#there’s so much about him that I love!! I can feel my dopamine levels rising hahha

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

I call this one the “I MISS MY BLORBO SO BAD!!!!!!” gifset, lovingly made on my phone on a friday night 😌❤️

[ponderingmoonlight]

Hear me out: reader being Yu Haibara's little sister, always crushing on Nanami. After the death of her big bro he's there for her. Thank you for your writing!

This made me tear up the entire fic! I really hope you enjoy it <3

Whisper of the Death

Pairing: Nanami x fem!reader (Haibara's sister)

Word Count: 3,8k

Synopsis: With your character of pure gold, it isn't hard for Nanami to fall for you despite the fact that you are the little sister of his best friend. However, your world is turned upside down after both men return from their last mission...

Warnings: death, complete heartbreak, extreme hurt but comfort at the end, fluff over fluff

“Come on Yu, you can’t forbid me to come with you!”, you insist, hands clenched into fists.

“I get that you want to help people, I always admire you for caring about others. But this…This is something completely different, (y/n). It’s dangerous, you could die. Curses are no joke. Of course I can’t force you to stay home, but I’m begging you to hear me out.”

You’ve never seen him like this. The way his dark brown eyes look down at you with nothing but seriousness and pain simply takes your breath away. The moment your big brother realized that you are able to see curses too and worse, that even Jujutsu High seems to realize how much potential you hold, he began to protect you at any cost. But this is something you want so badly that for once, you can’t talk it out with him.

“Yu.”

You take his big hands into yours.

“I will go to Jujutsu High with you together. I’m sorry but this time, I have to do something for me. I just feel that this is my destiny.”

He embraces you in a tight hug, your tears staining his white shirt.

“I will never stop looking after you. Even at Jujutsu High, I’m your big brother, okay?”, he murmurs.

“And I’ll be your little sister all the way.”

He always admired the way you carried yourself. Despite being nothing more than Yu Haibara’s little sister to anyone, besides everyone around you being so damn strong, you made it look so easy. The bright smile seems to be plastered on your face, your light mood brightens up everyone’s day on a regular basis. Sometimes it scares him a little how much you look like Yu and how perfectly his optimistic personality matches yours.

“You’re staring a little too hard, Nanami-san”, Gojo teases him out of his trance.

Damn, caught again. Nanami Kento never intended to crush on his friends little sister, but you are so much more than that. The sunshine to his rain, the stars to his night, the thunder to his lighting. How can anyone spend time with you and not hopelessly fall in love with you?

“Kento, I searched everywhere for you!”, you yell, hand waving frantically to make him look at you.

“Maybe I just don’t wanna be found by you, (y/n).”

“You’re always so funny”, you giggle.

“Hi guys, how are you doing?”, you greet Gojo, Geto and Nanami, your heart beating a little faster when catching a glimpse of the blondes face.

Kento, you and your big brother are the only students of first class this year. And while it seems like Yu and him grew close for Kento's standards, you’re always a little left out. Of course you get along perfectly fine with all of them, but Kento seemed so distant as soon as you enter the frame for a few months now, making you wonder what you did to upset him. Especially given the fact that your heart begins to frantically hammer against your ribcage as soon as you see or hear him, the sheer thought alone making your dopamine levels rise to the roof. There’s just something about him. Something that fuels the urge in you to get closer to him, to maybe even hug him. His strong arms sure feel good wrapped around you…

“You’re daydreaming again, (y/n)”, the so familiar voice of your big brother rings in your ear.

You smile widely, gaze finding him along Shoko’s side. He went on a mission a few days ago, not knowing when he’ll be able to return. Seeing him well and breathing makes you instinctively run up to him and forget Nanami for a second.

“You’re back!”, you breathe out, pressing your face into his chest tightly.

God, you missed him so badly, a part of you always dies when he’s out on a mission without Nanami or you. Even though you didn’t follow his advice back then, you constantly remind yourself of the fact that being a jujutsu sorcerer is tough and deadly.

“You know I’m always coming back to you. How you’ve been, (y/n)? And most importantly, did you leave a piece of cake for me like you promised?”

“I even saved two”, you announce proudly while chuckling.

God, how is Nanami supposed to not imagine you in his very own arms instead of Yu’s when your voice is dripping in honey, putting a smile on everyone else’s faces around you? Why do you have to be so sugary sweet, so innocent and delightful?

“Haibara, mission report. Kento and small Haibara, training session. Now.”

The harsh voice of Masamichi Yage rips him out of his fantasies immediately.

“Yes Sir!”, you speak out in firm voice, already on your way to the training ground when you suddenly turn around and look at him.

“Aren’t you coming with me, Kento?”

“If I have to…”, he grumbles.

What a lie. The thought of being skin to skin with you runs shivers down his spine immediately, excitement eating him up from the inside while his eyes are as cold as usual.

“You know, I’m actually really glad that I and Yu met you. You seem like a good friend for him and I…I just love spending time with you…”

“You do?”, he responses way too quickly.

“Sure! You’re my classmate and probably the best friend of my big brother! How could I not care about you? Also, you’re not as bad as you want to make the world believe you are.”

There you stand, a wide grin plastered on your face while you brush against his forearm gently. Oh, that lovely smile. Will it ever waver?

______________________________________________________________

Your heart almost beats out of your chest as you run to the hospital wing of Jujutsu High, feet carrying you as fast as possible. You heard rumors about Yu and Nanami returning from their mission, that everything went wrong and something bad has happened. This has to be a bad joke, right? Yu always talked about a grade 2 curse, an easy task for him and Nanami together. What should have gone wrong?

“Geto-senpai!”, you cry out, sprinting towards the door at horrendous speed.

The way Geto instantly goes pale when seeing you makes your stomach drop.

“Do you know where I can find Yu and Kento? I heard they returned from their mission.”

You can’t catch your breath, the world around you begins to spin. Please let everything be okay, let it be no more than a small injury-

“What are you doing here, (y/n)?”, he breathes out.

“Somebody said that…that they’re here. C-Can you show me?”

You never stuttered in your entire life, never lost at words. But one look into Geto’s eyes is enough to shatter your optimistic and joyful façade.

“(y/n).”

As if in trance, you push past him through the cold corridors. This has to be a joke, right? A bad dream, maybe. Or something hilarious happened and Kento is too ashamed to see you at the moment. Yeah, it has to be something ridiculous, something you’ll laugh about for weeks.

“(y/n), why are you here?”

Shoko’s voice sounds so dry and empty that you widen your glossy doe eyes in surprise.

“Someone told me that Kento and Yu are here. Why are y’all acting so strange? I’m just here to bring them some muffins.”

You peek through the small windows of the doors until you finally make out the blonde hair you know so well.

“Oh, there he is! See you later, Shoko!”

You smile widely as you open the door. Thank god, Kento is alive. They have to be fine, right?

“No, (y/n), wait!”, Shoko cries after you.

As soon as your gaze wanders to Kento's figure, your smile fades away in the wind. God, he looks terrible. Scratches cover his whole body, uniform ripped open in a few spots. Although is eyes are covered by a small towel, you can clearly see how worn out he is. An ugly feeling crawls up your veins.

“My god, what happened to you, Kento? Are you feeling alright?”

You don’t hesitate. Immediately, you are by his side, hands gently brushing over his shoulders and arms.

“(y/n), what the hell are you doing here?”

His damp voice sounds so aggressive that you flinch, hands stopping on his shoulders.

“I came to meet you and Yu. I even brought you some self-made muffins, the ones you like the mo-“

“(y/n).”

You swallow hard, a big lump building up inside your throat when it hits you. Yu isn’t here, you haven’t seen him yet.

“Where’s Yu?”

Your question hangs in the air, unanswered by the man in front of you who drops his arms to his sides defeated. Suddenly, you feel hot and cold at the same time, hands trembling against his broad shoulders.

“Where’s Yu, Kento?”, your demanding voice grows stronger, grip around his shoulders tightening with every passing second.

“Don’t make it so damn hard for me, (y/n)”, he yells at you so harshly that the towel falls off his face onto the ground.

“That was a local deity. This wasn’t a grade two curse, that was a grade 1. We did what we could.”

“No”, you murmur, repetitive shaking your head while tears stream down your face.

“But Yu…He didn’t make it, (y/n). He’s dead”, he cries out in frustration.

Your mind goes blank, body on the brink of giving in under your own immense weight. This has to be a bad joke, a misunderstanding.

“Even at Jujutsu High, I’m your big brother, okay?”

“Curses are no joke.”

“You could die, (y/n).”

A soft whimper escapes your lips, body now shivering uncontrollably as you still hold onto Nanami’s shoulder for what feels like dear life.

“Please tell me you’re joking, this has to be a bad dream, right?”

“God, how much I wished it was. I should tell you that you’ll always be his little sister and that you should take care of yourself. He’ll watch after you…”

Your heart completely shatters while all Nanami is able to do is staring at your glossy eyes. Why? Why on earth did Yu have to die and leave you like this? It’s him who should have get killed. This way, you’d at least have your beloved brother by your side.

“It should have been me”, he mutters, gaze wandering to the ceiling to stop himself from getting emotional all over again.

“No, please. I’m begging you to never say something like that again! Yu always knew about the risk of being a jujutsu sorcerer, that’s why he lived his life full of joy and love. Losing you would not only have broken his heart, but mine too”, you croak.

“I’m so sorry that I wasn’t able to save him, (y/n). If I could turn back time, I’d-“

“Don’t blame yourself, Nanami. Thank you for staying on his side until the very end, I’m sure you helped him to let go properly.”

“Is it okay if I…say goodbye?”

God, Nanami would buy the entire earth if it meant that you’ll be whole again, that it wasn’t your big brother on the autopsy table in the middle of this cursed room. But your kneeling in front of him, hands clenching his shoulder while a tsunami of grief rolls over you which he cannot stop.

“Of course you can, (y/n). He’s right here.”

His voice breaks, the way you gaze wanders into the middle of the room eats him up alive.

Your trembling figure drags itself to the table where your big brother is lying, body completely covered with a cloth. Maybe, just maybe you won’t be greeted by his prominent features but by a stranger instead. Maybe this isn’t more than a bad dream or distasteful joke.

But the second you pull the white sheets down, the last spark of hope inside you dies. Even though his eyes are close, you can tell by one glimpse that they’d shine like melted chocolate. He looks so peaceful, almost as if he’s only sleeping. But even in his dreams, a small smile still decorated his features.

Not right now though. His lovely face is covered in bruises and cuts, a trail of blood leaving his slack mouth. But what makes it hard for you to breathe is the huge stain of blood that discolored the white sheet above his abdomen crimson. You feel like throwing up and fainting all at once, whole world spinning. He must have suffered so much in his last moments.

Nanami is there just in time before your knees hit the cold hard ground underneath. This is too much, way too much to bear. A few minutes ago, you thought about giving him the smaller muffin and now…And now you want nothing more than to give him every muffing you have.

“He had his whole life ahead of him…He, he promised me to show me the world. I just thought we’d have more…time”, you sob, hands holding onto his.

But they don’t spread the warmth they normally do. No, they are stone cold, so cold that you are painfully aware of the fact that he’ll never hold you in his inviting arms again, that his big hands won’t connect with yours once more.

Yu is gone. And you are left full of sorrow and grief.

“I’m so sorry, (y/n). I’m so, so sorry…”

You can’t let your head hang like this though. After all, Nanami had to suffer through all of this in person. He must feel so low, so devastated by the death of his best friend.

“No, please. I am the one who should be sorry. You had to go through all of this, your injured yourself. You need to rest for now, Kento. I would be happy to accompany you to your dorm.”

You wipe the tears off your face with the back of your hand and slowly sit up, your burning gaze meeting the wet orbs of Nanami Kento.

Yu wouldn’t have wanted both of you to feel this way. And even though it hurts like hell, even though you feel like dying from the inside yourself, you gift Nanami with the most breathtaking smile you can bear.

“We’ll get through this together, right?”, you question.

“Right…”

______________________________________________________________

“Nanami, come closer.”

His eyes are widen in pure horror. This doesn’t look good, not at all. At this point Nanami isn’t even sure if Shoko is able to fix Yu up again. Fuck, this was supposed to be a grade 2 curse, a fucking grade 2. But this has to be a grade 1 at least – way too strong for two first class students of Jujutsu High.

Nanami should have moved faster, should have protected Yu better, but it all happened so fast. Within the blink of an eye, a gaping hole was ripped into his abdomen.

“You need to get up, we need to get you he-“

“No one is able to save me, my friend”, Yu coughs out.

“Promise me that you’ll life with your head up high and that you’ll try a little optimism from time to time. But most importantly…Please, make your move, go and ask (y/n) out. I’ve seen the way you both look at each other and she deserves to find her true love. You have my blessing.”

Nanami’s eyes begin to water before he is able to stop himself. This can’t be reality, just an hour ago, Yu talked about the muffins you baked him. And now…now he’s speaking out his last words?

“Tell her that she’ll always be my little sister and that she has to take care of herself. I’ll watch over here from where I am. I will die with her cute little laughter in my mind. Please, make her happy. Don’t take my death so hard. I-“

His chocolate brown eyes go somewhere Nanami can’t follow. Just seconds before Gojo arrives on the battlefield. Just seconds before Nanami processed the meaning of his friend’s words.

His eyes snap open in horror, whole body covered in ice cold sweat while his panting fills the dark room with dreadfulness. Where is Yu? Where the hell is he? His heart sinks in his chest. Oh right, he’s back at Jujutsu High in his dorm. You brought him here. You…

Are you feeling alright? Nanami was so worn out after the fight that he collapsed onto his bed immediately, swallowed and chased by nightmares right away. But what about you? His bad conscience forces him to stand up, leave his room and knock on your door.

To his surprise, you open it immediately. But your sight eats him up alive. He can tell that you haven’t slept an hour and probably cried the whole night, your body covered by nothing but an oversized white shirt that looks like the one Yu used to wear.  

“I know I said I don’t want to bother you but…Would you mind giving me a hug?”, you breathe out, your voice so low and damp that Nanami instinctively wraps his arms around you.

He presses your body against his own tightly to keep both of you from falling apart. His legs move forwards so that he stands in your room, door closed behind him. Your silent sobs are the only sound that fills the room.

“I thought I was stronger than that. But it seems like I’m not”, you whimper against his chest.

“You don’t have to be strong right now, (y/n). Not after you lost someone this important. Nobody expects you to be strong at the moment.”

“I know he’d hate to see me like that, he would tell me over and over that he’s not worth crying over, but I can’t help it. I just…miss him so much already, Nanami. You are my only ray of sunshine…”

His hand strokes through your soft hair gently. Oh, if he could shoulder your pain he definitely would, he would switch places with Yu in a heartbeat. But he can’t.

“I am party responsible for what happened. Stop praising me.”

“Don’t you dare to say something like that ever again.”

You free yourself from his grip, glistering eyes looking up at his. Even though the moonlight tells you that he didn’t sleep well that night, you are completely mesmerized by the way they shine. He is so breathtakingly attractive. And this stunning man his holding you in his arms, even if it’s only to comfort you.

“I am beyond glad that you are here and alive. I don’t know what I’d do if you died. You are my best friend, the lo-“

You almost choke on the words that threatened to leave your mouth. What has gotten into you? Are you out of your mind? Nanami came here to make sure you are well and not to hear your stupid confession. What would Yu think about that? Your gut twists uncomfortably, you feel like throwing up. Are you seriously trying to seduce your brother’s best friend just a few hours after learning about his death?

“I love you, (y/n)”, he suddenly blurts out.

“I promised Yu to finally confess my feelings to you and I can’t hold back any longer. I’ve loved you since you first stepped into Jujutsu High, I loved you the second you gifted me that breathtaking smile of yours, I loved you all the way into this room. (y/n), you do things to me I fail to understand and even if you don’t feel the same way, I had to get this weight off my chest.”

