actively take notes on what to change the next time you work out. Be an active learner!!! be aware of what muscles are engaged when you lift and how your body feels. almost NOBODY gets it right the first time, esp with barbells. we've all made fools out of ourselves at the gym as beginners it's chill. i find people at the gym are very nice and willing to help you out if you're struggling, and people don't judge at all-- it's very easy to get in your own head in these spaces but most humans there are supportive and want you to succeed, especially since it's a hobby they are also passionate about. the more you do it, the less anxious you get. exposure therapy is very effective!! Also, almost all the barbell exercises can be replaced with smaller dumbbells, and you can do them at home if you get your own set + a workout bench (pretty cheap if u get secondhand, check facebook marketplace/craigslist). i got mad social anxiety myself so i understand sometimes you just can't, and this is an option for those that find public spaces overwhelming.

DIET

I personally don't think specialized diets/precise macro tracking is super duper important for newbies/casuals, only moderately important (spicy take for some but whatever). but you probably naturally will take an interest in diet once you realize it'll help you perform significantly better in the gym. the only macro i track is protein. You can use a TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) calculator to roughly estimate the amount of protein you need for maximum gainz. it's usually around .7-1g of protein for every pound of lean body mass (weight that isn't fat mass). Imma be real it's pretty hard for me to hit the recommended protein goal and most days I don't because my appetite just can't kick in for the amount it demands, and protein is super filling. I found that if i decreased the amount of carbs i eat, i am able to consume more protein bc i guess there's more room in my stomach lol. i eat a fuck ton of greek yogurt, chicken, fish, and tofu. when i started working out, i begin cooking a lot more and found i naturally craved less processed junk foods and snacks because the protein was keeping me full all day which is a plus! Even when im not regularly hitting my protein goal my gym progress is still going well and I think it's simply because my diet is A LOT better than what it used to be in my gremlin days. I also eat a lot more now that i've gained a bit of muscle, so do be prepared for food costs to go up as your metabolism increases and demands more energy to upkeep your gainz.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR ME TO LOOK LIKE A MUSCLE MOMMY????

a whileeee. over a year, probably, unless if you're on anabolic steroids (dont ever do that u will quite literally die). and physique is mostly from diet since it's dependent on your body fat percentage, the saying "abs are made in the kitchen" is true. its why you see hyper skinny terminally indoors gamer dudes with abs, even if they'd snap in half if you farted in their general direction. those mfs barely eat they too busy being gamers i am no longer interested in lifting for aesthetics personally since i get more joy from hitting PRs and i'm pretty content with my body image, but ik physique is the reason why most people get into lifting so i'll touch on it. Weightlifting on its own will not make you lose weight or fat. Again, it needs to be supplemented with a healthy sustainable diet (DO NOT DO CRASH DIETS THAT SHIT IS GARBAGE) and a form of cardio. I actually gained 8lbs since I began lifting from water retention & new muscle mass (muscle is more dense than fat, your body retains water when repairing muscle after a gym sesh) but my measurements and pants size have remained the same. I'm short, so something as small as a 5lb increase usually bumped me up a pants size but it didn't this time bc im gettin swole :') if you want to track physique changes, measuring your waistline & progress pics is a better way to do so than the scale. If you want bigger muscles, look into hypertrophy training. it's a tad different from strength training, mainly because you do higher reps at a lower weight.

[jammingsweetjams]

> "HIHII!!! HELLOOO!! Look, a new buddy!!"

Ay! Hi there, mod speaking, and I would like to welcome you to an RP blog all around my 2 Dandy's World OCs, JamJam and Bowie. PFP drawn by me!

This will mostly be JamJam, BUT you're always able to get Bowie in some asks, if you'd like :))

MOD NOTE!! Bowie and JamJam are both adults (like any other toon) and they are not in a relationship, but should you ship them? WHY NOT!! I don't really care. They're not related, ethier

And for OOC? Don't worry, it'll be tagged accordingly, you'll know.

< "Oh, there's new ones now? Good to know.. Just be careful."

Now ei, ei ei, IM ON VACATIO there are some RULES ya gotta follow! But don't worry, they're simple, like..

- Basic DNI, just don't b weird

- Joke asks are fine, but taking your asks seriously is super appreciated.

- Don't be RUUDE to any real person (like the mod or people interacting with the acc, let things be colourful rainbows here (/nsrs)

WHAT TYPE OF ASKS/OTHER STUFF I ENCOURAGE?

- Angst asks, I LIIIIIVE for the angst.

- Practically anything (but suggestive/weird, mods a minor ere)

- anons!! yeah!! magic anons, etc, you'll get your own taaag if you plan to show up more :3 you can also roleplay as toons or your own OCS, too, which is SUPER encouraged!

- just use your creativity, let us have some FUN!!

important mod note: I do NOT support the creators of Dandy's World. Please don't go around jumping me for anything related to it.

(almost every ask answered will have a neat doodle like this! maybe even a lil comic.)

ABOUT THE MOD AND TOONS DOWN BELOW!!

ABOUT THE MOD:

Hihi, hello, it's actually me, @jammysheadspace, however you found me, nice job! As you know, I am a minor, romanian, a furry etc etc. I hope you like Interacting with those two sillies, and i can even add your @ in this blog (if you rp as a toon or OC) as someone jamjam/bowie knows! All only if you wish to :))

Not much to put about myself here. Let's get onto the toons, then!!

ABOUT THE TOONS!!

JamJam:

JAMJAM is a jar of strawberry jam. She is SUPER friendly, no matter who you are, or what you act like!! She can even like someone like SHRIMPO.. Ahem, here's all about her!

As for Bowie! I don't have as much info on her as JamJam (aka intro card, ability etc etc) YET, so if I do make them, I'll just put em here, but have a lil ref!

She is also friendly, though on the more concerned and "shy" side. Very careful and ALWAYS is worrying for someone.

And she, ofcourse, is a Medkit.

She has a sister named Belle! Though that's someone else's OC who doesn't have Tumblr.. I'll link em here if i DO get that friendo to get this app.

Both Toons use She/Her! I don't think I'd mind you using It/It's for them (because toons)

TAGS, COORDINATE YOURSELF!!

#> " ASKS " - should be self explanatory.

#> " JAMJAM !! " - blog/posts that include JamJam in it.

# < " BOWIE !! " - blog/posts that include Bowie in it.

# < " REBLOGS!! " > - can be ooc or ic.

And sometimes, you may see tags based on a funky anon. That happens to anyone!

..I don't have any yet.. I'LL ADD EM HERE!!

THANKS FOR READING!!! now get to interacting, hehe!

[normiematsu]

text based yuulore. relationship thoughts/her perception of the matsuno family... 🤔 it's not really edited/formatted and i wrote it on my phone but it's taking foreverrrrr to draw this stuff out so enjoy it straight out of my notes app. yippee

oso -> mostly friendly? thinks he's a funny drinking buddy. observes him like a bug. he's kind of an enigma to her since she's rarely seen him by himself so she doesnt know what makes him tick. he gives her shit for being into choro before she realizes she's into him, they bicker a lot abt this and he thinks it's fun to troll her in general lol. he has to be careful not to push too many of her buttons bc if she gets too frustrated she WILL cry and then everyone will attack him

kara -> mutually friendly! generally immune to his eccentricities, but also acts as an agent of chaos and eggs him on when it would be funny to make everyone else die of cringe. has no idea what he's going on about half the time but is a big supporter of him being flashy and weird bc she wishes she could be more openly flashy and weird. he's probably the only bro besides choro who knows the "book cafe" she says she works at is actually a manga cafe (she's too embarrassed to tell ppl this normally but she trusts him to be cool about it)

choro -> ITS COMPLICATED. rivals to lovers. they're into a lot of the same things so before they get to know each other they're constantly in a loop of bumping into each other reaching for the same last piece of merch which flusters the hell out of her. once properly introduced she thinks he's fun to mess with and has a really easy time doing so lol. trolled this guy so hard they accidentally fell in love with each other. she goes to extreme (and poorly hidden) lengths to hide her crush on him for a long time. when they're together she's usually serving as the voice of reason since she has more practical life experience than he does. they are pretty disgusting to witness in love, she's more open about pda than he is but u can feel it oozing off of them. they do almost everything together. ewwww cooties 🤓

ichi -> friendly but one sided mostly. she's nice to him but he's terrified of her because how can someone who looks put together and has a job be into the same shit as choro. he gets freaked the fuck out for a while whenever they have to interact but i think with time they could get along well. she could help him be a domestic party peep or whatever the hell normie stuff he wants to do bc unlike jyushis zany approach she encourages him to just go with the flow of the crowd

jyushi -> she's lowkey scared of him at first because... he's jyushimatsu and jyushi does things the jyushimatsu way. getting glimpses of his more serious side makes her realize his typical self is kind of similar to her approach of meeting her friends where they're at, he's just really out there in terms of trying to make the vibes fun. has considered egging him on like she does w kara but is too scared it would tear apart the fabric of reality

totty -> friendly but there is a little tension in the beginning. she heard about the sutabaa incident secondhand at a mixer and when she realizes this is the guy in question she's dying laughing inside but saves him the embarrassment of letting him know she knows. he picks up on this and doesn't know what to do with that vibe. other than that they get along well bc they're both normie passing lol. doesn't quite get her taste in fashion (too flashy for him) but it's interesting for him to see what she gravitates towards when they go shopping together. not afraid to join him in roasting the other bros when they're on some wack shit either

matsuyo & matsuzou -> girl is trying so hard to be so normie around them!! but they raised 6 neets so they see right through her act lol. they like her regardless and she's always acting super proper around them in the beginning, but being around her s/o's parents is stressful for her 💀 i think later on in yuucho era she would relax more and come over just to cook dinner with matsuyo. they'd both mostly just be thrilled to have a potential daughter in law hanging around in the first place lol

that's all i got for now. smiles

[cobreja88]

How Does Having a Budget Help You Avoid the Traps of Digital Marketing?

No matter the nature of your digital marketing or in-house team management endeavors, having a budget is crucial to its success. A budget can help track return on investment (ROI), helping determine if campaigns are producing results or not. Create a budget based on both your income and expenses. Consider both fixed expenses, like rent and bills, as well as variable costs like food, clothing, and entertainment expenses. Cost control Digital marketing is an integral component of business, but it can quickly spiral out of control if left without proper budget planning. A budget will help ensure you spend only what is within your means and allocate your resources more strategically; furthermore, tracking ROI allows for informed decisions regarding future campaigns. Prioritize content creation over other digital marketing initiatives for maximum sales growth if that is your aim. In other words, create more content than before and allocate a bigger portion of funds towards it than other channels of promotion. Planning a budget requires taking an inventory of all costs associated with digital marketing programs, including any tools and services necessary for running campaigns such as ad platforms and email marketing tool subscriptions. Furthermore, take note of any historical data you may possess which could aid decision-making processes. Review your budget frequently to make sure it remains on target, and adjust as necessary if your goals haven't materialized as planned. Consider changing up your approach or using Billdu - an innovative budgeting app with user-friendly drag-and-drop budget creation capabilities and a detailed financial dashboard. It also assists users in tracking expenses, reporting on various metrics, and organizing finances more efficiently for informed digital marketing decisions. 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ROI tracking Digital marketing can be an intricate field, and companies often make costly errors that cost them thousands. There are ways to sidestep these pitfalls and increase ROI; one way is implementing a marketing platform designed to deliver exceptional experiences at scale. Furthermore, tracking KPIs over time to monitor how your campaigns progress can also help; tools like Google Analytics or social media platform-specific analytics tools exist that can track digital marketing ROI effectively. Digital marketers must have the ability to interpret data to make informed decisions regarding their strategies and budgets. To do this effectively, digital marketers need to use various tools and techniques such as tracking metrics, analyzing measurements, and interpreting their results - this approach will allow digital marketers to avoid digital marketing traps while optimizing their strategy for maximum success. To maximize your ROI, your metrics must match with your business goals. CTR measures how well your content engages potential customers while conversion rates indicate how effective digital marketing campaigns have been in turning prospects into paying customers. Other crucial metrics such as cost per lead and acquisition can give insight into overall profitability. Tracking metrics alone won't do. To fully utilize digital marketing strategy and avoid digital marketing traps, customer feedback must also be integrated into your digital marketing plan and integrated into the digital marketing strategy. Doing this allows an outside perspective on the efficacy of your strategies while optimizing campaigns to drive more leads and conversions. Efficient campaign management A digital marketing budget is a document that details all of the money a business plans to spend on marketing projects over a given quarter or year, such as ad buys, hiring new marketing staff members, or registering domain names. A budget may also cover related expenses like social media management tools or content creation programs. Budgeting for digital marketing requires having a clear idea of your desired goals and the amount of funds available to you. To accomplish this, start by setting goals for each campaign to help guide decisions on which activities should be invested in or abandoned; also pay attention to how other competitors are faring to determine effective approaches for reaching out to audiences. Once you've decided how to allocate your digital marketing budget, you must monitor the results of each campaign. This allows you to see which ads are effective and which aren't, and adjust spending accordingly. Billdu provides users with an easy solution for creating budget plans using drag-and-drop functionality and financial dashboards. Maintaining your budget is vital during seasonal periods when spending may need to increase or decrease and leave room for unexpected expenses. For instance, if a new advertising channel proves highly successful you may wish to increase spending there - however it's important to remember not every new channel is successful and trials and tests should always be run before making major adjustments in digital marketing strategy. Resources: Social Media Body (Click Here to Unlock Your Social Media Supremacy) Article Forge (Click Here and try the Most Affordable, Unique Human-like Articles Writing Platform) Entre Institute (Click Here to Find the Secret to Become Millionaire) GetResponse (Click here to try the Best Email Marketing Platform For a Huge Discount)  Hostinger (Click Here to Start with One of the Best Webhosting Solutions at a Huge Discount) Pictory (Click Here to try the Easiest Video Creation Tool for Content Marketers) Fiverr (Click Here to Find the Perfect Freelance Services for Your Business Honest Loans (Click Here to Sustain Your Business With More Founds) Read the full article

[libraryspectre]

Since Dracula Daily is on pause for a few weeks, now is a good time to promo an app I love. Serial Reader! If you've been enjoying reading a classic novel in serialized form, this may be of interest.

