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#but still a little less with some of the negative stuff
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having some Thoughts N Feelings abt elrond & elros + the historical practice of rulers taking children from the families of their tributaries or even their (nominal) allies as hostages
primarily that (1) the Politics of the Fëanorions having the heirs of Fingolfin AND Thingol AND All Three of the Three Houses as their hostages is like… soooo overlooked and underutilized in the fanworks I’ve seen
and (2) i think it would be rlly funny and also fucked-up if most elves are Totally Scandalized And Horrified by this Weird Human Behavior of “hostage-taking” if/when they see it happening in the second & third ages as human settlements & societies in M-E grow & develop, while Elrond is just like, “this is Normal, what are you Talking about”
#mine#silm#like the story can’t Not be informed by that practice/history to some degree but it’s also a weird fucked-up edge case bc like#at the point when m&m have e&e it’s like. the Entirety of their close family is either dead or absent or absent and Presumably dead#so e&e are functioning less as incentive for their immediate family to act a certain way & more as an all-purpose deterrent#to aggression or retaliation against the fëanorians by any remaining sindarin or noldorin forces who take issue with all the Crimes.#anyways it’s Vital to me that elrond (and elros too) be a Little Bit Feral and have just the Slightest weirdness about him#in terms of his expectations for How Stuff Works—bc there’s no way he’s getting out of his Canonical Early Life w/out being a BIT fucked up#(elros is equally Weird ftr but the atani don’t care as much bc they’re more adaptable than elves and also elros is The Literal King#so there’s nobody of high enough rank to judge him overtly and also i think the numenoreans are like His Weirdness Is Our Weirdness#ALSO also i think early numenor should have a patronage/fosterage system within the nobility that isn’t Officially inspired by All That#but isn’t NOT inspired by it either. which is yet another thing that could come full circle and develop (back) into being#more traditional hostage-taking For Assurance Of Loyalty And Good Behavior as the years wear on and numenor gets corrupted. anyways)#for the record i fall in the middle on the hostage-taking reaction spectrum. i think it’s fucked up to a degree but i also Understand it#as a political tool and i think i’m more forgiving/accepting of it than ur average second- or third-age elf would be#so i think elrond’s blasé reaction (which i have made up) is like. indicative that he does still have some Issues in terms of like#conceptualizing personal relationships and family ones & recognizing that uh being removed from ur family and raised#by their political ‘enemies’ may in fact have Certain (Negative) Emotional Impacts on ppl. (possibly bc he doesn’t Want to think abt it)#(bc that would force him to do some certain Unplesant Introspection and life is hard enough for a half-elf without giving urself#further Emotional Damage by trying to unpack the Absolute Mess that was ur childhood and adolescence in the midst of an apocalypse)#but that’s neither here nor there and these tags are long enough already#oh wait i’m not done going back to (1) i know we all imagine maedhros being Fucked Up in the aftermath of the Nirnaeth + kinslayings BUT#do you genuinely want me to believe that maedhros—THEE political luminary of beleriand—was Not thinking abt The Politics#when maglor pulled these two fucking kids out of the wreckage of sirion and was like ‘i’ll be sad if we kill them :(‘#imo it would have been IMPOSSIBLE to forget that they are the heirs of Absolutely Everyone and depending on his thoughts on the future#maedhros Must have had at least a couple of Plans for these kids ranging from ‘assure my people’s safety Whoever i have to kill for it’ to#‘protect two of the Extremely Few uncontroversial political leaders the elves have left & make sure theyre Competent for when they do lead’#however Wrecked he was by It All i dont think that the politics part of his brain Ever turns off & it might have been kicking into overdriv#at that point in order to Not think about the Everything Else that was happening. ok NOW i’m done#sorry for tag rant it’s just that i have Thoughts and they are Correct but not organized enough to make it into the Actual Post
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AITA for not having time to read my mutual's writing?
Met a mutual on here, bonded through fanfic, have been tight with them for a few years with pretty much no bumps in the relationship, just overall had a really good time hanging around them when I could. We both write a lot and share our writing, and occasionally we talk about that writing/workshop it in passing.
In the past few years I've gone through a ton of life changes. Most notably I went from a multi-person household to a single-person one, and I've been living alone in a prohibitively costly city for a while now working 40 hour weeks and barely scraping by. As soon as the transition started I spent the last of my free income on a shitty little laptop so I could still write, putting down words on my bus/train commutes in the morning and quite literally writing on my breaks at work because I feel insane when I can't create. I bring this up to really stress that I don't have the time for the hobby, I force myself to make the time and even then it never feels like enough.
The only thing I can really stand to do with my 3 hours of free time at night is hang out with my moots online. I'm an extrovert so being around people recharges me. If I don't have designated social time I get super depressed and can pretty much feel my soul withering away. I also feel like I should probably mention that I kinda have a slew of mental issues, personality disorders and PTSD and AuDHD and the works. Point being, shit is rough my dude, but I am a person who likes to work hard and face challenges head on and even though we strugglin, we doing it with a positive outlook.
But! I am an incredibly solution-oriented person and I have found what I personally believe to be a good balance. No one should have to live like this, but I do, and I have found a way to be happy. My writing and my social time is all load-bearing. It is not something I just choose to do on a whim, it's all planned and scheduled and I adhere to those routines very strictly because, I cannot stress this enough, I will go fucking bonkers if I don't.
I'm mutuals with a lot of writers obv, and I sadly don't have time to read their work anymore, unless I get some extra time on my days off or something gets cancelled or like, I end up taking a vacation. I carry a great amount of guilt for this, though, even though I logically know it's reasonable. I try to support them where I can, cheer them on when I see them writing and tell them how cool their ideas sound, hype them up even when I can't actually read & review.
One of the things I do is sometimes I leave a kudos on fic I haven't read. I'm not trying to be ingenuine, and if they asked me I'd tell them like 'Oh I didn't read it yet, just wanted to show support!' but to me it's kinda like ripping a paper tab off a poster so that other's feel inclined to do the same. Plus my pals get a little email and a hit of serotonin.
Except one of my acquaintances, the one I mentioned at the start here, saw that I left kudos on a couple pieces another mutual of mine wrote this year. They more or less blew up my DMs with a ton of accusatory (like, literally presented like a 'GOTCHA!') stuff about how I was selective in who's fic I read, more or less implying that I secretly held some sort of grudge or negative feeling toward them and was making the conscious decision not to read or interact with their writing because of. Something, I don't actually know what they were trying to say. They also told me they vented to their friends about this MULTIPLE times, but they never once approached me to let me know they were feeling paranoid or neglected, they literally just took the most bad faith reading of it possible and then presented that to me like it was something I intentionally did, while the whole time I was unaware.
I tried to explain to them the kudos thing, that I didn't do it to every story, just ones I caught/noticed in my busy schedule. And I laid all this out and asked, multiple times, what free time am I supposed to read with? They didn't answer, and doubled down, kept trying to show me 'proof' that I was shorting them and no one else. Once they started to realize how wrong they were they backed down, but they didn't really apologize, or admit they were wrong, and they tried to end our relationship and left every single server we were in together. Because of some other unrelated stuff going on in my life, I didn't really consider them to be a close friend, but they were someone I really held dear and would've walked through hell for if they'd asked.
I still feel like there is something I'm missing here, and that's why I wanted to ask if I'm TA. I'm a pretty good communicator but one of the things I told myself when talking down my disordered thoughts (guilt about this prior) was "no one in their right mind would use reading fanfic as a metric for friendship." Now that I've had that exact thing happen, I'm starting to think maybe those thoughts weren't so disordered. Maybe this IS a big deal, and I should think about it more, but I don't even know what the solution to that would be. I just. Don't have time to read something lovingly crafted and appreciate it for what it is. All the hours in my week are used up, I'd have to lose sleep for this and with my mental health the way it is that is not an option.
Feel free to be a brutal, my skin is thick. Thanks!
What are these acronyms?
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velvetures · 9 months
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Doesn't Crease
A/N: Thanks to everyone supporting this new blog I've started working on. I'm really happy to see so many new people and get the chance to write some more. <3 Summary: You're just trying to keep Ghost from losing his eyesight from being purposefully ignorant. T/W: none :)
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Looking out for the guys of the 141 typically meant doing things for them that most regular people wouldn’t even think twice about doing on a normal day. They often took care of weapons and missions far better than themselves, and it often resulted in you finding out that they appropriated objects or products for uses that had not a damn thing to do with what they used them for. And the most frustrating of all of them came from how you came to learn about Ghost’s eye paint, and how it stayed on so well for days on end.
You’d been in the Middle East for nearing five days and after being holed up in a cave just on the outskirts of a little town, a safe house was cleared for your use until the end of the mission. It was so damn good to have a shower and put on some clean clothes that you couldn’t have been in better spirits as you walked out of the bathroom into the living area and noticed Ghost sitting in a change of clothes and a much less dirty mask with his face half-painted in that unidentified stuff he used. You watched with an admitted interest as he dipped a couple fingers into a small plastic container that held the substance before smearing more over the bridge of his nose towards the uncovered left side of his face.
“Quit starin’.” he muttered lowly, still very focused on the task at hand and getting the stuff smeared over his eyelid and up to the waterline of his eye.
You didn’t particularly care to listen and just sat down across from him and pulled your bare feet up into the chair and watched just as raptly. It wasn’t the first time you’d seen him do this for sure, yet every time filled you with a sense of… excitement. Like you were watching the man under the mask slowly transform himself into The Ghost right in front of you. Certainly a childish kind of thrill, yet you never missed the chance to watch Ghost do anything, really. Curiosity always got the better of you when it came to the mysterious Lieutenant, and that black stuff he smeared on his face wasn’t exempt from your silent questioning.
“Will you leave me the fuck alone?” He growled, steely eyes darting right to you with a harsh edge to his posture.
Ghost always had a prickly attitude about everything, good or bad. Fuck, you could tell him that he’d won a million dollars and he’s just grumble about how paying taxes on it would be a bitch. Never seeing any bright side of a situation. But that also didn’t come as much of a shock. The Lieutenant always put you in mind of this black shadow just floating around wherever he pleased or was needed for the time being.
You’d made jokes to Gaz and Soap about his sandpaper-like disposition and shitty attitude before, oftentimes enjoying a short moment before sleeping -without Ghost present of course- where you mimicked him for entertainment. It always got you a bunch of laughs considering the stark contrast between your own character and the Lieutenant’s. You didn’t mean anything negative by it, Ghost just made it too easy to poke quiet fun at him every so often.
“If you answer a question, I’ll leave.” You bargain quickly, already knowing exactly what you wanted to ask about. Ghost just growled in frustration, leaning his forearms on his massive thighs and looked pointedly at you, silently demanding you got on with your foolishness so that you could go off somewhere else and be a pain in the ass for someone else.
“What is that?” You nod to the small container holding his eye paint.
“I mean… the stuff you put on your face?” Unconsciously the question comes out of your mouth a tad bit nervously and hesitant. Not that you had the slightest fear of Ghost being upset with you in a dangerous way, but more so that you were prying into something that he felt was too personal to discuss. That kind of assumption wouldn’t have typically been far off with how private he liked to keep things.