You can’t believe your ears, eyes widen in shock while you stare at him through the moonlight. For months, you’ve been wondering what’s wrong, what you did to make him go to distance while you longed for his attention. Did he love you all this time?

“I love you too.”

Your hands wrap around his neck automatically, gaze never leaving is unusual soft eyes.

“I loved you this whole time, Kento.”

And then he kisses you so passionately that it takes your breath away, all the grief and sorrow of the last hours mixing with this striking sensation making your eyes water all over again. This is what you want. Kento is the man who’ll make you happy, you just know it. If Yu was aware of that too? Did he know about the feelings you have for his best friend? You smile into the kiss, hands holding onto Kento's shoulders tightly. Of course he did. And the fact that he didn’t lose a word over it means that he supported your choice all the way till the end.

Because even though he isn’t physically there anymore, Yu will always be your big brother. And you will stay his little sister until your time comes. On the side of the man who took your breath away, the man that smiles down at you so softly that your life feels whole again for the split of a second.

He will never be forgotten.

______________________________________________________________

Bonus:

“There you are, darling”, he purrs and places a small kiss on your forehead.

“So you are first year students? Hi, I’m (y/n). It’s so nice to meet young faces!”, you blabber out, a wide smile decorating your striking features.

“Uh, I can’t believe you are Nanami-san’s wife”, Yuji blurts out.

“Trust me, I’m still trying to process that and it’s been more than 10 years since he pulled her”, Gojo comments.

“Will you two shut up already? (y/n) is here to teach you, Yuji.”

“I would love to help you out!”

Nanami looks at you from the side, a tiny smile on his very own face. In moments like this, he can’t help but get reminded of his best friend. He would have been very proud of you and the strong jujutsu sorcerer you have become. You saved countless lives with your outstanding abilities, never lost your smile even after his passing. And Nanami got to marry you. If Yu would believe that? Probably yes.

“Thank you for sending me your wife, I am eager to learn from her, Nanami-san!”

“Take good care of her, kid. You’re in good hands.”

Again, he places a kiss against your forehead and turns around after one last look into your oh so familiar eyes.

Every turned out great, life went on. But Yu Haibara and the sacrifice he made was not forgotten.

Not in a million years Nanami could forget him.

[notsowrites]

Untitled 3x09 Malex Coda #2

There’s this and then one more idea rumbling around in my head at the moment that I’m trying to write.

Enjoy! <3

-------

Alex falls asleep curled against his side. 

Michael doesn't know how to let go of him right now, to let him out of his sight. Not after realizing he'd been alone with the brain melter machine for two days, and certainly not after seeing Alex standing on that ledge.

He's certainly had his share of terrifying moments - realizing something had happened to Isobel that would make her murder three girls, almost losing Max for good, realizing that he was going to permanently lose the mother he'd just found. And that moment ranked up among them.

It felt almost comforting in a way, that the two of them were harboring the same fears about this new relationship they were embarking on. That they both wanted it to work so badly they neither of them had stopped to consider the other felt the same way until Alex had finally voiced his concern in the exam room. 

He'd had every intention of just taking Alex home, and leaving. Not wanting to encroach on his space, not wanting to be an imposition when Alex probably just wanted to catch up on sleep. He knew, and understood, Alex's issues with trust regarding his home. The place he was supposed to feel safest, and Michael tried his hardest to respect them. Alex deserved that. 

He feels Alex stir, and watches as he presses his nose to his shirt, as if inhaling whatever it is Michael smelled like.

Rain, he remembers, from their trip to the Long Farm. Alex had said he smelled like rain, beneath the grease and bourbon.

"Why are you awake," Alex says, voice quiet, head turned to look up at him.

"Because I haven't been awake for three days."

Alex groans, and all it does is fill Michael's heart with love. He wanted to be angry, he wanted to tell Alex how stupid he'd been, disobeying protocols and taking off on his own to try and solve the machine. 

But seeing Alex on that ledge, realizing how close he came to losing Alex - something shifted. All he'd felt was relief as he held onto Alex, and Alex held fistfuls of his shirt in his hands. He hadn't been too late, he hadn't lost him. They could work through this. He hadn't fucked up. Because his entire drive to Deep Sky, that had been all he could think about, and he'd come up with the most harebrained plan, but the only one he could think of to actually get into the building.

"I am sorry." Alex pushes himself up, leaning against the headboard now so he's facing Michael at eye level. "I know how much you were looking forward to our date."

"I've been waiting to take you on a proper date since we were seventeen, Alex. What's a couple more days?"

Alex just nods, but doesn't say anything else, and Michael realizes maybe this is one of those times he needs to speak up. He's been so happy these past couple days, trying to follow Alex's lead, enjoying that Alex has finally been opening up to him. 

"I was angry, when I saw you hadn't been home. When I saw the untouched Crashdown bag inside the door. I thought you'd lied to me."

"I didn't mean to-"

Michael shakes his head. He knows that now. "I was worried, Alex. You told me the machine incited a neurological brain disorder, how could I not be?"

Alex lets out a deep breath, and shakes his head. "That's not the whole truth."

"What's not?" Michael frowns, because what else is there? Alex had already mentioned hallucinations caused by a rise in dopamine levels - what else could there be?

"I mean it is, but-" He looks frustrated, and Michael waits. He can be patient if Alex wants to tell him. "My hallucinations took the form of your mother, Michael. And I didn't want to tell you that because..."

Michael nods, because he gets it. He's been battling with understanding everything his mother did and was involved with on the home planet. It's been rough, meeting her, losing her, finding out how she ended up in Caulfield. Though not having the same emotional attachment he does, Michael wonders what would make Alex's subconscious conjured her up. Was it because of the machine itself?

"And I thought by telling you, about the things she said to me, that you'd blame me. And I couldn't-"

"She was just a hallucination, right?" Reassuring him is easy, until it hits him what Alex was going to say. Alex thought he'd blame him, that it would put them right back at square one. He believed Michael held his mother in such high esteem, that any slight against her would anger him.

And maybe he was also right about that. Because he had gone off on Jones, he had yelled at Isobel for doing the same thing. He'd be lying to himself if he said he wouldn't have done the same to Alex.

"I just don't want to be the one who ever ruins your image of your mother for you. She loved you, Michael. I know she did."

So he just nods instead, leaning forward, and pressing a kiss to Alex's lips, soft and gentle, their noses brushing. When they pull apart, they stay there for a moment, breathing the same air, Alex's hand pressed against his chest, and Michael reaches down and covers it with his own, giving it a comforting squeeze. 

"I can't lose you, Alex. Losing her was-" he stops, words stuck in his throat. He tries not to think of Caulfield too often - at least not in the context of that day. "I thought losing her would destroy me. It nearly did. But losing you - seeing you on that ledge, I almost did. I could have."

Alex presses forward, their lips meeting again, and he feels Alex's hand slide up his neck, fingers tangling in his hair, gently pulling Michael's face towards him. "I'm right here."

[aquaticalay]

F.R.I.D.A.Y. I'm in Love (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Summary: While singing 'Friday, I'm in love' by The Cure in the kitchen to yourself, a certain AI thinks you're talking to her. She tells you something you didn't know, and decides to play matchmaker on Christmas morning, because why not?

Genre: christmas fluff :)

Word count: 2.5k

Song: Friday, I'm in Love by The Cure

Note: Merry Xmas! This is my last fic before vacation! This is also my first one shot in a while. Hope you like it!!

You were the first one awake at the compound, but that wasn't anything out of the usual. You always wake up at least half an hour earlier than anybody else in the compound without fail, every single day. It was simply an old habit you can't seem to get rid of, no matter how tired you were or how late you slept the night before.

The only thing that made a difference was that it's the day before christmas. Since you and Bucky were the only people with no family to celebrate it with, the two of you stayed behind to keep an eye on the compound. You had somehow convinced Bucky to agree on helping you set up decorations today. Besides, you also need help setting up the realistic-looking artificial pine tree at the corner of the common room. You already had a vision: green, white, and red ribbons filling up the ceiling and fairy lights as far as the eye can see. 

But that was your plan for later in the afternoon. Right now, the sun had just barely began to rise.

You made your way to the kitchen, thinking of making pancakes for breakfast. You hummed a tune as you opened the cupboards for a pan and ingredients. You eyeballed the flour and sugar, sifted them in a bowl and went to the fridge to get the rest of the contents needed.

Lost in your own world, the tunes you hummed turned into cohesive words, an actual song that you had been listening to lately and can't seem to get out of your head.

"I don't care if Monday's blue," you sang, cracking the eggs, making sure the shell stayed out of the batter, "Tuesday's gray and Wednesday too."

You poured the milk and butter, "Thursday, I don't care about you," you grabbed a whisk and pretended it was a microphone, "It's Friday, I'm in love."

"May I guess with who?" FRIDAY quipped suddenly.

You yelped in shock and dropped the whisk into the batter, some of it splattering to your shirt and face. Just a little, but enough to piss you off.

"What?" You asked, slightly annoyed.

"You told me you were in love," you heard the AI say through the built in speakers of the room, "may I guess with who?".

You let out a lighthearted laugh, "First of all, it's just a song," you rolled your eyes with a smile, amused by the misunderstanding of the supposedly smart AI. "Secondly," you continued, "I am not in love with anybody at the moment."

FRIDAY then said, in a matter-of-factly manner, "But you are."

Furrowing your eyebrows, annoyed, you stubbornly told her, "No, I'm not."

"You are," the AI insisted, and before you can deny it once again, she told you, "You show all physical and hormonal signs of being in love— increased levels of dopamine, adrenaline, and norepinephrine, increased heart rate, and dilated pupils— in the presence of Sergeant James Barnes."

Your mind stopped just enough to catch up with what FRIDAY. was telling you. 

"What?" You asked, flustered, as blood rushed to your cheeks, "No!"

"It's true," said the AI calmly, then displayed a panel of hologram on the island kitchen, usually used for mission briefings— your vitals, including your hormone levels. "These are your average body scans whenever you are in the same room as Sergeant Barnes," she said.

"That's enough, Friday!" you exclaimed, almost squeaking, embarrassed. She then took down the hologram, to your relief.

You admit, you have always been fond of Bucky, and dare you say, quite attached to him, but it never occurred to you that you loved him, mostly because everytime you even thought of the four-letter terrifying word, you pushed it to the deepest, darkest corner of your mind, lock it in a glass box and throw away the key, never to be seen again. The subject of love terrifies you, though the thought of being romantically involved with Bucky did give you a certain feeling of satisfaction and comfort, and maybe, just maybe, hope of it being able to work out.

Oops, there's the thought again.

Time to bury it six feet underground.

"In case you're curious, Sergeant Barnes also—" the AI started, but you shushed her furiously, "Fri, I don't want to hear it."

"But—" she began, but you cut her off again, "Please don't."

Sensing your discomfort, she stopped saying whatever she was about to say.

You continued to make your pancakes in peace, if there was ever any. 

You hummed the tune of the same song, careful not to say the actual words to it. You turned on the stove an put a frying pan on it measuring your batter out for an even and fluffy pancake. 

The automatic door opened, and Bucky entered the room, yawning. He was wearing a grey shirt and shorts. As he smelled the sweet aroma of the batter cooking, his gaze turned to you. 

"Mornin' doll," he smiled lazily, greeting you. He seemed to be in an especially good mood today. Ever since you joined almost a year ago, he had given you the nickname, and you adapted to it quickly. 

"Morning, Buck," you hummed, flipping the pancakes. Bucky walked towards you and took in the smell exaggeratingly. "Hope you made some for me."

You chuckled, "Of course." 

You stacked the first three pancakes on an empty plate and handed it to Bucky, who gave you a chaste kiss on the side of your head.

This type of casual affection has been going on for a while now, a little over five months. He'd kiss you on the cheeks or forehead whenever he said thank you, hello, or goodbye. You'd also cuddle against him on movie nights and lean on his shoulder while sitting on the dinner table, but neither of you ever spoke about it. You never wanted to think much about these flirtatious exchanges. You assumed this was just who he was, and you were just playing his game. He was a ladies' man in the 40s, after all, and you were just all-all round playful person.

You stacked your own pancakes and turned off the stove. 

You sat next to Bucky on the couch, who was currently pouring a shit ton of maple syrup on his pancakes, squeezing the bottle with his metal arm.

You chuckled at his behaviour, and he raised his eyebrows at you.

"What are you laughing at?" He tried to pretend to be serious, but he can't help but show a hint of a grin on his adorable face.

"Nothing," you shook your head playfully and started eating the sugar-filled breakfast.

Deciding it was too quiet, Bucky decided to ask FRIDAY a favor. "Friday," Bucky called, "play some music, please."

FRIDAY complied almost immediately, and the tune of the song she played was too familiar.

Your cheeks turned bright red in a matter of seconds. Why would she play that?

"I don't care if Monday's blue

Tuesday's grey and Wednesday, too

Thursday I don't care about you

It's Friday, I'm in love"

Bucky stuffed pancakes in his mouth as he listened to the song, "I've never heard this song before," he mentioned, his head moving subtly to the tempo of the song, "It's nice."

"Uh, yeah," you managed to nervously blurt out.

Bucky turned his head to you, "You cold, doll?" He asked, concern in his voice.

"No, why?" 

"You're red," he pointed out worriedly, "Are you sure you're not sick?"

"No, I'm just—" you started, trying to find an excuse, but nothing comes to mind. You couldn't tell him you're embarrassed, and you already told him you weren't cold, "—I don't know."

As the song continued playing, Bucky placed the back of his hand on your forehead to check for a fever, but he was met with a normal, cool skin. He tried not to think too much about it. He shrugged and told you, "Just let me know if you feel unwell, okay? I know where Scott keeps his emergency cold medicine."

You managed a nod, and tried to distract yourself by eating your pancakes.

You started to feel relief wash over you as the song came to an end, but when it did end, it started to play again, as if FRIDAY had it on loop.

"Weird," Bucky quipped.

"Yeah, weird," you said, a little quieter than usual, "Friday, please play another song," you said, but Bucky cut you off, "No, I want to listen to it again," he said, "One more time? I really like it."

You sunk into your seat, having forced to suffer through this song again.

-

That afternoon, Bucky helped you set up the ribbons and lights, and now he was helping you with the tree ornaments.

The time you spent together were spent in laughter and joy, playfully teasing each other. He told you a lot about his old family traditions, how his little sister Rebecca and him would use their spare money to get their mother a gift every year. In return, you made him hot chocolate, made from your grandma's special recipe.

"Bucky," you called, "give me a boost so I can get the star on top of the tree." 

You showed him the star. It was brilliant red. He chuckled to himself, wondering if you intentionally got it to match his old logo.

Without warning, he grabbed your waist, and spun you around playfully. You yelped in shock, steadying yourself by putting a hand on his shoulder. You laughed a little, "The tree, Buck," you reminded him, and he chuckled, rolling his eyes. "okay, okay."

You placed the star on top, and he set you down gently. You were facing him, and for a split second, you nose touched his and you were looking straight into his icy orbs. 

You looked away, pretending it didn't happen. 

"Help me with the ribbons," you quipped. Bucky grabbed the box full of colorful decorations. "Okay," he replied. You weren't sure, but you could've sworn he sounded a little bit disappointed.

The rest of the afternoon was spent decorating the tree, and it was all fun and games until Bucky started humming 'Friday, I'm in love,' under his breath, a song that seems to be stuck in his head.

-

You and Bucky fell asleep on the couch after a Christmas movie marathon. You woke up in the same position you fell asleep: cuddled up against Bucky, you head on his shoulder and his human arm wrapped contently around your waist. You adjusted your eyes to the light coming in from the big glass windows, and tugged on Bucky's side, "wake up."

He groaned a little, his eyes blinking to life. 

"Merry Christmas," you smiled, still leaning your head on his shoulder, too lazy to get up.

"Merry Christmas, doll," he replied, a sleepy but sincere smile on his face.

You mustered enough energy to look at the Christmas tree, and was shocked to see one small red box under the tree, decorated with a fittingly small green bow. It was empty the last time you saw it.

