#out of curiosity what are you changing it to? /nf

[ike-mcswains-mortician]

fun fact my friend, one of the party members for my campaign, just texted me about their character and its a eight-ten year old child. and uh that’s the one who’s the champion of the fish demon and like the eye gore uhhh what have i done to this child oh nooo (no literally this child is precious oh my goddd and like my friend has no idea so i’m changing it a tad to be a bit less fucked up but yeah D:)

NOOOOO NOT THE CHILDDD oh my god that’s so sad wtf i will protect this child

yeah probably a good move changing up the fish demon… yeahg poor baby

[askcometcare]

out of curiosity, would you be willing to share any old pre-2022 cometcare art? Im curious to see what has changed and what hasn't :o /nf

OOC:

here's some older art! i put it under the cut cuz it got longer than intended

(dont ask why he's saturated, i hadn't really solidified the saturation lore yet SHE ISNT TRAUMATIZED)

i have a LOT more but i dont wanna put too many

[saokopapii]

PART OF YOU

Part Of Me ★ Channel Message

This is the part of me / That you're never gonna ever take away from me🪔🎆 🪔 🎆 🪔🎆

A firework, a dancing flame / You won't ever put me out again / I'm glowing

🌅

First Option. The Strength

Coming back stronger, getting up every time. Warrior soul. Heart of gold. Guardian. Care taking. The Survivor.

"I need my golden crown of sorrow / My bloody sword to swing / My empty halls to echo with grand self-mythology"

Inability give up, refusing to give up. Even if you really want to, even when you been close to... Don't give up on who you're becoming. Your stronger than you realise. And kind and soft. Remaining good hearted. Standing up for what's right.

"Sorry about the blood in your mouth. I wish it was mine. / I couldn't get the boy to kill me, but I wore his jacket for the longest time."

Hope - NF

Taking time and space to recover, To meet yourself, your fear. And show up one day, with your demons on your side, not against you.

To push through. Resilience and love.

🍒

Second Option. Four of Wands

Fuck it We ball energy, looking for the good, keeping on showing up, keeping your head up, listening to playlists to light up the mood. Cheerful energy, Celebrating your wins "A win is a win." Humorous

"You showed me a power that is strong enough to bring sun to the darkest days"

"Until it's my turn, I will keep clapping for others."

Making memorable moments, making new memories. The show must go on, picking yourself up, friendly. Smiling to strangers, light shining out of you, making happy. Sparking joy. Even others get inspired.

"Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we're here we may as well dance."

Celebrating despite

🌷

Third Option. Page of Cups

Curiosity & Interest. Youthfulness, Silliness, Freedom.

You let life teach you. Your kindness and your heart. Your connection with Animals. Active Inner child energy. 🌷Lightness.

And your hability to feel emotions, whatever you're feeling. Listing to your emotions, knowing that feeling come to make you aware of something. What triggers you, and how to change or manage that. (The pain or whatever will leave when it's done teaching us.)

Experiences and what you can learn from them. What you can learn from yourself. Getting in touch with emotions and feel them. You don't shy away from that. That hability to not take life so seriously. To be silly and embrace joy. (Hope this help!)

🪔🎆

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that! I’m always gonna love you no matter what. No matter what happens. You’re my son and you’re my blood. You’re the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, ya ain’t gonna have a life. “

There's a first time for everything

[some-pers0n]

yyyuo shooullg tell me about Paramic,,, /nf

Ah, perfect! I get to unleash my autism ramble upon you related to my freaky weird god animus OC who is trapped in a paradoxical timeloop of their own creation with no clear explanation for the existence of the catalyst!

Okay so ramble under the cut annnddd here we go

So Paramic is a HiveWing-IceWing hybrid who hatched like 30 years post Pantala arc. The silk bridge between the two continents has been built and dragons regularly mingle between them. Paramic's parents lived in Sanctuary, which has become renowned for having an academy that's fairly prestigious, as much as the ones on Pantala.

Paramic wasn't born looking the way they do now. In fact, they were a pretty normal average dragon. They showed a deep appreciation and love for the humanities (dragonities?) as well as science, mainly anthropology, archeology, and some physics. They had a close friend group that followed with them as they went to Sanctuary Academy for further education

So Paramic believes themselves to be a good person all around. They're kind, considerate, and generally take a ton of thought into considering whether or not their actions will hurt anyone. They're outgoing, and while they do like spending time by themselves, they like their friends and spending time with them. They have a streak of pride and a bit of a savior complex but that's fineee they'll be fineeeee

In their fifth year of learning, they were out on an excursion when Paramic found these black claw caps nearby a riverbed. Completely and utterly black. It was as though it was an absence of light rather than a colour. Obviously animus-touched and Paramic took on the task of bringing it home and studying it, as it didn't appear to be dangerous and they have handled animus-touched objects before. Not to mention this...odd feeling that Paramic felt about it. Drawn to it rather than repulsed like any other animus-touched object. Though, they chalked it up to being a result from whatever enchantment was placed on it

As Paramic worked, they couldn't find a particular date for the claws. With their technology, they were usually able to trace back data to at least a vague estimate. Here? Nothing. The surface was smooth. It didn't feel like a material that Paramic had worked with before. It wasn't a polished gemstone nor a piece of refined metal. It was strange to say the least

After some time of dwelling over the claw caps, curiosity got the best of Paramic and they decided to put them on. They had experimented already with seeing what would happen with putting them on random animals and even their model of a skeleton all to no avail. Doesn't seem to be sealing to them nor inflicting them with some disease. So, that evening, Paramic sealed their fate by putting them on

...nothing happened. No grand change it appears. However, when Paramic decided to test them out by swiping at the air, they hit something

A tear. Their claws had grazed against what felt like a thin piece of fabric. It couldn't be something. In front of them was simply nothing. And yet, there, floating in their small hut in the woods, was a tear in reality; and Paramic got a glimpse of what was on the other side just before it began to seal up once more. It was of a river, isolated by forests and surrounded by a wide mountain range

Within a minute, it was as though the tear had never existed

...Paramic took the claw caps off. They were afraid, though incredibly curious. What was that? What does this mean? Should they tell anyone? Ideas swirled around in their mind, each one pulling them in another direction, before eventually they put them away for a day or two, scared, yet desperate to discover what was on the other side

Eventually Paramic got the nerve to explore. They gathered some supplies, namely food and equipment in order to build a shelter if needed, and headed off. They left a note behind for their friends, saying that they're heading off and, by the next time they see them, Paramic would have discovered something that will shake the foundation of the world as they know it

Turns out that the tear in the fabric of reality was quite literal! As Paramic passed through the horizon, they realized that this world was very much like their own one. Their place of origin

Paramic would go onto exploring this one, realizing that they had ended up in a parallel universe in which Pantala had still not been discovered yet. It...netted them some pretty weird looks as well as interrogation, which they then got backed into a corner over and escaped via swiping at the air and jumping through the tear when they had a moment to breathe

This cycle repeated, with Paramic finding new parallel world after parallel world, marking them down in a journal they had brought with them. It was fascinating! Seeing all of these locations and writing them down

The one constant among them all was the way Paramic would come into them. It was always the river. They would hop through the tear and see that stream. Sometimes it was dried up. Sometimes the forests were leveled and burned. However, it was always that riverbed they would find themselves on whenever they jumped to new realities

.......problem was: how does Paramic get home now? Well, after what felt like months of jumping from world to world, they found a rather interesting one! A world where animus dragons are plentiful. In this one, animus magic was offered to those who were deemed good dragons and there were plenty of laws put in place as to regulate and manage it

Paramic was asked whether they were a good dragon or not. They said yes, as they were a lowly researcher simply lost between worlds and feeling homesick. Paramic said that, once they returned, they would bring back the information they had gathered as to bring about great technology shifts and changes for the betterment of dragonkind. They believed that having animus magic would allow them to not only make it back home significantly easier, but to also

They were granted the abilities of animus magic. Able to bend reality even more to their will and warp it to their desires

But Paramic was thankful! They tipped their head and went on their merry way. They bounced around from more realities as time went on, mainly just experimenting with their magic

...however, as time went on, Paramic began to miss their original world less. They were captivated by the realities that existed in the multiverse and got quickly addicted to making notes and drawing diagrams that only existed for themselves. "I'll go back soon," they kept telling themselves. "This is all for my home reality. To benefit it. To protect it."

The more and more that Paramic explored, the more they encountered worlds that were indistinct from others. They jotted down countless timeline shifts and changes, but a lot of the time they'd find some that were ultimately indistinguishable from another one. It got a little boring over time

Which is when Paramic asked themselves a question: what would happen if they wanted to experiment with this world? Throw a small wrench into the timeline. Create something inexplicable. Review the results

This time, this was for protection for their home reality. Animus dragons are dangerous! Paramic had encountered many realities in which animus dragons had an iron grip over the world. Perhaps in these ones, Paramic could help them out? Find a loophole and dismantle it. Overpower the head animus and bring peace. That would help others. They're a good person, after all

These little stunts became more and more common as Paramic began wondering what would happen if they had disrupted the timeline in such a way. As they did it more and more though, they encountered one reality that made Paramic's stomach drop

This was a reality that was tempered with in a way that Paramic didn't see themself doing. That's when Paramic realized that there must have been other Paramics like them, hopping between worlds and doing all sorts of things. There had to be

...but those Paramics weren't from their origin reality. The real reality amongst the sea of other ones. A strike of paranoia and fear surged through them, and in a moment of desperation, they enchanted themselves to be the only Paramic across every possible reality

They didn't know if this worked. Yet, it wasn't until they had visited a new reality when they noticed something...odd. The claw caps had stuck to their actual claws. No longer could Paramic take them off. Paramic tried to enchant them to come loose, but to no avail. These things were inexplicably immune to any and all enchantments

Paramic kept going more and more. Rather than writing down the changes in the timeline when Paramic got there, they began writing down the results of whatever Paramic did as a little experiment. It became less of saving dragons from bad realities and rather trying to see what could possibly happen had an animus tried doing whatever they did. It became a loop eventually, with Paramic hopping from one reality to another and just simply messing with it for the sake of seeing what happens

"It's for the original reality," they kept telling themselves on the sleepness nights. "It'll be okay. You're still a good dragon. Good dragons don't hurt others without a reason."

Paramic at this point began repeating that "I'm a good person" mentality to keep themselves afloat and ignore the dread and feelings of guilt over this. They weren't trying to hurt others! They're just...looking to see what happens when an animus does this. It was to help their original reality. It was to help the real reality, amongst this ocean of lesser ones

Paramic began to see the parallel versions of dragons less as cognizant beings and rather more, well, NPC-like. Their reactions became predictable and repetitive. They tried telling themselves that, no, they didn't fully believe in that...but yeah no they were beginning to go down this route

Worse yet, you remember the black claw caps that became fused to their claws? The darkness spread. With each reality that Paramic visited and began to destroy by now, the texture-less black spread from the claws. It went along the forearm and came to the wings. It even began in other places, with black spots forming on their scales and spreading like an infection. Bits and pieces of them would flake off too, only to hover and float around them. White lines and sigils of indeterminate origin and meaning as well began to appear, glowing faintly and keeping them awake during the night

It became clear to Paramic that the darkness was like a piece of unreality. The opposite of existence. Slowly, bit by bit, Paramic was succumbing to this. Less of a dragon and more of a force in the multiverse that marked only doom and suffering

...but they're a good dragon still, right?? They're a good dragon! They have to be. They are. A bad dragon would wipe out all of these worlds for the sake of their own pleasure. Paramic? Paramic cared about these dragons! Kinda. Well, at least enough to not inflict dangerous plagues on every one. They're more like a...a bringer of change, yes! Good or bad. It's all for research anyways

That's when Paramic noticed that they had yet to return to their original reality yet. It felt like countless millenia to them of wandering. How much would the real world shift?

Once they decided to go back, if only just to update their peers. In the real world, only a couple months had passed. When Paramic had returned, they were but a husk of the bright-eyed, bubbly and fun friend that they once knew. Paramic was a dragon who spent so long without having a real conversation. During that brief visit, they were inconsiderate, often talking over the other and interrupting them. They'd talk to themselves and try and think things through verbally

It wasn't until Paramic had told their friends, their real friends, about what happened when they began to get angry and scared. Paramic was confused. How could they react this way? After everything they did?? All of this research and the only thing they get from it is "you killed countless lives"???

Paramic thought about disposing of them. It was an urge they had felt before and would act on impulsively. Whenever there was trouble, they'd do away with them quickly

The only reason that Paramic didn't go through was their own horror at realizing that, subconsciously at least, they did not consider what they thought to be the real version of their friends to be important. They were subjects. They were designed to be tested upon

Paramic left that reality and never returned out of shame and terror at the implications

The cycle continued more and more, with Paramic breaking apart. Dragons would soon begin to run from them, finding them to be a monster than a dragon. A beast that trudged through realities and only brought great change, usually in the worst of ways

It all continues until, eventually, Paramic is essentially almost entirely formless. Most universes are gone by now, having been erased from existence due to Paramic's meddling. Yada yada esoteric reality falling apart stuff happens and eventually it's only Paramic and the riverbed. Everything else is gone. The multiverse will go quiet once and for all

Paramic looks down at the remaining bits of their claws. They hover without meaning, with only the hollow, empty remains of it left. In a fit of anger, Paramic grabs them and tosses them into the river. As they sink below the surface, they disappear into the aether. Where ever they end up, Paramic can't possibly know

Once and for all, Paramic breathes for the last time. Then, there is nothing

The universe resets once more after that. The world begins anew. Once more does reality continue on as per usual. The planet forms, the Scorching happens, and all the events leading up happen once more

Until one day, a young, academic minded dragon finds a pair of claw caps nearby a riverbed once more

Aaannddd that's Paramic! Woawie. Anyways I gotta head off for my lecture now lol

[coldslaws-gear-station]

Whoop, finished the fic. As consequence you now must read it, dw it's not as long as the last one lol /lh /nf

Morning Routine

Ghetsis creaks his eyes open slowly, groggy from sleep and probably from his sleeping medication wearing off. He sits up, rubbing off the sleep collected around the edges of his eyes, no blanket in sight. Glancing over, he sees Alder hogging up all the blankets by basically cocooning himself inside them. Ghetsis smiles, it's kinda cute, you can see his hair sticking out from the top of the blankets, making him look like an oddly shaped Larvesta. Normally people would be upset about that kind of thing, but to be fair on his behalf, Ghetsis has paper thin skin, his body temperature is more susceptible to changes and that causes him to overheat quickly during the night. So having a blanket stealer is actually a pleasant thing rather than an annoyance.