Serial Reader is a free app that lets you read books in the public domain, portioned out in chunks that take about 15 minutes to read on average. You get one chunk released to you every day. Their reasoning is that this serialization makes reading classics more exciting - and I think we've seen solid evidence of that with the success of Dracula Daily.

You add what book(s) you want to read - there's tons of categories to browse, or you can search if you have something specific in mind.

I'm reading Pride and Prejudice, and this screen shows my progress so far.

And here's where I go to see all my issues! Unread issues have an estimated reading time next to them.

I've been having a lot of fun with this! There's also the potential for buddy reads. As far as I know, there's no official in-app support for that, but all you'd need to do is start your novel on the same day as your friend.

As far as accessibility features go, the font selection includes dyslexic-friendly fonts, and the font size gets pretty darn big (I can't speak on whether it gets big enough to be considered an accessibility feature, but I would guess so.) It also has different color pallete options.

The paid version has more features, such as the ability to hilight and make notes, but the free version is very usable, and add-free!

I hope you check it out and enjoy more classic lit!

[izukuisbaby]

⊹˚.⋆ SHOPPING HEADCANONS - JUJUTSU KAISEN

℘. flora's notes : i finished this while i was tipsy i hope it's okay-

℘. infos : u can read about ur kins too, this is not necessarily romantic (can be tho:)), female, male, gn reader friendly 💓 if u have ideas for the other jjk characters im down to make a part 2

m.list (bnha version can be found there x)| comment and reblog if u enjoyed !

⊹˚.⋆ SATORU GOJO

℘. as we all know, gojo has no filter, so expect to have to undress with the fitting room's curtain fully opened because "he can hide you with his Greek God body"

℘. brutally honest and doesn't care about your opinion "YOU LOOK LIKE A ROASTED PORK IN THIS LMAO", "I thought mustard yellow was the worst colour on you and then I saw that shit you're wearing", "are u tryna beat my grandma at the wrinkles fashion week ??? get that cardigan outta there"

℘. has to bring his God complex in everything "that looks okay on you, but it would look stunning on me", "nah that's a thing I, ME, MYSELF, would be wearing y/n, stop copying me urgh"

℘. will embarrass you in front of everyone "LOOK AT THIS HOT FINE PIECE OF HUMAN, I'LL PAY YOU TO DATE THEM, THEY'RE KINDA DESPERATE", "Y/N YOUR TEDDY BEAR UNDERWEAR IS SHOWING OOOOH SO CUTE LITTLE SLUTTY BABE" (and this is obviously not true, he just wants to embarrass u)

℘. will post your errands on social media and won't care if you look good on the picture or not as long as HE does, and expect something cringe on the text like "shopping with the ugly best friend (the pretty one is obviously me😏🤭🤪🥰🥵)", "here is a gold digger who takes my money for their clothes UwU💸💸💸💸", "they were wearing teddy bear underwear and EVERYONE saw it 🤣🤣🤣"

⊹˚.⋆ TOJI FUSHIGURO

℘. blank. face. it's a painful moment for him, he doesn't give a damn about your outfit as long as he gets to take it off

℘. feel lucky that he isn't grumbling because he really hates shopping and he hates being in public places (sir knows damn well he'd get chopped up if a white haired mf happened to be around too, gojo gives him social anxiety)

℘. but he doesn't say anything either, you just end up talking to yourself. he OCCASIONALLY sighs though which is the only animation you get from him :/

℘. he discreetly peeps through the curtain to see you nAaAaAkEd😨 and then blushes a bit CUZ YOU'RE PERFECT

℘. will let you play model in the living room if he chooses what you two will watch for movie night "mmmh", "looks good"

℘. AND THE HOTTEST THING HE DOES IS SLIGHTLY RAISE HIS BROWS WHEN HE SEES YOU WITH AN ITEM HE LIKES damn I love this man

⊹˚.⋆ YUUJI ITADORI

℘. "DAAAAMN YOU'RE LOOKING FINE", "how are you still single seriously, I'd die for you". he's a simp for you, even just as a friend. HE'S SO SUPPORTIVE PLEASE

℘. best shopping buddy literally, he'll be honest and will try his best to sound polite and not mean

℘. AND HIS PICKS ARE SO GOOD, I HEADCANON THAT YUUJI HAS PINTEREST, he's like you're own personal shopper

℘. and he's always so enthusiastic about going shopping, he's just a pleasure to have around

℘. he 100% makes fun of people tho- but you learnt to love it and now you do it with him

© izukuisbaby. comments appreciated ! although do not modify, translate, copy, claim as your own or repost on any app/platform/social media (this applies to all of my content)💓

[shihalyfie]

do you have any thoughts on the relationships between the characters in appmon? (bit vague i know but, i'm curious about your thoughts esp regarding eri n astra's relationship)

One thing that I think is most notable about the Appmon group is that they're one of the very few Digimon groups to be explicitly delineated "social-life friends", or, that is to say, they spend their days hanging out and doing mundane activities even if they don't have any world-saving duties in play, and they seem to be the closest friends available in their immediate lives. This isn't always the case for most Digimon lead casts! It's one of the biggest differences between the Adventure and 02 groups. Tamers was somewhat of an edge case about this; in Tamers, the Yodobashi Elementary kids did play together in places like the Shinjuku park, and Ruki would sometimes stop by, but she still had a bit of extra detachment and her own character arc was closer to her family than anything. Frontier's another edge case because post-canon material has definitely established that they at least keep in contact, but Izumi, Junpei, and Tomoki's character arcs in particular depend heavily on their ability to make friends outside the group.

The Appmon group has an interesting variation on it in that while not all of them are a cohesive group at the same time -- Rei unfortunately doesn't start becoming more attached to the group until around the time he's started harboring doubts about Yuujin -- they do all gravitate around the "base" in Kashinoki Books, and specifically around Haru. And Haru doesn't even realize this -- he doesn't assert himself as the leader or anything, but everyone starts naturally gravitating towards him because of his natural kindness and friendliness! They don't say it out loud, but they're all there because Haru brought them there, and you'll notice that when Eri and Astra learn about YJ-14's betrayal, they're less offended by the betrayal than they are by the fact he specifically betrayed Haru.

But they are a friend group that loves to hang out with each other, simply because they enjoy each other's company. (And while it does look like Yuujin's world revolves around Haru exclusively, keep in mind that the reason he idolizes Haru so much is that Haru helps him make other friends. Note that in episode 18 he doesn't show any particular jealousy or misgivings about Haru starting to hang out with other friends besides him, and in fact him getting along easily with Eri and Astra was already setting the tone for him getting along with the rest of the group once he formally joined them.) Also, while the series focusing on the ongoing battle with Leviathan, it may be easy to miss, but Ai is actually as much of a member of the group as anyone else as long as the incident in question doesn't require having a Buddy Appmon or being able to see non-Apprealized Appmon. Socially speaking, the others clearly see her as one of them by the end of the series, and since Rei starts hanging out with them in the basement by the end of the series, Hajime probably applies too. Of course, a lot of this is fitting because Appmon specifically makes a point about apps and technology being inevitably integrated in one's daily life, so the line between doing work as an Appli Driver and normal social activities is heavily blurred.

So it's a group that really just likes each other's company, and, more importantly, is constantly out to support each other. Haru is not a talented soccer player nor a famous influencer, but he supports everyone in any of their endeavors and aspirations, which is how he reaches out to Rei in episode 12 (after which the desire to help Rei is constantly on his mind thereafter). The group constantly checks on each other's endeavors and successes, like supporting Eri on TV or checking Astra's video performance. Ai holds down the fort and brings food and information when they need it. Compared to a group like the 02 kids, the Appmon kids are generally more well-behaved and put-together (this is by design, under the reasoning that this is more accurate to real-life modern kids), but they share something in common in that both are groups that are unabashedly ride or die for each other in every way, especially in terms of emotional support. Which is, naturally, in line with Appmon's core theme of kindness and understanding being the most necessary thing in an accelerating world that encourages cold efficiency.

In regards to Eri and Astra specifically, Eri stands out as the only member of the group to call Astra "Tora", and I get the impression that her awareness of him as a younger child is slightly higher than, say, Miyako towards Iori, which involves Miyako seeming to completely forget the concept of age at times. Whenever Eri and Astra bicker, it's usually along the lines of Eri being irritated this elementary school kid is talking back at her. But other than that, Astra is clearly bearing so much and working so hard that it'd be condescending or demeaning if she tried to lord her status over him, and Astra''s way of being in-your-face is out of friendliness as much as it is cheekiness. So the two afford each other as much respect as if they were peers, which is especially prominent during their episode 35 collab when they work together on a completely equal level, and Astra's remarks about her in episodes 36 (The Best Tenth Place Ever) and 40 (figuring out Fakemon because he knows Eri too well) are done out of that sentiment of mutual respect. In general, the group doesn't seem to normally be too conscious of age hierarchy; this is around the line of 02 and Frontier's groups, but while 02 and Frontier mainly came from the characters often being too much of a disaster to enforce the hierarchy well, in Appmon the nuance is more that they all respect each other and each other's accomplishments and abilities too much for the hierarchy to be meaningful.

[sunny-x-endeavor]

Lunch Buddies

Sunny x Endeavor Fanfic Type: Small interaction.

Fandom: My Hero Academia Characters: Enji Todoroki (Endeavor), Sunny (OC)

word count:  3020

Notes:  This happens right before All Might retires and the first villain attacks at the school. This piece is supposed to be after my last fanfic “Coffee Mates”. I’m mainly just slowly writing through the stages of their relationship. The last one was them formally meeting, and this one is them getting to know each other more in a friendly way.

Sorry for any type-os, misspellings, and poor grammar. 

I awkwardly walked through the packed halls of the convention center. It seemed like everyone had gotten out of their meetings and workshops. I held my bag in my arms tightly as I weave through the crowds. Making my way to an escalator going down. While riding down I could see a wave of colorful heroes mosing around the floor below me. I don’t normally go to hero conferences like this one but I was asked to do a talk about hero safety and injury prevention. It seems a lot of heros are interested in my low injury and high success rates. 

After getting off the escalator I speed off to find somewhere to sit and eat my lunch. I didn’t bring any heroes from my agency with me, so I was alone for this conference. I’ve never been good at making friends at these types of events, and I don’t have a lot of hero friends, so I wasn’t going to try to reach out to anyone. After a few minutes of walking and back and forth through the many hallways and rooms I found a sitting area that was tucked away in a corner. There were six small tables neatly in two rows and most of them were empty. I sat at the table the farest from the others there and faced away from them. There were big windows from floor to ceiling making the room feel open. I took a deep breath and sighed as I opened my bag to get out my lunch. I was glad to have a moment to breathe from the loud pro heros but I also felt lonesome from the lack of talking. 

In the bag was a container full of salad, some kind of nut and berry bar, chips, and a thermos of cold brew coffee. I looked at my lunch and started to regret what I packed. I wished for something more filling like a slice of pizza or a sandwich. I dug into the salad with a flimsy plastic fork. I took a big bite of the leaf greens to where it was almost too big to fit in my mouth. I was glad I wasn’t facing anyone....

“S-Sunny-Chan?” I heard behind me. I jumped a little bit and almost choked on my food. I turned my head to face the voice. A tall man with bright red hair was standing next to me. His left hand was the back of the empty chair next to me and on the other hand was a fabric lunch bag of sorts. “Uh, hello! It’s been a while. May I sit with you?”

I started chewing quickly and nodded my head at him. He sat down, as I quickly swallowed my food. 

“Endeavor-san!” I blurted out, “Sorry had food in my mouth so I couldn’t talk right away. Uh It’s good to see you, and it has been a while.” 

“Yes, yes. Sorry if I surprised you, but I saw you coming down from the second floor and thought to say hello. I said your name but I don’t think you heard me, so I thought I would come closer and say hello.” Endeavor said awkwardly. I don’t remember him being the type to ramble like this and it felt odd to me. “Uh anyways…. How are you? How’s the kid?”

“Oh I’m doing fine and so is Faith. Thank you for asking.” I awkwardly said back to him. I wasn’t sure what to say to him. I hate small talk and I have the feeling so does Endeavor. “So what brings you here?”

“Oh um. Well we haven’t talked in a while so I thought I would say hello to you.”

“No, no I meant the hero’s conference. I don’t really ever see you coming to these things.” I could see through the flames on his face that his cheeks went a little pink from me pointing out his misunderstanding. 

“Oh! Uh… Yeah I don’t normally come to these things. I was invited to talk and I decided to say yes for once. As the number two hero I need to make connections with other heroes and scout for the best newcomers.” He crossed his arms while he spoke. Trying to seem tough and strong. 

“I was also invited to speak! I already had my panel a few hours ago, so I thought I would see some other heroes talk and what not.” I took a small bit of my food after talking and looked down at the table as I chewed. Avoiding eye contact. 

“What was your talk on? I didn’t see it in the schedule. I would have come and supported you if I knew.” Seeing me eat prompted him to get out his lunch as well. He took out some kind of bento from his bag and a pair of dark brown chopsticks. 

“That’s really sweet of you to say. It was on hero safety and stuff.” I took a sip of my coffee and gave him a quick glance. He looked interested in what I had to say and that was pretty shocking to me. Most people don’t listen to me and normally talk over me, but Endeavor wasn’t doing that. I don’t get why this guy has such a bad rep. He was always sweet to me and if I saw him more often I would think of him as a friend.