"Did you–" you turned to Bucky, who nodded right away, "How?" You asked curiously.

"I slipped it there before we started the movie," he admitted, a slightly rosy color on his cheeks.

"Is that for me?" You asked, and he nodded.

"I- I've got a present for you in my room," you told him, half-way panicked that you've forgotten his present in your quarters.

Rushing out of the common room, Bucky watched you as a sigh left his lips. 

He found himself humming the song he heard yesterday again. He took the present from under the tree to give it to you first hand, then walked to the island kitchen to get some water. He doesn't remember all the words, except the ones at the very end of the chorus.

He mumbled a string of noises, but lightly sang the last part in his best singing voice, "Friday, I'm in love."

"I know," Friday said through the speakers. It surprised Bucky, but he didn't show it. Sitting down on the bar stool of the island, Bucky asked, "What?"

"I know you're in love, Sergeant Barnes," the AI said.

Bucky let a heavy breath out. Friday was right. He was in love. With you. "How did you know?"

"Your physical and hormonal body scans when you're around Miss (Y/n)."

Bucky only chuckled dryly. It was nothing he didn't already know, "Too bad she doesn't feel the same, huh?" 

"Actually—" the AI started, but suddenly stopped when you rushed back in the room, a heavy box decorated with a patterned white wrapper in your arms. It was huge compared to the gift he got you. You put on the marble countertop and climbed on the stool next to his.

"Here," you said excitedly, "open it!"

Your excitement was contagious. He gave you a hearty laugh and ripped the wrapping paper. When he was finished, he realized what it was. A record player.

"Wow, (Y/n)," he said, twinkle in his eyes. He raised it so he could see it better, "I- thank you."

"You've been telling me about how you used to listen to music," you told him, "So I got you a more modern one."

"Your turn," Bucky said, giving you your present.

It wasn't wrapped, it was just a red box with a bow. You opened it and you looked to him for explanation.

It was a necklace with a dark silver star pendant.

"It's beautiful," you sighed, admiring the jewelry, "Thank you."

He gently took the necklace in his fingers, and looped it behind your neck, hooking it so now you were wearing it.

"I asked Shuri to make it from the scrap vibranium used to make my metal arm," he told you, a warm and loving smile on his mouth, "So you can have a piece of me with you."

Suddenly, you wondered if FRIDAY was right about you being in love with him.

"Ahem," said a human-like voice from the ceiling. It was FRIDAY, calling so you would look up.

The two of you saw a holographic mistletoe from the projector above you.

Damn, FRIDAY.

You smiled. It was a good excuse to kiss him, right? Wasn't that the rules of the mistletoe?

You reached up a little to press a short but sweet kiss on his lips, catching him off-guard. 

"I-" Bucky turned beet red, "can you do that again please?"

Pleasantly surprised, you nod as you let him caress your cheeks, and pull you in for a longer kiss, his lips moving against yours in sync, like you were pieces of a puzzle. You melted into his arms and laid a hand on his thigh for support.

"I love you," Bucky said as he pulled away. Wait, he thought to himself, I love you?! 

He meant to say merry christmas! 

In his mind, you only kissed him because of his mistletoe. He was seconds away from apologizing, but then a content sigh left your lips, "I love you, too," you admitted shyly

He looked at you with a loving look that has always been there, yet you've only noticed it now. His thumb stroke your cheek softly, the contrast of metal and flesh strangely comforting.

"What is it?" You asked.

He cracked a smile. "My dad used to spend christmas morning with my ma," he said, "She told me one day I'd find someone to spend it, too."

"Would she have approved of me?" You asked, curiosity laced im you silky voice.

"I swear to god she'd love you," he cupped both your cheek and pressed a kiss on the tip of your nose, "Merry Christmas, doll."

"Merry Christmas, James."

You made an internal note to self to thank FRIDAY later.

-end.

[jobean12-blog]

Playing with Fire

Pairing: Bucky x reader

Word Count: 1,270

Summary: Being on vacation is all fun and games until someone gets sunburned! 

Author’s Note: This is for the HBC’s @the-ss-horniest-book-club Second Chance Drabble Challenge! The prompt I chose was #8: “Ok who do I have to ask for a sunburn fic with (character)? It’s summer time and I feel like we all could use some sweet Bucky Barnes or Steve Rogers either helping with the aloe or trying to have sex without touch the burned spots and it goes clumsy and funny and “ow-ow-ow it hurts right there!” Either way he whips his dick out fo sho.” And I went with Bucky on this one! I hope you like this, I live for Bucky on the beach so...yay! Thank you all for reading and much love always! ❤❤❤

Warnings: sexy, sassy and shirtless Bucky, flirting, teasing fun, light dirty talk, cursing, SMUT (18+ only please)

You watch as Bucky stands behind the volleyball net, his body poised for the serve and his teal blue bathing suit sitting low on his hips. It would be a lie if you said you weren’t enjoying the view of your boyfriend running around on the sand, sweat dripping down his chest and abs and his metal arm sparkling in the sun. Every time he stretches up to reach for the ball his suit hangs low and you get a glorious glimpse of the V shape of his abs and the trail of hair leading downward.

The sun is beating down on you all and making it almost impossible not to continuously go into the ocean to get wet and cool off. You’re just drying off from your latest dip when Bucky jogs toward you. “Hey doll. Can you reapply my sunblock please? I feel like I’m on fire.” Getting to your feet you look him up and down. “Oh, you’re on fire alright.”

He drags you into him, his sweat slick chest sliding against yours. “I’m glad you’re enjoying the show and there’s plenty more where that came from.” With a giggle you push him away and grab the sunblock, squirting it into your hands and rubbing some along his shoulders and back. You’re loving the job, turning him around and smoothing the left over on his pecs. “There you go Buck, should be good for a little while.”

Planting a firm kiss to your lips he runs back to the game, giving you a little wiggle on the way. The rest of the time you can tell he’s purposefully showing off, stretching between each volley and flexing every chance he gets. You playfully roll your eyes the next time he looks your way and he waggles his eyebrows suggestively.

After the game is finished everyone plops themselves on their beach towels for a much-needed snack. You sit between Bucky’s spread legs and lean against his chest. “Are you gonna play in the next game. I wouldn’t mind watching you bounce around on the sand.” You turn to face him and pick up your sunglasses, glaring at him. “Bounce around. Oh my god, Bucky. Really.” He laughs while rubbing his hands over your shoulders and down your chest. “Hands off buddy! I’m eating!”

Resting his head on your shoulder he whispers in your ear, “and I know what I’m gonna be eatin’ later.” Even under the scorching sun your body shivers at his words and you feel him squirm behind you. “I like the sound of that, but only after I get a taste” you say quietly, brushing your ass against his crotch.

“Ok, let’s go! Last round everybody!” Steve shouts from the towel he shares with Peggy. Bucky groans, trying to adjust himself discreetly before standing. “Let’s go babe. You owe me a show.” You take his extended hand and he hauls you up, crashing his lips to yours before smacking your ass. “Yeah!” he shouts, clearly enjoying himself.

Bucky actually misses a few shots because he can’t take his eyes off you while you play. You make sure to point it out every time, getting a kick out of his reactions. “You keep this up you’re gonna get it later, doll face.” Poking his chest, you lean in close, “oh I plan on it baby.” Sauntering off you join Nat for a drink, giggling over the boys who are grumbling about getting their butts kicked by the girls.

When it nears dinner time everyone goes off to their respective suites to shower and get ready to eat. You have Bucky pinned against the wall of the shower with his back resting against the cool tile. Kneeling between his legs you dip your hand inside, trying to free his already hard cock. You moan when you wrap your hand around the soft and warm skin, pulling on his hips so you can get his suit off.

His back rubs against the wall and he grimaces, quiet “ow’s” falling from his lips. You look up, concern washing over your features. “What’s wrong Buck? Are you ok?” He nods, combing his metal hand through your hair and tugging your face closer. You smirk and start working down his shorts. Feeling him tense up again you stand, leveling him with a stern look. “Bucky.” He wipes a hand down his face and groans, whining when he turns to show you his back. “I think I got sunburned and it hurts really bad, especially with my back rubbing against the wall.”

You frown, “wow, Buck. It’s really red. Shit. I guess we should have reapplied a third time.” Taking his face in your hands you bring him down for a kiss and it quickly heats up, his back hitting the wall as you deepen it. “Ow. Fuck this sunburn,” he cries against your lips. “Let’s shower and try the bed.” Helping each other wash you get out as soon as you can and Bucky quickly dries off, launching himself onto the bed with a loud, “OW!” You look over at him and shake your head. “Really? Did you forget about the sunburn already?”

Giving you a warning look he says, “I’m excited. Now get over here,” and he crooks his finger at you. You crawl to him on the bed, placing one knee on each side of his hips. Rocking yourself over his cock, you moan at the feel, kissing down his abs and settling between his legs. Your knees feel raw as they rub along the sheets and you shift to try and get comfortable, making a pained face. “What’s wrong doll? You ok?” he asks, giving you the same concerned expression, you gave him before.

“Yea I think so. It’s just every time my knees rub against the sheets it kinda hurts.” He sits up, pulling you into his lap so he can look at them. “Wow. They look pretty red. I didn’t even know knees could get sunburnt!?!” He pushes you forward to check your back, wincing when he sees how red it is. “Burnt there too huh? I thought I felt it under the shower”, you say, rolling your head onto his chest and letting out a big sigh. “This sucks. I’ve been thinking about this all damn day.”

He tightens his hold on you and yells, “you’ve been thinking about it all day!? It’s all I ever think about.” You laugh at him, snuggling closer and wiggling in his lap. He lets out a growl as his cock throbs beneath you. “Baby doll, we better figure something out and fast.” Sitting up with a wide grin you carefully get off him, motioning for him to sit at the edge of the bed.

With a curious look he does as you ask, spreading his thighs wide when you stand between them. “This should be fun,” you simper, kissing is lips before turning around. With your back to his chest you reach behind and take his cock in your hand, guiding it toward your entrance. Leaning forward slightly you slowly sink down, groaning as he stretches you. “Holy fuck,” he grinds out, his hands grasping your waist to hold you steady.

You still for a moment, loving the feel of him this deep. He squeezes your side and you rise up, slamming back down with enough force to make the bed bounce. As you pick up the pace, he brings his metal hand around to your front, settling his thumb against your clit and it isn’t long before you’re screaming his name, all thoughts of sunburn gone from existence.

@aesthetical-bucky @auro-ora @buckys-broody-muffin @buckys-minty-breath @book-dragon-13 @bugsbucky @breezy1415 @bucky-on-my-mind @chuuulip @eurynome827 @hiddles-rose @hawksmagnolia @hailmary-yramliah @itsunclebucky @ikaris-whore @imgaril-lindru @jhangelface0523 @jewels2876​ @kaosera​ @loricameback​ @lorilane33​ @littledarlinhavefaithinme​ @littleredstarfish​ @mushyjellybeans​ @marvelandotherfandomimagines​ @marvelgirl7​ @nano--raptor​ @randomfandompenguin​ @sallycanwait68​ @addikted-2-dopamine​ @softpeachbarnes​ @tuiccim​ @the-wayward-robot​ @when-the-hell-is-bucky​ @yansi1923​ @emilylyoness​ 

[justthehiddleswrites]

Bah Hiddleston | Tom Hiddleston x OFC (Tamra Harmon) | Chapter 10 | Blue Christmas

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x OFC (Tamra Harmon)

Summary:  Tamra Harmon has no mind to mess with Christmas. All that talk about Christmas magic and the joy of the holidays is just a bunch of mumbo jumbo. But will a chance encounter with perennial Christmas lover Tom Hiddleston change all that?

This chapter: Tom and Tamra both realized they have screwed this up, but Mother Nature provides a new stumbling block.

Warnings for story: smut, oral sex, implied smut, vaginal sex, light angst

-

Tamra cried the whole way back to her rented flat. The Uber driver asking her more than once if she was okay through the rearview mirror.

“I’m fine. Thank you.” she lied.

It was still dark which she reached the Airbnb. She fumbled with the keys and juggled her suitcase through the door. The room seemed cold and sterile after having spent the last several days at Tom’s. She sobbed as she thought of Bobby curled up at her feet and how the place always smelled of books and coffee.

Tamra pulled back the covers and slid between the cool sheets. She didn’t even bother to change into pajamas. As she drifted into an uneasy slumber, Tamra’s mind played over the note she left. She feared she made some sort of mistake. Her heart already realized the answer.

-

Once Diana called, Luke made it over to the house within the hour; Benedict and Sophie soon followed, children in tow. Waves of guilt rolled over Tom at the thought of ruining everyone’s Christmas with his problems. Especially since this was all his fault.

Diana kept the kettle warm and everyone took a seat around the kitchen table while the children playing with their newly acquired toys in the living room. Bobby, sensing something was amiss, stayed close to Tom’s feet.

“I fucked up.” Tom commented with a flat affect.

“How is that different from—” Luke started in but Diana’s hand gripping his shoulder like a vise silenced him.

“Luke dear, I normally would love nothing more than to watch a signature Windsor dressing down of my twat of a son, but perhaps today we can keep the conversation to helpful suggestions.” Diana commented, her hand never leaving his shoulder.

Luke glanced over at Tom still seated in the chair he fell into earlier. Sat before him was a haunting shadow of the famous Tom Hiddleston. His eyes still sparkling blue but now bloodshot and rimmed with red. His ginger curls laid in a disheveled mop. If his fans could catch him now, they would be appalled.

“Of course, Diana.” he responded and only then did she release her grip.

They each read the note while Tom took to chewing on his thumbnail. A nasty habit he long broke but manifested itself in times of extreme stress.

“I don’t understand what the problem is?” Ben questioned. “She loves you and you love her.”

Tom’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know I love her? How can you possibly know that?!” His voice rising and accusatory.

“For one, you made me throw a Christmas party in less than 24 hours for a girl you barely met.” Benedict responded, ignoring his friend’s tone.

“You did what Thomas?!” Diana exclaimed.

“Not the time, Mother.” Tom interjected.

“Two, I am sitting at your dining table on Christmas rather than being at my home. And three, Luke told me.”

Tom shot daggers at his publicist.

“Not the time, Tom..” Diana echoed his words. “So how do we fix it?”

“Ritual suicide?” offered Luke.

“Grand gesture of love?” countered Benedict.

Sophie rolled her eyes. “Men. Always going to extremes. Suicide, grand gestures.” she tsked. “How about a radical idea of telling her how you feel?”

“I agree, Sophie. The simplest solution is generally the best one.” Diana agree, moving to hold Tom’s hand, giving it a small squeeze

Tom picked his head up to look at his friends and mother. He pushed the chair away from the table and rose.

“Thank you all for the food for thought. I don’t want to keep you from your homes and families. Now if you’ll excuse me.” He kept the facade together until he stepped away and only then did he cried for the infinite time that morning. He slammed the door to the bedroom on his way. The sound reverberating off the walls.

Everyone stood as well and Diana walked each of them out.

“Thank you for coming. Merry Christmas. I’ll keep you posted.” She made apologies and excuses before shutting the door.

She headed down the hallway and knocked softly against the door. When she heard no response, she pushed the door opened. She found Tom sitting on the edge of the bed, his back to the door and his head in his hands.

She sat down next to him, placing her hand on his knee. He turned and cried.

“Mum, I’m scared.”

“I noticed, dear.”

“Why am I so scared? I’m been in relationships before. Why is this different?”

Diana gave his knee a squeeze. “Because…” she sighed. “…you recognize that this is the beginning of the last relationship you’ll have and you are not sure you’re ready to take that leap, no matter how much you want that life. Forever is a long time.”

“You really believe it will all work out, don’t you?”

“Yes I do.” Diana stood and walked to his nightstand. “You never throw a bet. Particularly a bet that requires you to cook. That means this is something much more than a fling.”

Tom managed a laugh. “How did you figure it out?”