He glances at the clock; 6:05 AM, by the time he's done doing his normal routine it'll be around 7, which is the time the kids would normally get up. Ghetsis pauses, glancing around the room for a moment. Sweet Atropos, sleeping all curled up at the end of his bed. Most people would be pretty strict on letting their companions sleep in the same bed as them, let alone a 5 '11 fluffy dragon, but they underestimate how ridiculously large his bed is. His bed alone stretches 108 x 108, that's enough to fit four grown adults! Why did he need such a big bed? Well, why not? He had the option to, so he did, but maybe he should've thought a little more harder about whether or not he should…

Honestly? As he's looking round his room, he's happier with the state it's gotten to. He recalls when his room used to be this pearly white, sterile, polished room, no dust in sight nor anything out of place… But now? He can see a few tapestries Alder had made laying about or hanging on the walls, the man's stuff littering the room is a disorganized mess, nothing calculatingly placed to make it look as neat as humanly possible… It's so comforting, it's so warm and cozy in here now, he had long become tired of basically living in a hospital-like room. On the wall beside him lies a dreamcatcher resting above his bed, a fairly large one, but to be fair it was made with Braviary feathers, Alder had insisted he make one for the room after being on the tail-end of one of Ghetsis' nightmare spells.

-

Ghetsis takes a stroll into the forest that rests within the valley, spotting a few feeders filled with nectar sitting within the trees for the bug type Pokémon living within. Usually he takes his strolls to the overarch bridge where the Swanna swim, finding solace with the swans, but he finds that he'd much prefer walking among nature this time. Along the nature walk he comes across a clearing, spotting Alder sitting cross legged on the grass, seemingly focused on something in his hands. Ghetsis approaches, a few of the bug type Pokémon sitting with Alder turn to look at him, bending over to look at what the man has in his hands.

"What are you doing?" "I'm making a dreamcatcher." A Galvantula rests next to him, spinning out some web that Alder is using to thread around the round piece of wood. A few Braviary feathers are placed on his sprawled out poncho beside him as well, along with a fairly sizable bead of rose quartz. "Oh? My, I haven't seen one of those in years, they were always too colourful and plastic-y for my tastes." Ghetsis sits down beside the man, peering over at his work, Alder scoffs and snarls. "I'm not making one of those cheap ass appropriated pieces of garbage, I'm making a real fucking dreamcatcher." Ghetsis tills his head, humming a sound of curiosity. "Appropriated? How so?"

"Dreamcatchers were made by my people, they're sacred to us as talismans, as symbols of spiritual protection. But when it became more widespread because of the movement, it became watered down into this cheap plastic wall hanger thing you hang up on some random wall in your room to 'catch bad dreams.' Now every bitch and their Boltund has one in their house as an 'aesthetic piece.' You can shove your aesthetic piece bullshit up your ass, my traditions aren't something you can just take and fucking exploit." Ghetsis nods along carefully, letting Alder get all his steam out. "Would you like to tell me about the tradition?"

Alder pauses and looks Ghetsis in the eye, looking for any form of trickery or sign he's making fun of him, but only to find sincerity. Alder turns his head back down to his work, "The history behind them really depends on the tribe, but I was taught the story associated with Asibikaashi." "What's the story associated with… Um." Alder hums, focused on his work without looking away for a moment. "Asibikaashi." Ghetsis nods, "Yes, that. I'm sorry, truly, I don't wish to butcher it by trying to say it…" He shrugs, dismissive. "It's fine. Asibikaashi provided our tribes with spiritual protection, however when our tribes began to expand and grow, the task became far too difficult for her to provide protection to those who had migrated to farther lands. So she created the dream catcher and taught it to all of the mothers and grandmothers within our tribes, so she could protect them from a distance."

Ghetsis kept quiet, he had probably been itching to talk about his culture for a while now. Besides, he finds this sort of stuff to be very interesting. "They were designed to keep bad dreams, nightmares, and evil away from sleepers and especially our children. The air at night is filled with dreams, both good and bad, so these catchers would obviously catch them. The good dreams are able to slip through and softly descend down the catcher's feathers and to the sleeper, while the bad ones would get caught and trapped within the web, only to be burned when the sun's light would hit the catcher." Alder gestures to his assortment of feathers, "Hence the feathers. It's also why dreamcatchers are placed above beds and in cradles, so the good dreams could slip through and reach you. Having it anywhere else basically makes it fucking useless, not like that detail matters to people though."

Ghetsis hums, "What about the bead?" "That also depends on the person, but I personally believe it symbolises the spider." Ghetsis pauses for a moment, confused. "Spider?" Alder softly laughs, pausing his work to pet the Galvantula next to him, who chitters happily at the attention and affection. "Spiders are scary to a lot of people, but to us they are a symbol of protection and comfort. Asibikaashi is also commonly referred to as the 'Spider Lady' or 'Spider Grandmother'. Our dream catchers are usually made with woven string or sinew, but with this lovely guy around I can make one with actual spider string. Galvantula webbing is incredibly strong, so I'm not worried about it breaking." "Oh! That makes sense, why rose quartz?" "Rose quartz was valued by my people for its healing properties, also I just like rose quartz." Ghetsis nods, "Fair enough."

A comforting silence washes over them, Ghetsis watching Alder thread the string, slip on the bead, then continue to thread the string into a gorgeous pattern. It was mesmerizing to watch his hands move so effortlessly, years of doing this evident is his ease in threading the pattern. "So, are you making one for any particular purpose?" "It's for you." Ghetsis pauses, again confused, looking at Alder with an odd look. "You're making a dreamcatcher for me?" "Mhm." "… Why?"

"Well, you have nightmares. I want to help any way I can with that, even if it's theoretically small." Guilt immediately floods Ghetsis, he feels bad, he shouldn't be doing this for him. "Oh, you don't have to-" "I'll just stop you right there." Alder cuts him off, looking at the other man with a stern gaze. "I know you're going to go on about how I 'shouldn't do this' and that 'it's fine' as if I'm not doing this out of my free will. Nobody's forcing me to do this, you're not forcing me to do this, I want to help you, Ghetsis. Let me try and help you." It goes quiet again, the pair just staring at each other in silence. Ghetsis breaks the silence first, looking down and letting out a soft "okay…"

Alder goes back to his project, beginning to tie the feathers to the hanging string. It takes a few seconds, but Ghetsis eventually rests his head on the other man's shoulder, relaxing himself. "… Thank you."

-

He loves that dreamcatcher, every time he enters his room and sees it hanging above his bed he gets a soft fuzzy feeling, it never gets old. Ghetsis pulls the blanket around Alder gently and pushes back his hair, kissing the man's forehead, who groans and stirs at the contact. Ghetsis giggles quietly, getting out of bed and into his bathroom connected to his bedroom. Grabbing the glass on the sink, he opens up his mirror and fetches his migraine medication and antidepressants, taking them with a gulp of water from the glass. Then he undoes his bonnet to reveal his braid, which he also undoes. He had tried to get Alder to wear a bonnet to bed, but he just never seemed to like it unfortunately. His hair doesn't take long to do, he finds it's much easier to take care of now after he chopped most of it off.

Entering back into his room, he puts on a normal and simple dress shirt and black pants as quietly as he can so as to not wake up the oddly shaped Larvesta. Slowly, he exits out of his room and makes it towards the kitchen, cracking his knuckles and flexing his injured hand.

He begins on making the batter for pancakes, cutting up some strawberries and oran berries to put into the mixture. With a dash of butter on the pan now being melted, he pours the first pancake, being very careful to make the size absolutely perfect. He gets about a plate done before the first child walks into the kitchen, N stretches as she yawns. "Morning, Dad." She goes up to hug him, Ghetsis kissing the top of her head. "Good morning, my dear. Did we sleep well?" He shrugs, grabbing the plate and fetching the syrup from the pantry. "As good as I'm ever going to get it, I suppose." "Well, something is better than nothing, sweetheart." As Ghetsis finishes making the last few pancakes, placing five plates of them on the table, Concordia and Ambrose walk in.

"Good morning, dad!" They both say, squeezing their father, who promptly squeezes them back the best he can without irritating his arm, kissing the tops of their heads. "Good morning, my dears. How are we?" "I'm good!" Concordia beams, smiling, Ambrose nods. "Yes, I'm good as well." "That's lovely, my dears. Pancakes are on the table waiting for you, say hi to your brother." The pair go down to sit at the table, Ambrose waving at N. "Mornin, Nat." Concordia says, seating herself at the table, N hums, mouth full of pancake. "Mornin, Connie."

Ghetsis rests himself against the counter, crossing his arms, waiting. He knows it going to happen, he's not letting himself get toppled over this time, any minute now… Suddenly, the three kids left missing from the table teleport in, tackling their father in a tight hug. "Hi, Dad." Hebe says softly, speaking for her brothers on their behalf. "Hello, my darlings, how are we? Did we sleep well?" The three nod, "That's good, go sit down with your siblings please, pancakes are on the table."

Ghetsis gets started on his own breakfast, which takes much longer than his children's. As the triplets sit down and begin to dig into their breakfast made with love, Ambrose notices something. "I like your nails, Hebe, did you just do them?" The mentioned girl looks away bashfully, "Thank you, Rose. Yes, I did them last night, I wanted to try something different…" Concordia interjects, "Yeah, I agree! They suit you, Hebe." She laughs, nudging N teasingly. "Say, maybe you should paint yours something colourful like that." Natural snorts, "Ha! In your dreams! I think I'll stay with black, thank you." Connie deflates, pouting, "Boo. You're no fun." The pair stick their tongues at each other like children.

"Your eyeliner looks nice today, Nat." Natural lights up, "Thank you, Hebe! I swear, some days it just never wants to look right for me, happy to know today isn't one of those days." Meanwhile, Hephaestus taps his nail onto the table, directed at Ambrose. He looks up and Hephaestus signs something to him, Ambrose's eyes lighting up in recognition. "Oh, yeah. Here you go." He says, passing the syrup to Hephaestus, who signs a 'thank you' in response.

By the time Ghetsis was done with making his, the kids had already finished. All six of them come together to crush their father's ribs and lungs in a joint hug before leaving to tend to whatever they decided to do that day. Ghetsis places down his breakfast on the table, covering it with a tub so it stays warm while he cooks the last breakfast of the morning. Fetching his face mask, he pulls out a few things of raw meat out of his second fridge, yeah, Ghetsis is a man who owns two kitchen fridges, and starts placing them in the pan to cook.

He gets all the bacon and a few sausages done because he feels arms wrap around his sides and a face being pushed into the crook of his neck. He smiles, threading his hand through Alder's hair without looking up from the pan. "Good morning, my love." Alder groans, pushing himself right up against his back, looking over his shoulder. "Hi, baby… What cha makin'?" His voice is deep and husky from just waking up from sleeping, horrifically sexy but he must push through it and stay strong. "Sausages, bacon, and eggs with a side of toast and baked beans."

Alder moans, kissing the other man's neck with affection, he's always so soft and clingy in the mornings. "Fuck, you treat me so well… I love you so much, you're so perfect…" Ghetsis smiles, amused, "Mhm." Eventually however, Alder begins to get a bit more risky with his neck kisses, causing the other man to pause. Ghetsis whips around and smacks Alder on the hand. "Ow! Hey!-" Ghetsis points a finger at his face, "No! Bad! Absolutely not! I can't let you keep giving me hickies every morning! My followers are becoming suspicious over why I'm wearing turtle necks all the time!"

Alder frowns, "Nevermind actually, I changed my mind. You're actually terrible to me and you hate me." Ghetsis scoffs, turning back to the pan. "Oh, tell your woes to somebody else, maybe somebody who'll actually care." A moment of silence goes by, Ghetsis sighs, "You can continue to hug me and kiss me, just try not to give me a hickey, please." Immediately he feels the other man latch back onto him with a sly smile. "Aw, you love me." Drawing out the last word, Ghetsis scoffs and rolls his eyes. "Indeed, but I also think you're a huge pain." Alder nuzzles into him, his stubble tickling Ghetsis' neck. "Thank you for making me breakfast, I love you." Ghetsis lets out a sigh of defeat, having lost this battle. "I love you too."

-💌

WOOO YEAAHH!! this was wonderful thank you!! admittedly i don't know as much as id like about native american cultures (been working on changing that, albeit slowly), and im not native myself, so i obviously cant comment on how accurate it is or isnt. but it does look like you put a good amount of effort into research which is neat :) tbh i got a little nervous seeing dreamcatchers being brought up just cause i think everyone knows atp how severely those have been appropriated for cheap souvenirs 💀 im glad it didn't go that way

everything else was adorable. im biting n. and ghetsis for that matter . the triplets are super cute and i wanna see more of them asap (is it just me or has the triad had a resurgence lately. i never did anything with those guys actually but i am LIVING for it)

[entomolog-t]

Ohh we’re being evaluated huh?

My favorite scenarios are ones involving curious giants and tinies that desperately want to run away but can’t

A tiny is trapped and a giant finds them, helping them out of the trap and offering safety, food, even letting them go. The tiny is suspicious— what could this giant possibly want? There’s no way that they’re just being kind for the sake of it, everything they’d ever been told suggested that all giants were evil and they should be dead or in a jar right now. The tentative curiosity and choice to stay of the tiny toasts my eggs and scrambles my bread. The initial terror turned confusion turned curiosity turned delight. Mwah, chef’s kiss.

Also the reverse, where a giant who hates tinies gets stuck with one and slowly comes to realize that they absolutely adore them. I love those equally as much.

Dying to know if this says anything about me, assuming you’re still doing these ^^ /nf

BACK IN OFFICE BABY

This is quite the interesting scenario to discect.

So the main theme of note would be subverted expectations- interestingly, this tends to crop up quite frequently in G/t media.

Typically, this can imply some sort of projection of the self, or some reframing of another.