“Ah, I think I remember seeing you in the data of heroes in that field. So what’s the secret?” Endeavor spoke looking at me. 

“Secret? There’s no secret, my dude.” I put down my fork on a napkin and looked at him. He took this moment of me talking to take a few bites of his own food. “I just don’t give 100% of myself to the job. None of that 120% junk either. There is no such thing as 120% of one self. It’s not lazy or selfish to not give 100% all the time. You don’t run cars or any machines 24/7 365 days none stop. My max is 70% and so are those at my agency. I need my alone time and If I don’t recharge I can’t do my job correctly. Also If I’m taking breaks so should my employees.”

“Oh…” He looked down and put down the food he was going to take a bite off. “Is this supposed to be your alone time right now? Am I bothering you?” 

“No, no, no! I didn’t mean it like that.” I suddenly felt hot and my heart was twisting with guilt. He looked upset and that made me upset. “I meant like, um… I mean like I need to be home alone doing a hobby for a few hours and resting. Do you have any hobbies?” I tried to quickly change the subject. 

“No.” He quickly replied. “Well.... Does working out count as a hobby?”

“Depends. If it’s like hiking and taking in a beautiful view then sure, but I wouldn’t consider lifting weights a hobby. It’s more of an activity to do.” 

“I guess I don’t have any then…” The air between us got thick with his reply. I wasn’t sure what to say and neither did he. There was a long pause in the conversation as we both took this awkward moment to eat more of our food. 

I finished my salad and decided to try and break the ice once more. “Well maybe we could do something together some time? I could help you find a hobby. It’s really good to have one because it gives benefits to mental health.” I pushed my counter to the side and started to fiddle with my thermos as I talked. 

“I don’t know. I don’t have a lot of free time to be honest…” He spoke with a melancholy tone. 

“Hmmm. Sorry if this sounds rude, but you should make time. Especially time for yourself. I know it’s hard to actually do that tho. You’re the number two hero, so I understand you having to give most of yourself to the job. I’m not as high in rank, so I don’t know what the pressure is like. 

It’s something I talked about in my panel this morning. The higher rank you are the more pressure and because of that you need more time away from it all to lessen the pressure.” 

“Mmmm, go on.” Endeavor put his elbow to the table and then brought his hand to his face. Looking at me while listening. 

“Well to go back to those percentages I said before. There’s 5 fields to put your time into. Family, friends, love, work, and self. If you put in 100% into work then there’s nothing for the others. Everyone has to have a little bit of all of them but not everyone can have all of them. Especially in hero work; Our jobs require us to put the most time into work. So we have to give something up. I can’t give up my me time, and I can’t give up time with my family. So, I gave up on love and friends. Well I tried to make it work but it just couldn’t work out. Does that make any sense?”  

“Yeah, I understand what you mean. I don’t give time to anything outside of work and none of it is going too well.” For some reason it broke my heart a bit hearing that. It started to make sense why he was known for being an asshole. If nothing was working right in his personal life of course he would be frustrated at everything. “I should do more, but I don’t know how. All I know is being a pro hero… I guess that makes me sound kind of lame.”

“Well you’re talking to the number one dorkest hero!” I said with a wink and I put my index finger out to gesture the number one. “So I’m the lame one here. Don’t put yourself down like that.” 

“I guess that makes me the number two lamest hero at this table…. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.” He did a short and soft chuckle to himself. I giggled with him. Our eyes met again. He gave me a soft smile, but I could still see the melancholy in his eyes. I smiled back at him. 

“Well once again, I’m down to helping you find a hobby at least if you’re willing to make time for me. I have a ton of stuff I'm into. I can’t stay and do one thing for too long to be quite honest with you.” While I spoke Endeavor lifted is head from his hand and reached into his pocket. 

“Then give me your number if you’re so insisting on this hobby idea.” He pulled out his phone and started to tap at it. Most likely pulling up his contact app to put in my number. 

“Oh!” I didn’t actually think he would take me up on the offer and felt a big fluster as I dug into my bag for my phone. I didn’t think I would get this far. “Let me grab my phone, uh!!” I stopped digging through my bag when I realized mid search it was in my coat pocket. I pulled out my phone, unlocked it and put up the contact app. I leaned towards him and gave him my phone to put in his number. He gave me his phone in return. It was a heavy and wide phone. I tapped in my number and my name. I stared at the emoji page for a second trying to decide if I should add an emoji. Fuck it, I thought. I put in a heart emoji next to my name. I was feeling a little flirty and thought it would be cute. We gave each our phones back. 

“Thank you,” He said while looking at his phone. He had a soft smirk on his face. I watched him tap his phone with his index finger. His phone was making a tapping noise. I could tell he was writing a message. I wasn’t sure what he was typing until I felt my phone vibrate in my hands. I got a new message. 

Hello Sunny-chan! Is this the correct number?: The message read.

“Yes! This is the correct number.” I said out loud to him. 

“We can talk later about a time we can see each other. Also what type of things do you normal do? Your hobbies, I mean.” He said as he put away his phone. 

“Oh? Um….” I started to go blank on things I liked. I took a long pause to think of what I liked. I could feel his staring at me while he waited quietly for a reply. “Well, I like art. I like drawing, and well anything crafty. I love crafts. Such as sewing! I love learning new crafts. I also enjoy watching TV and listening to podcasts. I enjoy playing games, like video games. Not sports. I don’t care for sports much. Oh maybe we could watch something together? Like a movie! Not to sound weird, but maybe we could, as the kids say, netflix and chill? Haha” 

“What’s netflix and chill?” He replied quickly. 

“What?” I said back at him. I was a little shocked that was the thing he questioned first. 

“What do you mean by ‘netflix and chill’? I kind of know what netflix is since I pay for my children’s account. I don’t really understand what that saying is and I’ve been hearing it a lot lately.” He looked at me seriously. 

“Well I um… Well…” I struggled to find the right words.

“Well?”

“Well….” I leaned in towards him because I didn’t want others around us to hear what I had to say. I gesture for him to get close to me and he complied. “Well it means… Well it’s like you know how you can ask someone to come over to watch a movie? So they come over, and once they’re there you don’t actually watch the movie and do other stuff…”

“What other stuff? Like a board game? Why would you invite someone over for a movie and not watch a movie? If you wanted to do other stuff we could do other stuff. Just say what you want.” He said softly matching my soft tone. 

Holy shit. Endeavor you are clueless. I thought to myself. You gotta be fucking kidding me. 

“So okay let's say I message you over text, yeah?” He nodded at me. “If I message you, and I write ‘wanna netflix and chill?’ it doesn’t normally mean that. It means wanna come over and like make out half way through the movie. And so, saying that has come well known that it now has ironic meaning. Like what I said earlier I was joking about it. I actually meant watching a movie. Does that make sense?” I realized I was rambling, so I tried to stop myself. I could see his face a get a little pink when he I said make out. 

“So… So you don’t wanna watch a movie with me?” He leaned away from our little huddle we created briefly. 

“No, I do! I do wanna watch a movie. I’m sorry if that wasn’t clear. I was trying to make a joke and It clearly didn’t land well. I’m sorry!” My face got hot and my heart started beating faster. I felt overwhelmed with this conversation. I felt like a fish tossed onto land. I don’t know where I was going with any of this. I wanted to make a good impression and get Endeavor to laugh a little. 

“I see, I see.” He nodded and started to poke at his lunch again. 

“Well, we don’t have to do that. We could go get coffee and just talk, or something else.” I was starting to feel like I was planning for a date and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. “We could get coffee. Then maybe walk around a craft center and look around for stuff to do?” 

“Hmmm… Maybe… I don’t really like going out to stores and people realizing who I am” He took a bite of his food after replying to me. Watching him eat gave me an idea.

“Oh wait, I have even better idea!!! Why don’t we cook something together? Cooking is a hobby!” I spoke excitedly. “We could make food that means a lot to us, or maybe something we both never had? I could buy the food, so you don’t have to go to any store or anything.” 

“I like that plan better.... I do have a decent size kitchen we could use.”

“Prefect! We can message each other later for the time and what to make!” I quickly clap my hands in excitement. “Oh this is gonna be fun!” I smiled wide and I could feel my teeth were showing.

“Hmmm” Endeavor smiled back at me and kept eating. Another pause happened while eating more. I took the time to open up the small bag of chips I had. Far more filling than the salad. 

“So…” Endeavor broke the silence this time. “I was wondering...” 

“Yes?” 

“If I’m not mistaken you don’t have anywhere else to go for this conference. Would like to company me then? I mean since I don’t have anyone to talk to and it seems like you might not as well… So I thought… Um.” He started to fumble at the end. 

“Sure!” I cut him off to stop his fumbling. “I’ll warn you tho. I might be talkative now but I’m actually really quiet most of the time.” 

“I’m the same way… Something about you makes it easy to talk. So I don’t mind I guess.” He looked away shyly. I smiled at him when he made that comment. The air was filled with excitement as we continued to chat with one another. It was going to be a long and fun day with him here.

[forineffablereasons]

y’all since we talk about it with some frequency here i want to do a quick plug for the migraine buddy app for those of you who track migraines or who are interested in tracking your migraines. i have just started tracking mine again because i suspect i am experiencing a change in symptoms that is a little concerning, and i know that my neuro will want to see some tracking records to know if i’m really seeing a change, or if i’m just focusing on different things. 

this app lets me record: attack time, including whether the attack started or ended while i was asleep, duration, type, intensity, symptoms, worst symptom, where was i when the attack started, what were some of the triggers, where i am in relation to my menstrual cycle, whether i experienced any aura (nausea, visual field disturbance), what medication i took, what other actions i took for relief (e.g., ice packs, hot shower, dark room), where the pain is location in my head, what activities were affected, intensity, the weather where i was when the attack started, and which of my relief methods helped provide me the most relief. 

the app then compiles all of this information and provides impact reports for use with your doctor, health events, a daily pressure forecast (super helpful), and even message boards if you want to talk to other people about your migraines. 

i do have some issues with the app: 1) when you sign up, it asks your gender, and it only offers “male” or “female” with no grey areas. aside from not being trans friendly in the least, this ignores the impact of things like HRT on migraine, which is a problem. i sent a “suggestion” in to support about it - they have a suggestion box - but didn’t receive a response, though i can’t remember if it said they would or wouldn’t respond generally. i have not, however, found a tracking app that is trans friendly, so rock and a hard place. there is a way in a “female” profile to ask it not to ask you about your periods, but i have no idea if there’s an equivalence in a “male” profile to ask it to ask you about your periods.) 2) there isn’t a way to track your daily activities in it. so for instance, one of my big triggers is not enough caffeine, but there’s no way for me track my caffeine intake day to day. i could put that day’s caffeine intake in the notes of an attack when i was having one, but there’s no way for me to compare within the app to a non-attack day. 3) i can’t link this app with other apps, so for example, i can’t link it to Clue, which is the (very trans-friendly, highly recommended btw) menstrual cycle app i use. there’s a lot of good information being tracked day to day in Clue that might give a more complete picture about what’s happening in my body, but they don’t link. it would be nice too if it would link to my apple watch too, which would help me monitor the effect of raising/lowering my heart rates (exercise! now there’s a trigger) and my sleep routines. 

all of this is to say, i like the app a lot and i definitely think it will help me learn more about my migraines themselves, but for the bigger picture we are still working with piecemeal apps or independent tracking. hopefully someday there’ll be a better way, but for now this app is a good jumping off point.

[vagrantblvrd]

Lay Your Bones Down (1/1)

Summary: When it comes to soulmates people tend to fall into two camps of thought.

Notes: Prompt fill for the wonderful @ahwuum who has been super patient and supportive. <333!

(Read on AO3)

When it comes to soulmates people tend to fall into two camps of thought.

The ones who go all-out looking for their soulmate. Buy into what Vinewood and other “experts” have to say on the mater. Read all the books on how to recognize the signs or whatever, watch the television specials and pay close attention to their horoscopes and magazines aimed at helping people find them.

Sign up for the websites and download the apps once they become available because it’s a driving force for them, part of their pursuit of happiness and everything.

Sometimes it works, they find their soulmate and live happy fulfilling lives with them.

Other times it doesn’t, and they make themselves miserable looking for a needle in a haystack all their lives and let every other chance for happiness pass them by and it’s. It’s just sad, is what it is.

Then you have the ones like Jeremy who – he’s not going to lie, okay.

He’s curious who his soulmate is. What kind of person they are, if they’d even like each other, get along like a house on fire or hate one another at first sight. (A different way of getting along like a house on fire, and to be honest saying’s always bothered him but that’s a conversation for another day, or something. Whatever.)

He used to think about it a lot more when he was a kid, bright future ahead of him and all these possibilities, right? Smart kid like him? Could have done anything.

And he did.

For a while.

Then one of his buddies got caught up in some trouble of his own making, and stupid idiot Jeremy thought he could help get him out. Only got dragged into the same kind of trouble and into a literal pit facing off against guys twice his size trying to get back out again.

Stopped wondering who his soulmate was when his primary concern was not getting his face beaten in, and then things escalated to the point all of that slipped to the back of his mind.

Soulmates and the criminal life don’t go so well together, puts a crimp in things. (He figured if he did meet his soulmate doing the things he does now, it wouldn’t be a ringing endorsement for either of them.)

So, yeah.

Jeremy pulls himself out of the fighting rings in Boston, but doesn’t do it clean. Has people who’d be glad to put him down, so he decides it would be a good idea to get the hell out while he still can.

Goes from city to city doing what he can to get by. Realizes he’s in a goddamned ridiculous line of work and figures if he can’t beat them he might as well join them (something like that) and goes all-in.

Picks up the Rimmy Tim thing somewhere along the east coast. Browsing through the offerings in a thrift store where he finds these hideous yellow suit pants. Catch his eye, have him cackling like an idiot, but that might be more the painkillers blunting the ache of a stab wound in his shoulder.