“You are my son.” She handed him his phone. “Now go get the girl and start the rest of your life.”

Tom nodded. He unlocked the phone and tapped the screen. Diana slipped out the room and shut the door behind her.

-

Tamra dragged herself out of bed just before noon. She found some cereal and milk. Tamra gave the milk and sniff and decided she wouldn’t die before pouring. She found her phone and the battery indicator teetered close to 1%.

“Shit!” she fished through her purse for the charger cord and came up empty. She dug through her suitcase, dumping the contents onto the floor.

“Fuck!” she yelled as her hunt came up empty. Her brain flashed to the cord plugged into a socket in Tom’s kitchen. “FUCK!!!”

As she prepared to go into another cursed filled tirade, her phone buzzed in her hand.

“What?!” she snapped to the other person on the end of the call.

“Did I catch you at a bad time, honey?” her mom asked, worry in her voice.

Tamra took a deep breath to collect herself. “Not at all. What can I do for you?”

“Merry Christmas, honey!”

“Merry Christmas, Mom.”

“No bah humbug? Are you feeling okay? You sound sick. Are you sick?”

Tamra choked back tears. “No, I’m not sick.” her voice cracked. “But I’m not okay.” She sobbed.

“What happened? Do I need to fly out?”

“I meet a guy. Not just any guy, THE GUY. And he is amazing and smart and talented. And… and…” her voice trailed off again. “Why do I screw up everything?!?” she wailed.

“Love is complicated, darling. It causes something with the dopamine levels in the brain. Makes people act all loopy.”

“You read that in a magazine somewhere, didn’t you?”

“I’m sure. But if this guy is as special as you describe. He is worth the fight.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Any time dear. Now tell me more about this guy.”

“Well you might know him.” Tamra started.

“Really? How would I—” the line clicked dead.

“Mom? Mom?” Tamra looked down at a black screen.

“Fuck!” she threw the phone onto the bed. She thought about heading out to see if any place was open to buy a charging cord. She was dismayed to stare out the window to find it snowing heavily once again.

“Merry fucking Christmas.” she whispered as she crawled back under the covers.

-

Tom threw his bedroom door open, startling his mother watching the television.

“It keeps going to voicemail. I’m going over there.” He grabbed his pea coat.

“No you’re not.”

“And who is going to stop me?” he demanded.

“Mother Nature. Look out the window.” Tom pulled aside the curtain to the nearest window.

“No, No!” he cried in anguish as he saw the landscape buried in snow and it continuing to fall with no end in sight. “I hate snow.”

“Keep trying the phone. She can’t ignore you forever. It’s Christmas.”

-

But she never answered and with each unanswered call, Tom grew more and more frantic, almost unhinged. If it had not been for Diana, he would have braved the storm and most likely froze in the process.

Phone calls from friends and family offered him little comfort. Only the news of both Emma and Sarah joining the family tomorrow elicited any happy response. He attempted to put on a good show but inside he was dying. His mother comforted when he allowed her.

“Have faith, dear.”

“I’m calling the police.” he declared after the phone once again went to voicemail.

“You will not. What would Luke say?”

Tom sighed. “He would say ‘don’t be stupid’.”

“Luke is a wise man. So sit down and watch the movie. It’s my favorite.”

He picked up Hugh Grant’s monologue come over the TV and he excused himself.

-

Tamra found a frozen dinner buried in the freezer. Not the Christmas dinner she had hoped for. But with the snowstorm and the holiday, nothing was open. She longed to call Tom, to apologize and beg forgiveness but there was nothing she could do with her phone dead. She didn’t remember his number.

She alternated between the bed and the sofa, catching snippets of restless sleep between crying jags. The day reached a low point when she flicked on the TV and heard the Pointer Sisters Jump! playing and saw Hugh Grant dancing over the screen. She flashed back to that day at Tom’s, the movies, the tree, that kiss. She switched off the TV and threw the remote in disgust.

Tom and Tamra tossed and turned that night, chasing sleep. Tom finally dozed off sometime around midnight, Bobby never leaving his side. Tamra lied awake until well after one in the morning, clutching the pillow for comfort and wondering how she screwed up the best thing that happened to her.

[monstaxdirtywonk]

Love Syndrome

Member : Wonho X reader

Genre : Fuff, some angst, some smut

Synopsis : A girl obsessed with Neurology takes an experiment on dating Hoseok, who has no idea this is a joke to her. Her experiment will turn against her when she’ll actually start falling in love...

 You weren't like the other girls. Maybe this will turn out to be one of those memes online but no, you truly meant it. As a kid, you despised dolls and castles, pink and unicorns. You showed a great interest in mechanics, cars (mostly destroying them and notice their parts), puzzles and balls. Truth be told, you were proud of yourself and how independent you grew to be. Your friends were crying every once in a while for that hottie blondie who broke up with them, while you did your best at comforting them. Relationships were an unnecessary drama, one you did not want to take part in. You’re fine the way you are! An academic career is in front of you, traveling the world and finally, being what you always wanted...a woman of logic, of sense, of credibility. No drama, no annoying clingy boyfriends, no crying sessions. No. No. No. You know what's best in life and that’s what’s your way. 

Your friend Val was over for support. There’s been a month since she broke up with the ex and still can’t let go. After hours of fake sentimentalism, you’ve had enough.

“You know what...I’ve got the perfect solution for you.”

Val raised her teary eyes and looked curiously to your side.

“You can get a dog! Yes that’s perfect, I should’ve thought about it sooner,

“okay thank you for trying to make me laugh but it’s not helping.”

“This isn’t a joke. it’s a real solution and a much more practical one than me just telling you sweet nonsense of ‘comfort’. Dogs, when in contact with humans, release a chemical in our brain called oxytocin, just like when you are with your partner. Instead of having the side effects and ups and downs of a relationship, a dog is much more devoted and drama free. Boom, you’ve got double win.”

“I swear sometimes I feel like you’re Sheldon from Big Bang theory in a female form.”

“Thank you for that compliment but I am not as good as the flawless mastermind Sheldon himself is.”

“You know what, Ima leave before we fight, the least thing I’m looking for is this.”

“Okay fine but think about it.”

You said as you made your way to the door along her. Val grinned and left without a second word. I mean you were right, even you thought of adopting a cute poodle. It’s much better than ‘adopting’ a boyfriend. Plus dogs are always happy when they see you. Maybe a dog is a good idea.

You checked the watch and it hit you.

“Damn, I’m late!” you exclaimed and took your purse heading out of the door.

----

‘When in love, you experience a rush of hormones to the brain — including oxytocin, the “love hormone,” the “pleasure hormone” dopamine, and sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone. ‘

You aren’t the type to believe in coincidences but if they exist, this can’t be one. Out of all those subjects, did they have to talk about love’s effect on the brain today? Unbelievable. But interesting at the same time, no wonder everyone’s so invested in this called ‘dating culture’.  

“Y/N, we’ll be in the cafeteria downstairs. Don’t be too late.”

“I won’t I promise.”

The proffessor looked at you intensely. You noticed and moved your head upwards.

“Actually I’ll close the class! Sorry about that but I have my lunch break.”

“Ah totally. I’m so sorry Mr.Jones for ‘eating your time away’” You laughed at your own pun and he did too.  

You slow-run to the exit and the moment you reached the door, you collided with someone and your books fell to the floor.

“Oh I’m sorry I can’t believe I’m so careless at times.” his voice, a sweet sound contrary to his muscular physique.

“No, it’s my mistake actually. I wasn’t looking straight, per usual.” he laughed and colected your books.

“I mean, you didn’t have to.”

“It’s the least I can do for bumbing into you like that. My Hulk self should be a little more careful since I might knock out someone.”

You laughed genuinely after a long time. He noiticed and smiled in satisfaction.

“So, you’re studying Neurology?”

“Ugh? Ah yes I do! It’s very interesting. Some might find it boring but it’s so exciting to learn about the wonder our body, our mind is.”

He was staring at you in awe. Probably thinking of you as a terrible nerd. Judging by his looks, he seemed the gym guy, totally off your valley.

‘I’m sorry. It gets boring for some.”

“No. Not at all. I admire those that are so passionate with what they’re doing. I would just like to add something more to your sentence.”

“...and what’s that?”

“the wonder our body, mind and soul is.”

Normally you’d think of it as lame. Actually it was cheesy but he is a pleasant surprise. It was unfair to judge him based on his looks after all.

“I guess.” you answered semi-sure.

“Now you might excuse me but I gotta go. It was nice talking to you.”

“Bye” you waved cringing at the silly child-like act.

----

The library was surprisingly empty for a uni with so many students. You took advantage and went there to study further for your upcoming exams. Suddenly a voice interrupted your train of thought and you were this close to cursing.

“Hey!” someone shout out in excitment, earning himself agressive shhs from the few students sitting there. He murmured a sorry and came your way. It was the guy that bumbed into you a couple of days before.  

“Hey” you answered as quietely as possible.

“So..” he said obviously nervous by his hand movements and red tint on his cheeks.

“I forgot to tell you my name and that was rude, wasn’t it?”

You didn’t answer because it wasn’t rude.

“I’m Hoseok.” he extended his arm for a hand shake.

You felt his pulse rising to dangerous vibrations. He was nervous for sure. Maybe you’re reading into it too much...

“Nice to meet you Hoseok, I’m Y/N.”

“You know I feel sorry to interrupt you but I’d like to offer you a drink, as a way to apologize.”

“You don’t have to! It wasn’t anything disastrous.”

“Is that a no?” he asked with puppy eyes, eager for an answer. You didn’t want to let him down, plus he seemed like a nice guy.

“You know what, let’s go but I’ll pay for my drink.”

“I insist.” you smiled at his stubborness.  

----

“So..” Hoseok said while stirring his coffee.  

“yees..” you answered looking back at him with curious eyes.

“I was thinking...if you’d like us to grab a snack/drink from time to time.”

You nodded hapily. You wanted a new friend especially when it’s someone as good and funny as Hoseok.

“Ah yes totally! I’d love to be your friend. You’re so funny and all!.” you replied and touch his arm playfully.

Hoseok sighed and his face seemed a bit dissapointed.

“Oh so you view me as a friend?”

“Yes...isn’t that what you wanted too?”

He moved closer and took your hand in his. It was a brave move and even tho his eyes were uncertain, his body language said otherwise.

“I mean, actually dating. You and me, more than friends.” he said and left your hand, letting you to decide on your own.

This came out of nowhere. You weren’t expecting this to be said so fast but here he is, right in front of you, asking. Hoseok had every charateristic a girl would want. Funny,smart and what seems like high levels of testosterone judging by his muscular body and prominant jawline. But, you didn’t know if this was enough. Relationships aren’t for you and you don’t  want to take time off your studies. You don’t even have feelings for him in the first place. You don’t have feelings for anyone, they are pointless attempts of nature to make you birth offsprings and save the specie from dissapearing.  

He studied your face for any expression that might suggest your answer but there was none. You were lost in those rapid thoughts and didn’t know what to do. When you finally came out of it and saw his pleading expression you shouted out

“YES” you bought your hand in front of your lips to shush yourself.

Hoseok smiled the brighest and most beautiful smile you’ve ever seen. His eyes were sparkling in hapiness and felt relieved to hear you, his cheeks rosy again. His beauty made you forget, the horror you just said. Did you just said...yes? How can you do such a thing? You don’t even have feelings for him. 

You sighed and he noticed.

“Don’t feel pressured. We will take things as slowly as you want them to be.”

Little did he know that wasn’t it.  

“Ah thank you Hoseok for being so understanding. Now I gotta go because … I gotta go. See you later.”

“Talk to you later” he said

“Oh and I forgot, can I have your phone you know...”

Typical couple things  

«Yes» you said and wrote your number down.

----

“What do I do when we walk side by side?”

You asked Val while holding a notebook in your lap, making small marks to study later.

“Just be natural! Don’t study for a date too”

“How can I be natural? I’ve got no idea what’s up with all this dating thing you guys do like it’s breathing or something. I will watch Netflix series once you’ll leave, those stupid crybaby ones, to find out more.”

“Ugh, okay you hold his hand too? maybe?”

“hold..his..hand..too..” you repeated while writing it down. It’s not that hard after all, unless he takes things further which he said won’t be happening.

“Now you can leave or you can leave because I’ve got very important things to do.”

“Very important aka watching Netflix.”

“Exactly” you nodded while laughing.

“okay I’m not gonna stay any longer either you know...i’m prone to crying.”

“Yes I know plus your PMS makes things even worse, I mean it’s normal you know with all those chemical and hormonal imbal...”

the sudden sound caught you off guard, Val really didn’t seem like the type that wanted to learn. You sighed loudly and moved to the couch. You truly made a mess. You didn’t want to hurt him with saying no, but if you say no now, it’ll hurt him even more. It’d be best if he didn’t have feelings but according to his body language and days he’s been exposed to your pherormones, he is in and deep. It might be beneficial tho, it’s not the most humanatarian idea but you can make the best out of a bad situation. Maybe, if you live through a relationship, you’ll be able to grasp why it means so much to others. An experiment.

It won’t hurt anyone, right?

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 13/02/2021 (Digga D, AJ Tracey, Cardi B)

It’s not as big of a week as it is just a confusing one, so there’s no pre-amble. Olivia Rodrigo spends a fifth week at #1 with “drivers license” and let’s start REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Rundown

I started writing this a bit later than usual so I just want to rush through most of what’s here. The songs dropping out of the UK Top 75 are either debuts from not long ago like “Notorious” by Bugzy Malone featuring Chip and “Lo Vas A Olvidar” by Billie Eilish and ROSALÍA, or songs that have been here for a while, like “Monster”  by Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber, “Holy” by Justin Bieber featuring Chance the Rapper and “Dynamite” by BTS. We even have some #1 hits dropping out of the Top 75 this week, like “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac, “WAP” by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion and “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. In terms of fallers, we have, seemingly, some of the older Winter cuts being replaced, as we see “Sweet Melody” by Little Mix getting a harsh streaming cut down to #30,  “Whoopty” by CJ down to #33, “Levitating” by Dua Lipa and remixed by DaBaby down to #34 (although this could rebound given the album release), “you broke me first” by Tate McRae at #37, “SO DONE” by The Kid YAOI at #57, “All I Want” by Olivia Rodrigo at #61, “Looking for Me” by Diplo, Paul Woodford and Kareen Lomax at #62, “Train Wreck” by James Arthur at #63, “See Nobody” by Wes Nelson and Hardy Caprio at #64, “Take You Dancing” by Jason Derulo at #65, “Therefore I Am” by Billie Eilish at #68, “Before You Go” by Lewis Capaldi at #72 and “Golden” by Harry Styles at #73, as well as some more recent debuts, including the entirety of Fredo’s album impact from last week, as “Money Talks” with Dave is at #11, “Ready” with Summer Walker at #31 and “Burner on Deck” with Young Adz and the late Pop Smoke at #32. “Skin” by Sabrina Carpenter and “Apricots”  by Bicep aren’t faring that well either, at #51 and #56 respectively. When I said these songs are being replaced, I wasn’t overestimating anything as we have our new crop of hits seemingly all surging, as “Martin & Gina” by Polo G is at #54, “Be the One” by Rudimental, MORGAN, TIKE and Digga D is at #49, “Best Friend” by Saweetie featuring Doja Cat is at #42, “My Head & My Heart” by Ava Max is at #35, “Love Not War (The Tampa Beat)” by Jason Derulo and Nuka is at #27, “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals is at #24, “Your Love (9PM)” by ATB, Topic and A7S is at #23 (it’s honestly starting to grow on me), and “Blinding Lights” by the Weeknd is somehow back up to #20. Speaking of the top 20, we also have “Friday” by Riton, Nightcrawlers and Musafa & Hypeman dopamine re-editing itself up to #16, “Save Your Tears” also by the Weeknd at #15, and two new top 10 hits, both songs with basically the same chart run and genre. “Goosebumps” by Travis Scott, remixed by HVME, remixed by Travis Scott is at #10, becoming HVME’s first and Travis’ fourth top 10 hit here in Britain. We also have “The Business” by Tiesto grooving up to #7, becoming Tiesto’s fourth top 10 hit. I honestly feel bad for the still completely uncredited vocalist. We also have a third new top 10 entry but that’s a debut that we can discuss later. I should also note that “Roses” by SAINt JHN and remixed by Imanbek is back at #74, and a winning Eurovision song, “Arcade”, by Dutch singer Duncan Lawrence is also back at #39 off of the back of some TikTok traction. I think this is the most streamed Eurovision now – I’d watch out for this being a big hit. Welp, time to get into our really, and I mean REALLY, varied and weird crop of new arrivals, starting with...