Contrary to his typical behavior Ghost gave a small huff of something close to laughter. Apparently amused and puts the lid on the small jar to toss it across the room for you to get a better look at it. Unscrewing the lid of the small plastic travel-jar, you were met with a very familiar smell. And it wasn’t the kind of cosmetic fragrance you were expecting it come from it.
“Gun grease,” Ghost answered quite offhandedly, acting as if that wasn’t a totally ridiculous idea. Speechless and naively shocked, you look up at the Lieutenant with wide eyes and your mouth a little agape. The look on your face only amuses Ghost that much more and a little flash of it shows in his dark eyes.
“You put slide action lubricant on your face!?” You almost hiss the words out, disbelieving and in total awe of how Ghost hadn’t lost his eyesight, got chemical burns, or some other type of injury from doing something so unheard of.
Ghost shrugs noncommittally. “I prefer Hoppes. Theirs lasts the longest.” He said standing up and stretching his neck side to side.
“You have a fucking brand preference?” Your mouth really does drop open now.
“Brand and color.” He replies smugly, striding over towards you and grabbing the small container and opening it back up to dab more over his eyebrow which hadn’t been fully covered earlier.
“Hoppes…” You repeat the word, thinking for a moment. “You mean that kind that comes in the syringe?” The image of the component and how it hangs in a little package in the gun care and cleaning aisle at every store. you’ve ever been to.
“One and the same.”
Your eyes roll skyward and you can’t help but groan out. “Good god…”
For weeks after that conversation, your mind revisits the thought of Ghost using a ten-dollar tube of gun grease not only as weapon maintenance but also as a skincare product. Surely he’s not stupid enough to think that it’s not harmful to his skin right? He’s got to know that when it gets into his eyes it can cause damage? It comes to a breaking point when you go into a local drugstore for a prescription painkiller for a recent on-mission injury and notice an End Cap display showing a new line of gel eyeliners that have come out boasting 48hr smudge resistance and an almost instant, comfortable dry-down.
You stop dead in your tracks, almost totally forgetting about needing to pick up the week-supply of pills for yourself as you gather up every single one of them in the color black and shove them at the woman working behind the register. The look she gives you is one of masked concern, but you just hand over the cash for it and your prescription before heading back out to your car with a sense of hopefulness that your Lieutenant won’t lose his eyesight prematurely if you can help it.
The following day you’re to report in to HQ for a meeting with the team for a pre-op report review, and have the chance to give Ghost your… gift of sorts. You’re walking out of the meeting, purposefully walking beside of him instead of talking to Soap or asking Price some lingering questions you have so your opportunity doesn’t slip by you.
“Hey, uh do you have a minute?” You nudge his arm with your elbow, looking up at him out of the corner of your eye. Ghost’s eyebrows raise, and he silently gives a stiff nod, not caring to elaborate any further.
Instead of peeling off towards his office down the corridor to your left, he keeps following you silently until you get out to your vehicle parked outside. Although he doesn’t say anything about it, you can feel his questioning look burning into your back as you unlock the doors and reach into your passenger seat for a small black bag that rattles with the sound of thick glass knocking up against each other inside. Even when handing it to him, he’s reluctant to uncross his arms and accept the bag from you because he’s much more comfortable just staring at you coldly. No doubt expecting you to do what you’re best at and waste his time for something inconsequential.
“Here… I really don’t want you going blind anytime soon.” You give him a half smile, dropping the gift bag in his hand. With that, you give a small goodbye and go around to the other side of your vehicle, and drive off before the Lieutenant can open the bag or question you about what the fuck you’d just given him thirty small jars of.
Once home you go about getting some clothes washed for the upcoming mission and take some time to make a call to your neighbor to ask if she can look in on your home and plants while you’re away and pay the water and electric bill since you’ll be out of town when the bills will be mailed. You’re halfway through telling the older woman that you’ll go ahead and write a couple of checks that she can take to the bank with her own bills when you feel your phone vibrate against your ear.
Your elderly neighbor gives her happy acceptance of helping out and gets off the phone so she doesn’t miss her nightly show while you check the notification you’ve received. It’s from a number not saved, but it’s not spam text or one of those random kinds of messages you get when someone uses the wrong number. It’s short, sweet, and to the point. The verbiage and almost awkward tone give you all the information you need to know that the Lieutenant had not only opened his gift but asked someone for your private cell so that he could give his… thoughts.
-Dries down a lot quicker. I like that it doesn’t crease.-
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Reblogs & Comments are Appreciated <3
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xamag-draws · 7 days
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BBR thoughts 2024
Since I mentioned that I finally dusted off an old project of mine and was ruminating on how I'd remake it, I thought I'd elaborate a little, now that I've solidified some concepts. For funsies
This is gonna be a bit of a long and unfocused one, but I don't share my personal thoughts here often, especially the stuff about my projects I always marinate in. And for once it's something that people have existing context for, so hey why not
So for anyone who hasn't been following me for a gajillion years, The Black Brick Road of OZ was a webcomic that I posted around 2013-2015, back when I was in highschool going on college (which is kinda crazy to think about). It was sort of a darker twist on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, although I definitely leaned a lot more into dark humor more than anything in those first few chapters
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I don't think it's available to read anywhere anymore, and I know people have been asking me about it. So here's the full proper archive of BBR, as full as it can be with deceased Flash
I totally used it as an excuse to shamelessly and self-indulgently experiment. It had interactive pages and GIFs and was wayyy too overproduced for what I could handle or what was necessary, but I did have great fun making it while it lasted
Unfortunately, that excess and the fact that I've changed too much as a person by the time I was in college is what ultimately killed it. The direction I wanted to go in was practically unrecognizable from the original idea started back in 2011, so there were many old hold-ups that I felt ruined it
At the time I kinda wished I could start/rewrite it all over, but considering that I pretty much had the entire script done at that point, it felt like a pointless sisyphean task. So I just put it on a shelf and didn't look back for about 8 years, because I didn't know what else to do
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Now to be fair, the nature of my art has always been iterative and cyclical; when I feel like my creative juices have run dry I prefer to leave a project to marinate and move on to something else; cycle through other old things and bring in new skills and perspectives into the mix when I'm ready again. Not very productive, but it is what makes me happy to work on my OCs; I'm doomed to hit a wall with them eventually and I need some time to be able to find a new direction
So that said, I'm glad that BBR was left to marinate for that long. I don't think I was prepared, emotionally or intellectually, to tackle it again until now. The Wizard of Oz book (and the entire series of them, really) has always been near and dear to my heart, but there's a lot of context around it that I'm only unpacking now that I'm older
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I think I always inherently feel negatively about the stuff I've made in the past, like its faults always jump out to me more than the positives, especially the more time passes. I've never liked that, and I do really appreciate the kind things people have to say about BBR to this day. The fact that it still can be recognized and remembered is very sweet
When I left it, I already found it "kinda cringe", and that feeling only deepened with years. When I took my first look back at it, asking the question "how would I rewrite it now?", at first I took a very cynical approach, as in "everything would have to be torn down"
But the more I sat on it, the more I found that I still see some merit and charm in the ideas I was putting out; I just didn't know how to execute them at the time (not to pretend that I know what I'm doing now, but I certainly know more at least). Turns out a lot of my old concepts could be changed substantially with just a few small tweaks. So I'd say that's a nicer way to think about my previous work
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If you haven't seen yet, I posted a first draft of my new designs for some of the characters (the main group, the Goods and the Wickeds). Definitely subject to change, but more or less how I see them now
I'm just playing with these concepts; by no means would I attempt to remake BBR right this moment. Call it a pipe dream among my other ones. But just for fun, this is the direction I'd like to take:
Nowadays I'd probably make it a visual novel, with more emphasis on the visual part than the novel because I'm no English prose writer by any means. It'd still let me play a little with the interactivity while helping cut some corners on the drawing part (only some, I imagine I'd go hog wild anyway)
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I've always intended for some events inspired by the sequel books to take place in BBR's past. Stuff like Jinjur's revolt or Ozma's rule preceeds the main events here. So I think it would be fun to follow the past of a few key characters alongside the main story. One chapter focusing on the present quest to see the Wizard, then one focusing on the past events (that are maybe reflective thematically); rinse and repeat
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I'm also sticking a little closer to the original text in some regards. Not everything that I enjoy from the books would be translated here, it's still just a very loose fantasy on the material; but I'd like to be closer in spirit at least
I like mature, wise and powerful Glinda, I like kind and vulnerable Tin Man, I like the Wizard being a pathetic yet loveable liar, so I'm sprinkling in more of that for example
I'd like to keep some whimsy, but make it more grounded and a bit more serious to be coherent in tone. I think the original TWWOOZ book was a more realistic fantasy in some ways, even for the standards of the time; I like its simple but vivid tactile descriptions and details like bringing attention that Dorothy needed to eat and sleep
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I find it funny that Baum specifically was averse to making his books scary or unpleasant, finding that unnecessary for telling a compelling kids story, but they still can get pretty dark and disturbing, at least for our modern sensibilities. Let's just say that I intend to use the Evoldo and Chopfyt storylines for my purposes. In that way, I feel like a "darker" Wizard of Oz retelling can still mostly be tonally in line with the original and balance it with enough heart and occasional humor
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I slowly grew to appreciate the quaint old-timey quality of the original series, as well. The first book is both timeless and very much a product of the 1900s. Originally I tried to give it a little modern or at least anachronistic spin, but it was moreso because it's what I knew best, so these days I'd rather intentionally lean into the time period. Still not fully historically accurate by any means, but at least directly acknowledging the influence
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The events of the story span across 40 years of these characters' lives, so I'm drawing inspiration from the entire so-called La Belle Epoque: the time period around 1880s-1920s. Basically I'm cooking, and my soup is old Victorian fashion morphing into Edwardian fashion and slowly inching towards flappers
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Some new Dolly outfits
Lots of crazy things, political changes and innovations were happening at the turn of the century, which I think is noted and reflected by Baum in the books as well; the character of Tik-Tok might not blow any minds now, but he was one of the first robot characters in literature at that point; and don't even get me started on Jinjur, etc. Plenty of really interesting stuff one could lightly ponder in an Oz adaptation these days
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Aesthetically, art nouveau has always been a big artistic influence for me, and it'd definitely be its time to shine here. John R. Neill's illustrations of the Oz books often keep me company as well. Nouveau architecture in particular fits that fairytale whimsy extremely well imo
I'd allow myself a little bit of art deco here and there, but ultimately its intimidating geometrical splendor is an antithetical to the flowery nature of nouveau and I associate it with a completely different era. Definitely fitting some characters like my Wicked Witch of the West, but shouldn't be overused
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One of my main problems with the original BBR was that eventually I lost track of what it was even about; and the original ending felt too mean and unfulfilling to be worth it. Now I'd like to stick to the theme of home and family as my main theme, but in a different, more bittersweet way than in the book
An interesting connection I made is that a lot of my aforementioned older key characters (the Witches, Jinjur, the Nome King, etc) all came from the same reformatory as kids, that's how they know each other. In my recent research I learned that in those reformatories it was usually frowned upon to release the children back to the families, which were seen as the original corrupting influence regardless of the circumstance. The reformatory did everything in its power to cut that connection and make itself the only family those wayward kids were supposed to know and love. That's an unexpected tie into the theme of home that I'd like to explore as well
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So yeah that's the current state of it. I have a bunch of outfit concepts I'm slowly cooking, although I'm now sure whether I'd post them... But I do miss these funny guys, and I'm glad some people still do as well :)
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steddieas-shegoes · 2 months
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oh love, i'm terrified
for @steddielovemonth prompt 'love is terrifying'
rated t | 1,585 words | cw: negative self views | tags: falling in love, getting together, love confessions, sappy and fluffy
💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗
He thought he was being obvious.