Finds a purple suit jacket a few cities over and something about it hits him just right.

It isn’t until he’s somewhere in Texas he spots the cowboy hat. Gas station with a tired looking woman on the register and news on the television talking about something going on in a city named Los Santos.

Jeremy gives her a bright grin, all nice and friendly because he’s just passing through, ma’am, no trouble here. Watches the footage of another gang war in progress play on the television as the woman rings his purchases up.

He’s been seeing more and more about Los Santos the closer he gets, figures it’s a big deal in this part of the country. (Liberty city’s got the east coast locked down for chaos and carnage.)

Gets this little itch going in the palms of his hands because everything he’s seen tells him it would be smarter to stay the hell away from a city like that, but.

Jeremy’s kind of an idiot.

And, you know.

There are still people out there with a grudge to bear against him and a city as big as Los Santos seems like a good place to get lost in.

Can’t possibly get caught up in anything big enough to make the news like half the things he’s seen so far anyway, right?

========

There are books out there that have a lot to say about the placement of people’s Names. Conflicting information based on what old wives tale the author grew up on, their region of the country.

All of them agree on one thing, though. Names closest to the heart mean you’re bound for a happy match once you find your soulmate, get that happily ever after everyone’s running towards.

Jeremy’s Name is on his back, running along his spine, and the one book he read about Name placements had nothing to say on the matter. Didn’t look further into things because he was afraid of what he’d find.

Awkward placement for him to get a good look at it, but he’d tried when he thought he had a chance to find his soulmate. (When it would have been a good thing.)

Did all sorts of crazy things to get a picture.

Tried taking a picture using the bathroom mirror but he only got parts of it in the frame. Set up a series of mirrors like an idiot and got better pictures out of it he played around in the edit mode to flip it.

Other things like that.

Realized his soulmate has the shittiest handwriting known to man or maybe something was wrong with his eyes because even now he can barely make out what it’s supposed to be.

A signature for sure, the way most of them are.

Starts with a big looping letter and ends in this indecipherable scrawl like whoever they are they either gave up along the way or couldn’t be bothered with the rest.

Sometimes he’ll catch sight of it in a bathroom mirror of whatever shitty motel or apartment he’s staying in, wonder what could have been.

========

Jeremy’s supposed to be watching this hacker.

Keep an eye on him to make sure he’s doing what he’s supposed to be doing, or keep him safe, his current boss didn’t specify.

Squirrely little bastard, though.

Scrawny.

Looks like a twig with a wild tuft of hair and this nose that got him picked on as a kid. (If the way the rest of the crew treats him is any indication, that never stopped.

Jeremy might feel bad about how the others treat the guy, if he wasn’t such an asshole.

And anyways, it’s his first job in Los Santos. Some dirty little gang that’s been outsourced to do a job for an ally of theirs.

He’s hired muscle here and so low down in the pecking order he might as well not even have a name.

Just Goon #2 or something.

“What kind of name is Rimmy Tim?” the hacker asks out of the blue, not bothering to look up from his work. “Did your parents draw it out of a hat like a raffle?”

The two of them are alone in the warehouse the gang operates out of. It would be real easy to kill him and pretend he didn’t know how it happened.

Just.

So easy.

The thing that stops Jeremy from doing it is that murder is a bit of an overreaction to the annoying bastard. And, he’s being paid to watch the guy so he’d be shooting himself in the foot. Also, it’s clear he’s not thinking about the words coming out of his mouth.

Some idle thought floating around in his head while he focuses on his work and no brain-to-mouth filter.

“Yeah,” Jeremy drawls. “They used this hat to do it to. Gave it to me on my eighteenth birthday to commemorate the occasion. Even gave me a lasso so I could catch my first horse.”

The hacker keeps tap-tap-tapping away on his laptop for a few moments afterward before he processes what Jeremy said.

Slowly lifts his head to squint at Jeremy like he’s sure he’s being fucked with, but also maybe not?

“Wait, what?”

Jeremy smiles and tips his hat at the asshole as he gets up to grab a beer out of the fridge.

========

As much as Jeremy tries not to think about the Name on his back, the rest of the world makes that impossible.

Television shows and movies. Best-sellers at the store. Songs on the radio. Marketing campaigns every-fucking-where and shoved down people’s throats at every turn.

No wonder so many obsess over their Name when they’re made so aware of it every waking moment.

It’s still kind of weird, though, listening to the guys he works with gossiping about them. Doesn’t matter who he’s working for, where he is, there’s always someone like that.

Stone-cold killers and no remorse to them, and they’ll kick back for a poker game and someone will start up a conversation about the Name on their shoulder.

Curling script and little hearts dotting the ‘i’ and wondering what they have to think about their own rough scribble of a name. (Good penmanship isn’t a requirement for their line of work.)

It’s enough to make Jeremy wonder what it is about Los Santos that people like them think about their soulmates like that. Hope they’ll get the chance to meet them even though they’re on the wrong side of the law and the odds of them getting something good out of it are so damn low.

========

Jeremy’s been in Los Santos for about a year, two, before his name gets put out there as someone people might want to watch out for.

Well, one of his names, anyway.

He still gets strange looks when he introduces himself as Rimmy Tim, but considering Los Santos is the kind of city where everyone’s scared of some idiot in a rubber mask calling himself the Vagabond, he figures he's doing alright for himself.

He’s been hired on by a crew that hasn’t tried to fuck him over since they brought him on to be an extra gun for them. (Yet.)

Decent pay that helps with the rent for the place he shares with a couple of idiots he’s fallen in with in Matt and Trevor, and until recently they were playing it smart.

Did nothing to attract the notice of the bigger crews in town, but that’s changed the last few weeks. His boss with his eyes set on moving up in the pecking order which means coming up against those same crews who could squash them flat with barely a thought.

Trevor keeps harping on him to get the fuck out, fake his death if he has to and have Matt gimmick him up a new identity, the whole works, because.

Fuck, because his boss is taking swipes at the Fake AH Crew.

Just about the worst crew to mess with, what with their reputation for not taking kindly to that kind of thing and all.

The crew Jeremy’s working for keeps bringing in new blood because they’re dropping likes flies with every skirmish they get into with the Fakes.

No mercy to the Fakes when one of theirs gets hurt, just this single-minded anger snapping back around on whoever is stupid enough to go after them.

If Jeremy was smarter, he’d listen to Trevor, he would. But Matt’s got these debts and smart as Trevor is he hasn’t been able to find a way to get him out of them other than paying them off. Jeremy does his part to help, which means being the kind of idiot out there tempting fate working for a certified moron with a death wish.

It’s how you say, not great.

Jeremy’s boss knows he wants out, but he also knows Jeremy doesn’t have a lot of say about it, so he keeps giving Jeremy the worst jobs. Sends him out with the other expendables on what amount to suicide missions and no skin off his nose if they don’t come back.

Which is how Jeremy ends up being partnered with some other disgraced bastard in the crew to put a little pressure on a weapons dealer looking to side with the Fakes. Convince him he’d do well to stick with them, but they pick a bad (good?) time to do with, what with the Fake AH crew members they run into there.

Guy in a leather jacket with a snarling wolf’s head on the back, the goddamned Vagabond, and some pretentious asshole with gold-framed sunglasses and stupid hair.

There’s a moment where they all stare at one another in shock, and then at the scumbag weapons dealer has the temerity to hiccup nervously before the shooting starts.

Jeremy’s not sure who fires the first round, but the moment they do it’s a free-for-all. Bad lighting and not the best anything and it’s confusing as hell.

Bullets flying and enough yelling to almost drown out the gunshots.

He hears one of the Fakes yell something about bringing the car around when things get bad. Sees a figure go pelting out a side door like a bat out of hell. The remaining Fakes doubling down to push Jeremy and his partner back, buy time or just put an end to things.

Jeremy drops behind cover, pops off a few shots and watches his partner – stupid asshole, stubborn as hell and just plain dumb – go down without a sound.

Swears under his breath and returns fire, with the realization he can get the hell out of there or die, and he knows which one he prefers. Cuts and runs like a coward, or just someone with a brain who doesn’t need to run the numbers to know he’s facing shitty odds, whichever.

He finds a door that leads to an alley and runs like hell until he hits a side street. Glimpses an ugly little purple car puttering down the street towards him from the corner of his eye and jumps in front of it to get the driver to stop.

Thanks God the idiot didn’t think to lock their door before he’s ripping it open and forcing them into the passenger seat, means to kick them out entirely but the Fakes find them before he can, spilling into the street.

“Fuck it,” Jeremy says, and “sorry, pal, but you’re probably safer in here than out there,” and then his foot is on the gas and they’re zooming out of the alley to...somewhere.

Jeremy doesn’t fucking know, okay.

He’s shot and bleeding and apparently a kidnapper now?

So.

Yeah.

He drives for God knows how long until he hears this quiet little laugh next to him. Incredulous, disbelieving, and -

“I can’t believe you still have the damn cowboy hat.”

Jeremy almost slams on the brakes because that voice.

British accent and infuriating as hell and what are the odds?

But, the part where he’s running from the Fakes and can’t do that – traffic and all – and just, it would be bad if he slammed on the brakes.

Instead he slows down a bit to keep from plowing into the car in front of them as it slows down to make a turn, and then whips around it the moment he can and keeps on going. Waves his gun in the hacker’s direction to shut him up, intimidate him, who knows, and heads to a safehouse he knows.

Only, the gun doesn’t shut the little idiot up, no.

“You’re bleeding,” Jeremy hears, which is not news to him.

He also hears, “That looks nasty,” which, he imagines it would. Bullet plus squishy human flesh and he’s not great at math, but even he can figure that one out.

Also?

“This is going to be so difficult to explain later.”

That makes no sense at all to Jeremy, but then the hacker’s reaching for his arm and Jeremy sends him a sharp look, because maybe don’t fucking do that when he’s got a gun sort of kind of aimed at him?

Takes a chance by taking his eyes off the road and almost swallows his tongue as he goes to tell him to very fucking politely not because -

“Oh, fuck me,” Jeremy mutters, because.

Stupid hair and gold-framed sunglasses, and Jeremy's kidnapped the Fake AH Crew’s Golden Boy by accident.

Accident.

There are people in Los Santos who’d pay an obscene amount of money for someone to do it on purpose and Jeremy did it by accident.

Awesome.

========

The Golden Boy plays it smart, in his own way.

Doesn’t shut up, no, but realizes Jeremy doesn’t appreciate him trying to stop him from bleeding all over the interior of his car (not so much the bleeding part as the potential risks of what he could do to Jeremy instead, so yeah) and keeps his damn hands to himself.

Babbles as Jeremy navigates backstreets and alleys to get to the shitty little safehouse Trevor scouted out for the three of them a few months back. Paranoid as hell, Trevor, and smart enough to know things would go to hell on them sooner or later.

Either Matt’s debts or the mess Jeremy’s trapped in, who the hell knows.

Trevor’s good about planning ahead, and Jeremy trusts him like no one else he’s met in this shithole city. (He trusts Matt, don’t get him wrong on that. But Matt is the same kind of dumb as Jeremy and it’s just. Better to look to Trevor for shit like this.)

Safe enough to hide out here to patch himself up, figure out what to do from there.

He parks the car a few streets over because you can never be too paranoid in this city. Pushes the Golden Boy ahead of him while they keep to the shadows and the gun ins his jacket pocket as incentive to go along with things for now.

No damn idea what he’s going to do with the little idiot, not that it matters because Jeremy’s fucked any way you look at it.

The Fakes will tear the city apart looking for him, and they know where to start looking. His own crew would sell him out in a heartbeat to save their own skins.

The only good part about this, if it can be called that, is that Trevor will figure out something went wrong when Jeremy doesn’t go back to their crappy little apartment and want to know what happened.

(Hell, now might not be a bad time to listen to him about faking his death before the Fakes find him.)

So until then...yeah.

It’s a mess.

Jeremy’s a mess, suit jacket ruined along with the shirt underneath. Something more than a simple graze that turns his stomach and hands nowhere near steady enough to stitch himself up.

“Fuck,” he says, and again a little stronger as he stares at the his wound, still bleeding sluggishly, ”fuck.”

The Golden Boy shifts. Nervous? Anxious? Who knows.

Says, quiet, careful, “I could help?” like he’s not sure how Jeremy will take it after the whole thing in the car with the glaring and everything that followed.

He shrugs when Jeremy looks up at him, pushes his stupid sunglasses up into his stupid hair. Looks tired without them hiding his eyes. Dark bags and under his eyes and this crooked little smile Jeremy doesn’t remember seeing before.

“I’ve done my share of stitching people up.”

There’s something to the way he says it that makes Jeremy believe it. Him. Whatever.

(The Fakes are known for being vicious about protecting their own, hurt one of them and you’re fucked and he’s never thought much about it before, but. There’s got to be a reason for it beyond not looking weak to their enemies, rivals.)

Jeremy’s out of options, knows he’s probably making a mistake here, but that part about being fucked anyway, so.

“Yeah, okay,” he says, and pushes the first-aide kit towards the Golden Boy.

Watches him like a hawk as he picks through the thing making these little tutting noises as he does because Jeremy may or may not have forgotten to restock it after the last time.

Rolls up his sleeves and Jeremy follows the motion without thought. Eyes going to the line of letters he can see just on the Golden Boy’s his inner forearm. Something familiar about them, but then the Golden Boy notices Jeremy staring.

Clears his throat and pulls his sleeve down to hide the Name inked on his skin. They’re a liability in this business, get people killed, and Jeremy pulls his gaze away guiltily.

“Sorry,” he says, because he’s an asshole and a ruthless criminal as these things go, but even he’s not that far gone. Not the kind of monster who’d take advantage of knowing who the Golden Boy’s soulmate is, use that against him. Not like he can say that and expected to be believed, but still. “It’s...sorry.”