NEW ARRIVALS

#75 – “Roadtrip” – Dream and PmBata

Produced by Banrisk and Perish Beats

Okay, so this is a song by Minecraft YouTuber Dream, or at least that’s who I think he is. I think there was some kind of scandal related to him, and a couple people got involved and someone got doxed... listen, I don’t care. Not only is this song really not worthy of reviewing on the principle that unlike Wilbur Soot a couple weeks ago, Dream has never been a musician, which is clear from how involved no-name singer PmBata was in this, but I care for my private information not being made public so... What ridiculous excuse do I have to not review this? Okay, 1997 reggae-rock classic “Doin’ Time” by Sublime returns to #75 after Boris Johnson made a TikTok in the Houses of Parliament where he says “Pogchamp, Brexiteers, I just got tested for COVID-19” with the song in the background, and Joe Biden is on a Zoom call with him a few seconds later visibly annoyed because he prefers the New Radicals. Sure, let’s go with that. What was this entry about again?

#71 – “Goodbye” – Imanbek and Goodboys

Produced by Joris Mur, Imanbek and Goodboys

Everyone’s favourite Kazakh house producer Imanbek is finally back on the charts with his collaboration with British pop trio Goodboys, who you may know from their carbon-copy hits made with MEDUZA. After listening to that EP he made with Rita Ora, I’m slightly less impressed with Imanbek’s production, but that EP’s impact, if any, will be seen when the lead single featuring David Guetta and Gunna debuts low next week. Yes, seriously, all four on the same track. Anyway, this song, “Goodbye”, is actually pretty okay, with a generic deep house groove and fake hand-clap effectively saved by the Goodboys’ really intriguing vocal delivery and processing, which ends up in a Travis Scott-like Auto-Tune harmony that’s honestly pretty endearing right before the anti-climactic slap-house drop. The song’s lyrical content probably isn’t worth talking about, but it’s about a generic struggle with a break-up, and how hard it is for one of these good boys to say good bye. The build-up with the pre-chorus before the blue-balls second drop is kind of genius, and that’s probably my favourite part of the song outside of the abrupt vocaloid drop at the end. For what it’s worth, it takes more risks than most of these house-pop songs, most notably by having only a single verse in the middle of the song, and being really short, clocking in at less than two and a half minutes. It’s not as infectious as “Piece of Your Heart”, but this is fine. I’m glad it’s here if it’s going to give Imanbek another non-Rita Ora-assisted hit.

#60 – “Little Bit of Love” – Tom Grennan

Produced by Jamie Scott, LOSTBOY and Daniel Bryer

Tom Grennan is an English singer-songwriter who released their debut record in 2016 and was crowned by the BBC as the “Sound of 2017”, before dropping off the face of the Earth. He was brought to fame by a guest feature on a Chase & Status song that didn’t even do that well and now he’s back with the lead single from his upcoming sophomore effort, and his highest ever charting song. Well, is it any good? I mean, I like OneRepublic too. The rising strings here in the intro and chorus are pretty cool, and I’ll give it to Grennan for having an interesting voice but the odd level of grit in it does not fit well for this plastic production, which quickly devolves into vaguely danceable synth-mess that’s just not interesting. The content is mostly about unconditional love, particularly one that feels not particularly reciprocated, although some of the detail in the second verse feels like it’s going somewhere. I’ll admit, the chorus is catchy, but this mix puts way too much emphasis on a flawed vocal take from Grennan, which really detracts from the pathetic excuse for a bridge. I do enjoy how this feels like a flash-back to the mid-2010s, where happier, synth-based pop was this prominent, and I do love how the strings come back in the outro, but good production can’t do much to save a song that just feels under-cooked and definitely under-written. The OneRepublic comparison feels particularly fitting here too because their stuff tends to be just as stagnant, not to mention the lyrical riffs off of “Counting Stars”. I mean, when you start your first verse – in the first 10 or so seconds of the track – with the most recognisable part of a very recognisable song, I think Ryan Tedder deserves at least some royalties.

#58 – “Astronaut in the Ocean” – Masked Wolf

Produced by Tyron Hapi

Masked Wolf is an Australian singer and this song is actually from June 2019, just gaining enough traction, presumably off of TikTok, to debut on the charts this week. The song got a 2021 reissue and I assume a remix and, well... for God’s sake. The Kid LAROI should not have been an entry point for Australian trap, because outside of a second or two of distortion in the intro, this is far from unique. It has a guitar-based trap instrumental with dark 808s that even Gunna would pass up on, and an Auto-Tuned delivery from Masked Wolf, clearly trying too hard to replicate Drake in the intro and bridge, Kid Cudi in the chorus, G-Eazy in the first verse, Eminem AND Kendrick on the second verse, to the point where he even directly references Kendrick Lamar’s much better music. He suffers from the same problems as all of these artists combined, with lyrics that seem like they’re building up off of something interesting about depression before going into aimless flexing like a mid-tier Kid Cudi track, flows that sound as meandering and checked-out as Drake’s, the failed attempt at some kind of white-boy swagger that G-Eazy hasn’t pulled off successfully since 2016, the substance-less content hidden behind fast flows from Eminem and... oh, my God, this guy’s just like Australian Logic. I don’t like American Logic, why do we need this guy too? Yeah, this is bad, and there’s not much worth nitpicking in this mix or even the lyrics to even point out. I guess the worst bar is when he says he believes in G-O-D but not a T-H-O-T. So he’s a slut-shaming NF now? Jesus Christ, I’d take a full album from The Kid LAROI over this.

So the next two songs are ones I’ll actually need to somewhat lump together, as they are consecutive on the chart and both from the same album, and the same washed-up band.

#53 – “Waiting on a War” – Foo Fighters

Produced by Greg Kurstin

We have two songs from Dave Grohl and friends here from their latest album, Medicine at Midnight, technically three if we count the entire top 100, which means, yes, the UK just had a Foo Fighters album bomb. I’ll focus on the album as a whole with the next song because this is easily the worse track here and the worst track on the album purely out of how misguided it is. Dave Grohl wrote this song because he felt inspired by the current hell-scape of the political climate, reminding him of his own youth when he was surrounded by rising Cold War tensions. His young daughter asked him if there was going to be a war and naturally this song came out of it, reflecting on the fears he and his daughter have and that everyone deserves a future and a lifetime not taken away from them by conflict and fear. This is a good song idea but it absolutely does not work, and that’s partially down to the production. When I first heard this track on the album, I genuinely grimaced at the vocoder-mumble that Grohl takes on against the scratchy acoustic guitars. The whole point of the instrumentation is that it builds tension with rising strings, multi-tracked acoustics and eventually some electric guitars and powerful drums, yet because of how slow-paced the song is, it fails to mirror the rising tension of the prospect of there being a war. Instead, it’s a slog and its pay-off by the end feels unwarranted in the most boring way. Sure, the squeals of the guitars in the back of the mix sound good, but surely a song like this should not end like any of the Foo Fighters’ other pop-rock anthems, especially not as abruptly as it does. Wouldn’t you want a more subdued outro to comfort your daughter’s fears that at least right now, everything’s okay? That would make the most sense to me, but that’s thrown out of the window, with pathetic songwriting, with verses that play word association with the blandest of rhymes, seemingly irrelevant pop-song-generator filer and a chorus that is mind-numbingly repetitive but ultimately fails to build tension because of the content asking us to wait, constantly, even when it gets into its heavier rock tone. We’re supposed to wait for something that is only implied to never come, because there isn’t finality. Sure, that could work as a way of saying that Grohl is just as uncertain and scared as his daughter is about political conflict, but that would imply this song gives off any further emotion than the fact the Foo Fighters felt the need to cut a vaguely political track out of necessity. As a song, and as an album, Dave Grohl is utterly confused, and “Waiting on a War” is way too slow and non-specific to act as a protest song, as well as being way too on-the-nose for it to work as a ballad. Let’s talk about this next single.

#52 – “Making a Fire” – Foo Fighters

Produced by Greg Kurstin

What the hell is Greg Kurstin doing here? This is the first track on the album and is supposed to make some kind of gripping impact but is instead just a snoozefest. The choral female vocals sound bored, but at least it’s not as strained as the struggling Dave Grohl trying and failing to yelp over a stiff groove which has its momentum killed by drumming too slow and mixed too oddly to make this pre-chorus even coherent, not helped by Grohl’s butt-rock delivery and non-descript lyrics. There could be a guitar solo here, to make this track feel memorable, but no, it’s hidden under a pre-chorus with an extended gospel bridge that doesn’t build up effectively to a chorus that just comes crashing in and hence has no effect. Maybe I just can’t listen to arena  rock in a quarantine context, but I can’t even imagine this making much of a fuss in a packed stadium without desperately needing tweaks in the songwriting and especially the production, because this just sounds stunted. It’s telling that Grohl made his best tracks as the Foo Fighters on his own and those first two records, alongside a pretty decent 2014 comeback in the form of Sonic Highways, are still great. I’m not denying that Grohl can write a good song, or that the Food Figures can’t play, because they’re all talented guys. This is just one album in many that leaves me with the feeling that these guys just can’t do much more outside of their comfort zone than fail miserably. These songs won’t stick around, and thank God for that.

#50 – “Believe Me” – Navos

Produced by Tom Demac and Navos

Another week, another... okay, but we already had a generic pop-infused deep house track from a couple EDM randos, do we really need another? Okay, well, this one is even less interesting than Imanbek’s effort as it doesn’t even try for a verse, instead going for a deep house groove I’ve heard countless times before, drowned out by some square synths and, yes, you guessed it, 90s piano loops and an uncredited female vocalist repeating basically the same couple lines over and over. This is made for the clubs, but I feel like even regular club-goers would tire of this vocaloid drop and cloudy production two minutes in. There’s nothing worth discussing here, because this probably took as many minutes to make as it did to listen to. I have no idea why Navos debuts a song so high, but I’ve got to assume TikTok’s to blame. Apparently this guy makes tech house, where’d any of that skill or intrigue go here?

#21 – “Up” – Cardi B

Produced by Sean Island, DJ SwanQo and Yung Dza

Anyone else surprised at how such a big name gets production from people I’ve never heard of before? Not that it matters, it’s just odd. Anyways, this is Cardi’s new single, presumably from that ever-elusive second album, debuting around 20 spots lower than it will in the US, and it’s going for a more gangsta-rap content than the hyper-sexual “WAP”, but does she keep the same energy? Well, yes... in fact, after all the mediocrity, I’m glad to have a genuinely great song debut this week. This is a great, bass-heavy beat that gives a Memphis phonk feel in the dark keys as well as the hard-hitting 808s and spacey percs and sound effects that add some needed distortion, even if there’s going to be some brief clipping along the way. Cardi brings some necessary energy from the brilliant opening lyrics and continues with a fast-paced, chanting flow that accentuates some of her funnier lyrics with her charisma that she always brings to a trap track like this. I’d say that this is maybe too repetitive – with very little of the verses to speak of – or even somewhat derivative of her previous song, “Money”, but there’s a lot better lyrical content in this one, not to mention how well she complements a more straight-forward but still killer beat. Oh, yeah, and Cardi’s stacks are Shaq-height as she dismisses haters with an impressive level of swagger and confidence, that carries the refrain, but that’s not to say the lyrics aren’t really great in the verses. There’s genuinely funny and sexy wordplay here, especially in the second verse, and also some great liners: “hoes speakin’ cap-anese”, accusing her haters of having pink-eye and their breath smelling like “horse sex”. This is a short, probably underdeveloped song, but it’s the type of surreal, high-energy trap I kind of really love and I hope this sticks around further in the UK.

#19 – “Latest Trends” – A1 x J1

Produced by ShoBeatz

A1 x J1 are a British rap duo with no other songs. Yeah, something’s fishy here: this is their only song on Spotify that blew up from a 15-second clip on TikTok, and their Spotify bio is trying to decide whether they’re the next D-Block Europe or the Beatles, as well as really emphasising how the song grew “all organically”, even though they’re already signed to Universal... yeah, there’s nothing subtle here, so I won’t buy this TikTok fame schtick, but does it matter when the song is good? Well, not really, and honestly, I’m kind of into this guitar-based drill-R&B fusion in the beat, but it doesn’t really help the fact that J1’s Stormzy impression is janky and unconvincing, especially if he’s going to try for some shallow wordplay, and that A1’s Auto-Tuned croon is just boring, reminding me a lot of A Boogie wit da Hoodie, but with a less recognisable voice and delivery, even if the first verse contains a funny line about a woman making that ass clap “for the NHS”, although he totally took that from Swarmz anyway. Yeah, I’m not a fan of this fake attempt at an organic pop-drill crossover, but unfortunately, I can very much see this working, though I’d be happy if the British public will see through this dishonesty as soon as possible.

#5 – “Bringing it Back” – Digga D and AJ Tracey

Produced by TheElements and AoD

Now for a rap duo that makes more sense to debut this high and are actually, you know, separately successful rappers, therefore they debut in the top five, which is impressive. The whole concept of this song is that Digga D and AJ Tracey are using old flows, those that would be nostalgic to their deeper fan base, to spit bars on a new track called, fittingly “Bringing it Back”. The flow AJ Tracey brings back is from his overlong “Packages” freestyle, a five-minute track from 2016, that works more as a freestyle than it does as a song, where he uses a familiar UK drill flow to go off for a really long time, and, yes, it is pretty impressive but the flow becomes stale too quickly. Digga D uses his flow from his “Next Up?” freestyle from 2017, a similarly badly-mixed UK drill freestyle but with a much more palatable length. Digga D’s flow he uses in that track is arguably slicker but honestly one that I see used a lot in UK drill and by Digga D, so I’m not sure it’s not worth “bringing it back” when you could come up with a new, catchier flow. I’ll admit that “Bringing it Back”, however, is a pretty damn good song, with Digga D’s more technical and fluid flow allowing for a lot more intricate internal rhymes that sound really great over the triumphant, string-heavy drill beat, as he trades bars with AJ Tracey’s slower but more confident, laid-back flow, which allows him to spit some more specific, interesting bars, some of which really hit, like when he says he “locked up the food for the kids like Boris and then I let it go like Rashford”. Hey, I respect it, I haven’t heard a more clever way of intertwining political commentary with cocaine smuggling since Pusha T last released a record. The way AJ Tracey and Digga D play off of each other’s lines is really smooth, and especially how Digga D plays with the beat, as while his lyrics may be less interesting, they mash perfectly with the beat’s frantic fades in and out, especially in his last lines before the first chorus, where he asks for the track to literally be turned off... and it is. So, yeah, I’m pretty damn happy with this debuting so high off the energy alone, even if Digga D is going to pronounce “LOL” like a one-syllable word. I’d say this is actually a really good starting point for people who want to get into more UK drill because it has a lot of the grit and menace of the genre in a more accessible, catchy form, even if it may run a bit too long for my taste.

