#otherwise!! uh period cw i guess

[cinnaminsvga]

When I flew to Korea. My biggest fear was starting my cycle right there on the plane🤣 cause it was due and a little late. Shout out to irregular cycles~ kidding kind of. Also mainly because the week before my flight I saw a video where the girl talked about how it suddenly happened mid flight the day she was traveling and it unlocked a new fear for me.

It waited til I entered my apartment in korea like within an hour I just was like oh no. Thank whoever was watching over me and was giving me good luck that day, and it also happened before the dinner I had to go to while I was still in the apartment. And also thankful @ myself that I packed like a 6 month supply for no reason other than just in case💀

Also sorry for the overshare I saw you got it in Japan while crouching to look at something lmao. And it activated that fear of it happening on a plane thought. I hope you got to handle that quickly or had something on you were close by so you didn’t have to tough it out. Also do you like pack let’s say your going somewhere for a week or two but you pack like 3 months of underwear you know incase you shit yourself 3 times a day every day for those two weeks and change your underwear 5 times a day for some unknown reason🤣 not that you would or that it’s ever happened but just incase that’s the one time it does. Or am I insane. It’ll be like 2 jeans 1 shorts and like 7 shirts. And pjs. But 3 months of undies and socks and period stuff)

[cont.] Can’t believe I talked about periods and shitting yourself hypothetically all in the same ask I’m so sorry🤣 My brain just caught up to that ask I just sent💀

period talk under the cut because we're bloody bitches 🌊🩸

whenever my cycle is coming up, i'll usually wear a panty liner at least two days before it's supposed to start... if the anxiety is bad (e.g. before a big flight or any event where i cant change undies) then i might even wear a whole ass pad a few days before it starts lol

lucky you that your period started before leaving your apartment HAKSDJKAS ive had experiences where im at lengthy dinner parties with no extra pads in my bag and just had to Suffer (hence why i wear dark pants most of the time... but have i started to bring pads in my bag? who can say...) but during my Squatting Incident™️, i was not close to my hotel so i was actually forced to Tough It Out for at least five more hours... it was pain, but i also got to buy an animal crossing cup for my troubles so i suppose it wasnt too bad... but the horrors... at least it didnt permanently stain my clothes 💀

i also do tend to pack a lot of pads when i travel around when my cycle starts because i do not trust international feminine products HKASDJKAS nothing against them but when youre at your lowest (i.e. your period), sometimes a little bit of home can help you a long way... I WILL SAY THO that my last period when i was in japan was unexpectedly stronger than usual... hence the whole squatting blood flood that triggered this entire conversation LMAO but yeah i ran out of pads and had to grab some from family mart... also i dont know japanese so i guess i grabbed the night time pads bc man those pads were like DIAPERS... covered my whole ass but it was thin enough that i didnt look like i was shitting my pants or smth lol

as for clothes... yes i do that thing too LMAOOO underwear is just touching WAY TOO MANY potentially disastrous areas that having extras is a necessity... i do admit though that in my past couple of travels, i have been packing more savvy than my usual anxious self... MINUS THE JAPAN TRIP BECAUSE AGAIN FOR SOME REASON I DECIDED TO PACK LIGHT??? so yeah i had to do my laundry once during the trip but that was my first time ever underpacking underwear (wow an assonance) and i had to google comprehensive steps on how to operate japanese washing machines because my social anxiety forbids me from Fumbling in Public because i think i'll be executed

anyway. i know none of you are reading all that. so tldr... ive been menstruating for years and yet somehow i am not an expert. what are the odds!!!

[smolghostbot]

A Matter of Pride

A short fragment I wrote as a vent piece, featuring my OCs, Patch and Melody. This takes place about a year after they first met, and it's been about six months since Patch moved in with Mel. There's more context in their character bios obviously but this is kind of standalone. Anyways, enjoy. Or don't. This is being posted for me, not you (/lh)

CWs: None that I can think of, this piece is very much during the fluff period of their relationship.

======

Mel yawned and stretched as they walked out of their bedroom, dressed in their pajamas. By far, the worst part of her new living situation was having to put pants on even on her days off, but considering her roommate technically lived in her kitchen, it would be a bit awkward to do otherwise.

She walked over to her counter and looked over to the power outlet that her little tinkerer had converted to a makeshift room. At Mel's insistence, they had both installed a little light outside to show if Patch was in the room, which was off at the moment. Glancing over to the clock, they realized it was already 10am, Patch was probably out on his little scavenger runs. "It's safer during work hours", he told her once, though obviously without words. Considering how much the little borrower… frankly sucked at being undetected, it made a bit of sense.