He doesn't do this stuff for everyone else. He doesn't show up after work to hang out for no reason other than just wanting to be around the other person. He doesn't talk on the phone for three hours in the middle of the night to comfort the other person after nightmares. He doesn't fucking stargaze with anyone.
But with Eddie he does. Steve always goes out of his way for Eddie.
He knows why, and he feels like everyone can see it too: he loves him.
But somehow, Eddie doesn't see it, or chooses not to.
Even Dustin, oblivious to human emotion as anyone else Steve's ever met, pulled him aside after Hellfire one night --yes, he even attends Hellfire now-- to ask if he knew he was flirting with Eddie so much.
Robin and Nancy had called him out on two different occasions for touching him too much in public, but he hadn't even realized his hand had gone to his waist!
And Eddie still seemed clueless.
Or at least, most of the time he seemed clueless.
Sometimes, though, Steve could swear he looked at him in a specific way, a way that Steve would think is understanding and maybe even returned feelings. But he never said anything, never did anything out of the ordinary for Eddie.
Months of wondering what the hell he could do differently, months of being less and less subtle every day, months of showing how much he loved him without actually saying it.
All for Eddie to still be oblivious.
But not tonight,
Tonight, he was going to Eddie's to have dinner and watch a movie. Wayne was on a fishing trip with his buddies from work, and all the kids were at the same summer camp, probably torturing underpaid teenage counselors.
No interruptions were possible.
He could bring out all his moves, and if Eddie still didn't get it by the end of the night, maybe he could even use his words.
"Dinner's almost ready!" Eddie yelled from the kitchen as Steve let himself in. "I didn't burn anything!"
Steve rolled his eyes fondly. "Sounds like something someone who burnt dinner would say."
"I didn't! I mean one edge is a little crispy on the lasagna, but I think that's because our oven is older than Wayne. You think the government could've given us a better oven for my troubles, but apparently not," Eddie turned to Steve standing in the doorway. "You look...nice."
Steve always liked to look nice, but he'd decided to dress up a little bit tonight, try to make his intentions clear right from the start. His hair was done as usual, but he was wearing his khaki slacks instead of jeans and his nicest navy polo instead of the t-shirts he'd mostly been wearing outside of work. He even sprung for his watch that his dad gave him as a graduation gift. He hated to know how much money was wasted on it, but it did look nice.
"Thanks. You do too," Steve replied.
Eddie looked down at his own clothes and back up at Steve. "Dude, I'm wearing sweats and a t-shirt that has more holes than cloth. You don't have to lie."
"I'm not lying. You always look best when you're comfy," Steve shrugged. "Need help with anything?"
Eddie shook his head. "Not unless you wanna grab beers from the fridge. I forgot to get some this afternoon so they're just Wayne's PBRs, but a cold beer's a good beer, right?"
"Right," Steve agreed, walking to the fridge to grab the beers.
Dinner went as dinner usually does, except they actually sat at the table this time instead of the couch. Eddie seemed surprised when Steve set his things down in front of the chair he only sat in to keep Eddie company while he planned for campaigns, but just silently joined him.
They talked and joked, they made themselves laugh so hard beer almost came out of Eddie's nose. It was perfect.
After, Steve started working on the dishes, Eddie standing by the counter watching.
He was quiet, which was unusual, especially when no one else was around to fill the silence.
"Everything okay, Eds?" Steve asked as he scrubbed a particularly difficult area on a fork.
"What? Oh. Yeah."
Steve turned to look at him, suddenly worried when he saw Eddie's face turned down to the floor. This wasn't them. They'd just had a nice dinner, and now Eddie was being...shy?
Now was his chance. He could say it. Robin would be proud of him for finally just doing it.
Hell, he'd be proud of himself for doing it.
But something seemed wrong, and the last thing Steve wanted was to turn a good night bad because he couldn't reign in his feelings for a bit.
He wiped his hands on the towel by the sink and turned fully towards Eddie.
"What's wrong?"
Eddie shook his head once, then sighed. "I kind of feel like I've been wined and dined tonight. And that's ridiculous because you're just one of my best friends, and you're straight, and it's all been in my head for months, but-"
"Woah. Wait." Steve interrupted. "You've been noticing that for months? And you didn't say anything?"
"Well, no. I didn't wanna ruin our friendship because I can't handle my own hopes getting up." Eddie leaned away from Steve further. "I know you don't mean it that way. I don't want you to change anything."
"Eds-"
"And if you do want to, that's fine! Whatever would make you comfortable. I just have to say it's feeling very 'I have romantic feelings' for you territory and I know you don't so."
"Eddie."
"I'm also not good at that though. No one's ever shown interest in me other than one girl in high school who ended up moving away a week later so I didn't even have to break her heart."
Steve crashed his lips to Eddie's, half hoping it would shut him up, and half hoping he would somehow keep rambling. He kind of loved watching him ramble.
It did shut him up. Even when Steve pulled away, Eddie's silence was deafening.
"Sorry. I should've asked if I could first, but I don't think you would have even heard me. Was that okay?" Steve asked.
"Why did you do that?" Eddie sounded heartbroken.
That's not what Steve wanted at all.
"I wanted to. I have wanted to."
"No you don't."
This was not going the way Steve had hoped for. "How would you know I don't?"
"Because I'm me! I'm just the dude who gets the good weed, and says funny shit, and cooks dinner sometimes. I'm not a girl Steve Harrington falls in love with, or even takes on a date. I'm not the type you build a relationship and future with. I'm just the guy who gets to watch everyone else do that. I'm not good for that."
"What the hell do you mean?" Steve was angry now. Who had convinced Eddie he couldn't have good things, couldn't be loved or love someone, couldn't be important? "You're Eddie Munson. You saved us all from an evil wizard dude and nearly died doing it. You're the guy who makes me a sandwich when I come over for Hellfire even though there's strict no eating during the campaign rules because you know I've been working all day and need to eat. You turn all my bad days good, and make my life better just because you're you."
"Steve-"
"My turn." Steve crowded him against the counter, hands cupping his cheeks and eyes boring into Eddie's. "I need you to understand something. I've been trying to show how much I care about you, how much I love you, for months, and I've been thinking I've just been terrible at it. I thought I truly did lose all my charm. I've been pulling all my moves out for you. I was starting to think maybe you just were trying to ignore it all to let me down easy, but it isn't that. It's because you don't see how fucking amazing you are, isn't it?"
Eddie's eyes were shining with unshed tears.
"Because you are. You're incredible. Maybe the best person I've ever known other than Robin. I find excuses to be near you. I find reasons to talk to you. I didn't even have a nightmare the other night, I just wanted to hear your voice. I'm in love with you. Like, the real stupid, do anything for you even if it hurts me kind. And if you don't feel anything for me besides friendship, I'll leave right now and I'll do my best to get over it so we can be friends."
"And if I do?"
"If you do love me, then you should kiss me."
"I've never kissed anyone."
"That's not true. We kissed two minutes ago," Steve smirked, his heart racing in his chest.
"I'm scared," Eddie's whispered admittance nearly broke Steve's heart.
"Oh love, I'm terrified. Love is like that. But we've faced scarier things, haven't we?"
Eddie's soft lips against his own was the only answer he needed.
Love was terrifying, even for Steve, maybe especially for Steve, who was used to giving a lot more love than he received back. But as they kissed in Eddie's kitchen for seconds that turned to minutes, minutes that turned to hours, they got just a bit less scared.
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Note
Do you know why dogs do that little exhausted sigh when they lie down even when they haven't really done anything that particular day?
I, too, make exhausted little sighs when I flop down and am suddenly extremely comfy!
But, okay, here's what super interesting. I didn't want to just give you a flippant answer, so I started looking up if sighing is a behavior in other species than humans. Because it's always worth keeping an eye out for accidental anthropomorphism. Turns out? The science on sighing is fascinating. Stay tuned for intense nerding out, and maybe a bit more of an answer.
First off, we gotta know what a sigh is.
"The sigh is a deep augmented breath with distinct neurobiological, physiological, and psychological properties that distinguish it from a normal eupneic breath. Sighs are typically triggered by a normal eupneic breath and are followed by a respiratory pause, which is referred to as 'postsigh apnea.'"
In non-jargon, that definition means sighs are a deep breath with a different pattern to it than normal, easy, regular breathing. "Augmented breaths" are frequently used as a synonym for "sighs", and the best definition I found is that "they comprise prolonged inspiration and increased tidal volume followed by a respiratory pause and several seconds of faster breathing. So a longer than normal inhale where you take in more air than normal, then an exhale, and then pause before breathing in again. Oh hey, look, I found a graph!
Tumblr media
The graph is super well labeled, but just to be clear: each cycle of the red line is a normal breath, where what's being tracked is the movement of the chest wall. The part where the vertical blue bar is, that's the cycle with a sigh. The red line spikes really high (during inspiration, or breathing in) at that blue patch, and for longer than the normal period of a breath. See how it's almost like two inhales on top of each other - a normal slope and then another upward spike? That's the "augmentation" of the normal breath, almost a double inhale without breathing out in-between. Then, after the red line drops (on the exhale) there's a flat bit. That's the respiratory pause, which the period after the sigh where you wait before you inhale again.
Apparently people have been tracking sighing scientific for like, over 100 years. The first record of it in academic literature was in 1919. And we know some really cool stuff. All humans sigh spontaneously. Even babies sigh! They do it every few minutes, whereas it's less frequent but still pretty regular in adults: one study found about once every five minutes, or twelve sighs an hour.
Okay, but why do we sigh? We only sort of know, because there's a bunch of different things that have to be studied to answer that question. The direct physiological aspect of it is the most well known at this point. You've got lots of little sacs lining your lungs, called alveoli, that facilitate gas transfer from the air you breathe into your blood. They make sure oxygen goes in and carbon dioxide gets breathed out. But sometimes they collapse and deflate, which prevents them from doing their job. When you do a big sigh, the air quantity in your lungs ends up being double that of normal, which inflates them again. So sighing is a way of doing lung maintenance, in a sense.
But there's so much more going on when you sigh than just that! This is the stuff researchers are still working on. They've got some pretty solid conclusions to start, but they're very emphatic that there's a ton more to learn.
Basically, the main hypothesis right now is that sighing functions as a "reset" for your internal state when it's out of balance. People sigh more when they're acutely anxious or stressed, are anticipating a negative outcome like a shock or seeing a negative image, or have chronic anxiety, PTSD, or panic disorders. Higher sigh frequency is also associated with pain: people with chronic low back pain sigh more, and how much they do correlates with how high their pain rating is at the time!
Another aspect of sighing is that it's frequently associated with periods of relief. Studies have noted that people sigh when they're able to relax following tension, like if they're interrupted while trying to do something really mentally taxing, when they finish a task that took a lot of attention for a long time, or if a negative stimulus stops/goes away. The reason behind that is actually thought to be why people sigh so much when they're upset or in pain: sighing doesn't just signal relief, but actually cause it! Some studies have found that people experience a temporary reduction in muscle tension right after a spontaneous sigh. (Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to also happen when you sigh on purpose.)