Conclusion

Wow, what a weird, weird week... and a lot of it was straight garbage. I’m giving Best of the Week to “Up” by Cardi B, with an Honourable Mention to Digga D and AJ Tracey for “Bringing it Back”, though Worst of the Week is pretty much a toss-up. I’ll give it to the Foo Fighters for “Waiting on a War”, with a Dishonourable Mention tied between “Astronaut in the Ocean” by Masked Wolf and “Believe Me” by Navos for just both being worthless. Anyways, here’s our top 10:

The UK Singles Chart is honestly kind of chaotic right now – even more so than usual – and I don’t see that changing. Even if I don’t like all of the songs, it’s at least compelling. Anyways, thank you for reading and you can follow me @cactusinthebank on Twitter if you want. I can’t really make any predictions for next week other than Taylor Swift re-recording her own music and I guess some impact from Rita Ora and Imanbek, or hopefully, slowthai. Regardless of what happens, I’ll see you next week!

[becoming-my-own-sunshine]

4 am

I woke up, straight up, worried, sick, head banging. I'm sure its my sugar. I have to stop eating and going right to sleep. That is not good for me.

4 days... I know this is going to be the longest most stressful 4 days I have ever had. I never thought we would be here. I thought we were good. I know his addiction really does not have anything to do with me but it sure does feel like it when he did not come to me. And then to realize that he was doing it much longer than he admitted to.

Hurt is not even the word anymore. Shocked, or sad. Those are the terms that come to mind. I hate for not noticing myself. I hate that it had to come to this. I hate fucking meth. I hate it. And whoever made it, I really hope they are dead.

Its not just about him. Its about my mom, my best friend, my cousin. It consumed all of them, not that they are not at fault for continuing on but addiction is a disease. Just like my bipolar. Its a chemical imbalance in your brain and body that searches to be leveled.

He said something to me one day, about meth, and it was almost like in a dream state while he was talking about it. It was like... just talking about it made his dopamine rise. Which I guess is what the weed does for me.

Sometimes I think about back in the only days when cocaine and heroin were sold IN STORES. And some how drug addiction is the addicts fault. America is the one who put them out there. Do I think that if they never did that, that we would be some how better? No. Because just like all the other drugs out there, those too helped in some way.

My emotions are all over the place. Still not anger, not disappointment. None of that. Even though my mother is trying so badly to force me to feel that way about this. She is upset because I got mad at her for using. But the thing about that is that I have trauma from my mother doing drugs my whole life. I lived through life thinking my mother did not want me because of drugs.

So how come she can't just accept that instead of just insisting that it is just about the drug. If she would have been the perfect (imperfect) mother that non addicts were would I feel the same? Probably not. Maybe if she started using when she found out she had cancer I could better understand that.

She also needs to understand that I am trying to help the man that I love so deeply become the man I see in him. Give him a chance to be that guy I see when he is sober. I gave her so many chances. SO MANY. I am turning 30 in a half a year! So that is 30 years of chances to make the right choice.

He deserves it. He was never given a chance like this before. Before they would just throw him back in jail and dust their hands off because he is a repeat. But someone has to attempt to help stop the repeat. Stop the constant give up.

Even though this has been one of the roughest times in our relationship, I feel like I have grown some as a person. Maybe not standing up for myself quite yet but learning what things I can not tolerate. And those things all come down to drugs.

Do I see weed as a drug? No. Because it does not have the negative effects that others do. Will I say that it can used as a gateway? No. Because until I was around other people doing the other things I did not even think about it. It is all about the situations that you place yourself in. If my friends did other drugs I was not interested because of the way I watched my mother and uncle destroy everything around them.

Destruction is not caused by weed.

[yuzuruspoohsan]

I have a bad case of celebrity or athlete crush on Yuzu. I know he is just another human being - although one extremely talented with a hard-working personality - and that makes it even worse. Any tips on getting over this since I know how unrealistic this is? :D

You’ve come to the right place, anon.

I have had my fair shares of periodical celebrity crazes coming out of my younger days and Yuzu will be my last because I realize some things during my last year in college while stanning him. 

Being a fan is fine. Stanning someone is cool.Fangirling is absolutely normal.Yes, go ahead. Go crazy with your fangirling. LET IT RIP!But, this is as far as you go.

Because loving a person you’ve never met, as in actual romantic feelings, and most likely will never meet personally or know them on a personal level is utter nonsense. It’s a bullshit fantasy. This is the first step to cutting an emotional tie to your subject of idolization.

To be honest, the sensation of loving a far-off idol is the same as your crush due to advancement of technology and modern media.

And yes, Anon, you are absolutely correct. He is another human being, just like celebrities are too.

And never forget, regardless of who you like, love, and come to idolized, never forget, you must always prioritize yourself and your life over someone else’s, especially when you have never met that person or will come to know them in real life.)They are, by categorization and definition, strangers to you. 

You live for yourself. You live your own life. 

And being a fan, stanning someone, and idolizing them are merely a pastime to entertain yourself and stimulate your brain. We get dopamine and adrenaline rushes whenever we see these amazing people on screen. They’re incredible. They truly are, but those moments are brief and we get hooked and addicted to the feel-good rushes.

However, once you know the truth of how your brain operates, it really helps put things into perspectives. Everything looks so objective and subjective. 

When it comes to Yuzu….

He is truly inspirational. 

Never doubt that or deny it.

He’s truly an inspirational figure.

And he’s the reason why I’ve resolved to chase my own dreams and head towards the path that will most likely bring me closer to my goals….no matter how much uncertainty comes to present itself in front of me….

I’ve realized I was sick and tired of my own mediocrity, and I didn’t want lose to Yuzu’s resolve. I could not lose to his resolve because I felt that….if I did, I could not call myself his fan. You can’t be his fan and ignore the messages he gives….the talks he gives….the words he says. 

I felt that I had to appreciate everything he had passed on to the audience, to his fans, to us, and the world. 

I am grateful to be a Yuzu fan. It makes me work harder. It makes me look at hardships and doubts in the face and say: “You’re bullshit. I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna overcome this all. Watch me.” 

Yuzu made me look at my own life and think about possibilities. Things I have to do, steps I have to take to get to my goal because Yuzu spent years training, thinking, and planning, and then looking at the Olympic gold medal on his iPod to win it. He took many many steps to get to where he is. It’s not magic. It’s all hard work.

And realizing all of that…. I knew that I couldn’t lose to that resolve. And I couldn’t ignore his resolve. I can’t lose to myself, to self-doubt, and self-pity. 

It takes hard work. Nothing in life is easy. If it came easy, you would not treasure it.

When you look at a celebrity, Yuzu, or just anyone you admire deeply.

Ask yourself, “why do I like this person so much?”

What do I wish…..

What do I want….

What would I take from this person?

What does this person make me want to do or become better at?

Use these figures as stepping stones to raise yourself up. There is no shame in it.

You will never meet them unless you rise to their ranks in their own field. But even if you wanted to do what they were doing – don’t do it because you want to meet them or be rich as them – strive to be better than them (or be richer than them….)

I always tell myself, there is something I can do right now, that they can’t. And whether it is true or not, it matters not, I am doing something they can only dream of. After all, no one is perfect, and there will always be something you are capable of that someone of high stature cannot do.(A humorous example, but true, you can go to a fast food place and sit down to chow on nice hamburger, but well-known people can’t do that without having someone prance out of a bush and take their picture….and then dread about everyone finding out in the next couple minutes.)

Another example, I know that I can definitely live on my own, while Yuzu would struggle a whole lot with that (boy needs a lot of help before living on his own….he probably wouldn’t do it unless he had some sort of caretaker…*groans*)(Yes, these amazing people have flaws!! Some have more than others….some that you might never know about….)

So, anon, there are many ways to slice-up an unrealistic thought. It just takes some time to mess around with it.

And if you think about it, which of these is better?

1. Spend a whole lot of time thinking about how special and better someone else is.

OR.

2. Understanding why that person is so great, learn from them, and strive to outdo them.

And whatever you choose doesn’t even have to be grand. 

For example, I really like how slender and fit Yuzu is, so I’ve started eating a diet that gives me the calories I need instead of eating a whole lot for the sake of eating. Of course, I’m passed my adolescent years, so I don’t need to eat a whole lot to grow taller and etc. But if you’re still at the age of growing, you guys ought to eat more, but eat healthy!! PLENTY OF VEGETABLES, PROTEINS, and….just go on youtube for that.

In addition, to not overeating. I’ve started stretching a lot more when I’m at home and doing some small routines to slim up my thighs (praying that I will be able to do some yoga someday.)

Will I get a body that will surpass Yuzu’s, I have no idea, but it’ll definitely make me feel better, so why not? =]

Having these celebrity, athlete, idol-like figure crushes are really normal. And you really can learn a lot about yourself from it.

And with the right thinking and guidance, you’ll come out with a more positive outlook on life.

So, forget about your phony “celebrity crush,” use them as inspiration to level yourself up.

And then…..instead of chasing others, people will turn around to chase you. ;)

For those who are interested, I know quite a bit about psychology.

And I was an English major. =)And I typed this post raw…so….yeah…

[pikapeppa]

Reyes Vidal Week, Day 2: SAM in love

Today, I didn’t reaaaally follow the prompt. But Reyes is chilling on the Tempest - does that count?

In this one-shot, Reyes and SAM have a heart-to-heart. This is the first thing I’ve written from first-person perspective. Please let me know what you think!! <3

It starts with vasodilation.

Increased blood flow to Ryder’s lips and cheeks turns them pink. The tissues of her genitals swell and become moist. Her pupils dilate. Oxytocin and dopamine flood her brain when he kisses her. She gasps when he bites her shoulder, but her nervous system floods with endorphins and dopamine; she finds his bites pleasurable, not painful. Her nipples harden and her breasts swell at the touch of his hands and tongue. When intercourse commences, dopamine activity increases further, and there is heightened neural activity in her basal ganglia. Her respiratory rate and heart rate increase. He quickens the rhythm of his copulatory movements, and her genital muscles begin to contract and spasm as she cries out. A burst of neurotransmitters and hormones, muscle contractions, and widespread neural activity overtake her body. Her physiological signs are very clear: she is euphoric, all bodily signals indicating pleasure and reward.

Through Ryder, I observe, and I learn, and I feel what it is to be euphoric.

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

Ryder’s reactions to Mr. Vidal have always been different than her reactions to the rest of the crew. When we first met Mr. Vidal, I initially analyzed him as a threat. The Pathfinder had experienced a spike in adrenaline and cortisol, and her pupils had dilated, so it was my impression that she was experiencing a fight-or-flight response. However, there was a surge of dopamine in her brain at the moment that he spoke, indicative of reward. These signals were contradictory, so I did not act. Further information was required.

Once it became clear that Reyes was an ally and that we would have repeated contact with him, I noticed that Ryder continued to experience surges of dopamine when she spoke to Reyes, as well as increasing levels of oxytocin. Every time I suggested to Ryder that we ask Mr. Vidal for more information, she experienced similar, low-level changes in her body chemistry, as well as vasodilation in the genitals that appeared unrelated to the current mission. I was not sure what to make of Ryder’s reactions. Her body seemed to be preparing for copulation, but the environmental context was not suggestive of sexual arousal.

It was not until the other crew began to tease Ryder that I realized this was the beginning of a romantic relationship. In retrospect, it is not surprising that I had not recognized it; I had experience with only one other romantic relationship: namely, Alec and Ellen Ryder. That relationship was long-established, with very different associated physiological and interactive patterns.

Thereafter, it became easy to recognize the signs of attachment and arousal. In fact, I became interested in analyzing the Pathfinder’s new relationship. I wish to learn more about what motivates all sentient races, and in so doing, to learn more about what motivates me. My experience with Alec Ryder indicates that love and family are powerful motivators for humans. Case studies of multiple species’ relationships will be an excellent foundation for deeper understanding.

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

Tonight, I have found an excellent opportunity to learn more about the Pathfinder and Mr. Vidal’s relationship. Ryder has told me much about her feeling and thoughts for Mr. Vidal, but I have not yet obtained his perspective on their relationship. Fortunately, he is visiting the Tempest tonight. Ryder is sleeping, but Mr. Vidal is awake. He is stroking her hair: a gesture I understand to be affectionate. I am learning to interpret and distinguish many species’ facial expressions, and Mr. Vidal is gazing at Ryder with a unique facial expression that I have only ever observed when he looks at her.

“Mr. Vidal,” I say, and he looks up at my router. I have noticed that he and Ryder prefer to speak to my router, perhaps because it reminds them of a face.

“May I speak with you for a moment?” I say. He nods and comes to sit close to my router. (I almost remind him that he does not need to do this, but as he has already risen, I do not mention it as this will waste time.) “Mr. Vidal,” I say, but Reyes shakes his head. “Call me Reyes,” he says, and I take note of this: he wishes to be on familiar terms with me. I interpret this as an overture of friendship on his part.

“Reyes,” I correct myself, “May I ask you a question about your relationship with the Pathfinder?”

Reyes chuckles and runs a hand through his hair. “Did Mara put you up to this?” he asks.

“No,” I reply, “But she seemed to think I was making a joke when I told her I was going to ask you this. She laughed a great deal.”

“I bet she did,” Reyes mutters, then sighs. “Okay, SAM. What do you want to know?”

“The beginning of your attachment is an interesting phenomenon for me. The Pathfinder has shared her thoughts on your relationship. I am curious to obtain your perspective.”

Reyes sighs, then looks at Ryder. His face resumes that unique expression that he seems to reserve only for her. He is quiet for a long time; I am about to increase my volume and repeat my question in case he did not hear, but then he speaks.

“I love her more than I’ve ever loved anyone in any galaxy.” He turns back to look at my router, and his face appears fierce; an unusual expression that does not seem to match his words. “When I can’t sleep, I think of her face and it relaxes me. When I’m… on the dark side, blood all over my hands… I think of her laughing, and it… brings me back to the light.” Reyes is silent for a moment, his gaze on the Pathfinder. Then he speaks again. His voice is quiet, as though he is talking to himself. “She makes me feel like I can do anything. I can be anyone. But… with her, I can just be myself and… she wants me still. Reyes the charmer, Shena the smuggling informant, the Charlatan… They’re all parts of the same man. And she loves them all.”

He turns to look at my router again and smiles. “You know what, SAM? She once asked me why I came to Andromeda. I told her I came here to be someone. But really, I was running away from becoming someone that I didn’t think I wanted to be. Then I got here…” He runs his hand through his hair again, then continues. “I had to be that person that I thought I shouldn’t be. A murderer, a torturer, a smuggler. A criminal. All for the right reasons… But I was getting lost in it. I thought maybe… it would stop being for the right reasons. But then Mara came along and… she never judged me. I could stop judging myself, seeing the worst in myself. She sees through my actions. She sees… me.”

Reyes stops talking and clears his throat, then wipes his eyes briskly with the back of his hand. He clears his throat again, then speaks to my router, his voice deeper than before. “So… yeah. You know.” He gives a small laugh.

Then Reyes does something unexpected, something that nobody has ever done: he asks me a question about myself. “So SAM. What’s it like being inside Ryder’s head all the time? Do you ever wish you could call the shots about what to do, where to go?”

“My relationship with Ryder is symbiotic. No matter what she chooses to do or where to go, I benefit through her experiences. All of her choices and observations provide more data for me to analyze, to come to a greater understanding of the galaxy and all its inhabitants.”

“Yeah, but what about what you want? I get that you like to learn. You’re a nerd.” Reyes smiles with half his mouth, an expression I recognize as jocular. “But do you ever feel like… just doing something on your own?”

This question is interesting. Reyes is asking about agency, independence, my separateness from Ryder. I require extra time to consider my response, almost a full 2 seconds. “Ryder incorporates my advice and knowledge into all her decisions. In that sense, her decisions are also my own. And since I am a non-corporeal sentience, I consider her body to be my own as well. We are two sentient intelligences that seamlessly share a single body. Ryder has expressed to me that she shares this perspective.”

Reyes is staring at my router, his facial expression indicating surprise. “Wow. I didn’t think of it that way,” he says. “I always saw you as a separate… entity, I guess.” Reyes scratches his head and is quiet again; I permit him the time to think. Then suddenly he smiles, and his eyebrows rise. “So what’s it like for you when we’re... you know. Having sex? Do you feel that along with her?” His voice has the same tone that I have come to associate with the beginnings of a sexual episode with Ryder.