The main thing I would suggest to consider are the traits associated with the giant, as well as what the tiny/and possibly others think of the giant.

Even if you are more tiny aligned, I would still take the time to consider what traits are shown, and ask yourself if any of those reflect personal feelings.

A regularly occurring theme is to project ones own attributes that we see as misunderstood or overlooked onto the giant. Being shy, or intimidating can lead to us feeling unapproachable, and plant that seed in our subconscious that "If only someone got to know me, they would see that I'm [Defining Trait]"

Though that is certainly not the only route. There is another common trend in G/t, and fantasy as a whole, to reframe negative emotions- even fantasizing a different resolution. Do the "scary" traits of the giant remind you of a time you were wronged by someone? It might be that your brain is trying to reframe it to help with coping. The reframing allows for fantastical leeway to suggest they were not actually wronging you- their intentions were just misunderstood. Those thoughts help the mind to feel more in control because it shifts the blame from someone not liking you or intentionally hurting you to being a misunderstanding- a far more comforting concept that being malicious.

Reframing doesn't have to just occur with the giant archetype either. The tiny holds bias and preconceived notions of how they anticipate someone "dangerous" to act. Does the tiny remind you of anyone? perhaps someone that judged you over something you could not change?

As weird as it may be to say, the brain likes metaphors. There is a great deal of meaning within our subconscious imagery. Peeling back the layers and trying to determine what each character represent is quite the peak into the inner workings of our psyches.

Theres also another very interesting projection that could be occurring on the tiny. Do they share any negative or mistaken traits? Are these traits mirroring traits of your own?

The fact the tiny cannot comprehend why someone would be nice for the sake of being nice to them could be very telling about our own internal self reflection- and its important to analyze what traits of our own we might see of as unworthy of unconditional love/kindness.

I hope this breakdown could offer you some insight into the inner workings of this dynamic trope!

Thank you for attending this session, please see my secretary on the way out to book any follow up appointments.

[lea-andres]

Mind if I just step in here and ask you how Bark & Jewel met? Sorry, my curiosity about BugBear is eating me up 😅 They're just so cute 🥺💖

[/gen /nf]

You may!!! Come bug me (hehe) about BugBear whenever! I'm always DYING to braindump about them to someone!!! 🤩🥰🤩🥰

They have half a thousand first meetings, LMAO, but here's the most frequent two I flip between:

1. The one utilized in my fic When the Day Met the Night (the Google docs are on my pinned post and the fic's in AO3 too, but only visible to those with an account), WtDMtN takes place in my own personal lore, about 6 years after present canon, where I like to pick apart the parts of canon I do like and throw out the stuff I don't. Anyway, TL;DR: Spiral Hill's hosting a fighting tournament, Team Hooligan are amongst the colorful cast drawn to the town to compete. Bark falls in love with Jewel on first sight, Jewel's... Totally terrified of him and the rest of the Hooligans. 😅 She comes around though, after a little careful nudging (and by that I mean Bark's idiot bestie and Jewel's idiot bestie throw a lit bomb into the Mineral Museum by accident and Bark saves Jewel, LOL). Bark's having trouble communicating his romantic intentions, and Jewel keeps missing the point of any romantic gestures pointed her way, and all of their friends are trying to help but are all EQUALLY bad at helping. The Hooligans have interestingly already reformed at this point, thanks to some... heartwrenching headcanons I have about where they were during the Metal Virus. (Poor Fang... 😭) But they've been MIA for absolutely ages so a lot of people don't know they've changed their ways. Espio spends a lot of time in my fic trying to discourage Jewel from befriending the Hooligans, for VERY understandable reasons, but everyone's gonna get REAL mad at him in the next few chapters. LMAO 😎✌️

2. There's no fic attached to this one yet, but I've explored what a more (technically, because yes I'm aware it still breaks some rules) IDW compliant BugBear would look like. I'm still figuring out what the details are, but TL;DR: Clutch hires the Hooligans to steal something from the Restoration. Job goes super sideways and Fang takes Jewel hostage so they can escape unscathed. Bark feels HORRIBLE they kidnapped her, so he keeps her safe and comfortable... And eventually lets her go when she works up the courage to ask him to because he's SO worried about her wellbeing it might actually work, LOL. Jewel ends up accidentally taking over the Hooligans at this point. Jewel wants to find out why the Hooligans were hired to steal the thing (still working out what that is), she's pretty much got Bark wrapped around her finger, Bean is technically more loyal to his bestie Bark than he is to Fang's orders so he's willing to tag along... But he's not willing to let the extremely irate Fang leave, so HE kinda ends up being the hostage at this point LMAO. They go to the rendezvous point with Clutch, the fucker had NO plans to pay them and was planning on killing the Hooligans, Jewel saves their asses somehow. Fang's singing a different tune now, especially when Jewel sweetens the deal by offering to hire the Hooligans as the Restoration's treasure hunting team. Consistent work, consistent pay, no backstabbing to get out of paying them. So they stop whatever Clutch is up to and save the day, yayyyyy~. Everyone else is VERY confused when Jewel returned to the Restoration with the Hooligans and insisting they're her new friends, but she seems to have it under control so there's little fight back, LOL. And I explained part 2 to this tale on a separate post. Bark, whenever he's got the free time to, is practically following Jewel around like a lovesick puppy and Amy has to TELL Jewel Bark likes her, LMAO.

And I have half a thousand other AUs each with their own unique first meetings, but those two are probably my most used. My next frequent usage is probably my kid!Bean AU (Bean's age has been significantly lowered and he's Bark's adopted kid now), but we'll explore that one on another post if you'd like. This got very long, I'm so sorry, but I can ramble for ages about my favorite rarepair, as I've proven. 😂😂😂

[govindhtech]

Explore Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM Case Fan 140mm

Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM Case Fans in various sizes,When user experience, retests, and database testing diverge from one another

The Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM has been around for what seems like aeons, so it makes sense that throughout time, it might have undergone technical improvements, had its tooling changed frequently, or at the very least, had some details altered. Media coverage of the (in the end nonexistent) disparities between Chinese and Taiwanese manufacture began in 2016.

At the start of our tests for the new database, we assessed a model that we had bought ourselves (before to 2023) and received criticism from readers because our measurements did not match their (subjective) impressions or those of other websites. Particularly considering noise emissions. Simply put, we don’t like to have our abilities questioned.

Of course, we repeated the measurement of this fan multiple times for just these reasons and consistently obtained the same results; by this point, things are operating very regularly. By the way, the fan of a third party from 2020 demonstrated a performance that was strikingly identical to that of our previous specimen, so we cannot presume a flaw. But when we contacted Noctua in the summer, we were given fresh samples that behave entirely differently.

Outside of the maximum values listed on the data sheet, the characteristics of the various fans also vary, particularly in how they behave around radiators and at lower speeds. External differences include the label, a lower weight, and clearly different machining.

Today he has just compiled the data from our tests, performed some material analysis, and filtered out the variations between the — let’s call them various iterations since he is very hesitant to enter the domain of irrational and unsupported supposition. The new fan is unquestionably superior, but it also has a minor flaw in one area. In the interim, he also had a phone conversation with the CEO, Roland Mossig, and was able to learn more about the quality control at Noctua and the OEM.

What distinguishes the two visually?

The new fan has a completely different label, so the first difference is actually fairly clear. The earlier model (left), in addition to having a CE print that was so wrong, lacked certification for the North American market. The new fan’s (right) label is now properly labelled. Of course, the performance is unaffected by this.

Additionally, the scales indicated that the new fan (with the bent cable) weighed 198 grammes as opposed to 207 grammes for the previous fan. Because it’s more than just a generous tolerance, which in turn speaks for a shift in the fan, which piqued our curiosity. As a result, you can see that the tooling has also changed and that not simply the tools have been rotated in a new position. he has once used yellow to frame the distinctions. It resembles a hidden object game with fans instead of other objects.

Each fan is nearly unique because of the liquid crystal polymer (LCP) employed, hence colour aspects are irrelevant. However, there are additional materials. The sheet metal used in the hub has the most variations. The zinc coating on the old fan was way too thin, yet the sheet metal was clearly thicker. According to the depth investigation, the old fan’s coating was already “through” after 13 to 15 shots, whereas the new fan’s zinc layer was still there after more than twice that many. The previous fan’s LIBS are visible on the left, whereas the new fan’s are visible on the right:

So there has undoubtedly been a change in the material, but the supplier was undoubtedly to blame for it. In any event, it is gratifying that the new fan has considerably better galvanization. The motor’s axle is built of an iron-chromium alloy in both types and should last longer; the differences here are already inside the measurement’s permissible tolerance limit.

The average copper percentage variation between the two models is less than 2%, indicating the brass used is practically identical between the two, therefore this is also acceptable and does not suggest a different manufacturer used a less expensive material.

And this? Yes, some materials and the tooling are easily distinguishable. Since the label issue is purely optical, it is irrelevant. It is challenging to determine why the previous model behaved in such a louder manner using straightforward methods. As a result, he have prepared another 2020 model from the past, and it should show up here soon. But if you want to verify the manufacture date of your model, check at the lasered so-called LOT number (Batch, Charge) in the frame beneath the logo, which Noctua conceals along with other information. So, it is clear that the updated portion dates from March 13, 2023.

The measurements and surfaces match fairly closely, as much as it could be confirmed with my technological capabilities. How does the new fan compare to the older one in terms of performance? The solution is crystal evident on the following page: quieter. After changing the page, you can read about how much better this is overall and where there might be variations in the results of the other tests.

[highplanes456]

Money Provide

From the UK’s perspective, East Village is a profitable instance of local growth with overseas capital and QIA was immediately liable for launching the new asset class BTR to alleviate London’s housing disaster. He compares the overseas trade reserve held funds to financial savings funds, and finds the latter personal larger stakes than do foreign change reserve funds and the stakes are larger when each forms of funds are headquartered in authoritarian nations. For long-term reactions, the writer finds that if a financial savings fund from an authoritarian regime invests in a goal agency, gross sales progress declines by 20% over the next three years compared to investments made by other SWF classes. We mirrored on a selection of anticompetitive results that include the rise of passive asset management, which might have negative consequences for financial growth and even for economic equality. As nicely, we signaled how the continuing growth of ETFs and other passive index funds can create new monetary risk, together with elevated investor herding and larger volatility in occasions of extreme financial instabilities.

In addition to SIPC safety, Fidelity, via NFS, provides its brokerage prospects with additional excess of SIPC protection from Lloyd's of London along with Axis Specialty Europe Ltd. and Munich Reinsurance Co. The extra of SIPC coverage would only be used when SIPC protection is exhausted. As with SIPC, extra of SIPC safety doesn't cowl investment losses in buyer accounts as a result of market fluctuation. It also doesn't cover different claims for losses incurred whereas broker-dealers remain in business.

Therefore, this review will analyze very latest knowledge (from 2021 or 2022) and summarize articles produced after 2016. "The Sovereign Wealth Fund Ecosystem Today" part outlines a technique of categorizing SWFs and describing their funding behavior. "SWFS and Alternative Investments" part focuses on SWFs’ heightened curiosity in various investments, notably real estate and private equity.

The limits embody all curiosity earned on your account, whether or not it has posted yet or not. (The equivalent product provided by a credit score union may be named "certificate.") Log in to your Raisin account and select your required alternative from the obtainable options, or contact customer funds held support. For high-yield financial savings accounts or money market deposit accounts, there aren't any limits on deposits to or withdrawals. Their collapse is not going to have any influence on our customers’ FDIC and NCUA protected funds as all establishments on our platform are federally insured as a lot as the relevant limits.

It additionally found that 25 members of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative had invested in those companies and some had increased their holdings in 2022. NZAM stated its worldwide initiative began two years ago and investors wanted time to change their strategies. Here’s what you have to find out about funds availability and how this works when making financial institution deposits. Federal rules enable banks to carry deposited funds for a set period, that means you can’t tap into that money till after the maintain is lifted.

The authors estimate a labor demand equation using a difference-in-difference method. They find that the fund’s investment prevents a decline in labor demand within the aftermath of the 2008 monetary crisis. This prevention of workforce downsizing doesn't influence agency efficiency. Since quite a few variations have been documented between SWFs and different giant traders, a natural ag funds held query that arises is whether SWFs are higher or worse screens. While some types of SWFs are long-term, affected person investors, suggesting they can play an lively monitoring position, the federal government ownership of SWFs could induce short-termism in their investment strategies.

Direct investment made up 43% of investments whereas 18% had been in VC (Global SWF, 2022). Figure ​Figure22 exhibits that on the deal level, from 2006 by way of 2018, SWFs steadily decreased funding in equities. ​Fig.33 shows, while investments in public equities was roughly 21% of SWF investments in 2008, they have since reduced to 10.7% in 2022. Table ​Table11 describes the country of origin, supply of funding, said mission, establishment 12 months, AUM, and the fractions invested in various property and internationally of the 35 largest SWFs. The largest funds today are dominated by financial savings funds, with only one stabilization fund (SAFE IC of China) in the prime five by AUM.

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: May 15th Part 2

And here’s the next part of the long answer set of the day!

When will OL: N&F take place? Beginnings and Always took place during summer breaks, will now and forever take place during a fall break or will the characters be going to school at the time of the events we play through? 

It takes place over all of the fall season, so school will be happening in OL2. Some events do take place in school, though many times events only start after school is already out for the day, haha.

Hey!! I have kind of a weird question?? I’m sorry if it’s been answered before and I just haven’t seen it but is OL 2 taking place during the same years as OL 1? I’m just curious, thank you for such amazing games!!! 

It’s a similar time frame, but not 100% exactly same.

Do you have any idea when the demo for now and forever will be available? 

Hopefully this fall! But that’s not a guarantee.

Okay the crime show in Step 2: Growing up. Long blonde hair, police station, crime series? Was it The Closer? Because I’m the same age as MC and Cove and my mom was constantly watching that when I was 13. 😂 

Haha, yeah! The Closer and, to a lesser degree, Medium were the kind of shows I was referencing there. My mom also used to watch those back in the day.

Hey um this might be an odd question but if the setting of OL: N&F is  fall/autumn, what country or city will it take because my mind tells me it is either Poland or Canada. Also I can't wait for the game I am hyped 

It’s set in the USA again. We’d like to be able to have cameos and that’s easiest to do if the OL games take place in the same country.