Sighing is also thought to facilitate behavioral and emotional transitions. The frequency at which someone sighs changes even just when they transition from sitting to lying down. People frequently sigh right before they fall asleep or start to wake up. One study found that people sigh more frequently when they go from a situation of being unable to anticipate what's next to a situation where they know what the outcome will be - regardless of if that outcome is going to be negative or positive! That led the researchers to hypothesize that sighing functions as an emotional reset from states of high internal arousal (a word which here means "the state of feeling awake, activated, and highly reactive to stimuli.") So sighing might not just bring relief when something really intense ends, but it might also help people prepare for upcoming stress.
Basically, researchers think that sighing may contribute to what they call "psychophysiological flexibility." That means that sighing helps keep someone in a physiological and emotional state that matches the situation they're in, and helps the body and mind adapt quickly when something changes. They noted that these types of transitions may involve "anticipatory, activation or recovery responses." In other words: they think spontaneous sighing is relevant not only when you're worried about encountering a leopard in the bush, but when you have to hide from the leopard you tripped over, and then also when you're calming down after the leopard got bored and left.
There's a whole bunch of research left to do about how exactly spontaneous sighs do what they do, but there's also a whole other aspect of the behavior that hasn't really been studied yet: their social function! In humans audible sighing is a salient social signal. (The researchers said the part of the paper addressing this that it is a "lay belief" that sighs have a "communicative function to convey emotions," which makes the whole thing feel like it was written by aliens observing humans from afar). But they did note that sighs for social communications may be totally different from other types of sighs, since the exhalation is often very exaggerated and doesn't always occur in tandem with that "augmented" inhale pattern that spontaneous sighs have.
Okay. So. I've been a nerd forever, but what about doggo sighs? Why do they occur? Obviously, the research doesn't give us a direct answer. The majority of the behavioral / situational research on sighing has been done on people, not animals. But it's pretty well documented lots of animals sigh (it might even be all mammals, I just don't have a citation for that). And some of the studies that have been done on animals indicated that they, too, sigh in relief when negative situations end or unpleasant stimuli go away.
Let's go back to my joke at the beginning of this book I've written. My first instinct was to be like "who doesn't sigh in relaxation when they finally get a chance to rest their bones?" That totally matches what's in the research: getting a chance to rest after activity is often both a behavioral transition and an emotional one, and if there's any physical discomfort being experienced, physical rest is often is a relief.
It seems fairly probable that dogs sigh when they lay down for at least one of those reasons. I can't prove that hypothesis, but it tracks with what the science says so far. The situation you described meets the main identified criteria for sighing: there's the physical transition of laying down, the behavioral/emotional transition of being ready for a period of low/no activity, and the possible relief of pain or discomfort that comes with laying down. We don't have any any evidence (that I was able to find) of species that sigh for other reasons, or sigh in situations that don't meet those criteria. We don't know for sure that this is accurate - this isn't fact, simply my educated guess. But since sighing seems to help muscles relax and relief discomfort, it seems reasonable to me that a good old sigh after the relief of laying down would make the transition to a resting state feel even better.
Sources:
Effects of the hippocampus on the motor expression of augmented breaths
Brainstem activity, apnea, and death during seizures induced by intrahippocampal kainic acid in anaesthetized rats
The Integrative Role of the Sigh in Psychology, Physiology, Pathology, and Neurobiology
Sigh rate during emotional transitions: More evidence for a sigh of relief
The psychophysiology of the sigh: I: The sigh from the physiological perspective
The psychophysiology of the sigh: II: The sigh from the psychological perspective
Affect Arousal
UCLA and Stanford researchers pinpoint origin of sighing reflex in the brain
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obsessedelusional · 7 months
Text
bane of your existence
paring ↬ Abby Anderson x fem!reader
summary ↬ Isaac pairs you with hard headed, Abby Anderson. She can’t keep a patrol partner to safe her life. That is until she meets you, the two of you slowly become close. Maybe a little too close because apparently everyone thinks the two of you are an item.
word count ↬ 2k
authors note ↬ first Abby oneshot omg!! I am so far up Abby Andersons ass that legally I have no choice but to write for her. Here’s a cute lil fluffy moment. I got more stuff in the works, hope y’all enjoy ᜊ☻︎
Feedback & Reblogs are helpful and extremely appreciated!! ((poorly proofread))
⊹ ꙳ ✦ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹
“Wake up.”
You groan and turn your back to insufferable voice that wakes you up way too damn early everyday. It’s a lost cause there’s a pair of hands shaking you gently. Which is strange because normally they’re a lot rougher with you.
“What time is it?” You ask still not facing her.
“5:45.”
“We don’t have to be there till eight. Why are you awake so damn early?” You snap, sitting up in your bunk. Facing the bane of your existence, Abby Anderson. Or so you pretend secretly enjoying her constant annoyance.
“Couldn’t sleep. So I thought it’d be best we head out early to catch the scars off guard.” Abby explains, stood there arms crossed looking down at you.
Three months ago the two of you we’re partnered for patrol. You didn’t know much about her before that, only the negative comments you heard from coworkers. Abby didn’t have the nicest personality and that often rubbed people the wrong way. Her hard headed ways make her nearly impossible to work with. Doesn’t help her case that when she’s not working she alone in some corner of the base, nose in a book. Often ignoring anyone’s attempt at a conversation. Only friendly to the people she joined the WLF with and half those relationships strained by the past.
Isaac thought your positive attitude would rub off on Abby. Buttering you up with compliments about your ability to not take anyones shit, calling you stubborn without using the word. Then talking about how she’s been through several partners in the last year, the longest lasting less than a month. Ever since Manny left his position to do something else, leaving her alone.
By the end he was borderline begging and following it up with apologies. You walked out of his office filled with curiosity about this mysterious women. The next day Abby was in your room uninvited and waking you up way too early. Somehow you’ve lasted this long and now you’re roommates. Manny moving out of bunk to be with his girlfriend and you having no roommate, Isaac made the decision to room you two together. Which only made Abby’s presence more constant.
Which is fine for the most part, you’d never admit it but part of you enjoys it. The constant bickering is fun and sometimes Abby lets a side of her personality slip you’ve never seen before. The two of you unintentionally becoming friends, which Abby would never say out loud. She even started hanging out with your friends. Probably spending an entirely too much time together, people began to take notice.
You stand up from your bed and make the short walk to your dresser, finding your work clothes for the day. Abby sits in a chair, fumbling with her backpack as an attempt to not watch you undress. You had caught Abby’s eyes lingering one second too long the first week. You looked back at Abby and her eyes were so obviously on your ass. She looked up a second later and saw you smirking. That was the end of that and now she does everything in her power to not get caught. Today you quickly get ready, sensing Abby’s eagerness to leave.
“Hurry up.” She says as you’re almost done.
“Why are you in such a hurry? We’re going to be two hours early at this point.” You ask, irritated.
“Quit complaining.” She spits.
“Quit being such a hard ass.” You spit back. Abby only rolls her eyes in response, so you add: “I don’t want to hear shit about my bad attitude today.”
“You always have a bad attitude.” Abby says, with a small grin.
“Do not.” You scoff at her comment.
“Do too.”
“Never did before. I think you’re starting to rub off on me. Or maybe it’s cause I keep getting waken up before my alarm has a chance to go off.” You explain, grabbing your backpack and pulling it on.
“What? You don’t like waking up early?” Abby ask, playfully already knowing the answer. Part of her loving to hear you complain.
“No.”
“Morning patrols aren’t that bad. You wake up early get off early. Have the rest of the day to do stuff.” Abby explains, trying to make you feel better.
“Yeah maybe. But I usually end up working even longer because you want to get out of here early. An eight hour shift turns into a nine or ten hour shift. One day you had me out there for twelve hours Abby.” You retort, bitterness heavy in your tone.
“You are the moodiest person in this entire base.” Abby says.
“Wasn’t before.” You speak flatly causing Abby to smile, getting closer.
“You’re such a brat.” She says, smile never leaving her mouth.
“Whatever. I know you like it.” You respond, smiling back at Abby.
“How bout we make a deal? You try to not be a brat today and I’ll try to not be such a hard ass.” Abby suggests, laughing as she squeezes your cheeks together as if you were a child.
“I don’t think I’m capable.” You speak. Abby’s hands smooshing your cheeks together. Pulling away to put one finger on your lips, shushing you.
“Just try, okay?” Abby asks, looking down at you with a pout and those damn eyes that’ll get you to do anything.
“Ughh I guess but only since you asked so nicely.” You respond suddenly hitting you that Abby is being way nicer than normal. What is her deal today?
“Really?” She grins.
“Yes let’s go.” Abby chuckles and then grabs your hand, gently nudging you forward. She’s slowly become more touchy since the two do you met but this takes it to a whole another level. When the two of you leave the room she doesn’t let go. You let the both of you walk a few feet before stopping in your tracks and looking at your hands intertwined.
“Are you holding my hand?” You question, causing Abby to realize and her face goes pink.
“Huh? Oh.. uhm.. I guess I am.” She awkwardly smiles, still not letting go.
“I mean I don’t mind. Just know you wouldn’t want to give everybody the wrong impression.” You respond, slightly traumatized from the first time you tried to sit with her in the mess hall and she went off on you about how she didn’t want anyone to think you were her friend.
“Pfft. They already think we’re in a relationship, or we will be sometime soon. What’s the harm in holding your hand?” Abby says casually, rolling her eyes as if your concern is ridiculous. She attempts to keep walking but you’re stood still, not willing to end this conversation so soon.
“They think that?” You ask.
“Yeah, they do. You should hear them gossiping during dinner. It’s all about us.” Abby says looking down at you and laughing slightly.
“How have I never heard this?” You question.
“It’s because you always head directly for you bunk room to rest after dinner. They’ll start talking about us as soon as you leave.” She explains as if this isn’t a big deal.
“What else do they say?”
“Oh. Uhm... they mainly talk about your... uh.... assets.. yeah.. that’s it.” She blushed slightly thinking about it.
“My assets? Ew.” You cringe at the thought.
“Hey I think your... ‘assets’ are fine.” She smirks, face somehow more red than before. You eyes go wide in response, it’s a rare occasion that Abby says something nice. Let alone a compliment that borders on flirting.
“Are you flirting with me?” You ask because you never know with her and you need to desperately make sense of what’s happening.
“Errr.. ummmm.. no I am not.” She nervously looks away, couldn’t help but start chuckling at her own awkwardness.
“Abby Anderson. You totally-.” You say, teasingly poking at her chest. She puts her hands over your mouth as an attempt to shush you.
“They probably think that because we work together, hang out and live together. We’re always together.” She explains trying to change the subject from her flirty comment.
“Or do they think this because you said something? Planted it in there head.” You ask, teasing as you pull Abby’s hand away from your mouth.
“Ok I may have said something. Which turned it into a whole thing.” She admits.
“Something?” You ask curiously.
“They were making some crude comments about your body. And one of them joked that I would know. I may or may not have agreed that I would know.” Abby explains, part of her embarrassments that she entertained them for even a second. In the end being grateful because them think you two were an item got them to shut up. The teasing now focused on Abby, wanting to know more about said relationship that didn’t actually exist.