My reply is immediate. “Yes, that is correct. I experience everything that Ryder experiences during your episodes of sexual intercourse. In fact, I have collected ample data on the Pathfinder’s physiological reactions during sex. Would you like me to analyze the data? I can compile graphs and tables that will help you optimize Ryder’s copulatory euphoria.”

“What?” Reyes exclaims, his voice significantly louder and higher in pitch than usual. In the bed, the Pathfinders stirs slightly, then rolls over. Reyes glares at my router and then whispers. “Are you kidding me?”

“Yes. I am making a joke.”

Reyes stares at my router, then starts shaking. I require 0.05 seconds to realize that he is laughing. He continues to laugh for 1.874 minutes, then finally looks at my router. “You know what, SAM, you’re all right. You’re a perv, but you’re all right.” He shakes his head and stands. “I’m going back to bed. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Reyes. And thank you.”

Reyes turns back to look at my router. “For what?”

“For your perspective on your relationship. And for your questions. This conversation has been very illuminating.”

Reyes chuckles and nods his head. “Anytime, SAM.” He gets back into the bed and puts his arm around the Pathfinder.

I observe Reyes as he returns to bed. This evening has been a unique learning experience indeed. Until now, only Ryder had ever shared her thoughts with me in such detail. And Reyes is the only one who has asked me questions requiring self-reflection and introspection, as opposed to objective analysis and observation.

It is possible that I understand what Ryder feels when she is around him.

It is possible that I understand love.

[airoasis]

Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health? | Bailey Parnell | TEDxRyersonU

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/is-social-media-hurting-your-mental-health-bailey-parnell-tedxryersonu/

Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health? | Bailey Parnell | TEDxRyersonU

Translator: MARIA TIAKA Reviewer: Peter van de Ven i am fat. Wow, i’m fats. She’s most effective nineteen years historical, what am I doing with my existence? Hey! Two likes! Excellent. Do i love this picture? Does she rather want extra likes? I am hoping i will be invited to the wedding. One other like, best! Welcome to the inner monologue of a natural social media scroll. A monologue that so many of us have day-to-day, but we don’t feel about it, we don’t speak about it. In fact, many people are not able to even recognize it taking place. I’m Bailey Parnell, and i’ll speak about the unintended penalties social media is having in your intellectual wellbeing. I will exhibit you what’s stressing you out day-to-day, what it’s doing to you, and how one can craft a greater expertise for your self on-line. Simply over a year in the past, my sister and that i took a four-day vacation to Jasper, Alberta. This used to be the first no-work trip I had taken in four years. On this vacation, I was going dark. I was turning on aircraft mode, no e mail and no social media.The primary day there, I was still experiencing phantom vibration syndrome. That’s where you suppose your phone went off, and also you assess and it didn’t. I was checking steadily. I was distracted in conversation. I used to be seeing these wonderful sights Jasper needed to offer, and my first response was to take out my telephone and submit it on social. But of course it wasn’t there. The 2nd day was once a bit of bit easier. You might be considering i am ridiculous, but I hadn’t been fully disconnected in over four years. This was practically a new experience again. It wasn’t except the fourth day I was once there that I was once ultimately comfortable with out my cellphone. I was sitting with my sister, actually on the aspect of this mountain, once I started pondering to myself: "what’s social media doing to me? What is it doing to my peers?" That was best four days, and it was anxiousness-inducing, it was annoying and it resulted in withdrawals. That’s when I started to ask questions and have seeing that began my master’s study into this discipline.I’ve worked in social advertising primarily in higher schooling for most of my profession. That suggests I work with numerous 18- to 24-year-olds, which additionally happens to be essentially the most lively demographic on social media. The opposite thing you have got to learn about me is that i’m young ample to have grown up with social media, however simply historic ample to be able to significantly interact with it in a way that twelve-yr-old me more commonly couldn’t. My existence is social media: for my part, professionally and academically. If it was once doing this to me, what used to be it doing to each person else? I immediately found out I wasn’t on my own. The core for collegiate intellectual health discovered that the top three diagnoses on college campuses are anxiety, melancholy and stress. Countless stories from the united states, Canada, the uk, you name it, have linked this high social media use with these high stages of anxiousness and melancholy.However the frightening factor is that prime social media use is almost all people i do know: my friends, my loved ones, my colleagues. Ninety% of 18- to 29-year-olds are on social media. We spend on normal two hours a day there. We do not even consume for 2 hours a day. 70% of the Canadian population is on social media. Our voter turnout isn’t even 70%. Anything we do this in general is worthy of important commentary. Some thing we spend this so much time doing has lasting results on us.So let me introduce you to four of the most common stressors on social media, that if go unchecked have abilities to come to be full-blown intellectual health disorders, and that is certainly not an exhaustive record. Number one: the spotlight Reel. Identical to in sporting activities, the spotlight reel is a set of the excellent and brightest moments. Social media is our personal highlight reel. It is where we put up our wins, or once we appear best, or when we are out with acquaintances and household. But we battle with insecurity considering the fact that we examine our at the back of-the-scenes with every body else’s highlight reels. We’re continually evaluating ourselves to others. Yes, this was taking place before social media, with television and famous person, however now it is going down always, and it is instantly linked to you. A ultimate instance I came across in education for this speak is my pal on trip: ‘brb, nap …’ (Laughter) ‘Wait, why can not I have the funds for a trip? Why am I just sitting here in my PJ’s staring at Netflix? I want to be on a seashore.’ here’s the article, i know her very well.I knew this used to be out of the normal for her. I knew she used to be generally drowning in schoolwork. However we suppose, ‘Who wants to see that?’ The highlights are what humans want to see. In fact, when your highlights do good, you come upon the second stressor on social media. Which is quantity two: Social forex. Identical to the greenback, a forex is actually some thing we use to attribute price to a just right or provider. In social media, these likes, the comments, the shares have turn out to be this form of social currency wherein we attribute worth to anything. In marketing, we call it the ‘economic system of concentration’.The whole thing is competing for your concentration, and whilst you provide whatever a like or a section of that finite awareness, it becomes a recorded transaction attributing value. Which is first-class if you are promoting albums or clothing. The trouble is that in our social media, we’re letting others attribute value to us. You know any individual or are anybody that has taken down a picture because it didn’t take as many likes as you idea it would. I will admit, i’ve been right there with you. We took our product off the shelf for the reason that it wasn’t promoting speedy adequate. That is altering our sense of identity. We are tying up our self-worth of what others suppose about us after which we’re quantifying it for everybody to peer. And we’re obsessed. We need to get that selfie just correct, and we will be able to take 300 images to make sure. Then we will be able to wait for the perfect time to put up. We’re so obsessed we’ve organic responses after we can not take part.Which leads me to the third stressor on social media. Number three: F.O.M.O. It’s a light phrase we have all thrown round. F.O.M.O., or the ‘worry of lacking out’, is an actual social nervousness from the fear that you are lacking a knowledge connection, occasion, or opportunity. A group of Canadian Universities found that 7/10 pupils said they might do away with their social networking accounts if it weren’t for worry of being left ‘out of the loop’.Out of curiosity, how many individuals here have, or have considered deactivating your social. That’s nearly every body. That F.O.M.O. You think, the highlight reels, the social foreign money, those are all results of a rather ‘common’ social media experience. However what if happening social everyday used to be a terrifying expertise? Where you not simply question your self-worth however you query your security? Perhaps the worst stressor on social media is quantity 4: on-line Harassment. Forty% of on-line adults have skilled on-line harassment. 73% have witnessed it. The unlucky fact is that it’s a lot worse and more likely if you’re a woman, LGBTQ, a man or woman of color, muslim – I feel you get the factor. The obstacle is that within the information we are seeing these massive reviews: The 18-yr-old Tyler Clementi, who took his existence after his roommate secretly filmed him kissing yet another guy and outed him on Twitter.We see women like Anita Sarkeesian being virtually shamed of the internet and despatched dying and rape threats for sharing their feminism. We see these reports as soon as it’s too late. What about the everyday on-line harassment? What about that ugly snapchat you sent your friend with the intention of it being exclusive, and now it is up on fb? ‘And so? It’s only one photo, it can be funny.’ ‘just one mean remark, no longer a tremendous deal.’ but when these micro moments occur over and over again, over time, that is when now we have a macro problem. We have got to admire these day-to-day occasions as well.On the grounds that if they go unchecked and the consequences left out, we’re going to have many extra Tyler Clementis. The consequences should not continuously handy to understand. How many of you have noticed the notifications on the prime of my screen? How many of you, like me, are stricken that they are not checked? Adequate, let me verify them for you. (Sighs) k! Only one small instance of what this will do to you.Probably you effortlessly cannot center of attention due to the fact that your notifications are going off the control, and also you have to assess. That need, finally turns into addiction. Concerning social media, we are already experiencing impairment just like substance dependencies. With every like, you get a shot of that believe-just right chemical, dopamine. You attain more of that social foreign money. So what do we do to suppose just right? We check likes – just one more time. We put up – just a different time. We’re anxious if we should not have entry. Doesn’t that sound like every drug you’ve gotten ever heard of? Yeah! So when that grows, when your social media use goes unconfronted time beyond regulation, that is once we see the rising levels of nervousness and depression: the F.O.M.O. The distractions, the spotlight reels, the comparisons; it’s a lot, and it can be at all times! The Canadian association of mental wellness located that grades 7-12 pupils who spent two hours a day on social media pronounced higher levels of nervousness, melancholy and suicidal thoughts.For these of you doing the mathematics, that is as young as twelve years old. Here is the thing, i like social media. I do, I find it irresistible. Hearing what I’ve said today would make you feel i want you to get off of it. But i don’t. I don’t think it can be going anyplace, so i’m not going to waste my time telling you to spend less time on social media. Frankly, i do not believe absence is an option anymore. However that doesn’t imply you can not apply ‘trustworthy social’. The whole thing i’ve mentioned today has nothing and the whole thing to do with social media. I imply, social media is neither just right nor dangerous.It can be just probably the most recent software we use to do what we have now invariably achieved: inform studies and keep up a correspondence with each and every other. You would not blame Samsung television for a bad tv exhibit. Twitter doesn’t make humans write hateful posts. Once we speak about this darkish aspect of social media, what we really speak about is the darkish facet of folks. That darkish side that makes harassers harass; that insecurity that makes you take down a picture you have been excited to share. That darkish facet that looks at a image of a comfortable family and wonders why yours does now not appear like that. So as mother and father, as educators, as buddies, as bosses this darkish facet is what we have to center of attention on. We’d like preventative strategies and coping tactics so that if you have your low days – since you will – when you are questioning your self-valued at, you never get as low as Tyler Clementi – and the numerous others like him. ‘good enough, Bailey, how do you find social media wellbeing?’ here is the excellent news: Recognising a crisis is step one to fixing it. So listening to this talk is solely that, the 1st step: comprehend the challenge. The power of advice, when any person tells you about some thing and you start seeing it everywhere. That is why attention is significant. In view that now you’ll as a minimum be higher competent to understand these effects if and after they occur to you. The 2d factor you will do is audit your social media weight loss plan. The identical way we monitor what goes into our mouth, screen some thing goes into your head and coronary heart. Ask your self: ‘Did that fb scroll make me believe better or worse off?’ ‘How usually do I truely verify likes?’ ‘Why am I responding this method to that image?’ Then ask yourself in case you are comfortable with the outcome. You maybe and that is ok! But when you’re no longer, move on to step three. Create a better online experience. After my companion did his audit, he realised his self-valued at was too tied up in social media, but primarily celebrities reminding him of the matters he didn’t have. So he unfollowed all brands and all celebrities.That worked for him. But it surely might no longer be celebrities for you. For me, I had to purge other people off my timeline. Let me tell you a secret. You do not ought to comply with your ‘neighbors’. Actually that in many instances our associates, or the men and women we now have on fb as a courtesy, they simply suck on-line! You end up on this passive-aggressive fame war you didn’t even understand was taking place. Or you might be watching at 50 pics of the same live performance from the identical perspective. (Laughter) if you wish to comply with artists, or comedians, or cats, you can do that.The final thing you will do is mannequin just right behaviour. Offline we are taught not to bully different youngsters within the playground. We are taught to admire others and treat them how they deserve. We are taught to not kick others when they are down, or have the benefit of their downfalls. Social media is a device. A device that can be utilized for good, for more positive corporations, for revolutions, for putting grumpy cat in Disney films. (Laughs) internet is a weird situation. Is social media hurting your mental well being? The answer is: it does not need to. Social can tear you down, sure, or it could actually raise you up, the place you depart feeling better off, or have an exact chortle-out-loud. Finally, i’ve 24 hours in a day, if I spend two of those hours on social media, then i want my experiences to be filled with concept, laughs, motivation, and a entire lot of grumpy cat in Disney movies. Thanks. (Applause) .

[batterymonster2021]

Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health? | Bailey Parnell | TEDxRyersonU

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/is-social-media-hurting-your-mental-health-bailey-parnell-tedxryersonu/

Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health? | Bailey Parnell | TEDxRyersonU