Though, they absolutely didn't understand his insistence on going out and scavenging for things in the first place. Melody had made it very clear that as long as Patch chose to live under her roof, she'd gladly give him all of the supplies he needed. They just didn't see a point in him risking his life for office supplies and fabrics when they could set him up for life with, like, thirty dollars and an afternoon at the craft store. Luckily, he agreed to let her assist with food, that being much harder for the small being to get in healthy amounts, but he refused to just accept small building materials for his little contraptions. Mel sighed, figuring it must be a matter of pride for the little one…

—

Patch returned from their trip by about midday. Finally, they had found some strong plastic buttons. With these, they could easily work on the gear system for their new pulley project, which would let them get to the floor of Melody's apartment easier. As they walked out of their little room, they flipped on the light and rang the bell by their door, to let Mel know they had arrived. These silly notifications were her idea, and made Patch feel a little bit smothered by the human's overprotective nature… but it was the least they could do to play along in exchange for the food, shelter, and companionship. Looking around, they noticed that Melody was reading on her couch, soft music coming from the TV, quiet enough to help her focus but not too loud as to drown out the possible bell indicating Patch's return.

"Hey Patch! Good morning! You probably guessed, but I'm off of work today. Did you go on a little adventure?"

As Melody walked over to communicate better with Patch, they nodded yes, although slightly annoyed at Melody belittling their work.

"Nice! What did you get?"

Patch dug through their backpack before proudly presenting the five buttons they had grabbed, as well as some loose strings and two paper clips. Mel smiled and acted impressed, although it was clear that she was just trying to support her friend.

"Oh, neat! You seem pretty proud of those, is that a rare find?"

Patch responded with a yes. Getting these involved grappling into a storage box and cutting each one off of clothes. They had tried to grab the extra buttons from shirts when they were available, but had taken a few of the main buttons from one shirt with particularly thick ones that were the perfect size for carving.

"Nice! I'm guessing those will help for the little, uh… pulley system you were working on, right?"

They nodded in confirmation, slightly glad that Mel actually remembered what they've been working on. They still weren't entirely used to people caring about their works, let alone a human.

"Well, if there's any way I can help, you know I'm around… as always! Just say the word... uh... metaphorically, of course." Mel smiled again, a bit too wide this time, as if trying to overcorrect for her little faux pas.

Patch nodded in acceptance, knowing full well that they wouldn't ask for help. They supposed it was a matter of pride for them, they wanted to prove they didn't need to rely on a human.

[raindownforme]

Salt Water

Charlie Slimecicle x reader [she/her used]

CW: negative body image, self doubt, negative self image

(Yes this is self-indulgent comfort)

“This is easy.” y/n spoke out loud to no one but herself. She stared in the mirror, turning side to side. Today was the start of summer, and her and her friends had decided to go to the beach. She’d bought the perfect bathing suit for it, too. It was a pretty blue with a dinosaur pattern. It was also a bikini.

She felt comfortable in it. She wouldn’t have bought it otherwise. She felt comfortable when she bought. She felt comfortable when she planned the whole outfit. She felt comfortable when she made the plans. She didn’t feel comfortable now.

She thought she’d grown put of this. She was an adult goddamnit. y/n wasn’t the middle-schooler who got made fun of by her trash friends, or the high schooler who thought so negatively al the time. She was an adult who bought herself the cute dinosaur bathing suit. And by god she was going to wear it.

y/n sighed, stepping back from her mirror to sit on the edge of her bed. She could do this. She knew she could. It would just be so much easier if she could stop thinking for five seconds. It was the same incomprehensible thought over and over, an onslaught of negative thoughts towards herself and her figure. Reminders of every YouTube comment on her videos, in her friends’ twitch chats, in public posts.

Maybe she shouldn’t go?

“Hey, you ready?” Someone knocked on y/n’s door and startled her. She jumped up from the bed, throwing on a pair of shorts and a large plain shirt. She shouldered her tote of necessities, slipped on her flip-flops, and opened the door. Cooper stood slouched waiting for her. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.” y/n walked in front of him to the car waiting. Ted sat in the drivers seat, shuffling through his playlist. Jawsh sat in the passenger seat next to him, not at all paying attention. y/n watched cooper climb into the furthest row of the car, leaving her, Charlie, and Traves to fit into the middle row. y/n held her breath as she climbed in, being forced to squeeze into the middle seat. She rested all her belongings in her lap, staring forwards through the windshield.

“Everyone packed in?” They all gave a chorus of ‘yes’ as Ted pulled out of his parking spot and to the open road. It was only 20 minutes from the beach, shorter if traffic got lucky.