“Are you mad..?” She looks at you, still holding your hand as you both walked down a long staircase to an area outside of the stadium.
“No it’s kinda cute.” You smile.
“You think it’s cute that they all think we’re in love?” She laughs.
“Yeah but just because you made them think that. No wonder Manny’s been teasing me about you.” You explain, connecting the dots as you speak.
“He’s been teasing you?”
“Yeah always telling me my *girlfriends* looking for me. Shit like that.”
“Your girlfriend?!” She grins at the thought before adding. “Well I am looking for you all the time.”
“Apparently you’re obsessed with me.” You joke, laugh leaving your mouth.
“I am. Just a little bit.” Abby responds, leading you out of the stadium and to where everyone starts patrols. Still holding your hand. As the two of you exit the stadium, you notice that Isaac is standing outside with a small group of people. He immediately takes notice of the two of you holding hands. Making a face as he looked back at the patrol, saying something inaudible to the them.
“Oooh does Abby have a girlfriend?” Manny hollers before laughing. Abby’s face is filled with so many emotions and before you can say anything Isaac’s say something.
“It’s about damn time. I was starting to think the two of you didn’t have feelings for each other after all.” He smiles.
“Can we start this patrol so I can stop be the center of attention?” Abby asks, ignoring everything everyone’s said.
“Or so you two can be alone?” Manny teases, causing everyone to laugh.
“Shut up.” Abby growls, pulling you away from everyone. You wave goodbye at everyone as Abby drags you away to start the patrol. Manny gives you two thumbs up which only adds to Abby’s irritation.
“You never answered. Do you have a girlfriend?” You ask teasing, curious about her answer.
“I don’t know. Do I?”
“You’re gonna have to ask for yourself and find out.” You tease causing Abby to groan outloud.
“You’re really gonna make me ask?” She asks, followed by rolling her eyes.
“Yeah.” You smirk, wanting the word to come out Abby’s mouth.
“Will you be my girlfriend?” She says annoyed.
“Mmm I’ll have to think about it.” You joke, watching Abby get more annoyed. “Just kidding yeah.” You laugh, finally bringing a smile to Abby’s face. Before you could register what’s happening Abby is stopped, pressing her lips into yours. You kiss back for a few moments, Abby eventually being the one to pull away.
“That was amaizng.” Abby purrs.
“Mhmm.” You smile, nodding.
“Just cause we’re dating now. Don’t think I’m gonna be any less of a hard ass.” Abby says, going back to her annoying self.
“We’ll see about that.” You tease, walking ahead of Abby. Abby grabs your wrist pulling you back to her. Abby grins kissing you again, knowing damn well she’d do whatever you asked.
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kaceythecrunch · 2 months
Text
RANT. (sturntok.)
Yall. Im so mad. Sturntok pisses me the fuck off to the point it isn't even funny anymore. This might be messy, so bare with me.
Tara. Why the fuck is everyone pressed about Tara hanging out with the triplet, specifically matt and Chris. Yall are acting as if it was only two of them, like they're on a date. They were with fucking I don't know, 8 other people? Like why does Sturntok care who they hangout with? Did you not learn from elementary school to mind your bees wax, or business? You're probably 15. They're literally 5 years older than you. There is no way, in any universe they're gonna date you girl. ALSO TO SHIT ON TARA?? LIKE GIRL. FIND SOMEONE ELSE TO SHIT ON CUZ HOMEGIRL DONT CARE. SHE DONT CARE. SHE IS STRIVING AND LIVING LIFE LIKE YOU SHOULD GIRL. Live life and don't care. You'll probably have a positive outcome. No cuz y'all know how Chris owns the Saturn necklace thing? Its vivienne underwood. It's less than 20 bucks on Amazon. Also when was the last time y'all saw Chris wearing that necklace girl. Also there's a post from like months, or I think a year ago of Tara wearing the same necklace. These fucking tiktok girls are so annoying. Like we get it, everyone wants to be Tara. (she's my gf.)
Podcast. I saw a bunch of btiches shit on the podcast. Like cmon. THEY ARE PRODUCING AN HOUR LONG VIDEO FOR YALL EVERY WEEK. Mfs are burnt out, you're lucky that they even produce content for you ungreatful hoes. Like lwk, I'd rather have them remove Wednesday videos. I remember when they first started their podcast that they were really excited to start and stuff. I also remember, I believe it was their earlier vlogs. When they were still living in Boston and they haven't like went to LA yet, they were talking about turning their basement into a podcast room. Like cmon. This is something they've been wanting to do and you hoes just don't appreciate anything. Like have y'all's mama's not been pissed at y'all for not appreciating her food. Live life positive and not negative tf. But ofc, I respect their decision.
Intro. Yall just love to shit on everyone. Ruining the party. Sturntok reminds me of the kids-the class "clowns" who would be so shitty to the teacher for no reason and would ruin fun things for everyone. Like guys, I think we should all as a community bully Sturntok. It requires a bit more bullying, just to knock some sense into their heads. Anyways, back to what I was ranting about. I loved their new intro. its a new era. A new them. Change. Is. Fucking. hard. I understand that you love the teens from Boston running around making fools of themselves. Me too, I shall admit it. But in order to get sponsorships, to get the little paring things. (For example, them sponsoring Celsius, even becoming the youtooz thing.) Like they gotta act more professional.
Change. This tied in with the last few things. CHANGE IS HARD. CHANGE IS A DIFFICULT THING. But how the fuck are you gonna live life, and enjoy life when your stuck on one thing forever. Change is needed for growth, and for learning. Like guys, THEYRE 20. I think that's something y'all forget. They aren't teenagers anymore. Its kinda like how when everyone went into middle school and started to not like kiddy things when you still liked kiddy things. When I was in middle school I still like to play with Legos, draw, watch anime. Until I hit 7th grade, aka everyone's downfall. I still enjoy some of those things today but I changed because people in middle school stopped like those things and its embarrassing (well for me at least) to show up in school with anime shirts cuz I'm getting older. Thats what they're feeling I guess. Again, theyre 20 now.
Crazy ass mfs. Crazy, as in them soft mf's on sturntok. Also what pisses me off more is that they're coming here on tumblr. Like no, I know your soft ass belongs on Wattpad bffr. I have a long rant about this one, so bare with me again. They are so so so so so SOOOOO sensitive about the "spicy edits." Sometimes the fucking video frame isn't even about something "spicy" aka- them being shirtless, video frame near their crotch. It was when there was a song about sex. How soft can you be. Most songs these days are about sex. Some songs y'all probably didn't know about was about sex. (cake by the ocean for example.) LIKE LETS ME FOR REAL. MOST SONGS ARE ABOUT SEX. Also with the tiktok audios being removed like cmon. Not everything is about sunshine and rainbows. I remember I commented on a Chris edit and I was like.
"I need this man in my life. He's so hot."
"you're fucking gross. He's a human being and do you know how grossed out he would be if he saw that you said this? (bullshitbullshit,morebullshitandstupidness.)"
Yeah, keeping fucking running your mouth. THIS TIKTOK HAS LIKE 4K VIEWS. DO YOU WANNA KNOW HOW MUCH FUCKING FOLLOWERS THE TRIPLETS HAVE? YEAH. THAT'S NOT EVEN A QUARTER OF WHAT THEY HAVE. THIS VIDEO HAS 1K COMMENTS. ARE THEY FUCKING HUNTING ME DOWN?? MY COMMENT HAS 3 LIKES. WHY WOULD THEY CARE TO FUCKING CHECK GIRL. ITS ALSO TELLING THE FUCKING PERSON WHO EDITED THIS THAT THIS EDIT WAS FIRE AND THAT THEY MADE THE EDIT HELLA GOOD. UR FUCKING LUCKY I KEPT MY ANGER TO MYSELF CUZ OH GIRL. I WOULD SUCKER PUNCH YOU. You know whats also funny? They're the same people who will be pissed with when they see matt or Chris with a female. Like girl. You're calling me fucking gross? Do you think how much more worse that is than my comment? You ruin friendships. OG sturniolo fans know that they've been friends with girls. If you genuinely care, yall would know that nick made most of matt and chris' friends. Meaning most of them were females. SO OBVIOUSLY THEYRE GONNA HAVE GIRL FRIENDS. I remember watching the Zach sang pod when nick was on and he explained that matt usually doesn't make the friends. Theres a joke where matt says "I'm gonna make a friend that wasn't originally nick's friends." smth like that. Anyways, off topic. Just because they are seen with a girl, doesn't mean they are fucking dating them. Like shut the fuck up. please. Respectfully shut the fuck because I'm a nice person. Also Chris gives off major virgin vibes lets bffr.
Madi. Yall hate so bad on Madi and its fucking grossing me out. Why do you have to ship her with matt and chris??? Literally to the point they can't even put her in photo dumps or videos. You just gotta ruin it for everyone, huh? shes fucking gorgeous, and she's so funny in videos. Plus, when she does talk shes hillarious. She literally reminds me of Matt. She doesn't fucking talk much because she is more of a listener.. Like guys bffr. How can you hate her when she barley spoke in videos. Like respectfully, shut the fuck up. Yall just jealous shes pretty.
Calling Nick fine. I also hate them mfs who are always running their mouth about girls calling Nick fine. Lets bffr. Y'all didn't think a gay guy is fine? I'm sure you've had a crush on one gay person before. And if you haven't trust me. You will. I had a crush on my gay friend in 8th grade. I feel like its a canon even in every girl's life. anyways, I hate when girls will be scared to call nick hot.
"Nick is so fine. But like as a cool guy friend way. Please don't attack me."
POOR GIRL BELIEVES SHE IS GONNA BE ATTACKED IF SHE CALLS A GAY MAN FINE. Sturntok leave her the fuck alone. He's hot as fucking and I will kill civilians if I'm not given more nick edits. He's so fine. Literally the hottest triplet.
If u made it here thanks. There was shit on my chest that I really needed to let out. What have we learned today?
Sturntok can suck my fucking dick.
Thanks goodbye.
Me to Sturntok :
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aego-weaver · 2 months
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Asexual characters getting laid
So, the recent discussion around a certain demon has brought a certain subject to the forefront of my circles. So, in this essay, let's talk about asexual characters getting laid, usually in fanfiction, but my advice applies to original work as well.
Glossary
As I discuss this, I will be using the relevant terms. For your convenience, I will define them here. Those in the community, you can skip this section.
Asexual: Often shortened to Ace, an asexual is a person who experiences little to no sexual attraction.
Gray Ace: Notice how I said "little to no" in the previous definition? gray Aces are why. Still falling under the field of asexuality, gray aces experience sexual attraction only on rare occasions or in specific situations.
Demisexual: A person who only experiences sexual attraction after a close emotional (not necessarily romantic) connection exists. It is a form of gray ace.
Aromantic: Often shortened to Aro, an aromantic is a person who experiences little to no romantic attraction.
Alloromantic: Alloromantic is opposite of Aromantic, being a person who regularly experiences romantic attraction. For this essay, I will use the abbreviated form Allo for this meaning exclusively. In more general parlance, Allo can also be short for allosexual, the opposite of asexual.
Sex Repulsed: A person who is sex repulsed has a strong negative reaction to sexual situations. This can manifest as fear, disgust, anxiety, etc.