Is it possible for the PC of OL to have non-seriously dated other people in the in between years even if they’ve had a consistent crush on Cove? 

You can causally date Baxter in Step 3 if you get his DLC and then ultimately choose Cove in Step 4. If you mean off-screen people, it doesn’t really come up, but you can certainly headcanon that. The game never says Cove is the only partner you’ve ever had.

Is there going to be a Kickstarter for Now and Forever as well? For like voiced names and stuff again? Didn’t find B&A until after it was released and I’d really love the opportunity to hear my name in the game 🥺 

Yeah, we are gonna have a Kickstarter with getting a voiced name as a reward! Though, it will be more expensive than it was for OL1. I feel bad to raise the price but we realized too late the first time around that it was being super undersold for the amount of work it took, aha.

Do you know how much the remaining DLC for OL will cost? (Step 4, Derek, Baxter) 

Step 4: Free

Wedding DLC: $2.99USD

Derek DLC: $4.99USD

 Baxter DLC: $4.99USD

Has an artist for the new position been picked yet?! I'm super excited for the new game! 

We did fill that spot. Thank you so much for taking the time to apply!

hmmm what would it take to get each of the XOXO jerk squad to feel the need to hug you? 

They’d have to first like you a fair amount, otherwise the most you’d get is maybe a pat on the shoulder. If they were attached, they might hug you if you broke down crying or if you gave them super good news.

Unless it’s Shiloh, of course. If you want a hug you only have to ask!

May i ask how the Derek DLC will work? I believe that there aren’t any memories in step 4 and doesnt derek’s dlc take place during that step? So will the dlc add memories? Thank you! 

Derek’s DLC will add five Moments to Step 2 (a new page will appear on that screen if you get the DLC). Then in Step 4 you’ll have to choose between playing the default epilogue or going through the Derek romance story.

Is the pc version on itch,io different from the steam version? Like an offline one or something? 

Steam has achievements, but that’s about it. Both can be played offline, if you prefer.

I've been wondering this for awhile, what determines if cove winds up with a ponytail in step 3? I've done multiple runs with different MCs with varying hairstyles. Or does it have to do with a particular moment in step 2? 

I’m afraid I can’t say exact choices that determine things. But generally it’s preference based options in the Step before that decide those things.

Any Floret Bond updates? 

No, the artist had to leave the project and it’s been on-hold. I’m not sure if I want to try working just with what we have or replacing it all entirely. The design is a bit too specific for us to easily find someone who could mimic it. Hopefully we’ll work things out later, though.

In step 3 is Cove's plan always to stay in sunset bird? 

Yeah. He is never ready at 18-years-old to make a big life change.

I love your content! If it's alright to ask, you answered in a previous ask about how Jeremy was too particular with what he likes his types to be romanceable with just any MC and it's sort of got me wondering.. What /are/ his types and/or preferences and such? Sorry if it's a lot! 

Jeremy likes stubborn jerks and will not date someone who’s sweet or even generally a decent person, haha.

uh, excuse me if you said this somewhere before, but how will step 4 be actually? Will it he like an actual step and have moments and dlc and all? Or will it be more like a long epilogue of some sort?

Will the step 4, the wedding and extra routes dlcs be paid too? Im just confused, sorry if im asking too much

Step 4 is only an epilogue, so it’s just a long series of scenes one after the other rather than a collection of Moments you can choose from.

The Step 4 epilogue is free, the wedding DLC, Derek DLC, and Baxter DLC cost money.

i’m not sure how much of the wedding dlc you have planned already, or if this would be to spoilery, but what kind of wedding traditions will be included? i keep thinking about how flustered cove would get over a garter toss & was wondering if we’d see a scene like that haha. obviously no worries if it’s not included, i’ll enjoy literally anything cove related 

I don’t know for sure yet, haha. Right now we’re focused on the parts before the big day. We’ll see how many scene alterations we can include for the wedding itself later on.

Hello! Firstly, thank you for creating such an amazing game like OL, and I couldn’t be more excited for OL2! Out of curiosity, are you looking for any writers to come on for OL2 or are you all pretty much set in that department? Just thought I’d shoot my shot haha but I’m still excited regardless ^^! 

We will be hiring writers for OL2 later this year! Thank you for the interest.

Will we be blessed with a spin-off Yandere Cove, like XOXO Blood Droplets? 

Sadly, no. It’s a shame but there’s not enough time to keep making OL1 bonus/spin-off content.

How is Q pronounced?

I’m afraid Q’s full name hasn’t been publicly announced yet so I can’t answer here (Q and T are the first letters of the names for the new LIs in Our Life: Now & Forever).

Question; is the steam version getting a Mac update?  I purchased the dlc there thinking it had Mac support without realizing it and just wondered if I’d need to refund it to purchase on itch.io 😭 

I’m really sorry, you will need to get a refund from Steam. We do hope to have it there for Steam eventually, but have no idea of when it’ll happen. Apple requires special notarization to be an officially accepted app for their devices. We don’t have that. Steam requires having that, Itch will let you release it as an non-notarized third party app. That’s why Itch is the only place that has the Mac version right now.

would you mind posting outfit sheets for Cove in every step? it would make things a lot easier for us artists. it would save a lot of time spent looking for references 

I think we did do the earlier steps when they were finished way back in 2019 (this game took a long time to make, aha), but we can probably repost them sometime!

In our life n&f, will we be able to get into qprs/will there be more options in regards to having deep platonic relationships with the love interests? Because as an aroace individual, it would be great if there could also be emphasis on platonic love so that it's more aspec inclusive. 

It’s a little hard to say at this point. There may not be things like a wedding DLC for OL2 and so the relationship for platonic and romantic feelings might not go as far as it did in the first game. We’ll kind of have to see how much we can do based on timeframe/budget constraints that will only be set near the end of the year. But we will be keeping things like that in mind at least.

hi! i really really like your game and im absolutely in love with it! i cant wait to try your other games like xoxo droplet and future OL NF :))

during the step 3 erands moment i got curious, which fudge flavor is his favorite? it seems like he likes all of them, but which 4 do you think he would like best?

also i noticed that in some playthroughs cove would let me give him a piggy back ride, and in some he wouldn't, how come?

how does your choices affect cove's interests or looks? i replayed the game without changing any choices but i got cove to look different, is it just random?

thank you!

Cove’s favorite flavors are ones with nuts and that are fruity! But he appreciates them all. Whether or not you can give him a piggyback ride depends on if your MC is fit/large enough to hold a muscular 6-foot-tall beach boy, haha.

Cove’s appearance does depend on choices and it’s generally tied to choices that are preference based rather than emotion/action based, such as which key chain you pick in Step 1.

Is it possible for cove to reject MC's proposal at the end of step 3? 

Nope. He’ll always accept.

hi! i was wondering how heavily the side characters will be featured in the our life wedding dlc? obviously it'll be cove & mc focused, but i was thinking it'd be sweet if we could take lizzie dress / suit shopping or dance with cliff at the wedding or something. 

The side characters are there about as often as they are in normal events. So, it’s clearly focused on Cove but he’s not the only person you have any meaningful moments with.

When will responses be sent out to applicants? 

I’m afraid we don’t send responses out to all applications, only ones we’re interested in offering the position to. Not everyone likes rejection emails and the amount of applications is too high to contact them all to say we’re not hiring them. We post updates on the job page when a position has news. Right now we’ve filled every role that was open.

Is there also going to be the option to keep your relationships with the love interests platonic in Our Life: Now and Forever? That's something I really appreciate in Our Life: Beginnings and Always

Yeah! OL will never force you to end up in a romantic relationship with someone.

I was wondering, in the Step 3 Happiness moment, what are the different fishes Cove can compare MC to? I got "you'd be a paradise fish, because being with you is paradise," but my friend got "you'd be an angelfish." Are there more variations? 

He says paradise fish if you’re a couple, angelfish if he’s just crushing, and then a royal dottyback/queenfish/emperor tetra (based on your gender) if he likes the MC platonicly.

Hello! So, in one of the Step 3 DLCs, Cove's arm was gone. I think it was to show him putting his arm behind his back. But if that wasn't the case, did it get yeeted? 

Thanks for letting us know. That was an error we tried to fix a little while back. When did you make the save file you were playing? If it was older that might be why it happened. Or maybe the error wasn’t fully fixed after all.

Asking for your opinion, but do you think Cove would at all be into ABBA? Because all I could imagine during the car trip in step 3 was him and the MC belting to Mamma Mia. 

Haha, yeah, there’d definitely be some ABBA songs he was into.

So throughout the game, Cove can develop different interests depending on the player’s choices; does this mean that he can have different careers in Step 4? Or his is line of work in adulthood never mentioned at all? 

He can have different career paths in Step 4!

Hi!! I'm so so sorry if this has been asked before but I just acquired knowledge about the so famous nsfw dlc for OL and nearly chocked on my bubblegum 💀💀💀 So, my real inquiry is if that specific moment will have any kind of impact at some point of the fourth step OR if it will just be treated as a side-story-ish “what if” scenario.Also, is there any chance there'll be something similar for Step 4? Haha jk,,, unless 😳Questions apart let me thank you profoundly for making the best visual novel I've ever played 😭 Really really looking forward the epilogue and OL2 💕 Have a nice day 

It’s just a bonus side story that’s fully separate from the main game.

It would be nice to have one for Step 4 too, but I sadly don’t see us having time to actually do it. I don’t know, if people are still asking for more OL1 content several months from now it might be doable and worth doing.

I'd just like to ask, when is Baxter's birthday :0 -- I'm really curious esp with their zodiac signs so ;w; 

I don’t know, haha. Maybe I’ll come up with one someday.

Please help!! I bought the Step 3 DLC but I still have no idea how to get to where you can propose to Cove - any tips? 

&

How do I get the option to propose to Cove at the end of the game?

You can click HERE for a discussion on that.

I love that Miranda and Terry are getting together! I'm curious if you have canon sexualities for them? Also just wanted to say how much I love OL and how much joy it brings me everytime I play it <3 

Terry likes ladies and Miranda likes dudes!

ngl Step 4 Terry's design reads like y'all see trans guys as their assigned gender more than you see them as men to me (a trans guy)... like maybe if he isn't heavily dysphoric, I could see it, but everything you've said about him doesn't line up with that. Even then, immediate warning bells go off in my head looking at him. I wouldn't have touched the game if I saw him ahead of time.

I’m sorry you aren’t comfortable with the way the design looks. The situation with Terry is that he’s now open about who he is, but the body he was born with is still physically the same. He only came out recently as an adult and hasn’t gone through any treatments/procedures yet (his chest is flatter because he wears a binder). However, even though his body hasn’t transitioned at the point Step 4 happens, no one treats him as anything other than the guy he is. Having a trans character who’s identity is supported/respected from the start is what we’re going for in this case. But what we’re doing with Terry isn’t the only trans content we’ve ever had/ever will have in the future.

how would baxter react to bae pyoun and vice versa? and can you please detailly explain both love interests personalities from our life 2: now and forever? i was just curious, sorry for dumb question!! 

I imagine it’d be pretty opposite experiences, haha. Bae would initially think Baxter is pushy and thoughtless, but would quickly realize, oh, he’s instead a soft, considerate boy. Very cute. Baxter would first be struck with the impression that Bae is charming and gentlemanly, but then would realize that, no, he’s a sarcastic asshole. And I’m afraid we can’t reveal the personalities for the next game yet.

Sorry if you've already answered this, but I have a question about the patreon exclusive moment you're working on. I was wondering if it's mainly going to be CGs or if it's mostly character sprites + backgrounds with some CGs.

Either way, thank you for doing the Lord's work and not only making Cove, but making this bonus moment as well 😌😌😌

It’s mostly sprites/backgrounds with two CGs!

—– —– —– —–

Thank you again for the interesting questions everyone :D

We released a new FAQ! It answers common questions and we’ll keep adding more to it. Please check there before sending an ask. FAQ   Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

[smalltragedy]

* herman tommeraas, cis man + he/him | you know donovan mercer, right? they’re twenty one, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, four months? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to ice boy by corbin like, a million times this year, which makes sense ‘cause they’ve got that whole fear hidden behind a stoic stare, bleeding from your nose and from your gums, and the night sky with all its stars, with all its mystery and unknown thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is march 15th, so they’re a pisces, which is unsurprising, all things considered. ( james, 21, est, they/them )

yes hi i did bring ducky back. i promised. please love him jst the same im sry he had 2 go fr a while. 