The music bumped throughout the car and everyone split into different conversations. Jawsh and Ted talked about something or other, Traves and Cooper shared content on their phones, and Charlie turned to look at y/n. “I brought the boogie boards! Do you want to— what’s wrong?”

She turned to look at him, slightly surprised. “Yeah. No I’d love to boogie board.”

“Are you okay?” Charlie dropped how loud his voice was compared to everyone else. “Something seems off.”

“I’m good.” She lazily smiled at him then turned back to stare out the windshield. She liked watching the cars and buildings pass by in a blur. Charlie looked away from her and followed her line of vision. He didn’t quite understand, but he was determined to.

The group soon arrived at the beach. They quickly unpacked their full trunk and set up their seating on the beach. Ted made sure the umbrella stood upright, Traves and Cooper carried the coolers, Jawsh and y/n set out chairs and blankets, and Charlie carried the toys.

“Everyone sun screened?” Ted gestured as he tried to pass around a bottle. “y/n? I don’t want you to get cancer.”

“I’m good!” She’d already applied skin protectant before leaving the house. y/n set down her stuff and sat in the low lawn chair. She took in the sight of Cooper, Traves and Jawsh racing towards the shore, stumbling over each other in the sand. Charlie sat a few feet away from the laid out area, taking a child’s plastic shovel and beginning to dig a hole.

Ted snapped a lid to a cooler shut and cracked open his soda. He set it in the cup holder of a chair and set his glasses down on the same seat. “I’m headed to the water.”

y/n waved him off as he left. She closed her eyes, feeling herself sink into the chair. She still had on her large shirt and shorts, but they were starting to grow warm. It was hot outside, and she knew she’d be so much more comfortable in just the bathing suit she had under neath.

A shadow appeared over y/n and she opened her eyes again. Charlie stood smiling, a hand extended towards her pick her up. “Come on! Get in the water.”

“No you go ahead.” She sat up slightly, looking between her friends in the water and the boy in front of her. Charlie stayed, persistent.

“y/n get in the water. It’ll be fun!”

“Charlie you go ahead. I’ll be fine.”

He frowned, dropping his hand. “But you were so excited. You told me you bought that dinosaur suit and everything.”

y/n blushed. She didn’t remember telling him, but he was right. She likes the dinosaurs. She had wanted to go in the water this whole time. She took a breath, and stood from her seat. She slowly took off the shorts and t-shirt, placing them back in her seat. She turned to Charlie with a small smile. “Teach me to boogie board.”

“R-Right.” Charlie turned away from her a red tinge to his face. She felt discouraged almost, that Charlie of all people couldn’t look at her in a fucking bathing suit. The negative thoughts started coming back, the reminders, but she tried to kick them away. She wanted to enjoy the beach.

She followed Charlie to the shore line. He dragged behind himself two three-foot-tall boards made of foam and plastic with a tether made of coiled cord and a Velcro band. He slid the two boards into the water. The salt and sand kicked at the foam as he tied one tether around y/n’s wrist. “What are-?”

“You won’t loose it.” Charlie smiled as he talked. He glanced back up to her eyes with a smile, but quickly looked back to make sure the tether was secured to her wrist. Charlie took y/n’s hand in his, pulling her out deeper in the water until the water was just above her middle.

“Aren’t we in the breakers?”

“Yeah! This is exactly where we need to be. Okay you’re gonna hold it like this-“ Charlie got on his board, gripping the top with his hands and resting his chest towards the bottom of his board. y/n copied him, pulling the board closer than he had his. “Okay. So when the right wave comes, jump and let it take you. If it’s the right one it’ll carry you back to shore.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

“Try again.” y/n felt the water be sucked from beside her as the tide rolled over. She glanced to see Charlie lean further onto his board, and she did the same. “This is a good one. Ready?”

“I guess.”

y/n and Charlie jumped at the same time. She laughed as the wave swept her past her friends towards the Sandy shore. She almost made it, but at the last moment she flipped and tumbled in the water.

“Fuck!” Charlie ran over to y/n’s side. She laid on the sand, coughing lightly as she sat up. There was a track of sand down her side, and the boogie board kept bumping into her rudely. “Are you Alright? I’m really sorry.”

“How do I take this thing off?” y/n sat up, pulling at the velcro around her arm. Charlie removed it for her, tossing the board aside. He extended his hand, helping pull her up from the ground. y/n dusted the sand from her legs, and looked up watch Charlie whip his head away with a furious blush covering his cheeks.