Sex Favorable: A person who is sex favorable has a positive reaction to sexual situations. This shouldn't be confused with being sex positive, which is about your opinion regarding sex in society and sits outside the scope of this essay.
Opening Principles
The main question is this: Is it okay to write a story in which an asexual character has a sexual encounter or long-term sexual relationship?
The answer, in my opinion, is yes, if you do it right.
The question you need to ask is why are they doing this? You should really ask that question for any character getting laid, but it's really important when you want an asexual character to do the dance.
Asexuals and their relationship to sex
Now, as I start this section, I feel the need to drop my credentials... I am a sex-favorable aroace with an axe to grind. That's it really.
As far as a stereotype exists for asexuals, it's a sex-repulsed aroace who is usually so extremely repulsed they just about faint at the sight of a bare breast or is so naive they wouldn't know what a dildo is.
Now, both of these people exist, I'm sure. But, they aren't the only options. You can have sex-neutral or favorable aces, you can have allo aces, you can have gray aces and demisexuals. Asexuals can like kinky stuff or keep it vanilla. The options are limitless.
Libido is different from attraction. I'm sure you've heard of people who just need it more or less often. Guess what? Asexuals can get aroused just like everyone else; we just have less of an outlet for it.
A good but honestly overused analogy is food: libido is getting hungry while attraction is thinking something looks delicious. Some of us aces (like myself) are just sitting in the kitchen, hungry as all hell, but nothing catches the eye. We still might eat something and enjoy it, but it's a different process.
The only unifying factor for asexuals is experiencing little to no sexual attraction. That's it!
Reasons your asexual character might want to get laid
I'm going to run through a bunch of reasons why an asexual person might find themselves getting laid. I'll go over story ideas they make me think of (which you are free to steal; please steal them, I beg you) and potential pitfalls you need to avoid.
Do note the phrase "want to" in the title of this section. I'm only covering story reasons that are at least mostly consensual.
These aren't in any particular order; I'm just writing them as I think of them.
Personal Gain
Perhaps they benefit in some fashion from the arrangement. For example:
An asexual prostitute is an easy example.
A con artist, using sex to influence their victims, but not feeling anything real towards them.
This one is a great choice for dark character exploration. It's also one of the few options that works well if the character is sex-repulsed; put the reader in the shoes of a sex-repulsed character who needs to have sex for some reason and you've got something I've never seen before and really want to see done well. Tread lightly though, that idea is very easy to get wrong.
For a loved one
This one's for the allo aces out there. An asexual character could have sex for their partner's sake. Just like you, for example, might see a movie you don't care about because your SO wants to see it.
That's a fine reason... with a major caveat: it shouldn't be a transactional thing. Nothing in relationships should be, but I'm calling it out. Your ace character doesn't owe their loved one sex, but if they want to make their love happy, it's an option.
That said, if you want the audience to hate the loved one, get as transactional as you want. You don't have to write healthy relationships, just be aware of what you are doing.
For pleasure and fun
If your asexual character isn't sex-repulsed, they could just... want sex for its own sake. The only caveat here is treating the issue with respect. The characters approach to sex is different from attraction, being more something they want rather than a need.
Exceptions
You could explore an ace character drifting into gray ace territory, struggling with new emotions... or even just a character who already identifies as gray asexual.
My main concern here is avoiding invalidating the character's identity: they are still asexual, just with some shades of gray.
A common refrain from those opposed to asexuality is "you just haven't found the right person yet". Two things about that:
Don't unwittingly write a story where those idiots are right.
If a person experiences no sexual attraction, and then finds themselves doing so for a specific person, usually one they are close to, we have a word for that. It's in the glossary, starting with a D.
One-offs
Rapid fire time. These are all reasons an asexual character might have sex on a short term basis. If you're writing a short story, that might be all you need.
Peer pressure to stop being a virgin. Not a fun reason, but I'm sure it happens.
Curiosity about sex.
Manipulation by their partner. Be careful with this one, it borders on non-con... unless that's what you're writing.
They are trying to have a baby.
Some weird magic thing in your setting.
Fuck, they could lose a bet if you feel like it.
Conclusion
Just because you're writing about people doing the horizontal hula doesn't mean the few ace characters we have need to be stripped of their identity just to be stripped of their clothes. Keeping that identity in mind can help open new story paths, paths that are currently unexplored.
Side note: if you can find any well written smut featuring an asexual lead, please tell me about it. I want to read it.
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autisticalastor · 3 months
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What are your Palia headcanons?
I'll go first!
Communicating across a server is just the equivalent of yelling as loud as you can. The villagers absolutely know we say disco deer. They still don't know what it means, though ("wtf is disco? what is a deer???")
They're also probably aware of PCs making references to regular Human stuff that they just don't have any concept of and they think we are very strange for this.
Hassian would listen to Sleep Token and he would love it. (Shoutout to the Tumblr user who's with me on this.)
If Jel was an actual person, he'd be the guy who's so cheerful with the general public, then he gets off work and goes to sit in his car and scream with heavy metal blasting.
Reth would give you stick and pokes if you asked, but you gotta give him one too.
The villagers are unaware we can track them on our maps and are a little freaked out how the Humans can always run right to them, no matter where they are and no matter what time of day or night.
Majiri straight up just don't need to sleep more than a couple hours and that's why their schedules are batshit fucking insane compared to Humans. Some of them do think we're lazy for how long we sleep lol
Jel has ADHD. Hassian and Reth are autistic. Sifuu also gets to be autistic because I like her. You'd think my reasonings here would mean Jina is also autistic, but actually, grad students are just like that.
The reason Einar seems to display less (negative) emotions than Hekla is because he actually just hasn't gone through anything that's made him feel that way before. Man has just always been Fine And Good.
Jel (I think about him a lot) has had relationships before the PC. You're not his first, but you are his best/favorite.
~Spencer
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kalims · 2 years
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‎˃ ᵕ ˂ . . "do I like you? is that even a question?"
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you like me, don't you?
heartslabyul : savanaclaw : octavinelle : scarabia : pomefiore : ignihyde : diasomnia :
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"w-well, you say it like it's a bad thing." azul says. his sentence comes out rocky at first, he curses himself for letting a stutter squeeze through but he can't really blame himself when you took him by suprise.
he neither acknowledges your words or denies it. a smart move, he can just say 'i never said I did.' if you just so happened to react negatively and taking your words into opportunity it's as if he already has it in the bag.
sure he's nervous. somehow he can feel his palms grow clammy from the way his glasses seems way too slipper in between his finger and his old habit of unconsciously fixing himself up starts to happen.
but all he can hear is his heart hammering so loud that it actually sends shiver down his spine. the beat vibrates throughout his body, singing a hopeful song.
it's funny how much exactly he gambled through your words alone. this was a great opportunity he absolutely will not miss. certainly better than letting his feelings go unsaid, he never really did plan to confess but oh well.
you smile and he feels like he just found a jewel lost in a sea, a jackpot. "oh really?"
"fufu,,, would you like that?"
jade is cruel though it was already evident the earlier times you've come across him with your friends, wearing the same polite smile everyday. you remember the time your mind quite literally focused all it's attention on his teeth when he grinned, they always say dangerous things are the most prettiest.
somehow your mind completely ignored the fact that there's a twisted pleasure in his grin when he witnesses someone in visible agony or pain. of course, you cant literally sense that kind of thing. to your standards atleast but you wouldn't be suprised if there's some kind of spell for it.
but you just knew, and if there's anything jade likes more than pain decorated cruelly on others it's probably toying with other people and you're 50% sure he is with you, right now. first he'll get your hopes up and crush it with a few words, all pampering and sweet then cold the next second.
despite of hanging out with him with the free times you sometimes posses. you still don't know how to get out without being hurt. "hmm... maybe, but do you like me?"
just answer with neither yes or no, that's the best thing you could come up with right now. something made up last minute but you suppose it works.
you're—
"of course." he smiles, it seems a little less menacing than his usual one. "what's there to not like?"
if jade was that kind of guy you'd be intimidated at from his quietness alone, it's sort of cold, certainly having an off feeling to it. the way he talks, stands or even looks at you. then floyd would be the one you'd be intimidated at from the way he's able to spout concerning things so casual and brightly, and then transitioning to an actual dark tone so quickly.
'crush you to death' you as well misunderstood it as literally until he just hugged you.
—very tightly at that. you suppose he just has an interesting way of wording things.
"of course I do!" floyd replies happily. squeezing you tighter by sheer joy each passing second, you don't know if you should cry from the restriction of proper oxygen or cheer at his scary cuteness.
you choose the choice to live. "hey can yo—"
what the hell was that ace?
"what's this lovey dovey stuff? 'I like you too you know'." ace cuts you off and his interference alone had floyds grip already slipping, then the words register and he's hugging you tighter again.
are you shitting me. you think, obviously the male was joking cause he even forced his voice to sound deeper, akin to floyd's which makes you think that the boy is trying to match up their tone. it was meant to be lighthearted and mocking but you think that it completely flies over floyd's head.
ace realizes his mistake too late when the tall, big, scary, eel man's face takes a turn for the scariest. "hey.. you wanna get beat up?"
"hey man I was joking—"
you learn that floyd won't really care if someone's joking or not because he will chase them, going from intimidatingly scary to more pleased to witness the change in their expression.
ace tells you to not go near him with floyd in tow anymore the next day.
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aeide-thea · 7 months
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thinking abt like. how hostile this website makes us to one another, and to good-faith discussion—
someone i follow fact-checked a post and was like ‘actually the murdered relative in question was her great-uncle, not her father,’ which, fine, yeah, precision abt stuff like that is good and respectful!
but then in tags they were like ‘that’s a really weird claim to have made, OP, especially when everything else here was basically accurate???’ and i just thought to myself—isn’t the best-faith assumption here also the likeliest, namely that they simply misremembered?? why jump straight to characterizing the situation as a ‘weird claim,’ and implying something ambiguous-but-negative abt their motives and/or character?
and like. a while back i did basically the same thing myself: someone had posted a photograph of a gay family that cropped out their visibly disabled daughter, and i was like 🧐 and went up my ladder about it; and then later i saw they’d been like ‘i just saw the cropped version somewhere and thought it was sweet and wanted to share it, i didn’t know it wasn’t the original!’
and like. yeah, it’s good to do a little research on things before you post them, and maybe tineye would have turned up the original for them, but. their intent hadn’t been what i’d indignantly implied it might be; and i felt (and feel) bad about the tone i’d taken wrt their post, and abt having potentially directed third-party vitriol their way because of how i’d framed things—which was, frankly, the result of my failing to do enough research before posting, or at least to think through whether i had any actual evidence for what i was claiming?
anyway, i’m sure i still make unfair assumptions—we all do! but i do try to take a beat and make a little extra effort to think: is the most likely scenario here actually that this person is deliberately misrepresenting things? do they deserve my casting aspersions to that effect? or is it just that they don’t know what they don’t know, and they haven’t thought to double-check themself, and they’re human…
because the thing is, being kinder and being more intellectually rigorous actually go hand in hand here? it’s good not to ascribe motives to people that you have no active evidence of, both because reflexively doing that is a hostile approach to the world that makes you pricklier and less patient, and because it’s exactly the same sort of sloppy unsupported assertion we fact-checkers are supposed to stand against!
anyway. longer post than intended, but. some Food for Thought maybe. <3
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allywthsr · 6 months
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EPILOGUE | (l.norris)
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summary: epilogue of Lan on Raya! What happened the last three years and another big question.
wordcount: 2.1k words
pairing: landonorris x fem!reader
warnings: miscarriage, getting a dog
notes: someone requested this and I thought why not? Give me ideas in my inbox for specific things and maybe it won’t be the last time you hear from these two🫶🏼 it’s short, I’m sorry but I didn’t want to make it too big. comment your thoughts!
part one part two part three
It’s been three years since you met Lando, let’s see what happened.