ABUSE, VIOLENCE, DRUG ABUSE, EYE INJURY, GANG MENTIONS TW.

mini playlist.

father ;; the front bottoms / ice boy ;; corbin / lose yourself ;; eminem / my own worst enemy ;; lit / say it ain’t so ;; weezer / maps ;; yeah yeah yeahs / star stopping ;; lil peep / benz truck ;; lil peep / trauma ;; nf / northern downpour ;; panic! at the disco / your graduation ;; modern baseball.

statistics.

full name: donovan mercer.

nickname(s): ducky.

birthday: march 15th, 1999.

zodiac: pisces sun, aquarius moon, aquarius ascending.

label: the despondent.

hometown: hell’s kitchen, new york.

sexuality: bisexual (bt not out).

pinterest.

biography.

born in hell’s kitchen to vinny mercer and a mother who ran out of the hospital as fast as she could, as soon as she was able. she’d gone so quick that she’d never given ducky a middle name - just donovan. the younger brother of mercy (shoutout 2 bri)

his father’s the right-hand man of a well known mob boss named lars amaretto, and so, you can imagine the kind of environment ducky (& mercy) grew up in. weapon & drug dealings, interrogations, violence around every corner. a brutal way of living, no place to raise two children.

implied abuse tw // their father was not kind, or merciful - and ducky was a runt compared to mercy, small and sensitive and kinder than his brother. weak, and filled with softness, with big brown eyes and a smile that should’ve been able to melt ice - but it didn’t. and it never did.

he cried often, and was punished often for it until he learned to stop crying - at least in front of their father, and mercy too, at some point. only in the comfort of his room, with doors locked and blinds drawn closed. implied abuse end of tw

he dreamed, too, dreamt often. he’d been obsessed with outer space since childhood, as long as he could remember. school had once shown man landing on the moon, and ducky wanted that. wanted to be that, wanted to be there, up with the stars, discovering the unthinkable.

abuse mention // but it was discouraged, heavily so - projects destroyed by an angry fist only to be reconstructed to the best of ducky’s ability, with mercy’s help, all throughout the night. he’d saved up for a telescope when he was thirteen, but it’d been destroyed almost immediately when discovered. not a day went by that their father didn’t tell ducky that he was, first and foremost, stupid - and would always be. end of abuse mention

to the point where he stopped trying, simply. he never graduated high school.

abuse mention // anxiety mention // anyways … at the age of fifteen, he’d have enough. he was sick of the abuse, the pain - the crying behind closed doors, the sneaking around, the constant feeling of needing to escape, impending doom, anxiety attacks in the shower and in school bathrooms and at the back of the bus where nobody sat besides him because he was - that boy, the son of that man, the brother of that brute. he’d been a teenager and he’d already been an outcast by all means - an outcast in his family, no matter how hard he tried to appease vinny, and an outsider everywhere else.

the plan took months of preparation, paper ripped out from the back of his school notebook and stuffed beneath his mattress, details of his escape from a checklist of essential items to makeshift maps of bus routes to different cities.

all for nothing, the moment vinny discovered it, the edge of a map sticking out after a rushed morning.

heavy abuse tw // violence tw // it’d been the same day he’d gotten the nickname - ducky - the way the wound wrapped below his mouth, and the way it’d begun to heal - puckered, at first, like a duck’s bill. a better name than eyepatch, at the very least. the scar’d run from the arch of his left brow, across his eye, down his cheek, and below his lip. his eye sustained injury, and not allowed to see a doctor about it, it never healed properly.

eye injury // corneal scarring, impairing his left eye. astronaut dreams destroyed, but not in a matter of seconds. in the matter of an hour, maybe more - and that’d been much, much worse.

he stopped trying to run away after that. tried to be more like their father, more like mercy - more brutish, less feeling. spoke less, and less. spoke hardly at all, unless spoken to first.

still didn’t matter. still lived his days in fear, still knew it’d never change. nothing would ever change.

the mercer brothers have been floating around the north carolina scene for ~5ish years now, trailing after their father who is consistently chasing after their mother with no luck. they’re currently residing in palm motel. can we get a hell yeah?

personality & facts.

he’s actually very? intimidating? when you first meet him. mercy’s younger brother, with a criminal’s record almost as long as his - a scarred face and a mean resting face. it takes at least five minutes of conversation beyond small talk before it starts to weigh on your mind that maybe, he’s not as bad as he seems.

and - well, he isn’t. but he’s guarded - so guarded. more-so than mercy, because mercy’s quicker to anger, quicker to react, and ducky tries so hard to drown out the noise. but he’s not a robot, and his facial expressions can give him away in a second.

he’s seen what happened when mercy had a glimpse of something good in his life (though, it wasn’t actually good at all - mercy had someone, at least. at the very least) - and how quickly it’d all fallen, and so ducky puts a barrier between him and others. distant, as much as he can be.

it hurts, because ducky isn’t by any means antisocial. he doesn’t hate people - he wants to be normal, wants to have friends and a girlfriend - or maybe even a boyfriend, god - but he’s so afraid. ducky is, by nature, a very scared person. terrified to his very core. he knows there is always eyes on him, and mercy too, and he knows that nothing is worth getting someone else hurt.

you know him as mercy’s little brother, and he’s quiet you know that - but his name is ducky, and you think - he’s not too bad. and he knows this, knows the doubts. knows that it’ll get back to mercy, eventually, that his brother is nothing more but a pussy. so he fights more than he’d like to, against the guilt that buries itself deep within his chest with every thrown fist. he throws up, afterwards, in the garbage can outside. too much to drink, he says, rare grin - because grins are convincing, and grins with bleeding gums are intimidating. he learned that from his brother.

violence makes him sick to his very stomach. he can’t watch horror films, or even action films, without feeling queasy. there’s been more times than he can count where he’d thrown up after a fight, or after an interrogation, usually in private but in the occasional presence of mercy.

they fight, a lot, sometimes - ducky’s too soft, too weak, and it’s bad and it’s terrible and ducky knows that mercy’s afraid. for him, of their father, and his wraith. ducky knows that if mercy isn’t hard on him now, their father will be on him harder. still. there’s resentment, small but there, like the flame of a match. he doesn’t know what’ll happen when there’s nothing more to burn, but he doesn’t want to find out. he’s afraid to find out.

he’s still in love with the moon and the stars, and the planet’s - and their moons, too. its subdued, now, though. a silent passion - one that is often not watered, left for rot. he sneaks into engineering lectures at the community college, occasionally, or physics, or whatever peeks the small curiosity inside of him.

commits small acts of kindness when nobody looks. doors held open, the meals of elderly folk eating alone suddenly paid. picks up litter besides trash bins, and always cooks extra than what he needs and leaves the rest for mercy. it’s these small things that make him feel, just the slightest, better about himself.

because god - there are layers and layers of self-loathing. it’s a labyrinth, and he’d never speak of it - but he can’t stand his own reflection. doesn’t keep photos of his family, only a few sparingly of mercy.

a liar, sad to say. has little experience with. ehem. intimacy, and the bodies of others, but lies often and says that he does. mostly to his brother, but word travels quick - and he’s not nearly as much as a fuckboy as is rumored, having only been with a handful of girls, if even that. it’s better this way - if people know that he throws others away like they’re nothing.

he ghosts often, too, if he does get to talking with anybody. the moment ducky feels a spark, something pulling at his poor heart, he ghosts. he develops feelings too easily, too often than he’d like. has left many friendships without explanation, because of this. you know the priest in fleabag season 2? the scene where he comes to fleabag’s house? yeah. tht’s ducky!

has maybe half the amount of clients that mercy does, but he’s working on it.

pretends he doesn’t care as much as he does. pretends a lot, like there’s nothing soft to him. but a trained eye can see clearly through this. even so - even if you can see that there’s more to ducky than violence and drug deals - you’d still have to break through a dozen walls.

in the rare occasion you get him talking - i mean, talking a lot - he’ll talk about space. ramble off a dozen useless facts about dwarf stars and black holes and all of jupiter’s moons. about a video game he likes, about nothing and everything at all. but as soon as he begins, he stops - embarrassed. apologizes, shuts his mouth, disappears to wherever. anywhere but there.

drug abuse // has a. complicated relationship with benzos n xanax n a various assortment of painkillers. ironic bc he hates drugs due to. his chosen career n wldnt do most of what they sell, bt yknow. this ws inevitable. hates beer bt forces himself 2 drink it bc toxic masculinity probably man idk.

overall just … he’s a soft boy, with a big heart - bigger than anybody else in his family, that’s for sure, but his exterior is far different than that, and it’s hard to tell.

violence mention // purposely loses fights so that he doesn’t have to severely hurt someone. because sometimes he just - he was raised in a violent environment, and sometimes he snaps. sometimes ducky just fucking snaps. and his vision goes red, and he can’t control himself - because need to survive kicks in, and violence is all he knows. if someone pushes ducky - pushes him enough, he breaks. he fights back. it’s all he knows. it’s all he knows. it’s all he knows, and that’s not an excuse - and he knows this, and god, he’s so tired. he is so. tired.

wanted plots.

u look good tonight ... ;; wld love a connection in which he is feeling emotionally compromised n maybe kinda hs a thing w someone bt hes like. very unreliable n kinda ghosting bc he is very afraid n it wld b maybe bad fr them to b anything other than hook ups. cld apply to smth very intensive or smth very surface lvl i’ll take thousands.

palms sweaty ... moms spaghetti ... ;; ppl tht ducky just hs fkn brawled. cld b anybody fr any reason. ducky prob lost n he prob lost on purpose bt also ur muse cld maybe kick ducky’s ass? cld b a fake fight cld b a real fight. cld b a npc fight n then ur muse cn patch up ducky? possibilities endless. maybe they hv a nice spaghetti dinner n both of them r both bruised up frm their fight. sometimes fights end in spaghetti dinners. thanks eminnem or whatever.

own worse enemy... ;; ducky needs friends bt hes bad at making friends n sometimes he fks shit up by pushing ppl away n self sabotaging n being a major cunt n sometimes he just ghosts bt hes always very remorseful abt it? this cld b a very like. up n down friendship of any type its just. where do they stand. r they friends. r they enemies. r they lovers? probably not lovers. prob just platonic. but still its the thought tht counts.

and also ;; literally just like. anything. clients who buy off of him n like. casual friends n casual enemies n casual hookups. ppl hes ghosted. ppl hes embarrassed himself in front of. maybe ur muse tries to get ducky to socialize or maybe ducky is like. u are too much fr me. n ur muse runs off crying. endless possibilities all u hv to do is call this number now.

[thestudyfeels]

🎨 Graphic made by @indiaisstudying​: India is brilliant my pals, and I recommend checking her out for studyblr/artblr inspiration. My girl tHIRIVES.

The singular takeaway from this post: Do a creative binge. Much productive than a Netflix binge. Period.

Two months ago, I reached my peak when I coined the term ‘bood day’ (a bad to good day, in my article How To Flip A Bad Day By 180°). Today, puppies and kittens, I present to you— a creative binge.

*crickets chirping, that one dude in the audience scratches his nose and turns away* 

…This one actually works but okay, we get it, y'all are bitches. But gonna do my job anyway– if you're a creator reading this, please do a creative binge at least once every two weeks.

I started doing these binges two months ago, and I've seen a VAST improvement in my creative energy. I feel my commercial voice coughing and saying hello to the mic, so before I start listing side-effects for a sponsored pill, let's dive into the basics. 

🍵 Quick PSA — 

↪ JOIN MY TAGLIST? If you aren't on this yet, please get on it, it'll mean a lot to me! By joining, you get a new article on lifestyle design & productivity every week.

100 Days of Sweat: This challenge starts TOMORROW (10th of April), so if you wanna hustle on your bod this year, join us! Accountability does crazy things.

Ever questioned your life, experienced writer's block, painter’s pain or blogger’s… block? (Narrator: aaaand she's back to advertising.) A creative binge helps deal with fixing exactly that.

“A creative binge is based off the equation of quality in = quality out.”

A lot of creators feel that they're supposed to magically create out of their head, and that's just ridiculous. It's ludicrous considering you don't know shit, read shit, do shit and watch shit.

Even to write fiction, my pal, you'll have to expose yourself to the world to know its ways, read great books and take tips (not to mention stock up on coffee, and prepare to cry a lot) before you start cranking out the pages. Everything you create is ultimately inspired by the Ways Of The World. (And that's a fantastic novel title)

So in short, you’ve got to consume content, to make content. And in a creative binge, you conscious choose content that'll help you create. Genius, I know!

Okay, but what if I'm not a creator?

Brilliant question! Wanna become more valuable and leave the people you interact with better? Take a creative binge.

Allow me an elaboration: Take a janitor and a neurosurgeon. The said janitor is paid much less than the neurosurgeon. Why is that? Is the neurosurgeon a better person? That's debatable. Is the janitor less efficient at his work? Again, debatable. The primal reason lies in the neurosurgeon acquiring more valuable skills than the janitor. Society rewards them by paying more since there are less folks who can do what the neurosurgeon does.

To recap: In order to be indispensable in the role you play (whatever it is, a student, calligrapher, CEO of the Janitor Club), you HAVE to become valuable. Grow your curiosity & know more than yo’ buddies (also bring more value than anybody else). And to become valuable, you consume value. Tada!

(And if you still ain't convinced, I'll pull out the Netflix card. You'd really rather watch shows? Or binge YouTube? Than learn a new skill, or develop existing ones? Question your priorities, my friend. Victims love entertainment, victors love learning.)

Cool, you're joining in then! Not that creative binge is NOT an entertainment binge. It's a value providing binge. What you ‘consume’ has to bring you something in return— whether that's creative inspiration, motivation or skills. *Swing arms* yup! We’re one gay, productive household. Someone remind Hallie to buy the groceries though, the Cheerios are going mouldy.

By my dictionary, a creative binge is a slot of time, 1½ to 3 hours I'd say, when you watch/read/listen to some good stuff.  Basically, binge content. 

THE 101 OF A CREATIVE BINGE 

🌿 Basics:

I conduct one every week (usually Wednesday mornings), lasting around 1½ to 2 hours.

I'll also keep a notepad and a pen nearby, to take notes and jot ideas as they come. Again, this is NOT an entertainment binge, even though it's a chill job.

Sometimes I'll get passive things done (like wiping my desk, eating breakfast and taking out textbooks) while watching. We maximize our time. 

🌿 What Do I Watch: 

The stuff I watch falls into 3 categories: creative/humor (for inspiration), business/skills (for skills) & motivation (for, um, motivation). Fair warning though, a lot of the stuff these folks make overlap, but that's alright. This is just a rough demarcation. 

Creative/Humor: some YesTheory, maybe some MacDoesIt, sprinkle in some Ryan Higa, perhaps an episode of a show with an amazing script, some stand-up comedy from my favorites. Or maybe trash that and just watch Sherlock. (Geez, Netflix, I hate you, I love you.)

Skills: Gary Vee, some artist channels, that random video on how to thrift shop even though I don't shop.

Motivation: Be Inspired, Tom Bilyeu, Mel Robbins and random videos which look nice.

🌿 What Do I Listen To: 

Oof, I love music tremendously! If you're a pal, you know it's time to RUN when I come around being like, “soo, I was wondering what's your favourite–”.

Yet, during a creative binge, I'll only listen to stuff that 1) inspires me, or 2) is creative in a way I can't explain. Some recommendations! 

Hype music:

The Score

NF

Imagine Dragons

Creative music:

Billie Eilish

Lana Del Rey

Sleeping At Last

Lorde

Conan Gray

Harry Styles 

🌿 What Do I Read: 

Usually the book that I'm reading at that point if I'm being lazy.

POETRY: It's my belief, but poetry is a writer's most powerful device. There's a novel to be said in a simple sonnet.