He can feel eyes on him, knows the Golden Boy is watching him, judging him, and then there’s a little sigh.

“No worries, love,” he says, striving for bright and cheerful, just this hint of uncertainty, maybe even fear to it. “Not your fault, now is it?”

(Is it?)

Jeremy remains silent, winces as the Golden Boy sighs again before he picks up a washcloth Jeremy scrounged out of a cabinet to clean away the blood. He works quickly and efficiently, murmurs an apology when Jeremy hisses in pain as he plucks out cloth fibers and whatever else have gotten into the wound before he starts on the stitches.

Neat, even things, and a little laugh afterward when he says it might not scar noticeably.

Not a major concern for Jeremy, but still nice to know.

“Thanks,” he says, as the Golden Boy tapes off the bandage covering the stitches. “Just, uh. Thanks.”

Awkward as hell, thanking the guy you’ve kidnapped (accidentally, and he’s never going to get over that) for patching him up, but hey.

That’s Jeremy’s life in a nutshell.

(Or...something.)

He watches the Golden Boy pack the first-aide kit up nice and neat, reach for a stay bit of trash from the supplies he used, sleeve riding up again and this time Jeremy gets a good look at the Name on his arm.

Realizes why it had seemed so familiar from the glimpse he caught, and reacts without thinking.

Grabs the Golden Boy’s wrist with his good hand, painfully aware of the way the Golden Boy freezes like a deer in the headlights because Jeremy’s still got his gun and the whole being kidnapped thing.

Ignores the pain ins his bad arm as he pushes the Golden Boy’s sleeve up to reveal the Name on his inner forearm.

Jeremy’s name.

Knows his signature after years of using it, every upward sweep and downward loop, and his heart drops because this, this is how he meets his soulmate, of course it is.

“Jesus Christ,” Jeremy mutters, releasing the Golden Boy’s wrist, aware of the way he recoils away from him like he’s been burned. Holds his arm close to himself, hiding the Name on his skin from Jeremy, and he feels sick about his reaction.

(How could he? Why would he?)

Probably thinks Jeremy’s like all the other sick fucks in this city who’d pay anything to know whose Name someone has on their skin. Use it against them and do it happily because it gives them power over them, and fucking hell.

“I - “ Jeremy’s voice fails him and he thinks about just whipping his shirt off to show him why, but that’s.

Gonna send a bad message if he can’t explain himself first, and he can feel himself on the verge of laughing like a lunatic because this is not now he saw today going at all.

He looks up to see the Golden Boy watching him. Wary, as Jeremy would expect him to be after watching Jeremy act like the aforementioned lunatic.

“What,” the Golden Boy asks, voice cracking a little. “What was that all about?”

Jeremy stares at him, because he looks scared, sure, but also?

Angry.

Like he’d kill Jeremy rather than let him use his Name as a weapon or a threat against him. Willing to protect the idiot whose name is indelibly inked on his skin with everything he has because that’s what you do for your soulmate if you give even the tiniest of fucks about them. (Even without their unique situation.)

People are so stupid that way, and it’s both the funniest and saddest things about them to Jeremy.

Because.

He’s got a name running along his spine and he may not know a hundred percent what it is, what with the horrible handwriting, but he knows without a doubt it’s this little idiot’s.

Knows it like he knows every other important thing in his life, and this just complicates things even further, doesn’t it?

Rival crews and a carjacking that led to an (accidental) kidnapping. A soulmate that looks like he’s trying to decide the best way to kill him to keep Jeremy from using himself against him, and it’s getting real confusing in Jeremy’s head.

One thing he does know, though. He can’t let his soulmate (Jesus, Trevor will never let him live this down and neither will Matt) think he’s one of those scumbags who’d use his Name against him.

“Rimmy Tim isn’t my real name,” he says, which should be obvious by now because no self-respecting human being would go through life with it as a name and not have it legally changed at some point.

Just, no.

The Golden Boy’s still watching him. Cocks his head at Jeremy’s admission, eyes narrowing as he tries to figure out where Jeremy’s going with this.

“This is...” Jeremy trails off, knows if he just tells him his name is Jeremy it’s not going to come off well, given the current situation, so. “Uh, this is going to seem weird, but bear with me, okay?”

It’s a bit of a risk, what he’s about to do.

Turn his back on someone with every reason to use the opportunity to attack him, kill him, but he can’t think of a better idea. Just. No better idea and sure as hell doesn’t want his soulmate to think he’s in a situation where his Name is something to be used against him, that fear, even if it backfires on Jeremy.

He twists around and pulls his shirt up, hears the Golden Boy’s confused ”What?” and ”Oh, God, what?” and then this sharp inhale followed by silence.

A long, long moment of silence and this shuddery exhale, cool fingers on Jeremy’s back tracing the letters running along his spine.

Quiet laugh, shaky, and, “Bloody hell,” he hears, followed by, “I knew that couldn’t be your real name,” and another laugh that just sounds tired.

Which, yeah.

Jeremy gets that, he does.

He pulls his shirt back down and turns around to find the Golden Boy watching him again, but there’s a thoughtful quality to it this time.

“So,” he says like he still can’t believe it. “You’re my soulmate, are you?”

Hard to get a bead on how he feels about that, what with the being carjacked and kidnapped at gunpoint thing they have going for them. The way things are a little too Romeo and Juliet for Jeremy’s tastes seeing how well that went for all parties involved in that little disaster.

“Uh, yeah,” Jeremy says, for whatever it’s worth. “I guess I am.”

========

The mirror in the safehouse’s bathroom is dirty as hell, has this crack running straight down the middle of it like the fault lines under Los Santos.

Good enough to get a decent picture of his back at least, have Jeremy frowning at all the scars he’s picked up since the last time he did this. (Five, six years ago? Maybe longer.)

It’s late now, few hours past midnight and the Golden Boy’s sacked out in the bedroom. Tired after a long day and what seems to have been an even longer week for him. Put up a fight because he wasn’t the one with a bullet wound, but Jeremy had overruled him on the basis of 1.) being carjacked, and 2.) being kidnapped after being carjacked.

Not to mention the reason for the carjacking and subsequent kidnapping and just...everything else on top of that they haven’t addressed properly.

More like stared at one another for a long moment trying to process before the Golden Boy yawned, reminding them both of the late hour, and they decided it would be better to pick things back up in the morning.

Sleep on all of it and figure things out then and Jesus if that’s not reason for Jeremy to grab his stuff and get the fuck out. Run off with his tail between his legs before his soulmate tells him thanks for the terrifying day and all, but he just doesn’t see things working out between them – carjackings and kidnappings do not a good relationship make – but do take care.

But he hasn’t, has he. Is creeping around the safehouse being an idiot instead.

Jeremy sighs as he fiddles with the limited photo editor app on his phone, flips the picture he just took so he can read the Name on his back.

Everyone in Los Santos calls him the Golden Boy, sometimes though they refer to him as the Fake AH Crew’s Golden Boy, sometimes he’s Ramsey’s Golden Boy, but his name’s not a secret.

That first letter on Jeremy’s back is definitely a ‘G’, and knowing what he knows now, he can see the rest.

And now that he knows, he’s afraid to say it out loud because there are -

Just.

A lot of unknowns in their future.

Or, not.

At the very least, he knows who his soulmate is now, won’t have to wonder about it anymore, and that. Well, it has to count for something, doesn’t it?

========

“So now what?”

The Golden Boy – no, Gavin – is watching Jeremy closely. Head cocked to the side and so very careful.

Looking at him, Jeremy realizes he never searched him for weapons when they got the safehouse. Wasn’t in the frame of mind to think of it with the chaos of the shootout, pain from his injury and everything that followed. World-changing realizations and all.

Can spot at least one gun on him. A few knives. Who the hell knows what else because rumors say he worked with the Vagabond for a while before the Fakes snatched him up and he’s picked up a few habits of his along the way.

Good news, no immediate rejection regarding the soulmate situation. Bad news, he’s still not indicating how he feels about the fact Jeremy’s his soulmate.

Playing it safe, smart, given the everything else that’s happened or something else, Jeremy doesn’t know.

“What do you mean?” Jeremy asks, because what does that even mean?

Gavin gives him this look, and gestures at himself.

Ego aside, he makes for one hell of a prize.

Any of the Fakes would be to be fair, but the Golden Boy?

Jesus, what stroke of luck to catch him.

Hit the Fakes where it would hurt the most because he’s always been considered untouchable, all these attack dogs keeping him from harm and poster boy for the crew, more so than Ramsey ever was.

Silver-tongued negotiator with an impressive string of successes behind him in the allies the Fakes have won over to their side since they clawed their way to the top.

That whole thing where he’s got a price on his head in the city only the craziest bastards would even think about cashing in on. Catch him and sell him to the highest bidder and live a life of luxury. (Until the Fakes found out who’d managed it and went hunting.)

Jeremy stares at him because 1.), no, and 2.)? Also no.

“How about this,” Jeremy says slowly. “You take that piece of shit car of yours and go back to your crew and I go back to mine and we pretend you did not just suggest what I think you did.”

Because, and Jeremy cannot emphasize this enough, no.

Even if he wasn’t Jeremy’s soulmate the answer would be the same. Jeremy’s an asshole, but he’s got limits. Lines he won’t cross and something like that?

No.

If he did have a personal grudge against the Fakes, well.

Honestly, there are only two things that would be part of that, and they’re both idiots. If something happened to them and the Fakes were involved...

Jeremy can’t say what he’d do then, but he likes to think he wouldn’t sink so low as to do something like that. (You never know what you’d do until you’re in that situation though, do you.)

There’s a long, long moment where they stare at one another, Jeremy’s heart beating double-quick time in his chest because Jesus fucking Christ. Also this sudden, violent urge to throw up because the whole soulmate thing on top of everything and how repugnant the matter of selling him out is with that factoring in?

Yeah.

Gavin laughs, tension seeping out of him as he regards Jeremy.

“Well,” he says, “that’s good to know.”

Like he really thought Jeremy could – would – sell him off like that even without the soulmate thing, Jesus.

“Yeah, sure.” Jeremy scrubs a hand over his face. “You’re welcome?”

Gavin hums, and then Jeremy feels a touch to the back of his hand and looks up to see him watching him.

“I never would have thought,” he says, and laughs like he’s still processing the whole soulmate thing. “I never would have thought you’d be the one.”

There’s...Jeremy swallows because there’s this note of wonder in his voice, the way he’s looking at Jeremy.

“Thought for sure I’d annoyed you past all reason.”

Not...not quite.

Annoying as hell, sure, but there was a part of him that appreciated watching a fellow horrible little bastard at work. Amused as hell at the way Gavin got under the skin of the others they were working with just because he could.

Yeah.

He should have known something was up then, but it was just a job at the time. Jeremy scrabbling to get by and just another job to put money in his pocket and all kinds of excuses that fall flat when he looks back on it.

“Nah,” Jeremy says, and smiles. “I mean, I wouldn’t say past all reason.”

He laughs to soften things, and is rewarded with a quiet laugh and then...it’s not awkward between them, just.

There’s.

“I should contact the others,” Gavin says, reluctant about it. “They’re sure to be worried by now.”

As if they wouldn’t have been the moment they realized something was wrong with a crew known to be as close-knit as theirs.

Trevor and Matt have to be worried about him as well by now, and the two of them can’t just hide away here forever no matter how tempting it is.

Should have gone their own ways the night before everything got complicated on them. Kicked Gavin out of the car somewhere his crew would be sure to pick him up before continuing on to the safehouse, but he hadn’t been thinking clearly.

Too late for that now, though.

“I - “ Jeremy sighs, because there’s no putting things off any longer. They’ve done enough of that as it is. “Yeah, okay.”

========

There’s not much for Jeremy to do as Gavin makes his phone call, but he finds reasons to be out of the room. Give him some privacy.

Wanders around straightening up for the next time someone needs to use the safehouse. Make a list of things he needs to get to restock the first-aide kit. Sends Matt a text letting him know he’s not dead in a ditch somewhere and he’ll tell them everything when he gets back home because he’d rather avoid Trevor’s heavy judgment for the time being.

He laughs when he gets a thumb’s up emoji from Matt, and then a few moments later a succinct Fuck you, man, that’s sure to result from Trevor expressing his disappointment in Matt for not pressing Jeremy for details.

Jeremy makes his way back to the living room just in time to catch the end of the conversation the Gavin’s having with whoever he called. All this exasperation to it and dumb little smile and he just.

Watches him for a long moment since Gavin doesn’t seem to know he’s there yet.

No telling what will happen once they leave the safehouse.

Jeremy’s got to be high on the Fakes’ most wanted list by now, and the smart thing for him to do is stay under the radar until that changes, if it will.

So. Yeah.

Gavin finishes his call and looks up to catch Jeremy’s eye, amused smile playing on his lips so so much for going unnoticed.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, just,” Jeremy shrugs. The safehouse isn’t big, not a lot of places for him to putter about while Gavin was on the phone.

Thankfully Gavin seems to understand that because he laughs, and Jeremy.

God.

He’s heard the stories, you know?

From his parents, other people who found their soulmates and had things work out. The way you just. It’s not some magical thing where everything’s suddenly easy, everything nice and clear and simple, but.

There’s a difference.

This thing where you look at your soulmate and you know.

Their smile seems brighter than anyone else’s, fills you with this. Love, warmth, whatever the hell that can help flip a shitty day over into one that’s a little more bearable. Small things that make life better in a million little ways, make you feel less alone in the world.

Not easy, and shit still happens, but it’s not. Not overwhelming anymore, like you know you can make it through a bad day and any others that come after it because someone’s there to help you through them.

Jeremy sits down next to him and reaches for his hand, feels stupidly relieved when Gavin reaches back.

========

In the end, Gavin gets in his Blista and drives back to his crew, and Jeremy watches him until he’s out of view.