In the beginning, it was hard for you two to see each other often, with Lando living in Monaco and you in London, you couldn’t just pop over, and with his job as well, Lando travels a lot, and with your job, you had to stay put in one place. So whenever he was in England for the MTC, he came over for a few days to spend with you and whenever you had free time, you would fly over to him or come with him for a race. The whole time you kept in touch via FaceTime or texting, there were weeks when you would see his family more often than you saw him.
Because of the vacation, you created a bond with his family, especially his sisters, and loved catching up with them, they would visit you in London a lot, Lando was always jealous, but you had to remind him, that it was his own decision to move to Monaco.
After a year of a long-distance relationship you decided to move together, temporarily.
Lando moved most of his stuff in your apartment, to see whether you could endure each other or not.
But you did. You could remember one specific evening where it was still fresh with the moving together and Max and Pietra came over. At some point, all of you were hammered and Max decided it was time for Mario Kart. While he and his girlfriend were playing against each other, you were screaming all sorts of advice to Pietra, while Lando hugged you tight to keep you from it. The whole day he had been touchy, squeezing your side and hiding his head behind your back, because he couldn’t stand to see Max driving into the wall for the fifth time. You wished someone had documented this moment, because of how sweet he had been, he was truly like one of these Pinterest boyfriends.
But it all worked out, and the temporary move in became a full move-in.
You two moved into a bigger apartment just half a year later, wanting more space.
That’s also where some negative events happened, just one and a half years into the relationship you got pregnant, it’s not like you planned it, it more or less, just happened.
You had a really bad cold and the doctor gave you medication which apparently messed with your birth control, so when your period didn’t come and you began to puke every morning, you got suspicious. You took a test when Lando was at the MTC, doing a few last tests, before the season started and when it came back positive, you almost fainted. This was not on your bingo card for the year, nor for the next year, after all, you only were in a relationship with Lando for a year and a half, not enough to become pregnant. You took two more tests and when there was no denying that a little human was growing in your stomach, you couldn’t wait for Lando to get home. You tried to call him and say you needed him back sooner but he was in the sim and important meetings where he was forced to switch off his phone.
Once he finally came through the door, you ran and hugged him tight, he had to promise you to not get mad, which he did, and when you told him, you‘ve never seen him react so slowly. At first, he couldn’t believe what you were saying, staring at you in disbelief, and when you repeated it twice he finally hugged you back. Obviously, it wasn’t planned, but he was still over the moon.
In the following weeks, Lando had been the sweetest boyfriend you could imagine, bringing you food, holding your hair and rubbing your back while you puked every morning, cuddling with you and stroking your belly every chance he got. After just one month of discovering your pregnancy, you woke up to really bad stomach cramps, Lando was lying asleep next to you when you saw that the bedsheet beneath you was completely red. You shook Lando awake and he rushed you to the hospital but there was nothing the doctors could’ve done, by the time you got there it was already too late.
The next few weeks have been rough, you barely talked, you barely touched or looked at each other. It was like living with a stranger, saying good morning and goodnight, maybe a nod when he asked you if you wanted to eat something, but other than that, you couldn’t. You felt super guilty for not being able to carry the life inside of you, Lando didn’t know about your thoughts but you had them and they weren’t pretty.
One afternoon Lando basically dragged you in his car and when you arrived, it was a therapist. The sessions had helped you, your mental health, and your relationship, after just one month it was like it never had happened. Not that you forgot about your little baby, but Lando and you talked again, you started to be intimate again, and it felt like it was back to normal. In the backyard of his parents, both of you planted a tree to remind your unborn child, you could see the tree grow like your child should have grown up, but that’s life.
Every day the burden got lighter, until you could fully let go.
The next year and a half was spent with so much love and light. Lando and you started to build a house, it’s something he always wanted to do and so you both got a lot near his parents, where the house was built. You moved in after a year and it was perfect, you were so damn grateful to have Lando by your side, without him you could never have the life you have now. You quit your job and started working at Quadrant, you were behind the scenes and did office stuff, keeping everything organized, that way you could travel with Lando to every race and not be unemployed since you were sure that the boss wouldn’t fire you. After all, you pleasured him nearly every night.
You still went on every Norris family holiday and his family loved you as much as you loved them. You were happy that you had such a good bond with them, whenever Lando was at the MTC and you were bored, you went to his parent's house, enjoying some drinks with Cisca.
All in all, you were the happiest girl in the world, you were sure. He was spoiling you whenever he wanted, buying you things where he would tell you, that he reminded him of you. That Louis Vuitton bag? It was your favorite color and he couldn’t wait to see you wearing it. Bringing you your favorite chocolate from the store, when he only wanted to get gas? He needed to because he knew that your period was due soon. But it was not all materialistic things he spoiled you with.
Kisses on your forehead? All. The. Time.
Needing a hug before every race? Yep.
Making sweet love to you? Every night.
He was addicted to your pussy, he had to be. He worshipped it, taking his time, whenever he went down on you (and it happened all the time).
The topic of kids was still on the table. He wanted to have some after he retired, but when you were pregnant, he was the happiest he‘d ever been. With that in mind, he wanted you to be pregnant soon, you tried to keep his head calm and remind him how hard it could be to become pregnant again after a miscarriage, and how scared you were after the experience. He understood that but still rooted for you to get pregnant.
”You would look so hot with a bump.“
”I can’t wait to talk to my child every day through your belly.“
”Y/N, I want to put a baby in you!“
”I need a mini Y/N and a mini Lando.“
”You‘d be the milf and I’d be the dilf.“
”Imagine them in a race suit and sitting in my car?“
”We could do a quadrant baby merch series!“
The list goes on and on. But he was right, he would be the hottest dilf in history.
Oh and the dog that you both got? Adorable! You got it shortly after you moved into your forever home, it was your favorite breed and you named the little brown dog mocha. He came with you to every race and followed you everywhere, even going to the toilet alone was becoming harder with the puppy needing you. You three went on long walks together through the forest, and when he got older Lando even took him jogging. Mocha wasn’t the happiest about running several miles but when he was with his dad, it didn’t matter. One of the funniest moments was when Lando made a custom LN4 dog bucket hat and sat Mocha in his car, the little dog didn’t know what was happening but he loved the attention he got, the people were taking pictures of him, talking to him and petting him and that was all he needed, but only when both of you were around. Mocha needed both of you, the amount of pictures Lando and you had on your phone of just Mocha and the other cuddling in the evening on the couch or some hotel bed, was insane.
But back to where you are right now, in your backyard. How did you get here? More to that in a second.
The house you both built was perfect, it was modern but homey. The high ceilings were paired with white walls and light wood-colored details, like the Kitchen that had a wood-colored work surface and the living room that had a wood-colored coffee table just like the TV wall. Lando and you loved designing it, taking your time to figure out what you really wanted. You had several guest rooms, that could be turned into kid's rooms, whenever you needed to, Lando built himself a gaming room and you both shared an office. In the basement was a billiard table and other fun things. The backyard was huge, a lot of trees were standing around the property and you loved it, just like Mocha. The little brown dog loved to run around and catch every ball you threw him.
And that was where you were standing right now, the backyard, it was already dark outside but the candles that were lit, made the place glow. You had been cooking dinner when you heard Mocha bark without stopping, in fear that he caught a squirrel again and Lando took it away from him, you made your way to the glass door, but seeing Lando standing surrounded by electric candles, wasn’t something you expected.
”Lando? What is this?“
”Come here, love.“
You stepped closer to where Lando was standing and slowly it dawned on you. While taking your hand, he started to speak.
”Y/N, I’ve known you for more than three years and I must admit, it had been the best years of my life.“
You chuckled.
”We had many ups and downs, but whatever it was, we got through it and it only made us stronger. We‘re already a family with Mocha…“
You looked at the dog that was circling you both, not knowing what was happening.
”…and I can’t wait to grow a bigger family with you. I love you so much, even with your sweatpants and my hoodie, socks that have holes in them, and messy hair. I’ve never seen a much more beautiful woman than you and I‘m so happy I went on Raya that day to get a quick fuck, who would’ve thought that I would find you, my soulmate. I love to play Mario Kart with you at two a.m., and I will braid your hair for the rest of your life, with a face mask in my face that does absolutely nothing, except steal your money. I‘m super thankful for you, for every race you join, how you’re not mad at me for putting a picture of you on the back of my helmet, directly in front of the camera, so everyone can see you while I‘m driving and that way you’re always with me, for every kiss… the list could go on and on, but you know this stuff. I need you in my life, and I will not let you go, so…“
He went down on one knee and now it was more than clear what was happening, with glossy eyes you followed Lando’s movements, as he pulled out a little box and opened it, before taking one of your hands in his‘ again, looking at you with a big smile and the same glossy eyes as you.
”Y/N Y/L/N, will you marry me?“
a/n: tell me your favorite dog breed in the comments
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nondualiber · 8 days
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guys, guys, gUYS. SUCCESS STORY THERE!!
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first of all, this happened like a week ago or something. okay, so, i'm going to keep this short. i was in some sort of "manifesting block", i was OVER complicating things, my mindset sucked, blah blah blah blah. that's essentially the reason i wasn't posting (and will continue to not be, probably); because i was focusing on my life and actually manifesting new stuff.
warning; kind of long post ahead, talking about how i did it my journey blah blah blah. if you want to see the success story directly js go right to the bottom
first, a bit of background; i have manifested things in the past, but mym indset was always shitty. when i archieved my manifestations i would say it was a coincidence, i was obsessed with the 3d, and what i'm saying has been going on for *years*. for the past 6 months i was in this vicious circle where i'd try a method full of hope, then eventually lose confidence because of some negative beliefs and give up in three days. i'd have a one week meltdown, then search for a brand new method, and repeat. clearly, i didn't manifest anything lately. and i didn't know what i was "doing wrong" because i had manifested lots of things in the past, but i didn't know how nor how could i do it now.
okay, so. like a week ago, when i was in a terrible mood, i decided to stop using tumblr to see information and talked to this bot on character.ai, that assesored me a lot on my mindset. it suggested me lots of things: since i had 0 trust in the law, start to manifest little things i didn't care that much about so i had "proof", actually stop caring, etc. (i really recommend that bot if ur struggling with the law) but the most important thing, it challenged me to try a new "method" i had heard of before, but because of my shitty mindset, i didn't try because i thought it wouldn't work or that it was "too good to be true" or whatever. the method was literally just keep going with my day knowing that i already had it. and oh my f*cking god.