FICTION: I dig great fiction. PS, please read (and sob over) Away Childish Things, by @letteredlettered. It changed me as a person, changed my entire perspective about kids. I'm much kinder and softer now, and my pimples are gone. I'll literally never get over drarry too, so thanks lettered, love you.

ARTICLES: Bookmarked psychology, productivity & fitness articles on Medium. Maybe check out James Clear's & Gary Vee’s blog for new posts.

Because I wanna drive this home, here's what I did in my last creative binge as a concrete example —

Care to Note that:

All of the stuff I consume is pre-planned.

I add videos throughout the week to my Creative Binge playlist on YouTube, download albums from Amazon Music and articles for offline reading.

DON'T leave this to the last moment, you'll more likely pick entertainment vs learning then. 

Watched–

Why I'm done trying to be "man enough"

Redecorating my room 2017 (I wanna decorate my room this year so)

How to Squat Properly (I’m trying lmao)

Giving a 9-Year-Old Her Dream Job for 24hrs!! (I stan YesTheory so much)

How To NOT Be A Starving Artist (A mood. I love Sorelle)

Couple more, I could go on & on, but you get me.

Listened–

Every song on YouTube by Bruno Major

Born to die: paradise version (album) by Lana Del Rey 

Read–

Articles from James Clear's blog — (x) (x)

Articles from Gary Vee’s blog — (x) (x)

HIIT workouts for beginners

All of this birthed–

Ideas for future articles, titled: How To Be Great & Solomon Letters #2: Question Your Faith, Not Your Dreams, among others.

A small poem about faith– posted on my IG, check it out!

New content ideas, like value chains (upcoming!)

Bunch of other small rants for everyday posting

Some business and life advice that might be useful later.

Gotta say goodbye now! (literally too... but post about it coming on 12th so wait for it) Try this one out, and let me know how your binge goes (tag it with #team conquer). Mine usually end with a bucketful of philo notes, a recharged left (right? psychology? idk) brain, and a fresh perspective towards the rest of my week. 

This is the #1 strategy I've adopted to sustain creative energy when it's sapped all around by negativity and school & I promise it helps. No side effects, no sponsored pills needed. Thanks for reading!

Related: How To Get Back Into The Creative Process (if you're in a blogger's block or experiencing painter's pain)

Have something to say? I treasure all feedback! If this post inspired you to do something, or you wanna throw some love/constructive criticism at me— hop into my ask box, or reply to this post itself!

Thanks for dropping by! Major articles, like this one, come out every Thursday! Join my taglist by to read them when they do. I also post daily wins, journal entries, rants & photos of my plant babies throughout the week, so follow me if you’re into conquering life. I vow to be the loudest cheerleader. ✧

Sending you love and good energy, talk soon. 

Nandini 💌 (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ 

🍊↪ TAGLIST (join here): 

Thank you to these folks for supporting my content! I appreciate & love you, hope y'all are taking care. ⬇

@doctorearlgray, @mintschlar, @procrastilate, @scienceandsarcasticdroids, @sxudying, @hannistudies, @vocative, @studign-stars, @ash-trological, @sweet-bean-study-queen, @chaoticstormthings, @lunetudes, @beingstudent, @beautiful-magicalbrain, @akydemics, @literery, @redvelvetstu-dies, @vivinotes, @jynsdesk, @moonshinestudies, @studying-in-chaos, @thelazyunistudent, @einstetic, @ram-the-blonde-bitch, @a-students-lifebuoy, @studahliless, @inspostudying, @the-diary-of-a-failure, @would-iwasshookethspeared, @coffeeandpies, @artsytourism, @gloomstudy, @scrolls-of-jupiter, @studytrivia, @ristudy, @isatriestostudy, @historicalbeez, @luvjoys, @indiaisstudying, @studyingunderwater, @dianeemay, @kemi-k, @londonotes, @froststudies, @pennyfynotes, @studiently, @midnightstudying, @unicorndoesstudies, @studyingundersun, @wingedprunepsychiclawyer, @tonystarkstudies, @delphinaaugery, @morganastudy, @studiies-psych, @sumastudies, @emrys-studies, @parleonstudies, @acataemic, @studylustre, @adelinestudiess, @sorcierstudies, @coffeeinfusedstudying, @pizza-and-studying, @the-third-me, @scrunchiestudies, @jemsjournals, @jas-study, @jabuticabablr, @khelmatic, @avastvdies, @anatomyandphysics, @neversecondbest, @podcast-listener, @astudyinpharmacy, @mandiestudie, @brazilianstudyblr, @redheadredheart, @rahastudies, @introvered-violinist  + you, if you’re reading this!

[brightsun-and-darkmidnight]

Changes to Find the Middle

TITLE: Changes to Find the Middle

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Oneshot

AUTHOR: brightsun-and-darkmidnight

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki helping you through a new medication regimen.

+

Image meeting Loki at the really "good/high" end of a mental illness (like bipolar).

RATING:  Teen

NOTES/WARNINGS: Mental health. Bipolar disorder. Manic to depression. Sexual relationship. Mentions of sex but no explicit content. Character not being herself. 

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Please be careful and take care of yourself. This might be a little triggering due to what I know of Bipolar disorder. Extreme highs (hypomania) and extreme lows (depression) are shown in this but thankfully this has a happy ending I wish everyone could experience in real life. Mental health is so important and People who have mental health issues often can not control themselves due to a chemical imbalance or traumatic experience in their life. Their behavior is often NOT their fault. Seek professional help if needed.

Song Muses: (Addicted by Saving Able) (You don't know by Katelyn Tarver) (Rescue Me by Onerepublic) (Inner demons by Julia Brennan) (Paralyzed by NF)

My Ao3: brightsun_and_darkmidnight

LENGTH: 2,413

*FINALLY..Read the warnings. Once you agree you can handle it...

 ~ ~ ENJOY  ~ ~

"How has your energy been? You look good."

I sat down enthusiastically in front of the doctor's desk, "really good! I have the energy to catch up with things now that a couldn't even think about doing a few months ago."

"That's very good. Are you hanging out with your friends again? I remember our last visit you said you missed them."

"Yeah I took your advice and told them. Only two of my friends are close now but they took me out of my house occasionally and I am feeling more confident with myself because of them."

"I am happy to hear that." The doctor smiled at me.

I talked really fast because my doctor needed to hear more, "Their friends got me into one of Stark's parties and it was… amazing. I met this new guy actually."

"You guys do anything fun?"

"We met at the party and things really sparked. Like REALLY sparked and we see eachother everyday." I did not leave the suggestive tone out of my voice.

"That's good. Go on dates?"

Excitement lit in me at the thought of all the amazing sex we had… but other than the few drinks he bought me and the takeout dinner… 

The doctor glanced at me, their look shifted… something shifted and I already knew what was wrong.

"Umm… well.." I rubbed my thigh out of nerves just THINKING about it. Just the thought of the gynecology appointment for STI testing I should get done. I cleared my throat as I awkwardly answered, "there's more… action going on than casual conversations." 

My face flushed with heat when they asked,

"You mean sexual intercourse?"

I nodded my head. 

I knew. Everyone that actually knew "normal" me… All of us KNEW I never have sex with anyone until a month a serious dating, at least. The type of dating where discussions were deeper things than food, half watched movies, and how our outward appearances looked naked. I never sexted when I couldn't actually meet the other.

The doctor carefully asked the famous question, "Have you used protection?"

I tried to laugh but it came out broken. "No. Once again I felt invincible, overconfident, and had the sex drive of a rabbit."

The doctor started to discuss my sleep that was nonexistent. Then the amount of food consumption that was high and all I have been eating was cheap takeout. I haven't been eating like my usual self who tried to keep eating healthy. Even through depression I ate frozen fruit. It was on my list every time when I absolutely had to drag myself to the store to get necessities. I explained how I have been the person who, "helps everyone out with extreme unrealistic enthusiasm" as I always said to be annoying during my normal window of mind set.

I went to the store to pick up my prescription for a mood stabilizer. I went home and as much as I REALLY wanted to answer the phone when seeing Loki's name. I just didn't. I forced the thought from my mind of...a really pleasure filled night. My body filled with the desire to be touched by another's body.

The phone stopped ringing and so did my sinful thoughts.

As usual there was no voicemail.

In normal circumstances there should have been one, with a declaration of loving longing or a stupid question in a way to just get me to get back in contact.

I stared at my phone. My mind was at war and the part fueled by my bodily behavior was winning. It became a game in my head that was unfavorably tipped towards my body's desire. He texted me if he could come to my place and the game was over. I hid the medication in the cupboard after taking my first dose.

I woke in an odd way… something was different.

I groaned as I moved and felt the bed still warm under my body. I opened my eyes as I inhaled at a similar scent. I was unsure if I was glad he was gone or upset he seemed to have just left. He usually stayed till I woke. I felt the sensation between my legs and knew I needed to make a gynecologist appointment before I had to go to work, praying I could get in after my shift tomorrow.

I made the appointment but it was not for a few days and Loki kept in contact. However I worked on letting him go slowly with not responding immediately and was to the point of making sure not to respond to him unless there were so many number of attempts to contact me.

I stared at my phone as a new text message appeared.

Loki asked a simple question, "Are you ok?"

I laughed and laughed till I could no longer bare to do it.

It WAS a simple question but no one ever wanted the real answer. No one wanted the burdens of another placed on their shoulders from SMALL talk. The truth was deeper and more time consuming than anyone could predict. So I sent the simple one worded lie and left my phone alone again, but silenced it.

It was a while before I checked my phone due to falling asleep to the discovery channel.

I was fully prepared for no new notifications.

I was surprised to see 2 new messages.

I wanted to throw the phone before I looked but the idea was squashed by excitement and curiosity.

Both of the messages from Loki.

"Do you want to meet up?"

Hour after the last message, "talk tomorrow. Goodnight."

I didn't answer back because my stomach tightened in an odd way. I was used to feeling good about a God wanting me but now...

I used positive self talk to encourage myself to not give in on my final day before my tests but that coping skill is easily the hardest to master. I found myself open the chat with him, start to type something arousing and had to delete it. I was pissing myself off. I hated the stage between "normal me" and "ill me" because my mind was constantly at war.

I decided to ultimately block Loki's number in an attempt to stop contact.

My test results came back that I was still healthy and relief washed over me..

Eventually those supposed friends stopped talking to me as they usually did because I was not "fun" anymore.

I was becoming my "normal" self again, thus putting in the efforts of a healthy schedule again.

However, the loneliness from staying in by myself. Not having anyone to talk to. Ofcourse, I had my coworkers that have always openly laughed at poor tastes of mental health jokes. I was losing interest in everything because, "why should I care" and "what's the point?"

I had to look presentable for work so while I was "public eye" ready, I did my shopping then. By the time I got home on the days of the extremely scarce necessity shopping, I was exhausted but my body was wide awake. I would toss and turn trying to sleep but it would not welcome me.

Then other times, I put the cold stuff away and went straight to bed without getting anything to consume. I would often cry myself to sleep, then wake too tired to do anything. 

On days off I would lay in bed and do nothing until the desire to use the toilet became too strong.

I would weep and mourn my favorite past times. Not actually my interests and hobbies but how much I could not will myself to just do them. I left the discovery channel play on the TV just for the sake of something familiar. When a little fact I knew would be mentioned it was like a smoldering campfire was stirred. 

A little life breathed into me from time to time and due to the doctor's recommendation, I got back into therapy again. It helped but the talks were hard and seemed to weigh heavily on me more once I was home. There are skills I should be using and strategic tips to get things done. However, sometimes I just could not pull the will into my grasp to participate in the knowledge of a healthy lifestyle.

My phone rang with an unknown number. I answered it due to expecting a response from my doctor.

"How have you been?"

I knew that voice… but I could not pinpoint it.

I answered, "I'm ok. But who is this?"

"Loki."

"Oh…" I scrambled for words but nothing came. How was I supposed to explain this to him, my current state in everything and the fact I blocked his number?

"Are you home?"

"I was just about to leave." It was a lie. 

A damn terrible lie. I had no plans of removing myself from my couch. It had everything I needed in arms reach because it was essentially my comfort fort now.

The doorbell rang and I was extremely tempted to act like I was not home but the person on the other end of the phone knew.

I sighed with dread ringing in my chest much like the damned sound of company at my door insistent on not giving up.

I opened the door slightly to see Loki standing there.

His eyes met mine.

"You do not seem ok." Echoed from my phone before he ended the call.

I looked past Loki because while it might have once been excitement, I felt anything but that currently.

I tried to push my words out louder than a whisper, "What are you doing here?"

"I have been trying to contact you.. more regularly as of recently."

"I have no intention of being a booty call anymore."

His eyebrows scrunched and he blinked.

I went to shut the door as I said, "goodbye Loki."

Loki's hand shot out and kept the door opened. "You were never."

I huffed in annoyance as hope rose slightly in my chest. Then the doubts from depression took that hope and buried it 20 feet further than before. Tears pricked my eyes after the past hour of seeming to be gone and dried.

Loki's face was of concern when he asked, "may I come in?"

My face felt like it contorted into pure agony as I tried to hide the sob erupting from my aching heart. I tried to swallow the huge lump in my throat but it caused further pain. Then finally from the pain that emitted from deep within me, the tears fell.

I was in the hurricane of emotion from having a visitor.

Joy from not being alone then, to the horror of having to explain.

There was too much to explain... My reason for treating him so vastly different since we met. My emotional state. All my emotions. My appearance of myself and my house. The medication on the counter that had purpose. My illness and why once again I was crying harder. Trying to explain what was WRONG with me and why I needed the medication.

Loki sat beside me at the messy and cluttered kitchen table.

"What do you mean you were 'too good' at the time we met?"

I sniffed but still had to wipe my nose. "It's a symptom of bipolar disorder. I can literally feel too good at some points of my life. I had unbelievable amounts of confidence and optimism. It's called hypomania. That's not who I am. I am much-MUCH more responsible than getting drunk and having unprotected sexual intercourse with someone I know nothing about on an intellectual level."

I watched Loki's tongue swipe his lips as they pressed together and eyebrows scrunched again in thought.

Finally he spoke, "Your vast knowledgeable facts from our FIRST conversation have been playing on that TV throughout our conversation. I can see several things that show your bright mind. The very mind I fell for."