Translator: MARIA TIAKA Reviewer: Peter van de Ven i am fat. Wow, i’m fats. She’s most effective nineteen years historical, what am I doing with my existence? Hey! Two likes! Excellent. Do i love this picture? Does she rather want extra likes? I am hoping i will be invited to the wedding. One other like, best! Welcome to the inner monologue of a natural social media scroll. A monologue that so many of us have day-to-day, but we don’t feel about it, we don’t speak about it. In fact, many people are not able to even recognize it taking place. I’m Bailey Parnell, and i’ll speak about the unintended penalties social media is having in your intellectual wellbeing. I will exhibit you what’s stressing you out day-to-day, what it’s doing to you, and how one can craft a greater expertise for your self on-line. Simply over a year in the past, my sister and that i took a four-day vacation to Jasper, Alberta. This used to be the first no-work trip I had taken in four years. On this vacation, I was going dark. I was turning on aircraft mode, no e mail and no social media.The primary day there, I was still experiencing phantom vibration syndrome. That’s where you suppose your phone went off, and also you assess and it didn’t. I was checking steadily. I was distracted in conversation. I used to be seeing these wonderful sights Jasper needed to offer, and my first response was to take out my telephone and submit it on social. But of course it wasn’t there. The 2nd day was once a bit of bit easier. You might be considering i am ridiculous, but I hadn’t been fully disconnected in over four years. This was practically a new experience again. It wasn’t except the fourth day I was once there that I was once ultimately comfortable with out my cellphone. I was sitting with my sister, actually on the aspect of this mountain, once I started pondering to myself: "what’s social media doing to me? What is it doing to my peers?" That was best four days, and it was anxiousness-inducing, it was annoying and it resulted in withdrawals. That’s when I started to ask questions and have seeing that began my master’s study into this discipline.I’ve worked in social advertising primarily in higher schooling for most of my profession. That suggests I work with numerous 18- to 24-year-olds, which additionally happens to be essentially the most lively demographic on social media. The opposite thing you have got to learn about me is that i’m young ample to have grown up with social media, however simply historic ample to be able to significantly interact with it in a way that twelve-yr-old me more commonly couldn’t. My existence is social media: for my part, professionally and academically. If it was once doing this to me, what used to be it doing to each person else? I immediately found out I wasn’t on my own. The core for collegiate intellectual health discovered that the top three diagnoses on college campuses are anxiety, melancholy and stress. Countless stories from the united states, Canada, the uk, you name it, have linked this high social media use with these high stages of anxiousness and melancholy.However the frightening factor is that prime social media use is almost all people i do know: my friends, my loved ones, my colleagues. Ninety% of 18- to 29-year-olds are on social media. We spend on normal two hours a day there. We do not even consume for 2 hours a day. 70% of the Canadian population is on social media. Our voter turnout isn’t even 70%. Anything we do this in general is worthy of important commentary. Some thing we spend this so much time doing has lasting results on us.So let me introduce you to four of the most common stressors on social media, that if go unchecked have abilities to come to be full-blown intellectual health disorders, and that is certainly not an exhaustive record. Number one: the spotlight Reel. Identical to in sporting activities, the spotlight reel is a set of the excellent and brightest moments. Social media is our personal highlight reel. It is where we put up our wins, or once we appear best, or when we are out with acquaintances and household. But we battle with insecurity considering the fact that we examine our at the back of-the-scenes with every body else’s highlight reels. We’re continually evaluating ourselves to others. Yes, this was taking place before social media, with television and famous person, however now it is going down always, and it is instantly linked to you. A ultimate instance I came across in education for this speak is my pal on trip: ‘brb, nap …’ (Laughter) ‘Wait, why can not I have the funds for a trip? Why am I just sitting here in my PJ’s staring at Netflix? I want to be on a seashore.’ here’s the article, i know her very well.I knew this used to be out of the normal for her. I knew she used to be generally drowning in schoolwork. However we suppose, ‘Who wants to see that?’ The highlights are what humans want to see. In fact, when your highlights do good, you come upon the second stressor on social media. Which is quantity two: Social forex. Identical to the greenback, a forex is actually some thing we use to attribute price to a just right or provider. In social media, these likes, the comments, the shares have turn out to be this form of social currency wherein we attribute worth to anything. In marketing, we call it the ‘economic system of concentration’.The whole thing is competing for your concentration, and whilst you provide whatever a like or a section of that finite awareness, it becomes a recorded transaction attributing value. Which is first-class if you are promoting albums or clothing. The trouble is that in our social media, we’re letting others attribute value to us. You know any individual or are anybody that has taken down a picture because it didn’t take as many likes as you idea it would. I will admit, i’ve been right there with you. We took our product off the shelf for the reason that it wasn’t promoting speedy adequate. That is altering our sense of identity. We are tying up our self-worth of what others suppose about us after which we’re quantifying it for everybody to peer. And we’re obsessed. We need to get that selfie just correct, and we will be able to take 300 images to make sure. Then we will be able to wait for the perfect time to put up. We’re so obsessed we’ve organic responses after we can not take part.Which leads me to the third stressor on social media. Number three: F.O.M.O. It’s a light phrase we have all thrown round. F.O.M.O., or the ‘worry of lacking out’, is an actual social nervousness from the fear that you are lacking a knowledge connection, occasion, or opportunity. A group of Canadian Universities found that 7/10 pupils said they might do away with their social networking accounts if it weren’t for worry of being left ‘out of the loop’.Out of curiosity, how many individuals here have, or have considered deactivating your social. That’s nearly every body. That F.O.M.O. You think, the highlight reels, the social foreign money, those are all results of a rather ‘common’ social media experience. However what if happening social everyday used to be a terrifying expertise? Where you not simply question your self-worth however you query your security? Perhaps the worst stressor on social media is quantity 4: on-line Harassment. Forty% of on-line adults have skilled on-line harassment. 73% have witnessed it. The unlucky fact is that it’s a lot worse and more likely if you’re a woman, LGBTQ, a man or woman of color, muslim – I feel you get the factor. The obstacle is that within the information we are seeing these massive reviews: The 18-yr-old Tyler Clementi, who took his existence after his roommate secretly filmed him kissing yet another guy and outed him on Twitter.We see women like Anita Sarkeesian being virtually shamed of the internet and despatched dying and rape threats for sharing their feminism. We see these reports as soon as it’s too late. What about the everyday on-line harassment? What about that ugly snapchat you sent your friend with the intention of it being exclusive, and now it is up on fb? ‘And so? It’s only one photo, it can be funny.’ ‘just one mean remark, no longer a tremendous deal.’ but when these micro moments occur over and over again, over time, that is when now we have a macro problem. We have got to admire these day-to-day occasions as well.On the grounds that if they go unchecked and the consequences left out, we’re going to have many extra Tyler Clementis. The consequences should not continuously handy to understand. How many of you have noticed the notifications on the prime of my screen? How many of you, like me, are stricken that they are not checked? Adequate, let me verify them for you. (Sighs) k! Only one small instance of what this will do to you.Probably you effortlessly cannot center of attention due to the fact that your notifications are going off the control, and also you have to assess. That need, finally turns into addiction. Concerning social media, we are already experiencing impairment just like substance dependencies. With every like, you get a shot of that believe-just right chemical, dopamine. You attain more of that social foreign money. So what do we do to suppose just right? We check likes – just one more time. We put up – just a different time. We’re anxious if we should not have entry. Doesn’t that sound like every drug you’ve gotten ever heard of? Yeah! So when that grows, when your social media use goes unconfronted time beyond regulation, that is once we see the rising levels of nervousness and depression: the F.O.M.O. The distractions, the spotlight reels, the comparisons; it’s a lot, and it can be at all times! The Canadian association of mental wellness located that grades 7-12 pupils who spent two hours a day on social media pronounced higher levels of nervousness, melancholy and suicidal thoughts.For these of you doing the mathematics, that is as young as twelve years old. Here is the thing, i like social media. I do, I find it irresistible. Hearing what I’ve said today would make you feel i want you to get off of it. But i don’t. I don’t think it can be going anyplace, so i’m not going to waste my time telling you to spend less time on social media. Frankly, i do not believe absence is an option anymore. However that doesn’t imply you can not apply ‘trustworthy social’. The whole thing i’ve mentioned today has nothing and the whole thing to do with social media. I imply, social media is neither just right nor dangerous.It can be just probably the most recent software we use to do what we have now invariably achieved: inform studies and keep up a correspondence with each and every other. You would not blame Samsung television for a bad tv exhibit. Twitter doesn’t make humans write hateful posts. Once we speak about this darkish aspect of social media, what we really speak about is the darkish facet of folks. That darkish side that makes harassers harass; that insecurity that makes you take down a picture you have been excited to share. That darkish facet that looks at a image of a comfortable family and wonders why yours does now not appear like that. So as mother and father, as educators, as buddies, as bosses this darkish facet is what we have to center of attention on. We’d like preventative strategies and coping tactics so that if you have your low days – since you will – when you are questioning your self-valued at, you never get as low as Tyler Clementi – and the numerous others like him. ‘good enough, Bailey, how do you find social media wellbeing?’ here is the excellent news: Recognising a crisis is step one to fixing it. So listening to this talk is solely that, the 1st step: comprehend the challenge. The power of advice, when any person tells you about some thing and you start seeing it everywhere. That is why attention is significant. In view that now you’ll as a minimum be higher competent to understand these effects if and after they occur to you. The 2d factor you will do is audit your social media weight loss plan. The identical way we monitor what goes into our mouth, screen some thing goes into your head and coronary heart. Ask your self: ‘Did that fb scroll make me believe better or worse off?’ ‘How usually do I truely verify likes?’ ‘Why am I responding this method to that image?’ Then ask yourself in case you are comfortable with the outcome. You maybe and that is ok! But when you’re no longer, move on to step three. Create a better online experience. After my companion did his audit, he realised his self-valued at was too tied up in social media, but primarily celebrities reminding him of the matters he didn’t have. So he unfollowed all brands and all celebrities.That worked for him. But it surely might no longer be celebrities for you. For me, I had to purge other people off my timeline. Let me tell you a secret. You do not ought to comply with your ‘neighbors’. Actually that in many instances our associates, or the men and women we now have on fb as a courtesy, they simply suck on-line! You end up on this passive-aggressive fame war you didn’t even understand was taking place. Or you might be watching at 50 pics of the same live performance from the identical perspective. (Laughter) if you wish to comply with artists, or comedians, or cats, you can do that.The final thing you will do is mannequin just right behaviour. Offline we are taught not to bully different youngsters within the playground. We are taught to admire others and treat them how they deserve. We are taught to not kick others when they are down, or have the benefit of their downfalls. Social media is a device. A device that can be utilized for good, for more positive corporations, for revolutions, for putting grumpy cat in Disney films. (Laughs) internet is a weird situation. Is social media hurting your mental well being? The answer is: it does not need to. Social can tear you down, sure, or it could actually raise you up, the place you depart feeling better off, or have an exact chortle-out-loud. Finally, i’ve 24 hours in a day, if I spend two of those hours on social media, then i want my experiences to be filled with concept, laughs, motivation, and a entire lot of grumpy cat in Disney movies. Thanks. (Applause) .

[whoisashleya]

Those Dreaded Three Little Words

It has been five years since I have muttered those three little words to anyone. I had thought about the moment when I would experience the euphoria of falling in love again—the fluttering heart, the excitement, the nerves, the tingling—but I didn’t ever imagine that cynical, closed off old me would be feeling that way so soon. It was only three weeks in, and as my mind protested at the outrageousness of such a possibility, I started to question whether this was the beginnings of love that I was feeling or I was confusing the concept of love with the raging hormones coursing through my system.

It seemed as if this relationship was in a rapid race, going from one level of intensity to the next, wasting absolutely no time at all. I was so wrapped up in the process of unraveling the love story unfolding before me, that it felt as if my face was planted firmly in a pile of cocaine, just riding the magic carpet of the dopamine and oxytocin high. For the first time in years, I felt myself start to release, completely surrendering myself to the hands of another person as I tried to rid my mind of the fears of being hurt and rejected.

I think that I had silently muttered those three little words to myself countless times within those three weeks—I would find myself looking over at him, and within those moments I could feel the heat rise within my body. I could feel the sense of tightening within my chest, and all that I could translate the feeling to was the visualization that my heart was glowing. I would say those words silently to myself in those moments, completely aware of the absurdity of feeling in love within such a short period of time. I tried to talk myself out of it, and I tried to convince myself that this wasn’t love, that it was infatuation, because how on Earth could you love someone that you are still getting to know? I tried my absolute best not to let those three little words slip out of my mouth; I tried with everything in me to keep that insane feeling to myself. I didn’t want to believe that it was real, and despite the truth that I felt so deeply, it contradicted everything that I knew logically, which told me that it was too soon to possibly be real.

We had skirted around the concept of love multiple times, both of us testing the waters and feeling each other out, too afraid to be the first one to profess our true feelings as the risk of rejection and unrequited love hung heavily above us like an unwanted reminder. Although I knew that I loved him, and although I had been silently proclaiming my love over and over again in my head, I felt as if I needed to hear him say those three little words first—I felt as if I needed that as my security blanket in order for me to allow myself to drop the barriers that I had built up so high, allowing myself to become completely vulnerable, pushing all fear and doubt to a place of nonexistence.

But love had a different plan. It burned inside of me, and the more I tried to suppress it, the brighter it burned. It pushed me, and it tested me, and it wanted nothing more than to be proclaimed. It became more and more difficult to resist to the point that the words burst out of my mouth. The proclamation caught him off guard as much as it caught me off guard, my heart pounding in my chest as we sat for what felt like an eternity with the words still lingering in the air. His blue eyes were locked on mine, and I watched the look of shock evaporate from his face as it was slowly replaced by the most magnificent smile. I felt my body warm up with an explosion that can only be described as fireworks as his words echoed mine. “I love you too.”

So, when is it the right time to feel love, to express love and to accept love? I used to live bound by some unspoken law that stated that there needed to be an extensive amount of time that had passed and that all the stars would be perfectly aligned in order for it to be real and in order for it to be acceptable to be expressed. But love exists by no law, and there is no such thing as the right time to feel love and to express love – love has no boundaries, no timelines, and no rules. Love is unique to every situation. It consumes our entire being and it shakes us to the core, because the gravity of love is more than any of us could ever fully comprehend. Love pushes us to our deepest level of vulnerability. It requires us to drop all our walls and to submit—it pushes us to the point of no return, because once you’re in, you will never be the same again, no matter which way the journey goes. There is no control when it comes to love, and this is the reason why we question and suppress it, why we enforce imaginary rules and timelines and why we surround the beauty of love with a state of fear.

Receiving and giving love is the greatest gift that we have been given in this life, and no matter where love has led us before or where it may still lead us, we have never been worse off because of love. If the current state of the world teaches us anything, it is that we need to grasp every fragment of love that we can find more fiercely than ever.

[celebrityqizz-blog]

New Post has been published on Celebrity Qizz

New Post has been published on http://www.celebrityqizz.com/how-to-train-your-dog-to-make-your-life-easier/

How to Train Your Dog to Make Your Life Easier

Science has shown repeatedly that dogs help us deal with stress. Colleges such as Miami University offer pet therapy where students can play with dogs during stressful times like finals and presentations. The National Center for PTSD states that dog ownership can help lower your stress. The American Heart Association also found that petting dogs or even just being around them can help lower blood pressure, heart rate, and plasma renin (which plays a major role in the body’s regulation of blood pressure, thirst, and urine output). Petting a dog (or simply looking at a dog) can help increase your oxytocin and dopamine levels, which all play a part in making you feel happier.

Additionally, similar to humans, dogs can experience a lot of stress in their daily lives. It is our job as pet parents to help them experience less stress and encourage them to learn how to deal with it in a better way. Ahead, find my tips to train your dog to make your life less stressful.

Use nonaversive, positive training methods.

A lot of training that involves harsh tools can make your dog feel vulnerable and uncomfortable. If you’re constantly battling your dog for the “alpha” role during training, it can cause your dog to become more stressed, fearful, and/or aggressive. As a result, this can leave your dog feeling more scared and shut down around you. If your dog is feeling suppressed and afraid, you will not be able to train him properly, causing your own stress and frustration levels to rise — therefore creating a horrible circle of stress and negative energy.

Focus on the present.

When training your dog, don’t focus so much on the outcome of the training. Some dogs take longer to learn, while others may be a little bit more nervous in the beginning. Remember it’s important to be patient and take your time when training your pup. The process of learning can be mentally stimulating, which will eventually help decrease unwanted behaviors. If you are getting upset because your dog simply isn’t sitting or lying down, try taking a break. I suggest trying a different approach; maybe look into other creative ways that you can train your furry friend or even find a different motivator. Training should be fun for you and your dog. It should not be just another chore that you must do that will make you and your dog more stressed out if it doesn’t happen right away.

Change it up.

Daily activities such as walking should be a positive and fun experience for you and your furry friend, rather than a nerve-racking one. After a long day at work, walking your dog might be the last thing you want to do — especially if they refuse to walk. If your dog is constantly pulling on the leash and each walk is doing more harm than good, you will only experience more stress. Try using a no-pull harness or a harness with a front clip, as they can help with the pulling. Before going on the walk, allow your dog to run around in the backyard first and use up some of his energy. During the walk, encourage your furry friend to sniff his surroundings; this will burn a lot more energy. Try talking to your dog during your walk. You want to make sure the dog is enjoying the walk and is focusing his energy and attention on you, distracting him from wanting to pull back.

When you’re away, your pup will play.

No one likes to come home to a messy house. Do you ever get stressed leaving your pup behind while you leave for work? Constantly worrying about whether he is making a mess? Did he get into the garbage again? While you’re gone, your pet will seek out things to keep him occupied. Remember your furry friend is curious and as a pet owner, it is crucial to keep your pet away from dangerous items that he can tear up or get into. If your dog likes to tear open the garbage while you are gone, put the garbage somewhere he can’t get into it. Does he love to scratch up the couch? Try providing plenty of stimulating toys for him to play with in your absence, or even try crate training. In addition, think about working with a trainer on separation anxiety if your pup hasn’t warmed up to being alone. Mentally stimulating your furry friend while you are home with games like hiding his food or using an active feeder will help him stay entertained while you’re gone.

Hire a dog walker.

Think about hiring a dog walker to come visit your dog throughout the day. This way they can help stimulate your dog and take him on a potty break. This will help reduce the stress on your end, as it won’t be as urgent for your dog to go out the second you get home. This can also help you avoid having to clean up after your pet if he has an accident and goes potty in the house. Nothing like coming home from a long day at work to find out your carpet is stained!