“I— Just unwrap the- the thing. The- that.” y/n did as instructed, and handed the boogie board over to Charlie. She watched him take the two boards back over to their beach setup. She followed him, going to sit in her beach chair and wrap a towel around herself. Charlie took a glance at her, the same red returning to his face, then walked very quickly to where some of the other boys were still in the water.

“You two good?” Cooper took a slow sip from a canned soda, glancing between Charlie and y/n.

“Yep.” She felt herself sink lower into the seat. “No. Maybe. I don’t know.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Well- I just-“ she closed her eyes and took a breath. “I bought this stupid bathing suit cause I wanted to feel good about it and about myself and he can’t even look at me in it. I just feel stupid and ugly.”

“Woah woah. y/n there’s no way you’re ugly, period. And there’s no way Charlie thinks you’re ugly.”

“You’re just saying that cause I’m here.”

“I’m saying cause I’m your friend and Charlie thinks you’re fuckin smokin.”

y/n sat up and looked at copper again. “What?”

“Sorry. Let me re-phrase. Charlie thinks-“ Cooper paused, holding his soda in one hand. “I-uh. I shouldn’t have said anything. I didn’t say anything!”

“Yes you did!” y/n stared at Cooper in confusion. He tried to get up and run, but stumbled in the sand and slammed into one of the coolers. He rolled over in the sand, groaning. y/n got out of her chair And knelt down next to him. “Tell me know?”

“He- ugh. He think you’re hot idiot.” Cooper rolled over, flopping his arms outwards and closing his eyes. “That fuckin hurt.”

y/n opened the cooler Cooper had fallen on. She took a handful of ice out and laid it on the spot on Cooper’s abdomen that had hit the cooler. She pressed it closer with the towel she’d been wearing moments before. “Tell me more!”

“No! I’m not doing this for the two of you.”

“The two of us?” y/n withdrew her hand slightly, feeling her face grow warm. “You’re not-“

“Shut up. You’re both so into each tower it’s gross.” Cooper looked back towards the shore line and gave an evil grin. “Speak of the devil.”

y/n paused. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see someone walking up the the chairs and towels that she had no doubt was Charlie. Cooper started standing, leaving her sitting in the sand.

“Hey you good? We saw you fall?”

“Yeah.” Cooper patted Charlie on the shoulder. “By the way, you tow should talk.”

y/n whipped her head away from Charlie, anger and embarrassment bubbling from within her. Charlie was none the wiser. “Uh, about what Cooper?”

Cooper pushed off of Charlie, walking back towards the water. “Tell her what you think man. I’m tired.”

Charlie watched Cooper walk into the water, then turned back to y/n with a furious blush. “I- uh. I like the suit. The dinosaurs. You look great- the dinosaurs. You look great in the suit with the dinosaurs. I mean you look great anyways I just- dinosaurs!”

“Thanks.” y/n sat up a bit straighter.

“So,” Charlie sat cross-legged on a blanket in the sand. “What were you two talking about?”

“I told Cooper I felt ugly and then he said that you said I was smokin.”

“You’re not-! I didn’t say that.”

“Come on Charlie, am I ugly or smokin?”

Charlie paused, frowning. “Joking doesn’t make it go away.”

“I know. It’s just easier. It’s okay it’s just weird to talk about.” She laid back onto the blanket, letting her arms rest above her head. “I like the bathing suit I just don’t like me in it.”

“I understand.” Charlie built small piles of sand at his feet. “I know I can’t change much but for what it’s worth I think you’re pretty.”

She turned her head, looking at him confusedly. “You do?”

“Well- I-“ He pursed his lips, thinking. “I would use the word gorgeous instead.”

“Oh.” y/n looked away from Charlie, trying to hide their flustered expression.

“Oh wait did I say the wrong thing?” Charlie started fiddling with his hands, not sure what to do. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable it’s just- fuck you’re so pretty and I really like you and god you look fucking great but you’re also really funny and smart and sweet and I like you so much but I’m really sorry-“

“Charlie.” y/n placed a hand on his arm, now sitting in the sand next to him. “You never made me uncomfortable.”

“Oh thank god. I never wanted to-“

“I like you to.”

Charlie froze, taking in what y/n said as a blush crept up his neck to his cheeks. He laughed, running a hand through his hair. “No way! Wait no way. Really?” y/n nodded and he laughed again, leaning over to place his hands on the side of her face and rest his forehead against hers. “Holy shit! Like actually holy shit!”

y/n laughed, quickly kissing Charlie’s nose. “Come on nerd let’s get back in the water.”

“Yeah! Yes.” Charlie scrambled upright, pulling a giggling y/n up with him. “Here watch this.” Charlie, in one fluid motion, swept y/n off her feet and began carrying her bridal style. He walked with her in his arms all the way to the water, where he fell into the water with her. They both came up for air, y/n laughing the whole time. “Better?”