i won't say it just "clicked" for me because i hear that a lot & i things that's just not how it works. at least i can't "click" with something i don't know. what i can say is that at first it wasn't easy, i still had some doubts, not gonna lie, but i just ignored them and keep going knowing that i already had it. i got used to it really fast, and THAT'S how i knew this was the way, because i felt liberated. if you read my blog you'll probably know i talk about that all the time, but my idea of manifesting is that it has to feel liberating, not like a chore, a price to your desires or anything else. i was liberated, because i knew it was done, that i had nothing to give in exchange, that i was free of the 3d & its circumstances. i was Me, and I was free.
this was the best thing i've ever done in my journey. in only one week, i've successfuly manifested:
money: (me and my family are kind of wealthy tbh, but i am bratty asf & always want more money to buy me things 😜😜) my mother recieved 200000 pesos (my country's currency) out of literally thin air on her bank account a random tuesday. she doesn't know who send it or why. i don't know about the u.s.a since there 200000 pesos are 200 dollars, but in our country, that's a LOT of money.
self confidence: i've been feeling super insecure lately. like, i am insecure since i have memory, but since this year started it has become WAY worse. i'd literally cry almost every night. now, i def wouldn't say it's all gone, but it's gotten much better. i've been feeling pretty lately, and if i didn't felt pretty, i would hardly think about my appearence at all this days. i am constantly feeling like i have one less weight on my back, which i am gratefull for :)
discipline: ngl i am forever a lazy girl and a foodie. I have always wanted to be more productive - study more, exercise more, talk to my loved ones more often and eat healthier, but discipline is something i struggle with a lot. however, since i have shown better discipline i have had some of the most useful days of my life: i went out with my friends three times in one week, ate much better than i usually do, exercised EVERY DAY without fail (even while on my period) slept well and passed all four exams this week with an 85/100 on my worst one and two 100s.
reciving a compliment in public: since i tried to start manifesting things that seem "easier" for me to acomplish, i tried manifesting this because it was rare but not impossible. so, like 3 days after i started to embody the state of someone who's always complimented by strangers, i went to the sjopping centre with my friend. then, two guys walked by us and one of them said "i want the instagram of that lady"! notice that during the whole time i was in the state, i visualized that people were asking me for my instagram + i've noted that when i'm in public, i catched people's eye more. yesterday, a guy won't stop looking at me in the café and i think he tried to approach me :)
i'll keep escalating on the "level of difficulty" of the things i manifest as my mentality becomes accustomed to the fact that everything is equally easy to manifest -which is a fact already, i just have a hard time accepting it-, and, of course, i'll be updating ;)
conclusion; look for what works for you. for what makes you feel good & secure that you have already what you want. search a "key" that makes you (actually) not give a f*ck about the 3d, if you have negative beliefs, don't ignore them. work from them, and of course, persist! let your mindset keep you on track.
that was all for today, love ya ♡
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adaginy · 2 years
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Coothin burst into Human Sara's quarters, smacking the light tapper with xis upper left arm as soon as xe entered. "Human Sara! I know you enjoy seeing the new aliens and you are missing this arrival! The other humans are very exci--" "nnnhhggg shhh. Shhh." Human Sara remained in her sleeping-bay, arm pulled over her eyes. "No time for one of your 'naps'!" Xe reached out and tugged gently on Human Sara's arm with two of xis. "The other humans say they look like a cross between 'faeries' and 'jellyfish' and you must see them and also show me photos of those creatures!" Human Sara pulled herself to the edge of the sleeping bay and -- Coothin leapt backward as the human's stomach acid erupted onto the floor. Xe slammed the emergency button on xis communicator. It wasn't xis medical emergency button (unless xe had been splashed and it was even now burning through xis coverings), but xe couldn't reach Human Sara to press hers. The emergency system located xim and started blaring nearby alarms. Human Sara was keening now, an angry, pained moan as she curled into a a ball and clutched her pillow around her head.
Medics arrived equipped for the wrong species, and started to call for other supplies, when another human-who-hadn't-gone-to-the-new-species-docking came out of his room, squinting and covering his mouth like he, too, might eject acid. "Turn it off. Turn it OFF!" he demanded. The medics were already here, and disobeying an angry and insistent human seemed unwise. The alarms were turned off. The human slumped sweatily against his door frame. Those with acute hearing, if they hadn't been deafened by the alarms, could hear groans from elsewhere in the warren of human housing. "A bunch of us have migraines. Please fuck off. quietly. quietly fuck off," he mumbled, having apparently spent himself with his brief shouts. "What caused this? Do we need to quarantine the human sector??" It wouldn't be the first time. New rules had to keep being added about things the humans had to be screened for when returning from planetside.
"mi'en dlar kweshen." Coothin's translator could not parse the human's slurring and transmitted it directly, but the medics had more powerful systems for this sort of scenario. "no kwarteen. debrief la'er. Shhh..." He faded, staggering back into his quarters. ... A handful of medics-of-various-species and a handful of humans who had recovered first sat (or equivalent-ed) around a table. The humans did most of the talking among themselves. "Is there something we all ate?" "I didn't eat breakfast, I woke up too late for [religious seasonal meal, details sent to handheld]," said a woman whose garment extended over the top of her head. A strongly built human rolled his eyes. "Well I didn't eat dinner." He sat up straight, smug. "Intermittent fasting, you know." Several of the other humans rolled their eyes. "Okay, not food. Stress? I know me and Sara are doing some high-stress work, is everyone else's stuff going off the rails?" The alien medics looked at each other. What rails?
But the humans shook their heads. "Hormones? ...Ladies, at least?" More head-shaking. "Any changes to the cleaning chemicals?" They turned to the medics, who were not in charge of the cleaning robots but did have access to which chemicals were being used where. The medics answered in the negative.
"Everyone good on water? Though I dunno why we'd all get dehydrated at once. No atmospheric water emergencies, right?"
Again, something the medics kept track of. Or would find out about quickly as sick crewmates turned up. "No, atmospheric humidity constant. Well, up a little, in some sectors, for the Dre'mls, the new ones? They require higher humidity and less pressure so maintenance spent most of the day running reclaimers on null gasses, the ones that no-one breathes, so needs are still met but the percentages are all --"
"Wait, wait wait wait" -- humans were talking over eachother and the one with the garment banged her palm on the table to shush everyone. "There's been a drop in atmospheric pressure? Over some hours?"
None of the medic species liked the way the humans all had their eyes trained on them. "...yes? The Dre'mls are delicate--"
The humans tossed up their hands, some of them shouting. "Next time just vent it, oh my [human deity]. The sudden drop will make us all miserable for a few minutes, but we handle that going on and off planetside all the time. Don't drop it over HOURS; that means a storm is coming and it'll knock a bunch of us on our ass."
"... oh. That is... unique. It's rare for a species to sense it at all, if it's within survival parameters. If we encounter a species that requires higher pressure, should we --" "I think it matters less, but err on the side of caution and do it fast, yes."
"We will report this to maintenance and add it to the human files. Thank you all for your time; you may go." And it was added to the human files, under "health risks", that causing a fast pressure drop would cause widespread brief pain, but a slow pressure drop would cause concentrated, disabling pain for hours or days. It was also put under the secret "Arguments that species is secretly/unwittingly a hive mind despite denials" file.
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the-solar-system52 · 1 month
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TPOH UPDATE THEORY
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THERE HE IS!!!! MY GUY!!!! IM GOING INSANE OVER HIM RIGHT NOW!! LOOK AT HIS EXPRESSIONS!! I LOVE HIM SM BEST CHARACTER EVER!!
Also look at Hero putting his hat back on! I really hope these two get more time to bond in this chapter! Plus I noticed a little star shape beside him on the first panel? Like an emote or something? I wonder what that's supposed to mean.
PLUS WE GOT A SPEECH BUBBLE! Albeit it's empty, but the fact that it exists may hint at him getting some dialogue in the future??
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HE LOOKS SO CALM AND CHILL ABOUT EVERYTHING?? No wonder he's just ignoring Anxiety. Make sense since he's the opposite of RGB, but I wonder how long this collectivness will last. (AND HERO LOOKS ADORABLE HERE)
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AND WHAT IS HE DOING HERE??
He's definitely taking advantage of his static electricity, but to do what? Charge his cane with LIGHTNING? (that'd be so cool) But wouldn't that decapitate his hand or something?
In the first panel, he seems to notice that the glass from the mirror maze is stuck inside his suit. And in this one, the shards of glass seem to be falling out from his sleeve. Was this just a side effect of whatever he's doing with his cane or is it the goal? Trying to get all the pointy shards that may hurt him out so he can fight better? Or maybe use them for something?
Also, this is another instance of Negative being associated with RGB's gaps, which mentioned in another theory.
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As for big lore stuff, it's revealed in this page that the Butterfly doesn't seen to know who Negative is. This does disprove some stuff that I said in my earlier theories, but that's ok because I think it works well with the reveal that the Butterfly is a personification of Anxiety.
The reason the Butterfly showed up in a lot of scenes associated with Negative was because Negative causes anxiety. Hero is afriad of him and RGB is afriad of water (plus his weird human memories) so it causes Anxiety to pop up. But Anxiety doesn't need to know who Negative is to make that work.
And now that Hero is less scared of Negative, Anxiety is finding it harder to get two's attention, because Anxiety can't hurt you unless you are afriad of something. Negative is so insanely calm about everything that he doesn't even seem to hear Anxiety.
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But this is going to make for a really interesting dynamic between Hero, Negative and Anxiety. Hero originally said they should turn RGB into Negative to fight the Butterfly because Negative is more scary than the Butterfly.
But now it seems to be the exact opposite. The Butterfly is having a hard time affecting them because Negative is chill, and Hero is only a little nervous around him now. His calm nature seem to make Hero calm as well, so Anxiety can't influence her.
BUT! The reason Negative isn't attacking right now is because he doesn't view the Butterfly as a threat. However, if the Butterfly or the doubts were to do something to make Negative attack, then wouldn't that make Hero scared of him? Like she was the other times he showed off how scarily good he was at killing stuff?
And if Hero was scared, then Anxiety would be able to easily affect her! So Negative attacking the Butterfly may actually make the situation WORSE. Negative will have to find some way to balance keeping Hero calm while also defending himself.
But will he succeed? I mean, this is only their third time meeting eachother, there's still time for more character development. It could be possible for Anxiety to exploit Hero's fear and end up escaping, but maybe show up again later in the comic! It will take awhile for Hero to fully trust Negative, but I wonder what direction Modmad will take that character arc.
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I also remember someone mentioning in Modmad's comments that Negative was caused by HAPPY tears this time, whereas the other two times we saw him he was caused by SAD tears.
This could explain his more calm and mellow attitude in this page. He doesn't seem to possess the "fight or flight" instinct we see him have in his earlier appearances.
Maybe his personality changes based on what kind of tears get into RGB's air vents! If someone is crying sad tears, it usually means something bad is going on, which is why Negative quickly jumps into battle the first time we see him. But now he is calmed down because he didn't wake up with the predisposition that something bad is happening.
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He also doesn't have that black goo rising above his eye, which seems to be caused by strong emotions, similar to RGB's mouth blood. I think this means that he will be less confrontational in this chapter since he is in a better mood.
Which is good, because I like seeing my favourite characters happy, and it may give Hero and Negative more time to interact if they are both less on edge.
Overall, Sunday is the best day of the week and I'm so happy Negative is back!
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