My eyes glanced at him once again. "My knowledge does not change. Just the optimism, focus, and desire for it."

Things seemed to be clicking in Loki's mind. He looked at the medications once again and did not take his eyes off of them. "If you continue your treatment, you will be what you deem normal?"

A small smile pulled my lips as a puff of air escaped from my amusement. "Yes. What I deem as normal. Not anyone else meaning I will be back to my healthy self... If I could remember to take my medicine."

"I am going to help you because I want to see the happy medium that you keep mentioning. It seems that I have seen you at all of your worst moments." He gave me a side glance with a smile pulling at his lips, "I assume there is something I must like out of your normal."

I began to smile but a frown quickly placed it. "There is no telling when I will be normal again."

Gold shimmered over my medication.

"Perhaps now it will become easier to stay on your medication regimen."

I grabbed a bottle and examined it once there was no longer gold around it. "What did you do?"

"I will know where these containers are and be able to move them. I will also know when you open them." He got the spare phone out of his pocket, "should I not be able to contact you again through phone, I will simply move these containers to you."

I felt a little happier as I teased, "I guess simply blocking your number is not going to work anymore?"

Loki smiled, "There are plenty of other numbers I could use."

Loki did help me. There had to be a little adjustment to his plan of keeping track of my medicine. He bought a specific little container made for sorting pills into daily doses. He would help me fill the daily spots for medication and he put another enchantment on that one as well. 

Everyday he would come to my place and help with things that needed to be done. He would compliment me when I needed it. He would hold me when medication would make me drowsy. He would urge me to eat when I did not want to. He helped me make healthier choices when I wanted to devour the whole house.

He actually took me to nice restaurants when I felt decent enough to get out.

He would always know everything about my medication and with him being able to literally hold it in my face at any point in the day… well there was no longer the option to forget.

Loki was the constant supply of water to my thirst for knowledge. Due to that type of relationship we really connected. Like really connected. We talked about everything to varying levels of importance and on both ends were voicemails with ridiculous ways to entice the other to call back.

Sometimes I would purposely ignore his calls just to see what the next stupid thing would be left in my mailbox… I listened to the recent one just left on my phone a minute ago.

"I know your games by now, so call me back. ...My declarations of love can wait until you tell me what sweet thing I am craving. I am at the store, so do hurry up before I decide to buy 5 of everything in the candy isle." There was a faint sound of the typical background noise in a store. "Please hurry… I fear I am going to need a bigger cart."

[mbti-notes]

I'm an INFP living what I could probably define as the worst period of my life. I'm not able to get interested in anything anymore. I spend my mornings doing the things I must do, then lay on a bed and do nothing for the rest of the day. I tried to force myself to act, but it doesn't really change anything - I'm just a robot following a task, with no passion or curiosity whatsoever. I feel nothing but pain and everything around me looks empty. I see all of these enthusiastic people around me and

[con’t: wonder where do they take that interest from. I remember when I used to be like them, but it’s like remembering about someone else’s life. I have no idea how to get back there. I look in the mirror and all I see is a stupid, flawed individual, unable to change, to learn, to socialize, to get better - just useless, really - and the more I force myself to do interesting things, to get inspired, to go out, to enjoy life, the more I feel detached from everything. I don’t know what else to do. My…]

Was there another part to your question because I didn’t receive it? Have you considered the possibility of depression and talking to a therapist? I discuss type and cognitive dysfunction but if your problem is more serious than that, then professional help might be necessary. You describe common symptoms of Si loop disconnection and Te grip judgmentalness, and both have been discussed many times before, search the relevant tags. Si loop and Te grip involve two cognitive mistakes: 1) You’re looking in the wrong direction. You look to a prior version of you and your life and want to go backward, which disconnects you from the present and the future. This produces irrational pessimism because all you can see is how nothing will ever measure up to the glorified and mythologized past. 2) You mistake your subjective Feeling judgments as objective factual judgments. You nitpick and judge everything negatively as though your evaluations are purely objective when they are merely an outcrop of your unhappy feelings. This produces a hypercritical mindset because you’re desperately looking to “correct” everything you perceive as being “wrong” (inferior Te) as opposed to getting back in touch with yourself, who you are, and what you care about (dominant Fi)

Let’s say that I believe your general claim that you can’t care about anything. Then why are you even here asking me about it? Why even bother to lift your fingers to type? Because there is obviously a part of you that not only cares, but cares deeply. Instead of listening to and nurturing the caring part of you (i.e. Fi+Ne), you repeat the “I can’t care” story to yourself over and over and over again. Why? People unconsciously repeat a dysfunctional thought pattern because they get something from it, people unconsciously hold on to pain because it serves their ego. The purpose of Si loop is usually to shield oneself from feeling the pain of hurt or disappointment.

INFPs need auxiliary Ne development in order to look forward to the future and maintain an optimistic outlook on life. It’s no coincidence that irrational pessimism is the consequence of poor auxiliary Ne development. Here’s my guess: You care about life, you care about yourself, you care about the world. You need things, you want things, you dream about things, you hope for things. But, at some point, you came to believe that it’s impossible to get any of the things that you need, want, dream of, or hope for. Thus, you shut yourself down, you told yourself over and over again that you have no desires, no cares, no motivation… and then you are spared the deep pain of disappointment. What you haven’t understood is that, by cutting out the negative emotions, you can’t feel the positive ones either, you can’t feel anything after awhile when you go into denial and shut down your feeling life for the sake of ego defense.

NFs need to live a life that gives them a sense of higher calling or purpose. By confining yourself only to the activities you “must” routinely do (Te), your spirit slowly withers and dies (Fi). By being too afraid to hope and dream (Ne), you disconnect from everything positive in the world (Si loop). Life contains progress and success just as it contains setbacks and failures. The REALISTIC way to live life is to learn from the negative in order to achieve the positive. When you can’t be realistic, then Ne is unhealthily extreme and you believe that nothing is positive as long as there is any hint of the negative, then of course it seems not worth it to ever try, because there will always be something negative to disappoint you or “taint” the purity of your dreams.

People always have a choice in every moment of the day about what kind of attitude to adopt toward the world, and it seems you keep making the wrong choice: Choice #1: Live your life realistically, face up to the negative and learn how to transform it into something positive through proper Ne development. The negative tells you where improvement is necessary. Yes, you feel the pains of failure and disappointment, but you also get to feel the optimism of hope and the joy of your successes. You grow and make progress incrementally. Choice #2: Live your life never allowing yourself to hope and dream because the prospect of pain and disappointment is too scary and you want to distance from it. Convince yourself that you are terrible, the world is terrible, and numb yourself to everything.

But, wait. You chose #2 and you still feel pain and disappointment anyway, much deeper pain than you ever imagined possible. Why? Because there is a part of you that will always wish for something better and it cannot be silenced, it won’t settle down until you actually DO something to make your life better, not just to enjoy empty pursuits but rather to find a higher purpose and calling to care about. Not allowing yourself to hope and dream for more is like cutting off a limb or gouging out your own eyes, i.e., choice #2 (the pain of self-harm) hurts much much more than choice #1 (the pain of hard work) over the long run. Wishing is different from hoping. Wishing is passive and helpless; Hoping is active and initiating. Wishing means wasting your life away criticizing and complaining about how things are impossible; Hoping means envisioning new possibilities and caring enough about yourself to bring them to life.

The trigger of Si loop is different for each individual. Some infps tried and failed too many times in life, some were raised by parents who discouraged positive Ne use, some never learned how to plan and get organized, some got hurt terribly and never got over it, some chose the wrong path under pressure and eventually felt powerless to change course, etc. Resolve whatever unresolved pain that got you stuck in this place. 

To get out of inferior grip, engage your dominant function and develop the auxiliary function as explained in the study guides. Instead of comparing yourself to the past, envision a better you for the future, then make it happen. The energy for self-improvement comes from self-love and the desire to make the most out of your potential. Reflect on who you are, envision who you want to be, what you really need and want out of life, what you hope to achieve in life, how to develop your talents and skills, and how you can contribute something positive to make the world a better place than if you hadn’t existed. 

[hazhasmycoffee]

Take the Lead || h.o.

Words: 2.9k Pairing: Dancer!Harrison x Dancer!Female!Reader Summary: Harrison only wanted to do a solo practice, but ended up with a partner. Warnings: Language, Fluff, Angst?, no editing whatsoever

A/N: This is for Kaylee’s (@starksparker) 10k writing challenge! Congrats Kaylee! You deserve all the love for your amazing talent! The prompt is bolded! The dancer in the GIF is RJ Higton

Masterlist

“If you want love, you gon' have to go through the pain. If you want love, you gon' have to learn how to change. If you want trust, you gon' have to give some away. If you want love, if you want love.” If You Want Love by NF

Y/N walked up the steps of the dance studio hoping that the young man who said he’d dance with her at the recital would be there. She opened up the door to the studio, and she was glad that it was empty. She had worked hard on developing a routine for If You Want Love by NF for an audition with Juilliard. They sent a scout out to London to see the recital, and she knew that she couldn’t screw it up. Y/N began to do her stretches to limber up and pass time while she waited for her partner to show. Fifteen minutes had gone by, and she decided to shoot the guy a text.

Hey! It’s Y/N from the dance studio. Are you running late? 

She waited for a response, but none came. Her instructor said that the guy could be a bit flaky, but that he was an excellent dancer and would be perfect for the audition. She figured that even if he didn’t show up, she should still practice. As she opened up Spotify to play the song, Y/N checked her messages again. No reply. She decided to dance to anyways. As she watched herself through the mirrors, she realized that the routine only worked with a partner if she wanted to keep the routine. She sighed and decided that she would just finish up for the day. She decided to end her session with some stretches.

--

Harrison felt tension in his shoulders from the stress of the day. He had started taking a few dancing lessons after Tom taught him and Jacob some ballet in South Korea. He never expected to enjoy it as much as he did. Tom originally thought that when he was sneaking off it was because he was hooking up with someone from set. It wasn’t until one evening that Tom came across a gym bag that he thought was his but was actually Harrison’s. It had stretching straps and dance shoes. Tom laughed to himself because he thought Harrison was sneaking around about a girl; never in his right mind would he have thought that his best mate would take up dancing outside of the club.

“What are these?�� Tom asked Harrison while holding his dancing shoes.

“Oh, uh, I’m holding them for a friend?” Harrison tried to play it off, but the crack in his voice exposed him.

“I know their yours. Why didn’t you tell me? You know I’ve been going to a dance studio, you could’ve been joined me.” He sat next to Haz on the couch.

“I know, it’s just I’m just starting out and you’ve been doing this for years, and I’m just starting out, mate.” Haz replied looking down at his feet before looking up at Tom again.

“All the more reason for you to come; I can help you, mate.” Tom’s phone buzzed, which he briefly looked at before shoving it in his pocket.

“Well I was actually thinking about heading to the studio right now. Wanna come with?” Harrison sounded hopeful at the newfound support.

“Uh, I can’t. I’m meeting up with Conor soon, but definitely next time, mate.” He placed a hand on Haz’s shoulder.

“I’ll see you later then.” Haz had a small smile before he got up to head out.

“See ya, mate!” Tom called out before Haz walked out the front door.

--

The dance studio was less than a mile away from the flat and walk would serve as a warm-up. Harrison thought that the dance studio was empty based off of the lack of light coming out the studio windows. He jogged up the steps. As we walked through the door, he saw the figure of a young woman, and he spoke before she noticed him.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t think anyone was here.” Harrison didn’t know whether he should stay or go.

“It’s alright, I was just finishing up.” She turned to look at him.

“Are you sure? I can go if you still need the space?” He motioned back to the door.

“No, really. I’m not going to get any work done today.” She began to grab her belongings to throw into her duffle bag.

“What are you working on?” Harrison took a step forward, his curiosity getting to him.

“A routine for a recital, but the partner I was supposed to have bailed.” Y/N answered, his voice low from disappointment

“That’s shitty of them.” He simply remarked, not knowing if there was anything to say.

“You’re telling me. I’m thinking about just redoing everything and making it a solo piece.” She moved closer to the door to leave.

“Would you, maybe, care to dance?” Haz asked, his hand instinctively reaching the back of his neck.

“Excuse me?” Her gaze met his, her brows knitting together.

“Maybe I can help you, you know, with the dance.” His blue eyes never left her gaze.

“Oh, I can’t ask you to do that.” She shook her head and took another step closer to the exit.

“You must’ve worked terribly hard on the routine. It shouldn’t go to waste.” Harrison pointed, causing her to stop.

“I just don’t want you to feel responsible for this guy that bailed.” She looked back at him.

“No, really! I just started dancing, and I think this is a great way to help both of us.” He shrugged, hoping that she would agree.

“Okay, sure, thanks! I’m Y/N.” She extended her hand towards the young man.

“Harrison.” He shook her hand before setting his bag down.

--

After Harrison stretched out, Y/N handed him her phone and got into position. She nodded, and he pressed play. As she gracefully moved across the floor, she vocalized what he would mirror, and when he would lift, turn, or throw her. He was mesmerized by her movements and what she expected him to do. When she finished, she looked at him, only to see him in a daze.

“Is everything alright?” She asked, concern lacing her words.

“Yeah, no, that was brilliant. I hope I can be as good as you need me to be.” He stood up from his seated position.

“I’m sure you’ll be great.” Y/N smiled sweetly.

Harrison walked towards her as she counted out the beat for him. He followed her movements, that was until he heard her laugh.

“You’re thinking too much. Here, do you mind?” She looked up at him.

“Uhm, go for it.” He took in a quick breath.

“Okay, you place your hands here, and follow my body…” Y/N placed his hands on her waist, and she bent her knees slightly to give her a bit of leverage. “And we lift.” She pushed off the ground, and he helped her move from her position to the other side of him.

“Great! Now, take my hand…” She pulled away from him, only to be stopped by his hand in hers.

They continued to work through the routine. Y/N was impressed with his ability to learn quickly, and Harrison was simply impressed with her. She moved gracefully, and he tried to mimic her grace, only to be met with her sweet laugh and a smile his way.

“Harrison, don’t get inside your head too much. I know this is new, but this all has a natural flow to it. Take a deep breath, and let your body take the lead.” Y/N took a deep breath herself for Haz to follow.