Out of the two of them, he’s the one with the target painted on his back, and while Jeremy’s not delighted about letting him go alone, it’s the smart thing to do.

Jeremy’s a nobody compared to him, can find his own way home without worrying about running into trouble, and he does.

Gets an earful from Trevor who’s doing a good job of looking his usual put-together self, but Jeremy knows him too well by now to miss the signs of Trevor in full-on Deeply Concerned mode.

“Trevor,” he says, because goddamn they’re all kind of dumb. “Shut up.”

He drags Trevor into a hug despite his half-hearted protests – he is lecturing, Jeremy, and hugs are illegal you fiend. And then he does the same to Matt who’s off the side nibbling on a breadstick and trying to look bored and disinterested like he’s not just as worried.

“Where the hell were you?” Trevor demands, hands on his hips and ridiculous as ever. “We heard about what what happened, and then you didn’t come home and - “

Jeremy winces at the fear he can hear plain as day in Trevor’s voice even with the dramatics he’s throwing in to cover for it. The dark circles under his eyes and bloodshot eyes from a lack of sleep and just. Everything he can see mirrored in Matt.

“It’s a long story,” Jeremy says, which is the wrong thing to say even if it’s the truth because it sets Trevor off all over again with his own side of things.

Because Matt keeps tabs on Jeremy, on Trevor. Might as well have animal tracking collars on them or gone and microchipped them in their sleep. No way to hide from him even if they wanted to. (A lie, because they’d find ways around it, but what would be the point when he does it to look after them in his own Matt Bragg way?)

And when Jeremy dropped off the radar after the shootout with all the “extra touches” at the safehouse to prevent them from being tracked there...yeah.

“I, uh.” Jeremy doesn’t know how to put this gently, so he just goes for it. “I carjacked the Golden Boy and found out he’s my soulmate?”

There.

Perfect.

Good job all around, well done him.

Jeremy turns on his heel and power walks to the kitchen to grab something strong to drink while Trevor’s brain tries to process that and Matt stops choking on his breadstick.

While he’s there he decides to be civilized and grabs glasses for Trevor and Matt because he gets the feeling they’re going to need them.

========

Trevor can’t actually ground Jeremy, because for one, Jeremy’s a fucking adult? And two, he’s not the boss of him. (Something Jeremy thinks in the safety and privacy of his own mind lest he give Trevor ideas.)

But.

The three of them are in agreement it would be safest for Jeremy if he kept a low profile for the time being, which means he is more or less grounded.

Sits around the apartment pestering Matt while he works on whatever Matt does. Offering unhelpful suggestions until even Matt has enough of his bullshit and kicks him out of his nerd lair so he can work in peace.

Thinks about doing the same to Trevor, but Trevor is by far the smartest one out of them and voted most likely to plot intricate, painful revenge Jeremy will never see coming, so he doesn’t pester him.

Watches a lot of daytime dramas and talk shows instead. Some DIY videos from the internet on his laptop which is great, because he finds this one channel of a guy who helps him expand on his homemade explosives repertoire.

Also?

Picks up a few delicious recipes and other things from people not out to topple governments or just make really, really, questionable life choices involving explosives.

And then one day Trevor comes up to him with a package bearing the logo of a small delivery company.

He looks conflicted, like he’s not sure what he’s doing is a good thing.

“This came for you the other day,” he says, and holds it just out of reach. “I had Matt check it over first, just in case.”

Jeremy sets his game controller aside, because Trevor has a shifty look on his face. Is having a hard time looking Jeremy in the eye.

“Trevor?”

Trevor clears his throat, fidgets in a way that is very, very alarming coming from him.

“I realize I may not have come across as happy for you as I should have,” he says, waving a hand at Jeremy and his everything. “About this whole. Soulmate thing of yours, and I apologize. For that.”

Jeremy cocks his head.

While Trevor’s not wrong, he’s not. Jeremy knows him, okay. Knows Trevor’s glad he found his soulmate, but there was the matter of everything else to deal with too because Jeremy’s a damn idiot who can’t do anything the easy way.

“You really don’t need to - “ Jeremy starts to say, and snaps his mouth shut when Trevor levels him with a look. “But, ah. Thank you?”

Trevor harrumphs, scowl slowly lightening to a rueful smile as he holds the package out to Jeremy.

“Anyway, this came for you the other day and Matt says it’s not going to kill you. Or, it might, but if it does it will be from cancer due to long-term exposure to radiofreqeuncy radiation and not explosives or what have you.” Trevor pauses for a breath. “But as we both know, that won’t happen for decades if there really is a link between cell phone usage and cancer, so, uh. Yeah. Don’t worry about it.”

Jeremy doesn’t know what to say to any of that, so he accepts the package with a simple thanks and scurries off to his room before he catches whatever the hell Trevor has.

(Too late to avoid the insanity, but he already knew that.)

========

There’s a cell phone in the package, but Trevor gave that away with his unsettling warning about the hazards of cell phones or whatever that was.

There’s also a note.

From Gavin.

Awkward and sweet, and Jeremy laughs as he reads if for the third time because he’s an idiot and a sap.

It’s a chance to get to know Gavin better and a burner phone to make that possible.

Side note about this being for the best until Gavin can talk sense into his crew regarding Jeremy and this rambling tangent that has nothing to do with anything, but still makes Jeremy smile.

They’re getting further and further away from the bizarre Romeo and Juliet situation they were in at first, but everything’s still unbelievably stupid and ridiculous in their own way.

Still.

Jeremy sets the note aside and unlocks the phone and brings up the contacts. Stares at the only one saved for a long moment, nerves and whatever else getting the best of him for a moment before he shoves all of that aside and presses the send button before he can think better of it.

========

A month goes by before Trevor deems it safe to let Jeremy out on his own unsupervised, which is just as insulting as it sounds.

To be fair, it’s taken that long for his bullet wound to heal to a point he can take on work again without making things worse, so it works out.

He’s been talking to Gavin every chance he can get, gone from once or twice a week to three to four to every day thy better they got to know one another. Realizing they might be among the lucky ones to find their soulmate and someone they could stand to share the rest of their lives together with.

He’s been itching at the chance to see him in person again, and Gavin feels the same because he texts Jeremy the name of a cafe along with a time and date, and Jeremy -

“Good God man, you can’t wear that abomination on your little lunch date!” Trevor looks personally offended because Jeremy’s dressed in his finest Rimmy Tim ensemble, complete with a new hat to replace the one he lost in the shootout with the Fakes.

All shiny and white because he felt like a change was in order, and also they were out of brown.

Jeremy keeps a straight face by sheer strength of will, something not helped by the thumb’s up Matt’s shooting him over Trevor’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong with it?” Jeremy asks, looking down at himself like he’s looking for a stray piece of lint or wrinkled fabric. A loose button, something along those lines. And, “You don’t like it?”

Trevor makes this...this noise in the back of his throat that somehow conveys frustration, disgust, and barest touch of rage as he throws his hands up.

“You march right back into your room and find something to wear that isn’t both horrendous and garish right now, young man!”

There’s a delicate silence in the moment after his outburst.

And then Jeremy makes the mistake of looking at Matt, and that’s the end of that. The two of them crack up laughing while Trevor heaves this sigh of utmost suffering that comes from having to deal with idiots like them.

========

Jeremy changes into clothes Trevor deems far more reasonable than Jeremy’s Rimmy Tim getup and makes it to the cafe with time to spare.

Follows the hostess out to an outside seating area and can’t help the goofy smile on his face when he spots Gavin waiting for him at one of the tables.

He looks.

Well.

He looks nervous, fussing with this coin he’s rolling over his knuckles in an obvious nervous habit, but he also looks good.

Button-down shirt that makes his eyes stand out. Pressed slacks and dress shoes, hair – still an unruly mess but it’s more artfully messy rather than all-out disastrous. Those ridiculously expensive sunglasses of his hooked into the collar of his shirt and best of all, he looks rested. Like he’s finally managed to get enough sleep, and the smile that crosses his face when he catches sight of Jeremy -

Blinding.

“Jeremy!” he gets to his feet and pulls Jeremy into a hug, and the last of Jeremy’s nervousness vanishes in the face of his clear excitement at seeing him again after so long.

Jeremy closes his eyes and breathes out a sigh of relief as he hugs Gavin, because nerves and this...he doesn’t even know.

Like part of him somehow thought he’d imagined it all from the shootout to the carjacking (Jesus Christ, that’s going to make the story of how they discovered they were soulmates a tricky one to tell people) to the events at the safehouse.

The phone calls that had spilled over from one burner phone to the next until Jeremy had decided the hell with things and started using his own instead. (A risk, sure, of the Fakes finding him to ��have a little chat with him” Gavin had warned him about when he told him, but more than worth it.)

Everything.

This ache in his chest at being so close and so far after all these years of wondering. Maybe there is something to the soulmates thing science can’t explain because it feels like Jeremy’s taking his first full breath in far too long.

The world feels a little more real, brighter when he opens his eyes to look at Gavin.

Something.

Gavin laughs again and they untangle themselves, sit down at the table Gavin’s gotten for them and stare at one another like idiots for a moment.

It’s a beautiful day, sunny and bright and the people of Los Santos are making the most of it. Pedestrians out for a walk for the hell of it or out and about on errands or other business talking on their cell phones or enjoying the break in weather from the spate of rain they’ve had the last week.

Dogs barking, birds singing. People laughing.

All of it paints a different picture of the city than Jeremy’s used to seeing and for a moment he can almost pretend it’s any other city.

Almost.

“Uh,” Jeremy says, because pretty as things are right now, Los Santos is certainly not any other city. “Did you know - “

Gavin rolls his eyes, mouth quirking as he leans towards Jeremy. Drops his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

“Ignore them,” he says, gleam of amusement in his eye. “It’ll drive them mental.”

Jeremy raises his eyebrows at that because Gavin knows his crew best, of course, but still.

There’s a car idling at the curb just beyond the patio they’re seated at.

Shiny chrome number and the guy with the wolf on the back of his jacket Jeremy remembers seeing from the shootout behind the wheel.

Glaring at Jeremy.

Another car is parked across the street opposite him. Sleek black number with bright green accents. Too far to make out more than an outline of the driver, but Jeremy’s sure he’s wearing a skull mask. (He’s seen that car on the news too often not to know its owner.)

Not even two tables away from them are a pair of people in the absolute worst disguises Jeremy’s seen outside of a spy parody movie.

Dark sunglasses, fake mustaches and beards, and holes cut out of the newspaper one of them is reading along with oversize trench coats on a beautiful early summer afternoon in sunny Los Santos.

“...Okay?” Jeremy says, because okay.

And...he gets it, he does.

The Fakes are a close-knit crew and he and Gavin didn’t kick off this whole...soulmates thing between them in the traditional way.

At all.

To be honest, there’s a part of him that’s relieved they’re being this overprotective of Gavin. Watching out for him in an admittedly creepy way.

It’s just.

Weird as hell, too.

“Jeremy,” Gavin says, and gives him this look like he knows, but better to go along with it than fight it at this point, which.

Again, yeah, okay.

He can handle dealing with Gavin’s crew if it means he gets to have this...chance with Gavin. (Besides,  he hasn’t even met Trevor or Matt, and God knows they’re going to be as terrible in their own ways, idiots that they are.)

They chat for a bit as they look over the menu, knot of worry and doubt in Jeremy’s chest unraveling as Gavin laughs at Jeremy’s stupid jokes. Smiles at the truly awful ones like he can’t help himself even though they both know how terrible they are.

Jeremy doing the same as Gavin tells him about his recent exploits with the Fakes, little adventures he got up to on his own when he managed to slip away from his minders. (Paranoid after the incident where some inconsiderate bloke carjacked Gavin.)

“Are you ready to order?”

Jeremy freezes.

Looks over to see a man dressed like one of the cafe’s waiters standing next to their table. Impressive mustache and tattoos he can see peeking over the collar of his shirt. More on his hands holding a notepad and pencil and this glint in his eye as he ignores Gavin to stare Jeremy down.

He’s seen the Kingpin on the news. Heard all kinds of wild stories about him, the things he did with the Roosters before coming to Los Santos to start his own crew.

Ruthless.

Merciless.

Only man in all of Los Santos who could get the Vagabond to join a crew and all the other rumors out there making him to be this terrifying figure in his own right, and for good reason.

And now he’s in a waiter’s uniform waiting to take their lunch order and Jeremy has no idea how to proceed, because his brain is having difficulty processing the situation.

Jesus.

He feels a sharp pain on his shin and snaps out of his daze or whatever the hell he’s fallen into to look at Gavin.

Gavin, who just kicked him under the table and is now giving him this look. All remember what I told you, and follow my lead and God’s sakes, Jeremy, don’t let them get to you, they can smell fear.

A lot to convey with a single look, but somehow Gavin pulls it off

“Actually,” Gavin says, looking back at his menu. “I was wondering if there’s any shellfish in the shellfish cioppino? I’m allergic, and it would absolutely ruin my day if I had even the smallest bite.”

That’s a blatant lie. They were just talking about Gavin’s love for shellfish after they got onto the topic of the east coast and Jeremy’s hometown of Boston in particular, but alright.

Jeremy stares at Gavin who lifts his eyes from his menu to wink at Jeremy before gifting their waiter with an arch look.

The Kingpin glares at him.

Takes a deep breath and in a voice that says he’s going to have words with Gavin later, and says, ”Yes, sir. Unfortunately there is shellfish in the shellfish cioppino as the name implies. Perhaps something else on the menu appeals to you?”

“Oh,” Gavin says, crestfallen that his first choice might kill him if he was in fact allergic as he’s claiming to be. “That’s a shame. What about the steamed mussels?”

It goes on like that for a while as Gavin asks about every dish on the menu where shellfish is a key ingredient and several where no seafood is involved at all.

The Kingpin goes from being annoyed to resigned and defeated, staring off into the middle distance as he answers Gavin’s questions.