“Much better.” y/n kissed him again, putting her arms over his shoulders to hold him close.

“Hey! You two.” Cooper splashed water at y/n and Charlie. “You done?”

The two paused, looking back to each other, then swam towards their group of friends, starting a splash free-for-all.

[uncrowneds]

⋆ ° ⟡ ( MANNY JACINTO, thirty, cis-male, he/him ) i saw NOEL DE LA CRUZ at the winter palace. did you know that the PHYSICIST/OLYMPIC LUGER is originally from THE PHILIPPINES? i heard they can be quite HEEDLESS, but also INNOVATIVE. there’s rumours they’re at the winter palace TO LECTURE AT THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, but you never know. THE FLICK OF A CHEAP LIGHTER, THE HAZY STILLNESS BEFORE DAWN & THE IRREGULAR RHYTHM OF AN ELEVATED HEART RATE always remind me of them.

&&. drinking over-brewed coffee out of a chipped mug. the freedom of flying. the cord of muscle as it tenses in anticipation. dragging concentric circles with your fingers on a wooden table. the bite of nail into the meat of your palm as your hand curls into a fist. blue sky, with salt in the air. a smile that crinkles at the eyes. cold air burning against your lungs. a party that rages until dawn.

cw for drug mention.

in short, island boy moves to the usa, gets an academic boner for bobsledding/luge/skeleton, writes a thesis and becomes the fastest luger alive. there’s physics, hyperfixation, and chaos.

mostly i saw that cool runnings was coming to disney+ in 2020 and i got excited ok

background:

our story begins with two prestigious academics in the province of pampanga. they fall in love and they have a son, and then they spend thirty minutes arguing about what to name him because life’s like that sometimes.

(ps, the son is noel.)

(pps, his mother picked the name.)

 the son grows up happy and healthy. when he shows aptitude for academics at a young age, his family is overjoyed. he attends a fancy prep school in manila, then, following his father’s footsteps, moves to america to attend phillips exeter academy.

exeter is wild. the less said the better.

he attends mit for his undergrad degree, where he pursues a joint degree in mechanical engineering and physics. 

this part’s important: noel’s smashed and watching the winter olympics one night with his roommates one night when he has a realization: bobsledding is INCREDIBLE. the application and interplay of various physics models? FASCINATING. the combination of engineering with natural sciences to create the optimal conditions for speed? FUN. the arm muscles? HOT. it’s a theoretically beautiful sport, from a physics perspective.

and, in typical noel fashion, he doesn’t let it go. he does his senior honors thesis on improving the perfect slide; yes, there’s technically a limit, but if you optimized the construction of that one thing and managed to get lucky with certain ice conditions——long story short, he comes up with a theory to go even faster. in theoretical conditions, it’s foolproof.

naturally, the next step is to try it. never mind the fact he’s never luged before. the science supports him.

(this does not end well.)

(at first.)

but he keeps at it, and he actually gets good at luge. like, really good. like, compete at international levels good.

like, call up the philippine government and ask if they’d be down to let him compete under the flag at the winter olympics good.

he gets silver at his first olympics. he continues to do very well in regular competition. at his second olympics, he gets a gold. he thinks this next one might be his last, so Pressure’s On.

in typical noel fashion, he also pursues his doctorate in physics at eth zurich while all this is happening. it is Rough but he makes it through with the aid of substances he has to stop well before the off-season.

he’s come to genovia in part because he’s been invited to be a guest lecturer at the national genovian university, but mostly because of their olympic training center.

things u should know:

noel’s personality is essentially serial hyperfixation. he’s sweet, but a bit absentminded——if it’s not something directly related to his interests (ie sledding or science), it’s not gonna stick. 

science!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i am but a humble philosophy major tho so uh.. keep ur expectations low

he was pretty wild thru high school and uni right up until he had The Luge Epiphany. since then, he’s been pretty much focused entirely on sledding and physics?? he’ll go on a crazy bender once every off-season to keep it fresh i guess but otherwise he’s calmed down a Lot.

DRUGS CW: had an issue with adderall during his doctoral period. it almost got him suspended from international competition and there have been some whispers about cheating, but he’s never actually competed while on anything. 

not good at commitment! pretty emotionally dumdum in general, to be honest.

he’s fun, though!!

he’s lived in northeast usa and europe for most of his adult life, but he’s really and truly an island boy at heart. he speaks kapampangan, tagalog, english, and german. the last of these is..not very pleasant to listen to.

allergic to cats.