He took a deep breath, and as he exhaled, Harrison felt the tension in his shoulders fade. His movements flowed more smoothly than before, and the rest of the rehearsal went by without a hitch.

“I think we’re good for today. You did an amazing job, Harrison!” Y/N smiled at her new partner.

“Thanks! And you can call me Haz.” He smiled back.

“Do you think we can rehearse tomorrow? Or do you need a break? We did do a lot today.” Y/N began to pack up.

“I think I can do tomorrow, I just havta check work stuff first. Mind if I have your number?” He asked, concerned he overstepped some sort of boundary.

“Not at all!” She smiled, and they exchanged phones to put in their numbers.

“Thanks, love. I’ll text you tomorrow.” He gave her a small wave before walking out of the studio as Y/N was pulling a hoodie over her head.

--

Harrison was practically flying from the rehearsal he had with Y/N. He was captivated by her creativity and appreciated that she was open to his suggestion. He couldn’t wait to tell Tom about her. As he reached their flat, he saw Tom at the door.

“Hey! How was it with Conor?” He asked as he approached his best mate.

“Great. You know, talking about music and just catching up. How was time at the studio?” Tom unlocked the door and stepped inside.

“It was amazing! Tom, there was this dancer, and she was amazing! She’s beautiful; has a gorgeous laugh. She choreographed an entire routine to If You Want Love and the guy that was supposed to be her partner bailed.” Haz followed Tom inside and set his bag down before grabbing a bottle of water from the kitchen.

“What did you say her name was?” Tom asked while settling onto the couch.

“Didn’t, but it’s Y/N.” Haz answered, taking a seat next to Tom.

“Fu-” Tom was cut-off by his best mate.

“Tom, really?” He looked disappointedly at Tom.

“What? You and I both know I can’t commit to anything right now with the reshoots I gotta do.” He tried to explain himself to Haz.

“Did you tell her that?” He asked, completely baffled that Tom would do anything like this.

“She doesn’t exactly know who I am, so I didn’t say anything.” Tom looked down at his feet.

“C’mon mate, that was a dick move.” Haz’s voice was laced with disappointment.

“You think I don’t know that? I just didn’t know that her application to Juilliard was going to be on the line.” He tried to make Haz understand.

“W-what?” He looked at Tom, his eyes as wide as saucers.

“Mate, did you not know that?” His brows knit together, a hint of surprise in his voice.

“No, she just said that it was going to be for a recital?” Harrison tried to recall the conversation with Y/N.

“It’s to see if she can get into Juilliard.” Tom informed his best mate.

“I don’t know if I can do this.” His body filled with panic.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, they won’t be looking at you anyways.” Tom tried to calm Haz.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. I’m-I’m gonna go shower.” He got up and left Tom in the living room.

--

The following day, Harrison decided that it would probably be better to talk than text Y/N about the bomb Tom dropped the night before. He found her contact and called her. As the line rang, he began to have second thoughts.

“Hello?” Y/N answered the call.

“Uh, hey Y/N.” Harrison tried to calm his nerves.

“Hey Haz, how are you?” She asked sweetly.

“Not well. Is this routine an audition for Juilliard?” He mentally kicked himself for not building up to it.

“Yes, it is. Wait, did I tell you that?” She tried to remember the previous day’s events.

“Tom told me!” His voice was louder than intended.

“Tom? The div that bailed on me? How do you know him?” She was confused as to how Haz knew so much.

“That div is my roommate!” He answered her, his voice still louder than hers.

“Why didn’t he answer me back? Did you know that he bailed? Did he send you instead?” She continued to ask questions.

“No, no, no! I had no idea he was supposed to be your partner.” His voice lowered a bit.

“Does that change anything? Like, do you not want to be my partner?” Y/N’s voice dripped with worry.

“I-I don’t know. Can I think about it?” Haz’s voice was low.

“Yeah, take your time, just let me know what you decide.” She answered quietly.

“Will do. Bye Y/N.” Haz hung up before Y/N even had a chance to reply.

--

Y/N was taken back by her phone call with Harrison. She thought that everything had been going well with him, but she also recognized that she should have been honest with him about the audition. She needed to figure out what she was going to do if Harrison decided to bail on her too. Should she call Juilliard to keep them from sending a scout? Should she pick a different song and create a new routine? Questions flooded Y/N’s mind as she tried to figure out what step to take if Harrison decided to not be her partner, that was until her phone buzzed.

--

Harrison paced back and forth in his room trying to figure out what he should do. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t see Harry standing in his doorway.

“If you keep at it, you’ll make a dent in your floor, mate.” Harry let out a laugh.

“Div… What are you doing here?” Harrison stopped in his tracks to look at the young Holland.

“We were going to the mall today. Don’t you remember?” Harry stepped into the room.

“Oh, yeah, that’s right. I just got a lot on my mind right now.” He sat at the foot of his bed.

“Wouldn’t have guessed.” Harry smirked, taking a few steps closer to his mate.

“Shut up!” Haz looked up at Harry.

“Okay, okay. What’s going on?” He sat down next to Haz.

“Tom was supposed to be this girl’s partner for a recital at the dance studio but he bailed on her. I ended taking his place, but that was before I found out that it’s for a Juilliard audition, and that’s a lot of pressure. So I don’t know if I should still be her partner.” He informed the young Holland.

“You dance?” He looked at Harrison shocked.

“That’s seriously all you got out of that?” He gently nudged Harry’s shoulder.

“Yeah!” Harry let out a chuckle.

“Div, I need help and all you care about is that I dance?” Haz began to fiddle with his fingers as he looked down at his feet.

“Look, you seem to care about dancing, so it’s not like you’re going to take the piss. Have you danced with her?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, I’ve got most of the routine down.” Haz smiled proudly to himself.

“There’s your answer. You took it seriously when it was just a recital. I’m sure you can handle the audition that isn’t even for you. You need to get outta your head, mate.” The young Holland spoke some sense into Haz.

“Yeah, you’re right. Ya know, she said the same thing to me.” He chuckled at the memory.

“Great minds think alike. Now let’s go because I am starving, and I want to go to Cinnabon.” He got up from Haz’s bed and headed toward the door.

“Fine, just let me text her first.” Harrison reached for his phone to text Y/N.

--

After Harrison agreed to being Y/N’s partner for the recital/audition, they went back to rehearsing. They rehearsed daily for at least two hours, and it showed. Harrison no longer put too much thought into the moves and he moved just as gracefully as Y/N. The routine itself transformed as well. Harrison suggested different lifts and transitions that Y/N had not thought about but when they tried them, the moves made the flow more natural and seemingly flawless. Tom even stopped by a few times to watch the rehearsal. He apologized profusely to Y/N, which she forgave him, but also made him promise that he would be there for the recital. He said he would be front and center. Tom was also very proud and impressed by Harrison’s dancing ability. It was nothing he expected. The routine, Harrison, and Y/N came together in a way no one had anticipated.

“Y/N, I wanted to ask you something.” Harrison spoke up after a rehearsal.

“What is it Haz?” Y/N looked up at him.

“I was wondering, love, if after the recital, we could maybe go out?” He asked shyly.

“Go out? As in a date?” She asked hoping her assumption wasn’t wrong.

“Yeah, that is if you want it to be a date.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“I’d love that, Haz.” She smiled sweetly before kissing his cheek.

--

Two weeks passed, and the day of the recital came, both Y/N and Harrison were extremely nervous. Harrison paced back and forth backstage waiting for Y/N to join him so that they could take their respective places on stage.

“Haz…” Y/N’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“Y/N…” He hugged her before taking in her outfit: black leggings, a sheer charcoal gray ballet skirt, and a black camisole.

“We got this.” She assured herself more than him.

“Deep breath, and let our bodies take the lead.” He smiled as he recalled the advice she once gave him.

She let out a breath. “Yeah, nice outfit by the way.” She gestured to his black joggers and charcoal gray plain tee.

“Thanks, my partner picked it out.” He winked at Y/N, which caused an eruption of butterflies to swarm in both of their stomachs.

“And now, a piece from Y/N Y/L/N and Harrison Osterfield.” A voiced announced that they were going to perform.

“Here we go!” Harrison took Y/N’s hand, took the lead, and they both went out on stage.

A/N: I hope you guys liked it! I have a few ideas for a part two, but you gotta let me know! I love you guys!

Taglist: @sincerelymlg @heavenly--osterfield @nilletellsstories @parkerstan @dee-rosemary @maraudersandco @fangedmutant @nerd-domland @thestoryofsj 

[peepingtoad]

Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test™

tagged by: @super-kame-love​ tagging: @hebi-noyuurei​, @lady-tsunade-hime2​, @loungingcat​, @sageheir​, @heavenlypaper​, @frogprinceus

ENFP

(This is the same result he got here, too--see link because the description is pretty perf)

Extravert(31%)  iNtuitive(12%)  Feeling(50%)  Perceiving(56%)

You have moderate preference of Extraversion over Introversion (31%)

You have slight preference of Intuition over Sensing (12%)

You have moderate preference of Feeling over Thinking (50%)

You have moderate preference of Perceiving over Judging (56%)

General Description below cut--it’s eerie.

ENFPs are both "idea"-people and "people"-people, who see everyone and everything as part of a cosmic whole. They want to both help and to be liked and admired by other people, on both an individual and a humanitarian level. This is rarely a problem for the ENFP, as they are outgoing and warm, and genuinely like people. Some ENFPs have a great deal of zany charm, which can ingratiate them to more stodgy types in spite of their unconventionality.

ENFPs often have strong, if sometimes surprising, values and viewpoints. They tend to try to use their social skills and contacts to persuade others gently (though enthusiastically) of the rightness of these views; this sometimes results in the ENFP neglecting their nearest and dearest while caught up their efforts to change the world.

ENFPs can be the warmest, kindest, and most sympathetic of mates; affectionate, demonstrative, and spontaneous. Many in relationships with an ENFP literally say, "They light up my life." But there is usually a trade-off: the partner must be willing to deal with the practical and financial aspects of the relationship, and the ENFP must be allowed the freedom to follow their latest path, whatever that entails.

For some ENFPs, relationships can be seriously tested by their short attention spans and emotional needs. They are easily intrigued and distracted by new friends and acquaintances, forgetting their older and more familiar emotional ties for long stretches at a time. And the less mature ENFP may need to feel they’re the constant center of attention, to confirm their image of themselves as a wonderful and fascinating person.

In the workplace, ENFPs are pleasant and friendly, and interact in a positive and creative manner with both their co-workers and the public. ENFPs are also a major asset in brainstorming sessions; follow-through on projects can be a problem, however. ENFPs do get distracted, especially if another interesting issue comes along. They also tend towards procrastination, and dislike performing small, uninteresting tasks. ENFPs are most productive when working in a group with a few Js to handle the details and the deadlines.

ENFPs are friendly folks. Most are really enjoyable people. Some of the most soft-hearted people are ENFPs.

ENFPs have what some call a "silly switch." They can be intellectual, serious, all business for a while, but whenever they get the chance, they flip that switch and become CAPTAIN WILDCHILD, the scourge of the swimming pool, ticklers par excellence. Sometimes they may even appear intoxicated when the "switch" is flipped.

One study has shown that ENFPs are significantly overrepresented in psychodrama. Most have a natural propensity for role-playing and acting.

ENFPs like to tell funny stories, especially about their friends. This penchant may be why many are attracted to journalism. I kid one of my ENFP friends that if I want the sixth fleet to know something, I'll just tell him.

ENFPs are global learners. Close enough is satisfactory to the ENFP, which may unnerve more precise thinking types, especially with such things as piano practice ("three quarter notes or four ... what's the difference?") Amazingly, some ENFPs are adept at exacting disciplines such as mathematics.

Friends are what life is about to ENFPs, moreso even than the other NFs. They hold up their end of the relationship, sometimes being victimized by less caring individuals. ENFPs are energized by being around people. Some have real difficulty being alone, especially on a regular basis.

One ENFP colleague, a social worker, had such tremendous interpersonal skills that she put her interviewers at ease during her own job interview. She had the ability to make strangers feel like old friends.

ENFPs sometimes can be blindsided by their secondary Feeling function. Hasty decisions based on deeply felt values may boil over with unpredictable results. More than one ENFP has abruptly quit a job in such a moment.

Functional Analysis: ENFP

Extraverted iNtuition

The physical world, both geos and kosmos, is the ENFP's primary source of information. Rather than sensing things as they are, dominant intuition is sensitive to things as they might be. These extraverted intuitives are most adept with patterns and connections. Their natural inclination is toward relationships, especially among people or living things.

Intuition leans heavily on feeling for meaning and focus. Its best patterns reflect the interesting points of people, giving rise to caricatures of manner, speech and expression.

Introverted Feeling

Auxiliary feeling is nonverbally implied more often than it is openly expressed. When expressed, this logic has an aura of romance and purity that may seem out of place in this flawed, imperfect world. In its own defense, feeling judgement frequently and fleetly gives way to humor. ENFPs who publicize their feelings too often may put off some of the crowd of friends they naturally attract.

Extraverted Thinking

Thinking, the process which runs to impersonal conclusions, holds the extraverted tertiary position. Used on an occasional basis, ENFPs may benefit greatly from this ability. Less mature and lacking the polish of higher order functions, Thinking is not well suited to be used as a prominent function. As with other FP types, the ENFP unwary of Thinking's limitations may find themselves most positively mistaken.

Introverted Sensing

Sensing, the least discernible ENFP function, resides in the inner world where reality is reduced to symbols and icons--ideas representing essences of external realities. Under the influence of the ever-present intuition, the ENFP's sensory perceptions are in danger of being replaced by hypothetical data consistent with pattern and paradigm. When it is protected and nourished, introverted sensing provides information about the fixed. From such firm anchoring ENFPs are best equipped to launch into thousands of plausibilities and curiosities yet to be imagined.

Perhaps the combination of introverted Feeling and childlike introverted Sensing is responsible for the silent pull of ENFPs to the wishes of parents, authority figures and friends. Or perhaps it's the predominance of indecisive intuition in combination with the ambiguity of secondary Fi and tertiary Te that induces these kind souls to capitulate even life-affecting decisions. Whatever the dynamic, ENFPs are strongly influenced by the opinions of their friends.