“Well then,” Gavin says, when he’s done torturing one of the most feared men in Los Santos. “I suppose I’ll have the shellfish cioppino.”

There’s no reaction at first, but when the Kingpin realizes Gavin’s done tormenting him he snaps back to himself. Draws himself up to his full height and scowls down at Gavin as he angrily scribbles down his order to keep up the pretense as their waiter.

Gavin beams at him, hands folded neatly in front of him on the table.

The Kingpin snorts, corner of his mouth twitching before he turns his attention on Jeremy.

“And what would you like to order?”

He’s not glaring at Jeremy now, but it’s close enough to count.

“Hmm,” Jeremy says, mimicking the posh accent Gavin had slipped into. “Are there any mushrooms in your smoked mushroom ravioli? I have this allergy to them.”

No doubt he’ll regret it in the long run, but when he hears Gavin laugh figures it’s another one of those things he can deal with just for that.

========

They go for a walk along the beach after lunch, a nice leisurely stroll.

Sure, they’re being watched by members of Gavin’s crew, but Jeremy barely notices it anymore with Gavin laughing next to him.

“Oh, God, did you see his face?” Gavin’s giggling, all lit up with it, and Jeremy’s heart does that little flippy thing it started doing halfway through lunch with Gavin laughing and smiling and happy. “Geoff will make me pay for it, but his face.”

Gavin won’t be the only one paying for what they did, but that’s a future worry.

Right now it’s the two of them enjoying a nice day and being the horrible little bastards they are.

Amazing.

Their shoulders bump every so often, shifting sand under their feet and wandering along aimlessly as people are wont to do like this. Their hands do too, and after a while it gets to be a problem, so Jeremy has no choice but to tangle his fingers with Gavin to put an end to that.

Heart in his throat as he reaches for his hand, and that flippy sensation in his chest when Gavin slides a look at him, crooked grin on his face as he slides his fingers through Jeremy’s.

========

All good things end, or something like that, and Jeremy and Gavin find their way back up to the street next to the beach.

Gavin leads them to a pretty little thing parked next to the curb. Matte black and low-slung. Looks like it could go from zero to sixty in no time flat and Jeremy would love to see that happen one day.

He laughs when he notices Jeremy admiring it, hint of a blush on his cheeks as he gives it a fond pat on the hood.

“It was in the shop at the time,” he says, and shrugs, a story behind it he’s not telling Jeremy just yet. “That’s why I was driving my Blista.”

Jeremy raises an eyebrow because those stories Gavin told him earlier and his far from spotless driving record. Gavin coughs, gaze sliding away.

They lean against Gavin’s car and watch the waves roll in below them, sun starting to sink towards the horizon. They’ve shed their escort in Gavin’s crew, one by one until it’s just the two of them now.

Jeremy passing a test he wasn’t aware of or them getting bored enough to go off to wreak havoc in another part of the city, who the hell knows.

“We should do this again sometime,” Gavin says, light and casual, like he’s not holding on to Jeremy’s hand as though it’s a lifeline. “I had fun.”

Jeremy could do that. He could. Spend hours with Gavin without keeping an eye on the time.

“Me too,” Jeremy says, and squeezes Gavin’s hand. “I’d like that.”

Gavin ducks his head, and Jeremy laughs because.

Yeah.

The whole soulmate thing isn’t a guarantee you’ll fall in love the moment you meet yours, or that you’ll even like them, but goddamn is it nice when you do. (Amazing.)

After a moment Gavin looks up at him, expression on his face like he’s thinking hard on something, and then he breaths out this sigh. Annoyed at himself for something as he straightens.

“Jeremy,” he says, and he sounds determined. Focused. About to take a risk and intent on following through. “I think I’d like to kiss you.”

Jeremy bites back a laugh because it’s so formal of him. Right and proper and all that. Very British sounding.

“Yeah?” he asks, grinning at the annoyed huff from Gavin. “I think I’d like it if you did.”

Gavin’s eyes narrow because he knows Jeremy’s laughing at him, and try as he might he can’t hide his own amusement at their ridiculousness.

“Jeremy,” Gavin says, because this is no joking matter.

Jeremy tries to wipe the grin off his face, he does, but he can’t with the way Gavin’s looking at him and the way his heart is doing that flippy thing again.

Good thing, then, that Gavin does it for him when he leans in for that kiss of his.

========

Jeremy’s life isn’t all kittens and sunshine now, no.

Matt still has those debts of his that Jeremy and Trevor are helping him with because God knows he’s an idiot and things are getting better on that front.

Los Santos is still the same shithole it’s always been.

He’s still at the top of the Fake AH Crew’s most wanted list, albeit for a very different reason now.

But.

Jeremy’s found his soulmate and while the two of them have to deal with a few more hurdles in their path than most people do, they manage just fine for themselves.

“Gavin - “

Gavin laughs, pecks Jeremy on the cheek to shush him as the lights go down in the movie theater around them.

“Ignore them,” he he whispers, like Ryan and Michael aren’t a few rows behind them making sure Jeremy doesn’t kidnap Gavin (intentionally) under cover of darkness. “They’re just being ridiculous.”

“I - “Jeremy sighs, because Gavin’s got a point. “Okay.”

The Fakes like to show up on their dates from time to time, scowl and glare at Jeremy because they’re just “like that” according to Gavin, but they disappear after a while to let them have time to themselves.

More of a running gag by now than actual threat, even if Ryan still wears the mask half the time.

It’s weird as hell and definitely not the way Jeremy imagined what finding his soulmate would be like back when he used to think about it, but it works for them and that’s the only thing that matters.

[scentedpersontidalwave]

Is 8-BitRyan Dating anyone in the Mean Time.

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[comedianrhapsody]

john: > wake up.

it’s not unusual for you to wake up in hotel rooms and not remember why you’re there.

your career has you traveling the country a lot, and you’re notoriously bad at keeping your appointments straight. (so much so, it was turned into a successful bit of you stumbling onto stage, ‘late’, at the academy awards.) you’re not fussed. it usually comes back to you by breakfast. a quick look at your personalized greeting card confirms that you’re familiar with this hotel chain, at least. you realize the reason you feel so stuffy is that you fell asleep in your clothes. shoes, even. that also happens sometimes, if you happen to leave a party particularly late.

you know yourself well enough to make use of helpful tools these days, and you’re sure one of the notes in your phone will help jog your memory. the lockscreen informs you that you have 9 unread messages. the push notification blocks out an unfamiliar background image. as you try to place it, your thumb hovers over the number pad uselessly.

your agent, grace, all but reamed you for keeping a sticky note with all of your important passwords in your wallet. you sure would love to call her now and rub it under her nose, but sadly, you can’t do any such thing. maybe you’ll be able to csi your way into this one. it’s probably something easy to remember, like your birthday.

wrong PIN. two tries remaining. birth year, then!

one try remaining.

“oh, boy,” you sigh heavily, rubbing your temple. the thick fog that has settled over your consciousness is persistent; you’re not worried, but it is a minor annoyance you chalk up to age, like the backaches or the way your knee pops after you keep it bent for too long.

it’s not jeff goldblum’s birth year either, and so you’re effectively locked out of your phone. you’ll need the papers and manuals at home to reset the thingamabob, you know. this isn’t your first tech-rodeo.

you go about the rest of your morning in a relatively analogue fashion. you've since learned that you're in d.c. where you grew up, and that you were going to grab coffee with your mom, but she left a message with the front desk canceling for urgent business. such is her life. you do not question it.

the hotel staff help you book a flight and call for an uber. it’s on your way to the airport that your phone buzzes in your breast pocket. force of habit has you picking up the device before you remember that it’s a fool’s errand, but at least you’re able to see who has been trying to reach you: a contact simply labeled ‘dave’ flashes up at you.

do you have lock screen notifs turned on

that's clever. you can't respond, but you're grateful for the communication.

another buzz.

hi john go back to chicago ok? its important

you have no idea who dave is, but he makes a reasonable point. way ahead of you, buddy, you think. maybe grace is off on vacation and this guy is filling in? it wouldn't be the first time you forgot.

dave the substitute manager keeps in touch with you. your feet have barely had time to touch illinois ground when he texts you again.

hope you had a nice flight please get that phone issue fixed we gotta talk chop chop

his tone changes from friendly to kind of bossy just quickly enough to support your suspicion. you like that in a coworker, though. you need your ass kicked into gear at times. he continues to debrief you,

your phone info is in the blue living room cabinet, second door from the left. go unlock it nerd

huh.

you do have a blue living room cabinet. what an insightful fella. you decide to tip him extra. you do not even begin to question where he acquired this information because even you can’t keep track of what you’ve told grace since the beginning of her employ. instead, you look forward to coming home, changing into clothes that aren’t rumpled, and flopping onto your sofa.

when you walk into your apartment, there is no sofa. there is no blue cabinet either; for a second you think you’ve been robbed, until you process the stacks of boxes with varying levels of helpful labels.

this, you question.

you walk back out again to empty out your overflowing mailbox. this is where you run into the familiar face of your neighbor. everyone in the building keeps to themselves, mostly, and you probably have a kooky rep for attempting to strike up conversations by the garbage containers, but you’re deeply confused, so it’s worth a shot. “uh,” you start eloquently. the man, who you think is an app developer or something, clearly wasn’t prepared for social interaction. you go on, “‘scuse me. this might sound weird, but -- am i moving?”

it sounds more than weird. the look on his face clearly questions your soundness of mind, and you think that’s fair enough, honestly. instead of answering, hermit hipster shuffles back toward his apartment door, holding eye contact as if to make sure you’re not following him. and then that’s that. you won’t find answers here. kind of rude, really. with another heavy sigh, you resign to your fate of having to go through those boxes, one by one, figuring out the phone situation, and making calls to people who won’t judge you too harshly. hopefully.

[giribuddyloan]

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[giftsformomhjrj157-blog]

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Being a parent contains shocks and also lots of concerns. This book can assist brand-new mommies browse their very first year with a new infant, and also it can develop their confidence at the exact same time. This is a must-have book for any type of expecting parent or new mommy. Ecologically pleasant and washable, these nursing pads make an excellent gift for eco-conscious mommies.

The pads are made from organic bamboo, so they're both soft and also premium. Moms require to be able to make the most of any type of possibility to rest they obtain, and this sleep mask. Its 3D design indicates it does not create stress on Mommy's eyes, however rather efficiently shuts out light as well as lets her go to sleep even when she's trying to snooze in the middle of a bright day.

Incorporating warm with deep working massage, this massager can soothe aching neck muscle mass from holding a baby or can help a mom unwind to prepare to get some much-needed remainder. New mamas usually get lots of gifts for their children, yet this gift is developed with Mommy in mind. An all function salve, recovery body butter, newborn salve, and also lip balms provide Mother lots of ways to treat herself, and also a Postpartum Balancer natural tea features herbs that assist new moms with their postpartum healing.

First Time Mom Gifts Things To Know Before You Buy

Mother can take it with her as well as use it in the automobile, in a rocking chair, on the sofa, and anywhere else to assist relieve muscular tissue stress and also pain. It's excellent for usage while nursing or shaking a baby. For nursing mothers, this caffeine-free organic tea supports breast milk production as well as promotes lactation.

Treat a brand-new mother to a comforting massage therapy with a Spafinder Health gift card. A brand-new mama can utilize this card at a time when it's practical for her, and also can enjoy a selection of pampering services, consisting of massage, facials, and also much more. This thoughtful gift provides a brand-new mama the ideal reason to take a little much-deserved time for herself.

Whether reading while she rocks her infant to sleep or delighting in some silent time to herself with a good publication, a new mother can enjoy the insights and also observations on the emotional side of mothering from an award-winning writer. Functional and also sure to be put to good usage, this nursing cover and scarf can increase as a coat, shawl, car seat cover and also wrap.

Getting My New Mother Gifts To Work

The cover supplies privacy when nursing in public locations, aids to color a child from the sun, and produces a comfy nap space, too. This top quality pair of sandals will certainly keep a brand-new mama comfy around the home, whether looking at the baby in the evening or making breakfast in the early morning.

These slippers have a rubber sole, so they can increase for outdoor use, also, such as getting the paper or making a fast journey out to the cars and truck. Checklists become a hectic mommy's buddy, and also this recyclable note pad provides a reliable and also environmentally friendly means for moms to maintain every one of their vital notes in one location.

The Rocketbook app sends notes to the cloud for simple accessibility as well as storage, perfect for the mom on the move. With a brand-new child, it can be tough for Mommy to get up as well as change the thermostat temperature, decline the songs, or examine the weather condition. The Amazon.com Mirror Dot can do every one of those things for her as well as much more.

The Facts About Gift Ideas For Expecting Mothers Revealed

This present is certain to see lots of use while the family has a new baby in the house, yet it's also a gift that family members will certainly continue to utilize for many years ahead. For even more great gift-giving suggestions, make sure to examine the added resources listed below.

Inside: If you want to make a brand-new mommy feel special, avoid the flowers and give her one of these significant brand-new mama presents that will certainly stand the test of time. Reward: These gifts for brand-new moms are really for her EXCEPT the child. Newborns need a great deal of stuff.

Unknown Facts About New Baby Gifts

Yet in the thrill to get all the newborn should riches on the infant's windows registry, it's easy to forget something: The mom-to-be is in for the trip of her life. Not just is the new mommy regarding to experience among the most literally painful experiences of her life, however after the baby comes, she'll be stuck on what feels like a neverending emotional roller rollercoaster.

How New Mom Gifts can Save You Time, Stress, and Money.

But if you intend to support a new mommy in your life by unexpected her with the present, what do you obtain a person who's super emotional, sleep-deprived, and has absolutely no downtime? I've had 4 infants, so loved ones frequently ask me for suggestions on what's the most effective gift to obtain for a brand-new mother: flowers, a card, or? Because although an industrial-sized pack of disposable nursing pads would be valuable, a lot of people would like to know the best brand-new mom presents that will in fact make the brand-new mommy feel special and enjoyed.

After each of my babies were birthed, I was to get a couple of thoughtful presents that made my life as a mama easier throughout those very early newborn days. Those gifts weren't the common brand-new mom presents that you become aware of, but they made such an influence on me that I wished to pay it ahead and also share them below.

But I additionally combed checklist after checklist after checklist to find meaningful presents for new mothers, after that hundreds of mamas who subscribe to my newsletter shared their favored new mama gifts, also. If you intend to make a new mama feel unique, avoid the blossoms as well as offer her among these significant brand-new mama presents that will certainly stand the examination of time.

Getting My Baby Boy Gifts To Work

Surprise her with this fun coffee registration box where she can example new roasts as well as find a new favorite. Kind of like a red wine sampling however with coffee as well as delivered straight to her door. To round out this present, you can add a spill-proof shielded coffee cup such as this happy tumbler.

( Side note: Several nursing professionals agree that nursing moms can have coffee in small amounts.) Practically every mother I surveyed claimed they loved this new mama gift: Make your finest supper or soup you can ice up, and also offer it to the mama to utilize on an evening when the family members is also exhausted to make supper.

A couple of points to think about for this gift suggestion: Pasta is generally the top talented meal, so if you have another terrific dish you can gift, the new mother will probably value some variety! Incentive if it's a dish she can consume one-handed while holding the baby, and also incentive if you drop it off in a brand-new baking dish and inform her, "Do not fret about returning the dishit's your own!" To be on the side, you might desire to check in advance of time to learn if there are any type of food allergies or hostilities.

A Biased View of Maternity Gifts

As one mama told me, "I yearned for cheeseburgers for several weeks postpartum!" As another alternative, present cards to Grubhub or Uber Consumes make fantastic brand-new mom gifts since the household can choose out specifically what they desire. A few mommies told me they really valued when friends used to bring a meal the first month or more due to the fact that offers of aid have a tendency to run out by after that, but it's still a tough time for the new parents.

You can partner with the mommy's various other liked ones and also arrange a meal calendar where you all take transforms going down off dishes. "A former colleague organized like 20 days of dinners that were gone down offIt was virtually every evening for two weeks or so, as well as it was unbelievable! Some brought hot meals right at supper, some brought points early that I can freeze or appear the stove, one צעצועים לילדים ordered pizza for us, one asked for our Panera order and also dropped it off ALL of it was remarkable!" Sarah Nothing beats a fresh, home-cooked dish, however the new mom might not have time to search for healthy recipes as well as do the grocery buying to get all the components.

They send you a proven, easy dish and also all the components, as well as you just need to toss everything together. If you want to attempt it out, below's a voucher code to obtain $30 off your initial order from Blue Apron. Initially glance, I thought The Initial Forty Days: The Important Art of Nurturing the New Mom was a publication of postpartum dishes.

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January Whole30 Prep

Okay, paleo people—who’s planning to kick off the New Year by committing to a January Whole30®?This post is packed with tips and tricks on how to prepare for a successful Whole30!

To some degree, we’re all suffering the aftereffects of falling into a monthlong series of deliciously dangerous food traps. After all that eggnog-guzzling and cookie-chomping, it’s no wonder we’re waking up with some bloating, achiness, splotchy skin, and just a teeeeeny bit of extra padding. I think it’s about time to gear up again and get mindful about the foods we’re putting in our bodies. Wanna join me?

Preparing for #JanuaryWhole30

Once again, starting January 1, I’ll be posting new Whole30-friendly paleo recipes and tips right here on Nom Nom Paleo!  Yes, I’ve done versions of this in years past, so if you’re too impatient to wait for this year’s edition, go check out my previous collections of Whole30 support and recipes.

Stick with me this January, and I’ll stuff your brain with all sorts of hacks for surviving a Whole30, and keep you on track as you figure out how different foods affect your health and well-being. In January, you won’t ever be left wondering what to cook or eat next.

Here’s the twist: this year, I’m going to make sure all the January recipes I share with you are CHEAP, FAST, and/or EASY. (I mean, they won’t be as cheap, fast, or easy as, say, picking up a greasy bag of fast food from the local drive-thru, but that would defeat the whole point of a healthy January reset, right?)

And as always, before jumping into a January Whole30, we’re going to do a little prep. Only this time, in keeping with our theme, I’m going to keep our prep as simple as possible. Ready?

What’s a Whole30?

Let’s start with the basics. The Whole30 is a tried-and-true 30-day dietary reset that eliminates all the foods that may keep you from your true superhero potential. Specifically, for a whole month, you commit to cutting out the bad-for-you stuff: the foods that are most commonly problematic, like sugar, dairy, grains, legumes, alcohol, and junk foods—including those made with “healthy” ingredients. Instead, you commit to eating whole, nutrient-dense foods for 30 days. For more information about the Whole30, go check out the program rules over here.

How Does Whole30 Differ From Paleo?

I know what you’re thinking: Isn’t the Whole30 the same as eating paleo? Well, yes…and no. Both ways of eating are similar, in that they’re about prioritizing whole, unprocessed, nutrient-rich, nourishing foods. I pretty much eat according to the Whole30 rules most of the time, which is why the vast majority of the recipes on my Paleo Recipe Index are entirely Whole30-friendly.

But the Whole30 is stricter than regular old paleo. Some people think of Whole30 as paleo without the treats, but the primary distinction is that the Whole30 has specific nonnegotiable rules and guidelines that you must follow for 30 days to complete it successfully. When you’re on a Whole30, certain foods that may be seen as “Paleo-friendly” are out, so don’t even think about making “paleo” Bacon Pancake Sandwiches even if the individual ingredients are technically compliant. Unfortunately, that also means that my super-yummy Paleo Pot Stickers are out until at least February 1st. Good thing you can still make my Potsticker Stir-Fry in January! (See? I got options!)

I know—it can be difficult to stick to specific food rules for 30 days. And yes, depending on what you’ve been eating up ’til now, it may take you a couple of weeks to adjust. But believe me: you will. And you’ll feel great. By Day 30, you’ll feel like a brand new person—and you’ll have a much better understanding of how different foods affect your personal wellness. After the Whole30, you’ll be able to systematically reintroduce foods back into your diet to see how each of them makes you feel, which’ll help you develop your own nutritional blueprint. Remember: you’re a special snowflake (just like everyone else!), so it’s important to learn what foods make you feel like the best version of you.

Prep For Success

Is the Whole30 really hard? For some, yes: Sticking 100% to the Whole30’s program rules for 30 consecutive days can be a struggle. Frankly, for many folks, sticking to ANYTHING for an entire month is super-tough. But listen to Melissa Hartwig, the headmistress of Whole30:

Your only job during the Whole30 is to focus on making good food choices. You don’t need to weigh or measure, you don’t need to count calories, you don’t need to purchase everything organic, grass-fed, pastured, or local. Just figure out how to stick to the Whole30 rules in any setting, around every special circumstance, under any amount of stress… for 30 straight days. Your only job? Eat. Good. Food.

You can do that, right? Besides, it’s a Whole30, not a Whole365 or a WholeForeverAndEverAndEver. It’s just 30 days, and I’ll be helping you along each step of the way!

To be perfectly honest, the biggest challenge you’ll face during a Whole30 is bland, boring food. If you try to tackle a Whole30 by eating nothing but boiled chicken breasts and steamed broccoli, by Week 2, you’ll be waging a full-on assault on a donut shop. That would violate the Whole30’s program rules (not to mention numerous laws), so instead, follow along with me this January, and I’ll keep your palates tickled with dozens of easy, flavor-forward, and super satisfying recipes!

Whole30 Resources

Wanna learn more about the Whole30? Start by devouring everything on the Whole30 website. Craving even more details? Get your hands on a copy of The Whole30—the bestselling tome that lays out the science behind this awesome dietary reset.

If you’re a completist and avid reader, you should also pick up the other Whole30 books, too: The Whole30 Cookbook, The Whole30 Fast & Easy Cookbook (which includes recipes by a number of contributors—including me!), The Whole30 Slow Cooker, and the brand-new The Whole30 Friends and Family. These recipe books are crammed with tasty, clean eats.

In addition, Melissa penned the Whole30 Day by Day, a daily handbook to keep you engaged, motivated, and accountable during your month of mindful eating. And finally, Food Freedom Forever will help you develop a personal dietary template that’ll last you well beyond your Whole30.

Get Inspired!

If you’re starved for inspiration, chin up! It’s your lucky day: I’m a walking, talking Whole30 recipe generator.

Check out my Whole30 recipes!

For recipe inspiration and to whet your appetite, visit my free Recipe Index, which includes tons of step-by-step Whole30-friendly recipes.

Sign up for my weekly email newsletter!

While you’re at it, you can subscribe to my free weekly email newsletter to stay up-to-date on new Whole30 and Paleo friendly recipes. I send out a weekly meal planning newsletter and a new missive whenever I post a new recipe on the blog and app!

Lots of Whole30 Inspo on Social Media!

And definitely follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for all sorts of Whole30 goodness in January (and beyond), too! I’ll be sharing Whole30 recipes EVERY day on my social media channels!

Get my cookbooks!

Next, go pick up my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans and Ready or Not! 150+ Nomtastic Make-Ahead, Make-Over and Make-Now Recipes by Nom Nom Paleo. The vast majority of the recipes in my books are entirely Whole30-friendly and 100% delicious. My latest book, Ready or Not! even includes four weeks of Whole30-friendly dinner plans!

And our Webby Award-Winning Nom Nom Paleo iOS app!

If you’ve got an iPhone or iPad, download my two-time Webby Award-winning cookbook app, which contains over 200 (and counting!) step-by-step Whole30-approved recipes! Get the app here!

(Note: If you already own the app but recently updated your device or iOS, the app may act up or show only a few recipes—but there’s an easy solution: Completely delete the app off your device, and re-download it for free from the App Store. If you continue to have any problems, shoot me an email so I can help you troubleshoot, ’cause I want to make sure you can get cooking!)

Other Fab Whole30 recipe resources!

I’m by no means the only source for Whole30 recipe inspiration. Follow Whole30Recipes on Instagram, and check out all the wonderful Paleo recipe developers (including Teri Turner, Michelle Smith, Jenn Bumb, Alex Snodgrass, Melissa Joulwan, and Ronny Joseph) who contribute to that feed!

Buddy System FTW!

In my experience, it’s infinitely better to do a Whole30 with others than to go it alone. Get your family, friends, and co-workers to join you on a monthlong challenge of healthy and adventuresome cooking and eating—and you can all help each other through it. You can coach and support your pals through the many ups and occasional downs, and best of all, you’ll never get bored with your food if everyone shares their Whole30 eats. Accountability works wonders!

And if no one in your immediate circle is willing to accompany you on your January Whole30, visit the Whole30 Forum, where you’ll find free support from others who are on the same journey.

Stock your Whole30 pantry!

Let’s start filling your kitchen with healthy food! I gave a talk at Lawrence Livermore National Labs with lots of tips on how to paleo-ize your pantry and fridge, and you can watch me do my thing over here:

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Also, click here for my epic post on how to stock your paleo kitchen and pantry like a boss.

Stock your kitchen with tools!

My cookbooks discuss the gadgets and tools I keep in my kitchen to make super-nomtastic grub, but if you want an up-to-date list of my favorite ones, head to my Amazon shopping page. These aren’t arbitrary items I’m recommending— I’ve bought every item on the page myself after reading extensive reviews on trusted sites.

If you have the space and extra moola, an Instant Pot, food processor, and spiralizer are useful tools to buy with your holiday gift cards!

Get in the Kitchen!

Most importantly: Cook! Trust me: It’s really, really hard to try to do a Whole30 without getting acquainted with your kitchen. The point of doing a Whole30 is to learn about how different foods affect you—and how can you possibly do that if you don’t know exactly what’s going into your mouth? As I said in Ready or Not!:

Knowing how to prep meals from scratch doesn’t just make you a more rounded individual or hearty survivalist—it makes you more mindful of the ingredients you’re putting in your body. By cooking at home, I know exactly what goes into my food. I never have to guess whether my dishes were cooked with ingredients that don’t sit well with me.

So crack open my cookbooks, check out some Whole30 recipes for inspiration, and get in the kitchen!

Nom Nom Paleo Meal Plans

Also, before I forget: Do you aspire to be a meal prepping maven? I have four weeks of meal plans and shopping lists in our new cookbook, Ready or Not!

If you want ultimate flexibility and customizability, subscribe to Real Plans—the most amazing meal planning program around! Seriously. It’s the bee’s knees. There are even add-on recipe modules by yours truly, Nom Nom Paleo, as well as the Whole30, too! Check it out here!

Leftover Makeovers FTW!

“Leftovers” is not a dirty word—especially if you know how to transform your extras into exciting new meals (a.k.a. leftover makeovers). My latest cookbook, Ready or Not!, includes a big section on leftover makeovers, so definitely grab a copy and bookmark the “Kinda Ready” chapter. Prefer to simply reheat the awesome dishes you couldn’t finish last night? That works, too, and is a fantastic way to stay sane on your Whole30 without feeling like you’re spending the entire month in the kitchen. So remember: don’t be afraid to make extra!

Okay, enough chit-chat. It’s time to gear up for an awesome January! As I’ve said before, keep your kitchen adventures fun and your taste buds excited, and you’ll cruise through the Whole30. Aren’t you excited to see which foods make you feel amazing?

Ready to go? I’m all about hand-holding, encouragement, and most importantly, PEER PRESSURE—so find a buddy to take the plunge with you, and let’s do this thing!

P.S. Got questions for me or tips for your fellow Whole30 participants? Please post ’em in the comments!

[Originally posted on December 29, 2018. Updated on December 27, 2019.]

Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013) and Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017)!

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